4:17

Other than a few bus routes having to be changed, life in BKK has been normal; remember, these aren't the same folk who protested last time (the pro-Thaksin party Red Shirts) but their opposite number (although they haven't donned yellow shirts this time). In fact the opposition party is being lead by the former PM that signed the order to crack down on the red-shirt protesters and clear them out of the city in 2010. People on both sides are getting a little fed up with the protests now that the Thaksin amnesty bill was voted down, which was originally the protesters' main goal; protest leaders haven't really made clear what the reasons/goals are behind the continued demonstrations -- even opposition leaders in parliament have begun to question what's going on; protest leaders have naturally stopped short of saying they want to overthrow the government (although I think it's pretty obvious that's what the ex-PM wants). Now that the government has authorized peace keeping measures if necessary throughout Bangkok, it will be interesting to see if the protesters -- mainly middle- and upper-class Bankok residents (as opposed to last time) -- have the fortitude to continue to man the barricades. I was riding the Skytrain on Sunday night from Victory Monument, and a bunch of protesters were heading back home after the demonstration -- strange seeing hi-so Chinese Thai demonstrators in dockers and polo shirts with the collars turned up, 555, comparing photos on their smartphones, as opposed to the rural farmer Red Shirts of a few years ago -- as I say, a huge contrast (I was living in Thailand at that time as well, and was in Bangkok the weekend after the crackdown). Given the fact that most of the protesters come from Bangkok white-collar backgrounds, it seems unlikely the protests will turn violent; but then you get a bunch of people in one place all riled up; it doesn't take much. As we say, TiT ...

I was having the problem with the latest version of Firefox; I was able to post just now with no problems (nothing missing) on the La Bamba account (in Chrome), including uploading a photo. I came here to note that, and now everything seems to be in order ... Let's try a photo ... well, it sort of works. When I use the advanced uploader, once the file is uploaded, it doesn't show that a file is uploaded, and I can't "attach" it wherever I would like within the post, but it does show up as attached when the "add reply" button is clicked. I had the same phenomenon with the basic uploader, with the exception that the file would show as uploaded, but then would dissappear when "attached." And yes, I cleaned out the cache, 555. As I say, the advanced uploader worked just fine in Chrome. Also, here in Firefox, I can see the bar with the smilies and the editing options, and while I can make changes to text, when I click on the emoticons, nothing happens (as in the bar below the post window doesn't appear).

Except that there's no options bar above this sentence, for formatting text and whatnot (emoticons, etc.), even when I hit the "more reply options button. That only gives me the option to attach a photo. ... But no way that I can see to actually embed/insert the photo that I've uploaded ... I've got two browse buttons with filenames next to them, indicating the file has been uploaded, but no actual "attach" button. ... When I click "Try our basic uploader" it just takes me to the top of the page. I'd attach an image, but ... well ... you know ... And yet it got magically attached anyway. I guess ...

Ding ding ding! We have a winnah! Being a pervert who enjoys both kinds of ladies, I'm like a kid in a candy story in that complex. ...

Bump. I can see no one guessing the whereabouts of the vehicle, but surely someone else has noticed Piss Bar before? It's not like it's easily missed, 555.

I don't know about that car. Piss on it. In fact piss on this thread. And piss on this bar, while I'm at it: I kid, I kid. And I imagine someone (other than BB, P. Dogg, JS and myself) will know where the Piss Bar is. Piss Bar ... TiT.

Oi, those boys were way way to much boy and not nearly enough fem for my tastes. The femmiest boy in that place makes Famous' current crew all look like paragons of feminine grace and beauty, 555. It may be a slippery slope, but it ain't covered in Astroglide, 555. At least you guys held to my proviso of no boys dancing in tidy whities. But wtf was up with the socks!? Note, I said *socks* -- not stockings, hose, etc. ... socks. To each his own, I guess. Sorry for the OT; carry on. ...

Perusing this thread while wee lil' Nancy, Famous' resident pixie, snoozes away the afternoon next to me. Irony?

Sold it for a million baht, according to one of her former employees, which I find a bit difficult to believe. But then she was well into her cups at that point and may have been exaggerating. ...

The mosque on Third Road, I reckon?. Man if this is the same one, at night they have that place lit up like Mardi Gras/Christmas, 555.

And Ninewives ought to appreciate that last batch, 555.

Found it. But on second thought, considering the bar she works in now, I'll be on the s-list right quick if I post it here. Maybe it will surface ... elsewhere.

