My Bangkok Blog

XL - 3XL In 6 Years - Massage in Samut Phrakan

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:47:00 +0000

I got a big shock the other day when I realised that during the last 6 years I have gone from wearing XL shirts to 3XL ! That is outrageous and it is pissing me off ! I should have seen it coming but stuck my head in the sand very much like Gordon Brown and the others did over the economy. Anyway, I can't see any easy way to reverse whats happened to my size but something has to be done.

As of now I am reducing the days when I consume alcohol to only 3 days out of 7 instead of 6 days out of 7. That alone will help my bank balance, health and hopefully lose me a few Kgs. I have also dusted off my weights in my room. I was going to go to the gym as well but I need to buy some new trainers first. My current pair are covered in mould and other nasties - due to lack of use.

Well thats my plan, all I need is the motivation to do it. Anyone want to sponsor me? :)

Moving on, I need to tell you about my recent experiences in 2 small massage shops in the Samut Phrakan area that I visited recently. Now, these shops were not like most of the ones you find in Sukhumvit where a HJ (and more) is easy to obtain. The girl I had in each shop would not entertain giving me a HJ not even when Baht was mentioned. But each one did massage my balls and the surrounding groin area paying particular attention to between my balls and ass. They all did this until I climaxed ! To top it all they didn't want any money for doing it.

Its as though it was alright because they didnt touch my penis and was part of the massage!

Flight London - Bangkok - Unaffected By UK Public Sector Strikes

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:12:00 +0000

Well, it has been that time again. I have just returned to Bangkok after spending 3 weeks in Blighty. I can safely say it was the most miserable time in recent memory :)

To cap it all my return flight was booked for 30th November, the same day public sector workers had decided to hold a 24 hour strike. Despite horror stories of chaos to be expected at Heathrow airport, there was none. None at all. In fact terminal 4 was the quietest I have ever seen it.

Anyway, I just want to share with you my experiences of Egypt Air, the airline I flew from Bangkok to London with. This was the return leg of a booking made 12 moths ago. The long and the short of it all is that I will never fly with them again.

Never, not even if they are the cheapest airline by far, and they should be ! The service was absolutely diabolical with miserable cabin attendants who appeared not to give a monkeys about the passengers.

On the leg from Bangkok to Cairo I had two small cups of apple juice and something that was meant to be chicken. I already knew there would be no alcohol on the plane but I thought I would have been allowed more than two cups of apple juice ! I asked for a third cup on three occasions but never did get it... the attendants seemed more interested in chatting amongst themselves or just keeping out of the way.

The leg from Cairo to Bangkok was slightly better, I slept most of the way :)

So my advice to you is do not use Egypt Air unless you have no alternative.

I flew back from London to Bangkok with Etihad Airways - a far better experience. But as with every time I have flown with them, and this time was no exception, there was a good choice of food on the menu card but when they actually got to serve you they only had chicken ! I actually see the menu card as a complete waste. Surely they could be binned and help to save a tree or two.

Anyway, now that I am back in Bangkok I feel much better.

Oh, by the way, can anyone tell me why you have to take your laptop out of its case at Heathrow for the x ray check, but at a lot of other airports you don't ?

Udon Thani - First Impressions - One Night Only

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:50:00 +0000

I had a day to spare coming back from Laos so I stopped off in Udon Thani for a night before flying back to Bangkok. I very quickly realised that the Thai people whom I met and interacted with were very pleasant. They were helpful, cheerful and generally laid back ! It was really nice to escape from my sometimes chaotic lifestyle in Bangkok.

I stayed in the Silver Reef hotel just a short walk from the tourist night life area of the town. It was ok for 600baht a night, apart from the low door into my rooms bathroom. I must have hit my head at least three times and I am only 5ft 10inches tall. Alcohol consumption was no doubt partly to blame......

I set off into the bar area at about 1800hrs and was surprised to see a few mid twenties ( or under ) farang in some of the bars. It reminded me of Pattaya but on a much, much smaller scale. There were two of three of these farang shirtless and obviously very drunk - the local Thais were not impressed. I hope Udon does not go down the same road as Pattaya.

There were also quite a few older farang, obviously locals, enjoying a beer and chat with their families and friends.

