DivineMadman

For the ordinary tourist TM-30 is irrelevant. He or she will usually be staying at hotels, which have been filing TM-30 for many years. The ordinary AirBnB person is probably not staying long enough to file a 90-Day Report. Anecdotally -- at least in Bangkok -- a short-term stayer who simply wants to extend his 30-day visa-exempt entry is not being checked for TM-30 (but that of course could change). And Immigration is not checking for.a TM-30 on departure, so for the regular tourist, it's a nothing. For the longer stays, it does seem to be an issue for people who have an interaction with their local immigration offices. There are so many hundreds of reports of people being checked for TM-30 compliance at Changwattana and other branches of Immigration, I simply don't believe that they are all under some sort of mass delusion or are lying. There was even a discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club about TM-30 with representatives from Thai Immigration. So it seems very real. For some people the potential fine is a chunk of change they don;'t want to pay. If your landlord doesn't file a TM-30 for you - and that depends on whatever arrangements you may have with your landlord - you can file TM-30 yourself in your capacity as possessor. Again, if you believe the many, many, many people reporting on their experiences at Changwattana, if their address on their extension of stay does not match the most recent TM-30 or there is no TM-30 on file, extension of stays will not be processed until after being sent off to a special TM-30 compliance circle of hell. There people can self-file the TM-30 and usually pay a fine. Occasionally people seem to have brain farts and get hung up on the idea that the landlord and only the landlord can file. This is simply not true,. Self-filing is permitted as "possessor." And, as mentioned above, how people are handling it. There are reports of inconsistent practice within the same Immigration office on whether someone has to re-file a TM-30 after returning home from a stay in another province. I believe that this was discussed at the Foreign Correspondents Club and the answer from the Immigration officers were, "yes absolutely." As I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, there is an app and an online way to register and report, but they are buggy and there's a significant backlog in approvals. Sort of like Obamacare rollout in the U.S., the technology isn't ready. Again - solely for people who stay long enough that any of this matters - a painless way to deal is simply to download and print the TM-30 from Immigration and mail it in with a stamped/addressed return envelope and Immigration sends the TM-30 receipt back to you.

Great news! A couple of thoughts. Somerset BKK - I have a friend of mixed Thai-American heritage who spends a lot of time back and forth and she highly recommends Somerset House. As you well know, very convenient to Prince. Le Meridien Chiang Mai I stayed there a couple of years ago and it was the only time I've ever been disappointed by the Le Meridien brand. My friend and I were just lost in the chaos of the 99% of the hotel customers who were part of large tour groups. I've sent several visiting family and friends to the Tamarind Village hotel and they have all liked it, and it seems to be at a roughly comparable price point to Le Meridien. Tamarind Village It's within the old city walls and has more of a traditional Chiang Mai feel than the soul-less generic Le Meridien. Staff is very friendly in my experience and the restaurant is excellent but pricey.

Very helpful, but note that maybe they put ladyboy bars in the purple “gay” category. Not that I particularly want to get into that issue with a 10 foot mascara brush, but I think — but not sure — that Kings Garden and Kings Corner are ladyboy, as are some of the other miscellaneous patpong 2 spots.

Then you shouldn't go and don't let anyone make you go. Some people, however, might find it nice to sit at a beer bar across from Dreamboys and Lucky and BKK Massage (and right near the entrance to Fresh Boys and Hot Male) and enjoy that view and the various comings and goings, regardless of the gender of the server. Particularly when business is slow the staff from any of those shops might be hanging out on the street and might even come over and chat and flirt as they did back on Soi Twilight. Again - for some people - but not everyone - it's an option to keep in mind.

Personally I think the casual racism on the board is astonishing, but it seems to be limited (I hope) to a few complainers. The adage among the happier expats in Thailand is, "Don't try to change Thailand. Let Thailand change you." You don't necessarily have to believe that 100%, but it's an essential thought experiment for any good expat or traveler.

Boston could be nice for a day or two. It's a nice small manageable city. Some interesting historical walks you can take showing famous places in the history of the fight to overthrow the cruel British tyrannical overlords. I especially like to go to the tavern where, they say, the Revolution began because a British soldier failed to tip a tavern maid. Boston is nice, but you might find it a tad boring? Highly recommend Provincetown. Lots of ways to get there, including a ferry to/fro Boston. It's a quaint-ish old New England town that is just chock full of the gays. Very fun. You go there and relax for a few days. Lobster salad sandwiches by the harbor. Very open and welcoming gay scene. If you really want to get your gay on, you could go to Fire Island. You can get there by train from NYC. Fire Island Pines for glamour and pretty boys. Cherry Grove for less elitist gays and more lesbians. I don't know about hotel availability. Expect they would be expensive. You spend half your time on the beach, half your time tracking down an Ecstasy connection and the remaining half of your time dancing and fucking like a bunny. (Yes three halves, because, as everyone knows, time slows down on MDMA.) People really love Philadelphia (and you can get there by train from NYC). The Maine shore is lovely, to drive along. As a gay you would be required to visit Ogonquit harbor. But unless you want soulful selfies of yourself with ocean waves crashing along the rocky shore in the background, not sure all that interesting.

