Trip 4 - Day 30

8th September

It's Saturday and my morning is a write off due to the after effects of the Chang last night.

A arrives home at 14:15 and we spend some time just being close. Her nights away have made me realise that I do worry for her and I miss her very much when she's not about, but she earns well from the long hours and she has received a very impressive 22,000 baht this month which has been banked to add to her "I not want be like Mama when I get old" fund.

In the evening, I tell A that we've been invited round to Kevin's so that I can watch the football and/or rugby and she says that she doesn't want to go but it's okay for me to go alone. I decide not to bother, so A goes out to get some food for us as well as food and drink for 'Buddha'.

We spend the night curled up on the sofa watching Thai TV (with channel hopping) as I don't have any sports channels on the TV network in the room. Just another quiet night in which some have called an 'existence' or just 'survival', but it is a life with few of the stresses of living in the West and day to day life can be carried out very cheaply.

Expenditure :

Food : 120 baht

Trip 4 - Day 29

7th September

An uneventful day and there are no plans for this evening either as A has called to say that she'll be working again tonight. It looks like a night in with the DVD's, however Kev phones and says he just wants a quiet night with a few beers and he he'll be over at Noi's later and that I should join him there.

So I end up having an evening spent chatting and drinking with Kev whilst Joy disappears off with one of the girls from the bar to determine where to get the best food. I don't realise the time slipping by and the beers slipping down (too easily), but when it comes time to pay, Kev has taken all my slips and put them in his bin, so another cheap night for me. ("It's only the same cost as buying you a couple of pints of Guinness in the King's Arms")

Unsure exactly what time I left the bar, but the walk home was definitely a bit 'wobbly'.

Expenditure :

0 baht

Trip 4 - Day 28

6th September

I awake at just after noon and whilst I don't have a 'full blown' hangover, I have to admit to having felt better.

Everything seems to take longer to do and it's already 13:00 by the time I've managed to get up, showered, dressed and made tea & toast for 'breakfast'.

I call A and she says that she will be finishing work at 14:00, then she is going to see 'Auntie' and should be home between 16:00 & 17:00.

I am several days behind on the TR publishing, so I get started on the task of writing up from my notes and when I check my email, I have finally got my Google Adsense account approved, so I need to start 'knuckling down' to try and start generating some online income as well.

Tonight is the FLB Bar Crawl, but as I haven't seen A for a couple of days I think that I will probably 'pass'. I am unsure if the curry at #2 is still on as there was some confusion as to which day it was being arranged for. I get a call from Kevin and he has a bus picking him up at 19:00, so it's left that if I do decide to go, I should call him before then and he'll pick me up.

By 18:30, there is still no sign of A and she isn't answering her phone which has me a little worried, but she calls me ten minutes later and says that she is late because she fell asleep at "house Auntie". She is nearly home and will see me in five minutes, so I am not going out tonight.

She returns and we sit together quietly just holding each other for half an hour or so before she breaks away and says that she has to get food and then the ironing needs to be done. She comes back with food for us both and I have a meal of pork dumplings and noodles which I wash down with a glass of Chang & ice.

After eating, A gets started on the ironing whilst watching / listening to the TV (It seems that I should have put the washing from yesterday outside this morning as some of the items are not fully dried.) and I settle down to reading a book and finishing the bottle of Chang.
By 23:00, we turn in for the night and sleep comes very easily.

Expenditure :

Food : 100 baht

Trip 4 - Day 27

5th September

Awake at 10:00 and A is not feeling too great which is an indicator that I have been here for 4 weeks. She's off to the shop this morning and is unsure of what she'll be doing tonight, but if there is work available then she says she will do it as tonight it is already known that I will be out late at Cherry Bar.

We leave together on the scooter and I jump off at the junction with Pattaya Klang. I make my way down to the hardware store where I bought the components for the washing machine 'extension' lead as I've been asked if I could do the same for 'lady #2'

First stop though is the computer store, where I need to buy a wireless router for installation at Kevin's place as he only has an Ethernet router installed at present. I get a D-Link DSL-2640T for 2490 baht which is a good price and as I have some experience with installing D-Link hardware, I do not envisage any problems. (My main concern is whether the Username / Password for connection to the ADSL service are provided anywhere.)

Next purchase is the hose and connector for #2 which costs 150 baht and then it's onward to Carrefour to meet Kevin at 11:30.

At 11:25, I send him a text asking where he is and he calls me back to say that he's still at home and the taxi bus still hasn't arrived (running on Thai time). I say that I'll sit out the front of the store and simply wait for him.

When he arrives, I accompany him on his shopping expedition and it has to be said that Joy hasn't got to grips with the mundane shopping for a farang, so her trolley contains a few sweets, some cosmetic products, shampoo and little else whilst Kevin is laden down with steaks, chips, ice, salad, a few vegetables, washing powder, fabric conditioner, cheese, butter, yoghurt, milk a deep fat fryer, an electric kettle and three boxes of Frosties.

He pays for his purchases and we load up the taxi bus to get everything back to his new place. Joy heads off back to the condo to supervise the transfer of more stuff to the new place including her shoe collection (I hear that Imelda has a rival). We unpack and then sit down with a cup of rosie, (Rosie Lee - Tea) before getting the wireless connection hooked up.

I power up the existing router and connect it to my laptop via an Ethernet cable. There is a good connection, but the connection password is 'hidden' in the config and there is no paperwork anywhere to indicate what the logon name is. I determine that the connection is Maxnet supplied by TT&T and look to find a contact number in order to reset the password. Kev then asks if it's possible to just have both devices connected instead.

Yes it is. I can configure the Wireless router to have no WAN connectivity and disable the DHCP server. In addition, I'll need to reassign its static IP address as it has a default setting the same as the Zyxel Ethernet only device.

Within 20 minutes we have a network comprising a Zyxel router providing the Internet connection and DHCP / DNS services with the D-Link device connected via Ethernet and providing Wireless connectivity.

Kevin tests initially with his telephone that he can make a connection and everything works as it should. Next we check his and Joy’s laptops and apart from a problem with actually turning on the Wireless antenna on Joy's Acer laptop, we have success.

I wander around the house with my laptop running as a wireless client and there is a good signal throughout the property and all around the pool area, so my job is done. I then make the most of the available bandwidth and proceed to update virus definitions and download all the latest Microsoft updates as well as checking for updates on a couple of applications that I use.
When Joy returns, the bus is unloaded and Kevin tells me that the driver has been paid for the day and will drop me off back at my place, so I return and as I arrive, Robin from #2 is just opening his door. I say that I'll be with him in 15 minutes to sort out his washing machine as I have the parts in my bag.

I start a load of washing in my own room and then go downstairs and sort out their machine. They are currently doing the laundry and the hosepipe is connected to the tap, so I disconnect it and ten minutes later, their washing machine is now working as an 'automatic' for the first time. (No more shouting at the children to turn the tap on and turn the tap off at each water refill cycle.) This earns me a big hug from the lady of the house and Robin repays me the 150 baht that it has cost me in parts.

Back upstairs and I have a cup of tea before unloading my own washing, but as it has just been raining I decide that it is best if I don't hang the washing outside, so I just hang everything on the clothes rail. I then call A and she says that she will be working tonight so I should prepare food for myself tonight.

A bite to eat and then it's time to get ready to depart for Cherry Bar, but as I leave, Pun calls out from the landing "George; where you going?". I say that I am going to Cherry Bar and she says that she will be going on the scooter in 10 minutes and will give me a lift, so I wait a little longer and have been saved a walk and 10 baht.

At the bar, there are no customers yet, but at this early hour, the same can be said for many of the bars in the area.

After 15 minutes though a guy arrives at the bar and says "Hi George". He then introduces himself as BM Big Pete and I get the opportunity to thank him for the bottle of Tequila that he donated to the party in January by sending money to MM via Paypal. We sit and chat for some time and he tells me a couple of anecdotes from a recent trip to Burma. The funniest was when he was filling out his visa application and when it came to the question "Residence in Burma", he was advised to simply write "Hotel" and this was deemed to be a satisfactory answer.

We are then joined by BM Bazzap who stays for a few drinks and ends up paying BF for one of the ladies but doesn't leave with her. He says he'll return later to see her.

