hank75

Take this with a grain of salt but the cynic in me is shouting that this is lulling you into an exaggerated sense of kinship and thus familial obligation. I am sure Cam’s family will be lovely, make you feel very welcome, and - seeing how respectful Cam is of you - follow his lead. At the same time I have heard too many stories of farang men being lured too quickly into marriages with Isaan bargirls because they were introduced to the families and children early on via video calls, then visits, called “son in law” or “stepfather” and made to feel a real sense of camaraderie and belonging. Before they knew it, they were hog-tied, offering sinsot and building houses in the village. You don’t need to arrive with a sceptical attitude….enjoy your adventure to the fullest. Let us be the cynics for you as your story progresses.

Glad that it’s a helpful back up You and Cam seem to have a solid relationship and he’s respectful of your money so I wouldn’t worry unnecessarily. Just don’t make it a habit so it stays in “emergency-only” territory. Also perhaps don’t mention it around his family. When I’ve sent WU to guys, I never send to their bank accounts (so they don’t know it’s a possibility) and always only cash pick up so they need to expend some energy going to the counter and doing the pick up. Instead of sitting around on their asses waiting for the magical money fairy. I’ve only broken this rule once for a guy I had a longstanding arrangement with who lived somewhere so rural that he couldn’t easily get to a WU counter. Don’t forget once you’re physically in Cambodia you can send money to yourself. It doesn’t need to be through Cam.

You may want to try sending Cam a small amount just to ensure you have it properly set up, and that transfers can be made to your name or his. Receiving isn’t the problem, it’s ensuring that you can transfer remotely from your bank to WU, so don’t go to a physical outlet, try and do it all online. I used to send via credit card and suddenly that option stopped working, so I had to fall back on bank transfer.

The risk in riding a motorbike is never oneself, it is other people. The last time I was travelling through Samui, the roads were particularly steep and winding with potholes. I was riding pillion and clutching the handlebars with a death grip. Much to my horror we encountered an elderly farang who was driving a motorbike with one shaking hand while holding up his phone with the other to record the journey (or he could have been on a video call with his Thai wife who knows)….helmet-less of course. This sight does not faze me at all now. I get a bit worried when I see infants perched on motorbikes but usually they’re placed in front or sandwiched in between parents and someone has a hold of them (Thais and Cambodians alike). However farang especially the French are yet again perpetrators of a particularly laissez-faire style of motorbike riding especially with children….I’ve seen many European tourists with their young children (under ten, sometimes looking no more than six) riding pillion behind the parent, their legs bouncing as they are unable to reach the supports. They’re holding the parent around the waists because they’re not large or strong enough to hold the rear handles. Scares me every time.

@jimmie50 you are overthinking. Bring USD, with some smaller bills $10 is sufficiently small. Your first meal or convenience store purchase will sort out your riels, otherwise Cam will know how to break your notes. As @vinapu has wisely said, notify your bank you are travelling so they will not block your card suspecting a scam. However I have found Western Union an efficient way to get a stack of cash in Cambodia. It’s even better for Americans because you send and pick up USD so no exchange rate incurred, only a very small transaction fee.

They were probably desperate for you to stop flashing and just leave

Very possibly you could hire a songthaew-style vehicle to transport humans, luggage and the motorbike, or some other mode. My ex guy brought his bike from Phnom Penh to his village so transporting bikes is a common occurrence. It took me a while to get comfortable riding pillion but now I am quite used to it. I’ll take a Grab bike for short hops in Bangkok or on a trip with my guy, as he’s a good driver. I think you’ll soon develop that same confidence level with Cam. If I stayed more permanently, I’d learn to ride one myself. Would prefer a neat Vespa scooter that moves at a sedate pace rather than those zooming machines the boys seem to like.

