55Jay

Odd that I ended up here in Thailand decades later. I would of never thought that.

One of my colleagues transferred out of the middle east to a staff duty position on 7th Fleet in Japan. Ran into him on Guam about 2002, and he was all excited having discovered Amazing Thailand, big plans to buy a condo and retire early there. Yeah yeah, you're full of s**t, I said, and I never gave it another thought.

We had a good laugh about it on email recently. I ended up here, and he lives in Texas. Funny that.

I'm mildly curious about Laos and Cambodia but after 3 1/2 years living here full time, I've never been. Never needed to make a border run so apart from that, it's not enough of a draw. My sense of the immediate region is pretty much "Same same but different". JMHO. YMMV.

I've participated in amphibious landings here several times...from a long tail, wading ashore at Beach Rd

06-06-26_1350.JPG

Why?

So he could clench his teeth, jut his jaw, and announce "I will return"?

You forgot the pipe between clenched teeth. Gotta have the pipe, it's important.

Why?

When you drop anchor and the boss says, "Get outta here, see you in 3 days", you go.

"Headed for use by tourists on Koh Phangan".

As if Thais down there don't smoke weed! LOL

I've participated in amphibious landings here several times...from a long tail, wading ashore at Beach Rd

Early on in my career, I attended basic and advanced Traffic Accident Investigation courses in order to perform that work. Never forget the Three E's:

1. Education

2. Engineering

3. Enforcement.

In that order.

Seems to me that rather sudden, random Enforcement is #1 here.

Some focus on roadway Engineering.

Not much quality emphasis on up front Education/Motorist Training.

Lingering scent of the Wild West in this regard, maybe that's why we love it here!

Weird. Some of these "crack downs" seem so random and not thought all the way through. The picture above is worth a 1,000 words but I'm sure in some way, the police consider it a highly effective result because it achieves the stated goal, regardless of the chaos and greater dangers it imposes, at least initially.

The junta should be tackling really big issues, instead they do this random, broad based stupid s**t that just pisses everyone off, stirs the pot and will ultimately lead to political upheaval if the road map to democracy goal posts keep getting kicked further down the pitch.

Think I should have liked to have been born about 10 years earlier. Be that much closer to retirement.

And to death.

Never know about that. I'd quit tomorrow if not worried about running out of dosh. Then again one could be taken out by a bus on the way to work tomorrow.

Being a young Gaijin in Japan in the early 1990s was great. Heard early 1980s was insane. Foreigners still enough of a novelty very average looking palefaces were getting modeling and TV spots and the gals would come from Tokyo/Yokohama to hang around the gates at NAF Atsugi to pick up guys. Now it seems if you don't have the flash suit and extremely high paying Finance job they could not be bothered.

I know there were a bunch of coups going on but would have liked to have experienced BKK in the 80s, Samui also before mass tourism.

Atsugi! Haven't thought about that place in a long time, wow!

Yokosuka was off the chain too, I was there 87-90. The young JN generation was transitioning from the 50's/Elvis craze phase, moving into what I can only say was a modified 60's Free Love period. I burned the candle at both ends quite a few times. Love Hotels were a trip!

Funny you mention that, I stumbled into a bit piece in a JN movie. I was in a few scenes shot on the deck of ship moored up in Tokyo somewhere.

Seems a few concerned foreigners poked Forabee in the eye on Facebook and got a lame excuse, and a retraction of the signs removal of the offending price gouge scheme. See link and comments therein, top of the page.

So much for the passive apologist strategy of voting with feet and waiting for market forces to fix the problem.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fora-Bee-Products/548620785186715

My local has, or had, the same problem with their upright + as you know I'm sure, they struggle due to opening the doors all the time.

They now use it for storage and other, slower moving types of beverages - soda, cider, etc. The common selling beers (Chang/Leo/San Mig) are kept on ice in one of those big blue ice chests. Perfecto! Everybody seems to love it, I know I do. The guys who drop ice into their beer glasses don't care one way or the other I suppose.

And the shop just handed over 50,000 on the basis of a T-Shirt logo. Duh!

Had they worn khaki uniforms festooned with colorful ribbons and para jump wings, they coulda got 100k.

Cynical would be finding out after a tsunami that they didn't work, and hadn't been tested in years.

So again, they get one JWD pat on the back, hopefully encouraged to follow through with repairs, and even better, test on a regular, routine basis. That may even be the case already, dunno, don't live on Phuket.

Can't link to it here but Google "Life of a Bangkok Air Traffic Controller".

I am afraid to look.

You won't regret. Trust me....

Can't link to it here but Google "Life of a Bangkok Air Traffic Controller".

Excellent photo. Now, get straight in there with JCBs and dig that sucker a few meters deeper. Now's the time.

Thai 72 to Tower

Tower here TL 72

We are heavy at Bravo 12 approach awaiting instructions

Ahh hold for a moment TL72....

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Ahh TL 72 this is Tower

Go ahead Tower

TL 72 where did you say you are .....

Tower we are at Bravo 12.....

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Again please TL 72

Tower WE ARE AT BRAVO 12

Ahh TL 72...... thanks for that but I dont show a Bravo 12 approach here at Don Muang,

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Oh shit you dont think they sent the Suvarnabhumi program here by mistake do you and they are running Don Muang program there ???

Sorry what was that Tower??

Forget it TL72 I didn't realise it was on open mike.... forget you heard that OK....

TL72.. this is Tower

Roger Tower

TL 72 please turn right or left whatever looks good to you....then takeoff if its still looking good.. proceed in upwardly direction after that ....

Roger Tower TL72 out....

I got a pretty good chuckle out of that. "upwardly direction". I'm still laughing. Thanks.

In other words, I'll take your cash, just don't criticize or ask too many boring questions.

I give them credit for at least testing them.

"In other words, people whose monthly savings account for no more than 30,000 Baht which the ministry speculates amount to around 19 million people."

"Mr. Apisak Tantivorawong? There is a conference call for you on line two. The CFO's of Bangkok Bank and SCB. Something about massive numbers of withdrawals of savings from small accounts."

I just saw the blue haired old lady hi-so up the road run to her Mercedes carrying two empty Tesco carrier bags.

Wonder where she's going?

"Aerothai vice-president Thinnakorn Chuwong said the delay was because the traffic controller introduced the adjusted air traffic management system for use in the first day."

yikes... nothing like on the job training.

"Ho Lee Fuk! What is Windows 8? Where is the Start menu? What do?"

It was an upgrade from XP to Vista.

I wonder if things were back to normal by noon because they reverted to the previous, existing system.

Hmm. Might be easier and a lot less work to register the Haves, instead of all the Have Nots.

Social and racial attitudes have surely sharpened, to a hyper sensitive edge though.

Imagine the back lash if you re-created this Johnny Carson moment on a late night TV show these days. Career suicide.... unless, of course, you're Donald Trump!