vinapu

don't worry. For me flying to Brazil would be cheaper than Thailand and still is Brazil 0: Thailand 30. Why ? I think Boy69 summarized it very neatly in his post : for me advantages listed above offsets disadvantage of boys being more expensive and also flight time being twice as much. I gnash my teeth , suffer badly and still prefer Bangkok and vicinity. I'm not particularly chickeny and vast travel experience taught me that places supposedly dangerous aren't as bad as word says but still I'm not big fun of having my vacation time spoiled by worries ' other side of railway station is considered unsafe" , " area between park and river bank is said to be off limits for tourists " , " when in taxi make sure windows are closed" and most important ' bringing unknown boy to your hotel may not be safe" . All quotations from various trip reports on this site. So up to now I'm content to pay 3000 baht ( 100 $) rather than 200 reais (40$) secured in knowing that if I need to walk from bar to hotel at say 2 am I don't need to call taxi nor constantly look over my shoulder.

yes, all one needs is one bar and one boy in it

Believe me , I feel your pain having the same from one of Bkk masseurs. To make things worse , I genuinely like him, even offed him few times but all that bombarding with 'I miss you , have you eaten yet /" etc made me almost suicidal or murderous. I guess it's his way of showing gratitude but as my friend familiar with that issue said ' he is not helping his case" Sadly he is right. It's idiotic situation for me when in Bangkok. I miss the guy and still do my best not to pass by his shop in case he sees me.

next time you there , try to have another go if you still like him. He may have rent to pay or simple may be thrilled that somebody likes him to extend to be so persistent. I know first hand what I'm talking about , not that boy or bar but similar situation. "I like you like me, you have Line?"

Good you brought it up. It 's generally assumed that all stuff can be offed and this is almost true but few times I came across the situation when I was interested in barker / receptionist / waiter and I was told that he will not go with customers. In fact, that applies also to selected show boys, rarely but it does. So if we are interested and boy doesn't wear a number (number is sure sign boy is for grabs) we need to be discreet and ask boy in question or mamasan about his availability. Sometimes yes , sometimes no, at other times yes but only after bar closes or after the show. Even if unsuccessful don't give up. When passing by next time , greet the guy, force small tip on him , rinse and repeat. At one point , today or on Wednesday he may whisper " do you have a Line ?" , then you are home if you don't blow it.

and tip accordingly

you call 15 seconds a minute ?

drinks in Jomtien 100-150, off fee 300-400, tip expected 1000-1500 short time , 2000, may be more for long time in Boyztown drinks in host bars the same as jomtien in go-go 400-500, off fee 500-1000 ( yes , at BoyzBoyzBoyz I was quoted that last time there in May), tips 2000 short time , 3000 long time, BoyzBoyzBoyz boys may ask for more. You are so many days it should not be problem to visit all 6 go-gos in Boyztown plus both in Sunee ( apart from Winners there's also Nice Boys, very progressive bar ) One walk down the aisle at Jomtien complex and you will know which bar or boy gets your attention, if undecided , take a drink in any bar and then make another attempt at survey of realm. After 3 days you will be an expert

confirmed. By the way I wonder how she is doing as last time I visited Banana she looked bit , how to say ? , less energetic perhaps

count me in. I go there every trip I'm in Bangkok, most trips even few times, specially if boys I'm with expresses interest in going there. Pays to be old, seniors pay 250 , at least on weekdays

You can see the view from glassed over floor where elevators are and you will feel more secure than on top open air deck

keep in mind there are no boys on stage at Mahanakhon so it's right and just that drinks are cheaper that in boy bars. One thing not to be missed there is toilet on the same level down elevators are, toilet with the view in best sense of it. Next time you want do touristy thing up high is to visit top of Bayoke sky hotel. No glass but platform is moving. If one stays there admission is free for hotel residents. ............ from my experience Arena boys will join you in the shower before if you ask them and after massage always. Another great report from full filled day, thank you

girlfriend not boyfriend. Do you think I'm gay ?

Rob , you robbed the bank

you right, scott is lonely and talking doubtful sense is his way of drawing attention to himself here

real life is still mostly on the streets , not on apps

wait until flordarob goes there

not that easy. What if he wants to see you again , even for a brief moment , enough to shoot you or something ?

Like mavica said, nothing new but thank you for OP for reminding us about that dreadful 'dynamic conversion rate" as it is called. Banks are getting more sophisticated to catch us off guard. It happened to me once even if I was aware of what's going on. I took it as a lesson. Few times when paying for purchases with card I was not even asked if I want charge in local currency or get it converted right away, the same big No, No

I think government goes for it because giving everybody flat amount is fairly easy to implement. Certainly it will help a lot of people as Thailand is still relatively poor society but may create spike in prices. And a lot of affluent people won't even notice it but money will be still spent on their part of handouts. Since money will be given in digital form I can imagine a lot of people won't know how to go about it and it will create opportunity for crooks to 'help' them for sizable chunk of it as "commission". But despite all of that I think expenditure is still worth of seeing smiles on a lot of people's faces , we all like Santa Claus even if we don't believe in him.

It's Ok, most important thing is you have fun there

I suggest you flight recession in Europe , not fight

easily done, for all I know you have daily flight to Bkk, no?

welcome to the forum and hope you will share your impressions with us, no pressure, just hope

You are right. It's hard to envision airport type security in what it's just a shopping mall. They can't built fortress around everything where public gathers. Even in airports there are a lot of crowded areas with basically free access