Completely forgot to give an update on this. But better late than never I guess.
In terms of massage places, best area is Patong. Massage shops are open till late and a lot more selection. There is Christin Massage (Pink Building), but is overpriced imo. Smaller massage shops you have more room to negotiate a better price. Had a good time with a handful of different MILFs, generally prefer that age range at massage places as you can get a competent massage out of it too but saw plenty of younger girls available too.
Another area that had some good offerings is down in Rawaii, Baan Sai Yuan, a lot of massage places with extras but not all are open till late except for a few. Best to go during late morning to afternoon.
Other than that as mentioned in other threads ThaiFriendly(TF) and Tinder are your best bet for freelancers. Noticed TF to be a bit more difficult this time round due to the time of year I went, can imagine these girls are getting hundreds of DM's so a bit of pot luck is required but a wide selection is there and you will need a premium account for both.
Tinder worked out better for me this time round and more cost effective, met a few girls on there for drinks and a bit of clubbing then back to mine for a good night shagging. Noticed that a lot of the girls on tinder are up for a holiday girlfriend sort of arrangement, works out better IMO rather than paying 2-4000 baht for a short time. Had multiple girls I had met call me up in the middle of the night to come over after a night of partying, great sex, nothing better than a drunk Thai girl horny for some dick. I always offered to pay for their taxi going and coming, food and drinks. Just be prepared to meetup and have a good time initially, build some rapport so it doesn't feel transactional. Rates or payment were never discussed, I just paid for things when they were with me.
Weed shops and quieter bars are also a decent shout if thats your thing, will require you to make a purchase and become a regular customer to build a relationship, but most of the girls working there are freelancers and are happy to exchange details. Saw some absolute stunners working in some of these shops.
Really should of updated this when I came back as im sure im forgetting some things but hope this helps.