BM Kuranda Bagman is the next to introduce himself to me and we get on very well. We are chatting away and he tells me how even an 'innocent' comment to the girls can cause potential problems. It seems that he's made some comment to Pun about her neighbour and she didn't know how he would have such information, (so guys, be careful what you say when talking to a girl that you have knowledge of through the boards!)

Casper UK then arrives and things start getting a little messy. Both the guys are buying me drinks and in the good company they are going down rather easily. Kuranda Bagman then has a look around the girls to decide which of the ladies he intends to barfine for the evening and he decides it will probably be "K". She's just gone to get a fresh round of drinks so she hasn't heard this and when she returns, Kuranda Bagman has gone off to the toilet. I tell her that I think that he will pay barfine for her tonight, but she simply laughs and shakes her head in disagreement. I say "I bet you 20 baht he will barfine you tonight." This is clearly understood and we shake on the bet (Talk about insider dealing.)

My new neighbour Ryan and his lady then appear at the bar and I get them a drink and they settle down to play the dice game with a couple of the girls and end up staying for a few hours.

Then another BM that I recognisefrom a Bar Crawl arrives. He sits at the bar and proceeds to swear at the girls and makes his demands for a "full cup of fucking coffee" and that he wasn't going to "pay a dollar for a fucking third of a cup of fucking coffee". (This is the BM that had asked me on the GoGo crawl last week why he was having such poor luck with the girls. Well my friend, I can say from having seen you 'in action', that the girls will most definitely avoid you if what I saw is your 'standard' approach.).

Noy returns with a mug of coffee that is full to within a centimetre of the top of the mug and he sends it back saying that he wants "a fucking full cup of coffee". Noy takes it back and returns with the mug now filled to within a few millimetres of the brim and he accepts this. He then proceeds to pour the milk in and the coffee spills over the edge of the brim into the saucer. He then moves round the bar where he plays Connect 4 with one of the girls and I make a note to buy her a drink later.

Kuranda Bagman duly pays barfine for "K" and she comes over to me smiling so I hold my hand out. She laughs and Kuranda Bagman gives her 20 baht which she gives to me. (He makes a comment that it'll be interesting to see her reaction when he leaves a 'tip' of 980 baht in the morning.) (I do offer her the money back later and say that I already knew that he would be paying barfine, but she wouldn't take it).

At 00:30, I get a call from a mate (Glen) in Stansted. He says that he's in the pub; the place is empty and he's bored. Of course all he can hear from my end are the competing sounds of the various bar sound systems and he says that it sounds wild where I am. I tell him that it's just a quiet night tonight and I don't think he believes me. He does say that he is hoping to make it out in December for his 'virgin' visit to LoS which would be good as he deserves a bit of fun.

By now I have lost all track of time and the next face I recognise at the bar is "N". This is the third time that I've seen her during this trip, but it’s the first time she's been alone. She tells me that she still texts BM Manracer and keeps in touch which I knew as he had PM'd me about having seen her last week even though I hadn't mentioned it in the TR.

It seems that she has no credit in her phone though tonight, so she ends up using my phone to send him a text tonight which says "I dang to much". Manracer sends a reply within 5 minutes saying "don't get George too drunk" (A little late for that advice I suspect.)

Pun then tells me that she will not be going back tonight as she is staying at the Bar until morning, so I start getting my stuff together to go home 'alone', when there is another familiar face at the bar. BM Torrenova has arrived, so I sit and talk with him for a while, but do not hang around too long as he has been a 'bad influence' in the past.

I feel that it's been a good night; there have been a number of customers for myself and the girls to talk with; the girls have been bought a few drinks by the customers; a couple of the girls have been barfined and there's been a lot of laughter in the bar. Next Wednesday Hammer will be back in residence as it's a party night in Cherry Bar.

Expenditure :

Toilet : 5 baht
Scooter Taxi home : 100 baht

Trip 4 - Day 26

4th September

Wake up at just after 09:00 and A says that I need to "Go shower qiuckly" as it seems that the bus to Bangkok leaves on the Sukhumvit highway at 10:00. A is going to work 'in shop' today so she gets ready as well and she drops me off at the bus stop where the bus is ready to depart.

My fare is collected ( 100 baht to Ekkamai) and I settle down for what I suspect to be a long trip. No journey on the highway this time though as we have many stops to make en route. We finally arrive at Ekkamai at 13:05 and as I don't know my way around and am unsure of exactly where the Immigration office is, I simply get a taxi and I am told that Bangkok traffic is very busy, so the fare is 300 baht. I suspect that this is a scam, but I'm not prepared to argue and just want to get everything done and return to Pattaya.

Once at Immigration, I ask at the information desk where I need to go and the guy looks at my passport and says "Desk 519" and directs me around the corner. I find an area full of seats and glass windows with officials behind and it's reminiscent of a Post Office in England with bored officials sat at the counters. I see '519' which is the last window on the right and has a sign saying "Stamp Correction", so I am guessing that this is a fairly common issue.

I approach the counter and before I get the chance to explain, the guy just takes my passport, looks through the various stamps; pulls a piece of paper over (same list as in Jomtein) and looks up my entry date. He takes a red felt pen and crosses out 08 Sep 2007 and stamps underneath 07 Nov 2007. He closes the passport and returns it to me. That's it! I could have done the bloody job myself with a red felt pen and a date stamp borrowed from any bar.

My total time in the Immigration office has been 8 minutes! I decide I'll take a motorcycle taxi back to the bus station and whilst it's cheaper at just 100 baht, the journey makes the ones in Pattaya seem like child's play. I'm convinced that we're going to be involved in an accident at least four times on the journey. The heat and the traffic fumes are also oppressive and I just want to get away from here as quickly as I can.

At the bus station, there is 1st class bus service to Pattaya at 117 baht leaving in 5 minutes at 14:10 or a 2nd class bus service at 91 baht. I'm guessing that I'd been on 2nd (or even 3rd) class coming here, so I opt for the more expensive journey this time. My total time in Bangkok has been just 65 minutes and most of that has been spent in traffic jams.

The coach for this journey is much more comfortable and we head straight to the highway and make good time getting as far as the Sri Racha area. We then turn off towards Ao Udon and we pass within 200 metres of 'my home me'. We continue along to the main road and I recognise the hotel & bar "England Country" which is where myself and A stayed when I spent a weekend with her family back on Trip 2.

We continue on to Pattaya and arrive in the terminal on Pattaya Nua where I then have the trek back to the room with just a quick detour via Sukhumvit Soi 53 to get a bottle of water (10 baht) and a double portion of freshly fried chicken with sticky rice (55 baht).

I get back to the room and grab a quick nap before A arrives home and then I get a call from Kevin telling me to "get my arse" down to Noi's bar to join him for a beer and for him to tell me what he wants sorting out for his Internet connection at the new place.

I tell A that I'll only be gone a short while to which she simply gives me a look and says "You go see Kevin? You go long time for sure"

As it happens I am an extremely 'good boy' and only have three beers tonight (1 bought by Kevin) before returning home. Robin at #2 has been cooking and has made a delectable Thai / Indian mutton curry which is absolutely gorgeous to eat, with the meat simply 'melting' off the bone and washed down with a dilute 'Master Blend' (75 baht for 30cl) and soda water with plenty of ice.

Of the two curries on offer tonight, I'd have to cast my vote with Robin (sorry Chef!)

Expenditure :

Bus fares : 217 baht
Taxi fares : 400 baht
Water & Chicken with rice : 65 baht
Noi's Bar : 120 baht

Trip 4 - Day 25

3rd September

Any ideas of a morning lie in are disturbed by first the meter reader and secondly the ladies of #2 & #11, so it's time to 'go shower'.

This week I need to get my 'exit date' resolved as if I don't, I'll need to do a 'visa run' at the end of the week.

We journey out to the immigration office on Soi 5 in Jomtein and after making enquiries at the information desk, I'm directed to speak with a lady at a nearby desk. She looks at my passport and asks me how long I want to stay. I say that I am planning to leave in November and then return for a longer stay. She pulls over a poiece of paper with columns of dates written on it and she writes the date 07 Nov in pencil under my exit date stamp, but then says that it is not possible for the office here to change the date and it will be necessary to visit "Head Office" in Bangkok.

I see little benefit in arguing and simply tell A that tomorrow I will be going to Bangkok to get the matter resolved.

As I needed to be 'out' with my passport today, I've also brought some Traveller's Cheques to exchange so that I can repay the rest of my debt to Kevin (The funding of Trip 3), but after stopping at a couple of places and finding them closed, I realise that it's because they don't open until 10:00 and it's still only 09:20.

