PeterRS

Agreed, but there surely are what we could term red wines that are sweeter than others - Beaujolais Nouveau, Rosso Dolce and Zinfandel perhaps. A Ruby Port would be ideal, but whether that is termed a red wine or a fortified wine, I'll let an expert advise!

With few exceptions I usually agree with most of @macaroni21's posts which are well thought out with considered arguments. But the first one above seems to me to have many flaws. 1. When it comes to tourism to Thailand, frankly the average wage of a country basicallly means virtually nothing. Of the vast number of Chinese tourists who used to visit Thailand, it is fact that the majority were on these cheap zero-dollar packages, travelled around in groups and stayed in cheap hotels. Sure they pumped cash into the local economy, but on a per capita basis it was not high. Naturally there were some wealthy Chinese who were on individual packages. Some even purchased apartments and generally spent a great deal more in the up-market shopping malls. But the situation now has changed very dramatically. Within China, there has been considerable negative publicity given to the murder of four citizens and wounding of others in Siam Paragon in October. One Chinese tourist was killed. According to the Bangkok Post, 60,000 Chinese then immediately cancelled their trips to Thailand. Chinese put a big premium on safety and Thailand generally had the reputation as a very safe destination. That has all quickly changed. The Chinese are avid social media readers and that frequently exerts a great deal of influence, especially in the rural areas whose population tended to feed into the zero-dollar tour market. The Paragon murder was very high on the list of posts on several major sites. Now hoteliers and tourism entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai have called for the government to enact stricter gun controls. For along with the murder in Paragon, the Chinese media has been giving a surprised public the facts about the huge number of guns in private hands in this country (some 10 million), by far the highest of any country in S.E. Asia. Suddenly Thailand seems a less attractive destination for many Chinese. And as the article on the OP states, making entry to the country easier will do precisely nothing to change that perception. Then there is the present economic situation in China which is very bad and due to get much worse. Youth Unemployment figures are so disastrous China has stopped updating them. In the 16-24 yo bracket, the numbers were 21% earlier this year - and that was before this year's roughly 10 million university graduates were added in the summer. These young people were not on any list of regular travellers pre-covid. But now they are increasingly having to depend on family members to keep them financially afloat while they try to find jobs that no longer exist. These were kids born during the one-child policy. So naturally lower-, middle- and upper-class families must help. Many family budgets are now stretched as never before in recent years. Yet it is the economic woes of the property market - an industry which used to employ huge numbers and was one of the key drivers of China's economic growth as it amounted to approximately 29% of GDP according to the National Bureau of Economic Research - that are now so massive that all the main 30 - 40 developers have defaulted on their local and overseas debts. Worse, though, many millions of individuals who paid for apartments have discovered they are still incomplete because the developers have no cash. In China roughly 90% of properties are bought during construction. Throw in all the losses from this for all manner of contractors and the ending of the vast amounts of cash developers pumped into local authorities and you have what is already a near-perfect storm. It is estimated that local governments alone are now sitting on US$12.6 trillion of debt according to the IMF. No one yet knows what the central government will do. But the total amount of accumulated debt threatens the wealth of tens of millions - if not many more - of Chinese who no longer have the sort of cash reserves to travel as in pre-covid years. 