jfchandler

I wear many kinds... mostly wear only (a bit) long tanktop....or sleeveless cotton tee.

Never wear any underwear.. since I think my body should gets relax...

This is to sleep alone or with my someone special

but if with others, friends, family... I wear short pyjamas, shorts with tee

and no underwear as well.

sexy nighties aren't comfortable at all... i guess.

Haven't seen you here for a while....

I gotta agree... For a lady... underwear underneath shorts or pajamas seems kind of redundant.... The long shirt/top is my style for lady's sleepwear....

I have a friend who works for BTS at one of their stations on the Sukhumvit line. In fact, there were a couple of jumper suicides just earlier this year, but more up around Piyathai... In one instance, it ended up snarling traffic in the area because the person landed on the street. Not all that uncommon, from what my friend says... PS - I was out of town over the weekend, so I didn't hear anything about Nana....

I have worn a bra to sleep since the day I had my children, and i am use to it now, as a matter of fact, i cannot sleep without wearing one now. I think its done the trick, my boobs do not droop

I've never seen a Thai woman unclothed who had droopy boobs.... regardless of their habits in sleeping clothes... Of course, I've also never seen an unclothed Thai woman who was any older than mid-30-ish....

For whatever it's worth, most of the massage ladies I know in BKK who work in regular shops.... not those specializing in "special" massage ... have never previously worked as so-called bar girls.... Most have, though, gone from shop to shop to shop over a period of years....

Japanese Schoolgirl Uniform.

Is that for you....or....for her???

I thought about trying that but the socks would be a problem, my feet would get too hot!

Try wearing one of the socks on a different part of your anatomy....

Japanese Schoolgirl Uniform.

Is that for you....or....for her???

We've come up with a compromise that works pretty well...

Rather than having her wear any of the silly and inconvenient sleepwear that seems so common among too many Thai ladies, I have offered to solve the problem as a gentleman...

I have a variety of white T-shirts (V-neck undershirts) for exercise and such.... And have offered those...and they have been accepted...as standard sleepwear.... They're a T-shirt for me... being tall....but serve as a night gown for her.... being shorter and Thai...

Easy on... easy off.... and nothing down below to get in the way.... A very nice solution for all concerned.... As for me... nothing at all...

Nothing wrong with it really. My ex worked at a hotel doing in room massage late at night. money was crap but great tips. Mainly elderly Thai businessmen customers but she did have 2 lesbians one time 555. Kept me in Chang and smokes! It never did bother me her leaving in the middle of the night to do 2 hours work. Depends if you are a jealous type I guess.

She was very shy and backwards about sex in general though and also carried a knife in her bag. She said it was annoying being propositioned for sex every night, but all she had to do was call a hooker friend to come to the room after she had finished her regular massage. More commision.

Your first paragraph - kept me in Chang and cigs = in Thai, mangda (sp)

How romantic!!! You were fine with your (now ex) "being propositioned for sex every night" because it kept you in beer and cigs... Clearly, a match made in heaven....

I'll have a little more faith in the government's ability to deal with BKK's slums problem when they first can manage to maintain a sidewalk that's fit for walking anywhere in the metropolis.... Until then, I've got my doubts!!!

And, if anyone seriously believes the announced plan really intends to convert all that BKK land (wherever it is) into new park space, I've also got some development plans I'd be more than happy to discuss with you...

Why such a negative attitude by you guys we do Thai Massage in our place hence it is not a

massage parlour we have home stay as well. Most clients are women I have never seen a guy getting a massage in our place yet. Apart from me

Sorry...but...I have a very good attitude about Thai massage... Love to do it myself... prefer the regular style Thai massage.... not special...in all honesty.... And...I have longtime friends here who both own and work at Thai massage shops.... So... I'm speaking from experience.

Having said that, the choices in most shop settings around BKK would be pretty unfavorable for someone who was going to be my wife or GF.... Either 1) low pay and guys pawing her all the time.... or 2) better pay...and her pawing other guys all the time.... Neither would be my cup of tea....

my wife suggested it to me because a lot of money could be made in massage, but i said no because i didn't want her hands caressing horny old men for a few hours at a time.

Well, she's caressing YOU...isn't she???? That doesn't count???

As in any line of work, there are those who DO....and those who DON'T...

Those who do....make a fair amount of extra money...provided they are attractive enough to keep a client base... I'd assume you don't want your wife/GF in the DO-ING category...

