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just another day in Pattaya…. From Pattaya News A South Korean tourist filed a report to Pattaya police in the early hours of May 30th, claiming he was kicked in the face twice by an exotic animal exhibitor. The tourist lost three teeth after getting kicked. The incident took place at the Runway Market on Pattaya Second Road. The victim, Mr. Munsu Park, a 38-year-old South Korean national, along with his older brother and girlfriend, traveled to the Pattaya Police Station around 2:06 AM to file an assault report against the Thai owner of an exotic animal show. According to Ms. May, the victim’s girlfriend, Mr. Park was visiting Pattaya for the first time. The three of them were walking through the Runway Market and spotted an exotic animal show. Mr. Park stopped to watch and take pictures with his phone. However, the owner of the animal show became upset that the tourist was taking pictures and demanded he stop. An argument ensued, and Mr. Park allegedly tossed the owner a 100 baht banknote, Ms. May said. This enraged the owner even more. The owner threw the money on the ground and reportedly proceeded to kick Mr. Park in the face twice. The tourist fell to the ground, sustaining three broken teeth, two loose teeth, and profuse bleeding. The three of them decided to file a complaint against the exhibitor after the assault. Meanwhile, the owner of the animal show, whose name was not revealed by police, claimed that he was angered by the tourist throwing money at him. He perceived it as disrespectful, especially because money in Thailand contains a portrait of His Royal Majesty The King, which caused him to kick the tourist in a fit of anger. He did not think about the consequences at that moment, but he now felt remorse and would willingly face the legal repercussions through the justice system The incident is under investigation. It is unclear if the suspect offered to compensate for the damages to the Korean tourist.

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon The extension of visa-free travel to 93 countries, including all those which are major players in tourism to Thailand, means that the overwhelming majority of foreign holidaymakers can obtain 60 days just by turning up. Nationals of those countries still needing a prior visa – for example Haiti, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, El Salvador, North Korea – send few vacationers in any case. The mammoth question for the 93 countries is now extensions and repeat performances. In other words, can these tourists extend their 60 days for another month at local immigration and can they do a border hop to start all over again? Nobody can confirm either possibility and a phone call to 1178, the immigration hotline, brought no clarification. That’s not surprising as the new visa rules for visitors were introduced by the foreign affairs ministry, whilst internal extensions are the responsibility of the immigration bureau, a totally separate and fiercely independent government bureaucracy. The new Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), so far, is incomplete. We know is a multiple entry visa, valid for 5 years and aimed largely at remote workers and digital nomads, for a maximum stay of 180 days with an extension of another 180 days. The cost is 10,000 baht (around US$270) per half-year with a security bond of 500,000 baht available. Some social media contributors have stated this visa can be used only twice in five years, 180+180 days as it were, whilst others have declared you can live in Thailand for the entire five years as an alternative to the Elite visa or the annual extension of stay based on retirement. Neither extreme makes any sense. There is very little news in the new policy for existing expats, apart from a temporary reduction in medical insurance required by some (not all) holders of retirement visas and their subsequent extensions of stay. However, there is an intriguing reference in the ministry of foreign affairs’ news release that the number of non-immigrant visas available will be drastically cut. The detail, once again, is guesswork but could include visas and extensions for retirees, foreigners married to Thais, work permit holders and international students being updated. Will the well-known difference between the 800,000 baht requirement for retiree visas and the 400,000 baht for married foreigners survive? Not mentioned in the DTV news release, is the awesome elephant in the room. That’s the requirement, already stated by the Thai Revenue authorities, for all foreign tax residents to register by early next year for possible personal income tax on overseas income. A tax resident spends more than six months in Thailand in the calendar year. If the Thai government is serious about encouraging expat numbers in Thailand, it should issue an unambiguous statement that foreign income or pensions already taxed will in the home country will not be subject to further inquiry in Thailand. The sense of relief would be audible from the Myanmar border to the southern islands beyond Phuket. But don’t hold your breath.

