Bangkok ( Thailand ) - Massage / Sauna Compiled)

[Guest Kylespatrick30]

7 minutes ago, Sudu said:

The news ive read is increased screening to those who comes from Japan and singapore. As for quarantine, if u shows symptom at screening, sure kena la

thanks for the clarification! 

[Guest Kylespatrick30]

20 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

Just go. And give us a more detail with no hiding report once u at bangkok airport.

well i canceled my trip already  damn rebooking charges!

[sunbin]

8 hours ago, Kylespatrick30 said:

well i canceled my trip already  damn rebooking charges!

May I know which airline? Is it easy to cancel air Asia flight?

[lonelyglobe]

For scoot flight,  can get partial refund from changeyourflight.com

Not much but better than nothing 😊

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by lonelyglobe

[Guest Kylespatrick30]

1 hour ago, sunbin said:

May I know which airline? Is it easy to cancel air Asia flight?

had air asia flight rebooked to oct and ended up paying the same amount as when i bought it at low fare! 

[sunbin]

Thx 4 the reply. So you call the hotline? It seems an Indian number.

[Jon_123]

scary..!! im going there tmr onward, hopefully everything is smooth, my friends decided not to go scared after back from trip at kl need to quarantine ... sienz..!!! 

[massage_fan]

I was just back from Bangkok last weekend. Situation is very normal there. Massage shop still open. See many tourist still do foot massage. In Silom area where i stayed, i hardly see people wear mask. Silom weekend street food still open and crowded with visitors.

 

But I notice that Bangkok Silom area is less crowded compare to the past. Heard from local that no china group tourist visit Bangkok recently. However, still plenty of local tourist during the weekend.

In every entry of the shopping mall they provide sanitizer for visitors. 

 

Initially i was also considering to cancel my trip. However after checking with some local people that situation is pretty normal there, I decided to visit. And I have no regret at all. 

 

When i reach bkk, the immigration queue as usual. There is no such strict screening to Singapore passport holder at all. No unusual thing except it is less crowded. I think I only queue for about 10 mins for passport stamping. Only few people in front of me when I queue. Not seen any tour group.

 

When fly back last weekend, the flights is full. Many people wear mask in the flight including me.

 

For me, as long as no travel restriction from government to visit certain country, I will proceed with my already booked trip. But if you have not purchased any ticket, yes, can consider to reschedule or postpone the trip.

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by massage_fan

[Jonathandliai]

Selling 1 G-Circuit Songkran VIP night parties only ticket at cost price of THB 9,500 baht (S$440.77). PM if interested.

[gpfun]

I finally decided to travel as proceeded and so far, things are looking okay.

I took SQ flight and load is much lighter than the normal period. In fact, the doors closed 15 min to the scheduled departure time and we arrived BKK 20 mins ahead of the schedule time.

 

The airport is not that crowded and there is a temperature screening area when you hit around area "D" which is near the immigration counters. The counters are much void of crowd and I was out in the arrival hall within 15 min from deplaning.

 

While tourists seem to be little than before, the Thais still are out on the streets and doing their shopping and eating in the malls. The vast difference between Singapore and Bangkok is that people here (especially Thais) are wearing face mask. On average, it is around 50-60% wearing mask. I told Grab to the various places and the drivers are all wearing face mask.

 

As for me, "when in Rome, do when the Roman do", which is that I wear mask whenever I am outside the hotel. But as I do not wear masks the whole day in Singapore, it takes a lot to get used to it. There are hand sanitizers available in malls for customers to clean their hands.

 

I went for massage too and the masseurs carry on as normal and nothing different from the past.

 

I was just too tired from the flight and shopping and didn't visit the gogo bars though i wanted to go initially. So I am not too sure how's the situation at the bar side.

 

Hope this insights helps in your planning or decision to visit BKK or not.

[Guest Guest]

Am refering to   songkran. Where there are hugh crowd and hugh tourist around the world gather.

[bkkuser]

2 hours ago, gpfun said:

I was just too tired from the flight and shopping and didn't visit the gogo bars though i wanted to go initially. So I am not too sure how's the situation at the bar side.