I popped into a few beer bars and found them very reasonably priced - a Heineken was 70 or 75 baht for a small bottle. The girls seemed friendly enough and I think I can say that on the evening I stayed there the number of bars, and the number of girls, far outnumbered the number of customers.

I sat in one bar in a warehouse type of place ( called 'Day and Night or was it 'Night and Day' ) that had about twenty or so bars. I was there about 3 hours. Two nearby bars did not have one customer all the time I was there. Business seemed slack.

The beer bars started to close at about midnight so I walked over to Croc's Club which stays open a lot longer. This was quite busy, but again the numbers of girls ( freelancers and normal ? ) outnumbered the men perhaps 2 - 1. Everyone was having a good time.

The next day I decided to look around for a massage. There are so many places near the bar area you were spoilt for choice. Prices ranged from 249baht - 350 baht an hour for an oil massage. I didn't go into to any of these places but walked out of the bar area and found a small place about 1.5 km away - a very pleasant experience in a place that does not cater for many farang... It was very good but speaking some Thai clearly helped :)

After the massage it was off to the airport in a tuk tuk. This cost 150 baht from the central area of town. I am told this is a fair price.

All in all Udon Thani was a very nice place to visit. I will be going back next month for a longer stay.

Kindle E Books - Amazing Value

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:19:00 +0000

I have always been curious about Kindle books but was of the opinion you had to have a Kindle Reader which costs between £100 and £160 to read them. Whilst Kindle books are cheap to buy the thought of splashing out over £100 to read them seemed a bit strange. I suppose if you are an avid book reader then the cost may be justified, but as I am just a casual reader, mainly of computer programming books, I couldn't justify buying a dedicated reader.

I found out today you can download Kindle reader software for a PC from Amazon - FREE!!! Just click here.

Once this software is installed and registered, you can buy a kindle book from Amazon. As long as you have set up the kindle software correctly the book is 'delivered' direct to your PC. This is excellent for us ex-pats !

I downloaded the free software, registered it, bought a kindle book, and was reading it, all within 10 minutes ! In fact as I own a laptop and PC I put the software on each one and downloaded the book to each of them ( only one purchase) .

Using the software is so easy a 5 year old could do it. It allows you to highlight parts of a book, make notes connected to words or parts of the book, and retrieve dictionary definitions of words. The notes and highlighted parts can be displayed in a window at the side of the main text for easy reference. All in all its an extremely efficient and user friendly piece of software.

Oh, and by the way, the book cost me £7.15 as a kindle - the price of the printed book was £49.99 plus post and packing.

Download Kindle for a Pc from Amazon - FREE!! Just click here.

Buyers Beware - Farang/Bar Girl Relationships..........

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:58:00 +0000

I have posted here on more than one occasion about men having 'serious relationships' with bar girls. Many other people have done the same on their blogs and even in books. The advice is always the same and is based on the experiences of many, many people and even personal experience sometimes. The long and the short of the advice is do not form a relationship with a bar girl unless you want to be emotionally, financially, and sometimes physically brought to your knees. I know this can happen anywhere with anyone, but there is far more chance (99%) of it happening with a bar girl.

This text message was brought to my attention yesterday by a very good farang friend of mine who I shall call John Doe . He received it after texting a message to a bar girl he infrequently met as her customer. I have changed the names for obvious reasons:

" John Doe, my name is Sebastian. I am Khun Petulas 'husband'. She tell me that she loves me and wanted to be my 'wife', so I helped her to stop working at the bar by having her come live with me and supporting her and her family. Now I discover that she contacts previous customers like yourself to meet for sex. Honestly I am heartbroken - I love her so much. I just wanted you to know. No hard feelings. Sebastian."

There is a very high chance that the message is really from the girls 'husband' who has been examining her phone after suspecting something was not right. So sad. I have many friends who are bar girls but that is as far as it goes. Have fun with them, even have great fun, but please be careful.

The British Royal Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:38:00 +0000

What an amazing thing ? I have just been for a walk around the area of Bangkok where I live and wherever there was a television there were crowds of Thai people glued to it's screen. No, they were not watching football match, it was the Royal Wedding. I actually feel quite proud that so many people who live 6000 miles from Britain love our Royal family

This wedding, and the fantastic support it has received from much of the world has no doubt improved the morale of the British people significantly. Lets hope this will see a longterm boost to the economy and business confidence in it. Happy people should start spending again !

