BigLek

After a long sweaty bus ride down from Bangkok yesterday, I finally arrived in Pattaya. I checked into my usual hotel. I’ve been staying there for years. It’s not exactly top nick, but they know me, give me a decent rate, and always put me in a quiet room. The coffee shop in the lobby is good for breakfast too, and it’s barely a stone's throw from Soi 6, which is all that really matters. I was exhausted, so my plan was simple. A quick dump, then a nice bath, a nap, and a big night out, hopefully finding a hot little sack warmer at the end of it. I tossed my bag in the closet, stripped down, and decided to take a long bath instead of a quick shower. One of the other reasons I like this place is that they have real bathtubs, unlike so many hotels these days that just have a standing shower stall. The lukewarm water, the quiet, the weightlessness. It was exactly what I needed after that chaotic, red-bull-infused bus ride. I laid back, pulled out my dry herb vaporizer, and toked away. Absolute zen bliss mates. Exactly what I was needing. Maybe thirty, forty, even forty five minutes went by. Maybe even an hour or longer. F**k knows. I can’t remember. I was wasted from the vape and wasn't counting the time gone by. Finally, I stepped out, toweled off, and walked back into the room, still fully baked from the bath and the weed. Completely naked, now ready to collapse into bed for a power-nap before heading out. So I pulled back the covers and... There was a couple sleeping there! A young Asian couple. They looked Thai, but maybe they were Burmese or Cambodian. Couldn’t tell. But fully clothed and fast asleep. For half a second, I thought maybe I was hallucinating from the dope. Then, as the covers moved, they woke up, saw me, and absolutely freaked out. They bolted upright, panic in their eyes, and before I could even say a word, they jumped out of the bed and ran! No screaming. No explanation. No attempt to grab belongings, because seemingly they didn’t have any. No luggage, no shoes, no phones, nothing as far as I could see. They just ran out the door, vanished down the hallway, and gone. I stood there, still naked, still confused. So I scratched my nuts with one question looping in my head - What the actual f*** just happened here??? How did they get in? Were they already there when I checked in If so, how did they not hear me when I entered the room? And if they came in after, why would they crawl into a bed in an occupied hotel room with the lights on? Were they hotel staff, drifters, just looking for a place to crash. I had no friggin idea. I checked my stuff. Nothing missing. I checked the minibar. Nothing touched. The only thing that was a bit peculiar was there was one unopened condom sitting on top of the fridge. Then I remembered. The door had been locked when I arrived. I had closed it behind me before getting in the bath. So the room was locked at all times and there was no sign of forced entry. How did they even get in? Did they have a key card? Starting to feel a little paranoid, I knelt down and looked under the bed, hoping for no additional surprises. And that’s when I found it... A single high heeled woman’s shoe. Bright purple. Slightly scuffed. And a small tote bag. I didn’t even want open it up. Who knows what might be in there. Could even be illegal drugs or a gun, right? And I noticed a strange smell in the room. It was faint, but a bit like the smell of burning plastic. Did all this stuff, the condom, the shoe, and the bag all belong to the man and woman who had just been in my bed? Or had it been left there by some previous guest? And what was that smell? Anyway, it didn't really matter. I just wanted to get rid of the stuff and for this entirely bizarre encounter to finally end. So I called the front desk: “Uh… there were two people in my bed when I got out the bathtub, and there’s a shoe and strange bag under my bed.” There was a pause. Then, in a completely neutral tone, the receptionist just said... “Sorry sir, would you like a different room nah Mitter?” Bloody hell dudes, not what I was needing at all!

I have yet to see a genuinely good-looking, youngish, self-made woman in Thailand who has a pile of her own money and assets. Anytime you hear some geezer on here boasting on about how his wife is so rich, doesn’t need his money, and is with him purely for other reasons, you can bet it’s either complete rubbish or she’s a fat old maid that nobody would want to plonk anyway. There are only two kinds of women in Thailand. Hot and poor or fat and rich. You lot all know it, so let’s not fool ourselves. Now take your pick. Which kind is yours?

Bob, I rent my wives on an hourly basis, yes, that's wives, plural. I usually visit with them about 6–8 times per month, spread across multiple women, and spend no more than ฿15,000 in total each month, sometimes less, on the whole shebang. It's all about just focusing on a single part of my anatomy. No grief, no stress, no “I’ve got a headache,” no emotional breakdowns or mood swings to deal with. No dinner dates, no weekend trips, no strolling through shopping malls. Don't need any of that tosh. So I have complete control over all of my own free time. Plus, the women are usually half my age, never fat, entirely all by my choosing of course. I could go on, but you get the point, let’s just say I’ve got it made. Your fat old wife who doesn't want to get off the couch, can't beat my setup cuz. 🤣

In general, I believe foreign retirees are a positive presence in Thailand, more so than tourists. Retirees typically stay in Thailand nearly full-time, consistently spending money, including at private hospitals over time. From what I’ve seen, most of them don’t cause any trouble either. They tend to make an effort to assimilate into the culture and get along well with locals. On the other hand, I think it’s the short-term visitors, those who don’t grasp the nuances of the culture, that tend to create more problems for the local community.

Hopefully my presence has been a positive thing. I've put a lot of money into the local economy over the years, I don't cause anyone any trouble and I've helped a few of the locals extensively in many ways. I've also got a lot out the place myself in positive ways. So hopefully it's been a win-win on both sides.

