Rogie

I enjoy reading your posts Khun Pong, you often supply a fresh perspective. As for the question of 'slowness', what is slow to some is just fine for others. For me this Board is in the Goldilocks zone, so for neither too hot nor too cold, read neither too slow nor too fast. As a matter of totally unrelated interest, using my friend's laptop just now I noticed there is an option to convert the entire Board into Thai script at the press of a button - amazing Thailand strikes when you least expect it!

The combination of short Q's and baggage already waiting for you on the carousel makes for a pleasant surprise on the few occasions it's happened to me (as described above). Another factor is speed of disembarkation from the aircraft. My recent flight I was well back towards the rear of the plane and that was followed by a long walk to immigration, so even though I am a brisk walker there was ample time for the baggage to be unloaded.

Just like those thin slabs of bread Mediterranean types love to stuff with greasy kebabs

You are quite right. It landed just after 4pm. Another, unrelated aspect of my flight: I was interested to be subjected to one of the new whole-body scanning machines at Manchester airport. I'm all for them - if they work properly and efficiently, but I have no idea whether they do or not.

Interesting article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15820069

I've changed my mind! Not worth swapping my British weather for

I agree they have some symbols wrong. The immigration No.3 where i encountered the long Q's is under the 'co' in com and the No.1 where I decamped is indeed under the 'p'. I also agree it is a pathetic map, in fact so awful I couldn't resist peering at it closely, just to see if any other errors. The baggage carousel where my British Airways flight was earmarked was No. 23 on the map so at the right hand extremity, but not far to walk from the immigration I used. By the way, are Thai's superstitious (silly question) - there is no baggage carousel No.13 . . . Looking at the map again (told you I was fascinated by it) I think it stands to reason No. 3 immigration will usually be busier than No.1 because it is the nearest to concourses E, F and G. 'D' is more or less in the middle and only 'C' is clearly nearer to No.1

Entering Thailand last Friday and to my dismay finding really long Q's at immigration, I noticed there were three immigration areas, called 1,2 and 3. I think the one nearest to where my plane landed was No.3, so noticing the long Q's I walked on to the next one, No.2 which turned out to be for aircrew and diplomats. Undeterred I then got to No.3 and to my delight the Q's were only about a quarter to a third the length at No.3. Once I'd passed into the baggage reclaim area it was a simple matter to walk over to the appropriate carousel, where my bag was already on it. I reckoned that saved me a good 20 minutes to half an hour, not critical for me as I wasn't in any desperate hurry, but I do dislike queuing! On previous visits I have noticed some immigration booths are staffed by one and some by two officers. The rationale is that a Q where two officers are operating will move at twice the speed. That logic can come a cropper as I found out too late once when the very slow-moving Q got near enough to be able to read a notice in front of the booth "Trainee'!

What's a 'tule' fog I don't wish to make light of those occasional accidents, but as a native of dull and boring British weather (and it's excellent road safety record) I'd swap that for the glorious California climate and its sun-ripened fogs any day!

Looking at that photo in post number 1 I'd love to know how these cars are crash tested at the development stage. Maybe they are safer than they look but those crumpled bodies look rather pathetic. There's probably excellent driver protection but the actual bodywork has none. Sorry to be somewhat reactionary but if a convoy of Aston Martin DB6's had suffered a similar calamity, my guess is the bodywork, protected both front and back by gleaming chrome bumpers, would sustain nowhere near that degree of damage. Of course we all know owners of modern super-cars are easily able to afford 'a little local difficulty' but I think it is cynical of the manufacturers to take them for a ride like that.

Not having been able to chip in with any guesses until now, I enjoyed trying to work out who said what even though the answers were given, I tried not to look! I would have guessed the Woody Allen and Groucho Marks ones and probably opted for the correct Fierstein one (I had to look up his entry on Wiki because I didn't know much about him and saw that he liked dressing up). I was thrown by the Mackenzie quote because although quickly spotting the word whiskey as the clue I was expecting him to be an Irishman, then I remembered he had written Whisky Galore, so was that a typo or not, as he is definitely not Irish!

I'm seriously lagging behind! I haven't read a Stephen Fry book since The Liar in 1994. That book came out in 1991. Here is a hilarious comment written by Hugh Laurie on the back page of the paperback edition: "It's very unfair! It took Joseph Heller seven years to write Catch 22. Stephen seems to have knocked this one off on a couple of wet Wednesday afternoons in Norfolk"

I just tried peering at it close up and it's impossible to make out the words even when you know what's written! I also find it clearer when reading from 2 or 3 feet away from the screen to look away slightly so you are seeing it out of the corner of your eye, rather like we are told is best for viewing the stars . . .

Without cheating, I think 2 out of 5 and a near miss is excellent! NB. All quotes were taken from The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, edited by Ned Sherrin. The Oscar Wilde quote comes from The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) H.L.Mencken wrote those words in the Baltimore Sun in November 1948 Noel Coward's lines come from his diary entry from 3 June 1956 and Stephen Fry's from Paperweight (1992)

They probably get round that by saying any vowel sound qualifies. The 'w' is effectively silent although a non-English speaker seeing that word for the first time would see the 'w' and know! (that it is a long 'o' and not a short one).

