London Lowf

I've never been to Pattaya and so can't argue - however, a lot of Phuket is quite picturesque which I'm not sure can be said about Pattaya's surrounding area.

I believe that, if you are caught smoking on a flight, then you will be banned by all airlines. Maybe the same will apply if you refuse to refund the over-payment. NB: In the UK you are guilty of theft in this case.

I should know better than to comment on a visa thread ???? However, at check-in a few years ago the Thai Airways girl commented that my return was after my visa term - I explained that I will be getting a 30-day extension and she was happy with that. Maybe she was just testing me?

Covid restrictions of any kind are history - no vax record or tests needed. You say that she's arriving on a tourist visa, so just that, passport and return ticket should do it.

Maybe I'll have to give Da Moreno another try - I have a meeting in Nanai tomorrow evening, so maybe afterwards.

You do seem to spend a lot of time in that place ???? I think that Red Hot is just a cover!

They are arriving en masse - my landlord in Kamala says that many are looking for long-term rentals rather than hotels and this is borne out as I ride around the backstreets as the "For rent" signs have all vanished. I took the hint and have agreed a one-year contract on my apartment (at good discount) whereas up to now i have always done a couple of months at a time. Also, I think that the Chinese will soon be back - maybe March?

Funny you should say that - I was there last night and was surprised at how busy it was and has been on my last few visits. At about 10:30 there were no seats available at Kangaroo (as usual, although two frontage tables were occupied by staff taking the weight off their feet), Black Horse or Blue Lotus but i did find a slot at Rock Star which has become my go-to bar these days. Later, I tried Sea Dragon Bar which used to be one of my favourites but I went there while Sandboxing last year and didn't enjoy the Suzy Wong rebranding - apparently it's now part of the same group as Kangaroo although there is still evidence of SW in the girls uniforms. Anyway, i ordered a San Miguel at B99 (they have touts in the street out front with placards "All beers B75" but that's usual business practice here) and it arrived without a condom (looking around, no-one else had one) which was rectified and it was also COD which I've never experienced on Bangla before. By the time I finished that beer the Brazil-Croatia match had concluded and it did then get decidedly quieter so maybe that's when you were there?

I knew that would be the first answer! I used to love the "Universale" at that place when I first came to Patong but about three years ago I started to find it very disappointing - I gave it another two chances and then gave up. It does seem to be very popular though - always packed mid-evening.

Since "Nightlife" is in inverted commas there can only be one answer - Bangla Road in the centre of Patong. It is very busy at the moment. For hotels, just use Gmaps zoomed in on the surrounding area, and in satelite view you should be able tell whether they have their own parking or if it is on-street.

Yes, you are right, and I have seen them do it on Patong beach, but not any others on Phuket.

Bikes and scooters are different vehicles and not really interchangeable. I've ridden bikes on and off for my whole life - last one owned was an MV Agusta F4 Senna on which I did over 90,000km before selling it. It was only good for one thing, and that was for riding at the absolute limit of my abilities every time I jumped on it. No good for shopping, commuting, touring or anything else - apart from just looking at it! These days I ride scooters - a Kymco 300 at home but I hire an Nmax on Phuket and, quite honestly, I can't think of a more suitable bike for my needs and certainly don't need anything bigger or faster to get around the island. The handling is surprisingly good and neutral and the brakes are more than adequate. But the clincher is the practicality - I can easily store all of my shopping after a trip to Big C and my mat and towel for a day out to the beach. Having said all of that. if I regularly did 50km plus trips and/or regularly took a passenger then I would then consider a bigger scooter.

If it wasn't for the beach traders who do you think will pick up the plastic waste and general flotsam that gets washed onto the beach after each spell of bad weather? The section of beach I use at Nai Yang is kept in immaculate condition by the sunbed guy, and he is not an isolated example.

Joking apart, it's no fun stabbing your foot on the steel frame that ends up in the surf after the lantern has burnt out.

One of my pet peeves. A van or truck parks in front of you - or even a car with the usual heavily tinted glass - how do you see to get out? And, immediately before and after parking you are driving on the wrong side of the road.

Same as climbing Everest - because it's there!

An amusing incident a couple of nights ago on Bangla - a young guy at the next table leaned over and very knowingly told me " Be careful, they are all prostitutes". Which made me wonder - do a lot of Western guys visit Thailand assuming that all of the girls give it away for free? I mean, he was drinking beers at a bar on Bangla, what on earth does he expect?

He think that he has a subtle self-satisfied smirk - much as I would display in his situation. The lottery guy's fake PR smile is cringe-worthy.

It this the same road? https://aseannow.com/topic/1279245-new-local-road-from-kathu-to-patong-to-open-on-father’s-day/

Apparently there's now a boat from the southern end of Surin beach - B200 for the return trip. I saw it yesterday but didn't use it.

Not even close - the Aerox display is like a video arcade game compared to my beaten-up 2016 Nmax.

That will be my next move - I just hoped that, unbeknownst to me, there were major breakers/dismantlers hidden away over at Phuket Town or along the By-pass road.

I do the same on occasion (for various reasons) and last year got some killer bargains including a couple of visits to 4* places such as Royal Paradise which are normally well out of my budget. Last Tuesday I ended up in a place on Nanai - the worst I have ever experienced in Phuket. I wonder if there is now a shortage of accommodation in Patong - so many hotels are still mothballed or even abandoned and as we approach high season there are simply not enough rooms.

During the recent floods my Nmax, unknown to me at the time, ended on it's side in quite deep water for an hour or so. It's all running fine now apart from the instrument LCD which is totally dead - I stripped it down and emptied it of water but the PCB clearly got rusted. Not the end of the world but it would be nice to know how much fuel is in the tank. So, are there any breaker's yards where they retire old/crashed scooters and strip them for spares? I've seen a lot of small repair shops along the west coast with what look like scrap bikes but not spotted any Nmaxs. Funnily enough there's a panel on ebay.uk for £20 but that's not much use to me here. I'm in Kamala.

One person took umbrage when no malice or offence was intended. One person lost their job. Pick your victim.