PattayaMale

Of course it is always prudent to get other doctors' opinions when ever there is a serious diagnosis. It is good you did that. However some people that get just 2 opinions may decide that the most favorable opinion is the correct one. I certainly hope the second doctor made a better diagnosis. Liver cancer is very serious. May I suggest that you get one more opinion. I the off chance that the first doctor was correct, not confirming the diagnosis can be a terrible mistake. Right now you have 2 different opinions. Either one maybe correct unfortunately. Even though you add to your cost, it may be a wise choice to get another opinion.

Friday when I went to Ganymede I was surprised to find the road leading into Poseidon, Question Mark, etc. cut by a trench. Those going to the Plaza need to drive further towards the Beach to almost the entrance of Jomtien Complex Condo. The Friday Happy hour at Ganymede is really worth a try. 6-8 pm includes a live band and free appetizers. This past Friday they provided Macaroni, Spaghetti, sauce, fried rice, chicken drumetts, salad, french fries, finger sandwiches, etc. Fun, happy crowd and nice waiters

My experiences at Bumrungrad are very different. I had 3 stents inserted. I had my rotator cuff repaired when I fell and had 5 pins inserted to repair it. I have had other medical problems that I feel were handled very well and I am very satisfied. Yes insurance covered all my expenses. Compared to the USA fees I feel it was well priced and the nursing services and rooms were very nice

pong..." but perhaps in that isolated Pattaya bubble you are not aware" Actually, I live in a house not a bubble. It has TVs and computers, internet, and I get the Bangkok news papers. That is as close to Bangkok as I wish to be.......... The protest in Bangkok, in my opinion, are not the same type as those in the Middle East. In Bangkok, as you said pong, some are paid to protest. It is in my mind very party political. I believe, that those in the Middle East are spontaneous. Not fueled by different political parties. To me it seems (from reports on the internet), that people feel repressed. True democratic freedoms have been with held by a single ruling party. Though Thailand's political system is much different on the surface, the military and police seem to be the ruling power. When it suits some generals, they take over the government. So the politicians, many which are former high ranking military or police officers must appease the military not really the people. This power is seen in the huge corruption that is even sometimes reported in the newspapers from Bangkok. Things like construction projects, internet (still no real 3G because of "ministerial" disputes, internet sites blocked, legal cases, education (students from rich families do not attend class and still get passed), etc. Thais and the rest of the world (except a few farangs living in Bangkok)know this and most do not like it. Many of the middle east protesters have been dominated all the lives. Rulers and middle east kings have held power for decades. Longer than many of the of the protesters have been alive. So what has caused these sudden upheavals? The people in those countries have put up with it for years. Why is it spreading through out those regions and to some extent into China? Is it probable that it will spread into Thailand not as political party protests but a truer grass roots movement?

There is a good thread about Mideast protests. I was talking to a few people today and 1 person expressed that he felt many of the concerns in the Mideast could spread to Thailand. Corruption,lack of educational opportunities which will lead to world class pay, internet and media suppression, police and judicial injustice, etc. How probable would it be that the kind of protests in the MidEast could happen in Thailand?

Since I do not speak Thai, I have an app that does a fair job of translating to Thai from English. I simply speak into the phone, press translate. Most the guys with limited English seem to enjoy it as they can type in Thai a response if they want. Most questions I ask are usually yes or no though. To have this work though I need network access. WiFi is cheaper and faster. So it can be helpful.

The owner of Corner Bar in Sunee Plaza, Mike, has been having trouble getting ground beef as well as cooking oil other than the much more expensive Mazola corn oil. I was told that the reason the cooking oil is scarce is that the Thai producers are able to get much more money for shipping it out of Thailand on tankers to be used for making gasohol. There is no bottling or distribution charges.

Hope all went well. If possible give us more than 2 hours notice of a party.

A friend and I went to Eros last night. We were surprised to see that it had been remodeled. In addition to the stage that was in the middle of the room, 5 small round stages have not been placed around the main stages. It is a very comfortable bar. They only have a few dancers some nights. Other nights they have had many dancing. The music is NOT loud and the bar has good air conditioning. Drinks are reasonably priced at 89 (soft drinks) and 99 baht (alcohol). I think it is worth a visit.

May I suggest Eros Bar as a GOGO bar that does not have loud music. If it gets too loud I just ask them to turn it down and it is done without any problem. This bar is not as new as some others. It has good Air conditioning, but they do lack a large staff. With drink prices at 89 or 99 baht. When music gets loud, I and some friends pay up and leave. We like to see who is on stage and talk to a boy or two. When music is loud, I can;t hear what is being said and neither can they. I have been in KD gogo a few times. It has an interesting concept. I may noy explain this well, but i wish that instead of the boys rotating, there would be a way of calling them to dance at the table. I feel awkward having a boy dance in front of me that I may not care for. I feel I should tip him. I would rather give a bigger tip to those I choose. I understand that I don't have to tip each dancer that comes in front of me (several times) but I do feel awkward if I don't. Mark of KD has usually been welcoming to customer suggestions, so I was surprised at his response to Michael's post. Putting that aside, I wish the music at most of the bars was not as loud

