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Three Fabulous Thailand trips 2003

April 29, 2015 by David Herd

Atlantic Bar Pattaya

Three Fabulous Thailand trips

Three Fabulous Thailand trips 2003, in fact the whole year was frantic, not sure how I survived, it was one of the busiest & best years for travel that I have ever experienced. I went to Vietnam twice in January & April, Thailand in April & July, then around the world in November starting in Chile, then on to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, Barcelona & Bangkok on the way home to Australia.

Low tide at Pattaya beach

The skyline has changed a lot since 2003, now in 2015 there is a building boom in condominiums and hotels.

Golf at Phoenix with John and Andy

Andy got tied up with a Thai girl who relieved him of his one million GBP inheritance.

Surrounded by caddies at Phoenix.

Now this is the way to play golf. 🙂

Marta was a pole dancer from Prague

Marta was quite a wild Russian girl, I chatted to her on Walking St and invited her to join us at Cosy Beach. We had a great day culminating in an even better night. 🙂

The rear view

Here is Marta again at my hotel, the Sunshine Vista in Soi 3. There are more photos in the slide show at the end, I can’t show them in this part of the post as Photobucket censor any bare boobs. 🙂

John Martin aka Pothole at the Sunshine Vista

Certainly one of the craziest people I know. He moved to Pattaya a year or two after this, grabbed a girl off the pole and produced two children with her.

John Sinclair, Sinclair Waters (RIP) and Bob Dark.

Sinclair is famous for adding people to his “black list”, after a couple years of being in favor in 2016 he put me back on it. 🙂

We are just a bunch of naughty little boys. 🙂

Thai music on Beach Rd Pattaya

Traditional Thai music.

Here are some gorgeous Thai girls from 2003

How sweet they were. 🙂

Oysters

At the Lobster Pot in Walking Street, there are many seafood restaurants where you overlook the bay.

Lunch at Fuji

Here is a typical Thai story, I invited Ja in the yellow to lunch, she worked in the phone section of Big C. However unbeknownst to me she then invited 4 of her friends to come and enjoy a free lunch at my expense. 🙂 This is quite normal in Thailand and it’s not the first, and won’t be the last time I have been caught.

Soi 4 hotel Pattaya

New hotel Soi 4, + North Shore in the background.

Fresh food in Soi 3

Thai people have taken street food to an art form.

Still same price in 12 years later in 2015

Foot massage still same price 12 years later in 2015, however the Thai massage is now 200. I still have 4 or 5 foot massages every week.

Songkran in Pattaya

This is one of my all time favourite photos. Songkran is a week of madness in Pattaya to celebrate the Thai New Year.

Songkran Pattaya

Another tradition is plastering the face with white powder.

Pothole, prince of fashion.

Here is another weird sight around Songkran, John Martin aka Pothole Bin Ladin and his wonderful Thai style shirt.

Chinatown Bangkok

Always lots to see in Chinatown.

Chinatown Bangkok

Chinatown is a “must see” part of Bangkok, another good look into the past is “Jim Thompson” house. I also love taking a cruise on a long tail boat along the mighty Chao Phraya river. Make sure to stop off at Wat Arun, “The Temple of Dawn”.

Here is an amazing sight in Chinatown.

Fresh fish in Bangkok Thailand

Watch this video on YouTube

Bangkok babe

Some of the most beautiful babes in the world.

Lovely Jane from Bangkok

This is my friend Jane, we first met in 1999 at Nana Plaza. I took her to Koh Samui for a holiday.

John Sinclair and David Herd

It’s 2017 & John still lives in Soi 4 Nana.

Three Fabulous Thailand trips

Elephants have now been banned from the city streets.

I remember this happening

It is now 2016 and they are still prosecuting the criminals.

Atlantic Bar Princesses

On the left is Nok in 2003, the next photo shows her in January 2011. A couple of years later she quit Pattaya to live in the country with her new baby.

Here is Nok in 2011.

Here is a coincidence for you, I published this post two days ago on April 30 2015, then last night on May 1st I ran into Nok who is back working at the Atlantic. Her theme song should really be “All my life’s a circle”.:)

Harry Chapin - All My Life's a Circle

Watch this video on YouTube

Mable from Beijing

I met Mable online in a chat room, she was one of my excellent guides when I went to Beijing where she lives. In 2003 I flew her to Thailand to meet me for a holiday. We visited Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Chang.

Cosy Beach Pattaya

The elevator to the beach is the Royal Cliff Hotel.

Notice how the sand enhances the colour of the towel.

Towel, what towel? I don’t see a towel. 🙂

John Sinclair at Cosy Beach

In 2015 the Navy removed all the food vendors from Cosy Beach, such a shame.

Many thanks for visiting my Three Fabulous Thailand trips photo blog.

