Hello from the Five Star Vagabond
March 11, 2014
by David Herd
Comments Off on Visited Seven Super Cities 2014
First stop Hong Kong Seven Super Cities 2014 Visited Seven Super Cities 2014, left in February I traveled over a period of 5 weeks to Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Capetown & Sydney. It may well be my last … Continue reading
February 3, 2014 by David Herd
Thailand David Herd 2012
Thailand David Herd 2012 can easily be explained, I moved from Australia to Thailand October 2011 and had settled in nicely by 2012. I live in Markland in Beach Rd, it’s the building on the right side of the Holiday Inn shown in the photo above.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2012.
I moved to Thailand mainly because I wanted to keep travelling while my health allowed me to, there are huge advantages being closer to all the places I want to visit. Cost of living in Thailand is around 35% of the cost in Australia, plus flights are 50% cheaper because you are much closer to everywhere. ? Consequently I am able to travel to many more places compared to living in Australia. Having said all that, it is & has always been my intention to return to Australia when my travelling is finished, I predict this will happen around 2021.
I have always loved having a good view from my home, Pattaya Bay is without a doubt the best outlook I have ever had in my life.
I love watching the storms roll in over the bay in the wet season.
Dinner at Bernard’s with some friends (plus one enemy) & my brother Warren. Sadly due to a tourist slowdown they closed in 2014. He has now re-opened in Theppraya Rd & has a mini golf course at his restaurant.
Here I am at the beautiful Siam country club, one of the best courses I have ever played on.
My favourite restaurant is the Mantra at the Amari hotel, the Sunday brunch is magnificent.
Lunch with Daryl Evans, Hamish & his lovely (soon to become ex) girlfriend Noi.
Only last week in July 2014 we got the news that Joerg had been arrested in Hong Kong trying to leave for Melbourne with HK $1 million worth of Meth, he is 78 years of age and sadly will probably die in prison. We are all stunned by this terrible news, I have known Joerg for over 30 years.
Good news. after around 15 months Joerg was released.
Friend of 30 years Tony Murphy from Australia has his 70th birthday in Bangkok at Monsoon in Soi 8 Nana.
I guess the only question is “what time can I start having fun”?
Great Japanese food at Chamiko in Soi 3, Pothole was flyblown & causing havoc but behaved a little better when his pole dancer turned up. Larry, Joergen & I just enjoyed the food. Sadly our mate Larry passed away in January 2017 after suffering a major stroke in Thailand.
For over 20 years we had some great times together. We even did a world trip in 1999 which included Carnival in Rio. We miss you old buddy.
A thai guy chatting up a Russian babe on Pattaya beach, you have no chance buddy. 🙂
Wongamat is more upmarket than Pattaya. Follow THIS LINK for some good restaurants.
Well Chris Lockwood aka Dr Evil tore it up but Pothole aka John Martin & I struggled as usual. 🙂
The tiger zoo in Chiang Mai is certainly worth a visit.
I was soaking wet and terrified with the sound of my brothers laughter ringing in my ears.
One of the joys of living in Thailand, I would have at least 4 massages each week which contributes to my great life in 2012 .
Dinner and red wine at Toscana.
For a discounted hotel rate in Pattaya or anywhere in the world, just book through THIS LINK
Fun at the Cherry Bar.
Pattaya has so many super sunsets.
Brad Robins & I at Phoenix in Pattaya, one of the many world class courses in Thailand.
Dinner with a bunch of friends at Rimpa Lapin which overlooks the beach about 20 minutes south of Pattaya.
Another terrific night at the Mantra to celebrate my birthday.
I went to Yangon in Myanmar to play golf for a few days, I found the city so fascinating I only had one game of golf, the rest of the time I went sightseeing. Myanmar certainly was a big part of my great life in 2012.
Dinner with Ken & Justine at Crows Nest.
I travelled to Sydney & the Gold Coast in March and caught up with friends and family.
Magic Monday in Pattaya, started with my 25 minute walk down the beach to have breakfast at the Sportmans pub, sausage, eggs, baked beans and a bottle of water, back home for a short nap before a terrific 1 hour foot , back & shoulder massage before meeting Lazza for Salmon Sashimi & Shanghai dumplings at Big C shopping mall. Then a large Latte at Coffee World followed by a quiet afternoon at home with my million $ view and Mr Kindle.
Four or five Jack Daniels at the Cherry bar at 6pm, then on to Toscana on Beach road for dinner, BBQ Quail with boiled potatoes, 2 glasses of Chianti, finishing with Profiteer rolls with Amaretto ice cream on the side. Total cost for the day 2,200 Baht, 44 Quid or $69 AUD, priceless. Notice how I resisted the urge to use that irritating American cliché of “do the math”?
November 2016 & the AUD had shrunk almost 20%, B2.200 is now $82.
March 2021 & the story gets worse, b2,200 is now $92 AUD, we now realise how good we had it back in 2012.
