My Long Winding Road has been a wonderful journey, born way back on July 7 1943, & grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney Australia. One of the great benefits to me with this photo blog, is I get to re-live all the fabulous experiences in my life, I’m certain that without photos as a reminder, I probably would forget 80% of what I have done in life.
I was the eldest of 5 boys with the most wonderful parents any child could wish for.
Rather than focus on the early years just follow THIS LINK for lots of old photos of all the family.
This post covers memories from the 60s & 70s, part 2 will be the 80s & 9os.
Please note this is not part of my travel blog, it is my online photo album.
My 21st birthday in 1964
We celebrated a couple of months early as I was about to leave for England on the cruise ship Fairsea with my best friend Glen Beasley. Here is the story of THE CRUISE.
May 1964
After 18 months of working 2 jobs, I just qualified as a toolmaker, plus I worked weekends for Don Talbert the Australian swimming coach, my friend Glenn Beasley and I prepared to leave on May 7th to sail to England on the Fairsea.Just before I left I took my young brothers the the barber and had them shorn. They loved the new haircuts but poor Mum almost fainted. 🙂
A girlfriend from the 60s.
Veronica Crocker lived at south Granville, such a sweet beautiful lady, in fact breaking up with her really motivated me to head overseas. I have been so lucky to have know so many GORGEOUS GIRLS.
My Long Winding Road
Halfway to England we took in some very famous sights.
The White Lion Hotel in Cobham
Glen & I worked as barmen for a few months, I think we drank as much as we served. 🙂
7th Engineer on the La Marea
After 12 months away I needed to earn some money to pay for my trip home. Spent a few months working on the ship, we took Volkswagens to America & bought back grain to Europe.
My first job in Sales
I joined Macdougals LTD in Clarence St Sydney in 1966 selling Victor calculators, this was the year of decimal changeover. Then in 1969 I became Victorian state sales manager for Victor calculators, Smith Corona typewrites, Elliot addressing machines & SCM copiers. I had a staff of 30 salesmen, & what a shit fight that was.
Living in Alma Rd St Kilda & working in Swanston St in the city. From the left we have David Adams, aka the Animal, Adrian Yates, Mike Wright, DH, Graham Edwards & ???.
Sydney 1971
Moved back to Sydney after 2 years in Melbourne, here I am with good friend Peter Lewis & one of his many girlfriends Marilyn.
Living in Adelaide 1973.
This shot was taken at a party I organised on the beach at Semaphore in 1973, at the home of Maria Martin. Lots of photos HERE.
The music in the 70s produced many of my all time favourite songs, here are 3 of those.
Piano man 1973
Hotel California 1977
Suttans of Swing 1978
Darwin airport 1972
Ansett hosties & Arch Wilke (RIP) an ex north Adelaide Aussie rules player.
The following day
Manton dam south of Darwin.
Anzac Highway Plymton in Adelaide.
The cool dude on the right is Grahame Farquhar who was one of my regular drinking partners. I last saw him in 2014.
Melbourne Cup 1975
Di Lett & the man in the black hat. 🙂
Wood St North Melbourne
I transferred from Adelaide to Melbourne with Sanyo, in 1973, lived there 2 years & met many new & interesting people, got engaged to a beautiful lady and narrowly escaped an attempt on my life. 🙂 I was 1 year at Lexton Grove Windsor & 1 at North Melbourne.
I love this photo
It was 1975, I’m with Di Parkinson, her brother Phil, Wolf Wottke & Angie.
A little bit of erotica. 🙂
As they say in the classics, two ladies called Dianne are better than one. 🙂
The Herd family in 1979
A rare photo of the five brothers together with our beautiful Mother.
Adelaide in 1975
Sadly as time goes by we lose some friends, that’s Hank Wottke between Angie & Parko, he passed away while living in Western Australia, RIP. Kneeling at the front is Trevor Beach, worked for City Ford in Sydney for a number of years, RIP old buddy.
Thanks for visiting my My Long Winding Road photo blog, PART TWO is coming soon
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
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.
