22nd September
A is feeling a bit groggy, so she's arranged for 'brudder' to drive from Sri Racha to pick her up and take her to work this morning. She leaves a scooter key with Kye though as it seems that she's going to start taking bits and pieces over to the new place. Pots & pans disappear as do plates and then the racks for the plates go as well. It's unreal seeing quite what can be loaded onto just a single scooter and when all the teddy bears make the journey, I'm annoyed that I cannot locate my camera to capture the event.
In the evening, A calls me to say that she will not be back tonight as 'brudder' is working and cannot bring her to Pattaya. Just after being informed of this, Kev calls to say that he'll be at Noi's Bar tonight if I 'fancy a few'.
At Noi's in the evening everything is very civilised with Kev, Joy & myself playing dominos (English Double 6, none of this weird Thai rules Double 9 stuff) until we're joined by BM Dacah. The conversation is good and Dacah has the Irish gift of being able to tell great stories. Lots of laughing (and a fair bit of drinking) takes place and I settle my meagre checkbin of 280 baht, (however I'm told the next day that I'd forgotten that I'd paid and proceeded to search through the napkin holder for my checkbin). On the walk home, I decide to buy some fruit and buy oranges and bananas from one of those stalls that I've yet to see closed.
Expenditure :
Nois Bar : 280 baht
Fruit : 100 baht
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Friday, 21 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 43
21st September
Another morniing waking up and feeling like death when I'm woken by A. We're off to go and buy 'stuff' today. We need a tabletop cooker it seems and this needs to be connected to a gas bottle using a different regulator than we have on the bottle top burner that we have at present. We also need to top up on basics such as rice and then there is the cleaning 'stuff' as well, but she wants to eat at Big C first, but not the foodhall today. She wants to eat in MK for a change so we do that.
Before heading over to Kev's, I get A to stop at the 'English Bacon & Sausage' shop as Kev wants a couple of kilos of sausages for the barbecue he has planned for the weekend and half a kilo of bacon. A takes me over and it has to be said that neither myself or Kev is really 'with it' today. It seems that we both fell asleep in the taxi home last night, but Joy remembered where I lived, so I'd been dropped of at about 01:45.
A telephones in the late afternoon and asks if I'd eaten. I confirm that I haven't eaten (It really wasn't high on the list of things to do today) and I'm told that we've been invited to eat with Robin & Kye at #2 tonight. Joy gives me a lift back and when I arrive, A and Kye are busy getting barbecue sticks of 'pig' and prawns ready to cook.
We go round to the 'new' place where the paperwork is all signed and the unexpected expense of a deposit is paid (15,000 baht) then back for the barbecue.
A is really in 'the wars' though; thankfully she seems to have fully recovered from the pain in her side, but now she has the 'snuffles'. She's sneezing, coughing and has a headache, so we cry off early from the barbecue (I really didn't need a night on the whisky & soda tonight anyway)
In bed by 23:00
Expenditure :
MK Restaurant : 305 baht
Big C supplies : 2700 Baht
Gas bottle, piping and safety regulator : 1700 baht
Deposit on house : 15,000 baht
Another morniing waking up and feeling like death when I'm woken by A. We're off to go and buy 'stuff' today. We need a tabletop cooker it seems and this needs to be connected to a gas bottle using a different regulator than we have on the bottle top burner that we have at present. We also need to top up on basics such as rice and then there is the cleaning 'stuff' as well, but she wants to eat at Big C first, but not the foodhall today. She wants to eat in MK for a change so we do that.
Before heading over to Kev's, I get A to stop at the 'English Bacon & Sausage' shop as Kev wants a couple of kilos of sausages for the barbecue he has planned for the weekend and half a kilo of bacon. A takes me over and it has to be said that neither myself or Kev is really 'with it' today. It seems that we both fell asleep in the taxi home last night, but Joy remembered where I lived, so I'd been dropped of at about 01:45.
A telephones in the late afternoon and asks if I'd eaten. I confirm that I haven't eaten (It really wasn't high on the list of things to do today) and I'm told that we've been invited to eat with Robin & Kye at #2 tonight. Joy gives me a lift back and when I arrive, A and Kye are busy getting barbecue sticks of 'pig' and prawns ready to cook.
We go round to the 'new' place where the paperwork is all signed and the unexpected expense of a deposit is paid (15,000 baht) then back for the barbecue.
