Fortune mall Ratchada, upper floor, pick any. For repairs, the shop next the banana IT is great, there's a sign saying 'yes we speak English'.

@gonzo you should watch short film on netflix calledd game changers.

Funny it just got to a bit about how soy and estrogen. It actually results in less (human) estrogen in your body due to phytoestrogen blocking the receptors. People who eat animal based diet vs plant based end up having more estrogen in their body. Funny that.

MIND BLOWN! If Netflix say that, so it must be true..! Not like Netflix is well know for being a propaganda machine, rr-right?!

haha thats the reply i was looking for....

yet this..

These have probably been asked loads of times but my tenancy runs out in less than 2 months so I'm going to book a 1 way flight to Thailand and take it from there so have some quick q's..

- Visas, can I just go without a visa and get 30 days until I leave (visa exemption? coming from UK)? If so how do I extend if needed, easy to apply online I guess? I won't have an address though so could this be an issue?
- Insurance, can I just get any health insurance from any online comparison site etc?
- Similar to visas, do they ask for onward travel within the initial 30 days? Heard mixed experiences about this.

Will probably spend time in Vietnam, Philippines etc so wouldn't really matter but ideally don't want to have everything planned out before I go, rather just make arrangements as and when once I'm there

yes can arrive no visa for 30 days, visas is extended at office in middle of ****ing nowhere.
yes have onward travel ticket to show with travel date within original 30 days, regardless if you plan to extend

Will be visiting Thailand for honeymoon next April. We are first time SE Asia travelers but have been to CDMX so not totally inexperienced travelers to developing world. Minus travel we will be in country for about 10 days. Was thinking BKK -> Chiang Mai -> a beach(Ko Samui?)

Interests are:
- Food
- Markets
- Dancing/Live music
- Some drinks but not heavy boozers
- Culture/urban exploration on foot
- Future wife wants some beach time

Not interested in gogo scene for obv reasons but more power to ya if that's your thing .

Due to time thinking of spending first day and last day in BKK and splitting rest between CM and a beach.

Questions:

How does above rough itinerary sound to you experienced Thai travelers? Should we spend more time in BKK?

How much can we just wing it with regards to lodging/in country travel? Would be ideal to just explore and find lodging as we go. Not willing to stay in backpacker dorm but a comfortable clean and private room/bed with a fan and in a decent locale is all we need.

Any recs for good clean(relative obv) clubs for dancing in BKK? Obv not looking to hookup just dance the night away.

Is the best way to transfer dollars to baht pulling from ATM?

Thanks

thanks, where is the office for extension lol? near BK?
and how long can you extend for, and do you need to show documentation for extending?

You go to the end of the bts line, mo chit station, moto taxis line up outside by the exit where the traffic would be heading north. They should know where you need to be dropped off for the 30 day extension, they have a sign for it as so many people are going there, but it's building B of immigration, on chaeng wattana soi 7. 200 baht, taxis that line up there are about 120 and nicer cos it's far but might not know it and get lost. But if you have GPS and watch a youtube video on how to find it taxi is better.

Just your passport and 1900 baht and you fill in a form they give you there, and a passport photo but there are shops there that can do that for you. If you've been in thailand many months then some people get asked to show their rental lease contract too. And you need to wear long trousers or rent some there, no shorts policy.

It's technically not even in bangkok, it's the next county along, pretty ridiculous. Everyone used to use some agent in sukhumvit to do it under the table but last I checked he can't get away with it anymore

Is Thailand officially over for the few remaining grinders, crypto traders and online biz / remote work folks?

Baht higher than ever, costs of living surpassing those in most of Europe, thais nasty and hostile - can't even go to a 7-11 without death stares, slander and **** talk, thai women's expectations sky high in BKK towards men since smartphones (multi millionaires only plz) while most of them look like dolled up cavewomen and bring nothing to the table, visas ridiculously difficult and big gov is basically trying to get rid of any remaining foreigners, the elite wealthier than ever and the average thai in BKK is really getting squeezed out taking the sardine can packed BTS every day.

I don't see this ending well...

all valid points but most are committed to thailand for some unknown reason and wont ever say 1 bad word about it. So i expect the number of foreigners to remain the same while their life quality naturally goes down.

