anddy

I guess you mean R3 and Mania. No more since they re-opened in July, including on the special o-party nights, which have recently resumed (though not on the weekly basis they were before). Incidentally, the higher price was not for older farang, but for older guys in general. There was no distinction by nationality and/or race. As for that dual pricing, it is as @z909 said about that Singapore sauna: it is to keep the crowd predominantly young, which is in the interest of their young customers, which will represent the bulk of their customer base. So there is logic to it, which I sympathize with. And let's face it, when we were young we would have liked that policy too to keep the crowds young and attractive. That crowd composition is the reason we'd go then (when still young) and go now (when old). So just growing out of the preferred age bracket is no reason to all of a sudden complain. Having said that, most places do not have such differentiation. The 3 tier pricing at the Singapore sauna was/is not as egregious as R3 had it for the orgy nights (like 350 for <50, 1500 for >50), and therefore more easily acceptable.

still no result, and everyone seems transfixed by he drama - hence so quiet here on the board haha

I didn't know about this engine shift and airflow problem and thus Peter's conclusion that it's inherently unstable at all. Thanks all contributors in this thread to present the key issues with the 737max so clearly in the small space of just one thread page. I shall, too, endeavor to avoid this plane for quite some time.

Excellent editorial from Khaosod English, giving a good summary of key events in recent days, too: https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2020/10/17/editorial-prayut-has-lost-all-legitimacy-he-must-go/

I agree with pretty much everything said in the previous posts. Much of my life I have looked up to the US in many respects, including it's democracy (even though we've had a very good one ourselves in Germany, that now as some issues too, but those pale in comparison to the US). But now I am very disillusioned, despise American politics and view it as a pseudo-democracy (typing this last word I made a very fitting typo: democrazy. Indeed!). Some reasons have been mentioned by other posters, there are many more, rampant and grotesque gerrymandering for example. Or active voter suppression (hello? In a leading democracy?). Or cumbersome voter registration (in Germany 100% of the electorate get their voter card (an actual post card) automatically before any election). The list goes on. Shocking. As for the UK, the first-past-the-post system is outdated and in a multi-party system has become thoroughly undemocratic, too. In the last election the UK had a stark choice between a communist and BJ, true. But fact is, that the majority of the voters did NOT vote for BJ (please correct me if this fact is, in fact, wrong. But I believe it is true). Similar to the last win by Trump win without winning the popular vote. Conclusion: democracy is in a sorry state the world over

generally, that is probably a true observation. However, I will say that since the 80s and 90s I have held that the era after WWII up until and including those two decades were a kind of a golden era (then being expressed in present tense) in the West. I now find myself vindicated (unfortunately) when I look at the dire state of the world. But this thread is about Bangkok, not the West or rest of world, so back to topic! At this time, present tense is certainly not appropriate for golden era in BKK

So true what someone later in the article said:

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/10/14/all-railway-crossings-to-get-barriers-after-accident-killed-19/ 1. Couldn't they have come to that sensible conclusion after the countless accidents at such crossings over the decades? There is actually a saying in Thai that goes something like this: "to build the pen after the cows have escaped." Seems a very Thai thing to do, wait for the damage, then do something about it. 2. will have to wait and see how many of these announced barriers will actually be built, TiT after all

Khaosod English also frequently has live video streams in their facebook page, much more so than the Post's website

Like I've said recently in a similar context, making sense is not a staple of Thai policy and bureaucracy. That's a simple, if annoying, fact. Leads to reader's very realistic assessment: Giving small bits of hope (like 1200/month is even a "bit" of hope LOL) to appease the affected, only to report failure due to circumstances that were "unforeseen" and/or "beyond our control". Something like that. So that complete despair will not take over. Sadly the truth is, they don't care

I may have said this somewhere else in a similar context, but if and when actual enforcement happens via fines, they are totally ineffective. The fine is almost always 400 or 500 Baht, regardless of the severity of the traffic violation and whether or not it poses a risk to others. Some examples: zero risk: parking of car or motorcycle where it's not allowed - 4-500 Baht some risk: illegal u-turn - 400 baht high risk: passing red traffic light - 500 Baht varying risk from low to high: speeding on the motorway - 500 Baht (regardless of by how much) You're not going to get compliance from that sort of negligible fine for even severe violations, including those that pose a high accident risk such as passing a red light. Understandably, such fines are just paid and shrugged off, only to continue with the violation habits.