As we head back towards Pattaya, A takes a detour and we go to the 'Big Buddha' on the hill. I'm asked if I've been here before and when I say that I haven't, A is quite surprised. We say prayers in the covered area on the right hand side after going up the steps, then prayers at the Big Buddha itself, followed by prayers at the statue that represents the day of your birth. (In my case Saturday and in A's case Monday), then prayers and offering of flowers at the shrine next to the stage where a priest is 'in residence'. We sit in front of him and A offers up a 'monk' bucket with an envelope containing her 'offering'. She repeats his mantra and then as she collects a flask of water and small bowl, she says that I have to be touching her when she pours the water. Once this is done, the priest offers what I think is a blessing and sprinkles the two of us with water shaken from a bunch of twigs.

It's now past 10 o'clock, so we head down to the exchange bureaus next to Mountain Beach Hotel as it's near to Kev's condo and I can simply drop the money into him, but this place is closed, so we head into town and I change my money at a bank on Pattaya Tai.

As A isn't working again today, I am not going to be going out with him for the postponed lunchtime assignation from yesterday, but he needs to have the rest of the two months advance rent sorted out before he moves in the next day, so we head up to the offices of Alan Bolton, where I leave the money for him and send him a text saying what's been done.

Back to the room where we eat a late breakfast that A has bought from a stall in Soi Khao Noi and then she heads off to see #2 where it appears that another 'big cook' is underway and I'm summoned to eat at around 15:00.

There's prawns, squid, 'pig', chicken and 'unidentified' seafood (so small it looked initially as though it was pea gravel being cooked in the pan). Along with stir fried vegetables, it's a veritable feast. After eating I remind A that we have been invited to joing Kevin and Joy at the opening of a place on Soi 73 Sukhumvit that is owned by a guy that Kevin knows from just down the Soi from his current condo. She's not that keen to go, but agrees and I remind her that we are expected at 19:00.

At 18:45, she comes up to get ready. She has to wash her hair (as she has managed to get the ends dunked in the cauldron of green curry that was cooked earlier) and then as we are going out, there's the 'warpaint' application to be done as well.

We join a 'fleet' of scooters leaving at the same time as Tai is heading off to Cherry Bar and Ryan and his lady are heading off to town as well. We arrive 'fashionably late' at Jessie's Place at around 20:15 and find that it's a Thai style buffet sat at a long table in the Soi adjoining the place.

There's a bit of chat, but neither A nor myself are particularly hungry as we've already eaten, but I join in the chat with Kevin and a few of the other ex-pats in attendance. Kev and Joy are planning to leave at 21:00 and A and myself are wondering whether to stay on for another drink when there's a 'domestic' between the owner and his Thai wife and our decision is very quickly made.

We are leaving as well!

But where to go? A says that she doesn't want to go to Cherry Bar or FLB Bar, so I say that it is 'up to her', but she's not letting me get away with it that simply. "Is not up to me, is up to you where we go. Is money you" I then suggest Goanna Bar on Soi Dianna as this would be her first visit back there since my return. She agrees and Kev says that himself and Joy will also join us for a couple there, so we all make a hasty escape from the scene of domestic 'non-bliss'

At Goanna Bar, A is made welcome by the few girls there. In fact, the whole complex is pretty quiet and there are very few customers anywhere and the four of us at Goanna actually make it one of the busier places. We play the dice game and Connect 4 with myself and Kevin both getting beat and having to pay our respective girls a few 20 baht notes.

Kevin & Joy leave for Joy to go off to a disco and Kevin to accompany MM on a visit to a couple of GoGo's. He asks if I want to join him, but I decline as I have said that when A is about, I intend to spend time with her. I hadn't realised that it would be a commodity that would be rationed to such a degree, but at least it stops us getting bored with each other I guess.

A then plays dominoes with one of her friends and she's laughing and smiling which is great to see. She 'pushes the boat out' and even has a couple of Malibu's. The pile of 10 baht coins rises and falls as luck favours first A then her friend. By 00:15, A decides that she has had enough to drink and asks if I am ready to go. When I say that I am, we call for checkbin which is 600 baht including a tip.

Expenditure :

Rent for September : 2500 baht
Utils for August : 538 baht (4 water @ 20; 64 electric @ 7; TV (?) @ 10)
Goanna Bar : 600 baht

Trip 4 - Day 24

2nd September

Not too early a start, so the first thing is to 'phone A to see how she is and see if she knows when she'll be back. The good news is that she'll be finishing at 14:15, so that means the Soi 6 crawl is a non starter for me.

I send a text to Kev 'crying off' and he decides to postpone the event until Monday after he's sorted out everything with Steve at Alan Bolton's

A actually returns home early at just after 14:15 along with a couple of boxes that she's got from Mama. It's really great to see her and we eat the chicken that she's brought in with her; drink Coke & water and just chat whilst sitting on the sofa.

She tells me that she has regularly been doing these long hours and all night shifts. It appears that the chap she works for who owns the shop is also involved in some way with a freight operations company at Sri Racha port, so she tends to do either one job or the other, which is why there isn't a problem when she's not at the shop.

When I ask her why she hadn't told me about this, she simply says that she "I no want you yak yak me too mut". She then proceeds to unpack the boxes that she's brought home. As part of moving, Mama has decided that she doesn't have the time or the space for her 'Buddhas', so thay have been transferred into the custody of A. There is a whole raft of things that are 'necessary' for each figure so now the shopping list will include cigars, whisky, extra fruit, extra garlands and ........ "Red Fanta" In addition, at each prayer session, we now have a total of 27 incense sticks being burnt.

I get a text call from BM Hammer. ("Where is everybody?") It seems that Kevin had sent a text to Casper UK (and I assume Lord Flash), but as he didn't have a current contact number for Hammer, he assumed that one of the rest of us would let him know that the meet had been cancelled.

A says that she'd like to eat 'bufffet' tonight so I ask which one she wants to go to, but it seems that she wants to eat at home and we'll cook and eat with #2. There's no problem with this, so she goes off to the market to buy meat and vegetables.

Drink for the evening is a bottle of 100 Pipers (supplied by Robin) which is heavily diluted with water & ice and is surprisingly refreshing.

We then meet the latest resident of the block who had arrived earlier in the day. He's an Irishman (Northern) called Ryan Conner. It's his 7th visit this year and he's planning to marry in Burriram next Spring. He works in England on Motorway construction and basically works all the hours on offer and doesn't go to the pub or spend anything unccessarily in England. When he has enough money for a two or three week trip, he's away.

He brings a few bottles of Chang to the 'party' and we spend a pleasant couple of hours chatting about the various things that make us so addicted to LoS.

Unfortunately the extended drinking bout has pushed A just a little too far and instead of simply being 'tipsy', she's now 'mau' so I simply escort her upstairs and put her to bed.

Expenditure :

1 month 250 hour GPRS Internet package : 500 + 7% VAT = 535 baht
Food for buffet : 300 baht

Trip 4 - Day 23

1st September

I awake at just after 09:00 after having a fairly disturbed nights sleep. I still have a headache, my back aches and I've got a sore throat, so I'm going to pop out to the pharmacy to get some paracetamol and something for the sore throat.

First off though, I do the laundry as the basket is getting full and it won't get done itself. I know that this is something that the female neighbours regard as being a womans job and not that of a man, but as A isn't here and it's not exactly an arduous task, I just get it done.

I then speak with Kevin. He's been told by MM that it's possible to get beefburgers, English sausages and 'proper' bacon from a food place somewhere near me. We determine that he's talking about Foodland, so I agree to give the place a 'recce' on my way to Carrefour.

I'm sorry to report that the only burgers I found on offer were frozen chicken burgers; the sausages are mainly German smoked meat varieties and the bacon isn't 'proper' bacon, but more like an anemic thinly sliced pork rasher. For reference, I made a note of some of the prices of products in Foodland and compared them to the prices in Carrefour and they were without exception more expensive, however the selection of 'farang' imported food is greater (but at a price).

Into Carrefour and the first stop is the pharmacy counter where I get 100 x 500mg paracetamol for 27 baht (No 'nanny state' rationing in force here) and I then explain that I have a sore throat which is making it uncomfortable to swallow and instantly 10 x 500mg Amoxicillin appear on the counter (No checking whether you are allergic to penicillin). Total bill for meds is 67 baht.

