TMax

My usual method is to book well in advance (minimum 3 months before the trip), when travelling I research which hotel/s I will be staying at and book directly with them and I found there are some that give pretty good early bird discounts. My normal 2 to 4 week Bangkok trips I book and stay at just the one hotel. I never use online companies like Agoda or Booking etc (due to hassles a friend encounted with them) and I haven't used a travel agent in a very long time (due to what I considered a blatant rip off when asking them to get a visa for me for one Philippine trip), I always deal directly with hotels and airlines now.

Was a bit sad to see the demise of Pantip, have been there many times buying goods

I love areas like this in the big cities, gives a nice clean space to get some morning exercise, should be more of it too.

I'm quite sure that if you walked into Arena massage or as above (Natureboys) with a fist full of baht and explained to everyone just what you wanted that they would be very obliging

I've had that rotten BPH and I can say it isn't fun at all, some medication helped to relax the prostate but I ended up having the TURP procedure which in itself wasn't fun either. The good news is that now there are different and less horrid procedures to deal with the enlarged prostate than TURPs, if and when mine goes off again I shall be looking at one of those new procedures.

8. Spend the hot day in a mall checking out the talent 😁

I usually have plenty of baht kept over from a previous trip that will see me through to the hotel and beyond (includes sim card at the airport and taxi) and that I have in my pocket before I even get onto the plane, no need to delve into my bag for money at the airport and always keep my carry on bag on a tight leash just to be on the safe side.

It's been a while but I have always managed to get well hung guys at Arena massage

On my old landline phone the scammers were ringing it non stop so I got rid of that phone, even after I had all international calls blocked on that line the Indian call centers used voip to call and the telco couldn't block those calls. Now I just use a mobile phone and I have resorted to a simple method, if I don't know the number or I am not expecting a call from a local business I don't answer it. If it's a serious call then they would or should leave a message but that never happens, the peace I get now is pure bliss.

There's a couple places on Rama IV that I go to (just around the corner of Surawong), Chula is one and the other is a small store next to it, never had any problems getting my medication (without prescription) from either but I do take in the empty pill packet so they can see exactly what I need.

If you have a choice choose a different airline to Qantas, they suck and no not literally. When returning from Thailand I got into the habit of getting a Thai massage at Suvarnabhumi (just need to arrive a bit earlier than normal) and that makes a big difference on the flight home and I think would make a longer flight more relaxing as well, although it was just a massage and no happy ending it worked a treat.

And that just confirms that they have no interest in returning to Perth or Brisbane any time soon, I did get a standard preset message on their Facebook page saying they won't be returning in the foreseeable future. Looks like us plebs will have to use different airlines and those aren't direct either, the direct flights were a bonus.

Dispensers are my choice (for shower gels / soaps) but I do supply my own shampoo and conditioner.

I've seen and read a lot about straight guys getting ripped off or set up in the Philippines, my belief is too much drink and they let the little head over rule the big head too much.

Pretty poor excuse for what he did, I see a long prison sentence is on the cards for him, unless he falls out of a high window.

