PeterRS

"Is being developed?" That means it may be ready by January 1st! Of which year I can not be sure!

Ah, but I did not say that. I merely wrote "There is however a decent list of a dozen wines by the glass." For their quality, those listed wines may not be overpriced. But I think they are indeed overpriced compared to wines offered by the glass in some other high end restaurants of roughly similar quality. But I suppose it's horses for courses.

Considered the Oscars of Fine Dining, the World's 50 Best Restaurant List has been announced. I know many take these lists with a large pinch of salt, but this one does seem to be especially valid. (Actually the list is not truly the best of the best since some which previously came top of the list have been withdrawn and will be included in a new Best of the Best list). The top two restaurants are both in Copenhagen. The others are spread around many countries. In Asia, the best is Singapore's Odette, one of two from the city state. Two places lower sees a Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong's Soho district, The Chairman, which is the highest climber from the last list. Tokyo has three and Shanghai one. Bangkok has one run by German twins, Suhring in Yen Akat Soi 3 (not far from Sathorn). Suhring has set menus at 3,500 baht and 5,000 baht. But then you have to add in wines, tax and service. There is a very extensive wine list consisting mostly of German wines and few bottles under 2,000 baht. There is however a decent list of a dozen wines by the glass. It's all naturally expensive. There are other considerably less expensive restaurants that i believe offer better value. But for those with cash to splash, Suhring might be worth a try. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-50-best-restaurants-2021/index.html https://restaurantsuhring.com

I suppose we tend to place most great writers, poets, composers and others who have handed down to us works of great beauty on a kind of pedestal. We think of them more for their traditional works than themselves as people and conveniently forget about any less savoury works they may have penned. Anyone who has seen the play or the movie "Amadeus" by Peter Schaffer will know that our ideal of Mozart as a precious, intelligent and delicate composer of some of the most divine and gorgeous music ever written is quite wrong. He was a man with youthful desires and frequently mixed with common folk. Amongst the works he has left for posterity is a series of six pornographic canons (a canon being a work where a short melody will eventually be repeated by a series of other voices). The best known is this one which best translates as "Lick my Ass". A similar one starts "Lick My Ass Nicely, Lick it Nice and Clean". In another, the last four lines in the expurgated edition are "Very gently, sleep resting well, Good night! Have sweet dreams, Until the morning breaks!" The text that Mozart wrote is actually "Good night, good night, Shit in your bed and make it burst; Good night, sleep tight, And stick your ass to your mouth." More scatalogical and certainly not outright pornographic as is Auden's poem, but then the times were very different. When then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw "Amadeus" at the National Theatre, she was not happy at its depiction of Mozart. She said to the director. Peter Hall, "In her best headmistress style, she gave me a severe wigging for putting on a play that depicted Mozart as a scatological imp with a love of four-letter words. It was inconceivable, she said, that a man who wrote such exquisite and elegant music could be so foul-mouthed. I said that Mozart's letters proved he was just that: he had an extraordinarily infantile sense of humour ... "I don't think you heard what I said", replied the Prime Minister. "He couldn't have been like that". That was the end of any discussion.

