vinapu

if Vatican invades Italy , why not ? But it's peaceful state showing you can have muscles without going to the gym and flexing

still people given choice probably would chose messy democracy over "orderly" regimes as democratic mess always flourishes but forced autocratic order sooner or later collapses as population can be kept in line only so long and carinal flaw of autocracies is usually lack of clear succession lines. Then chaos arises If Trump or Macron get heart attack we know who will be next president or at least how it will be selected, luxury unknown to Chinese , Russians , Equatorial Guineans and such.

+1, +1 , +1 thank you all three as it was what I wanted to say but you were faster. Yes there's real danger we and Syrians will be missing Asads depending of what happens to country. But all in, it was worth to try to remove as at end of day their rule brought country to it's knees, indeed the same communism did to Russia. That it's embarrassment to Russia , goes without saying . Whether it's good or bad and for whom remains to be seen, may turn not so good for Syrians but good for Syria's neighbours but other way around is also possible , at least temporarily. And indeed , in democracy or even ' democracy ' we can criticize our rulers and what they do, luxury not available to many other humans.

true but not in 100 % of cases . Travel is testing experience and some ( 2, both M/F ) couples I know did not pass. In know certain , then 5 y.o , who after family vacation taking most of Europe summarized experience " I wish we have different daddy"

make sure your wallet is visible and you will be OK

Good one indeed. I think you mentioned something about having experience of running for the office ?

I wonder what kind of market value we are talking about if recipient is getting upset? Isn't market value something both sides find acceptable? Doesn't market value fluctuate with market conditions ? The same boy which in high season has almost guaranteed off every night may price himself very differently in low season when he is lucky to get 3 offs a month one can only admire your stamina, obviously you weren't discouraged by the fact that in 25 years preaching falls on deaf ears. Like all preachers , always check if congregation pays attention. when we go to 7/11 we see toothbrushes ranging in price from 15 to 70 baht. Somehow all of them find their buyers, some of them don't like cheap stuff , some are in rush and not paying attention to price , some like bargain hunting and others still only go for green or blue handle , no matter price. sure it is, my own experience will not confirm "large percentage' part, yes there are some greedy nasties but unless we had bad luck to see few of them in row , they are quite far between. Levelling all bad behavior to money issues is again from my experience , far from universal. My August trip was kind of unfortunate but still on 4 out of 6 bad encounters it was not about greed - guys willingly slacked on performance and accepted, if not outright suggested, cut in compensation. I'm afraid focusing too much on money or even more , value for the money , may spoil one's vacation fun and in some cases induce constipation. Specially in Thailand which despite recent rises in prices still is quite budget friendly vacation destination.

I did not know cyanide is drinkable, one lives and learns

I stand corrected

You are right , often in many countries I observed tourists haggling over very trivial amounts ( in Silom for 10 baht on 150 baht underwear, just last month as an example )which obviously must have upset locals. ........................ I'm also believer in 2nd chances but on case like starting bargaining over already fixed amount mid way through the session the I'd take reader's approach and remove guy from hiring list for good.

I always found it strange to hear people are going to massage shop in Bangkok to actually have a massage

say hallo from me to that fav masseur as I have strong impression I know him as well

same here as I have naturally dry skin and often I even enoy that oil on me

hope those were nice guys. 10 minutes ago I got the same message from guy who pissed me off mightily in August by reneging on LT commitment after less than 1 hr. My answer was short 'good'. Why I bother to answer ? I hope he will ask me ' when you see me again ?" and I have answer ready already.

in such circumstances I'd say enjoy while it lasts. You don't play their game , ignore their behavior , nice guys abound

definitely it is enough and it's what I tip waiters in bars who bring me drinks and also in restaurants if bill is 300 or less

Crowne Plaza likely kept an eye on that

we all are including Charles Mason and Jeffrey Dahmer

Other than odd boy smoking weed outside I never saw boy appearing under drug influence in any bar nor massage spa.

sure , as all cathedrals , galleries , museums and monuments are so close to each other , no need for guides really .

I'd say, in this or rather such case (s) be selfish in a good sense i.e. if you feel like giving something and it will make you to feel better without putting dent in your treasury then give him whatever you feel like without splitting hair if story is true or racket , that you may never learn so better not too worry. If you yield , be prepared such requests may come again , both from him and other boys he knows they know you , if any so at one point be prepared to put stop on it. If you don't tell them what I do " I'm only giving money when we meet , in exchange for your companionship" -it seems to work. Not sure why you had Moses involved in it, asking for support boy did not act in capacity of being his employee. to illustrate what may happen here are my stories, I bought phone once and gave money 6 times to 4 boys over years : Phone boy , asked for phone costing 12000. I saw cheaper model of the same make at 8000. because we spent few nights together and i was very happy with him we settled on middle 10000 model and I extracted free Long Time for that following night. No fuss and no further requests. Boy 1, veteran of many offs, went home to Myanmar when Covid struck, asked for money I sent him twice as much , he sent me picture of money collected and never asked for more Boy2, also veteran , I met his brother on street who told me he broke his leg while skating and he show even me his picture with cast. Next day I gave envelope with my usual Long Time tip +1000 to brother at his shop, he handed money over , I got picture of guy holding envelope opened and thank you. Few weeks later he asked for more but I answered that I did what I could , got wai emoticon and never heard from him again. But his friend in Pattaya who knows me likely heard about my good heart and asked for money because motorbike accident. He got an answer highlighted above and I met him at least twice since, no further requests Boy 3, veteran now but I saw him only once and was awe struck when covid hit and I learned from other member that boy is in financial distress stuck back home. So using member as intermediary I sent him some donation, got confirmation of boy clutching money and voice message ' thank you for xxx dollars'. About two years later when things went to normal boy was sitting in soi 4 with customer and to my shock recognized me ( we met only once by then) and came to thank me for that donation. Ever since met him many times , meetings were from very good to very bad but I have soft spot for him. Sensing it , he asked for a loan, promising to repay it within month, not knowing that in one month I will be there to collect money in person. Offed him and no word of repayment, when I finally asked about it , he turned red and said 'no money' . To his credit he seemed surprised when I gave him full LT tip but on another hand did not suggest he repays it in services. Loan still outstanding , I see him every trip always reminding him we have this not solved but good news is , no further requests. BOY 4 , great illustration of my idiocy , story told in my Jan 2023 report. Met him Phnom Penh in Oct 2022, in Jan 2023 he contacted me about going together to Bangkok as we discussed previously. Asked for some money to prepare for the trip , got it as prepayment for his services on his suggestion. Week later asked for more, I sent him half of what he wanted. He picked me up at the airport , was supposed to see me in hotel at night but never showed up , fell silent and never heard from him again. so bottom line of all that is : if you send money don't expect anything in exchange other than possible following requests. Send money because you want to help , not because you feel pity for boy's real or fabricated plight . If you feel really sorry think that there are many more deserving people you never heard about and thus you will never help them anyways. In a sense I'm still grateful to boy4 for teaching me that lesson and ever since I'm only giving money when we meet , in exchange for your companionship

you should ask her and you could be surprised that not only she would know but also provided you with some selection ................. if you able you are well positioned to take tour of train market in Mae Klong

I gather they charge much less than Boss would and being older don't force activities which were to be too taxing

This is what happens when somebody does not do his homework. In such a case I'd respond " Holy Redeemer in soi Ruan Rudi has mass at 12.30 and 5.30pm "

Amen to that !