desertrat

I'm not very ambitious, try to make those very crispy "omelettes"? (no content, just eggs), always wind up with a soggy greasy, very uncrisp result...I'm OK with the toast..sometimes.

What is the secret please?

GEE what a bummer, I've been cycling around that area for years, and soon to retire was looking forward to even more... now ? I just dont know. anyone interested in group cycling?

Is that processed cheese (plastic) in the pic,? if so, thanks but no thanks.

Decided to try some cooking, sent the maid for a wok, she bought back aluminium, don't want to risk Alzheimers (arguable of course), so sent her off again. This time a stainless steel one, with instructions as microscopic as used for the TV sports listings in the bangkok post sports supplement. Also stuck with immovable tape. NASA might use it, no amount of heat will burn off the residue, also the parts not in contact with the cooking just blacken and smoke, so it is also junked.

Please don't suggest that my maid assist in any of these kitchen problems, her duties lie elsewhere.

Should I stick to toast ? or can I buy a useable wok.?

Can't imagine that this is a new topic, but, here goes.

Have had a company car for years, and am planning to stop working.

Would like to buy a used pickup, and i guess no-one can fully cover the hazards of buying any used vehicle,anywhere in the world, but what are the hassles with trying to own one, I would guess a lot, but perhaps I can be surprised.

Also how does one get a reasonable idea of price ranges? I've seen some Thai mags with 1000's of ads and of course used car lots, but it seems I would have to do a lot of research..any short cuts please?

Just talked to a guy who flits back and forth to europe, he paid top dollar for his iphone, but apparently linking phone sales to contracts is a no-no there, he uses it here, says it costs NOTHING to use EDGE and wi-fi. has GoogleEarth and looks very impressive.Uses local Sim card and 12Call only.

I would go for the $200 deal, now paying about Baht1600 pm for flaky 'net in Pattaya and Bangkok.

Many years since I went out at night, I think before the Thermae moved.

However, still not at night, but at 06:30 am Sunday morning, first bus from pattaya, got off at Nana to go

to Foodland. Quite interested to see at least 10 pushcart bars, well stocked and with some happy

customers and nice giggly girls running around.

So how new is this? Are they exempt from what I read was a ban on alchohol sales after 02:00

I'm not in any way agin it, think it's great....If only I were 20 years younger..sigh.

mmmmm......pensions depreciating and some even failing. so glad I've always been basically boracic, and learned to live on a damp patch.

It seems that those with the greatest worries had plenty but wanted even more., and finished up with less.

As I'm always recommending books to my readers try "The Ascent of Money" by Niall Ferguson

ex Glaswegian slum boy now Harvard Professor, very up to date, and very revealing.

P.J.O'Rourke wrote "Holidays in hel_l' should have had a chapter on Pattaya, or depending on your persuasions

"Holidays in Paradise"

BTW the route from BKK to Pattaya is well marked, trash lines every metre of the way. (except of course the Xway).

When I have the inclination I will estimate the total weight of trash dumped in Thailand, but "The Trash begins at Johore

Bahru"

What was once a scenic area/walkway near the Royal Cliff has now turned into a dumping ground, someone has even gone to the trouble of unscrewing most of the nuts from the lamp standard bases, unless the contractor decided two were enough.

There is a "geocache" on a nearby viewpont, aptly called "Trash Mountain"

An aquaintance recently cycled from Mae Sai to Penang, most endearing memories?.....garbage,garbage, garbage and dogs.

Will the government change the law now to ensure all public areas have adequate fire exits etc?....no.

Money is more important than lives in Thailand.

In fact a week from now this will all be forgotton and it will be business as usual from Saturday.

It is difficult to exit even the glitziest malls, due to lack of signage, and that's when all the lights are on.

Combine this with the amazing collection of flaky dangerous electrical wiring/plugs/sockets, we can only wonder when the next major loss of life occurs.

Scariest place ever for me was Walled City in Kowloon in early '70s

A Chinese friend took a few of us in, in single file of course, later on he was in discusion with a guy, and suddenly did a U-turn

and flashed past us in terror

We ran after him, after we were out, he was trembling and said he was told he would be killed if he bought gwailos there.