I am singling out for comment these items from that article. The avert site below dated 7 August 2020 confirms that the number of new infections of HIV among the general population is indeed declining in Thailand. That figure is impressive - a fall of 59% between 2010 and 2018. This represents the steepest decline in the Asia Pacific region. Sadly, though, it reconfirms that the number of MSM already infected with HIV in Bangkok is 29% whereas it is between 12% and 15% in the country as a whole. But, and I believe this is important, those figures come from two different time periods. The country as a whole is from 2018; that for MSM in Bangkok from 2015. The Bangkok figures has constantly been repeated on all manner of sites ever since then, including this one. Has there really been no change in the number since then? As referred to below, the number seems to have increased, albeit only slightly. Some years ago, another sad statistic was the much higher increase in the rate of HIV infections among young people in the 18-21 age range. Equally, condom use in this age group is low, despite the launch in 2016 of a three year programme to increase condom awareness and to issue 40 million free condoms annually amongst this age group. Part of the reason may be that while sex eduction courses in schools are now common, 'sensitive' subjects like abortion and MSM are often omitted from that part of the curriculum. The site points out that in 2016 only 45% of youngsters in the 15-24 age grouping had "adequate knowledge" of how to prevent HIV. Almost certainly as a result new sexually transmitted infections continue to rise in this group. This seems to be borne out by comments in gay forums about the lack of condom use in the gay saunas primarily targeted at Thais on the outskirts of the Bangkok. Avert suggests that more testing and more education is vital to bring the numbers down. A more detailed site hivhub titled "Thailand Ending AIDS" is dated 2018 and covers the period 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017. It relates to what was then the current situation and how Thailand could meet its target of ending AIDS by 2030. This states the rate of HIV amongst MSM in Bangkok as slightly higher at 30.2%. This report stresses a number of issues relating to how figures are poorly collated between several agencies, the need for a much larger outreach programme for young people, and the need for many more at risk people to be tested, especially MSM, which happens to be the lowest level for testing and finding out the result (only 54.6%). It adds that many Thais are having their first sexual experiences at an earlier age. 3% claimed to have started at age 13. Although this number is relatively small, it adds that the number of those having sex under 15 is increasing. I apologise that this post veers off the main topic about blood transfusions. In general I agree that the overall situation in Thailand, particularly as outlined in the two reports below, remains too uncertain. I don't mind not being able to donate blood. I donate to the Red Cross instead. That means I am still doing something. Others will certainly disagree with my view. https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/asia-pacific/thailand https://hivhub.ddc.moph.go.th/Download/Report/APR/2018/EN_GAM 2018.pdf

I suspect many of us have been more or less in the same boat. I do sincerely hope you will consider writing more about your past experiences, especially all the many thoughts that must have been flowing through your mind during all those years of silence.

I came from a different household. My mother went to Church but I was never sure how much it was out of religious conviction. My father attended, but only for baptisms, marriages and deaths. My siblings and I first came under my mother's influence and so we occupied a pew - thankfully near the back. My poor sister was tone deaf and sang everything about a fourth lower in pitch. As if that was not bad enough, there was an ageing spinster soprano in the choir - she must have been a member for a good 50 years - and her somewhat screeching tone did little to help the choir achieve a degree of unanimity of tone. Lying in bed last night, I recalled the sermons. In these, I don't think I ever really understood what the minister was talking about. And that got me thinking about a satirical sketch involving a minister and a similar type of sermon. This was delivered by Alan Bennett, one of Britain's foremost playwrights and novelists, when he and three other members of the famous Cambridge Footlights Revue presented a satirical show for the prestigious Edinburgh Festival in 1960. All were to become famous in their later show business careers. The others were Pater Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore. Alan Bennett's minister is obviously now dated, but much of it remains hilarious and is so typical of what i remember and what I failed to understand in those far off days in Church. The show was named Beyond The Fringe, the reference being to the huge Fringe Festival of all sorts of shows and events that surrounded the items in the main international Festival. Although planned to run for two weeks, it became a sensation. It had long annual runs in a London Theatre and then on Broadway. It is credited with starting a satire boom that leaned heavily on ridiculing authority and the establishment. It was to lead to a relaxation of comedy guidelines on public television and thereafter to the creation of such series as Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Christianity in Asia has been alive - and mostly well - since the early 16th century. When the Spanish conquered The Philippines, Catholic missionaries were not far behind. The Portuguese had earlier established settlements in Goa and Malacca. Arriving in the tiny enclave of Macau. they negotiated with the Chinese Emperor to be allowed a trading post. They were given a lease on the small enclave of Macao, a lease that continued till 1999. Using Macao as a base, the diocese of Macao spread far and wide to Japan, Vietnam and perhaps surprisingly China itself. Unlike most of the colonial traders, the missionaries took their job very seriously. They learned the languages of the countries and sought souls for God by showing the indigenous populations the errors of their heathen ways. Chiang Kai Shek's extremely powerful wife came from the very Catholic Soong family. To marry her, Chiang had to convert to Catholicism but rarely followed its commandments! That the Soongs were Christian goes back to a Jesuit priest named Matteo Ricci. Based in Macao, he was the first westerner ever allowed to enter Beijing's Forbidden City in 1601. The Emperor created him an adviser because he wanted Ricci's knowledge of astronomy and the sciences. He had already learned how to speak, read and write classical Chinese. While at Court and on his earlier travels around the country he had several major Christian converts. If a foreigner died in China, Court rules insisted his remains had to be transferred back to Macao. In Ricci's case, the Emperor agreed to his being buried in Beijing. With Chiang and his wife being Catholics, no doubt some of the 2 million who followed them to Taiwan were also Christian. Some were also Christian missionaries. These formed the basis of Chiang's Kuomintang political Party. Studies show that even with the island's small number of Christians, that number continues to diminish today. Perhaps one reason is that the majority Protestant religion (twice as many as the number of Catholics), which was introduced to the island by Dutch colonisers during their brief rule in the 17th century, continues to ban the deep rooted cultural significance of ancestor worship. Inevitably, this severlaly limits the numbers prepared to join that branch of the Church.

