Oh yes we did. Spent a day at Universal Studios. Luckily for us all this is the only shot I can use:

Let’s drink a cocktail!

Let’s not. The typical cocktail is a predictable, sickly concoction; comprising a small amount of cheap alcohol into which has been stirred assorted syrups, with a finishing dash of tap water; served in a hotel bar with Kenny G as your musical companion. Stick a crappy plastic umbrella in the top and charge a stupid price. Then there are the names; embarrassing to request and bearing no relation to the contents. “Can I have a Long, Slow Comfortable Screw Against The Wall please?” That’s going to get you more than you were expecting in Pattaya; especially if your waitress has unusually large hands.

Given my disdain for anything that purports to be a cocktail, how on earth did we find ourselves in a cocktail bar in Singapore last week? Blame Trip Advisor. Browsing the various attractions, I discovered that the number one rated restaurant in Singapore was a place called Bitters & Love; and its rating was not so much for the food; but for the extraordinary drinks they served. Of course we had to check it out.

We met up with friend Tic and consumed a nice bottle of white by the river, and then indulged she who must be obeyed’s desire for large crabs by eating large crabs; most of which were splattered across the table and our clothes. Suitably refreshed and partially replete, with took our pepper crab stained clothing for a walk to find Bitters and Love.

It was not easy to find. Even with a GPS screaming “here! here! here!”, it was not obvious. There was a humble looking restaurant called The Shoebox Canteen with a few wooden tables and a couple of customers, and on a bench outside there was a dog that looked like a chihuahua that had recently been inflated by a bicycle pump. We later found out his name is Baileys and he is the official bouncer. But step past the canteen to the back of the building and you find yourself in a dimly lit bar with a lot of bottles vying for your attention.

The Lasalle College of the Arts was close to our hotel in Singapore and, as you might expect from such a building, it wanted to be photographed. So I did.

Returned from Singapore to not only discover a 50% reduction in our cat population; but also that martial law had been promoted to a full-blown coup.

Assuming the announcement of a coup would result in a substantial increase in army visibility, we played I-Spy military stuff on the way home from the airport. I tried to claim five points for spotting a tank; but this was disallowed because the tank was an integral part of a PTT petrol tanker. So we arrived home with a score that was closely matched 0-0; a score that remains unchanged to the present. Disappointing.

In 2005, management of us was taken over by two Korat cats. Although they were half-sisters, they were very different in temperament. Tiki was always the assertive one; very conversational and wishing to be involved in everything that we did. Gabrielle was more reserved, and would disappear as soon as anyone arrived at the door or if there was an unexpected noise. This was one of my favourite photos of her; slightly bewildered and on the verge of panic; which is how she spent much of her time.

Woke this morning to the news that martial law had been declared in Thailand.

I listened for the sound of marching, maybe the unmistakeable rumble of tank tracks, but all was quiet. I threw open the curtain, half expecting to see a ring of steel thrown around Spike Towers, but the only sign of life was a soi dog and a drunk Russian.

It was the same when we had the coup, zero military presence in Pattaya. What’s the point of armed intervention if you can’t go and photograph it? There was nothing else for it, if the army won’t come to me, I must go to the army; and I was sure the army would be guarding the airport.

Remembering “the most dangerous place I have ever stood to take a photo” for yesterday’s post; reminded me of my Bangalore trip of five years ago and I reminisced by browsing through some of the photos I took. This one was one of my favourites; taken with a 300mm lens with a 1.4 extender: