DivineMadman

being top does not mean there is no risk to get infected ...there is a risk ... 

Some people appear to be reading too much into the latest developments.
The government announced an end to the internal lockdown.  The opening up the government announced was the opening up of businesses within Thailand and internationally for only a very certain class of travelers - primarily business (work permit) travelers on a case-by-case basis with a need to travel to Thailand who follow a special process with the Thai Embassy (which is why the Embassy will be vetting the insurance policies).
Thailand did not announce anything about tourists or opening up to tourists.  
Before people default into the usual crapping on Thailand or the Thai government, best thing to do is pause, relax, and make sure the facts are right.
The Bangkok Posts is reasonably accurate but often imprecise.  It's always best to check multiple sources before taking anything we read in the press as true.  The same is true for most countries, I reckon. And check Richard Barrow.  The Thai government gives very good English language press briefings Monday - Friday that are easy to find on-line, another excellent source that is direct from the water buffalo's mouth.
If we take a cursory look at other countries in the region, opening up to tourists is but a glimmer in the eye of the local governments and Thailand seems to be the same.  Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 
I don't think anyone outside or in the government knows what the final rules will be for tourist travel.  I do think that unrestricted travel in the time of a pandemic is not a god-given right or even prudent; therefore, there will inevitably be some restrictions and those will be bothersome and maybe even make some people unable to travel.  Spanish flu...second wave worst than the first...even Wuhan is nowhere near herd immunity....blah blah.  
A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  
Until an immunity passport becomes real, none of this will be easy.  
 

Some people appear to be reading too much into the latest developments.
The government announced an end to the internal lockdown.  The opening up the government announced was the opening up of businesses within Thailand and internationally for only a very certain class of travelers - primarily business (work permit) travelers on a case-by-case basis with a need to travel to Thailand who follow a special process with the Thai Embassy (which is why the Embassy will be vetting the insurance policies).
Thailand did not announce anything about tourists or opening up to tourists.  
Before people default into the usual crapping on Thailand or the Thai government, best thing to do is pause, relax, and make sure the facts are right.
The Bangkok Posts is reasonably accurate but often imprecise.  It's always best to check multiple sources before taking anything we read in the press as true.  The same is true for most countries, I reckon. And check Richard Barrow.  The Thai government gives very good English language press briefings Monday - Friday that are easy to find on-line, another excellent source that is direct from the water buffalo's mouth.
If we take a cursory look at other countries in the region, opening up to tourists is but a glimmer in the eye of the local governments and Thailand seems to be the same.  Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 
I don't think anyone outside or in the government knows what the final rules will be for tourist travel.  I do think that unrestricted travel in the time of a pandemic is not a god-given right or even prudent; therefore, there will inevitably be some restrictions and those will be bothersome and maybe even make some people unable to travel.  Spanish flu...second wave worst than the first...even Wuhan is nowhere near herd immunity....blah blah.  
A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  
Until an immunity passport becomes real, none of this will be easy.  
 

Some people appear to be reading too much into the latest developments.
The government announced an end to the internal lockdown.  The opening up the government announced was the opening up of businesses within Thailand and internationally for only a very certain class of travelers - primarily business (work permit) travelers on a case-by-case basis with a need to travel to Thailand who follow a special process with the Thai Embassy (which is why the Embassy will be vetting the insurance policies).
Thailand did not announce anything about tourists or opening up to tourists.  
Before people default into the usual crapping on Thailand or the Thai government, best thing to do is pause, relax, and make sure the facts are right.
The Bangkok Posts is reasonably accurate but often imprecise.  It's always best to check multiple sources before taking anything we read in the press as true.  The same is true for most countries, I reckon. And check Richard Barrow.  The Thai government gives very good English language press briefings Monday - Friday that are easy to find on-line, another excellent source that is direct from the water buffalo's mouth.
If we take a cursory look at other countries in the region, opening up to tourists is but a glimmer in the eye of the local governments and Thailand seems to be the same.  Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 
I don't think anyone outside or in the government knows what the final rules will be for tourist travel.  I do think that unrestricted travel in the time of a pandemic is not a god-given right or even prudent; therefore, there will inevitably be some restrictions and those will be bothersome and maybe even make some people unable to travel.  Spanish flu...second wave worst than the first...even Wuhan is nowhere near herd immunity....blah blah.  
A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  
Until an immunity passport becomes real, none of this will be easy.  
 

