Gsxrnz

My perfect Breakfast:

Fried egg - just one, fresh and cooked to perfection with firm whites, runny yokes - no crozzling!!

Scrambled eggs - two eggs, not too firm with a little diced onion and a light cheese coating.

Sausages - preferably a good pork breakfast sausage that isn't 95% breadcrumbs. Definitely not a Thai plastic sausage.

Bacon - preferably streaky that isn't full of water - three rashers thanks.

Hash browns - not the ones you buy at the supermarket or Mackers, but real home made ones.

Mushrooms - fresh (not canned), whole portabello and lightly sautéed in butter.

Beans - Heinz preferably.

Fried bread - cooked properly in dripping or lard. Yeah, 3 million calories a slice but uber tasty with the runny eggs.

Black pudding - just a little bit, and perhaps a little white pudding to boot.

Grilled tomatoes - fresh and not those disgusting canned abominations.

Lambs kidneys - grilled or fried.

Toast and Marmalade - I'll settle for Smuckers out here, it's not too bad.

And against my usual preference I'll finish with Tea rather than coffee. There's just something about the combined taste of tea and marmalade that brings back some fond childhood memories.

Try the George Pub in Jomtiem,very good breakfast and with most of the above homemade hash browns. They have a Facebook page,wish I was,there now.

Yep I've done the George, and before when it was Yorkies and then Coco's. However I have to say that the brekkie at The Caddy Shack on Thepprasit soi 8 is generally tastier and has the same menu.

To be fair the best brekkie in Jomtien is at my place when I can be arsed to get everything organised on a day I haven't got a hangover so I can cook it. My girl does a fair imitation but not as good as me.

Mind you, I taught her how to poach an egg properly and make hollandaise sauce and she's better at eggs benni than me now. The Bitch.

She turns out poached eggs better than most chefs. Mind you, I taught her the secret.

Somehow I don't think planting tomatoes and zucchini will be a great substitute for rice in the Thai diet.

Of course, it's too hard to admit that their water management systems aren't even on a par with 5th century Europe.

Of course it is equally hard for some people to accept and understand that the current government has inherited decades of inefficient water management from many previous governments, who over those decades did very little to improve the system.

The current government is damned by many for not fixing 20 or 30 years of problems in a couple of years, compounded of course by the prolonged El Nino drought which I am sure people want to blame them for also.

Whilst it is good for some people to blame the current government for all the ills and woes in much the same way that other posters blame Thaksin for all the corruption for the past 15 years or so.

Until ALL the Thai people are treated the same and work together for the benefit of ALL the Thai people, little will be achieved in the way of progress.

You can slag off the PM all you like but he is right in saying that many Thai farmers need to change their ways. Doing things the old way doesn't seem to work any more.

For example Vietnam produces far more rice than Thailand per rai so IMO Thailand should send farmers to Vietnam to see how they can produce more for less.

Changing crops for those which use less water is a good idea BUT simply saying so does not make it so.

The questions to ask are, what to change to, what is the market like, can farmers make a profit with a new crop, what help can the government give apart from money? Should farmers build and run their own co-operatives? If so who can manage it openly and honestly.

Instead of making sarcastic remarks, why not think it through and come up with your own ideas what where and how things can be changed.

Mate, point out where I accused the current PM or government of any specific blame. The country has been run by dolts for several hundred years, and they are all to blame equally for the poor water management (and I use the word management very generously), your friend Mr Thakisin included.

So I'll make flip remarks about a comical situation till the buffalo come home if I want to.

And I'm sure if I commissioned a multi million dollar analysis by world experts on how to manage Thailand's water problem and presented it with a pink ribbon to any Thai government (from now or in living memory), it would be consigned to the big round filing cabinet under the nearest desk.

Sorry for the poor bloke - he even took the precaution of wearing a life jacket but obviously something went wrong.

And once again, a huge thumbs down to the Pattaya One newspaper tabloid rag that insists on showing photos of the poor deceased. I don't care if they're blurred out or not, it's totally unnecessary and shows no respect whatsoever.

And in this one the Sea Rescue blokes are squatting around the deceased as though they'd been deep sea fishing and the corpse was a trophy.

Absolutely no class whatsoever.

Disgusting isn't it ? I'm surprised no one's pointing.

Disgusting but they do the same all thru Europe, Asia, South America, South Africa and so on.. I'm shocked you don't point the finger at those nations as well !!

