anddy

I have tentatively considered going back to Germany to get the vaccine there and then come back. But the motivation is not fear of dying from the virus, but getting my "vaccine passport". Also, it would suit my regular annual travel habits (until and including 2019, that is) of going there over the summer for 3+ months. The big unknown is the utterly unplannable return trip. Will it be possible? Under what conditions? Quarantine? Bureaucracy overkill (including the useless covid insurance)? Worst of the worst cases would be getting stuck there into the fall and winter. So I'm not really planning anything at all at the moment, just continue my wait-and-see stance. For others the virus may really represent a bigger threat, depending on age and health condition. So speeding up the vaccination might be a good idea. But then there might be more risk of catching it on a trip involving sitting in the confines of an airplane than from staying at home and treading carefully.

looking at that sign in the video it looks like an advertisement for some special event on that date (presumably related to Songkran). I can't recall them ever displaying the current date on a screen like that (though of course never really paid much attention to that). Having said that, it can't be the date of the filming, as entertainment venues were already closed effective Saturday April 10 as per this article: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2097739/bars-pubs-closed-for-a-fortnight The filming was probably in the Feb/March time frame, so still very recent. That was after the second wave from Dec/Jan had subsided and things were reopened. I was at Soi 2 myself on March 6 and it looked indeed as in the video. Signs of mandatory mask wearing everywhere, masks nowhere.

yeah right.... TAT wishful thinking as usual. I'll believe it on July 2nd

isn't that par for the course in Thailand? One day they said all foreigners (both so-called "expats" and so-called "migrant workers") can get it. The next they say, yes but they are last in line after Thais. Surprise surprise. Apart from being yet another in the endless series of annoying flip flops, it also makes (as usual) zero sense, because the virus spreads from humans to humans, not from nationality to nationality. Stupidity, ignorance, arrogance and whatever else mixed together (as usual).

Now they have a new color scheme: dark red, red and orange. No more yellow and green. They change not just the classifications of provinces according to the latest infections numbers, but change the whole scheme when things change. I think this is the third scheme.... After failing to cancel Songkran and thus spreading the virus nicely throughout the country, at least they are trying to get it under control quickly with the usual measures, but some are a new low of not making sense: Closing restaurants for dine in, fair enough, only take-away/delivery BUT ONLY UNTIL 9pm!! WTF is that supposed to achieve? Probably a de-facto curfew without having to actually call it one. No idea how that helps limiting virus spread. */end of rant lol Anyway, all the high flying opening plans for July and October look very much like pipe dreams again (unsurprisingly)

ooops, thx for the update

Thanks a lot @reader I just checked it is indeed up and running. Yes it was down for about 3 months. I was still able to do the previous one in mid-January and it went down shortly after that and wasn't up by the time the next one was due mid-April. Luckily I could do that one conveniently through the service provided by my new Elite visa Hopefully it stays up now for next time, though lol. Online is still much easier than even going through Elite

Just checked (Transfer)Wise again, not possible. Of course Western Union comes to mind, but they are notoriously expensive of course. Just a wire transfer from a Thai Bank maybe? The TT rates don't seem so bad, dunno what fees they might charge on top. Certainly doesn't cost anything to inquire with the banks Would be interesting to know in case it ever becomes necessary for other members

one learns something new every day: never heard of "Aloha" app.... Anyone here? +1

That's indeed the logic in Sweden, where they reversed the anti-prostitution laws to that effect. Only the client is criminalized, no longer the service provider. Needless to say it does not end prostitution in any way shape or form. So far from Oz's wish: I guess related to sex work you only get that in Germany...

Yup though the criticism is also reported in the article. It is understandable that the WHO and others oppose this scheme as it takes vaccines away from needier people. But then again, I'd say the numbers are small and it's not just benefitting the few rich people going for that vaccine vacation but also the local people in this heavily tourism reliant country. The "needier people" argument, while true, only considers global health aspects, not the immense economic side-effect of the pandemic

Yup, great idea. As always the devil is in the detail though. The question is, for who exactly can this work in the current environment in the Maldives? Only for long-term guests, like people who stay there and work from the beach. That is because from an article about this I read elsewhere it was clear that currently the Maldives have only 2-shot vaccines. So if you're planning to stay for 2 or 3 weeks, that's no good. Where are you gonna get the second shot? So either stay long enough or Maldives eed to get 1-shot vaccines.

A comprehensive source of information with all the listings you look for (and everything else, like the "real" gay scene rather than just the commercial sex scene) used to be www.travelgayasia.com. But that has gotten more and more useless over time. I just checked, it has been completely redesigned and is now basically just a front to push hotel bookings. Nevertheless, there may be some useful information and listings there, if you can look through all the clutter.

all so very true...

well now the closure is here: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2096975/pubs-clubs-in-bangkok-40-other-provinces-to-shut-for-2-weeks They have been intensifying the measures and expanding them to more provinces

yes Bangkok is now a red zone, but still they only imposed restrictions on the areas around Thonglor and Ekkamai, where the cluster occurred. May not exactly be in line with their whole color coded rules, but who cares about rule consistency? TiT!

Uhm, why would the gogo bars close? I assume you mean the gay ones in Patpong, which is in Bangrak. The closure only affects three areas where the latest cluster occurred.

