November 17th
First thing I need to do after getting up and showering is get out to the 7/11 for bread, eggs, a phone top up and a large bottle of Coke. Back home and brunch consists of bacon, eggs, fried tomatoes, toast and a mug of tea.
Next, there’s the laundry to be done, however there’s only the one load this week as A & Phil haven’t been about so much. Whilst the machine is doing its thing, I settle down to a read of one of the books passed on by Kevin earlier in the week and get quite engrossed for a few hours.
I then log on to send an email to a mate in England and this seemingly simple task takes over 30 minutes as the Webmail service keeps timing out as does the Hotmail account. The message has to be sent before 09:00 GMT, so I have plenty of time, but I do get somewhat frustrated.
Then I check the boards for recent activity and get up to date with who’s going to be around in the near future and what’s going on in town. I will not be able to attend too many events, so will have to be particularly selective when making my choice.
Kev invites me to join him at Cherry Bar tonight and as A will not be home I agree to meet him at 20:30. I’ll be drinking on my own tab tonight, so the plan is for a ‘Cheap Charlie’ night on the draught beer.
There’s a fair turnout at the Bar and I’m bought drinks by a few BM’s in town as well as by Kevin. At only 45 baht a drink, I do manage to get quite merry on ‘little money’ and have had a pretty good day today.
Expenditure :
7/11 Groceries – 99 baht
Phone Top Up – 100 baht
Scooter Taxis – 130 baht
Cherry Bar – 250 baht
Saturday, 17 November 2007
Friday, 16 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 99
November 16th
Bacon and eggs with a mug of tea is the way to start the day off (well a way to start mid morning off), followed by a call to A. She says that she’ll be home for the afternoon, but she will be working again tonight.
After SSS, I sit in the lounge with just a towel wrapped round my waist and log on to the ‘net to check my emails, but my connection is terrible and keeps timing out, so it’s a bit of a waste of time.
Just as I give up, there’s a ‘toot’ from the gate. A has returned (minus Phil) and it’s great to see her smiling face. She has a drink of Coke and quicker than I’d take to make a move in a Soi 6 establishment I’m leading her to the bedroom without being sidetracked into showering first.
Afterwards, we both lay there and hug for a while before getting up; showering and getting dressed. She says that she’s hungry now, so off she goes to procure some sustenance. She returns less than ten minutes later with a ‘red’ pork dish with noodles and soup which is nourishing without being too heavy and we devour every last morsel.
Then it’s time for her to catch up on some Thai soap opera on the TV, so we just cuddle up on the sofa and I hold her whilst half watching the rubbish being broadcast.
After an hour or so, I’m feeling ready for another ‘round’; however A is having none of it. She gets up and busies herself getting clothes gathered up for Phil and fifteen minutes later she’s on her way back to work again.
I know that the visit was only a few hours, but I’m pleased that she made the effort and it was most enjoyable.
In the evening, I spend a long time online whilst listening to some music and drinking a couple of bottles of Chang. I persevere with MSN Messenger and actually manage to get a reasonably stable connection, but unfortunately the people I want to chat with in the UK are not online
Expenditure :
Stall food – 120 baht
Bacon and eggs with a mug of tea is the way to start the day off (well a way to start mid morning off), followed by a call to A. She says that she’ll be home for the afternoon, but she will be working again tonight.
After SSS, I sit in the lounge with just a towel wrapped round my waist and log on to the ‘net to check my emails, but my connection is terrible and keeps timing out, so it’s a bit of a waste of time.
Just as I give up, there’s a ‘toot’ from the gate. A has returned (minus Phil) and it’s great to see her smiling face. She has a drink of Coke and quicker than I’d take to make a move in a Soi 6 establishment I’m leading her to the bedroom without being sidetracked into showering first.
Afterwards, we both lay there and hug for a while before getting up; showering and getting dressed. She says that she’s hungry now, so off she goes to procure some sustenance. She returns less than ten minutes later with a ‘red’ pork dish with noodles and soup which is nourishing without being too heavy and we devour every last morsel.
Then it’s time for her to catch up on some Thai soap opera on the TV, so we just cuddle up on the sofa and I hold her whilst half watching the rubbish being broadcast.
After an hour or so, I’m feeling ready for another ‘round’; however A is having none of it. She gets up and busies herself getting clothes gathered up for Phil and fifteen minutes later she’s on her way back to work again.
I know that the visit was only a few hours, but I’m pleased that she made the effort and it was most enjoyable.
