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“Why not record events in my extraordinary life” I thought to myself? Even if it is of little or no interest to most people, I get great satisfaction recalling the wonderful experiences I have enjoyed over the years.
I guess what I’m really saying is, this section is for me, but I’m happy to share or just let it float around in Cyber space, “Que Sera Sera”
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history. It seemed like Groundhog day. 🙂
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
Surfers Paradise Party Animals, 1992 was just another year of fun & games on the beautiful Gold Coast. I was certainly among the main party hosts, I had a great home for entertaining & I loved have lots of beautiful girls around.
Some of the usual suspects.
Naturally when there were pretty girls around the competition between the guys was fierce. 🙂
A rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. 🙂
I guess there is no need to say I was enjoying life to the max.
Occasionally some of the girls would relax in the spa.
Naturally I always had my camera ready.
These girls loved nature
And Dr Evil was always there with the camera. 🙂
Roslyn & Jill looking good
I remember spending some “quality time” with both these lovely ladies.
Jill & Sharon
Another “daily double” I’m happy to say, (that just means I bonked them both. 🙂 )we saw a show that night at Jupiters casino, I think it was Barry Humphries.
Andre Buzek dentist extraordinaire, (I don’t think so)
Sadly my great mate lost his life soon after in a car crash in Cuba.
Girl of the year Kelly Davis
I was lucky enough to spend a few months on & off with this lovely lady.
Here we are on New Years Eve
Naturally Harley is locked & loaded once again. 🙂
My favoute song from 1992
Big Steve Bristow (son of Tim) & Greg Johnston.
Now in 2018 Greg lives in Pattaya & runs a bar on the dark side, & Steve still lives on the Gold Coast.
The late great Paul Allen, a Surfers Paradise icon.
Talking about icons…………
Daryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, those bikes however all belonged to Mick Doohan the living legend who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. The guy in the middle is a legend in his own lunch time, my good mate Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe”.
Talking about legends…
Here I am giving my boat a good wash. 🙂
A good looking bunch of babes
It was Xmas day 1992 and we all had a great lunch at my home in 106 Upton St Bundall. My main squeeze at the time was Kelly 2nd from the right, & my occasional squeeze was Jill standing beside her. 🙂
Another night another dinner at Upton St
Harley & his gay flatmate naturally came dressed in their army outfits. 🙂 Tat’s Kandice on the left & Nicola on the right.
That night produced one of my favourite photos
This is a true classic.
Another classic from 1992
Lyn Goss & Roslyn provided the glamour & Tony Murphy & I contributed with a truck load of style. 🙂
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.
We went to Chiang Mai for 4 days which was excellent then 8 days in Cambodiawhich was not so good. Reason being we all caught a dose of the flu which really took the shine off our holiday.
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.”
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 Burkewho 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.
Newport peninsular Sydney
Prior to buying my cabin cruiser I had this little run-about, it was a lot of fun, do you like the name?
Another guy from my rogues gallery.
Danny Rose one of Adelaide’s true characters, we had a day of the water, you can see “Stamped Urgent” in the background.
Beautiful Karen Smith
Certainly my life on the Newport peninsular Sydney revolved around lots of good friends and my beautiful fiancee Karen. My thanks to her for being the most important part of my life for those great years.
Thanks also to you for visiting my Newport peninsular Sydney photo blog.
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
FiveStarVagabond favourite photos taken over many years by me, David Herd. To many people they will be nothing special, however they are very special indeed to me. Sometimes it’s the image itself that appeals & other times it’s the memory of where I was at the time.
Where else but New York City, it was a cold February night on the corner of 8th & W 48th st, I was about to have dinner in a terrific French Brasserie called Pigalle.
My number one Songkran photo taken in Pattaya. Each year a massive water fight is held to commemorate the new year. The downside is the hundreds of lives that are lost on the roads during the Seven days of madness.
I was in HCMC aka Saigonwhen approached by this little girl begging for money. I knew she would give it to her mother waiting nearby, & possibly the mother would have to hand it over to local gangsters. Consequently I filled a plate of food which she devoured rather quickly.
Contemplating life beyond 2000 after just completing a huge around the world trip with Tony Murphy & John Martin aka Pothole. The fabulous trip began in November 1999 in Los Angeles then on to Miami, Mexico City, Bolivia, San Paulo, Rio di Janeiro, Salavador, Paris, Bangkok & finishing in Koh Samui.
Consequently I really expected 2000 to be a bit of a let down, after all how do you recover after a two month trip like that one?
The photo above was in Sydney for Pothole’s 50th birthday on February 1st. That’s our good mate Paul Slaughter with the glasses & the lovely Kathy who was Pothole’s girlfriend at the time. He was punching way above his weight as you can clearly see. 🙂
Sadly I was as well.
