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Me too. I am still waiting to read Keith's Pattaya trip report. It will be even more interesting because he used a Siam Roads tour guide. It would be helpful to understand if when I have visitors to Pattaya that I could send on a good tour. Thanks

Only @Moses would know if these tour guides are being utilized as we hope that they are. 🙏😇🤩

https://bkktour.info/testimonial/best-is-the-best/ He seems to have received glowing reviews. From his picture, he is not one of the many guys who constantly hound me for money. But please do not send him my way as I am already beyond capacity. He is cute, by the way 🤩

This is SO true. Thailand should ask the Olympic Committee to add this as an additional sport. Thailand would most likely win the GOLD. and to deal with all of the mental anguish that comes with these constant requests - especially when you live here and they see you day after day in the supermarket, at the bank ATM, in the Jomtien Complex, at the beach, in restaurants, etcetra. And during low season when almost all of the readership of this forum go back to their home countries - the intensity ratchets up - as us full-time expats here are the only ones remaining to try to survive the Zombie apocalypse until the next high season begins when all of you - this readership - return - when the begging intensity decreases.

if you had a picture and/or web page and/or social media for Khun Best - it might be helpful to understand if any of this is true. The problem with the name BEST in a Google search is that it gives very misleading results.

The key operative 2 words being = "minimum wages". Many of the guys here in Jomtien have repeatedly told me that the bar pays them a sub minimum wage of 100 baht per day --> when the real wage should be 363 baht per day. Perhaps, the management at the Dragon and Koi is paying them fairly? 🤔

wow @jason1975 - you are the life of the party!! Your Jai Dii, is truly awesome I hope to get to meet you one day in person !!

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/video/2024/nov/21/worlds-most-expensive-banana-fetches-us52m-at-auction-video Sell the banana 🍌

Spot on Keith - the Thai government(s) {past and present} almost always use this tactic. They propose some ideas (can be radical or not) and wait for the feedback to understand which way to go. Unfortunately, when they put in motion the idea to tax us who make bank transfers {inbound remittances} into Thailand as Assessable Income - there was NO pushback (because we are mostly unseen and don't have a voice) - Thailand proceeded and implemented this tax change effective 01-Jan-2024. Now the government is thinking about another tax collection idea - which is to tax our global income - income that we make outside of Thailand. Again, there seems to be NO pushback - as those mostly impacted don't seem to have a voice = non Thai citizens and some wealthy Thai citizens who have big assets outside of Thailand and prefer to remain silent due to potential exposure about said assets that create income that are out of Thailand. So, let us see what comes our way in 2025 🤔

The key to having a fresh air life here is to live OUTSIDE of Pattaya city. I live in Dongtan beach at Jomtien = fresh air every day.

it's a suspenseful cliff hanger 😮

They truly need to upscale their money sash garlands. These are so popular all over Thailand you can even order money garland kits from Lazada or Shopee.

@jason1975 great story about your Chess pickup strategy. I love it. It is subtle, sweet, and intelligent. Jason, have you ever seen the 2015 Thai gay film = How to Win at Checkers {Every Time} ? I believe that the Thai people knew the film as "My Hero" instead of the long film name in English. I know that this film is partly about checkers, instead of chess - but I saw from your current ongoing trip report that you often go to see a movie during the afternoon - so I wanted to bring this gay film to your attention. It sheds some light on many Thai cultural traditions (both positive and negative). I truly enjoyed this film. You can watch film for free on Daily Motion at : Enjoy.

For many months now I have been reading article after article on the many ways that this current new Thai government is trying to find ways to increase tax revenue. In my 2 years and 4 months of living here - I have not seen such fervor by the government to do so. Is there something awful in the background lurking for this urgency? The only thing that I can think about is perhaps the almost 3 years of closure due to the Covid epidemic had more serious negative impact to the Thailand financial resources that the current government appears to be desperately trying to fill that financial hole ? But the Thai baht continues to remain strong so it does not make sense all of this new urgency to increase taxes in many areas (VAT, real estate, NIT, tax us foreigners on incoming bank transfers, etc.). thoughts ?

Yes, add me to that list. Pattaya and Jomtien as a paradise ... as a tourist ... heavily influenced my decision to retire here. But the reality of living here is not a paradise ... My original plan was to retire in Italy (as I also have an Italian passport). But some years back on the gay Roman beach I saw some situations that turned me off of that idea to retire in Italy. The elderly retired gay Italians on the gay beach are often despised by the non-elderly gays. On some occasions, I saw with my own eyes old retirees who had sand kicked on them when they tried to strike up a conversation with the other younger gay Italians. After I saw those incidents - I remembered that I NEVER saw this type of behavior in Thailand - especially at the gay Dongtan beach here in Jomtien. The elderly are very welcome. So, I guess our retirement locations have good and bad. For me, living here is too transactional - but I would rather have that problem than having sand kicked on me because I am old and the young gays despise us gay elders - because their hostility towards us is their own fear of getting old.

