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From Coconuts Bangkok A viral Facebook post from a Thai woman who paid THB150 ($US4.7) for street food became the talk of town when the vendor admitted she overcharged the woman because the waiter mistook her for a Chinese tourist. On Monday, Suthaporn Lee said she had a dish of pad kaprow moo grob (stir-fried pork belly with holy basil) at a pop-up stall at Neon Market, but she was charged THB150 for a dish that typically costs THB35-50 (about US$1-1.50) on the Bangkok streets. The Neon Market is in Pratunam, an area popular among Chinese tourists. But when reporters from Amarin TV went to the market yesterday and inquired about the situation with the stall’s owner, she admitted that THB150 is a farang price, and overcharging the Thai woman was a mistake. Vendor Manee Maitree said that her waiter simply wrote down the price wrong because Suthaporn “looked Chinese.” “She told me that there’s a Thai price, and the numbers on the menu are farang prices,” Worapan Khunthongchan, a Thai customer, told the TV station. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/dual-pricing-happened-thai-charged-farang-price/

From Bangkok Post The national wage committee with the authority to approve minimum daily wage hikes agreed on Wednesday night to an increase in the minimum wage. The wage will climb from April by between 5 and 22 baht per day, depending on location, according to Permanent Secretary for Labour Jarin Jakkaphark, who chaired the committee. The revised daily range of 308 baht to 330 baht is about 2% to 7% higher than current levels. https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1397454/minimum-wage-rise-of-5-to-22-baht-approved

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — The announcement of the nation’s first legal marijuana cultivation facility presages changes to the nation’s drug laws that will soon allow medical use of cannabis, Thailand’s top drug enforcement agent said Tuesday. A recent rewrite of the nation’s strict narcotics laws will allow marijuana to be sold legally over-the-counter with a doctors’ prescription, Narcotics Control Board director Sirinya Sitdhichai said Tuesday. “For medical purposes, they will be able to get the marijuana, but only on a doctor’s orders. They can’t grow it on their own,” Sirinya said. “This is what we have put in the draft.” http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2018/01/17/medical-marijuana-dispensaries-next-thailand/

From Sun Daily BANGKOK: The Thai government will be introducing tax incentives to encourage families to have more children, as the country is becoming an ageing society, Thai News Agency reported. Nathaporn Chatusripitak, advisor to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said the cabinet approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to allow households to deduct 60,000 baht (RM7,415) from their taxable income this year for their second legitimate child. This will add to the deduction of 30,000 baht (RM3700) for the first child. The government will also allow families to deduct expenses of up to 60,000 baht on birth delivery or prenatal care from their taxable income. Nathaporn said that the tax measures are expected to help with Thailand transitioning into an ageing society in 2036, when the elderly would form 30% of its population. http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2018/01/17/thailand-introduces-tax-incentives-encourage-more-babies

Humorous guy's interest in your accommodations back home reminds me of a BKK guy who had similar inquiries. "You send me photos of your apartment?," he asked. I ignored the question and, like you, pretty much accurately predicted the next questions and where he was headed.

Au contraire, Boy69. Old records fall as new ones are established. But it's heartening to know you're on the word usage beat...even when you're wrong.

Point taken, Vessey. I believe this thread began moving off topic in post #9 when discussion shifted from the spiritual/theological to the automotive. I started this post and I agree with your sentiments. I'm sorry for your loss.

From Bloomberg News Thailand Just Got the Most Tourists Ever as Boom Continues - December foreign visitor arrivals reached a record 3.5 million - Holidaymakers are supporting growth and bolstering the baht Thailand received a record number of foreign tourists for a single month as a boom in arrivals continues. Arrivals jumped almost 16 percent in December from a year earlier to an unprecedented 3.5 million, the Tourism Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra said in a briefing in Bangkok on Tuesday. He predicted a fresh high in January amid the traditional peak season for tourism. "We will continue to keep breaking records," Pongpanu said. Pongpanu said the government is targeting 37 million visitors in 2018 and 3 trillion baht ($94 billion) of revenue from domestic and foreign tourists combined. That would be worth more than a fifth of the economy -- and put ever greater strain on congested airports as well as Bangkok’s packed roads and metro system. The baht has strengthened more than 2 percent against the dollar this year, one of the strongest performers in Asia, prompting concern that the climb will eventually harm competitiveness in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-16/thailand-just-got-the-most-tourists-ever-as-boom-continues

I think the punters must checking this forum for venue suggestions. Our little hole in the wall may have to bring on more staff with the particular calling GC is becoming renowned for.

