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utapaortnab
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First arrived in January 73. I flew into Udorn RTAFB on a C-141 and then was transported by bus a few clicks down the road the 7th RRFS
D Clary Jr.,
Hope to meet you someday soon. My Thai wife Rattana (Lat) and I are retiring in Chiayaphum, which is about 3 hours south of Udon Thani in Oct. Her brother lives in Udon, and we have a friend who was stationed at the AFTN in U-Tapao that belongs to our U-Tapao Alumni Group that just retired in Udon Thani last year after attending our U-Tapao Alumni Group's 1st Int'l Reunion in Pattaya Beach in Oct 2003. We have over 500 members in our U-Tapao Alumni Group now, all of which were stationed at U-T at sometime between when the Red Horse peeps built the Royal Thai Navy Airbase in 1965 from scratch, to when it officially closed in 1996 after the Mayguez fiasco.
BTW, our U-T Alums will be having their 2nd Int'l Reunion at the Nova Lodge in Pattaya Beach again Oct 16-30 and Jungle Jim Traywick (who STILL works at JUSMAGTHAI) is running an ALL VETS reunion at the Ambassador Hotel in BKK from Oct 19-25 and all military and civilians who served during the Viet Nam War era are invited.
I will attend both, and at the ALL VETS reunion, I plan to see some of the old CIA, Air America, other black ops and spooks peeps, that I haven't seen since the 1970's.
I was stationed at the U.S. Army TSC-54 Satellite Communications Station at U-T 71-72 and later as the last U.S. Army Station Chief at the Army Microwave Commo Site at Sriracha 72 B4 it was turned over to Federal Electric and later to the Thai Army.
Seems we have lots in common and would really enjoy meeting you and talking over all the experiences we've endured in Thailand and since.
Ken and Rattana Bower
San Antonio Texas (until Oct)
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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My wife runs a small shop with varying degrees of profitability thanks to the large super stores.
A lot of backpackers stop near there on the way to a trek so I had a couple of signs made (in English) saying what she sold and that she had a European style toilet that they could use providing they bought some thing from the shop, all well and good.
Well it was until this morning when a woman from the local government office turned up armed with a digital camera, a bad attitude and a face as though she had been eating vinegar with a fork.
She said if my wife wanted to keep the signs up she would have to pay 2,500 baht a year tax, or have them removed by first thing tomorrow, they are down now.
If they were in Thai there would be no problem, a lot of good that would be to people who don't read Thai
I asked her why this is so?
Because it is that’s why, was the reply.
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What I probably would have done is to ask for the woman's name, the gov't agency she represented, and who the director of that agency was, name and phone number.
Then I'd check with this person (director) to ask for clarification on the law that covered having signs in English since manhy of the people who used the shop ONLY spoke English and reminded the director that doing business with farangs was btw legal in Thailand and assisted in the wife's being able to make a profit and pay the business taxes on her business.
Now, all that said, what I would expect to happen next would be one or more of the following:
The lady would quit bugging you (improbable)
Suddenly there would be a mysterious fire at your wife's shop destroying everything (more likely)
An audit of your wife's books and tax payments going back to the day she opened her store (much more likely)
A notice in the Pattaya Mail that you and your wife had suddenly leaped from a top floor balcony of a very tall building for no reason whatsoever.....lol (probability unknown)
Ken Bower
Part time resident/visitor since 1971
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How about making new signs in Thai AND English???
Ken Bower
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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was just wondering when was the first time you came to LOS?
I first stepped foot on Thai soil while in the U.S. Army in 1971. Was first assigned to the Army TSC-54 Satellite Communications Station at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airbase (then home of the B-52's, KC-135's, U-2's, and several "base flight support aircraft"). Later was re-assigned as the last Army Station Chief of the Microwave Commo Station at Sriracha, Thailand B4 that station was turned over to civilian mgmt. (Federal Electric) and later to the Thai Army.
I loved Pattaya Beach back then. Very simple fishing village with only 3 hotels, of which the Nipa Lodge (now Nova Lodge at Pattaya Klang and Beach Rd, and still a great choice for reasonable accomodations and the best swimming pool in Pattaya) was the best of the existing hotels. Also at the time, there were less than a couple dozen bars and restaurants and shops within Pattaya Beach. The best restaurant "back in the day" was a Greek place on what is now Walking Street called Barbos. AND there was a super NCO Club up off North Pattaya Rd where the Dusit now sits that had weekend BBQ's to die for.