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. 🙂
Pattaya life 2016, this is my 5 year in this city by the beach. Why is it the older you get the faster time seems to go? The photo above is the coffee shop at the front of my condo where I go for a daily caffeine hit and sometimes a blueberry cheesecake to go with it. I have decided to slow down on my travel this year due to over spending in 2015. I have some smaller trips planned and another Japan visit in October.
In fact 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.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from the 1st half of 2016. Part 2 will commence July 1st.
I invited two of my friends over for dinner, roasted Australian lamb shanks with baked vegetables. Washed down with Australian red wine which I buy here for B300 ($12) for a 2 litre bottle.
Larry Krausz, a friend for around 30 years suffered a major stroke on October 28 2017. 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.
Pattaya life 2016
This part of Pattaya always remains the same, an endless choice of girlie bars providing anything an ageing playboy could ever ask for.
Still the main Pattaya tourist attraction, however I would only visit 2 or 3 times a year, mainly when friends come from overseas.
Here are two Walking St addicts
Don’t take it the wrong way, Gordon Shanks from New York and Jonathan Whiting from Brisbane are only addicted to the bright lights, gorgeous girls and exotic locations all over the world.
Australian visitors
David Robertson on the right has been a friend for over 30 years, originally from Melbourne he moved to the Gold Coast about 40 years ago. His son Chris on the left is an Emirates pilot who lives in Dubai.
Beach Road floods
More water on Beach Rd Pattaya than Songkran
A very common sight in Pattaya, this was February 16 after a short storm.
Mum Aroi at Naklua
A very popular Naklua restaurant specialising in live seafood. Very busy on weekends so try to visit during the week.
Because of the turnover and the live product you can guarantee everything is fresh here.
Valentines day in Pattaya
The local council always find a reason to decorate the footpath on Beach Road.
I’m not sure these beach babes do much to decorate the area.
I actually have a photo blog dedicated to Babushkas in bikinis, just follow this link.
Beach Resort Mae Pim on the gulf of Thailand is only ninety minutes by car east of Pattaya, and 2 hours south of Bangkok. Beautiful white sand and clean water, and so quiet and peaceful after the noise & Madness of Pattaya.
Looks like a bomb site
A huge new shopping mall and hotel is being built opposite the Dolphin roundabout in North Pattaya. It will be the same brand as Terminal 21 at Asoke in Bangkok.
Dolphin roundabout Pattaya
Hooters comes to Pattaya
Hooters Pattayaopening night was on New Years Eve 2015 so we decided to make it our first stop when seeing off the old and welcoming the new year. It’s a great addition to Beach Road and naturally has many beautiful sexy babes on the staff. Both Thai & Russian as you can clearly see.
Hooters always seem to be promoting charity events etc to publicise their great venue, check out the charity bike wash here.
Bow and her Bonds
The gorgeous girlfriend of my friend Matt Harkness, an Adelaide guy who is living the dream in Pattaya. A local website held a contest to find “Miss Love Pattaya Thailand”, heats were held at “Planet Earth Beach Club” in Jomtien. Check out my photo blogs for lots of great Thai and Russian babes competing for the B100,000 first prize.
From my balcony
From my balcony June 19 and another perfect Pattaya day.
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.
Cold beers, hot night
After dinner drinks with Todd & Hamish in Naklua Road.
Fraser’s at Jomtien
Quite a good sports bar on the left as you go down the hill into Jomtien, very good hamburgers.
In recent years it has improved out of sight, no longer is it a lazy beach side suburb of Pattaya. There are many new restaurants and hotels generally cheaper and quieter than Pattaya.
Natan’s at Jomtien
Put Naten’s on your bucket list, it is in my top 6 restaurants in Pattaya and Jomtien.
I went to Bangkok 3 times in this first six months not just for a break from Pattaya but to check out lots of great places I have never been to. I was there in January, February and May.
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.
Thailand David Herd 2012 can easily be explained, I moved from Australia to Thailand October 2011 and had settled in nicely by 2012. I live in Markland in Beach Rd, it’s the building on the right side of the Holiday Inn shown in the photo above.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2012.
