The Beer Bar

From The Thaiger A language school in Koh Pha Ngan has ripped off more than 100 tourists claiming that they were able to issue them with a 1 year education visa. A group of the victims have made an official report with the local police over the scam. The tourists were from the US, UK, Germany, France and Russia. Manager Online report that more than 100 people had been allegedly conned by the school in the Sri Thanu area of the island. The report explained that the people had originally heard about the school being able to get them a 1 year education visa from teachers working there. The group have now made an official report, sending documentation to Koh Ph…

Am I alone? Horrified when I see people having to queue up for a dozen or more hours to make their vote in a general election during a pandemic? Amazed when I see a so-called pastor place an illegal ballot box outside his church? Aghast that one of the main parties places a series of fake ballot boxes around a major city and then refuses to take them away even though they are in fact illegal? Staggered that a country continues to stick with an anachronistic electoral system that has 50 different states using different methods of voting for its citizens to cast votes in what is a nationwide general election? Florida's hanging chads became a tragedy for America but a joke a…

"The secret of my popularity, honestly, my looks." ---a direct, televised quote from Donald Trump Here's Carly Simon's anti-Trump political ad: This post probably belongs in Politics, but the more people who see it the better.

Hope everyone has a BOO-tiful, safe and Healthy Halloween.....

From Bangkok Post A labour shortage, particularly in manpower-intensive industries such as agribusiness and food processing, is likely to intensify over the long term as the pandemic makes it difficult for foreign labour to move across borders. Poj Aramwattananont, president of the Labour and Skill Development Committee and vice-chairman of the Thai Board of Trade, said the business sector is concerned about a labour shortage in the long term after several hundred thousand foreign workers returned home following the outbreak. Most workers who returned home have yet to return to Thailand, while new infections are rising in neighbouring countries, leading the…

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Police on Monday said results of an alcohol and drug test of a police officer who killed a fishball seller in a hit-and-run would take “weeks.” Police Capt. and socialite Akarawin Taechaubol, or “Hiso Jimmy,” turned himself into investigators on Thursday after he struck the victim, 49-year-old Udom Saengkanya, and fled the scene. Khlong Tan police chief Col. Ruetee Pandum said by phone that an alcohol and drug test for Akarawin was undergoing. “We have to wait for the results. It will take weeks since we only filed on Thursday,” Ruetee said by phone Monday. “I don’t know how he settled with paying the family, but I hear…

So as the tumbleweed blows lazily across this and other forums as we all remain 'confined to barracks' for the foreseeable futue, a little bit of fun perhaps - definitely not to be taken too seriously. Bars are closing or being mothballed around the town and, stuck at home, we fear for what, of the places we know and love, that we might still find open and available to us when we eventually return. So I am giving you now the power to ensure that your two favourite bars will survive and remain open to you once you are back. So which two Pattaya Bars would you choose and why? (I am saying two only because I couldn't decide between the two that I would choo…

From South China Morning Post Nearly all Cathay Dragon staff will be made redundant under the job cuts announced by its parent company Cathay Pacific Airways on Wednesday, as chairman Patrick Healy apologised for the “great distress and anxiety” the move had caused. Around 2,000 cabin crew, and about 550 pilots working under the Dragon brand were expected to lose their jobs, the airline said, adding that across the group in Hong Kong 4,000 cabin crew, 600 pilots, and 700 ground staff and head office positions would be cut. Just 10 Dragon pilots had been kept on to train future Cathay Pacific pilots on new single-aisle jets, a source said. …

You have to have minimum 15 000 € in bank account at least for 6 months in order to get visa to Thailand. Details on Thai Embassy websites for Sweden and Finland at least. Don't know if this applies also elsewhere.

I'm not sure I would have been able to keep my hands off of him if he was my college roommate.

Earlier today on my Facebook page, I received the following post: https://www..traveloffpath.com/top-10-travel-destinations-during-covid-19/?fb-covid-19/?fbclid=lwARzQ4KvwfBUamrbNp4FVdcLO.Hc.

