PeterRS

It is said that when the young teenage Princess Elizabeth first saw him, she decided Philip was the man she wanted to marry. Some ten years later they walked down the aisle. Neither can have had any inkling that in little more than 4 years she would become Queen. They must have assumed they could have several relatively carefree decades in front of them. But no one then knew that her father would soon become very seriously ill. The couple's life changed so quickly. How extraordinary that their love for each other should have remained constant for an astonishing 73 years. As Consort, he always had to remain behind the Queen, always playing second fiddle as it were. That he should have set aside his own ambitions for a career in the Royal Navy to remain the Queen's rock throughout her extraordinary reign is a mark of the man's service and duty. I would like to recall the Queen's words about her husband when she addressed members of parliament on the occasion of their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1997 "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know." May he rest in peace and may the Queen find solace in her family and friends in this time of sadness.

As if the poorly designed 737-Max had not had enough problems, now another one has cropped up. 16 airlines have been told that they need to address an electrical issue before the a specific group of the planes fly again. It the light of this development, I have to ask how on earth the aircraft was passed for flight again by both Boeing and the FAA. It has still not been approved by some of the world's airline regulatory authorities. Boeing will not say which airlines are affected by the electrical problem, but Southwest in the USA has already announced that it is grounding 30 of its 58 737-Max jets. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/09/business/boeing-737-max-electrical-problem/index.html

Sorry - the tag line for the Rain commercial should have read "Korea, Sparkling? Like me!"

I find it fascinating how the K-Pop phenomenon has virtually taken over the world! It seems Asian pop has come almost full circle. First it was J-Pop from Japan in the 1970s and 1980s. By the early 1980s it was Canto-Pop which was the rage around the region with singing actors like the late, great Leslie Cheung and the late Anita Mui who was Hong Kong's early incarnation of Lady Gaga. Sadly both died far too young. Leslie, openly gay and with a long time Chinese banker lover, committed suicde by jumping 25 floors from the rooftop bar of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. He had been suffered from clinical depression for some years. He was 47. Anita Mui was only 40 when she succumbed to cervical cancer. Even as Canto-Pop was ruling the air waves, Mando-Pop from Taiwan was starting to compete. Many Hong Kong singers switched to Mandarin songs. When that began to fade by the mid 2000s, K-Pop was very much in the ascendency. Originally it was not always groups. One of the early superstars was a cute singer/actor named Rain. I remember he was featured in a TV commercial to promote South Korea. It was filmed in a very trendy way with lots of fireworks. The tag line at the end from Rain was "Korea, Sparling! Like me! Soon it was the boy bands who flooded the market. That a band like BTS could become aa world supergroup is extraordinary. I can recall visiting Seoul in the 1980s and early 1990s. Armed with my Spartacus Guide (near useless) I eventually found a couple of gay bars and one sort-of sauna. Almost all Koreans i saw were dull and boringly predictable in terms of dress and outlook. Only in the Itaewon District would you occasionally see some hip young guys. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would see - from afar - so many guys in the entire Korean entertainment industry who look so amazingly fabulous!

I only asked him to fix my zipper!

Next time you are in Japan, don't shy away. In Tokyo there are bars like the basement GB which can accommodate around 40 and where gaijin (Japanese looking for western guys) will often congregate. The oddly named Arty Farty is another, although it is up a flight of stairs, Dragon Men and Aiiro Cafe amongst others. Kinsmen on the first floor of a building is a lovely bar usually with a lerge floral decoration and a mix of customers. An older small disco and bar, New Sazae, is on the first floor in the building next to Kinsmen has been a focus of the gay scene for decades! Forget about suits. All the above and most others are totally casual.

