Today's song is replaced by Dean Barretts take on Soi Cowboy. Worth watching!
Today is a bit of a work day for Shaun as he still needs to work for a living and needs to do some prep for his classes which resume next week. However, tonight we will return to Soi Cowboy for a little bit of RnR. The first item on my agenda is to head back to Country Road to discover just how bad I was 2 nights ago.
After some music and perhaps a game of pool I plan to head out to Shark bar to say hello to Apple and then the Doll House to say hello to a couple of friends there. Then, I plan to explore some of the smaller bars at Cowboy that I have never set foot in. Shaun and I have agreed to stay together tonight. If we enter a bar together, then we leave the bar together. Hopefully this will ensure we get back home together.
Of course a night out at Soi Cowboy is not complete without a final drink at Crazy House and a bit of Chocolate. Chocolate is a bar girl that I have known for 3 years.
That's it for today. Tomorrow's post should be more entertaining.
Today's song is a video ... the Trailer from Hangover 2.
Well, if you watched Hangover 2 which happens in Bangkok, you have a pretty good idea what happened to Shaun and I last night (Tuesday). My wing man woke up just outside of Insanity Night Club about 4:30 am. He thinks he had a good time but really can not remember. I was not much help as I ended up flying solo about midnight when we got separated somewhere between Black Pagoda and King Castle, a katoey bar.
The night started off innocently around 3 pm when Shaun and I were playing pool at Country Road on Soi Cowboy. We had a jug or 2 of Singha beer and Thavorn and Jaidan joined us for a couple of hours. Around about 5 ish, Shaun, Thavorn, and Jaidan took a taxi back to our apartment as Jaidan was getting antsy and Shaun was not dressed for a night out on the town.
Left to my own devices, I drank some more beers, shot some pool with some of the bar girls, met a new British bloke from Manchester and between the two of us we entertained a significant number of the staff at Country Road. After about 2 hours one of the older bar ladies exclaimed, 'Jimmy, I not know you so much fun ... you usually quiet!'. Yes, I am, when I am out with Thavorn and Jaidan. However ...
Around about 8 pm Shaun shows up and we order some vodkas and red bull. At this point, my wing man decides we need another wing person and he bar fines a young lady to keep us company. We also decide to head off on the MRT (subway) to the infamous Pat Pong bar district. We ended up bar hopping and for some reason, in the second bar, Shaun bids adieu to our wing person (not sure why) but that put us on the slippery slope into our Hangover 2 experience.
Around about midnight we got separated and never connected again because Shaun did not have a sim card in his phone. I ended up playing pool for money in an outdoor pool area and ended up getting schooled by a very pretty bar girl who took pity on me by buying more beer, which I definitely did not need and my game went downhill from there.
My lady friend and I ended up in a katoey bar discussing which lady boy had the most goods. About 1:30 am I started looking for Shaun and could not find him so I took a taxi home hoping Shaun was being well looked after. Shaun did make it home about 5 am (having walked from Insanity) with a Hangover 2 lapse of memory. The good news is no tattoos :-).
Whatever happened, I can guarantee it was not boring but tonight will be a rest and reflect night and tomorrow is another day in the City of Angels.
Today's song is: Woodstock by Crosby, Stills, and Nash .. why? Still coolest happening yet.
Quiet day for reflection today. Yesterday we met up with an American at Rumors Bar and he insisted on buying drinks for us so we had a few vodka and orange juices ... perhaps one too many.
Today I am waiting for Jaidan to fall asleep for his daily nap and when he wakes up I plan to head back to Rumors for a bit of the tail that bit us. That should be around 4 pm and then I am meeting up at Denny's (not the USA Dennys but a have a beer and chat with a lady bar) on the ground floor of the Holiday Inn building. I doubt if it has any association with the Holiday Inn chain other than renting some retail space.
Denny's used to have some real ambiance when it was located on Soi 22 across from the Regent Hotel but it was demolished to make way for another condo/shopping center complex. The new Dennys is still trying to establish a new identity but apart from the great roasted salted peanuts that arrive with your cold draft, they are still lacking.
This seems to be an ongoing trend as bars with a history and character are being knocked down in the name of urban progress. Perhaps that is why I will take Shaun out for a wild night in PatPong as it is and was the original naughty bar area in Bangkok. It is important to grab a slice of history while you still can. Two more sleeps and Shaun arrives. He is catching a taxi to the aforementioned Holiday Inn where I will meet him and walk about 50 meters to Rumors bar which is open 24/7. I can only think the owner is well connected for it to stay open all the time.
