PeterRS

I always wonder how these guys get their retirement visas because the minimum monthly inward remittance from a recognised pension scheme or social security by law has to be 65,000. About 4 years ago there was a big fuss among many of the retirees when the immigration Department decided too many retirees were getting visas illegally when going the lump sum annual 800,000 route. Although this was supposed to be in the bank account for a minimum of 2 or 3 months prior to applying for the next year's visa, we were informed that in future the 800.000 had to be locked untouched in a bank account for 7 months with a reduction to 400,000 permitted for the remaining 5. Have one satang less - bye bye visa. The rationale for this move was that there were too many crook agents and Immigration officers. So rather than clean out the mess in the Augean Stables, the Director of Immigration put the onus on to retirees. Unless those living on 43,000 have been saving part of their 65,000 monthly remittances, I can only assume that they took advantage of the crooks to obtain their annual visa renewals. The idiocy of the Immigration Department has recently again been seen with the scandal of the withdrawal of certain key benefits from the Thailand Elite 5-year Easy Access membership. Given 3 weeks to make key decisions involving a considerable cash outlay or find oneself without the possibility of renewing for 15 extra years, there was a huge outcry with on one day a near riot at the office of Thailand Elite on Sathorn. The end result of that idiotic decision was that less than 24 hours before the self-imposed deadline, Thailand Elite withdrew the decision. We are told that the upcoming reorganistion of the Elite programme is also partly to get rid of crook agents and Immigration officers! So what have those clowns been doing over the last 4 years? Look more closely and we note that as early as February 1 questions were raised in parliament that there are already too many of the Chinese triads who have inflitrated the country by purchasing the Elite visas. This time it may not be the Immigration officials at fault since they have no jurisdiction overseas. But why have international criminal records not been checked? When I first applied overseas for the O-A visa prior to obtaining a retirement visa, I had to go to the police for a certificate confirming I had no police record. Why one rule for not very wealthy retirees and another for mega-rich Chinese criminals?

Yesterday Qatar's limited time offer of 10% off fares from Thailand ended. This morning i had an email from the airline offering up to 12% off for premium fares. Checking flights I want for next year, the discount was just over 11%. I expect further discounts in the months to come (but only judging by previous years).

Would it not be more likely that it is dependent on Pheu Thai having the upper hand in the new parliament - should that ever actually be sworn in?

Royal Caribbean has revealed artist's renderings of its latest mega-ship/restort, the Icon of the Seas. When its stern section was unveiled - - it instantly became viral with many expressing the same thoughts that I have - ghastly in the extreme. A "monstrosity", a "pile of decadence", "intrically tacky and vulgar." Some compared it to a vision of hell. When it sets sail on its maiden voyage in January it will be the largest passenger ship afloat with almost 10,000 passengers and crew. The image of the ship has not been helped by being described as "5 times bigger than the Titanic." Not only did that mega-ship end up at the bottom of the ocean on its maiden voyage, the recent implosion of the underwater vessel taking paying passengers to see the wreck can not have helped. The candy colours make the ship seem like Barbie's home from home while others suggest that so many crammed into one space will feel very claustrophobic. I guess if it was for occasional gay cruises, it might be a huge best seller. And for families it will no doubt be a success. But you won't get me anywhere close to it. I have been fortunate to be a non-paying passeenger on three cruises, thanks to invitations from my long-time best friend. In the summers he lectured aboard vessels, but only the small top of the line ones like Silver Sea and Seabourn. When his wife could not accompany him, he would always invite me to join him for part of a cruise. With a bottle of champagne put in the cabin fridge every morning and free booze in the bars, they were mostly very enjoyable if for a week or so. But I found a 17 day cruise around the Caribbean and then 1,600 kms up the Amazon to Manaus way too long, even though a highight was visiting the Opera House built in Manaus by the rubber barons at the end of the 19th century and featured in the movie Fitzcarraldo. But as a Royal Caribbean spokesman said of Icon of the Seas, "“That ship’s gonna take in $10 million a week.” https://edition.cnn.com/travel/viral-icon-of-the-seas-cruise-ship-photo/index.html

If not, at age 39 he seriously has problems! I'd imagine he's as proud and erect as 20 years ago.

The wording in that wikipedia article is pretty much nonsense. Whoever wrote it admits he/she knows precious little about the term and then goes on to equate it with sex offenders. A load of b/s!

I am a bit older and have rarely found it difficult to meet the younger guys whose company I enjoy and who are looking for an older guy without money being part of the arrangement. Beijng partnered I am not looking for sex in Thailand. But I have free reign on my travels, most of which are now within Asia. I have reported elsewhere on Taipei where there seem to be quite a few guys in their 20s whose preference is not only for older guys but much older guys. If a guy comes to my hotel, few seem to want to get straight down to sex, preferring first to chat and perhaps kiss and cuddle. Some enjoy a leisurely dinner afterwards when the conversation always seems interesting, but certainly not all. The type of quickie "wham, bang, thank you ma'am" sex is mostly restricted to the saunas. I wouldn't call a young guy seeking the company of and sex with a much older guy a fetish. In my book it's merely a preference.

