PingRoundTheWorld

Amen to that. I think we're still quite far from realistic sex-robots, though that will happen for sure when the technology is there, at least in countries that won't ban it (because you know women will fight tooth and nail to get it banned). But interactive porn is already a thing, and it'll only improve with AI. There's definitely already content out there (TikTok etc) generated by AI, and when the technology improves and it becomes realistic you'll basically have more and more MEN putting out fake content out there once they figure out it's profitable, and since it's fake women they can create an unlimited supply of them. That will start a race to the bottom where there's too much content and not enough simps so the payouts will decrease rapidly, pushing most real women out of business. My guess this is coming within a few years, tops. Would be interesting watching the monumental change in attitude and desperation levels of women with no other skills than their looks. No doubt they'll fight to ban and outlaw such content, but did we mention no skills already? they won't be able to stop progress. The collapse of hoeflation is coming!

The thought has crossed my mind- yes. Financially speaking if I liquidated some of my portfolio I could probably start a small club, however having to actually manage it and deal with staff and police and connections and other such factors is a deterrent. I could hire a manager for the day-to-day stuff, but at least in the beginning would want to be involved in managing it. You can't just open a club and hope people will come- you have to advertise, you have to run word of mouth, you have to hire staff and dancers and PR to bring people in. So now you got me googling "costs of starting a nightclub in bangkok"...

I'm sick and tired of sacrificing my health so inconsiderate people can smoke in my face. My favorite clubs in Bangkok used to have a no-smoking room and a smoking room, and when people were smoking real cigarettes that worked out great. Now, instead of banning vapes in the no-smoking room and allowing them in the smoking room they allow them everywhere. Every 2nd person puffs questionable fumes nonstop and this gets everywhere. It's insane that in Thailand where everyone is so obsessed with levels of outdoor PM2.5 they are pumping PM2.5 into the air indoors where it is much more harmful. And before someone says vape vapor is harmless: it is not harmless, and not all vape juices are created equal - plenty of them have actual toxic substances in it. Inhaling it can and does cause harm whether you like it or not. Is it less harm than a cigarettes? depends on the juice and depends on the vape, but a large number of people pumping it into the air all night long cannot be healthy. Personally I get throat irritation, nonstop coughing that lasts days after exposure, and in extreme cases after being around too much of it I gag and nearly puke. So the bottom line is: I go out very often, I would like to continue going out often, but coughing and nearly puking every time someone in the next table chain-vapes is not an option and needs to stop. Are there any nightclubs in Bangkok or Pattaya where the owner actually cares about the health of his patrons and BANS vaping in the no-smoking room? I'd be sad to ditch my favorite venue, and they're stupid for sacrificing the literal millions of baht I spend there every year, but enough is enough. I'm sitting home now because my throat is too irritated to go out after a particularly vapey weekend. And if there are any venue owners in the crowd: why are you allowing this??

Sounds like a sound business plan. It's been working so far!

Streaming should be illegal, and streamers should be arrested and deported, not tolerated. Oh wait- it actually IS illegal - they're working without a work permit. Police should arrest, fine, and deport this human trash. Unbelievable that this is an atual "job" - even OnlyFans hoes have more dignity. That particular idiot actually tried to mess with construction workers. They're not exactly Yakuza but the Yakuza is heavily into construction in Japan. Most Japanese are very patient and tolerant, but you don't mess with construction workers there.

Ugh. Just realized that too. Not funny though considering it might as well be real.

What the actual ****? Racist much? Hope Thailand gets NO tourists, at all, this is just a re-run of 2019-2020 when too many tourists = price gouging, and now "dirty foreigners" talk again. And meanwhile in Nana plaza they're talking about raising bar fines to 6k a pop - absolutely insane and stupid. Moving to Pattaya, screw you Bangkok with the stupid prices.

Have noticed the same thing in Bangkok- anyone targetting foreigners will frown at anything below 3k, and even 3k they'll be reluctant about. The other day I gave a regular 2.5k because that's all the cash I had on me, and she nearly had a panic attack - this is a girl I've known for years who generally likes me, not just a random. Really not worth the trouble and she's shooting herself in the foot over 500 baht because I simply won't see her anymore. From conversations I've had with both working girls and tourists, the going rates for tourists have skyrocketed. Several girls won't go with customers unless they offer 10k+ which is insane (funny enough I give them 2k or nothing so obviously there's exceptions). Tourist friends have been quoted 8k, 10k, and even 20k. The ironic thing is that I see the same girls every night go home alone. The majority of them are lucky to get even one customer (victim) a week. They make 6k on their one tourist a week when they could be making 2-3k almost daily if they just quoted reasonable prices. I think it really comes down to pro vs semi-pro: some girls just like to party and will take anything you offer, but the pros are there only for the money, it's all business - no thanks. Pattaya on the other hand is a completely different story: almost any girl will take anything you offer (within reason). I guess when it comes down to it it's supply and demand - the ratio of working women to men (that are targetting foreigners) in Pattaya is probably 10x better than the ratio in Bangkok. Another factor that's messing up the ecosystem is OnlyFans, Instagram, reels, and other forms for hoes to make money online. Constant attention and money stream from simps means they won't even bother with real life men unless they pay, a LOT. On the upside that is already beginning to resolve itself: the online market being oversaturated already because there's already huge amounts of "content" out there and most of it is just the same **** over and over again - it's not like they're doing anything original, and oversaturation means lower pay. But I think the big thing coming will DESTROY this "industry" - AI - there's already almost realistic "models" out there, and the technology will only get better. With an endless supply of realistic 9s/10s who simps won't be able to tell aren't real, real women won't stand a chance. The entire OF, porn, and general "content" industries will be transformed into AI generated content IMO. Which is great news for men and society everywhere. Rejoice!

You have to be a real basketcase to compare actual ethnic cleansing with collateral damage. Israel has never targetted civilians and has been taking measures to minimize civilian casualties throughout the entire war. The only ethnical cleansing happening is in your imagination. Let's put it this way: if Israel really wanted to commit ethnical cleansing it would've been over in a matter of days and gaza would've been turned into a parking lot. It's taking this long exactly because of trying to balance collateral damage with finding and destroying Hamas. Amazing how people babble on about Israel when just next door in Syria 20x the people have died and millions have been displaced. Ukraine is a mess. The party keeps on in various states in Africa. Yemen is basically a 2 governments state sponsored by Iran. And the list goes on. What's so special about Israel? because they're Jews?

Probably photoshopped. Why would an Israeli soldier hold a Thai flag? it makes no sense. To begin with HOW would a soldier get a Thai flag in Gaza to begin with? I wouldn't know how to get a Thai flag in Israel even with free movement - but a soldier confined to service in Gaza? unlikely. More likely is that it's an Israeli flag, and the <deleted> who twitted it photoshopped it, in line with the Palestinian propaganda machine - lying is no problem for them as long as it's in line with "the cause".

The pleb taking the video and complaining is no doubt employed in the entertainment industry and would be unemployed and poor without tourism. Amazing how they constantly spit into the well from which they drink.

Seriously **** Phuket. What a cesspool of every undesirable both local and foreign. They deserve each other, but we don't deserve the bad rep they cause.

So instead of fixing the law so foreigners can own land/houses like a normal country.... this. I understand wanting to protect land prices so it doesn't get taken over (by Chinese more likely than farang), but in that case restrict investment property but allow people to buy a home to live in. It's ridiculous that you can't.

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.