In the evening, I spend a long time online whilst listening to some music and drinking a couple of bottles of Chang. I persevere with MSN Messenger and actually manage to get a reasonably stable connection, but unfortunately the people I want to chat with in the UK are not online
Expenditure :
Stall food – 120 baht
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 98
November 15th
As I didn’t get to bed until 05:00, I am not best pleased to be woken at 08:30 with my phone ringing. I check who’s calling and have to take the call as it’s about a possible job prospect.
Straight back to bed for a few more hours of much needed sleep and then I get a call from Kev. The engineers have arrived to sort out his Internet access and he’s having difficulty getting things up and running, and we determine that the issue is not likely to be resolved using telephone support, so it’s necessary to make a trip over to see what’s been done. There’s also the ‘old’ laptop to be finished off, so there’s plenty to still be done.
Before leaving I shower and change as I might as well go directly from Kev’s place to the FLB for the Bar Crawl. I’ve already predicted that Soi 1 & 2 will win and there are plenty of ‘fun’ bars in the area.
When I get to Kev’s, I soon find out why I couldn’t resolve the matter over the phone. The engineers have disconnected the Prestige router and must have reset the password on the account as only the wireless router is now operational.
After sorting out the DHCP Server settings and setting up port forwarding for uTorrents, everything is working as it should.
Kev kindly provides me with a meal of ham, chips & spaghetti and as his back is feeling better today, he decides that he’s going to go on the crawl as well, so Joy is instructed to book the taxi whilst Kev goes to SSS.
What a turnout at the FLB! (Pictures courtesy of Hammer)
Many faces that I've met in the past and in the voting Soi 1/2 won by a landslide. At one point the voting was Soi 1/2 - 19; Soi Diamond - 7; 2nd Road - 1.
A quick drink in Hooty's to say "Hi" to BM treacle with his latest venture and then off to Soi 1. Joy Bar was the first stop where there was one really 'dirty' girl in particular that got the testosterone flowing for quite a few guys I reckon.
Down the road a bit to the complex containing Cosy Bar where there are is an extremely fine LadyBoy
Classroom GoGo next where they were a little bit overwhelmed by the numbers suddenly arriving. I found the service a little lacking and I was about to leave, however my mind was changed very quickly by a little lovely that came and sat with me. (I was so engrossed with her that I completely missed watching the shows that were put on for us).
Classroom beer bar next and an absolute stunner was playing pool. I couldn't take my eyes off her, but she was with someone else, however I still had some fun.
Ever onwards, we moved to Tropical Bar and the stunner followed. (Sheer poetry in motion). The pictures don’t do her justice in my opinion, but what a marvellous little body and big smile.
There’s no rest for the wicked and we had to move across the Soi to the last venue for the night which was The Honey Pot. This place can be a bit ‘hit or miss’, but tonight there was a good selection of eye candy for everyone to enjoy.
All too sudden the crawl was over, so there’s a quick trip down the Soi to Beach Road and a journey on a baht bus to Soi 8 where a few of us meet up for a 'nightcap' at Cherry Bar.
Not a night of total debauchery unlike the past few crawls, but a future return journey to Classroom beer bar could be on the cards.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxi – 140 baht
Bar Crawl – 1400 baht
As I didn’t get to bed until 05:00, I am not best pleased to be woken at 08:30 with my phone ringing. I check who’s calling and have to take the call as it’s about a possible job prospect.
Straight back to bed for a few more hours of much needed sleep and then I get a call from Kev. The engineers have arrived to sort out his Internet access and he’s having difficulty getting things up and running, and we determine that the issue is not likely to be resolved using telephone support, so it’s necessary to make a trip over to see what’s been done. There’s also the ‘old’ laptop to be finished off, so there’s plenty to still be done.
Before leaving I shower and change as I might as well go directly from Kev’s place to the FLB for the Bar Crawl. I’ve already predicted that Soi 1 & 2 will win and there are plenty of ‘fun’ bars in the area.
When I get to Kev’s, I soon find out why I couldn’t resolve the matter over the phone. The engineers have disconnected the Prestige router and must have reset the password on the account as only the wireless router is now operational.
After sorting out the DHCP Server settings and setting up port forwarding for uTorrents, everything is working as it should.
Kev kindly provides me with a meal of ham, chips & spaghetti and as his back is feeling better today, he decides that he’s going to go on the crawl as well, so Joy is instructed to book the taxi whilst Kev goes to SSS.
What a turnout at the FLB! (Pictures courtesy of Hammer)
Many faces that I've met in the past and in the voting Soi 1/2 won by a landslide. At one point the voting was Soi 1/2 - 19; Soi Diamond - 7; 2nd Road - 1.
