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I know some of you are only on short trips or stay in Bangkok But...I must ask do any of you still rent a bike when travelling? I can't drive a 🛵 scooter unfortunately so spend on Grab

Yes great value just takes a long time

Line with Mike works for you? I get an error when scanning the two Line QR Codes (Full, no more friends)

I think u can buy ticket online. Havent done it myself but that could avoid the long waiting in peak time

and this has been a FANTASTIC upgrade feature when Samsung rolled out their recent OS upgrade. I can now participate in the Thai massage Line groups in real time as it translates as I type in real time and the replies are also auto translated in real time.

Yes, Vinapu and I, on his recent visit, took the bus from Pattaya to Bangkok and then I took it back to Pattaya. The Jomtien bus station is only 10 minutes from my condo so it is very convenient. Unfortunately, coming back to Pattaya / Jomtien I had to wait for 2 hours in the BKK airport as the seats on the departing buses were already sold out. Good value for money

Does anyone still get the bus from the Airport to Pattaya or vice versa ? I still would but I'm lazy. I could save 1000 baht if I did each way but sometimes my weakness is laziness 😭

Yes Mike I wonder if there really is a ...Mike? Here he is bowing to me😀

I asked and he jumped on the opportunity to come to Pattaya by limo directly from his condo building in Silom. This guy is more into the niceties of life than the cold cash. For example, he has a crazy American client back in BKK who pays him 20.000 baht for a 1 hour meeting - yikes!!! I told him that I could never match those rates and his response was - no problem - I want a good time with you in Pattaya and for us to have fun in the bed and also outside of the bed. He has already been working in the "business" for more than 10 years and he was getting bored with the "always local Silom" meetings and wanted to have a mini "romantic" type of trip outside of BKK and to visit a nice blue turquoise sea with white sandy beach on Koh Larn. I obliged.

Yes I was in Manila ( Makate) last week, I had a Airbnb , accommodation hotel rates compared to Thailand are expensive in my opinion too The guy you had with him from Isabela City probably wouldn't know Manila City as where he from in the far south of the country ( a predominantly Muslim area) Hopefully as time goes on Moses can restart his Manila tour guides I will be going back on either September or October for 10 days and will do another report Did you manage to get many hookups paid or unpaid ? A lot of Eye candy 😍

He was excellent - and well worth the sum paid for 3 days + transportation from and to his condo room back in BKK to me in Pattaya

I second that. I booked Mike Taxi the last two trips and was always satisfied with them. Not only BKK <-> Pattaya but also Pattaya <-> Kho Chang

Love it 😍 I don't think I have ever saw Bob in all my 25 years of travel to Pattaya Does he frequent the bars ?

It is interesting how these lists are compiled. This one seems particularly weird. Lima! I have been there. Liverpool! I wonder if they pick the names out of a hat! What happened to Middlesbrough?

His English is better than yours!

Thanks!

Very sad , obviously financial problems

I couldn't imagine anything worse sitting there trying to be nice to people listening to their stories all to make a 20 baht profit on a drink 🍷

From The Thaiger he United Kingdom Foreign Office issued a travel warning to British touristsheading to Thailand ahead of the summer holidays: “Behave, or end up in jail!” The Foreign Office advised British holidaymakers flying to the Land of Smiles to be cautious of the new visa rules. “From 1 June 2024, British passport holders arriving by air or land can enter Thailand without a visa (visa exemption) for tourism and short-term businessengagements for a period not exceeding 60 days. If you intend to stay longer (for work, study, or other reasons), you need to obtain a visa before you travel. “If you stay beyond the period of your visa, you will be fined 500 Thai baht per day, up to a maximum of 20,000 baht. You risk being held in detention.” You also risk being “deported at your own expense” and “banned from re-entering Thailand for up to 10 years.” The Foreign Office warns that “conditions in detention centres can be harsh.” It adds that holidaymakers can find more information on visas or entry requirements by contacting the Royal Thai Embassy or the local Immigration Office. Tax duty The UK Foreign Office has explained that there are strict regulations regarding goods that can be brought into and taken out of Thailand. Holidaymakers must declare any items that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty. The Foreign Office has specifically issued a warning about importing cigarettes, reported National World. “It is illegal to import more than 200 cigarettes per person into Thailand. This is enforced at customs on arrival. If you go over the limit, you could be fined 10 times the value. Furthermore, your cigarettes will likely be confiscated.” The UK Foreign Office also revealed details regarding passport validity requirements. “Your passport must remain valid for at least six months from the date of entry into Thailand. Entry to Thailand may be denied if your passport is damaged or has missing pages.

