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Day 30 in Da Nang – 23 May 2025 Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson about geopolitics and the use of “soft power” here in Vietnam. In summary, do not bring up any desire to drink a Chagee bubble tea or any of the Chagee products. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, earlier this year, there was a “soft power” incident, when Chagee rolled out their app – where the famous and controversial 9-Dash Line Policy was super imposed onto the map of the South China Sea (aka East Sea) within the Chagee app. Consequently, this got the Vietnamese citizenry in an uproar where they started to boycott and vote down in Google the ratings of the various Chagee franchise outlets here in Vietnam. Supposedly there was also pushback in Malaysia. Can any of our Malaysian forum members comment on this ? The pushback was so severe that China approved that Chagee could modify their use of “soft power” by modifying the map in the app where they agreed to remove the controversial 9-Dash Line Policy image from the app. So, as I love geopolitics so much – and you may remember that during my 62 day stay in Cebu there were a couple of incidents (that I reported on in that trip report thread), where the Chinese Coast Guard was harassing Philippine fisherman and the Philippine Coast Guard near several islands that China is interested in taking over off of the Philippine coast. What astonished me the most in Cebu was when the Philippines news media was proudly reporting that the Vietnamese government was willing to assist the Philippine Coast Guard and Military with technical support to help them keep the aggressive Chinese at bay. In all of this, Thailand has been silent about this 9-Dash Line Policy incident – but you have Vietnam and the Philippines supporting each other. I find this disturbing – but I guess that Thailand has always been this way – which, in my opinion, is sad for ASEAN – if there will not be a collective response to China’s aggressive behavior towards the sovereignty of the Philippines and Vietnam’s territories. Again, I am not sure where Malaysia sits with all of this – if they are silent, willing to help their neighbors, or are even concerned with China’s 9-Dash Line Policy. One of my favorite geopolitical YouTubers here in Vietnam, Ken Duong – he is an American Vietnamese attorney with his feet on the ground here in Vietnam and he can explain the situation better than me: After posting my 23 May updates, as it is already 2pm, I head over to: https://g.co/kgs/VpZff1f I order the ever so fresh and delicious, fresh tuna with poached egg dish, with a salt coffee: While I was waiting for the chef to prepare the meal, I take a look at the commotion directly outside of the restaurant and see what looks like they are filming a TV ad or part of a movie scene: You cannot see from these photos – but they had about 15 actors walk by – and they were a very eclectic group of Asians, Africans, Europeans, and Americans. I have no idea what it was all about but it was entertaining to watch. As the pig that I am, I am still not satisfied, so I order another salt coffee + their amazing cinnamon toast banana ice cream dish. Now totally satisfied, I go for a walk but after 20 minutes it is just too hot so I hire a Grab car and go over to the to visit the large supermarket, to stock up on things in the condo – as my BF will arrive in 6 days – and it is an excuse to get out of the heat. Return back to my room and unpack and then take a nap – the life of a retiree. Wake up and guess what – it is time to think about what to eat for dinner. Buffalo is the first thing that I think about, and at the recommendation of forum member, @aussie_ I head back to https://www.facebook.com/thenomadkitchendn/ and this time I insist on ordering the Buffalo Dinner with a cool and refreshing San Miguel beer. This was truly enjoyable and a better choice than the leg of lamb dish that I ate here on my first visit to this great kitchen. What is AMAZING - especially for a retiree on a fixed pension - is this wonderful Buffalo plate only cost 215,000 VND (around $8.30 USD) --> which is EXCELLENT value for money - as the SAME meal back in Denver, Colorado (the first place where I ever ate Buffalo) is around $70 USD --> which is 88% cheaper. INCREDIBLE!! Afterwards, the waitress convinces me, (it does not take much convincing) to order the warm brownie with vanilla ice cream – which was delightful. Walk around for a while as there is a nice cool and refreshing breeze coming off of the sea tonight. Head back to the room and I check in with my BF and he is happy because it is not raining and there is some foot traffic to his shop. Cruise on the apps, but don’t see anything interesting, so I do some reading and eventually fall asleep. End of day 30 in Da Nang – 23 May 2025

That Zing Hotel (out of the 3 Zing hotels) is very near to the famous Sansuk sauna - the biggest gay sauna outside of Bangkok (within Thailand): https://sansukthailand.com/

Some yes and some no. I tried to off the more sexy gogo dancer at The Best Bar, but he declined the offer.