What it has also done is give a kick in the pants to the politically correct councils, left wing politicians and minority groups hell bent on destroying the British culture and traditions, especially Blair and Brown,

Blair and Brown did their best to destroy Britain and we will not forget. I am sure that is why they were not invited to this beautiful ceremony.

It certainly looks to me, and a lot of others, that Britain is getting back on track.

( My prediction for the future: The Queen of Britain will give up the throne in 2012. Prince Charles will not accept the role of King but pass it to Prince William. This will give the younger people of Britain a role model, and perhaps reinstill a bit of nationalism into the country after 13 years of it being taken away. )

Not About Bangkok - But Did You Know ?

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:27:00 +0000

I came across this interesting video this morning. It is certainly certainly food for thought. I reckon everyone should watch it !

My only comment is that inflation is highly likely to go through the roof in most Asian economies as more and more educated people want to receive 'educated' salaries.

I am certain the hisos will not reduce their income to pay for the increases. So that means inflation....

It Seems That Most Thais Are Willing To Sell Their Votes - I Thought We Already Knew That !

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:05:00 +0000

'According to a recent poll by Bangkok's Assumption University a majority of Thai voters say they are willing to accept money from election candidates who want to buy their votes. The university surveyed 2,604 eligible voters in Bangkok and 17 other provinces finding that 53.2 per cent would be willing to sell their votes, 40.2 per cent would not and 6.6 per cent were undecided.

The poll also found that 79.5 per cent of those surveyed admitted vote buying took place in their communities, while 20.5 per cent denied it.'

Well there is a thing ! I think we all knew it has been going on for many, many years !

Only recently, my wife took a bus from Bangkok to her home in NE Thailand just to vote in a local election. She literally left Bangkok at about 7pm for the 12 hour trip, and returned 36 hours later ! She put herself through a hellish roundtrip just so that her family would receive 2000 Baht and save face ! To me the trip was farcical, the whole idea of vote buying is farcical.

Why on earth it is allowed to continue is beyond me. Whilst I appreciate corruption is a part of Thai society this area of a supposed democratic process surely needs to be cleaned up before anything else. Come on Thailand get a grip !

Bangkok Stress !

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:27:00 +0000

I really have had enough. Despite receiving advice from me and many ex pats in Bangkok, at least 4 of my friends and aquaintances are emotionally and financially hammered, and thats just this last two weeks !

Yes, they all have fallen for bar girls who have been in the 'not her - she is not the same, she loves me ' bracket. But as you can guess they have been screwed - either its money or other 'boyfriends' or both.

Before I am accused of painting all bar girls with the same brush, I am not. Just the majority of them !

Now, its not a real problem for me, as its up to the guys - they are all old enough, but why do they cry on my shoulder time and time again.

This week I have had enough - my stress levels are at an all time high !

Phone calls in the middle of the night, evenings that start off with a few drinks but degenerate into chaotic counselling sessions. I have had tales of them being ripped off, accounts of them receiving constant demands for money from their girl, stories of their girls disappearing for a few days, stories about what their girls have said ( or not said ) when asked where the money is going..... The list goes on.

These guys are basically messed up and I have seen it all before, many times.

Please people, if you fall for a bar girl who is 'working' in Thailand treat her as though she is going to take your head and wallet for what she can until she proves otherwise. Not just over a period of a few weeks but maybe a year or more. It does not matter if you 'buy' her out of the bar, her mindset will not change overnight....

A second point is that a cutie in Soi Cowboy is NOT going to fall for a middle aged farang - she will only fall for your wallet, despite saying otherwise.

An aggravating factor for many farang in Bangkok is the continuing terrible currency exchange rate and inflation. It's ok if you are working for a multi national and paid in Baht, but the majority are not. This is no doubt adding to people's stress levels ( including mine ).

Time for a holiday.

Visa Run - Bangkok To Vientiane, Laos

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:03:00 +0000

'Visa run' time came around the other day and I chose to go from Bangkok to Vientiane in Laos. But I made the mistake of going by road.

