The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand's pub closing hours: Calling time on the "jukebox casualties!"

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand's pub closing hours: Calling time on the "jukebox casualties!"

 

 

"Time, gentlemen please!" was the cry that went up from pub landlords. There was always some wag - often my drunken self - who would spout up: Ten thirty, guv'nor!

 

The shout was to announce that closing time was fast approaching and patrons in pubs throughout England had ten minutes to drink up and get out. With a bit of effort it was usually possible to find a hotel bar or club to carry on drinking but the licensing laws were hated by most Britons especially me and my fellow reporters. 

 

We started work late on our weekly provincial paper and always wanted to have one for the road, if not several for the street. At midday we would down tools and drive (yes, drive) to the pub to have as many pints as possible before 2.30 pm closing. 

 

I had not been much of a drinker at school and had almost passed out when my French teacher took us all to the pub to celebrate finishing our A-levels. On my first day at the Croydon Advertiser in 1979 - barely aged 18 - I drank so much in an effort to keep up with my hardened colleagues that I deposited my Ploughman's Lunch in the office loo. 

 

Thus began a love affair with alcohol that lasted three decades before I inked my name on the pledge and along with cigarettes started to dislike the stuff. 

 

The draconian licensing laws in England had been introduced as a measure under the "Defence of the Realm" act at the start of World War I in 1914. It wasn't until the 1980's before pubs were allowed to open from 11 am to 11 pm and 2005 before they could open all day if they wanted. 

 

By this time I had "traveled the world" - or at least part of it - and found my way to Bangkok. In India I had been obliged to virtually go teetotal, something that improved my general health if not my mental well-being. Goa was an exception but by the time we arrived there a black substance from Manali had become our preferred method to escape the harsh realities of Indian travel. 

 

In Malaysia I was pleased to see tasty Tiger beer was available most everywhere and resumed imbibing albeit more sensibly than in my reporting days; after all I needed to keep to that five dollars a day budget so I could last for six months in Asia. 

 

Arriving in Thailand in 1982 there appeared to be very little in the way of licensing hours though beer seemed quite expensive compared to everything else. I mixed Lipo with ice and Mekhong to save money. I have always loved the taste of "tonic drinks" and it helped to tone down the revolting shock of Mekhong on my 'sensitive' palate.

 

Running out of money and finding myself slaving for funds in Australia I wondered why most of the pubs there had tiles that made them indistinguishable from the toilets. The answer came from a colleague at the Yellow Pages in Sydney who said that pubs in Australia all used to shut by 6 pm. Called the "Six O'Clock Swill" workers would pile out of their offices at 5 pm and indulge in an orgy of binge drinking and vomit. A very Australian and, to be fair, British habit.

 

The tiles meant that Aussie pubs could be easily hosed down - on the inside. 

 

By the 1980's when I had a year long working holiday in Australia the old laws were a distant memory. What pleasure it was to walk in from the 40 degree heat and practice my new vocabulary; schooner, middy, pot and tinnie. Some bartenders even ditched the "Pommie Bastard" moniker (that I was later to discover is a term of endearment) and praised my cultural awakening. Then I would wander home avoiding the drunks who seemed to stagger on every Australian street at the time. 

 

Back in Thailand - with Aussie dollars that were quite valuable at the time - I settled into a routine of work and Thai study by day, and getting plastered by night. The Blue Fox in Soi Ngam Duplee was our local and a 20 baht tuk-tuk ride to catch happy hour in Patpong was the next stop. There a Kloster was an affordable 25 baht before 9 pm. I only had Singh with Thai meals or when I was going "hardcore"....it reminded me of Carlsberg Special Brew and my own brother's untimely demise.

 

Closing times varied in what Bernard Trink described as "niterie entertainment venues" (a term I use to this day in my Thaivisa translations in a "tip 'o the hat" to the former columnist). But there were always "after hours constellations" and a police owned establishment called The Thermae on Sukhumvit that you entered via the toilets (at both its old and "new" locations). It still runs to this day albeit largely catering to the Japanese market. 

 

Rooster is such an infrequent visitor after the "Great Warning-off of Marriage" (circa 1990) that I don't know if or when it ever closes these days. 