The south building in the photo is not Terminal 2. It is the Satellite Terminal for Terminal 1 and work started at least 3 years ago. The Satellite is primarily for use by TG and Bangkok Airways aircraft. Nothing has yet been decided about the location and design of Terminal 2 which was the subject of all the controversy a few years ago.

I am surprised by your comment about the number of religious people in Taiwan. Official statistics suggest the exact opposite, assuming you mean Christians! Only 3.9% of Taiwanese are Christian compared to 35.3% being Buddhists and 33.2% being Taoists. I have sen many Buddhist temples and a lot of young people there. Many of the Christian community seem to live outside Taipei. Despite their small number, they mounted a major campaign against the proposal to introduce gay marriage. Thankfully for my Taiwan friends, only one of whom professes to be a Christian, they failed. In my many visits, I think I have visited almost 20 temples (some of which are very beautiful) but only one church and it is close to the hotel I normally stay at. b The one country in Asia that totally floored me as I first flew into its major airport after dark was South Korea. I simply could not get over the number of red neon crosses affixed to so many buildings. That was the old airport Kimpo. Not sure if the same can be seen nowadays from Incheon. I was soon to realise that South Korea Christianity had more practising Christians than many allegedly Christian countries -around . Buddhists make up 35%.

From the little I know of TotallyOz and his previous postings, he knows South America extremely well and would clearly be happy in Brazil and Argentina. Importantly there is an abundance of sex in Brazil - not so sure about Argentina, but I assume so. Similarly in Spain, at least in the main cities and with the apps probably everywhere. On the other hand, if the primary reason for leaving Thailand is the government's treatment of foreigners, I'm pretty sure there will be quite a number of other reasons why the governments of those three countries would end up leaving him with similar sorts of feelings for one reason or another over the long run. But then a home base is not a lifetime base. Any of those countries could make a thoroughly enjoyable base for a few years, after which a longing for Thailand and the boys here may well re-emerge. In fact, I'd put money on it LOL!

Utterly fascinating. After what you have been through you deserve a pleasant (and gay) retirement.

