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Pattaya flesh eating fish

August 10, 2014 by David Herd

This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Pattaya flesh eating fish seemed to be the focus on my two visits to Thailand in 2010, the first trip was mid January to meet Bill Austin & Joan Baptiste, my friends from England who were on their way to Australia for the first time.

Three visits to Thailand 2010 in another busy year of travel including Cambodia, Singapore, French Riviera, Cinque Terre Italy, Switzerland & Austria.

Joan & Bill in the Baht Bus

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Enjoying their first trip to Thailand.

Here we are at the Cherry Bar

Pattaya flesh eating fish

The Cherry Bar has been my favorite Thai beer bars since 2003.

Beer bars LK Metro.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

One of the good Thai beer bars in busy LK Metro in Pattaya. Greg Johnstone (2nd from left) has been a friend of mine for 25 years, we both lived on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Cheers dears

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Greg does enjoy a drink with the girls, just being a good boss I guess. 🙂

Ah! life in Pattaya, someone has to do it. 🙂

Pattaya flesh eating fish

As you can see, I really love living in Pattaya. LK Metro has many good bars & restaurants. Across the road from Billabong is i-Rovers another good sports bar. Billabong also has good cheap hotel rooms if you want to be in the middle of all the action. Book through AGODA for excellent rates. Low cost rooms are also available at i-rovers.

LK Metro webcam

That cam is looking at Billabong one of the Thai beer bars in LK Metro.

A rose between two thorns

Pattaya flesh eating fish

While on the subject of fun in Patttaya, here I am squeezed between two lovely ladies at the Atlantic one of the best Thai beer bars in 2nd rd.

When can I start having fun?

Beer bars flesh eating fish

Out of control at the Jasmine beer bar in Soi 3.


Alan Kendall & a hot babe.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Alan is an Aussie who seems to fit right in to the Pattaya scene.

The golfers like the Atlantic Bar

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Back in 2010 the golfers used to gather at the Atlantic bar Friday nights to drink beer and exaggerate about their amazing shots on the course that day. A very nice bunch of guys from all over the world, sadly they have now found a new venue for their after golf drinks.

Enjoying a beer at Gulliver’s with Alan Kendall

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Gulliver’s is an excellent sports bar about 100 meters from y condo.

Pattaya flesh eating fish, Tony Murphy

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Apart from the Thai beer bars the latest fad in Pattaya and other parts of the world is “Flesh-Eating Fish Performing ‘Pedicures’“, here is my friend Tony trying it out. I notice in the U.S. the process costs $45, in Pattaya it’s only $7.

Pattaya flesh eating fish, dinner is served

Pattaya flesh eating fish

David Herd & Trevor Loresch at the Cherry Bar.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

I drink Jack Daniels at the Cherry Bar & big Trevor from Western Australia prefers beer. He now lives in “The Cove” a luxury condo in Wongamat.

Wongamat beach

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Wongamat used to be a hangout for all the German expats, these days in 2014 the Russians have taken over.

Markland Condo on the left of the A1 hotel.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

When I was in Thailand 2010 little did I realize I would be living on the 20th floor of Markland Condo from October 2011 until now in April 2016.

Soi 4 foot massage

Pattaya flesh eating fish

One of the great benefits of visiting or living in Thailand are the fabulous foot massages. The lady with the lovely smile is still working in this same parlour now in 2014.

The magnificent Mantra

Pattaya flesh eating fish

My favourite restaurant in the whole world. The Sunday brunch is the best buffet I have ever had, everything from Alaskan crab, French oysters, NZ lamb, Japanese sushi, etc etc. There are seven different kitchens to choose from. Sadly the Amari Hotel made a stupid decision to close this magnificent restaurant in 2018.

The fabulous Mantra restaurant, Amari hotel in Pattaya Thailand.

Nana Plaza in Bangkok

Pattaya flesh eating fish

I have been visiting the Thai beer bars & go go clubs at the infamous Nana Plaza since 1996 and have seen many changes. Back then there was about 10% LadyBoys, in 2010 that had risen to 25% now in 2014 there seems to be 50%.

The Beergarden near Walking St Pattaya

Pattaya flesh eating fish

A very good venue for low cost food with a million dollar view. Lots of TV screens that seem to play music videos from the 80s.

Ice on the left with her friend Na.

Thai beer bars have flesh eating fish

I met Ice a couple of years ago when she was dancing at Nana Plaza, a very sweet lady indeed.

This is Pang (number 59) from the Honey Pot.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Another sweet lady who worked at the Honey Pot in Soi 2. Sadly both her and the Honey Pot have disappeared.

My brother Warren at the Cherry Bar.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

My brother visits Pattaya every year, in February we discovered a new beach side village near Rayong called Mae Pim, check out my photo blog here.

 Sunday brunch at the Mantra.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Another great lunch at the Mantra with a bunch of friends is September 2010.

Beautiful girl in Soi 3.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Now in 2016 there does not seem to be as many attractive girls in the bars around North Pattaya as there used to be.

Gorgeous girl in Jasmine bar Soi 3.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Half the bars in Soi 3 have closed and now A1 hotel is building across the road so in the next year or so I think most will be closed.

Gang of four

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Trevor Loersch, Phil Avalon, David Herd & Alan Kendall.

Warren, the boys & the Muslim girls

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Now in March 2016 I am sad to say our great friend Lenny is very ill battling cancer. Keep up the good fight Lenny.

Sad to say Lenny lost the battle, RIP my friend.

Dinner in Soi 6, Ray, Lenny Warren & David

Pattaya flesh eating fish

The Queen Victoria hotel in Soi 6 serves very good food at a reasonable price.

Atlantic bar

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Atlantic is another bar I have been visiting for many years.

Phil Avalon & Alan Kendall in Walking St.

Pattaya flesh eating fish

One of the many seafood restaurants in Walking St.

Walking Street

Pattaya flesh eating fish

Thanks for visiting Pattaya flesh eating fish I’m guessing there must be 2000 Thai beer bars in Pattaya catering for your every desire. 🙂

To receive my latest posts please follow me on Twitter                                    

 Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

Fun in Pattaya-116         92bfa275-a122-4078-9970-1e24188a5917        CopacabanabeachNov2003-124

             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
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 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

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

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 
 


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Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

July 24, 2014 by David Herd

Interesting times for the FiveStarVagabond

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Melbourne danger drama romance in the mid 70s, it turned out to be a period of change & exceptional drama. 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.

Please note this is not part of my travel blog, it is my online photo album.

When an underworld gangster threatens your life it certainly gets your attention, but it couldn’t have been further from my mind as I turned my red E-type Jaguar into my street at 11pm on Saturday September 27 1975.  My best friend Wolf Wottke and I had been at the piano bar at the Old Melbourne Hotel since 2pm discussing my predicament and trying to work out if the threat was real or imagined. That nine hour drinking session included my other best friend “Jim Beam” who in later years was replaced by “Jack Daniels”.

Not much gets past me, so the question was answered fairly quickly when I saw the three fire engines and two police cars parked outside of my smoldering home at 10 Wood St North Melbourne.

My first thought was “the house next door has had a fire”, my second thought was “Houston, we have a problem.”

My worst fears were confirmed when a detective opened the door of the Jag and I fell out onto the road, he looked down at me and asked “are you Mr Herd”?

“I certainly am” I slurred, and he said “well I have some bad news for you; there has been a fire in your home”.

So how did it get to this? Well it all started three years ago when I met a beautiful dizzy blonde at a party in Avalon in Sydney, my story about this meeting was told in another post, more details about how and why my house was firebombed can be found here.

Looking back all those years ago I could have lived without the Melbourne drama & focused more on the romance. 🙂

Wood St North Melbourne just off Abbotsford St

I sold my Adelaide home in Torrens Park

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

I had only lived in my lovely sandstone home at Lochwinoch Ave Torrens Park in Adelaide for seven months in 1973 when Ross Radford my boss at Sanyo Office Machines decided to transfer me to Melbourne as his State Manager. In many ways I was sad to leave Adelaide and all the friends I had made but it was a promotion with more money and prestige so how could I refuse?

You will laugh at the prices in those days, I paid $24,000 and sold it 7 months for $31,000. I also remember buying new cars for my sales reps, Holdens were $3,200 and my salary was $6,000 per year.

I still consider the two years I spent in Adelaide from 1972 were perhaps the most fun I have ever had in my entire life. 🙂 Arriving in Melbourne drama & romance were the last thing I expected, then again I guess the romance was not a surprise but the drama was.

