Evil Penevil

Have a very happy birthday! Evil

Yup, if you search for "new hotels Bangkok 2012" you'll get plenty of info. Evil

Really excellent report. I had an uncle who was killed on Luzon, but it was apparently before the surrender. My dad, who served in WWII in the European campaigns, would never talk about it I tried to determine if my uncle had a grave or his name on a memorial in the Philippines, but never could. I always felt my dad knew more than he was telling, it was just too painful for him. Thanks, Butch, for the reminder of the enormous sacrifices the people, U.S. and Filipino, made during those years. May we never forget!

Very nice report and great pics! I'll be sure to read part 2. Evil

The clip in MM's OP reminds me of the scenes that played out some years ago at the free BBQ buffets at Jade House. If anyone left their arm extended too long, there was a big risk one of the hungrier guys would start to chew on it. Evil

In my experience, just about every hotel will allow non-guests to use the pool if they are willing to pay for the privilege, either in cash or by ordering food/drinks poolside. I suggest that you ask at whatever hotel with a pool is closest to your apartment. If you use the pool a lot, like every day or five days a week, they will probably agree to a monthly rate. Evil

That isn't my picture and it won't be my dinner, either! This is what I had last year at Tiggle Bitties: Evil

That's one of the more impressive things about Oahu. Although the beaches are very busy - crowded at times - they are clean compared with a lot of beaches I've seen. Evil

"Pali" means cliff in the Hawaiian language and the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout is perched above a pass through the mountain range that separates the northeast (windward) part of Oahu from the southwest (leeward) section. Wind and soil erosion cause trees to takeon some weird forms. The orginal Pali Road was built in 1897-98 and was replaced with a modern highway in the 1950s. During the construction of the first road, over 800 human skulls were discovered, believed to have been the remains of warriors killed in a battle 100 years earlier. I felt a lot safer knowing horseshoe playing was forbidden. This struck me as an interesting idea: a tent for a tent, presumably to keep the sun off the smaller tent. The roadside restaurants and food trucks on the northern coast of Oahu are famous for good food. They aren't cheap, though.

Waikiki is probably the best-known beach in Hawaii because of its location in downtown Honolulu. The first set of photos was taken on Waikiki Beach or nearby streets. This is the open-air mini-mall close to Waikiki that opened in the 1950s and set much of the tone for mass tourism to Hawaii. It's become more than a little dated and worn with time, but is still popular with budget-conscious tourists. It sells the customary souvenir junk but also houses a food court and several over-the-top tiki-style bars. A stall that sells license plates to collectors: And one that sells Oriental fans: And my personal favorites, signs and war clubs (!) for bars. I rented a one-bedroom condo on Nahua St between Kuhio Ave and Ala Wai Blvd. That's right in the heart of Waikiki, but a couple of blocks inland from the beach. It cost U.S. $100 a night, great value for money on Waikiki, especially since it included parking. I also like having a full kitchen, as I can fix my own breakfast just the way I like it. The view from my balcony:

I always applied in person for tourist visas at the Thai Consulate in NYC. Never had to show an E-Ticket, but I always had a copy with me just in case.; One-day service for the double-entry visa. You drop off the application in the morning and get your passport back the next afternoon. A few times the guy behind the counter has told me I could pick it up the same afternoon and on one memorable occasion, they said if I waited 20 minutes, I could have the visa stamped in my passport that morning. I've never seen them busy with walk-in requests for visas. There's never been anyone else waiting to submit an application or pick up a visa the 20 or so times I've gone to the Thai consulate. Evil

Consider it done. I'll get back to you with all the details of what's planned closer to the date. But one part I can reveal - I'll be dressed up in my Santa Claus costume. I used to play Santa at hospitals and children's homes in NY and NJ and took my costume with me to Pattaya last time I was in the U.S. The orphanage was keen for me to do this - said the kids would be thrilled. Evil A few more pics, taken by an orphanage staff member.

Should be perfect timing, I'm thinking Dec 22 or 23, as I'm sure there will be many activities for the kids on Dec. 24-26. I'll keep you informed. No reason to be sorry, I noticed that, too! Coyote dancer at Sapphire. Her name is Bow. She has a very sweet personality. I almost wanted to ask her, "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" Evil

Mission accomplished! Together with another BM, I paid a visit to the orphanage and brought them most of what they needed. Interesting sidelight - On Monday night's FLB bar crawl, a girl in one of the bars asked me why I was drinking Coke Light since I'm known for rather copious consumption of stronger beverages. I told her I couldn't get maow as I was visiting Pattaya Orphange the next day. She immediately volunteered to come along. She said she couldn't give any money but wanted to help me in purchasing the donations and to visit the kids. She was aware Thais usually get a better price than farang. She refused the offer of a LD and didn't ask about a bar fine, even though she sat beside me the entire time she wasn't dancing. I was dubious that she would actually call me on Tuesday to firm things ups, but she did, at exactly the time we had agreed. She not only went along, but had a friend with her. We spent about 90 minutes interacting with the kids and taking a tour of the facilities. The girls absolutely loved it and the kids enjoyed the girls' attention. Children in an institutional environment often lag in learning to speak and language development because they don't get to spend enough time talking and listening to adults. They come to depend heavily on communicating through pointing, grunts and gestures. That's why it's good that Thai speakers come along on such visits and speak with the kids individually. It helps them learn Thai. The orphanage doesn't allow visitors to take photos of the kids anymore, but they have a staff member do it. They are supposed to forward me the photos in a few days and I'll see if there are any suitable for posting on the board. I will be doing another visit in December, probably during the week before Christmas. I'll know more about the exact date at the beginning of December and will keep BMs informed. Evil The volunteer from the bar: Attached Images