The younger guy/older samurai was certainly a large part of Japanese culture for centuries. It was actually introduced to Japan by a bonze from China around 800 years ago. It was rarely a long term relationship. Once the youth had passed into adulthood, he would be expected to marry and start a family. Eventually the practice came to be frowned upon by the later shogun rulers. Gay boys then tended to become prostitutes and actors but continued in great demand. If there was a golden age for homosexuality in Japan it was between 1650 and 1750. Everything changed during the Meiji Restoration. The Americans were largely responsible. The mass of Christian missionaries that followed in the wake of the warships were one reason. But equally the rulers of the country had come to believe that male/male relationships were 'unnatural'. The collapse of the country's feudal structure no doubt also played a part. You have to remember that much of Japan was destroyed during World War 2. The country was also flooded with vast numbers of GIs, both then and again during the Korean War. Not a few of these were either gay or happy to spend time with a smooth young gay Japanese for a few dollars. Most Japanese, though, had to work extremely hard to drag the country back on to its feet. By the early 1970s this was becoming much more successful than most had hoped. Foreigners started working in Japan as overseas companies moved in. Some certainly were gay, as were some younger Japanese. Whereas the word gay took decades to enter the lingua franca of most countries, the Japanese word 'gei' found almost immediate acceptance. Soon gay bars were to spring up. By the late 1950s, there were more than 20 gay bars in Tokyo - more than in most western cities at the time. Soon the Japanese media were writing about a boom in gay establishments. The real gay boom started in the 1980s and early 1990s. If you were a gay young Japanese, you finally had a chance of exploring your sexuality. Most Japanese lived in what we would term tiny homes, many without bathing facilities. So there were community bathing centres. If you lived in one district, the chances were you or your family were known to most in that district. Being openly gay was still frowned upon. On the other hand, if you spent an evening a week in a gay bar quite far removed from your home, you would have the chance of meeting up with a foreigner. With luck, you might develop a relationship with him. With even greater luck you would move in with him. By Japanese standards, foreigners had vastly bigger apartments and had perks like entertaining and travel allowances. Many younger Japanese learned about the world as a result. Some relationships lasted. I know one American/Japanese gay couple who met in a bar in 1985 and have been together ever since. Others faded. The tradition of older/younger still continued, however. Even in the 1980s, there was an unwritten understanding that if a young Japanese had a relationship with an oder foreigner, not only would he enjoy a much better quality of life, before the relationship soured, the foreigner would have enabled the Japanese to start a small business. So foreign boyfriends were greatly sought after. Everything began to change again towards the end of the century. Many Japanese had become a great deal richer. This was in part a result of the Reagan administration forcing up the value of the Yen - in 1980, US$1 bought ¥260; by 1999, it was a little over Y100 - finding a foreigner was no longer essential. Japanese had begun to find their fellow Japanese just as attractive, physically as well as financially. That's not to say cross cultural relationships do not continue. They do. But if you do not live in Japan, it has become much more difficult.

Does anyone still use gaydar.com? 15 years ago it was great for hooking up with guys in Asia.

Sorry this one does not have music, but it made me smile. It was shot in Bangkok at the gym Sukhothai Residences/

I'm a bit surprised this one has not yet appeared.

Just a word of warning. If a site is only in Japanese, it is unlikely the bar will entertain requests from foreigners and non Japanese speakers.

Just a quick update. Today the fridae site claims to have 1,703 members on line. 56 are in Argentina. Click on Argentina and you find just one 56 year old guy. 61 are allegedly in Italy but there are only 2 - a 60 year old and a 57 year old. The site is dead.

Sadly I do not know and can only take a guess. It is only in the last couple of decades or so that Japanese porn photo magazines started featuring any form of anal sex. According to a friend who has had a long-time Japanese partner, cuddling, sucking and HJs tended to be the norm until around then. Although that has all changed now, I imagine that some of the boys who call themselves bottom are worried that they might meet up with a customer with a large cock which they would have difficulty accepting. This might lead to complaints to the mamasan. Why a boy who happens to be top would not wish that to be known, we'd need a Japanese to tell us, I expect. On the other hand, Japanese have always been heavily into S&M. I was once shown a vdo which had been purchased in one of the regular sex shops. I found totally disgusting. I'll only say it featured screwdrivers and real blood. It's an aspect of Japanese sexuality I have never been able to understand.

Aniki is definitely closed. It was a large lovely spa but too expensive for most Taiwanese. The 'in' sauna is definitely Soi13In which is usually packed with over 200 mostly young, good-looking and in-shape Taiwanese. Also a few foreigners who are usually older. Best times are after work and at the week-ends. One poster mentioned Grindr as the app to check. I think it was for money boys. Frankly, there are very few on all the apps. It seems Taiwanese are not really into money boys so they tend to target visiting westerners. The Chinese app Blued is also equally popular with younger Taiwanese. @pabornmentioned cock sizes. I doubt if he will find many comparable to the boys in Brazil, for example, but I have seen some eye-popping ones at the hot spring - and they were not erect!

