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Thanks for a comprehensive and current report. You made great use of your time. Although I'm not a regular Moonlight customer, I recall from prior visits that the non-models represented a good cross section of guy-next-store and twink types. It offered something for every taste. Is this is a change in ML selection criteria or a random event?

The French, the Chinese, the Burmese. You find them all wanting. And you haven't got much respect for readers with your contrived--and often incomprehensible--writing. You cite "recent reports" without any attribution.

From NY Times As New Coronavirus Spread, China’s Old Habits Delayed Fight At critical turning points, Chinese authorities put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis and risking public alarm or political embarrassment. WUHAN, China — A mysterious illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, and a doctor tried to warn his medical school classmates. “Quarantined in the emergency department,” the doctor, Li Wenliang, wrote in an online chat group on Dec. 30, referring to patients. “So frightening,” one recipient replied, before asking about the epidemic that began in China in 2002 and ultimately killed nearly 800 people. “Is SARS coming again?” In the middle of the night, officials from the health authority in the central city of Wuhan summoned Dr. Li, demanding to know why he had shared the information. Three days later, the police compelled him to sign a statement that his warning constituted “illegal behavior.” The illness was not SARS, but something similar: a coronavirus that is now on a relentless march outward from Wuhan, throughout the country and across the globe, killing at least 304 people in China and infecting more than 14,380 worldwide. The government’s initial handling of the epidemic allowed the virus to gain a tenacious hold. At critical moments, officials chose to put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis to avoid public alarm and political embarrassment. A reconstruction of the crucial seven weeks between the appearance of the first symptoms in early December and the government’s decision to lock down the city, based on two dozen interviews with Wuhan residents, doctors and officials, on government statements and on Chinese media reports, points to decisions that delayed a concerted public health offensive. In those weeks, the authorities silenced doctors and others for raising red flags. They played down the dangers to the public, leaving the city’s 11 million residents unaware they should protect themselves. They closed a food market where the virus was believed to have started, but didn’t broadly curb the wildlife trade. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html

Hanoi would be one recommendation. Going there with a Vietnamese friend would be ideal (I went there twice with my regular guy), I think anyone you’d meet in Thailand would enjoy it because it’s so unlike Bangkok, HCMC, KL and Singapore. The French influence is heavily felt in its architecture and food, and it has an intimate feel about it. It’s not unusual for some guys from certain parts of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand to have some familiarity with the language and vice versa. So communicating shouldn’t be a big issue. English, of course, is spoken in the hotels and most restaurants. It’s a very young city, which I think is among the reasons guys from other ASEAN countries travel there (as Divine Madman points out in another thread) on their own for a quick getaway. And it’s less expensive than bkk and Sinapore. Flights there are frequent on Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet (both our of BKK) and Air Asia out of DMK. The best time to go is on weekends when the area surrounding a small lake (Hoan Kiem, aka Sword) on the edge of the Old Quarter becomes a pedestrian mall (locals refer to it as the park). Performers of all types appear anywhere around it. Young and old, locals and visitors, share the space. You certainly won’t feel out of place. I found that although my friend was familiar with the layout of the town (his sister works there), he was wholly unfamiliar with its cultural attractions which abound. Over the course of a few visits we covered all of the major museums and historical spots. I was taken aback by his enthusiasm to learn more about the real history of his country and its culture. (Divine Madman was kind enough to provide us a list of spots he thought we’d both enjoy and my guide followed it scrupulously!). There’s a huge range of accommodations to fit any budget. Although public transportation is the city’s weak spot, the bus system is improving and a BTS-like rapid transit is in development. The airport is easy to navigate and, unlike most, the food options are inexpensive and satisfying. You’d have to try hard not to enjoy yourself—and your partner—in Hanoi.

From Bangkok Post Thai doctors say two drug groups help cure patient Anti-flu, AIDS medications speed up recovery, say Rajavithi doctors Thai doctors have declared the use of anti-flu and AIDS drugs a success in treating coronavirus patients after using them on a Chinese woman with severe symptoms. Two doctors from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok — Dr Kriangsak Atipornwanich, an expert physician, and Assoc Prof Dr Subsai Kongsangdao, a specialist — said at a briefing in Bangkok that improvements were seen in the 71-year-old woman 48 hours after administering the two groups of medications. The woman was admitted first to Hua Hin Hospital and then transferred to Rajavithi Hospital on Jan 29. After finding she had severe symptoms, the doctors decided to use oseltamivir, an anti-flu drug used to treat the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), as well as lopinavir and ritonavir, two AIDS drugs. Dr Kriangsak acknowleged that the Chinese had already been using AIDS medications to treat the novel coronavirus. "We checked related information and found MERS had been effectively treated by anti-flu drugs so we combined both groups of medications with effective results. “After poor lab tests for 10 days, the test finally turned positive after 48 hours of administering the medications. The treatment, as well as the recovery, is fast,” he said. They noted they had reported the discovery to a medical journal and would use the drugs on additional patients. The two groups of drugs are effective on patients with serious symptoms, they said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1849024/thai-doctors-say-two-drug-groups-help-cure-patient