One example of preparedness that stood out was South Korea with it's incredibly sophisticated contact tracing system using mobile phone data. That approach of course met privacy concerns especially in western countries (Asians just don't care as much about these things), but it DID work. Having said that, the most advanced and supposedly most "superior" country/government in the world, also did see it coming.... and then did nothing or abandoned what preparations had been started: One of the commentators to the video summarized it as follows (there might be some devil in some details, but as a broad assessment sounds about right to me): "Bush Jr talk about pandemic readiness, Obama set Pandemic Board, to prepare for coordination in Pandemic action plan. Trump: Fired them dump all the plan. 2020: Coronavirus here I come."

Fair points. So the risk may indeed be higher, but taking that into consideration that extra risk can probably be mitigated by being extra cautious in all these activities, like extra diligent mask wearing, more hand sanitizer, etc etc. Hadn't really thought about that, maybe because my own life is the same anywhere, any time haha

Lovely story about his life. The I like the "Love is Love" part best. Simple teaching, but vey effective in this great human being. Unfortunately, Jordan discontinued his blog and the story in 2013/14.

+1 And why is that, exactly??????? Ah, see first quote!

That is so true, for places that have the virus circulating. Which is precisely the reason why I vehemently encouraged some friends in Germany to go to southern France in late Aug/early Sept. A travel warning had just been issued by Germany, which I found somewhat absurd for that same reason. I told them to ignore the stupid warning and go. They did go, and tested negative in the mandatory test upon return. Even the one guy who engaged in very corona-unsafe activities in the bars at night.

yes it is not uncommon here, at least in Thai-style places. At a resort like the one in question I'm not so sure how common it might be, but apparently they were also ok with it in principle (with the corkage, which is totally fair obviously). At Thai places, you can bring your own bottle, and don't even have to finish it, they will keep it for you for next time. I'll have to ask my friend who dies it all the time what the corkage deal is or is not; it's even conceivable they don't charge corkage coz you'll be buying the mixers (this is for whiskey, not wine). But again, bottom line is: yes it is common.

That may well be the case, but that won't change anything for this winter. Even if a vaccine was approved say in November, what are your personal chances to get it right away? They will prioritize, and vaccinating a whole country (or world) will take a rather long time. Besides, countries with restrictions in place (as per your map) will have to adapt their rules to allow vaccinated people in. That, too will take some time. So even if a vaccine comes, don't bank on it for your personal planning. As for Maldives, apart from not exactly being a gay friendly country (as a country, the tourist islands are essentially ghettos, where things can be vastly different), it is not really an option for a long stay to avoid the European winter (as z909 intends), because it is (a) way too expensive for most people and (b) you'd get bored to death coz there is nothing to do or see. Beautiful for some days, even a week or two, but that's it. Do I have other ideas? Not really, as I am in the lucky position to be stuck exactly in the place I would choose to be stuck in if I had the choice. For Europe Canary Islands do come to mind, maybe Morocco for a little while, things like that. Canaries aren't as warm as Thailand, but still better than UK! Might be one of the better compromises available, and compromise you will have to

When I click on that map/directions link it takes me to a totally different and wrong location (near Sanam Luang) than the map on their website (ogasms.weebly.com), which is on Suthisan Road roughly halfway between BTS Saphan Khwai and MRT Sutthisan. Boys DO look cute, many I'd like...

Of course I fully agree with you. All I can say or think of is - TiT

Thai absurdity at its best - again But this article provides a better explanation than the ridiculous "haven't worked out all details" excuse: https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/10/08/pandemic-tourist-visas-shelved-in-favor-of-local-vacationers/

LOL yeah thought the same thing Just been thinking the other day how odd it is that the Baht is so strong again. It has recovered most losses it had incurred at the beginning of the pandemic and I wonder how and why. General investor sentiment is of course more or less ignoring the pandemic and in a "risk on" mode, but 40 million tourists not buying any Baht this year must have a noticeable impact I would assume. But evidently not....

Things go fast, was at Soi 4 again 3 weeks ago and found Banana already open in it's new splendor: Another update (for which I can't find the thread in which I have previously posted about it): Senso is has been closed again for several weeks, with a sign on the door saying "temporarily closed"

11. He said pretty early on "It'll just go away, it's like, like a miracle" A US President calling for miracles, for real. You can't make the absurdity of it up. I am also worried it might improve his chances due to compassion votes. Ugh

it's not too bad I think, much better than the super short he had a while after he cut it (for whatever reason). What's doing him even less good is the new nose. Someone had already pointed that out somewhere here, and I have to agree. The difference is not huge, but the original nose was definitely much cuter.