Tim Travel Taste

Survey!

I would like to know what you would like to know:

tally.so/r/zxXlEZ

3 days ago | [YT] | 3

Tim Travel Taste

If you’re in Bangkok and don’t know what to do:

3 days ago | [YT] | 1

Tim Travel Taste

Free Travel Itinerary Template 🇬🇧🇪🇸🇩🇪

Stop Planning Your Trip in 15 Tabs!

One Google Doc holds your flights, hotels, budget, daily schedule and packing list. Copy it, fill it in, done.

What's inside:
Flight and transport tracker
Hotel log with check-in/check-out dates
Budget planner that tracks what's left
Day-by-day schedule (with a sample Bangkok itinerary already built in)
Pre-trip checklist and packing list
Emergency contacts sheet

Built for travelers who want one place to plan the whole trip, not another app to learn.

Free. No trial, no card, no app, no download, no catch.

www.timtraveltaste.com/travel-itinerary-template

Enter your email, confirm free subscription, get access (English, Spanish, German). Opt-out anytime.

The template is yours to keep and edit.

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Tim Travel Taste

Just one station away from Soi Cowboy and two stations from Nana

1 week ago | [YT] | 3

Tim Travel Taste

Bangkok is gigantic.

70,000+ restaurants.

8,500+ hotels.

1,200+ bars.

400+ temples.

200+ BTS skytrain and MRT subway stations.

50 districts.

Most tourists see 3 to 5 of them.

Even I, after 13 years of obessing over the city of angels, haven’t managed to walk all of them.

But I can tell you what’s in 23 of them.

Because I’ve been there.

Over and over again.

I know exactly how overwhelming Bangkok is – not only for first-time visitors.

I've lost count of how many times I've invited expats to dinner and they've said, "Wow, I've been living here for years and I didn't even know this restaurant was practically on my doorstep."

An american named Steve, whom I once met in my favorite street food court, told me: “It would be so cool to know what’s good in my area without having to spend years figuring everything out. Can you do something like that?”

Back then, I couldn’t.

Now I found a way to build directory websites.

Took me some weeks to figure it out.

And even more weeks to put all my favorite locations into a database.

But I managed to build the version I wanted for myself.

A directory that I would give my younger self.

It's called “Bangkok Filter“.

465 spots across Bangkok.

Split into 23 districts.

Around 50+ BTS and MRT stations.

Tagged to the nearest station.

18 types of locations:

Attractions/Tours.

Bars/Pubs.

Cafés/Coffee Shops.

Cinemas.

Coworking Spaces.

Fitness.

Food Courts

Health.

Hotels.

Laundry/Dry Cleaning.

Markets.

Nightclubs/Live Music.

Parks.

Personal Care (barber, nail salon, hair dresser).

Restaurants.

Rooftop bars.

Shopping.

Wellness.

Whatever you're after.

Filter by type.

Filter by district.

Filter by station.

Filter by price range.

Not a Google Maps copy.

A filtered list.

The Tim Travel Taste list.

Every listing shows if the place is open right now, Bangkok time.

No more walking up to a locked door because the blog post you found was from 2019.

No listing was paid for.

If it made the cut, it earned it.

if it’s not on the list, I don’t like it.

There's a map too, if you'd rather scroll pins than read a list.

It's free.

No login.

Take a look inside kaa.

Link below ⬇️

1 week ago | [YT] | 20

Tim Travel Taste

Get my 112 pages Pattaya Guide PDF with all facts, slides, maps and additional chapters: www.timtraveltaste.com/products/the-only-pattaya-g…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 23

Tim Travel Taste

🚨 BREAKING: Pattaya is preparing for the arrival of 5,000+ U.S. Navy personnel — by telling sailors where they’re NOT allowed to go.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying ships will dock in Chonburi from September 2–6. Officials expect around 60% of the sailors to visit Pattaya.