I moved to Thailand mainly because I wanted to keep travelling while my health allowed me to, there are huge advantages being closer to all the places I want to visit. Cost of living in Thailand is around 35% of the cost in Australia, plus flights are 50% cheaper because you are much closer to everywhere. ? Consequently I am able to travel to many more places compared to living in Australia. Having said all that, it is & has always been my intention to return to Australia when my travelling is finished, I predict this will happen around 2021.
Am I happy? Check out my view.
I have always loved having a good view from my home, Pattaya Bay is without a doubt the best outlook I have ever had in my life.
The wet season in September.
I love watching the storms roll in over the bay in the wet season.
French restaurant opposite my condo.
Dinner at Bernard’s with some friends (plus one enemy) & my brother Warren. Sadly due to a tourist slowdown they closed in 2014. He has now re-opened in Theppraya Rd & has a mini golf course at his restaurant.
Great life in Pattaya.
Here I am at the beautiful Siam country club, one of the best courses I have ever played on.
Sunday brunch at the Mantra
My favourite restaurant is the Mantra at the Amari hotel, the Sunday brunch is magnificent.
Another Sunday brunch at the Mantra.
Lunch with Daryl Evans, Hamish & his lovely (soon to become ex) girlfriend Noi.
Joergen Ulitza & I forget this guys name.
Only last week in July 2014 we got the news that Joerg had been arrested in Hong Kong trying to leave for Melbourne with HK $1 million worth of Meth, he is 78 years of age and sadly will probably die in prison. We are all stunned by this terrible news, I have known Joerg for over 30 years.
Good news. after around 15 months Joerg was released.
Murphy’s 70th at Monsoon in Bangkok.
Friend of 30 years Tony Murphy from Australia has his 70th birthday in Bangkok at Monsoon in Soi 8 Nana.
With Aoy at the Cherry Bar.
I guess the only question is “what time can I start having fun”?
Dinner at Chamiko
Great Japanese food at Chamiko in Soi 3, Potholewas flyblown & causing havoc but behaved a little better when his pole dancer turned up. Larry, Joergen & I just enjoyed the food. Sadly our mate Larry passed away in January 2017 after suffering a major stroke in Thailand.
Beach Club at Wongamat
For over 20 years we had some great times together. We even did a world trip in 1999 which included Carnival in Rio. We miss you old buddy.
One of my favourite photos
A thai guy chatting up a Russian babe on Pattaya beach, you have no chance buddy. 🙂
Another terrific night at the Mantra to celebrate my birthday.
Chauk Htat Gyi Buddha in Myanmar
I went to Yangon in Myanmarto play golf for a few days, I found the city so fascinating I only had one game of golf, the rest of the time I went sightseeing. Myanmar certainly was a big part of my great life in 2012.
I travelled to Sydney & the Gold Coastin March and caught up with friends and family.
Facebook post November 2012
Magic Monday in Pattaya, started with my 25 minute walk down the beach to have breakfast at the Sportmans pub, sausage, eggs, baked beans and a bottle of water, back home for a short nap before a terrific 1 hour foot , back & shoulder massage before meeting Lazza for Salmon Sashimi & Shanghai dumplings at Big C shopping mall. Then a large Latte at Coffee World followed by a quiet afternoon at home with my million $ view and Mr Kindle.
Four or five Jack Daniels at the Cherry bar at 6pm, then on to Toscana on Beach road for dinner, BBQ Quail with boiled potatoes, 2 glasses of Chianti, finishing with Profiteer rolls with Amaretto ice cream on the side. Total cost for the day 2,200 Baht, 44 Quid or $69 AUD, priceless. Notice how I resisted the urge to use that irritating American cliché of “do the math”?
November 2016 & the AUD had shrunk almost 20%, B2.200 is now $82.
March 2021 & the story gets worse, b2,200 is now $92 AUD, we now realise how good we had it back in 2012.
Thanks for visiting Great life Thailand David Herd 2012 photo blog.
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Ansett hosties & Arch Wilke (RIP) an ex north Adelaide Aussie rules player.