I've made a total of 35 trips to Thailand to date and my Thai wife and I will be relocating PERMANENTLY to Chiayaphum in Oct 2005 to live out our retirement years. Our plans are to spend two weeks each month in Chiayaphum visiting with all her family and the other two weeks travelling at will. Methinks that will mean about 5-10 nites/mo. in Pattaya Beach for sure, and a couple in Bangkok, with the rest taken up by mini "road trips" throughout Thailand.
I've worked in, lived in or visited 39 countries and all 50 United States but enjoy Pattaya Beach/Sriracha/Jomtien/Sattahip/Rayong/Chantiburi/Trat/Klong Yai area of Thailand better than anywhere. In the U.S. my favorite city and home for many years since 1981 when I first moved there was San Antonio Texas and 2nd favorite Yuma AZ. Kind of unusual for someone born/raised in Lafayette Indiana who has 4 kids, 2 grandkids, and a new great grandson living in So. California.
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas (for now)
Chiayaphum, Thailand (starting in Oct 2005)
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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Backpack,
Firstly, thanks for your reply,
I have made 35 trips to Thailand to date since 1971 when I first set foot on Thai soil, so guess I'm "not" a rookie. That includes living a full year in Thailand (1971-1972) and retiring briefly in Pattaya Beach (Jan 1995-Apr 1996).
What you and other suggest is EXACTLY what we plan to do. We plan to set up permanent residence in Chiayaphum, which is about 1 1/2 hours NNW of Korat and 1 1/2 hours WSW of Khon Kaen.
We plan to spend at least 2 weeks of every month in Chiayaphum living amongst my wife Rattana's family, and the friends and neighbors she grew up with in Village #2, Chiayaphum.
This are is so rural that they didn't have electricity until my wife was 8 years old, and just got running water in 2004. There is ONLY one telephone line in the whole village (although I will be doing everything I can to get one installed at Lat's home prior to our arrival so I will have a hookup for my 'puter. We already have been "upgrading" her family home adding a sit down toilet (a total requirement for me), a hot water heater/shower, upgrading the kitchen, air conditioning our downstairs bedroom, and will be adding ceiling fans in the living area downstairs to replace the small recip fans now in use. We've replaced the open air downstairs living area from being just a cement floor w/primitive furniture, to a concrete, walled lower floor, and added new tile for the floor. Now, what was a stilt house still has the beautiful large teak upstairs living area but double the total living space.
Now, over these past 34 years, I have made a multitude of friends, mostly in Pattaya Beach because that is where I lived for a year back in 71-72, back when Pattaya Beach was just a berautiful fishing village w/3 hotels and less than 2 dozen bars and restaurants and shops, and where I have spent most of my vacation and retirement time. But we've also made a couple of handfuls of friends in the Bangkok area. It's just that neither Lat nor I really feel comfortable in Bangkok for more than 2-3 days at a time.
Lat has a brother living in Udon Thani, and one in Ubon Ratchathani, and a sister in Sakonnakon so we will have plenty of mini trips to those areas for visiting as well. She also has one sister who just married the Brit she'd been seeing for almost 10 years while we were on vacation in Thailand in Nov 2003. They just had a baby girl last August. Piroon, and the new baby Lattana, will be joining her husband in London either late this winter or next spring. That will give us yet another vacation from retirement militrip to suppliment the one trip a year to Anaheim CA to visit my (our) kids, grandkids and new great grandson.
Besides dividing the other two weeks that we are NOT in Chiayaphum up between all the places mentioned above, we will have ample time to visit other areas that we haven't spent any time in like Chiang Mai, Krabi/Ao Nong, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Samet, Koh Chang, Cha Am/Hua Hin etc.
We are looking very much forward to our "new life" in Thailand. We can live quite comfortably on my Army Retirement and Social Security entitlements (guaranteed income as long as I may live), so we don't have to depend on what the stock market is doing.
Hope to meet all the members of this Forum once we get settled.
Ken and Rattana Bower
Soon to be from Chiayaphum Village II
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~don't just stick around he usual haunts, get to know the real Thailand and Thai people.
The soundest piece of advice I've seen on TV for a good while! If you head for the usual haunts, Samui, Phuket, Pattaya, with little or no knowledge of "the rules", then you'll find yourself very poor, very quickly!
Spend some time with expats for sure, but those who are genuinely living and working here, can "speako da lingo" and have Thai friends and associates. Avoid those just bumming around on pensions and fraudulent disability money!