I have been to Tokyo and a few other cities several times. I only once used a host bar with the boy coming to my hotel. It was a very pleasant experience. The boy was great, did everything as outlined by the bar, but the rules meant it was not quite as free wheeling as in Thailand. On the other hand, I have visited several of the saunas and almost always had a great time. The most popular one for foreigners is undoubtedly 24 Kaikan in Shinjuku ni-chome. Generally the crowd is mixed age-wise but with more students as it is closer to some universities. It has the usual Japanese bathing area (Japanese are scrupulously clean!) with two hot relaxing pools along one side. Through a set of curtains is a shower area with most having glory holes, a dry sauna, hot sauna, steam room and rain shower room. On the floor above are several large dimly lit communal areas with upper and lower bunk beds around the walls. Above that a floor of private rooms which cost extra. Japanese seem to like communal areas with just a large mattress for sex. That's not to say there are orgies. Perhaps very occasionally. The branch of 24 in the Ueno District has roughly the same layout although on more flors because each is smaller. The original 24 is close to the famous Senso-ji Temple in the Asakusa District (not to be confused with Akasaka which is in the city centre). This is a much older sauna with more working class guys and quite a few quite old men. Japanese have no issues with appearing nude in front of others. Tokyo is a huge city and there are gay bars all over the place. But most are small to tiny and only for Japanese. If you accidentally wander in, the mamasan will respectfully ask you to move somewhere else. That is because the mamasans do not want to embarrass their regular customers who might not speak any English. I did once go to a small Japanese only bar in the trendy Shibuya District. But I was with 2 Japanese friends and was warmly welcomed. After I had ordered a drink, the mamasan came up to me and asked for my sexual preferences. I was a bit surprised but it was all so typically Japanese. If I had said top, he would have sat me next to a regular whom he knew to be bottom - and vice versa. Shinjuku ni-chome is the main gay area for foreigners. Although it still has well over 200 bars, most will again only be for Japanese. So you have to check websites for the dozen or so which will welcome foreigners and Japanese who want to meet them. Weekends are always the best times to visit. Lastly the eye candy in Japanese cities is outstanding. I don't think I have ever been in a coffee shop anywhere that there was not one guy who was a dream! Tokyo is a great city for either a vacation or a short stopover. I think most gay guys expect its size and difficulties with language will be too much of a problem. Don't worry! If you do your research in advance and get a good bilingual Atlas of the city, you should have a ball.

i find those videos interesting, but not their conclusions. I have read a couple of the books on the list including Martin Jacques "When China Rules The World". Jacques has been a very astute observer of China and much of what he writes is, I believe, pretty accurate. The demographic situation is a projection based on what has been happening in countries with higher per head incomes like Japan and Singapore. These countries certainly have major problems with young people postponing marriage until much later and some even preferring to remain single. The long term prognosis with a rapidly ageing population means that Japan will have to start opening up to foreign workers far more than at present. To follow Singapore's example, in other words. The OL problem in Japan (office ladies who live with their parents till their 30s, save up a lot of cash and then spend lavishly on overseas trips and luxury goods) has been a big problem for decades and there seems no end in sight. But I do believe the vdo fails to consider three elements: Chinese tradition, the effects of Mao's horrendous campaigns, and an on-going result of the one child policy. Although as the middle class has become even richer and more will ascend into the middle class, there are still probably many millions who resented the fact that they could have only one child - especially those who had daughters rather than sons. IMHO with the policy now abandoned, there will be enough couples seeking to have 2 or 3 children to render part of the vdo consequence incorrect. The economic reforms started by Deng pulled more than 400 million out of poverty. There remain at least another 350 million working in the countryside. They are richer than before but they remain rooted to tradition. Even though their brighter children will move away, they still want more children to help work on the farms etc. The issue of the towns with few people is also not a new problem. The reason for them is complicated and I certainly do not fully understand it. But I do know it relates to land ownership and what you can do with it, taxation and other factors, often local. In at least some cases, developers have purchased land from local authorities. Once that happens, they must develop that land almost immediately. Unlike Thailand and most other countries, they cannot sit on it and wait until their constructions become economically more favourable. The fact is that given enough time many towns similar to Ordos in the vdo were built on spec and subsequently filled up. The Pudong area in Shanghai is perhaps the most spectacular. The Chengzhong District of Kunming is another. So looking to the future is one reason for what are inaccurately called "ghost cities". The 'facts' about Ordos in the vdo are now totally wrong. By 2017 it had a population of 153,000 and was home to 4,750 businesses. That year an article in Forbes magazine noted that of the 40,000 apartments constructed in 2004, only 500 remained on the market in 2017. Furthermore, resale values of apartments had risen 50% in the preceding 18 months. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/06/30/ordos-chinas-most-infamous-ex-ghost-city-continues-rising/?sh=18c5d1186877