Here in Da Nang at the beach I have only seen hot surfers and sexy volleyball players. I have not seen any footballers. The footballers that I discovered back in Jomtien was via Hornet - as one of them needed to supplement his income. Then after he got to know me for a while, he let me play with one of his hot married friends. They were all part of a Russian team that used to play at the beach arena in front of the Jomtien Night Market. It all needed to be SUPER secret and discreet - but it was fun while it lasted.....

Not exactly what I had in mind for my 100+ remaining days in Vietnam:

Day 29 in Da Nang – 22 May 2025 Typical morning – read internet – as geopolitical events are always my favourite, as well as what is the latest trend in the finance and investment areas. Often these latter two topics are greatly influenced by geopolitical trends --> and so it is like a never ending puzzle that needs to be assessed and understood again and again. Post my 21 May trip report updates. One of the annoying things (that does not occur with e-SIM) with classic telecom SIM cards, is that I believe that perhaps the telephone number (by Viettel) that was given to me is recycled. Every day, my phone receives calls from the same entity = CSKH HOME CREDIT and I keep blocking the individual numbers – but they never give up and it seems that they have an infinite number of available numbers. I get about 8 to 10 calls each day from this entity but I never reply or answer the call. I wait until the call terminates and then I add it to the block list. Does anyone know of another way to block the origination of these annoying calls? It’s already 2pm and I get ready and head over to hoping that I will see my favorite cute Vietnamese barista. Unfortunately, he is not there and I am served by another guy that I am not familiar with. I eat my usual chicken club on poppy seeded bagel with my wonderful salt coffee. As it is too hot to go to the beach, I walk over to https://www.facebook.com/bnbbakery2023 And I choose a delicious mango cream cake and iced Vietnamese coffee. Today I am not in the mood for the beach so I return to my room and I look in the various apps (Heesay, Hornet, PlanetRomeo, Blowers, and Grindr) and a guy with a photo in his profile of him on a powerful motorbike up on the Hai Van Pass tickles my fancy, where I was 1 year prior. So, I write to him on Grindr but his English is almost non-existent and so we communicate with Google Translate as our intermediary. I discover that he is a masseur visiting Da Nang from HCMC and we move the conversation over to where it is easier to communicate (you can invoke the AI translator) and it is easier to share location details and the local Vietnamese guys are more at ease in . Around 6:20pm, there is a knock at my door and I think - no way that the massage guy arrived 40 minutes early. Nope!! Instead it was my landlady bringing me 2 coconuts. She looks around and asks me - you are still only 1 person? She is always perplexed as I booked the AirBnB for 2 people. I show her my calendar and I say that my friend from Thailand is coming on the 29th of May and will stay with me for 2 weeks. Then she seems to be happy and reminds me to please send her a copy of his passport. I tell her not to worry. At 7pm the masseur arrives and now face to face we both whip out our phone device translators to communicate. I give him something to drink and he goes and takes a shower and I get naked and get onto the bed that is used for massages. He is probably 35 years old and more stocky – more manly – than the typical twink guys you see around – so he is more my type. His massage is truly epic and I am very happy. When I turn over, he pours some of the massage oil on my chest area and he starts with the body-to-body type of massage – which I am not a big fan of, but I resist and try to enjoy it. Then he is licking my nipples and balls, which I really like and eventually he goes in for the kill – by giving me a great blow job. By now I am stroking his nice sized cock. After quite a while, he realizes that I am not going to cum from the BJ, so I motion him to lay by my side so he can lick my nipples and I show him my preferred edging technique with my preferred edging oil. He quickly understands and before not too long I am releasing in joy. He goes and takes a shower and I clean up the massage room. I prepare his fee of 1,500,000 VND (around $58 USD) and we chat a little bit and he shows me a picture of a hot guy and he asks me if I would like 4 hands massage with his friend. Hallelujah!! I have yet after 29 days here had a 4 hands massage. So, I tell him yes and that we will arrange it in the next days – as he is here in Da Nang with his “friend” from HCMC for 15 days. So, this was a great “happy ending”. After my shower, I head over to https://www.facebook.com/countrybbqandbeer/ as I haven’t been back in more than 1 week and I order my usual With a nice cold Saigon beer. I head back to my room and I chat with my BF and he is in a pretty good mood as there is more foot traffic in the food market tonight. I ask him to identify 3 volunteers who would be willing to: Receive a QR code from us to order from his online store, Lives in the Pattaya area and will order from his online shop using one of the below 3 apps: o 1 who has the ShopeeFood app already installed on their phone, o 1 who has the GrabFood app already installed on their phone, o 1 who has the LineMan app already installed on their phone. I tell him that we will perform these end-to-end tests in order to understand if it will work properly, before combining them for release into his LINE Business Account landing page. Furthermore, to learn if the end-user (customer) experience is acceptable and also if the person in his shop is able to properly fulfill the orders when they arrive via these 3 online apps for delivery to the volunteer customers. He understands and by now I am exhausted and I fall asleep. End of day 29 in Da Nang – 22 May 2025

