daydreamer

You might ask the new member by return private message if he is planning to notify the following bar owners to change the name of their businesses because it could give mixed messages: Bangkok: Dream Boys, Good Boy, Fresh Boys, G-Boy Bar Pattaya: Toy Boy, X-Boys, Boys Nighclub, Dream Boys, Boy Gaga, SUNEE Intimate Boy, Classic Boy In Thailand, the word boy is commonly used, without any negative connotations or western guilt. Let's allow Thailand to be Thailand, and not attempt to impose western ideas and political correctness where it is not welcome.

I use the Firefox web browser. This is the process for this particular browser: With the Firefox browser open, click on the three hash-marks in the upper right corner. in the drop-down menu that appears, go to Settings. Then in the new window that opens, on the left, you will see "Search". Click on that, and you can change the default search engine to another one of your choice. In other web browsers, the process should be fairly similar.

The Mae Sa Elephant Camp is a good one, located in Mae Rim, not too far from Chiang Mai. Woody will know the location. I went there with a Thai boy. The camp offers full day and half day programs, but we just showed up in a rental car, and paid a small admission fee, without joining a program, so that we were free to wander around the camp on our own. We wanted to see the elephants up close, but we were not interested in bathing the elephants in the river, as the programs all seem to include. If you do decide to bathe the elephants in the river, I suggest taking an extra set of dry clothing, as you'll get soaked. The camp also offers a bamboo raft trip down the river that runs right next to the camp. After wandering around, and visiting the elephants, we took the raft trip. The trip lasted about 45 minutes, then the crew brings you back to the camp (upriver) in a van. Here are a few photos taken at the Mae Sa Elephant Camp:

Since you mentioned Korea in one sentence, let's not forget another of Emperor Hirohito's evil plans, hatched against the entire Korean peninsula. During the Japanese annexation and occupation of Korea, that lasted from 1910-1945, the Japanese could have chosen to act responsibly, but instead acted as total barbarians against the Korean people and culture. The Japanese executed the Korean Queen, forbid spoken and written Korean language, destroyed huge amounts of Korean cultural artifacts, etc. They exploited Korea's resources for their own profit, starved the people, all Korean rice crops were used for the Japanese only. They deforested vast areas of Korea, including national forests, and shipped the timber to Japan. I had a conversation with an older Korean man years ago in South Korea. I was amazed to learn that he could speak fluent Japanese. But sadly, he went on to tell me that he was forced to learn Japanese in school as a child, as it was not allowed to speak or write his native Korean language in public or in school. After talking with him about his childhood years during the Japanese occupation, I began to realize the hardships that Hirohito had imposed on much of Asia during the first half of the 20th century. Another deplorable chapter in the history of Japan is brought to light in the excellent book entitled Gold Warriors, by Sterling Seagrave. It chronicles the massive stripping of Asian wealth by the Japanese army, during WWII, commonly known as Yamashita's gold, named after General Yamashita, who carried out the massive and detailed plan. In an ironic twist, a large part of the wealth of European countries was sent to their respective Asian colonies just before WWII for safekeeping, to prevent it being plundered by Hiltler's forces. This made for easy pickings for the Japanese army, as these colonies were invaded and occupied. Throughout Japanese occupied Asia, bank vaults were emptied of gold bullion. The Japanese army went door to door, systematically searching each building for anything of value. Wealth was stolen from temples, museums, jewelry stores, national treasuries, private homes and collections, etc, and it all became the property of Japan. The amount of stolen treasure was so extensive, that jewels were pried from their settings, sorted by type, and transported in steel oil drums. Gold was melted and poured into bars, all bearing the mark of imperial Japan. Although much of the treasure is believed to still be hidden in booby-trapped caves and tunnels in the Philippines, many shiploads of gold and jewels made it to Japan, often on ships disguised with the red cross, to avoid enemy fire in the waters of the Pacific. Here's a 17 minute video that tells of some of Japan's history with Korea:

