daydreamer

Karma achieved. At his trial, the police chief admitted that he tortured the 24 year old suspect, by placing a plastic bag over his head, while trying to extort 2 million baht from him.

It was the same in 2023, we were not allowed to cross the bridge into Tachilek from Mae Sai. At that time, nobody, even locals were allowed to cross. There was a large barricade blocking the bridge. I believe the bridge had not re-opened at that time from the pandemic border closure. I did cross into Tachilek about 20 years ago, paying the same $10 fee @vinapu mentioned. Don't worry, you didn't miss much. I walked around a few streets and was glad to be back in Thailand after an hour or so. I have traveled into Myanmar, to Yangon and Bagan, and I enjoyed that, but Tachilek has nothing much of interest.

I visited that same tea plantation in 2023. It is the Choui Fong Tea Plantation, in the Mae Chan district of Chiang Rai province. There is a small tea house amongst the tea bushes, seen below. There is also a very large snack bar on the grounds, serving all kinds of tea inspired desserts and drinks. This place is very busy on weekends, with mostly Thai tourists.

I have exchanged a couple older style $100 in Bangkok, but it was a few years ago. The following very recent posts from Reddit may help you. The Royal Ivory Nana Hotel mentioned below is on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (Soi Nana), just a short distance from the BTS Nana station. Certainly worth a try. Also you might try a Bangkok Bank currency exchange booth. After being refused at other money changers, Bangkok Bank changed my older style $100 (a few years ago). Hope this helps.

Here is a photo provided by the AOT, showing the current signage for the Priority Lane. at the right side of the main immigration arrivals hall.

For flights arriving at Tokyo's Narita Airport from the US, Japan has reverted back to no security checks for connecting international passengers on flights that originate in the US, the same as it was a few years ago. If you land at Narita, and are connecting to another international flight (Bangkok), at the terminal end of the air bridge, it is imperative to look for the temporary moveable sign @reader mentioned. The sign will direct you into a departure gate, and up a flight of stairs. These stairs lead you to the sterile (already screened) departures concourse of the terminal, where you simply walk to your connecting gate, or airline lounge. If you walk straight ahead off the air bridge into the terminal, and miss the small sign posted at one side, you will have to go through security screening (carry-on bag X-rayed, body scan). This entails lots of unnecessary walking, and wasted time waiting in a security line. There are also announcements made, but after a very long flight, you could easily miss those, and you could be well into the main terminal before the announcement is repeated. I suspect more than a few international passengers arriving from the US at Narita do not notice the temporary sign, and in a rush, head in the direction of the large signs marked International Arrivals and Connecting Flights. This only applies to flights arriving from the US into Japan. Entering Narita from Bangkok, all passengers are required to go through Japanese security screening.

Both AA and JAL use Narita, along with Haneda. I flew into Narita last month on AA, and departed for BKK on JAL from Narita.

The separate immigration area signed Fast Track is no longer available to business class passengers. The AOT authority has a speedy line for business class passengers, but it is in the main immigration hall, not the separate entrance marked Fast Track. The line for business class passengers is named Priority Lane. Don't follow signs to Fast Track if you fly business class. Just enter the regular large immigration area. At the ramp, there will be an attendant. Just present your boarding pass, and the attendant will direct you to the Priority Lane at the far right. I did this when arriving at Suvarnabhumi last month, flying business class. I tell the attendant "business class", when presenting the boarding pass, to avoid confusion, as they are busy directing passengers. Once the attendant verifies your boarding pass, you will be directed to the Priority Lane at the far right of the main immigration hall. There were only three people ahead of me in line. Very quick entry, and if you flew business class, your checked bag should be among the first on the baggage claim belt.

The Jomtien Palm Beach is a huge high-rise hotel located very near the northern end of Jomtien Beach Road, close to the corner where the 7-Eleven and Bamboo boy bar is located. Until 1997, it was named Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel. In 1997, the hotel had a horrific fire, in which 90 people died. After the hotel was renovated, it was renamed Jomtien Palm Beach. The hotel on the hill between Pattaya and Jomtien you may be thinking of is called Sugar Hut.

