PeterRS

Never mind local transport coming in to Bangkok. Worse are the airlines flying people into Bangkok - and everywhere else. I have tried completing the in-aircraft report forms, speaking to pursers, writing directly to airlines and their airport managers. Nothing works. It is crazy to permit people to wear backpacks as they board an aircraft. Aisles are so narrow I have been hit on the face several times when someone suddenly stops and turns because he realises hes past his seat or wants to chat to his friend. These people really have no idea they are a danger yet they are. What if a seated passenger is hit on the eye by one of the backpack straps? This issue should not be left to individual passengers. It should be a mandate from IATA or the relevant licensing authority.

Kokopelli is a respected member of this forum. Number of posts has zilch to do with quality of posts. You will be well advised to take note of the history of one Beachlover. He made thousands of mostly pointless posts over a very short time. He got banned - permanently.

That would be the case in most western countries and I agree. But how sure are you that Thai drivers, motocy owners or anyone else who could be in a position to cause you physical injury actually have insurance? Some will not. Are you prepared to take the risk of being run down by a drunken driver without insurance and you require brain surgery? I would rather have the comfort of travel insurance especially in any country where I might be particularly at risk of such a situation arising.

I have. The policy states this as an exclusion: Motor cycling, as either driver or passenger, unless the driver holds a a current licence permitting him/her to ride the motorcycle.

What do you know about his life to even suggest that last sentence? You know little or nothing about how he contributes to society. And how do you define a contribution to society? You and numazu belong to hugely different generations. You were married with kids. He has a partner and like many in gay relationships nowadays enjoys both a much greater degree of sexual freedom and the cash and much reduced costs nowadays to enjoy it. You say "I could have done exactly what he seems to be doing but I had reasons not to do so". Really? When you were his age HIV-AIDS was about to cut a swathe through gay men and gay sex tourism was far different and far less developed to what it is today. No doubt you were afraid of death and the possibility that if you caught HIV you might pas it on to your wife if you were still married by then (I dont want or need to know). You will also recall that prior to AIDS many gay men in the USA went almost crazy with all sorts of promiscuous sex and multiple partners to enjoy the freedoms they had gained since Stonewall. They gay world was terrified. I know because I felt that terror when I became sexually active. Then you add "I find myself fortunate and proud that I didn't." Good on you. You are you. I am me. Numazu is Numazu. We are all different. Accept it! You just will not understand that since Thailand started opening up to gay tourism, much of it gay sex tourism - ironically at around the same time in the early 1980s, many millions have visited the country, lived in the country and return regularly to the country. Some gay westerners work in other parts of Asia and along with a growing number of Asians probably come here several times a year. For most of their time sex is likely to be foremost in their minds. Back home they may be pillars of society. But I have no right to criticise anyone of having an "excessive" sex drive just because he is different from me? Same for you.

It is what it is. Like it or not. If you continue to call members here "sex addicts who react like rambunctious children" I cant see you having a very long future here.

Steveboy, most who post on any type of chat forums set themselves up for some sort of opposing comments. Thankfully we are all different and many hold differing opinions. Some comments are critical of others. But you take criticism too far. The Oxford online dictionary defines criticism as "the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes." And above you define your posts as I recall you saying you are now 70 or thereabouts and that at numazu age you would have a different outlook on sex (something like that). You have also been married and have children. Numazu does not. Your perspective inevitably is very, very different and you disagree with it. Fine! But you overdo it and its clear that most others dont agree. To quote Shakespeare: "Methinks thou doest protest too much!" Even your use of "Witch Hunt" in the title of this thread is overblown. It is both emotive and flat wrong.

In many years here have never heard of the ticketing agency ticketmelon.com. I have no intention of going but I trust this is a kosher operation.

Misquote. I wrote "even with a full-time job". But that does not mean I worked 16 hours a day 7 days a week at that age. There was plenty of time to earn a living and plenty of time to enjoy other things in life wherever in the world I found myslef. You seem to have a thing against numazu writing about his sexual exploits? Why? Im sure hed be happy to write about his daily eating habits and drinking habits if he thought these would be of any interest here. This happens to be a Board about gay life in Thailand and that includes a lot about sex and sexual activities. So it is totally understandable that he concentrates on the sex element much to the delight and gratitude of other readers - apart from one it seems. So what if he writs about sex to the exclusion of much else? As a frequent traveller I am certain he has tons of time at airports, on planes, in taxis and so on where it is easy to jot down his exploits. Anyone with his sort of travel schedule can easily do that without its affecting his work and other parts of his life. Besides he reads like a natural writer who does not have to spend much time thinking first of what he wants to write. To suggest that he might not have a life apart from sex is just plain dumb! Sorry!

I reckon most people who believe they shuold ration their sexcapades until they reach Steve's venerable age are nuts! Life is short and I for one enjoyed a lot of sex at that age where and when I could find it even with a full-time job. Perhaps a straight marriage dulled your appetite, Steveboy. No offence intended.

I have an app which gives real time info on almost all aircraft movements. The number of flights put on hold by having to circle prior to landing at BKK is now way more than it was a years ago. It is idiotic to remember that it is only a few years ago when there was a lobby to have only one airport for Bangkok.

