TMax

From Thai PBS World
Anutin claims party was “double-crossed” in parliament over cannabis bill
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today that his Bhumjaithai party had fulfilled its election pledge to decriminalise cannabis, but the party was double-crossed when its associated bill passed its first reading in the House, but has been blocked from further progress since.
Responding to the government’s plan to reclassify cannabis as a Category 5 narcotic, Anutin insists that the party has scientific proof of the advantages of cannabis for medical and health uses, as he challenged those who are against cannabis to come up with credible information to prove the demerits of the substances.
He disclosed that the problem with cannabis is that there is no law to govern its use, adding that the authority to delist cannabis from Category 5, or to relist it, rests with the Narcotic Prevention and Suppression Board and the Narcotic Control Committee, chaired by the permanent secretary of public health.
Although he is no longer in charge of the Ministry of Public Health, the Bhumjaithai party leader said that he is still a member of the Narcotic Prevention and Suppression Board. In this capacity, he said he will provide scientific information to the board in defence of cannabis adding, however, that the board has the final say on the matter.
Asked about existing cannabis retail outlets, of which there are now many, Anutin said that they are currently controlled by a ministerial regulation from the Public Health Ministry.

By any chance have you heard of the State-of-the-art phone app called Google Map? Many members of this board have successfully found even the most out-of-the-way bars and massage parlours using it, without speaking the local language, in pouring rain and in the middle of the night too.

From Pattaya News
A Russian tourist was arrested on Saturday, May 11th, after going on a reported rampage at a Pattaya hotel.
The incident occurred at around 5 PM at an unidentified hotel in Soi 7 near Pattaya Beach. The tourist, who appeared to be intoxicated and in a state of mental distress, had been previously seen snatching a mobile phone from a local.
After being captured and having his stolen phone returned to its rightful owner, the tourist suddenly became violent again and ran into the hotel, where he was apparently not a guest. He then barricaded himself inside a bathroom and began shouting and making a scene.
Eyewitness Mr. Sitthisak Witthayaampon, 36, told The Pattaya News that the unidentified tourist was around 30-35 years old. Hotel staff called the Pattaya police who arrived and attempted to negotiate with the tourist, but he refused to cooperate.
The police then decided to use pepper spray on the tourist, which successfully forced him out of a bathroom. After a brief struggle, authorities were able to take him into custody.
The tourist, whose identity has not yet been released, is currently being held in police custody. He is facing charges of disorderly conduct and causing a public nuisance.

Don't you have legs?  It, s just short and interesting walk there from Tarntawan with big chance of catching somebody, s eye

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

Disney's "It's a Small World".

From The Nation
Ganja growers fret over unsold stock
The members of a community enterprise growing marijuana in Sakon Nakhon province said their dream of having a better life had been shattered due to stockpiling of unsold products.
Even worse, they were worried about the government relisting cannabis as a drug, which would leave them in limbo.
As the second anniversary of the decriminalisation of ganja approaches on June 9, members of a community enterprise growing marijuana in Sakon Nakhon said that things had not turned out as per their optimistic expectations.
The community also made ganja tea from leaves and branches for sale.
But members of the community enterprise found out that their products last year did not sell well anymore. They said several thousands of kilograms of their unsold ganja leaves had piled up.
They said vendors no longer came to buy their products. Even if they offered to buy, they would lower the price to 1,200 baht a kilogram, the villagers complained.
The members of the enterprise said the price had dropped and locally-grown ganja could not sell because some tycoons had cultivated marijuana in neighbouring countries and smuggled them into the kingdom.
They said some Thai investors also had joined hands with their foreign partners to import foreign strains of ganja to grow and sell at much higher prices at the cost of the villagers who grew the Thai strain to sell.
The villagers called on the government to come up with measures to help the villagers who had grown Thai marijuana instead of supporting foreign investors.
They also called on the authorities to effectively prevent smuggling of ganja from neighbouring countries. The government should scan marijuana products in the market to check whether they were really cultivated in Thailand, they said.
“When the government decriminalised the plant, it promised that farmers would have a better life, but now people have not even recovered their investment in greenhouses,” a villager said, asking not to be named.
The members of the community enterprise said they disagreed with the government’s plan to relist marijuana as a drug, saying it would not really solve the issue and it would be a political game.
They said when they started growing ganja two years ago after it was decriminalised, their ganja products sold like hot cakes. Ganja leaves fetched them 10,500 baht per kilogram and buyers had to book them months in advance.
They could also sell ganja flowers to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine and a hospital in Sakon Nakhon to use as medicine.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said the government planned to relist marijuana as a drug as the number of youth smoking marijuana had increased by 10 times during  the past two years.
He said researchers at Chulalongkorn University had also found out that the IQ points of youth who smoked ganja had dropped by 8-9 points.
Somsak said the Public Health Ministry also had its own figures about the side-effects of ganja smoking, but the data would not be released now.
“I would like to see the Public Health Ministry remain neutral in this issue,” Somsak said.
Somsak also advised those who had received permission to plant marijuana for sale, to stop planting new crops pending clarification of the government’s policy on the issue.