I happened to be at Patpong 2 tonight, hanging out at Hot Male beer bar. Gogo bars there are business as usual, only much fewer customers. We went to Moonlight, business as usual too, although just not as packed as it would normally be on a Friday night. But not empty either. Customers wearing masks in Moonlight no more than 20-30%. Just a couple of the staff were. 

[Damon89]

Selling two songkran tickets (VIP Access) for 10 Apr to 13 Apr [night] - Bhat 9,500 per ticket. Interested can contact me.

[Jonathandliai]

Selling 1 G-Circuit Songkran VIP night parties only ticket at cost price of THB 9,500 baht (S$440.77). PM if interested.

[midkemia]

On 2/29/2020 at 1:12 AM, gpfun said:

I finally decided to travel as proceeded and so far, things are looking okay.

I took SQ flight and load is much lighter than the normal period. In fact, the doors closed 15 min to the scheduled departure time and we arrived BKK 20 mins ahead of the schedule time.

 

The airport is not that crowded and there is a temperature screening area when you hit around area "D" which is near the immigration counters. The counters are much void of crowd and I was out in the arrival hall within 15 min from deplaning.

 

While tourists seem to be little than before, the Thais still are out on the streets and doing their shopping and eating in the malls. The vast difference between Singapore and Bangkok is that people here (especially Thais) are wearing face mask. On average, it is around 50-60% wearing mask. I told Grab to the various places and the drivers are all wearing face mask.

 

As for me, "when in Rome, do when the Roman do", which is that I wear mask whenever I am outside the hotel. But as I do not wear masks the whole day in Singapore, it takes a lot to get used to it. There are hand sanitizers available in malls for customers to clean their hands.

 

I went for massage too and the masseurs carry on as normal and nothing different from the past.

 

I was just too tired from the flight and shopping and didn't visit the gogo bars though i wanted to go initially. So I am not too sure how's the situation at the bar side.

 

Hope this insights helps in your planning or decision to visit BKK or not.

Thank you very much for sharing this. Did you manage to buy masks in BKK as you had to wear them daily when there?

[subbtm]

I’m curious. I often go to bkk to partake in the gay scene there but am thinking of going to pattaya the next time instead. Is pattaya still a good place to go to for gay bars, clubs, saunas, hotels etc?

[Guest Curious]

Hi,

 

Does anyone has recommendation for aesthetic clinic in bangkok?

 

Looking to do some face lifting related procedure...

[G_M]

You people had gone way off topic. This is not a discussion on Bangkok's Covid-19 but on Massage and travel.

 

 

 

Get back to the topic!

[Guest Thomas Didymuz Toh]

Anyone know when Bangkok reopen for travel? 
 

interested to go soon? 
24 chn btm here 

not into shopping, but ok to go sauna for banging and cruising in Bangkok.

HMU wechat didymuzz

[Mike Sanuk]

Guess we'll all need to wait till there's a vaccine lor!!! 😷

[tomcat]

On 2/26/2020 at 2:43 PM, Jonathandliai said:

Selling 1 G-Circuit Songkran VIP night parties only ticket at cost price of THB 9,500 baht (S$440.77). PM if interested.

 

On 3/1/2020 at 9:38 PM, Damon89 said:

Selling two songkran tickets (VIP Access) for 10 Apr to 13 Apr [night] - Bhat 9,500 per ticket. Interested can contact me.

 

On 3/1/2020 at 10:58 PM, Jonathandliai said:

Selling 1 G-Circuit Songkran VIP night parties only ticket at cost price of THB 9,500 baht (S$440.77). PM if interested.

G-Circuit probably cancelled next year too, as projections predict we will not have a vaccine or true recovery until half of next year, at the earliest.

 

I think this is common knowledge, just read the news. so i hope people won't try to sell off their tickets.

 

I still hear people now in mid August trying to sell theirs, on the hopes that by next April all is back to normal.

 

I find it a bit unscrupulous to recoup your loss by unloading onto someone else.

 

All you can do is hold on to them and pray the G-Circuit organisers will still honour the tickets 2-3 years on.