Punching above my weight also with an Italian princess I met & fell for in Koh Samui.
What a smile
Her name was Barbara Manelli, however to me she will always be “Gypsy”.
Consequently in March I headed to Florence to see if there was any future pursuing this gorgeous creature. I soon found out that a brief tropical island fling was soon forgotten back in Italy. 🙂
Italy to Australia via Bangkok
I figured there was only one way to fix a broken heart & that was a week in Bangkok on the way home. 🙂
The usual suspects, John Moon, Jim Bell aka “HO HO”, & John “Secrets” Sinclair.
John Sinclair aka Secrets at Main Beach.
Here is John with one of the gorgeous Main Beach waitresses.
The dreaded black list.
Over the years Secrets has always had a black list of people who have been guilty of some indiscretion of which he has not approved of. I have been on & off the list a few times over the years, now in February 2017 I am, with quite a few others, most certainly firmly back on the list. Consequently to commemorate this honour I designed a T shirt & Pothole has arranged to have them printed. 🙂
Owned & run by Paul Allen a larger than life Gold Coast character, passed away far to young in 1013.
Celebrated my birthday at the Boardroom in Southport.
Always a few sexy girls at the Boardroom which was owned & run by Malcolm Pearce.
Always a lot of fun
As you can clearly see I was being totally dominated here. 🙂
Skye from Launceston
What a knockout, here we are having lunch at Melbas.
Let’s go back to Italy
A flashback to March when my pursuit of the beautiful Gypsy crashed & burned. No that’s not really true, after Samui it never really got off the ground. 🙂
San Gimignano
We did all the tourist things then I headed south to Rome to hook up with my friend Paul McNeil & Scooter Boy.
The Spanish Steps in Rome
I hired a car & the 3 of us had a great road trip through Naples, Sorrento, Positano all the way down to Reggio in Southern Italy, the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria.
Artist at work in Positano.
We covered a lot of territory including Isle of Capri, this quickly became my favourite part of Italy until 2010 when I discovered the Cinque Terre. 🙂
Xmas lunch
Tradition dictated we would gather at Melbas each year for a Xmas lunch, here we have Jim “Ho Ho” Bell, John “Secrets” Sinclair, David Herd & Tony Murphy.
Best ever Melbas barmaid
Her name is Aurora & we all fell in love with her. 🙂
Family & friends come to visit
My brother Warren & his wife Kerry with my cute little niece Laura. On the left is Chris Lockwood & his partner in happier times.
My best friend Ziggy
We had lots of fun together, plus he was an excellent guard dog.
At the end of the day 2000 certainly was another good year.
From the top left is Malvina from Paris, Rush from Thailand, & Kerry & Simone from Australia.
Thanks for visiting my Contemplating life beyond 2000 photo blog.
Pattaya life FiveStarVagabond 2017 photo blog covers the first 6 months of this year. No big travel plans except for visiting Australia in March & a couple of weekends in Bangkok.
This beautiful shot of North Pattaya includes the building where I live, just before the Holiday Inn.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from the 1st half of 2017.
Dave Elder & Hamish Elton
Two friends & I ding at Signature Steak & Seafood, sadly due to the slow down in Pattaya they closed their on January 31st.
Excellent steak at Signature.
I will be so sad to see this restaurant close.
Jim’s Hamburgers
A great casual restaurant for craft beer & hamburgers. From the left we have Matt, Jonathon, Hamish, Davis & Wayne.
Say no more, these are the best burgers in Pattaya.
They come in two sizes. small at B195 or large around B300.
Cloud over Koh Larn
Throughout my life I have lived in many places with a great view, however none come close to Pattaya bay.
And when you talk about sunsets
In my opinion the best I have ever seen are those from Markland my Pattaya condo.
Another special treat in Pattaya
Four or 5 times a week I enjoy reading my Kindle while having an hour foot massage for B260 including 30% tip.
Two Aussie mates from the Gold Coast.
Nick Partridge rarely smiles in a photo. big Steve Reade always does. 🙂
We lost a great character & friend on January 23.
Larry Krausz, a friend for around 30 years suffered a major stroke on October 28. After 2 months in the Bangkok Pattaya hospital on life support he was transported to Australia by a hospital Leer jet, thanks to his Medibank travel insurance. After a further month his life support was removed & he passed away peacefully.
I wrote the following eulogy & posted it on his Facebook page.
Today we lost Lazzorghini, a one off Austrian designed party machine who thought too much over indulgence was never enough. Originally designed as a concept model it was soon discovered it was for too complex to ever be mass produced.
Powered by a big heart & steered through life’s many hazards by a gentle soul.
