ponder

I think there is a soi 4 in Silom/Patpong which is famous for its gay bars and clubs. So make sure you go to the one that is right for you!

Meadish Sweetball you are my hero!

I have been looking for a dictionary like this for some time.

I have posted here and on learningthai.com asking if anyone could recommend a good English-Thai dictionary but there did not seem to be one. Most have one-word translations with no explanations or examples of use.

I have copied and pasted your post onto learningthai.com because I think lots of users of that site will be pleased to hear of this publication.

Thanks again.

If you are going to live there, learn the script. That way you will learn a lot just by walking down the street and seeing signs (over shops, banks, roads et cetera) whose meaning will be obvious and reiforced every time you see them.

I have booked the Manhattan for 26 nights in February based on its location and some reviews that I read from past clients. About 1000 Baht per night.

Pinnacle in Lumpinee is fine. You can get a nice room for about 1000 Baht per night but to get that rate, you need to contact Jimmy on the 13th Floor. I have his number if you want it, pm me.

I hope to be moving to Thailand next month. I have a number of Internet Betting Accounts with bookmakers in England and Ireland.

Does anyone know if this type of gambling is illegal in Thailand and if the law is enforced?

Thanks.

What is a "troll"?

I have seen the word used here and on ajarn.com (in fact, it was used about me, once) but I really don't know what it means.

I'm sure I am not one but I am not sure of what I am not one of.....

If I've been living in LOS for a little while I am a 4, but if I leave the country for more than a couple of months I regress to a 3+.

When I am drunk though, I reckon I may hit the 4+ scale.

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Of course, being drunk is always an advantage when speaking a foreign language.

I am not yet living in Thailand (moving there in February). I have been studying (in my spare time) from books and tapes for about two years. I reckon I am S-2 but maybe a little higher on the reading/writing front.

I don't think I will ever get above S-3. Unless the penny drops with the sentence structure. Who says Thai grammar is easy? Very hard for me. And my accent will always be awful.

I asked (on learningthai.com) for examples of handwriting because I had seen only printed Thai. They scanned me some examples and these can be found at :

http://www.learningthai.com/handwriting.htm

There are examples of handwriting by Thai children aged 5 and 11. As I suspected, my own writing most closely resembled that of the 5-year-old, except that mine was not so neat.

There is also a very stylish-looking example of an adult's writing but I cannot make head nor tail of it!

It is interesting to see these examples.

Bangkok declares public parks smoke-free zones

Visitors to parks will also be subjected to loudspeaker announcements publicizing the ban

Great. Let's go for as nice stroll in Lumpinee, get away fro the noise of the traffic....

Thanks.

That sounds like sensible advice. I am currently doing a 3-month CELTA (TEFL)course and if I pass it I may look for work in Bangkok when I go there in January. So I suppose I could rent for 6 months and then look for somewhere convenient to where I will be working.

Problem with buying is that if I change jobs, I may have to move. So I thought it would be simpler to buy to let and live in rented accommodation. I don't know if that makes sense but that was my idea!

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for that Cabana. I will have a look around when I get there in january/February

I personally am left feeling that gay prejudice here in Thailand is much higher than in the U.S. (the only other place I could be qualified to compare to).

I think you are totally wrong about that.

The Thai's are a very laid back and tolerant people.

I have been in a Thai mall and seen a group of teenagers, boys and girls

going around together. Now one boy was as camp as can be, in dress and mannerisms,

but he was still very definitely part of the group.

Would that happen in the US?

I doubt it.

I noticed this too.

The first time I visited Bangkok I saw a lot of (obviously wealthy) kids in white school uniforms drinking expensive coffees in the MBK Centre. One of them (maybe 13 or 14 years old) was outrageously effeminate. If anything, he was the leader of the group! They all seemed to want to talk to him.

I doubt very much if he would have been so easily accepted in a UK scenario but he was certainly popular with his friends in Bangkok.

Hi Cabana and Mango.

What I want is an appartment that I will be able to let for maybe 12 months while I decide where I want to live myself.

So I think what I need is a one-bedroom or two-bedroom appartment with all "mod. cons." in an area where letting would not be a problem, probably somewhere near the Skytrain (or is that necesssary?).

Any idea how much such an appartment would cost? Is letting straightforward?

And again, are there any reputable Estate Agents that I could deal with?

Thanks, John.

