oliver17

If it's your first trip, you probably want to keep the itinerary simple. Maybe 75% Bangkok and 25% Pattaya. Or the opposite. Up to you. There is loads to see and do just in Bangkok for a first-timer. I think most guys here go directly to Bangkok from BKK airport and make their jaunts elsewhere later in the trip. On most trips I spend a month. It's usually 2 weeks in Bangkok, then 1 week in Pattaya, then back to BKK for another week. Sometimes I go with my girlfriend to visit her family in Lampang for a few days. Other times we go to Hua Hin or Chiang Mai instead, but I always stay "headquartered" in Bangkok. No need to mess with U-Tapao because BKK or DMK airports are only about 2 hours from Pattaya and you can fly anywhere from there with many more schedule options. I don't care for Phuket and the LB scene is fairly minimal there anyway. I have never been to Samui, maybe others can help you.

I'm just guessing that tossing dice in the weightlessness of space would add to the house edge casinos already have at the craps tables.

All I know is if they fly it out of LAX, it's guaranteed to arrive late at its destination even if it flies at the speed of light.

Below is a pretty good primer about getting cash instead of a voucher. It's from April and is is aimed at US readers, but it's still accurate and if you read through it EU regulations are covered as well. Apparently if you're British, EU consumer protections will still cover UK citizens despite Brexit, at least for a while. This article recommends turning to your bank card issuer as a last resort, but I would make that my first option. Several times over the years, I have had "non-refundable" airline and hotel reservations that I no longer wanted and I have gone straight to American Express and they have refunded my money every time with no questions asked. I also did that with a CitiBank card one time. Let your bank card issuer deal with Etihad if you can. https://www.cntraveler.com/story/as-airlines-refund-travelers-heres-how-to-get-cash-instead-of-a-voucher

Did they ever replace that dinosaur amusement park thing up the street with anything? It's been closed for a couple of years, but there was no construction activity on the property last time I saw it. That land has got to be worth God knows what. I actually visited it with an LB once. It did have an old school low tech sort of charm and it was hard not to like it for what it was. That said, I passed on riding the giant ferris wheel because I know it caught on fire at least twice. Thailand conquered the virus but the guarantee of riding a ferris wheel without being incinerated is asking too much, apparently.

Below comes from Bangkok Post. Visiting the planet Jupiter has fewer requirements than visiting Phuket. Good luck to folks in the Thai tourist industry, because this scheme will surely kill travel for pleasure to Thailand. I can't imagine anybody will jump through all those hoops to visit Phuket for the privilege of being regarded as radioactive and unwanted by both the government and the natives. Not even sex tourists with five alarm fires in their undershorts will sign up for this rodeo. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1972519/tat-takes-a-gamble-promoting-phuket-model

True. What they object to is hookers hanging out in their lobby.

I remember this guy wrote a trip report and detailed a stay there. Scroll down to post #25 for the Hyatt. He doesn't say if he took a girl there, however. If this Hyatt is like the Erawan Grand Hyatt it will be LB friendly but not exactly welcoming. At the Erawan GH, they made it pretty clear they frowned on LBs being in the front lobby or around the reception desk. They make girls go downstairs to a security desk to hand over their IDs and register themselves. One girl I took there was very reluctant to visit any of their restaurants or bars because of that experience. That said, the staff treated her respectfully and they never said anything to me about having ladyboys visit my room. It was LB friendly, but without a smiley face. Per your own plan, I definitely would contact them in advance and inquire about their guest policies and specifically mention the guest would be a ladyboy. Chances are, with the hospitality industry currently in economic ruin, they won't be too picky about who stays there these days LOL.

I would get sicker witnessing that than I would by contracting Covid.

