General Reports

[Kerrstar]

I got a good recommendation from the Hua Hin thread for a taxi from the airport which l think I will use.

I've been there 3 times, always with my family. It's a nice place if you just want to laze by the pool / beach. I was there in Sept for the first time in 5 years and I was really surprised at how many new bars and restaurants there were.

[Goatscrot]

So what beach place would you recommend that is better than so so?

Go one more hour south to Prachuap Kiri Khan. Great town. And Ao Manao beach is wonderful. It's not a tourist town either. I'm not a beach guy, but I love Prachuap.

[Ralph Kramden]

Wow. No criteria. Mini Van is quite reasonable, as is bus from Southern Bus terminal, train would be a lot smoother (in my experience of general Thai travel), but will take longer. Traffic can be heavy, so think about time of day to go if by road. I recall a rather tortuous return to Bangkok by bus from Chumpon (although that is a lot further away like double the duration) in afternoon / evening.

I have also been to Cha Am and Hua Hin by bus from Southern Bus terminal and was quite okay Since maybe a 3 hour trip, can't remember exactly.

Taxi is also feasible if you are happy to pay a fair bit more, for your extra comfort.

Train travel normally needs to be booked in advance of day of travel, probably because those that know find it much nicer than road travel, assuming not in 3rd class. In a train there is a far lower chance of being in an accident. Ha ha.

Not sure I understand the popularity of Hua Hin. As a beech destination there are a lot of Rocky areas and a lot of monkeys. Cha Am better but still so so for me. Yes its much quieter than Pattaya. Mongering is probably weak but at least there is some. There is a cave in Phetburi and a cable car but its not that special. Maybe Hua Hin is for golfers. Not a priority destination for me on any criteria. O.K. for those who want to get away from Bangkok but not go very far.

Thank you Syzygies I knew I could count on you for a detailed reply. I got a good recommendation from the Hua Hin thread for a taxi from the airport which l think I will use. I have no specific purpose there except for are & are for three days. I chose a beach front hotel north of the city with a lower rate and may venture into the city once or twice. I will be in BKK for the front and back half of my trip and will monger there. Cheers.

[Mr Enternational]

Not sure I understand the popularity of Hua Hin. As a beech destination there are a lot of Rocky areas and a lot of monkeys. Cha Am better but still so so for me.

So what beach place would you recommend that is better than so so?

[Syzygies]

Hi Gents.

I posted this in the Hua Hin thread too just in case anyone with a recommendation missed it here. Would someone please recommend the best way to go from BKK to Hua Hin.

Wow. No criteria. Mini Van is quite reasonable, as is bus from Southern Bus terminal, train would be a lot smoother (in my experience of general Thai travel), but will take longer. Traffic can be heavy, so think about time of day to go if by road. I recall a rather tortuous return to Bangkok by bus from Chumpon (although that is a lot further away like double the duration) in afternoon / evening.

I have also been to Cha Am and Hua Hin by bus from Southern Bus terminal and was quite okay Since maybe a 3 hour trip, can't remember exactly.

Taxi is also feasible if you are happy to pay a fair bit more, for your extra comfort.

Train travel normally needs to be booked in advance of day of travel, probably because those that know find it much nicer than road travel, assuming not in 3rd class. In a train there is a far lower chance of being in an accident. Ha ha.

Not sure I understand the popularity of Hua Hin. As a beech destination there are a lot of Rocky areas and a lot of monkeys. Cha Am better but still so so for me. Yes its much quieter than Pattaya. Mongering is probably weak but at least there is some. There is a cave in Phetburi and a cable car but its not that special. Maybe Hua Hin is for golfers. Not a priority destination for me on any criteria. O.K. for those who want to get away from Bangkok but not go very far.

[Ralph Kramden]

Hi Gents.

I posted this in the Hua Hin thread too just in case anyone with a recommendation missed it here. Would someone please recommend the best way to go from BKK to Hua Hin.

[GuyBrusg1957]

Does anyone have preference over Bangkok vs. Pattaya? What's the difference outside of one being a city and the other a resort spot? Could I do both in a week or is there too much travel time?

Are all the girls young because to me that's a turn off.

[Aviator12]

Hey brothers!

I will be traveling to Thailand for the first time in March. Would greatly appreciate it if you guys could give me a heads up on where I can play. I've only mongered in Tijuana. For those of you that are familiar with Tijuana, I don't usually pick the $80-$100 HK women but I do prefer the women from Chevelas & Tropical between $45-$60 for 1-1.5 hour. Will I get comparable value in Bangkok? Is there a similar Hotel Cascadas near the red light district? I prefer to be able to bring them back to my own room. Recommendations & advice please.

