PeterRS

So tying up 800,00/400,000 baht in an account which can never be used nor released till after death is reasonable? It is utter madness! This is especially true for those many expats who have actually invested many millions of baht in purchasing a home. If I have a home worth around 7 million baht, for what possible reason should I now be asked to deposit what is effectively a penalty of $26,000? The plain fact is that without crooked Immigration staff, there would be no problem. The agents could not make a quick buck and the crook expats who each year defied the law would be kicked out. It is those of us who obeyed the rules for years and years that are the only ones really affected. Yes I know. Why not switch to the monthly payment scheme? Impossible unless first you have a pension (not all do) and that pension equals around $2,200, That may be easy for Americans on social security. A UK citizen on the basic pension gets beer money that amounts to not much more than a quarter of that. To me is is wholly unreasonable and utterly ridiculous. It is merely a financial penalty for many that would not be necessary if Immigration actually bothered to take any steps to get its house in order.

I am no great fan of the Tripadvisor site but it can be useful in giving general ideas about a hotel. The Furama Silom gets some good reviews but there are few few pretty awful ones among more recent reviews.

I suppose four of the warrior figures is better than nothing, but the real experience of the pits in Xian is in the numbers. Around 8,000 warrior figures with many different facial features and armour. Nothing prepares you for that sight.

You actually swim in that filthy water? I believe they are still pumping raw sewage into the sea not far away. Even if not, I gave up swimming there many years ago.

I recently sent cash to Vietnam via Western Union. I had never used the company before. I was amazed how easy and fast it was. I paid cash plus a 350 baht fee. All they needed was the full name of the beneficiary and for him to show any Western Union office in the country a copy of the receipt which I sent to him by phone. The money was available within less than an hour! I was amazed! When I had tried to send money before through HSBC in another country, it needed his name, address, phone number, date of birth, name of bank, bank account, branch address and Swift Code! Then it would take about 36 hours to be received because it had to be routed via Hanoi. And the transfer fee was a lot higher. Ridiculous! I wonder how abidismaili is getting on with the Japanese address system.

I notice in that article that Qatar is starting flights into Langkawi. I wonder how long these will remain on the schedule. Its aggressive expansion into Thailand in recent years has not exactly been a success. Non-stop flights from Doha into Chiang Mai, U-Tapao and Krabi were all announced with big fanfare. U-Tapao and Krabi bit the dust. Now it only flies to Chiang Mai but with a stop in Bangkok. And those flights to Langkawi are also not non-stop. They have what is called a technical stop in Penang! I wonder what a technical stop means. Penang is just 108 kms away from Langkawi. Since the aircraft is a 787 there is zero need for a technical stop. On further checking, the Doha/Penang flight is a scheduled route. So "technical stop" is inaccurate and meaningless. It is a one-step flight!

My pleasure! Have a wonderful trip!

Have you still not realised that Thai logic is totally different from western logic? Thailand has evolved over the decades with its own system. That foreigners might not understand it matters nothing to them. Please realise that Thailand is not alone when it comes to addresses. Have you looked at Japan? Ill bet you would have difficulty with this address Tokyo 153-9951, Meguro, Kamimeguro, 2-16-13, Risonanakameguro Building, Bon Mark Co. Ltd. Can you understand that? Could you find the address? Almost certainly not, unless you have spent some time in Japan or are a regular visitor. For a start it is back to front to western eyes. Then there is no street name, no discernible building number on the street and no district name. But all Japanese understand it as does the mail man.

Having trashed the Marina Bay Sands, it is only fair that i make a recommendation. The InterContinental SIngaore is an absolutely delightful hotel. Beautifully furnished with a fabulous breakfast. The Bugis MRT station is two minutes walk away under cover. I have stayed more than half a dozen times - never been anything other than extremely satisfied. https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/singapore/sinhb/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-IC-_-SG-_-SINHB The Conrad Singapore is also superb. It is one of a cluster of hotels in that Marina Bay area, including the Ritz Carlton, the Mandarin Oriental, the Pan Pacific (also very good and a bit less expensive) and the Marina Mandarin (avoid!). Stayed twice. Wonderful rooms. https://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/hotels/singapore/conrad-centennial-singapore-SINCICI/index.html The Shanghai La is quite lovely but you really need to stay in the more expensive Garden or Valley Wings, not the more basic Tower Wing. Locationwise, though, it is not so good. https://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/ Less luxurious but fantastic views if you can pay for a high floor room is The Swissotel The Stamord. Right above the main MRT interchange and City Hall Shopping Mall. The Mall used to be very cruisy but I believe not now. The Bar Rouge on the 71st floor is definitely worth a visit. https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/singapore-stamford/media/photos/

