dixon cox

Wow, they value the capture of these two fugitives 15,000 Baht less than one single law-abiding foreigner is required to financially prove as income per month in order to remain within the Kingdom as a retiree.

I haven't been to Village No.10 for years.

During daytime running I believe the buses from Swampy alternate between the Jomtien bus and the Bell Bus service every hour, so it's two hours between your preferred bus. Being a Pattaya resident I prefer the Bell Bus as I get taken directly to my place of residence without hassle and all part of a single ticket. I noted last time (April 2019) that they now charge extra for additional baggage on their booking website. If I just miss my preferred bus or am unable to get a ticket for the next one in reasonable time I will then consider taking a taxi. Depending what mood I'm in I may hover around to see if there is another single traveller in the same position as me in the hope that we could share. I don't mnd sharing a taxi. Last time I returned from BKK to Pattaya using Nam's Taxi - Lady drivers. I'm in no hurry to use them or a service like that again unless my arrival time is outside normal travel hours. The female driver was a right miserable cunt and had an attitude because the flight had been delayed, which was hardly my fault.

For about a week Nicky's have been offering an 'Early Bird Special' breakfast for B130, it is available from 8am to 11am. It is the same as the normal breakfast, as shown above in Duke's post, minus the cereal and the optional extra cuppa. In other words, it is the second of the two images. Always good to have options but personally, if having a cooked breakfast, I'd always take the normal Nicky's breakfast for B165 without the time restriction. I don't eat that many cooked breakfasts but all this talk and thought of it has got my taste buds tingling. I think I'll have one later, for afternoonsies.

If I didn't pay extra for thinness mine would be like that. Last time I wanted nerdy news-reader glasses but bottled it. I wore contact lenses for about 35 years. In the end it just became more cost effective to buy glasses instead now that I'm retired and not working. I don't mind wearing glasses at all now, but in my earlier years the thought horrified me. I made the switch about 5 years ago and waited for the finger-pointing, but it never came. Just a sprinkling said "you look different, what have you done?" Nobody else gives a shit. I should've made the switch years ago. My eyesight is poor without correction. On the other hand my hearing is irritatingly good.

The benefits of being long-sighted. I'm short-sighted and my last pair of bi-focals cost B12,000 from Euro Optic on 2nd Road, opposite Royal Garden Plaza, believe it or not. My previous pair of single-focals from there were B8,000. The work and service there is very good, although it's not cheap and probably cheaper to get from your own country. I used to have 4 glazed pottery-style ashtrays at home, the type you often see in the bars. I have a habit of falling asleep on the sofa and depending whether the cat is hogging one end of it, or not, my feet may dangle over the arm rest at the other end in close proximity to the side table where my over-flowing ashtray resides. Yes, Mr Clumsy has gone through all 4 of his glazed pot ashtrays being woken startled as each in turn has crashed to the ground when playing footsie in my sleep. In steps Mr DIY who have a set of metal plates in varying sizes, one of which is 10cm in diameter and costs 9 Baht. A perfect little ashtray, unbreakable, although one has a slight dent in it now. I bought four. Two still sit on the shelf under my sink, unused. Mr DIY stores are very useful to have around. I've bought lots of odds and ends from them over time. I won't list any more items with a short story attached, otherwise we'd be here forever.

I'll definitely watch The Irishman at some stage, but not at a movie theatre. Other people can be irritating and distracting, I'd rather download it and watch it solo in peace and quiet at home. I barely watch movies these days, if I do it's movies I've usually seen before and thoroughly enjoyed. So much junk on offer these days which seems to cater for a much different and younger demographic than me. Most of my home screen time is spent watching some of the excellent TV series' which exist. There are so many and at any given time you only need to commit yourself to 45 minutes or an hour at most. As opposed to a movie which can often run into several hours, which is a lot of time to set aside in one sitting. With the internet in general, Youtube etc., our attention spans have reduced and our tolerence for dedicating several hours for a movie have passed. Certainly for me, I think. However, TV episodes I can watch multiples on the bounce, but those hours are taken in 45 minute or hour chunks so at any given time I don't feel like I'm committing too much time in one go, as you do for a movie.

Bangkok112's recent video includes the Dynsey Boutique Hotel and surrounds, including La Dolce Vita. I spent many, many months in Phnom Penh between 6 and 8 years ago and looking at this video the city has changed considerably with all the construction. I think they call it 'progress'.

It looks like Cindy. I saw Jimbo loitering outside Sweethearts a week or so ago but didn't make the connection. I was having a snout outside Nicky's over the road and as I tend not to call out to people he was unaware of my presence. Now it all makes sense.

I've visited TJ's perhaps 3 times in my life and those were all well before Jimbo took on the venue, or before I moved to Pattaya over 7 years ago. Nothing in particular against Jimbo or TJ's, it's more to do with inconsistencies in getting there. Although my baht bus trips were a long time ago I do recall them never being the same and I found that off-putting and it stayed with me. I dislike moto-si taxis and would only consider those if there were no other options. In the other direction, to Jomtien, the chances of baht buses straying off-route or deciding they've gone far enough and make a random turn is somewhere between zero and none. Hopefully Jimbo will add to the options somewhere more easily accessible and I suspect, in time, staff will migrate towards him as the grass is always greener, leaving TJ's to revert back to what it has always been; a mixed local's bar with dogs.

Whenever I think of Street 172 I always think of the 4-cheese lasagna at La Dolce Vita. It's the blue cheese that does it - Bloody delicious! Yes.

