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I should have been more clear. I was referring to China's 9-dash line (or 19 dashes; it seems to keep expanding) in South China Sea.

15M Massage has been featuring a guy in recent posts that I find difficult to forget: "Harn". Not that it's particularly easy to forget any of them IMO. ======== Nearby Phetboy Spa has posted a link to videos on Tik Tok. https://www.tiktok.com/@phetboyspa?_t=8n6PAB7TEiA&_r=1 Its continually updated lists of masseurs is available at https://phetboyspa.blogspot.com/2024/02/phetboy-spa.html

NOTE -- On recent trip I was approached by a foreign male on Surawong Road (near Soi Thaniya), asking if I knew where he could find a hospital. After I directed him to nearby Bangkok Christian Hospital, he followed up and asked if I could change some money for him. I knew instinctively this was a scam attempt. If you're new to LOS, never agree to change money for a stranger. From Pattaya News Two Pakistani nationals were apprehended in Kamala after a series of thefts involving a clever 1,000 baht banknote trick. The suspects targeted businesses across Phuket, Pattaya, and other provinces. On Wednesday (July 24th) at 9:00 P.M., a foreign suspect entered a Kamala pharmacy posing as a customer. He engaged the pharmacist in conversation, using a 1,000 baht banknote to confuse them. The ruse involved pretending to buy small items, then claiming he didn’t want them, resulting in the pharmacist returning the banknote. The suspect would then change his mind and speak quickly, confusing the cashier, receiving both the items and the change, effectively leaving with the original 1,000 baht note. In the west, this sort of scam is called short changing, or a short change artist. The second suspect waited on a motorbike outside the pharmacy, ready to flee. This same tactic was employed at a mini mart in Kamala and three other businesses in Patong. In June, the duo executed similar scams in Pattaya, and earlier in March, they targeted shops in central Thailand, including Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, and Singburi according to Thai police. Authorities from multiple provinces had been pursuing the suspects until their arrest in Kamala on Thursday (July 25th). The thieves claimed they were intoxicated when committing the crimes and that they hadn’t meant to con anyone. Phuket Police have urged other businesses in the region to come forward if they fell victim to this scam. However, the names and ages of the arrested suspects remain undisclosed. Phuket police have also warned that these men may be part of a larger network and also could be involved in scams involving short changing tourists in areas like Phuket and Pattaya, confusing them by asking to help them exchange money and then short changing the victim instead.

Tits? Those qualify as boobs!

Yes, China is just trying to be helpful. As we speak it's trying to rearrange the South China Sea to relieve its neighbors of excess real estate. And its neighbors respond be being downright ungracious!

From New Zealand Herald Two bothers locked up in Thailand after a roadside struggle with a police officer are now safely back in New Zealand after spending nearly four months in prison. Hamish and Mattson Day, 36 and 38, were on holiday in Phuket when they were arrested in March and charged with robbery, obstruction of police duty, physical attack against a policeman, driving without a licence and bribery. Details of what happened are scarce although a video recording of the incident, which had been edited, was shared widely across social media. The footage showed Mattson Day grappling with a police officer on the side of the road, while Hamish Day can be seen proffering the officer’s firearm.

Fame at last.

Capitalism unleashed. You gotta love it.

Hope you did your share of the work.

And China paid for them and put Laos in deep debt as it has Cambodia. I think maybe Russia built some, too, with same objective. Can't trust either country. 🙂

A Transit Visa is needed unless exempt or transiting within the airport for less than 12 hours without leaving the transit area. Types of Thailand Transit Visas Thailand offers different categories of Transit Visas depending on the purpose of travel: Category “TS” Visa: For individuals transiting from Thailand to a third country. Category “S” Visa: For foreign sportspeople entering Thailand to participate in a sporting event. Category “C” Visa: For crew members of vehicles or vessels coming to a port, station, or area within Thailand. https://www.visaverge.com/guides/thailand-transit-visa-eligibility-requirements-application-process/

...and they'll be next to useless when China builds yet another one upstream.