 

Six am at the Thermae was when someone in the old days might have shouted "time, ladies please" - for it was invariably only the hardened and wizened "ladies of the night" who had failed to secure customers who remained. My mate used to call them "jukebox casualties" as they slumped around the machine that would play music from Boney M. and the Eagles' Hotel California among other tracks from the seventies. 

 

The "casualties" would normally only flicker into life, albeit briefly, if the latest hit from Pumpuang Duangjan or Carabao was selected on the jukebox. I sang un-melodiously along to the hits because A) I was drunk and B) I learned most of my Thai tones through endlessly listening to Thai music on cassette tapes that had the lyrics in the vernacular on the paper sleeve. 

 

I even got the odd ripple of applause for renditions of "Made in Thailand" or "Welcome to Thailand" (efforts that went beyond the Thaiglish lines of "Tom, Tom where you go last night, I love Muang Thai, I love Patpong"). 

 

Teaching English door to door to Japanese children meant that my evening entertainment never started before 10 pm and it was usually eleven before I ventured out. My whole life would have been turned up upside down if England's - or heavens forbid Australia's - old opening hours were in place! 

 

Chucking out time varied in the go-go bars but Cheap Charlies like Rooster didn't mind when you had to leave - at least that meant one didn't have to pay a bar fine if a lady had caught your eye. (Ladies drinks were a no-no and a "hangover" from the days of travelling on a tatty shoestring. As Nana Plaza rose to prominence in the 1990's and the ladies got wise to me practicing my Thai and not taking them out I learned to call the time it took for them to lose interest in me as a "nana-second").

 

Later one of Thaksin's puritanical ministers told us we had to be tucked up in bed early. Like countless crackdowns it was an inconvenience, nothing more. Those who think that the crackdown is a modern, "junta" invention need to think again. 

 

My musings on the subject came to mind after the latest reincarnation of Tourism Minister, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, suggested this week that tourist areas in places like Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya should be allowed to open to 4 am.

 

The suggestion has not been received entirely positively. 

 

While some business leaders suggest this will lead to an upsurge of 15-20% in spending others have pointed out that there are few drinking tourists anyway so multiplying zero by a couple of hours will still get zero. Others have complained it will be annoying for those trying to sleep in Pattaya. Well, if I wanted to sleep I wouldn't be anywhere near Soi 6 or Walking Street! 

 

The issue of changing the opening hours remains in the air. 

 

Pipat's suggestion of visa freebies for Indians and Chinese has been extended to the end of April 2020 but the cabinet stopped short of giving away more citing unspecified data that Mr Singh and Mrs Woo would just stay on in Thailand if they could. To be fair, who could blame them for preferring Thailand to India and China!

 

In other news related to my Sunday sermon we were told that the classic hit that used to play in every capital bar in the mid 80's - One Night in Bangkok - was enjoying it's 35th anniversary this week. It's cheeky lyrics (related to chess of all things) resulted in a ban by the broadcasting authority that later became the NBTC, but the bars ignored that.

 

A bar girl once proudly displayed her English skills to me by singing it almost perfectly. Except for the line about 'cloisters' as she boomed out: "You'll find a god in every golden Kloster". Her version was an improvement on the original....

 

In another fun packed week on Thaivisa it was not just bar related stories that piqued interest. The forum went into meltdown as it was announced that smoking was banned at home from Wednesday. The puffing curmudgeons saw red and imagined they would be dobbed in by their wives if they didn't give them more "housekeeping".

 

But of course, just like the absurdity of saying people would be jailed for smoking on the beach, the law is really a means for the authorities to act where second hand smoke has been proven to hurt members of a household, particularly children.

 

I sympathize with this view. Nobody in this day and age should be smoking in confined spaces around others, especially children. I grew up in a house where four elder siblings smoked like chimneys. I was completely hooked by age 9 and only managed to ditch the filthy habit in my late thirties. 

 

There is nothing worse than a reformed smoker but I don't see why I should have to put up with people smoking close to me in 2019. It is an utterly revolting and dangerous habit. The Thai government pays lip service to its eradication because of money and further makes themselves look silly by the aggressive stance on e-cigarettes.

 

But having been inside a snooker hall for the first time in years this week all I could think of was the smell of rancid tobacco. I blamed that on not being able to get a break higher than 20...

