vinapu

it only shows that at end of day military might succumbs to strong culture isn't it easier just pay price from the invoice only without an announcement about not tipping ?

I found that reducing number of passengers speeds turn around greatly. Imagine , 7 passengers are leaving aircraft by front door and at the same time outbound 5 are climbing stairs in the back, no need to clean aircraft and off we fly. I guess that idea was tested by Quantas in early nineties when I was flying Sydney-Melbourne in 747 with all of 19 passengers on board of economy / I counted /. Reason for such a waste was rule permitting Quantas to fly on internal flights only passengers with international ticket, 3 of us from Honolulu flight joined other 16 finishing their London-Sydney-Melbourne trip

I just noticed and it's too late to edit post , shop with good rates to the left of soi Twilight is Natty Gems , not Natty Games

it needs to be stressed loudly that while this is true- in Jun in fact I found that there were the best rates I saw in that trip everywhere, only booths on the airport's train station have such good rates. All other in the airport are using uniform rate , bit lower than train station ones although difference with city rates is not as bad as in some other countries. shop to the left of Family mart is Natty Games - pretty much my place if I need to change money in the city although their rates for other currencies than USD may not be that attractive which is also a case with gold shop in soi Thainya, another one with good rates on USD . I use ATM as last resort due to the same factor - fee on both ends and rate bit lower but if somebody has account without fees , it may be convenient. Another thing to consider when using ATM is limit on daily withdrawals one may have as well as one ATM may have for one transaction. As for leftover money I recently discovered that my blood pressure medicine is much cheaper in Thailand so I spent it in the airport's pharmacy and small change left is given to random cleaner . Can't envision having much more than 1000 something left over as I tend to change money frequently as need arises, 100 $ is one note and is more portable than say 3250 - 6 notes at least.

he may even like it. Like reader said , go with the flow. Too much arrangements may spoil the fun and may lead to time watching.

very true, when connecting through Shanghai in Jun I was suprised how far plane was from the terminal - long bus ride, 2-3 km at least but for price I paid i wouldn't mind even three times longer bus ride, better than sitting idle in the waiting room in front of the gate

Divine Madman said it all but I add that if I consider something important for me / kissing , yes ! / I talk directly to a boy in question. First, never sure what info mamasan is passing on to a boy, second , to give a boy a chance to answer for himself, is not unknown that for a right client boys may evaluate their inhibitions and always an optimist I usually hope to be that customer. To answer OP question , yes , if min tip for 1 hr is 1000+ , I'd expect full service but still it must be cleared with boy what that means.

Unless offing material I can't care less who person in charge of bar is

de-frozen street food , what a great idea ! I'd suggest adding freshly boiled ice cream

try wrestling with the boys, my favorite game is ' don't let me touch your bum ', energizing , entertaining, a bit exhausting but inexpensive and rewarding - I always win

now you understand why I like to change hotel every few nights even if in the same city - makes me feeling I'm still on the move and exploring unknown , even if it's bathroom in new place

/ my underscore /, this very thing makes boys worth effort and expense in my eyes even if they skimp on other efforts. I hate when paid help tells me ' I need to go now'

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