PeterRS

It would be great fun. But a closed frontage is not going to stop the BIB. Some other owner will get pissed off at the custom that bar is attracting and submit an anonymous tip. And that will lead to an anonymous raid. Hope I'm wrong, though.

I bought a 2 bed 2 bath unit in Bangkok in 1999. I had no other property and so it was primarily for longer term retirement while being rented in the meantime. Fortunately the market was low following the Asian Economic Crisis and I got a top floor 82 sq.m. apartment in a new condo in a very quiet residential district very close to the centre of the city for 2.8 million. It has a pool, sauna, gym and excellent mangement team. Having rented - usually, thankfully, with employers paying the rent - during the previous 20 or so years I wanted a place of my own with my own furniture and fittings. Being the top floor, I had the roof insulated which keeps the temperature no warmer than in floors below. As we sit on the balcony having drinks, we have a great mostly green view with almost no traffic noise. I'm told it's now worth about 175% more than I paid. Not a great return but you have to factor in the dot.com bubble, the SARS downturn and the 2008 financial crisis. Plus I ended up living here far earlier in 2002. So I have not had to pay rent which for this area would have been at least 7 million over 20 years. Total management fees have totalled around 850,000. The flat took a long time to find, but I've been extremely happy living in this area and having my own property.

I wonder why you think that. Chinese are not going to travel in anything like their pre-covid numbers for several years. Too many Chinese are still trying to make up income lost during covid. On top of that the Chinese economy is in serious trouble. In turbulent times Chinese save rather than spend. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/21/economy/china-economy-troubles-intl-hnk/index.html

I have never been on a mega- or mini-mega cruise and cannot imagine going near one of these behemoths, even with a bunch of friends. The Silver Wind had 300 passengers and the other two ships I was on had less than 600. Best was I did not pay a cent since my friend was a lecturer and had free accommodation. I merely used air miles to get to the ports of departure. Although lecturers were classed as "entertainers" and should have been consigned to the bottom level of cabins, my friend knew the hotel managers and we were upgraded twice to suites with balconies. But I would still not take another cruise.

I really wonder how true this now is. Until about 4 years ago, the 800,000 minimum had to be in the bank account for 3 months. Immigration demanded a copy of the bankbook updated on the date of application to check this. (All major banks have ATM machines in the basement at the immigration Department for this purpose). I can't imagine visa agents would be prepared to cough up 800,000 for 3 whole months. If I am correct, then it must have been crook Immigration officers who turned a blind eye to this mandatory requirement in return for a substantial brown envelope. But the situation now is even more of a problem for those taking the 800,000 route. I made a slight error in an earlier post. I believe now the requirement is that 800,000 must be in the bankbook for 2 complete months prior to the date of appication PLUS 3 months following that date. Thereafter the amount goes down to a mandatory 400,000 for 7 months. In the first year, a retiree can obviously get away without those 3 additional months. But if another year is required, the total of 5 months is essential. Again I cannot see agents lending retirees that amount of cash for such a long period, but perhaps I am wrong. I think the big concern for all existing retirees is that the amounts of 65,000 monthly/ 800,000 annually have been in place for many years. Given that Thailand Elite is raising its fees by at least 50% and some senior Immigration officers have been calliing for higher payments from retirees, how likely is it that these amounts will continue to remain at these levels? The outrage and anger shown by existing Elite members when told existing benefits would be unilaterally withdrawn did result in the Elite organisation facing an embarrassing climb down. As one who took the 800,000 route prior to becoming an Elite basic member 3 years ago, I think I might now be concerned. No amount of retiree outrage will change a future government decision if that raises annual retiree payments, of that I am 99% sure.

