2 hours ago, HighPriority said:

I’m more on the bah humbug side of things but compliments of the season and I’m hoping you enjoy a better 2025 xylophone and extend the same to all the contributors to this thread.

Its always been an interesting, informative read, thank you.

Many thanks for your kind words HP and I hope you have a healthy and prosperous New Year.

4 hours ago, HighPriority said:

I’m more on the bah humbug side of things but compliments of the season and I’m hoping you enjoy a better 2025 xylophone and extend the same to all the contributors to this thread.

Its always been an interesting, informative read, thank you.

 

I second that

 

And a Happy New 2025 Year to all members

Xylo mentions a California Petite Syrah. One of my favorite wines I drink (and sell as part of my portfolio) is the Stags' Leap California Petite Syrah. Epic inky purple, bursting with berries.

On 12/29/2024 at 11:37 PM, grumpyoldman said:

Xylo mentions a California Petite Syrah. One of my favorite wines I drink (and sell as part of my portfolio) is the Stags' Leap California Petite Syrah. Epic inky purple, bursting with berries.

Good to hear that there is someone else out there who likes this particular wine and for those that don't know, Petite Sirah is called Durif in France (named after the botanist who "discovered" it there) and also in Australia and a few other places, whereas in the USA and perhaps a few other countries, it's called Petite Sirah.

 

I had tried a couple in Australia and found them to be very high in alcohol and also very tannic, and didn't take to them, however these from California are a different matter altogether, as GOM says, "bursting with berries" and absolutely delightful.

I really wish we could get a good Pinot Noir here. With the heat here it would be a perfect red. 

3 hours ago, marin said:

I really wish we could get a good Pinot Noir here. With the heat here it would be a perfect red. 

I've never been impressed with the Pinot Noir wines I've had here, however a few weeks ago I sampled one at the Wine Connection, a French Pinot Noir and I thought it was a nice wine, not outstanding, but had all the attributes of a typical French Pinot Noir.

 

Can't remember where I posted it, but I'll have search through to see if I can find the name for you. 

3 hours ago, marin said:

I really wish we could get a good Pinot Noir here. With the heat here it would be a perfect red. 

The French Burgundy (Pinot Noir) I tasted at the Wine Connection was a:- Pinot Noir from Henri de Bareuil in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, and they sell it in the Wine Connection store/shop.

On 12/29/2024 at 11:37 PM, grumpyoldman said:

Xylo mentions a California Petite Syrah. One of my favorite wines I drink (and sell as part of my portfolio) is the Stags' Leap California Petite Syrah. Epic inky purple, bursting with berries.

"One of my favorite wines I drink (and sell as part of my portfolio)"

 

Intrigued by your comment GOM........do you trade/buy/sell fine wines?? Send me a PM if the info is confidential.

On 12/27/2024 at 5:51 PM, LivinginKata said:

 

I second that

 

And a Happy New 2025 Year to all members

Thanks LIK, and I'm hoping 2025 is better than 2024 for me, but NY Eve threw up a few disappointments..........

 

Although I wasn't planning going out for actual New Year celebrations, I did phone La Capannina to see if I and a friend from England could go along for dinner, and they said it was okay.....

 

So at 7 PM I hailed a Tuk Tuk outside of my apartment block and asked him if he could take me to the restaurant, and his response was, "how much you give me?", So my response was, how much you want, and he said 500 baht, so I replied I will give you 200 baht (which was the figure quoted by a couple of other Tuk Tuk drivers recently) and he gesticulated angrily and started to drive away!

 

He then turned round and said 300 baht, so I couldn't be bothered haggling and said okay.

 

Arrived at the restaurant and they had no knowledge of my booking although we did manage to get a small table, although the chairs were the most uncomfortable I have ever sat in!

 

To say that I was very disappointed that the menu had been altered for that particular evening, would be an understatement, because the fare on offer was much reduced and there were no pizzas available and very little else that I liked or wanted for that matter. Anyway getting over that disappointment I and my friend ordered and waited.

