Jump to content

Nasiadai

Members
  • Posts

    648
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    39

Everything posted by Nasiadai

  1. I too am in my 8th decade of life. I want to come again - despite significant problems with my high blood pressure and problems with the cardiovascular system. From about mid-November 2022 to the end of March 2023; about 130 days. I can also die in Thailand; that might be better than in cold, dark wintry Germany. My body will be cremated, the ashes will go into an urn and my family can collect the urn and then a burial can take place at a cemetery here in Hamburg. 55555 I plan to spend the first few days after my arrival in Jomtiem in Soi Welcome with two of my Thai friends.
  2. A question for the local expats and those who are currently on the ground. What is the current situation in Pattaya? It is clear that it is the rainy season and Pattaya is often under water. It is also clear that this is the low season. Corona measures have been scaled back in all countries. It is again easy to enter Thailand for several weeks or even months. What is the situation in Pattaya? What about the Chinese tour groups? What about the holidaymakers from India, Pakistan etc.? What about the Koreans and Japanese? Are there any Western holidaymakers on site? Men travelling alone, married couples, smaller groups? What about the old white men of retirement age? Are they still a nuisance, plague? Live from Biergarten Stoffeln in Düsseldorf - it is raining!! long lasting abundant rain - Thank God! 14. September 2022 - 4.50 pm
  3. I'm a little drunk; in the Stoffeln beer garden in Duesseldorf. We are having the hottest summer in Germany since the weather was recorded about 150 years ago. This summer is not only the hottest but also the driest! Especially in the Düsseldorf region we hardly had more than 10 mm of rain in the last 3 months June, July, August. Sunshine every day. My garden, for example, is bone dry! The lawn is brown instead of green. Weather-wise it is better than in Pattaya in the dry season December, January. Today - Friday 26 August - I had contact with some of my German-speaking Thai friends and some girls from Pattaya; e.g. via Facebook and other social media. I am homesick. I want a Som Tam with Kauniau now I want a Chang, a Singha, a bottle of San Miguel Light - or two. San Miguel Light is the Dom Perignon of beers, so to speak; it is therefore a bit more expensive than the other beers. Amidst the families of my Thai friends. The female members praise me because I am polite, entertaining, I make a few polite compliments: "Charly, you are Bakwahn" the wives and daughters of my Thai friends smile and Charly is happy. The Düsseldorf Altbier goes to my head - if my doctors could see me now - the internist and the cardiologist " you are no longer our patient, find other doctors ..." I am coming to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my stroke December 8, 2012 at Rockhouse, Smurf (German Bar) and Phil's Le Pub. (all in Pattaya) This is a threat, not a promise
  4. I'm sitting in the Stoffeln beer garden and drinking fizzy water until I'm sick of it. With my notebook I check my email inbox, write and answer a few emails, read and study the latest news, read a few articles in the German blogs and newspapers and write a few comments. In a moment I'll be back under the garden hose. Wasser marsch! -- Water march! live from Biergarten Stoffeln - Duesseldorf, Juli 19. - 2.45 pm
  5. July 2022 - Terrible heat wave in Europe. It's supposed to get up to 40 degrees in London. Hotter than Bangkok 5555 Topsy-turvy world. Today - 19 July - we have the hottest day of this summer. It's 36 degrees!!! Sunshine, blue skies. From 2pm to 6pm the thermometer rises to 36 degrees. It is hotter in Duesseldorf than in Bangkok 55555 I take the garden hose every hour for a shower. Greetings from the sweltering heat of Düsseldorf.
  6. i'm still here too! Survived several hypertension attacks in the winter. The crucial question is why this board is down. We lack the new blood! the younger generations! These have obviously lost the desire for Bangkok and Pattaya and any sanuk.
  7. if I ever return to Siam again, I would come to a meeting. I always come in the autumn and winter months; that is, in the "high season"; November to early April.