Had no idea you moonlighted with Blue Man Group.

This is where you enter the picture; you then must drive it someplace. Just saved you thousands of dollars, Stevie, because you were on the verge of junking a perfectly fine automobile. There is no need to thank me.

This is very enlightening. Had no idea my car could care one way or the other. Be assured that if your car has half a tank of fuel it remains perfectly fine. No need to consign to junkyard.

Excerpts from Bangkok Post High-tech library, co-working space and museum rolled into one, the Bank of Thailand's new Learning Center -- recently opened to commemorate its 75th anniversary -- is shaping up to be Bangkok's latest riverside destination. Situated right by the Chao Phraya, with a picturesque view of the river, the centre is located across from the Bank of Thailand offices under the Rama VIII bridge, and sees a 50-year-old maximum-security note-printing facility transformed into a spacious and serene public library. With exposed tile-brick walls and oppressive steel bank vaults clashing with the smart, modern furnishings of the library and its open glass wall, with a view of the river, the centre is an amalgamation of past and present, a modern relic of yesteryear steeped with history and technology alike. "This building is considered a significant monument when it comes to the financial history of Thailand, as the country's first money-printing facility," said Prapakorn Wannakanok, director of the BoT's 's Financial Literacy Department. The centre is also part of the Online Computer Learning Center (OCLC), a knowledge-sharing network of learning centres around the world, including the libraries of such famous universities as MIT and Stanford. This means that visitors can even access digital resources -- books, reports, etc -- shared by those OCLC members at the BoT's centre as well. Access to the library and its spaces is free, though access to certain resources may require membership. While the details of the membership programme are still being finalised, Prapakorn says that the fee for members should be no more than 1,500 baht per year, and will come with access to the OCLC resources and the co-working spaces, as well as book-loaning and museum access. The Bank of Thailand Learning Centre is open every day from 9.30am. The Library and Co-working Space areas close at 8pm, while the museum closes at 4pm. Entry to the museum is free (for the first six months of the year). There are six guided tours through the exhibits every morning at 9.30am, 10am and 10.30am, and in the afternoon at 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm. Continues with pics and video https://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/1396038/the-value-of-old-money

SPOILER ALERT -- Nothing remotely gay but members who've traveled in Vietnam, or just fans of its cuisine, may find it of interest. Excerpts from NY Times When I returned to Vietnam in 2015 — my first visit since serving there with the Army in 1967 and ’68 — I was a bit nervous about how my wartime experiences would match up with today’s realities. One of my biggest worries was how I would react to the food. I’ve traveled the world over the past 50 years, so I wasn’t afraid that the food served in Vietnam today would be too exotic or unpalatable to my Western tastes. But I was also coming with a conviction to do something I had carefully avoided in the ’60s: eating it. Modern Americans, who have lived with Vietnamese cuisine for decades, might find my youthful fear of the local cuisine a bit strange. But America in the 1960s wasn’t just a less cosmopolitan place, with a less adventurous palate; the food I encountered — and avoided — in the field was a far cry from the Americanized pho and banh mi dishes that we think of as “Vietnamese” food today. Those people I encountered in the field, far away from Saigon, led an elemental, communal lifestyle that Thoreau would have celebrated. Most of the population in the rice-growing region existed in pre-modern isolation on thousands of tiny islets that dotted the paddies. One day when I was on patrol, a little girl stopped me and indicated, by sign language, that she needed my help (she spoke no English, and I understood almost no Vietnamese). She wanted me to lift a heavy, solid-wood object that looked like a large plug or bottle stopper. When I did, she pointed to a wooden box on legs filled with a wet, pulpy mass. As I placed the plug into the box, the girl slid an aluminum pan below it and, as the heavy plug pressed down on the pulp, rice noodles extruded from the bottom of the box! Simple, yet effective. Perhaps the most extreme example of a local delicacy that was just too foreign for American palates was nuoc mam — the pungent fish-based sauce used as a condiment on Vietnamese food. These days, nuoc mam can be found in many well-stocked food stores and restaurants here in the United States. But the sauce used so liberally by Vietnamese when we were deployed there — especially the powerful, homegrown version made by those villagers living out in the paddies — bears little relation to the stuff bottled and sold today. Just ask any American soldier who served in Vietnam at that time; it was raw white lightning compared with a fine vintage wine. Tastes change, and mine have certainly matured from when I was a 19-year-old soldier on my first trip to an exotic land far from the familiar customs and foods I grew up with. And nuoc mam is more refined as well, I suspect in part to make it more universally palatable — or at least commercially viable — to the international set. I recently read an online post that described how nuoc mam is commercially produced for modern diners, using anchovies caught in the coastal waters off Vietnam. It is still pungent, but it’s definitely not the foul-smelling, tear-inducing nuoc mam I remember from “back in the day.” I dared to try it during my 2015 visit and discovered, to my everlasting surprise, that it is tasty and inoffensive. But travelers who now flock to Vietnam and other areas of Southeast Asia seeking an “authentic” dining experience need to get out into the more remote countryside beyond their guided tours, and sample the local cuisine doused with nuoc mam the way the locals like it — pungent, powerful and, in so many ways, unforgettable. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/opinion/when-american-soldiers-met-vietnamese-cuisine.html