But Pattaya has now established a list of restrictions:

❌ Soi 6 (bars with 250 girls, rooms upstairs)
❌ Soi 6/1 (ladyboys, rooms upstairs)
❌ Soi 7 (more bar girls)
❌ Cannabis shops (as if a marine would go there)
❌ Pharmacies (no medicine for guests)
❌ WATER ACTIVITIES (Navy Personnel can’t swim)

Yes. U.S. Navy sailors and Marines are being banned from “water-based activities.”

Walking Street, meanwhile, is apparently fine — as long as they leave by 2 a.m.

Also absolutely okay to go:

✅ Beach Road - where hundreds of freelancers off their services.
✅ Soi 8
✅ Soi Pothole
✅ Soi Honey
✅ Soi Bongkot 8
✅ Soi Buakhao
✅ LK Metro
✅ Soi Boomerang
✅ Soapy Massage Parlors

Officials also stressed that businesses must prevent “exploitation” and Navy security teams will remind personnel that the industry that made Pattaya famous is illegal.

You really couldn’t write this better:

Pattaya spends years promoting itself as a family-friendly seaside resort while an enormous part of its tourism economy revolves around naughty nightlife.

Then 5,000 American sailors arrive — historically one of the most obvious customer groups imaginable — and suddenly officials discover that the main tourism driver is illegal and Soi 6 must become a no-go zone.

And the Navy?

Apparently the one thing sailors definitely shouldn’t be doing in Pattaya is… going in the water.

And before you ask:
No, that’s not a joke.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 20

Tim Travel Taste

🚨 BREAKING: THAILAND’S VISA CUTS ARE NOW OFFICIAL — NEW RULES START SEPTEMBER 15

It’s no longer a proposal. It’s no longer “coming soon.”

Thailand has now published its new visa rules in the Royal Gazette, officially ending the 60-day visa exemption introduced in 2024.

The four Ministry of Interior notifications were published on August 31, 2026 and take effect after the required 15-day period.

👉 The new rules officially start September 15, 2026.

Until September 14, the current rules remain in force.

🇹🇭 THE BIGGEST CHANGE: 60 DAYS → 30 DAYS

Thailand's current special visa-exemption scheme allows citizens of 93 countries and territories to enter for up to 60 days without obtaining a visa beforehand.

That scheme is being abolished.

From September 15, citizens of 60 countries and territories will instead receive a maximum initial visa-exempt stay of:

➡️ 30 DAYS

The final Royal Gazette list includes:

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

So yes:

🇩🇪 Germans: 30 days
🇺🇸 Americans: 30 days
🇬🇧 British: 30 days
🇨🇦 Canadians: 30 days
🇦🇺 Australians: 30 days
The initial visa-free stay is effectively being cut in half for these travelers.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: WHAT IF YOU ENTER BEFORE SEPTEMBER 15?

This is a big one.
If you enter Thailand before the new rules take effect and immigration grants you a 60-day stay under the existing system, your permission to stay is not suddenly reduced to 30 days on September 15.

You keep the period of stay stamped into your passport when you entered.

So:

➡️ Enter September 14 under the current scheme → potentially receive 60 days.
➡️ Enter September 15 under the new scheme → 30 days.

The effective date concerns new entries, not foreigners already legally admitted for 60 days.

🚗 LAND BORDER RUNS: MAXIMUM 2 PER YEAR

Another old restriction is returning.

For most nationalities using the new visa exemption, visa-exempt entry through a land-border immigration checkpoint will be limited to twice per calendar year.
That does NOT mean you can only visit Thailand twice per year.

The restriction specifically concerns visa-exempt LAND BORDER entries.

There is no equivalent numerical two-entry limit for arrivals by air contained in these new notifications.

Four nationalities are specifically exempted from the land-border cap:

🇧🇳 Brunei
🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇸🇬 Singapore

The Interior Minister can also exempt additional nationalities.

✈️ CAN I STILL FLY TO THAILAND MORE THAN TWICE?