 

Road Rage violence caught on tape made Thailand's streets look even deadlier than occasions when brake failure and "lap nai" (micro-sleep) are blamed for the carnage. A taxi driver ended up in a pool of blood when a motorcyclist pulled out a knife while a pick-up driver wielded a sword. Don't tempt fate out there folks - if someone ever baits you drive away and never, ever get out of your car to confront someone. 

 

Standing up for the law this week was a 46 year old Japanese woman called Megumi who studies at Kaset University in Sakon Nakhon. This "stickler for the rules" was shown on video refusing to let a "win" (motorcycle taxi guy) get past on the sidewalk. A man with a family also had to turn back and use the road. 

 

Having lived in Bangkok for nearly all my adult life and being an inveterate biker I thought one poster who I usually disagree with who talked about "live and let live" made some valid points. He was shouted down by the baying masses.

 

I stayed out of this argument as I have a soft spot for the Japanese and their law abiding and thought that Megumi - while risking physical attack - was being brave and was well within her rights to stand her ground. 

 

Hopefully one day all the pedestrians, in Bangkok at least, will be on "skywalks", the cars can stick to the roads and the sidewalks can be converted into bike lanes......

 

I would like to say that Italthai's Premchai the Poacher got his comeuppance this week. I'm afraid that despite being convicted of poaching, illegal gun possession and virtually taking home Luuk Chin Leopard on a stick to his mumsy, he somehow remains free. When is Thailand - after reasonable appeals -  going to have judges that say: Take Him Down!

 

The headlines of all stories about convictions - especially of the rich and famous - have to be taken not with a pinch of salt but a whole Pack of Saxa. The small print after the admissions and bail usually mean that what looks like jail is actually the complete opposite - freedom. 

 

And so to a bumper set of Rooster awards. The "Ask Someone in Power for a Rolex" award goes to the CP Group after the submission for a 290 billion baht expansion plan for U-Tapao airport arrived in Thonburi nine minutes past the deadline. Methinks it may have been better to pay a "win" to drive them on the pavement and face a fine rather than lose such a deal due to the vagaries of Bangkok traffic. 

 

I also would not be surprised that the court ruling has something to do with another DPM having a vested interest in the bidding outcome. 

 

The "PRA(yu)T Award" goes to our esteemed and totally democratic PM Uncle Too who said that he is "like a cotton fruit (santol) - that tastes better when crushed". I'd love to introduce Big Too to my mate Somchai in Buriram who owns a steam roller. 

 

The "Philanthropy in the Face of Adversity" prize goes to the executives at THAI who have been asked to take a pay cut to save the state's much maligned and financially strapped airline. Your gesture in accepting 399,000 baht salary a month instead of 400,000 shows the Thai people what it is to be magnanimous and caring about the country's future.

 

The "Taking the Urine" award goes to the noodle vendor posting on Thai social media who suggested that he pees in the broth to cure his customers' aches and pains. The story created one of the forum's few hilarious and light-hearted threads this week as everyone tried to outdo themselves in punning.

 

I found a small fraction of the pi*s poor wisecracks funny but few of the jokes made me laugh out loud - in fact no pun in ten did. 

 

Finally, the coveted "Typo of the Week" trophy is shared. Chiang Mai News can have the cup for six months after the relatively standard boob of saying that an Icelander who rode his bike into a tow truck was also from Ireland. Confusing the two countries is usual in Thai media spelling and daily life. Ask Austrians and Australians.

 

Even people from Niger have been confused with Nigerians for some unfathomable reason. 

 

The other winner is The Phuket News who reported on the burly tourist from Oslo who caused the death of a British man in the next room who had confronted him with a knife in a dispute over noise. 

 

Both men were with their wives but it was hardly surprising that the Norwegian won the argument.

 

Apparently he had been trained in "marital arts". 

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-08-24

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[GarryP]

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

[DrTuner]

5 hours ago, GarryP said:

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

Makes me wonder just how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

[Samui Bodoh]

13 hours ago, GarryP said:

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

 

7 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Makes me wonder just how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

 

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

 

Respectfully, it sounds like two old guys in rocking chairs reminiscing on the porch. Before someone starts shouting at me, I enjoy a good reminisce as much as the next guy, but by the fifth or sixth time, I want to pull out my colon and strangle myself with it.