I will be coming to Bangkok in January (just for 3 weeks) and I am thinking of buying an appartment there. My intention would be to let the app't for maybe twelve months and later perhaps live in it myself.

Are there any Estate Agents that won't rip off a farang looking to buy a property?

Guess above replies your question. Should your friend be female, georgous and young (and you are male?) be prepared for some questions by immigration officer on actual reason for the trip. They want to make sure that she returns to Thailand and does not stay in Honkers.

Well, I am male and my friend is young and gorgeous but not female so he should be alright!

Thanks Axel.

I am going to vist Hong Kong and I am thinking of inviting a friend from Bangkok to join me there. Will he require a visa and if so, is this difficult to obtain?

^ was not talking about barboys or moneyboys, and that's not where I look for dates.  Not sure where you got this idea. 

I think he may have got that idea from me, actually, not you IJWT. You will recall that I mentioned that my friend is a barman.

Ice Treasue : As a tourist visiting Bangkok, it is very hard to "drink/socialise in places where you hope to find people of your interests". How can I know where these places would be?

In Ireland, where I live, I spend a lot of time in bars with people of similar interests to me : drinking and gambling! I would not be seen dead in a gay bar. They are boring and depressing.

I have a (probably wrong) notion of saunas as being venues for public sex and that does not appeal to me at all.

Ice Treasure : maybe I will PM you some time.

Thanks to everyone for exchanging information and views.

we should tell him what to do  he's getting married after two weeks  and he's 46  cmon  i'm 35 and i know not to get married after 2 wks  for god's sake his son even is smarter than him and he's 18  pulling him unto the airplane to go home!!!!!

True, the son is "smarter" but that's probably because he can pull a nice looking girl any time he wants in England. Daddy, however, cannot. I have made the mistake already of thinking I had found paradise. I don't regret it because I had a great time and was able to laugh at myself later (as were many of my freinds!).

I am still prepared to try though and at the moment maybe I have got lucky.

Maybe not.

How can you judge someone that you have only known for a couple of weeks. You can know them from 10,000 miles away for 10 years and you will be none the wiser. You have absolutely no idea how many other friends and lovers they have already.

I recently invited a (gay male) friend to Ireland thinking he would have no hope of getting a tourist visa. He got one and has just spent 4 weeks here. It was great but I still do not know how sincere he is. But you have to take a chance. Just remember the risks.

I was stared at everywhere I went, and I could have swore that some young punk looking kids wuld have attacked me if I wasn't with my fiance(e) and in broad daylight. I was scared a few times with people staring at me non-stop, but for the most part, I was very happy and safe with her, her friends and family. Still, these stories have me worried, because our fiance(e) visa is very close to our passing, and although we'll live mostly in the USA, we'll travel to Thailand as much as we can in the future and the violence angainst farang there has me a little uneasy.

-Chris

Well Chris I have to say that I would feel a lot safer in Bangkok than I would in the USA.

I know you can be unlucky but I feel very safe in Bangkok. Maybe I stick to the main tourist areas but would you wander round every part of New York and feel safe? I would not.

No, Ireland is not a Schengener state. In fact, I have only ever heard of Schengener on this forum. I am very ignorant! Thanks for your help.

I invited a friend to Ireland last July and much to my amazement he was granted a visa within two weeks.

He has now gone home, as scheduled.

The next time I invite him here, is he now more or less guaranteed to get another visa and will he have to go through the same procedures again when he applies next year?

Thanks.

Is there a govenment figure that could enlighten us?

I doubt it. But is there? I never carry my passport when I am on holiday in Thailand.

Last time I was there, a friend of mine got fined 2000 baht for throwing a cigarette on the ground. Okay, it's the law. But he was given no receipt by the police - they just pocketed the money.

Could they start doing the same to tourists not carrying passports? They would make a killing because nobody expects such a law. If you lose your passport, you will be asked why you did not leave it in the safety deposit box back at the hotel.

We should look at the legalities of the union of left-handed and right-handed people. I have a friend whose left-handed mother married a right-handed man. My friend punches with his left hand and kicks with his right foot.

Such terrible things can befall those who stray from the path of normality

he will pay a fine and walk away - you guys should write books 

He should have paid his hotel bill and walked away

DF358 - Thanks, that was the kind of rough figure I wanted.

UPU2 - Who is the sponsor? I have found information in the forum on buying a condo in Bangkok but it appears to be anonymous.