I disagree. When traveling SE Asia out in the countryside I find the young backpackers taking in the same cultural sights and experiences as I or the other travelers do, and often even more adventurous. Sure they like to find nice beaches, bars and waterfalls. Good for them. Also worth remembering the extraordinary (good) work of the backpackers after the tsunami in '04. As far as Khao San Rd is concerned - people are having fun. I don't see the problem. And young Thais also do go there, including super sweetheart Jack (formerly of Maxi's) and his young THAI friends.

I try to check the type of plane for domestic or flights in the region. Some of the local carriers operate turbo props and I try to avoid those if at all possible. For example it used to be that Bangkok Airways flew turbo props and jets to Samui, so selection of which flight during the day was essential.

We’ll probably never know, but my guess is that this has to do with the ASEAN meetings going on (including the visit by U.S. Homunculus Secretary of State). It’s certainly embarrassing for the junta democratically-elected government. We might expect a bit of an immigration crackdown as always happens after these events.

Security Alert – U.S. Embassy Bangkok: Explosions at Various Locations in Bangkok, Thailand (August 2, 2019) Locations: Various locations Event: Explosions and Suspicious Devices, Friday, August 2, 2019 The U.S. Embassy confirms several small explosions occurred the morning of August 2, 2019 at the following locations in the central business district and outlying areas of Bangkok: the stairs of Chong Nonsi BTS Station, in front of the Mahanakohn Building-King Power, the Chaengwattana Government Complex, Rama IX road, and the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense in Nonthaburi. Unexploded devices were discovered by authorities at the following locations during the same period: the Administrative Court building in the Chaengwattana Complex. There are several reported injuries. No U.S. citizens have been reported as affected, however. In addition, on the afternoon of August 1, 2019, two suspicious devices were found outside the Royal Thai Police (RTP) headquarters on Rama I road, near the Ratchaprasong shopping district. Local police and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams are responding to the events and two suspects are reportedly in custody. Bangkok and nearby locations have seen sporadic, small-scale bombings in recent years. In most cases, the bombings do not appear intended to cause casualties, but are intended to send political messages during high-visibility events, or political transition periods. Actions to Take: · Stay alert, exercise caution, and be aware of your surroundings. · Notify friends and family of your safety. · Monitor local media for updates. · Follow instructions of Thai authorities. U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand American Citizens Services +66 2 205 4049 +66 2 205 4000 (after hours) acsbkk@state.gov State Department - Consular Affairs +1 888 407 4747 or +1 202 501 4444

They are effectively "night shift" workers, and therefore sleeping later into the day is just the way it is. It's only fair and appropriate to understand that. When I do find a guy who is more of a daytime person, he quickly moves into the "keeper" category.

If you're up for it, you can have a lot of fun at Siam Park City waterpark one day. Get wet With the new Blue Line MRT stations opening up, good old fashioned urban exploration is a bit easier for Chinatown/Old Town now. Also in the other direction entirely you can now get to the Erawan Museum by BTS. It's reasonably interesting and some nice photo ops. If your guy is even a little bit Buddhist he will usually appreciate a visit to Wat Saket/Golden Mount. Also, a selfie-worthy chance to make merit feeding the fishes at one of the river piers is always good and much appreciated. Oct. 13 is Ok Phansa (end of lent). Good day to make merit at a temple. There's a better-than-o.k. Thai restaurant called Steve Cafe & Cuisine by the river near Thewet Pier. Easy to get to by boat and then a short confusing walk, and there's a lovely nearby temple and cute little market so a nice opportunity to take a river boat and explore and have a good lunch. Steve Depending on when you're in BKK, there may be activities related to the Royal Barge Procession. The Charoenkrung Creative District gets better and more interesting every day. Lots of shops and galleries and especially cafes and restaurants to explore. Highly recommended. I enjoy Thai cooking classes as a fun daytime activity. It depends on how comfortable you and your guy are in a group activity. I really highly recommend Cooking With Poo & Friends. Poo

Here's a nice interview with k. Noh about his translation of Sunthorn Phlu's poems. Poems from the Buddha's Footprint

best. advice. ever.

