vinapu

Exactly, I'm grateful that people are taking time and sharing their adventures and expenditures with us as it usually comes at cost of their vacation time. I like posters financial data as it helps to plan the trip and relate our own spending habits to what others do. Some are big spenders or sound like them, some are very frugal / Happy Birthday Christian PFC !!! / and this helps many people to realize that exotic Thai vacations are not that expensive like somebody living far away may think. Active posters are tiny minority of people reading our forum and we may not ever realize how many people were helped with their preparation for Thai vacations by reading our posts here, for years I was one of them so i know it first hand. If somebody ask me I'd like even more of spending and pricing information but understand that many may be apprehensive to share for fear of being labelled boasters or too cheap particularly when tips are mentioned. On another hand we shouldn't be too sensitive to other comments as not always disagreement means criticism. If somebody doesn't share our taste in boys what makes us thinking he should share out taste in food, hotels or clothing etc. For some squeezing every satang may be priority, other may be looking for an indulgence for one reason or another. Labeling often is not easy as many people are both big spenders and cheap charlies at the same time. I know somebody who comes to Thailand on business, stays regularly in Conrad hotel , apparently one of expensive ones but eats on the street only ( not to save money but considers street food tastier and more authentic). Personally I don't spent much on food as mentioned above, have pretty low requirements for an accommodation, consider taxis wasted money but I like tipping boys well and consider exorbitant drink and off fees at Dreamboys and massage fees at Senso justified by quality of their boys in the look department / performance may vary but not always due to boys fault, after all there are two of us in the sheets, right?/

another point of how different we all are, I spent very little on food in LOS reason being my low tolerance for a heat and I lose an appetite almost immediately after leaving Swamy. This is not producing any savings nor making me slimmer since when on vacations I'm switching to beer diet which normally I don't consume at all but somehow beer makes me running smoothly in the heat

and another 3 days before we will see report of your adventures?

It's what Khadaffi said once, in long run did not help neither him nor Libya

Michael, like Thai boys say ' you think too much". No need to sound apologetic about your spending habits whatever it is. I do not think you came across as bragging and it's not what Bob meant. My reading of his comment is that at times people may be tickled by what they perceive as bragging about somebody's life style whether warranted or not. Jealousy is just a part of human nature Some folks who are not travelling have wrong notion of affordability of exotic trips. Thailand being possibly best value for money with first class infrastructure and still Third World prices enables us to indulge a bit and nothing wrong with it. Some people like splendid houses, other glamorous clothes, jewelry or cars and still other like fancy vacations. Keep posting, spending and reporting.

and she does, in her days she was possibly best looking prime minister in the whole world

correct, this would be comparing apples to bananas. Suu Kyi rised to occasion and did not give up. Yingluck seems more feather in the wind but like quite a few Asian ladies she may rise to occasion as well. Benzir Bhutto, Indira and Sonia Gandhi, Sirivamo Bandaranaike, Corazon Aquino, even two happles begums in Bangladesh they all were proxies for their fathers/ husbands and at one point picked up where they left. Yes, with mixed results but this can be said about any politician past and present.

you are right, it looks that even in the West education is no longer ticket to steady and well paying job. Our generation had it better and path to advance was clearer . When I look at young people around me very few are where I was in their age when comes to steady job. As for boys again I'm with you, there are legends of how much they are making but I found it hard to believe. Had an opportunity to talk to one of best looking boys in Dreamboys last Nov, I was his first off in 4 days and this is very popular bar, almost always full of clients. It's why I think our tips are nothing less than global wealth redistribution and certainly nobody will hear from me that overtiping is spoiling market for others. I 'm not throwing money at them because I don't have this ability but least I can do is to ensure that most of my travel budget in LOS is spent on the boys leaving shopping , dining and other pleasures to others.

it looks that Thailand's ruling class has habit of changing their constitution as often as they change underwear, which one that will be after end of absolute monarchy? 17th ?

there's bakery beside my work and every morning whole block smells heavenly with freshly baked bread which actually is expensive and tasting that good, still pleasure to sniff it daily so may be Thais are not so unique with affinity for good smelling food. By the way when I saw tittle of thread i started looking for some hand grenade to lob it at OP as in 9 trips I don't recall smelling Thai but thanks God it was not about body smell.

lady begging on street in front of our office had 8 bags with her this morning. I don't think it makes her wealthy or even middle class

many , many people all over the world are working in industries where pay did not increase ether nominal or by purchasing power. With time progressing it looks that top earners are grabbing bigger and bigger share of pie, lucky those in that position. If CEO is making say 100 times of lower clerk's salary and 20 years ago ratio was 25-1 does anybody really believe that today's CEO is 4 times smarter or is working 4 times as hard as his predecessor 20 years ago. This is my general comment and not directed at you Michael or anybody else for that matter.

Rich people sleep in Conrad or Dusit Thani, poor ones in Niagara or Malaysia and as long as there are alternatives we all can have good vacations. Wealthy people with their Rolexes are not screwing price of fakes in Patpong market, those are two separate markets. How many of those complaining about high prices in soi Twilight are actually walking 10 minutes to take advantage of much cheaper alternatives in soi 6 where Golden Cock is?

Boys as self -employed professionals have the same right like everybody else to charge whatever market will bear. Without upping prices they may not actually have an idea as of what they possibly can charge. Prices too low for any goods will empty shelves as goods are available for everybody, imagine bar with off fee of 50 baht and tip expected of 100. First client to enter would off everybody for an orgy and you will be left drinking alone with designated ugly mamasan on duty. Prices to high - everybody will start looking for an alternative and will realize that wanking to free copy of Desire magazine is quite pleasurable / this is what a bit upset mamasan at Hotmale told me when I told him I will not be offing anybody that day / As for massaging ego - no price is too low if done skillfully so why boy should be not compensated for lying how handsome we are and how big our dick is. If we one feels better by bargaining price down why to deny other guy pleasure of feeling better by throwing some money away? In great scheme of things market price will stay where is supposed to be and neither cheap charlies nor fools parting with money will distort it much.

my bet will be she returns as long as she thinks about returning to power , martyrdom sells very well with electorates , any trial will give her possibly better tube than press interviews from remote Paris

you don't mean it seriously, do you ?

Most airport prayer rooms in the West are really multi - denominational, Tel Aviv has Jewish one, Warsaw has Catholic one, Middle Eastern countries have mosques, no shock here, even nominally secular Turkey

Instead of ' interesting ' I'd rather say chilling as likely it was not first time

I wonder with how many bags ChristianPFC travels / i always have only one, no more than 11 kg /

and nobody is, such a path is out of fashion worldwide but well trodden. I never thought to live long enough to see Burma being more democratic than Thailand but in few years it may be a case, hope I'm wrong. With appointed Legislative it looks that Suthep won for now

I'm lucky, after singing accolades for Angkor Wat since my first visit there in 2001 all my folks know what Cambodia is famous for and I don't need to worry about any stares, actually often I'm asked when I will go again.

Enjoy your time there and don't forget to report

To avoid looking at his face feeling stupid by offering something which he was forced by family to renege on.

This is only for you to decide as only you know how she would take such a news. Being mother she probably knows anyways, whether we tell her or not.

and that's the reason I decided to keep quiet. My folks here don't even think about Thailand as gay destination . I never heard comment to this effect but after hearing ' pedo destination ' musings , particularly about Pattaya , again in hetero context I think is better to advertise loudly trip to other destinations in region particularly Cambodia. I'm well known as ruins connoisseur and nobody knowing me would raise a brow if I'd be flying there annually.