4:17

Going to Mike's Pattaya Mexican Restaurant tonight, the Mexican restaurant JaiDee praised in the restaurant thread. Probably around 6:30 ish. I'll be on Thai time, most likely, which means anytime between 6 and 7 p.m. Anyone wants to come you are most welcome, of course. Time to give the PBG routine a bit of a break and stuff my gob with a burrito.

I'll be there at 6pm .... on Thai time.

I'm in.

Oooh, this one's gonna drive me crazy. I remember that sign, I remember who I was with/went home with, but not much else form that night ... I vaguely remember karaoke; maybe BB is in the ballpark, so to speak?

Love it or leave it. From a cultural perspective, the Thais are logical; it's just that their logic differs from ours, as do the Vietnamese, the Japanese ... hell, even American logic differs from Canadian logic, from British and so on ad infinitum. Of course the same thing happens when it comes to matters of aesthetics and taste. They don't understand why we have big toilet thrones; we don't understand why they have squat toilets. We don't understand why they don't separate the shower area from the rest of the bathroom; they don't understand why we do. They think a lot of our food sucks, many of us think most of their food sucks (some of us are enlightened, of course). Personally, I don't care for bar bands/cover bands, no matter how good they are. Been there/done that (of course I realize I'm in the minority here). In fact, if they are good, it just seems that much more of a shame that they aren't playing original music, if they're that talented. But then I don't care for the karaoke screech fests, either. I think it all comes down to a matter of economics: what the market will bear. We may be paying customers and we may all complain about the Isaan ear splitting music, yet we keep going back and barfining girls and buying drinks. The recent b-day party in Sensations was a case in point. Place was packed with dudes spending money all night. *shrugs*

Oh, I know! But I guess I'm disqualified, eh? Nevertheless, should be an easy one for this lot.

Great shots as always, RX. What rig were you using?

That's fucking hysterical! Makes me miss San Francisco (so to speak). And it's not Judas Priest though. Just sayin' ...

Running a few minutes late; having a little pow-wow with Nok ... and no not *that* kind of pow-wow ...

You must have been in some alternate universe Obsessions, 555. Don't get me wrong, I love the place, but this makes me nervous, as in "Who are you and what have you done with the real Riga?"

Don't think I'm going to make it in time. Someone give Sam a sloppy wet one for me. Or you can just shake his hand. Up to you.

Glad to see you here GE! i If you can't spare a few days in BKK, I'll try to swing a weekend in Bucket. Especially after seeing Nicole in La Bamba last night!

Party addendum: there's a pig to be roasted!

It's Jen's birthday tonight and there will be a small party in the bar tonight. Jen wanted it to be low key, hence no prior announcements. Right now I'm sitting in the bar with herself, blowing ... balloons. 555. No, really. Anyone pops my balloons and it will be pistols at dawn.

And to get to Sailor Bar for some eats because we were fookin' hungry.

Will confirm what brother Ciobha said, Patty does indeed have the "real" blonde hair, as in her real hair dyed/bleached blonde. She parted ways with La Bamba sometime before/around Christmas, Ciobha; I didn't ask for details -- figured that was best -- but gathered it was at least more or less amicable; at least that's what Nok implied. I think if she wanted to return to La Bamba at some point in the future that would be possible, but I suspect she is more cut out personality-wise for freelancing. But that's just my 2 baht.

Of course, here in Thailand, a thumbs up can mean that you are angry or otherwise unhappy with someone. Let me clarify beyond doubt, indeed I am not angry at the chicken, but gesturing with said thumb in the Western sense, as in approval. And don't worry; Thais used to dealing with farang usually understand the thumbs up gesture the way would use it. ... And that is your pedantic, off-topic lesson for the day.

I recently tagged along on a Saturday afternoon with BB to this place, to see if it lived up to his hype. It does, and I say that as a Yank with a Daddy from the South who was persnickety about his chicken, to say the least. It is fucking tasty -- and after which you can enjoy some tasty fucking, this being Pattaya, but I digress -- and the light, as they say, for something deep fried; not greasy at all compared to typical fried chicken. Enjoy with our without the sweet chili sauce the Thais like to use on chicken. Recommended beverage: a big bottle of Beer Chang. Be prepared to fend off would-be moochers if you eat on the Beach Road beach (Bitch! You ain' gettin' none of it. This is my chicken. Mine!). It's worth the trip up to Pattaya Klang ...

Eh, to each his own, I guess. For me charming them is half the fun, sweet-mouthed devil that I am. In fact when they don't respond to being charmed, I tend to be turned off. I've found that the charmed ones often tend to uh ... go the extra mile, shall we say, back in the room, too, so there's that. And bear in mind, as those who have met me will attest, I'm 40-something and no prize in the looks department.

Now, now,you just have to be patient and charm her. Woo Miss Wil,if you would, and you will, perhaps, achieve your goal. Actually that was all just an excuse to alliterate and pun ....

No way, dude. I've heard tales of why he's called "Big" Tel ... Speaking of which, thanks for the kind words, Big Tel.

Without question, an utter gobshite. But a loveable, jaidee gobshite.

Agree with Sam, it isn't so much a scam as it is just a natural way to act in the bar, where their job is to separate customers from as much baht as possible. This scene has probably happened to most of us at least one time or another; I know it's been attempted with me on numerous occasions. One of the reasons I like the low-key bars like La Bamba, Darkside, Guess, etc. One way to avoid it, particularly if you are new to the scene, is walk in and ask for the mamasan. Buy her a drink and ask her if she can sit with you for a moment, as you want to ask some questions about the girls. Usually they are happy to do this -- although the mamasan can also be a pain in the arse -- and the ladies will be afraid to do anything other than try and make eye contact with you. I did this my first time in Cascades years ago -- having read it on a forum -- and it worked great. Another method is just to be firm and say you are making the rounds of the bars, and may be back later. Then do just that, pop back in later. This may backfire, as your intended may be with another customer -- but then there is plenty of low-hanging fruit in a place like Nana Plaza. As others have mentioned, you can always be polite yet firm. Buy the other girl a drink but explain you came to see this other one. If you are nice about it, usually it doesn't result in any drama or perceived loss of face. Usually. With more experienced girls, it will be no problem. With younger girls, girls who think they are new superstars, etc., it can get more sticky if they think they are losing face. Worse comes to worse, at that point ask to speak to the mamasan. You might be surprised how this causes drama to dissolve -- of course it can also make it worse; just have to use your own judgment. And on the other hand -- and back to the original topic -- sometimes I've just gone with the flow (actually more often than not) and been pleasantly surprised back in the loom. The converse is true; the chemistry with one's intended just isn't there.

I would have been surprised if it hadn't been at the top of the list, quite frankly. But then, having said that, it's also my favorite (with caffeine being a close second).

Ah. That's too bad. I had Nancy, Kung, Moo and Lights Out Janet here, primed and ready for a counter backdoor assault. Just think of the movie we could have made about the assault: Zero Fap 30. 5555