Three Fabulous Thailand trips, Citadines in Soi 11

The rooms are compact and nicely laid out including a kitchen if you like to prepare some food. This is now my hotel of choice, plus Soi 11 is a great street for bars and restaurants.

Excellent pool & Gym at the Dynasty Grande

For an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.

That’s all folks, thanks for visiting.

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Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you

book through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Plus free cancellation .

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A-One hotel on Beach Road

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

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Soapy Massage Pattaya Bangkok

Spectacular Bangkok Sky Bars

Fresh seafood Bangkok

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Hawker Chan Hollys Coffee

Le Bordeaux Pattaya Restaurant

Flashback Sydenham Cellars

Art of desert Pattaya

Breakfast Bake n’ Brew

Food review Pattaya 2020

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Samui Bangkok Pattaya 2004

April 26, 2015 by David Herd

This it not part of my travel blog, just my personal photo & travel history from 2003.

Samui Bangkok Pattaya 2004

Samui Bangkok Pattaya, another three trips in 2004. It was a quieter year for travel after my amazing busy year of travel in 2003.

One of my favourite pastimes

I have to maintain my 110 kilo weight. 🙂

Another favourite pastime.

Her name is Jan and she soon became my favourite Pattaya princess.

Another Cherry Bar princess

A beautiful smile & a very sweet lady.

Aussies out of control

Richard Blair aka Mr Stingy out of control in a Soi 8 beer bar. He only recently discovered Pattaya and was carrying on like most newbies.

Samui Bangkok Pattaya

Another two Aussies, John “Pothole” Martin and Ken Shelly have discovered their nirvana.

Pothole & friend

Here is Pothole with what seems to be an attractive Thai lady that he had just negotiated a short time liaison in his hotel room. Of course she turned out to be a LadyBoy which made absolutely no difference to him, in fact he happily described the whole event in great detail to the rest of us sitting around the pool. My only comment is “too much information”.

Happy street vendor

Thai people have taken street food to an art form, however care should be taken when choosing what to eat.

Gorgeous Thai girl at Sabai Lodge

As they say in the classics, if you have got it, flaunt it. 🙂

Sabai Lodge Soi 2 was our favoured hotel

Pothole from Sydney and hypo-active Dan from Airlie Beach

Cold beers in Soi 8

Ken and “Stingy” just before we flew to Koh Samui to continue their indoctrination.

Beach Rd bar with Greg Clee.

Greg & I live in Markland on Beach Rd, he is on 17th floor & I’m on 20th.

Koh Samui

The flight to Samui was very tiring for Stingy, on another note Thailand is the only country in the world he is considered a “handsome man. 🙂

“Stingy” Blair and Ken.

It was around this time I gave Richard the nickname Stingy. It came about when he and Ken were on the beach and a Thai lady was reading his palm. She looked at him and said “you are a very wealthy man, but Stingy”. Of course she was spot on, so many times Richard would be drinking with Ken and showing off by buying lots of drinks for the girls behind the bar knowing that Ken would have to pay half the bill, but the girls would think he was the hero. As soon as I heard what the girl on the beach had said I gave him the label “Stingy” which has stuck with him until today in 2015. I also taught Ken to always have separate “bins”, meaning Bills, when drinking with Richard so he couldn’t pull his usual bill splitting stunt.

Koh Samui sunset

Taken at Chaweng beach from my preferred beachside hotel, the Baan Chaweng hotel.

Chaweng Beach Koh Samui

There are a number of reasons I prefer Samui to Phuket, first they restrict building to not exceed the height of the palm trees. Secondly there are not as many noisy Australian tourists which suits me fine. Like most places however progress has not been kind, to me Samui was more enjoyably in the late 90s and early 2000s. Many of the older charming buildings in Chaweng have been replaced by gold shops etc, such is life.

Ken Shelly and a BBQ prawn

I used to see a lot of Ken in these early days, however in the last couple of years when he comes to Thailand he does his best to avoid me, (he is not alone) c’est la vie. 🙂

Big Dog at Nana Plaza Bangkok

Nana Plaza Bangkok sex sin sleaze it’s all there. I have been a frequent visitor for 20 years & have seen the LadyBoy population rise from 10% to around 40% today. This does not suit me at all, give me the sexy young girls any day.

Sadly Richard passed away aged 76 on October 15 2022.

Phung aka Cleopatra

My favourite Bangkok girl, we met in 2001 at Nana Plaza and got together every time I was in town until about 2009 when she left the business. It’s now 2015 and I hear she is living with a guy in Europe.

Cleo with the huge smile

Without a doubt one of the most terrific Thai ladies I have ever met.

John Sinclair and Rod Perrin, RIP.

Rod was an ex Sydney cop who retired and moved to Forster on the NSW coast. These days he spends most of his time in Thailand. John was originally from Adelaide and after 3 or 4 failed marriages moved to the Gold Coast. He spent around 10 years there before moving to Thailand around 2002.