Plumbing systems vary widely in Thailand. It's possible there is no P-trap in the sink or shower drain line, and/or the drain line is not properly vented to the outside. I ran into this issue with a kitchen sink drain when I lived in Korea, and had to have it corrected. Thailand does have a building code, but, as with many laws and standards in the Kingdom, the building code is not uniformly enforced. Another example - very commonly, electric wall outlets in Thailand have no safety "ground" or "earth" wire attached. The wall outlet may accept a three-prong plug, but often the third wire is missing behind the wall. If you find there is no drain line sewer gas trap in any accommodation, it would be prudent to cut your stay short, and find other accommodations. Not only does sewer gas smell very bad, but it is dangerous to breathe. Running the A/C will move the air, and may make the smell less noticeable, but the hazard remains, as gas will continue to vent into your room. Better to be safe than sick or dead. Here is a link to a post on Reddit about sink drains in Thailand entitled "I just moved into a condo in Thailand and my kitchen stinks." At the beginning of the post, there are two photos taken in the condo, one of a kitchen sink, and a laundry room sink, both without drain line traps: https://www.reddit.com/r/Plumbing/comments/1byv366/i_just_moved_into_a_condo_in_thailand_and_my/?rdt=64054

I recently flew Japan Airlines to Thailand. JAL is warning passengers on their website about increased reports of in-flight thefts, and urging passengers to safeguard their carry on items. On long overnight flights, it would be wise to lock a carry on bag, if placed in the overhead bin. Too easy for a dishonest passenger to quickly rifle through a carry on bag when the cabin is dark, and when most people are trying to sleep, or absorbed in watching movies.

I have visited Ayutthaya a few times, the last trip being one year ago. Since I had a native Ayutthaya boy accompanying me, I rented a car in Bangkok, and I drove there, with him acting as private tour guide once we arrived in Ayutthaya. We left Silom about 9 AM, took our time, and arrived back in Bangkok about 6 PM, visiting several historic sites in Ayutthaya. I rely on using the Here We Go phone app (now called Here) for driving navigation everywhere in Thailand. It's an easy drive, it only took us about 90 minutes to reach Ayutthaya from Silom. If you don't have a Thai drivers license, and plan to drive, you would need an International Driving Permit booklet, obtained from your home country. The IDP is only valid for one year. I buy a new IDP yearly.

Ridership is up so much on the MRT, that I saw the ticket booth agents breaking open big new packs of shiny black tokens today when I went to Yaowarat.

I agree, if that is the case. It just seems redundant to ask for a hotel's phone number, when the immigration police surely already have hotel phone numbers in their database.

Last night was the first time I had been in Moonlight for three years. For the last few years, one cute motor bike taxi boy has occupied my time in Thailand, so for the past three years of visits to the kingdom, I didn't go to go-go bars.

The shirts worn last night were not even as revealing as a tank top. The shoulders were covered, only the sleeves were missing.

According to the report by @vinapu he was there the night before I was. No, I was there during regular hours. When I arrived, there were 6 people in front of me at the desk outside the front door buying their 500 baht drink tickets. I stayed for about 30 minutes, until about 10.30 pm, and since the shirts did not come off, I gave up on wasting more time, as I was not there to ogle the muscular models. Yup, that's me, fool me once, but not again. I was not there to admire sleeveless arms.

You are correct, the shirts do not have sleeves, but in my book, that's still fully dressed, no different than you see on the street, or the BTS.