From NY Times For a fashion model, success is the ability to incite desire. The job requirements often include nudity and feigning seduction; provocation is a lever for sales. In the industry, boundaries between the acceptable and the unacceptable treatment of models have been etched in shades of gray. This has allowed prominent photographers to cross the line with impunity for decades, sexually exploiting models and assistants. The experience, once seen as the price models had to pay for their careers, is now being called something else: abuse of power and sexual harassment. Fifteen current and former male models who worked with Bruce Weber, whose racy advertisements for companies like Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch helped turn him into one of the foremost commercial and fine art photographers, have described to The New York Times a pattern of what they said was unnecessary nudity and coercive sexual behavior, often during photo shoots. The men recalled, with remarkable consistency, private sessions with Mr. Weber in which he asked them to undress and led them through breathing and “energy” exercises. Models were asked to breathe and to touch both themselves and Mr. Weber, moving their hands wherever they felt their “energy.” Often, Mr. Weber guided their hands with his own. “I remember him putting his fingers in my mouth, and him grabbing my privates,” said the model Robyn Sinclair. “We never had sex or anything, but a lot of things happened. A lot of touching. A lot of molestation.” In accounts going back to the mid-1990s, 13 male assistants and models who have worked with the photographer Mario Testino, a favorite of the English royal family and Vogue, told The Times that he subjected them to sexual advances that in some cases included groping and masturbation. Representatives for both photographers said they were dismayed and surprised by the allegations. “I’m completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims being made against me, which I absolutely deny,” Mr. Weber said in a statement from his lawyer. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/style/mario-testino-bruce-weber-harassment.html

You'll find that they'll stop talking if they have your tongue or some appendage in their mouth.

The presence of young Chinese guys on Twilight (and also on 4) certainly drew my attention on last trip. They come alone, in groups and are a far cry from the package tourists who occasionally pass through behind a flag bearer. They appear to be seasoned travelers and very much at ease. Thanks for an entertaining report. Now go out and pamper yourself.

Seldz, hope your trip is progressing in a good direction. Don't blame yourself because many of the boys may simply be a bit overworked this time of year and the exhaustion can show in their attitude and performance. One of the reasons I time my visits to avoid the holiday period. Some complain that they dislike low season because they feel intimidated if they find themselves the lone, or one of few, customers in a bar or massage shop. I view it more as an opportunity: the boys may have to lower their standards while I get to raise mine.