Thanks for visiting Great life Thailand David Herd 2012 photo blog.
Please check out some of the most popular photo blogs below.
Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.
The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.
The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Sutus Court is a great budget hotel right i the heart of one of Pattaya’s main bar areas, just use THIS LINK for a terrific room rate. 420/100 Moo 9 Soi Buakhao.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
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January 1, 2014 by David Herd
Exciting life Pattaya David Herd
My exciting life Pattaya David Herd 2013 was a total pleasure. January started with a bang when I spent NYE in Sydney, then mid January four English guys came to sample the delights of life in Thailand so naturally I played tour guide for them.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2013.
The guys all came from around Wiltshire and naturally loved Pattaya.
The year started with a bang, literally. I spent NYE 2012 at my old condo block in Wrights Rd Drummoyne which is a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. It reminded me of my great escape on NYE 1981. Another nostalgic moment was a visit to Crescent ave Newport to visit the home of the late Tim Bristow where his long time partner Sue Ellis still lives, I of course also lived in Newport for 3 years from 1984 before moving to the Gold Coast.
January 1st I drove to Port Macquarie via Ettalong (where my family spent their annual holidays when I was young), to spend a few days with my brother Warren then on to the Gold Coast to catch up with friends.
In June I flew to England to visit my friend Alan who is a guest of Her Majesty, then his brother Bill Austin, Dave Catchpole & I took a road trip to Bruges & Versailles before winding up in Brighton on the south coast of England.
Every morning I walk along the & my camera is always with me, and I am always on the lookout for interesting shots, this is one of my favourites.
Here is my brother Warren & his friend Chris from Port Macquarie on the NSW coast with Dennis Freemongrel, Dennis & I were friends for 30 years before he turned nasty on me. 🙂 The lovely lady is Om who sadly passed away far too young, I miss her smiling face & often think about her.
One of the main reasons I love living here in Pattaya is the wonderful view from my Condo. Check out my webcam here.
Great sunsets from the Beach Club, happy hour drinks every day at 5 pm.
Always a couple of lovely Russian girls at the Beach Club.
Mike Baird is a well know character in Pattaya, he creates cartoons about Pattaya life for the local press.
Friends from Australia visit Pattaya, this is one of my favourite photos. The big guy is Nathan Corbett a Muay Thai world champion many times over.
Here I am with PR girl Amy at the fabulous Mantra for another birthday on 7-7-2013.
Without a doubt AGODA is the best online Hotel booking site.
Lots of disruption this year with major roadworks on Beach Road.
Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November. Loi means ‘to float’, while krathong refers to the (usually) lotus-shaped container which floats on the water. Krathonghas no other meaning in Thai besides decorative floats, so Loi Krathong is very hard to translate, requiring a word describing what a Krathong looks like such as Floating Crown, Floating Boat, Floating Decoration. The traditional krathong are made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant.
Froggy’s was one of our favourite restaurants in Pattaya, sadly it is now closed.
A good club in Soi Diamond off Walking St run by two Aussie guys Robbie & Hamish, NEWS FLASH 30 September 2014, they just sold the club to some Russians.
My exciting life in Pattaya includes a visit to Walking St every couple of months whether I want to or not. 😈 To receive my latest posts please follow me on TwitterFollow @David_Herd
Every day they line up in the thousands to take a boat ride to the islands.
Koh Chang is Thailand’s 2nd largest island, about a 3 hour drive from Pattaya.
It was about to rain so I offered this nice lady 100 baht to take me 500 meters to the hotel, small price to pay to stay dry.
Koh Larn is only a 30 minute ferry ride from Pattaya.
Fantastic fresh seafood.
Bangkok Go-Go Bars can be found in three areas, Patpong, Soi Cowboy & Nana Plaza. Patpong is where it all started many years ago. It has even been filmed in in a James Bond chase-sequence. Patpong has long since lost it’s title of number one for sexy shows Go-Go bars. Soi Cowboy & Nana Plaza now reign supreme.
I have known John for 15 years, without a doubt he provides me with an enormous amount of entertainment, he would have to be the most dysfunctional person I have ever known. 😆
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My exciting life in 2013 has been full of action, travel & fun, in January I was in Australia catching up with family & friends. In June I travelled to Bruges, Versailles, Brighton & London, rather than duplicate photos from those trips just click on the links to see my posts.
The Cherry bar is my local haunt on the corner of 2nd road & Soi 3, you will find me there 3about 4 times a week from 6.30 pm. The photo shows 3 guys from Australia, Lenny, Mervyn & my brother Warren, the lovely Thai lady is Merv’s new wife.
Sadly Merv & Lenny both passed away in early 2016.
Plenty of trouble here.
Pothole & I with our Jack Daniel’s at the Cherry Bar, we pay $10 to have our own bottle behind the bar, what a life. 😎
This is Aoy, a Beautiful young Thai Lady who used to work at the Cherry bar, she used to occasionally drop in to visit me, however she has now found herself a sponsor. 😎
Enjoying Xmas lunch at the Mantra with a big group of friends.
