Gaybutton

I've heard stories similar to that. I even heard a story from a friend that he was once on a bus from Pattaya to Bangkok when the driver decided, without a word to anyone, to pull the bus over to a small roadside restaurant, exit the bus, and sit down and have lunch for about a half hour. A hotel owner told me a story about a maintenance worker under his employ who suddenly stopped showing up for work. Again, not a word to anyone. After the third day he hired a new maintenance worker. About two weeks later he arrived at the hotel in the morning, and there was the original worker, the one who had disappeared. He asked, "What are you doing here?" The worker simply said good morning. The hotel owner said, "Where have you been?" "I go on holiday." "Oh really?" asked the hotel owner. "You never said anything to me or anyone else about going on a holiday. Your holiday just became a lot longer than you thought." The maintenance worker was absolutely astonished. He couldn't understand at all why he was being fired or for what possible reason the hotel would have hired someone in his place. By his mode of thinking, he had done nothing wrong.

I'm sure it does. For example we forgot: ass and arse subway and underground shrimp and prawn escalator and moving stairs jerk off and wank ______________ "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." - George Bernard Shaw And a few Americans might have had an idea different from the Brits if someone mentioned:

Buaseng, you remind me of a short-lived American comedy series that ran at some point in the early 1960's. It was about a British family and an American family, each with a teenage daughter. The daughters trade places for a year as exchange students. The American daughter, while in the UK, had several run-ins with an elderly British gentleman, one of the neighbors, who despised Americans, but he did like the girl. In one episode the girl became frustrated with him and asked, "Am I the only American you ever liked?" The gentleman responded, "There was one other." "Who?" asked the girl. "Benedict Arnold!"

I don't even get low tea.

American - British apartment - flat argument - row baby carriage - pram band-aid - plaster bathroom - loo booger - bogey can - tin cookie - biscuit corn - maize crazy - mad diaper - nappy elevator - lift eraser - rubber flashlight - torch French fries - chips gas - petrol highway - motorway hood (car) - bonnet kerosene - paraffin lawyer - solicitor license plate - number plate line - queue mail - post movie theater - cinema muffler - silencer pants - trousers pharmacist - chemist potato chips - crisps rent - hire Santa Claus - Father Christmas sausage - banger soccer - football sweater - jumper trash can - dust bin truck - lorry trunk (car) - boot vacation - holiday vest - waistcoat while - wilst windshield - windscreen zip code - postal code

I'll probably win the contest. I'll go as myself!

Also, for the record, I do recall, weeks ago, spotting George's post on the Sawatdee Forum. He's definitely telling the truth about that.

That is correct. From what I have been told, Erich had a verbal "handshake" agreement, but nothing was on paper. I don't know why whoever makes the decisions decided to force Erich out, but for whatever reason, that's what happened.

Ahem!!! Where I come from it's "frying pan." But then I have been to places where they have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have also been to places where they have breakfast, lunch, and supper. And, last but not least, breakfast dinner, and supper.

The current name is Nice Boys. Of course, a few months down the road don't be surprised if that bar and/or other bars have new names yet again.

At 6:00am, the only place I know of where you can get breakfast is in your own kitchen.

There are a few ways I find easiest of all. The first is to refer to time as a 24 hour clock. 8:00am is 0800. 2:00pm is 1400. The Thai words for time are roughly pronounced as: 6:00am to Noon 6am - hoke mong chow 7am - jet mong chow 8am - bairt mong chow 9am - cow mong chow 10am - sip mong chow 11am - sip-et mong chow Noon - thiang (say it with a hard T, not a soft T) 1pm to 6pm 1pm - bai mong 2pm - bai song 3pm - bai sahm 4pm - bai see 5pm - hah mong yen 6pm - hoke mong yen 7pm to Midnight 7pm - nung toom 8pm - song toom 9pm - sahm toom 10pm - see toom 11pm - hah toom Midnight - thiang kurn 1am to 5am 1am - tee nung 2am - tee song 3am - tee sahm 4am - tee see 5am - tee hah For half hours, add the word "kroong" to the time. 4:30pm would be bai see kroong. If you want to ask a Thai boy what time he is coming back, the easiest way is "Glahp gee mong?" Of course, no matter what time he tells you he'll be back, if you're truly lucky, very lucky, he might show up within three or four hours of whatever time he tells you. Once you can understand and accept that, now you really know what "Thai time" means . . .

