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Since nothing seems deter this practice, tourism authorities have an obligation to warm Pattaya tourists of this popular occupation.. From Pattaya Mail Two transgender suspects involved in a gold necklace theft from an Indian tourist on Pattaya Beach have been tracked down and arrested by Tourist police. On the evening of May 9, Subhash Petloj, a 50-year-old tourist, fell victim to theft by two transgender women near the Elephant Market. Exploiting a friendly conversation, the suspects snatched Mr. Petloj’s 60,000 baht gold necklace, weighing 20 grams, before fleeing. Swiftly reporting the incident, Mr. Petloj identified the culprits to authorities, leading to a meticulous investigation aided by CCTV footage. The suspects were identified as Mr. Monlada Lahae (alias Em), 34, and Mr. Kotchaphaphak Chamnanphoj (alias Nueng), 41. Arrest warrants were issued by the Pattaya Provincial Court, charging the suspects with night time theft facilitated by vehicle use. Tracking down the perpetrators, Mr. Monlada was apprehended at a Banglamung District residence, where the Yamaha Fino motorcycle used in the crime was recovered. Simultaneously, Mr. Kotchaphaphak was arrested at a Pattaya condominium. Both suspects were taken into custody and transferred to the Pattaya City Police Station for further legal proceedings.

KK Massage has launched a Twitter site. @okok1090 Minimum tips on most tops listed at 800 bht with some going for 1k. T&B’s 1k with limited number at 1.2K.

At least 10.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Bangkok/Vientiane?msclkid=884f350173b617982e62534b82ef8fd2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SEM_ASIA_EN_TRAIN_ALL_ALL_I.III_L_[TRAIN_01_ROU|PRO_0]_P:TRAIN_NOPRO&utm_term=train from bangkok to vientiane&utm_content=SEM_RW_EN_TRAIN_ALL_ALL_I.III_L_[TRAIN_01_ROU|PRO_0]_P:TRAIN_NOPRO_(BANGKOK_TH)_(VIENTIANE_LA)#r/Train https://www.thaitrainguide.com/2024/05/04/how-to-pay-for-train-tickets-in-thailand/

From The Nation ‘Boys’ Love series has given Thai film production a new lease of life’ The popularity of the “Boys’ Love” series has spurred rapid growth in Thailand's film production industry, the Department of Business Development has revealed. The film production industry is a standout sector experiencing significant growth and increase in revenue. In the first four months of 2024 (January-April), 56 film production businesses were registered as legal entities, a 12% increase over the same period in 2023, the department said. Their total registered capital was 195.18 million baht, up 146.44% over the same period in 2023. In 2023, there were 137 businesses with a registered capital of 258 million baht, a 20% increase from 2022. In 2022, the total revenue of the film production industry was 12.895 billion baht, with a trend of continuous growth, the department said. This growth no doubt rides on Thailand’s economic recovery but is also due to the industry adapting itself to consumer behaviour and the context of Thai society, which is increasingly open to gender diversity, the department said. A major contributor to the development of this industry is the popularity of the Boys’ Love series, which portrays relationships without gender limitations and openly presents various forms of love. This content has gained popularity among consumers both domestically and internationally. continues at https://www.nationthailand.com/business/economy/40038144

From The Thaiger Patong police are currently pursuing a group of men responsible for a gang assault on Bangla Road that left a British tourist injured early yesterday morning. The incident took place near a 7-Eleven close to Soi Sea Dragon at 4.40am. Charlie Faulkner, a British tourist, was found with a stab wound on his lower left side when officers arrived at the scene. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation administered first aid and subsequently transported him to Patong Hospital for further treatment. Witnesses reported to the police that Faulkner had been involved in an argument with a group of Thai men before being stabbed. After the assault, the group fled the scene, leaving Faulkner to seek help inside the 7-Eleven store. In related news, police arrested six Thai men for beating and stabbing two foreign men during the Songkran festival in the Isaan province of Roi Et on April 15.

Visakha Bucha Day, also known as Vesak, will be observed on May 22, marking a public holiday in Thailand. On this significant Buddhist day, the sale of all types of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in convenience stores and entertainment venues, as per Thai law. Vesak Day is a cornerstone of Buddhist religious observance in Thailand, commemorating three pivotal events in the life of the Buddha: his birth, enlightenment, and passing away. These events coincided on the same day, which is the full moon day of the sixth lunar month, making it a day of profound spiritual importance for Buddhists.