A quick drink in Hooty's to say "Hi" to BM treacle with his latest venture and then off to Soi 1. Joy Bar was the first stop where there was one really 'dirty' girl in particular that got the testosterone flowing for quite a few guys I reckon.
Down the road a bit to the complex containing Cosy Bar where there are is an extremely fine LadyBoy
Classroom GoGo next where they were a little bit overwhelmed by the numbers suddenly arriving. I found the service a little lacking and I was about to leave, however my mind was changed very quickly by a little lovely that came and sat with me. (I was so engrossed with her that I completely missed watching the shows that were put on for us).
Classroom beer bar next and an absolute stunner was playing pool. I couldn't take my eyes off her, but she was with someone else, however I still had some fun.
Ever onwards, we moved to Tropical Bar and the stunner followed. (Sheer poetry in motion). The pictures don’t do her justice in my opinion, but what a marvellous little body and big smile.
There’s no rest for the wicked and we had to move across the Soi to the last venue for the night which was The Honey Pot. This place can be a bit ‘hit or miss’, but tonight there was a good selection of eye candy for everyone to enjoy.
All too sudden the crawl was over, so there’s a quick trip down the Soi to Beach Road and a journey on a baht bus to Soi 8 where a few of us meet up for a 'nightcap' at Cherry Bar.
Not a night of total debauchery unlike the past few crawls, but a future return journey to Classroom beer bar could be on the cards.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxi – 140 baht
Bar Crawl – 1400 baht
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 97
November 14th
I wake up on the sofa and see that it’s 03:00. I turn off the TV and just crawl into bed for a few hours. I reawake mid morning and try desperately to remember what the hell had happened the previous night.
I remember being at The Rockhouse and then …. Nothing
I go to get a bottle of water from the fridge and find that I’ve got 3 unopened bottles of Chang there and a bag of water (used to be ice) on the floor. I guess that I managed to buy these last night, so I call Kev to check the ‘gory’ details.
I’m told that we left The Rockhouse and got a taxi to Noi’s Bar where I apparently started trying to mess about with the girl that I seem to sit with on a regular basis. He says that she was having none of it and declared that I was “Mau mak mak” (No kidding!)
By mid afternoon, I’m feeling ‘brave’ enough to eat and it does make me feel considerably better.
Around 17:30, I make a call to A and we have quite a long chat. She’s working ‘boat’ again tonight and I find that I don’t really mind too much. Time has marched on and I need to SSS and get myself ready for my Cherry Bar duties tonight.
At 19:45, I leave the house and get the scooter to the junction of Klang & 2nd Road as I do most Wednesdays. I make the walk down Soi 8 and everywhere looks very quiet tonight and I’m not even hassled to go into the GoGo.
Cherry Bar is quiet as well. There’s only Sean at the bar until he’s joined by Matrix a bit later. Tonight there are parties on at Sam’s Bar and Best Bar as well as one in the bar right opposite, so I anticipate a long drawn out night. Whilst sitting at the bar, I’m being fed melon on a stick by Mint which is rather nice and I have to admit to having a few ‘naughty’ thoughts.
Matrix receives a call from Alleycat and I’m told that DiscoCol doesn’t want to come to Cherry Bar tonight, so the two of them drink up and then head off to all meet up in Walking Street.
The bar is virtually deserted now and the girls have little success in tempting any new customers off the Soi. The lady from the bar across the Soi then arrives with a plate having a whole chicken on it. She says that it’s for me and when I say that it is too much, I’m just told. “For give you much power”. I manage to eat the legs and wings, but cannot manage the breast. Kwan then takes the plate away and the chicken is stored away under the counter and not just thrown away.
There’s a trickle of customers coming to the bar, but it’s still quiet and it’s hard to believe that this is the beginning of the high season.
One of the visitors to the bar is BM Chang who created a Youtube video that myself, Kev & Chris Brewer watched incessantly last year. I still think it rates as one of the best video clips introducing some of what Pattaya is like to a newbie visitor.
He has a selection of other Youtube presentations that I think some of you will enjoy watching.
Changs Youtube Presentations
The other bars in the complex now have their girls up dancing, so Nam instructs a couple of the girls to start dancing on the bar to try and compete with the other bars for the few farang that are about. There’s little success unfortunately, however Chang decides that he is going to get Nam up dancing. This is something that neither of us has ever seen before and she is unwilling to do so until a crisp 1000 baht is proffered. This has the desired effect, however she’s unwilling to get up on her own and Mint joins her. There are many pictures and video clips taken (Mine have mysteriously been deleted from my camera by A. “It was accident”). Chang has paid out 1000 baht and I’ve paid out 100 baht for Mint to have a LD.