From South China Morning Post China reports outbreak of deadly bird flu among chickens in Hunan province, close to coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan Bird flu outbreak in Hunan province, which lies on the southern border of Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak Bird flu is much deadlier than either Sars or the coronavirus, but as of yet no human cases have been reported in this outbreak China has reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Hunan province, which lies on the southern border of Hubei province, the epicentre of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. “The outbreak occurred in a farm in the Shuangqing district of Shaoyang city. The farm has 7,850 chickens, and 4,500 of the chickens have died from the contagion. Local authorities have culled 17,828 poultry after the outbreak,” according to a statement by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Saturday. No human cases of the Hunan H5N1 virus have been reported. The Hunan H5N1 outbreak comes even as the Chinese authorities continue to scramble to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, further stretching the nation’s already heavily strained resources needed to combat the health threats. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3048566/china-reports-outbreak-deadly-bird-flu-among-chickens-hunan

From Vietnam News Hotel clerk becomes sixth Vietnam coronavirus case KHÁNH HOÀ — A receptionist at a hotel in the popular beach city of Nha Trang has become the sixth confirmed coronavirus patient in Việt Nam. The Ministry of Health on Saturday confirmed the 25-year-old is the sixth person to test positive for the pneumonia-like virus and the first Vietnamese to catch the virus via human-to-human transmission in the country. The woman works at a hotel in the south-central province of Khánh Hoà, a popular destination for Chinese and Russian tourists. The health ministry has subsequently declared a coronavirus epidemic in Khánh Hoà Province in light of this new case. On January 17, the patient had reportedly come into close contact with the first confirmed cases of nCoV infection in Việt Nam – a Chinese father and son from the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, China’s Wuhan city. Two days later, she suffered from light coughing and a fever but did not go to the hospital and only bought over-the-counter medicines, which relieved her fever. On January 24, when the father and son’s test results returned positive, her clinical samples were collected and sent for further analyses at the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang. https://vietnamnews.vn/society/591717/viet-nam-announces-sixth-coronavirus-case.html

Hope it wouldn't be too much trouble if a frequent poster like yourself could commit to informing members of the pharmacy where you were able find face masks in Bangkok.

From Bangkok Post Coronavirus explained: why we shouldn't panic A scientist at Mahidol University explains Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) and predicts the likelihood of a pandemic. Cases of a new coronavirus in China have jumped to over 9,600, with 213 deaths, local health authorities said on Friday, after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global public health emergency overnight. — Video by Patpon Sabpaitoon https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/1848434/coronavirus-explained-why-we-shouldnt-panic#cxrecs_s

From Bangkok Post Pattaya hotels suffer as Chinese stay home Occupancy as low as 10% in wake of virus-linked ban on group tours PATTAYA: Hotel bookings in the resort city have plunged in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has forced the Chinese government to keep its citizens at home in a bid to contain the outbreak. Agents from China had cancelled rooms in Pattaya after Beijing imposed a ban on tour groups from travelling abroad, said Pakmon Wongyai, the president of the Thai Hotels Association’s Eastern Region. Tour groups account for about 40% of all Chinese travellers to Thailand, who numbered nearly 11 million, or 28% of all foreign arrivals last year. Trips abroad by individual Chinese travellers are also being discouraged, and in any case many could face screening or quarantine in destination countries. The week-long Chinese New Year holiday, which began this year on Jan 25, is normally one of the peak periods for the hotel business in Pattaya, but there has been nothing to celebrate this year. Last year, Thailand received 1 million Chinese visitors in January and again in February. Chinese New Year last year fell on Feb 5. Ms Pakmon, who operates the Brighton Pattaya Hotel, said some member hotels were seeing occupancy of 10% or lower because of virus worries and the ban on Chinese group tours.