Gorgeous Eve likes her pepper hot.

The biggest pepper grinder I have ever seen. Eve has a German sponsor from Airlie Beach, a very odd type of man who regularly travels to Thailand. I am on his black list, then again I am on quite a few blacklists. 🙂

Atlantic Bar Pattaya

Another gorgeous girl in Pattaya.

One more to finish

So many girls & such little time. 🙂

You too can have a body like this if you abuse it.

Thanks for visiting my Samui Bangkok Pattaya photo blog from 2004. I eventually moved to Thailand in 2011 and am enjoying a stress free life in paradise. I do an around the world trip each year, please check out Seven Super Cities trip in 2014 and my Eastern European Odyssey in 2015.

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Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

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A-One hotel on Beach Road

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Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

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Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

April 23, 2015 by David Herd

Around the World again.

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok

Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok was a fantastic trip in 2003. Add to this two visits to Vietnam, 3 times to Thailand, Singapore and a 13,000 km road trip through Australia’s outback. Overall one of my most frantic years for travel and fun was certainly 2003.

The photo above is Copacabana Beach with Sugarloaf mountain in the distance.

This it not part of my travel blog, just part of my personal photo & travel history from 2003. Mainly revolving around the many people who helped make it another fantastic year of travel.

My friends in Copacabana

These were very happy Times in Copacabana in 2003, from the left is Doug Rourke, (RIP) Marcelli, Dave Wylie, Dave Sommer (RIP) Tatiane and I forget the last guys name. 🙂

Carla at Copacabana

The most magnificent colour skin I have ever seen.

I often wonder where she is now.

Lunch with Jackie at Mea Pataca

A regular spot opposite the beach.

Mea Pataca restaurant in Copacabana

This seafood soup was fantastic.

Angra dos Reis

Today, because of its beautiful beaches and nearby regions, the municipality has become a focal point for tourism – not only state wide but on a national scale also. Within the municipality are over three hundred islands, many of them owned by national and international celebrities. Distance from Rio de Janeiro: 168 km; São Paulo: 411 km.

Angra dos Reis

An interesting place to get away for a quiet weekend.

Buzios

Two hours north of Rio de Janeiro is Buzios. In the early 1900s Búzios was popular with the Carioca’s high society, who wanted to escape from the chaotic city life of Rio de Janeiro and enjoy over 23 beaches that the peninsula offers.

Beautiful Brigitte

It wasn’t until 1964, when the famous French Actress Brigitte Bardot visited Búzios, that it grew to be a popular tourist destination.

Buzios

Búzios is located at 105 miles NE from the city of Rio de Janeiro, about a 2 hour drive from that city. You come to a fork in the road, straight ahead for Cabo Frio and left for Buzios.

Tin man at Copacabana

One of the great Copacabana characters.

Copacabana Palace

The most famous hotel in Rio.

Dinner at the Palace

I took these cute Scandinavian girls to dinner at the Palace, cost me a bloody fortune. 🙂

Does my bum look big in this?

Definitely not. 🙂

The last of the Rio shots before checking out Santiago.

Valparaiso on the coast of Chili

I was not too impressed with Santiago, I really preferred Valparaiso.

Valparaiso

Valparaiso central Chile about 100 kilometers 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 harbour area to the hills, and the building is the restaurant Las Brujas.

Statue from Easter island in Vina del Mar

Vina del Mar is just to the north of Valparaiso.

Downtown Santiago.

I only spent two nights in Santiago and must admit I was not too impressed. I found it a fairly dull city overall, unlike Valparaiso and Vina del Mar which are more to my liking. However when it comes to drinking wine Chile has some wonderful examples. Although I live in Thailand most of the wine I drink here comes from Chile.

Barcelona

Old Customs building beside the harbour.

La Rambla

La Rambla is a street popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.

Casa Mil

Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera, is one of Gaudí’s main residential buildings and one of the most imaginative houses in the history of architecture. This building is more a sculpture than a building. The façade is a varied and harmonious mass of undulating stone that, along with its forged iron balconies, explores the irregularities of the natural world. UNESCO recognized this building as World Heritage in 1984.

Final stop Thailand

Koh Chang is the 2nd largest island in Thailand and is located near the border of Cambodia.

My friend from Beijing

In September 2002 I met Mable in Beijing and we enjoyed a nice time together. Consequently I sent her a ticket to meet me in Thailand and we spent time in Pattaya, Koh Chang and Bangkok.

Mable at the Sabai Lodge

It is now 2015 and from my balcony in Pattaya I look down on the pool at the Sabai Lodge in Soi 2, a very good low price hotel.

Chinese ladies don’t like direct sun. 🙂

Thanks for visiting my Santiago Brazil Barcelona Bangkok photo blog.

