London Lowf

Where does it say that she runs the cafe?

And yes, New York always seems packed and last night the music that I heard was actually pretty good - unlike the assault on my eardrums from the music venue at the beach road end as I pass by.

Last night I got to Bangla just as you were leaving! The later you can visit there, the better. I tend to use three bars in the centre of the main drag and all of them had front row seats available when I got there and so I started at Black Horse and saw that there was some sort of fracas at the entrance to Bar Funk - although I made no effort to rubber-neck (so undignified, particularly trying to film it as well) it was clearly the usual pattern of a dozen or so Thai "guards" appearing out of nowhere and dispensing their instant justice. No ambulance was called and so it must have been quite tame, but the bar girls get so excited when these (rare) punch-ups liven up their boring evenings and desperately try to get a good look. On the subject of Bar Funk - that place really is a free show for the typical cheap charlie tourists who just want to block Bangla and ogle the dancers without spending any money. I seem to remember that, during the Sandbox time after Covid, they put plastic drapes across the front so that it effectively became an indoor venue. I probably got home to Kamala quicker than Xylophone got to his place in Patong! A lovely relaxing ride in the warm night air.

The main drag through Kamala is no more (or less) the defining attribute of the town than Bangla is the defining attribute of Patong - at least you can get from one end of town to the other in minutes at any time of day. Anyway, each to their own - I can't stand the racket coming out of Red Hot every evening!

Exactly my thoughts.

I bought one as I prefer a very firm ride - see my previous post about the PCX. The ADV is a marketing excercise - it is the scooter equivalent of an SUV and, in my opinion, the suspension has little travel and is totally unsuited for off-road (ADVenture) use but, with the very stiff frame, this makes it very stable on the highway. The "aggressive" tyre tread pattern is an unnecessary sham and I will probably replace them well before they wear out. It is a great bike though!

No, that's the point of speed bumps. Unless you have computer-controlled active suspension (not available on scooters) then you are always going to feel the bumps. I found the PCX the softest-riding scooter - which is why I don't ride one any more. Some would describe the ride as "plush", but I would describe it as "vague and wallowy". Undoubtably comfortable though!

I think that you may be right - hopefully it will reduce my stress levels.

I entered at Phuket a month ago on a TR60 evisa and the IO gave me a hard time for fifteen minutes before reluctantly stamping me in. I would regard myself as the perfect tourist - not short of a bob or two, no relationship in Thailand, not working as I no longer need to. I do spend a lot of time in Thailand - last year about seven months over three trips and I don't think that the IO liked this. However, I was always on evisas and extensions, no visa-exempt entries or border bounces and so I think that I'm within the rules? The IO did bang away on her keyboard for a long time before approving me and so I think that I may have problems in the future. Some will suggest a non-O but, for medical reasons, I can not consider Thailand full-time and need to pop home at least every three months.

No, the police warned other riders, not the perps. The lights at that junction have very slow phasing and the number of traffic violations is laughable, particularly as the Cherngtalay police station is just out of shot on the right hand side and there are invariably cops there - I've never seen them give chase, let alone pull anyone over.

Do what I do - base in Kamala and just pop over to Patong for the evening. While on this thread, peak season seems to have finished! I was going to comment earlier but have now spent three evenings on Bangla just to make sure. The ride along Rat-U-Tit is still a nightmare but the beach road and the parking is much easier. It's still busy, but I have no problem getting a ringside seat at my favoured bars (I've now overlooked Blue Lotus's poor employee relations) when In arrive at about 11pm and by the time I head home at 1am it is starting to empty noticably. I had a run-in with some Indians last night - the usual thing of buying a bottle of water at the Seven and then sitting down at a bar with no intention of buying a drink. What are these people thinking? The thing is, the bar staff just turn a non-confrontational blind eye but I always feel an urge to send them on their way. And on the international ticket, considering the vast numbers of Russians here with their muscles and kiss-me-quick hats (the guys) and their Botoxed pouts (the girls), very few seem to go for the bar scene.

Coming from South Africa I think that you are going to be disappointed with the beef - anything decent will probably be very expensive Wagyu or imported from AUS or NZ. Also, don't get excited about Thai seafood - it is mostly farmed and, although it looks great in the display case, is also sub-par compared to your home catch from the colder Atlantic waters. I hope that you aren't wine drinkers!

I've just received my B360 "Nike" trainers from Lazada - life goes on......

I've rented Nmaxs and PCXs in the past and the ADV suits my riding better as I prefer a bike with firm suspension that handles well. However, I do think that it is a little over-priced when I look at the amount of bare black plastic compared to a PCX or Click. I'm now approaching 8,000km. It's been serviced at 1,000 and 7,000 (a "Change oil" message comes up on the dash) and cost peanuts each time. I rode it gently (where possible) for the first few hundred km.

I enjoy watching people and Patong is perfect for that. I also enjoy a few beers! The ride there and back from Kamala is also (mostly) good fun.

There's a breathalyser checkpoint virtually every night on the Kamala-Patong road but they recognise me now and wave me through.

Yes, the Captain America. I didn't want it but they had it in the showroom and it was a three-six month delivery for a standard paint job. I was paying B6,000/month to rent an ADV150 and so it made financial sense to buy this kiddie version!