FIrst let me make it perfectly clear. This is not a God-loving or a God-bashing post. Many of us belong to religions and worship God or Buddha or Allah - even a few are still believers in Ahura Mazda, the God of the world's oldest monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism. More, this post is about the influence of a belief in God and sporting prowess. One of the 'sports' I would run a mile to avoid is boxing. I noted though that over the week-end there was a heavyweight championship match in Las Vegas won by an Englishman appropriately named Fury. When thanking all those who had helped him in the run up to the fight, he praised God for helping him during the fight and to win. This got me thinking. It was not that many years ago that the US was overcome with 'Linsanity'. A tall, handsome Taiwanese American basketball player named Jeremy Lin, he was the first of his nationality to play for an American NBA team. Based in San Francisco, off the field he was popular with the area's Asian community; on the field he achieved little, He moved around teams who kept him for a few months and then dropped him. In 2012 he finally achieved a run of games with the New York Nicks and became a sensation, called by the New York Times the team's most popular player in a decade. Then his form tailed off and he was let go. He wandered around several NBA teams and got virtually nowhere. Now he plays for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball League. He has stated that anti-Chinese-American slurs affected his performance. Yet Yao Ming, a Chinese who had been a huge star a few years before Lin, was idolised in the USA and was elected into the US Basketball Hall of Fame. The point is that Lin was another who dedicated all his victories to the glory of God. Clearly a committed Christian, he has said he plans to become a Christian missionary when he retires. So my thought is: when was it that athletes started praising God for their victories and successes? I can remember watching the French Tennis Open Championship Final in 1989 when Michael Chang, another Taiwanese-American, became the youngest ever player at age 17 to win a Grand Slam. In his acceptance speech, he announced to the crowd that he thanked "the Lord Jesus Christ," adding "it was God's purpose for him." The reason, apparently, was that his win had come shortly after the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing and it was to provide comfort for all Chinese! Thereafter, whenever he won any tournament, God was thanked. I have no doubt he was sincere in that belief, but it drew the ire of several fellow professionals. One, by far to become the better tennis player Andre Agassi, wrote in his autobiography, that he was physically sick hearing that comment (adding that he might have been high on ice at the time!) Reportedly he shouted at the TV set, "Then why didn't God just stop the freakin' massacre!" He then makes what I consider an extremely appropriate point. Why on earth would God choose to favour Chang over his opponent who lost? The same can be said of Lin, Fury and others. In fairness to Chang, he and his family were always devoted Christians. As far as Michael was concerned, he was so committed this meant abstinence from sex until he got married. (I wonder if that included masturbation!) "It was part of my Christian faith and part of my promise to my future wife." Considering he did not get married until he was 36, I'd have thought his life must have got more than slightly frustrating at times. Now, if only I had a belief in God, would that have made me a better tennis player? Could I have won a Grand Slam? Sorry, Michael, I know the answer and sadly it does not accord with your views! https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/inspiringathletes/2013/09/a-conversation-with-tennis-legend-michael-chang.html

Hard for me to advise given that I have only visited each country twice and for considerably shorter than 2 months. Although I would be happy to visit Brazil and Argentina again several times, as a European I love Spain, its people, its food, its amazing history, its art and architecture etc. Not being into western guys, I did not get much from Spain's gay life - apart from a totally unexpected meeting with a stunning young Asian guy from Singapore and one from Guangzhou in Barcelona! But there were Asians on the apps and so I know I would not starve! I would choose Spain partly because of the huge variety of other amazing countries I could get to in little more than an hour or two. From the little French villages, to the chateaux on the Loire, to the amazing Renaissance hill towns in Italy and the joys of its art in the main cities, Germany's Romantic Road - even the pubs and Cathedrals in England. Extend the flight by another couple of hours and the glories of Russia (forget Putin and his homophobic laws for a few weeks) and then go up beyond the Arctic Circle to see the Northern Lights (a trip when I met up with a young Asian couple travelling around by car!).

You're not alone! Like other posters I wish I had come out earlier. I really did feel as though i was almost the only gay guy around when I was 18, despite having had a few furtive experiences. I came from a relatively small town where there seemed to be very few gay men. Those who were openly gay tended to be far older. I remember there being a club in a house in a small out of the way street where these older gay guys could meet. But anyone planning to enter would always look around to check there was no one looking before doing so. Even my father, who in other matters was a very open minded man, referred to one of the middle aged men who worked in the pharmacy at the foot of our street as "one of those". I hasten to add it was not said in a derogatory tone - more merely as a matter of fact. Not even in the relatively closed atmosphere of university could I overcome my fears about coming out. It took several years of working and then my first real relationship before I summoned up the courage. It feels so strange now to remember, but it was a very real 'fear' at the time.

Having been to the Maldives (albeit a couple of decades ago), I also cannot see the parallel. In the Maldives there are no shopping malls where the rich can buy some of their designer clothes and accessories cheaper than in their home countries. The primary costs - and almost the only costs - for the rich visitors are the airline tickets and the many outrageously expensive hotels. Yes, booze, meals and solo boat and dive trips are also expensive but overall probably less than a night at many of the high end resort hotels. Each of the Maldives tourist islands is a solo resort and so have a strangehold on costs. There are some cheaper islands but unless you are in a guesthouse in one of the few islands with locals, cheap is often at least 4,000 baht per night and more often nearer 10,000 baht and way up to 135,000 baht and more. I am sure Thai hotels would love to raise their rates to Maldives level, but there is far too much competition and there is no way that is going to happen.