From Thai PBS World Vareeraya Sukasem, a 12-year-old skateboarder, and 18-year-old sprinter Puripol Boonson will be the flag bearers for Thai athletes at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday. Thana Chaiprasit, chief of the Thai Olympic delegation to Paris, made the announcement today as the world’s finest athletes gather in France. As many as 51 Thai athletes will compete in the world’s largest sporting competition, from July 26 to August 11. Thirty-six of them are participating for the first time. Vareeraya, known by her nickname “ST,” is the first young Thai skateboarder to qualify for the Paris Olympics and is the youngest of all the athletes competing in this global event. She qualified for the Paris Games after an impressive performance in the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest in June. Starting skateboarding at the age of seven, ST has become one of 88 street skateboarders heading to Paris. Fans can cheer her on at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, on July 28. Skateboarding, divided into park and street events, made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, with skaters judged on the height and difficulty of their manoeuvres. Vareeraya told Agence France-Presse that her skating idol is Britain’s Sky Brown, who won a bronze medal at Tokyo at just 13 years old and will compete again in Paris. Brown will however be competing in the park event, which involves ramps and half-pipes. The Paris Olympics will also see the debut for Puripol, who has been nicknamed “Angel Bew” by the Thai media. The qualifying heats for the men’s 100m dash will take place on August 3, with the semi-final and final races scheduled for the following day. Puripol, a native of Surin province, won the 100m silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, clocking a personal best time of 10.06 seconds.

Four rehearsals for the Royal Barge Procession are scheduled this month, which also sees many other wonderful festivals and events including Summer Sonic Bangkok 2024. https://www.tatnews.org/2024/07/august-2024s-festivals-and-events-in-thailand/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=august-2024s-festivals-and-events-in-thailand

From The Nation The Royal Thai Navy said on Wednesday that His Majesty the King has granted permission for it to put three royal barges on public display this weekend at the Ratchaworadit Pier. The barges, Suphannahong, Narai Song Suban HM King Rama IX and Anantanakkharat, will be tied to pontoons in the Chao Phraya River at the pier. The display will be marked with a recital of the “boat song” in two 25-minute sessions per day. The boats will be on display on Sunday and Monday (July 28-29) at the pier in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district. On Sunday, the recital will be held at 3pm and 8.30pm, while on Monday, the song will be performed at 5pm and 8pm. This activity is part of celebrations marking His Majesty the King’s sixth-cycle (72nd) birthday on July 28. The public is invited to watch the performances as well as to check out an exhibition on royal barge processions at the Rajakij Winitchai Pavilion at the pier on the said dates. The barges can also be viewed from the Royal Thai Naval Institute, which is located on the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River. Visitors are urged to wear yellow, the colour representing the King’s day of birth. Since early this month, the Navy has been taking royal barges out on trial runs to prepare for the Royal Krathin ceremony scheduled for October 27. On this day, His Majesty will present robes to Buddhist monks, which will also commemorate his 72nd birth anniversary. A total of 52 royal barges and 2,200 personnel will participate in the procession down the river towards Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. The barges can also be viewed from the Royal Thai Naval Institute, which is located on the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River. Visitors are urged to wear yellow, the colour representing the King’s day of birth. Since early this month, the Navy has been taking royal barges out on trial runs to prepare for the Royal Krathin ceremony scheduled for October 27. On this day, His Majesty will present robes to Buddhist monks, which will also commemorate his 72nd birth anniversary. A total of 52 royal barges and 2,200 personnel will participate in the procession down the river towards Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn.

From The Thaiger Indonesia has introduced a long-term visa scheme aimed at attracting rich, “good-quality” foreign investors, President Joko Widodo announced. The new Golden Visa offers a 10-year residency permit to those rich enough to invest up to US$10 million in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The scheme includes a five-year visa option, requiring an individual to set up a company worth US$2.5 million, while a 10-year visa needs a US$5 million investment. For those not establishing a company, a five-year permit can be obtained with a US$350,000 investment and a 10-year permit with US$700,000. These funds can be allocated towards Indonesian government bonds, public company stocks, or deposits. Corporate investors are also catered for under this scheme. An investment of US$25 million allows companies to secure five-year visas for directors and commissioners, while a US$50 million investment grants a 10-year visa. Incentives are further enhanced for investments in Indonesia’s new US$32 billion capital city, currently under construction in Borneo. Here, a US$5 million investment provides a five-year visa, and a US$10 million investment secures a 10-year visa, according to the immigration agency.