Whilst Laos was a lovely place and nothing like Bangkok, the trip to get there was a nightmare. We left Bangkok at about 8.30 pm and travelled overnight arriving at the Friendship Bridge border crossing at 5.30am, and for me this is where it all became a pain in the proverbial.

The border wasn't open so we had to wait. Then when it did open at 6.30 we had to wait another 2 - 3 hours on the Thai side, along with dozens of others.

4 or 5 of our group had problems or overstay fines to pay so we had to wait for them as well. All in all it was a real pain.

Having got through Thai immigration we took an overcrowded bus trip across the Friendship Bridge into Laos and then had another 3 hour wait 'for our visa on arrival'.

On arrival in Vientiane we were taken to the Thai embassy where the 'visa run agents' applied for tourist visas on our behalf. This seemed efficient ! The only sign of efficiency on the whole trip.

To cut a long story short we all stayed overnight at the Nakonesak Hotel in Vientiane and I must say that I had a nice relaxing time. The beer Laos was cheap, and the local hospitality was really good. Even though the hotel was a couple of kilometres from the center it was fine. Vientiane is well worth a visit but next time I will stay in a hotel near to the Mekhong River.

________________________

We left the Nakonesak Hotel to return to Bangkok at 1pm the next day and were given back our passports, with the new Thai visa, at the border. I got a double entry 60 day tourist visa. With another border run in December, it will keep me legal for about 116 days.

Getting back through the border was nearly as bad as when we arrived. The border was heaving with people and I suppose it took a total of about 3 1/2 hours to complete all the formalities and start the trip back to Bangkok. We got to BKK at about 1am.

This trip cost me about 4500 baht ( not including personal expenses ) and I will not be doing it again. I want to return to Vientiane but I will get a visa to enter Laos from their consulate in Bangkok first. Then fly to Udon Thani, then bus to Vientiane. Having the Laos visa already, and flying most of the way, will save a lot of time, and all in all not that more expensive.

The Word 'Why' Seems Frowned On In Thailand ?

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:12:00 +0000

I have been in Bangkok some years now and it never ceases to amaze me that a large number of Thai's seem unable to ask 'why' something is as it is.

They seem to accept without question anything they are told, no matter if it is an official, supervisor, security guard or just a normal Thai.

Maybe they see questioning as a form of confrontation which apparently they do not like ( or so they say ) or maybe it's due to the style of teaching they received as a youngster. Or is it to do with 'face' ?

I think its to do with their education, or lack of it.

But whatever the reason its just another way of slowing down the overall development of a nation.

I will cite one example. My girlfriend was arranging for my condo to receive an adsl internet connection. She was told it would take 4 weeks ! I asked her why was that and she replied, ' I didn't ask '. I asked her to go back and ask and she refused as it would not be polite ???

So, I went to them and asked the necessary questions. The internet was working 3 days later.

I could go on and on with examples but there is no need as all the readers of this blog will no doubt know of many of their own !

Something else I have noticed is that probing questions are frowned on. Perhaps it is because the slightest probing unearths the truth about a person or something. Their 'front' is just that, a front. An 'open' question gets a response but a 'closed' question gets a blank look !

I appreciate the same can be said about any nation in the world, and it is certainly not true of Thai's educated to a high university standard, but it just seems so prevalent in Thailand something is not right.

4 Good Reasons To Use On-Nut Condos

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:44:00 +0000

It's time to change condo again as my present contract has one month to run. My landlord doesn't want to reduce the rent so I am moving. I asked for a reduction because the supply of condos in my area far outstrips demand and rental prices are dropping - except for mine :)

Anyway, the search for a new place started 4 days ago. I roamed the streets and then tried some of the 'regular' property agents but was not impressed - one used a messenger to show me a property who was of no use at all. One didn't turn up at the property I wanted to see, and if Thailand had a Trades Description law another would always be in court ! I am so fed up with something being described as being 'very close to the BTS' only to find the place is a 35 baht taxi ride from the BTS..... or 'very quiet neighbourhood' and find the place is right next to a factory with banging and shouting going on ....