I think they most certainly will. This same rule was put in place for condo buildings that had views of the Royal Cremation Grounds during the that ceremony, also during the Coronation and it has been pretty standard operating procedure since then whenever there is an official Royal procession. I believe that condo owners in the affected buildings have become used to it by now. (These buildings, by the way, are not what I would consider particularly close.) Often the "official" reason given is security concerns, I guess a fear of snipers? But I fall into the camp that says the real reason is enforcement of the Royal prerogative. Fortunately these sorts of Royal-with-a-capital-"R" processions that impact condo and hotel buildings aren't all that frequent so best to view it all as a very interesting part of local culture. For example, it does seem reasonable and respectful to me to make sure people aren't frolicking in a riverside swimming pool when such the Royal Barge Procession goes by. But the same rules do pop up to the detriment of Bangkok traffic on a daily basis. Quite regularly I come across police stationed at Rama IV pedestrian overpasses, which now I just know means a royal family motorcade is coming and you have to wait at street level until the motorcade passes. I am sure it happens in other neighborhoods as well, it just seems to happen to me a lot in my neighborhood. All this in addition to closing off intersections - even at the height of rush hour - to ensure the motorcade can pass through quickly. I went to Bhutan to attend the coronation of the current King and my hotel room had a wonderful view of the grounds where the post-coronation celebration would be held. Alas, they imposed the same rule and all the curtains had to be drawn and you couldn't go near the windows. In that particular case, however, I do believe that it was driven by security concerns.

Richard Barrow reports that the full dress rehearsals will be 17 & 21 October (dates subject to change). Richard Barrow

Wasn't there a whole thread about trying to ensure a more successful off? I think this is an easy part of that. If your place isn't truly close by local standards, then indulge the guy and make him feel a tad bit better by taking a taxi or tuktuk. If it's your first time with a guy, they are also wondering about what kind of person you are. If I'm heading home alone, I happen to walk, because it's nice. But if I'm with someone, I don't impose by 10,000 steps a day (or whatever) regimen. I'll usually take a guy back with me by tuktuk, even though tuktuk's aren't really designed for someone my height, just because that way it's sort of a fun amusement ride for me. That way everybody's happy and my guy has saved his energy for the fun stuff. Separately, I'll note that Iv'e gone trekking in forests, climbed mountains (literally) and walked all over for hours at a time with different guys. I know one guy who regularly runs half-marathons, another particularly good friend runs in Lumpini Park every day, and another who rides his bike there. And one needs only go to a night market (or similar) to see that the local guys can walk for hours and hours. I like to walk, but I have friends in NYC who would rather die than walk a mile, so we take taxis there. Same same.

Favorite Dolly Parton remix: KLF "Justified and Ancient" feat. Dolly & Tammy Wynette Runner Up: Any one of the Peace Train remixes, but probably the Junior Vasquez remix, because Junior

I've traveled with guys a lot - in and around Thailand and SE Asia and beyond (well, Bali a few times). I think it is important to be considerate of your traveling partner. It may be "your" vacation, and you may be paying, but you're traveling with a human being who deserves respect. They're not disposable travel accessories. I have a friend who is a great guy, sends all his money home, lives in a shared apartment with no A/C. Doesn't really get to travel very much. A customer took him to a nice destination, but they never left the resort. His customer didn't like the hot weather. And his customer told him he didn't want to go to the gym or the beach at the resort. I felt so bad for the guy. A little sightseeing would have been such a nice simple gesture and made him so happy. Also, for what it is worth, I think there's a lot of data out there that supports the view that thinking and caring about the "other" person maximizes your own happiness.

Good luck!

I think it is incorrect to suggest that because a guy wants more than 1,500 per day to go with a customer that makes him "greedy."

TM-47 = "Form for Alien to Notify of Staying Longer than 90 days" It operates in its own universe. The clock re-starts every time you enter the country. TM-30 = "Notification Form for House Master, Owner or the Possessor of the Residence where Aliens have stayed." On its face applies every time a foreigner stays somewhere. Your hotels have been doing this all the time. Now you need to make sure your landlord has got you current (or you have to do it), if you need to go to Bangkok Immigration to get them to do something for you (such as an extension of stay). Immigration Forms can be downloaded: Here Put aside whether or not it is manifestly insane, whoever came up with the law for TM-30 probably thought it would create a system where the government would always know where a foreigner is staying. Every time the foreigner relocates, his/her location would get updated. (LOL) I actually think there are a lot of countries with rules like this, they are just seldom enforced. I remember when I was a lad for a longish visit in Italy I had to register with the police. Non-compliance with TM-30 is one of the "hooks" government and condos are using to crack down on AirBnB. In Bangkok people who have faced this problem but have landlords that cant' be bothered bring a copy of their lease and submit the form as "possessor", pay their 800 baht fine and then can proceed to renew their extension of stay.

