When are you coming to Thailand?

[BjornAgain]

On 11/23/2025 at 11:45 AM, Keithambrose said:

I was doing A levels a long-time ago, when Larkin and Hughes hadn't entered the curriculum!

That's because they were still at school.

[Keithambrose]

7 hours ago, BjornAgain said:

That's because they were still at school.

Well, at least they had been born!

[BL8gPt]

I am in Pattaya now until 2nd0 January.

[kram987]

Not soon enough 

[emiel1981]

As my holiday plans with a friend for March are canceled, I might be tempted to book a visit to Bangkok in March instead... 

[jimmie50]

I will be in Bangkok beginning February 20 thru April 2.  At the encouragement of another forum member, I might take a trip to Pattaya for a few days during that time period, but have not made any specific plans for the side trip just yet.  

Would be great to connect with forum members while there if anyone else will be around.  Happy to exchange contact info via DM.  

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, emiel1981 said:

As my holiday plans with a friend for March are canceled, I might be tempted to book a visit to Bangkok in March instead... 

Very noble undertaking

[a-447]

I was planning a trip to Bangkok in April for Songkran.

However, a friend said he wanted to see the cherry blossoms, so I'll be off to Tokyo again.

I might think about June instead - it all depends on the weather.

[Olddaddy]

4 hours ago, jimmie50 said:

I will be in Bangkok beginning February 20 thru April 2.  At the encouragement of another forum member, I might take a trip to Pattaya for a few days during that time period, but have not made any specific plans for the side trip just yet.  

Would be great to connect with forum members while there if anyone else will be around.  Happy to exchange contact info via DM.  

 🐇

...yes for sure , thankyou for posting that 

Will certainly catch up 

 

[siriusBE]

For many years, I was in the area at this time of year (Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam... always via BKK with all the associated sins), but this time I've swapped it for Sri Lanka. I'm excited to see the country. Unfortunately, the relevant section of the forum isn't very active. But I'll definitely come back to Thailand... God willing. 

[vaughn]

4 hours ago, a-447 said:

I was planning a trip to Bangkok in April for Songkran.

However, a friend said he wanted to see the cherry blossoms, so I'll be off to Tokyo again.

I might think about June instead - it all depends on the weather.

+1 i'll be in japan in spring, i learned last year that i'm not made for thai songkran

Will return to Thainland later in the year, i'm certainly missing it after not doing my usual december trip

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, siriusBE said:

I'm excited to see the country. Unfortunately, the relevant section of the forum isn't very active.

make sure you change that when you go and report here.

[Olddaddy]

12 hours ago, siriusBE said:

For many years, I was in the area at this time of year (Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam... always via BKK with all the associated sins), but this time I've swapped it for Sri Lanka. I'm excited to see the country. Unfortunately, the relevant section of the forum isn't very active. But I'll definitely come back to Thailand... God willing. 

😍 

Always a country I say I will visit for its beautiful guys 🤩 and of course the scenery!

 

[macaroni21]

17 hours ago, siriusBE said:

For many years, I was in the area at this time of year (Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam... always via BKK with all the associated sins), but this time I've swapped it for Sri Lanka. I'm excited to see the country. Unfortunately, the relevant section of the forum isn't very active. But I'll definitely come back to Thailand... God willing. 

I liked Sri Lanka; been there three times of which two were longish trips of about two weeks. Transport infrastructure however was (and probably still is) ramshackle in terms of vehicles, routes and punctuality, even chaotic, but fortunately, enough people speak some English that one can ask around.

I personally think the best sights are in the north of the country though most visitors stick to the southern beaches. 

As far as the erotic goes, it's available (mostly in the south) but it takes effort, and much depends on chance, e.g. street cruising, and perhaps nowadays on the apps (I don't know too much about that) There's nothing like the shops one gets, so conveniently, in Thailand or Indochina.

However, as a massage enthusiast, I do like the aryuveda treatments though, even if they tend to leave me covered in oil. However, as an example of how basic Sri Lanka can be, there are aryuveda shops with no shower facilities, or if they have, the shower room is rudimentary, and then there are days when they say, "sorry, today water cut off" -- after you're covered in oil.

----

Oh, this should really be in the Sri Lanka thread,  not the Thailand thread. If only we have a way to tag our posts with multiple tags.

[PeterRS]

19 hours ago, vaughn said:

+1 i'll be in japan in spring, i learned last year that i'm not made for thai songkran

Please be careful to avoid the sakura blossom season. Japan is beautiful at that time but everything is a good deal more expensive - hotels in particular. And the main sakura viewing sites like Ueno Park and Shinjuku Park in Tokyo are often packed.

[mauRICE]

On 1/16/2026 at 9:35 AM, jimmie50 said:

I will be in Bangkok beginning February 20 thru April 2.  At the encouragement of another forum member, I might take a trip to Pattaya for a few days during that time period, but have not made any specific plans for the side trip just yet.

I thought you were going to stay in Pattaya at your friend's apartment for the duration?

[jimmie50]

9 hours ago, mauRICE said:

I thought you were going to stay in Pattaya at your friend's apartment for the duration?

