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thaiophilus

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Everything posted by thaiophilus

  1. The downside of that is when you arrive at BKK, go through fast-track business class immigration and then find that the carousel due to handle 615 people's luggage is down until Somchai can find the right spanner to fix it. Yes, I too love upstairs on the A380, particuarly the Emirates version. Just thinking EK016 - EK376 gets my spine tingling. Add on the other business-class perks like limousine service (a generous 70 miles as the crow flies in UK), lounge access, priority immigration and it's a happy daydream at the moment.
  2. Their nicknames (in order) are Od, Kem, Kay, Day, Name, Ming, Net, Arm, Suea (Tiger), King using an unsystematic transcription (ignoring aspiration, tone etc.) that may or may not be any help with pronunciation.
  3. Indeed that's the "victory" celebrated by the Victory Monument (1941) in BKK. Shame they had to give it all back in 1946...
  4. 60, it seems. If over 65 you are "entitled' to half fares, but from 60 you are "privileged" to the same (on MRT, but not BTS). Maybe a lawyer can explain. As for the clear and informative (YMMV) announcements, I lip-sync along with them. Doesn't everybody? โปรดใช้ความระมัดระวังขณะก้าวออกจากรถ (mind the gap!)
  5. I believe sex toys (and presumably that includes BDSM stuff) are technically illegal in LOS, though you wouldn't think so after a walk through Patpong night market or along Pattaya Beach Road.
  6. Stationary taxis hanging around at tourist-trap locations just after BTS and MRT have shut down ( which is *before* midnight) are the worst offenders. If you walk to a main road and wave at a moving taxi with his "free" (ว่าง) sign turned on, there is less likely to be a problem. If he refuses to use the meter, don't argue, just walk away and flag another one. And if your new Thai friend does the negotiating, all the better.
  7. While adding a few locations to my Google Maps saved places, I came across some reviews for the Golden Cock which make entertaining reading. Google has tagged it not "legendary infamous gay sleaze bar" (and I mean that in a good way ) but "karaoke bar" and so, despite all the external evidence, that's how the reviewers have read it. Incidentally, kudos to the bar for finding Indian music for one party to dance to. I wonder who was the more bemused.
  8. The website still seems active, with updates in September 2019 (or maybe even more recently, I didn't look in detail). As ever, there's no way to verify the accuracy or timeliness of their coverage in any particular area.
  9. Of course. All security is a tradeoff between cost, convenience and time. You have to decide for yourself what attack model you're trying to defend against. In your attack model the pickability of TSA locks is not important but in other circumstances it could matter, and that red TSA logo screams "easy backdoor, try me first" to anyone who knows. Incidentally, if the third comment on the Bruce Schneier article I cited is true, TSA locks are specifically banned as insecure for transporting firearms on domestic US flights Couldn't he just use the master key they keep behind the desk? Or had it been lost/stolen?
  10. From the picture, it appears to have not merely a manual key, but a TSA-approved one. So any criminal with access to the internet can open it in seconds. Indeed, the legend on the lock even tells the thief which key is needed.
  11. Hmm. You may be right about the bureaucratic nightmare, but thanks to Hotelling's Law, Britain hasn't had a socialist government in the last 40 years.
  12. Erawan Museum and Muang Boran are two of Khun Lek Viriyaphan's legacies, the third being the Sanctuary of Truth at Pattaya. All are sui generis and well worth a visit, though IMO the S of T is overpriced. BACC (National Stadium) has interesting free exhibitions though some are perhaps a bit predictable. As for "beyond the main tourist destinations", I bet some of the regular posters could recommend many more, but the margin of this post is not big enough to contain them . Here are a few from my eclectic collection: There are other preserved/restored old houses in Bkk: MR Kukrit's house in Sathon, the Siam Society's Kamthien House on Sukhumwit, Suan Pakkad Palce in Pathumwan, the Bangkokian Museum on Charoen Krung 43. For an inexpensive day out take the Chao Phraya Express to Nonthaburi and lunch at a riverside seafood restaurant. Or take the Mahachai Shortline from Wong Wiang Yai to Samut Sakhon. For a night or two away from the crowds, stay at the Bangkok Tree House in Bang Krachao (short taxi ride from BTS Bang Na.) Looking for a peaceful green oasis in the middle of Sathon? visit the Teochew cemetery. Interested in bronze statues? have a wander down Captain Bush Lane. And if you want to visit somewhere really obscure with a view, how about the Chee Chin Khor Moral Up-Lifting for Benefiction Foundation [sic]? You've probably seen it from the river, but few people get close enough on foot to enjoy the view from the top. Or, heading east, the eccentric edifice of Wat Dhammamongkol off Sukhumwit 102?
