fedssocr

wow. good for both of you.

Phnom Kulen is a great day out. Lots of local people enjoying the waterfall. On my latest visit I did Koh Ker and Beng Mealea and then overnighted near Preah Vihear so we could head up first thing in the morning. It is quite impressive.

hope you made it to Bayon...it's my favorite

it's my understanding that the Phare Circus is a huge benefit to the kids in the program. In addition to the performers you do see, there are a lot of trainees - mainly in Battambang I think. And spots in the circus are very sought-after. I think you also offer tips at the end that the performers share. I am sure there is plenty of info out there on the web about the circus. For sure September is not high season. Given the rains it is still green/rainy season. High season is the same as Thailand when the weather is better - Nov to Jan or so. I was there in mid-December a couple of years ago and it was busy but I didn't feel like it was over crowded. The so-called National Museum is a bit of a scam. They do have some decent exhibits, but the artifacts are mainly reproductions with the real things at the actual National Museum in PP. I really had a great time on my most-recent visit to SR. I enjoy the temples. And I agree the people are very nice. I sort of fell in love with the employees at my hotel, especially one of the guys who was a sort of assistant manager/front desk guy. It was funny that the rest of the staff knew what was up, but he seemed a little bit clueless. Very, very sweet boy. They took great care of me - Shinta Mani Club.

I was just there for a few days ending up a couple of weeks elsewhere in Europe. I was really surprised by Warsaw. I had not expectations, but the city is quite nice, easy to get around, cheap. And the boys are gorgeous. Sadly the hunq I had arranged to see flaked on me and didn't show up. I wouldn't hesitate to go back though.

Expedia owns hotels.com, not the other way around. The 1 "night" free after 10 nights can be a good value. It's based on the average you spent for the other 10 nights and essentially it's a discount toward the 11th night so if you book a room that's more expensive than the value they're giving you, you just have to pay the difference. I use Airbnb sometimes. But I try to avoid it in places where it's not legal. I guess the situation changes frequently, but isn't it still illegal in Thailand? In Thailand where hotels tend to be fairly cheap I usually just book via whatever channel is most advantageous...whether that is direct with the hotel (usually) or via a site like agoda or booking.com. Those sites also list apartment rentals in addition to traditional hotels. I agree that I prefer apartments when it is convenient. More room. Feels more like home. I don't really need a full service hotel in most cases. I don't use room service, don't really need daily housekeeping. I belong to most of the hotel loyalty programs just because there are often some perks like free internet, etc. And sometimes they offer rate discounts to members. And you can book rooms with points once you have enough. For those based in the US the hotel brands all have affiliated credit cards that usually give you one free night each year for a relatively small annual fee. The program I use the most is IHG these days. But on a recent trip to Europe I stayed in a couple of Radisson Blu hotels. I also feel like booking direct with the hotel you tend to get a better room than when you book through the online agencies where the hotel has to pay a commission.

wouldn't it be better to tip the guy who cums last?

not so fast on this particular design apparently... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30353460 the original winner looks much better

ABCnews (US) had an interview with all of them last week. They look to be healthy and in good spirits. They've all put on a good bit of weight but look much older https://abcnews.go.com/International/young-soccer-players-rescued-thai-cave-world-teaching/story?id=57331218

most airlines have policies that don't allow their crew to accept tips. I think the people who typically get most under-tipped/under-paid are hotel housekeepers.

I experienced the same thing at BKK last year on TG when flying to PNH. The bus ride was insane all the way out to the cargo/freight terminal

looks like a big expensive building to add only 15 gates. Too many pillars. No people movers. Basically just another luxury mall with a "rainforest" in the middle? Is that all wood? Hard to imagine such a project could be done in 2 years

Yeah, we'll see. They're raising money for the new version on Indigogo.

yes, you choose an ID that you want

I just invested in the new version of the Travis translator device. They claim to be able to handle Thai and say they use something like a dozen translation engines and choose the one that's best for a particular language. I am a bit skeptical but I guess I will find out eventually.

mobile phone apps - Grindr, Hornet, Blued, Jackd... But I don't know that I have ever seen a whole lot of western youth on there when I am in Thailand

Wow. Why would you ever want to leave? Let's see more of the boys :-) I have a good friend here in the US who is Nepali. Gorgeous, gorgeous guy. He used to be tiny and slim but put on a lot of muscle so now he is small and muscular. I think he escaped Nepal in order to be gay.

It's all very personal to each individual. Luckily they're all so close together it's easy enough to visit several until you hit one you like. And of course the situation can change from day to day depending who is there

probably due to still using the arrival and departure form they need an actual person to do the review

Anyone ever try to use one of these Travis translators? They have a new model coming out soon. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/travis-touch-pocket-translator-software-design/x/7247010#/ Supposed to translate Thai. Given how generally terrible online translation is for Thai I am somewhat dubious. But they have a bunch of good reviews for languages like Korean, Japanese and Mandarin. So maybe it is able to handle Asian languages which most online systems seem to struggle with.

after all of the recent positive chatter about Nakarat I took a look at their FB page. An interesting mix of guys. A few are definitely my cup of tea for sure. Can't wait to check it out https://www.facebook.com/Nakarat-Massage-Spa-710678279124390/

I always carry my passport with me. I don't worry about it much. My pants also have a zippered inner pocket which is where I keep it and since I almost never need it for anything on a normal day the zipper is never opened. I have a leather passport cover which keeps it from getting soggy and bent up in the tropics. I just have one phone, but I might consider taking a slightly older smartphone with me next time. I briefly lost my phone on a recent trip to Australia. It fell out of my (unzipped) jacket pocket on my Uber ride from the airport to the hotel on arrival after traveling for about 36 hours all together. Luckily the hotel staff were able to help me contact the driver and he brought it back to me. It was a bit of an order for sure and I get a much tighter grip on it for the rest of the trip. Gave the driver a generous tip and praised the hotel staff who helped me to their manager and in several online reviews. I started using Flexiroam last year. It's a little chip you affix to your regular SIM card and when you are traveling abroad you only need to activate their app and it using the SIM overlay to access the network. It's a bit more expensive than a local SIM but more convenient especially if you are traveling between countries a lot. The biggest drawback is that you can't use it for calls or SMS but internet based message apps work. I carry a little daypack too. It's a place to keep the umbrella, hat when I'm indoors, bottle of water, sometimes a small camera...

the blog seems to indicate that there is some confusion over their business model. I see that they list non-member prices for some things. Might be worth directly contacting the spa. The whole thing does seem rather convoluted

I didn't see this when it was initially posted, so I will add my kudos for putting this together. A worthy successor to ShamelessMack indeed.

most shops have a printed price list which typically indicates cost for various types of massage and minimum tips. For a regular 1 hr massage I'd say you were certainly overcharged by at least 500 baht. I've always tipped the boy directly. Also, Thais have incredible memories. So perhaps you did meet this guy before. Or maybe he is a "psychic"? :-)