Yes.

Nothing in these Royal Gazette notifications introduces a general “two visits per year” rule.

The twice-per-calendar-year provision applies to qualifying land-border entries.

As always, however, immigration officers retain authority over admission. Repeated entries that make it appear someone is effectively living in Thailand as a tourist can still attract additional questioning.

➕ WHAT ABOUT THE 30-DAY EXTENSION?
The Royal Gazette notifications themselves mainly establish entry privileges and do not spell out the normal in-country extension procedure.

However, the broader reform approved by the Thai government retains the possibility for travelers receiving the 30-day exemption to request one additional extension of up to 30 days, subject to immigration approval.

So, in practice:

30 days on arrival + possible 30-day extension = up to 60 days

But there is an important difference:

Previously, eligible travelers could receive 60 days immediately on arrival.

From September 15, most will receive 30 days initially and would have to actively apply for an extension if they want to remain longer.

🇲🇺🇸🇨 NEW 15-DAY VISA-FREE CATEGORY

Thailand has also created a separate 15-day visa-exemption scheme.

From September 15, it applies to:

🇲🇺 Mauritius
🇸🇨 Seychelles

Their citizens will be able to enter Thailand visa-free for tourism for up to 15 days.

The same general maximum of two visa-exempt land-border entries per calendar year applies unless an exemption is granted.

🛂 VISA ON ARRIVAL SLASHED TO ONLY 3 NATIONALITIES

Thailand is also dramatically reducing the Visa on Arrival program.

From September 15, the new Visa on Arrival list contains just:

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
🇧🇾 Belarus
🇷🇸 Serbia

India, notably, is not on the final Visa on Arrival list because Indian passport holders have instead been included in the new 30-day visa-exemption scheme.

🌍 WHAT ABOUT COUNTRIES MISSING FROM THESE LISTS?
This is where it gets slightly complicated.

Being removed from the general 60-day scheme does not automatically mean every affected nationality suddenly requires a visa.

Thailand also has separate bilateral visa-waiver agreements with a number of countries.

Those agreements are legally separate and were not abolished by these four notifications.

For example, separate bilateral arrangements exist for countries including China, Russia, South Korea, Brazil and others.

So travelers need to check which immigration scheme applies specifically to their passport, rather than simply looking at the old 93-country list.

📅 THE TIMELINE
July 15, 2024:
Thailand launches the extraordinary 60-day visa exemption for 93 countries and territories.
May 19, 2026:
The Cabinet approves a major restructuring of Thailand's visa-exemption and Visa on Arrival systems. The government explicitly says the 60-day scheme will be revoked.

August 31, 2026:
The final Ministry of Interior notifications are published in the Royal Gazette, Volume 143, Special Issue 207 Ngor.

September 14, 2026:
Last day the current 60-day system remains in force.

🔥 September 15, 2026:
THE NEW VISA RULES TAKE EFFECT.

THE BOTTOM LINE

From September 15, 2026, Thailand's short-stay system changes significantly:

✅ 60 countries/territories: 30 days visa-free
✅ Mauritius + Seychelles: 15 days visa-free
✅ Azerbaijan + Belarus + Serbia: Visa on Arrival
✅ Visa-exempt land entries: generally maximum 2 per calendar year
✅ Air arrivals are not subject to that two-entry numerical cap
✅ A 30-day extension remains possible for eligible 30-day visa-exempt travelers, subject to immigration approval
❌ The special 60-day visa-free scheme for 93 countries ends

And most importantly:

This is now official.

The regulations have been published in the Royal Gazette, meaning the uncertainty about when Thailand's visa reductions would actually begin is over.

📅 September 15, 2026 is the date travelers need to remember.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 24

Tim Travel Taste

In Thailand, what’s usually the worst reaction if a small disagreement starts getting heated? 😡

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

Tim Travel Taste

Your bar bill in Pattaya seems suspiciously high—what should you do FIRST? 🍺

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 5