Later, I’m invited over to the other side of the bar to have a Sambuca with an ex Cherry Girl (Anna). She’s drinking with Eric and Innis, so I pull up a stool and join them for a while.
We talk of Eric’s impending nuptials and he tells me that he’ll be joining in on the Bar Crawl tomorrow as a sort of stag ‘do’. As 04:00 looms, I think about going home, but Chang buys me another beer and we decide to play pool for a while. We play ‘triples’ which is confusing to say the least. There’s myself, Nam & Neng v Chang, Aoy & Mint. We play three games and win 2 – 1, but few shots that we could really be proud of.
By 04:40, I finally head off to get some much needed shuteye.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxis – 150 baht
Toilet – 15 baht
Ladydrink for Mint – 100 baht
Beer / Ice bought on 13th – 115 baht
I wake up on the sofa and see that it’s 03:00. I turn off the TV and just crawl into bed for a few hours. I reawake mid morning and try desperately to remember what the hell had happened the previous night.
I remember being at The Rockhouse and then …. Nothing
I go to get a bottle of water from the fridge and find that I’ve got 3 unopened bottles of Chang there and a bag of water (used to be ice) on the floor. I guess that I managed to buy these last night, so I call Kev to check the ‘gory’ details.
I’m told that we left The Rockhouse and got a taxi to Noi’s Bar where I apparently started trying to mess about with the girl that I seem to sit with on a regular basis. He says that she was having none of it and declared that I was “Mau mak mak” (No kidding!)
By mid afternoon, I’m feeling ‘brave’ enough to eat and it does make me feel considerably better.
Around 17:30, I make a call to A and we have quite a long chat. She’s working ‘boat’ again tonight and I find that I don’t really mind too much. Time has marched on and I need to SSS and get myself ready for my Cherry Bar duties tonight.
At 19:45, I leave the house and get the scooter to the junction of Klang & 2nd Road as I do most Wednesdays. I make the walk down Soi 8 and everywhere looks very quiet tonight and I’m not even hassled to go into the GoGo.
Cherry Bar is quiet as well. There’s only Sean at the bar until he’s joined by Matrix a bit later. Tonight there are parties on at Sam’s Bar and Best Bar as well as one in the bar right opposite, so I anticipate a long drawn out night. Whilst sitting at the bar, I’m being fed melon on a stick by Mint which is rather nice and I have to admit to having a few ‘naughty’ thoughts.
Matrix receives a call from Alleycat and I’m told that DiscoCol doesn’t want to come to Cherry Bar tonight, so the two of them drink up and then head off to all meet up in Walking Street.
The bar is virtually deserted now and the girls have little success in tempting any new customers off the Soi. The lady from the bar across the Soi then arrives with a plate having a whole chicken on it. She says that it’s for me and when I say that it is too much, I’m just told. “For give you much power”. I manage to eat the legs and wings, but cannot manage the breast. Kwan then takes the plate away and the chicken is stored away under the counter and not just thrown away.
There’s a trickle of customers coming to the bar, but it’s still quiet and it’s hard to believe that this is the beginning of the high season.
One of the visitors to the bar is BM Chang who created a Youtube video that myself, Kev & Chris Brewer watched incessantly last year. I still think it rates as one of the best video clips introducing some of what Pattaya is like to a newbie visitor.
He has a selection of other Youtube presentations that I think some of you will enjoy watching.
Changs Youtube Presentations
The other bars in the complex now have their girls up dancing, so Nam instructs a couple of the girls to start dancing on the bar to try and compete with the other bars for the few farang that are about. There’s little success unfortunately, however Chang decides that he is going to get Nam up dancing. This is something that neither of us has ever seen before and she is unwilling to do so until a crisp 1000 baht is proffered. This has the desired effect, however she’s unwilling to get up on her own and Mint joins her. There are many pictures and video clips taken (Mine have mysteriously been deleted from my camera by A. “It was accident”). Chang has paid out 1000 baht and I’ve paid out 100 baht for Mint to have a LD.
Later, I’m invited over to the other side of the bar to have a Sambuca with an ex Cherry Girl (Anna). She’s drinking with Eric and Innis, so I pull up a stool and join them for a while.
