Connery43

I'll be at the Crowne Plaza in Silom in November.  Might there be anything new to report as per a trainer's gym in the Silom /  Lumpini area?  Thank you,

This will be my second visit to Thailand. While I am in BKK....I stay at the Crowne Plaza Lumpini. It's a very nice hotel, no guests are questioned, dining room food is exceptional and the location could not be better. 

This is a useful thread for me. I live in Japan and thus have always had yen to exchange. The best place has always been a liquor store in Soi Thaniya, close to Silom. There would always be three or four people in the line in front of me, all carrying huge stacks of 10,000-yen notes. The line was always fast, I don't even think they checked passports. Same with the gold and drugstores on the same soi that also exchange currencies. All of these places have really good rates, but the liquor shop is usually fractionally better.
But the yen is now the weakest it's been in decades. I had grown used to a 10,000-yen note being worth more than $100, but now one can't even buy $70. So I'm going to bring some strong dollars to exchange. I'll check out the Soi Thaniya dollar rates and compare them to those at Xone and the shops that have "Rich" in their names.
As a side note, at night, when all the bars in the area were busy, there used to be a dude camping out in front of an ATM on Surawong, near Soi Thaniya, if I remember correctly. He would offer to exchange currency whenever anyone stepped toward the ATM. He was always happy to see I had yen, gave even better rates than the liquor store and was willing to haggle. So it paid to know what the exchange shops in the area were selling baht for.

Thank you Buddy. I was planning on changing out $2000 USD which is about 75.5K.

Not sure if that's what you meant, but don't buy baht until you arrive - you will get a much better exchange rate in Thailand than back home. Use exchanges (Super Rich, TT or similar, not banks.) Don't exchange money in the arrivals area of Suvarnabhumi, go down to the basement (Airport Rail Link) level where the rates are better.
Be aware that the ATMs will charge you 220 baht (around $6) per transaction. That's on top of whatever your home bank charges for foreign exchange and use of foreign ATMS.
... and if hotel are not paid in advance you may find that sometimes they insist on cash. "machine broken, no card" (which may not be the real reason!)

So make your withdrawal count, make it a big one, lol
 
Luckily there are banks that absorb or refund these fees 😉

ATM limits are typically 10 000 to 30 000 B.
Or just hide them somewhere else in the system.  It's a safe bet that the bank will not be the loser.

70,000 baht.
Maybe you will spend that much, maybe you won't.
I arrived at that figure because before the pandemic, I would top up my wallet to 7,000 baht every day. That would cover all my spending -- from my morning coffee and mango and sticky rice to fitness center or massage fees to late-night carousing and tipping. I'm not sure 7,000 baht would cover my habits these days, though. Judging from posts on this forum, drinks in go-go bars are almost twice as expensive as they were when I could count on being safe with 7,000 baht in my pocket.
Disclaimer: I rarely made it all the way through that much money, although I occasionally had to go back to my hotel room safe for even more cash.
Disclaimer 2: I'm not great at economizing while on vacation.

As much as I hate banks and the banking system....I can say that in the US (def not Mexico where I live) has banks with good benefits in respects to traveling and chargeback rights that some other countries don't.

I agree with using ATMs if you have a good bank account that rebates fees. I opened an account at TD Bank (TD Premier Checking) just for this purpose when traveling. And even many years later that is still one of the benefits of this account. You have to actively seek out these kinds of accounts. I also take a few hundred US$ in cash just in case. I've never stayed at a hotel that demanded cash.

Is there a different rate for cash/ATM?
Do all the ATM's have the same rate or is there any difference?
And for cash, where are the best rates in Bangkok/Pattaya?
I will go there next week!

@1. yes and/or no-there are no set rules for that. Also each of the 12+ banks that will do exchanges sets its own rates-and these may also differ per city/branch. Upcountry-and even suburban BKK many banks will not do exchange. Generally-in the past- Thai Farmers Bank (now Kasikorn) had best rates-but difference is minimal between banks.
@2.as 1. Those at airpt are notoriously (of course) lower in rate. PLUS that very often the mAX amount will not be spewn out, so you pay more those 220 THB as thought of
@3. as said above the PRIVate, chinese, money exchanges, mostly with a RICH in their name. Better exchange rate and NO fee at all-but slow process-DO bring passpt and HTLcard. There is in BKK a whole cluster just left of BigC Ratchprasong, opposite the former World Trade Centre-just OFF Siam/BTS and also near Phantip fake-computer/CD dept.store and Indian taylor mekka. But also-ask vinapu of course, now several in Silom and Suriwong (if you really watch every satang, then near WTC are top). There used to be such a 1 in the ground floor of where Arena msg is-but I dk actual situation. I always keep a few 1000 and small notes for next trip and go there once a while, but the current stack is still from march ´20.

