paborn

One quick question: Were do you guys get all the small change? Seriously. Thank you, Divine, for explaining this so clearly, not that it was not clear before. I have been looking at websites devoted to explaining the fine art of tipping. Every guide book I have ever read has attempted to discuss the issue in a cultural context. Nowhere, however, does any author consider it a reasonable action that one not tip in the correct environment. Oh, and one last word from my decades as a T&E consultant. Any tight-fisted visitor to the U.S. should know that when wait staff file their income tax returns the Internal Revenue Service has a standard tip amount adjusted to their reported wage that if they fall below will likely trigger an audit.

I can't count how often tips have been returned to me. Well, God bless your heart......... tips returned! You are a most fortunate man.

Reader, you said it better than I did. I echo everything you wrote it mirrors my feelings and life exactly.

" If you came from Japan, where the custom is the staff are paid to do the job and a tip is almost an insult, you may have a different arbitrary set of customs" I think you have it backwards. You tip in accordance with the customs of the country you are IN not the country you are FROM. I have never tipped in Japan. But I have remonstrated with an Aussie friend who would not tip in Thailand because, " I'm Australian and we don't" Fine, don't tip in Australia but as long as the custom of a country is to tip you are obligated to follow local customs. I can assure you with total confidence that if Thai's begin to tip 7 Eleven workers I fill do so as well and generously to boot. There is nothing arbitrary in this. As to tipping on a plane. Again, I was in that industry for 30 years - 25 as a consultant with clients from Canada to Israel and I still have never heard of airlines that allow their staffs to accept a tip. Those who push wheelchairs are not working for the airline but for a service company at airports and are always tipped. I saw one anecdotal story of seeing it - I have never heard or read a hint of it with a lifetime of travel trade shows and negotiations.

paborn, I am considered a generous tipper among my peers. Saying that , you are being most generous with tipping at a restaurant and they must love you. 555. But for me, when in America, 20 % is the max and in Thailand, 10 % is the average. But each to his own. OK, I give up what is 555? Also, 10% is the average makes more sense to me than to call it the "max" this I would agree to.

Divine... I was waiting for you to respond. I'm learning to respect your opinion. Perhaps, I have been over tipping. I'll think about it and might adjust. I do tend to use my credit card ( I want my miles! ) at better restaurants and give a cash tip to the waiter. It's something I do in the Dominican Republic as well. I'm not sure why 10% would be maxed in a restaurant "even for an American" I don't think I will ever consider 10% anything other than my minimum. At Toy Boys, I have always tipped the Captain who sits with me very well. He takes exceptionally good care of me. If, being a butterfly, I take a new guy and just say hello to the night before he takes 100 as well. He probably sits with me and gets a drink as well. The only ones who never get a penny are the mamsans who irritate me. You know the type.

While I agree with Vinapu on the amounts, I'm confused as to how everyone is tipping. I might be doing it wrong - 28 trips I sure hope not. I'm American and tip 20 to 25% of the amount - minus any off fee - of the total presented. My drink slips accumulate in the little "bin" - I never tip per drink. "When Swissair was still around in the last millennium, I did observe with some curiosity a few European travellers tipping the delightful cabin attendants who gladly accepted the tips." This one, however, is hard to credit. EUROPEANS tipping on a SWISS airline???? And, Christian, I normally agree with you, in the main, but really the fact that they should be able to pay staff does nothing about the fact that we both know they don"t and won"t unless forced by law.

Frankly, my job for 25 years was as a consultant for T&E expenses. During years of airline negotiations and work in the industry I never heard, not a hint, not a whisper about tipping cabin attendants.

"For feedback and to read others thoughts. I like the info. Even your position I found helpful, it told me a little about you. Thanks for sharing." What you should have gotten from the remark was that he was appalled. Not by your post about flight attendants but by your applying that to overworked and underpaid staff in Thai establishments. Tip the boys who sit with you and endure your groping and salivating just B20. For God's sake rethink this.......

Hi Vinapu, you may recall that last time I was in Pattaya - June of 2016 ( ill health - much better now ) I only went to Toy Boys. They have always, I will say it again, treated me well. Once I found out that to get a rum and coke ( forget Cuba Libre ) Bacardi coke was what I needed to say. I was not disappointed. In a lot of bars that I don't know, I do rely on Nam Soda.

True but not a real comparison. Despite what Thai immigration rules say, you are living part-time in Thailand. A visitor, going to the bars, will find himself charged the same for a coke as rum&coke. I'd rather get a slight buzz for my holiday money.

An interesting perspective. I prefer to put up with costly wine and look at "vacation" as the ability to spend the night with a handsome new friend and pay $50 or so rather than $250 to $500. I have wine with every dinner at home. that's about 345 dinners vs 20 or so during my vacation. Now, if I lived there this would be an issue. Right now it's not.

"Intra-city bus lines in Chiang Mai. I have to try next time. (Inter-city would be between different cities.)" Damn Christian, your English is good. I could give that test to 1/2 the people in South Florida and cringe at the thought of the failure rate.

However, I’ve not so far had a boy refuse to proceed with the date on the grounds of “hey you don’t look like your picture But, were they paying you?

Well, I won't be eating every meal there. But, certainly a few. It's vacation after all.

Ah! Poseiden is sounding better and better. Last night I cooked an enormous, bone-in, pork chop with Madeira and mushroom gravy along with roasted yam and brussels sprouts with pan roasted garlic and it's August in Fort Lauderdale.

This coming year I have booked the Tarntawan for Bangkok and the Poseiden for Pattaya. Thoughts?

Vinapu, the Nantra Silom looks nice and appears very conveniently located. I see various types of rooms are they nice? I saw one room, deluxe, that looked like it was two twin beds together - as they used to do in Europe.

Christian and Vinapu give easily understood recounts of their trips or experiences with an air to inform and render assistance to fellow travellers. I have never felt even a tiny amount of bragging about them. I give full credit to them and keep up with Christian's blog all the time. There are others who give such convoluted tales that even their hotel information does not ring true. I take these tails with a huge pinch of salt. I treat them as novellas.

Thank you very well written and insightful.

I don't know if you like French cooking but La Buchon in Patpong is wonderful. Old fashioned French, rich with sauces and large portions. It's, frankly, hard to find better in France today.

Gerefan is totally right. Nothing, ever, gets cheaper. Currency rates go up and down. We will see another recession in the states - it has been ten years. It is inevitable - go.

So sorry! I'm, relatively, new here. There is another board where the posters go wildly off topic.

I might be too used to another forum where the members wander all around the universe.

Exactly my fear of the apps. I fly from 12 time zones away, have limited time, thus I prefer to buy what I see. He might still be a dud but I have a better chance, at least IMHO!