2. I have absolutely no idea how the Indian economy compares. But from what I see in Bangkok, there are many more wealthy Indian tourists now than I have ever seen before. Go to Central Chidlom as I do weekly and you alweys see many Indian couples with several large shopping bags between them. Even though the average wage may be a fraction of that in China, it has to be a fact that there is a sector of rich and very rich Indians around the country who have both a desire and now an opportunity to travel. They also have money to spend. My guess is that like the Taiwanese mentioned in the OP, this group is certainly not going to stay in cheap hotels. They will opt for 4- and 5-star hotels. THAI alone now flies from 7 Indian gateways, with additional flights from 4 of them over the holiday period. These flights all seem to be on wide-body aircraft. And that's only THAI. Naturally in terms of numbers, there is no chance of India overtaking the numbers which used to come regularly to Thailand from China. But in terms of average spend, I am more than reasonably certain the average Indian will spend vastly more than the average Chinese. 3. I absolutely cannot agree that Thailand does not have the infrastructure for high spending tourists. I do wonder where @macaroni21 gets that idea. It's true that outside the main tourist hubs, the hotels may not have similar 5-star offerings. But the number of high quality hotels in the main destinations is certainly very high. And the manager of no 5-star hotel would ever consider employing staff unqualified for such a position. In fact, it is the quality of the staff in Thailand's top hotels that for decades has made them the envy of many in other countries. So the suggestion about too many low-paid unskilled workers simply does not come into the equation! 4. Ah! Pattaya! I wondered if that was what your post was basically about. As has been stated in posts on several forums, Pattaya is not a destination for high spending tourists. Yes, some may go to the Hiton or the Dusit, but for those seeking some time at a beach I am more than certain the travel agencies catering to these high spending tourists will be proposing Hua Hin, Phuket, Krabi or more out of the way destinations like Khao Lak rather than Pattaya. All have 5-star and luxury hotels. There is very little in Pattaya to attract high spending tourists. And mass market is definitely not what the Thailand government is concentrating on. 5. I believe @macaroni21 is being extremely unfair on Taiwanese tourists. In a Paper issued in September last year, HSBC estimated that as a proportion of the population the number of millionaires in Taiwan would be the fourth highest in Australasia, reaching over 10% by 2030. Nearly 25 years ago I was engaged by the Hong Kong Tourist Association to work on an event project specifically targetted at the Taiwan market. Even in those days when the average wage in Taiwan was a great deal less than today, there were still many high spenders. For just one event promoted in Taipei by three travel agencies, roughly 10,000 visitors arrived from Taiwan over a week and spent more than the average tourist spend (which in Hong Kong was already quite high), with many staying in the 3-selected 5-star hotels - the Mandarin, Peninsula and Island Shangri-La. 6. Just to repeat, high-end spenders have absolutely nothing to do with mass markets. They are a niche group which in many developing countries is getting considerably larger. @macaroni21 suggests concentrating on richer Asian markets, markets like Japan and Korea. The problem there is that in both countries you have a population where the work ethic is so strong the vast majority only receive what to us would be very short holiday periods. If you want a large regular flow of tourists from either country, it's not going to happen until the Japanese, as an example, start to give employees more than the short May Golden Week, August Obon Week and a week or so around New Year off. There will still be more regular rich Japanese toursts. but just because the Japanese are wealthier certainly does not mean they are going to do much for the Thailand tourism economy.

