henrik2000

Hey, there seems to be "Pay by Scan" courtesy of Kasikorn Bank and TagThai: 1. Get the prepaid Pay&Tour card at Kasikorn Bank forex booths (no fees mentioned). This card allows you to pay where visa cards are accepted and to withdraw from Kasikorn ATMs (less fees + restrictions than int'l visa cards?). 2. Get the TagThai app and connect it to your Kasikorn Pay&Tour card. After that, they say, you can "pay by scan" like any Thai (they mention "PromptPay" which seems to be the widespread payment system). Here on Apple App Store and here on Google Play (1m+ downloads on GPlay, but again I don't see any reviews). TagThai seems to have many more functions like travel booking etc. (website TagThai in English), and I anticipate lots of pestering notifications and reminders. Would love to hear of any experiences and if there is a Kasikorn outlet in Jomtien that could set it up – I'll happily bring passport + prepay money.

Roger, Sophon and Treetops, thanks for your input!

Hello, have you used the app JamJang to "pay by scan"? Do you or your surrounds have real experience (not just suspicions)? There is little intel online. Note that this JamJang app (launched in early 2024) supposedly allows you to use the wide-spread "pay by scan" that all Thai people use (I think connected to PromptPay). JamJang is supposedly not something proprietary with only few participating vendors. I understand you need a Thai number to register. Upcountry it's nice to "pay by scan" - any snack or toothbrush. I see it's less used in big cities, but widely used in small towns, where I mostly am. "Pay by scan" would be nice for me – I am a tourist upcountry for weeks on end, and getting the Thai bank account required for regular "pay by scan" like locals or expats seems too complicated for tourist-me (according to your advice earlier, I discarded the idea of getting a Thai bank account as a tourist). Of course in the shops I can do with cash, but if JamJang for "pay by scan" is good, I'd like to use it. Or any alternative? Some vendors prefer "pay by scan" very much over cash, in my experience (to avoid infection maybe?). Thanks for your real-life experience and insight! · Long critical JamJang explanation by user (?) on Reddit · JamJang app on Google Play, last update August 21, 1000+ downloads, I see no review · JamJang app on Apple App Store, 7 reviews, some smell 🐟y

They can leave very well for 500 THB/hour, they even have little plastic baskets to bring their equipment. And the freelancers i found utterly unreliable and sometimes there were language problems. Also i'd generelly trust them a little less than a masseuse that is connected to a shop.

Well all the shop-managers readily quote "500 Baht" for 1 hour of oil massage outside service, it seems a well-established standard price they are willing to offer, just as the 300 Baht for incoming customers. (Last checked Feb 24.)

Hi all, thanks for your suggestions! I had indeed offers already of massage ladies to visit me after business hours, say starting from 11 p.m., for the same price as in the shop, including the oil. But with a half-ok massage at 11 p.m. and in my home, i'd immediately fall asleep - no good. That time of day is better for live music (the kind that doesn't send me to lala land).

It seems that these wines - and also the 3L Montclair bag they offer - are "Store only" and can't be home-delivered. I also would have loved a home delivery, simply out of laziness.

Hi all, thanks for some good recommendations – shops wise and wine wise, including the link to another discussion! Well I did half like Mont Clair when considering its price. Now hearing it's fruit wine makes me not want to like it any more. As said on top, I wouldn't drink it in the west. I tried to get online information about what's in Mont Clair red wine, but didn't come to a final conclusion; one site said there's 20% non-grape fruit in it. The bags of wine in my non-English-speaking country are called "bag in box" – in English; I simply used "box" here, not considering that could be understood as a crate containing 6 or more glass bottles. So indeed, to say "bag" would have been much clearer, or better yet "bag in box". Also I had prepared the picture below to go with my initial post, but forgot it.

Hello, I'd love to get a REGULAR non-naughty oil massage by trained talent for 2 hours in my condo in Jomtien (near Dongtan police box on the beach) for maximally 400 THB per hour. There are many massage shops almost next door, but while on the premises they ask 300 THB per hour, they demand 500 THB for massage in my condo – and they demand 1000 for 2 hours in my condo! No discount. I need this massage only around 1 or 2 pm, in the hot hours, when massage shops aren't that busy and chock-full of idling talent. Occasionally I talked a manager down to 800 for 2 hours in my condo, but when I actually needed the service, they did ignore my messages or talked themselves out of it. (I believe I am polite, non-smelling, Thai-speaking, not looking like a menace.) There are outcall massage phone numbers for a rub at home, but they are very expensive. Thai ladies on Thaifriendly offer massage at home, and I may accept that after vetting by video call. But I find them very difficult to track down and to arrive at the time I want, at least in Jomtien at noon (ymmv). Hanky pank: I want ONLY a regular oil massage in the bright quiet cool of the condo (and not in a chicken shack massage store with broken shower), only starting around 1 pm. I like a masseuse chatty in the first 15 minutes, then rather quiet (she may calmly sing). If the masseuse then offers extras, I might consider (hopefully she isn't pushy). I am aware of the potential mess of an oil massage. Any tip? Thanks!