From Bangkok Post PHUKET: The narrow laneways and pastel-coloured shophouses of Phuket Old Town are usually bustling with Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, but travel bans and local fears about coronavirus have largely emptied the streets this year. Just a handful of tourists, many wearing face masks, strolled through the area during daylight hours this week. In the evening, foot traffic increased a little under the glow of the red lanterns strung across the thoroughfare, but remained far below normal levels. Tour bus operators say 300 of their coaches have been idled because there are no passengers. "The impact is tremendous," 45-year old Ausana Akaradachakul told Reuters as she waited behind the counter for shoppers in her store selling postcards, straw bags, clothing and jewellery. "Only a few days after the news broke about the virus, the Chinese tourists were visibly few," Akaradachakul said. "I think about 70% of them are gone." The beach resort of Phuket is Thailand's second most visited destination after Bangkok and is usually a big draw for visitors from China, who accounted for 11 million visitors last year, particularly around the Lunar New Year holiday.

NOTE -- This is among the most objective and comprehensive articles I've come across on this topic. From NYTimes How Bad Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Get? Here Are 6 Key Factors How contagious is the virus? It seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS. How deadly is the virus? It’s hard to know yet. But the mortality rate is probably less than 3 percent, much less than SARS. How long does it take to show symptoms? Possibly between 2 to 14 days, allowing the illness to go undetected. How much have infected people traveled? The virus spread quickly because it started in a transportation hub. How effective will the response be? The W.H.O. has praised China’s efforts, but critics fear lockdown measures may not be enough. How long will it take to develop a vaccine? A vaccine is still a year away — at minimum. Continues with supporting data and graphics https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/asia/china-coronavirus-contain.html

From Bangkok Post Human transmission of coronavirus confirmed in Thailand Thailand has seen its first case of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus inside the country, a senior Public Health official said on Friday. The patient is a Thai taxi driver, Tanarak Pipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said on Friday. "The Thai person who was infected does not have a record of travelling to China and it is likely that he was infected by a sick traveller from China," Dr Tanarak said.Previous cases in Thailand have all been either Chinese tourists or Thais who had visited China, where the virus originated. This raised the number of confirmed infections in Thailand to 19. Dr Sopon Iamsirithavorn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases, earlier told reporters on Friday morning that two cabbies who had picked up Chinese tourists later fell ill and sought treatment two days ago. The tourists had arrived in Thailand before the Chinese government suspended outbound trips by its citizens, he said. Human-to-human transmission of the virus has also been confirmed in other countries - including Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United States, Dr Sopon said. Dr Sopon Iamsirithavorn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases, earlier told reporters on Friday morning that two cabbies who had picked up Chinese tourists later fell ill and sought treatment two days ago. The tourists had arrived in Thailand before the Chinese government suspended outbound trips by its citizens, he said. ======================================================= From South China Morning Post Singapore closes borders to all Chinese travellers to stem spread of coronavirus The island nation is the first Southeast Asian country to bar all visitors from the mainland It has also reported three new cases of the virus, bringing its total to 16, including the first Singaporean to be infected https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3048441/singapore-closes-borders-all-chinese-travellers-stem https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1847884/human-transmission-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-thailand

From Bangkok Post Two held for sharing fake news on virus Two people were arrested on Thursday in a crackdown on misleading information being posted on social media in relation to the new coronavirus, Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta said. He said officials from the DES Ministry and the Royal Thai Police’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) obtained court warrants to search 15 locations and found six suspected cases related to fake news that have been causing fear and confusion. Of the six suspects, two were charged under the 2017 Computer Crime Act’s Section 14 (2), he said. The charges were in relation to a false report about infections in Pattaya and an edited video clip of a Chinese man collapsing. Section 14 (2) concerns the “uploading of false information into the computer system, which is bound to damage national security and cause public disorder”. The minister said the Anti Fake News Centre, supervised by the DES Ministry, has received 7,587 items of suspected fake news from Saturday to Wednesday. Most of them involved fake patients, the alleged scrapping of thermal screening at airports, allegations of the number of infections being covered up and claims that some products can kill the virus. To counter the spread of fake news, he said the ministry was working with health authorities to produce easy-to-understand infographics for public distribution. “When it comes to health, people will believe and share anything,” he said, urging people to check facts before they forward any content. The minister said the Anti Fake News Centre, supervised by the DES Ministry, has received 7,587 items of suspected fake news from Saturday to Wednesday. Most of them involved fake patients, the alleged scrapping of thermal screening at airports, allegations of the number of infections being covered up and claims that some products can kill the virus. To counter the spread of fake news, he said the ministry was working with health authorities to produce easy-to-understand infographics for public distribution. “When it comes to health, people will believe and share anything,” he said, urging people to check facts before they forward any content. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1847099/two-held-for-sharing-fake-news-on-viru

Do you have any info on the Vietnam locations, please?