Thank you. Looks like I've solved the bed sheet issue. There's a hotel supply store on Pattaya Tai and Makro on Sukhumvit also has commercial bedding. Now it's just to strike a decent bargain. I'm generous with the girls, but I'm tighter than a Hungarian hobbit when it comes to dealing with businesses. Evil

Here's where I turn to the collective expertise of Pattaya Talk's members. I just found out the orphanage needs "Bed sheets (size 1.5x2 m./set) for 60 cots." Does anyone have an idea of a likely place to get a good deal when buying sheets in quantity? If I had more time, I could shop around, but circumstances have ganged up on me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Evil

I've arranged a visit tomorrow to bring donations to Pattaya Orphanage. The time is 1430 hours on Tuesday, Oct.30. Two of the guys who were going with me had to return suddenly to the U.S. to beat the disruption expected from Hurricane Sandy, so some spaces have suddenly opened up. You are also very welcome to bring along a TG (the girls love interacting with the kids and the kids really enjoy it, too). Here's how it works: PM me with your cellphone number and I'll call you back to set things up. Tomorrow morning, I'll call the Orphanage to find out what items are in need. I've hired a car and driver, so I can pick you up at about 1300 hours. We'll go to Big C or similar to buy whatever is needed, then on the Orphanage for about a 90 minute visit. Here's a link to a TR I did about an earlier visit: Making Merit ... Doing Good ... Having Fun. How much you choose to spend for the goods to be donated is entirely up to you. No amount is too small. Send me a PM if you think sounds like something you want to do. Sorry about the short notice, but that depends on circumstances. If you are going on the FLB bar crawl tonight, we can discuss details then. Thanks in advance.

Really enjoyed those. Will have to remember the race related starter pistol and Jack Russell jokes. Evil

I don't understand that either. You raised a perfectly valid point. The only reasonable explanation could be a "fat-finger" error. But I neutralized his negative vote with a plus vote. I'll send you a PM about how to determine if the individual you suspect has voted you down. Evil EDIT IN: Based on their rep voting, seems like the same person doesn't like you or me.

At Seattle it did, but I haven't seen it elsewhere. When I was going to step into the "feeder queue" for Customs, the "queue minder" who looked to see if everyone had their Customs Declarations filled in before entering the queue saw the G E "ticket" from the kiosk and directed me to me to the "Trusted Traveler" queue which didn't have any people. In practice, it meant I jumped over those waiting in the feeder queue and got the next available agent. Evil

You can say that again (and again and again) - all five of his posts are the same question, two of which are repeated in the same thread. Evil

For me, the big advantage with Global Entry is re-entry to the U.S. It takes only 30 seconds to clear the G E kiosks and never a wait. The lines for Immigration Control at JFK and EWR used to be horrendous. All the airports I've used for re-entry in the past few years (JFK, EWR, ORD, SEA SFO, LAX, IAD, IAH) have had Global Entry kiosks. The expedited domestic lanes are now in effect for United at Newark and that's the airport I mostly use. I don't know if was the Delta flight from Narita or a Japanese carrier, but there were a lot of elderly Asians in the line, many of whom had huge amounts of luggage. The CBP and ICE people were screening carefully, but that could have been because it was just before 9/11. Evil

I just got the email below today. It means some air passengers (myself included, since I'm a Global Entry member with a Global Entry card) won't have such a hassle during the U.S. domestic legs of air travel. You can keep your shoes and a suit or sports jacket, light jacket, sweater, etc. on during pre-flight screening. Laptops can stay in the case. Note: You have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for the program and it only applies to domestic travel. What surprised me in September was that there was a special Global Entry line for customs clearance at Seattle airport. I've been using the Global Entry kiosks for passport control almost since the program began, but had never experienced any benefit going through customs before other than they almost never subject "trusted travelers" to secondary checks. Three hundred people were in line for customs at Seattle and it looked like it would take a long time to get through, but I was allowed to stand in a special queue (no other people) that gave me the next available agent. He simply grabbed my Global entry kiosk "ticket" and waved me through. Evil The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is partnering with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for an initiative that allows eligible TSA Pre-Check passengers to qualify for expedited screening at participating airports. U.S. citizens, who are members of a CBP Trusted Traveler program, including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS are automatically eligible to participate and receive expedited screening benefits for domestic travel through the TSA Pre-Check initiative. TSA Pre-Check benefits include keeping shoes, light outerwear and belts on, keeping laptops in their cases, and leaving the 3-1-1 compliant liquids/gels bag in one’s carry-on during screening through TSA security checkpoints. Members interested in participating in TSA Pre-Check1 through their Trusted Traveler program membership must enter their PASS ID into the ‘Known Traveler’ field when booking a flight reservation or saving their PASS ID to their airline’s frequent flyer profile. Members can find their PASS ID either online by accessing their GOES account, or on the back of their membership card in the top-left corner. When traveling on one of the TSA Pre-Check participating airlines, CBP Trusted Traveler members should remember to provide the airline with their full name, date of birth, and PASS ID exactly as it appears in their CBP Trusted Traveler program online account to ensure they are properly considered for TSA Pre-Check . To learn more, visit www.globalentry.gov or www.tsa.gov.