A rather over-engineered unit that needed regular maintenance after many long happy journeys through smoked filled dens of iniquity that continually promoted sex, drugs & rock &roll.
Often sat idle for weeks on end during the repair process before exploding back on the group one circuit, where it would function non stop for days, providing of course that adequate lubrication was orally administered.
Adored by a huge number of fans, family & friends our special Lazzorghini will be sadly missed.
RIP little buddy.
Larry’s friends
We gathered at the Atlantic bar to raise a glass & remember out great friend, RIP.
Pattaya life FiveStarVagabond 2017 at Starbucks
Here is one of the new Starbucks on Beach Rd near Soi 6, the other one is at Big C. I often have coffee & a ham & cheese croissant for breakfast.
Drinks at the Hilton Sky Bar.
With friends Wayne Crocker & Hamish Elton.
One of my favourite photos.
Taken on February 10th 2017 from in front of Markland Condo in North Pattaya.
My favourite time is early in the evening before the crowd arrives.
My new Skechers
You can buy them at the Skechers shop in Central Festival for B4,500, ($128 USD) or do what I do, purchase online from Lazada for B2,100. ($60 USD). 🙂
My favourite selfie
An overcast Friday morning in Pattaya did not stop this princess from going to the beach to take 100 selfies.
Taken March 24 2017.
It doesn’t get much better than this. 🙂
The other exciting event in March apart from the above was my 2 week trip to Australia which included a road trip from Surfers Paradise to Sydney stopping at Kingscliff, Yamba, Port Macquarie, Forster-Tuncurry, Gosford & Coogee. Also dropped into Maroubra which is a place I have not seen for over 50 years. Just click on the links to see my photo blogs.
Big Viv Kennelly & team
I took them to Leckerle in Naklua Soi 33 & they loved it. 🙂
Sabai Wing Soi 1, 3 swimming pools and nice rooms, 100 meters from BigC, great value at only $23 usd per night. I live in the high-rise in the background, Markland. For a great room rate book here.
You certainly don’t have to look far to find two of the roughest heads in Pattaya, there is a frightening similarity in looks between Sean Tucker& Pothole Martin, PH naturally plays the role of the evil twin.
Hamish goes to Koh Chang
A day swimming with the elephants.
Here is his lovely girlfriend Nitt.
She looks damn good on an elephant. 🙂
Dual birthday party
Matt & Jonathon & celebrated their 38th birthday one day apart in April. They celebrated with friends at a BBQ at Matt’s home in the back blockes of North Pattaya.
If Matt doesn’t stop reminding me about the Swans dismal 0/6 start to the season as opposed to the Crows undefeated 6/0, we probably won’t be able to continue being friends. 🙂 🙂 🙂
A terrific night
With lots of nice people & some gorgeous girls.
Talking about gorgeous girls
Here they are.
The star of the show.
There is never a dull moment when Bow has had a few drinks.
Matt pleading with Bow to behave. 🙂
Matt Harkness trying to convinceAlexius Alexaka Bow to behave herself at the party. The chances she will follow his instructions are very slim indeed.
I always ask them to remove the fried potato & tomato, this is what remains for B135 or $5aud.
Very strange sight.
Initially it looked like the boats were churning up the sand at low tide. Then I saw online a comment that it was an unusual bloom of plankton or similar.
Beach Road 8.am
I walk along Beach Rd for about 25 minutes each morning, have breakfast, read the Bangkok Post & head home.
This is not a travel blog just my personal photo collection from the 1970s & 80s, check it out if you wish.
Arabella St Longueville
Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney
Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney, it was early 1976 after a dramatic final few months living in Melbourne, I resigned from Sanyo Office Machines, moved to Arabella St Longueville in Sydney & started a new job as NSW sales manager with Wilkins Servis washing machines. I rented a beautiful waterfront home with the view you see above & a garage for my red E-Type Jag.
Little did I realise the next 11 years would be the most successful money making decade of my life, along with an almost non stop party regime and included luxury waterfront apartments, Jaguars & Mercedes plus a Bertram fly bridge cruiser parked outside my condo, & last but not least a red Doberman called Baxter.
This was actually 1975
However it features my friends & my beloved Jag in Beechworth Victoria, how about the hair & the bell bottom jeans? 🙂
Looking back the 1970s was probably my most exciting decade.
Carol Aboud
It didn’t take me long to get tied up with Carol who had a hair dressing salon in Double Bay. She also had a husband & 4 children but these minor complications did not stop us from having a lot of fun over the next 4 years.
There is a very funny story involving Carol on another blog, just follow THIS LINK.
