xyzzy

It will be another date for me to avoid like Songkran.

The Ryder Cup started out as U.S. vs Great Britain. But the US won so often after WW2 that they changed it to U.S. vs Europe. In the last decade or so Europe has been kicking our ass. On odd numbered years it's the Presidents Cup which is U.S. vs an International Team minus Europe. The US has only lost that competition once in nine times it was played. Yes the U.S. is better in all sports. Especially soccer/football, cricket, lawn bowling (is that a sport?), rugby and Austrailian rules football.

Nice report D&C. You are going to force me to make it to Cebu before long.

I was in La Bamba one night with 5-6 other guys all quite experienced in the scene. I mentioned something about getting topped and they ALL responded, somewhat to my surprise, that they don't. Since then I've assumed the % was smaller than I though. Although admittedly that is a small sample size.

Great job Stealth. I presume you are talking the main bar area on Fields? I've never had a problem there at any hour. However once you get west of say Dr. Holmes at night it gets pretty dicey. There have even been some problems recently near the Petron station in daytime.

On the first map it looks like a very short walk. As Kendo mentioned it isn't. The second map is a little better. I walked and walked and almost gave up until I finally saw the Dr. V Cosmetic Surgery sign. There is a Google map on the Dr. V web site: http://www.drvcosmetic.com/contact.htm

You will find some LBs in some of the hostess bars on 104 and 136. It is a bit hit or miss at times but there are a few around.

Most of the places near Fields have both. Central Park has WiFi and LAN connections in the room.

Hotel California is a bit off the beaten track in AC. It's not a huge walk to the main action if you don't mind a bit of a walk. But I wouldn't walk it at night. So you will have to take a damn trike at night (motorcycle taxi with a covered sidecar that will charge too much). For safety it is advisable to not get too far away from the main area at night. I would suggest a hotel near the Fields Avenue entertainment area. So I probably wouldn't get a hotel much father west that ABC Resort ($$$$) http://www.acmap.com/map.asp?map=p6 or any farther east than MacArthur Highway. http://www.acmap.com/map.asp?map=f6 Pacific Breeze Hotel is a good suggestion, I stayed there once. In the past I have stayed at Central Park Hotel several times which is a bit cheaper. It is owned by the same people that own Pacific Breeze. No pool but I don't ever use a pool and one has access to the Pacific Breeze pool. I have also stayed at Swiss Chalet and Royal Amsterdam Hotel. I would recommend any of them. Just depends on what one wants and wants to spend. I am unsure if the last two mentioned are LB friendly but are certainly GG friendly. There are a few others very close to the entertainment area. Here is a good list: http://www.balibago....re_to_stay.html You can use the Fields map I referenced above to see the location of the hotels with respect to the entertainment area. The popular hotels near Fields can book full way in advance. So it's best to book as early as possible. Also reconfirm your booking (Pacific Breeze and Central Park will send you a conformation request Email about a week before you stay). AC is about the easiest place in the world to monger for GGs. But as this is a LB board it is not such and easy place for LBs. Especially if you are a solo rookie. So if that is your main goal you are likely better off starting out in Thailand. But AC is tons of fun for me. I have the URL of a good Philippine (especially AC) GG monger web site but not sure of the policy here of posting other possibly competing web sites??? Thanks pdogg! piatnight.com is a great GG web site for trip planning and information.

IMO a majority of mongers would not like Cambodia. I happen to be one that does. The GG scene is much smaller and different in a way that would be somewhat hard to explain. Just because a GG works in a hostess bar doesn't mean she will go with a customer. It can be irritating/confusing getting a understanding of who is available until you get the hang of things. And then on occasion one can still misfire. Also not all are experienced in what a western man likes from a girl on a "date". The LB scene is way, way smaller and LBs are seriously less accepted in Cambo than Thailand. You will likely have to work a bit to find available attractive LBs in any quantity. Cambo seems backward compared to LOS but I find that kind of nice. If you want to monger PP plan a 3-4 days trip, get as educated beforehand as possible and try it out. You can always go back longer next time or learn you prefer the sex on demand, full on party that is Pattaya. Most all of my friends that have been have not returned or returned one more time. They had the experience and moved on. One friend decided to move to PP. Different strokes for different folks and all that stuff.

