10 Days in BKK

[Connery43]

I have a question for you gentlemen - how much baht should I budget for 10 days in BKK for massage and offing go-go boys?  I know that this is a very arbitrary question, but I figure one of you guys might have done this before and would have more experience than I. I figure one boy a night / short time.

One last thing - how much should I bring and how much to obtain at a Casa de Cambio?

Thanks much.

[Boy69]

Massage include masseur fee Min. 1500 Bht.

Go go bar including drinks,off fee and boy fee short time session Min. 3500 Bht.

Boys from online apps Min. 1500 Bht short time. 

This is a rough min. estimation cost, if you have special requests,  long time session (over night stay with the boy) or want the high demand star boys the prices will rise up accordingly. 

[floridarob]

4 hours ago, Connery43 said:

One last thing - how much should I bring and how much to obtain at a Casa de Cambio?

ATM's are the easiest ....try to have more than 1 account in case anything goes wrong with 1, you have backup.

I pay cash for everything....never heard of cloning problems here but cash is easier (hotels are generally paid online beforehand) and be careful of the 500 baht note, don't confuse them with the 100's, lol

Don't forget the drinks at the gogo bars, yours and whomever you talk to whether you off them or not....plus tips, it adds up.

[reader]

4 hours ago, Connery43 said:

I have a question for you gentlemen - how much baht should I budget for 10 days in BKK for massage and offing go-go boys?  I know that this is a very arbitrary question, but I figure one of you guys might have done this before and would have more experience than I. I figure one boy a night / short time.

One last thing - how much should I bring and how much to obtain at a Casa de Cambio?

Thanks much.

Since you’ve been a board member for 52 years, shouldn’t you be answering these questions from legit newbies?

[thaiophilus]

5 hours ago, Connery43 said:

One last thing - how much should I bring and how much to obtain at a Casa de Cambio?

Not sure if that's what you meant, but don't buy baht until you arrive - you will get a much better exchange rate in Thailand than back home. Use exchanges (Super Rich, TT or similar, not banks.) Don't exchange money in the arrivals area of Suvarnabhumi, go down to the basement (Airport Rail Link) level where the rates are better.

1 hour ago, floridarob said:

ATM's are the easiest ....try to have more than 1 account in case anything goes wrong with 1, you have backup.
...
(hotels are generally paid online beforehand)

Be aware that the ATMs will charge you 220 baht (around $6) per transaction. That's on top of whatever your home bank charges for foreign exchange and use of foreign ATMS.

... and if hotel are not paid in advance you may find that sometimes they insist on cash. "machine broken, no card" (which may not be the real reason!)

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, thaiophilus said:

Be aware that the ATMs will charge you 220 baht (around $6) per transaction

So make your withdrawal count, make it a big one, lol

 

1 hour ago, thaiophilus said:

That's on top of whatever your home bank charges for foreign exchange and use of foreign ATMS.

Luckily there are banks that absorb or refund these fees 😉

[thaiophilus]

13 minutes ago, floridarob said:

So make your withdrawal count, make it a big one, lol

ATM limits are typically 10 000 to 30 000 B.

13 minutes ago, floridarob said:

Luckily there are banks that absorb or refund these fees 😉

Or just hide them somewhere else in the system.  It's a safe bet that the bank will not be the loser.

[BiggusDikkus]

70,000 baht.

Maybe you will spend that much, maybe you won't.

I arrived at that figure because before the pandemic, I would top up my wallet to 7,000 baht every day. That would cover all my spending -- from my morning coffee and mango and sticky rice to fitness center or massage fees to late-night carousing and tipping. I'm not sure 7,000 baht would cover my habits these days, though. Judging from posts on this forum, drinks in go-go bars are almost twice as expensive as they were when I could count on being safe with 7,000 baht in my pocket.

Disclaimer: I rarely made it all the way through that much money, although I occasionally had to go back to my hotel room safe for even more cash.

