Buckwheat

Dates, I would personally suggest either the 11th or the 18th of August. I know I can make those dates. They are both Saturdays, which makes things much easier for those who work Mon-Fri, whether in CM or elsewhere. A Friday or Sunday would cut out most from elsewhere.

With all due respect to Milton and those who like central venues, I believe we should look at some place a little way outside town and arrange transport to and from. Many of the restaurants away from town are stunningly beautiful and have large areas to mill around in. This, I believe, would make a big difference and contribute to a successful event.

Probably the 18th p1p.....HRH The Queens birthday is on the 12th.

Wattana = almost no choice and very high prices - generally 10-20% over Tukcom

IT centre = Tukcom

The op asked where laptop shops were in Pattaya. Wattana is a laptop shop. I suggest the op check out the prices and SERVICE after purchase in ALL suggested locations and render his own decision.

Saturday,18 August would be fine from this end. Please don't forget that we are bringing mesquite smoked BBQ ribs and perhaps mesquite smoked chicken, pulled pork sandwiches or pork fillets, so make sure the venue you select is on board with that.

Buckwheat are you proposing to supply ALL the food then ? :rolleyes

Thanks for the question...

That all depends on if you guys and gals recon possible venues, score them and ultimately choose one. Then we can initiate a sign-up thread to get an idea of how many members are interested in attending. If you check the last 3 party threads you will see that providing the BBQ was done in each instance....after recons were done and a venue suitable to all local members was selected, along with the agreement of the owner/operator to allow us to provide the BBQ.

We dont want to haul the smokers 1000 km to cook for 5 members. It will take 2 - 3 days to cook so expect a sign-up thread to appear around the 1st of August with a cut off date

to give us enough time to order, prep and smoke the meat with a set number of members to feed.

So signing up for a party that 1) doesn't have a firm date set and 2) has no selected venue is probably a little premature at this time.

Agree on a date, recon possible venues, select one and have a party!

Hello

Where is laptops shop in pattaya?

Wantana...directly across the street from Foodland on Pattaya Klang.

Just curious if anyone else is aware of the Fedex office IN Pattaya.. last time I was there, they still hadn't put up a sign, not even a temporary sign, not even a piece of paper with "Fedex" on it... but there IS a real Fedex office in Pattaya, which means you don't have to deal with one of the many Fedex AGENTS all over town.

If you know where their office is, reply here and let others know.

Yes,

Directly across the street from The Star Dice on Naklua Road, just before you get to Soi 16.

Driving towards Naklua it will be on your right side....hard to spot but look for Star Dice on your left as a marker...it's across the street in the new complex.

Did they ever get a manager smart enough to put out a sign, even a temporary sign? I guess business must be really good for them.

No they didn't, and I have asked the same question. Here's a map that might help you out.

Just curious if anyone else is aware of the Fedex office IN Pattaya.. last time I was there, they still hadn't put up a sign, not even a temporary sign, not even a piece of paper with "Fedex" on it... but there IS a real Fedex office in Pattaya, which means you don't have to deal with one of the many Fedex AGENTS all over town.

If you know where their office is, reply here and let others know.

Yes,

Directly across the street from The Star Dice on Naklua Road, just before you get to Soi 16.

Driving towards Naklua it will be on your right side....hard to spot but look for Star Dice on your left as a marker...it's across the street in the new complex.

TP's suggested dates would be Saturday 18 or Sunday 19 August. That would suit me fine, as I return to CM on August 16. Assuming a date no earlier than Friday 17 August, I can confirm my presence (in case anybody cares...).

/ Priceless

Saturday,18 August would be fine from this end. Please don't forget that we are bringing mesquite smoked BBQ ribs and perhaps mesquite smoked chicken, pulled pork sandwiches or pork fillets, so make sure the venue you select is on board with that.

Great to see the responses so far!!! Please remember, the more options you give yourselves, the better deal we can get on a venue, so check out all you can and we can run a separate signup thread starting on the 1st of August. You have 16 Fridays and Saturdays to recon venues between 1 June and 1 August.

Thanks!!!

