Homburg

Cannot afford alternative flights home? So no travel insurance?

There are also E-gates for departing passengers, so my exit should be a breeze, not looking forward to arrival in Swampy though☹️. Did you cycle into PP or take the bus? (I found the bus to be a surprisingly good service, and for only around 12 Baht!) No Airport Rail Link yet (if ever🤣), and it's much further from the City, but Techo still seems better connected than the old airport.

Thai immigration can be a truly dispiriting experience, even for those admitted without incident, but when you are waiting in line, often for more than an hour, spare a thought for the IO's. It must be a truly soul-destroying job. Faced with a constant stream of detritus from seemingly everywhere on the planet, all of whom can clearly afford things which an IO cannot. Surely a few random refusals, plus some "service fees" are an absolute necessity just to liven up what would otherwise be a deadly monotonous job? Slightly off-topic, but by comparison Cambodian Immigration at the new Phnom Penh airport this week was a truly astonishingly refreshing experience - no queue, no questions, no language difficulties, no hassles, no delays, no passport stamps (so my passport is in less danger of filling up before it expires😊), no scams. Just an online visa and entry via an E-gate! It literally took only seconds to clear immigration! The only downside was that I arrived in baggage reclaim so quickly that I had to wait for the bags to start to arrive! I'm now dragging my feet over my return to Thailand.....

Only two thirds?

Well done Swampy security staff. Saved so that he can be sent to the slaughterhouse, and no mess to clear up on the roadway!

Probably?

Stiletto heels?

Wash day, nothing clean....

Let us all hope for the best possible outcome for the oppressed Iranian people.

So true! 25-30 years ago Pattaya was accurately described as "Disneyland for adults". For anyone who visited then, cherish your memories. For those less fortunate, there are no words to convey the full wonderfulness of the experience. Thank you for the post SoCal1990, it brought back awesome memories.

Emmanuel Odunlami was killed by robbers for a (fake) designer watch. In London, near St Paul's Cathedral. The guy didn't put up a fight, he was trying to run away and was knifed through the heart. Danny Pearce was killed when walking home from a jazz club in Greenwich, London. He was chased, shot at, and repeatedly stabbed for his Rolex. These are just robberies that ended in a killing. London Police stats show over 2000 "luxury" watches (value greater that B125,000) were stolen in London in 2023. Does that constitute "routine"? I wear a B99 watch from Mr DIY. It keeps good time, but the best thing about it is that it looks like a B99 watch. As yet I have not encountered anyone who wanted to steal it..... I generally feel much safer in SE Asia (except for The Philippines) than I do in the West.

"Extreme heat" from a fire caused by a discarded cigarette perhaps? Welcome to Thailand. safety last?

Redolent of Profumo...... ...but with a far less enticing Mandy..... ....Smarmer on his way to the jobcentre? ....and God help the UK now with the prospect of Rabid Rayner as PM.....

Scams in Angeles City! Who would ever imagine such a thing?

Don't bet on it.