xylophone

Thinking about Patong nowadays, especially with the influx of Russians and Chinese, and the awful driving by the French Arabs, I don't believe I would have moved here at this present time, because back in 2007 when I bought my first house here, it was an entirely different place. Now the traffic is appalling and is gridlocked on many occasions, apart from the idiots weaving in and out of the cars and the majority of these idiots don't even abide by the law with wearing a crash helmet. The state of the roads is pretty dismal and there are patches of road where one has to be very careful if driving a motorbike, this as well as steering clear of the large drain covers in the road, some of which have sunk quite a few centimetres below the road level, thereby creating a danger. True enough there were a few rowdy visitors back in the day, but I always felt safe out there, whereas these days, not so much. I'm hoping that this Russian influx will only be temporary as I have only ever met one Russian guy I thought was genuine/good, and he was a "digital nomad" working from a place in Rawai. I sold him my old car and his English was good and we got talking about the few Russians that were around the place and I was perfectly honest with him and said that although I thought he was a good guy, I didn't like any of the others I'd met – – and his response quite astounded me, when he said that neither did he, so we weren't getting the best of them here even back then. To add to that I have noticed that we are not getting the "quality tourist" from Russia, inasmuch as many of them look like steroid junkies and even the women are heavily tattooed, even if they haven't got the rubber plunger lips! I would move out of Patong however I have made some friends here and it's always good to have friends when you have moved country; I have also made friends with several restaurateurs here and am able to take my own wine along and the main reason I won't move now at the age of 76 is because my Thai daughter will be finishing university in three months time and wants to come down to Phuket to live, which is where she lived for more than half of her life, and it will be great to be close to her after many years apart, and I'll probably try to buy her a little house in Phuket town, which is where she wants to live. So staying here is the easiest option, but probably not the best for my sanity!

I liked the play on words with your "food is a matter of taste", however I have to firmly disagree with my mum being the best cook I've ever encountered, because she was the worst cook I had ever encountered – – burnt toast, cabbage boiled until it looked completely white, a piece of fatty meat cooked in the oven until it resembled a very small "something or another", complete with the string tied around it, resting on a bed of fat. To add to that, she also managed to cook me an egg in Tepol washing up liquid, make a Mary Bakers sponge cake, which included Dettol in the icing, and finally managed to cook a Frey Bentos steak and kidney pie in the oven, with the lid still on, and of course the whole tin was horribly misshapen especially on the top because of the pressure buildup, and despite my shout, managed to pierce that dome, so the whole thing exploded like a Catherine wheel around the very small kitchen that we had, burning both of us just a little bit but making a mess on the wall and ceiling. Plenty more to add, but don't want to take up to much more room. PS. I do like cooking and eating Thai food and trying various recipes from around the world, and tomorrow I will be cooking Mole Chicken, whereas tonight it's a Chinese dish, Mabo Tofu (again).

I once had a wonderful chicken mole in a Mexican restaurant in Auckland, and tried to replicate here but my attempts were just okay, and fell well short on the sauce front. One can get just about any food here, even if it's a staple from the "old country", however what I have missed over the years is farmed venison, served with a port and blackcurrant/blackberry sauce (or similar). The venison in NZ is absolutely superb, and the NZ chefs are very innovative with their recipes – – venison sausages, served with peppered brie and mashed potatoes with a tiny infusion of truffle oil, served with the obligatory port and blackcurrant/blackberry sauce. I do miss that type of cuisine, but of course being in Thailand has other benefits to compensate, so c'est la Vie!!

Very true, and I have seen this here in Patong since I came here 17 years ago, and nothing has changed. However I got an insight into why nothing has changed because the Thai/Chinese guy who lived opposite me in a large house used to bring in these fake goods from overseas (read China) and distribute them to the small shops around Patong, and he made no secret about it, and more to the point on many occasions I saw several of the BIB sitting drinking with him in his garden, and they seemed friendly enough. So if certain members of the "law enforcement" are receiving "gifts" from the importer and distributor of these fake goods, then it's never going to stop. Furthermore, once these shops had been raided by the BIB, then they would still need to sell goods and that's where the importer/distributor came into it because he could restock them, therefore doubling his turnover – – a cunning plan!

more right-wing nonsense........stick to the facts. Oh, forgot that you are unable to do that, follwing the orange clown by lying again and again. Conspiracy theory nutjobs striks again! CLAIM: A new autopsy report for George Floyd has been released in 2023, revealing he died from a drug overdose, not from the actions of arresting Minneapolis police officers. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Social media users are sharing a page from the 20-page autopsy report that was publicly released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office in full on June 3, 2020. It has not been changed since. While the page says he had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, and did not have “life-threatening injuries,” the full report concludes Floyd died from “cardiopulmonary arrest,” not an overdose.

Intelligent people laughed...........!!

Tonight I will be cooking chicken breast with an Italian Arabiata sauce with just a little bit of chili in it and chopped black and green olives, accompanied by a few small new potatoes – – and of course the obligatory half bottle of wine (plus)! I still have some tofu left over from yesterday's menu, so tomorrow I may well revisit my Chinese Mabo Tofu recipe, with pork mince and mixed brown rice. AND, I'm trying to cut down on my carbohydrate intake so have stopped making my home-made pizzas (three plus a week), but I am getting withdrawal symptoms, so rather than make a pizza myself in a couple of days I will buy one from Da Moreno, the Italian restaurant nearby which makes superb pizzas.

I know but it was "suggestion" of mine!!!

Thanks ......so I will change my 1337x address as have just looked again and with either spelling it is not there!!

I have just this moment looked for E3 on 1337X, but I couldn't find it, only E2!!!!

I tried both spellings on 1337X, but it's not there, however E 2 is there, but when I moved to TPB, I was able to find it and I'm currently downloading it.