Taiwan's military is indeed advanced and all young men have to do their military service - one reason why most of the younger guys you see at the hot springs have such great bodies But Taiwan has armed forces of less than 300,000 whereas China can muster almost ten times that amount. In the event of a sustained air and sea attack, Taiwan could not hold out very long, I believe. On the other hand, I think your view is correct. If anything will hold China back from the brink of a war it is that at least some of the mandarins in Beijing must surely realise that attempting to rule a people who would loathe them will be totally different from the result of their actions in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. When you mention China's demographic problems, are you referring to the result of the one child policy - a 50 million plus excess of males over females many now of marriageable age? There is a thriving cross border trade with crooked agents virtually stealing female teenagers from Vietnam to provide partners for poorer Chinese farmers. That though is a drop in the bucket. With so many gay men having to marry for societal reasons, if China would just mandate a greater acceptance of homosexuality perhaps the problem would just disappear!!

Living in South East Asia I remain mystified how this part of the world which is so close to China and depended to a huge degree on tourism from China has got off so lightly in the pandemic. As of yesterday Taiwan had had 1,030 cases and 10 deaths. Vietnam 2,803 cases and 35 deaths. Thailand 28,863 cases and 94 deaths. I know that all three countries adopted preventative measures extremely quickly after the virus was discovered. Everyone here remembers the effects of SARS in 2003 and government medical departments were far better prepared for future virus infections. I believe test and tracing was also extremely good. The result is that internally Taiwan has never closed down. Schools, restaurants, coffee shops, bars etc. have never closed. The only requirement has been mask wearing from the outset and use of hand sanitiser. Even visiting central Vietnam in early March, despite the virtual collapse of tourism, I noted there were no restrictions on dining and entertainment. Even the old ladies selling street food were wearing masks. Here in Thailand, there was a very strict one month lockdown in April. Since then, with a hiccup near the end of last year when a large cluster of cases was found in a fish market outside Bangkok and the reimposition of some restrictions, life has been more or less normal. Of course, the tourism industries have been hammered and economies suffered badly. But we look at what is happening in Europe and the Americas and wonder - how did we escape all that carnage and those continuing restrictions to daily life?

No need. My fault for jumping in. I know that to renew the one year retirement visa there are two payments - one for the extension and one for the re-entry permit. I had wrongly assumed the 1,900 baht was the reentry permit. It is not. That costs about 3,900 baht.

You were indeed lucky. I suspect more did not do like you because the Immigration requirements for the retirement visa were relatively simple at that time. Over the years Immigration has gradually tightened the requirements and who knows how many more changes are in the works in the coming years. In fact, who knows for how long the 20 year Elite membership will remain at 1 million baht? The 5-year was recently increased by 20%. The Immigration Department has made it quite clear it is going after those who cheat the system. The stupidity of that approach is that if there were no crook Immigration officers happy to receive under the table payments, there would be no need to tighten anything. The government has also stated its longer term strategy is to go after the more wealthy tourist - and I think it is not unreasonable to assume the more wealthy retiree. If that is the case, when will the 65,000/month inward pension payment be acceptable for the retirement visa? I believe the amount has remained the same for quite some years. If it is raised by, say, 20% how many existing retirees are going to find themselves in difficulties? Thailand remains a relatively inexpensive destination for retirement. But costs have been rising significantly and again who knows when these will stabilise - if ever?