We talk of Eric’s impending nuptials and he tells me that he’ll be joining in on the Bar Crawl tomorrow as a sort of stag ‘do’. As 04:00 looms, I think about going home, but Chang buys me another beer and we decide to play pool for a while. We play ‘triples’ which is confusing to say the least. There’s myself, Nam & Neng v Chang, Aoy & Mint. We play three games and win 2 – 1, but few shots that we could really be proud of.
By 04:40, I finally head off to get some much needed shuteye.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxis – 150 baht
Toilet – 15 baht
Ladydrink for Mint – 100 baht
Beer / Ice bought on 13th – 115 baht
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 96
November 13th
05:30 and I’m wide awake and A is just rousing as well. There’s time to ‘do the deed’ before it’s time for A to get up and get Phil ready. Once she leaves, I simply go back to bed and grab another three hours sleep.
Today, I have to go to Big C to stock up on meat and vegetables as well as getting some scouring powder to try and clear the limescale from the floortiles in the shower. Basic food shopping is very cheap here and I after I get home, I compare some of the prices to those in England.
The local citrus fruits such as pineapple, lime and oranges are about 1/7 of the UK supermarket price; pork loin 1/5; chicken breast 1/3; bottled water 1/5 and Coke 1/4. Overall my shopping bill is 1/4 of what it would have been at home for similar purchases.
I then make a phone call to the ‘bacon shop’ to check if they have anymore bacon ‘pieces’ in stock. They do, so I say that I’ll be along in 10 – 15 minutes. As I get on to Soi Khao Noi, I hear “Jawd” being called out. It’s Kye and she’s on the scooter, so I’m given a lift the couple of hundred yards to the shop.
The lady in the shop asks me if it was my girlfriend that had dropped me off and I say that it wasn’t and she just used to be a neighbour. “Okay. I have friend who see you in shop before. Maybe you want to see her. She is very pretty.” I say that I do have a girlfriend and agree with her that Pattaya has many many pretty ladies.
I get my kilo of bacon for the princely sum of 50 baht and as I leave the shop, Kye is just returning with some shopping in the front basket on the bike, so she stops and I get a lift back home.
I’ve not been in long when I get another text from Kevin inviting me out for a few ‘early door’ beers again. I call him to find out what time he’s thinking about and he tells me Rockhouse at 17:30! I say that I’ll need to call A to find out what time she’s getting back and then I’ll call him back.
When I speak to A, she says “I have something ask you. I scared you angly.” I laugh and say “You work tonight?” She says that if I am ‘angly’, that it’s okay and she will come home. I tell her that I’ve been invited out by Kevin, so maybe I get a bit ‘mau’ tonight and it’s okay if she works.
I call Kevin back and say that I’ll be at The Rockhouse at 17:30. He says that with no Internet and no local farangs, he needs to get out of the house. We arrive at the same time and tonight Kevin is in a drinking mood. I should have realised that it was all going to get messy, but the beers were sliding down, the music was good and we were chatting and joking about anything and everything.
During the night, a guy turned up with a professional camera setup and the reflective screens. He wanted to see the mamasan or the owner, but as neither were there, he just ended up dismantling all his equipment after about 30 minutes and left. (He hadn’t taken a single picture)
I remember still being in The Rockhouse at just after 20:30, however all issues after that are all ‘hazy’.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxis – 150 baht
Big C – 412 baht
Bacon Shop – 50 baht
Evening - ?
05:30 and I’m wide awake and A is just rousing as well. There’s time to ‘do the deed’ before it’s time for A to get up and get Phil ready. Once she leaves, I simply go back to bed and grab another three hours sleep.
Today, I have to go to Big C to stock up on meat and vegetables as well as getting some scouring powder to try and clear the limescale from the floortiles in the shower. Basic food shopping is very cheap here and I after I get home, I compare some of the prices to those in England.
The local citrus fruits such as pineapple, lime and oranges are about 1/7 of the UK supermarket price; pork loin 1/5; chicken breast 1/3; bottled water 1/5 and Coke 1/4. Overall my shopping bill is 1/4 of what it would have been at home for similar purchases.
I then make a phone call to the ‘bacon shop’ to check if they have anymore bacon ‘pieces’ in stock. They do, so I say that I’ll be along in 10 – 15 minutes. As I get on to Soi Khao Noi, I hear “Jawd” being called out. It’s Kye and she’s on the scooter, so I’m given a lift the couple of hundred yards to the shop.
The lady in the shop asks me if it was my girlfriend that had dropped me off and I say that it wasn’t and she just used to be a neighbour. “Okay. I have friend who see you in shop before. Maybe you want to see her. She is very pretty.” I say that I do have a girlfriend and agree with her that Pattaya has many many pretty ladies.