From The Thaiger An underwear thief, dressed only in his undies, drove to a house and stole a collection of underwear, later claiming it was the result of a dare. The incident took place on the morning of May 18 in Ban Pa Tueng Ngam, Pa O Don Chai sub-district, Mueng district, Chiang Rai. The homeowner, 44 year old Somphop shared CCTV footage on Facebook seeking assistance from the public to identify the perpetrator. The footage shows a black car arriving at his single-story rented row house around 6am. A man, wearing only white underwear and with a pink towel draped over his right shoulder, exited the vehicle and headed straight for the clothesline outside Somphop’s house. He then proceeded to take eight pairs of underwear before returning to the car and driving away. Reviewing the CCTV footage revealed the bizarre theft. After posting the video on Facebook, Somphop was contacted by the underwear thief, who admitted to the act. The man claimed that he had stolen the underwear as part of a dare from a friend who was with him in the car. Somphop mentioned that he would meet the perpetrator at the Chiang Rai City Police Station tomorrow to discuss the matter further. “I don’t want the stolen items back. I just hope this person won’t repeat such acts elsewhere.”

From NDTV India Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam police on Saturday said it busted a cybercrime racket and arrested three consultancy agents for allegedly luring unemployed youths and sending them to Chinese-operated cybercrime rings in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Despite growing awareness of cybercrime, incidents continue to rise, with many still falling prey to sophisticated scams. To combat this, Visakhapatnam police launched an operation to root out these criminal activities, according to an official release. Their efforts led to the arrest of consultancy agents from the Gajuwaka area, including the main suspect, Chukka Rajesh (33). The illegal racket came to light after Botcha Sankar, an ex-Navy employee, filed a complaint through the 1930 cybercrimes helpline. Sankar's complaint was based on the account of a victim who had managed to escape. Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police, Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, told ANI that they suspected there could be over 5,000 victims from Andhra Pradesh, especially from Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Palasa, Rajamundry, Tuni, Amalapuram, and Anantapur, apart from Kolkata. sup on reaching Cambodia, these youths were locked up as slaves and forced to operate in the cybercrime network. They were denied food and pay until they complied. The agents gave them training before deploying them to commit various online frauds, through which they robbed innocent people of their hard-earned money.

Have not run into escorts who do Pro bono work.

Natural massage (first shop on right as you enter from Silom).

U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand May 18, 2024 Security Alert: Worldwide Caution Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. U.S. citizens should: Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, including Pride celebrations and venues frequented by LGBTQI+ persons. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas. Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.

From Thai PBS World Move Forward party-list MP, Paramee Waichongcharoen, who identifies as transgender, discusses why Thai politics are still dominated by men and how parliamentarians from the LGBTQ community, including women, are being treated in a male-dominated parliament. Currently, only 19% of Thai MPs are female, while there are only four MPs, including Paramee herself, who openly identify as LGBTQ. Due to the gender imbalance in parliament, many female and LGBTQ MPs still face prejudice, discrimination and even verbal harassment. “The Thai parliament is highly male-dominated, because the patriarchy is so ingrained in Thai society,” she explains. “Most MPs are men. Many of them still hold on to conservative, traditional values, believing that men are superior to others. There are so many MPs with this mindset. Not only LGBTQ+ MPs are harassed or disrespected, even female MPs that I’ve talked to are also disrespected.” Paramee recalled accounts from her fellow MPs, both LGBTQ and women, when they encountered discrimination and harassment from other (male) MPs, both verbally and through inappropriate glares. She has helped them with how to respond and how to “educate” other MPs as to why such behaviour is inappropriate, especially in parliament. “Even if an LGBTQ+ individual looks like a straight woman, looks tall, or looks masculine or whatnot, no one has the right to harass them. I insist that you must never harass them, whether it’s verbal or through inappropriate looks,” she says. Continues at https://www.thaipbsworld.com/move-forward-mp-on-being-a-transgender-politician-and-gender-equality-in-thailand/