My comments follow: 1. Motel 69 is ageing well considering he was born in the 19th Century. 2. That's a reasonable guess and you have the right nationality. 3. Another fair guess and again it fits the nationality. 4. oh dear, as far as I know Koko is American so that definitely a bad guess. 5. well your guess is American so it's not looking good - but, is he a humourist? I've no idea but he'd better have a good sense of humour or you'd better make yourself scarce next time you're in Pattaya!

Having had a quick look at my travel insurance which is an annual multi-trip policy, cover for personal accident is up to GBP25,000 (US$40,000). This is payable for loss of a limb or eye or permanent total disablement (hands or feet). Death is GBP10,000. There is no cover if you take part in dangerous activities (unless you have paid the appropriate extra premium for any particular 'dangerous' activity). Motorcycling is included as one of the dangerous activities that require you to have paid an additional premium. There is no mention of having to have a British motorcycle driving licence. I will have to look into it in more detail. Without speaking directly to the insurance company I have to say it looks very murky, so thanks for raising this issue and it definitely warrants further investigation particularly as the wording is worryingly vague in my policy booklet. I have no idea whether being a passenger on a motorcycle taxi comes under the category of 'motorcycling'. The more I think about it, the more it begins to look like a can of worms. What would happen if I was badly injured in a RTA and had been a passenger in a taxi that didn't have functioning seatbelts (many are like that in Bangkok) for instance?

A few more! Can you guess who said any of these? 1. One should never make one's debut with a scandal. One should reserve that to give an interest to one's old age Clue: Very well known - English 19th Century 2. Experience teaches that no man improves much after 60, and that after 65 most of them deteriorate in a really alarming manner. I could give an autobiographical example, but refrain on the advice of counsel. Clue: Very well known - American 20th Century 3. How foolish to think that one can ever slam the door in the face of old age. Much wiser to be polite and gracious ans ask him to lunch in advance. Clue: Very well known - English 20th Century 4. Growing old is like being increasingly penalised for a crime you haven't committed. Clue: Not so well known - English writer 20th Century 5. I don't need you to remind me of my age, I have a bladder to do that for me. Clue: Well known contemporary English actor and humourist

Although I mentioned the Aston Martin DB6 earlier, thinking about it later the Jaguar E-type would probably have been a better choice if I had to choose just one. Heritage award for Jaguar's iconic E-type and Vulcan bomber http://www.coventryo....uk/2011/11/28/ Apologies: My original link doesn't seem to be working. The E-type article is halfway down the main page on the left hand side.

I do not have my Bangkok city map to hand so cannot be definite, but I think we are getting our Soi 4's confused. The one Stickman is sticking the knife into is the one around Nana Plaza, full name Sukhumvit Soi 4. Some of the photos are very good, so thank you Motel 69 for that link. I liked the one showing some of the items on sale at the Buddhist temple supplies store as I have seen these very realistic monks at one of the Pattaya tourist attractions and became quite fascinated by them!

Apparently there is a name for these confusing headlines: "The new term "crash blossom" refers to a newspaper headline that can be read in two ways. It derives from the following headline about a air crash in Japan: "Violinist Linked to JAL Crash Blossoms." The article was about a violinist whose successful career took off shortly after his father had died in a JAL crash. But the headline could have had you wondering what in the world is a crash blossom. The problem of course is that blossom could be taken as a noun or as a verb." http://www.how-to-study.com/teaching-tips/language-arts/dealing-with-confusing-headlines.asp

This lovely poem makes me grateful I'm not a woman, but who is to say my fate will not be even worse, I'm already exhibiting some eccentricities! WARNING When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells and run my stick along the public railings and make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain and pick the flowers in other people's gardens and learn to spit. You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat and eat three pounds of sausages at a go or only bread and pickles for a week and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry and pay our rent and not swear in the street and set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. Jenny Joseph

A nasty little trick some of the British carriers have up their sleeve is to waive any credit card charges if you use an 'Electron' card. The snag is that particular card is only available to a small number of applicants. "The problem is that the Visa Electron card, which is the only card most of the budget airlines don't charge for transactions, is a rare acquisition for the kind of person who tends to buy flights. Visa Electron is a very limited Visa debit card, designed for teenagers and students. It won't allow you to go overdrawn and cannot be used in as many places." http://blogs.thisism...ne-charges.html Since that article was written even more banks have withdrawn this card, so beating the credit card catch is almost impossible!

Verges is no spring chicken. He's 86 now. He was born in Ubon (eastern Thailand) - to a French father and Vietnamese mother. Wiki has an intriguing entry, especially here: http://en.wikipedia....ues_Verg%C3%A8s Later The interview in Der Spiegel is well worth reading. Here is an except regarding Cambodia - bear in mind the interview was conducted almost exactly 3 years ago: http://www.spiegel.d...,591943,00.html

As this topic is starting to get a bit untidy I thought I would check a few details. Motel69, you have me confused - the infamous 'sea of gray hair' was on Soi 2 according to you, not Soi 4 - even if I have misunderstood you, you say you haven't been to Soi 4 'for years'. Walking by any soi and having a quick look is fine, but that's not the same as actually walking down it and taking a table at The Balcony, sitting down and spending time to soak in the atmosphere. Only then, and if you happen to see 'an older gentleman' 'taking care' of 'some cute young guys' bills with your own eyes, can you say with any confidence what actually happened.