I stayed there 2 years ago a few nights. I know that not exactly recent, but it probably hasn't changed much. It was LB friendly and the staff treated girls with respect. There were no guest fees. Note that they did not take LB IDs at the front desk. That may or may not matter to you. The hotel itself is well maintained with good service. The rooms are very similar to what you find at places like Phachara or Legacy Suites. An odd thing I remember is that their room phones looked like they were straight out of 1974. Big, clunky push button desk phones with flashing red bulbs but they hopefully updated those since then. They do have a large and good pool. It's located on Soi 2, but that soi gets very little auto traffic and has no restaurants or bars. For any of that or to get a taxi, you need to go out the back entrance to Soi 4. Good luck.

I came across this today in Bangkok Post. I know there has been concern about travel insurance perhaps refusing to cover health care costs associated to Covid, but it looks like LOS will pick up the tab in exchange for a 200 or 300 baht ticket tax fee. Things are slowly gearing up for a return of international travel. Now they need to focus on test-based alternatives to a 14 day quarantine on arrival... https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1916332/tourism-levy-mulled

I received this from Qatar Airways today. It's all very preliminary, but it gives you an idea of what the timetable is for moving forward over the next couple of months. Encouraging news, I would say.

I saw this today concerning Covid testing at Vienna's airport for arriving passengers. It will cost 190 Euros (US $200 or so), results will be available in 3 hours and if you test negative you can avoid a 14 day quarantine in Austria. You can also present a cert from your prior point of departure if it's no older than 4 days. I am guessing something like this will be the standard for immigration at BKK and other airports around the world. I hope so, because I know nobody wants to do a 14 day quarantine on arrival. Sounds great, too bad it will cost $$$. The Wuhan virus is a gift that keeps on taking, taking, taking. https://www.viennaairport.com/pcrtest

As an example of how the airlines view the time frame for resumption of passenger service, Emirates won't be flying until July at the earliest. I am sure other carriers are looking at the same scenario and they are probably getting info about when border closures will end and international flying may resume directly from governments. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/445448-emirates-airline-passenger-flights-set-to-remain-grounded-until-july?fbclid=IwAR17o4uh-OY1uZVVLTxR0Yo73j-eGVF1-stq-PGoeRQVxQxe_ByqOwb0PNk

The real question is how is it determined who is transsexual and what criteria was used for the determination. Does that just mean people who simply self-identify as trans, or does it mean people who have started hormones and/or surgery, or people who are living full time as opposite sex but don't use hormones, or does it mean all of the above combined? I have always been skeptical of numerical figures presented by experts about gender ID and sexual behavior. You never know what the criteria they used when they did their calculations.

My girlfriend ate a basket of insects at Asiatique. I thought it was grasshoppers but it may have been large crickets. To be honest, I don't know and I don't care. It's just one more "exotic" Thai food tradition that needs to be avoided by thinking farangs, like eating durian or putting ice cubes into a beer.

I also recommend Nam's for all reasons outlined by Hkaus and others. They are very punctual and their drivers are absolutely safe unlike a regular taxi. I hate using Bangkok taxis to travel to Pattaya because sometimes you end up with a ting-tong driver who is either unsafe or doesn't know his way around Pattaya (often they are both). Car service is the only way to go. Another option are these people. I have used them for several trips to Pattaya and also Pranburi. They are similar to Nam's with safe drivers and spotless cars. Only difference is that you use a credit card to book them online. https://www.limousine.in.th/index.php

All you have to do is type "Rembrandt" in the search box and it will bring up about 20 posts, including pics and a mini review from One True Saxon a couple of years ago. There's years of info and wisdom to be found here with minimal effort. If you can't find the answers you look for, simply send them an email and ask what their guest policy is and tell them a ladyboy will be the guest. Don't be shy because they have heard it all before anyway.