My beautiful mother celebrating my birthday on the 7-7-77
What a great date for my birthday to fall on. When friends see these old photos is it any wonder they suggest I looked like a Miami drug dealer? 🙂
My Dad Arthur & my 2 best friends Wolf Wottke & Ron Walsh.
My two buddies surprised me by flying over from Adelaide without prior warning. That was a fabulous birthday present.
Carol’s birthday November 1978.
Check out the hair colour & the gold chains.
New Years Eve 1978
Apologies for the fuzzy photo, but you get the picture. 🙂
French Champagne of course
From memory we were at the Castle Cove house of my friend Peter H & the booze was really flowing.
Oh Carol, I am but a fool…..
Neil Sedaka "Oh Carol"
Peter Luciano RIP
Peter & his wife in 1979, he was Carol’s brother and sadly passed away a year or two later.
December 1978
We hired a houseboat for a weekend cruise on Hawksbury River. Two Peters, yours truly & Rob Symonds.
Talking about boats
This was my Bertram 25 moored right outside my condo at 72 Wrights Rd Drummoyne. I enjoyed six great years here & threw so many parties that I became the most hated person in the building.
St Georges Crescent Drummoyne
Just around the corner from my condo I purchased another waterfront apartment, so now I owned 2 condos & a terrace house in Glebe, I was on a roll. Working now as NSW Sales Manager for Remington Typewriters before moving to the word processing division. Enjoyed the job but hated the back stabbers, & there were plenty of them.
Selling all my Sydney properties over the years was one of my worst ever decisions, I should have kept at least one.
After the Jaguar XJ6 I upgraded to a white Mercedes Sports, life was good.
In my eyes this was one of the prettiest cars ever built.
View from my condo
With my Bertram moored right out front.
Another party at Wrights Rd
This gorgeous redhead called Beryl worked with Carol in the Double Bay salon, she had just had a boob job and I couldn’t help but admire them. 🙂
While we are on the subject of boobs….
You could never accuse Carol of being shy. 🙂
And the winner is Angie
Her name was Angela Savic, she was the girlfriend of my best friend Wolf. Without a doubt she had the best body out of all the girls we knew. Our very own Greek Goddess. 🙂
The music in the 70s produced many of my all time favourite songs, here are 3 of those.
Neale, David, Ian, Bryan & Warren, it’s a shame the photo is such poor quality.
Jenny Dale
Jenny with the red eyes was another nice girl from the late 70s who wandered into my life occasionally. 🙂
Let’s finish the year off properly
Well 1979 turned out to be a very tumultuous year, Remington gave me the flick and I joined the company who had the agency for Qyx the new word processor taking the world by storm. I did a marketing course with Exxon in Philadelphia and topped the class, there were 25 Americans in the course with me the only foreigner. Back to Australia to launch the product nationally but only lasted a few months before having a blowup with the company directors who showed me the door. I was never good at taking instructions from fools. 🙂
Now in 2023 at the ripe old age of 79, I guessing I just may have been a rebel without a cause. 🙂
To top off the year finally Carol & I parted company after 4 terrific years painting the town, I suspect I may have been going through a mid life crisis. 🙂 🙂
Consequently I took 3 months off, spent lots of time on my boat, travelled to Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand & Bali then opened my very own liquor store in March 1980.
Sydenham Cellars
Yippee, cheap booze for me. 🙂
Opening night
My friend Debbie Don was part of the celebration. More photos on THIS LINK.
The 1970s were probably the most interesting & dramatic of my life. 1972 saw me return to Sydney after a 2 year stint in Melbourne, only to see me head to Adelaide for two years as State manager for Sanyo, then back to Melbourne for two years with Sanyo before returning to Sydney in 1976.
Made some money, broke some hearts & had a lot of fun.
I was very good at my job, Sales & Marketing in the cut throat business equipment industry was a tough gig, but on reflection & being & brutally honest, my arrogant autocratic management style that worked well in the 60s & 70s was out dated in later decades. Consequently recognising my limitations I went back to what I was good at, which was selling. In the mid 80s I had a successful few years at Canon followed by 7 or 8 very good years as a financial planner with a couple of banks in QLD. In 1998 I took a year off work to travel & never really worked again. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney photo blog.
It’s now 2023 and here is Glenn Frey to tell you exactly how I feel today.
This is not a travel blog just my personal photo collection from the 2nd half of 2016.
Another birthday rolls around July 7.
Loving Pattaya life 2016
Loving Pattaya life 2016 has seen me spend all year here, the quietest travel year I have had this century. I over spent in the last 2 or 3 years so I thought I should pull my horns in. 🙂
I spent 5 days in Koh Samui in June, 2 weeks in Australia in August and a great trip to Japan in October.