I also highly recommend Somerset Park and I totally agree with DivineMadman about Le Meridien in Chiang Mai. It used to be a lovely hotel. No longer. Besides when I stayed bout a year ago, the large bed mattresses were quite old with valleys and hills which made sleep awkward. The Shangri La is not far away A little further is the quite lovely Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel and spa in a glorious colonial building. The rooms are beautifully furnished and the service excellent http://www.pingnakara.com But avoid the Marina Bay Sands like the PLAGUE! It is a stunning piece of architecture and the infinity pool at the top is great. BUT - check out a lot of tripadvisor reviews. Two days ago, one post was headed "Truly awful, outdated, overcrowded tourist trap" The problem is the hotel is so massive it cannot cope with the numbers - even after being open almost a decade. You will encounter queues everywhere. When I stayed, it took 20 minutes queuing just to get to reception. I was on floor 46. very time I tried to get a lift it was about a 5 minute wait. When I came down for breakfast there was a very long queue. It took almost 30 minutes to get a seat. When I checked out, forearmed is forewarned, it took about 25 minutes. I will never in my life consider staying at that dreadful excuse for a hotel again. As for the pool, you will enjoy it. But you will feel like a caged animal in a circus. The hotel permits the public access to that floor for payment. So you will have 100 plus people watching your every move. Want a drink? Be prepared to wait a long time to find a waiter and another to get your drink. Want a non-smoking room? You will get one, but someone will have been smoking in it quite recently. The hotel caters to so many guests from China (they come for the casino) most of whom seem to smoke. My non-smoking room had several cigarette burns on the desk and the table. A final point. You will notice that the overall Tripadvisor ratings are quite high. You will find a host of reviews from posters who have made only 1 or 2 posts in their lives. Invariably all are in the rave category. Disregard these and the overall rating falls. The Singapore government has a stake in Marina Bay Sands and a lot riding on it. Years ago on Tripadvisor, it came last of all the country's 5-star hotels. Within a year, thanks to a host of short 2 or 3 line 5-star rave reviews, it began to rise in the rankings. It was discovered that virtually all of those reviews had been deliberately "planted". Singapore has lots of excellent 5 star hotels. On the basis of my experience and that of my colleagues (I was attending an international conference with speakers from around the world) none of us would consider staying there again. Sorry!

Yet another almighty Thai screw up. Way back when Central Village was planned, clearly far too much money was handed over under the table for the politicians concerned not to go ahead. And the whole project has just been steamrollered with the left hand never agreeing what the right was doing. Now it seems incoming flights may land in a branch of Maxim's of Paris! Hope there's plenty of caviar to go around I remain curious, though. Where on this planet is there a country's "first luxury shopping mall" on the doorstep of its main international airport?

Rio is one of the most beautiful cities and the boys give you a wonderful time. You must be careful though. On my one visit, I got mugged. Thankfully my injuries were minor, but it was enough to make me realise wandering around on your own can be dangerous.

Haha! Don't worry. I dont go for the reasons I outlined. Being attended by a female bar girl is of no interest to me. The great thing about the Soi Twilight bars was the cameraderie amongst the guys themselves. Then if you bought them drinks they would sit with you and ensure you were having a good time, even though the basic English level might not have been high. I fully realise Twilight is dead and will not come back. My point was Patpong 2 could do with a few gay-staffed beer bars. No idea whether it will or not.

Sorry but I am not looking for a bar with ladies and one guy who might or might not be be cute and might or might not be there. The great thing about the Twilight beer bars was that all catered almost specifically to a gay clientele and all were staffed only by guys, often quite cute ones.

Thats probably the reaction of all who live far from Thailand and whose trips inevitably are limited to once or twice a year. But having lived in the country for more years than i care to remember, the availabilty of cute and handsome young men does begin to reduce the appetite. Besides, constant bar hopping and constant massages remain expensive and most living here still have to pay for some form of accommodation. The grass is not always greener!

It would just be nice if there was a cluster of open-air gay beer bars to sit and enjoy drinks at much cheaper prices whilst people watching.

