USAgoodMAN

<deleted> Gillette!  After more than 40 years of buying Gillette products, I stopped purchasing due to their INSANE decision to alienate every man on Earth (those with a spine at least) with their recent commercials scolding men about being too aggressive, too manly, too toxic to the female population.  F THAT!   If I knew how to post it here I would but since I don't, just google or youtube "We Believe the best a man can get, Gillette".  

Hello all, I could REALLY use some help finding a decent serviced apartment near Saphan Taskin BTS or near Lumphini park for my upcoming 3 month trip to Bangkok.  Budget is roughly 50,000 -65,000 baht per month including all utilities.  I've searched for hours online but I'm hoping to get some feedback from someone who has actually lived there and can highly recommend something from experience.  I'm traveling solo and am looking for a comfortable place to relax, take a nap during the day if necessary, and feel as though I "live" there as much as possible as compared to living out of hotels.

A few must have's are:

1.  Good view from balcony (River or park)

2.  SHORT walk to BTS.  An air conditioned mall within nearby walking distance would be fantastic to meet any friends there!

3.  Gym with some basic free weights or machines

4.  Decent bed....not Asia hard!

I'm open to any recommendations someone may have, as well as paying a bit more for a perfect match of above needs.  I've stayed at Asok BTS and LOVED how I was only 2 minute walk to Terminal 21 mall AND 2 minute walk to BTS.  But this was a hotel, small room, no gym, no balcony.  I'm looking for a bit more comfort and space for these 3 months.  THANK YOU ALL for any/all recommendations!  

3 trips to Thailand, 3 months each trip, and relations with approximately 70 women (zero paid for but for an occasional street food dinner) and only ONE offered to pay for anything and she was from Isan.  A chunky nice girl who I didn't sleep with who showed me all over Isan (pink flowers, etc.) and would not take my 500 baht for gas and water she bought.  I know for a fact she was poor and I felt bad she refused to take the money.  I was insistent she take it but I should have tried harder or just left it in the car as it really made an impression on me that this poor girl most likely spent that much money on the gas for us all (her sisters came with us).  I'm still impressed with that gesture to this day.  

My apologies in advance if posted in wrong area or answered already.  Purchasing flights soon so need expert help.  I am a US passport holder, flying from the US with the following plan:  

1.  1 month in the Philippines with no visa, just the 30 day visa on arrival.  Leave on day 30 to Thailand

2.  1 month in Thailand with no visa, just the 30 day visa on arrival.  Leave on day 30 back to Philippines

3.  1 final month (30 days)  in Philippines before heading back to the USA

Are there any problems with this plan as anyone sees it?  The one "kink" in the plan is that I might wish to stay longer than 30 days in Thailand.  Can I just extend another 30 days while there?  What about the onward ticket issue I read about?  When and where would this happen (In Philippines airport, trying to fly to TH without an onward ticket? Upon reaching TH immigration?)?  I don't wish to purchase my Thailand to Phils ticket in advance in case I want to stay longer in Thailand.  And, my big question is.....If no onward ticket is required (because one can extend), then anybody/anywhere/anytime can enter Thailand without ever having an onward ticket?   Thank you in advance.  TravelingFirefighter  at yahoooooooo.  

Please help me understand. I'm no expert on the Philippines whatsoever, but from what I gathered during my most recent trip there last year and what I've read, Duterte is the reason many foreigners chose Davao as one of the best places to live in the Philippines. Supposedly it is the safest city in the Philippines, the only non smoking city, the only city with 911 service, etc. If he is so bad, why was his city so good compared to most of the rest of the Philippines? And wouldn't his success in Davao translate into a better Philippines if implemented countrywide?

Thank you in advance.

Retired at 50 on just a modest Firefighter salary (Frugal living, no wife, no kids). Retired on a Tuesday and was in Bangkok 4 days later on Saturday (First time overseas). That was 3.5 years ago and I'm headed back again for my 4th long visit at the end of this year!

Certainly makes one wonder how many similar attacks do NOT make international headlines.

I would recommend you do NOT go without a return ticket, at least not with Philippine Airlines. I tried that last month (March 3) and was denied boarding by ticket agent and forced to RUN upstairs at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport and buy a return ticket on the spot and RUN back downstairs back to the agent. Barely made my flight.

Slightly off topic, but curious if this has happened to anyone else: While upstairs ("6th floor") at Suvarnabhumi airport buying this ticket at Philippine Airline, FOUR mistakes were made by the girl (and myself) who sold me the return ticket that created problems for me a few weeks later. 1. My passport was not returned to me and in my haste I didn't notice so after running downstairs to show the agent my newly purchased ticket, he still could not allow me on flight. A different agent quickly went upstairs and got my passport from the lady who sold me the ticket so I could get on the flight. 2. Girl who sold me the ticket sold me a ticket for APRIL 20, instead of March 20 (yes, I missed this too in my haste). 3. Same girl marked "cash" on receipt when in fact I paid with a credit card 4. Receipt from same girl said "March 2" even though this was done on March 3rd.

I can't prove it, but I personally think there was something fishy about this whole transaction with so many mistakes. Weeks later, upon my return to BKK, I went back up and found the girl and "nicely" confronted her (initially). She was standoffish and had an excuse for everything. One excuse was "Oh, we add or subtract 12 hours when we do a transaction that's why it was dated March 2, not March 3". I wasn't buying any of it but since I made mistakes here too, I can't prove this was done on purpose but I suspect it was. Am/was considering contacting Philippine Airlines but am fairly sure they would do nothing. It cost me roughly $350 to rebook my return flight for the real date of March 20, not April 20.

Help please concerning the police targeting foreigner's?