"prescription needed" is a rather theoretical, even almost funny, concept to entertain in Thailand....

that's the explanation I remember (if I remember correctly) having been given by my gay Thai doctor. Though i find that exceedingly silly, arbitrary and stereotyping. What if someone is (mostly) monogamous? Or otherwise doesn't have that many sex partners? It's just an assumption that most will have caught all strains by 45. I'll use the info about the new 9 strain versiion to consult with my doc here again.

I'm sorry to have to correct again. There is no re-entry permit involved, ever, for Elite. Why would that be necessary? What you extend is the permission to stay, which at the last entry took the form of the 1-year-stamp in the passport, then it will take the form of a larger stamp saying "Extension of stay permitted until [date]". That costs 1900 Baht. Again, no need for a re-entry permit, because if you leave the country and thus lose the extended permission to stay no harm is done as upon re-entry you will use the still valid Elite visa getting another 1 year stamp at the airport. For a retirement permission-to-stay it is necessary because that permission does not grant the right to exit and re-enter under that same permission and is voided upon leaving the country. That's where the re-entry permit comes into play, which does what its name says, allow to re-enter under the same permission to stay (with the same end date). The re-entry permit costs 3800 Baht. That whole set up is a bit of an absurdity because if one is allowed to stay, why not leave and come back to continue that stay? Anyway, pointless to get hung up on bureaucratic absurdities in Thailand, or any country in the world for that matter. T

I just bought the Elite and got the visa sticker earlier this month. I opted for the 20 year/1mln Baht version, which is the best value for money, or rather the cheapest per annum cost at 50,000 Baht equivalent. This version does not come with all the extra Elite perks like free limo service to the airport18 or 24 times a year. That's completely useless to me as I travel often, but by FAR not that often. Plus a simple taxi does it for me. It's clearly for the really frequent travelers such as business people. Anyway, the main reason for me to buy is was indeed convenience and peace of mind. I was sick and tired of the annual hassle of the retirement extension. Also the minimum bank balance issue as described by @PeterRS played some role. Plus the idiotic health insurance now (since last year) required for some (not all!!) retirement visas. Get this: if my ORIGINAL visa to enter Thailand several years back was a Non-OA then I need the insurance, if it was a Non-O (or others, I believe, like tourist visa) then not. The annual extension is the EXACT same process with the EXACT same requirements (mainly being 50+ and that money in the bank), so why the hell does the very old visa, long since expired, determine the insurance requirement? Makes ZERO sense, and is a classic example of TiT. Who knows what other idiotic rules they may come up in the future. Some more detail and info on that annoying health insurance: it needs to have 400k Baht for inpatient coverage. That's a rather small amount. I have no use for that and would never ever be able to use it as my own health insurance covers everything. Now get this: depending on the company and your age that insurance policy costs in the range of 40-60k Baht a year (for my age of mid 50s, more for older)!! Luckily, last year I found ONE company offering policies with deductibles of 100k and 200k, the latter of which I bought at an acceptabe rate of 6k. Not too bad comapred to all the others. Well I know for a fact this is still happening at Immi Pattaya. Don't want to be overly anal, but I always find it important to use the correct terminology with these things. The 5 and 20 year versions are indeed memberships, but NOT visas. Even the 20 year membership only gives you a 5 year visa sticker. However the 20y membership of course confers the right to receive an new 5 year visa after expiration of the previous one. this could be a bit misleading to people not familiar with the Elite visa. An annual renewal (of the visa) is NOT required for the Elite holders, as the visa itself is a year one (see above). on each entry into Thailand Elite holders get a 1 year stamp from the date of arrival. Now IF you stay a consecutive year in Thailand, then that 1 year permission to stay will need to be extended. If you leave the contry at least once a year, no such extension is ever necessary, as a new 1 year stamp will be issued upon each arrival. This is different from the retirement visa where upon arrival you get a stamp until the fixed date that is your extension date. That extension MUST be done once every year with the requirements described here. (side note: the retirement visa is actually not really a visa but rather a retirememt permission to stay; that retireement extension by itself does NOT confer the right to enter Thailand under the same conditions, and leaving will make you lose that status - UNLESS yhou have a re-entry permit (separate stamp) which then upon arrival cofers the same status. ) So bottom line is, for people who normally travel internationally at least once per year, no extension is ever required for Elite holders. 90 day reporting of course still applies (unless one travels frequently enough to never reach 90 consecutive days, as I used to pre-covid).

the site has been down for weeks, if not months, already. Mine is coming up soon and I'll take no chances with the online system coming back online. Will do it via a different route

briefly saw that too, maybe on IG, not sure. But I have to admit, the new Babe has lost his lustre for me after the changes to his face, especially the nose. Now looks like a generic "too beautiful" face from random advertisements. The "babeness" is gone

The vaccine/entry discussion should continue in one of the vaccine threads... So back to topic: I went to the opening of Moonlight. Some customers, but not that many really. Dunno if it was more on the weekend. Show was abbreviated, only 4 numbers, including one ladyboy lipsynching one. Babe not there. Approx 8 floor boys.

Not sure which pharmacy around the corner from Tarntawan you mean, from the top of my head can't recall one there, but I could look next time I pass. In general, all the legit pharmacies in Silom/Surawong will have it I suppose, as they all have Kamagra. I buy the latter usually from a pharmacy on SIlom just up (towards Rama 4) from Soi 4. Or the pharmacy on Surawong opposite former Soi Twilight. Or Purple drugs on Thaniya (left hand side going towards Surawong, past Thaniya Mall).