Bravo!!! @Olddaddy - I knew that we could count on you to do the right thing....

Thank you @PeterRS for your idea to link the photo of this MB's 21cm cock into my trip report thread in a safe way. I hope that this is the correct way to do it.

yes - there is more nature and nicer beaches in Jomtien. Pattaya is more urban The proper correct answer - as how our forum members define what is a go go bar - the answer is NO Having said that, please take a look at this thread where we discussed hybrid type of gogo bars that exist in Jomtien:

Day 28 in Da Nang – 21 May 2025 Check my emails and I see a reply from the AFICS-T, FLiT (Foreigners Living in Thailand) where they share something with me that I was not aware of within the Thai Revenue Department (RD). The former RD Chief is no longer in power. Hallelujah!! She is the one who drafted the proposal that scared away many of us residents in Thailand with her proposal to tax our foreign income even if NOT brought into Thailand. Link to a scathing article written by Benjamin Hart from Integrity Legal - written last year when the former RD Chief proposed amending Section 41 of the Thai Revenue Code: https://www.legal.co.th/resources/corporate-and-tax-advisory/thailand-tax-law/thailand-needs-stop-and-think-about-changes-tax-policy/ This positive news from FLiT put me in such a good mood – as this RD threat has been lurking in the background and was the secondary purpose of my year 2025 trips to Cebu and now Da Nang – to see and learn if I could live in these places as a retiree had the Thai RD gone forward with their threat to implement a global taxation scheme. So, FLiT has allayed my fears that I would need to vacate Thailand. Now we await for the Thai Finance Minister, Pichai Chunhavajira to submit the new decree, which would grant tax-free status on remitted money into Thailand, as long as this transfer is completed within 1 year. https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2025/05/19/thai-revenue-planning-new-decree-making-remitted-foreign-funds-within-one-year-tax-free-for-residents/#google_vignette Thailand has admitted that the prior September 2023 tax change that became effective 01-Jan-2024, has had the “unintended” consequences of decreasing incoming foreign fund inflows (FDI) into the country, and now Thailand is hungry to resolve this problem, as it is having a negative impact on the Thai GDP and economy. This new tax legislation will become a Royal Decree, then it has to be voted on by the Thai Parliament, and then issued in the Royal Gazette, when it would then become law. I am so happy that Thailand is finally moving in the right direction. But, this being Thailand (TiT), we need to await to see the actual words that will appear in the Royal Gazette to understand if this new Royal Decree will be financially positive for us tax residents in Thailand – as we all know: Post my 21 May trip report updates, and eat some yoghurt. There was so much information to assimilate this morning – time flies when you are having fun – it is already 3:30pm and I haven’t had a proper meal yet. So, I look at Samy Social’s Da Nang Treasure map and I chose a new all day breakfast place: https://www.facebook.com/brecocoffee This place is on the An Thuong 2 street that is primarily the hub of the digital nomads and surfer crowd and sure enough the place is full with this type of crowd. It reminds me of my high school years, when there were the “athletic sport jocks” and the “nerds” – of which I was apart of the nerd crowd. Some of the guys are truly stunning and you can see that their life is only sport. I order my usual salt coffee with a chicken omelet and a pumpkin soup. The omelet was awesome and full of super fresh vegetables. The pumpkin soup was not very impressive – as if it probably came from a can of soup. What is cool about this place is that the “kitchen” is located squarely in the center of the restaurant – more like the luncheonettes we had back home. It makes it noisy but also it is interesting watching 5 to 6 ladies work in that small space to prepare all of our wonderful food. So, I eat a great brunch and enjoy the eye candy without being too obvious. By now it is almost 4:45pm, which is an excellent time to go to the beach and watch all of the going ons and athletes playing volleyball, jogging, swimming, working out, etc. I settle in at my favorite coffee shop on the beach https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/109739121673546/caribou-food-truck/ And I take a front row seat to watch the nearby volleyball and drink my 2nd salt coffee, and long and behold – one of the surfer guy hotties that I saw back in the Bréco restaurant is now at the beach warming up to play volleyball: Now I reflect on my Jomtien beach time versus my Da Nang beach time and I have to say that Da Nang has the better looking men – although, I would say that 99% are not available for sex. However, in Jomtien, we do have sometimes good looking athletic men like the one in this photo and sometimes they can be had for sex – as I was able to get 2 super sexy Russian footballers from Jomtien into my bed – only because I befriended 1 that was a MB on Hornet and then once I won over his trust I asked him to involve another guy from the local Russian football team for some more fun in my bed. I just can’t see that being possible here in Da Nang – as I comb the apps every day and the few MBs that do exist are 99% Vietnamese. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the Vietnamese guys – I am just noting the difference in the MB experience of Da Nang versus Jomtien. I leave Cebu out of this discussion because there are no open free beaches in Cebu like we have in Da Nang and in Jomtien. Around 7pm I head back to my room and around 9pm I head over to https://www.facebook.com/flyburgersvietnam/ for a nice blue cheese burger with fries with a banana-mango shake. No coconut ice cream tonight (I'm stuffed) – but 2 different Vietnamese guys solicit me for boom-boom – but I say no – as I am pretty sure that they take you to a shop where you can have sex with a woman = no thank you. I am getting familiar with these barkers as they tend to congregate in front of this place: So, one night when I am feeling more brave I will ask them if they have male VIP on offer. Head back to my room and chat with my boyfriend who is in an ok mood as the rain today back in Pattaya has been off and on and has allowed him to have some foot traffic sales. I use this as an opportunity to remind him that this is why the resolution of this QR code dilemma is super important – because when it is raining the customers can order from one of the food app delivery services and not need to venture out into the rain and get wet. Before falling asleep, I take a quick look on the apps and I see a Vietnamese MB who has a 21cm cock – of which I downloaded and would love to post it here in this post – but perhaps it would not be in good taste?? I ask him if he makes massage and he replies no and that instead of a massage he can pound my ass with his 21cm – I decline. End of day 28 in Da Nang – 21 May 2025

