PingRoundTheWorld

I think a lot of tourists just assume that every Thai girl in a nightlife venue is a prostitute - they take their social cues from red light areas and just apply it to everywhere they go. I have a lot of female friends who work as dancers or PR girls in nightclubs, and a common complaint I hear is that every other guy gropes them and asks "how much?" immediately assuming she's available for purchase (90% of them aren't). They take it in stride and just refuse, but get frustrated and run away after a while. Having said that- these are girls that work for venues, usually in a sexy outfit, and their job is to (only) drink with customers - they are not random girls dressed normally. Groping a random stranger on the street or a restaurant is a crime in any country, so it's unclear why these idiots think Thailand is somehow different. If the version of events depicted by the girl is true - give the guys a fine (not 200k, something smaller would do the trick too) and call it a lesson learned. No need to deport or jail - just fine and send a message that this type of behavior is not ok. It is however scary that legal proceedings in Thailand depend not on the truth or justice, but social media and court of public opinion.

Pun intended? Seriously though, I've been having vision issues too for the past couple of years. I've been wearing glasses/contacts for the past 30 years - always been fine both reading and far sight with glasses or contacts on, but now I can barely read anything with contacts on, and it's not optimal with glasses either. Far sight isn't what it used to be either. I had a couple of vision tests done and my prescription hasn't changed - doc had me try different close prescriptions too but they were even worse. So bottom line is I can ace a vision test, but I don't feel like my vision is what it used to be. Anyway, might give Rutnin a try. 👍

Having lived 15 years in Asia (Japan and Thailand mostly) I can count on one hand the real male friends I've had who are not foreigners themselves. The difference in culture, upbringing, ego, and perception of reality is so vast it's nearly impossible for a Thai/Japanese man to be friends with a foreigner beyond just being a drinking buddy. Women on the other hand is a different story, plenty of (platonic) friends here - totally different mindset than the men.

Media bias- nobody cares if a Thai man attacks a Thai woman. Unless there are serious injuries involved and it goes viral, it'll never get published by a news outlet. Thai women experience far more abuse from Thai men (partners or relatives) than farang - why do you think many shun off Thai men and date farang exclusively? (no- it's not just about the money)

What a weak excuse to justify avoiding doing their job. Distinguishing sex workers is extremely easy - any one of them standing on the side of the road occasionally trying to grab passerbys is a sex worker 100%. Still need more proof? a sting operation would be extremely easy - send in guys in plain clothes, have them negotiate a rate (after the "lady" offered services) and pretend to go to his hotel, and arrest them. Need extra proof? CCTV footage all over the street. Can also record video and audio of them offering services without a sting operation. Fact is - as usual - police is not operating to clear out the ladyboy sex workers on Bangla because they don't want to. It's funny how they keep going about "tarnishing the image of Thailand/Phuket" when every single night they have hundreds of ladyboys ruin the image of any city they offer service in. I'm singling out ladyboys (as opposed to real ladies) simply because they are more aggressive, more offensive, more violent, and commit more crime (theft/robbery/assault) compared to real ladies.

A drop in the ocean. Will do nothing to curtail (ab)use. The main problem with vapes is that people don't realize it's bad - they think it's a harmless alternative to cigarettes - but in reality most vape juice out there is sub-standard toxic crap with all sort of harmful chemicals. So they will gladly vape in your face not giving two ****s whether you wish to be second-hand vaping or not, and the worst part is that they do it in rooms designated as no smoking too! One of my favorite venues recently decided to allow vapes in the no smoking room (despite having a designated smoking room). I'm probably their most loyal customer (go there daily) but if I keep getting that toxic crap in my face I'll have to find an alternative. Pretty sure I'm allergic to it as being around it gives me huge respiratory issues the next couple of days. P.S. Yes- not all vape juice is toxic, but the stuff mainly being sold here (cheap Chinese crap) most certainly is.

Oh there is no doubt the guy is a pompous ass and the matter could've been resolved amicably, but between being a **** and being a danger to the public there's a big difference. He might deserve a fine and/or to compensate her financially, but asking to have his visa revoked before his case was even heard by a judge, just because it went public, is excessive. That's the point - in other countries if you are married to a local you get initially a temporary visa, and a few years later permanent residency. Thailand is quite unique in that even if you are married and lived here for 30 years, you are still no better off than a tourist.

