vaughn

Always good to find somewhere serving great coffee, I have added it to my list. Is there much else out that way worth checking out, or was this a dedicated trip to that end of town for the coffee? Good coffee is one thing I had trouble finding on my last Pattaya trip, I ended up settling at Dicks Cafe most mornings which was ok. I saw that there is/was a patisserie cafe on the corner next to dicks in the complex now, so that was high on my list to try when I come back.

I will say that the trip reports from you guys and seeing some of the nightlife starting to come back to life has improved my hope that my trip in 3 months will still be possible and worthwhile. I think the Thais made a very good move with implementing the Thailand Pass, I just need to keep my fingers and toes crossed that things don't move backward too much with Omicron.

jackd is another one, though less popular than some of the others.

If you're looking at options it might be worth considering the current Le Meridien deal: https://www.marriott.com/offers/step-into-thailand-in-style-off-34608?propertycode=bkkdm They say that they do a drive-through test at the BNH hospital on the way to the hotel, so i would imagine that would significantly improve the turn around time. I stayed there for my last BKK trip and loved the hotel, no AUNTS in sight.

I had a quick look on Bonvoy last night and didn't see any mention, just the usual deals so it looks like the way you mention paying at the booth is the only way to lock in that rate. Thanks for the info. Marriott are typically the same in my experience, they do sometimes make exception to the blackout/quota if you're a plat or ambassador level.. but not at my peasant level haha.

Do you need to book while at the travel fair or are they providing a promotion code to use online? How does it work? I was planning on trying another hotel for my (hopeful) trip in April, but if Le Meridien discount is applicable for my dates i will snap that up.

Tree town has had its share of raids as well, along with other straight bars hitting the news with fines every other week, so I'm not really thinking it's targeted at gay venues. I am actually surprised they let them all off with a stern warning... maybe some paper bags were involved? but no headlines about massive fines for the gay venues or patrons is something positive at least.

I don't think it is pre-covid, if you look closely you can see the yellow social distancing signs on the walls either side of the crowd

How are you enjoying your trip? Better or worse than you expected? What is the silom soi 4 scene like, are there many working boys looking for clients, or is it mostly locals partying amongst themselves?

i've always had a sweet tooth, and i'm not above ordering a dessert for main haha

Wow, this is great news! It must be such a relief for the business owners, one hurdle down and some hope there might be some money coming in again. I assume this will immediately benefit the Jomtien area, but I wonder if Boyztown and Sunee will try to pivot and get SHA+ to start serving food with off-able waiters or something similar

meanwhile, instagram story from a certain boy from a bar on Khaosan Rd last night at about 1am.

Agree, I wasn't referring to them. I meant the establishments that did not previously sell food but are now 'operating' under restaurant licenses.

'restaurant' in name only is what most places are doing it seems. From what i am seeing in insta stories of the boys in other places in bangkok, it is business as usual, dancing, bottles and drinks on the tables, no food in sight. They're partying it up until 2-3am. They might reduce capacity, temp checks, QR code and vaccine checks, but i can't say for sure.

Does anyone in the area know the status of Poseidon? I've heard mixed reports on if/when they're openning. Normally i would book at Agate but they're still not showing when they will be open. ***edit*** I did a bit more digging and found Agate's instagram, it appears they are SHA and opened on 15th November. Their website still shows no availability so maybe they only accept booking through the SHA sites.

I won't be traveling this Christmas/New Year, but i still think it can be worth it if you don't have your expectations too high. Bangkok would be where i would stay, unless you want a quiet new year in Jomtien (pattaya). VCK (@vckcoolspace on twitter) and Krubb (@krubb_bkkth on twitter) are the most popular saunas that i see the boys i follow go to in Bangkok. They both seem somewhat foreigner friendly, they seem to attract more of the twink crowd than muscle but that might be biased by who i follow as to what i see.

One of the thai boys I follow posted that DJ station is now open. I'm not sure how they will enforce or check vaccination status of guests, or if the 9pm stopping sale of alcohol is missing a wink next to it.. but good news to see more life returning to Silom

The instagram stories i'm seeing from thai boys partying on Khaosan Rd drinking until 3am makes me wonder how they plan to enforce these rules anywhere, Hi-So or not. Prohibition doesn't work, either they will relax the rules or the population will begin to ignore them and they will lose more control.

I agree with Vinapu on this. It's a risk, but a small one considering the number of arrivals and positive test rates on arrival. I think i saw the number of positive arrivals in the test&go scheme was 0.05, your risk of arriving with covid can be further minimized with proper precautions (N95 mask, self isolation before flying, window seat, good hygiene) depending on how much you are willing to do to mitigate the risk. I would put this risk along side 'mototaxi accident putting me in hospital', it could happen and ruin my holiday but will it stop me getting on one for a short trip. For others it might, for me it won't.

I have mentioned in other threads that I plan to visit for the full month of April. I have booked my first week in Bangkok and the second in Pattaya with fully refundable hotels, from the second week (Songkran) I will decide whether i go back to Bangkok, stay in Pattaya, or explore elsewhere. If alcohol restrictions are in place with all gogos and bars closed in March, or if restrictions get any worse than they are as planned at Nov 1 'quarantine free', I will cancel. Here's hoping i will be writing my live trip report in 5 months time.

It depends on so many unknowns at the moment, i'm planning for April because i can't risk getting stuck and living in Australia adds another level of unknown to the return. If i could do Dec-Jan, i would wait until end of November to decide because right now they are trying to change the arrival process so the picture should be clearer by mid-late november.

I guess that the reason the tourism minister is even raising the entertainment venues issue is because he has heard the message loud and clear, the two groups of tourists who are likely to jump on a plane this high season are couples without kids or single guys, both of which *usually* enjoy nightlife and drinking. I'd give them a week or two, I'm sure they will announce something positive around nightlife reopening for December in provinces with high vaccination rates

I'll take it as a good sign that at least the tourism minister is raising the proposal. He obviously sees the need for entertainment venues if they want larger numbers of tourists to return.

Before the latest lockdowns i saw a lot of thais posting photos on twitter outside or at Krubb. Both VCK and Krubb are on my list to visit, they seem to have a good crowd of locals in their 20s going on weekends.

I haven't stayed at Crowne at Lumpini, but every other country i have stayed Crowne there is no issues with joiners. Western chains, particularly any 4 stars or above will not hassle you over guests or joiner fees.