craigt3365

I got one in US currency at the main Bangkok Bank branch on 2nd road near the Hard Rock Hotel. Post office won't do this.

What currency?

I enjoyed a meal at supposedly the longest operating restaurant in the world, in Madrid:

http://www.travelocafe.com/2011/01/madrid-oldest-restaurant-in-world.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobrino_de_Bot%C3%ADn

Absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, no free tapas. 555555

I've seen Jimmy before, but just introduced myself last night. Super nice guy. As were all the other musicians.

I really liked the lead singer. Not sure what his name is, but I know where he plays and hope to stop by one night soon. I think on Soi 3 in Naklua.

Pop was excellent, as you well know!

As an FYI, the 10,000B price money was just donated. Here's a message from the winning band:

The J. Smiles Band will donate the full 10,000 THB prize money to The Shelter Center Pattaya Fund to help pay one years rent and future medical needs of Cee!

I do a post when they have this event again.

How long is your trip? When is it?

I think there is more to see in Barcelona, but then I'm a massive fan of Gaudi. If you like architecture, then Barcelona is for you! As mentioned, lots of pickpockets. Be careful.

I also like Madrid. Very interesting City.

I've only been to Lisbon and south, but we liked Lisbon. Even though wifey got her purse stolen there. She's been to over 50 countries, so she knows how to travel. But they got us....

I could spend 2 months exploring that area! 555555

1) In Spain the cultural fare is far more interesting: art, music, theatre, architecture, etc, etc are some of the best in the world, and far superior to the dummy arts that you find in Thailand.

2) You can have damn good conversations and fruitful discussions with Spaniards, things which are extremely rare in Thailand.

3) In Spain, many kinds of alcohol and especially wine are far cheaper and far easier to find than in Thailand.

Those are the three things that come immediately to mind. I'd move to Spain if I could afford it, but I can't.

If you avoid the obvious tourist spots then Spain is cheaper than Thailand. Meals out are more expensive but wine is far cheaper ( I get a very decent wine from the Bodega for about 1.20 euro / 45 bht) Many Spanish people think my Thai wife is Spanish and always speak to her in Spanish, much to my pleasure as she doesn't speak a word of their language. My wife is a British passport holder so we get all the benefits of EU citizenship. They do get cold weather in the winter - it was wet and only 4c when we were there in February but just a week later it was 23c. The infrastructure is first class (paid for by EU grants) trains, boats, buses, motorways/freeways and airports. The schools are also very good. I also feel much safer on a ferry in Spain than Thailand.

The bottom line for me though is that my wife wants to be near her family so Adiós España and Hola Tailandia.

I'm finding the older I get, the less I can handle cold weather. Use to not bother me at all. Just got back from a trip across Eastern Europe. A few times, I was chilled to the bone. Rainy, windy, cold. Just no fun. This was in mid-June to early July.

I've heard workers call my wife khun. So I think it's more a sign of respect, for either sex.

Just beware of fakes. Lazada does it's best, but it's just a storefront for others.

Ok, I think we've had enough with the tapas. Sorry for sidetracking this thread. But I love tapas!

Back to the OP, please.

For golf, get the best you can. My brother's best friend is almost blind now due to golf. He's a pro at a course in Vegas. Spent years not wearing them and now paying the price.

Cheap ones don't work also. They are dark, which forces your pupil to dilate and allows MORE light in. Here's a good article on sunglasses.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2374185/Are-cheap-sunglasses-safe-We-asked-eye-expert-analyse-cut-price-shades.html

Wow. What a day. It was an absolutely amazing afternoon that extended almost to 10pm. The final band is one that played at Burapa bike week the past few years. They were probably the best band I've ever heard here in Pattaya. And only get together for special events as they all play at different places around town. The best of the best. We had them do at least 4 encores! LOL

Every band had it's own style. From blues, to motown, to hard rock to pop. It was a fantastic night and quite well attended. One of the best music events I've attended here in Thailand.

Thanks to the owner for sponsoring the event. You did a great job organizing this, and of course, Helmut also!!!

Whilst the economy is on the verge of a crisis and millions of Thais are staring straight into an economic black hole of poverty...

The gravitas and political capital of the highest office in the land is focused on plastic bags.

This is hardly the highest priority of the current government. As with most governments around the world, they deal with many issues simultaneously. Just like here.

Congrats to this government for trying to make this a reality. Previous governments have tried, but obviously, without much success.

In his weekly “Returning Happinesss to the Thai People” programme on Friday night, the prime minister said that the amount of plastic garbage would be 70 million plastic bags less per day if every Thai stops using just one plastic bag a day.

Perhaps an over estimation, but even at 20 million plastic bags less per day, it's a big deal.

You talk about money. This is interesting:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/28/thailand-plastic-bags

BMA figures show that every day, more than 600,000 plastic bags are used in this city of nine million people.

Their annual disposal cost reaches more than 600 million baht (18.4 million dollars), city officials have said. Local media have quoted BMA deputy governor Porntep Techapaibul as saying that of the city's daily 10,000 tonnes of trash, about 1,800 tonnes are plastic bags, a number projected to increase by about 20 percent each year.

By now, many Bangkok residents have heard of the health and environmental hazards posed by plastic bags. Made from a non-renewable natural resource, petroleum, the bags have for their main ingredient polyethylene — or polythene — which is said to take 1,000 years to decompose on land and 450 years in water.

that will be nice at for example mega bagna shopping center

no bags and your trolley cannot go till your car

that will work out just great

and If you use your own re-usebal strong bags ?

