TotallyOz

LOPBURI, Thailand -- Thousands of monkeys in Thailand were treated to a feast Sunday as the town of Lopburi celebrated its annual monkey festival. The long-tailed monkeys feasted on three tons of boiled eggs, fresh fruit, vegetables and traditional Thai desserts. Tables were set up for the feast at two of the town's most sacred sites, and monkeys roamed the buffet tables freely as they enjoyed their meal. "It's very interesting, I've never seen so many monkeys. I've never seen anything like this," U.S. tourist Hannah Aosenfeld said. The town is known for its monkeys, who roam about freely. People who live in the town think the monkeys bring good fortune and prosperity. Hundreds of tourists came to the town to watch the monkeys enjoy their fancy buffet. http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2010/nov/29/thailand-celebrates-annual-monkey-festival-ar-575934/

I had Dengue Fever for a bit and boy, did it take the life out of me. I wasn't sure I was even in Paradise sometimes. For over 10 days, the fever persisted and my body just had zero energy. High Fever, followed by chills and body aches were constant. Once the Fever broke it took several days just to get my body to feel up to walking down the stairs. Last night I went out for the first time in a long time. I was exhausted after only an hour of walking around. Bangkok Pattaya Hospital was great but they mis diagnosed me the first time I went and said it was food poisoning. After a return visit when the Fever had not subsided, it was correctly diagnosed as Dengue Fever. There is not much they can do other than liquids and tylenol so I stayed at my place and tried to recover. I went back to Bangkok Pattaya a few times for IV of liquid and some anti inflammatory. For those that don't know, Dengue is a mosquito born virus that is very easy to get in the tropical areas. This was my first bout with this and hopefully my last. I have stocked up on mosquito spray and will be much much more careful in the future. I missed Songkran and Thanksgiving and ordered more Door2Door delivery than I care to mention. I was very lucky that I didn't have the worst kind of the Fever and that mine broke after 10 days.

A friend of mine who is about 25 is in a hospital in Thailand and his doctors have given him zero chance of recovery. I still have hope but that is my dreams and wants and perhaps not reality. He has a virus in his brain and it is advanced and there are so many issues that operation will not be successful. They are waiting for his parents which no one can find. They have him tied to his bed with hands and legs strapped. It is perhaps the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life. I saw him 2 days ago and have had nightmares every night since. I can't get the picture of this beautiful lad in diapers with no one taking care of him. It made me do a great deal of soul searching this week. If there was anything I could do for this guy, I would but my hands are also tied. I hope that I am allowed to die in peace and go out easy. I have made clear to my family that I am never to be kept alive like that or if I can't take care of myself. Who knows if they will abide by my wishes are not. I hope so.

The baht is likely to strengthen to 26 to 27 to the US dollar next year, University of Thai Chamber of Commerce economic and business forecasting centre director Thanawat Polvichai said on Thursday. Mr Thanawat said the baht could appreciate further because the US and European economies remain fragile. The export sector in 2011 might expand only eight per cent year-on-year, down from the previous projection of 10 to 13 per cent. Crude oil prices could reach US$100 a barrel next year, he said. "I expect next year's GDP growth to be around four per cent, as domestic consumption and tourism will be the main driving force instead of exports. "The Bank of Thailand must intervene to curb the baht's appreciation and use tax measures to prevent speculation, while the government must continue encouraging Thai businesses to invest overseas and helping SMEs that have been affected by the strong baht," Mr Thanawat said. He called on SMEs to quickly adapt to the economic changes by assessing different business risk factors. They needed to use technology to gain access to more information and to understand the market, which is expanding to the regional level. SME operators had to compare their operating costs with their competitors to determine their competitiveness, he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/208124/utcc-stronger-baht-likely-in-2011

Sorry, I have not been around much this week. I thought I had food poisoning and have been to hospital a few times and then today, they finally gave me a diagnosis. I have Dengue Fever and it will take a bit more to recover from this. So, if there are threads that mentioned my name and you think I have you on ignore, I assure you that is not the case. I'll be back to more active as soon as I break the fever and divorce my new best friend, (the bidet).