As far as I can see, the problem is that the tickets must be ex-HKG. And although the promotion has only been going for 2 days, already those for popular destinations like London Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei are sold out! One thing I do not like about the CX biz class meal service is that it is from a trolley. Presumably this is so you can see the meal you wish to consume. The problem is that some of the dishes stay on that trolley for several minutes and are less than piping hot if you order them. Best economy meal by far was one on JAL to BKK 4 years ago pre covid. The airline had asked some chefs to come up with ideas for better quality economy meals. The five courses were all delicious.

At 6:00 am on Wednesday ten days ago, police entered a villa in a Sentosa hotel and arrested 49 men aged between 21 and 46 taking part in what was reported as a Drug Orgy. 35 were Singaporean nationals and 14 foreigners, most of whom were believed to be Malaysians. Substances seized included metamphetamine, ketamine and drug paraphernalia. Also taken was a printed invitation to the orgy believed to have been organised by a closed chat room group. Perhaps ironically during the last 3 weeks the Singapore government has executed 2 men and a woman who had been alleged to have brought very small quantities of drugs into Singapore. Death is the penalty for 15 grams or more of a prohibited substance whether for trafficking or for personal use. Questions are now being asked what will happen to the 49 men from the orgy arrested and those who had left it prior to the police raid. Questions are also being asked why it is that the men elected to host their orgy at an hotel, albeit in a villa in the grounds. Would the presence of so many young and youngish men all entering a villa not have alerted the hotel management that something nefarious was going on? Perhaps naturally, some are also speculating that more than just drugs were the reason for the party. Were they there for some sort of sex orgy? The photos of the men after they police entered the room do not indicate any nudity and there was no report of condoms or any sexual apparatius having been found. Guess I am naive as I had never heard of drug orgies before! https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/drug-raid-sentosa-hotel-villa-49-men-arrested-cnb-3694766

The popular gay hotel GS has recently closed and wil not reopen. According to its facebook page, its licence was not renewed, although for what reason I have no idea. I cannot believe this is due to any anti-gay sentiment. Some years ago the very popular Huang Ding sauna which had a lot of gay activitiy going on both in its steam room and in a downstairs open area was closed. But this was due to numerous notices about the unacceptable quality of its water going unheeded. (And no, I never noticed any goings on in the pools themselves!)

Nothing harmful? Personally I think that action was harmful and with respect to the poster whom I do not know somewhat petty. Sure the guy did what many are starting to do by posting fake pics. Don't we all post some fake info - like our ages? Perhaps @nikba2515 is totally honest with what info he provides on the apps. I'm not sorry to say I chop a few years off my age. I then feel delighted when the guy arrives and says something like he thought I'd look considerably older! But then I do not meet guys in Thailand - only in Taipei and Tokyo where perhaps the boys are more polite. Years ago I did once meet a Thai boy from an app who turned out to be a good 15 years older than his photo. I always used to meet a guy first outside my apartment and so we met at a coffee shop on Silom. I ordered him a drink, explained to him that I was not going to do anything more because he had basically deceived me. I then gave him 100 baht for his transport and said goodbye. You win some, lose some has always been my basic motto. I'm not into shaming guys or trying to teach them a lesson.

And what will this Department actually achieve? Well, my comment would be too offensive! I suspect they might put in charge of the department the minister who, during the disastrous floods of 2011 when much of Bangkok was under water for a considerable number of weeks, suggested that one way of alleviating the floods would be to stretch long tail boats across the Chao Phaya river with their engines on at full power to push the flood water from the north back up river. Seriously, that is what he suggested. I guess his middle names were Monty Python.

For those not acquainted with the British Immigration's use of a barge to house refugees, this has drawn considerable controversy in the UK for many weeks. The government says it is a temporary form of accommodation until asylum seekers' papers can be properly processed. But it has all descended into a farce because the 39 immigrants so far 'settled' in the barge' after weeks of delay have now had to be moved out after a deadly bacteria was found in the water supply. Government idiots! I trust no one has fallen for any scam by booking on this junk barge!

Getting back to the OP, CX seems to be having some difficulty filling its flights from Bangkok. It has been reducing fares and they are now about the cheapest I have seen for years.