From Pattaya Mail A foreign tourist fell to his death at a 39-story luxury condominium on Thepprasit Road, South Pattaya on June 3. The victim, identified as Mr. Roman Vlasenko, a 38-year-old Russian national, was discovered in the parking area beside the building, wearing blue sportswear and lying face down with severe injuries to his body. Thantawan Khontaratkul, the condominium’s security guard, recounted hearing a loud noise resembling something hitting metal barriers while patrolling the area. Upon investigation, residents directed him to the spot where the incident had occurred. There, he found Mr. Vlasenko, who had jumped to his death. Security camera footage showed Mr. Vlasenko taking the elevator from the ground floor to the 29th floor, which features a common area garden with a scenic view. Subsequently, he made the fateful decision to jump from the building, resulting in instantaneous fatality upon impact with the ground. Further scrutiny of security recordings unveiled disturbing behaviour preceding the incident. Mr. Vlasenko, reportedly intoxicated and armed with a water gun, was seen harassing office staff within the condominium during the recent Songkran festival. Investigations into Vlasenko’s circumstances revealed he had been residing on the 21st floor of the condominium, where he had fallen behind on rent payments for several months. Additionally, his credit card had been restricted, potentially adding to his distress. The embarrassing incident of drunken misconduct during Songkran festivities may have exacerbated his emotional turmoil, ultimately leading to the tragic decision to end his life by jumping from the building. ======= From Pattaya News An American tourist was found dead on Tuesday morning after falling from the seventh floor of a hotel in Pattaya. Pattaya police received a report of the incident at around 6:06 AM on June 4th. Officers and rescue workers arrived at the unidentified hotel located on Soi Thappraya 15 to find the deceased victim, identified by police as Mr. Michael Jeffery Bruggink, a 43-year-old American tourist, lying face down in a narrow space behind the hotel’s parking lot. The victim was topless, and there were no signs of violence on his body nor forced entry in his hotel room. However, authorities discovered cannabis and a significant number of syringes in the room, which has subsequently been sealed off for further forensic examination. Hotel security guard Mr. Supornchai Hadkham, 34, reported that he did not witness the fall and was unsure how or when it happened. He noticed Mr. Bruggink while patrolling the area and immediately contacted authorities after finding the tourist unresponsive. he cause of the incident is currently under investigation, with police considering the possibility of both accidental fall or suicide. Forensic examination will be conducted to determine the exact cause, and the victim’s embassy will be notified.

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Bob and his longtime partner Oh in their favorite restaurant. American Robert (Bob) Pelletier is one of that large group of farang who settled in Pattaya around the beginning of the century. Born in 1939 at the port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, he spent some years in Fall River, more famous perhaps for the alleged but unproven murders of Lizzie Borden. Bob gained a degree in accountancy – “money is always an interesting subject” – and joined the National Guard before being called up on active duty in the army air corps. He had an early military career to become Assistant Chief of Protocol and resigned in 1963. Bob then settled into a financial career, working for many years as a dealer consultant or chief financial officer for various companies including General Motors. He discovered Thailand in 1997 as a tourist and took up Pattaya residence in 2004. He had already met his permanent Thai partner Oh and they have lived together ever since. “What matters in gay or straight relationships is love, commitment and letting the other person have air to breathe,” says Bob, “and we have our own friends and hobbies.” He adds that, as you get older, you need someone to lift you up literally and figuratively. Retirement years, even in Fun City, can be boring with nothing to do. Bob is a keen bridge player and was one of the 30-plus foreigners arrested for gambling in 2016. “It was a very unfortunate mistake by the authorities and we were never charged or taken to court,” he explains, “but several members were in their nineties and found the several hours of confinement at the police station extremely upsetting as they needed their medicine.” Bob has substantial experience of condominium affairs as a member, and twice chairman, of the management committee. “It’s interesting voluntary work and I dealt mostly with executive affairs as the day to day running is the responsibility of a management company,” he recalls. Bob still sits on the committee and, whilst we were talking, two tenants came to tell him about a water leak and a noisy neighbor. Bob is a good listener and certainly needs to be. Most years Bob returns to America for a month or so to visit his extended family. I asked him what he finds attractive about living in Pattaya. “The hospital system here is good, quality restaurants are plentiful and the locals are mostly friendly and good natured.” But he adds that the best places to live tend to deteriorate over time. “Pattaya was green and clean when I arrived here, but the traffic chaos and the urban sprawl are obviously negative factors these days. But you learn to live with it all.” And the gay scene? “Sure, that’s changed a lot too. When I first arrived, all the action was in gay bars and issues like same sex marriage were never mentioned. Even holding a gay pride rally was controversial to some people. These days, gay life is open and sexual orientation is becoming an irrelevance in Thailand which is an excellent development.” Bob concludes, “Even in your eighties you can be out and proud.”