Stay logged in for the adventures of Jimmy and his wing man Shaun as they explore all the naughty areas of Bangkok over the next week.
Today's song is: Don't Stop the Party ... Black Eyed Peas
I love the live art scene in Bangkok. I have included typical tats that you are likely to encounter in the local bars. Shaun and I will be visiting the Black Pagoda in PatPong on Wednesday and we hope to bump into this awesome piece of art.
Many girls go for the religious symbols
Color adds significantly to the cost but the results are worth it IMHO
Great art and ass :-)
Not sure I like the full coverage on the arms
Ditto for the permanent shirt look
Next to showing pics of their children, Thai girls like to show their tattoos. You are not likely to see this art on the street as most Thai ladies dress quite conservatively while out in public (for example Thai women never go bra-less). Yet another reason to take a walk on the wild side and visit Soi Cowboy, Nana, or PatPong.
Thavorn, Jaidan, and I headed off early today to Government Complex #1 - Immigration and Visas. We traveled by GrabTaxi and arrived in about 30 minutes. I had the appropriate form filled out to extend my retirement visa by another year. I also had all the appropriate documentation including a letter from the Canadian Embassy stating I made over 65,000 Baht a month. I had my passport photo and the 4 pages of my passport photocopied. I also had the 1,900 Baht fee.
With form 7 in hand I bypass the help desk (because by now I know the drill) and head for the ladies with the numbered queue vouchers. It is weird that in the LOS (Land of Smiles), there are no smiles in this department. So, I too, put on my poker face and state I am here to renew mt retirement visa. She asks me something in Thai and I nod my head (not understanding a word of it) and I receive my queue number. Shit, #48 - it will be touch and go if I make it out before their noon hour shut down. Yes, they all go to lunch at the same time and shut the works down for an hour.
I suggest to Thavorn we head downstairs for a coffee and so we do. Downstairs is a large open area (not as large as upstairs which has to be the equivalent of 8 soccer fields) and so Jaidan gets to run and we get to sip our lattes in peace. After I finish my coffee I head upstairs to see what number they are at and lo and behold, it is #22. I do the math and sure enough, I may or not make the noon hour feeding period.
I won't hold you in suspense, after 2 hours, I was the last person processed just before 12 noon. I thought great, but I then realized we would be taking a taxi home during the noon hour rush hour and sure enough, the 30 minute ride from this morning was well over an hour at noon hour. You can run, but you can't hide. You get used to waiting in traffic in Bangkok.
Jaidan slept all the way back so no nap for Jimmy or Thavorn this afternoon. Time for another coffee if I am going to read to Jaidan this afternoon without nodding off.
So, the good news is that I am good to go for another year in the City of Angels. 4 days until Shaun arrives. Yippee Kai Yah!!
Today's song is: I Gotta Feelin .. The Black Eyed Peas
and Snoop Dog and Pussycat Dolls
Both great sings played live in dance bars of Bangkok.
I really have to get to the gym! Mirrors don't lie! I did some research and the Sheraton rand Sukhumvit has a 3 month promotion that will turn my one pack back into a six pack and drop 6 kilos to 89 kilos. Swimming just does not do it for me. I have to run.
Two running songs to get me back in the running mode.
and Get Your Motor Runnin ... great song and better movie
Tonight Thavorn, Jaidan, and I are heading out to Wine Connection to celebrate her birthday. Thavorn usually chooses the Lamb Shank and tonight I will opt for the Lasagna. Jaidan eats off our plates. Wine Connection is good as they have high chairs and 750 baht bottle of decent wine (Fat Bastard for example). Most Thai restaurants do not.
Five days until my wing man Shaun arrives from China and we do the Hangover 3 run in Bangkok.
Today is the day that Thavorn and I celebrate our birthdays. My birthday is the 23rd and Thavorn's is the 24th so we always celebrate at midnight. We are both year of the Tiger and perhaps that is why we found each other. Who knows for sure but weirder things have happened.
I asked Thavorn what she wanted for her birthday and in typical Thai fashion she replied, 'Up to you Jimmy'. After lots of prodding we decided she has everything she wants and needs at this moment in her life so I think we will do something frivolous and go get her belly button pierced to celebrate her dropping down below 50 kgs which was quite a feat as Jaidan ballooned her up to 69 kilos. She has worked out with her hoop for an hour a day to get back to where she likes to be.
I can't stress too much how Thavorn is one of a kind. I think I will just posts some pics of her from the past 3 years.
Learning to play pool
Just playing ....
Getting better at pool ... still needs to get lower