Those who don't would be expected to make a fair amount less money (maybe 80-100 baht per customer plus tips, if any)... unless they somehow manage to land a position in a pricey salon/spa of some kind. Otherwise, it's little money and lots of guys still pawing at you on a regular basis....because they think or hope you DO....

In either scenario... not the best for your wife or GF....

It so happened, I was out to Yok Yor Marina just a week or two earlier.... for their river dinner cruise... Nice feature of that is, they don't charge extra for the cruise... You can go for the two-hour river cruise for dinner 8 to 10 pm daily, and just pay only the regular restaurant menu price for the meal. That makes it a bargain...

That said, half of the dishes we ordered that night came out great... The other two not so good.... a dish of mussels cooked dry to the point there was no broth left in the bowl, and a pretty bland order of morning glory... That and...the servers...while pleasant, weren't always the most attentive... But that was for their dinner cruise.

The last time I was at Yok Yor for the regular restaurant meal, they did a fair bit better.... But I'd still rate the Good View as an overall better experience...just IMHO.

I love Thailand... I love everyone and everything in Thailand... And I never have a bad word to say about anyone anywhere in Thailand.

And don't anyone ever say I said anything different...

In fact, maybe, I love a few too many "everyone's" in Thailand... But that's a different subject...

In any event... I feel safe and protected now... Mods... please save a good copy of this "Internet data" for the required 90 days...

Just fyi, as promised, I did this test the other day...involving ATM withdrawals within minutes of each other on the same day, same amounts of 1000 baht, from both SCB and BKK Bank ATMs in BKK...using the same U.S. bank Visa debit card.

Net charge to my bank from the SCB withdrawal: $30.30

included 20 baht transaction fee.

Net exchange rate without the fee: 33.66

Real exchange rate including the fee: 33.0

Net charge to my bank from the BKK Bank withdrawal: $29.70

no ATM fee assessed by BKK Bank

Real exchange rate: 33.67

ThaiVisa U.S. $-Thai midday baht exchange rate posted for the Aug. 12 transaction date: 33.67

Bottom line... no reason to use SCB whether other better options are available...

PS - And of course, I know (so no one needs to post to point this out here)... the 20 baht SCB fee has less of an impact on one's real net exchange rate as the individual amount you withdraw becomes larger. But, at the same time, using SCB for any amount will never give you a better rate... it can only be worse.

The link JimGant provided above, I think, provides an excellent summary of the lay of the land for U.S. credit card usage and fees abroad...

This summary below is particularly apt... And if you read it, you'll see which U.S. CC company I'm using that charge NO foreign currency transaction fees.... The major retail banks, as recounted below, are reaming folks with extra fees.

Credit/charge cards

Traditional credit/charge cards are cards that are NOT linked to a bank account, but that instead charge against a credit line.

• For most transactions in foreign currency on a US-issued card, the network (i.e. Visa/MC) will tack on a 1% charge. A few banks/card-issuers "eat" the fee (notably CapitalOne). Most pass it on either as a line item on your statement or "built in" to the exchange rate. Discover and JCB do not charge a fee, and American Express card fees depend on who issues the card. In some cases, Visa/MC will even charge 1% for overseas transactions that are denominated in US$. See the charts below for details.
  
• In addition, most big issuing banks (Citi, Chase, Bank of America, etc.) will tack on an additional 2% on top of whatever the network charges (for a total fee of 3%). AmEx cards issued directly by American Express have a 2% to 2.5% total fee for US-issued cards. AmEx cards issued by other banks (Bank of America, USAA, Citi, etc.) work according to that bank's policies. A few card issuers do not tack on this additional fee, and a very few (notably CapitalOne) even eat the Visa/MC 1% for a total fee of 0%. See the charts below for details.
  
• Last, there is the issue of the exchange rate itself. In general Visa/MC cards seem to get slightly better exchange rates than AmEx, although the difference is not material.
  

Naam, to answer your question earlier...

I was talking about U.S. credit cards that DO NOT charge foreign currency transaction fees for purchases - not talking about cash advances... For all the reasons mentioned above, I never use credit cards for cash advances.

Most of my U.S. credit cards will charge somewhere between 1 and 3% extra (beyond the purchase amount) via a "foreign transaction fee."

However, as I said, when in Thailand, those sit in the safe box... And I only use one U.S. credit card I have that has ZERO foreign currency transaction fees. The amount of my purchase is all that I am charged...nothing extra.

