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Love aboard a Live aboard

airport restaurant lineup buzzer also reads out table number
Expensive, mediocre food at the airport
This is one treat
You have to be a smart dresser to get in

OK, so it’s time to get off the plane in Phuket and prepare for the journey, a live aboard dive trip south of Phuket along the coast islands of the Andaman sea

Seeing Tik after 1 year
I stay at the hotel owned by friends I used to work with in Phuket. They also own the boat I will be on the next day.
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For hotel in Patong, before you depart, you can book at their hotel Andaman House. their dive shop and swimming pool are there as well.

Clever bureaucrats figured a way to put, not only a signal light but also a conduit sticking out with wires going to the signal light blocking the walkway. This is definitely one idea.
The new pier in Chalong Bay is very long
And there is the boat I used to work on for eight years
Tik (boat owner and close friend) is next to me and at the end is the captain, a good reunion after 22 years
The cook is in the middle
The cabins are very nice with private bathrooms And air conditioning
The other customers will soon arrive
We are about ready to cast off
But then a boat docks behind us and the anchor destroys the dive platform frame
While they settle the damage issue amicably I look around
A nighttime pleasure cruise offloads passengers
A very noisy evening cruise
Another evening cruise disembarks
My room is ready. Actually, it’s the best room on the boat. I have connections. It’s on the lower deck in front with the window looking out the front.

I should note here that the lower deck is more comfortable than the upper deck cabins since the boat rolling sensation is much less on the lower deck. So the crew sleeps on the upper deck. OK, so now we depart. Talk to you later.

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Motorbike fixes and dog satisfaction

start with something like this, not expensive

my options were to buy something online as a cushion for my motorcycle seat or I could have made something by myself or I could have gone to the city and found someone to make something for me. I decided to make my own.

After taking out some filling duct tape works just fine to seal it up.

The next step is to waterproof it with a recycled garbage bag. Duct tape melds with the garbage bag plastic and cannot be undone.
Place it under the seat cover and voila !

Now for the dogs!

It is nice to see dogs trained to stay in their designated guarding places
Inside the store this dog knows where to sit so he doesn’t activate the door opener sensor
Did I mention pigs? Well this pig has a name but I forgot. He’s wandering around here most days
I like to just take a walk and smell the roses but these flowers are nice to look at as well
Roel, Didier, Jim and I are discussing the price of rice in Timbuktu.
Repeat the name of this school 10 times quickly
ready for a swim
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Bocce in Paradise

Playing in the sand

When I was growing up I would often go to the city (San Francisco). Sometimes I will go to fisherman’s wharf area and there was a place where the old Italian men were playing bocce. I didn’t know anything about the game but I was intrigued. Now I’m in Thailand and because of a good friend I am able to play the game several times a week and learn some Italian as well. At the end of this blog you can see a video, explaining how the games played and showing some very good and some very poor players. It’s all in good fun.

Pedro’s overhand throw
Giuseppe’s (professore) precision throw.
Elizabeth’s (the destroyer) stance.
Inspecting the results. the one who is farthest throws next.

Adding to the video below, each person gets 3 bocce balls so the maximum score on each toss is 3 (the closest to the red target ball).

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Bush and bin Laden on a rocket ship Chiang Rai

in Chiang Rai there is a temple called the white temple. It was designed not only for religious purposes but also as a collection of Buddhist ideas and symbolism to enchant people visiting the complex. It was designed by a very famous artist in Thailand who even created a painting of George Bush Junior with Osama bin Laden on a rocket going somewhere into outer space so you know this guy has quite a sense of……… Something. I won’t go into detail on that temple itself since that can be better done by a couple links I have here. I want to show you the photos.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun

These are tortured souls
Thousands of small medallions
Medallions up close
This is just to prove I was actually there. No, I was not photoshopped in
you can see clearly why they call it the white temple
always adding new sculptures
even the bathrooms are very ornate. I’m sure you don’t believe these are the bathrooms but they are
See!
some symbolism I recognized
my wish was, “I wish I had this wishing well”. It’s a real moneymaker
even the caution markers contain symbolisms
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Loy Krathong – the festival of lanterns in Chiang Mai