From what I understand, most of them were living in Omni Tower, and many were also using it as a base of short-time operations. The majority of long-term residents, or rather, those renting month-to-month in that building, seem to be Arabs. However, I believe many of the sex worker women there have been forced to move out recently due to issues with the police. That said, the main building being used for short-time tricks appears to be Nana Condo. You can check it out on Google Maps. At night, dozens of Africans, ladyboys, and Vietnamese women line up along Soi Nana, just meters from that building. Thus, a lot of them take their customers there. I’d be surprised if any building at the far end of Soi Nana were popular for short-times. It’s too far, and I doubt many of their customers would be willing to walk that distance. Besides the Nana Condo, there are also several small short-time hotels within meters of that area where the women are all standing around and hooking customers. So there’s really no need for anyone to trek to the end of the Soi for a short-time room.

It is mainly Omni Tower. Daily fights. Daily incidents involving police. Daily immigration police raids. Not just Africans. The article doesn't mention it, but lots of Uzbeks are in there too, but they aren't as troublesome.

Which Sukhumvit Soi are you referring to?

It is very likely the subject condo building is Omni Tower. And a second one called Nana Condo.

You do the math...

Thank you for all the replies. Very helpful. I'm 158cm tall and weigh about 60 kilos, so I'm not so big, but in other areas I'm very gifted, like a horse! Still wondering about what to do given my situation. Oh, well.

Do people think that size really matters a lot in Thailand? I’m just curious, because I’m not so big.

What's that sitting on top of your ride mate? Looks like a huge durian got into a fight with a cannabis bud and lost. 😂

Simple Minds. African Skies.

Your welcome. I called their toll free number earlier today, before I posted that info, and they were the ones who told me that I could buy a SIM on eBay, have it shipped overseas, and activate it by calling them once I receive it. At first, the guy said I would need to insert the SIM into a phone to activate it before they could convert it to an eSIM. Then he corrected himself and said that if I didn’t want to do that, activation could be done through email once I had the SIM card in hand. I'm assuming that if you don't even want an eSIM that maybe you could just put the SIM in a phone and activate it that way. He didn't mention anything to me about not being able to activate it from overseas. But I don’t have any personal experience with this issue or this company, and I don’t plan to buy one of their SIMs as I am already satisfied with Numero. But if you want to call them and ask questions, here’s the number: +1-888-777-0446

All I can tell you is that Numero works with a U.S. bank and as a phone number for a U.S. PayPal account. I received OTP verification codes from both on my Numero number today. Plus, I have a friend who has been using this Numero service for the same purpose for over two years already without any issues. I don’t really care about needless speculation on VOIP classifications. It’s just conjecture. And maybe some banks will stop allowing these types of numbers one day, or maybe they won’t. But if something changes in a few years, you adapt and find another solution at that time. So for now, you have an app that can receive OTP text messages from U.S. financial institutions into your smartphone for just €18 per year. That's a good setup I say and no hassle like getting a real US SIM card. If you want to keep speculating, debating “what ifs,” and searching for something better, go ahead, knock yourself out. But I am done.

Yes, the Ultra Mobile PayGo SIM offers a real U.S. mobile number that works for receiving texts from U.S. financial institutions. The service costs $3 per month, plus tax, plus $0.10 per text for receiving text messages overseas. To get started, you’d need to buy a physical SIM, which is available on eBay for around $13 plus $17 shipping to Thailand. Once you have the SIM, you can contact the company to convert it into an eSIM, then you don’t actually need to insert the physical SIM into your phone. In practice, the cost comes out to about $5 per month because Ultra Mobile requires a minimum $5 balance top-up each month deducted from a debit or credit card. From the top-up payment they deduct the $3 monthly service fee (plus tax), and any incoming texts you receive overseas are charged at $0.10 each, all deducted from your balance. The Numero option I suggested still comes out more cost effective at a total of €18 per year.

The Numero number also works with PayPal. You can’t add it yourself through the PayPal app because the app will say that VOIP numbers aren’t allowed. However, if you call PayPal on the phone and ask them to add the number manually as your mobile number, they will do it. After that, they will send you a one-time verification code via text. Once you provide PayPal with the code you received through the Numero app, the number will work with PayPal going forward.

I just added the number to a bank. Received the code. It works.

It is exciting. Where else can you get a USA number for a one-time $25 fee for lifetime which also includes 1,000 minutes of calling per year?

They don't state that they have a different type of VOIP, but it works reliably for bank codes. That's all that counts. Invest €3.5 for a number for one month and then you will know. Very little to lose.

I also got a U.S. lifetime phone number for $25 from a company called Hushed. They have an app as well. It can receive OTP messages, though not from banks, but it’s still a great value. For the one-time lifetime cost, you get 1,000 voice calling minutes per year or 6,000 SMS messages per year, or a combination of both. Only condition: Must use your lifetime number at least once every 6 months in order to keep your subscription active Here’s the link to the $25 lifetime number promo: https://promo.hushed.com/lp/lifetime-3

Yes. It works for all bank OTP codes too AFAIK. You can try it out for €3.5 for one month and see if it works. Nothing to lose. If it doesn't work for your particular bank or purpose, then just drop it after one month. Or if it works good for you, then you can pay €18 for a year.

Forget this service. Instead, download an app called Numero, a Spain-based company that provides U.S. phone numbers capable of receiving all OTPs. You can try it out for one month for just €3.50 or get a full year at a discounted rate of €18. After downloading the app, go to the main screen and click on the icon for Phone Numbers. Then choose "USA Special Offers" at the top of the list of options. From there, pick your city and then you can choose either a one month, three month, or one year subscription. There are no additional fees. incoming calls and text messages are free with the subscription rates above. You only pay extra if you want to make outgoing calls within the U.S. using the app.

Sounds like it was an emergency situation.