AsiaTraveler1234

Both

Use a condom and you are good, mate. Plenty of research shows that a significant number of sex workers in Thailand are HIV-positive, but if you wear a condom and stick to oral and vaginal sex you will be fine. Without a condom, the risk of getting HIV via oral sex is almost zero, and the risk to the insertive partner via vaginal sex with a partner who is already positive is relatively low. Your biggest risk would be having unprotected anal sex as the receptive partner, assuming you were gay or bisexual. It's also a good idea to get tested about every 3 months for all common STIs. Best if your HIV test is done by PCR method since the detection method sensitivity during disease incubation is about 2 weeks as opposed to 6 months. Good luck and be safe, mate 👍🙏

My observation is that the thais all seem smiley and happy, while it is the farangs who seem angry and miserable. I actually mentioned this to some thai people yesterday, and they agreed with me. They think we farangs drink too much, which is the reason why 🤣 I think it it is due to the Eastern religious philosophies of the country which keep the thais happy with simplicity. We even did a test where we observed the percentage of thais and farangs walking by with "at least some facial indication of happiness," and the thais beat the farangs by a large margin. I dont recal observing a single smiling farang in our 1 minute experiment. I joke with the local population and tell them that I'm half thai since, like them, I am always happy and smiling 😄 For context, I am in Jomtien Beach (nice area).

Yes, I love those transactions 😄👍 But, even the expats in "proper" relationships or married to thai girls pretty much all pay some kind of monthly allowance their partner's family. It typically seems to be around THB 10,000/mo. I find this very strange since, in Australia, the women are very egalitarian. It's very common for women there to split the bill or buy the next round of drinks while you are off in the loo unloading from the first round. In Australia, the women are looking for genuine connections; while in Thailand, the women are looking for transactions. Generally speaking.

G'day! You won't have much a problem since relationships here, unlike Australia, are very transactional. Your bigger problem is being located in Hua Hin as opposed to Pattaya or Phuket where most of the explict transactional work is. You will have much better luck in the Philippines, where age-gap relationships are very common and the girls actually speak English.

Sawasdee krub (with a smile) 😄

It might be the Buddhist values that are predominant in Thailand. It certainly seems to me that the local thai population is much happier than most of the farangs I see around town. I joke with the locals and tell them I'm half Thai since I'm always happy and smiling, just like them.

See attached various package options from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. You can also add indivdual tests when not included with the more basic packages. This promotion ended last month, but it gives you an idea.

Qantas and Jetstar share the same parent company. Singapore Airlines and Scoot share the same parent company. Masarati and Chrysler share the same parent company. My brother and I come from the same parents, but we are very different 🤣 Keep using Agoda if it works for you 👍

Google Maps reviews on Lifecare aren't exactly encouraging 🤔 There is a lab in nearby Jomtien called Rada Medical Labratory. I used them before and they were good, but I still think using a package from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is the best bet. They have various packages based on your interest.

Perhaps; but there is more to using a service than focusing solely on price. And, for example, the reason many people choose to live in Thailand as opposed to, say, Sri Lanka, which is "cheaper." Reminds me of the quote, "He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." 🤣 Agoda was great until there was a problem with the hotel, at which point they were fairly useless and I never used them again. My general business motto: "If you don't take care of the customer, someone else will." Enter Booking and AirBnb. Agoda, unlike Booking, doesn't display the true total price per night until checkout. Booking has much better price transparency. With AirBnb, you never have to worry about paying cash or needing to surrendering card details in a third world country to cover a bond deposit. Agoda, like Hotels.com and Expedia, is good until it is not.

Bangkok Hospital has a Health Promotion Center that has a variety of annual checkup packages. You can email inquiry(at)bph.co.th for more information.

I would say Koh Samui since it has a very short rainy season compared to other parts of Thailand, plus you have a good private hospital, airport, great beaches, and many convieniences of the larger cities.

Yeah, I too stopped using Agoda a few months ago. I find AirBnb & Booking to be best for accomodation. For airfare, I find it's best to use Google Flights or Skyskanner to see which airlines fly your desired route, and then book directly with the airline.

Thanks. I have, actually. I published a best-selling and award-winning book on the behavioral economics of human mating, but I didn't recommend it above as to not give away my secret identity 😎 It really is amazing how much power academic knowledge gives one in any given domain -- whether mating, finance, nutrition, etc. If only more people would take the time to read they could improve their lives significantly.

Laughing as I read some of these replies 🤣 Many thanks to those who actually answered the question 🙏 As a follow up, she showed up and all went well. All parties left very happy 😘💰 A few added details for the other off-topic responders: I've actually done quite well with the ladies most of my adult life. I've likely had this success because I'm a tall, white, educated, professional, decent-looking, outgoing, social and happy guy. The problem is that men and women have very different views when it comes to casual sex. For more on the science, consider reading The Evolution of Desire (Buss), What Women Want What Men Want (Townsend), a Billion Wicked Thoughts (Ogas), or, if you want a much more academic read, The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Symons). If you'd rather skip the books and get right to the theory, look into Parental Investment Theory, Sexually Antagonistic Coevolution, and Sexual Conflict Theory, just to name a few. The problem for guys like me is that dating has never been a problem, but I don't like seeing girls get hurt when we get intimate and it doesn't lead anywhere, primarily because she made my bar for a short-term partner but not a long-term one. Women, generally, aren't interested in casual sex, unless, as in many cases, they are being paid for it. Enter Thailand. For many men, myself included, our standards for a suitable long-term partner (girlfriend or spouse) are much higher than for a short-term partner (casual sex). To women who dont understand this, consider the analogy of buying a house. Buying a house is a long-term investment, so you want to buy the right house and not just any house. You will wait for the "right" house. In the meantime, you still need a place to live, which is the rental (short term) market. So, while many men are looking for that special partner (the house) we still need casual partners to satisfy the biological desire for sex (the rentals). Regarding the Internet as a forum, it is simply the most efficient route. If you approach randoms on the street, you don't know if they are already partnered; you don't know if the attraction is reciprocated; you don't know if they have children; you don't know if they have similar interests; you don't know if they just want to enjoy their morning coffee and be left alone; and, most importantly, you don't want to approach a vanilla girl with the intent of short-term mating when she is very likely to be disappointed when it doesn't lead to something more serious, especially if she gets intimate with you. With the Internet, everyone there is (presumably) single or otherwise looking. If people message back, you know there is mutual interest and you haven't otherwise disturbed someone who wasn't interested to begin with. You can see if you have similar religious ideologies or musical tastes prior to contact. You can see what they look like in the bikini that they likely aren't wearing at the coffee shop. It's all very efficient. Almost like shopping on Amazon in minutes and opposed to spending an entire day rummaging through endless stores in a massive shopping mall. I could go on, but hopefully this provides some insight 🙏👍 As to the person who "reported this post." I'm always amazed how people treat the topic of sex as some taboo discussion. The question here is just as valid as someone asking how to, for example, file taxes without upsetting the revenue department. The domain of the question doesn't make it any less valid. Cheers, everyone 😎❤️

