Category: [a] WebSites we like

Day 1 Nong Kai Trip 2/21

Sawadee Khrap

We started out at 7 AM passing  Lampang, Den Chai, Uttaradit, Si Satchanalai on the way to Sukhotai.   Didn’t stop for any photos until we IMG_2882got into the Sukhotai area –  Had lunch at The Legendha Resort – Great place , good food.   This is also a nice shot of Kay at the resort.

Before we left on the trip I had bought over 700 Baht of Atlas, and road maps and we also stopped at a TAT office ( Tourism Authority of Thailand) and got their maps.  They all were terrible – The only safe way to travel in Thailand is with GOOGLE IMG_3164MAPS running on your cell phone, here is my setup in the car, a LIFESAVER.  I also run a APP called TRACKS, it keeps a record of our path marked as the blue dot at the lead of the red line  – center right.  This photo was taken much later in our trip but It does shows the program working.   This also let me GPS the photos as my cameras don’t have GPS capabilities – Lightroom and Track’s GPX tracklogs did the trick, synchronizing with the camera’s date stamps when I get back home.       Side note:   They wanted 25,000 Baht to install an auto Garmin GPS system and it was SLOW – I mean slow – my 16,000 Baht Samsung Galaxy A5 was at least 5 times faster and I can take it from the car when I leave.  With DTAC I have full internet and phone capabilities.         Several times the maps showed road or highway numbers that were completely wrong and many times there were no roadside markers or signs to indicate what road you were on – leaving the main highways and trying to use shortcuts on lesser side roads would be impossible using the maps or looking for signs and at night – forget it.  With Google maps we drove right to each location – No Problem . 

Here are shots taken during the day – not in actual order as we were using 2 cameras I didn’t take the time to sort them out.  We did visit the Sukhotai Historical Park, Phara Buddha Chinaraj National Museum, and a small Wat next door with boys honoring  – Muay Thai.


That evening we stayed at the Anothai Hotel  in Phitsanulok  –  small but actually the best place we stayed for the entire trip – Amazing 600 Baht for IMG_3747IMG_3743the room, including breakfast – quite, clean and everyone very friendly   – I highly recommend it.

Ciao

Christopher Ryan’s work

Sawadee Khrap

Check out Christopher’s website for some nude modeling and art.ChristopherHe has some great images – I really like the “Studio C Nudes” in the “Artistic Male Nudes” collection  – don’t miss his “Gingerbread Man Bodypainting” series.  He’s moving to BKK later this month and we have been talking about him possibly coming to Chiang Mai for a  visit and shoot here.  He saw my work on my “ModelMayhem” and got in touch.   I’m looking forward to meeting him and seeing what we can develop.  I’m not a body painter, so that’s out,   but getting some poses and doing some Photoshop work and backgrounds, I am sure I can create some images that will stand out and really add to his portfolio.

Ciao

Halloween Special

Sawadee Khrap

Went last night with a friend for a special Holiday treat – my first visit to the  69Club Massage.   69 club      Great, I asked the mama-san for a massage by a pro and she gave me to “Pro” and he was a pro.  LOL   Located in Chiang Mai Land it is very spacious and great attendance – she said that she had 35 boys working there – although not all at the same time – but she could call them in if she had to.   Many are shown in the staff photos —  When in Chiang Mai stop by –

Ciao

Streamline Retirement VISA approval

Sawadee Khrap

If you are close to needing your Retirement VISA, or other visa needs then pay particular attention to the new association that the Chiang Mai Expats Club has with the Japanese Long-Stay Community.  I just participated in the first  CEC group – On Wednesday, at the Japanese Long-Stay Office (right here in my condo – downstairs) I and several other members had our papers prepared and paid a nominal 200 Baht fee, left our passports so they could be presented to the Immigration department for advance screening and set an appointment for Saturday to have my picture taken, pay fee and paperwork completed at the Immigration Office at Promenade Shopping Center.       This took all of 15 min.   

Saturday, at 1 PM I got to the Immigration Office and they had my papers done and then a photo taken within the first 10 minuets, paid my 1900 Baht  – but had to wait till the supervisor arrived for the final signature approval – 2 PM everything done – home by 2:30.  No hassle, no lines, no worry – quick.

Check it out  – the CEC is planning on continuing this service and “ In the future…. If there appears to be sufficient interest, we’ll look at having the document inspection and submission done during Breakfast Club at River Market and consider if it would be better to go to Promenada on a different Saturday than the General Meeting each month.  You can reach Nancy at  info@ChiangMaiExpatsClub.com  or visit the CEC website. 

In the future I am going to mail in my 90 day reports and take advantage of this service for the 1-Year Retirement Renewal.     Couldn’t be easier – hassle free.

Ciao

Sergey back in Moscow

Sawadee Khrap

Well Sergey is back in Moscow at his Clinic there and won’t return to Pattaya till end of month – IMG_1497-Edit-2I got some new shoes and had to put the inserts in them – thank God I had just enough Velcro tape  – Have to make sure to get some extras for the next emergency of changing the inserts – Gott’a have my Flying Step Arch Supports – no more back aches.

Ciao

Ted — be sure you subscribe and watch

Sawadee Khrap

TedWe all need exercise and exercising the brain is the best way to say alert and healthy.  Best way is to regularly listen to “TED talks” – Amazing information that will astound you.  For example:Smart Animals - Ted

Susan Savage-Rumbaugh: The gentle genius of bonobos – this is amazing –

And I am sure I have seen some early ancestors right here in Pattaya – maybe you have too – we are not that far from their evolution – watch the next time you venture outside.