Sounds good to me. Will you need a BBQ to cook/ reheat with ?? I can donate my beast for the day if someone has a pick-up.

Look forward to it.

Thanks for the offer but I have a few of these laying around...

TP's suggested dates would be Saturday 18 or Sunday 19 August. That would suit me fine, as I return to CM on August 16. Assuming a date no earlier than Friday 17 August, I can confirm my presence (in case anybody cares...).

/ Priceless

Saturday,18 August would be fine from this end. Please don't forget that we are bringing mesquite smoked BBQ ribs and perhaps mesquite smoked chicken, pulled pork sandwiches or pork fillets, so make sure the venue you select is on board with that.

Great to see the responses so far!!! Please remember, the more options you give yourselves, the better deal we can get on a venue, so check out all you can and we can run a separate signup thread starting on the 1st of August. You have 16 Fridays and Saturdays to recon venues between 1 June and 1 August.

Thanks!!!

Several offensive comments as well as responses to them have been deleted.

The topic is "First Timer Or Not" and it would be greatly appreciated if posters would stick to that topic with this in mind from the Forum Rules....

3) Religious or racial slurs, rude and degrading comments towards women, or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated.

This is the first and last public warning.

Thanks for your understanding!

[/b]

Call 1 recon per week and post your critiques here...it has worked well for us up to this point.

There will be a separate sign-up thread initiated well before the party so we will have a good idea of what to expect.

CB

Let us know about a spreadsheet and...

Thanks again!

Here is a sheet we could use to evaluate each venue and track them a bit easier

Thanks Baz!!!

+1[/b] (not including kids..they are most welcome if you think the venue is appropriate for them).

Since there are many suggestions now, so why don't one of you call a "recon" at one of the suggested venues at a designated time on a Friday or Saturday? You can meet with each other, evaluate the venue and post your opinions here. You have time to check out quite a few venues and the final selection will be made by YOU....the folks who live there.

One other point, please don't forget that we will be bringing mesquite smoked BBQ ribs to the venue. So that should be taken into consideration when approaching any owners. Are they ok with bringing our own ribs in on party night? Other than the ribs, all salads and side dishes will be taken from the venue, as well as all refreshments. The ribs will be cooked before the party so it will not impact on the venue, other than the fact that we will need a place to heat them.

And as far as numbers go...the last 3 we did was 62 in Pattaya, 55 in Phuket and 55 in Surin. Think you guys can beat 62?......we hope so!!!!

Call 1 recon per week and post your critiques here...it has worked well for us up to this point.

There will be a separate sign-up thread initiated well before the party so we will have a good idea of what to expect.

Buckwheat - I and most of the others would know ALL of the venues up for dibs except for Thai Pauly's new place and I am more than happy to check that out as well. I can think of a number of other venues but would prefer to support the guys who at least post on the ChiangMai forum.

Tuskers has a large number of advantages being centrally located and have several decent to good hotels within walking distance BUT parking is an issue and that will make it hard for guys coming from out of town with wife and family. By the same token make it out of town say for example more than 100m past the Dukes ( ) and guys like UG who don't drive and can't fit in a TukTuk can't get there.

The Downunder would have been ideal with size, location, and parking available but Gus has closed and the new owners are going to renovate over the next couple of months. As far as I know they aren't part of the TV community. If they were members and the renovations could be finished by then it would still be a contender. I can try to find out if they are interested if you want.

CB

Thanks CB,

The items listed in the op were "suggestions". The last party we had was at a venue whose owner was not a TV member, but met the other suggested critera.

It is hard to find a venue that meets all the listed suggestions, but we did on the first 2...Tropical Berts (Pattaya) and The Farang Connection (Surin), but with the time frame involved before the Chiang Mai party, it should be a snap.

Recon any place you think would be a possibility and make it a weekly event. You guys live there and know what's good and what's not, The Downunder included. Recon any place you want..it's your party and you guys and gals know what best for that area.

In the past we have relied on a "point person" at the party location to act as a "go between" because we can't do a thing without local knowledge. We are hoping to have the same luxury in Chiang Mai also.