You can't tell from that angle, but Aom had a near wardrobe malfunction. I'll see if I can dig one up out of the stack ...

Thanks for the kind words, gents. BB, glad I could substitute for you with your camera since you couldn't make it. Aside from a few snaps with BB's camera, between the tournament and the banquet I took 328 photos with my DSLR, and another 8 with my phone. I'll have the La Bamba photos up on the site soon; I'll post the best of the rest here in the near future ... In the meantime, here's a nod to the winning team:

Pansaa is indeed over, but moderation is the name of my game. Only a couple of long-overdue glasses of Laphroig (straight up, of course -- fortunately I caught the bartender before he poured it over ice) at Tahitian Queen to break my alcohol fast with Rt. 67 and Rickshaw, followed by a few Sangsom/Sodas at Famous and one at FC Bar. That's it until next week. ;) Well I do owe a certain cutie a drink; that may be seen too tonight ... Can't imbibe at the La Bamba party; have to get up at oh-my-fucking-God:30 in the morning the next day to do a phone interview with someone back in the States. Gotta pay dem bills. ... So if anyone gets messy, it shan't be me, 555. After three months that Laphroig went down pretty fucking good, I have to say. BTW, before someone gets their panties in a bunch, yes this OT; my apologies. Ciobha started it.

I managed to resist the fishnet sans bra, but then I was there shooting pool when she came down after her first (presumably) short time, 555. I beat her the first two games we played, and she wanted to bet on the second. So when I won that one, I offered her double or nothing, with the proviso that I got a rain check on the barfine for the ensuing weeks. I had to catch the last bus out to my end of the burbs anyway, so I was out the door shortly after 10. She's a right cracker, and make no mistake. So is l'il wee Beer.

Yes, they are, and it still looks the same. Was just there last night, spending some time on the pool table with Miss Jane (won 2 out of 3 games we played, but the last one lost was for a double or nothing bet -- now I owe her two bar fines, 555. I should know to quit while I'm ahead. But it's a win-win if there ever was one). And yes, it is easy to miss, but usually worth the trip. It's only a 5 minute walk from Phrom Pong BTS, after all. And it's one of the few (only?) dedicated LB bars with a tolerable liquor selection (i.e., they stock a single malt scotch).

This implies there is some other kind of toilet in Pattaya?

This might not be the bar for you then, 555. In my experience, you will not be left alone, even when you are already sitting with a girl/ladyboy, having bought her drinks and agreed to take her home. It is not for the faint of heart, especially in the wee hours after many of the usual bars have closed. You could always try an appeal to the mamasan, June. ... Re: toilets, after 1 or 2 a.m., you have to hike down to soi 7 -- that's the closest public 5-baht pissoir at that time of night (or duck into a nearby hotel and stare down the security people, 555).

It is indeed.

I'm not putting this in Name that Shot, as I imagine it's fairly well known, the Pattaya pissoir this shot was taken in. I merely put it here because 1) it has always amused me, this sign (and I finally got around to snapping a shot of it) and 2) I actually had the opportunity to use this word in my Thai language class the other day (the word does indeed translate as dilapidated). In any event, this toilet has been dilapidated (not merely broken) for more than a year now. ... In fact it wouldn't surprise me if someone has posted it before. If it's a repeat, my apologies to the audience at large.

And ... uh ... you just had that particular image laying around on your hard drive, eh ? 555

La Bamba's newest staff member, Lena, has it in for me. She's a cute kid (despite the eye boogers), really sweet, but can get rather aggressive when indulging her foot fetish, as documented here. Seems she likes to bite toes (not unlike some girl I took from Obsessions once). Fortunately, I was able to subdue the nefarious fiend in the end: If only it were that simple with all the aggressive ones. P.S. Galaxy Note's image sensor not up to N8's standards, unfortunately. P.P.S. Most recent photo uploading snafu seems to have been resolved. There was much rejoicing.

That's really sad, on a number of levels. I can imagine the Vietnamese being reserved enough not to say anything to her. Thais, however ... I don't think she would have gotten away with it in Thailand.

Whenever I would ride my bike -- bicycle -- in Sai Gon or Bien Hoa, whenever I got to my destination I always felt such a rush: "Hot damn! I'm still alive! Fuck yeah!" You take your life in your hands anytime you walk out your front door of course, and riding anywhere is potentially dangerous. But learning to ride in Vietnamese traffic -- that's an ultimate thrill (makes riding in San Francisco traffic kind of ho-hum). Just going to the grocery store or to the bank to pay my rent -- always a thrilling adventure in this part of the world.