A is really in 'the wars' though; thankfully she seems to have fully recovered from the pain in her side, but now she has the 'snuffles'. She's sneezing, coughing and has a headache, so we cry off early from the barbecue (I really didn't need a night on the whisky & soda tonight anyway)
In bed by 23:00
Expenditure :
MK Restaurant : 305 baht
Big C supplies : 2700 Baht
Gas bottle, piping and safety regulator : 1700 baht
Deposit on house : 15,000 baht
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 42
20th September
Nam sees me in the afternoon and asks me how much I spent on the scooter taxi to get home last night. I say that I'm not sure (I haven't checked my wallet). She says that she told me I should only pay 50 baht, but I think I must have paid 100 baht (either that or I went to the toilet an awful lot last night).
I'm still feeling pretty 'iffy', but it's the FLB Bar Crawl tonight and we're all fairly certain that the winning location will be Soi 8 / 9 in 'celebration' of Adam's birthday yesterday. It's no surprise to hear that it wins by a landslide.
The first stop (after the FLB of course) is the beer bar complex at the end of Soi 9 where I soon realise that Kev is in the mood for a drink tonight as he downs 3 Vodka / Coke Light (Diet Coke to the rest of us) in around 30 minutes before we're summoned to pay checkbins and move on to the GoGo at the 2nd Road end of Soi 8.
I've walked past the place many times without actually stepping inside and I am very pleasantly surprised. A few pretty girls dancing (and a few pretty service girls as well) and at 100 baht for a Singha, it's not too bad for a GoGo. Have a couple of drinks there, then it's time to move on once more.
We all troop out and across the Soi to Party Bar. We're met by the host and I suspect a phone call is made, as the scooters suddenly start arriving and the bar is filling up with girls. I'm bought a beer by a BM (whose name I sadly forgot to note down) and we are also given a shot of what looks like a B52 but actually turns out to be an Irish Coffee (and very tasty indeed) by the bar management. For the short time that we were there, they certainly did everything possible to look after us.
Onwards to a bar beer complex in the cut through between Soi 7 & Soi 8 then on to the Prince Hotel complex to what should have been Sam's Bar, however a few of us somehow ended up settling in at Cherry Bar instead.
We were not allowed to stay there though and we went into the new Rolling Stone 3 bar next door which was very 'pleasant' with some good company. Then came the Oasis Coyote GoGo where things started to get 'messy'. For all their talk of not having ANY gay tendencies, Kev & Hillbilly were very close to having their tongues touching. (I'll leave it for one of them to 'explain')
Then it was on to Cherry Bar to finish or was that to 'be finished'. Whatever, I am grateful to Kev's Joy for picking us up in the taxi and getting us to our respective homes. At least we managed to avoid getting a soaking which was the fate suffered by at least one other 'crawler'.
A bloody good bar crawl and thanks to MM / Hammer for organising it and the other BM's for making it so much fun.
Expenditure :
Bar Crawl : 600 baht
Nam sees me in the afternoon and asks me how much I spent on the scooter taxi to get home last night. I say that I'm not sure (I haven't checked my wallet). She says that she told me I should only pay 50 baht, but I think I must have paid 100 baht (either that or I went to the toilet an awful lot last night).
I'm still feeling pretty 'iffy', but it's the FLB Bar Crawl tonight and we're all fairly certain that the winning location will be Soi 8 / 9 in 'celebration' of Adam's birthday yesterday. It's no surprise to hear that it wins by a landslide.
The first stop (after the FLB of course) is the beer bar complex at the end of Soi 9 where I soon realise that Kev is in the mood for a drink tonight as he downs 3 Vodka / Coke Light (Diet Coke to the rest of us) in around 30 minutes before we're summoned to pay checkbins and move on to the GoGo at the 2nd Road end of Soi 8.
I've walked past the place many times without actually stepping inside and I am very pleasantly surprised. A few pretty girls dancing (and a few pretty service girls as well) and at 100 baht for a Singha, it's not too bad for a GoGo. Have a couple of drinks there, then it's time to move on once more.
We all troop out and across the Soi to Party Bar. We're met by the host and I suspect a phone call is made, as the scooters suddenly start arriving and the bar is filling up with girls. I'm bought a beer by a BM (whose name I sadly forgot to note down) and we are also given a shot of what looks like a B52 but actually turns out to be an Irish Coffee (and very tasty indeed) by the bar management. For the short time that we were there, they certainly did everything possible to look after us.
Onwards to a bar beer complex in the cut through between Soi 7 & Soi 8 then on to the Prince Hotel complex to what should have been Sam's Bar, however a few of us somehow ended up settling in at Cherry Bar instead.