 

[lonelyglobe]

Bent cock became ban cock at least until mid of next year,  even when bkk open,  not sure if SG garment allow sporean to travel.

[Jonathandliai]

13 hours ago, tomcat said:

 

 

G-Circuit probably cancelled next year too, as projections predict we will not have a vaccine or true recovery until half of next year, at the earliest.

 

I think this is common knowledge, just read the news. so i hope people won't try to sell off their tickets.

 

I still hear people now in mid August trying to sell theirs, on the hopes that by next April all is back to normal.

 

I find it a bit unscrupulous to recoup your loss by unloading onto someone else.

 

All you can do is hold on to them and pray the G-Circuit organisers will still honour the tickets 2-3 years on.

 

 

To clarify, I actually wanted to sell the ticket cuz I had a spare one (before all the COVID started and people started to panic about it being cancelled).

 

After which, GCircuit organisers offered to do a partial refund directly due to Covid and not being able to host it safely. I took the refund option and close case.

[tomcat]

16 hours ago, Jonathandliai said:

 

To clarify, I actually wanted to sell the ticket cuz I had a spare one (before all the COVID started and people started to panic about it being cancelled).

 

After which, GCircuit organisers offered to do a partial refund directly due to Covid and not being able to host it safely. I took the refund option and close case.

You did the right thing!

[InBangkok]

Thailand has just reported its first case of local covid transmission in 100 days. The man recently lived with his family of 5 and worked as a DJ in pubs on Rama 3 and Rama 5 roads. He also worked in a coffee shop. He is now in prison, but reports do not tell us when he was sent to prison. The worry is that this may be the start of a second wave similar to the one quite recently in Danang.

[mercury1978]

Anybody got ever have any encounter with thai IG boy dragon tuan yee ?? He is so machi and dashing. I literally could melt in his strong muscular arms 

[tomcat]

There have been interesting developments to the travel rules into Thailand!

 

For just my own purpose, I'll focus on Bangkok and say that it would be a done deal for me, except for the 14 day quarantine at ASQ approved hotel.

Currently the cheapest ASQ hotels (14D,16N) starts at 1000, and you will also need to show your bookings after that. This is a pretty restrictive thing for me, as it limits a lot of hotel options. Flights from Singapore to Bangkok will also need to  be SQ only in order to qualify for the visa(s). Some friends of other nationalities also share that they have had trouble getting their international insurance approved by the Thai side, so this is something for them to work on as well.

Hope they quickly rehash the rules to make it more feasible to kickstart a travel bubble.. Currently, they are considering lowering it to 10 days, as recent tests are able to detect the virus strains earlier. 

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/thailand-tourist-visa-requirements/


 

 

 

[tomcat]

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-thailand/thailand-reports-biggest-coronavirus-surge-over-500-cases-idINKBN28T0NI

Been following Samut Sakon cluster closely since it broke - as I consider Thailand my spiritual home!

Given the density of Bangkok life, it is pretty obvious that majority of people there already have it but are largely asymptomatic. A Thai friend who is a doctor says this is the most likely assessment, and one of the clearest way to explain a sudden cluster of 500 new cases, in a country where there was no community spread for months, and no plausible imported cases. 

This ongoing cluster affects recent adjustments to allow tourists back in to kickstart the ailing tourism industry. Now, however, it is not just financial/economic implications, because when Thailand does reopen, it will probably see new clusters and blooms, if the asymptomatic assessment is true. 

[InBangkok]

For most of this year the Bangkok nightlife scene has been kept alive mostly by local expats and Thais. Sometimes Soi 4 is quite packed at the weekends. Some of the gogo bars are sometimes busy, sometimes very empty. Most of these moved from Soi Twilight (now a construction site) across Suriwong to the Patpong 2 area. Babylon has been given a reprieve and is still open. Many massage spas including Senso have been closed for ages.

 

Anyone know if DJ Station disco is still open? Its website has disappeared and its Facebook page has not been updated since June. 