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Some gay activists are not so sure about a new national headcount of sexual minorities in Thailand to help design a better living and welfare policy for them. Chadlerm Jandee said, “Sexuality is a very wide spectrum and LGBTQIA+ stands for Lesbians, Gays, Transgenders, Queers, Intersex, Asexuals and others.” He added that many people who have gay experiences don’t necessarily identify as homosexual. Thai premier Srettha Thavisin said the forthcoming marriage act for same sex partners is not the end of the story. “We then want to pursue gender recognition (the right of people to choose their identity on official documents) and sex worker laws,” he explained. The new survey of the National Statistical Office and others will be based on provincial households and online surveys of Thais aged 15 and above. There have already been many attempts in Thailand to pinpoint gay numbers. Ipsos, the market research organization, this year estimated 9 percent of 71 million Thais, but others have suggested anywhere from 3 percent to over 20 percent. It is generally agreed that younger Thais, in particular the GenZ generation presently aged up to 27 years, are more likely to identify with a sexual minority than older citizens. Research into gay numbers worldwide has a long history. American Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s toyed with a 10 percent ceiling and was the first to recognize the spectrum of sexuality on the scale of 0-6. In Nazi Germany, SS leader Heinrich Himmler set up a committee to combat homosexuality and ordered the expansion of Dachau concentration camp after being told gays were 2 percent of the adult population. Porranee Phuprasert, assistant manager of ThaiHealth, said the new survey will collect data on health, mental condition, living conditions and relationships in an attempt to combat stereotypes and discrimination. He said gays still face hostility in the workplace and from gay bashers. Meanwhile, the prime minister is keen to boost revenue by maximizing international tourist arrivals during the 2024 Global Gay Pride Calendar. Ann “Waaddao” Chumaporn, an organizer of gay pride events, said more gay people were prepared to come out these days. “20 years ago, there were no mobile phones, no Facebook, no widespread internet, no nothing. There were only posters that I had put up in gay bars,” Ann concluded. “If there are more Thais now identifying as gay or belonging to a sexual minority, that’s no surprise.”

A friend and I accompanied Jason1975 to The One Club last night, arriving at 10pm. The only thing I’d add to his review is that they need to develop some new stage activities before show begins. At the moment, they just have a few guys standing on stage at a time but not doing anything in particular to hold your attention. Management had done a good job of refurbishing interior.

Sorry man can't help to you there, have not been based in PH for quite some time now and no longer knowledgeable for anything local there. I left PH in 2010 and only visit once every couple of years and that's only for a 2-3 weeks at a time. Damn, I even got lost 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵😵 travelling back and forth throughout Manila last month when I was there as too much was changed since my last visit😂😂🤣🤣🤣

I started paying when I was 18 or 19. Cruising the block around the Greyhound station, was less complicated and got what I wanted. I used to go to gay bars too, but I was usually one of the youngest ones there, early 80's, most young people weren't out yet. Reciprocation wasn't my thing then nor now, I used to walk the block looking for what was available and cars would stop trying to pick me up all the time. Also when I used to go to Cats, Trix or Stellas in NYC, same thing...I had to tell people "I'm shopping not selling!". I was pretty hot back then and never realized it..... I remember like it was yesterday the very first time, every detail. I had the class president from a local high school and twin Puerto Rican brothers that used to work the block....fun but dangerous times, I wasn't into anal back then, luckily, so many died of AIDS, sad.