BADBRAD

I'm not sure about that, but as I said it was never a problem for me to get the 6 month multiple entries. Just about any travel agency there can do it (I used 3 different ones, the last as recently as February '07). If you need need a business visa then it may be a different story.

The same day processing isn't available for tourist visas - you must wait the minimum of 3 or 4 days to get this - so it summary if you want to make visa runs to live in Vietnam you'll be out of the country for 4 days every month . . . a bit of a pain in the butt!

This is not necessarily true. I lived in Vietnam for 18 months without needing to leave. Just before my original one month tourist visa expired I took my passport to a travel agency who obtained on my behalf a 6 month multiple entry visa. Every 6 months I repeated the process.

  [quote name='dominique355' date='2007-10-07 18:56:35' post='1581296']
  I saw a lot of cute farang girls last night at CM2. Unfortunately I could not speak to them, my Missus would not let me, and I don't speak Russian anyway.  <img alt="whistling.gif" emoid=":whistling:" style="vertical-align: middle;" src="style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif" border="0">
  [/quote]

What's MC2

Try going alone sometime

How do you know they are Russian?

Are you saying farang in Thailand only speak their own language. Thanks

CM2 is a disco i the basement of the Novotel at Siam Square. There are a lot of Russian ummmmm working girls there. Or so I've been told.

Strange that no one wants to/ is able to answer this

Be afraid..........VERY AFRAID!

Hmmm another trollish thread.

What do you expect from Farangs ?

hahhahahaa -- good one!

It was too good an opportunity to miss, CG.

Usually I never bash Farangs as you lot all know...................................well, maybe sometimes I do.

Do you do anything other than?

I think it is time to start 2 sub-forums on ThaiVisa. One would be the "I am a farang who hates farangs" forum and the other would be a " I am a farang who hates Thailand and all things Thai." That would keep most of the bitching off of the rest of the forum.

My first suggestion would be to look somewhere other than an internet forum made up of mostly farang men.

Breaking News.........

I just walked down to The Thai Embassy in Tokyo to collect my Passport and fear I've been traumatised for life, I actually saw a Japanese lady walking along the pavement who suddenly stopped, turned around, and started walking back the same way she had just come.

She was probably just unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of your mug.

could pop down to bali, too.

Yeah, I was thinking of doing that. I don't know anyone that's been before. How many days and how much money do you think I would need?

How much money depends on what you like to do. All in all Bali is pretty cheap even compared to Thailand. I've spent 2 weeks at a time on Bali on several occasions and don't get bored moving all around the island. If you like to surf then your in for a treat! I didn't really enjoy the ultra-touristy region around Kuta myself and it is also the most expensive area. Ubud was cool and there are some more relaxed beaches and some good resorts on the north side of the island.

I'm pretty sure that Thais can travel to any of the ASEAN countries with no hassle.

Usually the first day I feel a little depressed, but then I start to enjoy all the things available to me that aren't in Thailand. Then when I really miss Thailand I get on a plane and go back.

No problem!

What ARE you smoking?

Guesthouse-

For the sake of argument let's assume that you are correct in saying that the majority of Thais (along with some of our more narrow minded fellow posters) feel that "obvious prostitutes" should not be allowed out in public with farangs and should only be "used like toilets"; does that make it a fair/just or morally defensible viewpoint? A few hundred years ago in the US, the vast majority of Americans felt that African Americans should not be allowed to go out in public and should only be used to do the work that whites didn't want to do. So because the majority held this view does that make it right? I don't buy the argument that because, as you say, most Thais are prejudiced towards prostitutes that they should be treated differently or afforded less respect based on their profession alone. NO, I am not married to a prostitute or ex-prostitute; NO, I don't frequent prostitutes (mostly because my girlfriend would kill me ); NO, I never made the argument that a prostitute sells her rights on any thread; and NO I don't hoot or guffaw when western women are ridiculed in coarse generalizations. The bottom line is I guess I am a lot less concerned with how other people spend their time when it is not interfering with my life than Ms. Kitty, some of the other posters here, and apparently you, are.

It's not a tremendously well-written piece by Kitty, but it does have its moments. I think we all have to agree with the toilet analogy!

It's heart-warming to see the support that Thailand's poor, disenfranchised, oppressed and uneducated get from farang males as long as the poor, disenfranchised, oppressed and uneducated are willing to hop in the sack for a purple note or two.

On the other hand, sad to see farang females like yourself having a go at these girls and thinking it's a great analogy to refer to them as toilets, and feeling the need to generalize and have a go at farang males in general. In both cases knowing very little about the cirumstances.