From Time Out magazine / CNN Time Out’s Best Cities for Food 2024 1. Naples, Italy 2. Johannesburg, South Africa 3. Lima, Peru 4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 5. Beijing, China 6. Bangkok, Thailand 7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8. Mumbai, India 9. Dubai, UAE 10. Portland, USA 11. Liverpool, UK 12. Medellín, Colombia 13. Seville, Spain 14. Porto, Portugal 15. Marrakech, Morocco 16. Lyon, France 17. Sydney, Australia 18. Montreal, Canada 19. Osaka, Japan 20. Copenhagen, Denmark https://edition.cnn.com/travel/time-out-best-food-cities-2024/index.html

Much more compelling question for Trump yet unanswered: Will orange make up artist be permitted to visit felon behind bars?

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Take the Saphan Kwai BTS EXIT 1 stairs and make a U-turn at bottom. walk until you come to first sub soi on right and enter soi.. A short distance past large cinema on your left, look for the shop on your right. The big building on your left is the infamous suck cinema (Phahon Yothin Rama) and at the very end of soi is the 39 Underground Sauna. I recognize some of the boys from photo arrays of other Saphan Kwai shops.

LINE me when you get settled.

I wouldn’t be eager to get discovered by Thai immigration to be using fake ticket. Especially if I was a frequent visitor. Going to Fake Bar ok. 😉

NOTE — I know VN national who worked several years in construction in Taiwan. He was treated well by employor but when eventually detained by police, treated very bad. Was not allowed to shower for ten days pending return home. Spent three days in Hanoi hospital, recuperating. . From Thai PBS World A Taiwanese employer is being held in police custody in Yilan County, in northeast Taiwan, on suspicion that he may have been involved in the death of a Thai illegal migrant worker, reported Taiwan’s Liberty Times. The Thai man went to Taiwan on a tourist visa, but worked illegally in Yilan until Tuesday. The Thai consular office in Taiwan sought local police help after the Thai man’s relatives in Thailand filed complaint with Thai police, reporting that they had been unable to contact him for quite some time. Yilan County police subsequently found the body of the Thai man near a cemetery and summoned the decedent’s Taiwanese employer for questioning. According to the English-language Taiwanese newspaper, the employer, identified only as “Mr. Lin”, initially denied knowing anything about the man’s death, but eventually admitted that he knew that he had died. He claimed that the Thai man was a heavy drinker and fell ill last week, adding that he did not see a doctor, but took over-the-counter medications. On Monday morning, the man’s Thai girlfriend found him lifeless in his room and alerted Lin. Lin claimed that he was afraid of legal action, for employing an undocumented worker, and convinced the girlfriend and two other Thai employees to dispose of the body near a cemetery. Police are attempting to determine the actual cause of death, according to Taiwanese media.

New hotels, the Croom and the Dusit Thani, will soon be entering the Silom market. Visitors have an abundance of offerings in every price range. Thailand remains a bargain compared to northeast Asia and the west.

From Pattaya News In a viral incident that has made international headlines and drove significant speculation and discussion online, a group of independent contracted guards brutally assaulted British tourists after a furious dispute over a bill on the bustling Soi 6 Pattaya over the past weekend. The attack raised serious concerns about safety and tarnished the family friendly image of the popular tourist destination, according to Pattaya Police. The altercation, which began as a dispute over a bill in a bar in which the victims appear to become aggressive and confrontational with bar staff and security, even with one foreign man shoving another customer out of the bar at one point who appeared to be trying to calm the situation down, escalated into physical violence, leaving the victims battered and bruised. The incident was captured on video, sparking outrage and condemnation. In particular, footage of one guard violently kicking a tourist in the head while already lying on the ground having been beaten, caused outrage and made headlines across the globe. The guard claimed the victim attacked him first, breaking his nose on the street, which started the fight. Some speculated that the man was seriously injured, in a coma, or deceased, but none of that was correct as the victim told Pattaya Police today he had managed to walk away mostly uninjured from the incident and return to his hotel. In fact, the man involved said he even went back out drinking the same night on Walking Street. Pol. Col. Navin Teerawit, Chief of the Pattaya City Police Station, has personally spearheaded the investigation. The police quickly detained the perpetrators who subsequently apologized for their actions but Pattaya police had needed testimony from the victims to move forward with legal action and have spent the past several days looking for them and encouraging them online through PR statements to come and meet with police to make formal legal complaints.

