Enzian

I just ended a long relationship and early in it I paid off a $8K debt she had, but then the relationship went on for more than 3 more years, so in some ways she gave as well as she got. I will say I refused to buy her a house or a car, and there was never such a large item again. But yes, they are consumate actresses, and everything should be taken with a grain of salt, even when you like them a lot.

Find a SuperRich.

2 hours ago, allanos said:

When socialising with "bar girls", for those worrying about a corona virus infection, doggy-style is de rigueur!  (It goes without saying that there are other infections which may be passed along, whether missionary or doggie)! ????

All this stress is keeping me from being rigueur in any position.

This is tough, because I have rentals in the US (I have a manager) and if we get an offer below asking (or even if it is higher!--I'd have to explain) we tune them out, the conversation is over. But I am currently moving around in Sukhumvit, and I have to be realistic about what the "new normal" market prices should be, even if the owners are not.

Highly relevant topic for me. Following my recent breakup I've moved to central Sukhumvit in Bangkok; I shouldn't name the building but it is big and everyone knows it. The landlords I've met here are willing to go 30 days at a time, just tell them toward the end of the 30 days if you are staying or moving. The studio prices are holding at 18k, so that could be better. But with no commitment past 30 days I can shop with impunity, and even move around a bit as a sort of hobby while the semi-crisis remains. I'm hoping in the next few months I can find something in a nicer newer smaller building for the same or slightly more, kind of a project to see if I can do it. I agree the rental market is going to be like pay-for-play (or like it used to be): almost too much choice.

On the question of luck, IMO it is key here. I predict that research will eventually conclude that the heat and humidity in Thailand has made the difference.

For better or worse people are going to do what they want increasingly unless the numbers go up. The fresh (or wet) market in Din Daeng has never closed, it's getting back to previous capacity, and people have always been elbow to elbow. There are massage places that have never closed, there is no enforcement for better or worse. This has been largely an honor system in Bangkok, but it may start wearing off.

A lot of people could stand to go cold turkey for a while and see what happens; an improvement in health I'd think.

Yes, the ban is for the people who don't plan ahead anything in their lives, who then impulse buy and impulse drink and congregate and jump on their motorbikes and roar off into eternity.

Define "salons".

Home is where the heart (or hard?) is.

After being in Vietnam for two weeks just before the lockdowns my impression is that the Vietnamese are not as heavy drinkers as Thais, but they certainly do share those tobacco bongs together at the sidewalk shops.

The garment sewing sweat shops back in the heart of the Din Daeng neighborhood here in Bangkok operate day and night with the roll-up doors wide open and air con is virtually unknown. People work at their machines at most a meter apart, usually without masks. And over at the Din Daeng night food market the crowds have returned, elbow to elbow, but wearing masks. Except for a little less traffic, and the masks, you wouldn't know there was a problem.

She-Wanna-Boom reminds me of the guy who goes around with a stencil of a smiling lady who says "I Wanna Bang Cock".

What's going on with liability for "negligence"? Is it country by country? Say someone gets sick in a hotel, and sues claiming that the cleaning procedures were inadequate or not according to standard protocols? I know people seldom sue in Thailand, but the US is crazy as we all know.

This is a country where the laws are enforced selectively. I note the women standing on Sukhumvit offering their services (unless they are really just psychotherapists and I just don't get it). What could be more obvious? And potentially dangerous? I'm not saying they shouldn't earn a living, I'm saying it's surreal. The police don't see them? So I conclude that the closures are really collective acts of social cooperation, not enforcement. And that the closures will only last as long as the asian tendency to conform goes along with them, or wants to. In a few days we will know a lot more.

True store first level Fortune Town was open a while back, all upper floors and  most of Central Plaza closed, meaning no AIS for me to top up since the web site won't recognize my credit cards.

I agree with Yadon that a lot has been lost or ruined, but there are still some pockets on soi 24 and 26 and 26/1 and elsewhere. But then I'm a soapy fan. I used to like Merci up on Rachada Rd, but a change of management or something spoiled it. Some of the scene up that way is still ok, but the Japanese willingness to overpay has made it rather unreasonable. It will really be interesting to see what shakes out with those big places when this crisis eases.

I just broke up a several year relation with one almost 40 years younger. I refused to marry or buy a house or even a car. I did set her up with a small business which I don't regret. To her credit, she really gave it her all for the first 80% of the run. She may at times have thought she was draining me of a lot, but probably didn't realize that it was just a fraction of my total real income. I only gave what I was happy to lose, because I sensed it would not be forever. The beginning of the end came when she started helping out some of her family members in ways I thought were too much.

1 hour ago, jadee said:

Out of interest, what are all the women doing now? Gone back to the farm or started working online? (...asking for a friend...)

My favorite massage woman is far away back in the village, catching fish and eating mangos.

I transferred a third of that amount in one SWIFT wire transfer into a FCD acct at Krungsri (hope I'm not telling too much). Those type accts have no deposit insurance, but recent events assure me that the elite of this country will not let any banks go under. And if and when the baht goes to 35 or 36 you could change the money into baht and then have deposit insurance. Honestly I would not transfer any more than necessary for the visa renewal because there are easy ways to access money sitting in the US, even with your situation.

So are free-lance working girls (or more likely, women) classified as self-employed, or are they even included here?