I get my kilo of bacon for the princely sum of 50 baht and as I leave the shop, Kye is just returning with some shopping in the front basket on the bike, so she stops and I get a lift back home.
I’ve not been in long when I get another text from Kevin inviting me out for a few ‘early door’ beers again. I call him to find out what time he’s thinking about and he tells me Rockhouse at 17:30! I say that I’ll need to call A to find out what time she’s getting back and then I’ll call him back.
When I speak to A, she says “I have something ask you. I scared you angly.” I laugh and say “You work tonight?” She says that if I am ‘angly’, that it’s okay and she will come home. I tell her that I’ve been invited out by Kevin, so maybe I get a bit ‘mau’ tonight and it’s okay if she works.
I call Kevin back and say that I’ll be at The Rockhouse at 17:30. He says that with no Internet and no local farangs, he needs to get out of the house. We arrive at the same time and tonight Kevin is in a drinking mood. I should have realised that it was all going to get messy, but the beers were sliding down, the music was good and we were chatting and joking about anything and everything.
During the night, a guy turned up with a professional camera setup and the reflective screens. He wanted to see the mamasan or the owner, but as neither were there, he just ended up dismantling all his equipment after about 30 minutes and left. (He hadn’t taken a single picture)
I remember still being in The Rockhouse at just after 20:30, however all issues after that are all ‘hazy’.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxis – 150 baht
Big C – 412 baht
Bacon Shop – 50 baht
Evening - ?
Monday, 12 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 95
November 12th
I wake at 08:15 and as I put the kettle on, I get a text message on my phone. It’s a message from Kev saying that with ‘Mama Joy’ staying over, he’s being woken very early every day, so after drinking my tea, I get a scooter over to his place to investigate his ADSL problem and his ‘non booting’ laptop.
The problem with the ADSL is a service problem rather than a network problem, so it’s necessary to contact the service provider. This is easier said than done and it takes several calls and trying to explain to Joy what to report.
Eventually, it’s determined that there is a major communications problem affecting many customers in Chonburi and it’s unknown when the issue will be resolved. This is a major problem for Kev as he is expected to be in contact with work on a daily basis as part of his recuperation ‘deal’. From a security perspective, it’s not acceptable for him to use an Internet café and he doesn’t want to sit in a public place to utilise a WiFi connection.
An additional problem was that his laptop had stopped working yesterday and simply went in a continual reboot sequence. To get over this, he’d just gone and bought a new laptop and that’s when he’d found the problem with his Internet connection.
I check out the laptop and as he now has a new system and all his critical data has already been backed up, it’s going to be simplest to do a reinstall of the Operating System rather than spend too long attempting to rectify the problem. The problem with this is that he has no OS media, so I say that a trip to Tukcom would be required. Kev then says that if I go to Tukcom, could I also arrange to get his hospital bills scanned and have the images put on his memory stick and also to get some new dressings for his back.
I use his scooter to set off on my chores and the scanning costs 200 baht; Windows XP costs 150 baht and a couple of dressings from the pharmacy next to Tim’s cost 130 baht.
I return and get started on the software installation. This is a success; however there are a number of drivers that need to be downloaded from the Averatech website which cannot be done until a ‘net connection is back.
By 16:45, I’m ready to return home, but the heaven’s suddenly open and there’s no way that I’m going anywhere for a while. After 30 minutes, the rain ceases and Joy then gives me a lift home and 30 minutes later A arrives home with Phil.
A is tired as she hadn’t finished work until 03:00 and was up at 07:30 to take Phil to school, so she just goes out and gets some stall food. She returns with chicken in coconut, a selection of vegetables in a clear broth and a deep fried fish. Asking what type of fish it is, solicits the response “I not know name in English. Is black fish”
By 20:30, it’s time for Phil to sleep, but A takes the opportunity to lie down to settle him quickly. 15 minutes later I look in to find them both fast asleep. I have a shower and watch TV for an hour before carrying Phil to his bed and snuggling up to A. I consider waking her, but feel that this would not be fair and I can simply wait until morning.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxi – 60 baht
Stall Food – 100 baht
I wake at 08:15 and as I put the kettle on, I get a text message on my phone. It’s a message from Kev saying that with ‘Mama Joy’ staying over, he’s being woken very early every day, so after drinking my tea, I get a scooter over to his place to investigate his ADSL problem and his ‘non booting’ laptop.
The problem with the ADSL is a service problem rather than a network problem, so it’s necessary to contact the service provider. This is easier said than done and it takes several calls and trying to explain to Joy what to report.