If you refer to my post, you will note that my criticism is of the specific rag tabloid that published the pictures. At no time did I criticise any nation, Thai or otherwise.

My perfect Breakfast:

Fried egg - just one, fresh and cooked to perfection with firm whites, runny yokes - no crozzling!!

Scrambled eggs - two eggs, not too firm with a little diced onion and a light cheese coating.

Sausages - preferably a good pork breakfast sausage that isn't 95% breadcrumbs. Definitely not a Thai plastic sausage.

Bacon - preferably streaky that isn't full of water - three rashers thanks.

Hash browns - not the ones you buy at the supermarket or Mackers, but real home made ones.

Mushrooms - fresh (not canned), whole portabello and lightly sautéed in butter.

Beans - Heinz preferably.

Fried bread - cooked properly in dripping or lard. Yeah, 3 million calories a slice but uber tasty with the runny eggs.

Black pudding - just a little bit, and perhaps a little white pudding to boot.

Grilled tomatoes - fresh and not those disgusting canned abominations.

Lambs kidneys - grilled or fried.

Toast and Marmalade - I'll settle for Smuckers out here, it's not too bad.

And against my usual preference I'll finish with Tea rather than coffee. There's just something about the combined taste of tea and marmalade that brings back some fond childhood memories.

Sorry for the poor bloke - he even took the precaution of wearing a life jacket but obviously something went wrong.

And once again, a huge thumbs down to the Pattaya One newspaper tabloid rag that insists on showing photos of the poor deceased. I don't care if they're blurred out or not, it's totally unnecessary and shows no respect whatsoever.

And in this one the Sea Rescue blokes are squatting around the deceased as though they'd been deep sea fishing and the corpse was a trophy.

Absolutely no class whatsoever.

Translation - we haven't got a proper process to renew the work permits efficiently for the hundreds of thousands of Cambodians and Burmese labourers, and if they all bugger off next month when their permit expires, our economy will be phooked.

This place is a real gambling nest. They had the exorbitant sum of 200 Baht on the table.

Bet they weren't playing Bridge.

Somehow I don't think planting tomatoes and zucchini will be a great substitute for rice in the Thai diet.

Of course, it's too hard to admit that their water management systems aren't even on a par with 5th century Europe.

If you tried this with an ebay auction I suspect your membership would be revoked.

This boys been watching too many American shoot 'em up cop shows on TV.

I'll be thinking twice before I ignore the BIB trying to fleece me for tea money on the way to golf from now on......or will I?

I hope he didn't come back with a case of submarine envy.

I never was a fan of Simon and Garfunkel, but full marks to the Thai journalist for his play on words in the headline.

And in other news, TAT is advertising free rides on the cable car for the first one hundred crash test dummies tourists on opening day.

Actually I'd recommend to Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II that rather than revoke the Independence of the American Colony, she should cede the territories to the Canadians. They both play similar sports such as rounders baseball, field ice hockey, and netball basketball. All of which were high school girls games in Mother England - so amalgamation shouldn't be a problem.

Oh.....and in addition to the 15 points mentioned in her Royal Decree, can she please add that the correct spelling of "arse", is in fact......"arse". An ass is and always will be a hoofed mammal of the horse family.

I suppose that's one way to get yourself off the PM's Christmas card list.

Actually, it's not a myth. The table below shows the designated routes.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that the drivers adhere to the supposedly designated routes, but the original "design" of the baht bus system had these routes allocated.

The following pdf gives some interesting insight into the Pattaya transport system, particularly baht busses. Those that claim to know all about them might learn a thing or two.

Baht Bus.pdf

The correct way to handle the situation in Thailand is to agree to pay, but pay him in accordance with Thai time lines.

i.e......Never.

Gosh, that's a positive headline spin for rather a mundane poll result.

If my kid had the equivalent school report she'd be straight off to the naughty room with no dinner.

On a side note, I once overheard an Indian looking gentleman being barred from entering a gogo bar. I heard him saying "yeah man, well I may look like a freaking Indian but I'm actually from Canada". Immediately allowed into the bar.

I think I know the guy you're talking about. In fact he is a freaking Indian, born in India to Indian parents, but he holds a Canadian passport.

The bloke I saw spoke standard Canuck with no accent and his head didn't move. Same bloke? Maybe six months ago at Sweethart's on WS.

Here's my advice, and I've been riding and racing road bikes for over 40 years.