Some of the usual suspects
Greg, Hamish & John helped me celebrate at the Mantra.
A year living in Pattaya seems like about 6 months, time just seems to fly.
Great beach shot August 4th at 7am
All the boats are waiting for the hordes of Chinese tourists.
And here they come in their thousands
The buses roll into Beach Road of a morning and the tourists flock to the boats.
Tony & Nikki Murphy at Signature Steak & Seafood.
The Murphy’s spent a week in Pattaya then 3 nights in Mae Pim before flying back to Australia.
Visitors from San Diego
It was great to catch up with Paul, Eileen, Parker & Elle in Pattaya as part of their 9 week Asian holiday with included Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Samet & Danang.
Seagulls in Pattaya?
Here is a sculpture on Beach Rd showing a flock of seagulls, yet to this day I have never seen a seagull in Pattaya. 🙂
Here comes the rain
I love seeing the black clouds roll in over Pattaya.
Steve is a great mate of Larry’s from the Gold Coast. Terrific news for movie goers which vastly overshadows the recent Brangelina bullshit, the “odd couple” Larry Krausz & Steven Reade have been signed by BangBros, the largest porn studio in the world, to star in a remake of the 1988 movie Twins, which stared Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. See if you can pick who will play DeVito. 🙂
The more thigs change the more they stay the same
After many years the Cherry bar on Soi 3 & 2nd Rd has been sold and is now Billabong 2.
When can we have some fun?
Every night you go out in Pattaya the fun starts.
For a discounted hotel rate with free WiFi in Pattaya or anywhere in the world, just book through THIS LINK
Starbucks
Opened in September at the “Bay” which is between Soi 5 & 6 on Beach Rd.
Good coffee & happy staff
They are the first to open at the Bay, next will be McDonalds.
Stunning November sunset
So many great sunsets from my balcony.
My new home
On November 1st after 4.5 years I moved from the 17th floor in Markland to the 20th, does that mean I coming up in the world?
The usual suspects
Jim’s Burgers is a great place for a casual dinner with friends, I’m with Hamish, Jonathon & Matt.
Delicious
Lots of varieties & you can order small or large.
One of my massage girls
Used to be a waitress in Chamiko in Soi 3, now she works at a massage parlour in Soi 3 & sometimes gives me a reasonable foot massage.
Spectacular clouds over Koh Larn
These days I seem to be obsessed with taking photos of clouds & sunsets. 🙂
October in Japan
I m with my friend Kayo in a Spanish restaurant in Tokyo. I purchased a two week ticket on the Shinkansen or bullet train, then after 3 nights in Tokyo I travelled to 6 interesting Japanese cities, includung Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Nagasaki & Fukuoka.
I arrived back in Pattaya on Ocober 28th & the following day my good friend Larry Krausz was rushed to Bangkok Pattaya hospital after suffering a major stroke, now 5 weeks later on December 5th he is still in a serious condition in the intensive care ward.
Ross & Bryce arrive from Australia
The boys came over for a few days to visit Larry.
Centara Grand
After a couple of cold beers at Centara Grand and a Pattaya cop working security wanted to throw us out. I lay the blame 100% on Pothole aka John David Martin who was dressed like a local bum & showing off his silly tattoos. 🙂
Pothole & sons + Kayo.
Tate is Pothole’s eldest son, he arrived in Thailand from Australia to celebrate Xmas & to meet his 2 half brothers Tyrone & Tiger. Notice for some strange reason known only to Pothole, all his children including daughter Tamara have to have a first name starting with the letter T. Just another one of his many offbeat strange quirks. 🙂 The lovely Japanese girl in the photo is my friend Kayo from Tokyo.
Shopping for a dress in Soi 6
Even though Soi 6 is one of the wildest streets in Pattaya there is still time for some quiet shopping. 🙂
Soi Diana redhead.
A very sweet girl from Area 51, no wonder I’m Loving Pattaya life 2016′
On the subject of Soi 6
Here is Geoff from Australia, a fanatical Soi 6 supporter. We are at Leckerle in Soi 33 Naklua with his ex fiance Nana for a terrific meal & lots of wine.
Xmas Day with Geoff & Nana
We started with a bottle of French Champagne on my balcony.
Lunch at Surf & Turf & Loving Pattaya life 2016
A great location on the beach at Wongamat. Kayo flew from Tokyo to spend 10 days in Thailand before heading to Australia.
Two nights in Bangkok
December 29th took Pothole & Yogurt to Cheap Charles before checking out Brewski a new sky bar at the Radisson Blu.
New Years Eve in Pattaya
Steve “Jumbo” Reade having a ball at the Atlantic Bar & Loving Pattaya life 2016.