Agreed, the difficulity of getting there (relativity speaking) is probably what keeps it a somewhat mellow tourist destination. Along with you know who having a residence.

As a life long bachelor some would say my house is the debris room...

I forgot to comment on this the first time. I had to get my own insurance a few years ago at at age 52. I got $5000 deductible health insurance for $332 a month. In three years time it went up to $522. You might expect some nasty surprises around the first of each year. Crossing 50, 55 and 60 seem to make it worse. As far as I'm concerned I felt like they gave me a low ball price and then they really jacked the rate every year. I'm now on a VERY high deductible government plan and still paying a lot.

xyzzy was the "secret word" of the first known computer adventure game back before computers had monitors. I thought it was really clever but just confuses 99% of FM. Dental floss tycoon??

I was there in March of 08. I went in a couple of times. Once I was the only customer. The next time I was the only customer and bought all 8-10 LBs a drink at the same time at something like US$1 each. Another guy came in later but all the girls were sitting with me so he turned around and left. I also bar fined there once but it wasn't a great experience. 70 LBs unleashed around Pub Street would make quite a scene. The whole main tourist area isn't real big.10 LBs would be quite a scene. But I haven't been back to SR since that first trip so maybe it's changed a bit.

During my second trip to Costa Rica a female tourist asked me if I wanted to move to CR like seemingly everyone else that visits does. I replied "I haven't spent enough time here yet to know why I don't want to live here."

Interesting developement, I went to a labyboy bar there a few years ago (Mambor?). It didn't last very long. Sadly BKK Air has a monolopy on the route from BKK. You will pay dearly.

In the beginning I was going to eventually move to Thailand. I could move tomorrow if I wanted. My longest attempted trip was 6 months to Pattaya during the winter. Four months was more than enough. I ran off to Cambodia and Philippines for a change of pace. Now my trips are down to around a month or two as it's hard for me to endure traveling in cattle class for less amount of time. But I move around on trips and two weeks in Pattaya starts to get tedious. I own a home and have the added expense of maintaining it while I am gone. I also live out in the country with no nearby neighbors. A few years ago, while I was gone, I had some vandalism to the house and especially my truck. Did a fair amount of mindless damage and my friends had to retrieve my truck, from where it was towed by the police, in the middle of winter with most of the glass missing. I perhaps hate having to impose on my friends like that more than suffering the damage. At least they caught the idiots as they hung around for hours until someone noticed. I'm some years away from the age were the government will be paying most of my medical but have been retired for 6 years. I'm paying through the nose for high deductible medical coverage that doesn't even cover me outside the US. It becomes harder and harder to justify a long trip with all the expenses I have at home and the added PITA of worrying about things like vandalism. Although it is so nice to miss part of the cold, cold Colorado winter. I now return you to the Jaded Burnout Club.

The TT rate shown on the link I posted is very near what you will get when you use your foreign debit/credit card and is higher than the cash exchange rate at the same bank. What fees are taken out I have no idea but one will still receive more than the cash rate. I almost always use an ATM during the day, go home put my cash in the safe and then go online to figure out my exchange rate. It is typically 0.2+- baht per dollar. Disclaimer: I haven't been to Thailand in six month. Back when the Thai ATMs didn't charge a fee I had a debit card that charged no fees at all. So I was always getting better than the cash exchange rate at any Thai ATM. When the banks started the ATM fee I was still able to do the same at AEON ATMs. Although AEON ATMs are generally harder to find unless you are lucky and have one nearby. About a year ago my financial institution was taken over by another that created a 1% foreign conversion fee. The difference between the cash exchange rate and the TT rate almost makes up for that 1% if I use a free ATM. It doesn't make up the total difference but makes it close enough I don't take cash. However that means seeking out an AEON ATM which can be a PITA. In reality, these days, I usually transfer what I think I will spend to my Kasikorn account and then when that isn't enough I use my debit card. But the transfer costs $40, plus I think, a little fee on the Kasikorn end. So unless I transfer at least $4000 I'm still above 1%. Ya just can't win (I would have to pay for travelers checks). Not so fast my well traveled friend. :-) I carry two debit cards. The second one use to charge a 2% foreign exchange fee. I could use either card in Cambodia with no fee as the ATMs dispense US dollars. However the bank that owns the second card got clever and changed the wording from "foreign exchange fee" to "foreign transaction fee". So now they get their 2% regardless of what type of currency I get. But that is mostly my emergency card so generally doesn't get used. I also had to use Canadia ATMs in Phnom Penh to avoid a basic ATM fee. There is a Canadia bank branch (with ATM) inside the Sorya Mall and an ATM outside. Most of the other ATMs charged $2 except ANZ that charges $4. And some ATMs don't warn you there will be a fee. Disclaimer: It's been about 18 months since I was in Cambodia. Sorry for the diatribe. As you can tell I'm rather anal about the subject. High ATM fees is one of my pet peeves. But you are there and I am not so maybe it has all changed.