I think perhaps we have a tendency to forget that some will have retired here in the late 1990s/early 2000s - maybe with a nest egg pre-full retirement and the start of a pension. And the Thailand they then knew and loved has changed dramatically during the intervening years. It's not just the bars - although the changes there have been radical. The country has been through major political and inflationary changes. For what I expect is a good few, it is no longer the same country. I have written some time ago about two English expats who moved in to the apartment next to me around 2002. Neither had more than a small state pension but one had been left a considerable amount of money in his mother's will. So they decided to retire to Asia, a continent they hardly knew. At first they fancied Singapore as they had been there before. Once their one year rental was up, they knew the city state was far too expensive for them. So they moved into a studio flat off Saladaeng in the hope of finding somewhere suitable in Bangkok. Eventually they did. My building has several apartment sizes. For whatever reason, they purchased by far the largest at over 200 sq. meters with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen and huge living room - for what I believe was then around 7 million baht. They lived quite frugally, hardly ever travelled, cooked their own meals. One really enjoyed nightly visits to Telephone Bar, but only for a drink and to chat to expat friends. The other would troll around Silom Complex hoping to meet up with guys from time to time. But like many, after the financial crisis of 2008, their nest egg had reduced more than expected. At that time they should have seen the writing on the wall. If they did, they just decided to do nothing about it. By around 2012, though, they realised they had to sell the apartment. But such a big space in a quiet residential district quite far from public transport is too large for most Thais. Even with a number of Embassies and Consulates nearby, it is also too big for their staff. Thus the apartment remained unsold for 3 years. When they did manage to sell it, instead of the 13 million they wanted, they let it go for 9.3 million. It went to a middle-aged expat. After a year he decided he did not like it much and put it on the market. Unlike the two previous owners, he gave it to Thai rather than expat agents to sell. Pretty soon he got 16 million for it! Those property woes aside, the two expats idiotically moved into another large rented flat, still not far from Telephone. Soon they were in serious financial trouble. By 2019 I expect they bribed agents to come up with the 1.6 million they needed for annual visa renewals. Then something went seriously wrong. Exactly what, I never found out. But within 3 months of getting those renewals, they were unable to pay their rent. Soon they were borrowing money from anyone who would lend them anything. Next it was begging for money for food. Over the next 6 months from roughly November until the next visa renewal in May, the landlord cut off all water and electricity. When the visas could not be renewed, it took Immigration just a few days to locate them, put them into custody and then deport them. Since neither had any form of accommodation in the UK, I hate to think what happened to them. Both were in their mid-80s. A cautionary tale, to be sure. But it illustrates how some visa dodgers can now be quickly located.

This is very true and I have seen it more times than I care to remember. But then I have lived here more than 2 decades. As I have posted elsewhere, i never intended to move to Bangkok until retirement, even though I had purchased a condominium in 1999. With the finances of my small business in Hong Kong crashing through the floor when the effects of the Asian Economic Crisis hit Hong Kong last, I virtually had no option but to move to Bangkok and run the business from here. That actually worked far better than I expected even with almost monthly commuting and I kept busy with that till around 2017 when I finally closed it. For much of the time since then I have had a partner which means life is never boring. I also do some freelance work overseas. We have a small circle of close friends, two of whom I knew for decades in Hong Kong. So what with a bit of work, socialising and reasonably regular travel, I keep myself quite busy. If I had to live here on a minimum income and depend on money boys for company, I certainly would suffer from crashing boredom and loneliness. All I can add is that i knew Bangkok and Thailand extremely well before I decided to move here. I would always suggest that anyone even remotely thinking about moving here first come here for at least two extended visits of several months each. Get rid of the illusionary glitz and glamour of the country before considering moving to settle down here.

Agreed. Please spare a thought, though, for pensioners of the UK government. When I left the UK decades ago, I was promised a full government pension if I continued my contributions to what was then called the National Insurance Fund whilst overseas. I did so. I completed the full payment over the 30 or so years I spent abroad. And what do i discover has happened without any government department informing me? If you live overseas for 6 years or more, your pension is frozen from the time you start taking it! Anyone with a UK pension taken out since around 2009 will probably not have suffered much with inflation so low. But they will certainly be hit hard now. I believe this is less true now. As I understand the law, agents cannot certify a pension. Only the relevant Consulate can do that. So agents usually opted for the 800,000 annual route. But with those funds having to be held in an account for a minimum of 2 months prior to application and to remain there for a minimum of 3 months thereafter, I suspect it is now more crook Immigration officials who are bribed to look the other way.

Vietnam remains very much in the present in most of our memories. Much of the rest is history, a tiny part of which is slowly being rectified through formal apologies and, in the UK at least, the tearing down of statues devoted to those who made fortunes from the slave trade. As for Vietnam, it is fact that both Roosevelt and Truman did not respond to Ho Chi Minh's urgent requests by letter to ensure the French did not return to continue its brutal regime in post-war Vietnam. After all, the USA was staunchly anti-colonial and Ho was a nationalist. Yet the USA did not put pressure on France as it did on other colonial countries. Considering the Vietnamese had been fighting on the sie of the Allies in WWII, this was essentially a major slap in the face. The war which folowed was essentially between the North Vietnamese and the French, one which the French lost miserably. After the Geneva Accords splitting country in the middle, the USA retained its influence over South Vietnam whilst Ho was further thrown into the Chinese and Russian camps. The US disaster in Vietnam was the result of failures in the Sate Department, a failed foreign policy, incompetence at a military level and a resultant war which was the result of a lie to Congress. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos may now be at peace. But many of the older generations remember the horrors of those years. All based on a false premise - the domino theory. Should Iraq be added to the list? Another country first supported by the US who then turned against it on grounds which were at best spurious, resulting in a country which remains a disaster and gave rise to one of the most evil sects in ISIS.

And that has precisely what to do with Vietnam now? Nothing!