Same house 40 years later in 2014

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

The house had not changed in all those years, seeing it certainly brought back some wonderful memories.

Lexton Grove Windsor

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

One of my lovely Adelaide girlfriends Jan Seegars came to visit me in Melbourne. I was renting a house in 15 Lexton Grove Windsor, just off Dandenong road & two blocks from Orrong Rd.

Here is Jan 50 years later in 2014.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Still looking very good. 🙂

Here we both are October 2014

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

We crossed paths again in Dromana in Victoria in October 2014 & shared lots of laughs about the great times we had in the 70s.

Lovely Lee Gregory.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

I mentioned romance in my opening paragraph, and here is my most serious attempt at it. I met Lee in Adelaide and was thrilled to find she had moved to Melbourne. After a very short period when became engaged, after what seemed an even shorter period it came to an abrupt end. Her ex boyfriend from Adelaide was always lurking in the background and his influence won the prize, c’est la vie. 🙂

Lee & Baxter

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Fiancée number 2, it would take 10 years before fiancée number 3 would appear.

Lee & I in Singapore in 1974

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

We went out for 2 months before being engaged for 3 months, in that time we had a terrific holiday in Singapore & Bali.

Melbourne Cup 1975

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

John Lawless & Ray Dodd at the Melbourne cup in 1975. Ray has owned the Keilor Hotel since he acquired it from his father in 1974.

George Dodd established the first school in Keilor, several years later Mathew Goudie opened a school in the Keilor Hotel. Mathew was a Scottish baker fro Ayr who had previously run a bakers shop in Bourke St. Mathew purchased the Keilor Hotel in 1862 for the sum of 1000 pounds, it had been built in 1849, succeeding a timber building erected in 1842 by the Hunter brothers. Georges son, John, married Mathews daughter, Mary, they had five children and established a farm called Brimbank (because the house was on the brim of the river bank). Today the areas of Keilor and Sunshire are the City of Brimbank.

After Mathew passed away another of his daughters, Jane, ran the Hotel to 1907 when the family decided to lease the Hotel out. Tough times followed with World war 1 and the Great Depression, John & Mary’s son Harry could remember collecting the money from the leasee and picking up 1 keg of beer from Bouverie St in his fathers horse drawn wagon, the keg could last 2 weeks before they had to make another delivery.

Post World War 2 prosperity returned to Keilor and to the only surviving hotel in the area (there were a dozen during the Gold Rush). Now the older generations of the Dodd and Goudie families had passed away, Harry preferred to remain a market gardener and it wasn’t until 1974 that Harry’s son Ray leased the Hotel from the family.

Melbourne Cup 1975, check the haircut. 🙂

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

After all it is nearly 40 years ago.

Think Big won the cup that year for the 2nd time in a row, think big was obviously also what the guy above was thinking when he combed his hair.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance Xmas 1975

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

 Angella Savic, Hank Wottke (RIP), Di Parkinson & Trevor Beach (RIP) in Adelaide.

Parko looking fabulous

https://fivestarvagabond.com/melbourne danger romanceWhat a knockout. 🙂

Beechworth Victoria 1975

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

An absolute classic photo, check out the bell bottom jeans and my beautiful E-Type Jaguar. Di Parkinson, Phil Parkinson, Paula, Wolf Wottke & Angella Savic.

Beechworth Victoria 1975

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

A red E-Type & a great looking chick, what more could a fellow want? A haircut maybe. 🙂

Dianne Parkinson, great lady but a little bit crazy.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

She was a terrific looking girl, totally crazy and a lot of fun. There is no doubt that no other woman in my life caused me more drama than Di. From the moment we met in 1971 and for the next 5 or 6 years she at times turned my world upside down. 🙂

Max was my service manager at Sanyo

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Max also worked for MacDougalls LTD when I was transferred to Melbourne from Sydney in 1969, he worked for me when I returned to Melbourne with Sanyo in 1974. Looking back my Melbourne drama was one of the most dangerous events in my life, however apart than that, life in Melbourne was very good to me. I had a great job earning good money, a nice car and some interesting friends.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Not quite Melbourne, in fact it happened in Adelaide. The Photo below was taken in Melbourne, now 40 years later in October 2014 I paid a visit to John in an Adelaide jail where he has spent the last 24 years.

John, Rosalyn & I

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

Taken at my home at 15 Lexton Grove Armidale, what do you think about my classy shirt? This photo was taken 40 years ago in Melbourne in 1974. John Farquhar & Roslyn were friends of mine, John received the 2nd longest sentence in South Australia’s history, 3 weeks ago I paid him a visit in the Adelaide prison where he has resided for the last 24 years. Believe me when I say he looks nothing like he does in this photo, I guess I don’t either. I have no idea what happened to Roslyn.   John was very good company, polite and interesting. However he had a wild streak and a total disregard for the law. He was also clever enough to have a solicitor for a girlfriend, her name is Natalie Dunford. She bought my E-Type Jag in 1979 & still owns it today.   This may sound strange but in the 70s he was a very nice guy, but sadly an habitual criminal. Here is one very funny story I recall, he used his own white E-Type Jag as a getaway car after pulling a robbery. With the cops in pursuit he is firing bullets at them from the car. Now in Adelaide in 1974 there were only about 6 E-Type Jaguars in the city, John’s, my red one, my best friend’s green one an 3 others. Naturally the police tracked him down in no time at all.                                                                                

Brian Roberts RIP.

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

I have just found out an old friend passed away in August 2016, one of Melbourne’s great characters, on many occasions I did enjoy “an ale with the Whale”.

Greetings from Thailand

Melbourne Danger Drama Romance

It’s 2023 and I have been living in Thailand for 12 years.  I was planning to return to Oz in 2024 & find a little bolthole somewhere on the NSW coast close to the beach or Chevron Island on the Gold Coast. However recent trips to Australia have changed my opinion, I think I’m in Thailand for the long haul.  Thanks for visiting my Melbourne Danger Drama Romance photo blog.           

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

Fun in Pattaya-116         92bfa275-a122-4078-9970-1e24188a5917        CopacabanabeachNov2003-124

             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
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 That’s all folks
1g Duck
Pattaya live webcam 
 
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A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

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

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 

  Click here for my post on Dromana in 2014.

 

Gold Coast in November 2014

 

Gold Coast in 2004

 

Check out these great posts



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Birthdays weddings funerals

July 10, 2014 by David Herd

Birthdays weddings funerals in 2007, plus another hectic year of travel resulted in one of the best years for me in this century. Even though my beautiful mother passed away it was a relief for myself and my family as she had deteriorated to an almost vegetable state due to advanced dementia.

Travel in 2007 took me to Tokyo & Kyoto in April, my first trip to Japan, I loved it so much I went back to Tokyo in December as the first leg of a world trip which also took me to England, Lisbon & Rio De Janeiro. Thailand in June, August & November including Koh Samui in June. In January I was in Sydney for one of the seven birthdays.

This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2007.

Beautiful Sydney

Birthdays weddings funerals

On January 3rd in Sydney was Peter Hesky’s 60th birthday, we had lunch at the very upmarket Doyle’s restaurant at the Rocks.

Peter Hesky, David Herd & Richard Blair.

Birthdays weddings funerals

I have known Peter for 30 years so I was glad to be at his 60th, these days in 2014 he seems to have turned into an eccentric recluse, he does not keep in contact with me anymore but I hear from some of his fiends he is doing ok and enjoying his life.

Richard is an interesting fellow and a successful businessman, yet in 2004 in Koh Samui I gave him the nickname “Mr Stingy” so I guess that explains his character. I often daydream about winning lotto, I would be traveling the world first class instead of cattle class. 🙂

One thing with Stingy however, he does enjoy life with his long lunches at Bar Reggio in Sydney and visiting Thailand 5 or 6 times a year & to his credit he is a very successful businessman.

Peter Hobbs, Joyce Weir & Steven Bates.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Three more old friends were at the celebration, I have known the guys since the early 80s & Joyce since 1972 in Adelaide. In fact I stayed at Steve’s home in Singapore only 2 weeks ago in June 2014.

Ken Shelly, Steve Bates & I at Bar Reggio.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Bar Reggio is a very well known restaurant in Crown St  Darlinghurst in Sydney, good low cost Italian food, and bring your own wine.

Nick & Sharron

Birthdays weddings funerals

My friends Nick & Sharron stayed in my home for several months, they looked after it while I was in Brazil for 2 months from December. They often visit Thailand and will be here again July 21st 2014.

