Hi everyone. It is 2006 and time never sits still for anyone.

Ok so I started 2006 in  .......yup.......... my favorite place in India, Panipat. You may wonder what is all this fuss with Panipat. You can have chicken for any meal as long as it is curry chicken. It seems that with this client the Guest House does chicken on

ly 1 way. The amenities are more like none instead of just slim. The work is not an issue. It is the guest house. So I finished up there due to some major problems that the client was having with some of their equipment. It was going to take 3-4 weeks to solve that problem so they released me and my Chief Bob. Bob was off to the UK and I was back to Thailand. At least we wouldn’t be looking the cow pies in the eye on a daily basis.

I spent several days in Bangkok at my friend Pichet’s hotel Triple Two Silom, then off to Pattaya, back to the condo that was still under construction. (See the column on the right for the photos). Things were moving along towards completion. I was there for about 5 days then headed off to Phuket to maybe go diving.

Well I got to Patong Beach and never got to the diving part. I took some night photos of the action in front of what is known as Soi  Katoey.

Ok ... what is a Katoey? A Katoey is several things and you will never know which it is until you get ..... hmm

mm ..... well you get the idea. Is it a man or a woman. Don’t ask me!

Anyway, some of the Katoeys are drop dead gorgeous regardless if they have done the whole procedure of are just part way through.

If you are not sure then it is best to error on the side of ......!

As a day rate contractor you never know when it is time to go back to work. I decided that I could do some things for myself back in Pattaya. I wasn’t sure if I should start outfitting the condo with furniture and the like now or wait until completion. I decided that it would be nice to be able to return from the next job back to my own partially furnished place. I opted to do the bare minimum. So I went out and bought a refrigerator, couch, 2 recliners, and a king size mattress. I always wanted some decent leather furniture so I bought a Laz-y-boy couch and recliners. I will buy more “stuff” (that is what George Carlin calls it anyway) when I return. At least I will be able to sleep in my own bed instead of a hotel.

I have been in Doha, Qatar since Feb 5th. It is the old and new mixed together. There are the various souks as well as the typical modern day shopping malls. Of course there is the inescapable Starbucks - multiple locations in the same mall - as well as your usual American fast food franchises - KFC, Burger King, Micky D’s, Applebee’s etc. There is lots of construction going on along the Corniche (water front) with emphasis on high rise construction

.

They are preparing for the 2006 Asia Games - I thought this was the middle east - go figure. There a number of international events that are hosted here - pro tennis to big bike racing. They allow women to drive here (unlike in Saudi Arabia) and even though is is a Muslim country don’t seem to be uptight with

western expats. They do suggest that you be modest and dress accordingly. There are a large number of Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, and I am sure few other nationalities here that form a large portion of the labor pool and shop staff. English is widely  spoken so communication is not a problem. They are moving forward and reducing the restrictions on getting in and out of the country and have a modern infrastructure. It is now the first week of April and it looks like we will be done with this job next week.

I returned to Bangkok about mid-April, then went to Pattaya the next day. I had some concerns about the Condo so I have taken some personal time off to get things organized. There were some problems with the ownership aspect of the condo. We finally got it all sorted out and they got their money and I got a place that is home for the time being. It is now October and I have put my name back on the available list. I am in the process of getting another visa for India and should be off to Mangalore, India. It is located in the southern region near Bangalore.

Well here I am in Mangalore, India. It is on the southern west coast and south of Goa - for those who want to find Mangalore on the map. I arrived on October 16, 2006. It is not much different form the other areas of India that I have already seen. The traffic is chaotic and the streets and roads here are as bad as any I have seen in India so far. There are pot holes every where and it is not unusual for them to drive into your lane to dodge a pot hole. The road to the work site has more twists and turns than going up to Mount Baker and the road gets narrower the farther from the city you go. Blind corners and a lot of horn honking to warn the other guy that you are coming. For the most part, speeds are slow, but if there was a head on you would still be hurting. The country side is hilly. I suspect that the “roads” were originally just horse and donkey paths and when the automobile arrived they basically just paved them over with asphalt. As it looks now I will be here until around mid-January. Yup - right where I was last year at that time.

Well it is December 31st and I am where I was last year at this time - India. The weather is mild and not to hot. I am sure that some time in February that might change. They have finally repaired the main road to work so we have stopped taking the back way and things are still chaotic but the road is in better condition and it is mainly straight with fewer twists and turns. I would have thought that I would be done by now and back in Thailand but there is still work to do for the client. As I had 6 months off last year I am happy to be working and building up the piggy bank.

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