I WAS excited to spend 2-3 months in BKK at Asoke/Sukhumvit. Plane ticket is purchased, arriving in 2.5 weeks, just after Christmas. I'm very concerned about the recent reports of police targeting foreigner's in the very area I will be staying AND WALKING ALL OVER DAILY. How can one feel comfortable for 2- 3 months walking to Terminal 21, and the soi's nearby, on a daily basis knowing the odds are good that one will be stopped and subjected to the whims of the officer that day, perhaps repeatedly, during this 2-3 months?

After traveling all over Thailand twice before, I was all set to stay put for 2-3 months in the somewhat familiar area to me of Asoke/Sukhumvit BKK on this visit. I don't HAVE to stay in this area, or BKK for that matter, but this year long planned trip now turns into a last minute scramble to find an alternative unfamiliar location to stay if plans are changed.

What would YOU do, given this reported aggressive targeting of foreigner's?

1. Switch locations to another area of BKK (walkable to BTS and mall) and spend 2- 3 months there (Any suggested areas?)?

2. Continue with plans to stay at Asoke and just go about life?

3. Cut the BKK trip short and spend 2 months in the Philippines (instead of the 3 weeks already planned)?

Background info: Traveling solo, with the intentions of just "being" comfortable in a location, rather than traveling all over doing touristy things.

Thank you very much for your help/insights. This police targeting has really put a damper on my spirits and goal of enjoying daily life in BKK, if all reports are true.

Traveling Firefighter

Thank you in advance for your help. Getting ready to purchase flight and visa application and wanted to make sure the 3 month plan is correct and workable.

The trip:

2 months in Thailand on tourist visa, leave for the Philippines for 1-3 weeks, then return to BKK to catch my return flight to the USA around day 89 or 90.

The plan:

1. Apply for tourist visa from my home country (USA) to Thailand ahead of time (single entry, 60 days)

2. After spending 59 or 60 days in Thailand, go to the Philippines (first time, solo)

3. Spend 1-3 weeks in the Phils (not sure how I will like it) and return to BKK and wait for my flight back to the USA

My questions:

1. Does this sound like an easy, workable plan, and done the correct way? Is the single entry the way to go or ? Can I return to bkk after being gone just 1 week in the Phils and just assume I will get a "visa on arrival" for 30 days until I go back home to the USA?

2. I guess my main question is the "visa on arrival" question and if it is ok to leave for just a week and come right back?

Thanks to everyone who will respond.

My apologies in advance if posting in the wrong area. My question comes about after reading about random searches near Sukhumvit 22 and other area's in BKK. If searched, and a police officer comes upon HALF a Viagra pill, wrapped in tissue paper, would they make an issue of this? Best nt to do this or ok? Serious question. Thank you very much

My apologies in advance if this is posted in the wrong section.  

I'm trying to figure out how to fly from BKK - Cebu direct, without having to go through Manila.  Is it even possible?  I've searched Kayak, Itasoftware, and other flight aggregator's and they show nothing direct from Bkk-Cebu.  I'm thinking/hoping that perhaps there are smaller, local airlines there that make this direct flight that someone on the forum might know about?

Thank you very much!  

Great stories and experiences! Glad to hear them. As a newbie here, I was seriously getting concerned about my upcoming months long visit to Thailand after reading quite a bit of negativity here. I don't have rose tinted glasses on about Thailand at all but more of these type stories are quite helpful to those of us considering moving to Thailand. Thanks to those that posted!

Thank you all very much. It certainly helps to get the perspective of those actually living there. I'll be purchasing my ticket today. Purpose of the visit: Recently retired Firefighter researching the possibility of moving there in 2014 at the ripe old age of 51. Thank you all again for your answers.

Hello all,

Recent newbie to Thai Visa here planning a 3 month stay in Thailand (2nd visit). It's time to purchase my plane ticket and initial hotel and am hearing reports about the amnesty protests. My arrival in BKK is in about 7 weeks, on January 5. I was planning on staying in Sukhumvit, soi 19, Asoke. Would your opinion be to just book and hope for the best or make some other sort of arrangements such as flying to Chiang Mai instead of BKK, changing the date of arrival to BKK, or possibly booking a hotel elsewhere in BKK? Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much.

Thank you to everyone who has responded thus far. MUCH APPRECIATED!

It appears I will be ok as is so the plan will be to get the tourist visa as originally considered, then extend one more month while in Thailand. Thank you for the replies even though I did make a mistake with my dates in the original question. I will be staying January 6 - April 6 give or take a few days.

I guess it gets easier with each visit and border run but why it's made so difficult and confusing is beyond me.

PLEASE help. 2nd visit to Thailand coming up (to research retiring there in 2014) and even after searching for quite a long time, I cannot seem to see this question addressed:

Ok, so I understand about the tourist visa (60 days). And I also understand about extending that visa 30 additional days (for 1900 baht) once while in Thailand. What I don't understand is how I just show up at the LAX airport (USA) with my 60 day tourist visa YET MY RETURN FLIGHT IS 90 DAYS AWAY. Couldn't they not allow me to board since it looks as if I am intentionally planning on overstaying my visa? Saying "Oh, I plan on doing that in Thailand" might not satisfy them. And to complicate things further, I am of the understanding that the 30 day extension is NOT automatic and can be denied. Can someone help me with this please as I intend to purchase my airline ticket in the near future.

Am I doing this right by purchasing a roundtrip ticket of 90 day duration (Jan 6-March 6 approx), showing up at the airport with just a 60 day tourist visa (applied for in USA before leaving), and HOPING to extend it 30 days while in Thailand? Or...is there a better way?

Thank you very much. 1st time poster here.