Then it's the mundane stuff such as washing powder and fabric conditioner that comprise the bulk of the shopping bill. Some meat and some fruit bring the total up to 580 baht.
I return home and am grateful that I'm not spotted by 'the coven' as I would no doubt be chastised for not asking one of them for a lift or borrowing a scooter.

I then get a call from BM Volsfan enquiring as to whether I can meet up to sort out the PC. Of course I can, so we arrange to meet at KFC in Carrefour, so off I set once again. We meet up and drive to his condo which is nearby. The laptop is great. Considerably more 'oomph' than my own machine and it will have no problem running more 'heavyweight' apps. He says that I can simply borrow the machine on a long term basis for which I am extremely grateful.
He then drives me back home and it dawns on me that there are no power points near to the location of the desk. Some creative work with extension leads is called for, but as this is Thailand and a morass of electricity cables is the norm, this shouldn't pose any major problems.

I talk with Kevin on the phone and he says that he's planning a Sunday roast dinner outing on Soi 'half a dozen' and the meal and any subsequent 'dessert' are to be his treat. I remember my last couple of trips down that Soi and there is 'unfinished business' in TG Bar with a fun girl who was called 'Kangaroo'! I was in her company when there with Kev & Talen back in May (the night we 'bailed out' of the Beach Road FLB Bar Crawl) and again when on a crawl with Don Dadda (the afternoon he went with the big mamasan), Talen & Dirty Sanchez.

I send her a text and we exchange a couple more before she ends up calling me. She verifies that I do know her by asking me what her name was at TG Bar and we then chat for nearly 10 minutes. In summary, she says that she no longer 'works bar', has returned home and is now looking for 'job with company'.

I then prepare myself my evening meal (a pre-cooked bag of green curry that I'd bought in Carrefour earlier for 19 baht) along with some freshly cooked rice and afterwards I get the washing in; iron a T-shirt; SSS and it's time to go to Cherry Bar.

Yet another crossing of the Sukhumvit highway (which doesn't get any easier with experience) is as hair raising as ever, but I survive and head to Pattaya Klang. Jump on board the waiting baht bus and 5 minutes later we're off. As we approach 2nd Road, it's a lottery as to whether we'll turn right to head up to Big C or carry straight on to Beach Road. We turn right, so it's a speedy bell ring and just a short walk back down 2nd Road to Soi 8. I get 'accosted' by a couple of girls as I head down to Cherry Bar which is all good fun and just part of the everyday Pattaya 'experience'

The party is a fairly 'low key' affair, but it has to be said that everywhere is looking fairly quiet tonight. At just 40 baht a time, the Singha draft is fine and it's a pleasant way to spend the evening and I get to meet a couple of new BM's. Dode was one and I'm afraid that I didn't really catch the name of the other guy.

At the end of the night (03:45) I pay checkbin which is all of 400 baht and that includes a couple of drinks for Aoy (well I had to buy her a drink after she'd bought me one.) and at 04:10 I'm on a scooter with Tai & Pun as they take me back home.

Expenditure :

Carrefour shopping : 580 baht
Pharmacy : 67 baht
Baht bus : 20 baht
Cherry Bar : 420 baht (inc. tip)

Trip 4 - Day 22

31st August

Oh my Buddha! I have a thumper of a hangover and just moving is hard work. A returns home at 09:30 and orders me to get up and "go shower. NOW!"

She says that she'll only be home for a few hours as she is working again tonight and possibly tomorrow night as well. It's definately not what I had anticipated when I came out here, but as I have said many times before, it is for me to adapt to her life rather than the other way round.

She prepares a meal which I force myself to eat and tells me that there is enough for me to eat tonight, then she's off out the door again.

My hangover is actually more than that I fear, as I have a streaming nose and even by mid afternoon, the headache hasn't gone away.

In the middle of the afternoon, I get a call from A who asks me if I believe that she is working. (WTF?) I say that I do believe her and ask why I shouldn't. It seems that she's had a phone call from one of the neighbours telling her that she should be at home and not out working all the time and that she is not 'good'. She asks me if I want her to finish work and come home and I tell her that it's okay. I understand that she is working to earn money and as I will be here for a long time, it isn't that important that I see her all the time. (I'd 'prefer' it if she were at home of course)

I finish the curry from this morning and cannot even be bothered to have a bottle of beer. At 20:00, I just give in and go to bed.

Expenditure :

Food money for A : 200 baht

Trip 4 - Day 21

30th August

A surprisingly early start to the day ( 09:30 ) considering the late finish last night. I have 6 'man drink' vouchers from last night and it appears that I have acquired a three letter 'Thai' name of JOD.

I trade a few text messages with A and it seems that she will not be returning tonight either, but as it's the Thursday Bar Crawl, it's not really a great problem.

In the middle of the afternoon, Tai (Cherry Bar and resident of #13) suddenly appears at the door with a plate of KFC food for me and later on the lady from #2 calls to me and says that she's going to the market and asks if I want anything buying.

It seems that the women folk have decided that I am incapable of looking after myself, so I have become some sort of 'project'.

Later on, Nam returns to her room and we stand out on the landing and we chat about the previous night and she says that it had been quite busy for a Wednesday as "often there are only 3 or 4 custonmers all night". She has been out today buying 30 glasses for the Singha 'draft beer' that is being introduced on Saturday night at Gae's birthday party. (Only 40 baht a time)
She tells me that Adam is a bit worried about the beer not being cold enough, so in addition to the chiller for the beer, he is looking to keep the glasses cold as well. To this end, Nam has been researching fridge units and she proceeds to show me the brochures of the units that she's been looking at.

She also tells me that DiscoCol has paid for a party for Pim later in the year, but it seems that she wants an extra 2000 baht as she wants live music as well. (Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news mate)

The rest of the day simply passes me by and when I realise that it's starting to get dark, I SSS in readiness to get over to the FLB for the crawl (and free curry!). As I'm walking down the Soi, there are flashes of lightning and it starts to rain, so I abandon the idea of walking to Pattaya Klang to get a bus and simply jump on the first available motorcycle taxi. At the intersection with Soi Buakhow, we are nearly mown down by a bus just pulling out in front of us. I get a good view of the passengers in the back and BM Scumbag is sitting there. I call out but he is oblivious to my call and we shoot off weaving in and out of the traffic in front of us.

I'm dropped off in Soi 14 and it costs me 50 baht for the privilege, but at least I haven't got too wet. As I enter Walking Street, it's the quietest I think I've ever seen it in the evening.

I walk down to the FLB and Kevin is there with MM. We have a quick chat and then Scumbag arrives and shortly afterwards Volsfan turns up with a mate in tow. I'm asked if I've had any joy in sorting out a new PC and I say that I haven't as yet. Volsfan then tells me that he's got a laptop at home that he no longer uses as he finds it too heavy to carry about. He says that he'll check that it's still in working order and I can check it out and if it's okay, then I can make him an offer. (Cheers!)

MM announces that the free food is ready (Curry this week rather than pizza) and it's not bad. At around 20:40, we settle up and the crawl is underway. First stop is TQ2 and as it's before 21:00, Avatar girl is still on duty, so that's a lady drink and a small tip straight away. She says that she's not feeling too well as she is 'red', but the big smile is ever present.

Next on the agenda is LD1, where I am interested to see what 'improvements' have been made during their recent 2 month 'refurbishment'

Then Windmill in Soi Diamond where the girls have few inhibitions until the lights suddenly flash once and all the girls suddenly cover up. This is a valid reason to settle checkbin and make a departure which I'm glad I did as a couple of BM's were delayed when the place was raided just a few minutes later.

Onwards again and this time we troop into Dollhouse where I chat with BM Treacle and he tells me of some of the issues he has to deal with on a regular basis.

I am just settling in when it's announced that we are on the move again and the next venue is Living Dolls Showcase. I end up sitting right next to the stage, but I actually pay more attention to a couple of cute service girls that look after me very well. So a couple more LD's and the budget is in tatters now.

Once we leave LDS, the last stop on the crawl is to be Club Bouche, but as it's not a great favourite of mine, I decide to join Kevin in bailing out and having a 'nightcap' in the FLB and buy a couple of drinks for Da the bartender.

I finally collect the bag of DVD's that Kevin has given to me and head off to Marine Plaza to get a scooter taxi home. I am charged 100 baht for this journey which is over the odds I suspect, but I doubt I'd have got home any other way.

