Printable View
[QUOTE=Mauldid]First time going to Phuket but general question about bar girls and etc. Aren't you afraid that they will steal your money or worst while you are asleep? I do want to have fun but once it's over I'm kicking her out in a nice way of course.[/QUOTE]Yes, I am afraid. Unless I feel safe with the girl, I kick her out before
I go to sleep.
[QUOTE=Sprite13]Is safety a concern in Chiang Mai in particular and in Thailand in general?[/QUOTE]Not to the extent that it will keep me from travelling there, though the Canadian government does not recommend travel to certain Southern
Provinces, and non-essential visits to Bangkok:
"You are advised against non-essential travel to the capital, Bangkok. On December 31, 2006, a series of bombs exploded in the city, killing three and wounding over 30 people. There exists the possibility of further attacks. The Thai government has ordered security services to be on high alert and has set up traffic checkpoints around Bangkok. Canadians are reminded that public and commercial areas such as shopping centres, public transport, government buildings, bars and hotels may be subject to terrorist attacks. Canadians currently in Bangkok should maintain a high level of personal security awareness at all times, avoid unnecessary travel within the city, monitor local news reports and follow the advice of local authorities."
[url]http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/ctry/reportpage-en.asp[/url]
[url]http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=290000[/url]
My large sum wire transfer was completed yesterday and when I called Bangkok Bank from the US to verify, I was advised that all the money is safely in my account. Hopefully it will stay there long enough for me to use it. The exchange rate was 33.62 Bhat to the $, which is slightly better than the rate paid in Thailand for US high denomination notes.
Some years ago I was working in Taiwan and through visa trips to Thailand I met and married a Thai girl, yes she was a bar girl and yes the marriage failed, but that is not what this post is about.
She came to live with me in Taiwan after we married in Bangkok. The marriage failed after about ten months (sooner to be honest). We agreed to get divorced and yes it involved a money settlement from me. The divorce was done at the Thai trade and economic office, a sudo embassy because of the legal position of Taiwan as a country. All the papers were signed and she went back to Thailand and I eventually returned to England, yes I'm English and this has a bearing on the main point of the story.
This was in 2001
I now wish to marry again and have put my divorce papers to the registras office, they were refered to the registra generals office as they were from another country.
Now the main point. They do not recognise the divorce in the UK!!!!!!!!
The reason stated was that I should have got a taiwanese divorce.
You may be able to guess how I felt, so the questions started, well it seems that she is not maried to me but I'm not married, I'm not single and I'm not free to marry. Work that one out.
They are making further enquieries but I may have to go to court to prove my status. This will not be done in time for my wedding date.
So if you are getting a Thai divorce make sure its legal in your own country
Daddy07, write you in a day or so! Sorry LBM
[QUOTE=The Traveler]BuleDaddy,
this only applies to the stupid guys, but stupidity can be dangerous and expensive everywhere around the world like The Philippines, Brazil, Carribean ...[/QUOTE]
Per capita, and especially considering they make little or no attempt to speak English, and therefore are socially like bumps on a log, the pooyings are #1 at getting guys that were smart enough to make a ton of money to part with it ALL!! I mean, stud looking guys that lived over there that fell for narly ex bargirls. I think they get with their friendly monk and put spells on these guys unwitting guys. They are 1000x more cunning than Cariocas, or Pinoys. I can't name one story without a tragic ending that involved a Thai woman, but know many happy ones with Pinoys and a few with Paulistas (Sao Paulo girls). So many airmen stationed in Khorat during 'Nam lost stripes because of their underworldly pooying wives. Cariocas (Rio Girls) are either too rough or too snotty. I love the rough ones, but after an hour or two with one I have to lay down for awhile. I'd rather suck up to an ugly french girl than a snotty Carioca.