 

Perhaps it is time to focus a bit on more current things? At least sometimes? Thai culture in 2019 and beyond? Future challenges for the kingdom? Perhaps some thoughts on the future of the kingdom regionally? Maybe some possible solutions to the mess down south? Current difficulties between the N and NE vs. the 'Kingdom of Bangkok and Surroundings'? What Thailand might look like in 20 years?

 

I enjoy TWTW because it is usually very well written, and as a general rule I am happy to read anything well written. However, the same basic content, no matter how well-written, eventually goes stale.

 

Cheers

 

[PatOngo]

14 hours ago, GarryP said:

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

And who can forget the Niteowl, Bernard Trink who did'nt give a hoot!

[bluesofa]

15 hours ago, GarryP said:

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

They were the days, probably because are early memories for the old gits.

I'm included in that the too btw, the very first hotel I ever stayed at was the called the Privacy Hotel - opposite the Malaysia, so I remember the Blue Fox too - it was on a corner.

 

[Misterwhisper]

9 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Makes me wonder just how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

Count me in. Can't recall how many times I staggered out of the "old" Thermae at 7 a.m. being blinded by the bright sun and trying to avoiding bumping into local schoolchildren on their way to their fine educational establishments, to whom I must've looked like a sort of Frankenstein's monster due to my swaggering gait and sunken, red-rimmed eyes.

 

There also was Buckskin Joe Village, a conglomeration of tiny beer bars tucked away right under the expressway flyover where Sukhumvit turns into Ploenchit Road. I always found it a rather sad place where the only yielding topic of conversation seemed to have been talking about the trains that rumbled past directly behind the row of beer bars every ten minutes or so, mercifully drowning out ceaselessly playing renditions of  "Hotel California". But I suppose Buckskin Joe Village was alright for a brief early-evening visit to warm up before you eventually worked your way up Sukhumvit Road.

 

And if you were truly adventurous (or foolhardy) you'd go to the notorious "local" go-go bar clusters near Klong Toey Port and also along Suthisarn Road. It always seemed like a movie scene when you - a foreigner - walked in: the music stopped and dozens of shady-looking local patrons swiveled around on their bar stools, fixating you for a few seconds before returning to their business. Drinks were incredibly cheap, though.   

[Fred white]

The part about the fighting gets me, watching the news last night there was a video of someone getting punched in the face while in his car. Why would anyone roll his window down sit there and let someone punch him in the face? Me I'm leaving or in my younger days the puncher would have been going for a fast run

[Orton Rd]

Thermae was were I saw 9/11 being played out on the news reports on the tv's- nobody taking any notice. I thought it was a film at first then went back to listen at the Hotel. I put a lot of cash into that juke box not for the western music of course. Is the juke box still there?

[Jane Dough]

56 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Thermae was were I saw 9/11 being played out on the news reports on the tv's- nobody taking any notice. I thought it was a film at first then went back to listen at the Hotel. I put a lot of cash into that juke box not for the western music of course. Is the juke box still there?

I have to be careful not to refer to that dreadful set of tragedies as 7/11.....

 

Rooster

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

I have to be careful not to refer to that dreadful set of tragedies as 7/11.....

Rooster

Yes, it was in my mind for ages after the event, as to what it would have done for 7 Eleven shares if it happened two months earlier.

[Jane Dough]

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

 

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

 

Respectfully, it sounds like two old guys in rocking chairs reminiscing on the porch. Before someone starts shouting at me, I enjoy a good reminisce as much as the next guy, but by the fifth or sixth time, I want to pull out my colon and strangle myself with it.

 

Perhaps it is time to focus a bit on more current things? At least sometimes? Thai culture in 2019 and beyond? Future challenges for the kingdom? Perhaps some thoughts on the future of the kingdom regionally? Maybe some possible solutions to the mess down south? Current difficulties between the N and NE vs. the 'Kingdom of Bangkok and Surroundings'? What Thailand might look like in 20 years?

 

I enjoy TWTW because it is usually very well written, and as a general rule I am happy to read anything well written. However, the same basic content, no matter how well-written, eventually goes stale.

