vinapu

From time to time, I see mention of "bottle service" in this forum. Of course I have also seen customers in bars with trolleys beside them well provisioned with 75cl bottles, mixers, ice buckets, etc. Not being much a drinker myself, I have never been such a customer, so out of pure curiosity, here are some basic and naive questions for those who know much more about this.
My understanding is that when a customer has bought a bottle and does not finish it in one visit, the bar will keep the bottle for him for his subsequent visit(s), by writing the customer's name or some other identifier on the bottle, and marking the level of liquid as well.
1. Is my outline understanding correct?
2. Is there a time limit for the customer's return? (Presumably, if there is, then after the time limit, the bar would either dispose of the bottle or use the remaining liquid in the bottle for their own house pour).
3. Is there any charge for the customer who returns and asks for this bottle. Does the customer get to return as many times as he likes (within time limit, if any) for free (i.e. no entry charge) if he has a bottle waiting for him on the shelf?
4. Presumably, each visit the customer is likely to order mixers. What sort of prices do the bars charge for mixers and any charge for ice, etc? (A single-drink customer would have to pay 400 -500 baht for a can of Tonic, Soda or Coca Cola. If a bottle customer asked for a similar can as mixer, is he charged at a different rate?
5. If the customer calls a boy to sit with him, and offers the boy a drink served out of the same bottle, does the bar charge nothing? (for customers who order single drinks, the bar would charge a boy drink and earn money from that; the boy also gets maybe 50 or 100 baht from the boy drink).
6. Can a boy refuse a drink out of the bottle, e.g. saying "I don't drink alcohol." What usually happens then?
7. Do mamasans help themselves freely to the bottle? Or must they first be explicitly invited by the customer to partake? (I have seen mamasans - sometimes two of them - drink considerably from bottles and I have often wondered what the understanding between customer and mamasan was, or was the mamasan helping herself liberally in order to exhaust the bottle as soon as possible, it being her job to help the bar sell more bottles/drinks?).
Hoping some members here can help answer the above....
 
 

, Bridge Subsection

lets face it , plenty of English or Americans may have problems with English as well

This is funny that you say this.
When the powers that be created the new SIDE category, we were free to come out of the closet and to stop falsely identifying as TOPs.
Consequently, the perceived number of TOPs available for the static number of BOTTOMs decreased, thus creating more tension between us SIDEs and the BOTTOMs - as they often insist that we should TOP them.
 

Which means you are much more attractive than I am...

Yes, a bit like your impression of a restaurant,  a lot depends  on the weather, if outdoor,  ambience, company, service etc

Was Houdini Turkish?

your prefer because you can afford it but there are those who can't .
As for public health institutions everywhere old saying applies ' one must be very healthy to be sick" 

depending who is counting

depending who is counting

Whether or not you will be thrilled to be back depends on your own attitude and not necessarily what Bangkok has developed into.
You will find that, as Vinapu rightly points out, public transportation is better and that there’s a lot of new offerings. Since you say you're in reasonable shape and in early 40s, go explore the new onsens like Zen and Ryuu onsens, they have different and young, local crowds.
However, be aware that Bangkok has a higher cost of living than Rio or SP. I assert this based on objective criteria, that is the calculations made by international organizations and firms when computing salaries for expats. Brazil is the cheaper alternative. If you find yourself constantly making comparisons to Brazil, the price level,  the culture of communication (which is often indirect in Thailand), the perceived skill of the boys etc. If you are prone to making comparisons like this and are highly price sensitive, then this is likely to sour your experience of coming back. If that is the case, then perhaps reconsider the trip. 
Your experience will be mediated by whether you choose to approach it with an open mind or through jaded eyes. If you choose the former the experience can be sweet: «the meditation of old times resumed» as Walt Whitman would put it. 

Good luck with your decision! 

Recently spent three nights in BKK on my way to Cambodia. Here is a report:
 
Day 1
Arrived early in the morning. Immigration took about 30 minutes of standing in line, which was perfect timing as my bag literally appeared on the baggage belt, the moment I arrived to collect it. Next order of business was getting to Furama Silom. I opted for train and metro (blue line to Silom) and then a 15 min walk to the other end of Silom road. I wasn't in a hurry since my early check in was only available at 9 and after 10 hours sitting in economy class I enjoyed moving my limbs.
 
I also stayed in Furama Silom on my last (and first) trip to BKK a little over a year ago, but it wasn’t quite as nice as I remembered. The carpet on my floor (14) could really use a good cleaning or replacement and around the ac vent in my room were little spots of mold plus there was the remains of a dead bug in the kettle 😕
 
I was too tired to complain, but will definitely consider other options for my stay when I come back from Cambodia.
 
