ThailandRyan

So Thai Immigration checked your bag? You meant the people running the scanning and x-ray machines, they are not immigration. Had you had water in your bag you would have had to toss it....

Hong Kong, Macau, and then the business travelers and students allowed to travel from the mainland while the other 99% are blocked.

There is a difference in flying during the day instead of arriving late evening like most international flights do.......but then you knew that already.

That's how I do it with Food Panda and Grab delivery, I pay by scan upon arrival as they all have phones and it is the same as cash. Some drivers prefer it as well as paying by PromptPay

The extra on the bills in the west is what is keeping my family there as they would still need to heat the house etc....while over here on a visit, and so even with extra money in the bank it is Christmas and they can spend it on the kids at home by going Skiing etc....

That was my question as well, the poster seems to be very bitter and a Thai Basher, where is our resident Thai Citizen who can chime in on the bashing......

Could be a D-TACkover

No I am quite sure I do not understand your comment. Are you trying to say that people who have tattoo's are low class, uneducated, poor, and so on. If so I find your highly mistaken and need to do some research. Status in life for those with tattoo's does not relegate one to a lower class.

Care to explain the lower class echelon comment?

Read up a little bit to widen your view alittle bit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5632599/ Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity.

Thailand is a strategic location for any one with an interest in the entire Asian continent as it is central to everywhere, why do you think Suvarnabhumi is a major international hub. The US and west will never let Thailand slip away completely, and Thailand is always playing both ends to the middle.

And when I die and go to the great barbeque in the sky I will be dust as well as everything on my body, Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, with rebirth coming hopefully in a life equal or greater than what I lived this time around. Yes I also believe in Reincarnation unlike many Buddhists. If you truly have followed Buddhism for any amount of time you might be a little surprised to know that people in a large portion of Buddhist Asia are not fond of reincarnation. From talking with different sects of Buddhist many just want the circle of birth and death to end because they know it represents suffering without end. However, I know that the Buddha taught that a so-called "person" is really just five elements (skandhas) that come together for just a small amount of time. Those elements are: our body, our feelings, our perceptions, our mental states and our consciousness. These five elements change all the time and not a single element remains the same for two consecutive moments. I was taught that not only is our body impermanent, but our so-called soul is also impermanent as well. When the idea of an immortal soul is replaced, our understanding of reincarnation gets closer to the truth. My Tattoo's reflect this as well.

As I said I do not regret it one bit. My oldest Tattoo is from my Military days, so it is almost 40 Years old and looks just like it did when I got it. It was touched up a bit 5 years ago, but as you think Tattoo's don't age well I hate to tell you that they do if done right. All of my Tattoo's were done by just 2 Buddhist Monks over a almost 40 year period, the last was done this year, and are all of a type of Sak Yant or Yantra. I have none on my lower body or below the sleeve line on my T-shirts and short sleeve shirts. However, underneath my shirts my entire back is done with different Tattoo's as well as both of my upper arm/shoulder area. If you look at me like you would anyone else, you would not know I had tattoo's. I do not wear clothes which show them off as they are for me and me alone. I have no ego, nor am I a narcissist. However, if you saw me swimming, you would wonder how you missed the fact that I am a Tattooed person. My kids are the same way, they have tattoo's but because of their professions keep them under wraps as well.

So what they just use facial recognition?

,,,,,,,,,,As if.........

You may have hit the nail on the head with your last sentence...

Daughter went to the F1 race in Texas 2 weeks ago. Prior to going she had been the month before for business. Her hotel was $145 a night for her business trip, for the F1 week and weekend the sake hotel was $465 a night......prices are always regulated by supply and demand, and that goes for here as well.

There are Theravadin Monks and Buddhist Monks here in Thailand along with many other classifications of Theravadin Monks like the Forest Monks and so on. Best you do some more research on Theravadin Monks and Tattoo's and the origin. https://www.diffen.com/difference/Buddhism_vs_Theravada https://www.thai.tattoo/sak-yant/ Yantra designs go back to the days of Brahmins in India. The concept of sacred geometry stems from this Indian past, as does the use of Hindu deities such as Hanuman. You’ll be surprised to learn the influence India has had on Thailand. Thailand’s national epic is actually a Thai re-telling of the major Sanskrit legend, the Ramayana.

Regret what? Getting a tattoo.....I regret many things but not getting my Tattoo's as they have true meaning and importance behind them.

Take a walk into MBK and on the floor with all of the cell phones you have many repair shops. You can also check the IT Mall across the road from the Rama 9 Mall, as they have many shops there as well. In fact that is were I would go and talk to someone, they should be able to help you out.

Yes it has been on the books for quite a while actually, and the only ones I know who took advantage of it were people who set up businesses here in the country.

So anyone who gets a Thai 5 line Sak Yant tattoo on their body is ridiculous? So a person whose religion is Buddhism, even thought they may be white, is ridiculous in your view. Having spent time as a Monk myself I find your view very insulting.

I see.

Depends on how the tattoo adds to their overall beauty, sure some are tasteless but many are done very tastefully, and enhanced the beauty.

So a tattoo in your view is designed by the wearer to impress someone,.....that is laughable. As I said my tattoos stay covered up they are for me as they mean something to me and were never inked to impress others or gain attention. Your view is tainted my man.