General Reports

[Turgid]

Read about it on the Thaiger -- 121 arrested in Pattaya for being in underground bars. I hope none of you were among them. It's a very risky game to play, I suppose for the retirees losing 2 weeks being in jail isn't the end of the world. But for those of us with a lot going on it could destroy one's life.

Even for a retiree I can imagine 2 weeks in a Thai prison will be no fun and games.

[Parasitius]

Read about it on the Thaiger -- 121 arrested in Pattaya for being in underground bars. I hope none of you were among them. It's a very risky game to play, I suppose for the retirees losing 2 weeks being in jail isn't the end of the world. But for those of us with a lot going on it could destroy one's life.

[Rodwint2]

Not that I have noticed. I go down there to eat dinner every now and then but I have not seen signs of life at any of the dance clubs. By 9pm the soi is a ghost town. I suppose it is possible some place like Havana Social sneaks open at a late hour but I have not been there for it.

I appreciate your observations.

[EihTooms]

Any signs of life on Soi 11?

Not that I have noticed. I go down there to eat dinner every now and then but I have not seen signs of life at any of the dance clubs. By 9pm the soi is a ghost town. I suppose it is possible some place like Havana Social sneaks open at a late hour but I have not been there for it.

[Explorer8939]

When we're bars last open in Thailand? Have they been closed all of covid time period? Or did they close then open then reclose?

Any action now is covert.

[Rodwint2]

In Bangkok, the go-go and beer bars closed, then some re-opened as long as they could fill them with staff to serve the few customers around and then they re-closed after a surge in Covid cases.

They have mostly been closed for that second (or third?) time for at least 1-2 months, I forget.

Yes, there are cheaters here and there. Without naming it, I believe one could walk into a carefully and quietly re-opened beer bar on a Soi between 6 and 2 named after the lady owner tonight as one could over the past several nights. No live band for now and I am sure your drink will be served in a paper cup. But it is open. Or has been for a few nights.

But that is the rare exception along with 2-3 beer bars now posing as restaurants on and around Soi 8, maybe one on Soi 7. There are no go-go bars open in Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy. I have not cruised through Patpong in a while but I assume that area is as dark and deserted as the others. I also don't know what is happening in the Saphan Khwai area.

Fortunately, I have been kept very busy juggling my favorite pre-Covid regulars, those that had to remain in Bangkok for one reason or another through all this, and fitting in the occasional new girl here and there. And, since I am not really a drinker, I have not missed the go-go and beer bars all that much. I certainly have not missed the barfine and Lady Drink bit.

Any signs of life on Soi 11?

[EihTooms]

When we're bars last open in Thailand? Have they been closed all of covid time period? It did they close then open then reclose?

In Bangkok, the go-go and beer bars closed, then some re-opened as long as they could fill them with staff to serve the few customers around and then they re-closed after a surge in Covid cases.

They have mostly been closed for that second (or third?) time for at least 1-2 months, I forget.

Yes, there are cheaters here and there. Without naming it, I believe one could walk into a carefully and quietly re-opened beer bar on a Soi between 6 and 2 named after the lady owner tonight as one could over the past several nights. No live band for now and I am sure your drink will be served in a paper cup. But it is open. Or has been for a few nights.

But that is the rare exception along with 2-3 beer bars now posing as restaurants on and around Soi 8, maybe one on Soi 7. There are no go-go bars open in Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy. I have not cruised through Patpong in a while but I assume that area is as dark and deserted as the others. I also don't know what is happening in the Saphan Khwai area.

Fortunately, I have been kept very busy juggling my favorite pre-Covid regulars, those that had to remain in Bangkok for one reason or another through all this, and fitting in the occasional new girl here and there. And, since I am not really a drinker, I have not missed the go-go and beer bars all that much. I certainly have not missed the barfine and Lady Drink bit.

[Horatio]

When we're bars last open in Thailand? Have they been closed all of covid time period? Or did they close then open then reclose?

[PedroMorales]

When you apply for a second passport, officials are concerned you are not a straight shooter. A second passport is best if you have controversial stamps eg Israel, Iran, were deported from somewhere. As pointed out, you retain the same number and, if naughty, that will show up when you pass passport control on your new passport.

Place of birth can also be a reason to get pulled.

As regards religious ramblings, that is off topic and ill informed as you are not exactly role models to be emulated.

[Beijing4987]

Americans can get a second passport with a two year validity in addition to the typical 10 year passport. Many use the second passport when entering a sensitive area like Gaza and the other passport to enter Israel. Some dual passport owners use this ploy to avoid hassles. A friend has a Canadian passport from birth and a French one obtained from a marriage.The scooter scam problem could prohibit further travel to Thailand, though.

[Travv]

" . . . The Thailand story is sad–and typical. I'll tell it here as a warning to anyone reading. This stuff happens and, in retrospect, you should not handle the situation in the way I did. Linh, you can chop this if you don't think it's relevant.

I was in one of those seedy beach resort towns filled with decaying, SPAM-tinted Anglo men and their 21-year-old Asian wives, talking to as many of the men as I could, as they figure fairly prominently in a book I am working on.

A few of the blokes had warned me of a scam going on in that particular town. The locals would wait until you rented a scooter and had a few beers at some local bar, then, when you scooted off home, they'the put three teenagers on a shittier scooter than yours and drive full speed into you. The cops would conveniently be nearby to handle the proceedings.

I ignored this warning as typical 'falang' fearmongering, but sure enough, a week into my stay this happened to me. I'd had a big Chang and puttered off home. Three kids on a crappy Vespa hit me out of nowhere. Cops come out. From behind a nearby building: 'You drunk Mister! You come to station and make right!' They sounded like some Hollywood-stereotype from the 80's. But they were real and extremely angry.

