traveller123

Just to provide an alternative point of view. My partner and I stayed one night on the 20th February before travelling back to Isaan after I returned from a trip overseas. We stayed in an entry level room, I think it was called a classic room.The room was newly refurbished but it did overlook the next door building site which didn't affect us. I am guessing they have just cancelled the breakfast buffet due to a lack of guests as it was still there during our stay. Overall I do like this hotel, it keeps my partner happy as there is a seven eleven outside for his evening beer nightcap and plenty of food stalls to keep his belly full.

I may be naive but I do not look for evidence of posters being trolls and I don't know what would lead anyone to brand Schuft as a troll. To get back to the subject. When we are still working in our western countries unless you have a specific kind of job, usually IT based, it is difficult if not impossible to spend more than two weeks at a time in Thailand on holiday. In my own case after spending, in total, less than three months together in Thailand during my holidays, my partner and I made the decision we could have a future together. However it was important we confirmed we could live together in other than two week bursts and he could understand my culture and non holiday way of life. We did this by getting him a UK tourist visa and him coming initially for four months, it was only after this that we moved on to a UK Civil Partnership. I don't know if Schuft could do this to get him into the US initially on an extended visit. I had my own disappointing experience recently trying to get my partner a US visitor visa to make a two week trip to visit my daughter and her family (she is a naturalised US citizen) - He had had four UK visas and two Schengen visas, we were in a UK Civil Partnership since 2011, I could demonstrate I could pay his costs and he was refused a visa.

I would just like to include my and my Thai partners (now Civil Partner) personal experience of him coming to live with me for two years in the UK prior to me retiring in Thailand. I took him to the nearest Thai temple which was about 30 miles from my home and we talked to a Thai lady who was there at the time, she said she knew some ladies married to farangs living in my town, she took and passed on his phone number. The result was he met a group of about 20 Thais (all ladies) who got together a least once a week to talk, eat etc and he made good friends and enjoyed himself. At the time he was 25 (I was 63), he is a village lad but he's not shy and a great cook of Thai food which I'm sure helped. I was also lucky in that my UK neighbours took to him and made him welcome, most of them were retired and looked after him while I was at work. Another tip was, if it's easy for him to attend, get him a gym membership. My guy is not really into the gym, but he did enjoying going almost every day to pass some time. Good luck and if you are successful with his visa enjoy your house being spotless, your washing and ironing done, good Thai food and a great smiling welcome when you arrive home from work.

I flew back to Thailand via Tapei after a holiday in the US on 20th (19th) February on the EVA flight departing SFO at 12.05am I guess the flight was not more more than one third full which meant I had 3 seats to myself The connecting flight to BKK was almost full with most Asians wearing masks and about half farangs wearing masks.

If you are in Chiang Mai for a few days my partner and I have used this guy for a very long day trip to Chiang Rai and district He is a gay guy, we really enjoyed our tour with him, not cheap but IMO worth it to have a safe driver with good English and a new vehicle (but that was a few years ago) https://www.benstaxiserviceandtours.com/

Just make sure you ask the taxi to turn on the meter

Moses, I do not not normally use PayPal but I decided to make a small donation. To pay 1000 baht PayPal wanted to charge me almost 200 baht, is there not a better way to send the money (via yourself?) Aside if most of our contributors could send a small donation, we wouldn't really miss it with the added advantage we could count our blessings and feel better at this festive season.

It is not just the bars and clubs. It is a common occurrence in rural Thailand when the music starts blasting out at 6.00am for any wedding, funeral, new house party, send a boy to be a monk etc.

I think my partner and I have stayed at The Agate in the Jomtien Complex 5 times and have no plans to stay anywhere else

In the Jomtien Complex I enjoy Yupins for reasonably priced Western food - they have a set menu If you want to splash out on a special dinner Le Bon Coin for French food and Cafe Des Amis for international food - both between Jomtien and Pattaya. Both better enjoyed with company who appreciate good food

Just a further post on the need to make sure you have crisp notes as I have been caught out twice. A few years ago I bought US$ from my local Bangkok bank branch for a trip to Siem Reap, one of the 100$ bills had a small biro number written on the bill and nowhere in Siem Reap would accept it (on my return to Thailand my bank took it back) The second time was this year when I brought back GBP from UK ATMs and tried to change into baht at Superrich. Again three of the notes had numbers written on in small writing and were not accepted either at BKK or later at Bangkok bank in my home town (fortunately friends visited from the UK, changed the notes into baht and spent them on their return to the UK)