Some people appear to be reading too much into the latest developments.
The government announced an end to the internal lockdown.  The opening up the government announced was the opening up of businesses within Thailand and internationally for only a very certain class of travelers - primarily business (work permit) travelers on a case-by-case basis with a need to travel to Thailand who follow a special process with the Thai Embassy (which is why the Embassy will be vetting the insurance policies).
Thailand did not announce anything about tourists or opening up to tourists.  
Before people default into the usual crapping on Thailand or the Thai government, best thing to do is pause, relax, and make sure the facts are right.
The Bangkok Posts is reasonably accurate but often imprecise.  It's always best to check multiple sources before taking anything we read in the press as true.  The same is true for most countries, I reckon. And check Richard Barrow.  The Thai government gives very good English language press briefings Monday - Friday that are easy to find on-line, another excellent source that is direct from the water buffalo's mouth.
If we take a cursory look at other countries in the region, opening up to tourists is but a glimmer in the eye of the local governments and Thailand seems to be the same.  Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 
I don't think anyone outside or in the government knows what the final rules will be for tourist travel.  I do think that unrestricted travel in the time of a pandemic is not a god-given right or even prudent; therefore, there will inevitably be some restrictions and those will be bothersome and maybe even make some people unable to travel.  Spanish flu...second wave worst than the first...even Wuhan is nowhere near herd immunity....blah blah.  
A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  
Until an immunity passport becomes real, none of this will be easy.  
 

You might want to look at World Nomads.  [For U.S. residents - what they cover isn't the same for U.K residents or other countries - but feel free to check you non-US peeps]
World Nomads does not have a pandemic/epidemic exclusion ("our plan does not exclude losses associated with pandemic or epidemic conditions; meaning that if you, your traveling companion or family member were to become sick (after you purchase the plan) as a result of the COVID-19 virus, you could still receive benefits for losses covered by the plan.")   
Also, there is no exclusion for travel during a State Department/CDC "essential travel only"  period.
There is a pretty decent set of FAQs.  https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/help/insurance/recent-events/coronavirus-faqs   The FAQs discuss the trip cancellation/interruption aspect of the policy as well as the health insurance aspect, which is what the Thai gov't is looking for.  (Same for Vietnam and Cambodia, I think?)
Given that right now the focus is on letting in only a select few work permit types (and similar), with each case reviewed by the embassy, I certainly have no clue how this requirement will play out for "regular" tourists.  
Also no guarantees that this won't change at any time......
 

You might want to look at World Nomads.  [For U.S. residents - what they cover isn't the same for U.K residents or other countries - but feel free to check you non-US peeps]
World Nomads does not have a pandemic/epidemic exclusion ("our plan does not exclude losses associated with pandemic or epidemic conditions; meaning that if you, your traveling companion or family member were to become sick (after you purchase the plan) as a result of the COVID-19 virus, you could still receive benefits for losses covered by the plan.")   
Also, there is no exclusion for travel during a State Department/CDC "essential travel only"  period.
There is a pretty decent set of FAQs.  https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/help/insurance/recent-events/coronavirus-faqs   The FAQs discuss the trip cancellation/interruption aspect of the policy as well as the health insurance aspect, which is what the Thai gov't is looking for.  (Same for Vietnam and Cambodia, I think?)
Given that right now the focus is on letting in only a select few work permit types (and similar), with each case reviewed by the embassy, I certainly have no clue how this requirement will play out for "regular" tourists.  
Also no guarantees that this won't change at any time......
 

except you're free to come and go, or not go, and, well, everything else.....

but...other than that...

except you're free to come and go, or not go, and, well, everything else.....

except you're free to come and go, or not go, and, well, everything else.....

From The Nation
The long wait for handouts

Some 1,000 locals in Chonburi province were queuing up from as early as 1am on Thursday (May 28) at Soi Thappaya 5 in Banglamung district to receive handouts of food and consumer products provided by the Norwegian Seamen's Church Pattaya.
The church distributes 2,000 packs of the handouts at 9am every Thursday to people who have been affected by the Covid-19 situation in Pattaya, the famous tourist city that has been shut down to avoid the outbreak.
At around 3am, police officers from Muang Pattaya Station came to disperse the crowd as 11pm to 4am are curfew hours imposed by the government. However, a news source said that the crowd dispersed only temporarily and queued up again once the police had gone.

From the BBC
Elephants on 'great migration' to survive coronavirus starvation
With the collapse of the tourism industry due to coronavirus, many of Thailand's captive elephants are now at risk of starvation.
BBC Thai follows one group of elephant keepers journeying into the mountains to find food.
Continues with video
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-52780258/thailand-elephants-on-great-migration-to-survive-coronavirus-starvation
 

Got that haircut today (first since leaving BKK) and I think the barber got more off my ears and eyebrows than he did off my scalp.