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

Thanks for that, that one will be on my avoid list when I head over later this year 

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

Some of my go to places, not in any order of preference 
G's Bangkok Soi 4, nice place, good food and cold beer, nice place to sit and watch the Soi 4 world go by Roadhouse Barbecue corner Rama IV and Surawong, good food and cold beer, a little pricey but still good and the lunch specials are reasonably priced Mango Tree (my favourite) as Daddy415 said delicious food, nice atmosphere, I can't resist eating there several times per trip. Such a pity that the Mango Tree on Yodpiman Riverwalk closed, I used to enjoy a leisurely evening meal and drink there and sit back watching the river traffic flow by Happy Beer Garden across from the Raya on Surawong, cheaper eats than others but still good food and drinks and generally a happy atmosphere 

I see that Anutin has come out to criticise the recriminalisation of cannabis. Remind me, whose family own a large number of cannabis  farms?

I'll respond to my own message in case anyone is searching in the future.... I stopped by this week and the mamasan was very pushy. He asked what type of massage and I said "Oil" and he said "no, AROMA oil, much better, less sticky" and then demanded a "deposit" to reserve my slot 2 hours later... in an empty shop on an almost empty street at 2 in the afternoon mid-week. The whole place smelled like gin and regret (cue Beverly Leslie)... and lots of cigarettes. I ended up leaving and going to Relax, which will be part of my trip report I will write once this jet lag is better...

And Mango Tree! Right next to all of the action, delicious food and great people watching (I might have a crush on the owner/ manager)....
11 am massage at Prime, then Mango Tree, then more massage after lunch.... have to order carefully so I'm not too full for massage!

The Wine Connection in ground floor of Silom Complex is one of my favorites for its great salads and pizzas. It's the only place where you can select any bottle from their attached wine shop and bring it to your table without a corkage charge. For burgers, the Roadhouse Barbecue at Rama 4 and Surawong. For Thai, no need to go any further than Foodland on Patpong 2.

From Thai PBS World

Chananchida “Blossom” Rungpetchrat, discusses her very first acting role in a Thai TV series, how transgender women should be portrayed in an era when people are placing greater importance on gender diversity and inclusivity and, most importantly, how she has been trying to break negative perceptions of transwomen.
“I do want to see more opportunities being open to LGBTQIAN+ people, but what I can do for the younger generation is to create a new perception for people to realise that not all transgender people are loud or brash, based on those stereotypes,” says Blossom.
Blossom’s journey began as a contestant on “Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2013”. She suddenly shot to fame, however, as one of a few transgender contestants on a famous reality TV show, “The Face Thailand” Season 3 in 2017. Since then, she has been active in the entertainment industry as a model, DJ, beauty influencer, and briefly as a member of a female super-group, 2021 Ratri.
Now, Blossom has won her very first acting role in a Thai TV series, “Tum Rub Mae”, which will air on Thai PBS. Blossom will play the role of “Peary”, one of the main actress’s friends, a transwoman who is described as beautiful, smart and confident, which she says, reflects her true self.
“This role represents who I really am and I see myself in this character,” she says, adding that she accepted this role because the character represents transwomen in a positive light, in a more realistic way.
“The reason I accepted this role is because she’s just an ordinary person simply living her life, not a character that is created to make her look funny or pitiful, she’s an ordinary person, just like me in real life,” according to Blossom.
Continues at
https://www.thaipbsworld.com/blossom-the-face-on-challenging-stereotypes-of-transgender-women/

