Sawadee Khrap

Thanks Jerry for the advance notice of the new branch of the “Dentist of Jaipur” right here in Pattaya. For those of us on a strict income this could be a God-sent.  I have my account at Ocean Dental but if the Baht keeps climbing and the weak dollar – well I just won’t be able to keep throwing money away for such expensive luxuries.

*******  click on the picture to see the full story *******

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

For all of you who asked about the status of Fang Homestay for Men – here is the latest info I have received from May.

""Hi frank,sorry I did not check Facebook for two month, Now I m running on herbal product that very good quality and good sale. I cut off all my coffee in farm, and grow new tea herb, not beautiful yet, I hope my home stay will ready to open on next November, I will let you know again,"

Check on the Facebook listing for more updated info.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Wow, just saw this write up – Monster Storm Brings Fear – in Pattaya Daily News  May 5th, Must have been a tornado. 

We had a lot of rain, wind and thunder that day and night here in Jomtien but nothing that wild.  It was really black toward the Sriracha area but I did not think it was that bad – one local witness said “she saw a big gust of wind blowing on the road across from her house, it whirled a big tree down”  If that isn’t a tornado, I don’t know what is.  The report doesn’t mention if there was damage to Khao Kheow Open Zoo – I posted my photographs of the area that several weeks ago.  sounds wicked.  Another effect that must be from global warming.  It’s been the hottest year here in Pattaya for a long long time and we are expecting some very large storms this season.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Visiting Jomtien or Pattaya, maybe you live here – I recommend you try  Ocean Dental Center, Dr. Ruangpeerakul.  Check them out for you dental needs.  Great service, and workmanship.  Works for me (and I hate dentist – actually just drilling – and with only 2 teeth left that is almost in the past. haha )        pricing is right.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Thanks Kevin for this update           {click on photo to see}

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Happy Birthday to “Nicky’s Gay Newsletters”   -   If you are not a subscriber and you are interested in Thailand – then get on line.  Nicky does a terrific job of keeping up with all the local happenings.

Keep up the good work and all the best in the coming years.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Did a quick visit to “The Sanctuary of Truth” and got some prelim shots.  A little pricy, 500 Baht, but worth a visit – quite the carvings  – the entire place is covered with them and and new ones are being prepared to fill in the empty spots.  I will need to go back and do some real HDR work to properly photograph the place.

Make sure you have sufficient time as the slideshow is 133 photos.

******* SLIDESHOW ********

But don’t miss it when you are here – worth the time and money.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Here is Thailand’s future – or at least half of it – sorry I don’t have some shots of the young girls that are growing up here too.  Politics, be it Black, Yellow, Red,  at this age doesn’t command attention – jobs, health care, education, freedom, opportunities, retirement, and family in one way or the other are their immediate  worries or future blessings.

This is my favorite image from my excursion to The Million Years Stone Park and I just had to post this as what I believe  is a glimpse of what will make Thailand strong – their youth – I really pray the present Thai society and government are dedicated to establishing a country that will allow these young men and women a future.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Just got back from “The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm”.   I went to check it out and take some quick shots to see if it was a good place to do future shoots.   Nice.   But, today was very hot and I got back soaked with sweat – so the shots were just from the hip and not centering in on any specific subject. – next time when it’s cooler I’ll go again and take someone with me to model.  but at least I’ll know where to go.

*******SLIDESHOW*******

I did like the group of young monks that were there and here is a panorama of the entrance path.  You’ll see them in the Slideshow.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Thanks Nicky for the link and update — Again I didn’t check out all the information available on the web about the place – I didn’t realize that the place had this much history –

“Batman disco off Sukhumvit was the one of Pattaya’s hottest in the 90s. Spotlights casting batman logos arced across the night sky. The young clientèle crowded the four floors. Police staged a raid on the dance club and closed the premises for drugs and under-age drinking”

I would have loved to seen the spotlight in action and been there to see the crowd – pretty tame now here in low season.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Just meet a new friend, Ga, another fellow photographer here in Jomtien – Check out his Facebook Page  He told me about a great location called the Batman bldg. This abandoned building is about 12 years old and has great graffiti on it’s walls.  It was built to be a Disco house and said to have the upper portion as a short-time rooms – but the place never opened.  I took a trip to see the place before I try to do a any photo shoot there – IT IS Great.

I have another friend that wants to have some shots of his new motorcycle and himself and done in a flashy way – this would be a ideal location for that shoot  – I’m going to tell him about it and will post the images when done.

*******SLIDESHOW*******

Hope Ga can show me some more fantastic locations in and around Pattaya and we did talk about going together to hire a model for some future shoots.  Stay tuned !!!

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

What a couple of weeks,

Songkran is over last night – a week of mayhem – what a blessing – I can go outside now and continue normal life.  I just spent a week inside and it feels good to be able to go outside and do my daily walk to the beach.  Sorry  I didn’t get any photos, but there are many on the web.  I’m just not one for water throwing events.

Boston – they captured or killed the bombers – so the 4 day manhunt is over for the Boston Marathon Day bombing.  I was watching the action on FOX TV during the whole chase – excellent coverage – BUT as always – after everything is over – the major Fox commentators  (don’t’ need to mention their names) came on with the usual dribble.  Their comments are just as far off as that of the bombers reasoning – radicals exist on both sides – some just talk about it and incite by words  – others physically act out their problems.  I truly pray that both sides learn the true value of forgiveness.

West, Texas -  what an explosion – tragedy, many injured and died – all our prayers need to be for the citizens of West.

It’s been a long time since my last post and I will try to make up for the lack of posts.  I do have a couple of guys lined up for new photos and I am also exploring trying new techniques such as the Droste effect – this should be interesting, I hope I can make some exciting images and post them for you.

Thanks    also Please help us help Chaa Nay Choo in his hour of need.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

I went to Sunee Plaza last night and see that “C.…Boys Live Café Bar”  has closed and I understand that  Dave is searching for a new location near the Tucom area – just up the Soi from Sunee.

I will post the new location as soon as I find out and can get there to take some images.  I believe that problems with the landlord and rental charges were the reason he had to leave.

Good Luck Dave finding a new location.   See you soon.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

My friend Jim, in Chiang Mai   alerted me to this urgent need.  Here’s a true hero who needs our help.

Chaa Nay Choo,  Karenni refugee Camp, Mae Surin.

Please read the story and if at all possible please donate a few dollars for his care and recovery – as you can see it only takes a pittance -  30,000 Baht  or US$ 1,000  for his immediate care  – help us reach the goal and ease his and his family’s suffering.

Donations can also be made online through PayPal. Simply go to www.paypal.com and send a donation of any amount to donate@thebestfriend.org. Again, please include a note explaining if you would like your donation to be used for Chaa Nay Choo specifically, or for the Karenni refugees in general. 

It’s sad we can’t help them all  – but here’s one chance to help a young man who was injured helping others. He deserves a chance.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Just playing with new backgrounds and some old shots from Chiang Mai – I’ve had him posted before – can you guess who he is ?

Ciao