From NHK News Settlers from China are displacing Thai businesses in their own backyard. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20180111194542984/

From Straits Times BANGKOK - Several areas of Bangkok were flooded on Wednesday (Jan 10) as torrential rain caused chaos on roads in the Thai capital, affecting hundreds of office workers during rush hour, the Bangkok Post reported. The pre-dawn thunderstorm slowed traffic to a crawl on Lat Phrao Road, a major road in the capital, with floodwaters surging to 20cm deep along a 400m stretch of the road. Pedestrians were also affected as footpaths near the road's Tawana Market area were also submerged in floodwaters, the paper reported on its website. Bangkok's Bang Kapi district was flooded, with the water reaching 30cm deep at a carpark located in the district, damaging many vehicles, The Nation reported. Heavy traffic due to the floods was also reported at Sukhumvit Road with water levels there measuring between 15 to 20cm, the Bangkok Post said. In the north-eastern Kalasin province, the temperature had dropped to 16 deg C, with locals resorting to lighting bonfires in order to keep warm. The freak weather is set to bring more rain to Bangkok and the upper regions of Thailand throughout the day. A "rapid drop in temperatures" is also expected on Thursday, with Bangkok and the nearby provinces expected to see the mercury falling by 4 to 6 deg C. The cold spell is expected to continue until Jan 15, the paper said. http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/heavy-downpour-causes-floods-and-traffic-chaos-in-several-areas-of-bangkok

At the risk of repeating myself, GC is as much a social club for the guys as it is a hands-on bar. But happy to see that your evening ended in bliss.

Think your best bet for a satisfactory experience (especially for newcomer) is Arena or Banana Club. (not unusual for first-time visitors to pick up a food-related bug).

An 800 baht omelette! Not what i think of when I think of street food. And this pic of Jay Fai (from Eater website) looks more like a small restaurant than the typical Bangkok cooked food vendor. I think it's hard to top Vinapu's zero-star nominee, Pat Pong's Foodland restaurant where it's difficult to spend 100 baht for your choice of eggs. And when your appetite is sated, you're only steps away (in any direction) from the other pleasures of your choice.

Excerpts from the Independent (UK) Raan Jay Fai is known for its crab omelettes Receiving a Michelin Star may be one of the highest honours bestowed on a chef - but for one street vendor in Bangkok, life, before she received the star, was preferable - and she would like to give the star back. The vendor, which can be found on the corner of Soi Samran Rat in the Phra Nakhon area of Bangkok, used to be relatively inconspicuous. Now, since receiving her one Michelin Star in December, the vendor is hard to miss - because the line for her food wraps around the block. While this may sound like a good thing, for Supinya Junsuta, who goes by Jay Fai, the attention has been unwanted - and unwelcome. According to reports by Eater, the distinction has “drawn the attention of tourists, foodies, and even a couple of curious tax department officials to Raan Jay Fai’s small space.” And now Jay Fai, the 72-year-old chef whose crab omelettes are responsible for drawing the crowd, wants to give the star back because, in addition to the crowds, the star has caused other annoyances. Fai said: “Many people come just to see and take pictures and not necessarily to eat.” http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/bangkok-street-vendor-michelin-star-raan-jay-fai-give-back-a8150341.html

If authorities in Pattaya want to crack down on something that will have a positive effect on the community, it would be hard to find a better example than reckless driving. Three people killed and the sum of their ages is estimated at only 65 years. You might lose your money and your heart in the bars, but you knew that before you went in. These poor souls lost everything in a few seconds of mayhem totally devoid of any pleasure. What a waste. From Bangkok Post CHON BURI: A Russian man riding a powerful motorbike with a Thai woman on the backseat ran into a South Korean pedestrian, killing all three of them, in Pattaya beach township early on Tuesday. The triple-death crash occurred on Pattaya Road heading to Jomthien beach in front of Soi Pattaya 7 in tambon Nong Plue, Bang Lamung district, shortly after midnight. Police and rescue workers called to the scene found an unidentified Thai woman, aged 20-25, unconscious on the road with serious injuries. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but died soon after. A 22-year-old Russian, identified as Aleksandr Zakharov, was found dead in a pool of blood. The body of a South Korean man, identified later as Yongseok Choi, 20, was found nearby. A totally wrecked Kawazaki Z900 motorcycle with a Chon Buri licence plate was lying about 200 metres away. Witnesses told police the motorbike was travelling at high speed with the Thai woman riding pillion. It hit the South Korean man as he was crossing the road with other people. https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1392918/three-killed-in-tourists-big-bike-crash-in-pattaya