A couple of critters around my home.

Birthdays weddings funerals

A couple of these guys swim past many times each day.

Unexpected visitor looking into my office.

   Birthdays weddings funerals

These stingrays often cruise up and down my beach, and this cheeky little lizard was peeking in my office window.

Talking about wild animals

Birthdays weddings funerals

Her name is Danny, a very wild lady, I’m not sure what chemical substance she was sampling this night, but whatever is was it certainly worked its magic. For once I’m going to say no more on the subject. 🙂

The Beast on Chevron Island.

Birthdays weddings funerals

I can’t recall what the promotion on Chevron Island was all about but I do remember the gorgeous girls that were helping with the task.

Very cute indeed

Birthdays weddings funerals

All I can say is…………….

Birthdays weddings funerals

 

Craig aka “Sudzi” & gorgeous Chrissy.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Sudzi has worked in most of the popular Surfers Paradise bars & restaurants for year, he is also quite a talented photographer. He currently works at Waxy’s Irish Pub in Surfers Paradise. Chrissy also works in hospitality, last time I saw her she was at “Shuck” in Main Beach.

Drinks at Melbas

Birthdays weddings funerals

For many years Melbas in Surfers Paradise was our local drinking hole, here  I am with Noel Smith, David Robertson & Greg Craig. Noel & Greg were great friends for many years & sadly Noel passed away around 2010.

Tammy Brazel has her 40th Birthday

Birthdays weddings funerals

Happy birthday Tammy.

Tammy & Cate on Tammy’s 40th.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Another one of the seven birthdays on Chevron Island for Tammy’s birthday, last month we were relaxing on Koh Samui.

On a sadder note

Birthdays weddings funerals

Simon Markby, sadly passed in July 2012, RIP. Originally from Melbourne before moving to the Gold Coast, Simon was a guy who loved life, expensive cars & boats, not that there is anything wrong with that. 🙂

Asuka from Osaka

Birthdays weddings funerals

Asuka was a lovely Japanese girl staying in my home, she lives in Osaka and we sometimes stay in contact through Facebook

Phil Thomson’s new toy

Birthdays weddings funerals

My great mate Phil splashed out on a terrific cruiser to park outside his Runaway Bay home. Sadly the excitement soon wore off & he sold it a year later. 🙂

Drinks at the Rowers

Birthdays weddings funerals

The Rowers was only a 4 minute walk from my home, very convenient indeed. 🙂

How do you like this number plate?

Birthdays weddings funerals

Trying very hard to be noticed.

This is one great looking car.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Great looking car owned by Ken Lowry. 

Sadly Ken passed away in 2017 after a short illness.

But this one is better

Birthdays weddings funerals

Aston Martin Vanquish owned by one of my friends Lloyd Ross.

At Labrador looking south to Surfers Paradise.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Looking south towards Southport.

I got caught didn’t I?

Birthdays weddings funerals

I was at Melbas having drinks with friends and this lovely girl was there on her “Hens” night before getting married. She said buy me a drink please David, so I did & it cost me $50. 🙁

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Another of the seven birthdays Les Scheffer’s 60th

Birthdays weddings funerals

Les Scheffer, Juergen Ulitzer & I at Les’s 60th. Sadly Les passed away in March 2020.

How quickly things can change

Birthdays weddings funerals

I couldn’t resist showing this photo from Les’s 60th birthday, the three on the left including me are all on Les’s black list for various social infractions. One of my many bad habits is rattling peoples cages, Les & his wife Robyn did not react well to my last effort. 🙂

Another birthday for my good friend Ross Kennedy.

Birthdays weddings funerals

We are at Riviera Trattoria Sorrento

I lost 7 kilo before leaving for Brazil

Birthdays weddings funerals

Trim, taut, terrific, if I say so myself. 🙂

Three lovely Japanese girls having lunch at my home.

Birthdays weddings funerals

Megumi on the left has been a friend since since 1988 when she rented a room in my home at Sorrento. Asuka is in the center and the gorgeous girl on the right was a golf pro at a local course.

200 meters to the middle of the lake.

Birthdays weddings funerals

I asked her to hit 5 or 6 balls into the lake and she certainly had a smooth swing.

My lovely niece Elyssa

Birthdays weddings funerals

Elyssa was single & fancy free in 2007, now in 2014 she is the proud mother of a gorgeous little girl called Isabel.

Bye bye my beautiful Benz.

Birthdays weddings funerals

After 17 wonderful years I have sold my beautiful yellow canary to a nice lady in outback Queensland. She is a dentist in a mining town and I’m sure she will turn many heads when she drives down the main St in this wonderful car. This was my first step in downsizing my treasured possessions with a view of moving to Thailand. Little did I realize because of the GFC it would be four years before I could move to Thailand.

Gorgeous German waitress at Melbas.

Birthdays weddings funerals

One of the many gorgeous girls at Melbas.

One of the Seven birthdays Smokey Shitterer’s 55th

Birthdays weddings funerals

Average age 55 at Robyn’s birthday. 🙂

Grahame LaRoche & his bride Sheena

Birthdays weddings funerals

Grahame LaRoche aka “BIff” decided to tie the knot again, if I remember correctly the marriage only lasted a year or so. 🙂

“Biff” a colorful character to say the least

Birthdays weddings funerals

Grahame LaRoche aka “The Biff”, how did he get that name you may well ask? In his younger days he used to travel around the countryside with the Jimmy Sharman boxing troupe. They visit country towns set up tents and offer to fight all the local lads for a cash prize. Biff was a light heavyweight and legend tells us that he was never beaten. He is a lovely bloke and I’m very glad to have known him for many years. In fact he was on of the main characters on my boat on NYE 1981 when we were peppered by falling skyrockets.

Another Xmas lunch at Melbas.

Birthdays weddings funerals

The yearly tradition continues with a group of guys mainly from Melbourne gathering for a Xmas lunch at Melbas restaurant.

Noodles, Chocolates & Rocket, aka the verbal battering ram.

Birthdays weddings funerals

These three reprobates have been drinking buddies for many years in Surfers Paradise. Chocs is famous for never buying anyone a drink, Rocket is known a “the verbal battering ram” & Noodles is famous for just being Noodles. 🙂

 With John Sinclair & Ian Pettifer in Chinatown Sydney.

Birthdays weddings funerals

In March 2009 sadly Ian passed away after a long battle with cancer, he was a gentleman.

Drinks on Chevron Island for my birthday on July 7.

Birthdays weddings funerals

 One of the seven birthday rolls around, here I am with Greg Craig, Les Scheffer, Dave Hosket & Nigel Treliving celebrating mine.

Time to paint my roof.

Birthdays weddings funerals

My original roof color had faded somewhat so it was time for a paint job.

My beautiful home looks brand new now.

Birthdays weddings funerals

I designed and built my beautiful waterfront home in Surfers Paradise. I moved in July 1st 1990 and sold it 21 years later in October 2011 and moved to Thailand.

At Melbas with Dave Hosket & Alan Jones

Birthdays weddings funerals

Alan Jones of course was 2 times world Formula 1 world champion. While the American Dave Hosket was a shocking sycophant. 🙂 Dave did have a claim to fame however, for a number of years he was Bob Dylan’s back up drummer on tour.

My families saddest day

Birthdays weddings funerals

 My beautiful mother passed away in 2007, although it was terribly sad, it was really a relief for myself and my family, she had deteriorated to an almost vegetable state due to advanced dementia. It’s a terrible sickness, however the family suffer much more than the patient as they are oblivious to everything around them. The worst thing for me was seeing this wonderful lady as a shadow of the beautiful woman and wonderful Mother I knew and loved all my life. RIP Mum.

1943 with Mum & Dad

Birthdays weddings funerals

Iris & Arthur Herd, RIP.

 What a wonderful World

Ok, that’s all for my Birthdays weddings funerals photo blog, many thanks for dropping by.

Have a look at my life on the Gold Coast in 2006     

       

 Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

Fun in Pattaya-116         92bfa275-a122-4078-9970-1e24188a5917        CopacabanabeachNov2003-124

             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
                         d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037              01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

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

 

 Soi Cowboy       Nana Plaza            Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

Gold Coast                              Pattaya                          Cinque Terre

Rio de Janeiro                 Singapore                    Eastern Europe

Bangkok Bars                         Tokyo                      Cape Town Safari

Check out these great photo blogs.

Counter only started June 26 2020.