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Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Please check out these fabulous posts

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through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

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Atlantic bar Pattaya

Ah! Thankfully some things never change in Thailand. 🙂

Jump ahead to 2005 Rio Carnival

That’s all folks

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Brazil Italy Thailand Adventure 2006

April 16, 2015 by David Herd

Another magic world trip

Brazil Italy Thailand Adventure

Brazil Italy Thailand Adventure 2006, once again my journey began with a flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney in October 2006, before arriving in Rio de Janeiro.

I flew to Teresina to meet a friend and her family then continued on to Forteleza and Belem. After Brazil I flew to Italy hired a car and headed for Portofino, San Gimignano, Vinci and Florence.

A friend in Sydney hosted a dinner at his hotel with several friends, great food and 2 very sexy waitresses.

This it not part of my travel blog, just part of my personal photo & travel history from 2006. Mainly revolving around the many people who helped make it another memorable year.

Freeway Hotel Crayfish

Crayfish? I can’t see any Crayfish. 🙂

Peter plays it cool

The following day I missed my Qantas flight to Rio through a mix up with the airline. I had to purchase another ticket, luckily a couple of months later Qantas reimbursed my original ticket.

A terrific night

GREAT FOOD, GOOD WINE & HOT BABES, WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?

Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro, say no more.

These two look like they mean business.

Alan Austin and his wife Renata

Alan & I met in Rio and became very good friends, unfortunately the following year he ran into some problems with the English authorities and I now visit him every year in various English prisons.

Shenanigans Ipanema

Monday nights here there are lots of specials and the place gets really crowded. The guy in the red shirt is Alan’s Las Vegas friend Jay.

The girl from Copacabana

I was relaxing on the beach when this vision appeared in front of me. I have never been one to let a golden opportunity pass so I brushed up on my social skills and introduced myself. Her name was Mel and she came from neighbouring Niteroi. Lo & behold within an hour we were in my apartment making mad passionate love. This certainly was one on the best days of my trip. 🙂

Mel from Niteroi

Mel is around 6′ tall with amazing green eyes, a total knock out. It is 2015 and I still have her photo on a shelf in my condo. 🙂

John, an Aussie guy who owned “The Office” restaurant.

John was an Aussie guy from Sydney and we swapped many stories about people we knew and knew of, mainly well known Sydney gangsters. 🙂 The following year John in fact was abducted by Brazilian gangsters who forced him to go to his home in Angra Dos Rios and pen his safe which they cleaned out.

Cabo Frio

Here is my friend Renilda, she lives at Cabo Frio near Buzios with her son and lots of pet dogs. We met in 1999 on Copacabana beach and have had a lot of fun together. I have not seen her since I took this photo in 2006 but I hope we meet again one day.

Sueli and Silmarinha Oliveira

I actually met Sueli online so on my way to Fortaleza I decided to stop at Teresina to meet her and her lovely family.

The whole family in Terisina

Here is the lovely family.

Fortaleza on the north Coast

Fortaleza is in the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.3 million (metropolitan region over 3.4 million), Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. Fortaleza is one of the three leading cities in the Northeast region together with Recife and Salvador. The city will be one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the host nation.

Brazil Italy Thailand Adventure

164 kilometers from Fortaleza is Canoa Quebrada.

Canoa Quebrada

We rode in a beach buggy along the beautiful long beaches and wandered through the amazing coloured sands of Canoa Quebrada.

Belem at the mouth of the mighty Amazon

Such a beautiful face, (of course I mean the girl) these two were dancers on a cruise I took on the Amazon.

The catch of the day

Belem is at the mouth of the Amazon river which represents more than half the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. Founded in 1616 by the Kingdom of Portugal, Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon but did not become part of Brazil until 1775. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers. The colonial portion retains the charm of tree-filled squares, churches and traditional blue tiles. The city has a rich history and architecture from colonial times. Recently it witnessed a skyscraper boom.

Old man of the sea

By now his skin must be like leather.

2.30 am flight Belem to Rio

Ah! Copacabana I have missed you so much. 🙂

Lets not forget Ipanema.

Ipanema is even more beautiful than Copacabana.

Lets have one last look at Mel

This is the photo I still have in my room today in 2016.

Transit at Madrid

Changing planes in Madrid on my my to Italy.

Francesca in Florence

Here is my friend Francesca, I was lucky enough to be able to crash on her couch for a few days.

The Old Bridge Florence

Certainly one of the most famous landmarks in this great city.

Great Pizza in Florence

People queue every night to get into this tiny restaurant in Florence, the chef is from Naples and only has 3 choices on the menu, all magnificent.

Ines from Rio de Janeiro

Ines is the daughter of my friend Reni from Cabo Frio, she was in Florence at the same time as I was. Francesca cooked dinner while we chatted about old times in Rio.

