I have used Tinder in both Bangkok and Phuket (more about that later.)
When you search for ‘Tinder in Thailand‘, you come across guys sharing their experiences that seem to only ever fall into one of the two categories.
Tinder in Thailand is AMAZING!
I am meeting 5 superhot Thai girls every day! They are lining up in front of my apartment building to get a chance to meet me.
Tinder in Thailand SUCKS!
Everyone’s been saying it’s amazing in Thailand, but for some reasons I am getting very poor results.
Let’s clarify something before we continue.
My definition of ‘hot’ or ‘superhot’ is limited to the types of girls you see when searching for #asianbabes on Instagram.
Here are a few examples …
Do you see hundreds of these girls on Tinder, ThaiFriendly or on other Thai dating website?
No? Well, you must be doing something wrong because I am meeting 3 of them every single day … so these guys proclaim.
It would be one thing if lots of these girls were actually on Tinder (or ThaiFriendly) but simply don’t seem to respond to YOU.
Then it’d be somewhat obvious where the problem lies …
However, if you rarely come across girls of that caliber on Tinder, it begs the question where some of these guys get their seemingly endless supply of ‘superhot’ girls?
Turns out, the devil is in the detail …
A lot of these articles are very motivating at first sight.
You read about a guy banging lots of hot girls, or simply getting with a truckload of Thai babes.
It’s motivating. It makes you want to sign up for Tinder and go to Thailand RIGHT NOW.
That is … until you read the entire article and/or see pictures of the girls.
That’s when you realize that these Tinder success stories are really nothing to write home about. Most of the girls are average, some are cute and admittedly, there is also the odd hottie.
In fact, most of the girls on Tinder turn out to be less attractive in real life (especially without make-up). This is the case even with girls who look ‘superhot’ on pictures.
The reality is that – irrespective of varying tastes in women – there is a very finite amount of very, very attractive girls in Bangkok.
Those that are indeed well above average know very well how to monetize their looks.
The idea that dozens of Thai supermodels are waiting to meet someone on Tinder – for free – is absurd.
Tinder in Bangkok and Phuket
I’ve used Tinder extensively in both cities. Bangkok works fine, but unlike what you read online, Phuket is alright as well.
People say Tinder doesn’t work in places such as Pattaya and Phuket because you only ever match with Thai freelancers (aka hookers).
It’s true that some of the matches are indeed with working girls looking for customers, but the majority of girls I matched with in Phuket were regular Thai girls.
They were either there on holiday or doing an internship at some hotel chain or well-known restaurant.
Tinder in Thailand = Waste of Time & Money?
It depends on what your goals are.
If you simply want to bang the hottest girls, then, yes, Tinder is a complete waste of time. Even the $10 for upgrading to Tinder Plus is unnecessary.
Instead, spend the money and get a girl of your choice – either as an escort or directly from a bar or freelancer club.
These are the places where you find legit hotties – you even get to see what they look like naked (or wearing a bikini), which helps you avoid any surprises (think belly fat, etc.)
That would be my recommendation if you have ‘no problem’ with the idea of paying for sex and don’t really care about the whole dating part but instead simply want to get down to business.
If you want to meet ‘regular girls’, then Tinder is still alright. Just keep your expectations in check. It’s fairly easy to meet cute/average girls.
You will still have to do small-talk, a bit of convincing to get them out on a date, but ultimately, it’s much easier than in most other countries.
Setting Up Tinder in Thailand
Assuming after all I’ve said, you still decide to give Tinder a try. How do you optimize your profile for the best results possible?
Most of it is common sense anyway …
- High quality profile picture (no selfie; use DSLR)
- Additional pictures (ideally showing you do ‘stuff’)
- Keep the profile text simple (this is Thailand)
These are the basics in terms of setting up your Tinder profile. In terms of messaging girls, keep is simple.
Many girls’ English is very limited, they won’t understand your sarcasm or witty jokes.
Just be friendly and avoid any sexual comments.
Tinder Swiping Strategies
When it comes to swiping, there are two schools of thought.
Some say it’s a waste of time swiping manually because you never get to see or possibly match with all available girls.
You should use macro software to automate swiping.
The other school of thought claims that when you automate swiping, you cast the net too wide.
You end up with hundreds of matches, which you’ll have to go through manually. Plus, many of those matches are girls you are not interested in anyway.
If you swipe manually, all of the work is front-loaded but any matches you get will be with girls you are actually interested in.
Nobody really knows how the Tinder algorithm works, but some say it uses the swipe:match ration as a criteria to rate your profile.
If you swipe 10 times and you get 10 matches, your profile is rated highly and being put in front of the most attractive girls.
If you automate Tinder swiping, you’ll never achieve such a ratio which would in turn negatively impact your rating.
Tinder Plus, Gold or Boost?
As is the case with any online dating platform (or app), there are limitations to the free version.
If you are in Bangkok (or Thailand) for a very limited time only, it makes sense to 1.) upgrade to Tinder Plus and 2.) use Boost.
Boost instantly puts your profile in front of the girls in your area – you get almost instant matches and in some cases Thai girls that are interested will meet with you right away.
I remember the first time I’ve used Tinder in Bangkok. I activated Tinder Boost and was meeting a girl about an hour later.
Conclusion – Tinder in Thailand
If you want the ego-validation, then using Tinder (or ThaiFriendly) in Thailand is certainly a viable option. You can meet plenty of average/cute Thai girls without putting in much effort.
If you consider dating and chatting with girls online a waste of time, then the best way of meeting a hot Thai girl is one of the following:
Yes, it’ll cost you more than the ‘free‘ girl from online dating but unlike online dating, you get to pick the girl of your choice and she’s exactly what you want.
UPDATE: Dating in Thailand Simplified
Lastly, I wanted to share my personal Thailand dating strategy with you. I’ve been using this ever since I came to Thailand.
Hopefully, you find it useful as well.
In fact, it’s the only dating strategy that has a
proven track record of a 100% success rate.
However, there is one caveat ….
You have to change your definition of success and what it means to you.
You see, most guys are looking to maximize their odds of getting laid. Their success is defined as getting laid, or kissing the girl.
Which is the best angle to go in for the kiss?
What to say to increase sexual tension?
And years ago, I have done all of that nonsense.
I would get the result … but it didn’t matter, I felt very bad because essentially, I was doing things I didn’t want to do just to get a result.
It’s a LOSE-LOSE strategy.
At some point I lost patience with all of those maneuvering tactics, micro managing every action. I said fuck this nonsense.
I just do and say what I want to do and that’s it.
That has been a complete game changer. I win every single time because it’s about doing what I want, rather than the result.
Most importantly, it made me feel great. It didn’t matter if the girl liked it or not.
No need to differentiate between a regular and working girl with this approach.
I don’t go on dates, I just meet up. If I meet her and say now let’s go to my place and she doesn’t want to, then the date is over.
If we’re at my place and I want to touch her melons, I do that. If she doesn’t like it, she can leave at any time.
You see the pattern here:
No tactics, no planning.
This is exactly what I have been doing ever since.
In fact, if I am really being honest, sometimes doing what I really wanted and NOT getting the result made me feel more thrilled than actually getting laid.
By the way, this doesn’t mean you can’t go on a real date. You can, if that’s what you really want to do and enjoy it.
However, I’d argue that most guys don’t really want to do all these things but simply think they are necessary to get the result.