what are the chances ?

in january 2013 i stayed in the metropolitan hotel in bangkok.

this was the view from my room.

twelve months later, almost to the day, i stayed in the same hotel.

this was the view from my room.

hmmm...

i was wrong.

let's say no more about it.

back to business

yesterday i had my first shoot since returning from thailand.

it was in one of the smallest restaurants i've photographed.

naturally enough...

hmmm... it doesn't look that small does it ?

how about in this pic ?

well trust me, it's a small restaurant. 

just 5 tables, one seats 6 people, the others sit 2 apiece.

14 people maximum then.

do you know of any smaller places ?

here's another small place i photographed last january

which i also reckon seats 14 people,

though it did have a couple of tables outside.

anyway, if you know of a smaller restaurant 

( or indeed a more miserable looking photographer )

please let me know.

frozen lime golf ( part three )

just to show that i'm not always a complete disaster 

with frozen limes and a three wood...

not as funny as my first attempt or as painful as my second.

i'm just waiting on that call up to the ryder cup team now.

ok, back to proper blogging tomorrow.

frozen lime golf ( part two )

so... the next day i was given 5 limes.

i addressed the first frozen citrus

what could possibly go wrong ?

ouch !

did you notice i did actually drive the frozen lime into the sea ?

pretty straight too.

but ouch !

my knee and my quiff took quite a battering.

grrr !

frozen lime golf ( part one )

at the place i stayed at in phang nga in thailand last week

there was an interesting looking sign on the beach

frozen lime golf.

for a few bob the hotel would give you 5 or 10 frozen limes

and you could ( try to ) hit them into the sea with one of their golf clubs.

what could possibly go wrong ?

the first day i tried, they didn't actually have any frozen limes, so they let me 

try with a room temperature lime.

below is a video off my first attempt.

it's worth noting the confident way i look into the sea to keep my eye on the lime

as it disappears into the distance.

the second time you watch it, i recommend you keep your eyes firmly fixed on the lime.

after this first attempt, i replaced the lime and tried again.

it was around about this time that i realised why they prefer to freeze the limes...

my second drive caught the lime sweetly but also smashed it to pieces

sending lime juice up into my eyes.

 i staggered around blindly waving a 3 wood and using more than a little industrial language.

the hotel bloke promised to freeze some limes for me and let me have another go the next day.

tomorrow i'll show you how i fared.

it couldn't possibly be worse then the above effort could it ?

some more iphone pics from thailand

this bowl of chillies on a roadside cafe table caught my eye as I was striding towards my hotel in bangkok.
such intense rich colours... also the colours of the national flag of thailand.






in my hotel on 24th I finally managed to get a decent coffee. the first one I'd had since leaving london on 10th jan



it was quickly followed by a second and third.
this was in turn followed by me getting the right old hattie jacques.






breakfast at the metropolitan bangkok was pretty decent.



bacon, poached eggs, sausage, potato cakes and some sort of green stuff.






oh hello mr breakfast !



it's been a while since I've made a mr breakfast right ?






for breakfast pudding I had this



pineapple and lime.
I was tempted to make a fruit face but in the end I only really liked the pineapple so I had to just make a pattern.






after breakfast I knocked out a quick self-portrait while I was waiting for the lift



as you can see, my hair was all over the shop but I was in a happy mood as I was debuting a new n7 tshirt. black with glow in the dark logo.






after sorting my barnet out



I took this photo of a nice towel in my hotel room.
great "m" don't you think ?






then



I headed out to see the protesters and to do a little shopping.
the protesters were on good form. very friendly and peaceful.
most of them seemed to be flogging tshirts and what-not to raise money for the cause ( I suppose )






a lot of the streets were closed to traffic and the protesters made the most of this by setting up stalls everywhere



mainly they sold red white and blue things.






but also some pink stuff



( no idea )






naturally enough I went in search of sneakers















but in a shock move, I didn't buy any.