 

What came was nothing like I had been used to at this restaurant and as we were both hungry, what was brought to the table was mostly eaten, although my friend could only eat half of his main course because he said it was far too salty, and I have to say that mine was also.

 

I had suggested that we could walk back to our respective apartments, which were no more than about 100m apart, but my gluteal muscles which had been aching after sitting on that awful seat, and which had been damaged in my recent accident, were hurting like the clappers and they made it very difficult for me to even walk, but I did manage to walk bit by bit, slowly back to Soi Banzaan which is where there is a massage shop owned by a friend of mine, so I reasoned that if I could make it back to that, then they might be able to do something to loosen up those glutes.

 

It was a long, slow and painful walk for me, but I did manage to get to the shop and the older lady there was superb, finding out the areas which were painful and working on them and after 45 minutes I'd had enough because it was a little painful, so I paid her and tipped her handsomely and set off home.

 

I took an Ibuprofen, had a shower and got to bed about midnight and thankfully slept reasonably well.

 

In conclusion, a disappointing end to a disappointing year, so let's hope this New Year brings better luck and health for me.

 

And finally, the traffic last night was like something I have never seen in my life, with idiots, more idiots and even more idiots driving as if they had a death wish and if you were a pedestrian trying to cross the road, then you were sh!t out of luck and some!

 

Going out on NYE in Patong? You really should know better Xylo'.

 

 

27 minutes ago, London Lowf said:

Going out on NYE in Patong? You really should know better Xylo'.

 

 

Well LL, it wasn't my intention to go out for the evening celebrations, just to go out for a meal and be home way before they started. This because I'm not a "party animal" any more, and I do get home in plenty of time, but even early on in the evening the traffic was horrendous.

On 8/15/2024 at 3:02 AM, Patong2 said:

Patong ain't what it used to be, but it is still pretty darn good.

Agree with that remark @Patong2, although after nearly getting wiped out by an absolute idiot on a large motorbike driving up the middle-of-the-road when traffic on both sides of the road was at a standstill, and the speed he was going had to be seen to be believed. The slightest movement of a car or another motorbike would have sent him to see Buddha, and to be honest I often think that will be the best place for idiots like this, because if he had an accident, I wouldn't stop to help and I would simply shout, "som nam na" as I drove past.

 

It really made me think if this was the place to be now and I did think about Hua Hin, but recently read a post on the forum which remarked on the number of Russians who now inhabited that part of Thailand and how the whole place had "gone to the dogs" so I gave that one away.

 

There are some redeeming features for me here, and one of them was the restaurant I again went to last night, called, "Churascco" where I had a wonderful Black Angus tenderloin steak. The place was packed and at one time there were people standing outside of the restaurant waiting for a table to come free!!

 

I spoke to the owner and told him how great his food was and how wonderful his staff were, and they are excellent, and he appreciated it.

 

Of course I have my daughter who lives in Phuket town and who is still looking for a job, even after graduating with honours (teaching qualification) from a top university here, so that is another redeeming feature, amongst a few other friends I have in Patong.

 

Jumping around a bit; I have been past the "new, exciting place to be", called "Patongo" on a few occasions during the day and evening and it would appear to be about as popular as a ham sandwich in a synagogue?? Surely the  developers and builders of such a place would have done their homework – – but then again this is Thailand!

 

I have been researching treatments for a neurogenic bladder (i.e. it doesn't work) and did find a place in Rawai which seemed promising, using stem cell treatment, but am having second thoughts about that and perhaps I should post on the medical thread for my thoughts on the place and treatment.

 

Also, I seem to be the main poster on this thread at the moment so maybe it needs to close down or to have a name change?? All suggestions welcomed, via the mods of course!
 

I see no reason for this to end xylophone.

A much loved thread was recently shut down after the OP left here… Why, I ask ?

Others could and would offer their thoughts, I see no reason to kill an excellent discussion simply because an OP “retires”

Even if the thread sat here for 5 years without comment, someone would come along eventually and make a relevant post.

You owe us nothing xylophone but id like to read the thoughts of others that will follow in the years to come.

When this thread started, it was post Covid and things in Patong were down and dreary, so it fit. But a refresh, new thread IMO,

is a good idea.