They didn't think to ask PaulSF, but if they did I think I can hear him say "any Saturday night on Soi Twlight." From The Thaiger When did Bangkok have its golden era? Of course it depends on when you were visiting, how long you were here, where you stayed, and what you were doing at the time. But the city has certainly had some ‘eras’ in the past that people nostalgically and whimsically recall as ‘special’. Here’s a few of the responses about when Bangkok really hit its straps, when we asked people on The Thaiger Facebook page. Everyone falls into the trap of remembering the ‘good old days’, but was there a time when Bangkok really did have a golden…

President Trump and Melania have now tested positive for Corona Virus. Any thoughts?

An unexplained illness to one of the 60,000 volunteers has resulted in trials of another virus vaccine being suspended. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/12/johnson-johnson-pauses-covid-vaccine-trial-over-participants-unexplained-illness

I'll experiment with a mundane topic. As most of us wear sandals in Thailand, think about the practicality. If I've lost you already, see the arrow in the top left corner of the browser. I want sandals that are light weight, well made, compact, comfortable, durable and tolerable style. The light weight requirement eliminates a lot of options. There must be a strap around the heel. I've been using some Karrimor sandals for a few years, not their cheapest, but something like this (first photo below). My fellow Brits might be sniggering, but despite the brand being owned by budget retail cowboy Mike Ashley, these seem better made than the…

This is a Thai movie about two fathers who are raising an orphan son. It is a beautiful and moving story and worth a view on Netflix if you have time. There were some things I thought a bit odd about the movie but a good watch all the same.

From Outsports.com Jordan Windle is straight but has a gay dad. Now with Greg Louganis’ help, he’s aiming for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Jordan Windle is a diver at the Univ. of Texas and is focused on making the United States Olympic team and competing in Tokyo. Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images Jordan Windle has been around gay people almost all of his life. Having been adopted from Cambodia at 18 months by Jerry Windle, the national-champion diver has, as a straight athlete at the top of his sport, become a defender and champion of the LGBTQ community. On the latest episode of the Five Rings To Rule Them All podcast, I talk with Jordan and …

http://Billy Graham’s 9/11 Message from the Washington National Cathedral

Since Thailand is closed, it's time to consider options. Kayak is one source of information https://www.kayak.co.uk/travel-restrictions Here's a map from the Kayak site. I've taken the liberty of assuming we might want to go somewhere warmer & have cropped it. Now Asia is effectively closed, except for Afghanistan, which is not known for the most welcoming gay scene in the world. Checking country by country, it seems that getting into Taiwan is not impossible, but a little more investigation is needed. I'm excluding Africa for similar reasons to Afghanistan. That leaves Latin America, so places like Brazil and Mexico. Unfortunately, …

Yesterday, editors of The New England Journal of Medicine made serious news. One of the world's oldest and most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals did an unprecedented act: They got political. Signed by nearly three dozen of the journal's editors, they published a letter denouncing the U.S. reaction to Covid, and not very discreetly pointed fingers at the Trump administration without mentioning his name. Some news organizations are reporting on this. I'm not sure how the software here would handle a PDF, so I copied the text and re-formatted it. This is a must-read by everyone. Dying in a Leadership Vacuum The Editors Covid-19 has create…

From The Nation Thai exporters are upbeat about business prospects, citing gradual increase in demand, but they are worried about the baht strengthening as well as the shortage of migrant workers. The Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) has revised upward its export projection this year to 8 per cent contraction from 10 per cent contraction previously forecast, says Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong, the council chairman. Products in demand include rubber gloves, washing machines, fax machines, telephones and parts, and gold, she noted. The baht remains strong and can be an obstacle for exports, as it makes Thai products more expensive than products of compe…

I'm shocked. How could this man get Covid? He said it was all a Hoax. It was Fake News. That is what I thought he said. Now, he has it? How is it possible to catch a hoax? Is it the same as catching the flu?

I am in NYC for a bit and want to use a service a time or two. Anyone have any suggestions? I have not been here much since the days of Campus Escorts, so I'm a bit out of touch.

From Bangkok Post Newly appointed Suwat does things differently and plans to make big changes Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk, the newly-appointed national police chief, at the police force leadership handover ceremony. Chanat Katanyu The newly appointed national poilce chief does things differently and plans to make big changes. Despite his rather humble personality, he has a very ambitious goal to redesign the national police's five-year strategic plan, which he believes will help pave the way for the Thai police to deal more efficiently with changes to fighting crime in the future. In the next two years, he is determined to speak to all levels …

I have a lot of friends who are staying that travel restrictions for Thailand will last at least through past summer 2021. Does this even seem possible?