And the long-term consequences of the disease are only just beginning to be studied, and there are a lot of depressing reports about that.  
The people who think it can't affect them or that it's "just like the flu" are the ones who can become super-spreaders.  That's true for both customers and sex workers.  And, what the local guys seem to grasp more readily than many others is that it's not just about them, it's about the 10 people that they can infect, and so on.  I think that's something that is more natural for the local guys to be aware of because of the long-standing culture of wearing a mask -- to protect other people when you might not be feeling well.  Sadly, many Americans don't seem to be able to grasp this. (I won't comment on other nationalities.) 
When the tourists return, it is inevitable that some people with COVID-19 will get into the country.  Probably the same will be true for guys coming back from the provinces or the surrounding countries to work in the bars, etc.  I don't think anyone doubts that.  The hope is that with rigorous screening and contact tracing if cases do arise, the numbers can be kept low.  It's also up to everyone to do his little bit to help.  But Thailand is not going to be a COVID-19-free bubble.  
Admittedly, I have no idea how it's all going to work out practically.  Easy to provide fresh clean sheets and towels (and wash them after any guest leaves).  Will the scent of disinfectant start becoming something I associate with a sexual romp?  Should we all get those temp. reading guns and check each other for fevers before getting naked?  
Even if a guy has brushed his teeth and used mouthwash,  I swear I can usually taste the pad krapao he had for dinner, so I'm not so much a fan of kissing.  Easy to give that up.  My favorite sexual position(s) don't involve face-to-face, so that's a win for me.  If someone tells me we have to wear masks, well - if all those doctor visit fantasy porn or strangely-alluring porn vids of twinks having sex wearing dog masks have taught me anything, it's that it's still possible to have a good time with a mask.  I'm an open-minded chap and willing to learn.    [I truly hope it doesn't come to that.].  I wonder if the blow-job bars will install plastic partitions, or will glory holes become the newest old thing?
I can't decide whether a brothel bar or massage shop is likely to be safer than some random guy off of hornet.  The better massage shops I expect will have pretty serious cleaning regimens, but higher volume, of course.  I expect shops and the bars will be screening for temperature and keeping an eye on the health of the guys who work there.  
 
 

I agree.  Each person will have to make really hard decisions about how he assesses the risks of travel and what to do and how at the time, especially in light of his own risk "profile."  
I suppose the main point is that we should also respect each other person's decisions regarding that - including the sex workers - and not try to pressure them or dismiss their concerns.  So it's a just another little thing to be thoughtful of.  That's all.

And the long-term consequences of the disease are only just beginning to be studied, and there are a lot of depressing reports about that.  
The people who think it can't affect them or that it's "just like the flu" are the ones who can become super-spreaders.  That's true for both customers and sex workers.  And, what the local guys seem to grasp more readily than many others is that it's not just about them, it's about the 10 people that they can infect, and so on.  I think that's something that is more natural for the local guys to be aware of because of the long-standing culture of wearing a mask -- to protect other people when you might not be feeling well.  Sadly, many Americans don't seem to be able to grasp this. (I won't comment on other nationalities.) 
When the tourists return, it is inevitable that some people with COVID-19 will get into the country.  Probably the same will be true for guys coming back from the provinces or the surrounding countries to work in the bars, etc.  I don't think anyone doubts that.  The hope is that with rigorous screening and contact tracing if cases do arise, the numbers can be kept low.  It's also up to everyone to do his little bit to help.  But Thailand is not going to be a COVID-19-free bubble.  
Admittedly, I have no idea how it's all going to work out practically.  Easy to provide fresh clean sheets and towels (and wash them after any guest leaves).  Will the scent of disinfectant start becoming something I associate with a sexual romp?  Should we all get those temp. reading guns and check each other for fevers before getting naked?  
Even if a guy has brushed his teeth and used mouthwash,  I swear I can usually taste the pad krapao he had for dinner, so I'm not so much a fan of kissing.  Easy to give that up.  My favorite sexual position(s) don't involve face-to-face, so that's a win for me.  If someone tells me we have to wear masks, well - if all those doctor visit fantasy porn or strangely-alluring porn vids of twinks having sex wearing dog masks have taught me anything, it's that it's still possible to have a good time with a mask.  I'm an open-minded chap and willing to learn.    [I truly hope it doesn't come to that.].  I wonder if the blow-job bars will install plastic partitions, or will glory holes become the newest old thing?
I can't decide whether a brothel bar or massage shop is likely to be safer than some random guy off of hornet.  The better massage shops I expect will have pretty serious cleaning regimens, but higher volume, of course.  I expect shops and the bars will be screening for temperature and keeping an eye on the health of the guys who work there.  
 