Tongue in cheek but genuinely curious, superior to whom? Or are there Inferior Courts as a point of difference? Edit: I lazily did not exercise my Google finger prior to posting but have now been enlightened that there are, in fact, inferior courts

They seem to be aiming to have a tree growing in the middle of the house. But I guess we will only know for sure when it is completed!

But not virgin Good to hear the rare occasion that it is not Jupiter guy who is a dud And I much prefer your own writing style to AI! It conveys a sense of personality and unique self expression which is lacking in the AI version. AI also sounds a touch OCD which is not present in your original report

Is correct. It has an open ended sound to it. Greedy has a p/b sound to it rather like “lope” or “lobe” and is close ended. in any case I’m sure he would give you the benefit of the doubt! this is more commonly used that “khun law mak krap” which I think sounds a bit odd. Most Thais I know of just say “law maaaaakkk” with accompanying expressions of enthusiasm

Good grief businesses don’t even need to be open and operational to incur a dose of @Olddaddy

I stand corrected! But somehow bule also implies loutish behaviour while farang does not?

Like I said. I do not find “farang goes on holiday” titillating…..or in this case, farang goes on holiday taking hallucinogens

My post was mainly made in jest that I wandered in here hoping to see something titillating and indeed you shared pictures of that very handsome model, but it quickly devolved into “farang goes to Bali” which was not erotic at all even stretching the imagination 😂 But yes I have often been in a similar situation to you where I forget I need to cover knees and shoulders before entering a temple in Thailand or Cambodia. Usually it wasn’t my intention to go but decided to accompany a friend on short notice hence the inappropriate attire. By the way you are a much better artist than I am. Unsure if I would even have been able to produce a recognisable tableau …nor have bothered if faced with such an enticing scene. Better ways to occupy my hands.

This thread started so promisingly and ended with a series of photoshopped headless, fully dressed figures in culturally mismatched tops and bottoms

Of all the things I can think of to fib to you about, this would not be one of them 🤨 Your provider (who is not AOT but a third party) is being somewhat pedantic. “Fast track services” are alive and well, as evinced by the screengrab from the AOT app today, and also the service I booked via my hotel last week. There was a specific gate that was literally called “Fast Track” which is closed, but you can still be met by a “butler” brought to a special express lane which could be (as in my case last week) a separate set of lanes that are usually for diplomatic use and also made available for fast track passengers, or perhaps the regular priority lanes that you wouldn’t otherwise get access to unless you are senior, disabled, with babes in arms, or a monk. I suspect that third party service providers may get access to better express lanes the more they pay at the airport.

Grew up in poverty in Kalasin….but graduated in political science and lived life on his own terms, instead of dancing on a stage in Patpong. RIP young man.

I just used a fast track service last week as I had been seeing reports of 1 hour + waiting times And the fast track can still be booked via the AOT app (I used a different one as I left it too late and AOT was booked up). Suggest not paying any heed to online rumors unless officially reported in the news

I think he’s gotten “mobility scooter” mixed up with “motorbike”

I rented a boy who rode the bike

Very important because this is when hotel prices dip, and possibly boy prices too

There are lazy and poor Chinese too, they just don’t get as much press coverage On a more serious note, many of these Chinese families run the family units like businesses which is one of the secrets to their success and growing the wealth with each generation.

‘‘Injecting gold’: Influencer’s horror Thai death How exactly does one inject gold?

Sorry to be pedantic but I’m assuming @khaolakguy means crossing borders illegally when you’re not supposed to do so. A more apt comparison would be trying to cross the UK border to Schengen countries without the appropriate Schengen visa if required. Since Cambodians are all welcome back home, based on what @jimmie50 has said about avoiding police, this is the Thai police who would likely hassle them if caught trying to cross a restricted border. In fact the passengers are less at risk (since the Thais are probably happy to send them back home) than the driver who is making money off flouting existing rules and as you’ve correctly noted, priced in to the high cost. I remember transport to the Cambodian border from a designated pick up point somewhere central (Makkasan or similar) used to only be 2000.