Disclaimer 2: I'm not great at economizing while on vacation.

[floridarob]

3 minutes ago, thaiophilus said:

Or just hide them somewhere else in the system.  It's a safe bet that the bank will not be the loser.

As much as I hate banks and the banking system....I can say that in the US (def not Mexico where I live) has banks with good benefits in respects to traveling and chargeback rights that some other countries don't.

[fedssocr]

I agree with using ATMs if you have a good bank account that rebates fees. I opened an account at TD Bank (TD Premier Checking) just for this purpose when traveling. And even many years later that is still one of the benefits of this account. You have to actively seek out these kinds of accounts. I also take a few hundred US$ in cash just in case. I've never stayed at a hotel that demanded cash.

[peterholland]

Is there a different rate for cash/ATM?
Do all the ATM's have the same rate or is there any difference?

And for cash, where are the best rates in Bangkok/Pattaya?

I will go there next week!

[pong2]

2 hours ago, peterholland said:

1.Is there a different rate for cash/ATM?
2.Do all the ATM's have the same rate or is there any difference?

3.And for cash, where are the best rates in Bangkok/Pattaya?

I will go there next week!

@1. yes and/or no-there are no set rules for that. Also each of the 12+ banks that will do exchanges sets its own rates-and these may also differ per city/branch. Upcountry-and even suburban BKK many banks will not do exchange. Generally-in the past- Thai Farmers Bank (now Kasikorn) had best rates-but difference is minimal between banks.

@2.as 1. Those at airpt are notoriously (of course) lower in rate. PLUS that very often the mAX amount will not be spewn out, so you pay more those 220 THB as thought of

@3. as said above the PRIVate, chinese, money exchanges, mostly with a RICH in their name. Better exchange rate and NO fee at all-but slow process-DO bring passpt and HTLcard. There is in BKK a whole cluster just left of BigC Ratchprasong, opposite the former World Trade Centre-just OFF Siam/BTS and also near Phantip fake-computer/CD dept.store and Indian taylor mekka. But also-ask vinapu of course, now several in Silom and Suriwong (if you really watch every satang, then near WTC are top). There used to be such a 1 in the ground floor of where Arena msg is-but I dk actual situation. I always keep a few 1000 and small notes for next trip and go there once a while, but the current stack is still from march ´20.

[vinapu]

For last few trips I exchange at XONE on Suriwong between Tawan soi and Amara hotel. Consistently best rate on my currency and as, a bonus one an request payment in smaller denominations, handy for bars and tipping. 

As for airport rates in arrival  area, yes they are lower but not need to be dramatic like in many other countries, perhaps 10 % lower. Nothing close to Turkey or Poland where airport  rates were even 1/ 3 worse. On another hand airport in Mexico city aparently has better rates than city itself. 

As for trip money, always used old adage " take half goods and twice as  much money" 

[reader]

What I particularly liked about Xone is its efficiency. On my first visit they entered all data from passport into system. My second visit was processed more quickly because they had retained it.

Be sure to get queue ticket from dispenser before entering shop. Expect them to take your currency and put it into plastic envelope that then goes to back room. You’ll be asked to step aside while order is filled. When ready (usually only a few minutes) your number will be called again to pick up your cash. 

When I was there a few days ago all three windows open and six customers being served.

[Connery43]

19 hours ago, reader said:

Since you’ve been a board member for 52 years, shouldn’t you be answering these questions from legit newbies?

So funny!!!!!!!    Hahahahaha.

[Connery43]

16 hours ago, BiggusDikkus said:

70,000 baht.

Maybe you will spend that much, maybe you won't.

I arrived at that figure because before the pandemic, I would top up my wallet to 7,000 baht every day. That would cover all my spending -- from my morning coffee and mango and sticky rice to fitness center or massage fees to late-night carousing and tipping. I'm not sure 7,000 baht would cover my habits these days, though. Judging from posts on this forum, drinks in go-go bars are almost twice as expensive as they were when I could count on being safe with 7,000 baht in my pocket.