We were not allowed to stay there though and we went into the new Rolling Stone 3 bar next door which was very 'pleasant' with some good company. Then came the Oasis Coyote GoGo where things started to get 'messy'. For all their talk of not having ANY gay tendencies, Kev & Hillbilly were very close to having their tongues touching. (I'll leave it for one of them to 'explain')
Then it was on to Cherry Bar to finish or was that to 'be finished'. Whatever, I am grateful to Kev's Joy for picking us up in the taxi and getting us to our respective homes. At least we managed to avoid getting a soaking which was the fate suffered by at least one other 'crawler'.
A bloody good bar crawl and thanks to MM / Hammer for organising it and the other BM's for making it so much fun.
Expenditure :
Bar Crawl : 600 baht
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 41
19th September
A heads off to work and says that even if she doesn't work tonight, she'll stay in Sri Racha as she is still hurting and she knows that I will be out tonight.
As I start my cooking my afternoon meal, I realise that the coconut milk is taking a long time to reach the boil. Well, that would be because the gas bottle has run out. Kye from #2 takes the bottle from me and asks for 100 baht for the refill. 5 minutes later, she returns and lunchtime food prep continues.
In the early evening, I'm a bit peckish, so when the barbecue stall comes round at 17:30 I indulge in a furter 30 bahts worth of food.
That night as I'm setting off to the Cherry Bar, Kye in #2 says that she's going to pick up Robin, so she can give a lift into town. She drops me at the corner of Pattaya Klang & 2nd Road, so it's only a short walk to Soi 8 for me tonight.
The night in the Cherry Bar was a good one. Nui started on the spin the bottle again and the first bottle of Sang Som was seen off in less than 30 minutes. Casper UK then decided that it would be good fun to buy another bottle (and another..... and another... ). Needless to say the evening became complete carnage, but for a midweek evening in Low Season, it had been fairly busy. The 5 (large) shots of Sang Som had certainly taken their toll on me though.
Expenditure :
Gas Bottle refill - 100 baht
Barbecue cart : 30 baht
Coke & Ice - 80 baht
Scooter Taxi - 100 baht? (calculated from a process of counting back)
A heads off to work and says that even if she doesn't work tonight, she'll stay in Sri Racha as she is still hurting and she knows that I will be out tonight.
As I start my cooking my afternoon meal, I realise that the coconut milk is taking a long time to reach the boil. Well, that would be because the gas bottle has run out. Kye from #2 takes the bottle from me and asks for 100 baht for the refill. 5 minutes later, she returns and lunchtime food prep continues.
In the early evening, I'm a bit peckish, so when the barbecue stall comes round at 17:30 I indulge in a furter 30 bahts worth of food.
That night as I'm setting off to the Cherry Bar, Kye in #2 says that she's going to pick up Robin, so she can give a lift into town. She drops me at the corner of Pattaya Klang & 2nd Road, so it's only a short walk to Soi 8 for me tonight.
The night in the Cherry Bar was a good one. Nui started on the spin the bottle again and the first bottle of Sang Som was seen off in less than 30 minutes. Casper UK then decided that it would be good fun to buy another bottle (and another..... and another... ). Needless to say the evening became complete carnage, but for a midweek evening in Low Season, it had been fairly busy. The 5 (large) shots of Sang Som had certainly taken their toll on me though.
Expenditure :
Gas Bottle refill - 100 baht
Barbecue cart : 30 baht
Coke & Ice - 80 baht
Scooter Taxi - 100 baht? (calculated from a process of counting back)
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 40
18th September
I go round to Kev's at lunchtime and the scooter taxi driver doesn't have enough change, so the fare is 52 baht.
I ask Kev whether he's had his appendix removed and he confirms that he has, and from the symptoms and location of the pain A is suffering, I am very concerned. It's not something that I'd ever paid any attention to in the past, as I've never had such a problem. I call A and she confirms that she'll be going to see a doctor later in the day. When I get back (laden with books and DVD's - Thanks Kev!), A is already home.
She's been to see the doctor and it has cost 3500 baht for a consultation and various items of medication, however as the tablets are supplied loose in bags, there is no way of me identifying what it is she's been prescribed.
The doctor has said that if the pain persists for more than 2 days or it gets any worse, then she should go straight to the hospital for an operation. Naturally A is rather worried about this and I feel totally inadequate as there is absolutely nothing that I'm able to do for her with her suffering. I pay her 1000 baht towards her doctors fee which she has partly paid for by pawning her gold bracelet.
We then talk about Phil and she's fairly insistent that he is going to live with her for at least a few months. It seems that this is not open for negotiation and I'm told that he can simply sleep on the floor. I'm also told that there will be no 'nookie' whilst he's sleeping in the room, so we are back to discussing a house move.
In addition, A really wants somewhere to live where she's not eating and sleeping in the same room and if Phil is going to be staying over, then we need to look at 2 bedrooms. I make it very clear that I will not be acting as a baby-sitter for him and I'm told that it will not happen. (Hmmh!)