 

I agree.  Each person will have to make really hard decisions about how he assesses the risks of travel and what to do and how at the time, especially in light of his own risk "profile."  
I suppose the main point is that we should also respect each other person's decisions regarding that - including the sex workers - and not try to pressure them or dismiss their concerns.  So it's a just another little thing to be thoughtful of.  That's all.

I agree.  Each person will have to make really hard decisions about how he assesses the risks of travel and what to do and how at the time, especially in light of his own risk "profile."  
I suppose the main point is that we should also respect each other person's decisions regarding that - including the sex workers - and not try to pressure them or dismiss their concerns.  So it's a just another little thing to be thoughtful of.  That's all.

SWING has come up with advice for sex workers in the COVID-19 era.  Some of the recommendations were briefly mentioned during a recent Foreign Correspondents Club program on the current sex worker scene (available online).  They include practical steps, such as requiring the client to take a shower before getting down to business and while the client is showering spray the bed with a disinfectant spray, etc.  I can't remember if the client is supposed to wear a mask.  
The president of SWING made the point that sex workers are terrified of getting COVID-19 (for good reason) and they are trying to educate the sex workers and "empower" them to insist on the new-normal COVID-19 safe sex.
 
 

What SWING is trying to do is to tell the sex workers that they have "the power" to say no, and the information to back it up.
It's like barebacking.  Sure, there are customers who will insist on it and some sex workers will go along because they need the money.  Can't have any respect the customers who do that and can only feel sorry for the sex workers who go along.  

SWING has come up with advice for sex workers in the COVID-19 era.  Some of the recommendations were briefly mentioned during a recent Foreign Correspondents Club program on the current sex worker scene (available online).  They include practical steps, such as requiring the client to take a shower before getting down to business and while the client is showering spray the bed with a disinfectant spray, etc.  I can't remember if the client is supposed to wear a mask.  
The president of SWING made the point that sex workers are terrified of getting COVID-19 (for good reason) and they are trying to educate the sex workers and "empower" them to insist on the new-normal COVID-19 safe sex.
 
 

Let's say it is one word consisting of 4 words. Look at the upper part of your screen

I'm taking some pride in posting this story before Reader called it to our attention.

1► ex moonlight star
1▼ bangkok skytrain
2► thai word for three, but it's not "sam" (it's actually universal)
3► sub-district in bangkok where Le Siam hotel is but The Raya is not
4▼ BTS station near the (now renamed) Chakran Sauna
5▼ when you go to a restaurant with the guy you offed you always pay the ....
6► a Thai BL series (2020) with a digit in the name
6▼ another Thai BL series (2017) with a digit in the name
7► ..... circle is a roundabout in Bangkok named after a movie theatre that was located there
   (many theatres have that name i guess)
8► when you take care financially about your guy, you earn a lot of .....
9▼ this club is definitely not real
10▼ the tower with that scary glass platform near Chong Nonsi
11► neighboring country in the west
11▼ bangkok metro
12▼ you can find her in every gogo bar and some say they are best qualified to assist in finding the best guy,
    but that is a controversial discussion
13▼ sauna in bangkok (named after the guy in 1►)
14► the guys often have an extravagant hair.....
15► massage place in silom plaza
16► a cool space
17▼ a shopping mall, take the shuttle boat at Sathorn Pier
18► another sauna, allegedly catering to the asian customer
19► so shameless!
20▼ the biggest gay gogobar in Patpong 2
21► not a girl
22► massage place in Saladaeng Road (ask Vinapu if you don't know it)
23▼ if Bangkok boys are too expensive, you better go to ...
24► massage place in Silom Soi 4
25▼ neighboring country in the north
26► a business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty and relaxation through personal care treatments
    (wikipedia definition)
27► if you are rich you can bath in ...., or even better, give them to your guy
28▼ if you come to bangkok from tokyo, you are likely flying with ...
29► it is said that Thais can't say ..
30▼ neighboring country in the east  
31► probably the most discussed gogo bar 2019/2020 in this forum
32▼ we are all waiting for the vaccination so that we can go to ........ again
33► cheap means of transport to go from Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Aiport
34► moonlight model, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR2njFzNQnQ
35▼ nickname of the former street with all the gogo bars, now a construction site
36▼ the gogo bar were they sometimes sing karaoke after midnight