Been there several times and have had good experiences all the time. When you don't speak Thai it can be more difficult session but reviews from people who live in a country and refuse to learn the language because everybody needs to speak theirs don't count for much to me.
Let somebody take a picture of your face with your phone and send it to the Line ID of your wife. Selfies could be you sitting at a table with a couple of friends.
She lied about the vaping, she lied about the 2 hours, they have the CCTV it was 47 minutes, she lied about going into a soi to pay money. She never went in to a soi. Her taxi driver said she was very loud in the taxi and thought she was drunk.
3 million baht per rai is nothing when compared to prices in Bangkok or Patong, Phuket.
When many people want to buy something and there isn't that much of it, prices go up.
"the other day I went to grab a beer with a coworker at a staple western looking Bar on Ekkamai, and I saw one or two attractive (but nothing over the top) girls alone sitting and sipping a beer. Would they also be considered as "bar-girl"? Or just having a beer after work of sorts."
How can we know, you should have talked to them to find out.
He is talking nonsense:
"Heinecke also highlighted that the vaccine rollout in Thailand has been slow, with only a small percentage of the population having received the vaccine so far."
More than 79.5% has at least 1 vaccination as of Sep-30 2022: Thailand: Coronavirus Pandemic Country Profile - Our World in Data