The truth is, the crime rates in Bangkok and Thailand are pretty high, especially murder. Motor vehicle accidents are very common, farangs will be normally found at fault. If you are injured when on a motorcycle taxi, the moto driver will likely head for the hills. 12,000 people die here each year from alcohol-related accidents - about 10 times the Euro rate and Canada, OZ, NZ. Life is considered pretty cheap here, and compensation for wrongful death is pretty meagre.
On the crime aspect, while it is true that most of the killing is among Thai who know each other, people, a lot of it is random as well. Disputes here quickly turn violent and fights are not under any sportsmanship considerations, people will join into an attack against a foreigner very quickly, even if they were initially unaffected by the dispute that lead to the violence,
If you are arrested by Thai police, for most any reason, you should expect to be beaten to some extent, but that is becoming somewhat less popular. You have few civil rights here, and those you do have do not matter to the Thai police.
Outside of Bangkok, gun ownership is very high and shootings are very common. Aclohol is almost always involved and revenge seems to be the biggest motive, along with highway shootings, although feeling that you have been cheated and interference in a romantic triangle are common sources of deaths. All of these are vividly illustrated in the photos on the front pages of all Thai newspapers, but none of the English language dailies.
What you may be saying, is that you "feel" safe in Bangkok. If you go to the right parts of the city, especially as a tourist, it is very easy to feel that you are safe. With the bombs and the increasing terrorist activity in the city, that sense of safety is starting to erode.
When to you talk about relative "safety" of big Asian Cities, you would have to highly rank most of the large Chinese cities, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and KL if you were to measure them by statistical means. As a tourist, or as a resident, they are even more safe than BKK.
The "feeling safe"benefit has attached to the foreigners visiting here, but the real safety of Bangkok and Thailand is somewhat below the perception level. Loads of web sites have these crime statics, but if you read Thai, the newspapers give the grisly side of life here.
It seems that I am out 19, 000 Baht from two attempted ATM withdrawals that gave me no money but I was still charged for by my bank. The first attempt was at Nana Square on the first floor. The second was on the same block at the first outdoor machine on the way to KFC. In both cases I got to the point of submitting a withdrawal amount when the message appeared, something along the lines of, that there was a temporary service interruption. I was then offered the choice to try another transaction or not. Upon choosing the latter my card popped out with no receipt paper & I left.
Back in Canada a teller at my bank {BOM} told me she could refund the ATM fees on the two transactions. Beyond that she offered no assistance except the recommendation to call the ATM's in question. Though I doubt it will help get my money back if anyone can provide these phone numbers I would appreciate it. When we get together for a cool one in BKK you will recieve your reward;
I see from receipts from other transactions I made at NanaSquare that their is a web ady. [url]www.bangkokbank.com[/url]. On every receipt at the top is also the same number after some Thai words: 3 101 024777. A phone number, perhaps?
One day I had another problem with an ATM on the other side of the street in the mall where McDonalds & Villa Market are. On the floor where the latter is, the ATM told me I had insufficient funds. I knew that was wrong and made another attempt for 300 Baht which was successful. Later several blocks away I tried another machine & had no problem getting 10, 000.
Maybe I will use traveller's checks in future vacations.
[QUOTE=Biz99]The truth is, the crime rates in Bangkok and Thailand are pretty high ...[/QUOTE]Biz99,
Good report, hits the nail on the head.
Bangkok is basically a safe city, if you don't get involved in any serious trouble with Thais.
Last case I heard of, it happened last week in front of Grand President Hotel: A customer came down from his room with his TG / BG, where two Thais were already waiting for him. He was attacked with bottles and ended up with cuts at his face / head bleeding like hell - a friend of mine sent him to a hospital.
The two men disappeared with the screaming woman in a car. Nobody helped the farang, though many people were watching the fight.
Giotto
[QUOTE=PinkPearl]One day I had another problem with an ATM on the other side of the street in the mall where McDonalds & Villa Market are. On the floor where the latter is, the ATM told me I had insufficient funds. I knew that was wrong and made another attempt for 300 Baht which was successful. Later several blocks away I tried another machine & had no problem getting 10, 000.Maybe I will use traveller's checks in future vacations.[/QUOTE]Just a reminder that sometimes the ATMs themselves can be out of money and the same message will usually appear, "insufficient funds." Some of them will not let you get this far, but some of them will.