 

Something along the lines of "Live from Patong" or "Whats the haps Patong". Anyway, I think you get my drift, someone else can come up with something snappy..

 

Xylo, is the Churrasco place in Soi Gemstone? I remember selling them cheap Argentinian reds back in the day, but am pretty sure that one went under during Covid.

Quote

"...Also, I seem to be the main poster on this thread at the moment so maybe it needs to close down or to have a name change?? All suggestions welcomed, via the mods of course!"

thats cause most of us left Patong ages ago ( i left in 96 for kamala)    555555

6 hours ago, grumpyoldman said:

When this thread started, it was post Covid and things in Patong were down and dreary, so it fit. But a refresh, new thread IMO,

is a good idea.

 

Something along the lines of "Live from Patong" or "Whats the haps Patong". Anyway, I think you get my drift, someone else can come up with something snappy..

 

Xylo, is the Churrasco place in Soi Gemstone? I remember selling them cheap Argentinian reds back in the day, but am pretty sure that one went under during Covid.

Yes I thought the same as you @grumpyoldman with regard to a name change and along with yours, I could suggest something like "Patong happenings" or "Patong, in and around" so let's see what happens.

 

As for your question about the restaurant Churascco, it is in the entrance to the restaurant alley of Jungceylon opposite the pub, "The Irish Times" and I know they have Chilean wines on the menu, but not sure about Argentinian wines although I think they had a Malbec or two on the wine list, which could well have come from Argentina?

 

Well worth a visit if you like good steaks, which I occasionally do, and be prepared to pay just over 1000 baht for a 300 g steak with some French fries, VAT and service charge included. The owner did tell me he had some Wagyu steak available, so I might try that next time, however once a month for a steak like that is fine for me.

16 hours ago, grumpyoldman said:

When this thread started, it was post Covid and things in Patong were down and dreary, so it fit. But a refresh, new thread IMO,

is a good idea.

 

Yes, the recovery from Covid has been dramatic although, sadly, many businesses did not survive or recover.

 

I started visiting Patong in 2014 and so I'm a newbie compared to many on here, and I was a Sandboxer in 2021 - a surreal experience with no alcohol officially allowed on Bangla for the first week or so and then a 10pm curfew with an armada of about 30 police scooters doing a sweep of Bangla at closing time - very odd, but certainly an experience with the usual Thai creative circumvention of the emergency regulations.

 

And now? I don't entertain at my place and so last week I was searching for an hotel room on booking.com - the cheapest in Patong was B2,800 and there were quite a few "two beds in a dormitory" at close to that price. I made alternative arrangements. For last nights fun and games I ended up in a lovely resort in............ Kathu! So, still peak season in Patong!

 

I am based in Kamala these days but, until last December, I used to enjoy the ride into Patong and a few beers on Bangla six nights a week - there's a great band in Kamala on a Thursday! However, the drive into Patong has now got to be such a pain, even on two wheels, that I'm now down to four days a week. Oddly, the parking is fine and Bangla itself doesn't seem too crazy (I went home for Xmas/NY), although I get there after 11pm and so many of the annoying waste-of-space (and oxygen) sightseers have gone home.

 

So, in my (limited) experience, the days of a wake for Patong are long gone. As far as I can see the island as a whole is thriving with prestige developments popping up all over the island - of course, many will never be finished but that seems to be perfectly acceptable to the authorities. Patong itself is obviously at full capacity, whuich is all that the TAT are interested in and sod the infrastructure.

 

Trying to ignore the nose-to-tail traffic on the road just outside of my condominium block, I, along with a nice NZ couple whom I've just recently met, set off by car for Churascco, which although is not too far away is far enough away for myself and one of the Kiwis, as we do have some mobility problems.

 

So apart from the traffic and the idiots weaving in and out of it (mostly foreigners) some at quite high speed, we managed to get there and enjoy two really great Black Angus tenderloin steaks, although the salmon steak was a little bit dry for the wife of the Kiwi guy.

 

When we got to the restaurant there were only a couple of people dining, but it soon filled up to capacity, such is the popularity of the place and for people who like meat (in the main) this place is a godsend.

