simon43

The print shirt shops on Google Maps seem to have closed down (at least the ones that I physically checked). I want to print or embroider a logo on perhaps 3 shirts. Can anyone recommend a shop in Pattaya for this? Thanks

The caskets in the temples usually rest on a cold plate powered by electric. Bit like fish at the fish market....

Is that how you catch flu? >> someone with cold hands grabbing your nuts...

They could use that 37,000 euros and pay 1,000 euro for a decent cremation in Thailand and the other 36,000 euro to buy school books for the local schools, and/or medical equipment for the hospitals and clinics on the island. Do something on Koh Tao in his memory - don't waste it on lugging his corpse halfway around the world!

It's definitely not a 'good look' when the failings and racism against white Brits by successive UK governments and local authorities have to be pointed out to them by a public figure living overseas....

Correct. I see millions of females bearing their ankles (and a lot more). But they are not ladies 🙂

Nope, but a gentleman never bears his knees in public 🙂

Baring adult male knees in public, other than at the beach? Unlike myself, you clearly are not a well-educated English gentleman...

The only reason to have a beard is to keep your face warm in winter climates like Canada and Russia. Those who grow beards are either too lazy to shave, (and that laziness is often demonstrated by their overall attitude), or they are bald on top,and are under the illusion that growing hair on their chin like an aged goat will make them look younger. It doesn't - it just looks like their head is upside down on their shoulders. As for those men who wear shorts (when not in their garden or at the beach), don't get me started.....

In respect to the OP's comments, I too have often wondered why many houses in the US are built contrary to the 3 little pigs story. Generally, bricks and concrete don't burn - wood does! ... and according to my knowledge of tectonic plate movements, there are only a few areas in the US which are subject to bad earthquakes. How about tornadoes in the central plains area? So many house destroyed. Oh! They are typically made of wood, like a garden shed.... When it comes to building houses, you reap what you sow.....

Exactly. When I mentioned vigilante justice in my post, I refer to a just punishment that is handed out by the community to the individual(s) who are known 100% to have committed the crime, such as all those Muslim rapists who got off with minimal prison sentences. Vigilante justice WILL come to the UK, because the vast majority of the community are sick to death (IMHO), of the biased attitude of the government and police, the lack of an appropriate sentence for those found guilty of a crime, the 'abuse' of the legal system by criminals claiming their right to a family life etc etc. I'm not calling for VJ, but I'll be cheering when it happens, because at least 95% of the UK population has been betrayed by the government, police, Church and indeed the King himself...

No second inquiry will ever happen because the accused/convicted are Muslim. That is a 'get out of jail/don't go to jail/nothing to see here' card in the UK.... All we can hope for is vigilante justice.

I have zero interest in US politics, but can someone please clarify one thing? Did Trump win the election to be the next president? Yes. So that seems to suggest (to me) that more people want him to be president than the other candidates. Does that mean that all those people that voted for him are idiots? Seems to be that there are a lot of bad losers on this forum....

And start using tasers!!

You are a spy.... 🙂 As mentioned in another thread, my posts from Myanmar are 'on hold' for a few months, commencing from yesterday evening. Why? Because yesterday evening, the retina in my right eye detached! The retina tore in this eye some 6 years ago and degraded my vision by about 10%. So when this event occurred yesterday, I knew how time was of the essence. I was on a plane to Bangkok at 8am this morning, and have had the retina reattached already 🙂 However, I have to rest for a while and cannot travel on a plane (the air pressure in the cabin can affect the eye in some way). But I'm going to use my time in a good way 🙂 My UK state pension starts in June, which means that I do not need to teach in-class for a salary (I also have my online teaching income). So I'm going to spend a couple of months improving my spoken and reading/written Burmese by taking in-person lessons with a nature speaker 🙂 This couple of months will also allow the app developer to complete the update on my learning app, and it will then be back on Google Playstore 🙂 In the meantime, I've been creating new videos that follow the lesson-by-lesson Burmese government (the 'real' government) curriculum.

Thanks very much for your good comments! Actually, my posts from Myanmar are 'on hold' for a few months, commencing from yesterday evening. Why? Because yesterday evening, the retina in my right eye detached! The retina tore in this eye some 6 years ago and degraded my vision by about 10%. So when this event occurred yesterday, I knew how time was of the essence. I was on a plane to Bangkok at 8am this morning, and have had the retina reattached already 🙂 However, I have to rest for a while and cannot travel on a plane (the air pressure in the cabin can affect the eye in some way). But I'm going to use my time in a good way 🙂 My UK state pension starts in June, which means that I do not need to teach in-class for a salary (I also have my online teaching income). So I'm going to spend a couple of months improving my spoken and reading/written Burmese by taking in-person lessons with a nature speaker 🙂 This couple of months will also allow the app developer to complete the update on my learning app, and it will then be back on Google Playstore 🙂 In the meantime, I've been creating new videos that follow the lesson-by-lesson Burmese government (the 'real' government) curriculum.