For a discounted hotel rate in Pattaya just book through THIS LINK
This great song by Glen Frey sums up where I am right now.
Thanks for visiting my Exciting life Pattaya David Herd photo blog.
Check out the other Thailand hotspots below.
Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.
The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.
The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Sutus Court is a great budget hotel right i the heart of one of Pattaya’s main bar areas, just use THIS LINK for a terrific room rate. 420/100 Moo 9 Soi Buakhao.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
For a flashback to 2006 just click here.
Bangkok floating market
This gallery contains 3 photos
December 25, 2013 by David Herd
Canon Camera Love Travelling. When you grow up in Australia you soon realise that every other country in the world is beyond the sea. Somewhere in my teenage years I was bitten by the travel bug, I have been to 50 countries and 600 cities. Here is a collection of my favourite travel photos in no particular order, however the one above just happens to be my number one favourite.
Here is Bobby Darren with the appropriate song.
Perhaps the worlds best beach for people watching. Since my first trip there in January 1999, I returned another 7 times, with the last time being October 2010.
As soon as I raised my camera they struck a pose, did not have to be asked to do it, the spirit of Rio
W48th st & 8th ave Manhattan there is a nice French bistro, Pigalle. New York is my favorite city, it seems like six different cities molded together, there is such an exciting diversified collection of people and places make sure you give yourself enough time to soak up the atmosphere.
Tell us what you think Billy.
Canon Camera Love Travelling Lisbon is recognised as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. It is one of the major economic centers on the continent, with a growing financial sector and the largest/second largest container port on Europe’s Atlantic coast.
Koh Chang is the 2nd largest Thai island after Phuket. Stay in a bungalow on the beach and enjoy the terrific Thai food. In many ways Koh Chang reminds me of Koh Samui 15 years ago. I used to love Koh Samui in the 90′s but the more it developed the more the attraction faded.
Valparaiso is by the sea in Chile about 100 kilometres from Santiago. I bet this fantastic house has been photographed millions of times, perched on the edge of a sheer drop you would not want to be a sleep walker. This is one of the escalators (Ascensores) connecting the harbor area to the hills, and the building is the restaurant Las Brujas.
The Gold Coast has many world class golf courses, it was the home of Adam Scott who is currently number 2 in the world.
The fabulous art deco towers are unique examples of this form of architecture, they along the eight and a half mile stretch of Beach. All told there are twenty five towers guarding those who use the beach. At once functional and decorative, they contribute beautifully to the overall aesthetic of this Floridian resort city.
Carnival in Rio is awesome, it is really the greatest show on Earth. I was at the Sambadrome in 1999 and 2005, then I celebrated Carnival at a Bloco in Ipanema in 2008. I was way up in the bleachers in 1999 so in 2005 I paid about $500 to have a front row seat. Therefore I have been fortunate enough to have experienced Carnival from 3 different aspects.
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I went to Nha Trang twice in 2004 and hope to return July 2014.
Once a year, when the great Rio De Janeiro carnival takes place, the coastal town Paraty which is located 250 km south west to Rio, holds a unique carnival. In Paraty’s Mud Carnival – (Portuguese: Bloco da lama) the costumes that its participants wear is black sticky mud which is smeared on their bodies.
The carnival preserves the ancient local tradition when the Indians smeared their bodies with black mud for medical reasons, and held ritual ceremonies in order to bring cure to the ill. In contrary to Rio carnival where the participants wear marvellous coloured costumes, in Paraty carnival the fiesta is based mostly on the simplicity of the junction between men and nature.
So much wonderful seafood on sale at a city nowhere near the ocean.
Salzburg is the fourth largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg’s “Old Town” has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps.
Florence is a beautiful city, I have been there 3 or 4 times and can’t wait to visit again. I saw a lot of the city and surrounding areas thanks to my good friend Francesca.
I wake up every morning to this wonderful view of Pattaya beach.
Bookmark my webcam and check it out.
One of the truly great European cities, this is their famous red light district.
Brussels is a great city for food.
HCMC or Saigon is a truly wonderful experience, I was there in 2015 and millions of $$$$ are being spent to transform this amazing metropolis.
From as early as 1980 I knew I would Have Camera Love Travelling around the world & often to Thailand, but I never thought I would live there permanently. However in October 2011 I left Australia and moved to Thailand. This is probably the final stage in my wonderful life.
For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.
To receive my latest posts please follow me on Twitter Follow @David_Herd Click here to see one of my posts on Brazil.
In Monte Carlo you can smell the money
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June 26, 2013
by David Herd
Comments Off on David Herd, here’s my bio.
My name is David Herd, I have a passport, camera, kindle, & I really love to travel. David Herd, here’s my bio. David Herd, I have been living in Thailand for the last 8 years. Where has the time gone? … Continue reading