Ever thought that but for a chance of birth you'd be that toilet. They aren't born prostitutes. Nor do most of them have a poverty free, easy life full of choices, reach the age of 22, graduate with a degree and then make a choice to go into prostitution. You've obviously very little understanding of the country you're living in and the many reasons why girls are often in the situation they are in.

There are also plenty of us foreign guys that look at these girls as the human beings they are, without "hopping into the sack with them for a purpe note or two". If you don't meet such guys and need to generalise about farang guys, I wonder why you don't meet them. Perhaps we prefer not to associate with people with such judgemental views like yours.

You've definitely got your stereotypes deeply embedded about Thai prostitutes and farang males. Perhaps ask yourself why that is. Perhaps also ask why (some of) the farang males you're stereotyping would rather be with your stereotype Thai hooker, than be with you. Ever thought of yourself as being lower than the toilets you're having a go at? You're suggesting it on at least two levels: One because you're looking down on others, without any knowledge of their circumstances. Two because these guys are choosing your toilets above you?

Perhaps there are just more of us farang males with knowledge, compassion and tolerance of others of where we are living, and perhaps farang guys in Thailand are normally just less judgemental than female farangs like you...

I agree completely with the parts of your post in bold. I don't need to pay anyone to "hop in the sack" with me, thank you very much, but these obviously bitter and/or jealous people on their high-horses saying that another group of people are not fit to frequent the same places that they do really ticks me off.

I'd still snort a line of posh off her arse though.

Quote of the day!

I really cannot believe this thread has garnered 20+ pages of replies!!!

Don't sell Kmart short! This was definately the best quote of, at least, the entire thread!

It is time to grow up and realize that we are ALL human beings and should have the right to shop, eat, walk, etc. wherever we want as long as we are obeying the law.

Any truth to the formaldehyde myth ?

HAHA! You didn't know? That wasn't me in front of the Biograph that night. It was jimmy Lawrence. J. E. Hoover wished he had my junk!

SORRY!

Awww Jeez, we're still at this huh? After 18 pages all I can conclude from the posts here and from the original blog is that some people feel that their lives should not be sullied by being forced to shop in the same place as other people whom they deem to be "undesirable." Personally I think that type of attitude is disgusting and reprehensible whether it is displayed in Thailand, Europe, North America, or Outer Space. It is snobbery at best and biggotry at worst. It is time to grow up and realize that we are ALL human beings and should have the right to shop, eat, walk, etc. wherever we want as long as we are obeying the law.

I think you misunderstand what I'm saying. There are people, and then there are roles/jobs. Prostitution is a job. It's not prostitutes as people, who don't belong somewhere -- outside of work, any of them have other "roles" as well: mother, daughter, friend, they have hobbies -- whatever. It's prostitutes in their function as prostitutes who don't really belong everywhere. In her role as a mother, say -- it would make perfect sense for this woman to go pick up her daughter from school -- but when she's working, it doesn't make sense for a man interviewing as a teacher to bring her to his interview! The issue isn't "she's not allowed to set foot in the school" -- it's that it really doesn't make sense for her to be there in the context of her job.

Frankly, if the concept of "bringing obvious prostitutes to every social occasion might not be the best of plans" needs any more explanation than this, I don't know what to say.

A few flaws in your reasoning;

1) As far as I know, and I have been wrong before, when a prostitute is "working" or serving her "function" as you put it, she is engaged in the sexual act. Did I miss the part where Hello Kitty said this couple was having sex in the store?

2) Unless Miss Kitty actually asked this woman what her proffesion was how can we assume she was an "obvious prostitute?"

3) Even if she WAS a prostitute and she WAS working at the time, who the h.ll are you or Hello freaking Kitty to determine where she "belongs?"

Gnarly Kitt is a very intelligent, witty and also very courageous girl, frankly, I admire her.

Sorry, but I formed quite a different opinion from reading her blog.

Somtam - minimum respect for a hooker should be somewhat below a VIP customer treatment, don't you agree?

Tawp - it could have been an error of judgement. We assume that the girl in question was indeed a bar girl with her customer (or former customer, if you wish).

Don't agree with you on the first point (I will decide for myself what the minimum amount of respect due to an individual by me is and it will rarely be determined by how they make their money if they aren't hurting anyone) and why are we assuming the second, because the blogger did? Assuming things is a good way to make mistakes and assuming something is true because someone else assumed it was true, well......

