bkkguy

the latest statement, last night, direct from the person so respectfully referred to as the aged German above, was "till the end of this year, but our lawyer says we will get another 12 months after that" bkkguy

forgive me, sometimes I forget this is a Thailand forum bkkguy

absolutely - I am sure if you printed out the various threads and presented them at a meeting of Twilight venue owners they would be stunned at the collective wisdom of the forums and seeing as you mentioned Nauru, if the owners did want to consider this option they could try checking with the Australian government which has some recent experience with moving existing functioning operations there - and while it may permanently exclude Dream Boys et al from ever setting up in Sydney or Melbourne it could be a stepping stone to the lucrative US market and a much better option than packing all those dancers and costumes in a leaky boat across the Gulf of Thailand to claim asylum in Pattaya bkkguy

the second post on page 1 the GB thread by Trongpai on Feb 8 quoted venue owners saying leases would not be renewed after May 1 2018 the last post on page 4 of the GB thread by bobsaigon3 on Feb 15 mentions a staffer's vague comment of "maybe one year from now" - so nothing much "new" here after more than a week of breathless speculation on multiple forums as to why the venues have not yet updated their web sites about their imminent move to a new location and why they are not all rushing to set up in Pattaya I must admit I tend to agree with Trongpai's prediction in his original post - "I don't know if the fat lady is singing but I hear her behind the stage warming up her voice" but the ongoing forum speculation continues to be fascinating as most forum speculation is! bkkguy

I see nothing in the original post, or any of the other posts I have seen on the other forums, to support the idea that the actual building owner (as distinct from the lessee) is in any way interested in the level of gay custom, or lack of, for the current tenant's business - other posts suggest the building and the one next door have been sold to developers with no indication at all that the current guesthouse lessee is unable to meet his monthly rental commitments or is unwilling to renew his lease or has even been offered a more expensive lease that has been rejected it is obvious that for many building owners, including for example in Soi Twilight in Bangkok and possibly soon Ms Sunee herself, the time has come to cash in and sell out to developers while I am willing to concede building owners may see declining gay interest in their properties by the far bigger threat is the money developers are willing to offer to "take paradise and put up [yet another] parking lot" with attached multi-story multi-function apartment/hotel/shopping complex bkkguy

1. you never know who will be deciding what ls "bad" or when that decision may be made so we should not be allowing anyone to collect whatever information they want so as to protect ourselves from abuse of power now and in the future 2. your right to privacy is not about hiding something bad you are doing, it should be a fundamental human right and if any government or organisation wants to violate that privacy they should need to make a very good case not just vague soundbites about terrorism, crime or protecting the children 3. it is not necessarily a good idea to mindlessly accept the words of wisdom sprouted by your "good friends" and yes I do realise that as a hopeless libertarian who still wants to use his mobile phone in Thailand and get his annual retirement extension I am on the horns of a dilemma and I do also realise the chances of the Thai population rising up against such authoritarian tyrannical actions is slim, particularly given the public apathy to such actions in most liberal western democracies these days - but really I am just here for the food, the temples and the smiles so I really am not doing anything wrong bkkguy

which is why we should have no qualms about giving governments backdoor access to encryption keys bkkguy

the inter-city public buses all have luggage facilities, the problem is more likely to be getting you and your suitcase and hand luggage to/from the bus stations - or in vinapu's example of using the 39 Baht train the train station - if you want to be lugging your luggage along Bangkok's notorious footpaths then navigate the BTS/MRT to get to a bus/train station and then Pattaya's super comfortable baht buses or walking to your hotel then up to you, but I couldn't be bothered bkkguy

Like z909 I used Mr Toom for years but have now given up on them because over the last two year just about every journey involved a pee/coffee/fuel stop, too many of the drivers spent too much time focused on their mobile phones rather than their driving and increasing older vehicles - my last trip the driver was 30 minutes late (no call), had an old 6 seater minivan with the worst seats and worst suspension I have ever encountered, stopped for coffee (and looked like he needed it) then took the wrong expressway exit in BKK adding an hour stuck in traffic to an already tedious journey yes some of their drivers and cars are OK and their prices are cheap but on average you very much get what you pay for and I have decided I would rather pay a few hundred baht more for a better experience bkkguy

depends on what type of food you are looking for - very few of them are actually Thai restaurants in the food press there have been mixed reviews for the one "street food" place's signature 800 Bht fried omelettes and 500 Bht fried noodle dishes that you typically wait 2-3 hours for on the footpath to then "enjoy" on a rickety table in a non-air conditioned shophouse, but you do get to watch the chef in action in her signature ski goggles to protect her eyes from splashes from all the woks full of boiling oil - unfortunately no such protection is provided for your hardening arteries bkkguy

well he asked you for advice, and you asked a gay message board, so I don't see why you are getting your knickers in a twist perhaps he should try mining a few bitcoin - surely the hotel computer network has a few spare processor cycles available and I am sure they wouldn't notice the sudden surge in their electricity bill bkkguy

is that bulge in your hard drive a Bitcoin wallet or are you just please to see me? bkkguy

if Thai people at the temple to get lucky lottery numbers, release captive birds or to book a monk to come and "bless" their new car or house where offended by a few pieces of exposed flesh then perhaps they need to review their own behavior if they don't want to appear sanctimonious bkkguy

it is always a bit of a gamble how people will respond to posts on public forums surely, that would require, the use of periods, rather than commas? bkkguy