Once you discover the "real" Thailand you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourselves......
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Howdy,
Some 4-5 years ago my then best friend Dave Fouts died. I had been stationed with Dave at Ft. Monmouth NJ, Ft. Huachuca AZ, Ft. Buckner Okinawa (two tours), and in Thailand as well (he was stationed in Bangkok while I was stationed at U-Tapao Army Satellite Communications Station AND as Station Chief of the Army Microwave Commo Site at Sriracha Thailand.
After we both retired in the mid 1970's Dave married Bunrattana (Ann) Fouts and they lived in Pakanom (sp) area of Bangkok (Soi 89/1 Sukhuimvit for a couple years then moved to Klong Yai, past Trat on the way to Had Let and the Cambodian border where they built a large house with a nit-noy store front, and lived there very happily for some 10+ years or so.
My cousin and I last visited Dave and Ann in Klong Yai in 1995. After that time, Dave begged Ann to relocate to the U.s. (back to San Antono) but she just didn't want to live in the U.S. back then. She HAD come stateside with Dave on 2-3 occasions and just didn't like the lifestyle here or in Arizona where Dave's mom and dad lived.
Well Dave got deathly ill some 4-5 years ago and when he could not be helped by the doctor in Klong Yai, he went to the hospital first in Trat, then finally in Bangkok. By that time he was too weak to be helped so he died. (Luekemia).
Well, after he died, we received one letter from Ann stating how badly she wishes she had given in and moved back to San Antonio when Dave begged her to do so and that Lat and I and my cousin who'd visited with me in 1995 were her best and only farang friends.
Well, now my cousin, wife Lat and I are returning to Thailand full time (will be living in Chiayaphum and my cousin in Chantaburi with his longtime g'friend, but we'd like to re-establish contact with ANn and possibly have her visit us while we will be attending reunions in Pattaya Beach Oct 16-19 and Oct 25-30, 2005 or in Bangkok Oct 19-25.
The return address on the one letter we got from Ann was:
/ Moderators edit
/ Adresses and missing persons post are not permitted on thaivisa due to liablity
/from rules: Posting another members personal details or web site details is forbidden
/please PM kenandlat if you want to help and are in petchaburi
If any member of this forum has the time/inclination could you possibly stop by this address and see if anyone there knows or remembers Ann/Bunrattana and might have a current address and phone number for her.
Thanking y'all in advance,
Ken and Rattana Bower
San Antonio Texas, but soon to be Chiayaphum Thailand
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Might suggest you bookmark my homepage:
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ and time permitting search through all the URLs within topic headings of interest to you, i.e.
Bangkok,
Books,
Forums (join all those of interest to you and read the postings within)
Hotels,
Pattaya Beach,
Photos,
Photos by U-Tapao members (you see my photo there with HRH Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at a dedication myself and 3 other ex-military personnel participated in) (I'm on the far left)
Thailand,
Travel,
Weather
and any other topic heading of interest to you. Within my homepage, should be enough info to at least get you to the point of being able to ask any/all questions you need answered concerning areas to live in, and what is available within each area.
Ken Bower
Moving to Chiayaphum Thailand myself in Oct
I, 55 years old and my wife and I are planning to move to Thailand early next year from Australia. Income should not be too much of a problem as we have some reasonable investments set up over here. I wouldn't mind getting involved in a small business, perhaps a bar/restauarant or small hotel mainly for the interest. We do not speak any Thai and have no contacts there. I would appreciate any advice at all, especially regarding visas, business purchases and suggested area to re-locate to. Also, how would we contact other expats living in Thailand. Are there any organisations or suchlike that can put us in touch, perhaps by email initialy. Any advice very much appreciated!!
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Can anyone direct me to the customer service e-mail addresses of the person in charge to assist me in getting a telephone line run from the nearest switch to Village II, Chiayaphum and to get ISP hookup with the best provider serving that area?
Thanks in advance,
Ken Bower
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
My wife Rattana and I will be moving there full time beginning in Oct, 2005 and I want the telephone line and ISP hookup installed by the time we arrive.
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Can anyone tell me the e-mail addy for UBC Customer Service in Chiayaphum?
Need to get start up service quotes and directions.
Also need e-mail addy for whatever Satellite TV company serves Chiayaphum AND contact for the local telephone company that services phone line hookups for Chiayaphum, Village II.