This gallery contains 2 photos

Pattaya Beach live webcam 24/7

July 1, 2014 by David Herd

 

Another link to access webcam.

Pattaya Beach live webcam 24/7 from my balcony overlooking Pattaya Bay

Pattaya Beach live webcam

Click bottom right hand corner for full screen.

Thanks for visiting my Pattaya Beach live webcam.

Pattaya Beach live webcam

Willkommen an alle unsere deutschen Freunde aus daspattayaforum

Bookmark the link so you can check out the view and the weather 24/7.

Pattaya is a city in Thailand, a beach resort popular with tourists and expatriates. It is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Bangkok. Bookmark Webcam Beach Road Pattaya Thailand so you can check out the weather anytime you wish.

Pattaya Beach live webcam

Pattaya Beach live webcam

Best Pattaya Beach Thailand Webcam

Pattaya Beach live webcam only shows you a small part of this great holiday location.  Pattaya is a city of extremes, anything your heart desires is available here, from fabulous five star hotels & restaurants to down & dirty backstreet beer bars offering sex drugs & rock & roll. OK, so we admit there is sex in the city but there is so much more to this wonderful seaside resort, four million tourists each year can’t be wrong. Only 90 minutes south of Bangkok airport and thousands of miles from stress.

Thanks for visiting my Best Pattaya Beach Thailand Webcam blog, this is by far the best web cam on the the coast. Please bookmark the link and come back again soon.
 
Regards from the Five Star Vagabond. 🙂
 
Check out some of these great posts. 
 
 

Sabai Wing Soi 1 North Pattaya

Pattaya Beach live webcam

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.

For a more upmarket hotel on Beach Rd

Pattaya Beach live webcam

Just use THIS LINK for a terrific rate at the Wave Hotel.

 

                    Here are some more posts to check out 

         Sydney                               Paris                                   Bangkok           
 497d0b6e-c0bd-4ba2-86be-c02100f050a8        65470622-d17a-4b90-bf97-2574df4c412d        1a2160c1-41f7-465a-954c-631e083eb229
          Tokyo                        Rio De Janeiro                        Budapest
f59e958e-8eaf-48b4-8e96-c291a0c13d1a        f044491e-69aa-4082-b49b-1ff33557d7d4        a6a948cd-f30a-49ea-a905-82be4d202cc9
           London                            Beijing                            Capetown
2246c6cf-5fa6-4fbe-ac30-b569253ad2a6        f65d714b-f44c-4b2e-9505-3511ebecbb80        4e82052a-24d0-41e1-ab84-10e8f27634d1
 
                                                          Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you                                
                                                      book through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
                                                                 Plus free cancellation .
                                               Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
                                            d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037            01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 

Slide show here.

Pattaya live webcam
 

That’s all folks

1g Duck

Pattaya webcam only shows you a small part of this great holiday location.  Pattaya is a city of extremes, anything your heart desires is available here, from fabulous five star hotels & restaurants to down & dirty backstreet beer bars offering sex drugs & rock & roll. OK, so we admit there is sex in the city but there is so much more to this wonderful seaside resort, four million tourists each year can’t be wrong. Only 90 minutes south of Bangkok airport and thousands of miles from stress. 

Bookmark this Pattaya beach-cam so you can check out Pattaya beach anytime you wish.

Five Star hotels in Pattaya overlooking Pattaya beach are The Amari, The Holiday InnThe Hilton & the Dusit. Amari has the nicest grounds & pool area + the magnificent Mantra restaurant, the Hilton is above an upmarket shopping mall & is the most central, Holiday Inn has the best pizzas, the Dusit in North Pattaya has the best Dim Sum. 

Without a doubt AGODA is the best online Hotel booking site.

Please remember what you have probably already read in the press, hiring a jet ski is flirting with danger, 80% of the operators are running scams, when you return the ski they will claim you have damaged it and try to extort huge sums of money from you. Sadly many police are part of these scams as well, they will pretend they are on your side and negotiate the asking price down from say 60,000 Baht ($2,000) to 20,000 Baht, in Thailand unfortunately they have turned corruption into an art form. However it is no worse than Indonesia, India or Brazil, so just be careful.
Don’t forget to bookmark this Pattaya webcam.  Check out some of the strange & weird sights in Pattaya.

Check out some of the strange & weird sights in Pattaya.

 

Check out Walking St

 

The Tiger zoo is worth a visit

 

Here are some terrific luxury hotels, book through the Agoda links for great deals.

 

There are some wonderful five star hotels in Pattaya overlooking the beach. You will get some unbeatable rates on this…

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Tuesday, February 17, 2015

If you favour budget hotels like I do, here are some suggestions. 

There are some great budget hotels in Pattaya from as little as $25 per night. You will get some unbeatable rates on this site through Agoda. Just click on the photo to see lots of options.

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Tuesday, February 17, 2015               

                     Here are some more posts to check out 

         Sydney                               Paris                                   Bangkok           
 497d0b6e-c0bd-4ba2-86be-c02100f050a8        65470622-d17a-4b90-bf97-2574df4c412d        1a2160c1-41f7-465a-954c-631e083eb229
          Tokyo                        Rio De Janeiro                        Budapest
f59e958e-8eaf-48b4-8e96-c291a0c13d1a        f044491e-69aa-4082-b49b-1ff33557d7d4        a6a948cd-f30a-49ea-a905-82be4d202cc9
           London                            Beijing                            Capetown
2246c6cf-5fa6-4fbe-ac30-b569253ad2a6        f65d714b-f44c-4b2e-9505-3511ebecbb80        4e82052a-24d0-41e1-ab84-10e8f27634d1
 
                        Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you                                
                         book through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
                                                                 Plus free cancellation .
                                               Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
                                            d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037            01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
Pattaya live webcam
 

That’s all folks

1g Duck

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 7 photos

David Herd unforgettable year 2003

July 1, 2014 by David Herd

David Herd unforgettable year 2003, not sure how I survived, it was one of the busiest & best years for travel, & at home on the Gold Coast, 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.

In August I took 3 lovely Japanese girls on a 7,000 kilometer road trip through the Outback to Uluru, stopping at Broken Hill & Coober Pedy then on the way home we went to Airlie Beach & Hervey Bay to see the whales.

This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2003.

Lovely Japanese girls + Vannessa

David Herd unforgettable year

Most of these lovely girls were students, I took 3 of them on a 7,000 kilometre road trip through the Outback and to Uluru. My friend Vannessa Teo is the lovely lady on the right.

The girls loved my Mercedes.

David Herd unforgettable year

I had a couple of Japanese girls staying in my home, they loved my yellow Mercedes & here they are after I had taken them & their friends for a Yum Cha.

A very happy group Friends family students

David Herd unforgettable year

Harley is looking like a stunned mullet, the other guy is Jack, an Aussie who I met in Vietnam in January.

My beautiful home

David Herd unforgettable year

I lived here from 1990 to 2011 & loved every minute.

David Herd unforgettable year

David Herd unforgettable year

I enjoyed these beautiful sunsets for 21 wonderful years living in my beautiful home on the Gold Coast in Australia.

My beautiful Mercedes

David Herd unforgettable year

I owned this lovely car for 17 years, I reluctantly sold it in 2007 when I was starting to downsize with a view of moving to Thailand.

 Duranbah Beach Tweed Heads

David Herd unforgettable year

Duranbah Beach (NSW, also called Flagstaff Beach) is the most northern beach in NSW. The 500 m long beach faces east and is located between the northern 400 m long entrance wall of the Tweed River mouth  and the 30 m high black basalt slopes of Point Danger, which marks the Queensland-NSW border. 

Lunch with friends Ross & Mariana Kennedy

David Herd unforgettable year

Lunch at Omeros Brothers restaurant with good friends Ross & Mariana at the Marina Mirage.

Chevron Renaissance in Surfers Paradise

David Herd unforgettable year

One of my favourite people watching locations.

Getting ready for out road trip.

David Herd unforgettable year

My 3 Japanese friends Yukako, Noriko & Megumi who came on the Outback road trip. Did I mention life 2003 was frantic? Well our 7000 km journey in 2 weeks certainly was. 🙂

life 2003 celebrating my 60th birthday

David Herd unforgettable year

My 60th birthday with John Sinclair, Bruce Donachie, Ross Kennedy & Phil Thomson.

Owned by Billionaire Bob Ell.

David Herd unforgettable year

It would cost me a years wages (if I had a job) to fill it up with diesel.