Exactly. No different than shopping at Makro. Or at Tesco in Europe. Or almost any store in many other countries. No bags provided unless you pay for them. You bring your own. I kept a bag rolled up in my backpack and it worked great. Reused it for weeks.

Here, I've got 6-7 of those reuseable cloth bags. I've had them for 5 years now and they are still going strong. We were the first ones to use them at our local Tesco. You actually get extra points if you bring your own bags.

Spot on Mike. I first went to Cuba after my divorce. My buddies said I needed an "attitude" adjustment. Well, it worked! Going from American women, who didn't really care for me, to Cuban women, who'd whistle at you on the streets, was a great change for the ol' fragile male ego. But it did break my heart to see how they lived. And how tightly they were controlled by the police. And how much they despised the police. Pure hatred. And for good reasons.

I wish them the best of luck. Unfortunately, even if the US ends the embargo, they could still end up like Haiti or the DR. Both have good relations with the US and are in an absolute mess. It's all about the government.

We spent a few weeks going from near the border with Spain (Faro) up to Lisbon. It was great, but it was in late fall and many places on the S. coast were closed. The beach towns were dead. On one hand nice, on the other...boring!

Next trip we want to do N. Portugal. I've heard it's wonderful, and cheaper than Spain. And great wine! 5555

I saw your pics from this holiday, I believe, before. Looks like a great festival to attend!!!

That picture breaks my heart.

Just checked with wifey. She said some places had free tapas, but they were very basic. For a few Euros, we opted for the better selections. But many bars did not have free ones...or at least "good" free ones! Of course, we were in the touristy areas. We were tourists after all! 55555

Madrid was OK, but it's a big city. We were just coming off 21 days of driving around France. Needed a break and just relax. Got a great hotel for a cheap price, so camped out a bit.

Let us know how your trip goes! I love spain and can't wait to get back. But think our next trip will be to explore more of Portugal. Hopefully in 2017 like you!

LOL. I also have a limit as to how many temples I can see! I'm sticking to one full day in Bagan. Maybe 2 in Yangon, but one might be a partial travel day.

I'm really looking forward to Inle and the surrounds!

I think there are thousands of Cubans who lost everything who might argue with you about this. Not all were crooks and involved with the mafia.

My heart goes out the the Cuban people who got the short end of the Cold War stick.

But the issue under discussion is the balance of debt between Cuba and the USA (and US corporate interests), not what the Cuban government owes to its own people.

If you leave out the crimes against their own people (hard to do, I realize), I agree completely with GeriatricKid. The confiscation of the fruits of corruption was legitimate. US corporate and Mafia entities had turned Cuba into a brothel and a money factory- and not for the benefit of the Cuban people- but rather to the benefit of Batista and his cronies.

Understood, but without due process of the law, how do we know all the businesses were mafia controlled? It was a land grab and they confiscated property from whomever they desired. For better or worse!

We were 5 days in Madrid. 15 days overall traveling around Madrid and south. Our second trip to Spain. Free tapas were quite rare in the central part of Madrid. Easier to find in the suburbs and in smaller towns. But not in the CBD of Madrid!

Enjoyed free ones in Granada, but nowhere near as good as the high end ones we had in Madrid. They were spectacular.

Have you been to this building in Madrid? Bar after bar serving great wine and tapas. Absolutely fantastic. But not free. As you can see, it was packed.

Not sure what you're talking about, but I've never been asked to pay for the snacks I was served in a Thai bar, in contrast to Spain where you don't get snacks ( tapas) for free.

I was in madrid last feburary and many bars gave away free tapas with a drink of lovely beer - as cheap as 1 euro

http://www.timeout.com/madrid/food-and-drink/madrid-bars-with-free-tapas

.

In Spain, tapas are given in gratitude for patrons imbibing alcohol. There is no charge, and there is no hidden charge in the alcohol.

And the food can be quite amazing. Beats the hell out of stale peanuts that strangers have dragged their fingers through.

Hmmm....I'd hate to think how much I paid for tapas at bars in Spain. A few places had free tapas, and they were OK. The really good ones you had to pay for. And they were fantastic.

Show programme:

14:00 Helmut & The Jam
14:45 Gypsy Lou Trio
15:30 X-Pirates
16:15 The Immortals
17:00 The Decelerators
17:45 The J. Smiles Band
18:30 The Venue House Band
19:15 The 3 Little Pigs
20:00 Popsxl

A mix of Thai and foreigner bands.

Others with more knowledge will chime in, I'm sure. But what I've noticed here lately, is weather patterns are all messed up. For the most part, the monsoons fade away in October. But you've got a decent chance for a good rain storm all the way up to the beginning of December.

I'd say June to August are the worst months. September can be tough. October starts to clear out. Generally speaking!

http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/burma/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/13/is-the-united-states-of-america-a-republic-or-a-democracy/

Is the United States of America a republic or a democracy?

I often hear people argue that the United States is a republic, not a democracy. But that’s a false dichotomy. A common definition of “republic” is, to quote the American Heritage Dictionary, “A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them” — we are that. A common definition of “democracy” is, “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives” — we are that, too.

The United States is not a direct democracy, in the sense of a country in which laws (and other government decisions) are made predominantly by majority vote. Some lawmaking is done this way, on the state and local levels, but it’s only a tiny fraction of all lawmaking. But we are a representative democracy, which is a form of democracy.

............

But there is no basis for saying that the United States is somehow “not a democracy, but a republic.” “Democracy” and “republic” aren’t just words that a speaker can arbitrarily define to mean something (e.g., defining democracy as “a form of government in which all laws are made directly by the people”). They are terms that have been given meaning by English speakers more broadly. And both today and in the Framing era, “democracy” has been generally understood to include representative democracy as well as direct democracy.