Another trick I use to often find a lower price for a room on Agoda or Booking.com is to search on the hotel aggregator sites such as Trivago or Skyscanner, and others. Often, an offer on the hotel aggregator sites leads to a lower linked price on Agoda or Booking.com, or a free breakfast included in the room price, where if you go directly to Agoda or Booking.com, you may find a different offer for the same class of room. Those aggregator sites can only stay in business if they can sharpen the pencil on competitive pricing. They will compare prices for a number of hotel booking sites on one page. Sometimes the difference in price is fairly substantial. Just be sure you are comparing the same class of room, and that both websites include taxes and fees. Of course, both the aggregator site and the hotel booking site make a commission from the hotel, but I'm OK with that. Business is business.

As @vinapu said, Agoda is a good hotel booking site. I have used it dozens of times, in several countries. For a long time, I found that that Agoda only showed the price before taxes and fees, then a couple years ago, I discovered the trick to make it show the total price, so that it's easier to compare room prices amongst different hotel booking websites. I have added two images below. Just for this example, I looked up one night for next month at the Furama Silom Hotel. The first image shows USD (or your currency of choice) at the top of the page. If you click on that currency acronym, it brings up a pop-up window with options. Then you can select the total price per night. This works whether you are logged in to your Agoda account or not. This way, no more surprises as far as price when you go to the check-out page to make your booking. Step #1: Click on currency Step # 2: Click on Total Price Per Night

I can't speak for massages, but I sometimes do off massage boys to take to my room for other fun. In Chiang Mai, in the very central Thapae Road area, just a short walk from Thapae Gate and the old city moat, there is Classic House Massage on Thapae Soi 4. I have taken a very nice hilltribe boy from Classic House in the past to my room, just a short walk away. As for a guide in Chiang Mai, if you go to the Siam Roads website, you can find Woody's profile in the Chiang Mai section. In fact, Woody is the owner of Classic House massage. His profile says he offers the following: companion, masseur, driver, concierge. He has a car, so he would be a perfect guide for you, and he could take you to any location you wish in northern Thailand. The Siam Roads website is managed by one of our fellow forum members - user name @Moses. Moses also runs the Sawatdee Gay Thailand website. As @captainmick said, stay away from AirBnB rooms, as you may run into trouble. They are only legal for stays of 30 days or longer. I have read a report on a different website forum where immigration police raided a building offering short term rentals, and confiscated the passports of farang that had rented rooms short term. Just because you may see short term rental rooms on booking sites does not mean it is legal. If they do not comply with the 2004 Hotel Act, they are not legal for short term rent. The exception for short term rentals is if the building is licensed as a serviced apartment or a condotel, those are legal for short term rentals. AirBnB is not illegal, but they must comply with the 2004 Hotel Act, and a large percentage of them do not.

A recent article from the Bangkok Post about the issues airlines are facing with the A-380 aircraft: The world’s biggest passenger planes keep breaking down The world’s largest commercial passenger jet, the Airbus A380, enjoyed an unexpected resurgence hauling full loads of passengers when global travel rebounded after the pandemic. But keeping the ageing superjumbo safely airborne is becoming an increasingly expensive headache for airlines. Two decades after its maiden flight, regulatory bulletins ordering repairs, inspections or replacement parts for the massive four-engined plane are piling up. While some are procedural, such as a demand for timely equipment checks, others are more serious. Leaking escape slides, cracked seals and a ruptured landing-gear axle feature among 95 airworthiness directives for the A380 listed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency since January 2020. -- continues at the following link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3077697/the-worlds-biggest-passenger-planes-keep-breaking-down?tbref=hp.

Your words, not mine. I said a few ancient temples, I did not disparage their magnificence.