Then I was recommended to see Khun Nala of On-Nut Condos by a friend. She can speak very good English as well as Thai and has a good knowledge of the area between Thong Lor and Bang Na ( Sukhumvit Road from Soi 53 - 101 in Bangkok). She also has a very good understanding of western culture which helps a lot.

Nala offers a personal service in that she will take you to a property herself, if you want ( in her car ), and will deal with any queries you have on the spot - as opposed to some who can't speak English, and do nothing apart from open the door to the property.

I wish I had gone to her first instead of spending 2 days roaming the streets, and 2 days with other agents. As you can I magine, I have found what I was looking for with Nala's help.

If you are looking for a condo to rent or buy in the On Nut and surrounding areas of Bangkok have a look at On-Nut Condos

Business As Usual in Afterskool, Soi Cowboy

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:12:00 +0000

If you have never been in the infamous Afterskool bar, in Soi Cowboy and were handed this business card by a friend, what would you think about the bar ?

If you were astute you would realise that the cards bland look disguises what the bar is really like :)

I was in there the other night and as usual had a great time. The music was just as I like it ( none of this modern house / hip hop stuff ) , friendly girls and very reasonably priced beers. At 90 baht a beer all night is extrememly good for Soi Cowboy these days.

My old favourite, Cowboy 2, has raised its prices to 150 baht a beer ( outside happy hour ). If the steep rise it is to try and recoup the cost of a recent refurbishment, or whether it is because other bars are getting away with charging 155 baht a beer - I don't know. But what I do know is that Afterskool has no intention of raising its prices and will be getting more of my cash than Cowboy 2 !!

Anyway' I just thought I would show you a pic of the Afterskool business card. It's another one to be added to my collection so that I can bring back memories when I am in the old folks home.....

Oh, I forgot to mention, when I first got in the bar the other day the only customer was a young guy sat near the toilet. He was getting a hand job from one of the girls.

I thought it was so funny. Sat next to them was another girl casually doing her make up, and on the otherside were 2 girls trying to read their fortunes from a deck of cards. All 4 girls were chatting away whilst the guy was worked on ! To the observer it looked like a normal thing for them to do......

Crime Prevention - Thai Style ???

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:12:00 +0000

Whilst wandering around some bars in Bangkok the other day I came across this toilet. The area I was in has never struck me as having a high sanitary ware theft rate, but who am I to know ?

The pink metal work around this installation is so funny I just had to take a picture.

Can anyone tell me where in Bangkok I took this pic ?

Thai Landlords - Greedy or Stupid ?

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:43:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how many Thai landlords bite their noses off to spite their face ! I live in a condominium complex ( near Bang Na )that caters for medium income Thais and farang. The complex must house at least 2000 people, many of whom have cars, and clearly have spare money.

As with many similar complexes the ground floors of the buildings have shop units.

Now, to make any money the rent for the premises has to be realistic so that you can charge realistic prices for the goods/ services you offer. Commonsense tells you that if you charge too much for something the customer will go elsewhere. Out of the 12 shop units in my complex, 5 are now vacant and have been for sometime.

Apart from the Family Mart, a farang funded Salon and Independent convenience shop all the others regularly change hands. Why does that happen do you think ? It's simple, they don't make enough money to cover their bills and have to close. The reason is because the rent is too high.

For a 60 sq foot shop unit the rent is anything from 30 - 35000 Baht per month. That, coupled with other expenses, makes overheads at least 60000 Baht a month.

I personally know three people who had shops here. They were not making any profit
so either had to close or the shop overheads had to come down. If they put their prices up their customer base would have fallen through the floor. So they all asked their landlords if they could have a reduced rent. All got short shrift.

The first tenant told his landlord why he wanted a reduced rent and the landlord burst out laughing. He replied, "I am surprised you have lasted so long as my last three tenants only lasted 6 months each". Now his unit has been empty 5 months and he is not getting any money from it.

The next tenant explained the same reasons to her landlord. He politely told her that he couldnt reduce it lower than the 31000 Baht as he had to pay his bank 28000 Baht to cover the loan on the premises. All he had to do was reduce the rent to 26000 and my friend would have stayed. 5000 Baht to farang is nothing, but to a normal Thai that is nearly 1 months wages.

His shop unit has now been vacant 6 months so he doesn't get any money at all whereas he would have received 156000 Baht !