.......and how much they charge
I wish Thai venues employed the same approach but understand legal obstacles,  as we all know escorting is not only illegal but  non-existing in Thailand

For Japan I would hire from the brothels, there are several and they have hundreds of pictures.
Also they are very upfront with what the guys will do, since it is legal. 

I'm visiting Sapporo right now and from all the different trips I've had in Japan, I would say that even though some guys would call big an average size for Europe or the Americas (similar experience to a lesser degree also in Taiwan, HK and Singapore) it has the highest number of size queens I've encountered in Asia, especially on apps like Grindr which are used mostly by guys looking for westerners as locals mostly utilize 9monsters.
Another thing about this escort services (not sure if it has been mentioned in this topic) is that to the best of my knowledge all of them have a strict "condoms-only" policy, so that might be a bit of a turn off for some. 

From Reuters
Thailand will re-list cannabis as a narcotic by year-end, its prime minister said on Tuesday, in a stunning U-turn just two years after becoming one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise its recreational use.
The moves comes despite rapid growth of a domestic retail sector for marijuana, with tens of thousands of shops and businesses springing up in Thailand in the past two years in an industry projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by 2025.
"I want the health ministry to amend the rules and re-list cannabis as a narcotic," Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on social media platform X.
"The ministry should quickly issue a rule to allow its usage for health and medical purposes only."
 

According to reliable source, it rained lightly most of the day Tuesday in Silom. The high was 35 and fell to 32 by midnight.

From The Thaiger
The Airports of Thailand (AoT) is altering the Suvarnabhumi International Airport master plan to hasten the development of terminal expansion projects, in response to the rapidly increasing demand from passenger traffic.
The revised master plan, which outlines the course of action for the next decade, aims to accelerate the progression of main terminal expansion and the construction of new ones to align with the swift uptick in air traffic, stated AoT director, Kirati Kijmanawat.
Three key projects underpin the master plan: the expansion of the western terminal, the construction of a new southern terminal, and the development of the Satellite 2 building. The revision of the master plan will culminate in the decision of which project will be launched first, and once selected, the design phase of the project will begin. This phase is estimated to take roughly a year, with construction projected to commence in 2026.
The expansion of the eastern side of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s main terminal, approved for 10 billion baht, is progressing as planned. The design of the construction blueprint for this expansion project has been adjusted. The tendering process for construction firms is expected to open at the latest by August.
This expansion will elevate the airport’s total capacity by 15 million passengers, from the current 60 million. This year’s passenger traffic is projected to surpass 65 million, a figure nearing the pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels.
This ambitious project intends to increase the main terminal area by 60,000 square metres and includes the construction of a four-storey office building, a car park, and a walkway platform linking to the main terminal.
The southern terminal project will eventually need to be constructed due to the continual surge in air travel demand. This project is estimated to span about four years, and it’s only a matter of time before it seeks government approval and commences.
The country’s second-largest hub, Don Mueang International Airport, noted for serving mostly low-cost airlines on both domestic and international routes, has also seen progress in its ongoing expansion. The design of the latest development plan for Don Mueang Airport is set to be finalised next year.
The AoT has set aside 36 billion baht to fund the project, which involves the construction of a new international terminal where the now-defunct domestic terminal stands. The existing international terminals 1 and 2 will be combined into one and repurposed as a domestic terminal.

New top at Home Spa

New photo array from One Spa