That was the original plan.  As it turns out, one of their rental units in Bangkok is going to be open so I am going to stay in Bangkok most of the time.  I am going to be in Pattaya, too, for one or two weeks in March, but waiting on them to let me know the dates they are available to take me.  It will be a weekend due to school and work schedules.  They will stay the weekend and then return to Bangkok.  I will return to Bangkok on my own...either by bus or hire a car service.  They are planning to book some type of day trip to an island off Pattaya...not sure of the name of the island.  Maybe someone will know the island.  Here is a link to video they sent me:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/1551397432791844     They are making all of the arrangements.  I just go along for the ride.  lol.  To be honest, I am more of a 'city boy' and never have been much of a beach person.  Kind of glad the condo in Bangkok is going to be available for me to use instead of spending 7 weeks in Pattaya.  Still gets me out of the cold Denver winter and I think I will have more fun in Bangkok.  

[a-447]

22 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Please be careful to avoid the sakura blossom season. Japan is beautiful at that time but everything is a good deal more expensive - hotels in particular. And the main sakura viewing sites like Ueno Park and Shinjuku Park in Tokyo are often packed.

I was in Kyoto and then Tokyo last year for the cherry blossoms.

At that time, Japan was completely overrun with Chinese tourists, to the point where you couldn't walk on the streets or enter various establishments, such as pharmacies, convenience stores,  etc. There were also long queues to get into restaurants. Worse than Songhran outside Sala Dang station!

We avoided most of this by staying well away from the main tourist areas and going to more out of the way places. These are often too difficult for tourists to go to, as you have to be able to manage the bus system, which is entirely in Japanese. But they are just as beautiful, and 99% of the tourists are Japanese, who are extremely well-behaved in a crowd situation.

As I posted earlier, the Chinese have virtually disappeared from Japan and now sanity prevails. We were able to move around Tokyo easily and the various illuminations in and around Tokyo were very manageable. For this reason, I'm returning again this year for the cherry blossoms.

I booked our hotel in Ueno the other day, before the price rise. But it is only the hotels which increase prices - everything else - food, transport, etc - stays the same.

This year we may be able to buy the ground sheet (in regulation blue!), lay it on the ground beneath the cherry trees and enjoy some delicious food and a bottle of Moet!

[floridarob]

22 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Please be careful to avoid the sakura blossom season. Japan is beautiful at that time but everything is a good deal more expensive - hotels in particular.

I'm heading back to Asia March 19 from USA and planned a little longer layover in Toyko March 20,  to try one of the massage places everyone has been talking about, 330pm- midnight... I figured that's enough time to not worry about a hotel, luggage would be already checked thru to Jakarta, Haneda into town, massage and time to get back to the airport.

But for the heck of it I took a look at hotels, 700-2000usd a night, I was thinking that Tokyo hotels are expensive but that's @Olddaddy money crazy.... now I know why, for the festival, still crazy prices though.

[vaughn]

On 1/17/2026 at 2:15 PM, PeterRS said:

Please be careful to avoid the sakura blossom season. Japan is beautiful at that time but everything is a good deal more expensive - hotels in particular. And the main sakura viewing sites like Ueno Park and Shinjuku Park in Tokyo are often packed.

That's one of the reasons i'm going, just want to see it for one time. I'm also hoping the current disputes with their neighbour keep tourism down a little, but fully prepared to deal with the peak pricing.

[Keithambrose]

7 hours ago, floridarob said:

I'm heading back to Asia March 19 from USA and planned a little longer layover in Toyko March 20,  to try one of the massage places everyone has been talking about, 330pm- midnight... I figured that's enough time to not worry about a hotel, luggage would be already checked thru to Jakarta, Haneda into town, massage and time to get back to the airport.

But for the heck of it I took a look at hotels, 700-2000usd a night, I was thinking that Tokyo hotels are expensive but that's @Olddaddy money crazy.... now I know why, for the festival, still crazy prices though.

The Royal Park Hotel, 5 star, or 4+, where I always stayed, next to Tokyo City Air Terminal, is USD250 a night. Very comfortable  and convenient  hotel. Subway station in basement.

[floridarob]

1 minute ago, Keithambrose said:

is USD250 a night.

During the Cherry Blossoms too?

[Keithambrose]

Just now, floridarob said:

During the Cherry Blossoms too?

I looked at March 20th for 4 nights. You can never be exactly certain when the Sakura are in bloom. I took that date from previous post. 

[floridarob]

55 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

You can never be exactly certain when the Sakura are in bloom.

I'll bet you Peter knows 🤔

[Keithambrose]

23 minutes ago, floridarob said:

I'll bet you Peter knows 🤔

 

23 minutes ago, floridarob said:

I'll bet you Peter knows 🤔

When I went to Japan, every year, on business, it was often in the Spring, but the clients always said the Sakura was very dependent on the climate. The Sakura has its own weather forecast, I believe, as it moves from south  to north. I was lucky to be there at exactly  the right time, once, playing golf at the Yokohama Country Club, surrounded by glorious  blossom! I also have a book written by an English guy, teaching English in Kagoshima, in the South. After too much sake, he said he would follow the Sakura as it travelled north, all the way to Hokkaido. He hitchhiked! Interesting  book, a lot about the Japanese  people he met along the way, who were extraordinarily helpful. He spoke good Japanese,  which i suspect was necessary!