Would a tracking sheet with the suggested venues and suggested amenities be of any help to you? You can recon one per week and grade them on the spot and post your results here. or you can critique any place you already know.

We set 7pm every Friday for recons at a venue that was posted on the Pattaya recon thread and it worked out rather nicely, as well as being good for the health!

Let us know about a spreadsheet and...

Thanks again!

As a former "organiser" with a large work social club I 'd advise you to make a head count of possible attendees before discussing venues.

100 members would have different requirements to say, 10 or a dozen. A smaller number would certainly be more comfortable in a private house.

You thinking about coming down for the event?

CB

Dunno, August is a long way off. What format have the other "get togethers" taken? Wasn't there one at Phuket recently? Did they include WAGs? (Wives and girlfriends)? Kids?

I may have people coming over around that time, I could always join them up I suppose.

Sometimes I think you guys are better existing in my imagination and I'm sure I'm probably better unseen.

Mind you, if you were to road test that "massage" place I might reconsider.

In the past we have limited the attendance to a TV member +1. The reason being is that we were getting new members siging up + 10,+8 and +6 etc, so to be fair to existing members we made it +1 (not including kids..they are most welcome if you think the venue is appropriate for them).

Since there are many suggestions now, so why don't one of you call a "recon" at one of the suggested venues at a designated time on a Friday or Saturday? You can meet with each other, evaluate the venue and post your opinions here. You have time to check out quite a few venues and the final selection will be made by YOU....the folks who live there.

One other point, please don't forget that we will be bringing mesquite smoked BBQ ribs to the venue. So that should be taken into consideration when approaching any owners. Are they ok with bringing our own ribs in on party night? Other than the ribs, all salads and side dishes will be taken from the venue, as well as all refreshments. The ribs will be cooked before the party so it will not impact on the venue, other than the fact that we will need a place to heat them.

And as far as numbers go...the last 3 we did was 62 in Pattaya, 55 in Phuket and 55 in Surin. Think you guys can beat 62?......we hope so!!!!

Call 1 recon per week and post your critiques here...it has worked well for us up to this point.

There will be a separate sign-up thread initiated well before the party so we will have a good idea of what to expect.

Just a final reminder......

Only 4 days left until the party.

Please remind anyone you know of who has been registered.

The cooking crew will be enroute to Phuket, and we will be smoking meat on the 11th and 12th at The Green Man. Please stop by if you're in the area during that time and say "hello"

We all look forward to meeting you on the 12th.

Hi all, im looking to buy a large stainless steel BBQ.

Where is the best place to start looking?

Im not too familiar with pattaya, any help would be much appreciated. Cheers

Stop by Tropical Berts on second road just past Pattaya Klang (on the left, across from Bangkok Bank), or pm him (Basset)

He has a full line of stainless BBQ's

Anyone for a late afternoon beer today?

Around 5ish at the Green Man Pub, but have to sit outsde cause of my dogs.

I will check again here around 4pm if someone is interested.

Gerd

Can't today Gerd...

How about Thursday???

did you poke those holes in them? i think part of the trick is to keep the heat in by using the cardboard packaging.

Most definitely. The other thing is that they are not flipped. You lay down the onions and put the burger on top. Hey, here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

8 hot-dog or 16 hamburger buns

1/2 medium onion

salt to taste

pepper to taste

American cheese (optional)

Pickle slices (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the beef ahead of time by separating into sixteen 1-ounce portions and flattening each on wax paper into a very thing square patty, about 2 1/2 inches square. Using a small circular object, like the tip of a pen cap, make five small, evenly spaced holes in each patty. Freeze the patties, still on the wax paper, until youre ready to cook.

If using hot dog buns, cut off the ends, and then cut each bun in half to make 2 buns from each. If using hamburger buns, cut each down to about a 2 1/2 inch square.

Slice the onion into match-size pieces.

Grill the faces of the buns in a large pan over medium-high heat.

In the hot pan, spread out tablespoon-size piles of onions 3 inches apart. Salt and pepper each pile of onions.

On each pile of onions, place a frozen beef patty. Your may have to spread the onions out some so that the hamburger lies flat. Salt each patty as it cooks.