Tony Murphy’s houseboat

David Herd unforgettable year

My friend Tony Murphy lived on his houseboat here in Surfers Paradise and previously in Townsville.

Coffee on Chevron Island with Ross Kennedy.

David Herd unforgettable year

I rarely miss a day going to Chevron Island for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner. 🙂

David Herd unforgettable year with some sweet Japanese girls

David Herd unforgettable year

On the left is Sayuri with her friend and Ziggy in the background. Sayuri stayed at my home for several months while studying English.

Sonia from Beijing.

David Herd unforgettable year

 Sonia & I went out together for a while, we met in Toowoomba where she was going to university, then hooked up last year in Beijing. She moved to Sydney and found a husband. 🙂

Sydney Cricket Ground

David Herd unforgettable year

I was at the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch my beloved Sydney Swan play Australian Football. Luckily my friend Peter Hesky had a private box which makes the game more enjoyable.

Pothole, Apple and Sue

David Herd unforgettable year

John Martin aka Pothole, Apple and Sue in Sydney for the weekend.

Sue, Apple Pothole & his sister Anne.

David Herd unforgettable year

Strange how things turn out, it is 2016 and Pothole live in the same building in Pattaya Thailand.

Apple was the best Thai cook I have ever seen.

David Herd unforgettable year

Finally after the love affair finished with Pothole Apple wound up married to an ex cop in London. She was with him at Buckingham Palace when he received an award from the Queen, not bad for a girl from Nana Plaza. 🙂

Visiting my brother Bryan

David Herd unforgettable year

Bryan built a lovely home at Cobbity which is near Camden west of Sydney.

Sue and I at Manly

David Herd unforgettable year

Fish & chips is compulsory for lunch at Manly.

Manly

David Herd unforgettable year

One of the nicest Sydney seaside suburbs,

Magnificent Sydney skyline

David Herd unforgettable year

Sydney from the Manly ferry.

 Andrea & Gavin Kernot

David Herd unforgettable year

My friend Gavin with his gorgeous girlfriend Andrea. Have a look at my 2005 Paris post where I spent some time with Gavin and and Cheryl Kernot who was a well known Australian politician.

Melbas Xmas lunch with Graham (Biff) LaRoche.

David Herd unforgettable year

Each year a group of ex Melbourne guys would get together for a Xmas lunch at Melbas in Surfers Paradise.

The whole crew

David Herd unforgettable year

Sadly time waits for no man, four guys from this group have now passed away, Noel Smith, John Woods & Ron Collier, RIP.

Dave Allen & Kerry Townsend.

David Herd unforgettable year

Dave was the manager at Melbas and Kerry was the receptionist. Dave was the son of the owner Paul Allen who sadly passed away in July or August 2011. Melbas was the premier restaurant & nightclub on the Gold Coast since 1981. It was also my local drinking hole, the memories I have from there are unforgettable.

Xmas day lunch at home for David Herd unforgettable year.

David Herd unforgettable year

David Herd unforgettable year 2003 was frantic with Friends family students I was happy to spend Xmas day alone with my best friend Ziggy (my Doberman) enjoying my beautiful home that I built in 1990. I ate magnificent seafood and washed it down with my favourite white wine from Margaret River in W.A. a Salitage unwooded Chardonnay, life does not get much better than this. It was great having a quiet day to reflect on my wild & frantic year.

Thanks for visiting my David Herd unforgettable year photo blog.

I’ll leave it to Glenn Frey to tell you how I feel right now.

             

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

Fun in Pattaya-116         92bfa275-a122-4078-9970-1e24188a5917        CopacabanabeachNov2003-124

             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
                         d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037              01a75360-9573-473f-acba-3a187f779b7f
 
 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
Pattaya live webcam 
 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1) 
A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

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

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 
 
 
 

Click here to check out my Miami adventure.

 

Check out these great posts

Counter only started June 26 2020.

This gallery contains 5 photos

Surfers Paradise life 1991

June 15, 2014 by David Herd

This photos defines 1991, this post is part of my personal online photo albums, as opposed to my FiveStarVagabond travel blog.

Surfers Paradise life 1991

Surfers Paradise life

Surfers Paradise life 1991 was as good as it gets, a new house, a nice car, a good job and a gorgeous girlfriend, a kiwi named Karen Greenwood. Karen was the main interest in my life for over a year. The relationship could safely be described as reasonably volatile. 🙂 It took me 2 or 3 more relationships over the next 4 or 5 years before I finally realised I was just not good at them. Consequently here I am happily alone 37 years later living in Thailand.

Above is one of my all time favourite photos, one of the many dinners parties at my new home at 106 Upton St Bundall, Surfers Paradise. My great buddy Harley Bradstreet used to love dressing up in his military gear, the other guy on the left was Harley’s gay flatmate. If Harley wore his Military gear he would do the same. The girls from the left were Leanne Sanderson, Mary Simpson, Kandice Aldington & Nicola Botica.

Kandice & Nicola wash the dishes.

Surfers Paradise life

These two lovely girls were always a great asset to any dinner party, an example of Surfers Paradise life 1991.

Another night another party with the usual suspects.

Surfers Paradise life

And the beat goes on, I think Kandice was feeling no pain on this particular evening. 🙂

Kandice was feeling no pain at all.

Surfers Paradise life

As I said before, another night another party with the usual suspects.

Here is another great kitchen shot. 🙂

  Jill

I think Jill is about to cook breakfast, or pour us another drink perhaps. 🙂

New fence at 106 Upton St

Surfers Paradise life

I moved into my new home July 1st 1990 but my huge fence was not built until early 1991.

Harly & Madison guarding the house

  Surfers Paradise life

Before I had the fence I needed an armed guard to keep my screaming fans at bay. 🙂 OK, I am joking, it is only my old buddy Harley dressing up again.

Roger Williams surrounded by special forces.

Surfers Paradise life

On the right is my old friend Harley Bradstreet who loved dressing up in his military outfit, he had a gay flatmate the guy on the left. This particular night they came to my home for dinner & you could have knocked me over with a feather when the flatmate was also dressed in military fashion. 🙂

Old friend Ian Rich

Surfers Paradise life

Ian was from Newport in Sydney, we met around 1968.

Please click on Google + to help my page ranking.

 

Claudia Scrupin & Tony Murphy

  Surfers Paradise life

Another old friend is Tony Murphy who I  see regularly when he visits Thailand, plus I often stay at his home on the Gold Coast when I am there every 18 months or so.

Robyn Aylwood & Tony Murphy at Palm Meadows.

Surfers Paradise life

Robyn was a lovely lady who was the PR girl at Gold Coast international hotel, she moved to Melbourne Married & sadly passed away October 2010, RIP. Strangely enough her husband David Austin also passed away shortly after in July 2011.

A rose between two thorns

Surfers Paradise life

I don’t think so, two lovely ladies Kim English & Sharon Lee at Mariners Cove.

Dianne Bryce & Larry Wilson.

Surfers Paradise life

Larry was a terrific humour, he is the on coin coined the phrase about our mutual friend Harley Bradstreet “ANYONE CAN HAVE A BAD DECADE”. I often told people “if you need a good solicitor on the Gold Coast avoid Larry.” (only joking) Dianne was a fun lady who I took out a few times in the previous year or two. Ah Surfers Paradise life 1991 was very good indeed.

Two more old friends

Surfers Paradise life

I used to have regular drinks at the Avenue in Orchard Avenue with Len Jones & David Robertson. This was Surfers Paradise life 1991 and the Avenue is still there now in 2018 but it moved across the road.

Porsche, what Porsche? I can’t see a Porsche.

Surfers Paradise life

Two lovey ladies posing outside my home. Sharon Lee is on the right, I forget her girlfriend’s name.

Beautiful Karen Greenwood.

Surfers Paradise life 

I had such a good year with Karen however I have no allusions why she stuck around for so long. She was surviving on a pension raising a young child so money was very tight. The week before we met her car gave up the ghost which obviously curtailed her ability to get around. Along comes the white knight, aka David Herd who just happened to have a spare car which he generously provided as her much needed transport.  During our time together each time there was a major disagreement I would repossess the vehicle & poor Karen was grounded. Upon making up the car would be returned and things would be back to normal, so folks therein lies the major reason this super hot babe stuck around for so long.  🙂

Xmas day in Auckland

Surfers Paradise life

We spent Xmas & New Year in Auckland with Karen’s parents, towards the end of the holiday we were desperate for some time away from each other.