I recommend the Sweet Basil restaurant. It's more of a Vietnamese food restaurant, but the ambiance is just what you're looking for and the food is superb at very reasonable prices. To get there, see: http://www.bkkpages.com/eating-out/vietnamese/sweet-basil Here's a review I found: _____ Bangkok, Thailand: Superb Vietnamese food at Sweet Basil Thailand is a food-lover’s paradise. On every street corner is a new dish just waiting to be devoured. Eating out takes on a new meaning in the Land of Smiles, so it’s difficult to document the best places to eat the local fare as there are just so many of them! What a lot of people overlook is that Thailand is a great place for sampling some of the other regional delights. Vietnamese food is delicious, based around rice noodles and a healthy sprinkling of spices. When done well, it could even be said to rival Thai food. A stellar spot for sampling the joys of Vietnamese cuisine is Sweet Basil near Silom. The building looks decidedly out of place with its white façade in a European style, as if it were airlifted straight out of a faraway city and dropped in the middle of Bangkok. The interior is charming, with pinks and whites throughout the main dining area. On the menu you’ll find a range of dishes, costing around 80-200 baht. Try the ground pork wraps, the grilled chicken with sticky rice, or the gorgeous spring rolls made with that unmistakable Vietnamese style. The food is rich in flavor, sweet and satisfying to the senses, with a vibrant aroma. The spicy squid will leave your eyes watering while the pork ribs will have you wanting more. For two people dining, it’s best to order 5-6 dishes to share, along with a side of rice-noodles. Just pick and choose and see what new tastes you can discover. The atmosphere in the restaurant is lively yet cozy, and the clientele is mostly Thai. This would be a great place for an adventurous family or a couple after a quick bite. It’s not the most romantic restaurant, but it is fun and suits an early evening meal. Two people can eat like royalty for around 6-700 baht. Drinking water is provided. To get there, take the BTS Skytrain to Surasak, then head down Surasak Road until you come to Srivieng Road. Take a right, the restaurant is just down there on your left. Bookings are not necessary on weekdays but recommended over the weekend period. Call 022383088 for more information. Sweet Basil comes highly recommended. http://travel.agoda.com/blogs/reviews/arch...weet-Basil.aspx

Today I was told that Erich has made some sort of a deal with the Up-2-You bar in Sunee Plaza and should be able to start serving food there some time within a week. Great! I wish Erich well in his latest enterprise and I hope all goes well for him.

People who send that kind of Email are not even worth reading. They're worth only contempt. If hosting this "gaythering" (I love the way Rainwalker put it) is something you want to do, then do it, without regard to what the haters like. If they don't like it, they don't have to go, although I have a feeling most of them would be the first ones to show up and drink as much as they can when someone else is paying for it. "Waiter, don't bother with a glass. Just bring the bottle."

What's this, a thread hijacking? I don't know why a thread about my little Internet problems suddenly became a thread about exchange rates, but as long as the exchange rate moves favorably in our direction, that's great. When, exactly, do you want to take me on that all-expense-paid holiday in Brazil . . . . . ?

That's a good question and I doubt any of us can answer it reliably. I think what you ought to do is check with the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. The URL for their web site is: http://thailand.nlembassy.org/homepage

As is every day in Thailand. I hope you'll stay here with us for a very long time before you head off to Brazil again.

The following was posted by PASSION PATROL on the Pattaya Passion message board ( http://pattayapassion.19.forumer.com/index.php ): _____ I have just come from the old Gentlemen's Club -- a longtime gay establishment in the Pattayaland area. With a rich history of ownership (Jim of Ambiance Group owned it years ago), this landmark bar was a sad loss to the community. After an extensive interview tonight with the owner (the same gentlemen from before), I have learned that he plans to open again on November 1st. This time however, he is opening as an open air host bar -- with the same upstairs accommodation for convenience. He is remodeling the lower floor and outside to create a more "cafe" feel. The reason for the original closing was due to the police strike down, bribes, and inability to keep up with the fines. Much the same concerns that Sanuk was complaining about. Nonetheless, by changing the format (no longer a go-go bar), he can bypass much of the bureaucracy and just run the business. He did however, want me to reiterate that the bar is still for sale and if someone was interested -- he would entertain negotiations. Nonetheless, for now, a gay Pattaya staple is back!