There is the argument that he could have found a new and affluent tenant very quickly, but with 4 other empty units out of 12, the writing is on the wall.

I regularly speak with farang who have Thai wives and are looking to open a shop ( in the wife's name of course ) but all are put off by the size of the rent. They all say that rents are the same in the much more affluent area - Sukhumvit.

So if the 5 empty units had reasonable rents, say 27000 Baht, they would have tenants and the landlords would have received over 810000 baht in total, instead of nothing.

Seems crazy to me - and no it's nothing about tax as most do not pay tax anyway.

I Popped Down to Soi Cowboy Last Night

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:31:00 +0000

My mate mark has come over to Bangkok for a couple of weeks and last night we hit Soi Cowboy, and boy was it quiet. Compared with a year ago the customer numbers were at least 60 per cent lower.

In conversation with what tourists I did see they ALL said that the exchange rate, the much higher prices, and the lack of money in their home countries, is the reason people are not coming to Thailand. The trouble with the yellows and reds has very little to do with it.

This is exactly as I have thought for sometime. Apart from the curfew for a few days the trouble with the redshirts had little effect on me. Actually in a funny sort of way the curfew may have helped me and my bank balance by keeping me from straying too far :)

Anyway, the lack of customers in Soi Cowboy is certainly having an affect on the girls. They seem more forward with 'You can buy drink for me or not' They seemed to ask for a drink as soon as we got in a bar and ordered our first drink !! But I can live with that. A laugh and a 'no' had the desired effect.

It is also possible to negotiate other activities down to 500 - 1000 baht short time, and 1500 - 2000 baht long time - or so I have been told.

The lull in the customer numbers has been taken advantage of by the boss of Cowboy 2. He has refurbished the bar and it looks really nice. He has got the balance right in my opinion. That is the balance between a new look and making the bar look an expensive place, which it isn't. I love the place !! With a bar fine at 500 baht and draught Heineken at 90 baht all night, you can't go wrong. Buy a jug of Heineken and you can get it cheaper. Cowboy 2 is well placed for the upturn in business that will surely come.

All in all Soi Cowboy is still a great place to go.

Austerity Measures - Are they really needed

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Yes, I have to reduce my outgoings , but I am encouraged by the statements from the new UK Government. It is time for the UK to get a kick up the arse.

Tonight's thrashing at football by the Germans ( even if a real goal was disallowed ) should stand as an example to the Brits who have lived the last 13 years thinking that everything will come to them without any effort.

Times are changing and it needs true leadership from a Government that relies on the truth and not spin, to bring the UK back to what it was all those years ago.

Soap box ends.

A Thai Bar Girls Career Progression

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Tue, 25 May 2010 09:45:00 +0000

I first met Nong ( not her real name ) about 6 years ago in a bar at Whitesands Beach, Koh Chang. She was a run of the mill, newly 'appointed' bar girl, who couldn't speak any English. She worked in one of the small bars down the hill from Paddy Palms and Top Resort.

I used to go to Koh Chang for 5 days every month to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and Nong made me a great companion for the time I spent there. After knowing her for a few days I realised that she was not the same as the others. She had drive, motivation, and ambition. Not to meet and marry a farang, but to make big money without the hassle of being 'attached' to one or two ( or more ) boyfriends.

As time went on she got fed up with the quiet life of Koh Chang, especially in low season, and set her sights on doubling her income. So after 10 months in Koh Chang she moved to Pattaya. She went to a couple of bars , but only stayed there 3 months. The 'Pattaya bar life' and the farang there were not for her. I saw her twice while she was in Pattaya but lost touch.

Her next stop was Bangkok. She had changed her working name and telephone number and went to work in a bar Sukhumvit 7/1 not far from the infamous Eden Club. In fact one month after arriving in Bangkok she went to work there instead ! It was whilst she was sat outside the Eden Club that I next saw her. I couldn't believe it - she had tansformed herself from a normal girl to a classy, beautiful working girl. We went for a meal ( she paid ) and caught up on what we had been up to.