Ken and Rattana Bower
Soon to be full time residents of Chiayaphum, Village II
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My wife Lat and I are returning to live full time in Chiayaphum, Village II. Need to get a phone line hooked up to mother-in-law's home there. Anyone know an e-mail addy I can contact for the telephone company's customer service manager?
Also need to get ISP hooked up once phone line is in. Need e-mail contact for all ISP's that serve Chiayaphum.
Also need e-mail contact for UBC in Cihayaphum and the Satellite TV hookup peeps as well.
Ken and Rattana Bower
Soon to be full time residents in Chiayaphum
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Solution to this one is simple. There simply weren't any tall hotel buildings for him to jump off of to commit suicide so he simply stabbed himself 55 times, including almost decapitating himself....
Detective Ken
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In all my years travelling to Thailand, I never looked for any furniture but now that Rattana and I will be relocating back to live out our retirement in Chiayaphum, I need some help finding retailers that might have something resembling our furniture and bedding needs.
We've been doing some minor upgrades on her home there but we are at a loss as to where to find certain furniture items we would like to purchase.
We'd like TWO full sized beds (not queens or kings and not twins) with customized frames that would place the top of the mattresses at 26" from the ground. While we would like a good quality mattress, we'd rather have one of those Swedish mattresses. The frame should match the wood or bamboo on a matching tall clothing storage unit and chest of drawers (or perhaps two.
We'd like to purchase a Lazyboy Chair for me as I have some arthritis problems.
We are considering if we want or need a 7 ft. long couch (one with two sections that flip up to elevate the legs would be a plus).
We'd like to have a look at coffee and end tables and standing lamp offerings like what we call "christmas tree lighting" here in Texas. A computer desk may be on the shopping list as well as a 4 system TV and VCR and DVD/CD player that will play tapes, discs recorded in the U.S. and in Thailand. TV and VCR/DVD/CD players should be able to play NTSC, Pal, Secam, and whatever the other world format is.
I'm hoping that you will be the person that can direct us to the retailer/wholesaler than can provide for our needs. IF our needs can be found in a store in Chiayaphum or even Korat or Udon Thani instead of Bangkok or Pattaya, that too would be a plus.
Thanking you in advance for any assistance,
Kenneth R. and Rattana M. Bower
San Antonio Texas/Chiayaphum Thailand
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Sawatdee Krap,
My wife and I will be relocating permanently to Chiayaphum on 5 Oct. We'd love to hear from any/all expats that currently live in the area or have in the recent past or have occasion to do any business there.
We'll be living in my wife's house in Village II there.
Ken and Rattana Bower
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
A mate of mine does but his wife wont let him out.
As Lat and I do NOT drink or smoke, that sounds like just the kind of couple we'd feel comfortable with. Have them e-mail us on PM
Ken
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Sawatdee Krap,
My wife and I will be relocating permanently to Chiayaphum on 5 Oct. We'd love to hear from any/all expats that currently live in the area or have in the recent past or have occasion to do any business there.
We'll be living in my wife's house in Village II there.
Ken and Rattana Bower
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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Howdy all,
I know Lat and I have NOT been doing much posting or reading of the posts from y'all here lately but part of that is because we have made a major decision that will effect the rest of our lives together.
We have decided, along with my cousin Gene Kendall, to relocate PERMANENTLY to Thailand. Our tickets are bought and paid for, and now we are starting to throw out, give away, all our "treasures" we have accumulated over there past 10+ years.
We will either drive to SoCal o/a 27 Sep and sell our 2001 Cheve Cavalier Z24 which currently has only 22,800 miles on it and has been cared for like a newborn child in California while we spend 4 nights with our kids, grandkids, and new great grandson B4 launching for Bangkok OR we will sell it here and fly to John Wayne Airport (Orange Co. Airport) on 29 Sep 2005. That decision should be made once we are sure that no person wanting our vehicle in SoCal is willing to pluck down $6,000 for it (less than low retail)with the stipulation that it be paid for in cash no later than 2 Oct 2005 and we hand over the title, and car keys to that person in Anaheim CA on 2 Oct.
Let us know IF you are in the SoCal area and interested in buying our vehicle under those terms.
Then in mid-afternoon on 3 Oct, my oldest daughter, who lives in Anaheim will drive us to LAX where we will launch on China Air Flight 5 to Taipei and once arriving there will continue on China Air Flight 65 to Bangkok, arriving to start our new life in Thailand at 1AM on 5 Oct. Lat's sister will be picking us up and driving us on to Chiayaphum "straight away".