But then again, they are are toothless "body" and whose ruling means stuff all in the grand scheme of things.

I agree with that statement, and despite all of the arguments and the ICJ meeting, it's relevant to remember who started this war; Hamas started it and must bear responsibility for any outcome, no matter what. As I have mentioned before, Hamas must have known what the repercussions would be and now they are reaping what they have sown, but want to put their hand up to ask for an end to the war! Whomsoever starts a war must bear the responsibility for what happens during it and in every war there are innocents killed, but the big picture is what is focused upon, not that an innocent child, woman or man might be killed during the war, because they are "collateral damage". IMO Netanyahu should continue with his plan to totally destroy Hamas, and then go on to totally raze Gaza to the ground so it is uninhabitable, because that's where Hamas are hiding and that's where many supposedly "innocent Palestinians" are helping them survive. Impossible to live in peace next to Hamas, whose avowed intent is to kill Jews and erase Israel from the face of the earth.

On that note, I was looking for The Equaliser 3, after it was recommended by a friend, however it doesn't appear to be on the torrent sites yet – – anyone seen it? As I couldn't find it I downloaded and watched another movie called, "The Good Liar" which starred Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, and it was very good with a hugely unusual twist towards the end.

Rumour has it that they have already got a new manager line up..........his brother, Klipperty!

I am cooking Chinese Mabo Tofu using minced pork and tofu, and adding a little sweet and sour sauce to it at the end of cooking; to be served with mixed grain rice and the remaining half bottle of Californian red I have in the fridge. Lovely jubbly!

Unfortunately it's a regular thing and because they/we all know what causes it, then it should be easy to deal with – – but TIT! You can see the fires burning throughout Thailand on the "fire map", but although we are getting some of it from Malaysia and Indonesia, we should be able to handle the stuff that we produce. Here's a suggestion – instead of spending billions of baht on a submarine which will be as useful as tits on a bull, why not save that money and buy scores of tractor driven rotary hoes for the tambons/farmers so that they can till the rice and sugarcane stalks into the ground, thereby saving burning and possibly enriching the soil. I'm not a farmer, so fire away with your responses at my idea.

Hamas, and people associated with them should be wiped from the face of the earth, but it is timely to remember that Hamas started this war with its own form of brutality, and they must have realised what the outcome would be, but they went ahead anyway. They are reaping what they have sown and any other casualties who are not linked to them are "casualties of war" which has happened since time immemorial – – so no surprises there. They knew what they were doing and now they are paying the price, as are others, so the Palestinian deaths are on their shoulders.

Good to hear newnative, and it amuses me how these trumpies wouldn't know a fact if it hit them in the face, and the perfect example would be my graphic (posted a few days ago) of the rankings of various media outlets, whereupon BBC rates as neutral, whereas it doesn't register at all with these clowns. I had to chuckle when one of them suggested that he "only supported his family", and I was tempted to reply that trump also supported his own family by stealing from a children's charity, and also stole from the American workers on the sites of his, which went bankrupt. Just how low can he get? Anyway, I've had enough of these MAGA nuts spouting their nonsense and refusing to recognise facts, so I am going to put @frank83628 and @uttradit on ignore, because I believe in the old adage, "never argue with idiots, because they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". I wish you good day newnative. Xylo

You are sad man and a cult member as is uttradit, so you are unable to see the truth and have the temerity to suggest it is those who can see the orange man's faults and stupidity who suffer from some sort of TDS.......the derangement lies with you. It would be interesting to know why anyone would support this poor excuse for a human being, especially as it is well known that he is a compulsive liar, a philanderer, a crook (stealing from children's charities) a convicted rapist and has been bankrupted around a dozen times, thereby shattering the myth that he is a good businessman. Please call me a trump hater, because there is absolutely nothing to like about the poor specimen. Maybe you guys have something in common with him?

You are quite right schlog, and I only use my little motorbike for travelling from my apartment to Big C, for example, and even then you have to be on top of your game to watch out for the idiots, and although I mentioned one near miss in my post, I've had a couple where I've had to swerve out of the way of the French Africans who decide to drive crazily up and down on their big bikes, not to mention the Russians who don't know which side of the road they are supposed to be on!. Patong is not the place it once was, and as for LL going out five nights a week, well I stopped that malarkey many years ago, and only go out to Bangla once a week these days, and the main reason being that I can catch up with a friend or two and enjoy a meal at a couple of restaurants I know. I do visit a couple of bars on this occasion, but nowhere near in my earlier days here. I have seen more Russian businesses popping up, and I wonder when that will stop. I also see many young Russian families here and I'm wondering if they are here for the long term and just sussing out the place for a permanent move or are really here escaping the war? A friend of mine here who is very friendly with the BIB, with many contacts throughout the island, has told me that they are very worried about the Russian "organised crime" here and especially in Rawai! No doubt they are orchestrating many other scams around the place and I wonder if the advertisements on Facebook regarding getting a driving licence here, without having to do anything, are part of that? So schlog, may I wish you the best of luck with your move and ask to where it is you are moving (don't have to answer if you don't want to) and to stay safe and well.

Well, that rules you out of the equation then as most of the Donny clan are mentally still in the infant stage (bigly, covfefe) and when they grow up they will realise that they've been taken by this grifter conman, but for now they don't know any better. That you support a dumb, lying, cheating, rapist crook says so much more about you.

It looks like I touched a nerve there Frank, however in amongst all of your rambling and diversions, the bottom line is that you do believe the 2020 election was stolen. Man up and admit to it, you've drunk of the Kool-Aid and are a cult follower. There, I've said it for you – – you poor nobody man.

If he needed an adult to explain it to him, it would be poinless asking you!