The last thing you should be thinking of is which road bike to buy. You don't have a license which implies you have virtually no practical experience of riding. Thailand is somewhat unique - my advice wouldn't apply if you were in the UK or Australia or wherever, but if you get a geared bike first up in Thailand, goodnight nurse.

First, get your license. To do so, buy a cheap second hand scooter - click or similar twist'n go. Practice riding/braking/manoeuvring in an old car park or something for a while. Then go on the BKK roads and familiarise yourself with the intricacies of riding here. You have zero experience - assume every other driver on the road woke up that morning with their sole mission in life of killing you. But.....don't ride like your grandmother - learn that speed is your friend, as well as your enemy. Learn to ride confidently, even semi aggressively.

The bike and it's controls should become second nature to you. You should be able to recognise when to gun it to avoid problems, when/how to brake efficiently, how to recognise potential dramas and make adjustments to keep out of trouble.

The reason I say get a scooter first is because if you go out as a novice with 6 gears and a clutch (which you don't know how to use properly) as well as having to figure out how to cope with the Thai traffic, you're giving yourself a double whammy.

Only then (and let's say 3,000klm of experience) should you consider buying a road bike. By that stage you'll have at least an inkling of how to negotiate the every day dramas and won't have to think about the traffic/road while you're learning how to use the gears and clutch.

Buy a small biked, 250cc max. Do your practise in a private area, attend a riding school. Learn all over again how to ride the bike, use the gears, use the revs, brake and steer/counter steer, blip on downshifts, front brake with your wheel in the air. Once you feel supremely confident with the controls of the bike, venture into traffic. Learn all over again how to ride the bigger bike as it's a little different than a scooter.

Learn/study the tricks of riding slowly in traffic, how to use the rear brake as a speed controller rather than the throttle. Then go and find some quiet roads and practice riding/braking at speed. Any idiot can redline a bike to supersonic speeds, but only a good rider can peel off the speed efficiently and effectively.

Find some quiet bends and practice time and time again how to go around. Learn about apexing, learn about counter steering and body shifting. Learn how to brake with as much weight down low as possible, learn to avoid the grip of death and keep your weight off the bars.

Do that for a few years and then consider a decent sized bike.

I'd suggest the first step of any contingency plan announced by the IMF should be to bend over and kiss your arse goodbye.

I don't see anything from stopping what is now an inevitable crash. And I mean this is going to be a cliff face, not a slight dip in the charts.

The box says "no smoking, no Indians" because there's not enough room to write "no smoking, only two maximum tenants allowed, no cooking horrendously smelling foods that no amount of cleaning will remove the odours, no ladyboy guest/s, no gang banging coconut bar hookers, no shisha pipes, no sitting by the pool and perving at the girls for hours on end."

On a side note, I once overheard an Indian looking gentleman being barred from entering a gogo bar. I heard him saying "yeah man, well I may look like a freaking Indian but I'm actually from Canada". Immediately allowed into the bar.

Which suggests to me that he was not being initially barred entry simply and totally based on the colour of his skin, but for the perceived unwelcome behaviour that others that share his skin colour and ethnic origins have previously demonstrated at the bar. This is fact - I checked with the doorman who I know.

Is that racism? Or is it merely a form of selected admission using a certain visible criteria that is really no different than a dress code?

My bar doesn't let anybody in who is bare chested - and a bloody good thing too. I don't care if they come from Australia, India, Peru, or Norway. If they have the poor manners not to wear at least a wife-beater, I don't want to have to look at the uncouth drips.

So if a bare chested Indian rocks up and he's barred entry, why is that conceivably labelled as racism, but if a Norwegian is barred, that's not considered racism?

No problem at all. I always come back with as many Kiwi meat pies as I can stuff in the suitcase. I also bring back some decent kiwi steaks in a chilli bag.

Your sausages won't present a problem, although I'd suggest you pack it in your check in luggage to avoid any dramas with cabin luggage checks when you board the plane wherever you're coming from.

The developer doesn't get access to anything. The app has access to those functions on your phone to enable full functionality.

If you don't like this particular app to have functionality on your phone because of perceived access by the developer, then you're not going to be able to install many apps on your phone.

If you really want to worry about something you should be more worried what google and facebook have access to - now that's really something to worry about!!

I can see increasing unemployment in the pirate sector coming up. I wonder if they have a social security system?