Eventually, it’s determined that there is a major communications problem affecting many customers in Chonburi and it’s unknown when the issue will be resolved. This is a major problem for Kev as he is expected to be in contact with work on a daily basis as part of his recuperation ‘deal’. From a security perspective, it’s not acceptable for him to use an Internet café and he doesn’t want to sit in a public place to utilise a WiFi connection.
An additional problem was that his laptop had stopped working yesterday and simply went in a continual reboot sequence. To get over this, he’d just gone and bought a new laptop and that’s when he’d found the problem with his Internet connection.
I check out the laptop and as he now has a new system and all his critical data has already been backed up, it’s going to be simplest to do a reinstall of the Operating System rather than spend too long attempting to rectify the problem. The problem with this is that he has no OS media, so I say that a trip to Tukcom would be required. Kev then says that if I go to Tukcom, could I also arrange to get his hospital bills scanned and have the images put on his memory stick and also to get some new dressings for his back.
I use his scooter to set off on my chores and the scanning costs 200 baht; Windows XP costs 150 baht and a couple of dressings from the pharmacy next to Tim’s cost 130 baht.
I return and get started on the software installation. This is a success; however there are a number of drivers that need to be downloaded from the Averatech website which cannot be done until a ‘net connection is back.
By 16:45, I’m ready to return home, but the heaven’s suddenly open and there’s no way that I’m going anywhere for a while. After 30 minutes, the rain ceases and Joy then gives me a lift home and 30 minutes later A arrives home with Phil.
A is tired as she hadn’t finished work until 03:00 and was up at 07:30 to take Phil to school, so she just goes out and gets some stall food. She returns with chicken in coconut, a selection of vegetables in a clear broth and a deep fried fish. Asking what type of fish it is, solicits the response “I not know name in English. Is black fish”
By 20:30, it’s time for Phil to sleep, but A takes the opportunity to lie down to settle him quickly. 15 minutes later I look in to find them both fast asleep. I have a shower and watch TV for an hour before carrying Phil to his bed and snuggling up to A. I consider waking her, but feel that this would not be fair and I can simply wait until morning.
Expenditure :
Scooter Taxi – 60 baht
Stall Food – 100 baht
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Trip 4 - Day 94
November 11th
I’m woken by the sound of the gate opening, so it seems that A has returned home. She comes into the bedroom and strips off, then goes for a shower and climbs into bed. Just a simple “I sorry” and she puts her arm round me and unsurprisingly I’m instantly alert. I also realise that she has come home without Phil, so the next words were music to my ears. “Not do long time okay?” “Okay”
Afterwards, A rolls over and says “I tired”, so I just lie there with her in my arms until she falls asleep. A quick kiss on the forehead and I tuck her up whilst I gather some clothes together and leave her to her dreams.
A couple of hours later, she wakes up and prepares some food with the supplies in the fridge. We have a meal of Pork Loin with gravy, carrots, sweet corn and a salad of lettuce tomato and onion.
Then comes “I work again tonight okay?” “What time you have to go?” “Have time for you do me again”
It’s not what I was looking for, however being a ‘typical’ male, I do not decline the opportunity for some more intimacy. After ‘finit’, we shower and then A’s phone starts ringing. After she finishes, she tells me that it was Kye and she wants to borrow the scooter for 10 minutes to go to the market as Robin has their scooter today. A has told her that she can but it has to be straightaway as she will be leaving soon.
We dress and within a couple of minutes, Kye arrives. She goes off on the scooter and A starts getting her and Phil’s clothes ready for tomorrow. Just over ten minutes later there’s a toot on the horn and Kye is back. A goes out to meet her as she’s going to drop her back home on her way to work.
It’s now 16:45, so I logon to the Internet and the ‘plan’ is to check my e-mails and maybe get some posting done. Just 15 minutes later, my line drops and I realise it’s because I’ve received a text message. It’s from Kev and he says that he’s finally managed to make it out for a bit and did I want to join him for a few at The Rockhouse followed by some grub at The Pig & Whistle? (His treat)
I call him and say that I’d love to and to find out what time. “NOW!”
I change my shirt and I’m heading out the door within five minutes. A scooter taxi gets me to LK Metro very quickly on this Sunday evening and when I enter the bar, Kev is the only customer.
He starts building his playlist on the music PC and we spend a while looking up ‘old favourites’. We are both very surprised at some of the music on the system as it’s possible to get stuff from very non-rock bands such as The Carpenters, yet there is nothing available from The Clash.