 

Cheers

 

I take your point about the memory lane columns and hope that you can indulge me and keep your colon intact when I get carried away "on the porch". Your suggestions for columns about the future challenges and place of the kingdom are good ones. As a person with very young children growing up in Thailand the future is something that I muse on greatly, in fact far more than I think about the past. Most of my early friends have moved on to other countries or our circumstances have changed so much that we are in frequent touch less and less. 

 

So the future, rather than the past is far more important to me than anything that has gone before. 

 

Thanks for your interest and keep reading the column - there may be some gems to come!

 

Rooster

[itsari]

7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

 

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

 

Respectfully, it sounds like two old guys in rocking chairs reminiscing on the porch. Before someone starts shouting at me, I enjoy a good reminisce as much as the next guy, but by the fifth or sixth time, I want to pull out my colon and strangle myself with it.

 

Perhaps it is time to focus a bit on more current things? At least sometimes? Thai culture in 2019 and beyond? Future challenges for the kingdom? Perhaps some thoughts on the future of the kingdom regionally? Maybe some possible solutions to the mess down south? Current difficulties between the N and NE vs. the 'Kingdom of Bangkok and Surroundings'? What Thailand might look like in 20 years?

 

I enjoy TWTW because it is usually very well written, and as a general rule I am happy to read anything well written. However, the same basic content, no matter how well-written, eventually goes stale.

 

Cheers

Agree with your comments , the man writing lives his life for history.

History can help us understand the future , yet we must look forward , young and old.

 

[sawadee1947]

Boring... Like looking into an empty pot. 

 

[Dolmance]

I just don't get people being so into alcohol.  I mean, why go to the bother of drinking all that swill, when you can get the very same buzz, but without the hangover, or the assault on your liver, or the urge to victimize your loved ones, or to engage in endless, inane circular conversations, and all in a simple little pill?  

 

I ask you, whatever happened to a nice healthy (aside from choking to death on your own vomit) hit of Qualude or Mandrex?    

[Thaifriends]

A doctorate degree (PHD) given on writing thesis on Pub culture. ????????

[Curmudgeonly59]

9 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

Two dozen tens of thousands...

[Curmudgeonly59]

9 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

Agreed, it's less 'Rooster' and more Old Chook. But let's give credit where it's due: the social and political commentary is there, but wisely tends to be buried under a few paragraphs. The mate in Buriram is a good example of that - and probably as close to the winds of press freedom as ThaiVisa dares to sail. So despite preaching to the choir, let's praise the Lord for small mercies, not least of which is the humor...   

[moe666]

1 hour ago, Dolmance said:

I just don't get people being so into alcohol.  I mean, why go to the bother of drinking all that swill, when you can get the very same buzz, but without the hangover, or the assault on your liver, or the urge to victimize your loved ones, or to engage in endless, inane circular conversations, and all in a simple little pill?  

 

I ask you, whatever happened to a nice healthy (aside from choking to death on your own vomit) hit of Qualude or Mandrex?    

There is something called being social alcohol has a reputation for creating a social scene. I have known people who do ludes not a real social bunch

[lamyai3]

On 8/24/2019 at 4:49 PM, rooster59 said:

Later one of Thaksin's puritanical ministers told us we had to be tucked up in bed early.

Who can forget the aptly named Purachai.

[rosst]

23 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

 

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

 

Respectfully, it sounds like two old guys in rocking chairs reminiscing on the porch. Before someone starts shouting at me, I enjoy a good reminisce as much as the next guy, but by the fifth or sixth time, I want to pull out my colon and strangle myself with it.

 

Perhaps it is time to focus a bit on more current things? At least sometimes? Thai culture in 2019 and beyond? Future challenges for the kingdom? Perhaps some thoughts on the future of the kingdom regionally? Maybe some possible solutions to the mess down south? Current difficulties between the N and NE vs. the 'Kingdom of Bangkok and Surroundings'? What Thailand might look like in 20 years?

 

I enjoy TWTW because it is usually very well written, and as a general rule I am happy to read anything well written. However, the same basic content, no matter how well-written, eventually goes stale.

 

Cheers

 

<deleted> off 

[keysersoze276]

On 8/25/2019 at 1:30 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

 

 

As a regular reader of TWTW, I have seen this basic column several times; yes a few of the names and places have changed, but 'back in the 80's' and 'newspaper reporter at 18' and 'the Thermae' and 'drinking late in to the night' and etc etc etc.