Cook each burger for 4 to 5 minutes on the onions. If you made the burgers thin enough, the holes will ensure that each patty is cooked through without flipping them over.

Assemble by sandwiching the patty and onions between each grilled onions.

If you want to add pickle slices to your burger, as you can at White castle outlets, stack them on top of the grilled onions.

For a cheeseburger, you'll have to cut a slice of American cheese to the same size as your burger, and then it goes on top of the onions, under the pickles, if you use pickles.

Spot on qualtrough,

I've been making these for a few years (with the hot dog buns) and the only thing I can add is to make sure you flatten them out. When I first started making them, I made the pattys too thick....when you do it right, you can't taste the difference between yours and store bought.

Just a reminder......

Only 8 days left until the party.

We all look forward to meeting you on the 12th.

Looks like we've got a party on our hands!!!

Nametags with barcoding will be generated tomorrow and issued upon your arrival at the party.

Please wear your nametag at all times to avoid any confusion since The Green Man will also be open to their regular customers.

Local media will also be covering the event, so lets show 'em how it's done!

Thanks for the fantastic response and we look forward to meeting all of you on the 12th.

Here is the final attendance list...

sniperteam6

donna

markr +1

markg +1

thaigerd +1

yaimar +1

starkey_rich +1

stuandchris +1

KDF +1

Pardoon

JiaJia +1

Borracho

Crouton

Bazmlb

DanBlack

Phuketdiver

BigSnake

Mrjlh

Pupik

Aussietraveller +1

JerM_6

skellaz

Chantal +1

Buckwheat

slackula

phuketrichard +1

geoffphuket +1

smartecosse +1

garysdth +1

gunter vanpamel +1

keestha

ozymandious +1

N47HAN +1

waexpat +1

soandso +1

Lotusbluete +1

puketparadise +1

khall64au +1

boomboombus +1

Baan Kik

ned kelly

begsaresponse

mamanoodle

Potato

yaimar +1

surfline +1

RIZLA+1

Larsbo +1

marcher +1

pgrin +1

Ausladyinpatong +1

baabaabobo +1

Lithobid

natalie8

mjochim +1

Rdrokit

Firefan

TV Channel 11 +1

The final count is 91 which is fantastic!

We are looking forward to meeting and greeting you all.

We will be cooking on the 11th and the 12th, so if you are in the area of The Green Man before the party, please stop by and say "hello".

The final count is 91 which is fantastic!

We are looking forward to meeting and greeting you all.

We will be cooking on the 11th and the 12th, so if you are in the area of The Green Man before the party, please stop by and say "hello".

Looks like we've got a party on our hands!!!

Nametags with barcoding will be generated tomorrow and issued upon your arrival at the party.

Please wear your nametag at all times to avoid any confusion since The Green Man will also be open to their regular customers.

Local media will also be covering the event, so lets show 'em how it's done!

Thanks for the fantastic response and we look forward to meeting all of you on the 12th.

Here is the final attendance list...

sniperteam6

donna

markr +1

markg +1

thaigerd +1

yaimar +1

starkey_rich +1

stuandchris +1

KDF +1

Pardoon

JiaJia +1

Borracho

Crouton

Bazmlb

DanBlack

Phuketdiver

BigSnake

Mrjlh

Pupik

Aussietraveller +1

JerM_6

skellaz

Chantal +1

Buckwheat

slackula

phuketrichard +1

geoffphuket +1

smartecosse +1

garysdth +1

gunter vanpamel +1

keestha

ozymandious +1

N47HAN +1

waexpat +1

soandso +1

Lotusbluete +1

puketparadise +1

khall64au +1

boomboombus +1

Baan Kik

ned kelly

begsaresponse

mamanoodle

Potato

yaimar +1

surfline +1

RIZLA+1

Larsbo +1

marcher +1

pgrin +1

Ausladyinpatong +1

baabaabobo +1

Lithobid

natalie8

mjochim +1

Rdrokit

Firefan

TV Channel 11 +1

Just a reminder......

****Due to the overwhelming positive responses, signups will be halted and this thread will be closed tonight at Midnight

No further signups can be allowed after the cut off date in order to facilitate food preparations.