 

The situation in Pattaya is much worse. Boystown is now on its last legs. The long established Boyz Boyz Boyz has finally closed and the furniture is now being ripped out. For the last 2 years it had existed mostly with Chinese lady visitors. Another two gogo bars in Boystown - Cupidol and Castro - will close very soon. Sunee Plaza has been on life support for a few years. But Winner Bar continues for those who like twinks. Niceboys  also keeps going for those who like men boys. There has been talk of another bar reopening, but nothing yet.

 

The recent outbreak has resulted in more security measures with the reintroduction of the mobile phone app to register entrance and exit from buildings, restaurants etc. Just as tourism was slowly beginning to open up, the Thai government completely shot itself in the foot by not having looked at Singapore's experience and failing to test on a regular basis the massive number of immigrant workers at the large fish market and in the fishing industry. Any hope of a revival will now have to wait for the vaccine which will not be available here till around April/May. I fear it is doubtful if many of the gay venues can hang on that long.

[Guest Gast]

4 hours ago, InBangkok said:

For most of this year the Bangkok nightlife scene has been kept alive mostly by local expats and Thais. Sometimes Soi 4 is quite packed at the weekends. Some of the gogo bars are sometimes busy, sometimes very empty. Most of these moved from Soi Twilight (now a construction site) across Suriwong to the Patpong 2 area. Babylon has been given a reprieve and is still open. Many massage spas including Senso have been closed for ages.

 

Just as tourism was slowly beginning to open up, the Thai government completely shot itself in the foot by not having looked at Singapore's experience and failing to test on a regular basis the massive number of immigrant workers at the large fish market and in the fishing industry. Any hope of a revival will now have to wait for the vaccine which will not be available here till around April/May. I fear it is doubtful if many of the gay venues can hang on that long.

Thanks for the update, InBangkok. Merry Xmas and a happy new year to you - as merry and as happy as it can be, given the circumstances.

 

Am hoping that once things go again, new places will open up.  That needs to happen as it is one place in Asia where someone gay can go hangout and do "gay stuff".

[InBangkok]

Thank you Guest Gast. Wish you a Happy 2020 and that travel will soon restart for many of us.

 

I think there are several problems in Thailand that may prove insurmountable for a resumption go gay nightlife. First, the gogo bar model has not changed for decades. The owners have always targeted western tourists. But that market has been on the decline for at least 15 years. It has also become a lot older. I can remember the mid-1980s when gogo bars were fun for both customers and the boys. Most came from small country villages where the choice was working in the rice fields, in a family shop or move to Bangkok and take a chance of much bigger money in the sex business. For many it was no choice. They chose the cash, and they persuaded their friends to come join them. Customers tended to be younger foreigners (30s and 40s) with a lot of Thais also in the audience. Thais have largely deserted the gogo scene. Some have been replaced by South East Asian guys as well as some Japanese and Koreans. But the fun has largely disappeared from these bars. The shows are nothing like they used to be and too many of the boys on stage look bored. To counter dwindling income, owners never consider novelty. They just put up prices.

 

Second, Thailand's economy has developed considerably in the last few decades. Many of those who would earlier have tried the gogo scene now get quite well paid work locally. There is no need for them to move to the capital where the cost of living is a lot higher and bar offs and tips are not what they used to be. So owners have replaced many of the Thais with boys mostly from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, although some Myanmar boy work in massage spas now. Many are here illegally or on overstay visas. Also they do not have work permits. So when there is a police raid, they quickly vanish for a couple of days.

 

Third, whereas most of the boys who used to work in bars were gay, now a large percentage are straight. That's fine for those who prefer to be with a hunk top, but less so for those seeking a more submissive twink type.

 

Fourth, gay saunas and massage spas have been moving out to the suburbs for some years now. Rents are too expensive in the traditional gay areas. In the Sukhumvit 11/13 area, popular spas like Albury and Hero died some time ago. Aqua off Sathorn Soi 9 disappeared at about the same time. Korea Town near the Sheraton Grand Hotel used to have two. They disappeared over a decade ago. There are still some attracting a mostly Thai crowd. Hopefully they will continue.