Beautiful San Gimignano

San Gimignano is famous for its Medieval village architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form “an unforgettable skyline”

San Gimignano

What a wonderful Italian village.

Lunch in Portofino

When you visit Portofino make sure you have your credit card, seafood soup 26 Euros. Maybe they charged me extra because I was dressed so upmarket. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Fabulous cheeky Portofino

If you own a nice boat the babes will come. 🙂

Club Med yacht.

Club Med 2 is a five-masted computer-controlled sailing ship owned and operated by Club Med and operated as a cruise ship. It combines the power of seven computer-operated sails with more traditional diesel-electric power, having four diesel generators that power two electric motors.

Arriving in Bangkok

My gorgeous friend Cleo who I catch up with every time I am in Bangkok.

The boys at Honey pot in Pattaya

Let the games begin, I’m back in Pattaya. 🙂

Brazil Italy Thailand

Thanks for visiting my Brazil Italy Thailand post, it really was another incredible around the world trip.

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Tropical storm floods Pattaya

April 4, 2015 by David Herd

Tropical storm floods Pattaya

Tropical storm floods Pattaya, when it rains it really pours down. I love to see the storm clouds roaring across Pattaya bay from my condo. You can can also watch from anywhere in the world on my webcam.

Here it comes

John Fogerty has a question….

I really love watching the black clouds roll in over the bay.

Is this a road or a river?

Looks more like a river to me. 🙂

Oh oh! This does not look good.

The roads flood so quickly as the drains just can’t handle the incredible volume of water. Often these storms only last for 30 or 40 minutes however that’s enough time to cause havoc.

LadyBoy in distress.

This LadyBoy looks a little concerned.

Houston, we have a problem

Hmmm what do I do now?

Helping hands

You see a lot of this during the storms.

Pattaya weather

South Rd near Tukcom.

My friend and I were relaxing in Starbucks watching the action.

No problem for the Baht bus.

The Song Tao or Baht bus ploughs straight through.

They won’t all make it

Believe me, not all these vehicles will get through.

Help is on the way

Tractor to the rescue.

The result

The beach gets smashed time and time again throughout the year this is the result.

Gutters can’t handle the volume

I don’t think there is any drainage system that can handle the sheer volume of storm water.

Repairs are needed

Sadly this in an all too familiar sight on Pattaya beach.

Soggy footpath

The aftermath of the storm.

Crazy idea

Here are 3 pumps to take the water from the flooded road onto the beach, don’t ask me to describe the logic behind this crazy idea. It simply washes away the sand as you can see in the above photos. One thing I do know however, logic and common sense are thin on the ground in Thailand.

The cavalry arrives

Repairing the beach.

A perfect Pattaya day

After all the rain and floods and beach erosion you can always be sure a perfect day is just around the corner.

April 30 Pattaya storm

Watch this video on YouTube

Holiday Inn

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.

Sabai Wing North Pattaya

The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Pattaya Hilton

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.

Soi Cowboy Nana Plaza Patpong

Please check out these fabulous posts

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Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

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Brazil Hotels

That’s all folks

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French village Breil Sur Roya

Breil Sur Roya devastated

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New York City

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Tokyo London Lisbon Rio

March 27, 2015 by David Herd

One of my greatest ever trips

Tokyo London Lisbon Rio

Tokyo London Lisbon Rio NYC, plus Florianopolis, Belnario Camboriu, and Curitiba. In 2007 my 2 month trip which turned out to be one of the two best around the world journeys I have ever done.

Anyone for coffee?

Food, food and more food, you gotta love Tokyo. It is certainly one of my favourite cities in the world. In fact I was here for the first time in April this year and loved it so much I’m back in December.

Joan and Bill from Wiltshire

In fact we were having dinner in Bath, I was travelling to Dorchester the next day with Bill to visit his brother Alan who was a guest of Her Majesty.

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury

Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its picturesque appearance; the view looking down from the top of the street has been described as “one of the most romantic sights in England

Lisbon

Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins.

Lisbon restaurant

Lisbon is a great city for food as you can clearly see. 🙂

Rio de Janeiro NYE Copacabana

December 2007 and the city is winding up for New Years Eve. After a couple of weeks I will go to Curitiba to meet my friend Craig aka Sudzy from Australia, then after visiting a few cities we will head back to Rio for Carnival

Sergio, do you think our ship will ever come in?

Beautiful Copacabana and the first of nine cruise ships arrive for NYE

Curitiba

A nice city south of Sao Paulo however one visit is enough, there are more interesting places further south as you will see.

Curitiba

I met my friend Craig from Australia and we set out for Florianopolis.

Florianopolis.

Florianopolis wonderful Brazilian city, the photo above is Joaquina beach which is famous throughout the world for surfing.