I found this very interesting. If this is factually correct, it would explain a lot, about like two heirs fighting over the estate of a wealthy uncle that died without a will. Apparently, Cambodia has discovered a small area, rich with rare earth minerals close to the Preah Vihear Temple, in the disputed area near the border with Thailand. The site is only 4.6 kilometers square, but is estimated to be worth $600 billion. Although this is not mentioned in the mainstream news articles about the border dispute, if true, this would certainly explain the sudden rush of newly revived national pride over a few ancient temples. In case you are not able to view the post on x.com, I have attached a screenshot of it here. There is a short video clip in the post that further explains this revelation. https://x.com/Defence_Index/status/1949760513824501820

You are correct. We drove further south to Nakhon Si Thammarat and Hat Yai on that trip. Sitting at a beach restaurant just north of Nakhon Si Thammarat in the evening, it felt like we were in a typhoon. The wind was very strong and non-stop. There was no rain, just heavy wind. BTW, if you like Massaman curry, Nakhon Si Thammarat is known for being the best for that dish in Thailand, just like Hat Yai fried chicken is famous all over the country. Burger King started selling their version of Hat Yai fried chicken country-wide in 2023.

I was in Hua Hin about 1.5 years ago. I had a boy from Bangkok with me, so I can't I don't know about the scene in Hua Hin. On the beach anything goes, with horses and three wheeled motocy vendor carts riding on the sand. Here's a couple photos from January 2024.

Everyone has their own priorities in life. When you look back, you will likely only regret the things you didn't do, not the things you did. A remodeled bathroom versus not traveling overseas? I'm guessing a very select few in their final years will regret not remodeling their bathroom versus not going on holidays to Thailand. Just make sure you're not saving money and depriving yourself of fun. As the years go by, many people's health declines, and long trips overseas become more difficult, or sometimes impossible, due to physical constraints. Put time on one side of a balance scale, and money on the other side. Don't deprive yourself of pleasure by saving money that you may never be able to spend.

Three members of the Shinawatra family have served as Prime Minister, but if in-laws of Thaksin are included, that would make four members of Thaksin's family. Somchai Wongsawat served as Prime Minister in 2008, and is Thaksin Shinawatra’s brother-in-law, being married to Thaksin's sister Yaowapha. From Today's Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/3061352/thaksin-attends-criminal-court-for-lese-majeste-hearing

That's why I said current death rate. That was the most recent comparable data I could find from June 2025.

It seems AI may be an educated fool, in that it knows many things, but it lacks common sense. In the example above, duck.ai (GPT-4o) is comparing apples to oranges, and coming up with a mistaken conclusion. It has taken the total (cumulative) deaths from Thailand (since COVID-19 began), and compared them to one week of recent UK deaths. The Thailand number of COVID-19 deaths reported to WHO for the 7 days to 8 June 2025 was 43. For the same reporting period, the UK shows no data on the WHO site. However, for the week ending 6 June 2025, the UK's Office for National Statistics reported 77 deaths from COVID-19. Given that the population of Thailand is larger than that of the UK, I would venture to challenge the above conclusion by duck.ai (GPT-4o), and determine that the current death rate from COVID-19 in the UK is higher than the current death rate from COVID-19 in Thailand. https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths?m49=001&n=c https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending6june2025 https://globalstatcompare.com/compare?countries[]=THA&countries[]=GBR

I visited Bagan in January 2010. Below is a photo I took in a covered archway of one of the temples in 2010. Directly below it is a current photo taken in nearly the exact same spot, showing the roof in the foreground has collapsed, where I was standing when I took the 2010 photo. From what I have read, most of the original ancient structures remain intact. Much of the recent damage was to modern restorations, that was not of the highest quality. Also, I found a photo (below) of another temple, taken during the violent shaking.

Certainly many new innovations and inventions have been pioneered by the military. But these are the result of extensive research and development efforts, in specialized labs and proving grounds, not by common infantry troops. In military combat units, it would be detrimental to the mission of the unit to question orders or attempt to re-invent the plan of attack that superiors have directed.

I'm not answering for @reader, but this video from The Nation Thailand is about the new Lao museum.