At a meeting between the Pattaya City administration and entertainment business owners, plans were discussed to apply to the Royal Thai Police for a 24 hour entertainment zone during the coming high season. http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/11/25/pattaya-city-to-bid-for-24-hour-entertainment-licence/

A friend just got out of the hospital in Thailand and he had BUPA. He has paid for years. But, they covered less than 50 percent of his expenses. He ended up paying over 150,000 out of pocket. This makes me wonder if it is actually even worth it. Aren't there better alternatives?

The new OS for IPads allows for multi tasking and other fun things. It is a major update for those with an IPad in Thailand. The prices for the IPads in Thailand have also come down quite a bit since the beginning and there are ample supplies at Tuk Com and at MBK.

Fantastic report Tomcal. Thank you! You do get around. Damm, I wish I had as much energy as you do!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (CNN) -- Bare brick houses stacked one on top of another cling to the hills of Rio de Janeiro. Raw sewage trickles down the winding paths of these shanty towns, known as favelas, and in many, shootouts between drug dealing gangs and police are a daily ritual. The shanty towns are resented and feared by the rest of the city. But residents in the Santa Marta slum have transformed their community into a living, breathing canvas. With the help of two Dutch artists and a pioneering paint firm, the main square is now a kaleidoscope of color. "It gives the community life!" said Edimar Marcelinho Franco, who helped paint the 34 buildings and walked away with a professional painting title. "People who come to the favela today say, 'Wow, how pretty.' It doesn't have that image of an ugly favela," he said. The project is the brainchild of Dutch artists Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas, who visited Rio's favelas for the first time in 2005 to shoot hip hop videos. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/17/brazil.beautiful.favela/index.html

I have had over 100 massages in Hero and never once did they ask to wear a condom for oral. They will suck without out and then put one one for anal if that was what you were going for. I was a bit surprised to see this. I'll give Hero a try on my next trip to Bangkok and report back here as the rules may have changed. And, personally, I don't care if they use condoms with oral as long as they are good at it.

The manager of a child prostitution ring has been arrested for the second time in Pattaya for the sale of under aged children to foreign clients for sexual gratification. Pattaya, 16th November 2010 [PDN] At 10.30pm Police Lieutenant Colonel Kreetha Tonkhanarat, head of the Child and Women Protect Center from Police Gendarme Region2, along with his team and an arrest warrant number 911/2553 signed on 28th October 2010 for the arrest of Mr. Traiphop Bunphasong [40] from Sinkburi, an internet shop owner, for child abuse and providing children for prostitution. The suspect was arrested in the SF Cinema on the 6th floor, Central Festival, Pattaya Beach Road, whilst watching a film. Mr. Bunphasong had been arrested previously on 4th July 2010 for child abuse and providing children for prostitution by the same officer and taskforce, but was later bailed. According to recent records relating to the Child and Women Protection Center, Police Gendarme Region 2 officers had apprehended several foreign suspects who had committed offences of child abuse with further investigations showing that Mr. Bunphasong managed the prostitution of the boy

There is very little that I would ever put past the TSA or Customs. I have given my opinion of them and they do seize laptops with no warning and no information given. When you enter the USA, you loose all rights as an American citizen. It is no wonder that people from other countries hate traveling to USA.