Some U.S. bank credit cards do have ZERO fees on foreign purchases...

When I knew I was going to be moving/living here, I specifically took out a U.S. card with that feature.... It's the only CC I use for purchases in Thailand.

All my other U.S. CCs have 2-3% foreign transaction fees... They sit unused.... until I travel back to the U.S. from time to time.

That I recall was the initial speculation by police, which then was pretty quickly transformed into being murders....

It's a sad and undeserved end for this man... no matter what choices he made with his wife or how he may have treated her, for better or worse.

It's also a good reminder/lesson for all the farang living here:

--be darned careful how you keep your assets,

--be darned careful who you may choose to marry, and

--be darned careful in watching out for your own well-being.

Episodes like this give Thailand a stain for the outside world, and people elsewhere will tend to generalize this as indicative of Thai culture/behavior. Yes, it happens far too often... one time is too often... But it's also not the normal way of life here...either!

Hey guys...this thread has gone seriously off course and subject...

Anyone here still wanting to talk about Thai fruit juices????

Or... take it to another thread!!!!

Finally made it over to the Pomodoro branch on Suk Road near Soi 5 today for lunch, had a very pleasant meal and found the answer to my own trivia question: Where in Bangkok can you eat pretty good and authentic Italian food in a stylish restaurant, while looking out a large streetside window to see young Thai ladies in miniskirts solicit passersby outside at 3 pm in the afternoon????

That notwithstanding, the Pomodoro branch there is a very pleasant and comfortably outfitted restaurant inside, with good, attentive service, refreshing white tablecloths and cloth napkins, and very comfortable seating. The interior is quiet and refined, offering a pleasant and cool respite from the bustle outside.

They've been running for some time their 280 baht++ lunch specials set menu, which we sampled and included a choice of lunch entrees with soup or salad, and hot coffee or tea as beverage. They're also offering an afternoon happy hour of 120 baht alcohol drink specials (including red or white house wine) and separately, a 15% discount until the end of the year on menu ala carte items (not the lunch or drink specials) when the bill is paid with an AMEX.

For the two of us, the total lunch tab came to just over 1,000 baht, because on top of the lunch specials price they are adding 10% service charge and VAT. I also had a glass of their 120 baht red wine, which was perfectly passable, and we had a couple bottles of water and a watermelon smoothie. So, the total for a lunch for two wasn't cheap, but the food was pretty good...and the price much better than their alternatives on their ala carte menu, which tend to run in the 350 to 500 baht per item range except for the simpler dishes.

Here is a screen shot of their lunch specials menu:

Here is a screen shot of their afternoon happy hour drink specials menu:

And here is a list of some other promotions that other Pomodoro branches supposedly are offering, though I haven't visited the others to confirm them:

Lastly, here's the company's web site listing their various Pomodoro locations.

Wow... China gets dumped two games in a row..first by us (USA) and now by the Spainards... Basketball's not going to be their highlight of the games....

Did the USA really beat the Angola team??? I find that very hard to believe!!!!

Would someone be so kind as to tell me the maximum daily limit that can be withdrawn in baht in LOS from a US bank?

The answer really depends mostly on your U.S. Bank and what limit they have, or you have set with them, for that particular card/account.... Standard limits of $250 or $300 per day are common for U.S. banks, but each sets their own limits, or allows customers to request changes.

As best as I recall, the Thai ATMs do have some limit on the number of bills you can withdraw in one transaction... so many 1000 baht notes max... But if the account you're taking from is a U.S. account, that's where the daily limit would come into play.

Anyway, this is where I'm living at the moment. Highly recommended!

Sitara Place - Ratchada

Cloud, that seems like a nice looking place... checked the web site...and saw the prices...and good location so close to Rama IX MRT and the Fortune Town/Tesco Center....

But I couldn't tell about a couple things....

1. do the units have kitchen sinks of some kind??? In the photos, I could see refrig and microwave...but nothing in the way of a sink....

2. it seemed all 3 types of rooms, with differing prices, all were the same sq mt.... 39... So, other than being on lower or higher floors....what is the difference between them???

3. I think...the units look better when they have the wood divider between the bedroom area and the living area... But it was hard to tell... whether they typically have those..or those are the exception...

4. hehehe....it seemed...they were being a bit creative with their wide angle photography.... The main photo they use... shows a wide/extended view of the rooms.... But the regular photos later...show a more narrow room view...more like a typical hotel configuration.... But hey... it's advertising...