We Were Up Bright And Early,

first thing along to the Immigration Office on Soi 5 in Jomtien, the building next to it is really coming along now, Diana had to do her 30 day extension visa, we were in and out in about an hour, it was very busy, I guess mostly with people wanting to extend their holiday,

as we were in the area we went to Diana's favorite beach front restaurant, the Surf Kitchen,

2 ice coffees for us and spaghetti bolognese for Diana,

and a prawn cocktail for me, on the way back we stopped off to buy some chicken for the evening meal at the covered market at the top of Soi 5,

they also sell flowers there,

one of the 4 isles,

fresh mushrooms for tonight's meal,

lotus,

and lots of fresh vegetables,

another bar has started just past 'The Bar With No Name' the D H Bar (Mama'Da & Heiggi), only another 6 or 7 to go, be quick if you want one!

the new building next to the bars is coming on a pace, I just hope it has soundproof windows, when all of those bars have the volume turned up to 10+ sleepless nights are guaranteed!

Diana was still getting on with the shopping, fresh fruit next,

on the way back we called into see Mick and Mass in their new home, along the way was one of those mobile bars,

then time to hit the town,

Diana wore one of her Christmas presents,

Walking Street was absolutely packed,

we called in to see Grieg in Sweethearts, but before that we noticed another glass dance bar above Lollypop a go-go, it seemed very popular with the crowd,

after Sweet hearts we made our way to Champions and were later joined by Big Jim, as it got towards midnight we made our way home,

Diana said she wanted to watch the New Tricks series again, so we started with series 1, she really loves singing along with the theme tune, especially the bit that goes 'it doesn't matter if your old and grey!' then off to bed.

What Has The United Arab Emirates Got Lots Of And Not Enough Of?

sunlight and electricity, you might think that a country that has so much sunlight, that needs energy would go for solar panels, but as I have repeatedly said they are are so costly and inefficient, so the United Arab Emirates has gone the only way forward, nuclear, pity other countries and the tree huggers do not realise it, the good news is that this $20 billion contract for four nuclear plants is part of a “fleet of power plants” the U.A.E. wants to build, it will be South Korea’s first export of atomic plants, shares in Korea Electric Power Corp. surged after it led a group of bidders that won, some other counties that agree that nuclear is the way to go that are in talks with Korea Electric are Turkey who wants to build two nuclear reactors near the Black Sea, it said in a statement, the state-run utility is competing for eight more orders, from countries including Jordan, India and China, the Korea Electric-led group will design, build and help operate four 1,400-megawatt nuclear power units in the U.A.E. that will be completed from 2017 to 2020.

Do Not Mess With Fish 84,

and you thought fish were fun!

'Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing goldfish whose beating hearts can be seen through translucent scales and skin', er, no, the fish pictured above in the article have been available in the aquatic trade for as long back as I can remember, one of the claims is that the fish has translucent scales, this has been documented for years, just ask any fish keepers you know what is the difference is between a goldfish and a shubunkin? the answer is that a goldfish with translucent scales is called a shubunkin, been around for years, a very old story indeed,

but I suspect the fish pictured in the article is not the same fish that the researchers have produced, it is just a stock picture of a fan tailed calico shubunkin, it is a pity that the writer did not go to the trouble to check for a picture of the fish or write a disclaimer that this is not the same fish he was making the article about, very fishy!

Yesterday Was A Quite Day For Us,

but the evening was busy!

the market at Bali Hai was busy,

well I just had to strike the pose as well!

this is the view from our table where we were going to watch the fireworks, this time though I was going to use the table as a support, I was hoping that the light shining towards us would be switched off when the display began, I was hoping that the fireworks would then be seen through the leaves of the palm tree,

the view towards the beer tent, Diana ordered me a small beer, I was a bit surprised when this one arrived,

but quite happy as well!

the dispenser is quite neat, the central column is filled with ice keeping the beer surrounding it cool, better than having ice cubes in the glass as it does not water down the beer as they melt,

then the fireworks began,

unfortunately the light facing us was not turned off,

so I did not get the effect I was hoping for,

but never the less it was a great show,

sitting this close the noise could be felt as well as heard,

all of these shots were taken with exactly the same camera settings as the night before,

except I was using the table as a support rather than holding the camera with both hands,

all to soon it was over,

just near to where we were sitting a group again starting a demonstration of a new take on pogo sticks as we used to call them,

a bit difficult to see, but roughly in the center of the picture one of the performers is really high in the air, one of them also performed a backward mid-air flip, courage indeed!

by now the show had started with a few singing groups first,

and dance routines,

the artists were interviewed, the good news was that you could also see all that was happening on the big screen behind the stage,

then time for Diana to eat, these are boiled and I think pickled eggs,

I had a quick walk to the restroom, on the way back I paused by the bottle stall, yesterday we saw a lucky lady win a cuddly toy, you have a 'fishing' rod with a ring on it, you have to return the bottle to an upright position, easy! not so, look at the base of the stand, they are sloping, so it is not as easy as it first appears, good fun though,

the back of one of the cocktail vans, they cruise around complete with a mini bar, chairs and sound system, then set up where the next happening will be, great idea,

I know one should not laugh at the misfortune of others, but just in front of our table the ground went down a little, it looks worse in the picture, it was just an inch, two at the most, I guess where a coconut tree had been many years ago, well dispite trying not to look when people walked by and watching the surprise on their faces as the ground was just that bit lower than they had imagined, it was almost impossible not to, it caught many unwary travellers, it was so hard not to smile, but all was lost when a couple of tourist stubbled into it once, turned around and then did exactly the same thing again!

by now the groups had started their performances, people were flooding into the arena, strange thing was that nobody was waving or jumping up and down, from what I could see not even tapping their toes, when I was in my teens we used to go to the Justin Halls in West Wickham or perhaps Hang Your Hat Under The Olive Tree in South Croydon, we used to jump and shout, join in with the group etc, in other words crowd participation, or making a complete fool of yourself, depending on your perspective, I mentioned this to Diana, who said, 'perhaps the crowd will clap when they finish', well they did (finish) and they did not (clap), even after the second group finished we could not hear a single person clapping or cheering, strange,

by now I had a new best friend, I wanted to take it home! it was hell trying to get the last drop out, the things I do for a beer!

Diana then wanted to try to win a prize as we started to walk back to the motorcycle taxi's, but was not lucky,

past a few of the food stalls,

Diana was tempted,

to buy a wig! 199 baht, any color you like,

and of course we could not go past a shoe shop with out stopping,

we slowly made our way towards Walking Street about midnight,

we had seen Captain Jack Sparrow setting up his singing glasses (glasses with water in them, each one with a little more than the previous one, to produce different notes), as we went to see the fireworks a few hours earlier, try as I might I could not produce a single note, he on the other hand made it look so easy, he was playing Handel's Water Music which is often paired with the Music for the Royal fireworks, (water in the glasses, fireworks), which was also written for outdoor performances, no I am kidding! what ever it was he was playing he was more than a little skilled,

by now Walking Street was full, then for us home to bed.