technically their private hire operator licence was not to be renewed - in London Uber and its drivers have needed to comply with the same regulations and requirements that apply to other private hire operators (as distinct from black mini-cab operators) but Transport for London which oversees licences was not satisfied with how they were meeting those requirements not surprisingly the situation in Thailand is much more complex - as I understand it: - Grab Taxi in Bangkok, which uses licensed taxi vehicles, their licensed drivers and their licensed meters to calculate fares, is just a booking service and is thus as legal as telephone booking services offered by many taxi co-operatives - Grab Taxi in other areas in Thailand, which also uses licensed taxi vehicles and their licensed drivers but does not use their licensed meters to calculate fares, faces the same legal questions as other licensed taxi operators in these areas who also do not use their licensed meters - other Grab options and Uber do not use vehicles or drivers licensed for commercial passenger services and are thus classified as illegal under current Thai laws without wanting to defend companies like Uber who seem to view themselves as "disruptive" and above local laws just because they are internet based, it is not surprising that many consumers are not interested in legal nit-picking when comparing the service and prices for the new entrants into the market compared to the incumbents who seem more interested in maintaining their current protected position and the benefits it brings them rather than adapting to provide reasonable service at reasonable prices - like many other customers I am bewildered when licensed taxi drivers or baht bus operators in many areas in Thailand refuse to use their meters and/or demand inflated fares yet feel justified in physically abusing drivers offering these new services! bkkguy

are you trying to imply a certain cheekiness in my post or display your propensity for Christian practices? anyway keeping on topic we have a more interesting surfeit of cheeks already in the Photos forum here thanks, and I am sure if pictures of the orgy are ever posted there they will show the turning of quite a few cheeks for a good shot, but depending on the photographer's skill and the physiques of the falung participating they may also result in the turning of a few stomachs as well! bkkguy

yawn given the typical hypocrisy of Thai social attitudes and the law and its enforcement in relation to most social ills I somehow don't think my perceived relative light treatment of one such ill in a thread about organising an orgy on a western oriented gay forum that is either unknown or considered irrelevant by most of the Thai population is what you or Sophia really need to worry your little heads about bkkguy

my next door neighbor Khun Somchai knows at least six families in his home village who sold their children into the sex trade and I'm pretty sure he just thinks some falung think too much! maybe get Sophia to read the Bangkok Post today, particularly The Big Issue and the editorial about Thailand's failure in the war on drugs and alcohol and see if she sees any lessons there in relation to controlling gambling - and the sex trade for that matter! bkkguy

proving once again that Thailand has its priorities right - offing multiple sex workers from a bar for a debauched orgy is no problem but playing cards - shock horror, a serious threat to social morals! bkkguy

just keeping up with the competition - draft Chang has been available at my local FamilyMart for many months already fortunately nobody on Facebook uses FamilyMart so it is still OK for them to openly display the logo - or are all beer suppliers not created equal in the eye of the law? bkkguy

I am an Australian living in Thailand - what is a "second amendment" and what has it got to do with this discussion? however I do fully understand and support traveller123 having an opinion on cock fighting and making a pragmatic decision about when and how to express that opinion, as I also fully support Thais in his village having an opinion and making a pragmatic decision about when and how to express that opinion I also understand that cultures may decide to reject outside comments on their customs what I don't understand is your presumably sarcastic "It's fine to have convictions; it's admirable when you exhibit the courage of those convictions" and your previous statement that as a guest we should not "challenge" local customs and who said I thought the villagers were "backward" and needed to be set straight? you are really showing your true colours here! bkkguy

is it equally presumptuous to tell people in cultures practicing female genital mutilation that they are engaging in a cruel act? or is this also just we-know-better NGO interference? or does it only become presumptuous if I am residing in that country when I make the comment - sorry, if I am a guest in that country and have therefore automatically relinquished all my rights to express an opinion? bkkguy

one in VT 5D is open 24/7 and exactly how many towels are you going through in a night anyway - and more importantly where are the trip report details! bkkguy

all of the VTs have multiple laundry services available that will do a few towels for you in a flash - and cheaper than a flash or a pinch from your visiting guys! and if you stay at VT 7 best avoid talking to anyone at Jomtien Complex Condotel - which actually has a gym, but now no views and still some strong owner resentment even after the final court decision on the definition of "200 meters" bkkguy

they list rooms in VT6 (Pattaya) and VT 2A and 5C (Jomtien), none at 700 Bht per night and none including a gym in the building so it may not help the original poster - most of their rooms are 1,200 Baht up per night up though you may get one of their rooms in 2B for less then 1,000 Baht per night in the off season if booking more than 10 nights, and I don't remember any of the VT buildings in Jomtien having a gym at Jomtien beach VT 1 (A&B) and VT 2 (A&B) are older (and thus cheaper) but do not have direct beach access, VT 5 (C&D) and VT 7 do have direct beach access there are many rooms at VT5 and VT 7 on airbnb at grossly inflated prices and on most of the hotel booking sites at slightly better prices, and all of the VT properties have agents in offices on the ground floor with rooms to rent in those buildings and while VT 1 and 2 may have some rooms at less than 1,000 Baht off season for bookings longer than a week 1,200 up is more usual for VT 5 and 7 for a few days or a few weeks, or 15,000 up baht per month for 6-12 month bookings I have never had a problem at VT 5 with a guest, and have seen many guys with (male or female) "guests" in the pool area or eating in the sala cafe etc I would like to see a URL and more details of the 700 Bht room mentioned by Boy69 - I am about to book a room for December at VT 5D for 1,300! bkkguy