London Lowf

I am not homophobic but i cringe every time I read of same-sex "marriage". From the Church of England ceremony...... "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony......." Yeh, in some ways I'm a bit old-fashioned!

Probably a waste of your time but I've had a few of these sitting in my drawer for over thirty years! Made in the USA hence primarily Imperial dimensions - the cylinder diameter is 3/4" (18mm) and 5/8" (15mm) across the flats. The length is 1" (25mm) and so it looks like it's a size up from what you have. The key has a 180-degree action. The mounting slot in the lever is approximately 7x6mm. I'm in the UK but will be on Phuket in three weeks.

Any busy ForEx booth in a tourist area will be able to do this, and the spread GBP>THB to THB>GBP is very narrow in my experience. Every booth that I've seen displays the exchange rate both ways.

Your comment surprises me. As a casual observer (six months of the year touring around Phuket on my scooter) it seems that Chinese investment has dried up since CoViD and been replaced by Russian and Ukranian.

I've had a bike chained - annoying as it was parked along with dozens of others on a "No parking couples days" and picked at random. A sign that was later pointed out to me by a local was tiny, mounted high up a pole and, at the time, I had no idea what a "couples day" was. I've never seen a Wave or a Scoopy chained, always a more upmarket scooter, as ridden by tourists - the bike in this story is a brand new (red plate) ADV160 and so pretty much guaranteed to be ridden by a farang victim.

Ha, you and your Western health and safety! A tragic accident which, rightly or wrongly, the Thais seem to accept as a part of daily life - much like on the roads.

The first I've heard of this, and I ride it virtually every evening for six months of the year. It's the section near the (occassional) police checkpoint and is a wide road in good condition - admittedly a bit curvey, but not in the Patong Hill league. And, why the photo of the bypass road? That's not even nearby!

Was that the one in Kathu? I keep meaning to have a look but it's a bit of a schlep from Kamala. The only thing that I look forward to when leaving Phuket is a BLT sandwich and coffee from Zurich Bread in the departures at HKT - not cheap, but airports never are.

Pad Thai in Banzaan market - the husband/wife(?) stall at the Nanai end - I have it with chicken at B70 and other varieties are available. It's all the guy does every day! I can't handle spicey food and so pad Thai is about as adventurous as I get but in many places it turns into a solid congealed lump as it cools off - this guy uses just the right amount of liguid to keep it moist.

Hey - who are you calling a farnag?

I use a Halifax Clarity card at Big C and Tops contactless with no problems.

I remember this from last year - it's like all of these "festivals", the unlicenced street traders take over the beach, Beach Road and the pavements/sidewalks and the also most of the bike parking and the whole thing is a complete disorganised mess. This shows Patong in the worst possible light to any reasonably affluent and sophisticated visitor but hey, I can take my cash elsewhere! This year, I know in advance to avoid the area. For similar reasons I will be going home to the UK for three weeks over Xmas and NY to escape the madness.

Have you ever been to a beach in Thailand? How many Thais did you see swimming - as opposed to splashing around in the surf?

Or maybe it's all been said already? I'm still around, but stories of the steadily increasing traffic and hotel rates as we head into high season are not really of much interest. It's been in the news elsewhere, but there seems to be a large influx of African workers hanging around Bangla and Beach Road this year.

You equate fancying African women with finding sheep attractive? Your sexual interests are rather different to mine.