TMax

I did read something about it in the Bangkok post and The Nation a short while back but it did state for Thai Nationals so I guess we will have to wait and see what comes out officially with regards to expats. The Nation on tax break

I'm very much into military history so although I have read many books over the years I have concentrated on military history for the last 20 odd years, in part as I was army and on both my parents sides there is military going way back to the Peninsula Wars (way back in the early 1800's). Stealth Raiders by Lucas Jordan: The sheer courage of the Aussie Diggers in 1918, raiding the enemy lines at night in small numbers and creating a sense of terror amongst the enemy troops. Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons: Set way back in 1629 when the ship Batavia, the pride of the Dutch East India company ran aground off the coast of Western Australia, about mutiny, survival, heroism and retribution, although I had been taught about this in school I didn't realise just how hard and brutal it was for the survivors. One Crowded Hour by Tim Bowden: Covers the story of Australian combat cameraman Neil Davis and his work throughout the Vietnam war and alas his coverage of the 1985 coup attempt in Bangkok where he and Bill Latch (his American soundman) were killed. On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides: Covers the US Marines on their battles from Incheon harbour through to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, was a very interesting read as to how the operation was set up and carried out and the many acts of bravery by the marines. Gallipoli by Peter Fitzsimons: As an Aussie this WW1 campaign has always been of interest and more so that my mothers father was there from the start to the finish and luckily survived, even of more luck he was repatriated to Australia after evacuation from Gallipoli as he contracted pneumonia and was later deemed unfit for service. After Gallipoli his unit was split up and they were sent to the western front, the division that his unit was assigned to was involved in some of the biggest battles fought by our troops. Sorry more than one sentence on that one.

I'm not too sure how things would have turned out if it wasn't for a money boy in Phuket (from memory about 25 years ago), he was my first M2M sex. For some years I had often had thoughts / fantasies about M2M sex but never had the courage to do anything about it, there was a few opportunities but that lack of courage got in the way of. On a trip to Phuket I went for a massage and at the shop there was only the male attendant available so I said yes to him doing the massage, after the massage he asked if I wanted extras and that was the moment I finally said yes and what transpired after that was amazing, the rest is history and every trip I take now I love the massages with extras and don't mind paying (even a bit more if the extras are very good). Of course I still had to overcome the hesitation (embarrassment) of standing in front of the massage boys during the selection process and indicating what I wanted, there is still a bit of that when there are so many boys lined up for me to choose from but I do manage to get through it now.

For me it's less hassles, I do like short hassle free encounters, I don't chase it in my home town as there's not that many guys that take my fancy plus being deep in the closet doesn't help a lot either (that's a whole different story). I can wait for a holiday to Thailand or elsewhere and there I like it short and sweet via the massage shops, plus the extended break helps build up the excitement and expectations. Maybe next trip I might try a bar (not really my scene and mamasans annoy me no end) and take a boy back to the hotel for some overnight fun and experimentation, I do like trying new things from time to time. Not too fussed with using the apps either, I do prefer the first contact to be face to face and go from there. Yes I agree with that and it's much like how I've done things so far

I second this laundry, used it on my last trip and found their service very good and at a very reasonable price, just dropped off in the morning and collected next day.

I prefer direct flights from Perth to Bangkok and return rather than short stopovers like with Singapore Airlines (I do like SIA and fly them to other destinations or if on my Thai trip I want to do a few days in Singapore) which means Thai Airways although their flight times can suck a little, depending on the day and to get the early flight I have to leave home at 4am to drop the car off and get to the airport (an hours drive away). The Perth-Bangkok will leave either at 9:25am and gets in at a reasonable time but alas then it's peak hour in Bangkok (the train then is packed to the rafters too) and getting to the hotel takes ages, then there's the 4:35pm flight which gets in late at night and for me that means get to the hotel and rest up (I am not a late night owl). The return is either 12:01am which is quite good for a snooze on the plane and gets in nice and early so I can pick up the car and drive home (an hour away) or there's the 7:25am return flight that gets in mid afternoon but the traffic on the way home truly sucks big time. I believe there is one other direct airline in Jetstar but you would have to be seriously desperate to fly with them, late departures (worse than Thai) or even worse cancelled flights as has happened to friends seems to be a regular thing with them, plus they are part of Qantas and they just plain suck. Now days I also prefer to sit up the front in a more comfortable seat, less stress on my spine too so I will happily pay the extra

Yeah no surprises with Changi coming in at number 1.

It's good to see Nine Spa is still producing the goods, when I first went there I printed out their directions on how to get there from BTS Phrom Pong and gave them to the motorbike taxi rider who then proceeded to get lost and took me on a tour before finally arriving (lucky I went earlier just in case and now I know it's easier to walk from the BTS). On one trip there I tried their 4 hands massage, which was very good and the afters even better.