It's been a good night and I've met a few new people including BM's Golucky, Ned_Kelly, Treacle & Cecco as well as the 'usual suspects'; Hammer, MM, Volsfan, Kev0184 & Casper UK

Expenditure :

Scooter Taxis : 150 baht
Drinks; LD's & Tips : 2010 baht

Trip 4 - Day 20

29th August

A doesn't have such an early start today, so we have a couple of hours to ourselves and as I have food in the fridge, she hasn't got to feel the need to prepare anything for me. But at 09:30, she's off and I won't see her until tomorrow afternoon. I accept that it is me fitting in with her life and whilst it can be frustrating with her being away so much, it's just the way it is.

I check my phone and I've had a text from DiscoCol (or whatever his latest board name is.) wishing me luck for tonight and asking if I could check that Pim is okay. (She is mate. She's just been 'busy' for a few days)

For lunch I have my Pad Thai from yesterday and in the afternoon I grab a couple of hours nap as I know it's going to be a late night tonight.
I awake around 17:00 and I'm not feeling too bright. I have some tea & toast, but it doesn't stay down too long. After an hour or so, I feel somewhat better, so it's SSS and at 19:15, I head off to Cherry Bar on Soi 8.

I realise that I'm still 'not 100%', so I get a motorcycle taxi rather than walking to Pattaya Klang to catch a bus. As we head down Pattaya Tai, the smells of the food stalls make me feel very queasy and by the time I get to Soi 8, I need to visit the loo as a matter of some urgency, but I really do feel much better afterwards.

So, back to the bar and a I realise just how quiet the complexes are at this hour. Having lots of girls about hides the fact that there are very few customers. A few guys do turn up however and I get to chat with a few of them including a fleeting (or should that be fleeing) visit from Casper UK.

The first BM to arrive is Scumbag along with Mrs. Scumbag. Chatting is difficult as there is music blasting at us from both the adjacent bars as well as a live band playing in what was Midnight bar back in May. (Midnight has now moved yet again to take over the bar left vacant when Hansa closed down).

BM's Mike100 and his wife, Elvis30 and a mate of his, Luvtomuff with his fiance and Carbine all appear during the night as well, so I've got to meet a few new BM faces which is good and also a couple of guys that are not members on the forums (John & Eric)

Next thing I know, the girls have started playing 'spin the bottle' and the forfeit is a shot of Sangsom. I watching the antics and joining in the laughing, when I'm dragged in to form part of the circle. Despite blatant cheating (who'd have thought it of a BG?), I get away lightly with only two shots consumed, but some of the others got 'caught' several times and the effects started to show.

Time passes by quickly and before I know it, it's 03:00 and the customers have all but dispapeared. We're sitting chatting at the bar and I get chastised for walking everywhere. I'm told that if I want to go shopping, I should simply knock on the door of one of the girls and borrow a scooter.

At 04:00, I'm given a lift home by Tai and it's quite strange seeing the building so busy with Nam, Tai, Pun and myself all going into our respective rooms.

Expenditure :

Motorcycle Taxi : 50 baht
Toilet Fee : 5 baht

Trip 4 - Day 19

28th August

A heads off to work and she thinks that she's going to be working tonight, so I 'plan' to have a quiet night in.

I logon to download my emails and I have a message from my ISP, but the issue of my webspace has still not been resolved.

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with a timescale for resolution as our
diagnostics require further investigation. On your behalf I will contact our
faults team to request we raise the priority on this matter.

This mail is a response to one that I'd sent 4 days ago though, so I send a fairly sarcastic email to the helpdesk and cc it to the directors of the parent company and any other support email address that I can find.

This message was simply a response to my email of 24th August, so it just proves
that your internal systems are not working as they should. It took three days
from me sending you a mail explaining the problem for it to be logged and so far
it has taken three days for it not to be fixed despite assurances from everybody
that the priority is being raised and that it would be resolved in 24 – 48 hours.

I checked my access to homepages and the problem still has not been fixed, so the email from the Helpdesk was yet another false promise or downright lie.

Welcome to the absurd world of Demon non-Support

Will somebody please have the decency to explain to me why this problem has taken so long to resolve? I cannot believe that it is really that difficult to create an account
on the homepages server.

At 16:30, I realise that I haven't eaten since breakfast, so I decide to go and get a half chicken from the stall just past Noi's bar, but when I get there, it's closed so I cross the road and end up having a green curry and rice at one of the roadside stalls. It's very tasty, but I know that I'll want something else to eat later, so as I head back home, I buy a chicken & rice meal from a stall I've used before.

I get back and find that I have received a very apologetic email from Tech Support explaining what the problem was and advising me that the matter had now been resolved.

I upload my files to the server and then start the process of checking how the update of pages and features works.

Whilst doing this I get a text from BM Casper UK asking "Anyone up for the curry night tonight?". I send a reply saying that I've eaten, but if he does go to give me a call and I'll join him for a beer. He texts straight back that he'll be there at 19:30 and Kevin will also be there.

I break off from the computer to SSS and get ready. As I go to leave, A is just arriving home (?). It seems that there is going to be work Tuesday & Wednesday, so as she knows I'm out tomorrow, she's changed shift. She's brought Pad Thai for me, but says that it's okay and "You can eat tomorrow. You go see Kevin now." As I leave, I send a text to Kevin "C U in 5"
I arrive at Noi's and say "Hi" to Kevin, Casper UK, Scumbag & Lord Flash. Kolobos, Mulphy & Helicopter are other BM's that I recognise and of course Chef is busy collecting money from those that have already partaken of the curry (Jalfrezi was on the menu tonight and was once again very tasty I'm informed).

I grab a seat at the table when the girls go off to play on the Wii in the lounge and it's a very relaxing way to spend a few hours just drinking beer; chatting with a few mates and generally just letting the world go by. Kolobos is an extremely generous host and buys several rounds for the table as well as a bell ring for the whole bar, and with Kevin also buying, my checkbin at the end of the night was pretty small considering that I was fairly well gone.

Expenditure :

Green curry at food stall : 20 baht
Chicken & rice to take to room : 25 baht
Checkbin at Noi's : 225 baht

Trip 4 - Day 18

27th August

It's Monday and it's 'Buddha Day'. A says that she will only work a half day today and as there is no work tonight, she will 'do cooking'. I spend the morning writing ever more aggresive emails to my ISP who have still failed to even acknowledge the emails that I have sent them, but as it's only 05:00 in the UK, I guess that nobody in Customer 'Service?' or Technical 'Support?' has started work yet.

Lunch is simple; just a ham salad baguette (same as yesterday) with a mug of tea and a DVD playing on the TV, however any idea of lasting peace and quiet (and possibly a short snooze) is shattered when the little girl from #2 arrives and wants to play Pinball on the PC again. I log off everything and leave her to get on with it whilst I then busy myself doing domestic duties cleaning the room.

A returns back from work and says that she has to go and buy food and asks for 500 baht, so I assume that she's off to buy food for the week. No; she's off to buy duck and chicken and various other 'items' and when she returns, there's a repeat performance of the 'big cook' that took place last night.

Plates of food are washed down with beer, spy or whiskey once again however the night isn't so late and we retire at around 23:00.


Expenditure :

Food : 500 baht
Allowance for Mama : 1000 baht

Trip 4 - Day 17

26th August

A is off to work again this morning, so I grab a lift with her to the junction of Pattaya Nua (North Pattaya Road) in order to have a morning constitutional in a different part of town and to find the shop where my neighbour 'Robin' works.

He works for a tailors called Jame's Fashion which I find, but at 09:15 on a Sunday, the place isn't open yet. (The owner also has an outlet in Bangkok and many of the reports seem quite favourable, so I may take up Robin on his offer to 'check the product'. I've already told him that I am not interested in buying as I have no need for a suit or shirts at the moment, however being the ever optinmistic salesman, he says that I should just come along one day and have a look because if I have friends in Pattaya, maybe I could introduce them to the shop.)

There is little else of interest for me along this road as I am not interested in buying ceramics or specialist housewares. There is also the "largest jewellery shop in the world" which is somewhere that I hope never to need to report on.

At the junction with 3rd Road, I turn left back towards Pattaya Klang and again there is little of interest to see or do along this stretch of road. There is a very good Thai buffet on the left that I've been to with A a couple of times and is where I was planning to go with her tonight before other arrangements were made. There are also several car wash outlets and a plethora of finance company offices, so it's not an area catering for the tourist population.