  8. Yangon in March 2017 I am in the park with the Independence Monument in the late afternoon. It is the Mahabandoola Garden. Large parts of the park are already in the shade. This attracts many people The stupa of the Sule Pagoda can be seen in the background. Two young girls are busy with their smartphones - like probably everyone else in the world by now. The stupa of the Sule Pagoda. This pagoda is located in the middle of a traffic island in the heart of the old town. It is more like an "everyday pagoda". Many Buddhist believers come here to perform their religious duties.There is always a lot going on here. This picture was taken by a friendly young man who spent the late afternoon playing his guitar in the park. What an umbrella is good for. It can often be very useful as an umbrella. I t can also be used as a parasol to ward off the blazing hot rays of the sun. Here it is used very expediently as a privacy screen against all too curious glances. Because behind this umbrella sits a pair of very young lovers, smooching quite vigorously and celebrating their first young love. Most men wear this fabric as legwear. The fabric is tied with an elaborate knot below the navel. How it holds is beyond me. I almost bought one of these "trousers". But I can't tie the knot any more, because 2 hands are absolutely necessary for that. The pillar of Burmese independence. The country became independent in 1948. In front of the park is the city hall built by the British. It is an impressive piece of architecture. Note the refined architecture of the building. The arches provide additional sun protection for the rooms that lie behind them. Diagonally opposite the park and the city hall is a Baptist church. Above the entrance a picture of our Lord as a shepherd in the midst of a flock of sheep. Actually a very kitschy picture. Our Lord Jesus Christ really does not deserve that. The clock does not show the correct time. It simply stopped long before. In the reception of my guesthouse. How did the flag get there? If the young Burmese couple who run this guesthouse knew what Germany is like. It is in the process of abolishing itself. Germany will soon no longer exist. The country is cowardly surrendering to mass Islamic immigration. The next flood is coming. That is as certain as the muezzin calling from the minaret. Even then, anyone who opposes it is a right-wing populist (at least), even a Nazi. (I wrote that in 2017. In the last 5 years, hundreds of thousands more have come. Most of them, about 75%, receive social assistance; they do not even think about integrating into the German labour market, e.g. by doing a vocational apprenticeship or training.) Charly in the evening in Rangoon. In my favourite pub. Over water and Myanmar lager. This is where my texts and reports are written. The pub - which is also a restaurant - is a male domain, just like here. Women rarely appear here, and when they do, they are accompanied by their families. The pub is about 100 metres from my guesthouse. Yangon's middle classes frequent here; from the residential quarter of this area; something like that. Temperatures in the evening with the door open, about 28 degrees. I feel comfortable here, almost like at home. In the evening in the "Wellnetz! at Lady Sabrina's or at "Josef's" in the Stoffeln beer garden; two stone's throw from the university. My favourite pubs in Duesseldorf. Greetings from Rangoon - Yangon - Burma, Myanmar - March 2017.
  9. Coroana and my vicious "health condition" - better disease condition - have not allowed travel to SEA since 2020. Like most others, I am sitting at home; there was and is no thought of long-distance travel. Therefore, here is another picture report from March 2017, which I sent to my email list. I have about 30 people on my email list - family, friends, acquaintances - to whom I sent this quickly written picture report. I just wanted to let my loved ones back home in Germany know where I was and what I was up to. is about to continue ... Report to follow shortly.
  10. Mpih and Mekong, thank you for the information. By the way: I know DumSoda quite well; or I should say I knew him well. He had a small guesthouse and a wonderful restaurant directly on the Mekong in Nong Khai; together with his Thai wife. She brought a little Thai daughter into the marriage. DumSoda was very proud of his stepdaughter; I could observe several times how he touchingly took care of the girl. Dumsoda was Australian. When I came to Nong Khai for the first time after many years - I think it was 2015 - he picked me up at the train station at 7am and chauffeured me to his guesthouse. We had arranged to meet beforehand via this board. Unfortunately, Dumsoda passed away a few years ago; in 2019, I think.
  11. Mekong and my penis is hungry stop arguing about this minor issue. I did the girls a favour and photographed them. And I sent them a letter with the pictures through my Burmese friend and driver Mr Maung. Mr. Maung told me via email that the girls and their parents felt great fun and joy because of this letter. Full stop! End of discussion.
  12. YES, good old Washington Square. I discovered Washington Square around 1998 / 1999. That was when I was still working and spent about 4 weeks on holiday in SEA. I always spent a few afternoons at Washington Square during my stay in Bangkok. A plaza with about a dozen pubs that settled there from the late 70s onwards. I still remember the Silverdollar, Texas Lone Star, New Square One Pub, Wild Country Bar, Prince of Wales and a few others. A meeting place for Anglo-American "local expats" as well as a few Vietnam veterans and Anglo long-term holidaymakers; mostly of retirement age, drinking away their pensions ... When you entered these bars, you realised that these pubs breathe history. these pubs can tell endless great stories. During the lunch beer, I quickly got in touch. There were some interesting guys among the Anglo-American guests of Washington Square; unfortunately most of them already deceased. It was always great to talk to them for two or three hours. Among the "Squaronians", the most interesting guy was undoubtedly the Texan Kurt Francis. He spoke English with a broad Texan accent, which I could hardly understand; I usually only understood 50 % of his Texan words, the other 50 % I had to make up from the context. He died shortly before Wshington Square was demolished. He checked out in time, so to speak. The only one who is still active is Richard Diran. I met with Richard Diran more often in Bangkok from 2014 onwards. Now as a pensioner with a lot of time on his hands. To commemorate Washington Square, Richard has painted a picture of the Texas Lone Star; he has immortalised himself in the bottom right. On the far left, wearing a hat, is Kurt Francis; plus other regulars and, of course, the girls. He has tried to capture the atmosphere of this pub. Here is Richard's webpage: http://www.diranart.com/home/ http://www.diranart.com/product-category/paintings/page/2/ memories, sweet memories .... oh my goodness, where has all the time gone?