From Thai PBS World Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai recently caught the attention of the public when he tasted rice that had been stored for 10 years to prove that it had suffered no degradation in quality and could be sold. Observers see his action as a political ploy to justify the controversial rice-pledging scheme implemented during the Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra. The last batch totalling 15,000 tons of Thai Hom Mali rice (premium fragrant rice) has been stored in two warehouses in the northeastern province of Surin. The stock was part of about 18 million tons of white rice amassed by the Yingluck government under the massive rice subsidy scheme over 10 years ago. The Yingluck government initiated the rice-pledging scheme in the harvest season of 2011-12, which aimed to buy every single grain from farmers, promising 15,000 baht per ton of paddy rice at that time, well above the market price of around 10,000 baht per ton. The scheme ended in the harvest season of 2013-14 when the military seized power in May 2014. To finance the scheme, the government borrowed 881.3 billion baht from the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC). At the end of last year, the government had repaid the BACC 296.6 billion baht while outstanding debt amounted to 226.3 billion baht, according to the financial statement of the BAAC. The government also had to spend an additional billion baht for warehouse owners to store the rice. “The government was hoping that by stockpiling rice in warehouses, it could push up global prices as Thailand was one of the leading rice exporters. However, global prices defied the Yingluck government’s expectations,” said Viroj Na Ranong, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute, an independent think-tank. Not only did the global market price not rise, Thailand’s rice exports also fell during those years. The country lost its status as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012 due to the controversial rice scheme, falling to third place behind India and Vietnam. Thailand exported 6.9 million tons of rice in 2012, behind India’s 9.5 million tons, and Vietnam’s 7.8 million tons, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. The controversial scheme also resulted in a high cost for the taxpayers. “The cost of the rice subsidy scheme during the Yingluck administration was huge, estimated to be about 600 billion baht,” said Somporn Isvilanonda, a senior fellow at the Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand. Allegations of corruption in the implementation of the rice subsidy scheme was cited as one of the justifications for the 2014 military coup. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders in 2017 sentenced former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom to 42 years in prison while other senior officials and rice traders involved in corruption also received lengthy prison terms. Yingluck herself was sentenced to five years in prison. She fled the country before the court handed down the verdict. She was convicted for failure to perform her duties in overseeing the scheme that resulted in widespread corruption. Continues at https://www.thaipbsworld.com/the-heavy-price-of-rice-politics-in-thailand/

The King’s Castle group (that’s behind so many of the Patpong businesses) is in process of opening a “hotel inn” in an unoccupied premises on PP1, according to a posted sign.

Visited the shop yesterday and was greeted by Barbie. I told her the guy I was looking to book. She gave me the tablet and although I couldn’t search by number I quickly located his photo. I took a VIP room for 500 for one hour. After a very satisfactory massage, Sky was on the desk downstairs. It appears that both are promoting the shop with separate posts. I found the premises to be clean and well maintained as always. One disappointment: their website went down again 48 hours ago. The reason is unclear (based on my Google Translate conversation). They hope to develop a new one. For the moment, the process of booking in advance is less streamlined unless you can view guy’s name and/or number from published photo arrays. I intend to choose from shop tablet when I arrive for the interim. One Spa Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/OneSpa/100093989228505/

Thanks. I’ve found that that they want you to have a good experience because that leads to repeat business. I trust my instincts and am always looking for the guys who smile and appear at ease. I keep in mind that they, too, want to come away feeling good about themselves.

Four new tops at KK Massage.

From the Thaiger A Thai man’s family and friends in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum accused his boyfriend of killing him and staging a car accident to cover up the murder. Local news Facebook page Esor News 3 reported yesterday that a 25 year old Thai man named Mark mysteriously died on Tuesday, May 14, while returning home from his birthday party at a nightclub in the Isaan province of Chaiyaphum. According to Esor News 3, Mark’s boyfriend, who was with him at the time, claimed that Mark opened the car door and jumped out while they were playfully teasing each other. He said Mark rolled along the road for about 500 meters and lost consciousness. “Mark opened the car door and jumped off when we were teasing each other. The car was still moving at that time. We did not argue or fight each other before that. It happened in Chaiyaphum. “After falling out of the car, Mark rolled along the road for 500 metres. I parked the car and went to check why he decided to jump out. This is the true story but don’t share it with others, OK? There’s nothing. Don’t worry.” Mark’s friends and family found it suspicious that the boyfriend did not want the story shared. They pointed out that the boyfriend did not seem to be sad about his loss. He did not even cry when recounting the story. Moreover, they questioned how someone could simply jump out of a moving car without a prior issue. The rescue team also found the circumstances of Mark’s death suspicious, as he did not have any bruises, wounds, or scratches despite falling out of the car and rolling on the road. His clothes were also too clean for such an accident. The autopsy revealed that Mark’s skull was fractured, his internal organs were bruised, and he suffered internal bleeding in his head. The media reported that Mark’s boyfriend urged the family to cremate Mark’s body quickly and threatened to sue them for accusing him of murder. Continues with photo https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-man-accused-of-covering-up-boyfriends-murder-in-car-accident