Asmerom has been having difficulty getting the second part of his message posted. At my suggestion he sent an Email with the second part of his post. Here it is: _____ When we first got into the 100 year old BMW it predictably refused to start.We hauled open the bonnet and poured in bottles of good, healthy drinking water.It still wouldn't start.Ton, my driver of the day, thought it might be out of fuel.The girl came out and explained it ran on either oil or gas and impatiently pointed out the hidden switch.I'm slightly hazy about this bit.We then joined forces to beat the rusty old bonnet into a state of relative submission and got it to an almost closed position.Ton got in and the old banger coughed and spluttered reluctantly to life.We backed out into the road. The horrific clanking noises emitted from the gearbox area convinced me there was no way this old wreck would travel 100 yards up the road. I was wrong again about Chiang Mai House. Once we had queued up to get through the floods on Chang Puak and onto the open road this 100 year old vintage BMW revealed it's true lineage and sped off North like a dream. Apart from the disturbing gearbox noises as we drew away from the lights we had no problems.We had no accidents and in spite of Ton's insistence on driving mere hair raising centimetres away from the car in front, we didn't hit anyone or anything.We viewed four houses in four hours and next week I'm going back for more. CHIANG MAI HOUSE may appear "flakey" and first impressions are certainly not encouraging to westerners but some of my best friends are flakey and once they got their act together and sorted out their divided loyalties (with their dating agency) they fully redeemed themselves and performed well on the day.Not forgetting their excellent website with mouthwatering properties at reasonable rents which is what attracted me in the first place. Its the THAI WAY and I like it. It was I who fell short by jumping too easily to facile judgments and harbouring totally irrelevant western expectations. Three cheers for CHIANG MAI HOUSE. Long may they prosper. I even saw two other customers there. I will of course also be visiting the highly recommended JASMINE HOMES as soon as I can.

I have no idea why that is happening, but I suggest writing your post on a word processor. That way you at least can save the post. Once you have done that, try to COPY the post from the word processor and then PASTE it into a post here on the board. Maybe that will work. If it doesn't, at least you won't have to re-write the whole thing.

To answer your question I called Hugh and asked about that. He said he doesn't want people to confuse this menu with the other wine and dine menu that offers you a choice as to whether to have dinner with or without wine. He said this particular menu is a special he does once a month and there is no price reduction if you choose not to have wine with this particular type of dinner. He said this menu is geared for those who do want the wine, and he is making a special effort to offer different excellent wine selections with this dinner every month at this price.

A letter-to-the-editor in today's PATTAYA MAIL caught my interest: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/letters.shtml#hd2 Every so often a complaint appears about these farang tourist police volunteers in Pattaya letting their authority go to their head. A letter also appeared about this in last week's PATTAYA MAIL. http://www.pattayamail.com/794/letters.shtml#hd5 I have never had any problem whatsoever with these farang tourist police volunteers. As a matter of fact, I rarely even see any of them. I don't frequent Walking Street, but the only time I can recall ever seeing any of these volunteers was at the entrance to Walking Street. I'm curious as to whether any of you have had encounters with farang police volunteers, whether positive or negative. Do you ever even see any of them? I've never had the misfortune of being around any of the bars during police raids. Do any farang police volunteers participate in the raids?

Don't miss this special PGF event at the COPA!

Ok, that branch is very close to the Asia Center, actually within walking distance. You can't miss it. It's a very large shopping mall. To get to that branch from Pattaya, take the expressway to Bangkok. When you get to the last toll plaza, take the Bang Na exit. You have to go through toll booth exits 1, 2, or 3 on the left. All other exits will take you to the wrong place. After taking the Bang Na exit, stay in the right lane. As soon as the exit road ends there will be a U-Turn bridge just ahead. Take the U-Turn bridge and the Central City Shopping Center will be dead ahead, on the left, just a short distance down the road.