 

My previous night time activities of visiting bars in Bangla have been curtailed somewhat and in truth, I don't miss that aspect of Patong nightlife these days, although I have to say that I did like catching up with friends at Blue Beach Café and Restaurant and enjoying the food, before heading off to bars in Bangla, but it became a chore rather than something to look forward to, mainly because I really don't drink beer and secondly because trying to talk to bar girls who really couldn't understand English and who only wanted a drink, started to get on my nerves.

 

Jumping around a bit here, I was very surprised to see the owner/manager of one of my favourite massage shops, sporting a wedding ring and it appears that she got married to her long-time boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, which was surprising because just a month prior to that she was shacked up with another guy here, and when I asked her about this she said both of these guys were "long-time boyfriend" and they obviously didn't know about one another!

 

Luckily enough they didn't visit Patong at the same times so she was able to juggle this/these relationships well. It just goes to somewhat prove the old adage here that "you don't lose your girlfriend, you just lose your turn".

 

The recently completed "Patongo" whatever it is supposed to be, is still suffering from the very commodity which could make it successful, i.e. customers, although I did see a few folk sitting there last night, but probably not enough to make a profit for anybody and I have to wonder what possessed the person who built/financed it to go ahead with it when Banzaan market, Jungceylon and all that this offers, and slightly further away TOPS are in direct competition?

 

Before I forget, I did take this NZ couple to La Capannina Restaurant a week ago and they thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I, as I mostly always do.

 

On that note, a lady friend from way back who used to have a hairdressing salon here and whom I've known for years, is back in town for a while, and she phoned me and we've arranged to catch up, so it's quite possible I will try the Italian restaurant just off Bangla called "Anema e Core" as I haven't been there for quite some time, but I have to be mindful of the distance to walk because after my accident, the muscles in my legs seem to have weakened somewhat.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow because I will go to Phuket town to pick up my daughter and have lunch and do a little shopping, and I haven't seen her for a few weeks because she has been in Phitsanulok visiting her mother, so that will be a nice change.

 

Nothing much else to post about and certainly nothing exciting!! .

"It just goes to somewhat prove the old adage here that "you don't lose your girlfriend, you just lose your turn". "

 

Funny enough, current good friend went to Thailand last year in July for the first time. Head over heels for a Phuket lady, came back talking marrying her. Was suppose to visit her in January, but lo and behold, somehow this years trip got shuffled to July again. Punter scheduling matter I'm sure. 😊

Xylophone, sometimes being upright and above ground is exciting 😁

Enjoy it !

3 hours ago, HighPriority said:

Xylophone, sometimes being upright and above ground is exciting 😁

Enjoy it !

Very true HP and it reminds me of the words from the song by the Australian group, Australian Crawl, sung by James Reyne and the line goes, "any day above ground is a good day......"

 

And to top the lot I had a lovely lunch with my daughter in Phuket town today and we did a bit of shopping and had a few laughs and she gave me a new angle to living here because I was saying that sometimes I was fed up with Patong and had often thought of going back to New Zealand or even England, to which she said that when she went to France for six months she missed Thailand so much (as she would do because she was born here) and the reason.......everything you want or need is so close at hand and so convenient that why would you live anywhere else?

 

I hadn't thought about it that way and when I did, I realised that she was right, because I can walk to shops and restaurants and have a huge choice, and if I want I can drive out of Patong to other restaurants and sights and everything is close at hand, even though the traffic is horrendous, so it put a new positive aspect on this place for me.
 

Well I'm still here in Patong and still alive, although still suffering from the occasional dizzy spell from being thrown off the back of a motorbike taxi, although my fractured coccyx has obviously healed but a few months of inactivity to help it do so, has resulted in some muscle wastage in my glutes (I think that's what they call them) so walking long distances is out of the question, as it becomes quite painful if I do.