Does anyone use this that LIVES in Thailand? I have friends in the USA that love it and swear by it for over a year but I am not sure if the calls are free if your IP is based in Thailand. Anyone know? http://www.macworld....e&lsrc=rss_main The Ooma Telo is an affordable and versatile landline-replacement home-phone system, one that delivers unsurpassed call quality. It's like Vonage without the monthly subscription charges, and like the MagicJack without the computer requirement. Consequently, it's my favorite landline replacement to date. When you buy the stylish Telo adapter ($250), you effectively buy free local and long-distance phone service for life. Ooma offers highly competitive international rates, too, as well as free calls to other Ooma owners. The adapter plugs directly into your router or broadband modem, and it works with existing phone handsets. The Ooma Telo's calling features are somewhat limited: You get voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID, but that's it. If you want more telephony bling, Ooma Premier adds a second line, three-way calling, voicemail via e-mail, and a host of privacy features. The Telo includes a 60-day Premier trial; after that, a subscription to Premier will cost you $10 per month or $120 annually. Sign up for a year and Ooma will waive its rather steep $40 fee for porting an existing number (which you can skip if you want to choose a new number anyway). As with Vonage, you have to pay a few dollars each month for various taxes and fees--with or without Premier. Even the rates for Premier are still significantly lower than those for Vonage. And in my tests, Ooma's call quality was far superior to that of Vonage or Google Voice, and on a par with that of NetTalk Duo. I made and took calls with both my old Uniden cordless phone system and Ooma's fancy Telo Handset ($50), and the audio sounded crisp and echo-free every time. I especially liked the Telo Handset's optimized design for the service: It supports one-button voicemail retrieval and permits syncing with Outlook 2007 contact lists. Ooma offers a couple of interesting extras not matched by Vonage or any other VoIP service. The first is an optional Bluetooth adapter ($30) that pairs your cell phone with your Telo so you can answer incoming mobile calls on your home phone. That very convenient feature worked beautifully on my iPhone. In addition, ycan use your Bluetooth headset for calls around the house, another nice perk. Speaking of iPhones, a new Skype-like Ooma app lets you make calls over 3G or Wi-Fi, with your own phone number appearing as the Caller ID at the other end. I wouldn't mind the $10 fee for the app if calls were free, but, like Skype, Ooma charges extra (1.9 cents/minute) for calls to anyone except other Ooma users. The complementary iPhone app is the only real misfire in an otherwise exceptional product.

I have been told that the new Flamingo Apartments are to open soon and most likely in the next month. They are busy working hard to get this place up to par. I am interested in seeing how well they redo the place.

Here is the word of the week: moue \MOO\, noun: A pouting grimace. The model's professional moue dissolved into pure sensation. -- Anthony Haden-Guest, "(Art) Project Runway," New York Observer, November, 2010 Dorian Gray stepped up on the dais with the air of a young Greek martyr, and made a little moue of discontent to Lord Henry, to whom he had rather taken a fancy. -- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray Moue is a loan word from the French for "mouth and lips."

What were the first bars in Boyztown? I remember that a history of this area was written somewhere. Does anyone have a link?

I learned that NO ONE that loves you calls after 1AM. Only BS calls. To that end, I have started to turn my cell phone off after that time.

I was really impressed with this kid. Watch the video. It is pretty amazing. I wish I had his tenacity when I was 30. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/fourteen_year-old_michigan_stu.html?f=most-commented-24h-5%3Fbctid%3D665136199001%3Fbctid%3D665136199001

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsPuoaktoAw&feature=player_embedded#!

If you are like me, I love The Beatles. I love listening to them and I have wanted their full collection for years. I have patiently waited for their collection on ITunes. It is now live. You can purchase every song from the Beatles collection. I have already purchased and downloaded the set and have really enjoyed listening to it.

I was at Street Life and noticed they were having a Thanksgiving special. If it is going to be anything like the old Amore, it will be a great meal. I also see that Richard's in Bangkok has a special for Thanksgiving. Any other places that are going to have full menus for this special day?

What plans do you have for Loy Kratong Festival for this Sunday, Nov. 21. Are there some great parties going on around Thailand?

They are already selling them online and the good seats are filling up. If you want to see it opening weekend, you might want to book in advance as if history tells anything, this will be just as hot an item as before. I went to see the last on in Bangkok and we got there 3 hours early and had to sit in the front row. So, this time I booked early and in advance so I'll be able to enjoy the next to last movie in this fantastic series!

As I have been told by friends that this place is a must go, I plan to head there today to give it a try. I'll report back on my meal. Are there any recommendations for sandwiches. I like just about anything except Pastrami.