In the Bay of Islands

Surfers Paradise life

A gorgeous lady who smoked like a burning brake drum. 🙂

Happy times in Port Douglas

Surfers Paradise life

A nice trip to Port Douglas & Airlie Beach, little did we know (well I didn’t) there was only a week or so left in our volatile relationship. 🙂

 Whitehaven Beach Whitsundays

Surfers Paradise life

Is that the definition of sexy or what?

Perhaps one of the sexiest girlfriends I ever had

Surfers Paradise life

I took this photo 5 minutes after making love to this sexy lady.

This will amaze you…..

Surfers Paradise life

This was taken 26 years later in March 2017, she still looks fantastic.

Alan Pearson in Airlie Beach

Surfers Paradise life

I have known Alan for nearly 20 years, we knocked around in the same group when I lived in Adelaide in the 70s.

Surfers Paradise life

 

Mum & Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary.

Surfers Paradise life

My wonderful Mum & Dad celebrated their 50th with close friends at my brother Bryan’s Home in Leppington south west of Sydney.

Roberta at the Gold Coast Indy.

Surfers Paradise life 

Roberta Aitchison in her sexy Meter Maid outfit at the Gold Coast Indy. Shortly after she took over the Meter Maid company and still runs it today. Another example of my Surfers Paradise life 1991′

Surfers Paradise life 1991 & here is Harley laying it on thick, 

Surfers Paradise life

Yes ladies, I am a well known chick magnet.

Susan Hutton & her niece

Surfers Paradise life

Susan was a friend from Brisbane who would come to the coast and spend the weekend with me.

Another great photo to finish which shows  Surfers Paradise life 1991

Surfers Paradise life

Surfers Paradise life 1991 as you can see was fantastic mainly due to some very interesting people.

Life was just one big party in the 90s, thanks for visiting my post.

My favourite song from 1991.

 

To receive my latest posts please follow me on Twitter

       

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

2835141a-02cf-4cda-a909-2a8408a99f47        6a173a01-9744-404a-a45f-87a975ec90fa          d5436828-abbc-4da1-a638-7f90436c6417

  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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A-One hotel on Beach Road

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Gold Coast 1995

June 11, 2014 by David Herd

Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish.

Gold Coast 1995 life was good, & in fact all through the 90s, my home at 106 Upton St Bundall was “party central”, 1995 was no different, I was working for the NRMA as a Financial Planner and enjoying life to the max, this post shows many of the people who made it another memorable year.

I love this photo

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

My old friend Harley Bradstreet on the Gold Coast 1995 telling one of his long winded stories that used to bore everyone to tears. He had a million stories but they were all about himself, the look on Kerry’s face is priceless. The other guy is Barry Madden who worked for the NRMA in Newcastle, it is now 2014 and we are still in touch often on Facebook. 

Grahame Kinsela & Harley Bradstreet.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Harley was & still is a terrific guy, he now lives in Perth and collects & restores old Jaguars. Grahame was also an old friend of mine from the northern beaches area of Sydney. 

In those days Harley seemed to stumble from one disaster to another, a mutual friend of ours Larry Wilson, a Gold Coast solicitor,  coined the phrase referring to Harley, “anyone can have a bad decade”. This seemed to describe Harley to a tee. 🙂

November 2016 & I saw saw the sad news on Facebook that Grahame had passed away, RIP my old buddy.

My new jetty Gold Coast 1995

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

  I remember this photo so well. My Doberman Ziggy is taking his first look at my new jetty, he was a very confused dog for the next hour or two.


This is what the jetty was designed for.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Drinks, drinks & more drinks, my jetty turned into the main party area for my house. On the left is Jim Bell, he rented a room in my home for 15 years, that’s what I call a long time tenant. Michael Gray aka “the Doc” was a local Radiologist & a well know collector of beautiful women. Finally on the right is John Hunjadi, a partner in several Gold Coast nightclubs, including ” “Cocktails & Dreams”, The Party”, & “The Bourbon Bar”.

Good buddy Phil Thompson.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Still one of my best friends today Phil was a handy guy to have at my Sunday BBQs.

My gorgeous girlfriend of the year was…..

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Carolyn Clark was & still is a gorgeous girl, we were an item for about a year and a half in 1994 & 1995. Twenty years later and I’m glad to say we still keep in touch.

What do you think of these little puppies?

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

I gotta say I think they are gorgeous. 🙂

A weekend in Sydney

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Carolyn & I flew to Sydney for a weekend, I caught up with my good friend Paul Slaughter, 2nd from left. The guy on the left was an actor from “The Bill” Tony O’Callaghan.

Great shot of the Gold Coast girls in Sydney.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

On the left is Marie Stephens beside Carolyn Clark, far right is Kandice Aldington with Michaela standing at the back. It was a good weekend

My favourite song from 1995

The Oaks Hotel

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Old friends meet for drinks at our favourite pub. Derek Pugh and Ian Rich, Paul Slaughter in the foreground with his sister on the left and girlfriend Clode on the right.

Drinks at my home before dinner.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

 I was always entertaining people in my home in Upton St Gold Coast 1995, after the year 2000 I started to entertain less & less due to my frenetic overseas travel. Wendy is 2nd from the right, sadly she passed away in 2017, RIP.

Beautiful Argentinian girl

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

  Surely one of the most beautiful girls that ever visited my home, sadly I can’t even remember her name.

Photo bombed

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Greg Johnston aka Greg Bin Laden looking like a middle east terrorist photo bombed me with the Argentinian Princess.

A gorgeous girl from Rio.

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

This is Andrea from Rio, my good friend Andre (RIP) bought her to Australia for a holiday.

Brazil on the left & Argentina on the right

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Why does imported fruit always seem so much more exotic? 🙂

Time for some local talent

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

This is Jade, only on the Gold Coast would you go out like this. Please click on Google + to help my page ranking.

 

Fun on the Broadwater

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Much of the Gold Coast 1995 life revolved around the water, many people like myself lived on the waterfront with our boat tied up to our jetty. The guy in the yellow shirt was a good friend of mine from Melbourne Ross Ansell, & as you can clearly see they seem to be enjoying themselves.

I was having fun as well

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

Here I am with Pascale & Rene, both gorgeous ladies.

Another party on the jetty

Life on the Gold Coast 1995

And the beat goes on at Gold Coast 1995, yet another party on the jetty, the guy on the left with his arm around Kandice was John Merryman from Sydney. We knew each other from the old days at Eliza’s in Double Bay in the 70s. The guy in the middle is John Gombos beside my sexy hairdresser Dianne in the red top. On the far right is Ziggy, same name as my Doberman.

Sadly Ziggy passed away around 2018, RIP.

So many girls in 1995 & such little time. 🙂

Life on the Gold Coast 1995Thanks for visiting my Gold Coast 1995 photo blog.

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Sydney 1982 flying high

June 7, 2014 by David Herd

Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life, was a very good year for me, as were many others. I intend to publish posts on the years I remember most vividly, & there have been quite a few. The header shows the view I had from my apartment at 112 Wrights Rd Drummoyne in Sydney, where I lived from 1979 to 1984. With my white Mercedes Sports in the garage, my Bertram 25 moored out front, plus my very own liquor store in Sydenham, some good friends and a string of beautiful girlfriends, life was very close to perfect.

The boat

Sydney 1982 flying high

I had the perfect mooring right outside my apartment, we had so much fun on Sydney harbor visiting all the great beaches & restaurants.

The car

Sydney 1982 flying high

My beautiful Mercedes Sports was the ultimate chick magnet.

The babes

Sydney 1982 flying high

 As I said earlier, my life was as close to perfect as you could get.

Lets begin on New Years Eve 1981

Sydney 1982 flying high

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.

New Year’s Eve 1981, the Great Escape.

It was like we were caught in a Beirut bomb zone with huge sky rockets peppering the overloaded boat, causing some of my friends to dive overboard in the middle of the harbor to escape the carnage.

Let’s backtrack to the start of our adventure, it was NYE 1981 and 15 of my friends boarded my Bertram 25 and headed for a seafood restaurant near the “Spit bridge” on Middle Harbor in Sydney. Onboard were some of my best friends, Wolf Wottke, Harley Bradstreet, George McEwan & Graham “Biff” LaRoche from Melbourne and 6 or 7 gorgeous girls. My boat was licensed to carry around 10 or 12 people however it was New Year’s Eve so who really cared?