I'm going back on my earlier comment because I had failed to realise the Minister had specified "public" hospitals. Raising fees for expats and non-Thais in those hospitals will have zero effect on medical tourism for this is exclusively handled by the private hospitals. Much of it is also paid for by international insurance companies. Besides, getting any medical procedure in a public hospital requires first prior registration, then a general doctor's appointment, then a specialist's appointment and then a further delay because all public hospitals have some degree of waitlist. Add to that there are not many English speakers in public hospitals and medical tourism just does not work. This was brought home to me this morning when I had to have an MRI scan at King Chulalongkorn Hospital. It was merely a check up scan following one I had 6 months ago. My doctor there is wonderful. She trained in Thailand and the USA and speaks fluent English. The medical staff in the scanning department are great even though few spoke more than a few words of English. But I when I left, I noted that all those waiting for CT and MRI scans were Thai, many of them elderly. This was true when I had my earlier scan. Given that I paid about one fifth or less of the cost of a similar procedure in a private hospital, I would be perfectly happy to pay a little more.

Thailand will open in 2025

Interesting fact: Bangkok is Facebook's most active global city with over 30 million users! In a city with not more than 10 million, why on earth do people feel they need multiple Facebook accounts?

Having mentioned Gundula Janowitz, an interesting note: last night she was given the industry's prestigious Gramophone Magazine Lifetime Award. Equally interesting in a way, David Bowie considered her recording of the Strauss "Beim Schlafengehen" with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic "transcendental - It aches with love for a life that is quietly fading. I know of no other piece of music, nor any performance, which moves me quite like this". I love the almost bell-like quality of her silvery voice which I first noticed when she sang Sieglinde in Karajan's recording of Wagner's Ring cycle.

Near the end of the 1960s I remember purchasing the cassette of this album "You Don't Have to Be Jewish". I can't think why because I'm not Jewish but I just love the humour. I purchased it again when it came out on CD and still listen occasionally. It offers lots of chuckles in these difficult times. Enjoy!!

Weeks after picking up the Emmy Award for hair style and make up design, Bridgerton's Marc Pilcher has died of Covid aged 53. Pilcher had had his two vaccinations and several negative tests before and after flying to Los Angeles to pick up the Award. He had no underlying conditions. Yet still he died. I do not know how frequently this happens but I expect it highlights the need to continue wearing masks and socially distance.

Ok, that's the politics. Where's the porn????

Not so easy I suspect,, given that Thais will not pay the new fee.

I fully accept I am not at all sure about buying of votes in The Philippines. I just assumed nowhere could be worse than Thailand when it comes to little dollops of cash being liberally handed over. And as you say, cash seems to be king in just about every democracy. It can be a simple red bill to a village voter in Thailand. Perhaps a million dollar cheque in the USA to secure an Ambassadorship in some rather nice posting. Even an entire voting block guaranteeing their votes in return for an anti-this or pro-that seat on the Supreme Court. Or, as with Thaksin at his first election, very large bribes being paid to certain individuals on the Constitutional Court to ensure his "honest mistake" in having his gardener and housekeeper owning a gazillion shares in his company which should have been declared as his assets prior to the election and which should have disqualified him would be forgiven! Given the state of the world - or should I say the worsening state of the world - I often wonder if democracy as we have known it is all but dead. And yes I know the obvious follow on from that. If democracy is dying, what goes in its place? Major systemic reforms would be a good start, but does anyone seriously think that those presently with their hands on the levers of power will be prepared to promote reform? I certainly don't. Going back to the Philippines, as long as the financial power is concentrated in the hands of just a few dozen families, I cannot see much change there either. The US could have done something when they ruled the islands as their colony, but did nothing. Then they propped up the murdering, thieving dictator Marcos because they needed the air cases in the country during the Cold War. If only we could turn back the clock a century or more and undo much of what were to become our present day disasters!