PeterRS

I am sure others must also have complained and I certainly would not claim any credit! I suspect security were kept so busy trying to keep the bar girls and boys out of the rooms that they finally gave up! But one large cocktail would be a great and unexpected pleasure.

I cannot be certain of the year but I think the early 90s. All I remember is that the GM was named Bill Black.

I am sure you know your Bacardi as well as I know my Grey Goose and Belvedere vodka. I cant think why King Power would sell something that is not original but I do not doubt your observation. All I know is that their Grey Goose and Belvedere are the genuine article. But they are still more expensive in Thailand Duty Free than most other airports in the region!

Lovely report, thanks. You are correct. It probably was The Peninsula on Rajadamri. Now the Anantara it was built near the end of the 1970s as part of Hong Kong's Peninsula Group. Thats one reason why the lobby looks very like the lobby in the Hong Kong flagship. But bust quickly followed that economic boom and so the Peninsula management sold on to The Regent International Hotel Group in the early 1980s. Later it was then sold on to the Four Seasons. During the Regent era, there was a policy of no joiners. I once took a nice boy from the bars back to the hotel. I knew there was a security guard at the lift lobby and se we waited until he was otherwise engaged before sneaking in to one. I had forgotten about security cameras. About 3 minutes after we arrived at the room, the phone rang. I did not answer. It rang about 4 more times, and than thankfully ceased. But then came the knock on the door. I quickly realised this was security. I told my guest to be silent and did not respond. The knocking continued for about 5 minutes, after which we were finally left in peace. But I was furious! I checked the hotel regulations. Nothing there about not taking guests to the room. So I wrote an angry letter to the GM. He responded with a major apology and the offer of a free week-end. I made sure to book for two people!

King Powers website has the airport price at 680 baht per litre of Bacardi Rum. No idea about Vietnam prices but I expect they could be roughly the same. But that assumes they sell alcohol on arrival. If it was me, Id definitely buy on departure and take it with me rather than risk not getting it on arrival. https://www.kingpower.com/category/foods-and-beverages/beverages/wine-and-spirits/liquors?availability=dutyfree&lang=en&page=1&brands=bacardi&categories=liquors&priceMin=300&priceMax=2100

I do think thats unfair. Yes, the Court gave the government two years and yes, the government used up all but a few days of that time. But I think we must remember how historic this vote is. There was a lot of opposition to gay marriage in Taiwan. This was borne out in the referendum towards the end of last year when an official national referendum found that 72% of voters rejected gay marriage. Although only an advisory referendum, inevitably the result created far greater problems for the ruling party. The fact that it still pressed ahead and that the parliament as a whole elected to pass the most liberal of the three bills before it last week, the only one to mention 'marriage', has to be a huge credit to the government. Enjoy the Pride Parade. Hope you can post lots of photos.

Six weeks to upgrade the bathrooms in ALL 75 rooms? That is surely typical Thai optimistic man pen rai. It would take far more than 6 weeks elsewhere and would be undertaken on a floor by floor basis so that the hotel could continue to have guests during the renovations. But then the upgrade may merely mean putting in new shower curtains!

The Taiwan law is for Taiwanese citizens and for Taiwan citizens who have a partner from an overseas country which itself permits gay marriage. You cannot just go to Taiwan and get hitched!

Great news! Two years ago Taiwans Supreme Court gave the government two years to implement a gay marriage law. After two years talking and conservatives seeming to get the upper hand, this morning the legislators passed the most liberal of three possible bills. And it passed by a large majority - 66 votes to 27. Gay marriage will become legal from Friday next week. So which Asian country will be next?

....... and if an aircraft crashes, thats it. Boom! End of life in many cases. But with Prep you may be virtually protected from HIV but not from all the other STDs out there. Thats what I do not understand about those believing Prep is the be all and end all of protection. We know Thailand has seen a considerable rise in cases of syphilis in msm. But more problematic is likely to be gonorrhoea. Two thirds of countries around the word have reported gonorrhoea cases that now resist all down antibiotics. Personally I dont like those odds. This is not the case in Thailand - yet. But it is true in Myanmar, China, Indonesia and India. Will Thailand be far behind? https://mosaicscience.com/story/gonorrhoea-gonorrhea-STI-Thailand-clap-USA-AMR-super/

Just out of curiosity. You are taking Prep and that cute guy you are with says he is also on Prep. How would you know he is telling th truth?

Another problem is that the 4 week window is not foolproof. It does work in most cases but there can be cases of false positives and false negatives. Also there are still older test kits out there which require more than a 4 week window. So the 3 month window really is vital. Gay men do not have to have unprotected sex. It is their decision. A man, woman or child undergoing invasive surgery has no choice. They must have blood.