Hello, where can I buy Mont-Clair red wine by the box (3 or 5 liters) in Jomtien (preferred) or Pattaya? (I believe not at 7-11 or Lotus Express?) Can I compare prices online? Is there online ordering and home delivery? ('d love delivery to condo reception, don't mind reputation drop.) If you recommend certain wine-compatible nibbles from that store, I'd be interested too. No Alcohol for Sale 2- 5 PM? Once I wanted to buy a 5 L box of red wine in a huge hi-way side mall near Phetchaburi. But the cashier could not scan it. She looked a the box puzzled and asked me, "This, na? Alcohol?" And they were not allowed to sell alcohol between 2 – 5 pm. She put the box aside. I've seen this enforced in SOME supermarkets and small stores, while others ignore it obviously (incl small western supermarkets in Jomtien). If you do recommend supermarkets – are you aware if they do NOT sell alcohol 2 – 5 pm? Other Red Wine Brands? I find Mont Clair still okayish, and last year the boxes were much cheaper per liter than regular or half bottles. I'll have glass bottles/pitchers to keep the wine for the next evening. I'd try other affordable red wine brands preferredly by the box (stay 3 months), but of course would love to sample a bottle or glass first. My preferred grapes in the west are Primitivo, Sangiovese, Nero d'Avola and some other Italians, NOT Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon (meaning I wouldn't drink Mont-Clair in the west). I have sampled eminently drinkable Thai wines in Khao Yai from PB Valley, Khao Yai Winery, Alcidini, but can't afford them on a regular basis. Foreign tipples seem so much cheaper, otherwise I'd love the Thai wines. (Hash cookies, whiskey, beer no option either.) Thanks!

Hi, what has been new in Pattaya and Jomtien (preferred) and around since January 2024? I'll come back as a tourist, I believe to know many places (within my interests) and wanted to ask you about NEW place that came up just this year. I speak basic Thai, use Google Maps, Grab, Bolt, have own bicycle etc. Interested in: Thai-oriented live music (lukthung, morlam, songs for life (Carabao), but not rock/90s) Western jazz, maybe blues, maybe classic or crossover, not plain rock, no girlie-bar bands Hi profile Thai-oriented live music events Nov 20 – Dec 02 Restaurants, esp Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, woodfired pizza, Middle East (not fine dining, not in the thick of tourist maelstrom) actually good Coffee shops, non-girlie bars (not sports bars) Bicycle routes and day trip destinations esp nature (if any) Morning markets (fresh food markets; not night markets), good CE style bread Bicycle routes and outside destinations (have on bicycle) Regular non-naughty massage (apart from usual corner shops and hi-end wellness) Interesting atmospheric new-old buildings (hotel, mall etc.) w/ coffee shop to enjoy ambience Not looking for: Girlie bars, other redlight venues, fine dining, Already aware of: Music venues i already know : Kon Lah Fun, Sin Lapin Isaan, Hot Tuna Bar, Muzzik Café, Candy Shop, The Stones House, Jazz Pit/Sun Sabella Resto on Hill, (and still missing Kum Punn, ZAC, Jomtien Morlam, Samrang 3rd road) Food Drink places i already know: May's Jomtien, Toto Italian Jomtien, Hops Brewhouse Beach Road, Benjamit Coffee Roasters, Thepprasit Night Market, La Baguette on Hill Thanks!

Hello, for 3 months from November 2024, I want to store an empty bicycle bag in Jomtien (preferred) or Pattaya in a dry and dust-free place. The size is 147x85x35 cm (see pics below). Do you have a suggestion for a private storage solution? I know there are businesses like Pattaya Self Storage, U Store It Pattaya and Self Store Center Pattaya. But the smallest (useless) locker already costs THB 600/month, and a clearly big enough locker costs 4700 THB/month (link storage price list). Also my accommodation in Jomtien likely cannot store my bicycle bag, not even for a price. That's why I ask around for another place to store the bicycle bag. Notes: Begin storage: November 22 – November 29, 2024/2567 End storage: February 12 – 18, 2025/2568 If I do not show up or call after February 18, 2025/2568, storer may keep bicycle bag for himself. Bicycle bag will be handed over unlocked and empty (no bicycle inside; maybe if accepted a plastic bag with small useless travel things inside). Storer may explicitly check all inside of stored bag and may explicitly put their own dry, clean stuff inside. Of course I pay for storing, but not 600 THB/month. While bicycle bag is in storage, I tour Thailand with car + bicycle. I can be reached by phone and mail. I cannot come at a non-expected time to quickly fetch the bicycle bag. Cost of this bicycle bag in shop: ca. 20.000 THB. Aware that I could also use cheap cardboard boxes etc. for bicycle transport, but don't want to. Thanks for all offers and suggestions!

Thanks, Darkie's song is great. I toured many a Tawan Daeng, temple fair etc. etc., but it rarely comes so graceful (when performed live with audience).

Hi all, thanks for some good information!

Hello, can you name any precise Thai locations where there is Khmer language and perhaps Khmer culture (if different from Thai) alive in Isaan (not in Cambodia)? I do NOT mean: - Khmer *temples* like Phanom Rung - whole provinces like Buriram, Surin, Sisaket but exact towns, villages or districts where Khmer can be heard on the street (if any). I did meet Thai Khmers speaking Khmer (differing from Cambodian Khmer) in Southern Thailand as "migrant workers". And I have been to southern parts of each Buriram, Surin, Sisaket provinces before (cities, villages, Khmer temples), but there I don't remember meeting anything Thai-Khmer. I can easily distinguish between Khmer and Thai languages and I speak some Khmer, Thai Khmer and Thai. Could you - mention certain towns or clear locations where Thai Khmer is alive - say with authority that Thai Khmer isn't spoken publicly anymore in TH? Thanks!