We plan to set up house in Chiayaphum at the house that Lat already has there. We have enclosed the downstairs which used to be open air with cement floor this past year, added an American style toilet and hot water heater for showering, air conditioning for our downstairs bedroom and are currently having the kitchen area remodeled.
We are not certain if we will continue to use Chiayaphum for a "permanent" base of operation or not, but will take say 4 months or so to really get to know the whole of the Chiayaphum area, medical, prime care management and dental professionals available, level of competence at the local hospitals and clinics, and just how I adjust to life in Isaan.
If we decide that a better parameter is to move full time to the Pattaya Beach area and just spend a week or so every month with the family in Chiayaphum, this looks like possibly the strongest challenge to our living full time there.
Any hints, suggestions on how to make our transition easier will be appreciated. IF there are any farangs whose wives/families live in the Chiayaphum area and you frequently or infrequently visit the area, please let us know.
Wish us well in our new life and IF any of you ARE interested in the Z24, let us know.
Ken and Rattana Bower
San Antonio Texas
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/Kenlat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/
Ken and Lat's Thailand homepage
A giant improvement was made today that makes our homepage so much better than ever B4.
All the info within each topic heading is now in alphabetical order so all who access a particular topic will be able to easily find info they are actually interested in. I am so proud of Mike Newman who does all the work maintaining our homepage and ALL the improvements he has made to it since it's inception. Thanks Mike
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
P.S. Also check out our daily THIS AND THAT column:
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com
P.P.S. I think y'all will agree that my homepage contains more info on Thailand than you can get from any other single source. Now, what I'd like to ask from all of you is that you send me URL's/Links on Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and other Asian areas so I can have as good a selection from the rest of Asia as I have for Thailand. You see, while I've been to all the places mentioned above, I have spent 35 vacations in Thailand. Please help me improve my homepage even more by having a wealth of info on the rest of Asia.
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I totally agree with Pnustedt. In the United States, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, NZ, etc. all countries at some time in their early "progression" had small family run farms and few mechanical assistance.
I grew up as a city boy, but was farmed out to uncles to help on their farms as a kid. Now all our family farms were bought out by large corporations. I think most of the U.S. farms are slowly but surely meeting with the same fate.
My wife grew up in Chiayaphum, and all her family's farms are still intact, but most of her nephews and nieces are all staying in school through college and have visions of careers outside the family farms. Even now, because only one of her sisters and two brothers still work their own farms (and the one sister works 3 family farms) they have to hire "outside" workers during the planting, and harvesting seasons.
It will be very interesting to see if there are any small family farms left in say one or two more generations or if Thailand joins the natural progression as quickly as the more developed countries in the world once "education" becomes more important in Isaan and the other provinces in Thailand.
My take is that just like the developed countries, small farming has lasted for a few hundred years and once the development of machines and the wealth of the farmers families provide for better education, and/or more options for the children of those families, Thailand too will become a country of large corporations taking over most or all farms, production will go up by leaps and bounds, and "progress " will be etched in stone.
But remember, progress is NOT always all good. Look at Pattaya Beach in the 1970's and today for instance...lol
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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It's a natural progression - there'll be less people, but more machines, working the fields.Hopefully the people will be leading more meaningful lives - and the farmers will profit from more efficient farming methods.
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Howdy all Forum Members,
I was NEVER online until I bought my first Gateway Computer in early 2000. Shortly after, I became so distraught by my not having the computer skills to find information I wanted while surfing, or to re-find it when I needed it later, I talked a friend Frank Picchoine into putting a personalized website up for me to keep all my newfound "treasures" in.
I thank him for his ####, but as he had NO time to make updates to include additional information/urls, I began looking for another avenue to collecting and saving all information I found of interest to me that I thought might have some interest to others.
In 2003, I met a man named Mike Newman, who shared my interest in a homepage that would have the information from my old website AND be upgradable to include updates/additions each month.
What the finished product looks like is:
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/
You can page down the left hand column subheadings to find topics of interest to you, then click on any/all URLs under that subheading and find a wealth of info within one place (and if you bookmark my homepage, it will always be there easy to find when you need any info about any subheading later).
Little did I know how many people would actually access the homepage until Mike added a "counter" at the bottom left hand corner (looks like a globe with a cn on it). And if you click on Summary and all titles below it, you can tell exactly how many from all walks of life and areas of the planet are.