From The Thaiger A 58 year old British man was found dead in his condo bathroom in Sattahip, Chon Buri on May 27. Sattahip police responded to a report of a suspected suicide at a luxury condominium behind Bang Saray Market. Upon entering the third-floor room, police discovered the man, identified by police as Michael Devalle, dead in the bathroom. He appeared to have hanged himself using a belt. Police estimated that he might have passed away around 10 hours earlier, with no signs of physical violence observed on his body. The body was transported to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok for a full autopsy. Police Lieutenant Colonel Pattanann Somnuan, the investigating officer at the Sattahip Police Station, reported that Devalle had been involved in an argument with his Thai girlfriend earlier that day. The girlfriend reportedly left the condominium around 3am.

From The Nation The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released a list of 93 nations whose citizens can enter Thailand without a visa or obtain a visa on arrival and can stay for up to 60 days. In a move to boost tourism and bring tourist dollars into the country, the Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to waive visa measures for a total of 93 countries. This list includes the 57 nations whose citizens were allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days without a visa, 13 nations for whom the visa requirement was recently waived and an additional six nations whose citizens will be allowed to stay here without a visa for 60 days. The 57 nations who were already enjoying a visa waiver and can now get a 60-day stamp on arrival are: 1. Canada 2. Czech Republic 3. Denmark 4. Estonia 5. Finland 6. France 7. Germany 8. Greece 9. Hungary 10. Iceland 11. Indonesia 12. Republic of Ireland 13. Israel 14. Italy 15. Japan 16. Kuwait 17. Latvia 18. Lichtenstein 19. Lithuania 20. Luxembourg 21. Malaysia 22. Maldives 23. Mauritius 24. Monaco 25. The Netherlands 26. New Zealand 27. Norway 28. Oman 29. The Philippines 30. Poland 31. Portugal 32. Qatar 33. San Marino 34. Singapore 35. Slovakia 36. Slovenia 37. Spain 38. South Africa 39. South Korea 40. Sweden 41. Switzerland 42. Turkey 43. Ukraine 44. United Arab Emirates 45. United Kingdom 46. United States 47. Peru 48. Hong Kong 49. Vietnam 50. Saudi Arabia 51. Andorra 52. Australia 53. Austria 54. Belgium 55. Bahrain 56. Brazil 57. BruneI The 13 nations whose citizens were already getting a 30-day stamp upon arrival and will now be getting a 60-day stamp: 1. India 2. Kazakhstan 3. Malta 4. Mexico 5. Papua New Guinea 6. Romania 7. Uzbekistan 8. Taiwan 9. Bhutan 10. Bulgaria 11. Cyprus 12. Fiji 13. Georgia The six new nations whose citizens now enjoy a visa waiver and a 60-day stay are: 1. China 2. Laos 3. Macau 4. Mongolia 5. Russia 6. Cambodia The 17 new nations that are now eligible for visa on arrival and will get a 60-day stamp are: 1. Guatemala 2. Jamaica 3. Jordan 4. Kosovo 5. Morocco 6. Panama 7. Sri Lanka 8. Trinidad and Tobago 9. Tonga 10. Uruguay 11. Albania 12. Colombia 13. Croatia 14. Cuba 15. Dominica 16. Dominican Republic 17. Ecuador

Talked with manager who was standing across from bar. Says he hopes to get OK to open soon. Also talked with few guys outside 7-Eleven who said maybe few days.