Atlantic girls
They all looked terrific, dressed to kill. 🙂
Meet the gorgeous Katie.
A very happy lady from Billabong 2.
Here’s Pothole dressed in his Jaffa outfit.
Anything to attract attention. 🙂
Farewell to an old friend
Larry Krausz, a friend for around 30 years suffered a major stroke on October 28. After 2 months in the Bangkok Pattaya hospital on life support he was transported to Australia by a hospital Leer jet, thanks to his Medibank travel insurance. After a month his life support was removed & he passed away peacefully.
It’s now 2017 and here is Glenn Frey to tell you exactly how I feel today.
For a discounted hotel rate with free WiFi in Pattaya or anywhere in the world, just book through THIS LINK
Enjoying the last year of the 90s, please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal online photo albums.
Gold Coast life 1999
Gold Coast life 1999 was not too different from previous years except for the fact I was no longer working. In 1998 I decided to take a year off work and travel, little did I realise I would never go back to full time work again.
I have often wondered if I made the right decision to retire and travel the world. On one hand had I continued to work for another 6 or 7 years I obviously would have been far better off financially, however on the flip side I can never replace the wonderful years of travel I enjoyed during those years. Consequently looking back in 2016 I’m very happy with the decision I made. Take a look at my travel record for 1999 below. 🙂
An incredible year for travel
The photo above was taken in Koh Samui with Francesca & Barbara from Florence. In 1999 I had three trips to Thailand, February, August & December, my first trip to Rio for Carnival in February was part of an around the world adventure with my friend Larry Krausz. Another fabulous 2 month around the world trip in November included Los Angeles, Las Vegas Miami, Mexico City, Bolivia, Brazil, (Rio, Iguazu falls & Salvador) Paris & Thailand.
Kathy was a regular visitor
A simple phone call would result in an hour or so of passion, priceless. 🙂
A little more of Kathy
Without a doubt Kathy had one of the hottest bodies I have ever seen. 🙂
Lots of parties lots of girls, Narrelle, Simone & Kushler.
All through the 90s and beyond the parties never stopped.
Myoung-sook a nice Korean lady
Myoung and I spent some time together in 1999.
Sometimes she would stay for breakfast. 🙂
She was a very keen golfer.
she was quite a keen golfer.
Lorrie & Leonie
I took Lorrie & Leonie boating, they were two Canadians visiting the Gold Coast.
Dinner at Ashmore Steak & Seafood
This popular restaurant always ensured you never left hungry.
My beautiful mother Iris Joyce Herd, my brother Ian & his wife Sandra, Adam one of their sons & Myoung my Korean girlfriend.
Rossco, one of the happiest guys I know.
I count Ross Kennedy as one of my best friends, we had so many great times together. Certainly one of our most memorable adventures was our road trip trip to Melbourne in 1996, to check it out just follow THIS LINK.
Thinking back to my 25 years on the Gold Coast there were just so many highlights, I’m really very happy to be able to re-live them through my FiveStarVagabond photo blog.
Through all those years I remember having a hand full of good friends and many many acquaintances. Due to my reasonably abrasive personality there were also many people that couldn’t stand me. My message to them is quite simple, see below.
A message for the knockers
Having said all that let’s get back to 1999. 🙂
Jimmy Bell & the smokers
Another Sunday session at my Upton St home, Jim “HO HO” Bell rented a room at my home for 17 years.
For a great room rate on the Gold Coast just book through THIS LINK.
Emily used to be a meter maid
And yes the silly tattoo is a temporary one from Thailand. 🙂
Swifty actually wound up marrying Emily and produced a couple of fine sons. I owe thanks to Ray for introducing me to Kathy who you saw at the start of this post.
Farewell Colleen
Colleen was leaving Saks bar & restaurant, owners Duncan McGuiness & Steve are wishing her well.
Phil Thomson, another great friend.
Phil has always been a Porsche lover, these days in 2016 he has a Boxter sitting in the garage.
Talking about cars, here are my beauties
It was a very difficult decision to decide which one to drive. 🙂
Ziggy & my boat
You had to have all the toys & props to stand out on the Gold Coast, to be honest 50% of the people I met were fairly shallow individuals & easily impressed. Then again the same probably applies to other Australian cities as well. 🙂
Main Beach blondes
Catie, Marina & Kylie were waitresses at a popular Main Beach cafe.
Mike Wood, Greg Craig and Dave Allen.
A few drinks at Melbas in as we did so many times over the years, it was simply Gold Coast life 1999.
