vinapu

you will be spoiled for a choice IMHO, It's me who likes hunks who feels on foreign territory at Jomtien but I still like it

while subject of tipping habits and customs is interesting and so is this thread I think we should be more relaxed and not so uptight with our habits and self-imposed rules. Clinging to every penny while economically beneficial may spoil vacations very fast when one is in mind frame that everybody is to squeeze the last satang from them and cheat on giving change. Creating scene about being shortchanged 10 or 20 baht is hardly worth travelling to Thailand or in fact any place for. Throwing money around without extracting tangible benefit other than feeling good for a moment is far from wise. I found that not as much amount but very fact that I'm paying a bit more than price list creates a lot of good will so I do tip - this is what a447 observed above. Lavish tips are not spoiling anybody because recipients know very well that this is more exception than rule so they gladly pocket money but don't expect you repeat the feast next time. We will be still served without a tip but likely any enthusiasm will be missing. While I understand and kind of sympathize with Christian position of not tipping , he can afford it as he is known to frequent places so repeat business gives him leeway of economizing. So I tip but watch two things - is tipping improving my experience next time , even if it's just smile of recognition, and , what I consider very important - is tip imposed on me ?. It's why boys planting beside without invitations, pesky mamasans and offed boys, asking for taxi money in the morning are not getting anything other than occasional lecture ' you already got plenty ' as I'm not known for sticking to market rates religiously.

bored in Thailand ? that's insane

few times in various bars I had similar suggestion but I always try to convert such request to an off, either right away with boy I'm taking already or to arrange meeting in my room in near future. Even one of our members once asked if I can help boy who did not get an off for awhile so i made boy sitting with me for a good hour and tipped well for allowing some decent but clingy intimacy in the bar. But I'd not tip boy just for fact that he is friend of the boy I happen to be with, no, tip must be earned somehow but I like idea of boys supporting each other and I'm very receptive to idea of offing their friends is asked.

Since Raya did not have any good deals recently I did not stay there for a while and hope my antics there are forgotten, lol. Great report, I have feeling while reading I just follow your steps, stopping at bedroom door , another thing I like about reports.

In defence of all three Boyztown hotels / Ambiance , Cale Royal and Copa / I need to say that I stay many times in all of them and never found bar and street noise to be very big nuisance. Bigger one for me is navigating maze of corridors in Ambiance and fact that all soi sees who is my next companion but I like attention and I'm good finding way in the wild so still stay there gladly.

No surprise here , we humans like to discuss other people money but get ballistic when somebody tries to discuss ours. On subject of tipping I sit firmly on both sides of fence. I support ChristianPFC's idea that habit of tipping is evil , depriving workers chance to get decent pay on the legs of logic that they will be tipped. On another hand I tend to follow local customs and where is known tips are expected I do too. In Thailand I tend to follow my own tipping rules but from time to time I exceed it generously. I like to see smiling faces. Brighten my holidays. I tend to hand tip directly to a person being tipped and try to do it discretely. In some places it ensures tip is theirs but in others it still will be pooled but I leave that part to waiters if they will share or not. Jupiter is only place I don't tip waiters as 'thank you ' gesture for not giving me a change from 500 on 400 off fee despite of me waiting for it a good while, like 15 minutes. After I save 200 baht on not given tips I will start tipping them again / 80 baht to save left /

Sunday mass at St Nicholas church on Sukhumvit, right beside the mosque

North Korea?

correct but if tip is expected and I did not tip than I'd refrain from visiting that restaurant in near future, there's long way from kitchen to the table

he can't be , he is dead already

this is what I do as well although I take great care to have lots of change in the first place to avoid situation like that ( long live change counters on BTS stations).

on the first trip I'd stay close to Boyztown which is walking distance to Sunee. Another option is to split 2-3 nights at Boyztown, rest in Jomtien. This comes from me, who likes to change hotels very often anyways. As for high season bars will be more crowded but also more boys in them and weather will be very pleasant most likely

same same most English speaking countries, I know personally at least 3 people who at one point of time were returned home by USA immigration at the airports without granting an admission to the country even with valid visa

they better think twice about that renovation, I doubt it will be many takers for hotel with loud bar on the ground floor

I don't think there's such thing as wrong tipping, after all it's discretionary undertaking , no? Too generous or too stingy, yes , but wrong?

Relax, this is what I'm doing for years in bars, 20 baht tip for every serving of drink regardless of drink cost i.e. 20 baht at Tawan where drink is 400 and 20 baht at Winners where drink is 79. If I order another drink later, it will be 20 baht again but if I'm in company and server brings us 2 drinks at the same time , it's still 20 baht tip only as I consider it 1 serving. An idea of tipping aircraft crew is nothing short of lunacy IMNSHO

If they don't forget to add that rum to the coke. I'd rather order shooter to rum and a glass of coke and let my stomach to to the blending. Last trip I ordered gin and tonic in one of BT bars and it was of 50 % of tonic and 50 % of tonic variety..

Perhaps it's time to resurrect non-stop express train to Makkasan and Phaya Thai with more frequency but NOT at price of 3 times of regular train like before. Infrastructure exists , only pricing was non-sensical.

if lower price is reflecting that violation I will go for it. I often make connection in Shanghai when taking China Eastern and they use buses to the plane but price hardly can be beat so I suffer in silence

that's attitude I like, for me vacations are from everything including daily penny pinching

Check prices first

Hope you post in your blog about impressions from there.

both guest friendly and VERY CLOSE to the action, Poseidon has reputation for good cuisine too

it pretty basic but modern although bit spartan hotel and I like it a lot - good value for money. They have three types of room , cheapest one is windowless and 1 single bed only. No issue with their beds and as far as I can see whenever I'm there I put them to a good use / I off almost exclusively long time /. They even serve free breakfast but it's very basic only tea/ coffee, toast and jam , some fruit , cereal with cold milk but it's still all you can eat format. I usually breakfast at Foodland Patpong and supplement that in hotel with some fruit upon return. Recently I was impressed with slightly more expensive Baan Silom in Silom soi 3 recommended to me by z909