I read many pundits claiming that Hong Kong wold become the model for Taiwan returning to the embrace of the mainland. Deng Xiao-ping's one-country-two-systems model that is enshrined in law and registered at the United Nations promised Hong Kong a large degree of autonomy for 50 years - i.e. until 2047. It was believed by most that by then China would be more capitalist than Hong Kong and with a more democratic system of governance in place. Once again events have proven how wrong that prognostication was! With all the panic around the world over covid19, Xi Jin-ping has totally blown that international agreement between Britain and China to bits. I do think, though, that the protestors who all but closed the central business district for months in 2014 and the excesses of some the protests in 2019 gave the mandarins in Beijing the excuse they needed to clamp down hard. Go back in time and it is clear to me that Britain is at the root cause of the problem. It had many decades to introduce a form of true democracy in Hong Kong. It did virtually nothing. What Hong Kong had got by the early 1990s was a sham form of very weak democracy that was democratic in name only. But it had the promise of both governments of much greater democracy by 2017. Then the last Hong Kong Governor, Christopher Patten, went behind everyone's back, including the British Prime Minister who appointed him, broke the provisions of the Basic Law which mandated in an international treaty that any changes prior to 1997 had to be be discussed and agreed by both sides, and announced that he would unilaterally introduce greater democracy. China was furious and the British government was far from pleased. At a stroke Patten ensured that China was never going to trust Britain and that it would have its way in Hong Kong sooner rather than later. So the Taiwan question is now front and centre once again. Legally, its status depends on which international Treaty legal scholars believe is the more valid. In 1943 there was a Conference in Cairo between the Roosevelt, Churchill and their Asian ally, the ruler of China Chiang Kai-shek, to reach an agreement on the fate of Japanese occupied colonies after the end of the War. It was formally agreed all were to be returned to the countries from which Japan had annexed them. By then, China had ruled Taiwan for more than 200 years. When Chiang lost the revolutionary war with the communists and fled to Taiwan, the west was horrified. Two large communist powers was at least one too many. So another Conference was arranged in San Francisco in 1951 at which Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan. Crucially no agreement was reached over who should become the new sovereign power. Hence all the war games around Taiwan for decades thereafter. If China takes it back by force which it is perfectly capable of doing very quickly, will the US and other countries now fight on the island's behalf? I cannot see it. And how would that scenario affect the progress of the fledgling LGBT movement on the mainland? How would it affect the situation re gay marriage which Taiwan has legally adopted? Over the last few years Xi Jin-ping has solidified his power by getting rid of most of his opponents. He is now the most powerful leader China has ever had. Can we hope that the remains of the anti-Xi movement may eventually be able to topple him?

I can thoroughly recommend Le Du (just a minute from Chongnonsi BTS station). Chef Ton worked at several Michelin starred restaurants in New York before returning to Bangkok to open Le Du. It set a very high standard when it opened a few years ago and that continues. Menu is a tasting menu with four or six courses. Now getting pricey. Expect around 4,500 baht for the four course menu and 5,200 baht for the six course menu each with a cocktail and a glass of wine. Advance booking definitely recommended. http://www.ledubkk.com

Sorry I confused the issue. I believe the following is correct. Annual renewal. With an Elite Card, you only have to make a renewal if you remain in Thailand for a full year without at least once having departed for another country. So if you do leave, every time you reenter you automatically get another 12 months from that date. Leave at least once each year and, provided you time the arrivals back accurately, it is likely you will never need to go for an annual renewal. If, as with many Card holders this last year, you have not been able to leave Thailand, the Elite staff assist with the preparation of all the paperwork for an annual renewal. You then call Elite and make an appointment to go to the Immigration Department at Chaengwattana a week or so (depending on demand) before you have to do the renewal. Once at Immigration, you are met by an Elite staff member who takes you through a special fast track. The renewal process with multi-reentry permit takes only about 30 minutes or less. For the first renewal you pay only for the reentry permit - 1,900 baht. No need for bank books, accommodation proof etc. 90-Day Reports. You still have to make 90 day reports provided you are in the country for 90 consecutive days without departing for another country. So if you do travel, every time you reenter the 90 day clock is reset. If you do require to make a 90-day report and it can not be done on line (I understand the app has recently been down!), you don't have the hassle of going out to Immigration. About 10 days in advance of the date you can take your passport to the Thailand Elite office (next to the W Hotel on Sathorn - Chongnonsi Skytrain station). They do all the work for you. You then pick up the passport from their office a few days later.

Thanks for the corrections @anddy. There is one other item re the medical insurance requirements that are increasingly being demanded for some retirement visas/permissions to stay. This is the 40,000 baht requirement for outpatient treatment. This to me is absolutely nuts! Almost all insurance policies for those 50 and above have deductibles. If your policy has a deductible of 50,000 baht, what is the point of 40,000 baht for outpatient treatment when it can never be claimed due to the deductible.

I agree keeping a year's living expenses is not at all unreasonable. But keeping 800,000/400,000 in an account each year that you cannot touch for any reason and therefore seemingly until you die is surely a totally different matter.