Florianopolis.

Barra da Lagoa Beach has good waves, clear water and a tropical rain-forest, this makes Barra da Lagoa the kind of place you can easily loose track of time! Just sit back and watch the pretty girls at play.

Balneário Camboriú a Brazilian surprise

We had never heard of this place until we were in Florianopolis and what a fabulous surprise it turned out to be.

Balneário Camboriú

A similar statue to Rio de Janeiro. Balneário Camboriú is famous for the cable car which (uniquely in the world) links the two beaches of Balneário Camboriú and Laranjeiras. The town is located 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the city of Itajaí and 80 km (50 mi) north of the state capital, Florianópolis, and has a population of 94,344 (2007 census office estimate), which swells to over one million in the summer.

Balneário Camboriú

Antonio cycled around the world for UNESCO in 1999, on his trip the both times he was robbed was in Australia while the Olympics were on in 2000. And people say Brazil is dangerous.

Paraty

It’s Probably not hard to guess why this is my favourite photo, a rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. Paraty grew in the 18th century as a strategically important port for exporting the gold mined in Minas Gerais. When shipments in nearby Rio began to attract the attention and ambition of pirates and privateers from rival European powers, the Portuguese began using Paraty as their safe port for getting their gold to Lisbon.

Magnificent Brazilian girl

To see more of this beautiful creature just follow THIS LINK.

Take me to your leader

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 marvelous colored costumes, in Paraty carnival the fiesta is based mostly on the simplicity of the junction between men and nature.

Back to Rio for Carnival

After a fascinating trip down south we head back to Rio for Carnival.

Carnival in Ipanema

Ipanema Carnival street party was one of the best nights in my life with my friend Dave Wylie. There was a “bloco” going on in front of the restaurant. A “bloco” is a block party during carnival. There are hundreds of them just in Rio. They are organized by local Carnival groups and the best ones move up the food chain of blocks to become the big samba schools that put on the big Carnival parades each year that Rio is famous for. We had a window table at “Garota de Ipanema” with of course means “The Girl from Ipanema”, and this is the exact spot the song was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.

With Dave Wylie at Garota de Ipanema

Here I am with my good friend Dave Wylie at our window table at Garota de Ipanema. All night the action was all around us as you can see from the photos. As I said earlier Ipanema Carnival it was one of the best and most memorable nights of my life. Another equally memorable night was 4 weeks earlier, New Years Eve on Copacabana, simply awesome.

Garota de Ipanema

This crazy guy was so funny, he was absolutely smashed and spoke to Dave Wylie who is fluent in Portuguese, he said “Voce sabe quem eu sou?” (do you know who I am?”) “Eu sou o deus de dor da cabesa”) (I am the God of Headaches”).

I love New York

As I said before New York is my favourite city, I like to say to friends, if the cities of the world could be likened to a horse race, New York would win by 10 lengths over the next bunch of cities which would include Paris, London, Sydney, Bangkok, Tokyo, Rome, Budapest, Amsterdam, Rio De Janeiro & Cape Town, not necessarily in that order.

Gallaghers steakhouse 52nd st

Surf and Turf, say no more.

Phil Barkin and Gordon Shanks

Phil now lives in Manila and both these guys love to visit Pattaya.

UPDATE, it’s October 2017 & Phil has moved back to Florida.

Thanks for visiting and sharing my memories.

I hope you enjoyed my Tokyo London Lisbon Rio NYC photo blog.

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Rio beach babes

Florianopolis Brazil

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Sydney Harbour

Lake Como Lake Garda Italy

Pattaya live webcam

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Salvador North Coast Brazil

February 21, 2015 by David Herd

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Fascinating & Unique

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil is Brazil’s 3rd largest city. Most of the population is in part descended from African slaves, who were mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin.

Praia do Porto da Barra

We stayed in a hotel opposite this beach which is is only 5 kms from the historic centre Pelourinho.

Fort de Santa Maria

Logo Nassau organized civil guards of Recife, Paraíba and Itamaracá to reinforce the troops and set off on April 8 1638, at the head of a naval fleet of 36 units at 3,600 Europeans and Indians. He began the assault on Salvador in April 16, landing and gaining the surrender of the strong St. Albert, St. Philip and St. Bartholomew. But as Bagnuolo and the Governor-General had overcome their differences, Pernambuco army and the local garrison were united against the invasion consequently on the night of May 17 & 18 Nassau lost 300 men.

I met Monica on the beach

Mark it down as a big mistake, everything was ok for the first 2 days then she went kind of crazy. I actually cut my trip short by two days and flew back to Rio de Janeiro to catch up with Renilda, a gorgeous lady I met there the previous week.