It's the law! When Interior Minister Purachai launched his Social Order campaign in the early 2000s, he introduced nightllife zoning and restricted certain areas for 'fun' activites. I believe Jomtien Complex is not one of the areas. In this respect, one would assume that monthly fat brown envelopes would satisfy the BIB. But with so many bars clustered in one area, if one is allowed to get away with go-go type activity, others will either complain and have it shut down or will also want to get in on the act. The latter, I expect, would draw the attention of the athorities and almost immediate closures.

I always wonder how these guys get their retirement visas because the minimum monthly inward remittance from a recognised pension scheme or social security by law has to be 65,000. About 4 years ago there was a big fuss among many of the retirees when the immigration Department decided too many retirees were getting visas illegally when going the lump sum annual 800,000 route. Although this was supposed to be in the bank account for a minimum of 2 or 3 months prior to applying for the next year's visa, we were informed that in future the 800.000 had to be locked untouched in a bank account for 7 months with a reduction to 400,000 permitted for the remaining 5. Have one satang less - bye bye visa. The rationale for this move was that there were too many crook agents and Immigration officers. So rather than clean out the mess in the Augean Stables, the Director of Immigration put the onus on to retirees. Unless those living on 43,000 have been saving part of their 65,000 monthly remittances, I can only assume that they took advantage of the crooks to obtain their annual visa renewals. The idiocy of the Immigration Department has recently again been seen with the scandal of the withdrawal of certain key benefits from the Thailand Elite 5-year Easy Access membership. Given 3 weeks to make key decisions involving a considerable cash outlay or find oneself without the possibility of renewing for 15 extra years, there was a huge outcry with on one day a near riot at the office of Thailand Elite on Sathorn. The end result of that idiotic decision was that less than 24 hours before the self-imposed deadline, Thailand Elite withdrew the decision. We are told that the upcoming reorganistion of the Elite programme is also partly to get rid of crook agents and Immigration officers! So what have those clowns been doing over the last 4 years? Look more closely and we note that as early as February 1 questions were raised in parliament that there are already too many of the Chinese triads who have inflitrated the country by purchasing the Elite visas. This time it may not be the Immigration officials at fault since they have no jurisdiction overseas. But why have international criminal records not been checked? When I first applied overseas for the O-A visa prior to obtaining a retirement visa, I had to go to the police for a certificate confirming I had no police record. Why one rule for not very wealthy retirees and another for mega-rich Chinese criminals?

Yesterday Qatar's limited time offer of 10% off fares from Thailand ended. This morning i had an email from the airline offering up to 12% off for premium fares. Checking flights I want for next year, the discount was just over 11%. I expect further discounts in the months to come (but only judging by previous years).

Would it not be more likely that it is dependent on Pheu Thai having the upper hand in the new parliament - should that ever actually be sworn in?

Royal Caribbean has revealed artist's renderings of its latest mega-ship/restort, the Icon of the Seas. When its stern section was unveiled - - it instantly became viral with many expressing the same thoughts that I have - ghastly in the extreme. A "monstrosity", a "pile of decadence", "intrically tacky and vulgar." Some compared it to a vision of hell. When it sets sail on its maiden voyage in January it will be the largest passenger ship afloat with almost 10,000 passengers and crew. The image of the ship has not been helped by being described as "5 times bigger than the Titanic." Not only did that mega-ship end up at the bottom of the ocean on its maiden voyage, the recent implosion of the underwater vessel taking paying passengers to see the wreck can not have helped. The candy colours make the ship seem like Barbie's home from home while others suggest that so many crammed into one space will feel very claustrophobic. I guess if it was for occasional gay cruises, it might be a huge best seller. And for families it will no doubt be a success. But you won't get me anywhere close to it. I have been fortunate to be a non-paying passeenger on three cruises, thanks to invitations from my long-time best friend. In the summers he lectured aboard vessels, but only the small top of the line ones like Silver Sea and Seabourn. When his wife could not accompany him, he would always invite me to join him for part of a cruise. With a bottle of champagne put in the cabin fridge every morning and free booze in the bars, they were mostly very enjoyable if for a week or so. But I found a 17 day cruise around the Caribbean and then 1,600 kms up the Amazon to Manaus way too long, even though a highight was visiting the Opera House built in Manaus by the rubber barons at the end of the 19th century and featured in the movie Fitzcarraldo. But as a Royal Caribbean spokesman said of Icon of the Seas, "“That ship’s gonna take in $10 million a week.” https://edition.cnn.com/travel/viral-icon-of-the-seas-cruise-ship-photo/index.html

If not, at age 39 he seriously has problems! I'd imagine he's as proud and erect as 20 years ago.

The wording in that wikipedia article is pretty much nonsense. Whoever wrote it admits he/she knows precious little about the term and then goes on to equate it with sex offenders. A load of b/s!