When I heard about it, I was probably more appalled than they were at the elderly farang's behaviour. To assume that two guys in a bar for a drink and to people watch were money boys, to say so to their faces and then suggest he'd pay for their company for the night is disgraceful. I told the guys they should just have thrown their drinks over him!

A discussion about some pest and then others who drank red wine impying it was a "substance influence!" Now that I could not let pass unremarked 🍷

Problem is no-one ever treated me! And I can not justify the price of even one bottle of either. Rolex was a wonderful client in many respects. When working on one of their projects, the head of Hong Kong took me and two of his clients for lunch at Gaddi's restaurant in The Peninsula Hotel, arguably the finest French restaurant in Asia. He was one of just two people in all Hong Kong to maintain a private cellar in the restaurant's own wine cellar. A bottle of Chateau Margaux 1961 had been pre-opened. When it became clear that this was quickly disappearing, a second bottle appeared. What an extraordinary wine!

A superb multi-post report. As you have discovered, Thailand never ceases to surprise! My partner who basically put himself through school and university while working at various jobs, including a factory, had never been to any gay bar or other gay venue when we met. Through his relatively recent best friend, a gay Thai of his own age also at university, he had learned about the apps. His friend knew of places like Soi 4 and DJ station and one evening persuaded my partner to have drinks at Balcony Bar so he could see at least a bit of nightlife. Both guys are attractive. While they were having a drink at the bar, an elderly farang came up to them and said "hello!" He then added, "How much to have the two of you for the night?" They were actually appalled and hastened to leave the bar. My partner's friend is desperate to meet a mid-40-ish German and hopes to end up married in Europe. He meets quite a number of guys on the apps but all seem to want just sex (surprise!). But he had rarely gone to gay venues and never wants to return!

I'm delighted you enjoyed it. Sweet red wine is slightly unusual and probably goes well with peanuts. Those I mentioned in my post would be somewhat ruined by the salt in the peanuts. But to each his own taste. Wine can go with amost anything. Mind you, when China was opening up under Deng Xiao-ping's reforms, the Chinese businessmen who quickly became rich liked to entertain the principals of western companies with whom they were doing business - or whose production processes they were stealing LOL. They would host expensive dinner parties and order only the best red wine Chateau Mouton Rothschild - one of the 5 truly great Bordeaux wines - which they would then dilute with Coca-Cola! True!

And what, pray tell, is the problem with red wine? It can frequently be one of the world's great drinks which, in relative moderation, has absoutely nothing to do with "substance influences". I think you must be referring to Thai made spirits or some other ultra cheap booze. If you have never had even a glass of French Chateau Margaux, Haut Brion or Latour, you have missed out on some of the great enjoyments in life, (thanks to working with Rolex on some events I was treated to all three - wines that have forever been way above my pay grade), an Australian Bannockburn Burgundy, an italian Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, or rolled in your mouth a glass of the cherry, dried fig and cedar flavours of a fine Spanish Tempranillo or the meaty, robust richness of a Rhone Valley Chateuneuf du Pape, I feel slightly sorry for you. Even a cheap Valpolicella has certain redeeming features when accompanied by a pleasant Italian meal.

OMG! Another "Best of . . ." something or other. I am perfectly happy with a few of these lists when I know either who has done the selection or am aware that it has been made taking tens- if not hudreds - of thousands of views into consideration. CNN's latest list of The World's 50 Best Foods has Thai Massaman Curry as No. 1. But I was under the impression that this is primarily a Malaysian dish with part Indian ancestry! With Mexican Chocolate as #3 (huh? Very good but where is Belgian or Swiss chocolate?), German Hamburgers as #6 and Ice Cream, Global at #9 (and precisely what does that mean, i wonder? Is there no difference between a gorgeous Italian ice cream from Giolitti's in Rome and a diner in Wichita?) By this stage I was about to trash that list!, but that inglorious ending occurred at #14 United States Donuts! That list has so many errors it deserves to end up in the kitchen trash can. It lists Singaporean Chicken Rice at #45. It's not Singaporean. It's Hainan Chicken Rice that you get all over Asia. With Buttered Popcorn, Potato Chips and Ketchup as three separate items on the list, the introduction to CNN's list makes you want to hit the sick bucket fast - We’ve scoured the planet for what we think are 50 of the most delicious foods ever created. For now, feast your eyes and control your drooling, as we reveal some of the world’s best foods that can help inspire your travel plans: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html

I suggest this is not a good forum for gay nightlife entertainment in many regional cities, with possible exceptions of Taipei and occasionally Tokyo and Hong Kong. I suggest you read this one which has no less than 328 pages about Keybox sauna going back to 2009. So it's definitely not correct to suggest that all Singapore gay saunas have a short shelf life. https://www.blowingwind.io/forum/topic/13933-keybox-sauna-upp-circular-rd-no-ads-or-bitch-fight/page/328/ But please remember this is a forum that attracts a very large number of late teens, 20s and 30s Singaporeans. Not many of the individual posts are more than occasional sentences and there is more than a reasonable share of bitchiness. It is not similar to this forum. While you are at it, you may also want to have a look at that site's Travellers Hut forum. It occasionally throws up some interesting facts about other cities in Asia. https://www.blowingwind.io/forum/forum/30-travellers-hut/?/forum/30-travellers-hut/= You can see quite quickly that these Singapore guys are in general more interested in gay massage and masseurs than specifically in gay saunas and discos.