My understanding is that prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand. It is, basically, unlawful to pay for sex. Is this why most of the girl bars and gents clubs use more vague terms like "short time" and "long time" to make it appear that you are paying for her time as opposed to a strict exchange for sex? The reason for my question is that I installed some regular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, etc. on my phone. There obviously are freelancers on there looking for customers, but some are more candid and will eventually say stuff like, "$x for sex, ok?" Do I need to worry about these profiles being some type of law enforcement posing as girls to entrap me into violating prostitution laws? I already know how to weed out the ladyboys, but I'm curious about whether I need to be careful about how I communicate with these profiles online. I'm assuming many of the profiles are newer, understandably naive, girls so it seems reasonable for them to ask such a direct question. As a man, I'd like a relationship, but I'm obviously still open to casual fun until I meet the right one. I just dont want any unnecessary problems with law enforcement. I also dont want to turn away newer girls by using the usual very vague language which they may not understand. Thanks!

Optus or Telstra. Telstra has the best coverage if going outside the major capital cities. I personally like Optus and always use them in Australia. Their app is great and makes account management super easy.

There are plenty of scammers, especially in Asia, using wireless card skimming devices in airports and popular tourist spots. The best thing you can do to minimize this risk going forward is to install a digital wallet app on your phone, like Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, add your credit cards to the digital wallets, and then leave your physical cards at home and always pay with your phone. These apps generate a unique number with each transaction so nobody can ever get access to your card details. If you do choose to carry the physical card with you, it's best to keep it in a wallet with RFID protection. Keep in mind that many merchants in Asia dont have modern POS terminals set up to accept digital wallet apps, but better restaurants will and so will major chains like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, etc. Also, many larger hotels will want to see the physical card so they can get the details in case you incur any incidentals or damage the property, which is why I use AirBnb when booking accomodation to get around this issue.

Unless your mask is N95 or better, my understanding is that masks do not prevent you from getting COVID but rather from spreading it to others.

Didnt realize Wise had issues in Thailand. I've used it successfully and without issue in so many countries that I just assumed it would apply to Thailand, too, since THB is a currency handled by Wise. From reading the other comments, at least it seems to work for inbound transfers to Thailand. It is noteworthy how greedy Thailand is when it comes to fees surrounding foreign money transfers. ATM fees here are ridiculous (none in Malaysia). Malaysia seems much more advanced and is actually my preference for a place to live while nearby Thailand remains ideal for nightlife.

Your question has always been a big concern of mine, too. So, like you, I researched and prepared diligently to avoid such a situation. Thankfully, after 2 years in Asia this process has worked very well for me. A few key points: 1. If the person is just TOO good looking (almost perfect), then you likely are dealing with a ladyboy. 2. Always ask right at the beginning, "Are you lady or ladyboy? Ladyboys look exactly like real women so I can't tell by looking." Put that into Google Translate and show them in Thai (or whatever the local language is). Some women used to get offended suggesting that I thought they looked like a ladyboy, so by adding that second sentence it assures her that it isn't her looking like a guy buy rather the guys today are so good at looking like a girl that you need to ask to be sure. They will be honest 99% of the time, so ask at the very beginning to avoid spending any unnecessary money or time. If you sense any hostility to the question, you are dealing with a ladyboy. 3. The last (optional) step is to ask her to show you her national Thai ID card because you want to ensure she is of legal age since she looks young and you dont want any problems with the police. Even if the girl is 50 years old, it will make her feel good. The Thai national ID card lists the sex assigned at birth, so while she thinks you are looking at the birthdate for age, you really are looking at the sex for gender at birth. Good luck, mate!

You basically open an account with Wise and transfer money from your Thai bank to your Wise account, all in Thai Baht (THB). Next, the Wise app lets you convert from THB to GBP at the closest rate you will get to the mid-market spot forex rate. Lastly, you transfer from Wise to your UK account, all in GBP. You can use Wise to move and convert money in this manner for myriad different currencies.

I use the Wise app for this exact purpose and have never had any issues.

I just stumbled upon this old thread while waiting here at a Thailand driving school for my motorbike license. When I am done with this process, I will be issued two separate 2 year (temporary?) Thai driver licenses, one for car (converted from my existing International Driver Permit) and one for motorbike. The posts in this thread are very clear about the full 5 year Thai license and how it can be used abroad, but what about the initial 2 year licenses? Can the first 2 year driver license for either car or motorbike be used only in Thailand, or does it still work in all the ASEAN member countries?