Sweet Myumi
Well that’s all folks from Myumi & I, thanks for visiting my Gold Coast life 1999 photo blog. It’s now February 2018 & I”m living in Thailand, and I get a huge kick from re-living some of these incredible years through my photo blogs. I just can’t believe what a fortunate life I have had. 🙂
Sydney Melbourne Falls Creek & Hunter valley in 1996 was one of my all time great road trips. What made the trip so great was the companionship and humour provided by my great friend Ross Kennedy. As much as I would love to give you some examples of many bizarre events, I will evoke the rule “what happens on tour stays on tour”. 🙂
Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history
The beast is polished and ready to go
The 928 was the perfect car for a long distance road trip, comfort and power to burn.
Overnight in Tenterfield
I have an afternoon appointment in Lismore so we were late getting on the road, it was freezing cold on the New England Highway so we stopped for the night in Tenterfield.
Fabulous Tenterfield homestead
After Tenterfield it was an easy run down the New England Highway to the Hunter Valley.
We had non stop music blasting on the CD this is the one I mainly remember.
For an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Big Tim Bristow
Next stop was Sydney where I introduced Ross to Big Tim Bristow who used to be a well known stand-over man. Rossco has always been fascinated with the world of gangsters. 🙂 For more about Tim’s amazing lie just follow THIS LINK.
We had a couple of great nights in Sydney which included many drinks at the Hilton Hotel and coffee with friends in Double Bay.
Gundagai
A fuel stop at Gundagai on the way to Falls Creek.
Ready to hit the slopes
We hit the slopes with a vengeance and had some monumental pile ups. Conditions were good so we would ski for a couple of hours in the morning then spend the afternoon and evening drinking the bar dry.
Set em up Joe
We made the mistake of having one drink from every bottle behind the bar, a recipe for disaster if ever there was one. 🙂
And the final result was…..
Here we are totally flyblown in the snow at Falls Creek. We had a terrific few days, drinking too much and having some of the most spectacular falls ever seen at Fall’s Creek. Little did I realise after this 1996 adventure I would never ski again.
After falls Creek we headed down the highway to Melbourne.
The Sharks Fin Inn
This gorgeous girl Jacqui O’Brien actually lived in my house for a few months in 1987, she then worked with me for a short time in 1998. A lovely lady until she had one drink too many, she then turned into a nightmare. Rossco came up with a classic name for her, “Jacqui Petrol”.
Stokehouse in St Kilda.
Lunch with Jacqui at the Stokehouse in St Kilda.
Chappel St Melbourne
Drinks with Rossco’s friends in South Yarra, from the left Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe Jackson, David Herd aka “The Cincinnati Kid”, Craig Belcher and Johnny Mac.
Thanks for visiting my Sydney Melbourne Falls Creek photo blog.
Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980 and 81 living on the waterfront in Drummoyne with the view you see in the header on this post. I drove a white Mercedes Sports, had my Bertram 25 moored in front of my apartment, and a liquor store in Sydenham, quite a few good friends and a long line of beautiful girlfriends, life was very close to perfect. The Watsons Bay hotel shown above was one of my regular haunts as was Doyles restaurant. It’s a great place to stay when in Sydney, for an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.
This is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish.
My boat
I had an absolute perfect mooring right outside my apartment, it was so much fun on Sydney harbour visiting all the great beaches & restaurants. They really were Great years Sydney 1980 to January 1987 when I pulled up stakes and moved to the Gold Coast.
Smooth operator
It seemed the parties and drinks never stopped at my Drummoyne apartment, life was very good indeed.
Jeff and Debbie Don
Gorgeous Debbie & party animal Jeff, another smooth operator.
Sade - Smooth Operator - Official - 1984
The party never stopped
Looking back to my 6 years at Drummoyne I feel I made a serious mistake getting engaged and moving to Newport. My decision was based on a particular mindset we grew up with, eventually we all should settle down, marry & have children. In hindsight I now know that’s OK for the majority of people, but not everybody, & I’m certainly in the category of “not everybody”. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Talking about being engaged, here is my future fiancee in 1981
Karen Smith and Dirk Kammerling were an item for several years until her and I started going out in 1984 which led to our engagement.
Karen & I in 1981
Who would have thought in 3 years we would be engaged and living together at Newport?
Castle Cove 1980
Two of the girls here were sisters, Carmen & Antionette Sherry, plus my good friend Rob Symonds and Peter H.
Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980 included Carmen & Antoinette
Decorating my XJ 6 in 1980.
Antoinette Sherry
What a beautiful redhead. 🙂
Here are some of the usual suspects
John Malouf, Peter Singleton and Dennis Moran at another one of my Drummoyne gatherings.
Joanne Barrett came 3rd in Miss Universe 1969
What a beautiful face, is it any wonder she was 3rd in the Miss Universe?