Fact from the lips of the Executive Director: Work on Siam Best Enterprise Company´s Bt12 billion tower, which will be constructed at Pattaya´s Jomtien Beach, is scheduled to kick off at the end of March 2008. “We planned to break ground last year,” said Bruno Pingel, the company´s chief executive. QUESTION: Did this happen? construction is about to commence!! We know this, because someone has published a mail from Rob Astbury, the sales manager, where he said (in December 2009) “Last week we signed a contract with one of the largest construction companies in China and it is planned for construction to start in February 2010. It is anticipated the building will be compete in four years.” Excellent news indeed! Question: Did construction start

The title of the post about Rob Astbury (sp??) became about View Talay and Ocean 1. I had a question so started a new post. I heard that many investors (buyers) of Ocean 1 wanted their money back due to all the delays but the contract was worded in such a way that they could not. Rumor to be sure but any truth to it?

I believe that the US DEA is helping fund these raids as recently there were banners strung above the streets which publicized their involvement. It is good to read that those that are arrested get help while in custody and most of those as Michael said feel it helped them. But reading other posts via Thaivisa, saying Pattaya now has more foreign "mafia" (gangsters) than ever before; it would be surprising if these raids will lead to less drug use here....or anywhere else in the world. Having seen the "war on drugs" fail so miserably and be so costly, maybe someone will come up with a different policy that actually works. With all the billions of dollars in every currency being budgeted by all law enforcement agencies, winning this "war" in reality be very hard to have the policy change, I believe.

from wikipedia including foot-notes. Colfer is openly gay[10] and shared on Access Hollywood that his parents were accepting of him but he was frequently bullied at school.[4][11][12] He originally auditioned for the role of Artie with the song "Mr. Cellophane"[13] but Kevin McHale was selected for the role. However, the casting directors were so impressed by Colfer that they wrote the Kurt Hummel character into the show as a vehicle for him.[4][13] Colfer commented on his casting, "It's good to have something positive, especially for kids in small towns, like myself, who need a little pick-me-up." Kurt Hummel has gone on to become an audience favorite.[14] Colfer's sister, Hannah, suffers from severe epilepsy, and often experiences over fifty seizures in an hour.[15] Colfer has commented that when he was younger he used acting as a method of escaping the stress involved with having a family member with disabilities.[16]

Is (was) he selling units in Ocean 1?

When I went by myself about 6 months ago, I paid him about $35 dollars a day. I hired him to be with me for the entire 4 days. I did give him a tip and at some places had him drink with me. But he would not drink more than 1 alcoholic drink because he was driving. Although many guys at the massage places and bars speak English, I did need him to translate. He was good at negotiating for me when I went to buy things from the stalls. There is a couple great places he took me to est. One was a BBQ and Soup place where they have an enormous buffet. You took whatever you wanted, and all you wanted, and cooked it. The owners brother lives in Long Beach, CA. Another place that was great he took me and a guy I picked up was to a place called "Mother in Law". It seemed to be an upper middle class Khmer restaurant. Really fun and good food. They had a Karaoke type (stage singer but others can join in...not loud at all) on the second floor where we had dinner. Chea Ya will become more than your Tuk Tuk driver. He will become a friend if you want. He is not gay but...His personality is terrific. He knows both Tom and me by name so if you contact him, please mention our names. I called him from Thailand at the number I posted and he met me at the airport. I hope you give him a chance. Knowing you I can almost guarantee that you will be well satisfied. Tom and I are considering possibly hiring him in January and taking him to Sihanoukville.

The best Tuk Tuk driver I ever had was Chea YA in Cambodia. His English is excellent!! He is helpful in every way My friend Tom and I have used his service twice. I highly recommend him!! Phone +855 17773460 (when in Cambodia 017773460) email chea.tuktuk@gmail.com Ask him about the ATV trip he took us on. A day of great fun!

I did not see the "welcome" which was at the bottom of the page. Interesting

lvdkeyes, may I suggest you give some explanation of who Wichan is and what he does. I think many posters may be new and not understand the significance of your first post which was just a link to a site. He certainly is talented as his site shows.

What does "Another Commission finished" mean? I went to the site and still don't understand

When Air Asia is booked online, there is an option for travel insurance. I think it is 250 baht

The owners' of Corner Bar really do do a good job. Last night Mike told me he now will serve eggs with his baskets instead of french fries or onion rings since some of his customers are on low-carb diets. No extra charge

Well, better late than never, I guess. I would like to make one observation. GayThailand (the person) was very generous in offering the contest. Since it had worked very well in the past, it is my opinion that "the contest" had nothing to do with problems that the owner is now addressing. It was lack of clarity early on as what posts were appropriate. As I said earlier, the contest worked very well in the past. I think (the person) GayThailand's generosity should be really applauded. I imagine that this year's contest would have worked well IF... Traveler Jim and his pictures, RichLB and his polls, Gaythailand (the person) put many interesting posts that garnered many replies,..the list goes on and on. Ok, that was the past...we move on from here.

Is the Loma roundabout the same as the "Dolphin roundabout"? This traffic circle is really dangerous. There is no merging to let traffic flow. It is more like the pushiest driver wins.