Please sign up before then if you havent already. The final attendance list will be posted and nametags with barcoding will be created for all listed members. ****

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Yup will definitely be coming but please add + 1 for me. See you all there!

Sorry about that Chantal...I had the 2 nametags made but neglected to add the +1 on the tracking page.

You're good to go +1 and looking forward to meeting you!

Ok Buckwheat and Baz, you convinced me, a road trip will be good for me so count me in.

Great news Rocco.....your "expertise" is greatly appreciated!!!!

****Due to the overwhelming positive responses, signups will be halted and this thread will be closed at Midnight on the 1st of May.

No further signups can be allowed after the cut off date in order to facilitate food preparations.

Please sign up before then if you havent already. The final attendance list will be posted and nametags with barcoding will be created for all listed members. ****

Here is the latest update of the confirmations to date.

If you are listed and have revised your plans and cannot attend, please let us know. If you intend to come but are NOT listed, please sign up again below. If I have missed your name and it is not listed here, please PM me and I'll correct it immediately.

And as a reminder, this party is sponsored by Thai Visa for Thai Visa members and a spouse, friend etc.

For example, new members signing up +5 and current members with + 2 or +3 guests unfortunately cannot be accomodated. If everyone were to do that, there would be in excess of 400 people already.

As admin has already stated;

No name tag = no food and drinks!

We look forward to meeting ALL members, both old and new but please help us keep the attendance limited to Thai Visa members.

sniperteam6

donna

markr +1

markg +1

thaigerd +1

yaimar +1

starkey_rich +1

stuandchris +1

KDF +1

Pardoon

JiaJia +1

Borracho

Crouton

Bazmlb

DanBlack

Phuketdiver

BigSnake

Mrjlh

Pupik

Aussietraveller +1

JerM_6

skellaz

Chantal +1

Buckwheat

slackula

phuketrichard +1

geoffphuket +1

smartecosse +1

garysdth +1

gunter vanpamel +1

keestha

ozymandious +1

N47HAN +1

waexpat +1

soandso +1

Lotusbluete +1

puketparadise +1

khall64au +1

boomboombus +1

Baan Kik

ned kelly

begsaresponse

mamanoodle

Potato

yaimar +1

surfline +1

RIZLA+1

Larsbo +1

marcher +1

pgrin +1

Ausladyinpatong +1

baabaabobo +1

Lithobid

natalie8

mjochim +1

Rdrokit

Firefan

TV Channel 11 +1

Looking forward to seeing you all there!!!

Here is the latest update of the confirmations to date.

If you are listed and have revised your plans and cannot attend, please let us know. If you intend to come but are NOT listed, please sign up again below.

And as a reminder, this party is sponsored by Thai Visa for Thai Visa members and a spouse, friend etc.

For example, new members signing up +5 and current members with + 2 or +3 guests unfortunately cannot be accomodated. If everyone were to do that, there would be in excess of 400 people already.

As admin has already stated;

No name tag = no food and drinks!

We look forward to meeting ALL members, both old and new but please help us keep the attendance limited to Thai Visa members.

sniperteam6

donna

markr +1

markg +1

thaigerd +1

yaimar +1

starkey_rich +1

stuandchris +1

KDF +1

Pardoon

JiaJia +1

Borracho

Crouton

Bazmlb

DanBlack

Phuketdiver

BigSnake

Mrjlh

Pupik

Aussietraveller +1

JerM_6

skellaz

Chantal

Buckwheat

slackula

phuketrichard +1

geoffphuket +1

smartecosse +1

garysdth +1

gunter vanpamel +1

keestha

ozymandious +1

N47HAN +1

waexpat +1

soandso +1

Lotusbluete +1

puketparadise +1

khall64au +1

boomboombus +1

Baan Kik

ned kelly

begsaresponse

mamanoodle

Potato

yaimar +1

surfline +1

RIZLA+1

Larsbo +1

marcher +1

pgrin +1

Ausladyinpatong +1

baabaabobo +1

Lithobid

natalie8

mjochim +1

Looking forward to seeing you all there!!!