Freee!!

12 minutes ago, Smiler said:

So what’s the protocol in these establishments……. Do you keep your socks on??👀

I wouldn't know, never wore socks going into them (but I kept my shoes on).

27 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

Wasn't it originally called "Nice with Ice" ( or was that another place in the same Soi ... )  the girls used to specialise in hot / cold BJs 

That was nearly at the corner with Second Road.

Never had the pleasure, but I bit further down (or up given the incline) that soi there also used to be "Nice With Ice", providing a similar service. It didn't last long (next time I visited Pattaya it was gone).

1 hour ago, Proffesor said:

[...]

My impression of the High-street banks "if it ain't simple, they can't do it !"

Wrong, if they don't make (enough) money on it, they won't do it. 

If in Thailand, I think I would consider using Krungsri Bank, aka Bank of Ayudhya, based on the majority shareholder (), with which I have good experiences.

5 hours ago, Glasseye said:

[...]

It's the U.S. banks I'm talking about. 

Most U.S. banks are not pleasant to work with, also (and especially) for other banks. A worked at the Amsterdam office of two major (non-U.S.) international banks and in both cases the U.S. banks were the major source of problems.

1 minute ago, Glasseye said:

"Wankers". An understatement mate.

More like an overstatement, if they could wank they wouldn't need squirt guns for the girls.

1 hour ago, Zambo said:

[...]

I have never attempted to read and write Thai - seems a bit tricky.

I started on that and I got to the point that I had a serious disconnect in the taxi on the way back to the airport when reading the road signs. Right on top of each other were two place names, the one on top larger than the one on the bottom. The top one read "กรุงเทพ" (Krung Thep), the bottom one read "Bangkok". It took me a moment before I realized both names referred to the same place.

That looks like an IP-ban to me.

I suggest you contact a moderator or admin directly and give both the banned IP address and the working IP address (and don't post those in this thread).

7 minutes ago, Farang-Jono said:

I find transliteration quite unhelpful too as it seems very academically and linguistically inclined - depending on the transliteration system.

I agree with you, especially with the "depending on the transliteration system".

8 minutes ago, Farang-Jono said:

The fact that there are several transliteration systems makes them defunct right away in my opinion.

There have to be several transliteration systems, I can't use a Latin transliteration system from Thai when I am using the Greek or Cyrillic alphabet and I have to assume the one for Kanji is different as well. And taking into account the differences in pronunciation in different languages using the Latin alphabet, I'd say pick one that conforms most to your native language or favorite second language if there isn't an appropriate transliteration for your native language. I once started learning Thai using an English course and that was less than a perfect fit, although my English is good enough to fool most people into thinking I am a native speaker (I am Dutch born and bred).

1 hour ago, boydeste said:

I can't see the point of ever bringing them back. 

[sarcasm]

It is a way to spend some time on the plane, especially when you have to fill out several because of some minors accompanying you.

[/sarcasm]