I will let Wikipedia explain the festival

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Krathong

Roy and Cody
Held on the full moon
3 kings memorial
At Tulou Restaurant
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Another, another day in paradise

When you get a flat…
You bring out your spare tires
It’s good to have your embroidered name on your cap just so you don’t forget it
My Advanced team
An afternoon treat
Self service gas. Insert coins and get what you need
7 PM is too early for customers
The entertainment bus
Bananas out my window
Coffee from the Local plantation
This hotel is a little rundown due to Covid
Coffee in the jungle
The front of the coffee shop
Starry starry night
Looks like a comedy but it actually happened, big nail
The bungalow owner brought me some fresh shrimp
This pillow seems to make the ride so much softer
A good thing for the buildings below this water tower there are no earthquakes in Thailand
I it’s really a good idea to take your face mask out of your swimming suit before going in the ocean. I should have remembered that
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Another day in paradise

A few days ago I was talking to a good friend about our situation in this pandemic whatever it is. They said to me, “do you realize how many people would love to be in your situation, on an island in Southeast Asia where you’re able to travel around and do a lot of interesting things?“ My response was, “how many people are there in the world?“ They responded, “about 7 billion“. I said, “ then I guess there would be about 7 billion people who would love to be in my situation“. Here are some recent photos and situation’s.

Would you drink this?
All of these Duk duk waiting for business to come back to normal.
A small shrine in a cubby hole on the street
The hotel is obviously owned by Chinese Thai
Hey small hotel shrine
And meanwhile, back at the ranch
A good lesson
I doubt the manufactures understand the implications of this brand name
John is waiting around on the beach for some cheese
Very nice menu
Walking in the narrow and dark alleys of Chinatown in Bangkok I was a little concerned about confronting some rats along the way. I did not expect this

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Downtown! Everything waits for you

Gold ornaments leading to the gold clock tower
Now these two are really into motorcycle riding
The green green Grass of home. Actually, it’s rice
Seems to be a popular place
You have to eat these buffalo wings with your hands so…..
Trying out someone else’s motorcycle
You can pick your own strawberries and buy your very own bottle of wine as well
I took a break off the side off the road and while I was stretching this fellow rode by on a bike and asked me a few questions. I said I was a little tired so I wanted to rest and he was offering me his home to take a rest in
Planted palms. Makes me feel as though I am in a tropical place (and I am)
Nice view up ahead
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Oh my Buddha!

Driving on the road to Chiang Rai, out of my left eye I spied a giant Buddha sitting just off the road so of course I had to investigate.

It’s actually a monk who might have become a Buddha.
Good naming
Of course I had to walk inside
It pays to look up
It’s nice to have a greeters as you climb up the steps
The snake up Close
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A day in the life of an idle traveler

The sticker now resides In front of a coffee shop
A sticker mysteriously appears on a friends motorcycle. Look at the way he stores his zoris and helmet and also his squid fishing hook near the starter
A caution for a tourist area in Thailand For those who go to bars
This very sweet and ripe pineapple was harvested a few days before I bought it. Fruit in paradise
Gelato afternoon at Mauro’s restaurant
This pig is just wandering around the neighborhood getting free food and fattening up
A beer with my Dutch uncle from Rotterdam
Danger on the beach
I needed my childhood friend to keep me company on my travels
Wonderful Turkish food
More good Turkish food
A good use of small horsepower
John’s domain is the beach. By the way, his nickname is “Scarface”
Paul finally got his Lamborghini but we had to wait a half hour for a cup of coffee to be made
An old workhorse is still going strong
OK, working on this website is exhausting so I need to take a break with my Toscanello
On this photo blog I am also posting the video. 100% cute
You see! 100% cute
Always something exciting to see on the local news page
My buddy John puts up with the noise but he really doesn’t enjoy it
In the countryside so many people have coconut trees in their yard so they just use this long stick with a knife on the end to cut them down. There have been many comments about monkeys harvesting coconuts. That may happen in some places but it is just so much cheaper and easier to use this method. After they harvest them they pile them up on the road and a truck comes by to them pick up. I don’t know if they get paid by the kilo or by number of Coconuts but they get something from the people who pick up the coconuts