In Bangkok I find Blued the most active. Lots more Thais are using it and seem especially to like its instant translation feature. Quite a number of young gay tourists from China are also using it to try and hook up with guys here. So far as my experience goes, these are in no way money boys. The one issue I have with Blued is that it opens the door to your profile also being seen by tens of millions in China. If there is a way of blocking that I have not yet found it. Sometimes it is flattering to be hit on by a very cute Chinese youngster but when the chances of actually meeting up are virtually zero, what is the point? The Chinese/English translation is also instant.

I have never known a year like this weatherise in Thailand. First there was no cool season. Around December and January nights should be a lot cooler and many days with overall temperatures dropping at least 7 or 8 degrees. Apart from one short period, this did not happen. Now in mid August we have had virtually no rain. I can recall only two heavy thunderstorms since Songkran. Normally there will be a couple a week. Often I would open the curtains to grey skies. This morning, as with most mornings in the last few months, it is bright and sunny. Unless there is a bucketload of rain in the next 3 months I fear water rationing will not be far away.

The problem is surely not just one of a policy gone wrong. Like all third world countries (even if bordering on second world) many rural Thai families traditionally needed a large number of children to tend their fields and ensure they would be looked after in their old age. Some inevitably would gravitate to the cities but some had to stay at home. It was this very large group that Mechais campaigns targeted. But then as Thailand's economy started to take off in the 1980s, some of the wealth trickled down and there was a reduced economic need for families to have so many children. At 2.2 kids per family, Thailand would be at slightly above replacement rate. However, not quoted from the Bloomberg article in the OP is that Thailand has dropped quite a bit below that. It states the rate now is 1.5. So Thailand is only fractionally ahead of Japans 1.43 and a little further ahead of Singapore at 1.16. Japan has introduced measures to keep older people in work voluntarily. Thailand is stuck with a retirement age of 60 and no political will to raise it. Singapore has tried for decades not just to get couples to produce more babies but to get men and women actually to marry. Nothing seems to work. So Singapore imports a huge number of foreign workers. Of a population of 5.64 million, only 3.47 million are Singapore nationals! That I assume is the route Thailand will have to take. And we wonder why there are so few Thai boys in the go-go bars compared to 30 years ago!

I think we must remember that the primary reason for the big drop in the birth rate is the success of Mechai's promotion of condom use in the 1980s and 90s. The government realised that the high birth rate was unsustainable. One reason was the lack of knowledge about birth control. So Mechai started a campaign to promote an understanding of condoms and greater condom use. It is no surprise that many older Thais still call condoms "mechais". That resulted in a very fast drop in overall birth rates. Many residents and tourists have visited Mechai's restaurant chain, Cabbages and Condoms. Caucasians are certainly in the minorty. Already the Han Chinese are the majority ethnic group and Mandarin the world's most spoken language. Are we inferior? Not sure, but we are certainly doing a good job of going in that direction.

The earlier Bill in Thailand was for civil unions - not gay marriage.

A gay marriage law went into effect in 2015. But it offers no legal recognition or protection. So its basically a sham - at least for the present.

I believe the law in Taiwan is very clear. Marriage between two men can only take place if one or both of the partners is Taiwanese.

If you like entertainment, nowhere beats Las Vegas - not even Broadway. I dont mean the gaming tables but the absolutely stunning shows by Cirque du Soleil. These permanent shows in specially built theatres in hotels are nothing like the touring shows that have sometimes come to Asia. In fact they are vastly bigger, technically amazing and the best entertainment you will ever see. 'O' at the Bellagio. 'Ka' with its vertical fight at the MGM Grand, 'Love' (to the digitally remastered surround sound music of The Beatles) are absolute must sees. There is also one to Michael Jacksons songs called 'One' at the Mandalay Bay. You can book tickets on line. You can even take in two shows in one evening. Hotels can be pretty inexpensive and eating is also cheap and very good. Youll have to put up with crowds but it is still a place that will stay in your memory. If you are not returning via the Pacific, you can probably still get a good price on a return ticket to Las Vegas from New York. There is also an amazing show at Wynns by the original creator of some of Cirque du Soleil shows, Le Reve. It is a circular water based show - so dont sit in the front rows! And of course there is the free fountain shows at the Bellagio between 3pm and 8pm. If you are a bit flush, book a helicopter tour over the Hoover dam and actually into the Grand Canyon with a glass or two of champagne when you touch down in the Canyon. Make sure you have your camera with you. If not, there are plenty of coach tours.

I cant see that connecting through Seoul will make life any more difficult for passengers flying on to Hong Kong or Singapore. It might add an hour or so to the total time but not much more. My concern is that Haneda will become even more packed.