The political machinations continue as the bomb plot, the new airport opening and the election date all feature regularly in the news. Wacky Tacky has actually been travelling abroad, confident there will not be a coup in his absence although the general feeling is that, that could still happen. Now there is a new election commission the favourite date for the election is November 19 th but that could still be put back. Sunday 24 th December springs to mind a good day for no Alcohol! I can't imagine a Christmas day morning without a hangover! I digress. The new airport will open on the September 28 th and that is now final. What happens then is anybodies guess.
The next conundrum for many ex-pats is how serious are new visa rules announced recently. They have made it clear that monthly visa runners will be allowed to do it only twice before they must go away for ninety days. It also seems that nobody will be allowed more than 3 entries (visa on arrival) in six months, even if each stay is for only a couple of days. Clearly coming to LOS every weekend to party is now verboten (without getting a visa) not to mention the problems for all those mia nois whose financial support will no longer be able to come here every few weeks! Unsurprisingly there is much rumour and speculation without a lot of hard facts. The Thai Visa web board is running fast and furious with predictions of the end of LOS as we know it. As ever it looks like a catch all attitude will only catch only a few, probably those it does not intend to catch. And those it intends to stop will find plenty of ways around the problem! But what will probably stop the Immigrations master plan will be when the tourist figures start suffering!

After my last night in the city I am not sure the Thai's should not ban all farangs!
First in a bar that I would describe as rugger b-----rs bar an unhappy punter threw a glass near an annoying tart. Okay so it was aimed at the floor and maybe said female deserved all she got: BUT anybody who throws a glass should be shown the door: opening it is an option.
Then at the witching hour, 1 pm, a white couple were trying to wheel two baby strollers down soi 4 screwing up the traffic. I suppose this is emancipation or something like it: one could not go out so they both had to go out and the kids went too. Bet the kids do not grow up wanting to be an engine driver!

In Pattaya last week I trundled into a gogo to see the new manager in that location. Sitting at the bar, with the new manager, I ordered a Johnnie Walker and received something that was a brown liquid but tasted little like anything that had come from Scotland . When I ordered another I suggested that the barmen use an alternative bottle, one that had not yet been opened. He argued for about half a sentence before doing what I suggested. That Whisky had definitely come from Scotland . I had a final drink before leaving and I noticed it also came out of the new bottle. My friend the new manager got the message and said he would sort it out later.
So the next spot I went to was the Model Club. This time I received a glass with something that was certainly not the Johnnie Walker ordered; it was sweet. Later I realised it was Drambuie! When I complained a couple of service girls smelt it and said it was not Johnnie Walker and took it back. The drink it was replaced with had barely been near enough to a bottle to turn the water light brown. I took one sip and realised there was virtually no alcohol of any sort in the glass and the barmen was looking very smug. I paid and left leaving no tip. No doubt the barmen thought he was so clever. I am not surprised the Model Club is on the blocks. Let us hope if anybody buys the place the first thing they do is fire all the idiots behind the bar! But until they go the place is best avoided!

If, I may now step gently on some toes? I am hearing nothing but bad about the new visa services at the British Embassy. The new service was brought in to speed things up and improve the service. The general view is that it has done exactly the opposite. Firstly a fast track visa, by somebody who has already had one visa, used to take 3 days now it takes 4. Then there is an extra charge of 490 Baht on all visas, a charge for the new dubious service!
Recently a friend, who has successfully applied for visas for his wife and children several times before, was spitting blood after his initial entry was rejected as he had not filled in the occupation of his son. His son is not yet three years old! The next problem was the photo was deemed wrong as it was against a light (cream) background as specified in the Embassy website but he was told it had to be a white background. As his wife and son were in Nongkai and he was in Bangkok , putting in the applications, this was no laughing matter. In the end he called the Embassy who said light, not white, background was needed and then with some difficulty persuaded the brain dead at the new service to process his application with that photo. But had he been less determined and less experienced he would have had to return to Nongkai to get new photos!
I know visas are a tricky subject but as I understand it the sole reasons for granting a visa should be based on the belief that the person, being granted the visa, will return and not work in the UK . To many Brits, whose homeland appears to have been overrun by dubious asylum seekers and economic refugees, being told they can not take a wife and child back home for a holiday is very much a red rag to a bull. It is no wonder the Embassy gets such stick, but inefficiency and petty beaurocracy do not help any PR exercise the Embassy might mount. Does it really matter what a girl with no education and a below the breadline income does to better herself! It is easy to moralise when you have received a nice state education and higher education all paid for by somebody else. But why deprive the grand parents of a child the right to see that child?
Mind you, anybody who does not get a visa does have much more rights of appeal than the Embassy would have you believe! Just get the Grand Parents MP on the job!
(Quite clearly I have no intention of applying for a visa for anybody! Although the only time I did, in another part of the World, the Embassy could not have been more helpful.)