Since we're on a bit of tangent, Monty Python's songs were always fun. China is a bit far from Finland but as close as can be to Russia and so this may not be inappropriate. Their "I Like Chinese" song is quite amusing. Political correctness had resulted in some of the words being changed when they repeated the song in their O2 Arena concert in London some years ago (although what the Elvis figure is doing at the end beats me!) Their Mandarin near the end is pretty good. Here are the two versions with the later version first.

Inaccurate - as usual. Having closed all eight border crossings last month, Finland today is re-opening just two of them and only until January 14. This came with a warning that the crossings could be completely closed again at any time in the future. So much for "propagandistic political hysteria"!

Always ensure a taxi took me to the front door of the hotel where it was unlikely they would attempt any scam. This was the Hyatt and I am certain the staff at the door would be so well aware of this type of scam that taxi drivers would not even attempt it. The day after we were going to another hotel to have lunch with a friend when that taxi driver tried the same scam. We refused to get out of the cab until he dropped us at the front entrance! No probem getting the correct change. Generally, though, checking up on what types of scam were common wherever I travelled so that I could be aware of them in advance. That plus asking at hotel concierge desks what I should look out for.

Sounds like my first visit to Istanbul in 2000 when the rate was roughly 600,000 lira to US$1. I got conned by a taxi driver first time I returned to my hotel. I could see from the meter that the price was going to be in the region of 7 million and so I got out a 10 million note (took a good 10 seconds to check all the 0s). On arrival he did not take the small driveway to the front entrance but dropped us on the street. I guess that should have been a red flag. Anyway, I handed over the 10 million note. Quick as a flash and in an obviously practised manoeuvre, he turned around and said I had only given him 5 million, in the process showing me a 5 million note. I was sure I'd given 10 million but failed to notice that the 5 million note was in his left hand whereas I'd given him the 10 million note in his right hand. So I gave him an extra 2 million. Then I felt stupid a few minutes later even though he'd only conned me for around US8! But lesson learned!

Thank you. Sounds a little like Hotmale 2 in Twight.

Then there is the "Jennifer Syndrome" where an older married man ditches his wife to hook up with a much younger lady. People may give such a couple a look but that's all because it is now relatively common.

Apologies for getting Matthew Shepard mixed up with Key West. Unforgivable mistake.

Never visited Cruise and with a few exceptions basically gave up the SIngapore sauna scene after Rairua closed. Keybox is definitely the most popular now with all nationalities. There are memberships but only for Singaporeans. Visitors must pay the S$22 entry every time. Shogun sauna iis cheaper but the age range of patrons seems generally much higher.

I find it extraordinary that travel insurance is not mandatory for genuine tourists and a basic health insurance mandatory for all expats. Why anyone would consider travelling anywhere without some form of health and accident insurance absolutely beats me.

Absolutely not. It's not as though my much younger partner and I hold hands while walking down the street (although I have no problem with those who do that) or French kiss while waiting at a Skytrain station (which I have seen gay farang tourists do!) In Thailand I have never once had any problems. When an earlier Thai partner and I visited Venice 20 years ago, he was a little surprised that some others in the breakfast lounge tended to look at us. I asked him at which tables, whereafter I started to spend time staring at the people sitting at those particular tables. They soon stopped! I am not on any social media platforms other than the gay apps. What people who read them think is their business. I could not be bothered in the slightest.

I read in one of the many reports that the pilot had refused to fly the helicopter into the Taiwan Strait. If the planned destination was in fact an aircraft carrier sailing through the Strait, the route hugging the coast northwest of Taipei is relatively unpopulated and northeast virtually unihabited due to large cliffs. So apart from the city of Keelung, such a flight might not have aroused much suspicion from the land. But there are many aircraft landing and taking off from both the international airport at Taoyuan and Songshan city airport in Taipei making navigation of an illegal flight far more likely to be spotted since virtually all the commercial aircraft will be a relatively low altitudes. According to the report, the pilot had discusssed changing the departure point to Kaohsiung in the south and arrival on a carrier not far away where there would be far less chance of its being spotted. But who knows? Stranger things have happened.