On my first trip to BKK, I learned that the perfect way for me to cure the aches and stiffness induced by a long flight is a two hour hot oil massage. So around 1030 or 11, I went to the same place expecting more or less the same thing as last time. It is a place that is considered soft and last time I went, the massage was excellent and the body to body extra was meh. So I had decided beforehand to turn down any offers of extras.
 
I was the first customer and it seemed only one masseur had shown up for work. He looked very young and a bit skinny (to be fair he was lean/athletic, but the baggy uniform made him seem smaller), so I was afraid I was going to be disappointed with the massage since last time it was a bulkier late 20’s masseur. I was not disappointed at all. Massage was even better than last time plus his hands and fingers kept getting closer and stay longer near my groin and every time he got a bit closer he asked “are you ok?”.
 
I was indeed ok, so when he had established that I was in the mood for extras he whisperingly offered a body to body massage for a minimum tip of 900. The flesh is weak, mine in particular, so a moaning “yes please” was the only answer I was capable of. Body to body massage turned into full on intercourse of different positions and intensities on the massage table and when we had both climaxed, I expected the session to be over. He hadn’t finished the massage, however, so he proceeded to finish the job. I was very impressed with that level of professionalism. I tipped him 2000. After extras he explained that he is not allowed to have sex with clients and asked me not to tell anyone, as he could get fired if anyone found out. To respect his request I am leaving out his name and the name of the place in this report. 
 
Since my last visit to Bangkok, I have kept in touch with two of the guys I met and I had let them know of my plans to visit and told them where I was going to stay.  One was available to meet me and we had already agreed that he would come after work on my second day for dinner, drinks and sleepover. He texted me on day 1 already and asked if he could come by as he would like to go to the pool. I agreed on the condition that there would be no sleepover, since I needed a good, long sleep to avoid jet lag. We went to the pool then across the street to Pullmann for a sundowner in the open air bar on one of the upper floors. We had a quick bite to eat and around 7 pm I was ready to go to bed alone.
 
Before turning in, I opened Grindr and soon got a message from a very cute young Indonesian guy looking for a quickie. I obliged, he came over and we had a very nice half hour session.
 
Went to sleep at 8, woke briefly a couple of times, but managed to sleep 12 hours. All in all a perfect first day and night in Bangkok. Need to catch a train to the cambodian border in a few hours, but hope to update on day 2 and 3 soon.

Actually, they are not similar at all.
But context will tell the listener which word you mean, unlike in Thai where they listen for the tone. 
I've stood in front of Thais and repeated a word with each different tone and they still don't understand! 😂
It's why I didn't put too much effort into learning Thai, as I knew I'd never get the tones correct. It's too confusing. For example, take the word glai. Depending on the tone, it can mean 'near' or 'far'! So when I tell the taxi driver that the hotel is near a certain landmark, I could be telling him it's a long way from it.
With the google translate app, I don't need to bother any more.
 
 

lets face it , plenty of English or Americans may have problems with English as well

not me, I visit bar for boys , not managers

lets face it , plenty of English or Americans may have problems with English as well

I'm under impression Cambodian guys speak better English than Thais or I just got lucky

Google Translate  or any such program is your friend and if you don't know how to use it , any boy will instruct you. Speaking from personal experience.

That would be significant concern. Both Patpong and Soi 4 are parallel to one another and share the same ownership. An offer the owner could not refuse is indeed a possible scenario given that the parcels represent a huge footprint in Bangkok's business district.

smart people don't have it easy it seems

they carried this cryptocurrency in plastic bags I'm curious?

From Thailand News Agency
Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has banned the sale of new OPPO and Realme smartphone models found to have pre-installed unauthorized loan applications.
The move follows complaints from consumers who discovered the “Fineasy” and “Happy Loan” apps embedded in their devices without their consent and with no option to uninstall them, according to Trairat Viriyasirikul, Deputy Secretary-General and Acting Secretary-General of the NBTC.
Representatives from Possefy Group Company Limited, the importer and distributor of OPPO phones, and Protha Company Limited, the importer and distributor of Realme phones, were summoned to a meeting with the NBTC to address the issue.
The meeting also included representatives from the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) and the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC), and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, due to concerns over unauthorized access to personal data.
As an immediate measure, the NBTC has prohibited the sale of new OPPO and Realme phone models containing the loan apps, including devices scheduled for launch on January 14.
For existing users of older phone models, OPPO and Realme have requested up to one month to provide users with links to uninstall the apps. However, the PDPC deemed this timeframe too long and has requested both companies to present a revised timeline for corrective action by January 16. -819 (TNA)

lets face it , plenty of English or Americans may have problems with English as well

deleted, macaroni already answered

Perhaps when Trump realises his dream about Canada becoming 51st state , Canadian communism in form of public health service will spread and pollute good old USA.