I received the following tirade,
Just thought I would drop you a line/critique of this bar (see end) in Soi Cowboy. Saturday night (9 September) a friend was in town from Sri Ratcha and we decided to head to Soi Cowboy.  I had been in there recently and had a very enjoyable time.  However, this night we decided to go in because of the neon sign that said “pool tables.”
There are two pool tables located upstairs along with 3 damsels dancing on the glass floor.  The first thing I noticed was how disgustingly dirty the place was (once my eves adjusted to the darkness; the management should provide night vision goggles as attested to by the fact most patrons who need the toilets couldn't find the door.) The next thing I noticed was that there was no service provided upstairs other than an elderly lady who did not speak either English or Thai (or maybe she was deaf but I don't believe that as we had one of the dancing damsels try to order a Heineken for us to no avail.)  Eventually a service lady came up and we ordered 2 Heineken and one tiger (we got two tigers and one Heineken.) Then we needed change for the pool table, which the service lady had to go and get from downstairs (another 10-15 minutes down the tube which I used to clean off one table and deposit the garbage on the floor.) Finally had the balls racked and I got to break, scratched on the break, as there was no tip on the cue, which I failed to notice in the dim/absent light.  Examined a number of cues and finally found one with a tip (5 with no tips.) Finished the game and since there was no service lady around I tried to rack the balls but couldn't find the slots to put the money in cause I couldn't see finally used my lighter to try and find the slots but the lady had come back.
Had a sip of beer and noticed it was kind of warm and it was then that I realized it was quite hot upstairs and then it hit me-there was no air-con for the upstairs other than what wafts up the spiral staircase.  Perhaps this explains why the three damsels were only moving their feet and not their body; too damn hot to move.  Finally finished our 5 games and by now tepid beer.  Asked for the check bin, which came with surprising speed.  Got my change and the service lady seemed somewhat shocked that I didn't leave a tip.  Actually ran down the road to another pool table bar equipped with aircon, pool cues with tips, friendly service ladies.
My advice to punters is to avoid the upstairs at all costs and bring a flashlight to find the loo.  The upstairs is a dump (look in the dictionary for the word dump and you will see a picture of the top floor of this bar).  The downstairs is excellent though with many fine and friendly lasses that aren't too mercenary.
My advice to the owners is:
Get some lights upstairs.
Stick an aircon unit upstairs.
Hire a service person to actually work upstairs.
Hire a few more dancers for the glass floor work-look at Baccara and how popular (i.e. profitable) the upstairs is for them.  Open your eyes and maybe you will learn something
Fix the goddamn cues!
Now the bar name removed is Shebas , but there is only one problem there are no pool tables at Shebas . Then there is the spiral staircase: which Shebas does not have!! The sender of this email was clearly an unhappy bunny, he has written an almighty spiel. So I can safely assume he has not only told me but several others of his problems at a bar in Soi Cowboy. But he has got the wrong name. This is Deja Vu . So now you know as well as me how totally obtuse stories get out: it is simple, people cannot read! Mind you I am concerned about the writers eyesight. Downstairs is excellent he says; I thought it reminded me of a place in the shadow of an old London power station.
PS. I just received another email and the writer has realised his mistake and told me where it was (before I accused another)!

Plagiarism is the greatest compliment, so I am very unhappy nobody has done this to me but my fellow commentator; he on all things social and immoral, me on just the immoral bits, has. Stickman has attracted so many readers to become almost a cult in his own bathtime and now to prove that he is truly that cult figure along comes Notstickman ( notstickmanbangkok.com ). Little gentle piss taking it may be but in the end it is the greatest compliment!

This just appealed to my sense of humour
A Swiss man caught speeding on a Canadian highway has blamed his actions on the absence of goats on the roads. A traffic officer's notes said the Swiss driver had said he was taking advantage "of the ability to go faster without risking hitting a goat." Canadian police spokesman Joel Doiron said he had never found a goat on the highways of eastern Ontario in his 20 years of service. "Nobody's ever used the lack of goats here as an excuse for speeding," Mr Doiron told the AFP news agency.

We are about to produce the book "Good pubs of Thailand 2007." We have sent out questionnaires to the pubs we know, but we know we have missed some. If you run a pub, or know somebody who does run a pub, please make certain we know about you. This applies to the whole of Thailand . In the final book we will only be including the top 100, or so pubs.
Included will be those places in Thailand that we judge to be a pub in the true sense. To a certain extent that requires an English speaking management, however a good bar, a proper name and an allegiance to the pub concept are essential.
If you have not received a questionnaire please email us on pubs@thailandpubs.com. We reserve the right to decide who will be included in the final publication.

The next meeting of The Bangkok Wine Society , will be held at Le Pre Grill Soi 4, Soi Langsuan on Tuesday October 3rd. There will be a change in format with the wine tasting, of French wines , followed by an optional dinner. For Details see website.

Sam Worthington went Harvey, the latest Thonglor restaurant, and Herve Frerard latest restaurant Le Beaulieu

We have been having problems with our server in Orlando but the problems should now be fixed. However access to some of our sites was briefly restricted and there may have been problems with webmail.

The answer to last weeks cryptic clue was "Wilkinson Sword."

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