  13. On another board, an American posted some pictures of bars in the former Washington Square; namely pictures from the legendary "Texas Lone Star Bar". These pictures brought back old memories for me. I have known Washington Square and its bars since about 1998/1999, or so. The Washington Square area has been demolished around 2010 and new has been built. Washington Square was located on Sukumvhit between Soi 22 and Soi 24; real-estate-quality part; and thus it is also a part of the Bangkok real-estate market! In the long run, the higher returns prevail over old-fashioned romanticism and individual wishful thinking. The bars, massage parlours, small shops and restaurants there made too little turnover, yielded too little profit. Then a potent investor comes along and offers a new, rewarding, profitable use. The "new, modern times" have mercilessly wiped out this part of Bangkok. Luxurious hotel complexes, expensive restaurants, exclusive boutiques for the nouveau-rich Asian clientele have come along with them wiping out part of the old, romantic Bangkok. I cannot make WS a restricted area, a sanctuary of my blessed memories. We all together cannot declare Washington Square a UNESCO World Heritage Site and protect it from the wrecking ball. That is the wistful truth.
  14. Some important afterthoughts: I found myself suddenly and unprepared in a somewhat embarrassing or unpleasant situation. I was asked by the two girls - cheerfully yet firmly - to take a few pictures. I was immediately aware of the delicate situation: old man taking pictures of young girls. I hesitated for a moment whether to give in to the girls' request. I saw them there in front of me, posing so happily and at the same time proudly for me and my camera. I recognised the childlike, naïve pride, their dignity, their childlike self-confidence that the two girls radiated. I could not refuse the girls their wish to be photographed; besides, it would have been impolite. Besides, a thought flashed through my mind at the same time: When I am back home, write a report about the trip to the Ayayarwaddy view point and send this report to the email address of my driver Mr. Maung, with whom I had become friends during the days of my stay in Mandalay. He will print out the report in colour with the text and pictures, drive to this park and give the letter to the two girls - or their families who live nearby. I think I'm doing the girls a favour. That's actually what happened some weeks later.
  15. A memory of unforgettable days in Mandalay /Burma in February 2020. Buddha's dust I am in Mandalay, the second largest city in the country. The royal seat of the Burmese kings in the 19th century; about 1.6 million inhabitants. My driver Mr. Maung takes me on his moped from my guesthouse towards the big river Ayayarwaddy, which dominates everything here. Our destination is View Point, a lookout point directly above the riverbank. We are in the middle of the dry season; it hasn't rained for months, everything is dry as dust. We reach the entrance; there is road construction going on, clouds of dust waft through the hot February air of Mandalay. The heavy construction machines cause dust swirls and one is enveloped in thick clouds of dust. My nose is permanently blocked. The earth in front of me is as dry as the Sahara. The viewing platform is a well-kept park of about one hectare, fenced in by a good old, very purposeful chain-link fence. I enter the park, look around, dig out my camera from my backpack and hang it around my neck. It dangles in front of my chest, ready to be grabbed and snapped. After a few steps I spot a young girl sweeping the park. Now in the dry season, many leaves fall from the trees suffering from drought. Therefore, the paths of the park have to be kept clean almost every day. The path makes a small bend and in a few meters I am at my destination, at the point from which there is a magnificent view of the Ayayarwaddy, of its banks and of what is happening, the boats and the ferries. There, two girls in front of me with their brooms, cleaning the small children's playground. When the older of the two spots me, she drops her broom, points at my camera with her outstretched arm and shouts, "Pic! Pic!". Picture, I am asked very insistently to take a few snapshots. As I reach for my camera, this little saucy one immediately strikes a pose like a practised mannequin. She forms a heart with her arms and the outstretched fingers she brings to the centre of her head; belly button free, that too. I'm a bit embarrassed, feeling put in a bit of an awkward situation by this catch-me-off-guard tactic by a maybe 8 or 9 year old girl. Anyway, quick now, seize the moment. I press the shutter a few times in quick succession and everything is in the can. Where do the two girls know this gesture, this symbolism of the heart formed with the hands and the arms? Or this gesture, this sign, the chin placed in the hand opened by the spread thumb and index finger? What does it mean? I don't know. Two cute young teenagers, right? Could be my granddaughters. Live from Mandalay - Burma / Myanmar Enough for one go. Stay tuned There is more to come Charly
  16. Some sweet memories of Walking Street March 2020 just before the Corona measures kicked in and the bars and restaurants closed. Some sweet memories of Walking Street March 2020 just before the Corona measures kicked in and the bars and restaurants closed. Out and about with Khun Earn and Lady PuPea for a few evenings on Walking Street. Evenings and nights full of adventure and experiences. Two young women who master their lives. In the times of Corona, I occasionally helped with a few money transfers to bridge dramatic shortages. Ladies, "I know I’m far away, But there’s not a day, I never think of you. ----> Khun Earn and Lady PuPea At times, I miss you so, Needing you in my arms, Your mesmerizing charms, Always makes me slow."