From Coconuts Bangkok Beijing talks Thailand out of evacuating Wuhan as virus transmissions reported outside China Thailand has shelved plans to evacuate its citizens from the Chinese city where a viral outbreak was first detected at Beijing’s urging as confirmed infections in the kingdom rose to 14. Tana Weskosith of the Foreign Affairs Ministry told reporters that China is confident it can look after the students and workers trapped inside the Wuhan exclusionary zone that has expanded to essentially quarantine at least 50 million people. “China has absolute restrictions on entry and exit from Wuhan and does not allow anyone to travel in and out in order to strictly control the spread of the coronavirus. Thailand has to strictly comply with such a measure. Therefore, we cannot fly the C-130 plane to pick up our people, but, what we have to do is to rehearse the guidelines and prepare measures to be ready if and when the evacuation plan is allowed by China,” Tana said. Somehow those strict measures didn’t stop Japan and the United States from evacuating their citizens. About 200 Japanese evacuees landed safely in Tokyo this morning; the Americans airlifted 240 people. The Thai response has invited strong criticism and calls for tighter travel restrictions. Five million residents of Wuhan, China, left the city for Chinese New Year travel before travel was cut off, according to that city’s mayor. The government and military had announced a rescue plan following a viral plea from one of the students trapped there, who said they had insufficient food and wanted to come home. Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong airlines have announced they would halve the number of flights to mainland China. The former will do so progressively starting tomorrow. Rival Hong Kong airlines said it would cut more than 200 of such flights until Feb. 11. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/beijing-talks-thailand-out-of-evacuating-wuhan-as-virus-transmissions-reported-outside-china/

If you intend to wear a face mask, it would indeed be wise to bring them with you. As of yesterday, they were unavailable in many Bangkok outlets, including the Chula Pharmacy on Rama 4 that ranks among the better suppliers to locals and the nearby medical community. They told a friend that they were awaiting delivery of new supplies. In many US cities, they are also unavailable as the Corona virus scare multiplies.

Point well taken: it's easy to get fixated on the Corona virus because it dominates the news cycle. The common flu (and associated pneumonia) claims a huge number of lives world-wide each year. The World Health Organization chart and map (see link below) plots deaths from flu and pneumonia world wide as of 2017. Here's a sampling of the rankings of nations that may be of interest to readers of this forum: 24 - Philippines 53 - Laos 54 - Malaysia 56 - Singapore 57- Thailand 62 - India 67 - Cambodia 78 - Myanmar 90 - Japan 101 -Russia 117 - Vietnam 119- U.K. 131- S. Korea 147- U.S. 148- China 162- New Zealand 163- Germany 169- Australia 170- Canada See complete chart and map at https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/influenza-pneumonia/by-country/

The link provides a lot of interesting data but the number of infants killed by the flu this year is actually 54. From link above: "To put the risk in more context, the current US flu season has killed 54 infants so far, according to CDC. And in the first two weeks of 2020, the flu has killed more than 5,000 people in the US, mostly through associated pneumonia."

From CNN ....in public ports I know the feeling: Your battery is low, but you have to keep tweeting. You see a USB port or an outlet in public, plug in your device and feel the sweet relief of your phone charging. That comfort could be shattered by an invisible attacker collecting information while your phone is plugged in to a hacked outlet. "Just by plugging your phone into a [compromised] power strip or charger, your device is now infected, and that compromises all your data," Drew Paik of security firm Authentic8 explained. Authentic8 makes Silo, a secure browser that anonymizes web activity. Public charging stations and wi-fi access points are found in places like airports, planes, conference centers and parks, so people can always have access to their phones and data. But connecting your phone to an unknown port has its risks. The cord you use to charge your phone is also used to send data from your phone to other devices. For instance, when you plug your iPhone into your Mac with the charging cord, you can download photos from your phone to your computer. If a port is compromised, there's no limit to what information a hacker could take, Paik explained. That includes your email, text messages, photos and contacts. It's called "juice jacking," a term coined by researchers back in 2011. Last year, the same researchers demonstrated "video jacking," using hacked ports and your phone's video display to record everything you type and look at. Continues at https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/15/technology/public-ports-charging-bad-stop/index.html

"Bargain," albeit, is a subjective term. Not knowing what dates you're looking at, I spot checked Agoda and Hotels.com for Silom area on Feb. 24-25. The following prices appeared attractive: Mid-rage options: Raya, $58; Bandera Suites, $52; Ban Silom, $36; Fumara, $49; Silom Serene, $46; Trinity Silom, $42. Coming in above the $60 range were Tarntawan Surawong and Holiday Inn Express, both at $61. Economy options: Red Planet, $29; Glitz, $33; Nantra, $19.