Kev downs a few vodka diets and I’m on the Chang beer and they are sliding down nicely. Kev is still suffering a lot of pain from his back and he says that he doubts that he’ll be getting out in the evenings much as he’s always going to be anxious about getting his back knocked. A few quiet afternoon beers every now and then though could be a distinct possibility.
What he’s also missed is his roast dinners, so we get a baht bus to Soi 7 and have a meal at the Pig & Whistle. No booze, just a mug of tea each with the meal and then Kev says that he’s not up to any more and he’s just going to head back home. Rather than stay in town, I say that I’ll head back as well, but I’ll have a couple in Noi’s before going home.
A phone call to Joy to get her to book their regular bus and we’re met at the end of the Soi about 10 minutes later. Kev carefully clambers into the front and I jump in the back. Over to Khao Noi and I disembark outside Noi’s whilst Kev resolve holds and he’s not going to be persuaded in for a ‘quickie’.
I don’t stay too long and at just after 23:00, I make my way back home where I fall asleep almost immediately.
Expenditure :
Mama allowance – 500 baht
Scooter Taxi – 60 baht
Noi’s Bar – 250 baht
I’m woken by the sound of the gate opening, so it seems that A has returned home. She comes into the bedroom and strips off, then goes for a shower and climbs into bed. Just a simple “I sorry” and she puts her arm round me and unsurprisingly I’m instantly alert. I also realise that she has come home without Phil, so the next words were music to my ears. “Not do long time okay?” “Okay”
Afterwards, A rolls over and says “I tired”, so I just lie there with her in my arms until she falls asleep. A quick kiss on the forehead and I tuck her up whilst I gather some clothes together and leave her to her dreams.
A couple of hours later, she wakes up and prepares some food with the supplies in the fridge. We have a meal of Pork Loin with gravy, carrots, sweet corn and a salad of lettuce tomato and onion.
Then comes “I work again tonight okay?” “What time you have to go?” “Have time for you do me again”
It’s not what I was looking for, however being a ‘typical’ male, I do not decline the opportunity for some more intimacy. After ‘finit’, we shower and then A’s phone starts ringing. After she finishes, she tells me that it was Kye and she wants to borrow the scooter for 10 minutes to go to the market as Robin has their scooter today. A has told her that she can but it has to be straightaway as she will be leaving soon.
We dress and within a couple of minutes, Kye arrives. She goes off on the scooter and A starts getting her and Phil’s clothes ready for tomorrow. Just over ten minutes later there’s a toot on the horn and Kye is back. A goes out to meet her as she’s going to drop her back home on her way to work.
It’s now 16:45, so I logon to the Internet and the ‘plan’ is to check my e-mails and maybe get some posting done. Just 15 minutes later, my line drops and I realise it’s because I’ve received a text message. It’s from Kev and he says that he’s finally managed to make it out for a bit and did I want to join him for a few at The Rockhouse followed by some grub at The Pig & Whistle? (His treat)
I call him and say that I’d love to and to find out what time. “NOW!”
I change my shirt and I’m heading out the door within five minutes. A scooter taxi gets me to LK Metro very quickly on this Sunday evening and when I enter the bar, Kev is the only customer.
He starts building his playlist on the music PC and we spend a while looking up ‘old favourites’. We are both very surprised at some of the music on the system as it’s possible to get stuff from very non-rock bands such as The Carpenters, yet there is nothing available from The Clash.
Kev downs a few vodka diets and I’m on the Chang beer and they are sliding down nicely. Kev is still suffering a lot of pain from his back and he says that he doubts that he’ll be getting out in the evenings much as he’s always going to be anxious about getting his back knocked. A few quiet afternoon beers every now and then though could be a distinct possibility.
What he’s also missed is his roast dinners, so we get a baht bus to Soi 7 and have a meal at the Pig & Whistle. No booze, just a mug of tea each with the meal and then Kev says that he’s not up to any more and he’s just going to head back home. Rather than stay in town, I say that I’ll head back as well, but I’ll have a couple in Noi’s before going home.
A phone call to Joy to get her to book their regular bus and we’re met at the end of the Soi about 10 minutes later. Kev carefully clambers into the front and I jump in the back. Over to Khao Noi and I disembark outside Noi’s whilst Kev resolve holds and he’s not going to be persuaded in for a ‘quickie’.
I don’t stay too long and at just after 23:00, I make my way back home where I fall asleep almost immediately.
Expenditure :
Mama allowance – 500 baht
Scooter Taxi – 60 baht
Noi’s Bar – 250 baht
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