xylophone

I haven't been out in Bangla for around five weeks, due to health issues and big dental work, so I can't really comment on it, but I have been out and about a little bit in Patong, and what really did surprise me was the traffic (again/still)! I tried to get across what was once called "Middle Road" but is actually called "Phang Muan Sai Kor" (or so I believe) at around 6:30 PM, and the road was absolutely jampacked, nose to tail with traffic at a standstill or barely crawling along, and this went from the roundabout at the south end, past Jungceylon, and up to the far end traffic lights at Phra Baramee and I've never seen it like this before. Just as an aside, the minivans have made a huge comeback and at one time last week I counted 14 of them in a row on Phra Baramee road, heading out of Patong. Meanwhile, elsewhere, in Nanai Road, what was once a café called "555" which closed down some time ago has shown all the signs of opening back up.......well at least it has over the past couple of months, but it still seems to be stalled? I also noticed that the "Green Mango" guesthouse/restaurant was now fully closed whereas it had been closed for a while and then opened up a few months ago, only to close down again? And further south, the Italian restaurant, "The Loft" is now completely empty and looks to have been gutted, although I'm not sure what has happened to the rooms which were available as part of that building. I did visit Patong Central a few days ago and was pleased that it was doing business, but was very surprised at the customer mix, because the seats/tables in the dining area were completely full of Chinese, with the exception of four folk on two tables – – and the poor serving/wait people were not happy with the customers demands and complaints, not to mention the mess. I did pity them. Maybe there are bar mongers frequenting Bangla, but they certainly aren't evident in the small bars in Nanai, or in OTOP come to that, at least not in daylight/dusk hours, so it would seem that the small window of opportunity with the return of the tourists, will be short lived for these bars. And of course to add to the "interest and excitement of the place" along with the influx of the Russians and now the Chinese, the air quality has taken a dive which means sore eyes and a certain amount of hoarseness in the voice – – oh the joys of Thailand. As a rider to the above, I've had quite a few people exclaim that they believe the tourist numbers have declined somewhat, and a couple of women I know who own massage shops are not exactly inundated with customers, so maybe there is a lull and I haven't really noticed it?

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re doing this now, but it’s going to be a very long and uphill battle to go after the bigger fish, higher up in the food chain". So it won't happen......as too many people in powerful places will be affected. Loss of income and wealth, as well as loss of face. A couple of months and things will be back to "normal".

Connections in high places.

No probs, only kidding SAB????

No, but they will probably accept a bribe to let them go on with their business and stay on this visa, because that's what they've always done, and this latest brouhaha is mostly about "show" and of course squeezing a bit more from the Chinese. This whole episode is the very tip of the iceberg, and is very easy to go after, so that's what they're doing, but if anyone thinks that corruption will change in Thailand, then they don't understand how deep or high it flows.

Portsmouth isn't a dirty place!!

You could always ask an Australian, because their idea of foreplay is, "brace yourself Sheila"...... so they would know!

I tried to help a friend of mine with his pigeon problem and we bought a fake Falcon, which didn't work, a fake owl which hooted and flapped its wings and that didn't work, and another flying bird of prey of some description, and that didn't work either! I suggested the spikes to him and he's done nothing about it yet, or of course there is always some netting which a neighbour has used with great success, however this friend of mine has also done nothing about this, so I'm sure the pigeons are saying, "bombs away" as they continue to foul his house.

"Seems like a nice boy".

I do occasionally like an Aussie or New Zealand tenderloin steak and I get them from either Makro or Big C..... Makro occasionally has the Australian tenderloin at a knockdown price, whereas Big C has the New Zealand equivalent in a "buy one, get one free" (by Jotta) promotion, which is what I've just recently purchased. Together with asparagus and a stilton and cream sauce, just my ideal dinner, of course, accompanied by a nice bottle of red (Aussie, Italian or Californian).

Ah, and within that sentence lies the rub, as the saying goes, because it states that, "no reasonable viewer takes Tucker Carlson seriously", and there would be almost zilch "reasonable viewers" amongst the "Maga/trump nut jobs, and these are mainly his audience. Doublespeak solved!

"Almost a rite of passage with the young backpacker crowd". And gang members..............

Especially on the men!!

I can't remember the last time I had one from the UK, but I do get them from the New Zealand pension service almost annually, and the last two times that I have received the form in the post, it seems to have taken almost 4 weeks to arrive here, and they want it returned smartly! So I contacted them and asked if it would be all right for me to email a completed copy to them and they said it was fine, so that's what I did – – printed out the original, filled it in, got it signed and witnessed and sent it back via email. Painless. Just to be on the safe side I asked if they would require the original hard copy (completed) and they said it wasn't necessary.

I can highly recommend a move called. "Moon" starring Sam Rockwell.........different and makes you think. Came out a few years ago without much fanfare so you may have missed it. IMO a very good film.

And the Chinese will eat anything they can get their hands on.

Nuts.........no she had those removed a while back!!

I watched it and it was an ok movie, one almost made for Bill Nighy and Bill Nighy was born for it. Nothing exceptional and a bit of a plod with a sort of message in it, with a couple of loose ends, but overall worth a watch.

I never expected that thrashing and will watch it on Match of The Day tonight........but 7-0! Bloody embarrassing.

Good for a laugh and to show how much of the kool-Aid has been consumed!

I finally agree with you on something, and IMO Charles is a silly old duffer who basically ruined the young Diana's life, and who has taken the old biddy Camilla in tow. I still can not forget when he was addressing a crowd of dignitaries (don't ask me where because I have forgotten) and it may have been on his 60th birthday, when he referred to the Queen as "mummy", and you could hear the sniggering and titters amongst the listeners – – who, aged 60 years old, refers to his mother as "mummy"?? He has been cosseted and pampered all of his sheltered life and really doesn't know what life is like outside of that protective environment. Obviously Incapable of dressing himself!

A stand out set of plastic puppies in that pic!

Another lengthy post from "cloud cuckoo land" and I can only assume that this is some sort of joke post, meant as a dig at Democrats in general, and supportive of the liar in chief, trump.......

Tucker Carlson wouldn't know the truth if it hit him in the face, and as Fox News has said, in front of a judge/jury, that nobody should believe what they see/hear on Fox News because it is not actually news, but only the opinions of the presenters and not representative of the truth per se.

I didn't know that Swiss cheese could catch Covid! Seriously though, when you consider that viruses, bacteria and fungal infections can be zoonotic, and some very serious ones have jumped from animals to humans, then the theory that Covid came from an animal (bat for example) is very plausible indeed, and even now the medical specialists/profession seem "split" on the origins of it.