Last time I stayed there was February 2018. There are 2 towers on that property. One is the Radisson Hotel, the other is In Residence. They share the same facilities and are obviously attached at the hip, but I don't know what the exact relationship is. The only problem I ever had there occurred during a previous stay when a balky key card sometimes didn't function. Needless to say, it was not much fun going down to reception at 4:00 AM while stumbling drunk and having them send up a maintenance guy. I didn't have any problems at all during my most recent stay. Whether the rooms need "renovation" is a personal judgement. The furniture in my rooms was in fine condition, the carpet was not worn, it was well maintained and I have never noticed broken chairs at the pool. I always take customer reviews of hotels with a big grain of salt when it comes to critiquing decor. Everybody has their own tastes and I don't care if somebody else hates art deco style furniture or whatever and thinks the hotel needs to get rid of it for the sake of renovation. I take them more seriously when reviews focus on service, property maintenance and cleanliness because to me that's where the rubber really meets the road in assessing hotels. You can go to Trip Advisor or other review sites and look up hotels such as the Peninsula in Chicago, the Tokyo Park Hyatt or the Four Seasons in New York -hotels among the finest on the planet - and always come across prissy jackwits stating that the properties "need updating". It proves that some people are so hard to satisfy they will be complaining about the bright lights and noise when they are planted six feet under. The hotel business is a tough racket, for sure.

6k baht will get you a room in most of the upper end hotels. Landmark meets that criteria. It's elegant and lot of guys like it because of its proximity to Nana. Adelphi is good, but it's a bit overpriced when compared to Phachara which is closer to Nana and offers you almost identical rooms for less. I don't know anything about Doubletree. I have stayed at Galleria 10 in the past, and it's perfectly acceptable. Forget that "walk of shame" stuff. I promise you that the staff at any of the hotels around lower Sukhumvit don't care what you do because they have seen it all eleventy billion times in the past. They don't care. REPEAT: They don't care. As for other farang guests whose delicate sensibilities are shaken by the sight of the world's oldest profession, why in the hell did they choose a hotel in the world's largest red light district? Their issues are their problem, not yours. If you want to stay in suite type rooms, I also like In Residence suites on Soi 13 (adjacent to Radisson suites). They have large suites and a good pool on the roof. Soi 13 is next to Soi 11 but without the traffic and noise found on 11, meaning you can enjoy 11 easily without having to actually stay there.

It's also a myth that electronics are cheaper in Asia. They aren't and they are frequently quite a bit more expensive than in the west. For US residents, duty free is hardly ever a bargain. It's only good for items that are sometimes hard to find in the states, such as certain Japanese whiskeys.

Did you try your bank? I have no idea about UK debit card protections, but in US they are almost identical to credit card protections. For that much money, I would contact the bank and be a pain in the ass about it until they give your money back. This won't be the first time they have seen this situation, and as a customer they should give you some help. Don't give up until you have tried everything. Phachara won't help because it's not in their financial interest to do so. Don't even screw around with them, just deal with your bank.

Do you have a non-cancellation reservation? You should be able to walk away from it with your money back. I had one of those on last trip to BKK at a hotel, decided I didn't want to stay there and told American Express the same. I didn't even bother to contact the hotel. Amex refunded the money to me with no questions asked. Don't deal with Phachara, only contact your credit card company and they should refund you.

Short time hotels are all over lower Sukhumvit area. Any freelance or bar LB you go with will know where all the ST hotels are, and she will take you to the closest one. The PB Hotel over near Bumrungrad is a big favorite with many LBs.

I stayed at this one early in 2018. An LB girlfriend lives in Phrae, and the alternative was staying with her at her family's house in the country where eleventy billion stray dogs roam the roads and there is nothing to do but drink all day. Been there and done that, so I stayed in town on my last visit to her parents. Rooms here run for about 800 - 1000 baht /night. There are cheaper places in town, but this hotel has a good pool and there are a few restaurants in the vicinity. Unless you trust your Thai language skills, you probably want to carry somebody along as an interpreter when you check in, because the staff's English is pretty shaky but that is to be expected in a place like this. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g982710-d633838-Reviews-Maeyom_Palace_Hotel-Phrae_Phrae_Province.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=2&ff=17423862