Thanks KevKev01. Yes, the clinic on Silom is called Pulse. It is run by a handsome gay doctor. The website has a ton of information on HIV and STDs in general. It appears a second clinic will be opened on Suk 13 this month. https://www.pulse-clinic.com

Smalls looks as though it is located in the corner building which once housed the French bistro Chez Pepin. Chez Pepin was a wonderful little place to dine with one of the best hamburgers (I know, not exactly French) in the city. The patron was French but his Thai wife did all the cooking. One summer about 4 or 5 years ago they closed for a month whilst they returned to France allegedly for a a vacation and to sort out some visa issues. They never returned. I will certainly try out Smalls but I am not keen on live jazz when I am eating or drinking with friends. I prefer a bit more peace to chat. For those interested, Prince Massage is also very close. I have never been to Backstage. I wonder if there is any connection to the Backstage Bar in Singapore which I think is a great little gay bar. It is also theatre-themed, they mix great cocktails and serve a selection of food. Highly recommended. I have only once been in The Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental. Didn't like it one bit! Small and pokey! It used to permit smoking and a number of the rich patrons were puffing away at their cigars. A drink on the Terrace by the river is cheaper and far more pleasant!

Spoon is absolutely correct. Some people seem to feel that Prep is the magic bullet that enables unprotected sex with no risk. It certainly takes most of the risk away but only 92% according to official studies. That of course does not mean you can have unprotected sex 92 times before starting to take care. A tiny risk of HIV transmission is always there. What Prep will not do is protect you against other STDs. You are much more likely to get syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital warts and a host of other nasties if you decide not to use a condom. In the USA alone 20 million are newly infected with one or more STDs each year and half of these are in the 15 - 24 year age group.

This is a good reason for getting a check for syphillis when you go to get your HIV test. The clinic on Silom (cant recall the name but it is across from Silom Complex and feels as though you are entering a nice club or hotel) usually tests for both.

Were all different. As I have said probably in another forum, the rubber band or whatever it is that maintains the erection puts me right off. Im probably in the minority.

Of course! But there are some people out there who seem to think that they are entitled to anything and everything in a hotel room, from the remains of a small bar of soap to towels and bathrobes. I am sure it is not restricted to Thailand.

I have never taken a drink from a mini bar, although I have regular taken the eats like Pringles or chocolate and then replaced them with items bought at 7 11. Do the 5 ml bottles of liquor also have a paper over the cap in Thailand? I reckon it should be easy enough to open that with a knife, unscrew the cap and replace the bottle so the paper looks unopened on a cursory glance. I doubt if hotel staff take each mini bottle out and examine it, but I may be wrong.

When you mention they get hard, do you mean naturally hard or were all the appendages tied off at the base to maintain hardness as has usually been the case for many, many years now?

I once stayed at the Pan Pacific on Rama 4 - now the Crowne Plaza. It was major 4 star hotel but when checking out I was asked to wait while the in room fridge was checked. I always think this is such a demeaning exercise. If you pay by credit card they can always add to it after departure for those who are not honest. The worst guests are those who drink the whisky and vodka and then refill the bottles with weak tea and water. That is much harder to check until the next guest wants a drink. The point of the post though is that after waiting for several minutes I was asked if I would please return the bathrobe. They refused to believe I did not have it. I had to open my case and let them look through before they processed the bill. That was a disgrace. I never stayed there again.

Thailand is full of very rich men and women who go to extraordinary lengths to develop relationships with the gals and boys of their dreams. Many married men (hiso and others) keep second wives and mistresses. They buy them apartments, give them fancy cars, dress allowances and goodness knows what else. Same with the boys. I know of one producer in the entertainment business. He is married with kids but showers his young proteges with the same level of favours. They may never achieve stardom but they keep their patron happy. Its a very different world from the one we inhabit!

Agree with Goldmember, Although also Asian for Asian Chakran accepts foreigners and is a lovely sauna with a good young crowd. No need for a taxi. Take the Skytrain to Ari station. From there is is about a 400 meter walk.

You have the correct name and location between Phipat and Convent. I heard that this is almost exclusively for Asians and that westerners are not encouraged. Did you pay the standard entry fee? Have also been told that if you are over a certain age - 50? - you must pay much more.

It certainly seems that the lack of a positive cash flow was a major contribution in the companys demise. I have a friend who works in Europe as an agent in the music business. Sometimes when he "sells' an artist, part or all of the fee is paid up front, usually many months in advance but it can be over a year. Others have their fees remitted to his agency by promoters immediately after the concerts. In tough times, he has told me it was extremely tempting to try and use some of the advance payments. But there is a law making it essential that agents ring fence all their clients income from general company expenditure. Penalties include jail time. That way his musicians are protected from the sort of problems that seem to beset the travel industry. I would even go so far as to say it also imposes a strong discipline on business owners to ensure they can manage their cash flows. I find it sad that customers who have paid large deposits up front for a holiday have to suffer when a travel business collapses. Sometimes the writing on the wall must surely have been obvious before it gets to that stage.