Singapore 1980
Some people who have seen this photo have been cruel enough to suggest that I looked like a Miami drug dealer, and here was I thinking I was just a very cool dude. 🙂
Rob Symonds & I in Singapore 1980
Rob & I had a great trip to Manilla, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Pattaya and Singapore. This was when I first got hooked on Thailand, little did I realise 31 years later I would move there permanently. Take a look at my photo blog, just follow THIS LINK.
Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980, the blondes are here
That’s Teresa on the left sitting at my bar, and I can’t believe that I have forgotten the name of the other beautiful creature. 🙂
Here is the beautiful anonymous blonde as a redhead
Now is that a fantastic face or what?
When can I start having fun?
Right about now I would say, in fact I clearly remember a ménage à trois with two of these gorgeous babes. 🙂
Tall gorgeous redhead
Her name was Louise and we had a brief fling, Antoinette & I are checking her prowess on the BBQ. She knew how to handle a sausage. 🙂
I told you she was gorgeous
An absolute knockout.
Two more knockouts, Kerry & Terry
Two of my favourite Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980.
Shirley Jones 1980
Shirley was an air hostess for TAA which does not exist anymore. She & Debbie Don were flatmates who lived around the corner in Drummoyne ave and came to most of my parties. Compare us in the following photo. 🙂
After many hours of booze
At the end of the day decorum would go out the window. 🙂
Another Shirley
This Shirley worked for Stripper-gram, we used to go out together occasionally. A very funny thing happened at my Dad’s retirement party, he had worked for Berger paints for 46 years. We were celebrating at what was then the Silverwater Businessman’s Club, in came a gorgeous girl in a bikini, draped in feathers, and proceeded with her well-practised routine.
The shocked look on my mother’s face had nothing to do with the girl sitting on Dad’s knee, it was when she walked over to our table and said to me, “hi David, nice to see you, when are we going out on your boat again”? Yes, it was Shirley, somebody had hired a stripper-gram for him. 🙂
This was Vickie in 1980
The long line of Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980 continues, it seemed there were so many babes and such little time. 🙂
Carol Aboud the ultimate party girl
Even though Carol was the mother of four young children she was the ultimate party girl. Part of a wealthy eastern suburbs family, her father was the managing director of Century batteries & in his eyes she could do no wrong.
We really had some great times together over a four year period, although it was one of those on & off relationships that ran into quite a few road blocks along the way.
Talking about party animals
This is Roger “Ramjet” Williams who could always be relied upon to put on a show. Two of his party tricks were drinking a Bloody Mary containing 1/2 a bottle of Tabasco sauce. If a normal person had one sip it would set your mouth on fire. His 2nd trick was to take a raw onion and eat it like an apple, this man obviously had no taste buds. 🙂
A Mexican bandit? No it’s Chris Adams
One of the Adelaide guys I knocked around with when I lived there in 72 to 74, Chris wound up in Sydney then I lost track of him. I have always had a knack of giving people nicknames that seemed to stick with them, in Chris’s case his name was “The Mouth”. 🙂
Another Shirley, Xmas 1981
A gorgeous little girl from the eastern suburbs who had a wealthy father and lived at Darling Point.
Ron Walsh from Broken Hill with Donna.
Ron was a close friend for many years, he owned the Retravision store in Broken Hill and would find any excuse to visit me when I lived in Adelaide, we had some wonderful fun times together.
Debbie Secombe another of the Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980
Debbie a cool Aussie chick who worked at the Manilla Playboy Club for a few years before turning up at one of my famous parties.
Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980, Di Parkinson Xmas 1981
Di was one of the most beautiful ladies I ever knew, also one of the craziest. No woman has caused me more problems in my life than this one. Apart from all that we had many great times together during the last 10 years.
One of the great nights of my life, and one of the best NYEs of my life, we overloaded my boat with 16 people and headed off to a seafood restaurant at “the Spit” for dinner before heading to the Opera House for the incredible fireworks. My girlfriend for the night was the gorgeous one in the middle, very unusual that I can’t remember her name.
I considered Wolf Wottke my best friend since we met in Adelaide in 1973, that friendship continued until I moved to Newport in 1984, sadly after that it was never the same.
Sydenham Cellars grand opening 1980 featuring Debbie Don.
In the 4 years I owned my liquor store I never really made too much money, 3 of those years the road was was closed for 3 or 4 months which effected my turnover rather badly. Luckily I had purchased the property and made a killing when I sold.
OK, one last look at Debbie.
She is certainly worth a look don’t you think?
Thanks for visiting my Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980 photo blog, what an era that was. No doubt at all 80, 81 & 82 were amazing years for living large & gorgeous ladies.
It’s now 2017 and here is Glenn Frey to tell you exactly how I feel today.
Great hotel rates here, just book through THIS LINK.