We then get a call from Kye and it seems that we're off to see a house a house tonight!. Quite why the neighbours get involved, I don't understand, but TiT. The house is a serious upgrade on the current accomodation comprising a lounge area; two bedrooms; 2 bathrooms and a kitchen as well as a space out front to sit and to park the scooter.
In addition to the space, there is also aircon in the master bedroom and lounge and one of the bathrooms has a hot water heater. I'm told the rent is 5000 baht a month and as said before if we move here, then the allowance for Mama will be cut to 500 baht a week so I just 'go with the flow'.
We return to the room via the food stalls and a Mom & Pop store where I buy a few beers.
Expenditure :
Chang - 100 baht
Food - 100 baht
I go round to Kev's at lunchtime and the scooter taxi driver doesn't have enough change, so the fare is 52 baht.
I ask Kev whether he's had his appendix removed and he confirms that he has, and from the symptoms and location of the pain A is suffering, I am very concerned. It's not something that I'd ever paid any attention to in the past, as I've never had such a problem. I call A and she confirms that she'll be going to see a doctor later in the day. When I get back (laden with books and DVD's - Thanks Kev!), A is already home.
She's been to see the doctor and it has cost 3500 baht for a consultation and various items of medication, however as the tablets are supplied loose in bags, there is no way of me identifying what it is she's been prescribed.
The doctor has said that if the pain persists for more than 2 days or it gets any worse, then she should go straight to the hospital for an operation. Naturally A is rather worried about this and I feel totally inadequate as there is absolutely nothing that I'm able to do for her with her suffering. I pay her 1000 baht towards her doctors fee which she has partly paid for by pawning her gold bracelet.
We then talk about Phil and she's fairly insistent that he is going to live with her for at least a few months. It seems that this is not open for negotiation and I'm told that he can simply sleep on the floor. I'm also told that there will be no 'nookie' whilst he's sleeping in the room, so we are back to discussing a house move.
In addition, A really wants somewhere to live where she's not eating and sleeping in the same room and if Phil is going to be staying over, then we need to look at 2 bedrooms. I make it very clear that I will not be acting as a baby-sitter for him and I'm told that it will not happen. (Hmmh!)
We then get a call from Kye and it seems that we're off to see a house a house tonight!. Quite why the neighbours get involved, I don't understand, but TiT. The house is a serious upgrade on the current accomodation comprising a lounge area; two bedrooms; 2 bathrooms and a kitchen as well as a space out front to sit and to park the scooter.
In addition to the space, there is also aircon in the master bedroom and lounge and one of the bathrooms has a hot water heater. I'm told the rent is 5000 baht a month and as said before if we move here, then the allowance for Mama will be cut to 500 baht a week so I just 'go with the flow'.
We return to the room via the food stalls and a Mom & Pop store where I buy a few beers.
Expenditure :
Chang - 100 baht
Food - 100 baht
Monday, 17 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 39
17th September
A quick chat with Nam on the balcony and she asks if I will be at Cherry Bar on Wednesday. I tell her that I shall and laugh that Adam will probably be out getting drunk as it's his birthday that day, She says "I not know why Adam not have party on Birthday. I think everyone come and be good for business Him fucking ting-tong." There's not much that can be said in response to that, so I just laugh and return to the room and the PC.
A returns home from work early and she is obviously in some considerable discomfort. She has a pain low down on her right hand side and she doesn't want to do anything and just curls up on the sofa.
I try to get an Internet connection to research the symptoms for appendicitis as I'm concerned that this may be what the problem is, but I simply cannot get a connection tonight as the name servers are not pingable when I dial up.
I try for a couple of hours and then give up. I ask if she wants to go the pharmacy, but she says that she's now feeling a little better, so she is going to go back to work and if it gets.any worse then she will stop and go to the doctor the next day.
I try to get some sleep, but frankly I'm just too worried and telephone her at 04:30. She's finished work and is at Mama's and promises that she will go to see a doctor tomorrow.
I realise that I'm not going to be able to follow through with a tentative plan that I have for a meeting the next day (sorry, same day), so I send a message explaining that due to an unexpected personal matter, I wouldn''t be making it.
Expenditure :
Mama allowance : 1000 baht
A quick chat with Nam on the balcony and she asks if I will be at Cherry Bar on Wednesday. I tell her that I shall and laugh that Adam will probably be out getting drunk as it's his birthday that day, She says "I not know why Adam not have party on Birthday. I think everyone come and be good for business Him fucking ting-tong." There's not much that can be said in response to that, so I just laugh and return to the room and the PC.
