Pattaya Life Absolutely Perfect

January 12, 2018 by David Herd

The end to another great year

Pattaya Life Absolutely Perfect

Pattaya Life Absolutely Perfect place to live for a guy like me. Good friends & great restaurants, what more could I want? Plus a reasonably short plane ride to many outstanding locations. Above is the incredible view from my Markland apartment on the 20th floor.

Birthday July 7

Where else but the magic Mantra?

My brother Warren & Greg Clee on the left.

David Rose & Ray Ebzery on the right.

Birthday at the Atlantic bar

George Hoult with Sharyn & Frank, all Aussies.

One of the many reasons we like the Atlantic Bar

Many middle eastern types who don’t spend money & aggravate the girls & customers are turned away, try that in Australia. 🙂

Two more Aussies agree with the sign.

Fred & Bill think its a great idea & so do I.

Are you ready for this?

Best sunsets in the world.

Pattaya Life Absolutely Perfect

There something special about a silhouette.

Mark Yagala & Anne at Horizons.

Mark of course is the guy who knocked off $50,000,000 on Wall St a few years ago, apart from that he is a very nice fellow. 🙂

The sign said “boat for sale”.

The fine print said “needs a little work”. 🙂

I’m sure Mark Yagala could sell it. 🙂

One of my breakfast haunts.

This is the branch at Central Marina shopping mall, I’m also a regular at The Bay on Beach Rd,

Celebrating my birthday

The girls stuck a candle in my croissant. 🙂

Huge renovation at the Amari Hotel.

This work will go on for a couple of years, it’s only 2 blocks from my condo.

From the Amari to the Dusit Thani

Dim Sum is usually at the Peak restaurant but was relocated to the Bay restaurant for a few weeks.

Probably the best dim sum in Pattaya

Follow THIS LINK for some other good restaurants.

Shakariki 432

An excellent authentic Japanese restaurant in 2nd Rd opposite Mike Hotel.

Beach Road empty???

A rare sight in Pattaya, traffic was stopped for a parade.

Dinner at Leckerle (again)

John Hunjadi with cousin Greg & his wife.

Of course I had the pancake. 🙂

Lately when I have dinner here I take away six servings of their pea soup.

Sometimes we wonder why we have problems with our internet at Markland

These highly trained 3BB technicians are quite fastidious as you can see.

Bacco Beach Italian restaurant

Located beside the Glasshouse at Na Jomtien, very good food & right on the beach.

Wood fired Pizzas

The pizza was excellent but I think the Holiday Inn on Beach Rd is better.

Justin & Steve Bates & Patrick Taylor

We went to Chiang Mai for 4 days which was excellent then 8 days in Cambodia which was not so good. Reason being we all caught a dose of the flu which really took the shine off our holiday.

Surf & Turf at Wongamat

A terrific beach side restaurant with very good food.

Surf & Turf hamburger

Guaranteed to fix your appetite.

Geriatrics are us. 🙂

I think the combined ages were 272 years, from the right we have David Herd, Richard (Stingy) Blair, John Hunjadi & David Robertson who is even more Stingy than Stingy. 🙂

Bali Hai wharf.

This was supposed to be completed by October 2017, however given the fact that this is Thailand it will more likely be Xmas 2018.

And so this is Xmas….

Light show at the A-One hotel.

One last Mantra dinner on December 28

Hamish & I had a 20% discount voucher. 🙂

Fabulous food as usual.

Finally on the subject of food which is very dear to my hear.

Fresh prawns & Aussie lamb chops & cutlets from Big C.

Now you can understand why I make the following claim “Pattaya Life Absolutely Perfect.”

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982

Adelaide 1972 Iron Bar Freddy Sydney 2006

Thailand 2008 Gold Coast Babes World trip 2003

Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

Pattaya live webcam

A-One hotel on Beach Road

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.

Brazil Hotels

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Newport peninsular Sydney Home 1984

June 30, 2016 by David Herd

Newport peninsular Sydney is my personal photo history not part of my travel blog.

Newport peninsular Sydney

Newport peninsular Sydney was my home for three years from 1984 to 1987. After becoming engaged to a beautiful Melbourne lady Karen Smith, I purchased a timber home perched on a hill above the Royal Motor Yacht Club. The cost was $128k, and I sold it after our engagement fizzled out 4 years later for $360K. I guess it would be worth nearly 2 million dollars today.