Wish I knew that a decade ago. Would've saved me a lot of money and headaches. I ran my own company (C Corp) so made sure to maximize (legal) deductions to lower my salary/taxable income. It wasn't that much, but still paid some over those years. Sounds like I could've just paid it as salary and excluded it. (but then again minimizing payroll also minimizes payroll taxes which you can't exclude AFAIK)

Wasn't changing taxi vacancy light from red to green was supposed to indicate it's an experienced driver who uses the meter? in my experience the green light ones are WORSE with some demanding 200 and even 300 baht for a 5 minute ride. Refused of course, but stickers won't do crap. Yeah, I usually just walk away when they are trying to scam - it's a good indication of how the rest of the ride will be. At the airport never bother with taxis - they're almost always scammers in my experience. I just use Grab or another app - it might not be cheaper, but it's safer, they won't try to scam you, and you'll probably arrive faster. Grab has been accepting credit cards for years now, Bolt just started recently. More likely some drivers don't realize that's even a possibility and/or don't expect it so they ask for payment. As for the driver asking you to pay cash BEFORE the drive - yeah that's dodgy. Grab used to be great in Bangkok a few years ago, but has gone downhill since - probably because they charge drivers higher fees so many drivers prefer to work with other applications. Ironically this likely promoted the success of Bolt, InDrive, etc and shifted a lot of customer to those apps instead.

Ohh stickers!! That'll fix it. Seriously, the only real solution is high penalties and strict enforcement. If it's a choice between losing their license or using the meter - the meter will win - but as long as it's a small fine and off they go nothing will ever change.

It appears I am indeed wrong, and you CAN claim the FEIE on income from US employers as long as you meet the requirements (bona fide foreign resident). I am slightly shocked as in the past I spent a decade paying US income tax while living overseas because I had an online business incorporated in the US. It's too late to amend those returns, but good to know...😵

Why are you paying state tax?? Just get a mailing address in a state like Texas where there is no state income tax and file using that address. You have no legal obligation to pay taxes to a state you don't live in.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you can claim the foreign income exemption on income that was derived/paid from a US source - regardless of where the work was performed. If he was working in Thailand, getting paid in Thailand, he could claim the exemption.

Further reminder that as foreigners we can never really call Thailand home. Even being married to a Thai you are subject to have your visa revoked at any point for a minor incident - and this was a minor incident before the doctor blew it up. The guy was rude and entitled - sure - but he is not "a danger to the public". The doctor suffered no wounds beyond her pride. Meanwhile Thai thugs beat each other near the brink of death and police absolves them with 500 baht and a wai. Reminds me of an elderly couple I met at immigration one day - the man is Thai and the wife is Malaysian - married for 30 years, but still have to waste 4 days a year go to immigration to file 90 day reports. 💩

I stayed in the hotel next door in 2017. Back then it was pretty quiet and haven't seen any ladyboys there. I haven't been there in a very long time but I guess that's changed.. and maybe will change back again as it appears the Filipinos will be gone for a while... What dignity? we are literally talking about men in dresses selling their a** (when they're not busy robbing people). There's very few other jobs that are less dignified than that. There's that phrase "any job is a good job".. well, not in this case lol.

.....why?? Sounds about right. This isn't about a single incident - it must have been built up resentment for months/years. TBH I can't really fault the Thais for being angry about Filipinos encroaching on "their" territory. Can you imagine if any other nationality tried stealing taxi driver jobs? Any work being taken by an illegal immigrant/tourist is bad for locals, but sex work is by tourists is breaking multiple laws. They really should have immigration round up foreigner sex workers and start deporting - there's no reason for Africans, foreigner ladyboys, etc to be here. Vietnamese/Laos/Cambodia/Myanmar is still ok as they at least understand the language and culture and behave themselves for the most part - and also in many cases do have work permits (not for sex work obviously, but many have day jobs and moonlight at night) - but Filipino and African tourists really have no business being here. Having said all of that- the ones attacking them were animals (sorry to insult animals). Just blindly attacking any Filipino they could drag out regardless of whether they were involved in the previous incident. A lynch is a lynch - the police should look at the videos and arrest all who participated. This of course won't happen because they are Thai, and police would rather pretend that the situation is resolved than uphold the law....until it happens again with a different demographic. It's already a common occurence for groups of ladyboys in Pattaya to attack foreigners - there's clearly a pattern of violence, and a lack of enforcement - why would they stop being violent if they know there are no repercussions?