I also didn't buy any









durian snacks.

grrr !






in the siam centre I went to the gents.
it had a great sign outside



I mean... that's perfect isn't it ?
best gents sign I've seen in ages.






not sure about this sign inside though...



hmmm...






not sure about these shoes in marc jacobs either



sad faces on shoes is a no-no into book.






also a no-no



sock companies diversifying into notebooks and wallets ?

no, no, no.






after two days in bangkok and two weeks away from home, it was time to pack...



carry on essentials






then a lot of hanging around at the airport



with the eva air crew






and twelve hours later



I was as close to the o2 as I've ever been.

then a cab to n7 and to bed.

the end.

in bangkok

I'm pretty sure I'm in exactly the same room as last year.
it's the metropolitan hotel.



with this amazing gold coloured rug in the middle of the room.






and this view from the window



a different poster of the king this year. this time he's playing sax.






I went for a walk after checking in and down a little street I saw this lady making fried eggs.



I guess they're quails eggs or something. they were tiny anyway.






lots of thailand stuff for sale



you know... being sold by the protesters.






I was jonesing for a coffee



and dropped in at a place called chester's.
I was made up with the mugs and the tables.

less so with the coffee.






grrr !

I have lots of photos to show but I need to pack my bag now then go for breakfast and head to the airport.

that's right... I'm coming home.

bangkok

here's a pic of me at phuket international airport.
heading for two days in bangkok.



my legs are in shadow by the way.
that's not my tan.






the view from my hotel room in bangkok.



check out the king playing the sax.






and check this out



the thais celebrating my birthday by printing up a load of t-shirts.

did I buy one ?

same old scene

once again I'm thwarted.

I have some videos of me playing frozen lime golf to show you but for some reason I can't post them from my mobile.

I'll post them when I'm home but in the meantime...


finalhome with a beer






staring daggers at me when I mentioned I might have to take it off him if he kept using industrial language on holiday.






burger and chips ( in the brown paper bag ) at the beach bar






no lettuce, no tomato.

no apologies, no regrets.





and finally for today, as I'm leaving for bangkok






you have no idea of the coffee struggle I'm having here. how many coffees I've sent back with instructions of what I require.
you have no idea how much the staff have grown to like and admire me for my persistence in searching for a flat white or thereabouts.

the above effort is the closest I've had to satisfactory during the five days at the aleenta resort.

I'm not looking forward to leaving this place. it's probably the best beach resort I've ever been to.

but I am looking forward to
having a decent coffee sometime soon.


ok, time to pack.

wish me luck in bangkok...
nothing is going on there that I need to know about... right ?

bored ?

am I boring you ?

I really have nothing to show but the place I'm staying at this week.

I'm not going on any sightseeing trips. it's just pics of the aleenta resort at phang nga.

this is the view I see on the way to breakfast.



it's a bit like torquay I suppose.






I say hello to the fish each morning



then walk towards the beach






past the infinity pool



and it's loungers






and onto the beach, where I select a place to spend the day



and apart from showing you pics of me reading or swimming, that's about it really.






well... there is one other activity I've been doing...






no, not that.






this



the resort has lime golf.

you know what that is right ?






while I leave you to think about it,
here's a photo of me thinking...



what ?

the new place

what can I say about the new place I'm staying at ?

maybe I should just say that it's not bad.

then you'd understand.

here are a few photos.















that's right. I have a fisheye lens for my iphone camera. the quality as you can see isn't great.
but it's an interesting accessory.






I'm in an ocean view loft here and the room reminds me a lot of whitfield towers.



except this place has a small sun terrace with it's own infinity pool right outside the door.






the sunset and view, ( though not a patch on the view of north london from the newly installed whitfield towers windows ) is pretty good.



though if I'm honest with you, I'm starting to like this place and the view very much indeed and can't say I'm gasping to get back to n7 just yet.






I mean to say... when I go for breakfast at the millennium cafe, they never bring this to my table.



for me to nibble on before a cooked breakfast.






talking of which



eggs ben was pretty good.






as was this one.



which came already looking like a face.






yes, I'd very much recommend the aleenta in phang nga.



maybe I'll tell you more tomorrow.

but as for now, it's time I got up and went for breakfast before hitting a few frozen limes into the ocean with a 3 wood.

honestly.