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If you're a contrarian investor with your time and money, the first quarter of 2020 may indeed prove to be a good opportunity to visit the LOS. Consider what's happened in the past week in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak: 1. Tourism authorities predict hotels and other travel-related businesses will take a big hit 2. The baht has lost ground to the dollar, pound and Euro 3. China has canceled packaged tours and many outbound flights All this will likely be reversed as quickly as it has come about when the threat is contained. In meantime, however, you stand to become a more hansum man.

From Khaosod English Tourists Still Don’t Know About These Decades-Old Street Food in Bangkok Just south of Sathorn Road are clusters of back-to-back street food shops who’ve been serving hungry locals and honing their craft for decades. By paying as little as 40 baht, you could get a dish of noodles and fish balls that someone has spent 40 years perfecting in this neighborhood along the streets of Chan, Saint Louis, and Sathu Pradit. Plus, they’re largely free of tourists, so you’ll actually be eating what locals eat, not what Instagram influencers/backpackers are snacking on. Ride up and down Chan Road on the following red hop-on-hop-off song taew buses: 1256, 1271, 1279. Taxi drivers, Grab Bike riders, and bros daring each other to finish multiple huge bowls are just some of the regulars that come to an unnamed shop serving huge bowls of egg noodles since the 1970s. “One big bowl used to be just 50 satang. My mom wanted to give huge portions to working people who need lots of energy,” said Weera Nopparatcharoeksuk, who took over from his parents about 10 years ago, as he swirls noodles with a stick in hot water. “We can charge cheaply because we make the noodles ourselves.” The shop’s specialty is Bamee jub gung, literally “coolie egg noodles,” a dish popularized by Chinese laborers in the past, who needed cheap, high-energy dishes. There are three sizes to choose from: 30 baht, 40 baht, and 45 baht: or in layman’s terms, large, larger, and largest. The noodles have no added color – the light yellow is all from the eggs. We couldn’t even make a dent in the 45 baht noodles (and we asked for extra, free pork rib broth as well), a pile of eggy goodness with thick chunks of grilled pork and homemade pork wontons. “Most of my customers are men, but I’ve had some ladies come in and finish a 40 baht bowl while a guy couldn’t finish a 30 baht one,” Weera said. Fun fact: Although the shop doesn’t have an official name. Locals have christened it “Bamee Jub Gung Pa Pranee” or Aunt Pranee’s Coolie Noodles, after Weera’s mom. Open 9am to 2pm Mondays through Saturdays at Soi Chan 43, Yaek 11. Continues with more listings, photos, video and map link http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2020/01/25/tourists-still-dont-know-about-these-decades-old-street-food-in-bangkok/

I think the status of the Thai and Chinese economies will be the overriding factor, particularly the value of Silom real estate. Twilight was the mainstay of gay Bangkok for a long spell until the land below and sky above beckoned developers. Now that Patpong has quickly absorbed that role, it's success over the next decade will be partly ruled by the same forces. The Silom venues (including Moonlight and Jupiter) need a stable influx of Chinese customers to make the numbers work. The proliferation of massage shops scattered around the area (especially along Surawong) likewise would have a tough time without them. Not a gay venue (although many of its customers are), Prime is one of the few that could survive. Because of its large local following, Soi 4 is somewhat immune. Nevertheless there could be a pruning of venues in a serious economic downturn like the financial crisis of 1997. At the moment, the economy of Thailand is fairly stable but it faces increased headwinds, the most immediate of which is the strong baht. Beyond that it's political future is one of those "black swan" events that economists worry about. The booming economy of China is expected to slow during the decade but continue to dominate the region and--to a lesser degree--the rest of the world. A prosperous China means a continued flow of customers--male and female--that fuel gay Bangkok. ASEAN neighbors can be expected to slowly increase while western clientele numbers will be lucky to remain stable. As for individual venues, there has always been an on-going evolution of clubs. That will continue as a few go by the wayside while others consolidate or go out of business. Nothing new there. That said, gays--regardless of where they're from---know that Bangkok is one of the best destinations where they can feel unencumbered by their preference.