I am a bit older and have rarely found it difficult to meet the younger guys whose company I enjoy and who are looking for an older guy without money being part of the arrangement. Beijng partnered I am not looking for sex in Thailand. But I have free reign on my travels, most of which are now within Asia. I have reported elsewhere on Taipei where there seem to be quite a few guys in their 20s whose preference is not only for older guys but much older guys. If a guy comes to my hotel, few seem to want to get straight down to sex, preferring first to chat and perhaps kiss and cuddle. Some enjoy a leisurely dinner afterwards when the conversation always seems interesting, but certainly not all. The type of quickie "wham, bang, thank you ma'am" sex is mostly restricted to the saunas. I wouldn't call a young guy seeking the company of and sex with a much older guy a fetish. In my book it's merely a preference.

As far as I can see, the problem is that the tickets must be ex-HKG. And although the promotion has only been going for 2 days, already those for popular destinations like London Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei are sold out! One thing I do not like about the CX biz class meal service is that it is from a trolley. Presumably this is so you can see the meal you wish to consume. The problem is that some of the dishes stay on that trolley for several minutes and are less than piping hot if you order them. Best economy meal by far was one on JAL to BKK 4 years ago pre covid. The airline had asked some chefs to come up with ideas for better quality economy meals. The five courses were all delicious.

At 6:00 am on Wednesday ten days ago, police entered a villa in a Sentosa hotel and arrested 49 men aged between 21 and 46 taking part in what was reported as a Drug Orgy. 35 were Singaporean nationals and 14 foreigners, most of whom were believed to be Malaysians. Substances seized included metamphetamine, ketamine and drug paraphernalia. Also taken was a printed invitation to the orgy believed to have been organised by a closed chat room group. Perhaps ironically during the last 3 weeks the Singapore government has executed 2 men and a woman who had been alleged to have brought very small quantities of drugs into Singapore. Death is the penalty for 15 grams or more of a prohibited substance whether for trafficking or for personal use. Questions are now being asked what will happen to the 49 men from the orgy arrested and those who had left it prior to the police raid. Questions are also being asked why it is that the men elected to host their orgy at an hotel, albeit in a villa in the grounds. Would the presence of so many young and youngish men all entering a villa not have alerted the hotel management that something nefarious was going on? Perhaps naturally, some are also speculating that more than just drugs were the reason for the party. Were they there for some sort of sex orgy? The photos of the men after they police entered the room do not indicate any nudity and there was no report of condoms or any sexual apparatius having been found. Guess I am naive as I had never heard of drug orgies before! https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/drug-raid-sentosa-hotel-villa-49-men-arrested-cnb-3694766

The popular gay hotel GS has recently closed and wil not reopen. According to its facebook page, its licence was not renewed, although for what reason I have no idea. I cannot believe this is due to any anti-gay sentiment. Some years ago the very popular Huang Ding sauna which had a lot of gay activitiy going on both in its steam room and in a downstairs open area was closed. But this was due to numerous notices about the unacceptable quality of its water going unheeded. (And no, I never noticed any goings on in the pools themselves!)

Nothing harmful? Personally I think that action was harmful and with respect to the poster whom I do not know somewhat petty. Sure the guy did what many are starting to do by posting fake pics. Don't we all post some fake info - like our ages? Perhaps @nikba2515 is totally honest with what info he provides on the apps. I'm not sorry to say I chop a few years off my age. I then feel delighted when the guy arrives and says something like he thought I'd look considerably older! But then I do not meet guys in Thailand - only in Taipei and Tokyo where perhaps the boys are more polite. Years ago I did once meet a Thai boy from an app who turned out to be a good 15 years older than his photo. I always used to meet a guy first outside my apartment and so we met at a coffee shop on Silom. I ordered him a drink, explained to him that I was not going to do anything more because he had basically deceived me. I then gave him 100 baht for his transport and said goodbye. You win some, lose some has always been my basic motto. I'm not into shaming guys or trying to teach them a lesson.

And what will this Department actually achieve? Well, my comment would be too offensive! I suspect they might put in charge of the department the minister who, during the disastrous floods of 2011 when much of Bangkok was under water for a considerable number of weeks, suggested that one way of alleviating the floods would be to stretch long tail boats across the Chao Phaya river with their engines on at full power to push the flood water from the north back up river. Seriously, that is what he suggested. I guess his middle names were Monty Python.

For those not acquainted with the British Immigration's use of a barge to house refugees, this has drawn considerable controversy in the UK for many weeks. The government says it is a temporary form of accommodation until asylum seekers' papers can be properly processed. But it has all descended into a farce because the 39 immigrants so far 'settled' in the barge' after weeks of delay have now had to be moved out after a deadly bacteria was found in the water supply. Government idiots! I trust no one has fallen for any scam by booking on this junk barge!

Getting back to the OP, CX seems to be having some difficulty filling its flights from Bangkok. It has been reducing fares and they are now about the cheapest I have seen for years.