I just cannot understand why anyone would ever consider travelling without travel insurance. Suppose you are in Pattaya on a back of a motorcy which gets knocked over by a truck. Neither the motorcy driver or the truck driver/company has third party insurance. Without your own insurance you are screwed big time! Same if you are just run down as you cross the road. Your home medical/accident insurance might cover you, but are you sure? If so, what is the claims procedure and what are the limits/deductables. If it does not cover you, you are again screwed. Perhaps the saddest medical emergency was mentioned on this Board. I forget the name of the member. He had a form of cancer which he was thrilled he got treated cheaply at a hospital in Bangkok. Then I think it returned and his insurance had run out. He died on a friend's sofa. Its easy to think oh it won't happen to me. Are you really prepared to take that risk? Really?

It is rare for political parties anywhere to espouse causes just because they like the idea. Most usually it is a result of pressure from within soceity. In recent decades Taiwan citizens formed pro LGBT communities. Because they spearheaded a movement for equality with considerable tact and diplomacy without the usual rhetoric and hoopla that is found in other countries the idea of gay acceptance grew accordingly. It is the gay movement that persuaded the present ruling party to adopt an LGBT agenda. Not the other way around. An interesting map but the conclusions are way too simplistic. Trade, land and servitude were the main reasons for the decline of Buddhism. The Philippines changed due exclusively to colonialism rather than preachers altho preachers were then to play their part. In Indonesia and Malaysia Islam had earlier been adopted but over a much longer period of time and in a far more benign manner. The developing trade with the Islamic Middle Eastern countries had brought their religion. But it was adopted very slowly over hundreds of years and never forced on the peoples. There was also no pressure to subscribe to Islamic teaching in opposition to Buddhism. Both religions lived side by side for quite some time in the same way that Muslims lived alongside Christians and Jews in Spain. . It was the British, Dutch and Portuguese colonial powers conquest of much of that region that forced Islamic groups to band together to try and defend territory. The Islamic peoples were more territorially conscious than their Buddhist neighbours.

Not sure Alexx is entirely correct. I dont think Andrew Drummond took on the government. His forte was investigating organised crime and the police who were usually in cahoots with it. He was once sued for libel by a Scottish bar owner whose illegal activities he had written about. He fled Thailand because the threats to him and his family had become too real. Most sites relating to Andrew Drummond direct are blocked. But plenty of others in which he is indirectly mentioned remain untouched.

I cannot find this statistic anywhere on the CDC website. I wonder where you got it from because it is totally incorrect. The CDCs website is very clear - https://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/brief.html The key point is "consistent and correct use". AIDS Chicago estimates that condoms are 98%-99% effective in preventing HIV transmission. http://www.aidschicago.org/resources/legacy/condoms/ltoyw_fact.pdf The other benefit of condoms is their effectiveness is preventing the spread of other STDs. And there are a lot of them around! PREP will not do that for you!. This from aids.gov

I can understand everyone wants to reduce the risk of exposure to HIV. I have never used PREP because I still dont like the odds. 92% is definitely not complete coverage. Even 98% effectiveness still leaves a window. A small one, but it is still there. I assume it means that 2 out of 100 who are involved in bareback sex where one is HIV+ may end up with the virus. Not quite Russian roulette perhaps, but not for me.

It is bad now in parts of the city but just wait till October. Then the rain combines with water flowing down the Chao Phraya meeting water coming up from the Gulf of Thailand during the annual high tides. Most riverfront buildings will have sandbags in the hope of preventing flooding. I remember once visiting the Shangri La hotel whent hey also had sand bags around the swimming pool! Some experts even predict Bangkok will be under water is little more than 15 years. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/asia-s-future-cities-can-bangkok-turn-back-the-rising-tide-and-s-7612754

There was a great deal of publicity about the lifting of the ban on gay marriage in 2015. At the same time, I did point out in my post the parliament has stalled on full rights as with straight couples. http://time.com/4184240/same-sex-gay-lgbt-marriage-ban-lifted-vietnam/

I sincerely hope you realise that Thai logic is very different from western logic. It has defeated the attempts by many westerners including those living in Thailand to understand it. This can lead to all manner of problems. But then - love conquers all (or so they say)! I do wish you all the best, but please take things slowly.

LOL! I stand corrected. Good point! I think I must have been concentrating too "hard" on all the covered male figures trying to make out what might have been beneath the cover up.

In the 3 visits I have made to the Sistine Chapel, I did not notice full nudity. After his death Michelangelos full nude figures were discretely covered up with fig leaves or casual loincloths. I think only some of the tiny cherubs remain in their original state. Or perhaps I was not looking closely enough!

I wonder how many would even think of Disney World as being on anywhere near the same artistic level as The Vatican and the Taj Mahal!

Its a matter of political will. Taipei and Hong Kong suffer greater annual average rainfall than Bangkok but remain relatively unscathed. Both regularly get typhoons that dump well over 7 inches of water. The effect should be greater in the Hong Kong urban area than in Bangkok because of its very hilly terrain. All that water rushing down towards the harbour could cause Bangkok-like floods. It doesnt because the city constructed massive underground stormwater storage tanks and tunnels. These reduce pressure on the normal drainage systems and clears much of the water. If Bangkok had not filled in so many of its major klongs to create traffic highways, chances are these would drain away much of the monsoon rains much more rapidly.

I hope this thread is moved to the Gay Thailand forum since it illustrates some of the issues the LGBTQ population face in gaining greater acceptance countrywide. One of many reasons why gay marriage is not going to happen here for a long, long time.

This TIME magazine article is not so recent but it highlights one of the problems for gay venues in China. If followed a police raid on a new gay bar in Shanghai. The article makes this point about organised gay life in China. I dont think much has changed since then. http://world.time.com/2011/04/06/party-police-cops-raid-gay-bar-in-shanghai/