There's a difference between treating a prostitute like a human being -- which they certainly are -- and flaunting relationships based on prostitution in the faces of normal people, in places where they don't belong. While I applaud the former, many people -- including many Thais -- have grown tired of farang doing the latter.

Doing something about it? Some would say that the current tightening of visa regulations is doing exactly that.

If you care about prostitutes being considered as human beings, perhaps you'd like to contribute to the current thread about some guy who raped a 16 old girl in Pattaya. Last time I looked, there were more than a few posters suggesting that rape isn't rape if the girl is a prostitute.

You really are bitter, aren't you?

Something you would have noticed if you where a male and had married a lovely thai woman was that too many people, out of share ignorance, both here and abroad either thinks or jokingly insinuates that you have payed for your wife. In most-most cases they re of course wrong.

And if I would venture a guess I would say: The girl above isn't a prostitute. Chances are she is one of many non-rich thai girls that meet a white guy either online, via friends or in clubs, and as originators of lower or lower-middle class they have cheaper clothes but still like to dress up to some extent, with the limitations the wallet gives them. I live in an essentially all-thai part of Bangkok and I see this all he time. Most girls that work in 7/Eleven, tesco Lotus, street vendors, the local store or whatever, like to dress up when going out shopping. Even if they are only going to our local big mall. It's all part of the face/status thing.

Unfortuanly they cannot match in style and 'taste' on the 'hisos', and when they take their boyfriends to shop in a place they might have dreant about - the expensive brandstores - the looks from other people often say 'what does she think she is doing here?'.

The blogger didn't _know_ the girl was a LT GF - she assumed it!

Much like you assumes she is correct.

My girlfriend is Filipina and roughly my age, but because she has dark skin and because a lot of Filipinas dress, let's say ummmm.... unconservatively, we often get dissaproving looks in Bangkok. Not so in the PI or Vietnam.

I wouldn't worry about Kitty too much, she has her own skeletons to deal with. She comes across as very bitter, and there is no need to be. People make choices in life - faire enuf if you don't agree with someone's career, but treat people as people, not smth less than human.

I wonder what Kitty would say about the middle/upper class dabbling into freelance profession? (further more uni students???) Not all, but they obviously don't have the same rational as say the impoverished toilets as she so elequently calls them.

Well said!

"A Thai woman speaking her mind? A rich Thai woman? But ... but ... I came to Thailand to buy women, not be looked down on by women richer than me!"

Why do you assume that every Western man that comes to Thailand does so to buy women? Or is it that just those that disagree with Miss Kitty? Seems like you have some prejudices and preconceived notions you need to deal with.

Oh, thank you so much for your kind advice. I'll be sure to follow it.

I think it's people who seem threatened by a Thai women expressing any opinion except "hello handsum man" who have some prejudices and preconceived notions to deal with.

Is this you? I have no idea. If the hat doesn't fit -- don't put it on.

BTW, when someone else than farang men and their girlfriends, rented or not, are the subjects of "preconceived notions" and "prejudices" are you as quick to defend them? When posters call the journalist a "spoiled bitch", a "feminazi" -- always a classic, although I don't really know how it apparently applies to a woman saying bad things about another woman -- sometimes without having bothered to read her blog, or her argument in its entirety, are you as outraged by "pre-conceived notions" and "prejudices"?

I just don't understand why you jump to the conclusion that anyone who disagrees with this woman's blog does so because they came to Thailand to buy women and are therefore threatened by this one's opinions. I don't think it is fair to say that because some of the posters here disagree with this one particular rant that they can not deal with a Thai woman expressing opinions in general. Your view seems a little narrow here.

BTW, myself, i don't neccesarily have an opinion on the things this woman was complaining about. I try not to let what other people are doing bother me unless it affects me in some way (beyond being mildly annoying.) Her being so judgemental and her overall tone bothered me a little. My reply to your earlier post had nothing to do with defending anyone! I was merely commenting on the fact that you seemed to be jumping to a lot of conclusions about the motives of other posters who found this blog annoying, offensive, or whatever. Often I agree with your posts and it is certainly refreshing to see a female viewpoint on this male dominated forum; however, on this one I had to call bulls..t.

"A Thai woman speaking her mind? A rich Thai woman? But ... but ... I came to Thailand to buy women, not be looked down on by women richer than me!"

Why do you assume that every Western man that comes to Thailand does so to buy women? Or is it that just those that disagree with Miss Kitty? Seems like you have some prejudices and preconceived notions you need to deal with.