You made my day @Olddaddy Too many of the expats here (Pattaya / Jomtien) forgot how to have fun, stay healthy, and create a positive attitude. Dancing is good for your health and morale. Sitting in those bar chairs night after night with the standard uninnovative and unexciting bar manager mantra of "farang sit and farang drink" is just SO boring. @Olddaddy please open a cool fun dance place in Jomtien. I know many of the readership prefer Bangkok - but there is no sea to look at and the air is so much fresher and healthier out here at the seaside.

Thanks for the trip tips. On my first trip to Vietnam (2019) I went on a tour of the Chu Chi Tunnels and 1 time was enough for me. In the part of those tiny tunnels (built for a small Vietnamese body structure) I got stuck (wedged in between the low ceiling and floor) and I lost site of my tour group in the tunnel. I started to freak out (heart racing, sweating) but I forced myself to stay calm. Once I calmed down, I slowly managed to free myself and advance myself in the tunnel like a snake towards the opening where the rest of the tour group was and when I tried to stand up in the underground bunker I fainted and passed out. The tour guide and some of the tourists got me to lay down flat and gave me some sweet drink and then I was fine. At that juncture, I exited the tunnel system and my tour group continued. Later on at lunch, many jokes were sent my way, where one Asian guy said to me - well the Vietcong built these tunnels to keep the Americans out and today we saw that it was very effective. We all had a good laugh, as I was the only person from the USA in our tour group.

If you live here in Thailand as a retiree - you need to worry about the "stamp in the passport" - as us retirees have a Thailand chore to perform every 90 days - to show our face and to report where we live to immigration. They take your passport and flip through the pages (analyzing if you had any in and outs) to see if you violated the 90 day reporting requirement. Without the stamp in your passport (because of the above mentioned scan automation) how can you prove to immigration if their records do not agree with your records to avoid that you are fined if their is a discrepancy in the 90 day reporting requirement ? I will fly to The Philippines later this month - so, I will try to see if I can opt for a manual stamp on exit.

Spot on @Min It is all about raising their status in a very nice way that is great for the bar, his colleagues, and you - as in the Thai culture, everyone will remember you as Mr. Jai dii.

wow - again I truly enjoy your reporting style - as it is very engaging. I will keep these notes with me as I will go to Vietnam next year for 4 to 5 months. I will be based in Da Nang - but from your report, I see that a trip to Saigon may be in order. Thanks 🤩

@colom-bien Excellent trip report. I love your writing style - it keeps you engaged eager to hear the next words and/or segment. Bravo!! I loved the part where you mention that you keep meeting Laos guys and no Thai guys. I find this ironic, because recently the Thai government decided to raid some of the bars where one of the justifications was that the raid would protect the jobs that were raided for the Thais. But, as you saw, there were hardly any Thais to do said work. So, it Thailand wants to continue to have a vibrant tourist industry they should embrace the guys who are willing to come from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia to do the work that fewer and fewer Thais want to do.

Please take the time (30 pages) to read the below hyperlinked report as it is dear to my former employer regarding the downside of this type of work and its potential linkages with human traffiking. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss4/10/ I already wrote about this in another thread at: I post it again to raise our sensitivity towards the plights of our guys that we encounter. obviously, not everyone suffers from what is reported in this well written report - but do we really know the background history of the guys that we off?

I completely understand this - especially if you see the guy that you have invested a lot of time and emotion (and 🤑) sitting and/or being offed by someone you know - it is very uncomfortable. These are the dangers of getting emotionally intertwined with the local MBs. When I was a tourist, it was easier, because there was a near "safety" expiration end date, when I would be on the airplane back to my home country - and consequently, my eyes would not be exposed to any of this based on the old adage: This is the disadvantage of living here - as there is no escape like when we were a tourist.

@Min I love these intimate updates as they give back the lost hope that living in Pattaya has become too transactional. It is nice to hear and learn first hand that traditional real love still does exist here.

Many of the English publications for us foreign consumption often leave out critical trends and important news tidbits about what is really going on behind the scenes in Thailand's plans for taxation, reforms, and new legislation, all shortly on the near horizon. If you already live here full time - you really don't want any last minute surprises to rear their ugly head and you don't have time to react and to make an alternate plan. Proper planning takes a lot of time and energy - ESPECIALLY - if it would mean to vacate Thailand - so better to start early than to wait until it is too late. I found this Thai article, published by www.prachachat.net to be VERY comprehensive about the plans and goals of the current Thai Finance Minister about taxation: https://www.prachachat.net/finance/news-1708405 Take the time to translate it and you will be very informed and it will allow you to see the clear direction that this new Thai government wishes to undertake. A few important excerpts (already translated with Google Chrome right click feature):