zaronxas

The bars on the street in SUkhumvit (Bangkok) that open up after 10 PM -- they're towed to their locations in carts pulled by the owners' cars.

I heard that the alcocart bars are supposed to get shutdown permanently next month from a ladyboy that works one of them. Anyone else hear any such rumors?

It's open. Has four or five ladyboys working.

i agree with rxpharm ... they're trying their luck. I see a lot of girls post crazy prices online but then come off a lot if you talk to them and let them know you've been around the block. That said, I generally avoid pinoy / foreign hookers (with exceptions) in Thailand as I imagine they're a bit too mercenary if they're willing to do a travel circuit to hook.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/2015/11/thailands-transsexual-workers-seek-empowerment-not-pity/ I don't know if this is the right place for this but thought it was an interesting read. They interviewed Alice who used to work in La Bamba back in the day.

I remember seeing a chart on this somewhere. In the US, the average number of sexual partners over a lifetime was in the neighborhood of 10. So I would say people who partake of p4p and especially people like us who travel or relocate halfway around the world (partially for sex at least) are likely more highly sexed.

Just flew AirAsia today. I know the chances of another crash are remote but was still a little disquieting. Hope they sort out what happened and keep it from happening again. Also, RIP to the victims -- saw that they've started recovering bodies.

I think gold holds an attraction in many developing countries because they perceive it to be a more reliable store of wealth than the local fiat currency. That probably stems from the inexorable loss of value by fiat currencies due to inflation or the sometimes sudden, sharp destruction of value due to revolution, war or crisis. This means gold, in many parts of the world, has earned a reputation for relative safety.

Who says I was playing?

I was standing on the curb trying to hail a cab, admittedly dressed like a clueless tourist. The two of them pulled up on a motorbike and the senior guy stood back and sent his young apprentice over. The younger cop started asking a bunch of questions like: where are you from, what are you doing, why are you outside. The older cop stood around staring (glaring) at me. This persisted for like 10 minutes as I politely answered his questions but didn't pay much attention to him otherwise. Finally he asked where I lived and I pointed to the high rise across the street. Then I asked him if he worked for the Ekkamai police and whether he'd like to verify my residence with the doorman. They both seemed disinclined to ask me anymore questions and got on their motorbike and rode away. Essentially I was polite and acted dumb and put the onus on them to openly demand a bribe.

I live on Ekkamai. Never been searched but two cops did try to shake me down once. Was a haphazard affair and didn't lead to me getting in trouble or having to bribe anyone. Sort of disconcerting to see these guys are ramping up their corruption though.

Impressive feat, though China still has a ways to catch up based on a nominal basis. I still tend to think America will do better than China in the long run and may even recapture the title as China falls off the demographic cliff.

You may also be a bit better adjusted than other punters. I've met a lot of expats (and even tourists) who seem to lose all sense of themselves shortly after arriving and think they've transformed into a rock star. Once the rug gets pulled out from underneath them, it's enough to break some.

Cheers to that.

I think this guy is a 'contributor' which is to say he is not formally employed by Forbes and his opinions are his own, not Forbes'. That said, I don't think it will be as bad as 1997 but I do think there is real estate bubble in Thailand. The amount of new construction in Bangkok is excessive and irrational. Especially considering many of the finished buildings are more or less empty.