tm_nyc

Chiang Mai had bus service with several routes for a few years prior to Covid, but I'm not sure exactly when it started. I agree the airport bus route is a compromise between the needs of the locals & the needs of the tourists so it doesn't fully satisfy anyone. The airport taxi is only 150 THB which I don't mind paying at all!

Agreed. I'm not sure that tourists from mainland China, looking for a relaxing holiday abroad, would appreciate Chinese police looking over their shoulder & supervising their activities in Thailand. More 'limp spaghetti' diplomacy than bamboo!

I am on my third ASUS laptop & my experience has been positive with all 3.

Can you please provide a link or 2? I am looking on YT but not seeing any videos of Double Shot. Thanks.

I went to LP in 2013 & I liked it a lot. It was a sweet, relaxed place, but definitely touristy. Not much going on but it had a unique charm. Now I am wondering how the opening of rail service (to China & to Vientiane) is going to affect it. Are the locals gearing up for a big increase in tourism from China? Is LP changing? I am planning to go back in December so I will see for myself!

My impression is that Thai Immigration is definitely cracking down visa runs, where one departs for another country & returns the same day (or the next day).

In the US, the leotards are called singlets but, yes, I love watching the content of Midwest Wrestle & others!

The Hue Citadel is a beautiful place to visit. In the countryside surrounding Hue, there are the royal tombs of 7 (I think) emperors & I enjoyed seeing them as well.

I am using Chrome with no problems but, yes, I tried using MS Edge & got the 'This site has been reported as unsafe' message.

I'm not getting it either.

Excellent post, thanks very much! Your experiences sound generally similar to my own. I find the guys at Natural Spa to be cute & appealing but none of the (maybe 3?) sessions I had there were totally satisfactory. As for S'Sense, sorry to say but I am not a fan of that place either.

The Mitrtown Samyan & the House Samyan cinema are great resources, walkable, as they are, from Silom. However, if I want to see a movie, I prefer to get the 'full Asian Mall Experience' of going to Central World or Siam Paragon. These days, (IMO) there don't seem to be a lot of films on view that appeal to older farang like myself. This website gives a good overview of what's showing: https://cinematic.asia/#filter=*

Agree. I was in Havana, back in May 2017. Beautiful weather & lots to see but the poverty, food shortages, etc were depressing. There was something oppressive about the police presence, too. There was a small hustler scene in the Parque Central & I would expect that it survives!

Are you expected to tip the boy over the minimum if the session is satisfactory?

Having a round-trip air ticket confirming that you will be leaving the Kingdom within 30 days is a good thing to have if the Immigration officer gets curious. Otherwise, I agree that there are no restrictions to a reasonablenumber of visits.

Only before 6 pm!

'Can't see that the numbers cited can possibly be correct. I googled & the high temp in BKK was 39° C on Sunday. Yes, that's really hot but I don't see the point of claiming it's much worse than it really is.

Many thanks to @macaroni21 for his very interesting posts on 5 massage venues in Saigon/HCMC! I also see that christianpfc has a recent post on his blog about his activities in Viet Nam. Both definitely worth a look!

You might be better off finding a hotel you like, at a price you are comfortable with, & booking that in advance. As @vinapu suggests, it's very hard to predict. You might end up paying more or staying in a less-than-ideal place if you leave it until the last minute. Hotel prices for low & medium range places in BKK are a bargain to begin with so you probably aren't going to save that much anyway. As for luxury hotels I can't comment on that either.

What I had in mind was the US carriers which received billions in Covid relief funds from the US government & still have been charging very high fares. I just don't know about airlines in other countries. I think that some received help from their governments but probably not all. So, point taken!

Sad to say but the current situation is a win-win for the airlines. They are flying fewer flights but are racking up record profits. Meanwhile, their customers are getting screwed. Hard to say when (or even if) things will return to a pre-Covid normal. Will that stop me from booking another flight to BKK? Absolutely not!

Very good idea as you can be sure the strength, dosage, etc of the Rx is correct. I take prescription meds for asthma/allergies. In Bangkok, I use the Chula Besaj pharmacy on Rama IV between Silom Rd & Surawong. It's a big, busy place & they have everything I need. Generally, no prescription required.

On a few occasions when I went to Prime recently, I also felt that the masseur was just a bit 'off', possibly due to overwork. I started booking one Prime masseur that I liked in advance, rather than trust in pot luck.

Totally agree! I wanted to leave a comment on his blog thanking him but there doesn't appear to be a way to do that.

Good news! I flew EVA 10 days ago & they still had the mask mandate.