 

Fifth, from what I have been told it seems many of the new Asian customers are more interested in the sauna scene and massages. Maybe later in the evening they will gravitate to a gogo bar for a drink and the show. As for gay discos like DJ Station, the trend is much more towards mixed discos that might have a gayish section. But these also tend to be further out from the centre and are more expensive.

 

Of course another tolling of the bell for the traditional gay scene are the apps. They are much more busy now. In Bangkok there are more guys who are not money boys. A lot of college boys and other young guys just want to meet up for a good time. Often they will only request travel money - Bangkok after all is a very spread out city and most guys do not live in the centre.

 

As mentioned in my earlier post, Pattaya is in a much worse state than Bangkok. It depended on a larger number of boys of other nationalities. Once the lockdown happened in April, they had to leave and not many have been able to sneak back. Jomtien Complex is the most in place, but these are purely beer bars. You can still take the boys off, but this area is more for much older foreigners than younger Asians. On the other hand, the apps are even more busy than in Bangkok and the quoted prices are cheaper.

 

Chiang Mai used to have a thriving gay scene. Something like 50 gay establishments have closed in the last 5-7 years. Phuket never had anything like that number but it, too, is suffering very badly. 

 

Had tourism really opened up in early 2021, I think there was a chance that some of the existing venues would still be open. But even the official Tourist Authority reckons there will be no uptick until towards the end of the year. We have also been told the vaccine will not be available here until April. The real question therefore is how many gay tourists will wish to rush back to Thailand when the cost of flights and hotels may well be higher than before. My guess is that the number of long distance gay foreigners will continue to decline.

[InBangkok]

On 12/26/2020 at 9:15 AM, InBangkok said:

Anyone know if DJ Station disco is still open? Its website has disappeared and its Facebook page has not been updated since June.

Just heard that DJ Station remains open.

[tomcat]

4 hours ago, InBangkok said:

Just heard that DJ Station remains open.

 

thanks for thr update. the length of quarantine and price of ASQ remains the main factors for me. 

[Gayleo]

This thread makes the situation in Thailand seem worse than it actually is.

 

From what I heard from Thai friends, only sex tourist dependent businesses like massage parlours, gogo bars and saunas in Bangkok are struggling.

 

All the other 'proper' LGBT businesses in Bangkok are doing well. My friends say DJ Station and GOD are packed every weekend and even the newly opened gay bars House Of Heels and Lost & Found are thriving.

[InBangkok]

18 hours ago, Gayleo said:

This thread makes the situation in Thailand seem worse than it actually is.

 

From what I heard from Thai friends, only sex tourist dependent businesses like massage parlours, gogo bars and saunas in Bangkok are struggling.

 

All the other 'proper' LGBT businesses in Bangkok are doing well. My friends say DJ Station and GOD are packed every weekend and even the newly opened gay bars House Of Heels and Lost & Found are thriving.

Nothing in Bangkok is thriving! Perhaps at weekends there are more people prepared to venture out to discos and gay bars. But go to DJ Station or any of the bars mid-week and there are few customers. Now the new outbreak has resulted in all nightlife entertainment having to close at least until January 4 unless they serve both food and drink. 

[tomcat]

1 minute ago, InBangkok said:

Nothing in Bangkok is thriving! Perhaps at weekends there are more people prepared to venture out to discos and gay bars. But go to DJ Station or any of the bars mid-week and there are few customers. Now the new outbreak has resulted in all nightlife entertainment having to close at least until January 4 unless they serve both food and drink. 

Agreed. And outside of Bangkok, there is also only so much businesses can get from domestic tourism.

It was okay as an coping measure, but never as permanent or long term. If Thailand was able to sustain her own tourism industry in the first place, this thread and other traveller forums on thailand will not even exist, haha! Even countries with strong domestic tourism like Japan still require a foreign demographic to sustain it, so it is a bit ridiculous to say that every business in Bangkok is doing well as if nothing happened.

Same in Malaysia too. All along hate Singaporeans, and bad mouth us openly for being richer and shopping there. Now since lockdown, so many of them want the borders reopened, because they need us to sustain their businesses, especially those in JB. Only their ministers will openly say that the closure does not affect them, and everyone is doing well. 