Anyway, she stayed at the Eden Club for a few months then moved to a similar club in Pattaya. During her stay in Bangkok she took me to see her home on the outskirts of the city and took me to her newly opened shop in a mall near Rangsit. She had certainly gone up in the world and although farang money had paid for it indirectly, it hadn't been paid for in the normal way by money sent to her every month etc by men thinking that she was their girlfriend.

So, what happened after Pattaya ? I have just found out.

I got an email from her last week and met her over a coffee the other day. She now has one house, two shops, a top of the range Lexus car and works as an independent high class escort commanding relatively huge amounts of money. Her English language skills are now quite good. I have seen her website ( no, I am not linking to it here ) and she looks fabulous on it. I can see why she has many discerning clients - she has gone a long way from her first days as a bar girl.

Fishing in Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:06:00 +0000

The words fishing in Bangkok conjures up horror stories for me. There is no way I would fish, swim in or otherwise come into contact with the filthy waterways of Bangkok. So when my friend suggested I should join him on a fishing trip to a place somewhere in Bangkok I nearly ran a mile. But luckily I didn't run and was pleased that I didn't.

The place he had in mind was a lake some 30 minutes drive from where we live, called Bungsumran. It is an old quarry/mine that has been turned into a lake and opened up for fishing. You have to pay to fish there of course, and if you haven't got any equipment or experience, they can help you out. You can fish from a jetty or you can rent a lakeside hut for the day, and you WILL catch a fish. In fact the lake is the home to an awful lot of huge fish ! I am not sure of the prices as I didn't pay, but I did notice they charge foreigners more than Thai's but showing a Thai drivers licence ( even as a foreigner ) gets you the Thai price.

We went on a Sunday and it was quite busy. We managed to rent the last available hut. Apparently it is a lot less busy on a weekday.

Anyway,we caught five fish, all of which were at least 25 kgs in weight. There must have been 30 huts, and a long jetty, so maybe there were 120 rods being used, and someone somewhere was catching a fish all the time. It was incredible.

Food is available, there is a small mini mart, basic bar and restaurant, and an internet shop. It's a great day out for a family.

My mates and their fish !

Volcanic Ash and Political Problems = Easy Visa Run By Air to Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:38:00 +0000

I have just got back fom a quick visa run to Singapore. The volcanic ash in Europe, and the Bangkok political problems, seem to have certainly affected the numbers of people using Suvarnabhumi airport. I got there at 9am and the place was practically empty.

No queues at 'check in' and no queues at Immigration. In fact there were only two desks open for passport control in the area I went into. It was the same at the security check point.

Then to cap it all my Air Asia flight left on time and arrived at Changi early. A most pleasant start to the day.

I had a few hours to wait for my return flight to Bankok so I went downtown.

I haven't been to Singapore for about 5 years, and was a bit dissapointed with the obvious degradation of the housing complexes that I saw on the way into the city centre. They reminded me of the old high rise ghettos built in the UK in the 1970's. It looks like the ones I saw in Singapore are going the same way as the ones in UK did.

It is sad really, as I thought Singapore would have learned from the mistakes of the West.

Anyway, I got into the centre and was not impressed with the main shopping area. It felt as though I had really arrived in the centre of any large town in England. The same big stores you find in England were prevalent, but the prices of goods seemed higher. I had a couple of beers in a bar and went back to Changi airport.

I was pleased to get back to Bangkok.

You might ask why I went to Singapore. It is easy really, my passport has only got one empty page left in it, so I needed to go somewhere that only uses entry / exit stamps. On a normal run to Cambodia they use 1 page just for the entry visa ( not including stamps ) so that was out of the question.

So it was going to be Malaysia or Singapore - both countries just use stamps, and on the day I went, the flight to Singapore wa the cheapest !

Political Turmoil in Thailand - Red Shirt Protest

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:10:00 +0000

I have been e mailed by many people asking for my thoughts on the current unrest in Bangkok. As a visitor to Thailand I refuse to enter into any discussions about what is happening. To do so would be pure speculation on my part and of no benefit to anyone.

What I will say is that there is no disruption to life in my favourite entertainment areas - Soi Cowboy, Sukhumvit 22 and 33. Ok the BTS ( skytrain ) service has been suspended by the owners, and apparently the buses are being withdrawn at 2100hrs tonight, but it is not going to stop me walking there!