I paid the quoted showroom price and that included almost* everything - delivery from Thalang to Kamala for me, my existing hire bike and the new bike, red plate, registration, some kind of insurance and substitution of the white plate when it was ready - *although they did cheekily charge me B100 for the holder. I got a Honda branded cover thrown in as well as a naff "Marvel" jacket.

There you go - a farang tax! The red plates are owned by the dealer (like "trade plates" in the UK) and will be taken off and used for another bike when your permanent plate is issued. Too late now, but I used Honda Thalang ("Nok") to buy an ADV last June and would totally recommend them. Cash plus passport plus CoR issued by Phuket immigration - I'm not sure if Patong issue them?

The driving in this country never ceases to amaze me - a couple of hours ago a pick-up slowly reversed into me while I was sitting behind him on my scooter at a red light - it wasn't a roll-back on a hill, so what on earth was he doing? Luckily my front wheel was strong enough to stop him and he had to move forward as it became jammed under his rear bumper. No harm done! A few days ago a bike taxi rammed me up the rear while slowly filtering along a packed Rat-U-Tit on the appraoch to Bangla. Again, no harm done. I still visit Bangla five nights a week but sometimes I wonder why? Part of it is the fact that it seems impossible to know in advance whether the bars in my base town (Kamala) are going to close at midnight or the usual 2am. I've been staying in Kamala for about six years but the late night bar scene has never recovered since Covid - I often used to stop off regularly on my way home from beers at Bangla at about 1am for a couple of Sang Soms and games of pool but the centre of Kamala seems to start dying after about 11pm so I'm not sure where all the night owl expats go these days - maybe to Patong, like me? I'm surprised that Patong is still so busy - I went home for Xmas and New Year partly to avoid the worse of peak season, but the traffic and parking is still horrendous and walking along Bangla at 11pm-1am is an assault course. Most of the bars seem to be doing very well although the newly refurbished Tiger seems to be a bit of a failure, no doubt partly due to B140 beers! I always have a peek and have never seen any of the bars busy, even the ones right at the front. One thing that I am noticing is that, although the bars may be doing okay in terms of turnover, the girls are not getting the tips and ladydrinks like pre-Covid. There are still a few guys that are happy to pay to sit surrounded by three or four overweight and unattractive (to me) girls but there are many like me who are no longer interested in that game - in the past I would pay for the company of a young and attractive girl but there are so few around these days and it all gets a bit tiresome after a few years. Also, there seem to be more people paying by phone/card and so that must also kill the tip jar. In the last week or so a couple of the regular girls that I used to exchange pleasantries with have packed up and gone back home. Based on my observations I would guess that even the few attractive bargirls are very rarely getting picked up for a takeaway - I think that the freelancers have completely taken over that market although they do get many last-minute cold feet ("what, I also have to pay B500/B1,000 for a stinking slum room for half an hour?") which wouldn't happen if a bar-fine had already been invested. To sum up my impressions - Patong seems to have more than recovered from Covid and is generally in good health although the type of customer has evolved - more couples and families, and they spend their money in different ways to single guys like me.

Well, hopefully the "official" sellers of e-cigs and duty-free contraband on Bangla will continue as they have been for many years - I would imagine that these interlopers were shopped by the usual concerned citizens?

Well, they seemingly got away with a full-on party during the Covid lockdown and so this is barely worth a moment's worry for them!

Well, my return flight is in exactly 90 days and so I will obviously be getting an extension - hopefully! I wasn't aware of the 180-day rule, if indeed there is such a thing. I would have thought that, if it was a problem, then my e-visa application would have snagged. As you say, these things are notoriously inconsistent. I truly believe that I am a genuine and valuable tourist - the fact that I detest cold weather and am retired and flush is the reason for the long visits and I am not trying to beat any system (like border-bouncers, some agent users) but I'll have to reconsider my future plans.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll give them a try. Yes, I fondly remember Durban Poison - and also Malawi Cobs (disgused as a cob of corn) and I'm sure they also sold something called Thai Sticks back then. The point is, it was all good. You didn't waste loads of time and mobey on rubbish purchases whilst trying to track down the decent stuff but hey, TIT!

I flew into Phuket last Tuesday with a TR60 visa and, after queueing for over an hour, the IO gave me a hard time - a young lady with a very soft voice and so I could barely hear a word. At one point she shuffled off to the far end of the hall, presumably to speak with a supervisor. After about fifteen minutes she asked if I had a return ticket - not needed for a TR60 entry I thought - and finally stamped me in but typed a lot into her computer and so I guess that I may have problems again. History? In 2023 I visited Jan 15th to Mar 29th on a TR60 plus extension. Jun 1st to Jul 30th on a TR60. Oct 3rd to Dec 17th on a TR60 plus extension. I am a regular long-term visitor but I am not aware that I am breaking any rules. I am comfortably retired and not a scruffy backpacker or cheap Charlie and would have thought that I am exactly the kind of tourist that Thailand is trying to attract. Since I need to remain based in the UK for medical needs, a long-term visa is not really suitable for me. Did I just catch the IO on a bad day?