I went to Moonlight bar in Bangkok last night, and I won't be going back again. The floor go-go boys were doing their rotation, taking turns on stage. However, they were fully clothed. It's as if they are taking a page out of Pattaya's BoyzBoyzBoyz business model. Sure, the six muscular models were shirtless, but the regular go-go boys wearing number tags wore shirts while on stage. At 500 baht for a drink to watch go-go boys with shirts on, they have lost my business. I have always supported the bars, but bars that follow this practice will not see me again. The mamasan trolled by and asked me which boy I wanted. I made it very clear that I had no interest in looking at fully clothed boys in a go-go bar. I know it has been discussed about BBB Pattaya catering to Chinese women customers as the likely reason for having go-go boys wearing shirts, and that may be true, but last night in Moonlight bar, I did not see one female customer, Chinese or otherwise.

I have visited the ancient Lanna city of Chiang Saen several times with different boys over the years. For anyone interested in Lanna history, this area is a gem, including a very good provincial museum. Only a few miles from the Golden Triangle, Chiang Saen is the oldest city in Thailand, and is one of the old fortified cities that had a wall and a moat surrounding it. Sadly, the city was ordered to be destroyed by the Thai king centuries ago, to prevent the invading Burmese forces from capturing and occupying the city. Everything except the religious sites was destroyed. Although Chiang Saen is only a shadow of its former size and glory, its strategic location on the banks of the Mekong River makes it an important trade port, with boats constantly being unloaded by hand, fascinating to sit alongside the Mekong and watch.

I'm guessing that they will accept a phone number of the hotel you're planning to stay in. If so, the phone number will be useless. Another hare-brained plan, acted upon without consideration for visitors to the country. The powers that be really put their thinking caps on when devising this form that will need to be completed prior to arrival. A large majority of visitors to Thailand buy a local SIM card on arrival, or the next day in a local store or phone service outlet.

It was cool last week, as was Bangkok. The cool weather has moved out. Currently here in Pattaya, it is warm day and night. Serving staff are wearing shorts and polo shirts at night in the open air seating areas in Boyztown.

@Londoner - You are correct, the tuk-tuks in Chiang Mai, as in most areas of Thailand charge farang excessive rates for very short distances. Next time you are there, try taking a songtaew. The red colored trucks are seemingly everywhere, as they do not follow a fixed route. They will go anywhere inside or outside the moat, Suthep Road, Night Market, Chotana Road, Airport Plaza, etc. For trips further outside the city, there are other colored songtaews departing from other locations, such as the white trucks that will take you to the Bo Sang Umbrella Market (traditional paper umbrellas). The trucks depart from next to the Flower Market, along the Ping River, close to Warorot Market. The last time I rode a red colored songtaew in Chiang Mai, the cost in the city was a flat 30 baht, more if you went further outside the urban area. Unlike in Pattaya, you have to state your destination when the red truck stops. If the driver accepts your destination, jump on - without discussing the 30 baht fare. Most of the songtaews in Chiang Mai have a more enclosed passenger cabin than the open-air ones in Pattaya. Many of them have sliding glass windows - handy during Songkran. I was in Chiang Mai two years ago, but I was driving a rental car then, so I didn't take any songtaews. The above info is from about 4 years ago. Someone else may have more updated info on Chiang Mai songtaews.

For Pattaya, I have recently paid 3,000 tip for LT, twice in the past few days. That is for real LT, lasting 12-15 hours, with none of the fake excuses BS boys sometimes make up to leave early. I just tell them I'll pay 2,000 ST, and 3,000 LT, with no further discussion. If I run into the fake excuses, I will adjust downward (again, in Pattaya). If they leave early when hired for LT, they won't get taken off by me again. I don't recall the off fee, maybe 400-500. This is in Pattaya. Bangkok prices in many cases will run a bit higher, depending on the bar and the boy. Other people may pay differently, but that's my recent experience. Somebody will likely say that is too much for Pattaya, but this is what I pay.

@vinapu - you previously reported about boy numbers 36 and 37 at Dreamboys Pattaya, then later, that they were no longer working there. You will like to know that #37 is back at work, in case you are going to Pattaya.