 

Having said that I did manage to catch up with a couple of friends at Blue Beach Café and Restaurant, really to say goodbye to a Canadian friend who was departing Patong however it's almost certain that he will be back here. He did own a bar here at one time, but that's another story

 

Although there were a lot of people in Bangla, it was "walking traffic" and a few of the bars looked a little devoid of customers although a few were relatively busy. However I didn't stay long as I'm not a beer drinker per se, so after a meal and a couple of drinks in Bangla, I was walking/stumbling/shuffling my way back to my condo, which I only just managed to do.

 

Thank goodness Patong has quietened down somewhat although I obviously feel sorry for the local small businesses because of their lack of custom, but then again the high and low seasons have been like this since time immemorial here.

 

On the subject of businesses, it would appear that many Thai folk still do not have much in the way of business nous/sense and one case in particular stands out...... the joint owner of a reasonably profitable small massage and beauty shop in a small Soi where there is quite a bit of foot traffic, has decided to open another shop on her own and she has chosen to open a small shop in a small cul-de-sac at the south end of Nanai Road!!

 

It's an area I know well because I lived just opposite the new shop and there is absolutely no foot traffic or any traffic come to that, so IMO it is destined to fail, and it would be no more than 20 m away from another small massage shop which has failed several times, which is next to a small laundry which has failed several times, which is next to a small shop of some description which has failed several times and has now been closed for many months – – you get the drift.

 

Now for something completely different (as the saying goes) the local elections have just finished and I was surprised to learn that one particular candidate was offering 1000 baht per vote, whilst another candidate was offering 5000 baht per vote – – corruption, who said that? 

 

I asked one of the voters who had voted for the 5000 baht option and she had no qualms about it saying that it wasn't her fault if somebody was offering her money to vote a certain way, so she gladly took it! Ah, TIT, for all its faults and pleasures, just doesn't seem to change.

 

I caught up with an old friend at Starbucks in Jungceylon and we were discussing the new "Patongo" area and how it seemed as useless as "tits on a bull" (an old Kiwi expression) because I'd never seen more than a handful of people in it and it's not inviting at all, so what it's supposed to be I don't know. However he informed me that it was built with Chinese money (Chinese investors) so someone has made a killing on that spare piece of land and IMO I doubt whether it will ever take off.

 

Unfortunately nothing exciting to post about, mainly because I don't get out and about much in the evenings these days, and especially because I have stopped my singing sessions at Red Hot, which I used to enjoy, so any feedback from the night-time activities from yours truly has ceased, however one can read about the brawls, thugs and untoward goings-on in ASEAN NOW!!!

 

Finally, as others have said in previous posts, this place has taken a turn for the worst over the last few years, sad to say.
 

Any bits of exercise you can get X, even just the occasional Bangla prowl is going to be good for you, so good on ya, keep it moving.

 

Thanks for the report, always interesting.

13 hours ago, grumpyoldman said:

Any bits of exercise you can get X, even just the occasional Bangla prowl is going to be good for you, so good on ya, keep it moving.

 

Thanks for the report, always interesting.

Thanks GOM and maybe I will do another "Bangla Prowl" when my friend returns from Malaysia in a couple of weeks, but until then it will be a fairly frequent supermarket prowl which has proven fruitful in the past!!

On 2/9/2025 at 7:52 PM, HighPriority said:

Xylophone, sometimes being upright and above ground is exciting 😁

Enjoy it !

Yes HP, I've come round it that way of thinking as I'm not as mobile as I used to be, and my only forays outside of my condo have been to Big C and Bangkok Phuket hospital to have a biopsy taken from a "spot" my face, and unfortunately I have to go back in a few days to have a bigger piece of "flesh" removed as it turns out to be a basal cell carcinoma, so perhaps I should rename my avatar "Scarface"!

 

Well, some good news and some bad news, and first of all the good news: –

 

Although Blue Beach Café and Restaurant is still one of my favourites, I have visited Churrassco South American Steakhouse on a few occasions and have also taken some friends along, mainly because it's in easy walking distance of my condo and I'm still not able to walk too far, but also because the food is absolutely excellent as are the wait staff, and the Maitre D is gorgeous – – in fact I cannot fault it as the steaks, overall experience and food are to "die for".

