vinapu

sadly it looks Mexico it not a role model for USA. And I believe they have Labour day on May 1st , like rest of civilized world

step in the right direction for sure. Under pretext of antiterrorist measures and later sexual exploitation and fighting human trafficking slowly but surely , one by one , we are being spied by the states to extend Hitler and Stalin only could dream about. Do not assume that if you don't have anything compromising you are good to go. Once I was made subject of extensive search only because agent got suspicious why my travel diary has baby ( fully dressed, relax) on it's cover. " Interesting" was his comment when I explained that it was first thing on the shelf when I was buying one. Another case was coming from Lithuania but agent took an interest in my Thai and Cambodian stamps in passport and pulled me aside for further questioning why I go there so often. Even me being assertive with remark ' office , I'm coming from Lithuania, not Cambodia" did not stop him from asking to go through my pictures on the camera ( I did not have smartphone then ). Gave up fast after seeing all that baroque Vilnius churches and gothic Trakai castle No, it was not on American border so no sense singling USA out. When I remark sometimes that I fondly recall my crossings to USSR in it's day , believe you me , I'm sincere .

it means only that Pad Thai in THAT restaurant on THAT day was awful. There's no such thing like good or bad food, what tastes good for you it's good for you but nothing universal here. Quite often the same dish may taste differently depending of place , chicken with cashews is good example. India deserves honorary mention for zillion of things but food? shock for me !

That's the bigger problem in so called rich world and not only attributed to tourists. A lot of both, locals and foreigners with money are buying real estate as investment properties, causing prices to rise and shortage of housing while whole highrises are standing half empty. Goverments are not blind to the problem, where I live every property owner must report if his house vas vacant during year, both failure to report or keeping unit unoccupied bring penalty of 1% of assessed value ( 10 000 for 1 000 000 ) house . Central government changed tax laws to quick buck seekers, if you flip the house within 1 year of purchase, income is treated as business income , not usual capital gain taxed at half rate. For a lot of young people in rich countries only option of getting own roof is when parents buy it or grandma is so kind and dies leaving her house behind. At one point it mail boil out.

while you are correct I need to add that some are quite persistent and ' no ' to be taken for an answer must be very elaborate. Things that work the best is to march with some farang friend and tell them he is our boyfriend , best in Sheakespearian ' him boyfriend me", but even that was met with counterproposal ' we will have regular massage and you can tell him to watch ". In May this was trick I used when we marched there with bkkmfj and that was crafty response I got when I claimed ' him jealous "

no, I was also in Januray, just pre-covid. Flew from Aswan , took package flight +hotel + breakfast from there. Arrived noonish, very hot but not debilitating. Went to temples in the afternoon, advised by hotel about time cruise was about to depart . There were some tourists left over but post sightseeing so I had main temple to myself for about 40 minutes, not even guard, in second temple there were few tourists . What surprised me was how cold it was at night, I used both extra blankets I found in the room . so my advice is to spend night there after doing temples, not before. As for off season you are right, my personal friend , sporty lady in her 40 ties then went there in summer and yes , collapsed due to heat stoke. Fortunately help was at hand and ever since she considers her an idiot because they were warned no to go there in summer but some people like discounted trips I guess.

it's not about tipping , nothing aggressive here in this respect. it was about tax being added to the price at the cash register or when you receive a bill, if some sticker or menus shows price 10 $ ,you will be asked for 11.30 . Tip , if any, will be on top of it

just wait for your turn

Probably because they don't know any better. Their nearest neighbour Canada does the same.

Tourists bring extra traffic but also extra money, and it probably for residents of given place to assess which side of that trade they like better. 20 buses descending on Bangkok is nothing , 20 of those at say , Stonehenge would be just too much. Where I live I gladly see tourists, partially that living in the outskirts I'm not affected by them much, more by spectators at nearby sport arena. As a tourist myself somewhere I try to avoid crowded places but if that can't be avoided I just gnash my teeth knowing that I'm as much part of problem as others. In very crowded places I'm firm supporter of limiting access, either by cost of tickets or timed entries as crowds can be dangerous to themselves. I wouldn't enter place where i can't move freely. Sometimes is annoying to see tourists behave obnoxiously, usually when blend of alcohol and crowd is involved but then it's better to leave to locals to sort things out. I understand though that residents of some places my feel they have enough and tourists are pushing them out of their own streets and squares but in equation they have constant access to a marvels other people pay dearly and travel from far just to see glimpse of it. Even most touristy places are eventually emptying leaving locals with garbage to collect but full pockets to go to bank with. Again , it's for them to see what they like better. It goes without saying that most cherished moments of my travels were those spent alone or almost alone in places usually crowded beyond measure , Grand Palace and Mahanakhon in Bangkok , roof of St Peter's in Rome, grounds of Chitzen Itza or Abu Simbel temples come to mind. It's why I advocate to travel outside season and wake up early to be first when gates are opened or arrive late , shortly before closing. Even that it's not universal as of course nobody likes to be only customer in go-go bar

confirmed, In Jan I offed one twink from there and had massage with another one . Not sure what situation re twinks there is right now, post-reopening

hope you will find time and energy to report your findings back

likely you just had bad luck , I was there twice in May and while not exactly packed , there was decent attendance on both occasions

+1

they should have pills for that

sad to hear taxi drivers are getting greedier and greedier. I guess it all depends of driver and good you did not fall into tipping him more. Good to see you are not wasting time with two bars visited on the first night.

+1

that's true, hunt is more exciting and challenging and if brings reward at the end , big ego booster. On another hand we need to be careful with various boundaries as easily we may land in hot water so if signs are clear guy is not interested , it's better to give up than trying to coerce him just by allure of money. Straight guys are in my opinion better for those games because if successful , they collect their reward and may even ask for another chance along 'business is business lines" without any drama. It took me three trips to finally get statement " we should have a drink on Sunday" from guy I meet on the street by chance few times in short time span. Then I decided it's not coincidence and decided to chase him as every time there was smile toward me. Persistency paid off and we meet every trip at least once. When he knows I'm there he sends me Line " what about tomorrow at 3 to 7 ?" and it's "yes" or "no" on my side without any fuss if I don't have time. Then he may suggest another day and usually does.

wouldn't be easier to assume that OP is correct , he is dead and cross him over ?

Their claim is based on the name , since it's called South China sea, very name says it's theirs. The same with Tibet, since 1000 years ago some Tibetan Prince married Chinese princess or other way around, that means Tibet was part of China since then they say.

Thais will have extra day off tomorrow, on Monday for an occasion

So sweet I needed shot of raw lemon juice after watching his clip, watching with pleasure I admit

looks all preliminaries are prepared , we are waiting for real action

+1

justice prevailed, (Thai version of it for the rich). If those were ordinary NZ bacpackers strangely I'm sure they would be rotting in jail for good while.