We moored on the edge of the sand at the rear of the restaurant and at 8.30 pm sat down and ordered a feast. Here is where things started to go wrong, we hadn’t factored in the NYE crowd and the food was very slow to arrive, in fact it was after 11 pm by the time the waiter started to serve our meal. By then we were well along the road to intoxication as we had started drinking late afternoon at my apartment in Drummoyne.

As the Sydney fireworks were due to start at midnight we decided to pack up most of the food and head for the Sydney Opera house to watch the spectacular event.

We faced our second problem re-boarding the boat as the tide had come in and the boat was now floating 30 meters from the shore. Our only option was to wade out carrying the boxed up food in water almost up to our backside. The good news was our nice view of the girls hiking up their skirts waist high, which endorses the phrase that every cloud has a silver lining.

Now “Biff” was a huge man as the name implies, & Harley was almost a midget, sometimes we would cruelly refer to him as an ariel photograph of as human being.  So with Harley clutching a cardboard box filled with oysters “Biff” tucked him under his arm and carried him towards the boat.

I’m not sure why “Biff” dropped him, when only 2 meters from the boat, perhaps Harley wriggled or maybe “Biff” was feeling the effects of too many beers. Anyhow Harley briefly disappeared underwater along with the box of precious oysters, which I’m please to say we did recover.

Harley was our own human disaster area, if something was going to go wrong he was usually at the center of things, in fact it was Harley who coined the memorable phrase “anyone can have a bad decade”.

By the time we all got on board it was around 11.30 pm and is was a good 30 minute journey to the Opera House so I gave the boat full throttle and sped toward the Harbour Bridge.

We arrived in record time about 11.55 and I was weaving through the 1500 or so boats like a drunken sailor, which of course I was, searching for a spot to anchor that was not too close to any of the hundreds of spectator craft.  Hallelujah, what seemed to be a minor miracle unfolded before my eyes. A clear circle of water right in the middle of all the boats, so naturally I gave out a cheer and dropped the anchor just as the first fireworks explosion sounded right above us.

Elation quickly turned to fear as huge smoking wooden rods started raining down upon us. As I said at the start It was like we were caught in a Beirut bomb zone with huge sky rockets peppering the overloaded boat causing some of my friends, in particular Harley, to dive overboard in the middle of the harbor to escape the carnage. In the middle of the mayhem & panic it suddenly occurred to me we were smack bang in the middle of the fireworks “drop zone” which the water police had cleared in readiness for the show before retreating out of danger themselves.

I sprang into action like a drunken super hero and pulled up the anchor in record time, then fled the danger zone. No mean feat as my boat lacked an electric winch, so I had to manually pull the damn thing up by hand while standing on the bow.

We moored safely out of harm’s way and assessed the damage, naturally Harley was the most wounded, soaking wet with minor burns on his arm, plus a few small cuts from the smashed champagne bottle he was holding when hit by the first rocket.

Well we settled down and watched the rest of the fireworks reliving the experience that would be told many times over in the coming years, our own personal “great escape”.

Later we motored along the Parramatta River to Habberfield to drop off some passengers, and finally returned “drunk as skunks” to Drummoyne at dawn. Later that day George, Biff & I on impulse flew to the Gold Coast to continue our New Year celebrations.

The fabulous Opera House

Sydney 1982 flying high

One of the world’s great buildings.

New Years Eve 1982, the party continues…..

Sydney 1982 flying high

It seems 1982 was one continual never-ending party, here I am NYE in Sydney 1982 with Steve Bates, Helen Burke & Robyn Underwood.

Doyles restaurant & the Watson’s Bay hotel

Gorgeous girls Sydney 1980

Three or four times a week my boat & I would head for Doyles restaurant & the Watson’s Bay hotel at Watson’s Bay. This was our favourite destination for long drunken lunches.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life with Helen Burke.

Sydney 1982 flying high

Helen & I spent most of 1982 together after bumping into each other (having not been in contact for several years) at Melbas nightclub in Surfers Paradise on the evening of January the 1st, the night after my epic “great escape” on Sydney Harbour. 

I caught up with Helen again in 2014 at her home in Dromana where she produces excellent wine.

Grahame aka “Biff”, Kitty & Helen Burke.

Sydney 1982 flying high

January 1982 and the party continued on the Gold Coast. The new sexy girl in the photo was “Kitty” a totally uninhibited Dutch girl who I knew from Sydney, but that’s another story. 🙂

Kitty

Sydney 1982 flying high

Without a doubt one of the sexiest most uninhibited women I have ever known.

I rest my case

Sydney 1982 flying high

Biff is in heaven as you can see from the look on his face. 🙂

Lunch at Coolangatta

Sydney 1982 flying high

This was at Oscars on the beach with Graham La Roche and crazy Polly, I forget the other guys name.

A very difficult achievement

Sydney 1982 flying high

Here is Kitty, Di & Helen helping me achieve one of those very important difficult goals that I set myself during my younger years. Three ladies that I have bonked in one photo, that’s kind of like winning 3 Olympic gold medals, made more difficult when each of the three knew about the other two, priceless. 🙂

Kitty & her two sisters.

Sydney 1982 flying high

Three happy beautiful Dutch girls.

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Good friends at my home in Drummoyne Sydney 1982

Sydney 1982 flying high

Here is Graham LaRoche, George McEwan & Kitty’s two beautiful Dutch sisters in Sydney 1982.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life with Helen & Teresa

Sydney 1982 flying high

Helen Burke from Melbourne & Teresa Hamilton-Smith from Adelaide, oh oh! How can I not include the lovely Kitty? Make that my three favourite girls. 🙂

Well ladies, I have an idea

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Say no more. 🙂

OK, check out these beautiful girls in Sydney 1982

 

Sydney 1982 flying high Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

 Sandy & Teresa                                                     Beautiful Jenny

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

 Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

The perfect day on the harbour with a boatload of beautiful ladies, Sydney 1982 flying high.

Here is a short video I took on NYE 2012 of the view from my condo at Drummoyne.

Home sweet home 1979 to 1985.

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David Herd & Vin Deveroux in Los Angeles.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

My friend Vinny picked me up at the airport in a Roller, then we headed straight to La Cage de Folles to meet Christeen Rudas a friend from Australia. 

Christine Rudas

Sydney 1982 flying high

Christine was a hostess at La Cage de Folles.

Gorgeous Blonde at La Cage de Folles

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

Apparently she was in a show called Hee Haw, the closest match I can find is Gunilla Hutton, the age would be about right but I’m not sure if that is really who she is.

La piece de resistance

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

So here is my 15 minutes of fame I guess, lucky enough to meet Liberace and get a photo with him.

Old friend Ian Rich in Huntington beach

Sydney 1982 flying high

For many years Ian ran a tennis ranch in Los Angeles, in fact I think he still does in 2016.

We stopped in Hawaii on the way home

Sydney 1982 flying high

I went to L.A. for 2 months with Steve Bates then Helen joined us for the final 4 weeks. We drove to Vegas, Mount Mammoth, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and down the coat to L.A. Helen & I also flew down to Puerto Vallarta for a few days.

Every time I hear this song I’m transported back to the Californian coast

April 1982, guess where I am?

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

We drove from Vegas to SFC.

Dinner at Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf SFC.

Sydney 1982 flying high

Helen was never considered shy and introverted. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Thinking about my life in 1982 with all the babes, boats, gold chains & big hair, reminds me of another of my favourite songs from that year. Do yourself a favour & let Bertie take you back.

Bertie Higgins - "Key Largo" (Official Music Video)

Madison & Emma Aboud

Sydney 1982 flying high

Emma was the daughter of my ex girlfriend Carol Aboud, here she is with my wonderful German Shepherd Madison.

Don Morris was CEO at Mojo Advertising

Sydney 1982 flying high

Don was another good friend from Sydney 1982, we did a lot of boating together & drank a few cold beers.

Captain Peter (Hollywood) Hobbs & Liz De Crossan

Sydney 1982 flying high

One thing I can say about Peter in Sydney 1982 he could always attract the good looking ladies. I’m probably being unkind, Liz as you can see was extremely beautiful.

Jenny Dale, another lovely lady

Sydney 1982 flying high

I was lucky enough to have a little fling with this gorgeous lady.

Yolande, the Macleans girl

Sydney 1982 flying high

Even in a poor quality photo she is still beautiful.

Check out the video.

Denny Collins & Peter Hesky

Sydney 1982 flying high

Two good friends for the 70s & 80s.

Good friend Denny Collins, RIP.