Having a death wish I often went alone, and the most remarkable thing to me was the number of dentists.

That being said .. the noise level the day you move in can change radically the next day with construction or in the case of my condos, people renovating!

Renovating !! is that what they call it ?

I don't think in all the years I've been here that someone is not "renovating"

99% of the work seems to be done by percussive tools.

Go there lots, buy veggies by the sackful

Here's a link

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...49-e76cb5cd3c64

Spent a long time last week workong on 4 garmins for a guy's upcoming mc trip

1. StreetPilot Colormap..forget it

2. Later StreePilot III with Antenna, passable, but.....

3. StreetPilot 320..excellent but rugged I'm not sure.

4. The Zumo is a disaster, cannot be charged by the 12V system, and battery only lasts 4 hours, bought new battery

same problem. WEB search shows that everyone is bitching about the Zumo.

All the above don't allow the contol you can get by preparing routes on Mapsource, but of course they can be sent to the GPSr. For me they are too simple.

Worked with the guy from Rotweiler by email ref the maps, he always replied instantly. asked him if he worked 24/7, he said it was easier to stay at home as he had no legs. So...well what can I say.?

btw I use GarminMap60CSx, but only on pushbike, biggest problem is that the routing will not send me the wrong way on a one way street.

yes it MUST be a BA. my MA (Cantab), was unrecognised.

I made a BIG mistake in buying a samsung recently..about Baht9000, firstly I could not link to the PC.

After many searches found a samsung version sw, that could do it..after a fashion.

Tried to update the CD sw on samsung website, there were over 600 items of update, but it always gave up half way thro'

So..at last I was connected to my PC, so now to use it, the touch screen is so sensitive/insensitive it was a nightmare to navigate.

Add to this that nothing could be seen in daylight, which made the camera/video useless.

I actually gave it away, I would have thrown it away otherwise.

I went to the place I bought it,Jaymart, not to complain as I know that's hopeless, just to advise the salesgirls that the sw (CD) was unuseable, for their info, they were not a bit interested.

So after I did a search, I saw that it was complaints,complaints, complaints and lack of responses.

I'm back to a Baht1000 Nokia.

Royal Cliff is nice

I have been coming to Bang Sarae for many years, and apart from it's charming fishing village, one of the great pluses is the clean, beautiful beach, relatively unfettered with umbrellas, ususally very peaceful

aaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhh......now all the pattaya hoi polloi will know !

I'm going to ship clothing early Dec (only about 4 cubic metres)

I see backpackers with more than that.

One of my ID's is Diogenes

The joke is in a book on philosophy by two Harvard (Jewish by their names) professors. Easier than Bertrand Russell.

A Jewish lady and her son are on the beach, a large wave snatches the son and takes him out to sea. "Lord, Lord", she

cries, "Save him".

Then next wave washes him back on the beach. "He had a hat !", she shouts. (same book)

Hello,

Would anybody be interested in sharing a container from Thailand to UK? We would be sending it probably middle of December/beginning of January.

Let me know if anybody is interested.

I think there's an extensive thread about people who are on the skids, trying to return to UK, without the wherewithall, If you provide sandwiches and hot tea, I think you can fill not only your container, but many others.

where the doctors are never questioned and they believe their word is the word of GOD

I broke a leg and asked the surgeon for a prognosis for my future tri-athlete training.

"Be OK"..he said

As it occurred at the same time of Schumachers broken leg at Silverstone, I wrote to his surgeon with sketches of the break etc, and received a great reply, in that bearing in mind the limited information, and my age, the expectaions were good.

Never satisfied, I took the X-rays to a bangkok hospital and paid for a Q&A with the orthopaedic top guy there.

Maybe a year later. I popped something in an elbow, doing too much, and a large swelling resulted.

Went to hospital, and lo and behold, I am ushered in to the original surgeon. Anyway he gave me the full works on the structure of the arm, problems.causes. treatments. The whole works.

When relating this "story" others have ventured that he was probably chided by his colleague/s.

So, you are here for the girls too?

Well, I was initially, but my activity is now reduced to Chauncey Gardener's simple pleasures.

Desertrat appears to have learnt how to use Babelfish.

AND the laundry