Vets and Doctors

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz: What veterinarians know that doctors don’t –

And this one – check out my category on medicine and hospitals  – we just throw drugs at any ailment  without really talking to the patient or checking to see what the real underlying cause is – These are 2 great “talks” – check out the rest –

Ciao

Chaturbate and Cam4

Sawadee Khrap

I can’t for the life of me figure out why there aren’t more Asians on these sites – ( although Camfrog is very popular  ).   I have watched many young men   ( boys, as they are called here )  on these sites pile up in excess of 2,000 – 6,000 tokens in in tips for 2 – 3 hours playing.  That’s  redeemable for $100 – $300 in tips for each performance each day – and the tippers signup as followers so they can watch each day.  Amazing, that could be equivalent to anywhere from 90 – 180,000 Baht a month, and never leave their rooms, contact any disease, or have to put up with any “sado” or fat, old farangs.  Yet the money-boys ( and ladies and lady-boys for that matter)  still plié their trade on the beaches and seedy clubs around Thailand and the world, subject to diseases, abuse and long hours for a lot less.  Just a Internet connection and a laptop computer is all they would need – just a nice camera – safe and profitable.  Just a thought.   It could also be taxable income then – win-win for all.

Ciao-

Back from Chiang Mai – doctor report

Sawadee Khrap

Just got back from Chiang Mai to see the doctor about my Blood Pressure.  He cut back my Valsartan morning dosage by half and approved the Cialis as a lowering agent too.  I do feel 100 % better at the lower dosage and don’t have the dizziness like before and no ED.  The report has my cholesterol levels within the acceptable range and they appear to be getting better – I attribute that to the oatmeal every morning and the High DHA Fish Oil I have been taking – so little adjustments to the  med. regime I was taking is working. – Just reduce the Valsartan and continue as before – Oh Ya.  I did add back the Folic acid for the kidneys.

CBI stayed at the B2 Green Santiham  while I was there  – a short 20 min walk to Sirphat Hospital and/or the local shopping centers – great location, great place to stay just off Huay Kaew Rd on the Northeast corner of the Old City.  And they just built a new restaurant right around the corner from the B2 – “Corner Bistro” – Owner Kevin Lo,  a US-Thai who used to live in New York has a GREAT menu, staff and excellent tasty food – open at 7 AM  – great for breakfast – only one in the area open that early – breakfast and a short walk for exercise – beautiful.  Dinners are great too –

citylife fairAlso went to the City Life  JJ Market Garden Fair – Met a lot of old friends there and had a great time – excellent food, booths and entertainment – Steve , reporter for CityLife Mag, snap a picture while I was getting a foot massage – and for the rest of the trip everywhere I went they knew I was in town – I just searched and I can’t find the photos but they must be there somewhere – Thanks Steve

Ciao

Tack Sharp

Sawadee Khrap

TackSharp

Got a DSLR camera – looking for “tack sharp” images ?    This book is a must – I just learned how to get images that I have had trouble with trying to focus for the last 3 years – his techniques are great and he fully explains how to set up your camera’s special features to INSURE Tack Sharp Images.  Amazing – just tried out his settings at Lakeland Water Cable – Pattaya and “0’ed ” in on these moving shots with ease.  This was just a test run so I now have my camera setup and will go back to get some great images in a few days – just a sample here._MG_4599   Sorry don’t know who the skiers were.   Just some quick shots to check the _MG_4494procedure and then back to the computer to confirm the focus – next time I will spend more time and get some better shots of the guys – promise

Ciao

Earthquake Data

 

Sawadee Khrap

I just received a comment for a 2007 Post  – Another Earthquake – about the Burma quake near Chiang Mai from a reader – Sharon Thornton from the “International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics”.  IUGGWOW,  thanks Sharon for reading the blog and finding some of it’s articles of value.  I have added your comments to the actual post in question so others can benefit and I also will post them here.  It’s nice to know that people of all walks of life are finding something of value in the Blog besides just looking at the pretty pictures of the boys.  I really appreciate the interest and comment – Thank you.

  1. Earthquakes Data magnitude 5.0 and Over 2005-2014   (This reference is also a subtle ad – but I think Krill Oil is of great value,  – however at the present time, I personally take Blackmores Omega Memo Fish Oil )
  2.  Seismic Monitor
  3. Quakes – Live Earthquakes Map
  4. USGS Earthquake Data

I’m planning on moving back to Chiang Mai after the first of the year and will certainly use the sites you pointed out to monitor the possibilities of future quakes around or near CM..

Again thanks Sharon.

Ciao

Bus Pattaya – to/from – Suvarnabhumi Airport

Sawadee Khrap

And here is a great video I found on YouTube showing the best way to get to Pattaya going on the Roong Reuang Co. bus  to/from   Suvarnabhumi Airport – from anywhere in Bangkok  – just take the Skytrain to the airport then.. 

bus to pattayaClick on the photo to start the video

Airport-Pattaya Bus Service (Roong Reuang Co. Ltd.) provides direct transfer from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Jomtien and vice versa, with only 32 seats in each coach and an estimated travel time of approx. two hours. The company’s Jomtien office is located outside the Foodmart supermarket on Thappraya Road (opp. Pan Pan restaurant, just around the corner from Thepprasit Road).

The departure location at Suvarnabhumi Airport is on the 1st floor of the arrivals terminal (between gates 7 and 8).
Departure times 7h, 8h, 9h, 10h, 11h, 12h, 13h, 14h, 15h, 16h, 17h, 18h, 19h, 20h, (21h), (22h)
One-way fare is 134 Baht (January 2014). www.airportpattayabus.com

If your coming to Jomtien – get off at the Jomtien office  – easy walk to Jomtien Complex.

Ciao