Disclaimer: I rarely made it all the way through that much money, although I occasionally had to go back to my hotel room safe for even more cash.

Disclaimer 2: I'm not great at economizing while on vacation.

Thank you Buddy. I was planning on changing out $2000 USD which is about 75.5K.

[BiggusDikkus]

This is a useful thread for me. I live in Japan and thus have always had yen to exchange. The best place has always been a liquor store in Soi Thaniya, close to Silom. There would always be three or four people in the line in front of me, all carrying huge stacks of 10,000-yen notes. The line was always fast, I don't even think they checked passports. Same with the gold and drugstores on the same soi that also exchange currencies. All of these places have really good rates, but the liquor shop is usually fractionally better.

But the yen is now the weakest it's been in decades. I had grown used to a 10,000-yen note being worth more than $100, but now one can't even buy $70. So I'm going to bring some strong dollars to exchange. I'll check out the Soi Thaniya dollar rates and compare them to those at Xone and the shops that have "Rich" in their names.

As a side note, at night, when all the bars in the area were busy, there used to be a dude camping out in front of an ATM on Surawong, near Soi Thaniya, if I remember correctly. He would offer to exchange currency whenever anyone stepped toward the ATM. He was always happy to see I had yen, gave even better rates than the liquor store and was willing to haggle. So it paid to know what the exchange shops in the area were selling baht for.

[reader]

11 minutes ago, Connery43 said:

So funny!!!!!!!    Hahahahaha.

Why don’t you enlighten us with wisdom gained from 52 years as a board member—longevity no one else here can come anywhere near. 

[Connery43]

13 minutes ago, reader said:

Why don’t you enlighten us with wisdom gained from 52 years as a board member—longevity no one else here can come anywhere near. 

   Need I explain to you that that is obviously in error.  Maybe I've been on this site for 4-5 years.

 

[reader]

1 hour ago, Connery43 said:

   Maybe I've been on this site for 4-5 years.

You sure sound like someone who’s been around a lot longer. Posters can change their screen names but not their writing styles. 😉

it was just a few months ago that you were chastising members about the contents of their posts. Now it seems you’re eager for their advice. You recommended therapy because we weren’t meeting your standards and posting about “nothingness.” 

in any case, looking forward to your first trip report that I’m sure is forthcoming. 

[vinapu]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:24 AM, Connery43 said:

Thank you Buddy. I was planning on changing out $2000 USD which is about 75.5K.

Oh, so you are coming just for one week? 

[vinapu]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:34 AM, BiggusDikkus said:

This is a useful thread for me. I live in Japan and thus have always had yen to exchange. The best place has always been a liquor store in Soi Thaniya, close to Silom. 

 

I noticed too that some places have particularly good or bad rate on certain currencies so it may pay to shop but not overdue it as differences, may not be with BTS return ticket. 

[BiggusDikkus]

45 minutes ago, vinapu said:

I noticed too that some places have particularly good or bad rate

I wanna find the guy who used to camp out nights in front of the ATM and persuade him to give me a bulk discount.

[Wynter11]

On 10/27/2022 at 3:04 PM, BiggusDikkus said:

This is a useful thread for me. I live in Japan and thus have always had yen to exchange.

Side question if you don’t mind…disregard if you’d rather not answer.

Japan seems to have lots of male prostitutes and the prices I’ve seen online look pretty reasonable. Do you have experience with them? How do the Japanese guys compare to Thai guys?

[Boy69]

9 hours ago, Wynter11 said:

Side question if you don’t mind…disregard if you’d rather not answer.

Japan seems to have lots of male prostitutes and the prices I’ve seen online look pretty reasonable. Do you have experience with them? How do the Japanese guys compare to Thai guys?

This the relevant forum :

https://www.gayguides.com/forums/forum/94-gay-japan/