Sydney 1982 flying high

Denny was a great fellow, he sadly passed away after a long illness about 4 years ago.

Valli Kemp, beautiful big eyes.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

Valli was quite a well known Sydney model in those days.

Sydney 1982 flying high

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

On the left is Wolfgang who was my best friend through the 70s and early 80s.

Can life get any better than this?

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

I really doubt if there has been a better stage in my life than Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life.

Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life

As you can see Sydney 1982 was really a non stop party, those were the days my friend we thought they would never end. 🙂

Sing it for me Glenn.

                

 Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

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Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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Pattaya live webcam 
 
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A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

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First trip Pattaya 1980

May 29, 2014 by David Herd

First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

First trip Pattaya 1980 with my good friend Rob Symonds. We stayed at the Royal Cliff Hotel which had only been open for 2 years. The photo of the long-tail boat in the header was taken in May 2014 however the fishing boats in 1980 were virtuously the same design, as you will see in this post.

Pattaya Thailand March 1980 was like visiting a sleepy fishing village. Even before the start of the Vietnam War, American GIs had put Pattaya on the map as the best beach destination to unwind and indulge. But when large numbers of troops began to arrive at the neighbouring Ban Sattahip Air Base in 1968, things really picked up in Pattaya. Also known as U-Tapao International Airport, the army base at Sattahip was heavily staffed and used by the US Air Force throughout the Vietnam conflict.

Prior to jet skis

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Notice that well before jet skis the little speed boats were powered by a 25 hp engine.

It all started when a group of 500 American soldiers stationed at the military base in Korat were driven to Pattaya on 29th June 1959 for a week of rest and relaxation (R&R). They rented several houses at the southern end of the beach from a prominent Thai, Lord Sunthorn, thus opening Pandora’s Box for this sleepy fishing village. Despite their short stay, the GIs had a great time and raved about the place. The word spread among other American soldiers stationed in the region and Pattaya quickly became a hot alternative to the concrete sprawl of Bangkok.

Where are the deck chairs?

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

The beach was very natural on my first trip to Pattaya in in 1980, hardly any deck chairs & umbrellas.

Para-sailing in 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Some things never change.

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First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

To say walking St was different is an understatement, I have seen this photo of mine used many times in the local press & blogs, however I did take it & you can see my friend Rob Symonds walking towards me.

Here is the original print.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980It is used many times by other people without giving credit to me. It was taken in March 1980;

Walking St as it was in 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Life in Pattaya was much simpler then. 🙂

Welcome was still the “word”

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Here are some gorgeous girls waiting for a Farang to buy them a drink, the greeting was the same then as it is now, “hello welcome”. Some things never change. 🙂

Click here to Fast forward nearly 40 years.

Our introduction to Walking St

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980 

Same rules applied then as they do now, goods & services however were much cheaper. 🙂

Royal Cliff Hotel 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

The Royal Cliff was the most modern hotel in Pattaya in 1980. On fact it had a ten pin bowling alley and above that was a body to body soapy massage parlour, my first introduction to that particular pleasure.

Cold beers at the Royal Cliff hotel.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Life did not get much better than this on our first trip to Pattaya.

Get a discount for a room at the Royal Cliff, just use THIS LINK.

How cute is this one?

First trip Pattaya 1980 Sadly however I soon discovered she was a LadyBoy, remember this was my first trip to Thailand & it took me a couple of days to work out who were the females & who were not. 🙂

Another one. 🙂

First trip Pattaya 1980 Looking back now this one looked more like a LadyBoy than the 1st one, by now however I was becoming educated fast. 🙂

No, he didn’t fine me.

First trip Pattaya 1980 Even though I was not wearing a helmet, in fact in those days nobody wore one.

Manila in 1980 on the way to Thailand.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Here we are in Manila training heavily for our trip to Pattaya.

Thanks for visiting my 1980 post

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Over the years many friends have said that in this photo I look like a Miami drug dealer, people can be so cruel. 🙂

Click here to Fast forward nearly 40 years.

After 40 years I have hardly changed at all. 🙂

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Thanks for visiting my First trip Pattaya 1980 photo blog.

Old Pics Of Pattaya / Thailand

 

   

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                         Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

417091_10150704751043594_62315468_n          Susies home Newport 1 (1)        April24FreewayHotel-33 (1)

Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

May 25, 2014 by David Herd

Copacabana beach

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio dominates many photos taken on Copacabana beach. Ride the cable car to the top & see the breathtaking view of Rio.

The name Sugarloaf was coined in the 16th century by the Portuguese during the heyday of sugar cane trade in Brazil. According to historian Vieira Fazenda, blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships. The shape given by these molds was similar to the peak, hence the name.

holds 65 passengers

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 A glass-walled cable car (in popular Portuguesebondinho – more properly called teleférico), capable of holding 65 passengers, runs along a 1400-metre route between the peaks of Pão de Açúcar and Morro da Urca every 20 minutes. The original cable car line was built in 1912 and rebuilt around 1972/1973 and in 2008. 

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio from the cable car

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 The cable car leaves a ground station located at the base of the Babilônia hill, to the Urca hill and then to the Pão de Açúcar.

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

You don’t have to take the cable car, if you can afford it grab a helicopter.

Copacabana in the background.

Sugarloaf Mountain Rio De Janeirio

What a view from the top, from here Copacabana looks like standing room only.

Wedged between the mountains & sea.

Sugarloaf Mountain Rio De Janeirio

160,000 people live in Copacabana and 44,000 or 27.5% of them are 60 years old or older. Many friends now tell me in 2017 Rio does not have the same appeal as 10 years ago, perhaps this is true however it will always remain as one of the most spectacular cities in the world.

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 Copacabana covers an area of 7.84 km² which gives the borough a population density of 20,400 people per km².   Residential buildings eleven to thirteen stories high built right next to each other dominate the borough. Houses and two-story buildings are rare.  

Vermelha Beach

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 Praia Vermelha is the smallest city beach in Rio de Janeiro, and it lies in a sheltered cove between the 688 ft Morro da Urca and the 754 ft Morro da Babilonia. It’s here where you catch the 2 stage cable car up to Morra da Urca and then on to the 1300 ft Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) out in the bay.

Vidigal favela

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

You can also see Vidigal favela at the north end of Ipanema.  Vidigal overlooks Ipanema Beach  and Ilhas Cagarras. It is located in the South Zone of Rio, between Leblon and São Conrado neighborhoods.   The neighborhood is a place of hardship for the residents. They have the problem of drug wars, and when fighting occurs, sometimes they must stay in their homes for days.   In November 2011, Vidigal and its neighboring community, Rocinha were pacified by the Pacifying Police Unit. 

 Downtown Rio from Sugarloaf mountain

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the southern hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival celebrationssambaBossa Novabalneario beaches such as Barra da TijucaCopacabanaIpanema, and Leblon. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer (“Cristo Redentor”) atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums.

Botafogo

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

Botafogo is a beachfront neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of Mundo Novo, Dona Marta and São João.

Cagarras Islands

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

Uninhabited archipelago lying just 5km (3 miles) off legendary Ipanema Beach. The Cagarras Islands (Ilhas Cagarras in Portuguese) are a wildlife refuge for sea gulls and other marine birds, and you can frequently spot — or swim among — dolphins in the waters offshore.

Relax with a cool drink

Sugarloaf Mountain Rio De Janeirio

A great place to relax and take in one of the world’s great panoramas. Sugarloaf Mountain Rio De Janeirio certainly ranks in the top 6 most spectacular vies I have ever seen.

Cristo Redentor from Sugarloaf mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain Rio De Janeirio

 Cristo Redentor in the distance. Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and was considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world from 1931 until 2010 when it was topped by the Christ the King statue in Poland.

I met two lovely Scandinavians on Sugarloaf mountain

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

 I met two lovely Scandinavians on the mountain, & being such a nice guy naturally I invited them to dinner that night.

New Years Eve 2007

Sugarloaf Rio De Janeirio

The crowd is building on Copacabana beach up to celebrate New Years Eve with Sugarloaf Mountain dominating the skyline.

Thanks for visiting my Sugarloaf mountain photo blog, you gotta love Rio. 🙂

It has been about 7 years sine I was in Rio de Janeiro, hopefully I will visit again in 2018.

For a great room rate in Rio just book through THIS LINK.

 What a wonderful World
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That’s all folks

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  Click here for another great Rio post  

 

Is this Rio? No it is Vietnam

 

The coast of Portugal

 

  • Lyme Regis Jurassic coast

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