Travelingguy

For free for a young man with a presumably hot body. I am guessing older less attractive visitors might have less success being wined and dined like this for free.

I think that IHG is sabotaging Aer Lingus. They are cutting 10% of their workforce. 11% is an outstanding profit margin, and this despite the fact that they get so much less investment than other IHG airlines. I think Aer Lingus would be better off with Air France/KLM or Lufthansa.

My one visit to Jamaica was enough for me. Nothing bad happened to me, but it was the most intense place, I had ever been. Every interaction between Jamaicans that I saw in public seemed to be on the verge of violence. I witnessed absolutely none of the laid back “hey mon” stereotype that gets tossed around. There are too many other places for me to explore.

I have been to a few places over the years where I get a feeling of being trapped. I look around and realize that I am trapped if something happens. I listen to my gut and leave.

What spa was this?

Is that a known specific issue of disruptive behavior by Indian tourists at arrival immigration? I’m just curious if there may be more method to these planed changes than I had previously been considering.

Since he has met a few of the forum members, I can’t imagine that he is the least bit concerned.

Don’t withdraw from ATM using credit card. Instant high interest. Debit cards also have Mastercard and Visa symbols, so I think that is what was meant. I always use either USAA or Charles Schwab debit cards at ATMs overseas, because they refund the ATM fees. You don’t have to already have a Charles Schwab account to open a checking account with them.

Correction I guess. It turns out that it is no longer the law exactly, but the police can come in on morals charges, so most hotels still enforce this. When I was in Vietnam, I was told that it was the law, and it certainly was the case at any hotel that we stayed in.

It was the law in 2024 when I was last in Vietnam. If it has changed, that would be an improvement.

It is against the law for a Vietnamese citizen to be in a hotel room with a foreigner. Most hotels do enforce this. They don’t really care whether two foreigners share a room, male or female, but they do care if a Vietnamese citizen wants to visit the hotel room of a foreigner.

And yet the horrible suffering they inflicted continues to affect us today.

I think that most Americans would find that setting and menu very familiar.

If your desire to teach English is more about having something to do and not abut the money, you could do language exchange instead. An hour with someone. First 30 minutes is you teaching them English and the second 30 minutes is them teaching you Khmer. They don’t need any special training. You can have magazines and children’s books and they can talk to you in Khmer like you were a very young child. It is the most effective way to learn a language. It is called language acquisition. It isn’t commercial. You get as much out of it as them and you make some friends.

The Reddit expat page for the Philippines would give a somewhat different perspective.

I downloaded the app for an upcoming trip. I did input all my information. It all went in. I only need to update the health information a few days before I go. From a few comments on Reddit, I think this app will work better if you have a passport from western country.

I have flown the ATR plane that Bangkok Airways flies and did not mind the flight. My flight was operated by Lao Airways and the flight attendant was so handsome and his jump seat was right in front of me. I would fly that model plane again. I am sorry that you did not have a good flight.

I don’t think that there are any limits on how far you can go with the masseurs at XXL. I think it is up to them. I also noticed that one of my guys locked the door when we got started. So no worries about being interrupted.

Accidentally quoted floridarob, for no particular reason. Buying a condo involves a commitment and the condo may be difficult to sell. Renting means that you can walk away.

I think that @bkkmfj2648 has some excellent insight here. I think that the thing that would make the most sense for most expats who love Thailand (or whatever other place) is to treat it like snowbirds in the US. Go to Thailand for part of the year. It keeps things fresh, while maintaining the connections back home with family and friends. One doesn’t feel trapped in Thailand if things go south.

Scam or no scam I wouldn’t bother with him.

He has been using an excellent translation software or AI. When he has quoted people who posted in English, the quote was translated into French extremely well for him to understand. There are several posts where you can compare the English and French directly and the translations are exact without the typical awkwardness that commonly occurs with such translations. It would appear that it is happening in the background and being done automatically. I think that it is likely that he thought his posts were posting in English. I believe that a certain resident of Pattaya uses similar automatic translation software for his activity on Thai sites like Massage Insider

For most tourists, I think that 15 days is plenty. I’m guessing that Indian visitors can also get a visa prior to arrival in the country that would allow a longer visit. Indians were specifically targeted in this rule change. I am guessing that the numbers will drop off, not so much for the limited number of days, but the additional cost of staying. Also, the hassle will be another discouragement for Indian visitors. We’ll see what happens with the numbers and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s further adjustments by the Thai Govt.

I am a little confused. Do Russians and Chinese now need visas? The chart does not make that clear.