  13. Found it, though the map wasn't obvious. Many thanks. I was expecting the map to be a separate web page with a link from one of the tabs, but instead you have to open the "powered by issuu" viewer in the middle of the page, make it full-screen then scroll through to page 38 or so. Couldn't find any way of downloading it, though. "Save as" just saves the web page, not the magazine. Following the "share" link to the original at issu.com it has a "download" option but it's disabled. Still, a PNG screen grab is OK.
  14. and what do you tell them?
  15. Is there anything online showing even a halfway up to date map of bar locations? The exodus from Twilight means that none of the older maps I have downloaded over the years from Nicky, dreadedned etc. are useful any more, and neither of those sites is maintained.
  16. They seem to. There's usually a good atmosphere on stage, with plenty of interaction between the boys and with the customers, not just glumly staring at their phones like in some other places. Whether the boys themselve are to your taste, you will (as ever) have to discover for yourself, but a visit is recommended even if you don't off anyone. Oh, and for just B300 you too can sponsor your very own chuck-wow contest
  17. There are taxis everywhere. Just be sure they turn the meter on. Erawan Museum is between Pu Chao and Chang Erawan BTS stations. It's probably best to get off at Pu Chao, so the taxi will be on the correct side of the road to drop you at the gate. (if you get a taxi at Erawan he will probably have to drive back to Pu Chao to make a U-turn ) Wat Asok and Ancient City are easily reachable from Kheha station. The signs and announcements may not make it clear, but for all these stations on the new part of the BTS Sukhumwit line you will need to change trains at Samrong. Just walk across to the other platform and take tne next train.
  18. Note that on older ID cards his date of birth will be shown in Buddhist Era, not AD/CE so you will need to subtract 543 from the year. You might want to memorise the relevant number before setting off for the bar Also, the name on the card may be only in Thai script, but whether it is or not, you won't recognise it. In most situations Thais use and are known by a short nickname, which is usually unrelated to the formal name on their ID.
  19. or 3x100 for prize money
  20. In gogo bars they generally aren't wearing enough to conceal the loot and in host bars, as others have said, this isn't usually a problem. You are more likely to lose money through confusing red 100 and purple 500 baht notes in a dimly-lit bar, or even by forgetting you gave 1000 and receiving change for 500 - which is why waiters often make a point of telling you what you handed over, to avoid arguments later.
  21. No, nothing like that. The atmosphere in Nature Boy is a little less formal than the Twilight (now Patpong) style bars. There was a conversation (paraphrased) (I have already invited near-naked boy over from stage and bought him a drink) Me: you sa-moke me? Boy: Here? Me: Here. Boy: OK but you pay bar same same we go room. (All this was of course in the interest of trying everything once. So now when anyone says "have you no shame?" I can truthfully answer "no" )
  22. That doesn't follow . At Nature Boy a few years ago, you had to pay the bar the equivalent of an off fee if anything more than mild groping took place on the premises. Also, the bar gets the money for the boy-drink, and the boy is only unavailable to serve other customers for a relatively short time.
  23. I can't imagine the company that manufactures the cards will be too pleased by this loss of revenue...
  24. The UK is not united (now there's a surprise) on this topic. In England you get the cheap & cheerful postal occult-blood screening test (non-invasive, you take samples over three days, scrape on a special card, seal the envelope well , post back to the lab) starting at 60 and every two years thereafter. In Scotland I believe screening starts at 50, for Wales and N. Ireland I have no idea. It's only a screening test and only detects blood, but that's what screening is about - low-cost, low-risk, imprecise, but if it catches even a fraction of potential cancers early it will save lives. Of course the literature that comes with the kit includes advice about seeing your doctor if you have any other symptoms that might indicate cancer.
  25. Definitely a bad idea. But there are any number of good reasons why someone might be interested in these things. Not pollution, not worries, knowledge! It might be an interest in the history of "our" community. It might be curiosity about changes of bar style or policy. It might be any number of things. And there's an old saying about those who don't study history...
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