Roll on the day when we hear a massive 'POP' as Thailand's bubble finally bursts. Can't wait. Thailand has grown too big for its junta boots. Nothing to do with airline messages, just felt like saying it.

I agree. I like Friendship and go quite often, but some things I refuse to buy there, such as grapes. Their bread is nice but despite opening at 7am the fresh bread of the day isn't placed out on the shelves until around 8 or 8.30am. Good to get there early when in need, as later on in the day most of it will have touched by 100's of human hands as it is almost all 'naked'. There's a single set of seemingly 'never-washed' tongues, but most don't seem to bother using them. Back to the grapes. Friendship cost about B160 for a 8x5 inch (?) tray of grapes. In Big C they cost about half that and the grapes are stacked higher, plus all the pips are dealt with. Big C has a better bakery section too. I pay my 3BB manually every few months at their office in Big C Extra and always buy lots of grapes and bakery items from the supermarket whenever I go. I also like the small Malee fruit in syrup cans, longan or rambutan, usually. One style comes with a plastic lid containing a plastic folded-up spoon inside. In Friendship they are B55 each, that's outrageous! They were on sale once for B22 and I bought loads. I've seen them in 7-Elevens often for B33. A tasty little afters.

I was planning on booking the Bell Bus a few days ago, it was priced at B280. However, one thing I didn't notice last time (this time last year) was that there is now a rising scale of surcharges for baggage. >20kg was included in the base price of B280, one piece of hand luggage was allowed too. 20-29kg was an additional B50. The prices continued to go up in stages depending upon quantity and weight, I can't remember what they were now. Anyway, after filling in all the boxes my credit card was declined (for around £7.20), so I didn't bother trying again. The same credit card bought my Emirates flight without issue. I wonder if it was made worse by electing to pay in £'s, rather than Baht. I'll take a taxi on my own, already booked it. For this once a year journey I can't be bothered with the hassle of Bell Travel Service's website anymore, plus all this extra cash I have burning a hole in my pocket since having to send myself B65k per month to meet visa extension requirements means I just don't know what to spend it all on

This is my current favourite from youtube .. I'm a dude. Me, I know who I am. I'm a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude.

When you look at the cost of a single drink, lady-drink, or barfine the change is negligible. But when added-up over time it is very significant. Exchange rates make a tremendous difference. When I first got my retirement visa 5 years ago the requirements for the subsequent extension were B65k per month, or B800k deposited into a Thai bank account (or combination). Back in 2014 @ B55 to £1 .. B800k would have cost just over £14,500 and B65k would have cost 1,200. Now, 5 years later, in 2019 @ B40 to £1 .. the same B800k will cost £20,000 and B65k will cost £1,600. Those are significant increases. With recent announcements that proof of funds for retirement extensions will be mandatory from 1st March 2019 will certainly put the wind up many expats who previously used other methods to get around the requirement. For many, with Thai families and homes, children etc., they will simply not have either the pension or foreign income to meet the demands, or an available lump sum to put into a Thai bank which, incidentally, must not drop below B400k at any time, plus the B800k seasoning period has been increased to 5 months. Times are getting tougher in the land of smiles.

There's zero skill required in spending money, any plank can do that. However, what would be admirable is if those bragging about the length of their Check-In check bins instead stated that they were foregoing their so-called 'amazing' night out and donated what they intended to spend on it to charity instead, plus what they would have donated anyway. Some of the best nights out I've ever had have been done on less than B1k, some much less. Throwing money around and then subsequently bragging about it doesn't make you look big and clever, it makes you look insecure with no real friends.

Clip removed at source.

Bali Hai?

I suppose it can only be a good thing. However, with Thailand's sorry reputation for moving the goalposts every 5 minutes only the brave (or stupid) would invest in this Kingdom. For any sane being it will be a long, long time before confidence can fully develop for a country where bribery is rife, corruption de rigueur, and military rule the order of the day. Only when it's safe to drink the tap-water and legally purchase land would I ever re-consider. Rubbing-out 1,000's of regulations will not prevent the myriad of injustices which bestow the farang, when versus Thai. Same rules should continue to apply in this part of the world: Never invest more than you're prepared to lose.

Yep, a few of us had a beer in Titti Twister Bar during the early hours a few nights ago. It was good. Instead of running the gauntlet along that section of Buakhao and barely grabbing a sideways glance, much like Fantasy, it is nice to just take a front row seat and watch the goings on with the girls versus passers-by, and between themselves. With Fantasy Lounge on its right and the ladyboy massage on its left, each with plenty of ours in various stages of development standing outside and generally milling around, made for some of the best front seats on the street. A nice, hassle-free, late-night venue. They have a pool table too. I recall San Miguel and Heineken being B65, while Chang and Tiger etc. were B60.

There would be three likely sides to every story: The boardmember's, the ladyboy's, and the truth. Making unsubstantiated accusations based upon gossip and half-truths across the internet is a dangerous game. To do it to a Thai could end with them reporting you to the police for defamation of character (or words to that effect), even if it's true. Reports of this nature have been reported a number of times, which also included posting images of a Thai girl in an embarrassing situation (room pics). In my opinion, the personal details and information regarding a person such as; full name, address, work place, photograph etc., should never be disclosed by any person other than the person them self, if they choose to do so. However, some people choose to divulge large chunks of their lives to the masses via the internet and social media already, so linking to their own posting entries, such as their Facebook page, could be acceptable under certain circumstances and conditions.

Good on him. Best thing he's done since The River.

The dangers of Beach Road freelancers .. ooh, the buzz!