In what city was the Airbnb?

In a manner of speaking 😀 Avarin was the shop. Regrettably, the others hardly noticed.

The mainstream Thai media appears to have been caught completely off guard by the announcement and is beginning to play catch up. This was just posted on Thai PBS World. The Cabinet has decided to exempt pre-travel visa requirements for tourists from 36 more countries, in addition to the current 57, in an effort to attract more tourist arrivals to boost the Thai economy. Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said that tourists from the 93 countries can stay in Thailand for up to 60 days instead of 30 days as before. Moreover there would now be 31 countries which can now apply for Visa on Arrival, at the immigration counter at their point of entry. He said the government has also granted the “Destination Thailand Visa” to skilled foreigners and freelancers who want to work from Thailand, allowing them to stay for up to 180 days, with an extension of 180 days. Under-graduate students at Thai universities can stay in the country for one year following their graduation, so they can find jobs, travel or undertake other activities.

From The Nation Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted on charges of lese majeste (royal defamation) and computer crime, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Wednesday. Attorney General Amnart Jetcharoenrak issued an order to indict Thaksin on both charges on Monday, OAG spokesman Prayut Phetkhun said. The charges stem from an interview Thaksin gave in South Korea in November 2009. However, the filing of charges in court was today postponed after Thaksin’s lawyer submitted a medical certificate showing his client had contracted COVID-19 and had been advised by a doctor to rest for seven days. The lawyer asked for the indictment hearing to be postponed to June 25. After considering the request, the prosecutor granted the postponement and ordered Thaksin to appear at an indictment hearing on June 18. “Currently, Thaksin is a suspect, which will change to a defendant once the court accepts the case,” the spokesman said. Police allege Thaksin committed lese majeste in an interview with Time magazine on November 9, 2009. In 2015, the Army filed a police complaint over the interview. In 2016, the AOG decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Thaksin and issued an arrest warrant. The statute of limitations for the offence is 15 years, starting from 2015. Thaksin had requested fair treatment in the case after returning from self-exile in August last year, prompting the Office of the Attorney General to investigate again. Thaksin is currently on parole after serving six months of a one-year jail sentence, commuted from eight years, for abuse of power during his tenure as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

Ended up giving him 1200 in keeping with my belief very good service should be rewarded with a few extra red notes. Yes, Surawong shop.

I was asked (via Google translate) for 2K during a massage at a Surawong shop last week. My reaction was to get up from the table and begin reaching for clothes. Guy quickly punched in 1k on screen. They’re playing the odds. They figure a certain few with agree. Five years ago their predecessors would have asked, “you come to Bangkok before? (Or something like that) before going for the big money. In this case, the guy went on to put in a good, cheerful performance. I actually might take him again. I’m a big believer in staying with the winners. I agree, however, a purely greedy one is off putting.

Two things come to mind. first, I think we want to pay them in line with service rendered. And in Soi 6, where the guys are in the shops for 10+ hours a day, it’s their full-time job. In S K, it’s on call. We get to know the guys on 6 on a more personal basis and more likely to tip well. Second, guys on 6 can’t count on any minimum and their tips vary widely. I was getting leg massage one night last week. There were two customers from China in the chairs on either side of me. I tipped 1000 while the two other customers tipped 100 and zero. Go figure.

Although I’ve never availed myself of the shop’s offerings, have to admit three guys in today’s LINE feed caught my eye: Mike, Golf and Karun.

I always look upon ATM with apprehension. Banks impose unreasonable additional fees and there’s always the tricky question to navigate about “dynamic” conversion method (actually a scam to give you least favorable exchange rate).

In shops with minimum tips (800-1,000 range), I rarely get asked how much for climax. It’s generally understood by all that the tip is inclusive. I typically give an extra few hundred baht for exceptional performance, especially if I intend to repeat with same guy. in shops with no minimum, I tip in the same range.