Sid
How far are the red light districts (Nana,Soi, and Patpong) from the airport and from each other? Which district do you prefer? Heading there this Sept for 6 days. Any help would be great.
Is it illegal in Thailand to look at porn on your personal PC in the privacy of your hotel room? Can sex toys be brought with you to LOS?
On Sukhumvit i am sure i saw a sign saying "porn" for sale with nude DVDs. And at more than one shop w/i a block of NEP i could buy magazines with nude TGs on the cover. And yet i read about this crackdown:
[url]http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070718-051927-4034r[/url]
Another general question...when is a picture a porn picture?
Does having pics of your wife constitute porn?
Is it true if only ONE of those girls shows her nipples on your screen, then you committed a crime and will be subject to deportation.
[QUOTE=PinkPearl]Is it illegal in Thailand to look at porn on your personal PC in the privacy of your hotel room?[/QUOTE]What? of course not! what do you think Thailand is?
[QUOTE]Can sex toys be brought with you to LOS?[/QUOTE]Yes.
[QUOTE]Is it true if only ONE of those girls shows her nipples on your screen, then you committed a crime and will be subject to deportation.[/QUOTE]Hahahahaha. Are you for real? How old are you?
Either you are a Teenager or you must live in some Arab country where everything is banned. Stop worrying.
I have plenty of porn on my HD and it's not illegal at all.
Nana and Soi cowboy are 2 stops away from each other on the BTS skytrain. You can walk it in 20 minutes. Patpong is a 20 minute BTS ride from Nana or a 20 minute subway ride. Driving times are impossible to estimate due to heavy traffic. In general, the three areas are near each other. Learn to ride the BTS skytrain because it will save you time. There are (English speaking) information booths at each station. BTS is fast, cheap, and easy to use. It is an absolute must during high traffic times.
I would strong suggest finding a hotel in the Sukhumvit area near Nana. From there you can easily reach the other places. I would also suggest going to Nana the first night, Patpong the second night, and Soi Cowboy the third night. After experiencing these three places, you better can allocate the remaining three nights among the three areas. I like Nana best.
[QUOTE=PinkPearl]It seems that I am out 19, 000 Baht from two attempted ATM withdrawals that gave me no money but I was still charged for by my bank. The first attempt was at Nana Square on the first floor. The second was on the same block at the first outdoor machine on the way to KFC. In both cases I got to the point of submitting a withdrawal amount when the message appeared, something along the lines of, that there was a temporary service interruption. I was then offered the choice to try another transaction or not. Upon choosing the latter my card popped out with no receipt paper & I left.
Back in Canada a teller at my bank {BOM} told me she could refund the ATM fees on the two transactions. Beyond that she offered no assistance except the recommendation to call the ATM's in question. Though I doubt it will help get my money back if anyone can provide these phone numbers I would appreciate it. When we get together for a cool one in BKK you will recieve your reward;
I see from receipts from other transactions I made at NanaSquare that their is a web ady. [url]www.bangkokbank.com[/url]. On every receipt at the top is also the same number after some Thai words: 3 101 024777. A phone number, perhaps?
One day I had another problem with an ATM on the other side of the street in the mall where McDonalds & Villa Market are. On the floor where the latter is, the ATM told me I had insufficient funds. I knew that was wrong and made another attempt for 300 Baht which was successful. Later several blocks away I tried another machine & had no problem getting 10, 000.
Maybe I will use traveller's checks in future vacations.[/QUOTE]
Same thing happened to me when I tried to withdraw an amount other than the Fast Cash amounts listed on the screen. I called my credit card and they told me to call the bank. It took a while to find someone who spoke English but I was successful and eventually got my money back. The banks are basically honest and they know when the ATMs are out of balance and will work to correct the problem. Try calling the number on the receipt and see what happens.