vinapu

you better inspect those rooms they may have for rent and see how much they charge if in fact they plan to rent them. But sure , go to China first

that could be quite economical option for the soi as I , while liking Quarter , consider it overpriced with it's modern, well organized but postcard sized rooms. as for the rooms use - the same can be speculated and be correct about any room in any hotel in the area, even those apparently guest unfriendly. Great report again and again. I'm glad you stand your ground denying another meeting after guy missed his appointment and declining request of further contribution to your waiter Taron request. Even in heat of the action we need some internal discipline , otherwise boys may use lack of it for further concessions. Guy oversleeping his appointment shows how he values your custom, taking it for granted. I'd not hire that no-show guide either, even if he had very good excuse (accident etc ) he should say something later during the day. On subject of leaving luggage with hotel my experience is that they do it gladly even if we don't return to them. Hotels understand that there's always next trip.

so you are saying countries which still have colonial era anti -sodomy laws in books should start enforcing them vigorously as famous mercantilist advised above? Not that I disagree with you both but in real politics sometimes change needs to be introduced a little step at the time , just to avoid waves ruining everything

they will but wheels of change are in motion already, even if conservatives succeed it will be temporary and short lived. Laws don't need to be revised, it's enough if for starters they stop applying them . Time for revision comes next.

that should cure your jet lag definitely. Looks like Banana becomes your bar central and I'm not surprised. Lucy finally got you ! I'm intrigued by that Coffee Grinder , seems like nice place to spy Tawan boys coming to work while feasting on French pastries. I have feeling I know whom you meet tonight.

card you mentioned in the post I was responding to i.e. your credit card

wise choice , faster , cheaper and you will immediately get a feeling of where you are, chances are you will be nicely surprised. On MRT you tap your card on entry to let you in and then again on exit so proper charge will be deducted ( transit fees in Bangkok are distance based , not flat ) I'd not worry, specially with hands full , just buy a jetton (MRT ) or ticket (plastic card) on BTS, after 3-4 trips you will master system

you extracted wisely right, for example what passage below is supposed to mean ?

and so are Cambodia's , not to mention rural Angola or slums of Hyderabad but what the point ? While I fully agree that 2500 short time is close to upper limit it doesn't mean that it was not worth paying nor that is prevailing rate. In market economy seller has right to try to get as much as he can. as for 300/400 you are right but it was when gallon of gas in USA was 29 cents and Rose Nyland sold her house in St Olaf , Minnesota to her friend Ingrid for 5800 $. 300 baht then was at fixed rate 12 $. How much was minimum wage in the state of New York then ? 1.75 ?

they did already in 1960

Glad to hear you re not wasting any precious vacation time. All naysayers lamenting collapse of Bangkok scene should be forced to memorize your report above and recite every morning right after 84 baht breakfast at world famous (it was 65 pre-covid by the way) Instead of forcing waiter to tip boys on stage do it yourself, preferably using patented technique otherwise called Vinapu tuck. If your Sam is boy I think he is , he is a gem not only because physical qualities. For me he has distinction of being only boy I ever took for a tour genuinely interested in sightseeing. Thank you for report again and again but remember - boys first , forum second

I know and feel it but as I said somewhere else , life intervened

yes , I do. Term was actually coined by the late Firecat when he witnessed whom I offed from BBB and was relieved to learn I'm alive next morning

do you mean soi 4 ? or there's German restaurant in soi 6 I don't know about

or simply hiding their members ID thus prohibiting them from voting, trick used by my nephew after political quarrel with his father . Day after voting ID appeared hidden under some book on father's desk. My take of it is they will try to water it down but with nation clearly speaking nature of politics there will change, slowly but surely it's my guess and wish.

sure but again reminder of advice- make sure first boy chooses second one subject to our approval. Don't force one boy on another, that's how I ruined in BKK my 60th birthday. Next one was much better - two Tawan boys conspired and suggested they provide private special show for my birthday, smart way to extract 2 tips on one night