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/crime-crime/2017/07/12/25-test-positive-drugs-raid-secret-bangkok-bar/ I guess it happened in 2017, I thought it was later than that. I used to go there a lot but "missed" this specific raid.

Exactly. It's amazing how all the white knights here immediately assume her side of the story is true. From the satellite photo (google maps) it's clear this is not a beach and the women were knowingly walking through back yards. There are clearly two No Tresspassing signs on both sides of the stairs - they just didn't care. So she already lied about not knowing she was tresspassing - the "poor me didn't know" act is after-the-fact to gather sympathy for her "cause" (what cause is that? legally speaking she's the one who broke the law). As far as the assault goes, it was probably just a push, which is uncalled for - but hardly "assault". If he actually hit or kicked her she would've definitely included that in her version of events. Also a nice touch implying he was fat/obese - as if that bears any relevance other than trying to portray him as the villian. As for what he or his wife said - she probably is making a lot of it up. I've met a lot of female Thai doctors, lawyers, judges, and others in such professions - while sure a lot of them can be sweethearts, many are also incredibly entitled - especially when drunk. I've seen such women be incredibly pushy, sexually harass me and others, stubbornly continue to hit on me despite having clearly indicated I am not interested, etc. This type of woman assumes she is above the rest and does not take no for an answer. And that's what likely happened here - they were told to move, and instead of moving they stubbornly stayed there which escalated the situation. Just the other night ran into such a beast - she was at the table next to mine very drunk and very provocative, at some point she comes over and introduces herself while spilling half her drink on my leg. I reached out to get some paper towels and when she realized what happened she lowered her face towards my leg/groin, overtly licked her lips, and asked "can I help you?". I refused politely and dried it off, but she kept doing it over and over again and licking her lips throughout and get more and more touchy. Eventually I told her "my girlfriend works in this club" hoping she'd take the hint - no such luck - she kept going. I had to tell her 5 times I have a girlfriend and eventually physically move away and move tables to get her to stop.

At some point (maybe 2017-2018?) Swing moved to Lumphini-Wang Mai area (don't remember exact location but I remember taking taxis going in that direction). Was big and lots of people even very late. Operated for a couple of years and closed (police raid if I remember correctly). Then Covid happened, and in 2022 they tried opening another location near soi ratchadamri 2 where Superrich is, but the place was tiny and usually empty - nothing like the big clubs they ran before. We went a few times to give it a chance, and ditched it for another bar nearby that was and still is the go-to spot for afterhours. Less drugs there too. I don't know if that place on Ratchadamri still exists, but probably not.

Climax closed before Covid. Apparently the hotel (Ambassador) thought they could do better with a convention center instead of the club. I hear rumors they might be building another club there but not sure. Climax was part of the Hillary group so some of the previous clientele can be found in Hillary on soi 4 or soi 11. The new Nana club (I think that's actually the name) is owned by Indian(s) so probably geared towards them, though I'm sure it gets random tourists as well. Levels and Sugar do not stay open late. Some of the bars on soi 11 and soi 8, and all the street bars probably do stay open late. Mixx in intercontinental hotel is technically in Ratchada which is one of the zones where clubs can stay open until 4am legally. There's another bar in the area that stays open later. I miss Climax.. aside from being chock full of, uh, talent.. it was also a 30 seconds walk from my condo at the time. Levels and Sugar seemed so far...

Stopped working for me as well. Used to pay with foreign cards for 3 years before that but now it doesn't seem possible anymore.

They are there to take care of owners' needs. If multiple owners are interested in EVs then it's their duty to service that need - that's literally what they are getting paid for - by the owners. It's actually quite amazing to me how some juristic people think it's the other way around and they're the priority - no, you're the help, so help!

How exactly is it better? I have a very good friend who's partner is a tomboy. They haven't had sex in 3 years - just cuddle and such. Sex is definitely not the motivation.

I can't think of anything I enjoy that could not exist without tourists. There's a large enough population of expats here to support any business I frequent. If some tourist-trap bars and tourist-price massage joints close shop - no sweat off my back. Not saying all tourists are bad - but millions of them raising prices and other negative consequences are bad IMO. Bad for us - expats - not necessarily bad for Thais who earn more when there's lots of tourists.

I'm more than willing to change my opinion, lol. Thanks for reaffirming you guys (decent kiwis) exist! 🙂 Hope so! Come to think of it, it might be a good idea across all nationalities... not that it really matters as they can still get in visa exempt anyway.