Andrew65

The legal age to buy/drink alcohol in Thailand is 20.

In my 20 years in Thailand I had some wealthy/very wealthy farang expat friends. One thing being was that the bulk of their money was held 'offshore' from Thailand, in places like Switzerland and Singapore. For some I don't think Thailand is perceived as a safe enough place to hold large sums of money/assets, and not just for tax reasons.

Thai would've gone bust 20 years ago if they weren't government-backed.

If we look at how much they charge per KG for excess baggage it would cost some people a lot of money if they did a similar thing with passengers. I have an old friend who's a frequent flyer who would weigh around 140 KG! (And he's only about 5 foot 9!).

I'm looking at a flight London - Bangkok rtn in February '24. The last time I looked Thai Airways were wanting about £200 more than Eva Air (Taiwanese) for the same direct flight, and Eva are probably a nicer airline.

That would apply to any meat. Part of why I never ate meat-based street food in Thailand (or anywhere). We don't know if the meat has been refrigerated in the hot weather.

Didn't they sell some Grippen fighter jets to Thailand?

...Montenegro!?????

Was talking to an old Royal Navy friend many years ago about the Thai submarine saga (debacle????). 1. The South China Sea isn't deep enough for sub operations. 2. Thailand doesn't really have any external threats.

Or a polarising person like Prayut...?

Always got my deposit back in Thailand. Put it in a special fund in the UK so as not to be ripped-off by unscrupulous landlords.

Thaksin introduced the 30 Baht health scheme? A remarkable feat in a country run exclusively by and for the wealthy?

The new prime minister is from a party that never won the election?

I tip in Thailand, in situations when I wouldn't in the UK. I would tip in a bar in Thailand, but wouldn't in the UK. I realise that if people leave 20-40 Baht tips it's quite a lot to somone who's on very little money.

I used to tip 20 or 40 Baht. My check-bins were seldom more than 500 Baht, and that was often with something to eat as well as beer.

An old (tight) friend once commented that tipping was difficult in Cambodia due to their lack of coinage. I did explain that a 100 Riel note is worth about 4 US cents. If I had 2,000-5,000 Riel left at the end of my trip I would give it to the airport tuk tuk driver as a tip.

I always used to have a roll of 20 Baht notes for tips and taxis. I always used to bear in mind that waiting staff get paid very little, and if most customers leave a 20-40 Baht tip that adds up to quite a bit extra for them. (I would never put a tip on plastic because I wouldn't trust a business owner to pass it on).

There's been a 'rumour' going around for about 15 years that Nana Plaza will be shut down, I think there was a previous 'rumour' about Washington Square also?

Not sure about it being a big benefit using agents for this, if the 800k pa isn't a problem.

You can, but bear in mind that there will probably be a 2-3% charge for using plastic. (Many years ago I would go to the bank to get the cash to avoid that when buying an expensive airline ticket).

He has a new nickname "Eileen".????

None whatsoever... Been there, seen it, done it, bought loads of T-shirts.

No sour grapes at all when the libido has been disappearing anyway. For the last 5 years that I lived in Thailand I never bothered with that stuff.

First visited Thailand 85 and 86. Lived there 1998-2018. Only my thoughts on the bar girl thing is that it's 'too easy' a thing to do, there's no 'value' in doing it. In later years I never bothered.

Easy to meet Thai women with ordinary jobs (ie not bar girls) on the many internet dating sites, as I'm sure you know.