A returns home from work early and she is obviously in some considerable discomfort. She has a pain low down on her right hand side and she doesn't want to do anything and just curls up on the sofa.
I try to get an Internet connection to research the symptoms for appendicitis as I'm concerned that this may be what the problem is, but I simply cannot get a connection tonight as the name servers are not pingable when I dial up.
I try for a couple of hours and then give up. I ask if she wants to go the pharmacy, but she says that she's now feeling a little better, so she is going to go back to work and if it gets.any worse then she will stop and go to the doctor the next day.
I try to get some sleep, but frankly I'm just too worried and telephone her at 04:30. She's finished work and is at Mama's and promises that she will go to see a doctor tomorrow.
I realise that I'm not going to be able to follow through with a tentative plan that I have for a meeting the next day (sorry, same day), so I send a message explaining that due to an unexpected personal matter, I wouldn''t be making it.
Expenditure :
Mama allowance : 1000 baht
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Trip 4 - Day 38
16th September
We all awake and have a late breakfast before A takes Phil back to sister.
I take the opportunity to update my TR and read my all my messages. My connection today is better than it has been of late, so I'm actually reasonably productive, however I think that the online Microsoft Live Basics website is going to be totally impractical over a dialup connection and will have to wait and be maintained only over a broadband connection.
I shall look at registerng a couple more domains and simply host some sites within my existing space at Demon. I have also been offered some additional hosting space which I will use later if necessary.
At 14:30, A returns and she appears in the doorway looking like the proverbial drowned rat. Her clothing is soaked through and she is not a 'happy bunny'.
She showers (no hot water here though!) and gets dressed in dry clothes but doesn't take kindly to my laughing about her 'misfortune' and I get 'boxed' about a bit. Our planned trip to Big C is postponed because of the rain, so we grab some barbeque from the cart that comes every afternoon and then simply get some meat out of the freezer to 'improvise' an evening meal.
I end up with 'open' toasted sandwiches (toast; sandwich spread; lettuce; tomato topped with thin slices of fried 'pig') and A has a simple rice 'soup' with boiled eggs.
Later in the evening, I do venture out just to the end of the Soi to get Coke & water, however I add 3 bottles of Chang and a bag of ice to the shopping list and return to the room.
A is complaining about a pain in her side (not me!) which is really troubling her, so all discussion regarding Phil is put on hold and she just heads off to bed at around 20:00. I listen to some music; drink my beer and check out the boards and hope that it's nothing too serious.
Four bottles of Chang later (oops!) and I'm certainly ready to crash out as well, so it's lights out and the end of a fairly quiet Sunday. Nothing resolved, but no decisions made either.
Expenditure :
Money for Phil for ice cream & sweets next week : 100 baht
Barbeque : 50 baht
Chang : 100 baht
Coke, Water & Ice : 76
We all awake and have a late breakfast before A takes Phil back to sister.
I take the opportunity to update my TR and read my all my messages. My connection today is better than it has been of late, so I'm actually reasonably productive, however I think that the online Microsoft Live Basics website is going to be totally impractical over a dialup connection and will have to wait and be maintained only over a broadband connection.
I shall look at registerng a couple more domains and simply host some sites within my existing space at Demon. I have also been offered some additional hosting space which I will use later if necessary.
At 14:30, A returns and she appears in the doorway looking like the proverbial drowned rat. Her clothing is soaked through and she is not a 'happy bunny'.
She showers (no hot water here though!) and gets dressed in dry clothes but doesn't take kindly to my laughing about her 'misfortune' and I get 'boxed' about a bit. Our planned trip to Big C is postponed because of the rain, so we grab some barbeque from the cart that comes every afternoon and then simply get some meat out of the freezer to 'improvise' an evening meal.
I end up with 'open' toasted sandwiches (toast; sandwich spread; lettuce; tomato topped with thin slices of fried 'pig') and A has a simple rice 'soup' with boiled eggs.
Later in the evening, I do venture out just to the end of the Soi to get Coke & water, however I add 3 bottles of Chang and a bag of ice to the shopping list and return to the room.
A is complaining about a pain in her side (not me!) which is really troubling her, so all discussion regarding Phil is put on hold and she just heads off to bed at around 20:00. I listen to some music; drink my beer and check out the boards and hope that it's nothing too serious.
Four bottles of Chang later (oops!) and I'm certainly ready to crash out as well, so it's lights out and the end of a fairly quiet Sunday. Nothing resolved, but no decisions made either.
Expenditure :
Money for Phil for ice cream & sweets next week : 100 baht
Barbeque : 50 baht
Chang : 100 baht
Coke, Water & Ice : 76
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