Crazy Monica 🙂

Crazy is an understatement, anyhow after a brief fling I got out of Dodge. 🙂

Pelourinho

The Historic Centre known as The Pelourinho is located in the western zone of the city’s centre, and was named for the whipping post (Pelourinho means Pillory) in its central plaza where African slaves received punishment for various infractions and disciplinary purposes.

The Pelourinho, is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and the city is one of the oldest in the New World (founded in 1549 by Portuguese settlers). It was also the first slave market on the continent, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations.

Salvador Bahia Brazil

Once the capital city of Brazil from 1549 up until 1763 when it was succeeded by Rio de Jeneiro, Salvador da Bahia is considered to be the happiest place in the country. The city is best known for its food, music and general party atmosphere due to the numerous parties that now take place there.

Pellourinho

Salvador is the second most popular tourism destination in Brazil, after Rio de Janeiro. Tourism and cultural activity are important generators of employment and income, boosting the arts and the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage.

Chief among the points of interest are its famous Pelourinho (named after the colonial pillories that once stood there) district, its historic churches, and its beaches.

Elevador Lacerda

Elevator Lacerda is the first elevator Urban World. In December 1873 , when it opened, it was the highest in the world, about 63 meters.

Elevador Lacerda

This is the best way to get up to the old city and for 15 Reals (each way)

Salvador North Coast Brazil

At the beginning of the 17th century, a crane was used to transport goods from the port to the upper city.

Monica in front of Sousa Palace

Sousa Square (also known as City Square) is a square located in the historic centre of Salvador , where there is a lot of public buildings in the city, such as Sousa Palace (now city hall).

Pothole has a way with children

Pothole aka John Martin certainly has a way with children. A grown up family in Australia & 2 young boys in Thailand.

The rest of the team

Pothole aka John Martin & Tony Murphy.

Thanks for visiting Salvador Bahia Brazil

Thats all from Salvador North Coast Brazil, bye for now from David and crazy Monica. 🙂

Istanbul Budapest London

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Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

Brazil Hotels

Pattaya live webcam

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Holiday Inn

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.

Check out these great photo blogs.

Rio beach babes

Florianopolis Brazil

Bangkok river ferry

Fabulous HCMC

Amazing World Food

Lyme Regis Jurassic coast

Hiroshima Japan

Sydney Harbour

Lake Como Lake Garda Italy

Pattaya live webcam

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Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

February 13, 2015 by David Herd

Copacabana-new years eve-2007-Rio-Brazil

A wonderful unique experience

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the cruise ships are arriving. Nine huge floating palaces drop anchor to watch tonight’s spectacle. Music fireworks & noise.

Lovely hostess

I paid $400 for a ticket to a cocktail party on the 12th floor overlooking Copacabana beach. The lovely lady above let me visit the venue mid afternoon to take some photos.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Mid afternoon and you can see the crowd building up. Two million people are expected to gather tonight at Copacabana most of whom will be wearing white.

Around 4 pm the crowd builds up

Through the afternoon the crowd starts to build.

More ships arrive

Nine huge ships arrived for the show.

A burning question

Sergio, we are in Copacabana Beach New Years Eve, do you think our ship will ever come in?

Now here is how we are going to handle troublemakers

Final instruction at 5.30 pm, the Rio cops are a very mean bunch.

The shadows cover the beach

The anticipation is building, you can fell the excitement in the air.

Going home to freshen up

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve an d as far as I’m concerned she is dressed perfectly.

The party begins

Here is where I am watching the celebration, lots of food and booze, after all we did pay $400. 🙂

Here they come

I have never seen a crowd this big anywhere before.

More and more all dressed in white

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and millions come to celebrate.

The excitement is building & more people arrive

I was in the perfect spot to see everything.

Standing room only

What a night it was, worth every cent.

In the top right hand corner you can see the Sofitel hotel, the location is perfect between Copacabana & Ipanema. For an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.

I’m happy to be above the crowd

Let the games begin.

KERBOOM!!!!!!

The fireworks begins, 2 million people onshore and nine cruise ships anchored off the beach.

Spectacular fireworks

You can see five of the nine cruise ships here in this photo.

Lots of noise

Noise from the Fireworks and the amplified music that is blasting out from huge speakers along the beach.

Here is the live action

Copacabana Rio Di Janeiro in Brazil, NYE, an awesome experience

Watch this video on YouTube

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the beat goes on

The noise was quite incredible.

The show went on for hours

I left around 1 am knowing I had seen the most spectacular NYE celebration in my life. The Sydney fireworks is certainly superior however when you add two million screaming people into the mix at one of the world’s great beaches it is game over.

I hope you enjoyed my NYE experience

Of course for sheer drama and chaos check out Sydney New Year’s Eve 1981.

Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.

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Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

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Pattaya live webcam

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Bangkok floating market

February 6, 2015 by David Herd

One of the most popular attractions.

