Alexx

Some saunas offer free alcohol to loosen things up, and it's likely that at least some of the guys take something stronger than that ahead of their visit. That might explain why they are more adventurous.

Well to do Thai families still send their children abroad for their college studies. Those young Thais who recently won medals competing at the International Physics Olympiad will receive government scholarships to go to college abroad - in exchange for working as civil servants after completing their studies. That basically tells you everything you need to know about the quality of Thai universities, even the top ones. It's very rare for anyone willing and able to pay their tuition on time not to receive their degree - and it shows!

I think Phnom Penh has improved A LOT within the last decade. If things progress at this speed (not a given!) it might really become quite an interesting option for retirement. Cost of living is a tricky subject. Personally, I tend to spend more in Phnom Penh than in Bangkok. But that's mostly because I make different choices there.

Many of these theft reports are cases of insurance fraud.

Ah, but there's always 7/11 in an emergency.

Does that surprise you? Various groups have these problems, not only hill tribes but also "sea gypsies" and of course many regular migrant workers from neighboring countries.

Having some kind of original ID document such as the passport card or a DL, plus photocopies of the relevant passport pages (including the Thai stamps) is certainly more convincing than just carrying photocopies. Sounds like a reasonable middle path to me.

I will readily admit that I used Google Translate.

Sometimes they will accept a photocopy and other times they won't. There's no consistency with law enforcement in Thailand whatsoever, that's just one example.

If I understand their plans correctly, they just want to change the card from two parts (arrival and departure) that need to be filled in to a single part. Apparently there will still be a second part that goes into the passport and needs to be returned at departure time, but it will just have a barcode (no information to be filled in). That's progress, alright, but other than for answering the silly TAT questions, they could really just scan the passport and put a sticker with the permission of stay and their beloved barcode / arrival card number in the passport. The Japanese stickers are neat, they could just copy their design. That would speed things up considerably, especially with those tourists who are unable to fill in the cards without help. In other words, I would not only get rid of arrival cards, but also of rubber stamps. THAT would be "Thailand 4.0".

They should get rid of that nonsense entirely. Not even Communist Vietnam has it.

It is the end, yes, just as jfarmer017 wrote.

Right. Let's hope the next investment opportunity will open up soon.

I think this particular guy isn't the best example why Buddhism in Thailand is in a crisis, he's extreme by any standard. For me, it's more the little details that are symptoms: The fact that ATMs and lottery ticket vendors can both be found on temple grounds, for example. Or stories I'm told by friends, about relatives who enter the monkhood and end up being introduced to methamphetamines by senior monks, which add to news reports about drug busts involving monks. Drug abuse seems shockingly widespread among the Buddhist clergy nowadays.

The BoT could require banks and money exchanges to record the passport and departure card number. As of now, they don't, money exchanges usually accept other forms of ID including foreign DLs.

Herzlich Willkommen!

I might be mistaken, in that case I'm sorry. I thought you had mentioned that you visit HCMC to get a new Thai tourist visa there.

That wasn't my point. Of course gay guys can be found everywhere. But for a foreign visitor to get in touch and to figure out who might be interested in him, I'm afraid "the gay scene" (online or offline) is the most efficient and convenient route. And Thai for Thai bars, why do you think they are called that? Most of those Thais who are interested in meeting foreigners know where they can find them.

And here I was, thinking samebb is a tourist.

I would be surprised if banks and currency exchange outfits report their individual transactions along with the passport details they've collected. The Bank of Thailand requires them to ask for ID, but they haven't imposed any such reporting requirement. Until that happens or cash is completely phased out, it's impossible to piece together a foreign visitor's total spendings in Thailand.

So where will he easily find Thai gays in their 30s away from the gay scene? Flirt with random clerks at department stores?

That would actually work, steveboy, last time I left from there, the new day was already in full swing. I took a taxi, but all the public transport options were up and running already.

Good point. While most younger Thai guys prefer other apps nowadays, many older ones still use PlanetRomeo.

Totally agree, a447a, same with me.

I wouldn't call it random (more a result of profiling), but it's quite rare that people get asked.