  17. A few memories - full of wistfulness and melancholy. End of March 2020 - the Thai government's Corona measures take effect. I left Thailand - unscheduled because of Corona - on 30 March 2020. With one of the last flights from Suvarnabhum abroad. I flew with Thai Airways from Suvarnbhum to Brussels; from Brussels with trains to Hamburg. The holiday was originally planned from 2 January 2020 to 2 April 2020. Among other things, I spent 24 days in Burma / Myanmar. They were wonderful Burmese days: Bagan, Mandalay and Yangon: it was overwhelming. March 2020 I spent - partly together with my Thai friends - in Jomtiem in the Soi Welcome in the hotel / guesthouse "Happy Bou". Here are a few pictures I took shortly before the hasty departure. This picture shows the pool table in the back bar area of the "Happy Bou". Covered with a tarpaulin; nobody was allowed to play anymore; the drastic Corona measures at that time ... The pool was also closed. „I’m missing you like crazy I think I’m going mad I simply can’t stop thinking of the special times we had.“ Greetings - Charly
  18. Now in the afternoon at 4 p.m. everything has thawed away again. The temperature rose to about 5 degrees. Thank God. I would like to be on the beach in Jomtiem right now. 30 degrees, sun, beach, sea, swimming until the doctor comes (that's how we say colloquially in German). Dear revered Pattaya. Can we make a deal? Here in the Hamburg area we have snowfall and only 5 degrees during the day and there is a danger of frost at night!!!! Can we make a deal? You send us 8 degrees of warmth and we send you 8 degrees of cold; that would be a successful cold-warmth exchange. You would then have about 24 degrees and our temperatures would be a spring-like 13 degrees. It would be a real win-win situation. Greetings from desperate Charly
  19. The weather is going crazy in Central Europe. A cold snap with cold and moist air masses from the polar region made it snow in northern Germany this morning (31.3.22). In Hamburg there was a small "snow disaster" in the early hours of 31.3.22. Several cm of fresh snow are forecast for central and southern Germany at altitudes above 500 metres. Some pictures: a look out of my kitchen Window: in the morning. A walk along the street. it is snowing.
  20. After lengthy and extensive examinations by a cardiologist, he recommended a new, different medication for me. I am now pinning my hopes on 4 new medications. They are supposed to combat the hypertensive derailments better. Let's wait and see; hope dies last ...
  21. 31 March 2022, 10 a.m. Central European Time. It is springtime, the typical spring flowers have already been blooming in our gardens and parks for a fortnight, such as daffodils, hyacinths, pansies, snowdrops, etc. This morning I look out of my kitchen window and freeze; I can hardly believe my eyes. It is snowing thick snowflakes at about zero degrees. The trees and bushes, the roofs of the houses and parked cars are snowed in. I quickly got my camera and took a few snapshots of this surprise through the kitchen window. In a few minutes I have an appointment with a dentist and a cardiologist. But the heart specialist won't be able to help either ... Going to the dentist is not really worth it at my age and in my condition. It only makes the dentist rich. When I'm back, I'll post a few pictures.