Sahara, Soi Cowboy, Bangkok - New Face on the Block

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Tony's Bar and Joe's Place came to the end of their time in Soi Cowboy, and have been replaced by Sahara. Sahara is a high end go go bar and is different !

I walked into Sahara last night and was amazed. It is hard to explain but the whole of the bar area seemed 'misty'. I don't know if it was mist or whether the predomiantly white colour scheme mixed with the fantastic lighting made it that way. I will ask the owner later.

But whatever caused it, the effect was really cool ! The sound system was equally as good, as were the girls. Sahara has certainly changed the face of Soi Cowboy.

The dancing area was mainly in the centre but some tables around the edges were geared up for it as well. It has only just opened so the number of girls dancing was low - but it will get better.

If you are happy to pay 155 baht for a small bottle of beer then it is certainly the place to go ( outside of happy hour ).

Thai Craft Fair - Amarin Centre, Chitlom, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:51:00 +0000

I was wandering around the Amarin shopping centre at Chitlom the other day when I came across a mini JJ market ( and I mean a very mini JJ market ). It's on the third floor of the centre and offers a large range of quality, and very high quality, Thai craft products.

It is a very pleasant experience walking around an air conditioned market instead of the bustling, sweaty and hectic JJ market.

Of course, the prices are higher at the Amarin Thai Craft Market but the extra few baht is worth paying because of the great shopping environment.

You can find the Amarin centre adjacent to the Chitlom Skytrain Station. There is a walkway from the station into the centre itself.

GBP to THB Exchange Rate On The Way Down....

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:29:00 +0000

Sad news for ex pats in Thailand who rely on bringing Sterling into the country for their living costs. Sad news for tourists from the the UK hoping to holiday in Thailand.

The same goes for people from the Eurozone as well.

It looks like Sterling and the Euro are dropping like a stone against the us dollar, and therefore against the Baht ( again ). I am not an expert in any shape or form, but it does not need one to tell me that the UK economy is in dire straights no matter what the pathetic and untrustworthy UK government says. Now that certain Eurozone countries may need bailing out as well, and the UK banks are directly involved, things are going to get worse.

In addition, if you have any savings in the UK and are hoping that they might start making a bit of money instead of losing value, you are unlucky ! It looks like the 0.5 % interest rate is here for months to come. With inlation your savings will stand still or depreciate in value.

Batten down the hatches, stock up on mama noodles and sangsom, and say goodbye to frequent nights out !! I hope it doesn't happen but all the signs are there....

Yet Another Farang Con Man - Do I Look Like A Mug ?

noreply@blogger.com (Bangkok Blogger) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:08:00 +0000

I obviously need to change my appearance as I must look like a real mug.

For the second time this month I have been the target of a farang fraudster. This was at 2100hrs today when I was in Villa Supermarket at Phrom Phong. I was getting some pork pies from the chiller when a young guy, no more than 23 years of age, walked up next to me. He selected some chilled pasta and asked me if it was halal. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders and he said, 'oh you don't work in this shop then'.

This immediately set alarm bells ringing as I was holding a yellow shopping basket full of groceries, 2 carrier bags from the Emporium, and a camera in its large case slung over a shoulder. LOL.

He quickly moved on to ask the price of the item in US dollars. I told him it was about 2 dollars. He then asked if he could pay in dollars and not baht and opened a large wallet exposing what must have been about 300 x 100 dollar bills. I think I was meant to be impressed.

Then he asked if I had any baht in my wallet and could he see some. I looked at him and laughed. Then he asked if I would change some USD into Baht for him at the exchange rate of 20 baht to 1 dollar. I laughed again.

He went on to say that he was from Dubai and that he had just arrived in Bangkok from the airport. He said he had given the taxi driver 100 dollars as he did not have any baht. When I asked him why he hadn't changed any money at the airport, and where was his luggage, he didn't answer.....he just put down the pasta and walked quickly out of the shop.

What's the betting that the dollar bills were counterfeit :)

He was about 20 - 23 years old, pale complexion, and looked middle eastern. He had short dark hair, was about 5ft 5 ins tall, of slim build and dressed in smart but casual clothes. He was wearing black sandals.

I believe in things happening in three's ...what will the next scammer try ?