90-Day reporting is your responsibility. If you want to nerd-out, the form is TM-47. You can report online. It doesn't involve your landlord. (But TM-30 usually involves the landlord, see below). The 90-day clock restarts every time you re-enter the country. You can report online, but the window to do so is 15 days before-but-not-less-than 7 days before the 90th day. 90-Day Reporting Online. Now there is also a phone app for that called Immigration eServices for Foreigner or something like that. In the Apple App store you can find it by searching for "Royal Thai Police." (There is also an Android version.) When I signed up for the app it took several days just to register, so take that into account. The online reporting and apps are notoriously finicky. I certainly wouldn't wait until the last day when you can report using these methods. If for whatever reason you don't make the online reporting window, if you are in Bangkok you make the 90-Day report at Chaengwattana. I think 90-day reporting might be one of the few situations where you can send someone to do it for you, but I don't know for certain. You get a receipt (or you print out your receipt if you do it online) and it goes to the immigration officer along with your passport and departure card when you leave.. There are lots of reports of Immigration officers check to see if you have have complied at departure. There is a fine. A different reporting is TM-30 reporting. Bangkok didn't used to care about TM-30 reporting, although offices in some other districts did. But all that has changed very recently and Bangkok is now enforcing TM-30 reporting. To put it mildly, expats have gone bat-shit crazy over this. But it is what it is. Right now it has been coming up in situations where people have had to go to Immigration to "do" something - such as file for an annual extension of stay. They are forced to get current with their TM-30 before anything else will be processed, and there are reports of an 800 baht fine or something like that. The basic rule is that whenever a foreigner stays the night at a hotel or home, a report is supposed to go to Immigration. Hotels do this online and you don't even know about it. The "change" is that Bangkok Immigration is now enforcing it strictly to everyone - not just hotels. So, for example, when you go to stay in your rented apartment, a report is supposed to go in to Immigration. It's easy if your landlord or condo juristic person (office) files the report. The law, however, effectively makes the landlord and the tenant jointly responsible for making sure that the form is filed. So if your landlord doesn't do it you can (and should). You can complete the TM-30 form as "possessor", rather than as owner. I believe that in the Thailand Apple and Google app stores an app is available, but it is not available (or not available yet) in Apple App stores outside Thailand. You can also complete the form on-line. TM-30 Online Reporting (Thai Language). I believe that registration to use the on-line form requires uploading the lease and other specified info. There are reports of people waiting for approval for many weeks. You can also file the TM-30 by mail, just enclose a return stamped envelope for the receipt. Or file in person. Immigration, for whatever reason, seems to be in the midst of a "work to rules" phase, so this is all a bit new and some of the more bonkers fact patterns are still unclear, and practice differs from office to office. For example, if I go visit Chiang Mai and stay in a hotel, the hotel will file a TM-30, but then when I go back to my apartment in Bangkok am I supposed to file (or tell the juristic person to file) a new TM-30 to update the info? Some Immigration offices say yes, some say no, and we don't know what Bangkok Immigration thinks on this vitally important question that is more important than anything else in the world (to some people on Thai Visa). One of Big Oud's recent press conferences was to showcase Immigration making an example of two ladies fined ฿2,000 for failure to report foreigners. The Thai Visa forum is the best resource for finding up-to-date info and read pages and pages of outrage about this (or that). Basically, just look for answers by "UbonJoe" and ignore everyone else. He knows his stuff. Most of the rest are just miserable and cranky complainers. If you are entitled to use the special Immigration Office in Silom (Chamchuri), things might be different for you. Personally, I am not in the country on an annual renewal extension of stay, and I travel in the region enough that I've only had to file a 90-Day report twice, so I expect I'll just ignore TM-30 until I think it could come back to bite me. But that's not advice.

In case people haven't already seen the news, the Royal Barge Procession will be October 24. It's the last official event of Rama X's coronation and quite a spectacular occasion. For people interested in such things, it might be worth planning a trip to Bangkok to see. For people who dislike the inevitable traffic and discombobulations these events inevitably cause, you are warned. As always for such events, Richard Barrow is a great source of information. Some preliminary dates are set, but the dates for the rehearsals are not reported yet. Expect crowds and sometimes the rehearsals can be a better opportunity to take pictures. Barrow has a map of potential viewing locations and a lot of other helpful information that he updates as more becomes known. He also helpfully reminds people that the procession takes places later in the afternoon, so people on the Old-Town/Rattanokosin side of the river would be facing into (and taking photos into) the sun, so take that into account in deciding where to join the crowds to watch the procession. Richard Barrow

It's Chakran Sauna. All part of the "VCK Cook Space" empire. I believe it has its fans. It was all very nicely re-done in the past year or two. The usual "rap" on Chakran is that it's asians-for-asians, but they let everyone in, and I never know if people go and have a bad time they blame it something like that. Out-of-towners pay a higher price. (Personally that doesn't bother me, but I know it does for some people.) [One note on the VCK video - the regular rooms are not nearly as nice as the VIP rooms they showed in the vid.] Tripadvisor Website