For those not acquainted with Hong Kong, Hong Kong virtually has four seasons. The best times of year to visit are November, December, February, April and May. June to October is typhoon season. If one gets close or even worse there is a direct hit, Hong Kong has an excellent early warning system and the city basically shuts down - even public transport. Up to mid-September it's also extremely humid which usually gets to visitors more than the heat. And of course it's also the rainy season. I have omitted January because this is the most likely month when for a few days the winter monsoon will blow down from the north. If it's freezing in Beijing, you can be sure Hong Kong will be in for temperatures in the 6 - 12 degree range a day or so later and usually lasts a few days! March is when the humidity starts to rise dramatically and you can often see banks of fog rolling in over the hillsides. That said, naturally there can be glorious days in those winter months with low humidity when the sun will shine in bright blue skies and the mercury rises to around 25 in the daytime. Just take a few warm clothes to be safe.

I am sure you are correct. And with a majority of the boys in the bars - at least the go-go bars - being non Thais brought up in countries with a less comprehensive health system, the risk that they may also have HIV and/or other STDs is probably quite high. I have seen posts on another Board where one or two members have bsically suggested that anyone in the sex business has a responsibility to look after their own health and so they, as the customers, have a right to unprotected sex if that is what they want. This always makes me mad, but this is another issue that young guys should be made aware of - there are always idiots out there! That said, when you are in desperate need of money, what is the chance of these guys really saying 'no'?

Illustrative of what many medical related websites have been saying. The reduction in education about HIV in Thailand is resulting in some young pepole growing up unaware of the risks. For example, we know that condoms are much less in evidence in the young Thai-for-Thai saunas that have spread around the outskirts of Bangkok. I know some readers will slam me, but this young man's life was probably cut short due to some form of unprotected sex with others, one of whom could have been a farang. There are still farang who press their young Thai boys du jour for bareback sex without first ensuring the boys are fully aware not just of the risks but of the availability fo PrEP and PEP. Perhaps they should even pay the boys for the cost of that medication in addition to their tips.

I suppose this could have been a continuation of the Bernstein Maestro movie thread, but it seems to merit a thread of its own. We've had the black face controversy in movies and on the stage. Now its Jewish men and women complaining about non-Jews playing Jews on film. Bradley Cooper's movie about the love between Leonard Bernstein and his wife premieres at the Venice Film Fesitval on September 2. Given Bernstein's fame there is a great deal of interest in it, the more so considering he was very much a homosexual - something his wife acknowledged in a letter to him soon after their marriage - and little was publicised about his marriage during his lifetime. Cooper himself plays Bernstein and from early clips he seems to "be" Bernstein. Not being Jewish, though, he wears a prosthetic addtion to his nose. Certainly Bernstein had a largish nose, but it was more broad, shall I say, than long. Having watched a movie preview and compared the prosthesis with photos and videos of the maestro, I think the make-up artists have got the shape wrong. Compare the two - Berstein's children have come to the defence of the movie saying the "nose" is like their father's. Hmmm! I guess we have to wait to see the movie before we can make a definitive conclusion. This is reminiscent of the other controversy concerning that wonderful actor Dame Helen Mirren whose portrayal of one of israel's great figures, Prime Minister Golda Meir, will be revealed on August 25 in the new movie Golda. Other non-Jewish actors have played Jewish characters but without the fuss that this is causing. Actor Maureen Lipmann told the Jewish Chronicle she disagreed with the casting of Helen Mirren "because the Jewishness of the character is so integral." To me this argument does not really hold up. Did anyone complain about Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher because she was not quintissentially English? Again we'll have to wait for the movie to make up our minds. https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bradley-cooper-maestro-nose-controversy-leonard-bersnstein-family-defends-1235697835/

Babylon apart, was this the norm for most of the gay saunas in Bangkok? It is certainly true of my one time favourite Chakran.

Better not visit Japan @vinapu unless you allocate a lot more for hotels.

WIth respect there is already a thread started by @reader in the Gay Malaysia section of the forum. But the action goes beyond banning as the Festival's organiser is now suing 1975 for £2 million. To me that is another idiotic action given that any Festival organiser booking 1975 must have had a pretty good idea what might happen on stage - after all, it had happened before! But would I trust the Malaysian courts? Nope!

I also much prefered Kloster. The article above does not mention the smaller Thai Amarit Brewery which makets its own brand primarily for export. Seems it used to be the distributor for Kloster from 1978 which it made under license from the German brand. But beer in Thailand is encased in a wide array of regulations making entry to the market from overseas subject to taxes of up to 60%. Although brewed in Thailand, due to its size Amarit had difficulty with distribution of Kloster. Early in the century, Amarit sold it off to Boon Rawd which tried to rebrand Kloster as a premium beer. For whatever reason, sales never took off. But it seems it was never actually withdrawn from sale and can still be found in some outlets like hotel bars.

