24th December I had a loose crown glued back into place in anticipation of the next day's feeding, it cost me 800 Baht.
Denthome is across the road from where I live in Nonghoi... I mentioned that there were two more broken teeth, but the dentist did not suggest anything...
Dentistry is reasonably priced here in Thailand so I will attempt to get my teeth fixed by my regular dentist before returning to England.

Food preparation.

On Christmas Day I was invited to Daren and Mai's for Christmas 'Lunch' which was of course a royal feast.
I took Ying and her daughter with me, it was their first ever Christmas dinner; share the wonder with local people.

Since I was driving I held off on the alcohol, I am very careful, besides I need to lose weight, and cut my long term sugar level down as my Hb-A1C level needs to be carefully monitored. This is confusing for me as my blood sugar level is always in the middle of the green range.
Though thinner than most of my contemporaries I am still over my BMI limit, considered Fat in England, Normal in Canada, and Obese in Thailand!
I am registered on a system "Liva" which seems to lean towards oversize women...

Christmas company.

Flight to Bangkok

Ed advised me that he was going to fly his JetProp to Bangkok - Don Mueang and so I asked if he had a spare seat.
I had not planned to go south yet, but I decided I would not pass up the chance to make this journey.
Of course the down side was getting up at 04:30 to have my porridge before being picked up at 05:30 (never fly on an empty stomach).
It was just as well it wasn't Boxing Day after I had been to Number 1 Bar the previous evening (by Grab car, and still only one beer).

The flight down was at FL270, and it was very smooth in the early morning air.
At DMK we were collected from our stand by the MJet's minibus and taken back to their posh FBO where there were snacks and coffee to be had.

A Grab car took me to the Victory Hotel where I could book accommodation for the 1st January, and then I took the train to Suvarnabhum(i) Airport, but I didn't get there!
Instead I got off at Lat Krabang as a very very very dear old friend who once shared flights in the RV9A with me invited me to meet her at the nearby Siam Premium Outlets mall. Through a series of unfortunate errors it took me longer and cost me more money than it should to get there. But it was worth it, we met and had Sushi together.
She was once the love of my life, and to this day our relationship brings a smile to my face. Great to see her again, and renew that smile, we had a good time together, but I live the economic life of a flying instructor. Someone else had the pleasure of marrying her.

For every good thing there's a nasty thing to balance it it seems.
I took the bus from the Airport to Pattaya, and then a motorcycle taxi to the accommodation I booked on Agoda... I arrived there to be asked why am I here? The site was in a state of disrepair, and had closed for business a long time ago, and so there I was late in the evening in the middle of nowhere with no room to sleep in!
I walked back down the lane, 'spoke calmly to the street dogs (I didn't want to be bitten), and arrived at a small shop. From there I took a motorcycle taxi to the airfield, picked up the pick up truck, and went to the Torfun Hotel where I had stayed previously. Agoda still hasn't resolved my complaint, and I have been charged for the accommodation I have not received... They say they have not been able to contact the accommodation! Is that not proof enough?

Sunday morning I treated myself to breakfast at La Crèmerie, and drove back to Eastern Air Park where I washed the truck.
It was covered in bird droppings, I may be "kee nok" คินก here in Thailand but I don't want to drive a vehicle that expresses this! รถคินก.

In the afternoon I went for a flight with Egor in the Citabria to practice radio calls at a controlled airport.

Downwind for a touch and go with Egor.

Monday morning I flew with Egor again where we did five circuits and landings at Nong Khor in the Citabria.
In the afternoon Som took me for a ride in the Piper J3-100 Cub. She did a nice job.

Martin flew five circuits at U Tapao in the Citabria.
In the afternoon Som did three circuits at Pattaya Eastern in the Cub.

Sadly a mag drop meant me not getting a final day of the year's ride in the Cub.

In the evening I was invited to dinner at the Swamp Restaurant, after which I went back to the hotel... There was no getting sleep around midnight as fireworks exploded everywhere, even powerful enough to shake the building.

On the first day of the year I was up early, hoping to fly before 07:00 until after that time (07:00 local = 00:00 GMT), but there was nobody else at the field... I remember trying to be the first to fly from Redhill in the old days, and in Canada I would fly before 16:00 local (00:00z) on the 31st until soon afterwards often with unusual attitudes in the Citabria there. Indeed my brother Gary managed to do this in the Cherokee from Langley BC.

"Please fly my airplane".
'Pegleg' Jim has imported an Avid Flyer from the USA and replaced it's two stroke engine with a powerful Rotax 912S...
I took Ultralight Instructor Et with me and we gave the aeroplane a test. Stall at 42 mph IAS, climbs well, handles well, and was easy to land.

In the afternoon I went with Som for her first flight of the year...
Of course, as per previous New Years' flights in properly certified aeroplanes, we had to do a loop and a barrel roll.

Up with Khun Som.

For some reason, the consumption of English tea at BFA Flying Club has taken off.
I can't imagine how this occurred...

On Thursday afternoon I was taken by motorcycle to catch the bus back to Suvarnabhum(i) and then the train to Bangkok and the Victory Hotel.
This time of the year there are many accidents on Thai roads, and we passed a young lad who had come off his motorcycle and cracked his head open (probably no helmet), a life expired too soon.

When I arrived at the hotel I discovered that I had left my camera in the Citabria... We had been in a hurry for me to catch the 18:00 bus. Still I had a beer in the Saxophone Pub.
So I went back on Friday to collect it, reversing the journey.
This suited Martin, we went for a flight in the Citabria to do practice forced landings (PFLs), and then I took the 15:30 bus back.

I had to be at MJets for 07:30 on Saturday morning. I arrived early by Grab Taxi; 215 Baht.
For breakfast I had a sandwich, sausage roll, and a small pandan filled croissant, washed down with tea.

We flew back at FL260 above the smog... The air quality is declining early this year.
The flight time was 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Looking at the fuel consumption for this trip, it was around the same if not a bit less than the amount for a slower piston engined four seat aeroplane such as a Cessna 172 for the same distance. Turbine fuel is also a lot cheaper per litre than Avgas...