I reach Pattaya Klang and turn left again to go to Carrefour for the shopping. It's now 10:15, so I need to spend at least 45 minutes in the store as alcohol cannot be bought before 11:00.

As I am looking at the selection of beers, I am stopped by an American who tells me that in his opinion Chang is no longer any good as Thai beer and that some of the alternatives are better. I don't know if he is right, so I end up getting 3 x Leo; 3 x Cheers; 3 x Red Horse; 1 case (12 bottles) of Chang (to hell with the extra 4 baht :D) as well as 15 small bottles of Singha Lite (A's tipple); 6 Spy Classic & 6 Spy Red (lady #2 and lady #11's tipple), 2 x 30cl bottles of 'Master Blend' Scotch (Robin's tipple) (Once again it's cheaper to buy in smaller quantities, as a 30cl bottle is 75 baht yet a 70 cl bottle is 195 baht.) a case of soda water and 2 bottles of Coke.

Whilst I'm here, I also go to check the prices for a small computer desk for home as I know that I will be getting a desktop and it will not be practical to just use the coffee table as I can with the laptop. There is a 'flat pack' budget desk available for 299 baht (reduced until 28th August), so I decide that I might as well get this bought at the same time.

Then a visit to the fresh food area where I get 1kg of chicken breast; 1 kg of pork shoulder and .5 kg of minced pork. (Whilst there, I am a little lavish and spend 23 baht on a french stick; 35 baht on ham; 9 baht on tomatoes and 22 baht on lettuce.

The resultant ham salad baguette was just lovely though and did last for two meals.)
My 'checkbin' is 2354.85 baht (I've never seen satang apart from in a supermarket), however this is not too bad as it's to be offset against the 'birthday' budget.

I wheel my booze laden trolley to the Customer Service desk to find out about the home delivery service as this will save me at least 100 baht on a taxi and all is well until they ask me for my address.

I have no idea and saying "Room 10; The pink building; the end of Soi 5 off Soi Khao Noi" really isn't going to help I suspect.

I telephone A and ask her to speak with them. I then hear them say in a questioning voice "Sri Racha?". A has given them the address that she's at obviously. It gets sorted though, so I leave the trolley and head back home.

Around an hoiur and a half later, there's a guy at the door with the Computer Desk pack, I help him bring up all the bags containing the bottles and give him a tip of 20 baht.

The Carrefour delivery has got the interest of a couple of the kids and they come to investigate what has been delivered. After filling the fridge with alcoholic beverages and the freezer with meat, I start to open the flatpack and find that I have assistance in passing me the right pieces and hammering the dowels in as required. It doesn't take long to get the desk assembled and it will do for what I need.

When A arrives home, she checks everything and says that she wanted me to get two 'big' bottles of whiskey (there will ALWAYS be something that hasn't been done right), so I need to get extra. In addition, we talk about getting her gold 'upgrade' and she tells me that she would like the necklace changed and for it to be a little longer'. She takes it off and gives me the guarantee with the instruction to "buy for me beauty". She is off to the food market with lady #2 to get the non meat supplies for tonight, so I walk down to Sukhumvit and spend 10 baht for a bus trip to Big C.

First stop is the Aurora gold store, where I get a new necklace and part with 3300 baht (an extra half half baht) which brings the necklace up to half baht. (No budget for future 'upgrades' until Christmas)

Then it's a quick trip round the store for the other present that A has said that she wanted which is a cooking hotplate (1145 baht) as well as getting an additional two bottles of whiskey.

I get a baht bus back and as I walk past the furniture shop that we've bought many items from, I decide to check out the costs of a chair to use at the new desk and they have something suitable for 850 baht which is cheaper than those on offer at the big stores.

I make the purchase and am given a lift home in the delivery truck.

I return to a scene of fervent activity. There is cooking taking place on the gas bottle burner as well as the charcoal burner. Prawns and kebabs are being skewered; chicken is being coated in breadcrumbs; hotdog sausages are being cut into smaller pieces and the rice cooker is belching out steam.

I'm simply told "you go shower and I tell you when ready". Around 45 minutes later there's a call from downstairs and it's time for me (and the booze) to join the gathering. There's a veritable mountain of food and I am not surprised that we fail to finish it all.







I then get a 'phone call from BM Hammer to check if I'm still okay to spend Wednesday night at the Cherry Bar. I let him know that I'm looking forward to it and he says that he'll post an announcement on the boards.

We stay outside talking and drinking until the rain forces us 'inside' and we all pile into #2 where we continue even though the kids are asleep on the matress in the room with us.

At just after midnight, we wend our way back upstairs and just crash out.

Expenditure :
Carrefour : 2354 baht
Tip : 20 baht
Baht Bus : 20 baht
Big C : 4595 baht
Chair : 850 baht

(The budget for A's birthday was 10000 and actual expenditure came to 160 + (2354-225) + 4595 = 6884, so things are still on track and the desk / chair are effectively covered )

Trip 4 - Day 16

25th August

Another morning of waking alone which is still a little strange but so be it . I sort myself out tea and toast for breakfast and then set about hooking up the washing machine. This is a fairly straightforward task, so I then proceed to do a couple of loads of washing in order to save A the task later or tomorrow on her birthday.

It's really not difficult to load the machine, put powder in the tray that says 'detergent'; put softener in the hopper that says "softener dispener" and hit the 'Start' button. Machines here tend to provide a basic cold water wash. Why is it that machines in the West have become so over engineered and sophisticated? Does anyone really use anything more than one or two settings on their machine?

Forty five minutes later and the first load is done, so I grab the hangers and take the washing downstairs to hang out on the communal drying rails. This gets me a few comments as it's obviously not a thing that a man does in Thailand, but what the hell? It's something I can do that helps and it's a good use of time.

A returns home from work around 14:30 and rebukes me for having sorted the machine and having done the laundry, but it's not particularly forceful and I suspect that she's pleased that she doesn't have to do the job herself now.

She has a few hours sleep and in the evening says that she doesn't want to cook. That's no problem as we still have food in the fridge, so I have a couple of sandwiches whilst A just has a 'rice soup' with vegetables. We talk about the 'party' for tomorrow and I'm given a shopping list of booze and meat to get. A says that once she gets back from work she will go to the market to get vegetables as they are much cheaper and fresher, whereas meat in the supermarket is often cheaper than the market it seems.

She then gets a shout from 'lady #2' and she's off to go and have a chinwag (and no doubt something else to eat), I wonder about going into town to the party at Catz to see BM's Pieman & Volsfan, but don't really fancy going alone, so I call BM Casper UK to see what he's doing. Seems he's having a night off as well and is out and about taking photos rather than out boozing, so I decide to just stay where I am.

Next thing Wan (Casper UK's lady) is standing at the door to the room and she asks "where A?". I call downstairs, but the door is closed and they obviously cannot hear me, so as ridiculous as it seems, I telephone A (total distance from me to her is probably less than 10 feet!) and tell her Wan is here to see her. She comes up and the girls start chatting in Thai. Every so often I am asked a question about Casper UK and I find that I am reluctant to answer anything or divulge any information. It seems that Wan is concerned that he's seeing another lady on a regular basis and from what I can gather, she's been told that he's been seen with her on Walking Street tonight. I am asked to send him a text messgae from Wan's phone asking him to come home so that they can talk and I see no harm or danger in this, so I do as requested.

Next thing Pun (Cherry Bar and living at #16) arrives in the room and the three of them start chatting away and I do not answer any more questions directly. I do get told that the supposed new lady is "small like A" and I express my doubts that this really would be a long term assignation for Casper UK as his tastes have usually been for ladies with the 'fuller figure'.

Wan & Pun then leave and I am left bemused as to why Wan came to see A and what she thought that she could do. (Maybe it will make some sense later.)

I then just settle down with a bottle of beer and listen to some music whilst catching up with the boards and we have an early night.

Expenditure : 0 baht

Trip 4 - Day 15

24th August

Friday morning and A is off to work early and doesn't expect to be back tonight, so she cooks me a meal for tonight, as she feels that I am not capable of cooking for myself (?) and she's away.

I spend the day sending slightly more angry e-mails to my ISP (Demon Internet) enquiring as to what they consider to be 'Support' or 'Service' within their company and I also start searching to find somewhere to buy a reasonable spec PC secondhand.