At that price level your best luck will be in Sukhumvit soi 4 were there will be options both with street walkers and some of the ladies working in the bars. Prices of around 1500 -2000 bath for 1,5 hours should be possible. Check out the Bangkok thread. Happy hunting!

[Mr Enternational]

For those of you that are familiar with Tijuana, I don't usually pick the $80-$100 HK women but I do prefer the women from Chevelas & Tropical between $45-$60 for 1-1.5 hour. Will I get comparable value in Bangkok? Is there a similar Hotel Cascadas near the red light district? I prefer to be able to bring them back to my own room. Recommendations & advice please.

I just got back from Tijuana a few hours ago I prefer the $10 girls for 20 min. Yesterday even got a room for $1. 30. Never seen that before I only go in HK to look around and get my buy one get one free margarita. I suggest you go to Pattaya instead of Bangkok, or you will be paying above HK prices.

[Kerrstar]

Have you or anyone else had better luck signing up for a CurrencyFair account while residing in either Thailand or the USA?

I can't remember where I was when I set up my account but it was probably Australia. If you know someone in the UK or Europe you could try using their address and your phone number. I use both my Aus and USA phone numbers with them.

You could try OFX, they are similar and I think they accept USA citizens. Scratch that, they don't send money to Thailand.

[Goatscrot]

Who here remembers New York city in the 1970's? Not much different from Bangkok or Pattaya today. Numerous street walkers and massage parlors where I had my best mongering. Occasional police raids where owners forgot to pay the cops or for show for one reason or another. In those days I thought it would never end. Enjoy while you have it folks!

Wise words. Harken back to late 90's early 00's Cambodia. Viets, 5 usd ST and 20 LT. Place was undeveloped rough and raw. Only real law was don't hurt anyone. Thought it would last forever. Wrong.

[Mr Russell]

Hey brothers!

I will be traveling to Thailand for the first time in March. Would greatly appreciate it if you guys could give me a heads up on where I can play. I've only mongered in Tijuana. For those of you that are familiar with Tijuana, I don't usually pick the $80-$100 HK women but I do prefer the women from Chevelas & Tropical between $45-$60 for 1-1.5 hour. Will I get comparable value in Bangkok? Is there a similar Hotel Cascadas near the red light district? I prefer to be able to bring them back to my own room. Recommendations & advice please.

[EihTooms]

All these transfer companies work the same, they don't move money internationally unless they are short. It's basically a matching system that offsets people in country A sending to be with people doing the opposite.

Currencyfair allow you in add a line in as a reference to show where the money is coming from.

I was attracted to the idea that with CurrencyFair I could add a line in as a reference to where the money is coming from, which might solve the problem of making sure my Bangkok Bank statement identified the transaction as a "Foreign Transfer" for the sake of my Thai retirement visa monthly income requirements. Unfortunately, when I tried to sign up for an account with CurrencyFair they asked for my country of residence and there is no entry or option for Thailand. So I thought I would find out what happens if I tell them I am residing in the USA. No go with that option either. I clicked the box for the United States of America but immediately got a pop up telling me, "We're sorry. We are not accepting applications for accounts in the USA at this time" or something to that effect.

Have you or anyone else had better luck signing up for a CurrencyFair account while residing in either Thailand or the USA?

[Syzygies]

Second question is would most girls rather get 100 thb tip or have me buy them a drink?

That is not simple. You could ask them firstly how much commission they get from each drink. It could be 90 Baht these days (if girl drink costs 200 Baht), I am sure used to less. The other thing is does the girl have a monthly salary and a drinks quota? If she fails to sell the drinks quota, she could be facing fines off her salary. Some girls fines for various reasons are so high, there is no monthly salary left.

So generally I believe she will like the 100 Baht more, but sometimes could be wrong. For sure she would prefer both the drinks and the tip.

She won't be allowed to sit with you for long if you fail to buy her any drinks. That would indicate she is not working for the bar at all.

Tips in a gogo bar are unlikely to be put in a pot and shared. A tip in the money tray may well go to the owner unless someone steals it, or perhaps the behind bar staff get it, I am not sure. Put tip in the hand or bra etc. If intending to tip a specific person.

[Mr Enternational]

Second question is would most girls rather get 100 thb tip or have me buy them a drink?

What about what the bar owner would rather? Don't forget that most times tips are put into a kitty and split up by all the workers at the end of the night; same as it was when I worked in a bar way back when.