I was terrified. I had had a beer and driven my scooter (like everyone else in that town) but I had no idea what my 'rights' were. Ha! We went to the station and the officer demanded 40,000 baht to make it go away, plus some money for each of the three teenagers that were on the scooter. In the meantime, they had already gone to the hospital after the accident and returned, bandaged up, with hospital bills ready to go. They'the done this under an hour. All three presented the hospital bills to me meekly. I think they were another 60,000 baht.

Conveniently, 100,000 baht is the maximum you can withdraw from a Thai bank branch in one day. Around $3 k.

I told them this was absurd. I 'knew my rights'. Typical American arrogance. After two hours of yelling at each other via Google Translate in their sweaty little station, they made me go back to my apartment and give them my passport, told me they'd be in touch and that I was not to leave Thailand.

Americans that travel a lot can legally have two passports. Not a lot of people know this. It's the same passport number but you can usually bank on the fact that if you get into trouble somewhere, it will take time for the various government departments to communicate with each other, and you have a window to clear the country.

I'd talked with a nice local lawyer girl after this happened and her advice was to get the hell out of Thailand. So that's what I did. I was gone within 48 hours, this time via a land border, which I assumed was insecure. I crossed into Cambodia, made my way to Phnom Penh, and then flew to Bali for a few weeks.

Stupidly, I returned to Thailand a month later. I thought somehow the problem would have 'gone away', as it was all a scam. Ha!

Thai Prison survival hacks. . .

Full article: https://www.unz.com/ldinh/escape-fro...-and-counting/.

[TConor]

Yes, that recent story about the mass graves of children in British Colombia reminded me of a similar story about the discovery of mass graves in a town called Tuam, Ireland, near Galway. They uncovered many children and infant unmarked graves at a home that was supposedly a Catholic orphanage and a place for unwed mothers. Many of the deaths occurred in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, I know the town well as both my great grandparents hailed from there, though they immigrated to the US in the 1880's.

There is a street in Montrose (Houston) named after the town a one time Mayor's mother came from. Tuam.

[Tomasb]

Yes, that recent story about the mass graves of children in British Colombia reminded me of a similar story about the discovery of mass graves in a town called Tuam, Ireland, near Galway. They uncovered many children and infant unmarked graves at a home that was supposedly a Catholic orphanage and a place for unwed mothers. Many of the deaths occurred in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, I know the town well as both my great grandparents hailed from there, though they immigrated to the US in the 1880's.

It has nothing to do with Thais and more to do with human beings. Judge people by their individual character and not by the supposed tenets of a group they belong to. I was just reading this morning about a former Indigenous indoctrination school in Canada where the bodies of 215 kids were found buried. "The report documented horrific physical abuse, rape, malnutrition and other atrocities suffered by many of the 150,000 children who attended the schools, typically run by Christian churches on behalf of Ottawa from the 1840s to the 1990s." Religion has no impact on peoples' values. It is only an attempt to control the masses. Most say do not do this or you will face consequences from an invisible entity. So they more so scare people away from doing whatever. People are doing this in order to reap the good fortunes or avoid the bad fortunes of the teachings, not because that is what is within them. There are less atheists in the world's prisons than there are people that belong to the world's religions. Thai prisons are filled with Buddhists that have never come into contact with a foreigner.

I am a Black dude that was raised in the USA south and was made to go to church several days each week while growing up. When I left my mom's house at 18 I could no longer be forced to be Christian. I was a Philosphy major when I first started at the university. I have always studied the religions and spiritualities of the world in my thirst for knowledge, so no explanation needed.

[Mr Enternational]

Does overexposure to tourists derail Thais from the path of Buddha? Or are they just naturally hypocritical? Or is it me hanging out in all the wrong places? I find it startling to come across a Buddhist living by the teachings.

It has nothing to do with Thais and more to do with human beings. Judge people by their individual character and not by the supposed tenets of a group they belong to. I was just reading this morning about a former Indigenous indoctrination school in Canada where the bodies of 215 kids were found buried. "The report documented horrific physical abuse, rape, malnutrition and other atrocities suffered by many of the 150,000 children who attended the schools, typically run by Christian churches on behalf of Ottawa from the 1840s to the 1990s."

Mr. E you are refreshingly honest in making fun of your own country as being deeply spiritual based on Christian values. While I see religion as having a big impact on values in a segment of the population in the USA particularly in the south and specifically among the less well off whether white or African American I see little in the way of these people having a spiritual disposition. You need to know the difference between being religious and being spiritual and to be honest I'm neither inclined to or particularly interested in trying to explain it to you. LOL.

Religion has no impact on peoples' values. It is only an attempt to control the masses. Most say do not do this or you will face consequences from an invisible entity. So they more so scare people away from doing whatever. People are doing this in order to reap the good fortunes or avoid the bad fortunes of the teachings, not because that is what is within them. There are less atheists in the world's prisons than there are people that belong to the world's religions. Thai prisons are filled with Buddhists that have never come into contact with a foreigner.

I am a Black dude that was raised in the USA south and was made to go to church several days each week while growing up. When I left my mom's house at 18 I could no longer be forced to be Christian. I was a Philosphy major when I first started at the university. I have always studied the religions and spiritualities of the world in my thirst for knowledge, so no explanation needed.

[Member #4733]

America is still a deeply spiritual society based on Christian values.

So true! Trump benefits from this. Half of the country is his, thanks to these Christians. And in little more than four years he will get all of it back.