Yes, interesting video, and they are doing exactly the same as 'farang' are doing. But you know what struck me the most about that video? The terrible air pollution, which you can clearly see in many of the external shots. 'Chiang Mai, a city to die in', sorry! I mean 'a city to die for'

About 6 years ago, the retina in my right eye tore, but did not detach. (Until lasik surgery some 20 years ago, I was very short-sighted in both eyes, about -12, or in medical terms 'almost blind as a friggin bat!') When the tore occurred (I saw blood in my vision), I quickly went to an optician, who checked and said that the retina was still attached. However, my vision in that eye reduced to about 90%, with more floaters than before. The vision has not degraded since that event, and I have had no further events. But the event did create double vision (at a distance). That is, if I look at something that's perhaps 10 or 20 metres away, I see 2 of it! Close one eye and my vision is good and I see a single object. This is the same for each eye that I close, with my right eye vision still good, but a little degraded when compared to my left eye. When I was in the UK about 2 years ago, I visited an optician who recognised this problem, very carefully measured my eyes, and then prescribed spectacle lenses which gave me single-object vision again. (Note that I have no problems with double vision at close distances - I see a single object). So this was great when I returned to Laos, where I was living at the time. Unfortunately, I then fell off my motorbike and broke one of the lenses in those glasses! Despite having the detailed prescription from the optician in the UK, neither the optician in Laos, nor an optician in Thailand were able to recreate spectacles that removed the double vision.. So, for the past few years, I have been walking around and getting a headache from seeing double. I often simply close my right eye when crossing a road for example, so as to give me clearer vision. Walking down steps is also difficult, because I can misjudge the steps due to the double vision. My question: I will be in Pattaya soon for a break. Can anyone recommend a competent optician who is aware of Binocular diplopia , and who might be able to provide suitable corrective glasses for me? Otherwise, I might resort to wearing a pirate patch over my right eye...

I've used them before because I often get rhinitis (spelling?) and a severely-blocked nose. It works well, also gargling with salt water. With this nasal inhaler, you need to tip your head back and allow gravity to do its thing. Certainly worth a try at 49 baht! I just use table salt...

Presumably it's because you're speaking American, not English....

The title states "2 off (sic) my dogs" How many dogs do you have?

[quote] As for safety - well...you're mostly correct if you do what you say, but there's always a small chance of becoming the victim of a crime, no matter how many precautions you take. The security situation in Myanmar has deteriorated since the coup and westerners make easy pickings for those who are desperate. That of course doesn't mean you're likely to be robbed, just that you are more likely to be a target compared to the locals. [/quote] 2 of the foreign teachers at my school had their bags/mobile phones stolen by passing motorbike riders in broad daylight. I always have my backpack straps over both shoulders. Still, if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time etc...

Great photos BB! [quote] Are you a dive instructor? No. [/quote] My guess is that you're working in the oil sector [quote] I'm surprised you've even decided to live in Myanmar given the circumstances [/quote] I had been visiting Kawtaung (at the southern tip of Myanmar) on many occasions since about 2002, to do visa runs. In 2012, and with a completely mad ex-wife making my life a misery, I 'fled' to the safety of Yangon, knowing that the mad bat would not follow me there! I moved 'sideways' in my career from my original space/satellite scientist in the UK, to small hotel builder (in Thailand), and finally to school teacher in Myanmar. I fell in love with the country and its people, but I have never gained a liking for most Burmese food, since it has too much grease/oil and animal genitalia.... Shan noodles is my favorite Myanmar dish. I lived in the brown-shuttered apartment in this photo in downtown Yangon. At any time of the day or night, I have never felt threatened in either Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, not in 22+ years. I attribute this to my belief that no-one will bother/mug/hassle you if you either look poor or look mad! As I tend to combine both attributes, those with ill-intent leave me alone... The first time that I expressed interest in visiting Dala (across the river), the local Burmese warned me that it was dangerous to go there. I went and ended up teaching English for free on my day off from my paid teaching job. Needless to say, I never found it dangerous 🙂 As to the 2 tourists who ignored me at the moat, perhaps it was my mad staring eyes and maniacal laugh as I said "Well hallooooo!!!" that put them off 🙂

Living in south-east Asia for 22+ years, jumping between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Right now I'm teaching in Myanmar, but Thailand is my 'base' and where my families are.

Yes, no curfew in Mandalay, but after dark (8pm), the streets are deserted. I did see 2 'white-skinned' tourists yesterday near the moat at Mandalay Palace, but they studiously ignored my greetings.... My hotel has a 24/7 generator, but (like most hotels), when the mains electricity supply cuts out, so does the hotel wifi router, since it has to reboot. I don't understand why hotels don't put their router on a car battery and inverter to avoid the 60 second reboot! So I also tie in at least 2 different mobile phone networks to my internet connection, to avoid breaks in my online lessons.