  22. On Saturday 19 March 22 I was out and about in Düsseldorf city centre. I strolled along our famous Königsallee; a mile to see and look and to be seen. Many cafes line the wide pavement; tables and chairs invite you to stay. Here you can enjoy many different coffee specialities: There is the classic brewed coffee, the latte and the espresso, the cappuccino, the creamy delight, the latte macchiato, the mocha and many other coffee specialities. Plus cakes and pieces of cake in all variations, the famous Sacher cake or the Black Forest cherry cake. There is something for every taste and every appetite. Here is a photo taken sometime in summer; a typical scene on Königsallee. I enjoyed the stroll along the "Kö", then along the Hofgarten, an adjacent park, towards the Altstadt - downtown. The city was full of people enjoying the warm spring sunshine and the beautiful weather. Later, I met my friends in one of the trendy cafes that exist in this area there. For three hours we discussed and exchanged ideas about God and the world, about all and sundry. The last few weeks our meetings were always in a depressed mood. Our long-time mutual friend - I have known him for almost 50 years - died 5 weeks ago as a result of his devastating stroke. He is irreplaceable in our discussion group, he was the best of us, his contributions to the discussion were razor sharp, brilliant, knowledgeable and very often very get backed up by philosophical and sociological theories. He was the intellectual among us, he had a doctorate in the humanities. Dear Bernd, I will follow you soon, I will succumb to the constant high blood pressure attacks that have been plaguing me for about 9 months sometime in the near future. In memoriam – our friend Bernd.
  23. On 21 March we had the equinox. The sun is then perpendicular above the equator and then moves to its highest latitude, the Tropic of Cancer, until 21 June. For us in Central Europe, this means that the days now become longer and longer, the nights shorter and the power of the sun increases. Spring begins, the temperatures rise. The pleasant months of the year are here. In our Düsseldorf garden the spring flowers are in bloom, such as snowdrops, daffodils, a few hyacinths. The tulips will soon follow. But the fruit trees like apples and pears and also the currant bushes are not green yet. We have to wait a few more days. The other trees in the wild like lime and oak, beech and chestnut, maple and birch are also not green yet. Here is the still bare lime tree from the Stoffeln beer garden.
  24. to be continued ... Enough for one go. Stay tuned. There is more to come. Anno domini July / August 1970
  25. In the summertime. Since the beginning of March there has been an area of high pressure over southern Scandinavia, which is now shifting towards the Baltic States on 10 March. This high pressure provides sunny, dry but cold weather in Germany. For more than 10 days we have had sub-zero temperatures at night and during the day the temperature rises to 7 to 10 degrees. March, the days become increasingly longer, the nights shorter; the power of the sun increases; slowly the temperatures rise. I go for a walk in the open air; I march through small forests and walk along country lanes. I observe nature, the farmers' fields; in two or three weeks nature will explode, bushes and trees will turn green again within a few days, spring flowers like daffodils, marigoldsdaffodils, pansies will bloom, the wheat and other grain in the fields will germinate and sprout. As I stroll through the woods and fields in the cold wind but sunshine, scarf wrapped around my neck, jacket zipped up, a warming hat on my head, my thoughts begin to wander, they take on a life of their own. Suddenly I am back in 1970; the end of July. Together with a friend, I am on a three-week holiday on the Costa Brava in Spain. We have rented a whitewashed bungalow not far from the kilometre-long sandy beach for a few Spanish pesetas and enjoy the beach life during the day and the lively nightlife at night in this holiday resort popular with German and French tourists. On our blanket next to the bath towels, we always had a transistor radio that provided us with lively pop music from the local station (somewhere in Barcelona). One song was played at least once every hour; it was brand new and the song caught the ear immediately. In the summertime. We all know this song. In the Summertime was written for the British band Mungo Jerry in 1970 by the singer of the band Ray Dorset and is still considered the best-selling summer hit of all time. The music of In the Summertime is catchy with a simple melody that has a strong recognition value. What is special and striking about this song is the sibilant sound that is repeated three times and then followed by a moaning sound: chi - chi chi - aahh --- chi - chi chi - aahh The Banjo player blows over a bulbous wine bottle, much like a jug band, and together with guitarist and singer Ray Dorset's stomp board, clacking upright bass and honky tonk piano, creates a distinctive rhythmic swinging drum-less good-time sound that is a mixture of blues, skiffle and Latin music. The lyrics celebrate the carefree summertime with trips, alcohol, cars and girls and reached the status of a typical summer hit due to its perfect timing. So, dear people, let us once again dive into our youth and sing along loudly full of youthful energy In the summertime chi - chi chi - aahh chi - chi chi - aahh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvUQcnfwUUM
×
×
  • Create New...