That's a good lap for early morning exercise (start no later than 7am), around Lumphini Park, along the green mile and then to Benchakitti Park (have a nice look around) and back again, takes quite a long time and must be early morning (or you roast) and take a big bottle of water. From memory the walk I've done from the hotel and back using that route was about 7 kilometres (give or take a bit), yes I do walk a lot even at home, a lot of my exercise now is walking for cardio health so a walk like that isn't too hard for me.

This video exposes the mistake in the calculation

Retiring to Thailand to work out the cost and how much you need could be broken down a fair bit, can't help you with a Baht / Dollar figure but when I thought about it I looked at the different options, still think about it at times but some of the changes they have made have me looking at other places and options just in case I decide to do it. Visa - PeterRS has covered what I looked at but that was before they changed the Elite visa, I don't trust agents and would rather sort out the visa personally. Where to live - Big city, small city or country. (A) Big city would have been my choice on that because of proximity to the better health care (I'm not an ancient one but not a spring chicken either) and on that note taking out private health insurance would be a must, also there's more to do to pass the time. (B) Accommodation - simple, comfortable or a bit more lavish, cheaper outside the big cities but as good in quality? Lifestyle - (A) Want to live like a tourist and visit the bars every night or massage several times a week, the expensive option. (B) A little more frugal and only visit those places once or twice a week. (C) Live a bit more like a local and watch the budget very closely. Want to travel around and see the country or just put down roots and stay in one place e.g. live in Bangkok and visit Pattaya on occasion or vice versa. No doubt there are many more considerations but if I were to seriously look at it again I would try to work it out as much as possible, there are expat sites that give approximate cost of living examples like rents, utilities, groceries, local transport, phone / internet / cable tv etc and add the fun factor costs to that. I have (and had) friends that moved to the Philippines and Thailand, some that decided to live like tourists, those that survived (a few didn't) their money very quickly disappeared and by then it was too late to penny pinch with the budget. There are a couple of sensible ones that did the right thing and are now happily married with families.

2 hours but then I just do the massage parlours and not the bars, 3 hours if it's a quality 4 hands massage and afters

I love that he included the Heard and McDonald Islands, no doubt the penguins that live there most likely couldn't care less haha 😆

Just watched a video on this and the building collapsing which is some nasty stuff, also read a post on Facebook (Khaosod English) that all flights in Thailand had been grounded (that one seems to be a maybe)

I'm one of those that are not too keen on the bars, I don't mind the beer bars for a drink or two but not the show bars and I very much prefer the massage shops for a quick spot of fun.

Should be rather nice when completed.

I'm hoping Australia will make the visa waiver list at some stage, I know the Vietnamese Tourism minister was once pushing for it to happen (a couple of years back now) along with quite a few other countries. My last trip to Vietnam was way back in 1999 and I will be returning at some stage, I loved it in Dalat and Nha Trang back then.

Yes I do prefer cut too but I just don't like those badly cut ones ☹️

I was reading a story on Bangkok Post and this little bit was mentioned, possibility the couples wrong bag is one of the smuggling rings bags. Possible bag mix up

To me this means Thai cocks are so much nicer looking 😍

Singapore Airlines now as well.

Not going to be much fun in Manila, I think protests will be the order of the day with Duterte supporters.

Mostly female but there were guys doing foot massages downstairs so I would imagine they would also be available for massages in the rooms (mine was by a female)

I've always enjoyed walks in Lumphini Park and it was good to see so many water monitors in the park on my last trip, as well as quite a lot of eye candy😋

Apologies for not finishing my trip report from last November but I've had a lot to get through, not much else happened on that trip except another visit to Senso where I selected another 2hr massage (but I asked him to forget the oil and not touch the neck) and the massage was quite reasonable and finished off remarkably well. I did have what I would call a proper massage at Urban Thai on soi Thaniya but that for me was more a remedial massage as there was no extras on offer and I may add was a very good massage. That and I was invited to go on a private cruise on the Chao Phraya river with some old friends and it was a very relaxing days outing. The flight home was delayed by an hour which from memory is close to normal for Thai airways on the Perth flight and it was a bit rough too, plenty of turbulence along the way but arrived home ok. Given all that's happened / happening I am planning another trip later this year but not too sure of the date yet, with the hotel I am hoping to wind back the hands of time and stay at the Tarntawan again, it's been many years since I was there last. Currency exchange was mostly done at X-One on Surawong which gave me the best rates for the Australian "peso" but I did use the exchange at Silom 64 building a few times as I was going past on the way out for the evening. Had my first medical procedure a few days after getting home and it worked OK (3 epidural injections in the neck and restored a lot of feeling in the hands) but alas the big one has been delayed, it seems that I am not suffering enough to warrant such a major operation (oh well such is life). Not having full feeling in my hands and fingers (zero pain thankfully) is a nuisance but I'm not letting it control what I do so am continuing on with life as normal until it gets too bad and the time for the operation comes along. In the meantime my thoughts will be on a trip later this year.