Thanks. Sorry you slightly confused me there. I always get a better rate with my debit card than with cash exchange. Typically the TT rate at the link I posted. About 0.2+ baht per dollar better than cash. That of course if one doesn't have to pay the damn 150 baht AM fee,

Yes I've used this one before but it is pretty far out of the way for most tourists types. Which is why I didn't mention it. There is a branch in Naklua somewhere but I never figured out exactly where. My bank charges $40 for foreign transfers. Yes always transfer money in your local currency. However best I can tell last time I transfered to Kasikorn I got the TT rate or close to it. Here is another site where you can see the rates of a number of banks: http://bankexchanger...et/default.aspx

CITI Banks also don't charge an ATM fee (or didn't). But I've heard questionable things about their exchange rate. In BKK there is a CITI Bank at the corner of Asoke and Sukhumvit. Maybe someone has better/recent details. In BKK I've used the ATM at AEON Branch Terminal 21. Click on Larry's link and then click: Branch Network It is #7. It's about 1000 feet farther up Asoke in a skyscraper just off Asoke. It's a regular branch bank and the ATMs are inside. Unsure about availability at night. Is there one closer to NEP? The AEON ATM at Big C Extra (formally Carrefour) on Pattaya Klang (Pattaya) is a Cash Dispenser/Deposit machine. Which means Thais use to to make deposits and all manner of banking transactions. You can be in line at that one for quite a while on occasion. Follow the signs to the bathrooms on the ground floor and it is the 4th ATM down the hall.

I actually sort of used the word on purpose. Most of the English guys I know that used the word in the past mutated it to seppo a few years ago. Like most insult words that get overused it sort of becomes a joke to those being insulted and they start using the word themsleves. I guess it still bothers FB. To each his own. Black people these days sometimes refer to each other jokingly/jockularity/male bonding using the N word. A word I will still not utter. Even though I am a honkey and a cracker. It's still quite interesting if not distracted watching the game to watch the bar girls. But after reading your story I certainly understand. Any chance the EPL is back on Sophon Cable this season? A few years ago when it was on Sophon it was great when I needed a down night. I would stay in on Saturday night and watch soccer. Now don't get mad, the word soccer was invented in England. One of the things I like about Phnom Penh is the EPL games were always on cable. Yes, those of us that like to be up at 4-11 AM drinking beer. But I do catch a Bronco game from time to time. So good info. I need to get back to LOS. I'm getting so out of touch.

When I first went to Thailand in 2006 I was a typical septic that could care less about football/soccer/world game/whatever. It was great going to the bars as all the British guys paid no attention to the girls during matches and the girls were bored to death. I pretty much had the pick of the litter as I actually paid attention to the girls. But I hung out with a Thai GG for a while that was a big Liverpool fan the year they did so well in the Champions league. We would go out on the town at night and party, go to my place and fool around a bit then grab some food and booze and watch the game. I gradually got addicted and now I also sit at the bars and stare at the TV. I still don't care for the pro game in America as the crowds are often barely large enough to be considered a crowd and that causes a lack of atmosphere IMO. But I pretty much keep up to date on the EPL and Champ league. A strange Thailand side affect.

I love the Bourne trilogy but have the same problem with the jerky camera moves. I think it's was a phase movie makes went though a few years ago.