OP comes from Canada, after 20 odd hours sitting on the planes, standing on the train all of the sudden becomes one of little life pleasures you can bring CAD, no need to lose twice on exchange CAD to USD and USD to THB. ...... no problem with ATM although keep in mind every time you withdraw money there's fee of 220 baht on top of what your bank may charge you at other end. Bangkok Bank ATM have 25000 bht withdrawal limit, Kasikorn's only 20000 I meantime I believe ggobkk woke up and is readying to prepare materials for next report , LOL

likely later, May or Jun is my usual time when I went to Thailand so yes , I should be there. In fact I landed in Swampy exactly one year ago to a day. This year though life intervened or I should say multi-intervened and I can't plan for more than 2-3 weeks ahead. But as they say, hope dies last

1 mile is exaggeration but not by much , from furthest gate to immigration it may be as much as 700-900 m I guess. After sitting who knows how many hours in the plane you will be grateful for the walk , believe me. There are toilets on the way and conveyors if you not inclined to walk . Don't exchange money until you will hit railway station level in the basement unless you really must. Rates in air terminal are worse, not disastrously so but worse. no restriction in luggage but OP concern was likely hauling heavy luggage down and up the stairs on BTS (overhead rail ) and MRT (underground ) I agree with reader , you will be hitting rush hour so taxi is not necessarily fastest option and being stick in traffic is almost guaranteed. Getting from immigration to railway station is easy - there are escalators , just keep going down and down. Booth with good exchange rates are right at railway station to you left, at least 4 of them. You can but ticket for train (45 baht ) in the machine which gives change or in ticket counter. Rabbit card is valid on BTS only ( two thick green lines on your map) . Airport train ( thin red line) and MRT ( everything else ) has separate ticket system and so do two SRT train lines not on your map and so does BTS Golden Line , two stops only to Icon Siam mall 9 short appendix on your map along the river. Buying transit ticket is no problem but at times , specially on BTS there are substantial lines so Rabbit card is good idea, it costs 100 baht and you must load it initially with at least 100. After that you can add value on every BTS station. It is valid 7 years and I'm still using one I purchased before Covid. there's also day ticket valid on BTS only any questions , just ask

place deserves mentioning it's full name : Unesco Heritage, 7.5 Michelin star awarded Foodland Patpong ........ another post supporting my firmly held theory - go and see for yourself, pics and recommendations will not replace eye-to eye contact and will not provide that smile

welcome home! reading this got me salivating for Bangkok and many guys and places inside it. haggling over price by Swampy taxi driver sounds like novelty item, not that I have much of experience taking taxis there, as noted I like the train. very refreshing to read how somebody sees Silom ghetto after such long absence, as you do next round you will notice even more changes. Leaving hotel turn left on Suriwong and after 2 or 3 short blocks you will see XOne in the corner , in last few trips consistently having the best exchange rates. Intrigued to know what that Tawan BDSM is, other venue under their umbrella? or it's just ad location across the bar? Tempted to jump on the plane to check myself . nor surprised you carry tea to China, Sri Lankan is better Have fun and don't forget about us !!! p.s. you not only one missing Yoyo

you have a good heart !

I wonder how your first day went

certainly there's danger at one point in future USA may find themselves lead by somebody like Brezhnev of USSR or Mugabe of Zimbabwe, both hardly uplifting examples

yes, the same like passengers in last few row of airplane. Stewardess is asking " do you want a meal ? ' , passenger answers " do I have a choice ? ", she answers ' yes, yes or no". But on more serious note I hate to admit I agree with Moses although omitting both insulting labels. Americans are presented or even more accurate, are presenting themselves with questionable , mostly age related, options. We all remember crash landing of Soviet Union after putting at helm string of aged, increasingly out of touch, leaders. China learned the lesson by putting 10 years limit but abandoned it and chances are will pay for it in the future Nation of 300 000 000 should certainly do bit better.