The budget brands in Thailand (SVOA & VZIO) have their machines in the main supermarket chainstores and pricing for a machine is pretty good, but a little more than I'd been led to believe I'd need to pay. The systems are based on either 1.8GHz Sempron or 2.66GHz Celeron processors and all seem to come with 512Mb RAM, 80Gb Hard Drive and 17" CRT monitor as standard for a price of around 13000 - 14000 baht (£200 / $US400). So, I want to find a system like this (but secondhand) for around 10000 baht.

I find a website www.thaisecondhand.com which looks promising, but being in Thai, I am not really able to sort this out myself and will require the assistance of A to translate and make telephone calls.

I'm also determined that I'm going to get the hose for the washing machine sorted today, so after lunch I set off on my constitutional. The local shops all shake their heads when I attempt to explain in sign language that I want a hose like this but longer, but eventually on Pattaya Klang I come across a hardware store that seems to have everything for sale. (It's one of those places that I doubt even the owner is 100% sure of what is stocked.)

The assistant asks me what I want and I'm led in to the depths of the shop where there are reels of hose on the floor and she points and says "We make for you. How long you want?" When I explain that I want just 1m longer, she leads me to the next aisle and gets a hose with a connector and she digs around in a box of fittings to emerge with a brass fitting. I understand now; she's suggesting what is effectively an 'extension lead'. It's a good solution and it costs the grand total of 185 baht, so I am quite pleased with myself.

I'm close to Carrefour, so I decide to get myself a couple of beers for tonight (to add to the two I already have) and I'll have a Friday night watching DVD's; drinking beer and eating curry.

I'll also check out what I can buy A as a gift for her birthday on Sunday. I had a budget of 10000 baht set aside for a party and a gift, but she has said that she doesn't want a party at a bar, and as she doesn't know as yet if she'll be working on Sunday, it's difficult to plan anything.

I 'know' that gold will certainly be an acceptable present, but that will mean an 'upgrade' to an existing piece, so A will need to be with me to hand over either the necklace or the bracelet and the 'guarantee', so I cannot arrange that in advance. I just buy a simple gift of a rose in a bowl as a token gift ( 160 baht) for her to open on Sunday and we can then go out together to get her main present.

I have a chuckle when I see the pricing for Beer Chang, as it is 30 baht a bottle or 364 baht for a case of 12 (WTF?; TiT). I buy two bottles of beer, four bottles of soda, a bottle of Hale's Blue Boy Cream Soda syrup, Coke, Sprite, a bottle of water and a bag of ice as well as a connector lead to hook up the DVD to the speaker system in a 5.1 config instead of just stereo.

I then head back home with my two bags of shopping and en-route I decide that I am not going to carry beer and Coke any great distance ever again. The saving on the beer compared to buying from the local shop at the end of the Soi was a whole 6 baht. It really isn't worth it and the local shop will appreciate the business much more than the likes of Carrefour.

I get back home and the family in #2 (directly below us) are sitting round the table out front along with our neighbour from #11 and they have the barbeque coals burning and the Thai Buffet cooking away. I'm invited to join them and I say that I have food upstairs, so intsead I'm simply offered a chair and invited to have a glass of beer.

It's 19:30 by now and once I'm sat down, the ladies suddenly stick a plate in front of me and start adding tidbits of food and constantly topping up my glass with ice and beer. I spend the night mainly chatting with the husband of 'lady #2' who is of Indian ancestry, but he and his parents are all Thai born and hold Thai passports. His English is excellent, so communication is not a barrier and I'm told that A is a 'good' girl and I agree of course.

I mention that it's her birthday on Sunday, so it's decided that if she's in agreement, I'll provide the supplies and 'Robin' and his wife will provide the space and the cooking facilities for us to have a little birthday party on Sunday. He telephones A to check with her and she's happy about this as she still gets a party but without the 'expense' of a bar party.

The evening finally concludes at around midnight once the rain starts and everyone is full and a little drunk into the bargain.

Expenditure :

Supplies & provisions at Big C : 225 baht
Washing Machine hose : 185 baht
Gift for A : 160 baht

Trip 4 - Day 14

23rd August

I awake at 04:30 and A still hasn't returned home, so I guess that she's working an all nighter again. I get the laptop hooked up and start working through a few tutorials on Website production and fueled by mugs of lemon tea I make good progress.

I start the rebuild of an informational website that I had originally produced back in around 1993. I find a few cached copies of some of the content and use this as a basis for using the new production and publishing tools that I now have.

Progress is quite good and time simply flies by.

At around 09:00, I am disturbed by A coming home. She's shattered and says that she would have been home earlier but the loading of the boat was stopped due to rain at Sri Racha. I had thought that the work on the boats was in some way related to her work 'in shop', but it seems that I've got it wrong and it's basically a second job where she is called on an as demanded basis.

She says that if she doesn't work, then they will call somebody else, but as "I always can work", she gets called quite high on the list. It's something I will have to just learn to live with as it generates a good second income for her.

Within 20 minutes of arriving home, she's curled up on the bed and she's fast asleep, so I simply return to the computer and spend the rest of the day working on my website.

When it's time to publish, I find that my ISP has stuffed up my account and I do not have access to FTP my data to the server. I send an email to Web Support requesting that they get the issue resolved.

By 15:00, A awakes and she says that she needs to go and "get food for do cooking". She opens the fridge and sees my purchases from the previous day and checks that I have everything required (Seems I got it right) and then produces another chicken panang which is definately one of my favourites. (Green curry next time I fancy).

It's now time for a mandatory 3 hours of Thai TV. Films, news & soap operas are all viewed at the same time with channel hoppping taking place avery 5 - 10 minutes. I really don't understand it, but I have to admit I've witnessed this behaviour from other TG's in the past, so I'm guessing that it's commonplace.

Later that night, A asks if I want to go to the night market near Bangkok Pattaya Hospital to see what secondhand computers are available. I agree, so we travel via the unmade road and go past Kevin's new place and then 'hang a left' to get on to Sukhumvit.

The PC's on offer are no great improvement over the laptop that I have and are not really suitable for running what I want as they are 400 / 667 MHz processors and only have 128Mb RAM. A says that we can go and look in Tukcom if I want, so that's our next stop.

To be honest, the fayre available secondhand here isn't a lot better and is relatively expensive when compared to the new budget systems being offered new in Big C and Carrefour so I decide to investigate a little more before deciding what to do.

We stop in at Big C on the way home to get a few items such as washing powder and soap, but when I go to check the PC prices and specs, A notices that they have a TV games console on offer and she tells me that Phil's one at home is broken. She says "Is okay, you buy. I give money back you later"

So the budget got busted

Big C Supplies : 475 baht
Big C games console : 560 baht

Trip 4 - Day 13

22nd August

Today my morning constitutional has two aims. The first is to investigate the Thai market on Soi 53 Sukhumvit and then to see how far it is to walk to Kevin's new place.
I leave the room and turn right down the dirt road instead of the usual walk back down the Soi.








I follow the track until it opens up on to another Soi



And as is usual in Pattaya. the electrical distribution network never ceases to astound me. How the system continues to work almost defies belief, however in the main it DOES.



At the end of the Soi I see a few stalls for the market and I'm going to investigate. I'm at the edge of the market and as I walk past a few stalls, it all opens into a labyrinth of walkways between a multitude of stalls. This is predominantly a food market and I am pleasantly surprised at the prices compared to Big C or Friendship, but knowing what some of these ingedients are is going to take some time. I emerge from the market alongside the railway line, however I am on the wrong side, so I walk back towards the road and cross to the other side to continue my walk.



Out here the fact that the road is not complete is a matter of little consequence. There's a track that can accept vehicles, so it's used. As I continue, I can see Pattaya station in the distance and realise that it's not quite as far as I had thought.The platform is deserted :



And there's little sign of activity at the ticket office either



However a look at the timetable explains why :



The 'down' train from Bangkok arrives at 10:00 and the 'up' train to Bangkok departs at 14:21. That's it, all other traffic on the line is for freight. The journey to Bangkok takes over 3 hours, so it's not the most efficient way to travel, but at a fare of 31 baht, it's probably the cheapest.