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Newly added to the range of longstay visas comes the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) option for foreign investors in three eastern provinces which include Chonburi. The EEC visa, which allows multiple entries, offers automatic work permit procedures for targeted industries, and a discounted rate of 17 percent income tax for specialists, executives, professionals and (if necessary) dependants. The EEC visa duration is actually linked to the life of the holder’s work permit and is considered an investor type. There is obviously overlap with LTR which, however, is not linked to certain provinces and is much broader covering wealthy retirees, digital nomads with contracts and world travellers as well as executives. The benefits are similar – reduced income tax, avoidance of 90 days reporting and airport perks – but the EEC visa is specifically linked geographically to investment in high-tech industries and sunrise initiatives such as robotics, petrochemical, healthcare, tourism and biotechnology. In recent years, Thailand has diversified its longstay visa regulations to encourage the overseas wealthy to make a base here. These include the Elite visa introduced in 2003, which has had a controversial history, the O/X 10 year visa for retirees from 2016 (not popular because of its bureaucracy) and the Long Term Residence started last year. The new EEC visa also illustrates the growing involvement of government agencies such as the Board of Investment, in addition to the immigration bureau, in the granting of longstay visas.

Had a wonderful skilled massage and afters on Silom Soi 6 last night. The guys are mostly outside shops and very approachsble. You’ll find that a surprising number are conversational in English. Don’t hesitate to chat them up.

Massage shop visit could easily be had for hour or so. The half-dozen shops on Silom Soi 6 guaranteed to have someone who’ll attract your attention. Patpong 2 has five gay bar options.

I believe shop with rent/sale sign is former site of much missed Coffee Grinder.

File under “distance lends enchantment” From Pattaya News Pattaya, Thailand, known for its stunning beaches and vibrant nightlife, has added a new jewel to its crown of tourist attractions with the grand opening of the Pattaya Sky Ride. This exhilarating new experience offers locals and tourists alike a unique opportunity to witness the beauty of Pattaya from a bird’s eye view on a helicopter. The grand opening event was a spectacle of excitement and anticipation as the Pattaya Helicopter Sky Ride unveiled its state-of-the-art helicopters which promises to offer smooth and scenic flights over the city. With experienced pilots boasting many years of flying experience at the helm, guests are assured of a safe and memorable journey.

From Thai PBS World Anutin claims party was “double-crossed” in parliament over cannabis bill Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today that his Bhumjaithai party had fulfilled its election pledge to decriminalise cannabis, but the party was double-crossed when its associated bill passed its first reading in the House, but has been blocked from further progress since. Responding to the government’s plan to reclassify cannabis as a Category 5 narcotic, Anutin insists that the party has scientific proof of the advantages of cannabis for medical and health uses, as he challenged those who are against cannabis to come up with credible information to prove the demerits of the substances. He disclosed that the problem with cannabis is that there is no law to govern its use, adding that the authority to delist cannabis from Category 5, or to relist it, rests with the Narcotic Prevention and Suppression Board and the Narcotic Control Committee, chaired by the permanent secretary of public health. Although he is no longer in charge of the Ministry of Public Health, the Bhumjaithai party leader said that he is still a member of the Narcotic Prevention and Suppression Board. In this capacity, he said he will provide scientific information to the board in defence of cannabis adding, however, that the board has the final say on the matter. Asked about existing cannabis retail outlets, of which there are now many, Anutin said that they are currently controlled by a ministerial regulation from the Public Health Ministry.