Yes, it was a police raid that closed Obelisks for good and I think it was probably the first of Purachai's Social Order casualties. It was one of the first batch of gay saunas but located near Thonglor which made it a longish tuk tuk ride in those pre-Skytrain frightful traffic days. I did visit a few times in the late 1980s. It was a tall narrow building meaning you needed good leg muscles especially to get up the 10 floors to the very nice rooftop jacuzzi. There was a tiny lift that could squeeze in about 5 guys but if you'd just missed it you could wait ages for it. While it was more elegant than the earliest sauna I remember (Volt in a soi off Asoke in the mid-1980s), it did have a small restaurant, bar, gym and a tiny maze. But with floor areas being so small, it really was not on a par with the original Babylon. Also once Babylon opened, most tourists and farang could not be bothered going what seemed so far out when Babylon was all but on their doorstep. More than a decade later, for a while the other recently opened gay sauna Chakran on Soi Aree with its Moroccan theme, small pool and plenty of cruising areas became almost as popular as Babylon. It was certainly as beautifully laid out and very popular with the younger Thai crowd. After years of visiting the original Babylon, I never really took to the new larger version further down the soi. I then preferred Chakran which happily also welcomed foreigners. Sadly within a few years it had begun to change to being much more Thai-for-Thai/Asian. The original Babylon opened in 1988 in the building on the corner of Sathorn Soi 1/Soi Nantha-Mozart. Perhaps ironically much of that building is now occupied by the long-time French restaurant Le Bouchon which for decades was located on Patpong Soi 2 where many of the gay go-go bars can now be found! !t was founded by the son of a very rich family who wanted somewhere for professional gay Thais to relax away from the pressures of life for gay men in Bangkok at the time. The lobby had full-length glass cases filled with Thai antiques. The coffee shop had a guitarist or soft live music at the week-ends. All the staff seemed to me gorgeously handsome. Off the coffee shop was a massage room. Oh, the number of great times I had with Khun Gung who always seemed to be on duty there! I particularly enjoyed sitting having drinks at its rooftop bar watching so many cute guys pass back and forth in their towels from the showers at the end. It very quickly became so popular that on Friday and Saurday evenings there were always queues waiting to get in. For a few years, almost all were Thai. When word eventually got out, more farang started to discover its pleasures. As to your question about why Obelisks died yet the larger Babylon further down the soi remained open. Surely that had to be fat envelopes for the BIB! The Babylon owner had tons of cash. I doubt if Babylon ever made much if any profit, but he ran it more as a service to the gay community.

Booking.com is one of the world's leading internet travel booking sites, including in its portfolio Agoda, Kayak, Hotelscombined, Priceline and other sites. It operates in 220+ countries in 40+ languages. In 2022 it's worldwide gross travel bookings were US$121.3 billion. Like many travel sites, it collects cash from bookers and later passes these on to their accommodation clients after deduction of commissions and fees. Now, though, it has been accused of not paying quite a number of accommodation providers. One in the UK is owed £50,000 for rentals of several properties. He claims thousands of others around the world are also suffering from delayed payments. Another renter had failed to receive any income after being promised payment five times. A statement from booking.com claims it is "urgently working to resume payments, which were delayed as a result of a planned system maintenance." Well, believe that if you wish! It further claims the majority of "partners" have been paid on time but "in a small number of cases, there have been unforeseen technical issues that are quickly being resolved." And believe that if you wish! https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-66459808?xtor=AL-72-[partner]-[bbc.news.twitter]-[headline]-[news]-[bizdev]-[isapi]&at_format=link&at_link_origin=BBCNews&at_link_id=4326623C-3776-11EE-B378-0FFC5B3BE886&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_medium=social&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_type=web_link&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial I recently booked a 5-star hotel in Taipei at the lowest rate i could find through a company I had never booked through before - Klook. This is a relatively new Hong Kong based startup and I was slightly concerned about the booking. An email to the hotel confirmed everything was in order. Klook has a number of impressive investors including Goldman Sachs and Softbank. From a quick check, its rates are also competitive with Agoda.

An understandable conclusion. All I might add is that i believe that having been badly burned by this climbdown, Thailand Elite will find it difficult to play around with promised privileges again. It has too many professional members including lawyers and PR people who I think had a major effect on the recent reversal. If I was sure about Thailand, I'd jump in and get the 5 year visa at its present 600,000 baht before it is withdrawn, as this will give you the option of upgrading by 15 years for 400,000 provided it is done within 3 months of the expiry of the original visa. We now know that the new 5-year visa to be introduced in a month or two will cost 900,000. I also think there will be no option to increase at the end. A 5 year visa is stuck in to a full page in your passport. Same with the 15 year upgrade. So your basic immigration rights will not be affected. It's the perks that they seem to want to play around with. Against that, you will still be just 74 by the end of the 20 years. By then, I am certain Elite visas will be a great deal more expensive - assuming there are no more issues severely affecting the Thai economy. What would you plan to do then?