So do consider the source, do a bit of research, not just listen and repeat blindly like a parrot. 

[Coolbriz]

It’s sad to know that one of my favourite go-to massage places, Ruen Nuad Studio, has ended its business. 😕

[tomcat]

On 12/30/2020 at 12:25 AM, Coolbriz said:

It’s sad to know that one of my favourite go-to massage places, Ruen Nuad Studio, has ended its business. 😕

 

Oh..sukhumvit one or sathon? or both?! sad to hear also, it is a hard time for thai businesses, especially those reliant on tourists. 

 

hopefully, when things are better, they will open again. if you can, try to keep in touch with the owners. when they reopen, they will be very happy to invite you back. 😄

[Coolbriz]

4 hours ago, tomcat said:

 

Oh..sukhumvit one or sathon? or both?! sad to hear also, it is a hard time for thai businesses, especially those reliant on tourists. 

 

hopefully, when things are better, they will open again. if you can, try to keep in touch with the owners. when they reopen, they will be very happy to invite you back. 😄

Both branches according to their Facebook comments. Yup, I’m sure many establishments suffered the same fate.. I only managed to visit their new branch once end of last year.

[gpfun]

 

 

The bars are really quite badly impacted during this period of time. Really hope that Y2021 will be better.

[subbtm]

I miss going to thailand. Wonder when travel will be permitted. If you wanna travel now it’s 14 day quarantine, must stay for 3 months and have a bank balance of USD$20k? Is that correct?

[Braun]

Is VCK Cool Space still in operation? Are there alternative places for muscular masseurs?

[gpfun]

13 hours ago, subbtm said:

I miss going to thailand. Wonder when travel will be permitted. If you wanna travel now it’s 14 day quarantine, must stay for 3 months and have a bank balance of USD$20k? Is that correct?

 

This article gives you a high level summary of the entry requirements into Thailand:
https://mainlymiles.com/2021/01/03/silkair-returns-to-phuket-from-february/

[tomcat]

On 1/2/2021 at 9:57 PM, gpfun said:

The bars are really quite badly impacted during this period of time. Really hope that Y2021 will be better.

Especially since the closure of boy street, the relocation already introduced some challenges. and with covid, it seems wipe it out entirely. but i am optimistic lah. horny tourists will always come back.

 

interesting development but recently learnt that even straight boys are entering the gay space out of desperation. with things like adult livestreaming and onlyfans, it is possible for them to do a side gig, collaborate with other boys, and have more autonomy over what they are comfortable doing. technology will always catch up to demand.

[tomcat]

On 1/4/2021 at 12:47 AM, gpfun said:

 

This article gives you a high level summary of the entry requirements into Thailand:
https://mainlymiles.com/2021/01/03/silkair-returns-to-phuket-from-february/

 

On 1/3/2021 at 11:10 AM, subbtm said:

I miss going to thailand. Wonder when travel will be permitted. If you wanna travel now it’s 14 day quarantine, must stay for 3 months and have a bank balance of USD$20k? Is that correct?

do continue to monitor, they revise this every few weeks. and now with the second wave currently ongoing, they might tighten it again.

remember also that once you are back, you will need to book hotel for your quarantine, unless you have a place of residence all to yourself. so to make all the hassle "worth it", you should stay in thailand for 2 weeks minimum.

 

[subbtm]

On 1/6/2021 at 1:26 PM, tomcat said:

 

do continue to monitor, they revise this every few weeks. and now with the second wave currently ongoing, they might tighten it again.

remember also that once you are back, you will need to book hotel for your quarantine, unless you have a place of residence all to yourself. so to make all the hassle "worth it", you should stay in thailand for 2 weeks minimum.

 

Thank you. Yeah i heard they entered another lockdown. There goes my bkk holiday dreams. Haiz..

[tomcat]

just received some very sad news.

 

a friend was robbed in his hotel room in bangkok, the gangster was working with the hotel staff itself to target rich tourists. from this, they knew he was singaporean. they kicked down his door and entered his room asking for all the cash. there was no altercation, but somewhere along the way, he managed to injure and kill the robber. he was in thai police custody for a few days, only another friend of his reported him missing and contacted the embassy. not sure know how the case will be handled, but something like this would never be reported even pre-pandemic.