I don't know what you're saying is true or not, besides the 10% less baht I get for my USD compare to my vacation last year here. What I have is a personal experience to share.

i recently moved to Bangkok from the Bay Area. I live in a 3 bedroom condo on top of a mall that's connected to two other malls. There are hundreds of food options, $8 massages, and any thing I need all within a 10 minutes in door walk. I eat out all day everyday, nothing unhealthy though, mostly $3 noodle soups, a few times a week I eat at nicer places for $10 to $20 meals. My kid gets to go to a nice private school. We have a full time nanny/helper who does all house chores and drives us to places if we need, but we actually live 7 minutes indoor walk to MRT station so dont need to be stuck in traffic often. We are living a better lifestyle than when we were in Bay Area for half the price.

The only issue for us personally is the heat and air quality. We can't really go to a park and hangout in the afternoon like we could before. I miss this. We are thinking of probably settling down for retirement in south Thailand where air quality would be better.

I can see if one can make USD or money abroad online, you dont need much to live quite nice here. If single, $40k/year will be plenty. If married w kids $80k/year is plenty. You cannot say the same for the Bay Area. Those are poverty levels income there.

I will take a 10 day vacation to the Phillipnes in December for the first time. Maybe it's the new Thailand of old?

cant really compare with bay area, most expensive place in the u.s to live

You'll be happy to be back after 10 days there.
Weather and air quality does suck in BKK and most of Thailand though.

Oh, how come?

I picture a cheaper and less developed Thailand. Everyone speaking English there would be a huge plus for me.

its actually had a major impact. one of my hoe bkk friends told me she recently uninstalled tinder as all the farangs are gone, its just thais and the random businessman on holiday. her and her friends would hunt young drunk farangs at khaosan rd too, she said the last 2 times they went it was all koreans and chinese. the war on farangs with immigration is **** , they are even messing with established holiday makers recently, people who spend part of year at home and part in thailand, wealthy business owners in their home country are getting hassled on arrival for coming to often basically.

the good new is the property bubble has burst right now its just a downward trend but hopefully will snowball into a full on crash in the coming months/years.

If true, this is actually great news for those of us living here, right?

Less tourists and expats doesn't sound bad at all. And the potential housing and economic crash would be a welcome one since our USD would go further.

Id leave at least 2 full days in BKK, there are a couple of places to visit and taking into consideration traffic and distances it might not be enough 2 half days to see them all.

Depending what kind of music you like, which place would be best to go out to, BKK has a lot of options, Havana Social for latin music for example, or Sugar (hip hop). In CM everything closes early (midnight) and afterwards you have only a couple options like Sound Up or Take It but they're meh. The good thing about either CM or BKK is that there's nightlife every single day of the week.

With regards to lodging I would still book online in advance but only a couple days before in case you hear recommendations from other travellers or wanna stay a few days more on some place.

The entire place is a dump.
Still worth going to as an experience but the local food is $*** and the locals seem to lack any style.
I'm talking the country in general, I know there are nice livable pockets in Manila.
Thailand has lost a lot of it's shine but still seems like the best place in SEA to live long-term affordably but wouldn't argue too hard against Vietnam either.
I guess the Philippines would be above Laos and Cambodia but wouldn't be a snap decision for me if given those options.

.

Ahh, thanks. I've always thought Laos and Cambodia as bottom of the barrel and would be afraid to travel there. I thought the Philippines would be a tier up but guess not. I will also be traveling to Saigon, Vietnam for about 10 days in late Jan. I always liked the beaches there in Nha Trang and I love the food. Never been to Saigon, have you been? Any recommendations?

Cool thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like a great place for fishing.

I've been Koh Chang and Koh Samet, both a bit closer to Bangkok. I really enjoyed them both. Koh Chang especially, we stayed on the beach, took boat trips to various smaller islands for snorkeling and hanging out at those smaller island beaches as well. It was quite memorable.

Any specific restaurants or spot that is your favorite?

I don't agree with all your points but it's true there's been some setbacks to say the least. IMO It's still by far the most livable place in SEA aside from Bali. I know some guys like Phils/Cambodia/Vietnam as much but for me it's not even close. I had the same reaction as 5-south in the phils and i've been there 3 times, once for extended period. Food is absolutely disgusting (and im very easy going with this usually) unless you go to some fancy spots in BGC or something, the whole place has this super busto post-apocalyptic vibe. One big plus is people are fluent in english and girls there just seem to get how adorable and funny white men are. I can't comment too much on Cambodia/Vietnam but my first impression wasn't good. Bali is heaven on earth for the beach bums.

For weekly cheaper massages, my favorite place is on the bottom floor of Fortune town in Rama 9. There are about 10 massage shops there with prices ranging from 150 baht to 300 baht. Amazing deal since they are in such a good location inside a mall.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations! Supanniga looks great, I really like Baan Ying, and Suppnniga looks like it is similar style or maybe a step up.