I concur with the comments written above by @PeterRS and @a-447 regarding the lack of independent thinking and the absolute avoidance of challenging superiors in Japan. I lived in Japan for nearly a decade, and I observed numerous examples of this behavior at work amongst Japanese co-workers over the years, during my time in Japan. And, as @bkkmfj2648 said, this behavior extends to some other countries in Asia as well. A stark example of the consequences of this mindset can be seen in the findings of the Korean Airlines B-747 aircraft that crashed into Nimitz Hill on Guam in 1997, on final approach, killing 228 people on board. The captain of the B-747 made some critical errors, and the two junior flight officers in the cockpit failed to challenge and overrule the captain's flawed decisions, leading to the airliner crashing into the mountain, within sight of the airport. If the First Officer and Flight Engineer had challenged and overruled the Captain, a horrific loss of lives could possibly have been prevented. Below are three key paragraphs from the findings section of the 226 page Aircraft Accident Report from the NTSB: 11. As a result of his confusion and preoccupation with the status of the glideslope, failure to properly cross-check the airplane’s position and altitude with the information on the approach chart, and continuing expectation of a visual approach, the captain lost awareness of flight 801’s position on the instrument landing system localizer-only approach to runway 6L at Guam International Airport and improperly descended below the intermediate approach altitudes of 2,000 and 1,440 feet, which was causal to the accident. 12. The first officer and flight engineer noted the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) callouts and the first officer properly called for a missed approach, but the captain’s failure to react properly to the GPWS minimums callout and the direct challenge from the first officer precluded action that might have prevented the accident. 13. The first officer and flight engineer failed to properly monitor and/or challenge the captain’s performance, which was causal to the accident. https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/aar0001.pdf National Transportation Safety Board. 2000. Controlled Flight Into Terrain, Korean Air Flight 801, Boeing 747-300, HL7468, Nimitz Hill, Guam, August 6, 1997. Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAR-00/01. Washington, DC

Sir Ian McKellen has appeared on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live many times. The short video below featuring Ian appearing as Dame Maggie Smith is one of the most memorable and priceless.

The photo from Google maps I posted is time-stamped 2021, during the pandemic. At the time, customers were not allowed inside the store. Orders were placed outside, and the items were delivered to tables placed on the sidewalk. As for the monk, I don't know what he was buying, but his saffron satchel is loaded with something.......

Yes, Chula MD pharmacy has a queue system. You take a number, order, and then pay at a different counter, just a few feet away. This is the old Thai-Chinese style, where only family members handle the money, and other employees wait on customers. The shop is busy with Thai customers, as @macaroni21 says, but I see that as a good thing. Also, in a pharmacy with many customers, items don't sit on the shelf for long, ensuring a fresh stock of medicines, due to rapid turnover.

The Thailand GPO (Gov't Pharmaceutical Org) produces a version of sildenafil marketed under the name Sidegra. It is a generic version of Viagra, with the same ingredients. It is available in 50 and 100 mg tablets. The official government price for a box of 4 - 100mg tablets is 180 baht. This being Thailand, many drug stores charge as much as they can for Sidegra. If you are in Silom, a store that sells it for the correct price of 180 baht is the Chula MD Pharmacy, on Rama IV, between Silom and Suriwong. If you are coming from the Silom / Rama IV intersection, pass the Crowne Plaza Hotel on your left, and soon you will see the Chula MD Pharmacy. I have attached a photo of the shop front below from Google maps. If you buy Sidegra from Chula MD Pharmacy, you know it's the genuine item, not a questionable counterfeit drug. The Thai government began making Sidegra more than 10 years ago, and selling it for a low price to stamp out counterfeit brands of Viagra that were being sold at higher prices.

You should see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible. An ophthalmologist will check to make sure there is no damage to the retina. You should make this your priority, to rule out problems that left unchecked, can lead to vision loss. You may have a common condition called Posterior Vitreous Detachment. I am not dispensing medical advice, however this condition affects well over half the population, usually beginning in their mid-sixties, as they age. There are many ophthalmologists in Pattaya. I would see the first one available. Here's a good explanation from the Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14413-posterior-vitreous-detachment