As of today, we are getting an average of 44 hits/day. I never envisioned that it would ever be that popular. I noticed, when looking at the counter, some of the active members of this forum have accessed it. I'd like to ask those who haven't yet had a look at my homepage to do so, and those who have would post a reply here or bc me and let me know what you think about the homepage and any suggestions for improving it.
My target audience was all those that "regularily" visit Thailand and all active duty, retired and veterans of the military. I have large sections of info under the titles Asia, Bangkok, Books, Hotels, Pattaya, Philippines, Thailand, Travel, and Weather that might be of interest to ANY of our members here, and if any of you have URLs on any of those subheadings I've missed, PLEASE let me know so I can add them.
I also have the largest subsection on Military of anyone I know. just FYI.
Hope y'all can give me some additional URLs I've missed and also hope you enjoy the Homepage.
Just last year, I also started puting out a daily column called THIS AND THAT.
You can access it daily at http://kenandlat.diaryland.com
Let me know if you have any quizzes, quotes, jokes, interesting articles, etc. that you think I could use for my daily column.
Thanking you in advance,
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
35 trips to Thailand so far since 1971
Next planned trip Oct/Nov 2005
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I know that there are certain cities, at the local Wats or Thai Consulates, i.e. Houston and Los Angeles in which there are "flyers" available from Thai Travel Agents that offer RT fares that are less than even the consolidators/wholesalers/bucket shops offer.
If you know of one, please reply here or bc me.
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
http://homepage.mac.com'mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://[email protected] daily THIS AND THAT column
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Should read http://kenandlat.diaryland.com
Please try again and after you've looked at today's entry, click on Older Entrees to view past day's columns
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
Hi Kendud link http://kenandlat.diaryland/
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I don't know how many members of this forum have ever been in Orange County California but I guarantee you that IF you ever go to the South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa California, you will see more beautiful women in one place than anywhere else in the world. I also guarantee you that if you spend the whole day there from opening time to closing time, you will NEVER go a full minute without seeing at least one beautiful woman no matter what part of the mall "isles" you are walking in.
GREATEST stress releaver ever.
BTW, there are more Asian women frequenting that mall than any other outside Asia that I know of. Very large Thai, Filapina, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, etc. patronage
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
35 trips to Thailand so far
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
Women are women are women. There are beautiful women to be found in every country on Earth. Its just finding them and getting them to bed which is the great mystery of life.I don't think any one country has a greater proportion of good looking women than any other. I find there to be as many good looking women on Oxford St as there is on Sukhumwit rd.
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Women are women are women. There are beautiful women to be found in every country on Earth. Its just finding them and getting them to bed which is the great mystery of life.
I don't think any one country has a greater proportion of good looking women than any other. I find there to be as many good looking women on Oxford St as there is on Sukhumwit rd.
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#1 Anything by Willie Nelson
#2 Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson
#3 Any old Matt Monroe Album
#4 Old Beatles ballads
#5 Any old Elvis Presley ballads
#6 Any Joni James ballads
#7 Any Nellie Lutcher songs
#8 Any Ernestine Anderson songs
#9 All "elevator music
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
Living in the past gives me such joy
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Up till now, I always used Thai.
Try EVA Deluxe Class. Costs about $180-200 RT extra above the coach price when travelling from the U.S. but REALLY worth it. Wider seats, (8 accross instead of 10 accross in coach), and separate check in lanes. Fewer people but just as many flight attendents as coach.
I also liked using Cathay Pacific. which like EVA offers morning or early afternoon arrivals, which have always helped me. I arrive in BKK, continue on to Chiayaphum or Pattaya Beach, have dinner then sleep, and the next day, my jetlag is almost over and yes, even China Airlines which also allows for a midday arrival. I HATE LATE EVENING ARRIVALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My very favorite airline is still Singapore Air, but don't take it when travelling from the U.S. because of the added total trip time.
I really hate NW, UA, American, Continental and all other U.S. Carriers. Unions have caused the air and ground staff to be very surly. I also don't like flying from the U.S. on to Seoul on Korean or Asiana mostly because of the very long transfer times in Seoul that only adds many hours to the overall trip time.
ANA and Japan airlines would probably be acceptable but I haven't flown them past Tokyo.
China Airlines is starting flights from Houston-Seattle-Taipei-BKK which I may try on our upcoming Oct/Nov 2005 trip but right now I'm holding a reservation on EVA again.
Ken Bower
San Antonio Texas
ex-Travel Agent (6+years)
have made 35 trips to Thailand to date
http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage
http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column
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