26 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

That this is the law has been mentioned in this forum in the past, but I have never felt a need to carry a copy of my passport (and my passport would be in the hotel room safe). Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

not me.

I carry diving licence with me as a mean to identifying me something should happen. I have passport on me only when absolutely and positively necessary i.e. taking flight or exchanging money

3 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

Yes. It was a surreal event. I was with my exThaiBF#2 and a group of his Thai friends and we were in the Jomtien Complex, aka Supertown at The Best Bar anniversary party when around midnight, all of a sudden, the bright lights went on and the DJ stopped the music and the performers rushed off of the stage, as a large group of police came in to make a pee/document check. At my table, we were 7 people, including myself. The six Thai guys were asked to relocate to the back of the bar with the performers, bar staff, and other Thai customers. I got agitated and I asked one of the police guys why are you taking my friends away. He barked back and told me to stay calm - which I did. Within 5 minutes, my exThaiBF#2 and his 5 Thai friends were back at our table. I asked them what happened and they were asked if they did any drugs and were asked to make a pee test - but then abruptly the pee test was canceled. The entire ordeal took about 30 minutes but the damage was done - because before the police raid The Best Bar was FULL - there was a large table of Chinese customers sitting in front of us truly enjoying themselves and it is very rare to see that in the complex. After the police left The Best Bar, the bar was now empty and the previous success of Khun_Best's anniversary party was evaporated into the ether thanks to the police raid.

Did I have my original passport or DL on me? NO

Did I have any documentation on my person? Yes, I always get new facsimiles of my documents laminated and it is these credit card sized documents that stay in my pocket (passport ID on 1 side, visa expiration stamp on the other side), health insurance card, and Thai driving license. All originals are back in my condo room in the safety lock box.

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

Not me. Police raids usually follow a tip off from someone or some organisation that can't be ignored, for example, an influential NGO dealing with the trafficking of minors (for eg the Paveena Foundation) or more commonly because the venue is behind in their tea money payments. Another possible reason is because the venue has pissed off some phuyai or big shot OR is in direct competition with a similar venue owned by a phuyai or big shot with connections to the police. Being seen to be doing something by influential politicians during election season (Purachai running for Bangkok governor) or a "clean up" before a major national or international event are other reasons. It's almost never because the home minister and police are proactively enforcing the law in order to maintain social order. One exception that comes to mind are the Thaksin directed drug related raids when he was prime minister. Of course viewpoints on this differ.

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

not me.

I carry diving licence with me as a mean to identifying me something should happen. I have passport on me only when absolutely and positively necessary i.e. taking flight or exchanging money

yeah same same... I'm too paranoid of losing it out and about. Already lost my Bangkok hotel key card on this trip. I figure if they really need my passport, I'm never very far away from my Airbnb... worst case scenario I can ask my Airbnb host to bring it. I do keep a pic of it on my phone. The Kodak copying idea someone shared is a good one. I don't remember them stamping my passport but that's not a bad suggestion. I figured there must be some reason that place is still in business!

I'm pretty proud of this finicky farang. I'm trying to stay away from western food as much as I can. Tried 2 dishes on Grab today since they were only three bucks each. I have no idea which toppings go with which so I improvised. Beef boat noodles and chicken fried rice. I did stick with the not-so-Asian Coca Cola though. (They didn't have Zero.) Womp womp.

But my big addiction are these blueberry cookies they sell at some 7 Elevens. Only 1 in my neighborhood in Bangkok had 'em. Fortunately the one next to my Airbnb on Samui's got 'em too.

On 9/11/2026 at 12:59 PM, aaroninatl said:

In Chiang Mai, I found an Airbnb with great reviews near "The Grumpy Old Men : My Beer Friend Taproom." Sounds like my kinda place. I originally booked a place in the northwest part of CM that's known as the digital nomad neighborhood.

The Grumpy Old Men pub is in the heart of the tourist district of Changklan in a small soi off Changklan Road itself, close to the river, the famous night bazaar and the so-called Charoenprathet Soi 6 gay street. They're all within short walking distance of one another. I'd leave it to others to write about soi 6 as it's not my cup of tea for various reasons. Warorot Market or Kad Luang, one of the biggest and most popular markets in Chiang Mai, is about a kilometre to the north.

I don't know if there's a digital nomad neighbourhood as such but they are typically scattered in Nimmanhemin, Huay Kaew and Santitham.

There are four universities within city limits, two public and two private. Most student-run activities open to the public are held during the cool season as are concerts and theatrical performances.

September to early October is the peak of the rainy season and Chiang Mai is prone to flooding particularly the areas close to the river such as Changklan. Two years ago, Chiang Mai saw some of the worst floods in her history and Changklan and Warorot were inaccessible for two weeks or more following the devastation from the floods. I wrote about this last year when @jimmie50 said he was going to Chiang Mai.