For last few trips I exchange at XONE on Suriwong between Tawan soi and Amara hotel. Consistently best rate on my currency and as, a bonus one an request payment in smaller denominations, handy for bars and tipping. 
As for airport rates in arrival  area, yes they are lower but not need to be dramatic like in many other countries, perhaps 10 % lower. Nothing close to Turkey or Poland where airport  rates were even 1/ 3 worse. On another hand airport in Mexico city aparently has better rates than city itself. 
As for trip money, always used old adage " take half goods and twice as  much money" 

What I particularly liked about Xone is its efficiency. On my first visit they entered all data from passport into system. My second visit was processed more quickly because they had retained it.
Be sure to get queue ticket from dispenser before entering shop. Expect them to take your currency and put it into plastic envelope that then goes to back room. You’ll be asked to step aside while order is filled. When ready (usually only a few minutes) your number will be called again to pick up your cash. 
When I was there a few days ago all three windows open and six customers being served.

Hello all.....I'm a top who is into guys with muscle.  Not huge, but muscular defined or otherwise.  It's been a few years since I've been to BKK....before COVID.....so I think I might be in need of an update. 
Would any of you gentlemen offer up your opinion on the best clubs to find such in BKK?
Are particular nights better in certain clubs than in others?
Much appreciated.

Hello all.....I'm a top who is into guys with muscle.  Not huge, but muscular defined or otherwise.  It's been a few years since I've been to BKK....before COVID.....so I think I might be in need of an update. 
Would any of you gentlemen offer up your opinion on the best clubs to find such in BKK?
Are particular nights better in certain clubs than in others?
Much appreciated.

Others may disagree with me, but I've learned not to even try to buy gifts for the boys.  Instead I give money and let them buy what they want.  Most times when farang buy gifts for the boys, the boy will react very happy about it.  Later he will either throw it away or give it to somebody else.
Giving money may seem tacky to us, but believe me, unless the boy specifically asked for something, he'll appreciate money much more than a gift you pick out for him.  And to the boys a gift of money is not tacky at all.

mostly yes. There's question of how straight actually are guys who go to bed with other men ? 
 

Perhaps it is important to draw more recent members to this Board's Mission Statement and Code of Conduct. They have been in operation for many years when the Board was mostly about Thailand issues. Since they are clearly stated, I assume they apply equally to other countries on the expanded Gay Guides network and not just Thailand.

Mission
The Gay Guides Message Center forums are provided as a venue for the discussion and exchange of information about Thailand and other related issues. It is a place to submit queries and share experiences, information, concerns, news, and views, and maybe even a little humor for the benefit of members. Responsible, non-abusive, free and open dialog is fostered between members and between members and  guys in support of the Gay Guides site mission. Abusive posts shall not be tolerated.
Code of Conduct:
Gay Guides membership is restricted to Adults Only. That Message Center members shall be expected to behave as adults is not an undue burden. The expected conduct standard for the Gay Thailand forums is the same as that observed every day in society by adults in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities. It is based on straightforward mature behavior, civility and courtesy that you find in a neighborhood Pub or Tavern where neighbors and acquaintances joined by occasional strangers come together to socialize in good temper, to share conversation, and to hoist, in moderation, a glass of favorite beer or wine or a cup of coffee or tea.
These forums are NOT presented for abusive arguing and name calling, score-settling, thread stalking, or general cyberspace blood sport for the chronically bored.

I am a big fan of this site.  It's given me some great information and some of the guys have been super generous with their time and information. 
Thank you!
But lately, after perusing some of the threads....sadly I am often seeing a pattern of the following:
Bitching about how expensive everything is Complaining about things like economy airline seats that aren't wide enough to accommodate their girth Pointing out how life (boys, mamasans,etc) is always trying to cheat them Going on ad nauseam about topics (usually themselves or other bits of nothingness) that aren't relevant with what this site is all about Again, I love this site.  But if some of the guys might think about what this site is really all about and leave a lot of their postings to time with a therapist, it might be beneficial to all.

Members are free to post whatever they want.
They are also free to ignore whatever they want.

Nice thread. Bitching about bitching.

# me too

time with therapist so expensive too, specially with hunks offering long time

I am a big fan of this site.  It's given me some great information and some of the guys have been super generous with their time and information. 
Thank you!
But lately, after perusing some of the threads....sadly I am often seeing a pattern of the following:
Bitching about how expensive everything is Complaining about things like economy airline seats that aren't wide enough to accommodate their girth Pointing out how life (boys, mamasans,etc) is always trying to cheat them Going on ad nauseam about topics (usually themselves or other bits of nothingness) that aren't relevant with what this site is all about Again, I love this site.  But if some of the guys might think about what this site is really all about and leave a lot of their postings to time with a therapist, it might be beneficial to all.