From The Nation. The Real Estate Trade Association of Chiang Mai Northern said on Thursday that around 1,000 houses worth over 3 million baht in Chiang Mai are now owned by Chinese nationals, with total value of at least 5 billion baht. “Chinese have been buying real estate in Chiang Mai for more than a decade,” said association president Non Hirunchetskul. “Popular methods include buying via online Chinese brokers, or Chinese-run Thai agencies investing over 40 million baht and thereby receiving privileges, or by marrying Thai nationals.” In a worrying new trend, Chinese investment groups registered with Thai nominees are buying properties in housing projects in bulk and then selling them to Chinese nationals for profit, Non said. “These companies are 100% Chinese-owned. And since the transactions are done online or in China, they do not generate any income for the Thai government.” According to the association’s latest survey, housing projects popular among Chinese buyers are in Hang Dong, San Kamphaeng, San Sai, and Mae Rim districts, while condominium units in downtown areas are also highly desirable among Chinese buyers. Non urged the government to investigate real estate investments for legality and place limits on how much property these companies can own. “Without any intervention, all properties in Chiang Mai, large or small, will eventually be bought up by foreign investors. Thais might have to rent property from foreigners to live in their own country.” Hotels and restaurants, too Chiang Mai hospitality operators have warned of a similar problem in their industry. Weerawit Saengjak, a representative of small hotel operators in Muang district, added that over 100 small and medium-sized hotels and restaurants in Chiang Mai tourist neighborhoods are now owned by Chinese nationals. These neighborhoods include Tha Phae and Loi Kroh roads, Som Phet, and Chang Phueak, he said, adding that the properties had been bought via Thai nominees of Chinese companies. “These companies are investing more than a billion baht to buy and renovate hotels and restaurants in Chiang Mai. The trend is growing and there will be more businesses being sold to foreigners unless we have more effective anti-nominee measures,” he added. Chiang Mai buy up

I remember an online article written some time ago where they asked baggage handlers what the most common item that was left on the luggage conveyors was, the answer was the spinner wheels 😂

I bought a knock off Samsonite soft shell case in MBK many years ago and it's still going strong, this one has just the 2 wheels that I prefer but a couple of the tags on the zips have broken off but not the main zipper. I have been looking in the shops here in Australia for cases with 2 wheels and have found none, it seems they are all just selling those with the wheels that just love to come off when bumped, maybe on a future trip I'll get another knock off in Bangkok.

An interesting video, the BTS and MRT are my preferred mode of transport around Bangkok and when I'm going somewhere the first thing I check is the proximity of the stations.

I believe they still need to do something with immigration counters at the airport as quickly as possible. There was a post on a Thai Facebook page today with a photo of the queue at immigration, it stretched a long way back and I do mean a long way, the poster said their mistake was being on a flight that landed during the peak time.

I would have thought it's pretty hard to ruin the image of Pattaya 😂

Having been through Songkran more than once if I ventured back when it was on I would grab a boy or two and head up to Khao Kho for a few days until the Songkran parties in Bangkok are finished.

Banana spa is a name I know from the past and it's good to see they are still going, I had visited that spa 3 times previously (pre covid) and all 3 visits were mid afternoon, on each visit there was only 4 boys to choose from. All 3 visits were 2hr massage and scrubs and they did a very good job on the massage, quite strong and just enough touching in the right spots to indicate extras were on offer. The first 2 times the boys were both bottoms and gave fantastic lip service for afters and at a good price (🤗). The last visit the boy was top but unfortunately he really wanted a price I thought was way too high (almost 3 times what the other 2 asked for, guess he thought he was the star of the spa) and he wouldn't budge at all which was such a pity as he had a very nice body and a gorgeous cock, nowdays I probably would have relented and agreed to his price.

It's been a while since I was there and I don't know what their home service is like but I have had some good times at Nine Spa down Sukhumvit road soi 31, definitely back on my to do list when I go back and it would be great if the guy I was with last time is still there (talk about hot and nicely hung). From their website For destinations around the Nana - Phrom Pong BTS stations: THB 2.500,- For destinations beyond the Nana - Phrom Pong BTS stations: THB 3.000,- These prices already include the masseur's tip. Please note that after midnight, an additional charge of THB 500,- is applied

I never do online banking as such, I even had to convince my bank to stop trying to push it on to me and prefer to do any banking face to face at my local branch. I do pay some bills with credit card online but that's about all and only using the links I have already bookmarked and know are correct (I keep no information on my devices that could lead to any bank or bank account), the risk with that is that I may lose some if I get ripped off but they won't / shouldn't get access to my bank accounts. Of course I might have to rethink that if I were to move overseas to live but until then it'll stay as is. Oh and I never click on links sent to me either by email or sms messages.