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thaiophilus

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  1. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from ChristianPFC in Nick's Gay Thailand gone?   
    Yes, Nicky retired, closed the site and put the domains up for sale about the same time as he published his book. The site was still there (if not actively updated) in late 2016 as I downloaded some pages from it then. A shame it's gone, as it was frequently updated and most places of interest were listed. Still I suppose a clean break is better than leaving a fossil to decay and become more and more misleading as time goes on.
     
    The Japanese massage site is here
     
    For the sake of completeness there are also these sites I bookmarked at various times, but they may be seriously out of date or too selective to be useful:
    Utopia-Asia (very selective/censored coverage, e.g. no mention of gogo bars at all!)
    Sticky Rice (last "latest stories" 2014)
    GayThailand "city guides" (no comment)
    ...and many others that are now totally defunct.
     
    And once upon a time there was no Internet and the only source of information was The Men Of Thailand and word of mouth..
  2. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from reader in Bathing with aplomb in public   
    If I'm reading it right, the bather made the video and the sarcastic comments himself, to make a point about someone's failure to repair the broken pipe. Not an opportunistic bath but a political statement.
  3. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from Badboy81 in Badboys June Trip to Bangkok....Suggestions Needed   
    For an inexpensive day out: from Sathorn pier (BTS Saphan Taksin) take the Chao Phraya Express river bus (the ordinary orange-flag boat, NOT the overpriced blue-flag tourist boat) all the way to the terminus at Nonthaburi. Stroll round a provincial town, have lunch at a riverside restaurant, return. Boat fare: 15B each way. From Nonthaburi you can also take a taxi to Pak Kred and the local ferry across to the island of Ko Kred, but that may require some language and negotiation skills.
    Another laid-back island in the heart of Bangkok: taxi (from MRT Klong Toey or BTS Bang Na) to Wat Khlong Toey Nok at the port entrance, then take the local ferry across to Bang Krachao.
     
    Restaurants: If you like the Mango Tree, other farang-friendly restaurants to consider are Ban Chiang (Thanon Surasak off Silom, BTS Surasak) and Tummy Yummy, soi Tonson (nearest BTS Chitlom or Phloenchit)
    And if you want to pick and mix rather than dining in a formal restaurant, don't overlook the food courts in department stores like Central Chidlom.
  4. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from bucknaway in Customs search finding convo about boys & sex   
    "I wonder what will happen if on a connecting flight in Doha"
     
    In most countries outside of the USA there is a concept of "transit": If you have connecting flights and stay airside at the airport you have not technically entered the country. Therefore you don't go through customs at all, though you will probably have to undergo the usual security theatre (X-rays ,metal detectors etc.) before boarding.
  5. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from fedssocr in Different kind of Bangkok Happy Ending   
    myskipper: "he asked for more and claim it was the "service charge"".
     
    Just to clarify for anyone who doesn't know the system: there really is a service charge for taxis departing the airport. It's 50B on top of the meter charge. Also, passengers are expected to pay the expressway tolls (various sums 20-50B, shown at the gate). Usually the driver asks for the money as you approach the toll station; if he doesn't, he will expect it at the end of the journey. I can understand the driver appearing nervous about raising the question, if the passenger shows no sign of understanding this and has no common language. On the other hand, anything running to hundreds of baht is a scam.
     
    While we're here, here's my honest Bkk taxi story. I was in a taxi from the airport, at night, when the driver received a call. He stopped, turned around and found the bag the previous passenger had left (in the dark) on the floor in the back. We made a slight diversion and he passed the bag over to another  taxi, I assume to be reunited with its owner.
     
    And for balance, the dishonest one. This was a clocked meter, obviously running at way over the correct rate. Maybe half way between the airport and central Bkk it was indicating 40km, when the entire journey is less than 25. Luckily there were two of us and my companion was fluent in Thai, so that "meter" ride suddenly became a (reasonable) fixed fare.
  6. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from ChristianPFC in Different kind of Bangkok Happy Ending   
    myskipper: "he asked for more and claim it was the "service charge"".
     