Bangkok floating market

Bangkok floating market is a little over two hour west of the city, a short taxi ride then a long-tail boat will take to the fascinating market.

Long-tail boat

The long-tail boat is designed to carry passengers on a river & may include a lightweight long canoe hull, up to 30 meters long, and a canopy. There is a great variation among these boats, some have evolved from traditional craft types, while others have a more improvised look, the sole defining characteristic is a second-hand car or truck engine.

Crowded and chaotic

This is really a great day out, put it on your bucket list.

Food, food and more food

Bangkok floating market is certainly about Food, food and more food, everywhere someone is either eating or selling food.

Actually it’s not just food

Plenty of stock to sell here.

Clothes & hats a well

This is probably my 3rd visit to the Bangkok Floating Market and I’m sure there will be a 4th.

Long-tail boat

Check out the size of the engine that pushes this little boat along the river and canals.

Bag of bananas 10 Baht

In the supermarket they are 8 Baht each. 🙂

Genuine “copy” Lous Vuitton bags

In Thailand they will sell anything anywhere. 🙂

Bangkok floating market, Rambutans, yum!

This is my 3rd visit to the floating market and is always enjoyable.

Bangkok floating market

The Bangkok floating market is certainly a “must see” when you visit Bangkok. Other interesting tours are of course the Grand Palace and Wat Arun.

Here is our transport

Check out the waterfront homes Thai style.

Bangkok floating market

Lots of waterfront shops and homes.

Thanks for joining me at the famous Bangkok floating market photo blog

A couple of years after this visit I moved to Thailand to live permanently in Pattaya for about 10 years, one of the best decisions of my life.

If you visit Thailand please go and see Famous Bangkok floating market.

When I’m in Bangkok I like to stay in Sukhumvit Soi 11, here is an excellent budget hotel, if you USE THIS LINK you will get a great rate of around B1100 per night, or $30 USD.

The best Bangkok budget hotel I have ever stayed in.

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Pattaya Hilton

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Please check out these fabulous posts

Gold Coast Pattaya Cinque Terre

Rio de Janeiro Singapore Eastern Europe

Bangkok Bars Tokyo Cape Town Safari

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

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market near Bangkok, Thailand

Watch this video on YouTube

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Party Bar Pattaya Hot Babes

February 1, 2015 by David Herd

Party Bar-hot babes-Pattaya-Thailand-sexy

Great night with sexy babes

Party Bar Pattaya

Party Bar Pattaya had a re-opening Monday January 26 2015, a new partner bought into this little business so it was time to sing, dance and celebrate. So that’s what my friend Hamish & I did, minus the singing & dancing, we concentrated on drinking & checking out the pretty ladies.

Just a little corner bar

Located behind the Avenue shopping centre on 2nd road. Nothing too flash just a little corner bar where you can have a beer and watch the passing parade. In many ways people watching is why I also like the Cherry Bar on the corner of Soi 3 and 2nd road North Pattaya.

Party Bar Pattaya Lovely Noi

Noi has just become part owner of the Party bar, drop in sometime and say hello.

Surrounded by gorgeous creatures

What time can I start having fun?

Pretty ladies

Great smiles certainly brighten up the night.

Lovely cowgirl Kung

On this night all the girls wore cowgirl outfits and looked terrific, sadly now however they have reverted to normal clothes. It’s a shame really because any little back street beer bar needs to make sure customers remember them, so a point of difference that separates you from the thousands of similar places in Pattaya can only have a positive effect on the business. Walking street, LK Metro & Soi 6 have the passing traffic but most of the little back street bars don’t, so my message is loud & clear, dress the girls in the western outfits, they look terrific. 🙂

Check out my post on Seven sexy American restaurants and see how they do it, the yanks are masters of promotion.

Party Bar Pattaya & dinner is served

One thing Thai girls like to do is eat. 🙂

Some great looking babes here.

A very happy looking bunch.

A lesson for the Farangs

Not all Thai ladies are available in Pattaya for foreigners like myself merely because you have a few thousand Baht to burn on a night out. I was quite impressed by this gorgeous lady so I gave her my card and later in the week tried to arrange to meet her for a drink. To her credit she had too much style to be seen with a fat old Farang like me, so she made an excuse that she was sick. Good luck to you Yuie, stick with the younger cooler dudes. 🙂

Yuie likes to drink and dance.

More Sexy Thai girls dancing in Pattaya Party Bar

Never too young to party at the party bar.

This little guy was happy to be in the action.

Never too old either

Good luck to Party Bar Pattaya, I hope they have success, fun and make a lot of money.

Sabai Wing Soi 1 North Pattaya

Sabai Wing Soi 1, 3 swimming pools and nice rooms, 100 meters from BigC, great value at only $23 usd per night as of August 15. I live in the high-rise in the background, Markland. For a great room rate book here.