Continuing past the station, the 'road' continues



And there's an entrance to the small estate that Kevin will be living on. (It's the left hand side property)



The gates are all locked, but it's possible to see the pool and the patio area









Kevin had asked me on Messenger yesterday if there were any shops or bars nearby. I said that there was nothing around, however I was mistaken. Right at the entrance to the estate he has a food and drink outlet, however I can't really see him making it his 'local'.



For the return journey, I head towards 'civilisation' and the Sukhumvit Road. The road comes out at the temple and school opposite the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, so I simply head back down to Soi 53 where I manage to buy the ingredients to cook a red 'panang' curry. I decline from buying the meat as I hadn't checked what we actually have in the fridge, but I'm quite pleased with myself when I think I have everything I need. (I check with A when she returns and she says that everything is right.) So in the next couple of days, I'll be embarking on my first attempt to cook an authentic Thai meal with fresh ingredients.
It seems that tonight though A wants to eat her favourite 'farang' food, so we end up with pizza being delivered which is both expensive and not that good in my opinion, but it was what she wanted.

Expenditure for the day

Water - 19 baht
'Big' Coke in 7/11 - 22 baht
Lemons for tea - 10 baht
Curry Paste - 10 baht
Coconut Milk - 30 baht
Eggplant, Kaffir Leaves, Basil Leaves - 15 baht
Phone topup - 100 baht
Pizza - 350 baht

The next couple of days are to be spent learning to use a new software package and attempting to get a couple of websites online and catching up on some administrative tasks that I need to complete, so there may not be much in the way of TR posting. Also, I'm unsure as to what A's schedule is like for the next few days, so I've yet to decide if I'm going to attend the daytime GoGo crawl tomorrow afternoon.

Trip 4 - Day 12

21st August

I awake when A does and there is little conversation, so I know that I'm in the 'doghouse'. She says that the boat is in today instead of yesterday, so she will be late tonight. I decide that I'll stay in tonight so that I'm in when (if?) she returns which means I'll miss the party at FLB, but so be it.

After a cup of tea and some toast, I set off to see Steve Carleton at Alan Bolton Estate Agents on 2nd Road. I walk to Pattaya Klang and get a bus to the junction of 2nd Road and then make the walk northward to their offices. I arrive on time and Steve says he has a few properties that he thinks Kevin will be interested in and which he has expressed an interest in during email exchanges.

The brief is quite straightforward. Not too far from town; at least two bedrooms; private pool; air con in bedrooms and european kitchen as he does like his Sunday roast dinners. ADSL as a 'nice to have'.

A list of 4 properties has been prepared and we set off to the first place which is located East of Thappraya and North of Thepprasit (sort of round the back of Jade). The pool is great, but there is no air con in the lounge, the kitchen doesn't have an oven; the bathroom only has a handheld shower attached to the bath taps and the place is cramped, so it's not exactly within the brief (Don't you just love estate agents that follow the customer's brief? Or is it a ploy that they always show something unsuitable as the first place?)

The next property is the other end of town near Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. The place is good and spacious and has the benefit of Hi speed ADSL Internet service already installed, so that will appeal. The only downside is that the place is a little close to the railway line, but to be honest I haven't found that to be a problem where I'm located and the sounds from the railway will probably be heard from most of the places in East Pattaya that meet the criteria of being 'close to town'.

There are two big double bedrooms with en-suite; a great pool; 'maids room & bathroom' and a great open plan lounge, diner, kitchen. I then get a call from an unrecognised Thai number and it turns out that it's Joy (She lost her mobile and therefore has a new number). Steve speaks to her and it's agreed that we return to pick her up and then bring her to look at this house. 45 minutes later, we're back again and it's obvious that Joy also likes the place.

We then go to look at a couple of properties on an estate just off Soi Siam Country Club. The first is again quite small and cramped and the pool is more of a plunge pool than a swimming pool; the second we don't actually get to see because Steve has brought the wrong set of keys with him. (To be honest, the estate woiuld drive me crazy as speed humps have been installed every 50 feet or so. It's a long and uncomfortable drive to reach both the properties that are on offer)
We see the outside of the second place and Steve chats with Joy to determine if she wants to return to the office to get the keys and come back, but it seems she's still keen on the first property that she'd seen, so we simply return to the office to make calls to the owner and see if the terms are acceptable.

The property is being advertised at 45k baht a month, however for a 12 month let, the price is agreed at 40k baht a month inclusive of garden & pool maintenance and provision of ADSL Internet service.

This is within the budget that Kevin had set (just!). We try to contact Kevin both on MSN Messenger and by mobile 'phone but he is incommunicado, so both myself and Steve check with Joy that she is sure that the location is okay and that it's not too far out of town. She says she is sure that it's okay, so it's time to get contracts drawn up and the deposit paid.

Steve drives me round to my room so that I can collect sufficient traveller's cheques to pay the deposit and provide Joy with some spending money until Kev arrives at the end of the month.
After changing the TC's, 80k goes to Alan Bolton and 20k to Joy, so from 4th September, the parties are to be at Kev's place.

Everything is done and Steve then returns me back to Soi Khao Noi at 15:45 when I realise that I'm pretty hungry as I've only had a couple of pieces of toast to eat in about 30 hours. A quick walk to the chicken stall just past Noi's Bar and I get half a chicken and the 'mandatory' sweet chilli sauce and 'sticky' rice. As I return to the room, I also buy a big bottle of Coke and a couple of bottles of Beer Chang to replenish the depleted supplies.

After eating, I feel much better and I settle down to watch a couple of DVDs.

At 21:05, I get a text from Nok asking "Are you come to party tonight?". I cry off with a 'white lie' that I'm not feeling too well and will not make it, but I'll see her some other time.

After showering, I call A and it turns out that she doesn't expect to be back tonight as if she finishes too late she'll just go and stay with Mama. I'm told that she was 'angly' with me last night not so much for being out, but for not letting her know when I'd be back. It seems that she wouldn't eat until she knew whether I was going to eat with her or not, so I was right about being in the 'doghouse'.

I'm certainly finding it difficult to avoid all the parties and holidaying. I guess that I simply have to learn to say "No!"

Spending

Baht Bus - 10 baht
Chicken - 45 baht
Beer Chang & Coke - 109 baht

Oh, I forgot to mention the 1000 baht weekly allowance to Mama yesterday. and there was and additional 50 baht for a beer in the Hideaway Lagoon on Sunday that I'd forgotten aboiut as well.

Trip 4 - Day 11

20th August

It's Monday morning and today A has an early start, so she's out by 07:00 and she doesn't expect to be back until 22:00. I accept that she has her 'normal' life to live and i am the one who has to fit in, but I am finding it harder than before accepting her long absences. I also realise that in the past it was me that was setting the 'rules' with "I go out alone tonight", so I will have to learn to adapt.

Around 09:30, I head off to go and visit BM Whitespider at his office near Big C and take with me the Harry Potter book for him to add to his booksale to raise money for Pattaya charities.

We chat about a number of issues including potential income streams from websites and it's something that I plan to spend some time working on during the next few weeks to see what I might be able to achieve. I'm very kindly offered the use of a PC, a desk and a fast Internet connection to help, so this is a way to get back into proper 'work mode'.

Later BM Dirty Sanchez arrives to chat with Whitespider and when they leave for lunch I head off myself. I call BM Casper UK as there are a few ideas that we want to discuss. He offers to collect me from Pattaya Tai and when he arrives on his scooter, we head off to Metro on Soi LK Metro where we chat; play pool and have a few (non-alcoholic!) drinks. He then tells me that he's going out for a few drinks later in the afternoon if I wished to join him. I apologise that I can't really afford to do so, but he then makes it his 'treat'. Why am I so weak?

I also call Steve at Alan Bolton to arrange a meeting for 10:00 the next morning to look at potential houses for Kevin to rent when he arrives at the end of the month.

The drinks session is actually with BM Hammer as well and I can't really say where we went as we were 'on a mission' to plan the route of the FLB Bar Crawl of daytime gogos scheduled for Thursday afternoon. As you can guess, there was far too much draft Chang consumed and after concluding the 'research', we ended up in FLB Bar. I receive a call from A saying that she wasn't working late now, and was back at the room, so I say that I'll get back 'soon', (Just how long a timeframe is 'soon'?) but after leaving FLB we're off to Murphy's Law bar in Soi LK Metro and when I get a lift home from Casper, I find that A is fast asleep already.

Expenditure for two days

Wardrobe - 1700
Beer - 100
Food - 35
Drinking - 800