 

Respectfully, it sounds like two old guys in rocking chairs reminiscing on the porch. Before someone starts shouting at me, I enjoy a good reminisce as much as the next guy, but by the fifth or sixth time, I want to pull out my colon and strangle myself with it.

 

Perhaps it is time to focus a bit on more current things? At least sometimes? Thai culture in 2019 and beyond? Future challenges for the kingdom? Perhaps some thoughts on the future of the kingdom regionally? Maybe some possible solutions to the mess down south? Current difficulties between the N and NE vs. the 'Kingdom of Bangkok and Surroundings'? What Thailand might look like in 20 years?

 

I enjoy TWTW because it is usually very well written, and as a general rule I am happy to read anything well written. However, the same basic content, no matter how well-written, eventually goes stale.

 

Cheers

 

I seriously never read it after a few times.  It's always the same.  One dork writing about himself with outdated experiences talking about himself in the third person.  And Mrs. Rooster. Super boring every time.  I accidentally clicked it and scrolled down.  I didn't read it, but I would wager that somewhere in this fine piece of literature, he mentions he was out having dinner or shopping or something with his wife.  Yes?

[elgenon]

Personally I find that I am able to spot quality girls much better these days. Fewer raging hormones? More patient? More knowledgeable? But those were great times.

[Jane Dough]

5 hours ago, keysersoze276 said:

I seriously never read it after a few times.  It's always the same.  One dork writing about himself with outdated experiences talking about himself in the third person.  And Mrs. Rooster. Super boring every time.  I accidentally clicked it and scrolled down.  I didn't read it, but I would wager that somewhere in this fine piece of literature, he mentions he was out having dinner or shopping or something with his wife.  Yes?

Your powers of perception are incredible. For someone who doesn't read the column you seem to know everything about it. 

 

However, can I take you up on your bet?

 

Then I might have enough money to take Mrs R out for a McDonald's now and again.

 

Rooster

 

 

 

 

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

Personally I find that I am able to spot quality girls much better these days. Fewer raging hormones? More patient? More knowledgeable? But those were great times.

I always felt that when I didn't want a woman in my life they always arrived. 

 

I also found stubble and not changing my clothes for a couple of days helped. 

 

Rooster

[freebyrd]

On 8/24/2019 at 10:34 PM, DrTuner said:

Makes me wonder just how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

Does anyone give a hoot? - except perhaps Niteowl ????

[Stargeezr]

Thanks for the memories, it was great to see some names of places from the past.

  My first stay in Thailand was at a small hotel near the river and walking distance to the Patpong area. Then after 2 nights, we moved to Nana hotel and explored that part of Bangkok.

  The city has so many temples and some interesting museums to visit, great shopping, and

countless resturaunts to eat at. Talking about the past is talking of Bangkok in its glory days.

  For those who do not want to read about the past, lets me know that they probably did

many foolish activities that they want to fotget. 

Geezer

[sunnyboy2018]

On 8/24/2019 at 11:04 AM, GarryP said:

Memories. Memories. Ngam duplee, Blue Fox, the Malaysia Hotel, Thermae next to the Miami Hotel, Cowboy, Nana, and let's not forget the Grace Hotel. Those were the days, or were they?  

I thought it was the Blue Parrot and the Malaysia hotel in Song Ngam Duplee. Alas The Thermae, referred to as Headquarters in The Killing Smile series novels now closes at midnight. I took a school party to the Croydon Advertiser and I lived on Anjuna Beach in Goa in the 70s and went to Manali for the 'rubbing' season. I do feel as evidenced by comments on TV, that since the days of Trink, expats here are now very mediocre and dull.

[sunnyboy2018]

On 8/24/2019 at 4:34 PM, DrTuner said:

Makes me wonder just how many readers on TVF are left that know anything about them. Maybe two dozen?

SND became a gay and junkie ghetto and the KSR became the go to place.

[elgenon]

On 8/25/2019 at 11:01 PM, Jane Dough said:

I always felt that when I didn't want a woman in my life they always arrived. 

 

I also found stubble and not changing my clothes for a couple of days helped. 

 

Rooster

Do you like French women? Sorry, it's a joke. I am weak and couldn't resist.