If a damn is constructed, Vietnam will lose much of its Mekong ecosystem.

FIFO 🙂

Thanks for bringing that up. Very possible. Last time I had that done was about five years ago when arriving in US airport. They did my hands and straps of my carry on bag. What puzzled me is that they swabbed the side of the tablet that was protected by the cover.

Say it isn't so, JD, Say it isn't so.

I agree. Actually, Colombia and Taiwan finished relatively high (13th) as one of the better places for gays in the Gay Travel Index. https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/gaytravelindex.pdf

From Bangkok Post Mark Gooding (left), the British Ambassador to Thailand, and Remco van Wijingaarden, the Netherlands Ambassador, share their experiences at the Bangkok Post Pride Every Day forum on Wednesday at Lido Connect. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard) Despite the tremendous success of Thailand in passing the same-sex marriage bill, the nation still needs to work on other LGBTQ+ issues to ensure equality and pride on a sustained basis. That was the message sent by two ambassadors to Thailand — Mark Gooding of the United Kingdom and Remco van Wijingaarden of the Netherlands — at the Bangkok Post Pride Every Day forum. Their countries enacted similar laws years before Thailand became a leader in Southeast Asia by following suit. The diplomats shared their experiences at the forum that took place on Wednesday at Lido Connect Hall in Siam Square. Both men agreed that Thailand passing such bills would benefit the country in various ways, but added this was only a starting point and there are still many things that need to be done to ensure LGBTQ+ people in Thailand enjoy full rights and legal protections. Mr Gooding said that despite the passage of the Marriage Equality Bill in 2013, which took effect in 2014, the LGBTQ+ community in the UK still faces various challenges. Therefore, it is important to embody the issue of inclusion every day because LGBTQ+ life is not a one-month event during Pride in June, he said. “Marriage equality is a very important step towards equality, but in the UK, we have to focus on various challenges such as the daily discrimination, homophobic bullies in school, access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ people, as well as hate crimes,” Mr Gooding said. “Therefore, it is not specifically in the month of June when the Pride month is [held worldwide](#). I think by working together to exchange views openly about what the challenges are — and that needs to include government — the LGBTQ+ group, government and civil society can concentrate on addressing those challenges.” Mr Gooding said Thailand passing the marriage equality bill was a major step forward. Now, he suggested the focus must be on implementing it effectively. He also pointed out that to further spread equality, all sectors must collaborate as equality requires multi-sectoral dialogue. “Equal marriage legislation is absolutely fantastic. But I would say, that passing legislation is not the end,” he said. “The next thing is the implementation and the key first step is to make sure all the circulation of regulations is in place so the people will get the benefit after it becomes law. We do not want the people to be delayed by some piece of paper.” He said he was delighted to be informed that Thailand would join the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) as the 44th country in the framework. The ERC is a coalition of countries that come together to exchange and discuss promoting LGBTQ+ rights across the globe. “Thailand has become the leader in Southeast Asia in passing the equal marriage law and I think there will be more we can do together,” said Mr Gooding. “There are many places in the world that face serious drawbacks of LGBTQ+ rights and other rights, including women’s rights. So, I do think we need to work together to ensure international human rights to make sure that our values are protected.” Even though the Netherlands took the lead as the first country in the world to pass same-sex marriage legislation in 2001, Mr Wijingaarden pointed out that passing the bill was only the first step in achieving equality. The bill needs to be translated into adoption law, social security, insurance, inheritance and other areas related to same-sex relationships, he said. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2835097/pride-and-prejudice-in-land-of-smiles