I feel quite sorry for Hank75 on this series of posts. I am sure he used the word Illegals as a factual description of a group of people trying to enter a country without the correct papers I have a great deal of sympathy for the people driven to enter the West by their circumstances at home but please don't let us ascribe some motive to Hank which is almost certainly not there. RIP to the victims of trafficking

I agree with Londoner in regard to The Agate. I have booked for a short stay at end of January/early February, I sent them an e mail stating I was a returning customer and what could they offer. They came back with 1800 baht including breakfast, the booking agencies and there own website were showing much more

I don't know of any massage places but I can recommend the hotel I always use when travelling from BKK It is 15 minutes from the airport in Lat Krabang, excellent value for money and I have found their pick up/drop off service very reliable https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-s1-g293916-d7176414-Reviews-At_Residence_Suvarnabhumi-Bangkok.html

Be very cautious and only commit what you can afford to loose. But also remember for a lot us we have found amazing partners in similar circumstances

@CurtisD I would agree Luang Prabang. Curtis I really like your writing style and your easy and thoughful relationship with Bangkok Boy

Vinapu it must take you quite some time to write your wonderful reports. They are much appreciated. Enjoy your time back in your home country until it is time to do your bit once again for the good name of Farangs in Thailand

Question for Vinapu and Spoon. With Z and A you clearly met a couple of wonderful companions and you both deserve it, as from this and previous reports you respect and treat the guys exceptionally well. But how do you stop yourselves falling into something much deeper (the dreaded word love?). I know from experience when you return home to an empty house after meeting perfect companions. It hit me with one guy nearly 11 years ago I couldn't stop it happening and we are still together, he says for my life and I believe him

Following a members recommendation my partner and I have just spent 3 nights at Le Siam Hotel.Bangkok. We stayed in a Classic room (which is the entry level), the room is described as 21 meters, which felt comfortably large enough for us, and looked like it was newly renovated. The breakfast was great with the eggs and bacon being cooked to order. Very friendly staff I paid on Agoda 1700 baht per night including tax and service

We went to Moonlight last Friday for the 10.30 show. The place was crowded but it was slightly disappointing there were only 5 models performing. Mr York (who did the shower show), Mr Nicky (who I thought looked a little tubby), the model with blond hair and two others. Mr Babe appeared at the end when the models were dancing in the front row but all his attention was focused on a table of girls who he was certainly working on. I think for me I had read so much about Moonlight and their models that it my mind I was expecting something mind blowing - I'm not in the market but I thought a couple of the go go boys were very enticing. The waiter with blond hair did make my 72 year old evening by grabbing my leg every time he walked past

Tomorrow my partner and I have to go up to Bangkok for 3 nights. We are monogamous but I have always promised myself a visit to Moonlight to ogle these wonderful specimens of manhood. I think this weekend will be the time

Just to try to balance this. I live with my hubby in Isaan and report to Surin Immigration. About 3 years ago we called into the office and were told not to worry about completing TM30s With all the latest publicity last week we went again and we were told we now had (hubby had) to complete a form everytime I spent one night away and returned home. They were very helpful, did the initial posting, set the reporting up on his phone and showed him how to use it and did not ask him to pay a fine. We have to go for three nights in BKK next week so it will be interesting to see if he can successfully report me on line back home, if it works I don't envisage any problem in complying. If it doesn't work then that's another issue as a round trip to the Immigration Office is 150km

I can't speak from experience but I have a friend, who has a house in Thailand, who loved Columbia.

A clear sign of how serious the situation is. "The Big Boss" is visiting Surin tomorrow

Water is already a major problem in Surin. The local reservoirs have been dry and the water turned off in the city for about a week/ten days now. Water trucks are being used to provide people with a minimum amount of water. The authorities are building a pipe line to drain some old quarries situated about 10 km from the city into the reservoirs and hope to have some water by the 19th My partner and I live in a village about 9 km from Surin City and until now I had not considered it an advantage that we are too far out to be connected to the mains water system, when we built our house we had to sink a bore hole to access a water supply. Currently we have had no interruption to our supply which I think was bored down about 25 meters https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1727555/drought-struck-surin-hospital-declares-emergency