 

My Thai daughter has managed to get a teaching job in Phuket town although it's only part time, but she seems to be enjoying it and I certainly don't mind financing her for as long as it takes her to find a full-time job. It may take years, but if that's the case, then so be it. If she is happy, then I am happy.

 

Now for the bad news: – the Italian restaurant in Nanai Road, Verdi, is up for sale again and to be honest, I've never really seen anybody in it, and perhaps the fact that it doesn't have anywhere to park one's vehicle, no matter what it is, and it is right alongside the road, doesn't really seem conducive to attracting clientele.

 

I mentioned previously about a lovely lady friend of mine who was a partner in a fairly busy massage shop in Soi Banzaan and decided to open her own shop at the south end of Nanai Road and sad to say that in the first two weeks of it opening she only had two customers; one being a friend of hers who really came along to have a look at the place, and the other one being me because I wanted to have a look around and also to bring her a little business.

 

Quite why she decided to open this little shop is beyond me, because there was obviously no thought process about it/around it and I really can't see it staying open much longer, sad to say for her. Then again, it doesn't surprise me because I have known quite a few Thai folk who have entered into similar "business arrangements" only to have them fail miserably. That doesn't exclude the occasional farang who decides to open up a bar or similar, with his Thai partner as a front, only to see it fail.

 

Talking of bars, the once long-standing and famous Montes Restaurant and Bar in Pisitkoranee Road is no longer, having been completely demolished along with other buildings behind it. It's not surprising because the place has been closed now for a few years, although I did see it open up a few times a couple of years back and it seemed to be the "meeting place" for some of the local "BIB" who would meet there for some sort of refreshment?

 

It now presents as a large site suitable for building upon, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a block of apartments or a small hotel go up in its place – – time will tell.

 

Let's hope someone doesn't get the idea to put up another "Patongo" (which is opposite the rear of Jungceylon) in the hope of attracting business, because this one certainly hasn't and it is as dead as a dodo, and as I previously mentioned it has Chinese money behind it which is usually invested quite wisely!!

 

That's all until my next foray out, and after the basal cell carcinoma excision in Phuket later this week, I'm going to investigate the use of the hyperbaric chamber as a long shot in order to treat my neurogenic bladder – – trying everything to fix it, and this is the last hope apart from surgery overseas, which I am not keen on.
 

Best of luck with your health Xy.

 

Sorry to hear about Montes. Back in 2005-6, that was one of my first new accounts, was quite the happening spot then. At the time the wine company I worked for also had a foray into Belgian biers and Montes took a ton of those as well as some wine.

FYI:
regarding ur basal cell carcinoma , i had one removed from my forehead 5-6 years ago at the plastic surgery center in the Siriroj hospital in town, it was about 1 1/2" across and not deep,
They gave me the option of having some skin removed from behind my ear and stitched on to cover the hole
OR
allowing it to heal naturally
I chose naturally,  no scar or mark at all and much cheaper

2 hours ago, zzzzz said:

FYI:
regarding ur basal cell carcinoma , i had one removed from my forehead 5-6 years ago at the plastic surgery center in the Siriroj hospital in town, it was about 1 1/2" across and not deep,
They gave me the option of having some skin removed from behind my ear and stitched on to cover the hole
OR
allowing it to heal naturally
I chose naturally,  no scar or mark at all and much cheaper

Thanks for your info @zzzzz, have taken note of it. Xylo

11 hours ago, grumpyoldman said:

Best of luck with your health Xy.

 

Sorry to hear about Montes. Back in 2005-6, that was one of my first new accounts, was quite the happening spot then. At the time the wine company I worked for also had a foray into Belgian biers and Montes took a ton of those as well as some wine.

Yes I believe it was a Belgian bar, or a bar owned by a Belgian guy, although I never visited it and as I arrived here full-time in 2007, Bangla was the drawcard then and I didn't venture out much past that area, sad to say.

It was described as a bar and restaurant and you said it was a "happening spot" back then, so in the main was it the bar or the restaurant which pulled in the punters?

I think it was the good selection of biers. Yes, Belgian guy ran it, and it was a popular expat hangout.