 

it is a sad situation, but a warning to all singaporeans, especially those who are resuming travel. the pandemic has made criminals and scammers very very desperate, so they are extra willing to risk their lives...

 

 

[Jonathandliai]

20 hours ago, tomcat said:

just received some very sad news.

 

a friend was robbed in his hotel room in bangkok, the gangster was working with the hotel staff itself to target rich tourists. from this, they knew he was singaporean. they kicked down his door and entered his room asking for all the cash. there was no altercation, but somewhere along the way, he managed to injure and kill the robber. he was in thai police custody for a few days, only another friend of his reported him missing and contacted the embassy. not sure know how the case will be handled, but something like this would never be reported even pre-pandemic.

 

it is a sad situation, but a warning to all singaporeans, especially those who are resuming travel. the pandemic has made criminals and scammers very very desperate, so they are extra willing to risk their lives...

 

 

 

Not sure how relevant this is but mind sharing which hotel or how many stars? eg if this is Grand Hyatt / St Regis level of hotel, then it's very alarming to be honest.

[tomcat]

9 hours ago, Jonathandliai said:

 

Not sure how relevant this is but mind sharing which hotel or how many stars? eg if this is Grand Hyatt / St Regis level of hotel, then it's very alarming to be honest.

 

i dont have the details of the hotel, but he is a singaporean living/working in bangkok. he was there for staycation, which made him a prime target as he was alone and singaporean. as an expat, i dont think he will stay in a dodgy hotel. 

 

foreign travellers into thailand have to declare a base sum of money (like 20k), so the robber might have misunderstood that he is new traveller fresh out of quarantine. 

 

my guess is also half way the robber realised that my friend could speak thai or attempt to reason or insult him, which probably caused the incident to escalate. by that point, it is also too late for the robber to back out. most travellers would just be in shock, surrender all cash and valuables and cry, but because he has been localised, maybe he felt braver.

 

if it is this desperate in bangkok, we can assume the same from malaysia scammers especially those car or road robberies in JB that target singaporeans specifically. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[InBangkok]

On 1/21/2021 at 8:32 AM, tomcat said:

i dont have the details of the hotel, but he is a singaporean living/working in bangkok. he was there for staycation, which made him a prime target as he was alone and singaporean. as an expat, i dont think he will stay in a dodgy hotel. 

 

foreign travellers into thailand have to declare a base sum of money (like 20k), so the robber might have misunderstood that he is new traveller fresh out of quarantine. 

 

my guess is also half way the robber realised that my friend could speak thai or attempt to reason or insult him, which probably caused the incident to escalate. by that point, it is also too late for the robber to back out. most travellers would just be in shock, surrender all cash and valuables and cry, but because he has been localised, maybe he felt braver.

 

if it is this desperate in bangkok, we can assume the same from malaysia scammers especially those car or road robberies in JB that target singaporeans specifically. 

I live in Bangkok and never heard anything about this incident until I read it here. Frankly I find the whole thing virtually unbelievable! All hotels have security in place, even if it is only cameras covering every part of every floor. Having stayed in several 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, the doors are sturdy and could definitely not be kicked down unless with 4 or 5 kicks. 

 

As I understand it, the cash requirement is 20K Thai baht which is now around S$850. But since the hotel guest lived in Thailand there would be no cash requirement. Also, he'd surely have most of his cash in a Thai bank account. In any case, I have never known anyone arriving in Thailand with a Thai home address being required to show evidence of any cash.

 

If the police arrest any foreigner, even just for questioning, they have quickly to notify the relevant embassy. It would not require a few days for a friend to realise he was missing. Besides, the hotel staff would have been heavily involved in the whole affair and would also have quickly informed the Embassy.

 

Then if the robber was actually working with someone in the hotel, the employee would know that the man had given a Bangkok address. If he'd given a Singapore address he would also have had to provide proof of his 14 day quarantine.

 

Sorry but the whole episode sounds very fishy. Do you have a newspaper article with details?