    Just to clarify for anyone who doesn't know the system: there really is a service charge for taxis departing the airport. It's 50B on top of the meter charge. Also, passengers are expected to pay the expressway tolls (various sums 20-50B, shown at the gate). Usually the driver asks for the money as you approach the toll station; if he doesn't, he will expect it at the end of the journey. I can understand the driver appearing nervous about raising the question, if the passenger shows no sign of understanding this and has no common language. On the other hand, anything running to hundreds of baht is a scam.
     
    While we're here, here's my honest Bkk taxi story. I was in a taxi from the airport, at night, when the driver received a call. He stopped, turned around and found the bag the previous passenger had left (in the dark) on the floor in the back. We made a slight diversion and he passed the bag over to another  taxi, I assume to be reunited with its owner.
     
    And for balance, the dishonest one. This was a clocked meter, obviously running at way over the correct rate. Maybe half way between the airport and central Bkk it was indicating 40km, when the entire journey is less than 25. Luckily there were two of us and my companion was fluent in Thai, so that "meter" ride suddenly became a (reasonable) fixed fare.
  7. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from traveller123 in Different kind of Bangkok Happy Ending   
    myskipper: "he asked for more and claim it was the "service charge"".
     
    Just to clarify for anyone who doesn't know the system: there really is a service charge for taxis departing the airport. It's 50B on top of the meter charge. Also, passengers are expected to pay the expressway tolls (various sums 20-50B, shown at the gate). Usually the driver asks for the money as you approach the toll station; if he doesn't, he will expect it at the end of the journey. I can understand the driver appearing nervous about raising the question, if the passenger shows no sign of understanding this and has no common language. On the other hand, anything running to hundreds of baht is a scam.
     
    While we're here, here's my honest Bkk taxi story. I was in a taxi from the airport, at night, when the driver received a call. He stopped, turned around and found the bag the previous passenger had left (in the dark) on the floor in the back. We made a slight diversion and he passed the bag over to another  taxi, I assume to be reunited with its owner.
     
    And for balance, the dishonest one. This was a clocked meter, obviously running at way over the correct rate. Maybe half way between the airport and central Bkk it was indicating 40km, when the entire journey is less than 25. Luckily there were two of us and my companion was fluent in Thai, so that "meter" ride suddenly became a (reasonable) fixed fare.
  8. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from vinapu in Aviation Enthusiasts   
    Been there, seen that, or else something remarkably similar was on the BBC recently. I guess it's one of those international productions where they show the same video sequences but the narrative is voiced by an actor of the target audience's nationality. 
     
    But that's not to knock it in any way - as such documentaries go, that is one of the better ones. I too was fascinated by the sheer complexity of what goes on. As a private pilot I get glimpses of that world, but the differences of scale are tremendous. It still amazes me that for a few hundred £ I can get to fly on an A380 costing a third of  a billion. The mere sound of the flight numbers EK016 - EK376 gets my mouth watering thinking of my next visit to LOS...
  9. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from biguyby in Aviation Enthusiasts   
    Been there, seen that, or else something remarkably similar was on the BBC recently. I guess it's one of those international productions where they show the same video sequences but the narrative is voiced by an actor of the target audience's nationality. 
     
    But that's not to knock it in any way - as such documentaries go, that is one of the better ones. I too was fascinated by the sheer complexity of what goes on. As a private pilot I get glimpses of that world, but the differences of scale are tremendous. It still amazes me that for a few hundred £ I can get to fly on an A380 costing a third of  a billion. The mere sound of the flight numbers EK016 - EK376 gets my mouth watering thinking of my next visit to LOS...
  10. Like
    thaiophilus got a reaction from DivineMadman in Recommed a doctor   
    As I know too well. Stones may take a while to grow, without any symptoms until they start to move, so it can be difficult to identify the cause. Regardless, it's definitely wise to avoid dehydration at all times. Also rhubarb
    For emergency self-medication for the pain you can take the maximum dose of both paracetamol/acetaminophen and ibuprofen simultaneously (so long as you are OK with either of these on its own, of course.)  If compounds with added codeine (e.g. co-codamol) are legal where you are, that helps too, but I wouldn't risk carrying anything containing codeine when travelling. A doctor may have more potent options available.
     
     
    I wouldn't be without it when travelling, just in case. But be careful what you drink while taking cipro... unlike some antibiotics, alcohol is no problem, but milky drinks stop it working and it potentiates caffeine to the point where you can feel quite ill after a single cup of tea.
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