Many websites have reported today's devaluation as "more than 50%". Bloomberg states it is 54%. No doubt this will result in price rises. But perhaps not immediately. I recall the Asian Economic Crisis in 1997 which started when the speculators forced Thailand to abandon the Baht/US$ currency peg. The immediate result was a 10% drop in the Baht in 1 day. Thaland was not as used to devaluations as Argentina and the result was that many shop owners did not immediately raise prices. I recall a field day spending on all manner of goods in January 1998 when the Baht was down by 52%. Many major items were still at the pre-devaluation price.

No doubt these Japanese businessmen will all require letters from their companies to say what good chaps they are and how essential to new businesses they will be. And of course, the letters will all be in Japanese with the Thai elves and goblins in their attics (my new name coined a few posts ago which I rather like) reaching for their google translate apps.

Thanks @unicorn for that detailed explanation. Whatever happens with Trump - and hopefully he will be behind bars unless the conservative sex pests (two of them) on the Supreme Court weigh in to ensure that he can return to office and stay out of jail long enough to pardon himself and all his clan and cronies - I totally fail to understand why Biden is running again, unless he has a monster ego. I have written before that if the average working man has to retire beween 65 and 70, politicians, judges and their ilk should likewise have to step down at roughy the same age. Some people will argue that this could stop someone with a brilliant brain like a Warren Buffet (albeit he works in a different field), from being elected. So what? Aren't there ageing Presidential advisers by the hundreds? For the free world to have a leader taking office at the age of 82 should he be re-elected and continuing into the second half of his 80s, is in my view ridiculous. The chance of anyone that age having to step down if not dying in office must be pretty high. And that leaves the Vice-President to take charge with the ultra right-wing leader of the House next in line. With Kamala Harris virtually a non-starter on the world stage, the leaders of Russia and China must be as thrilled as anyone. How could the Democratic Party leaders not have planned for Biden as a one-term President and then prepared itself and the country for a confirmed next in line? Does Biden have the right to make all the major decisions? From what I have read, the anti-vaccination Robert Kennedy is a joke with all his conspiracy theories, whatever good he may have done in other areas. He's also been convicted of using heroin. From what you write about Ralph Nader in 2000, isn't that basically the problem with occasional individuals who decide it would be a nice idea to be President. Yet what would be wrong with a third and perhaps a fourth political party with different platforms, each fielding candidates iin most or many states? Yes, I know! It's money! The present system is so entrenched, the big money donors would never stand the establishment of other parties. And here again the Supreme Court weighed in to ensure that there was no stopping mega-donors. So is this not just one of many good reasons for having a Supreme Court that is not made up of political appointees? I wonder how many times Biden has regretted his railroading of Clarence Thomas on to the bench, especially when he refused to allow other witnesses to Thomas' sexual peccadilloes to testify. I always slightly cringe when I hear America's leaders of virtually all persuasions talk about democracy and how the US is the most democratic country in the world. In terms of the number of positions from President down to County Sheriff that have to be regularly elected, that may be true. But as an example of true democracy where the country's eaders are elected freely and fairly, the US is hardly in any position to lecture others. Being fair, neither is Britain; or France; or Italy; or Japan; or Singapore . . . the list goes on and on. There have been threads on this forum calling for a greater and more transparent democracy in Thailand. Under the present constitution, Thailand's democracy is rigged. But isn't the US Presidential election also rigged, only in a different way? Is there in fact any free and fair democracy anywhere in the world?

That there are already 6,000 Japanese businesses operating in Thailand, the new visa measure makes a great deal of sense. The surprise is it was not enacted earlier.