In my humble opinion, the best years of Chiang Mai ended in the first decade of this century and I was very lucky to have caught the tail end of it. I was so enamoured by the scent of the Rose of the North that I even considered moving there. But that lovely scent turned into a repellent odour from the 2010s onwards with the influx of the mainland Chinese, nefarious Bangkok types laundering their money through "grey businesses", rise of scam centres operated by the mainland Chinese (with the help of the locals) and subsequently the arrival of the digital nomads, not to mention the suffocating smoke of the burning season. The main reason I go to Chiang Mai nowadays is to see my two adopted kids whom I hope to bring to Bangkok or down south when they get to university age.

29 minutes ago, aaroninatl said:

But my big addiction are these blueberry cookies they sell at some 7 Elevens.

randomly they were giving these out for free in Koh Samui. I grabbed a pack but thought I would find them unpalatable…. ended up eating all 3. Thanks for the tip I can buy them in 7-11.

Just now, hank75 said:

randomly they were giving these out for free in Koh Samui. I grabbed a pack but thought I would find them unpalatable…. ended up eating all 3. Thanks for the tip I can buy them in 7-11.

In the bag, they are packaged in pairs. Probably for the best. If they were all just in the bag together I'd probably kill a bag before I realize it. I'm diabetic for a reason. 😆

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

That this is the law has been mentioned in this forum in the past, but I have never felt a need to carry a copy of my passport (and my passport would be in the hotel room safe). Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

Depends on what you do, where you go and how you look. Recently there have been some instances of farang acquaintances being stopped by police not far from Surasak area. One guy was even fined for carrying poppers.

I've never carried my passport when in Thailand, and I can't recall ever carrying a photocopy, either.

I remember an occasion when a police car stopped in front of Eros in Pattaya. An envelope containing money (I presume) was handed to the cop through the car window and he drove off.

My long term Pattaya 'friend' told me that the bars often get prior warning that a raid is about to take place. This gives bar owners time to get the illegal immigrants out of the bar.

The raid is basically an envelope handing-over ceremony!

20 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

That this is the law has been mentioned in this forum in the past, but I have never felt a need to carry a copy of my passport (and my passport would be in the hotel room safe). Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

Up to you.

I've never had a catastrophic loss on my property either, but I still buy property insurance every year.

@aaroninatl how’s the weather in Samui now it’s transitioning into rainy season? My understanding is that September can be a bit of a shoulder month.

A couple of years ago I visited in late October, weather wasn’t terrible but likely wouldn’t do it again.

5 hours ago, hank75 said:

@aaroninatl how’s the weather in Samui now it’s transitioning into rainy season? My understanding is that September can be a bit of a shoulder month.

A couple of years ago I visited in late October, weather wasn’t terrible but likely wouldn’t do it again.

Rains for about an hour a day. No flooding or craziness. Just generally cloudy. The rain in the morning yesterday was relaxing as I sat on the front patio here.

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Rains for about an hour a day. No flooding or craziness. Just generally cloudy. The rain in the morning yesterday was relaxing as I sat on the front patio here.

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Glad that you are enjoying the peace and tranquility of mornings by the beach. I also enjoy such mornings but I need to have a guy with me!

Did one of the cheesy tours today. The highlight was that guy in the blue pants. Airbnb didn’t even advertise that part of the tour. Otherwise saw some temples and fed some elephants.

28 minutes ago, aaroninatl said:

The highlight was that guy in the blue pants.

Looks like another tourist beat you to him

2 minutes ago, hank75 said:

Looks like another tourist beat you to him

If she goes randomly missing, you know nothing.

Someone asked last week if the fire shows are nightly. Didn’t know as I’d only been here a couple days at that point. I think they are nightly on Chaweng. Here in Lamai they seem to be 4 or 5 nights a week. It’s definitely more chill than Chaweng. Which isn’t so bad. The beach walk is awesome at night. No fire shows tonight.

Finally had an overdose of eye candy... again, not locals. But JFC my island tour today was a goldmine of 20 somethings who spend time, but not too much time, at the gym. One group was from Tunisia. Muscle frat boys with too much volume and their Instagram posing obsessed girlfriends... but the guys had perfect bods that somehow made them less annoying. Also on our tour, I fell totally for this Spanish guy probably about 22ish. He and his girl (assuming) were having a spat. A couple times when I offered to take a pic for them she asked for solo pics too. Ouch. 😆 He didn't seem too bothered. I sent a pic to a couple of you but I don't feel comfortable posting it here on a public forum. But dark haired Euro boy with nice abs, developing chest. Killer smile. Ugh I was in love.

Then when we got to "Pig Island" a boat full of twinks from another tour jumped off all ready for the beach. The pigs were no longer the star of the show. I was playing with my new GoPro. Somehow the twinks ended up in lots of the shots of the pigs. Must be a glitch in the camera.

After we did some snorkeling (pretty subpar - no colorful reefs but at least a few tropical fish, but gave me a chance to try the GoPro underwater) and then lunch at this beautiful abandoned other side of the island... it was really a great deal for $50ish. About a 6 hour tour I booked through Airbnb. TripGuru was the name of the company hosting. Pickup and drop-off at my place in Lamai Beach included.