Absolutely gorgeous.

As you can see Karen was a beautiful lady, it took me anther 10 years before I realised I was just not cut out for marriage or long term relationships. There is probably a multitude of reasons why, fear of commitment, too independent etc etc.

Dinner party at Herbert Avenue

We were very happy at Newport 80% of the time, I tried hard to settle down and enjoy life as a couple, every now and then however the “call of the wild” would interrupt our utopia.

Wolf Wottke (with the beard) had been my best friend for a number of years, I left him renting my Drummoyne apartment for a year or so until I got fed up chasing the rent. Consequently I sold it which in hindsight was probably a mistake.

Lots of birds & wildlife

These beautiful Rainbow Lorikeets would visit every day for their snack on the balcony.

Life was very good

I had all the toys, a beautiful Mercedes Sports, a cabin cruiser moored at the yacht club, a liquor store in Sydenham which I was in the process of selling and a good sales job with Canon Australia.

Lion Island

This great photo (excuse the quality) was taken on Lion Island in the Hawksbury River, from left to right we have Graham La Roche aka “Biff”, his girlfriend at the time Mona, Ross Ansell from Melbourne and Karen Smith & I.

Me Tarzan

Ross doing his Tarzan impersonation on Lion Island.

31 Herbert Avenue Newport

About 25 years later around 2012 I paid a visit to Herbert Avenue to see if things had changed. Apart from the colour scheme and far less vegetation nothing much had changed.

Another day on Pittwater

My good friend Tony Murphy and his beautiful wife Inge join Karen & I on my 26 foot cabin cruiser. After 29 years I caught up with Inge in Melbourne in 2014.

My back veranda overlooked Bayview

Here is my good friend Paul Slaughter with two gorgeous girls, on the left is Trish and on the right an old girlfriend of mine Shirley.

Big Tim Bristow, dinner at Herbert Avenue.

Tim Bristow was a friend of mine dating back from the time we met in 1971 when he was on my tail to give me a hiding, but that’s another story just follow THIS LINK. In the 70s just the name Tim Bristow struck fear into the heart of all those who knew him, an enforcer with a reputation of being one of the most brutal street fighters in Australia. Put simply he was legend, a bouncer at the Newport Arms hotel, would be contenders for his crown would travel from all over Sydney to try their luck, many came and all of them were sent packing battered and bruised.

Sydenham Cellars

I sold my liquor store in late 1984 which took the pressure off me. I had been working with Canon for a few months and travelling to Sydenham (a one hour drive each way) at weekends to work in the liquor store. Meanwhile I dug a wine cellar underneath my Newport home and stored a huge amount of wine that I took home from the shop.

Unwins Bridge Road

That’s Madison my beautiful 4 year old German Shepherd who used to diligently guard the store overnight.

Brian Millard on Newport peninsular Sydney

Brian was a boat broker at Newport and a regular drinker at the Newport Arms hotel. He lived just up the road at Bungan Beach before moving to Noosa where I believe he still resides.

Richard on the left and Rob Carnahan

Two very nice guys who were customers of mine when I was with Canon. Their office was opposites the Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay so more often than not we would meet in the pub.

A bunch of my nephews & nieces come to visit.

Amazing seeing these old photos, all of these cute kids now have children of their own.

Sue and John Heatherington

A lovely couple who lived in the next street from us, John also worked at Canon in the computer division.

Malaysia 1985

John & Sue, Karen & I went on a Canon conference to Penang, here we are driving from Penang to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur.

Singapore Xmas 1985

Here we are in Singapore, notice the cigarette. I smoke on and off for most of my life until 2003. Usually 2 or 3 years then I would quit for a similar time before returning to the grip of the nicotine.

Newport peninsular Sydney with Phil Parkinson

Phil has lived most of his life on the Newport peninsular Sydney and I believe still does in 2016. He is the brother of my ex girlfriend Di Parkinson.

Melbourne Cup 1985

Karen & I at the cup with friends including another ex girlfriend Helen Burke who is on the left of the photo. Helen has a vineyard at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsular, I spent a few day there in October 2014 drinking wine with her and her partner Jack.

Oscars Coolangatta 1985

I can’t remember the name of the beautiful dark haired princess, she was the girlfriend of my crazy chiropractor from North Sydney.