Day 27 in Da Nang – 20 May 2025 I wake up at 6:30am sweating and I don’t understand what is going on. I notice that the air conditioner is off and I try to turn it back on, and then I realize that there is NO electricity in my condo. I try to make myself sleep some more and I toss and turn until around 7:30am my landlord sends me the below WhatsApp message: So puzzle solved. It is useless to try to sleep some more and I get up and eat breakfast. Back in Jomtien where I live at VT, they also have scheduled power outages for maintenance purposes. To date, there have been no power brownouts here in Da Nang, and I can say the same for Cebu and Jomtien. So, this morning I am limited to using just my laptop with its small screen until the power runs out – but I think that it will last until the return of the electricity scheduled for 2pm. I receive a sad email from AFICS-T https://www.aficsthailand.com/ which is an association for us retirees based in Bangkok – mainly for ex UN staff. When I separated from the UN in March 2022, I joined which is the association for us retirees – but mainly with a focus on those retirees residing in Italy. Shortly after I arrived in Thailand, I joined AFICS-T, as I wanted to be kept up to date about retiree life in Thailand – as the FFOA does not really offer much for those of us in Asia. It seems that there are no volunteers putting themselves forward to serve on the Executive Board and as per their by-laws they may need to shut down. In addition, another email arrives from the AFICS-T sub-group, known as FLiT (Foreigner Living in Thailand) that they are disbanding FLiT due to the above possible shut down of AFICS-T. So, I spend a good part of the morning to see if AFICS-T may be able to salvage itself – as this is disheartening if it cannot be saved, especially in light of the ongoing UN80 turmoil: https://www.crisisgroup.org/global-united-states/doing-less-with-less-un So, not a good start to today’s morning. I post yesterday’s trip report update. Around 1:10pm, there is a beeping sound and the return of the electricity – yahoo!!! I close all of the windows and reactivate the airconditioning. Around 2pm I head back to for my usual – but today I have a purpose to break the ice with that cute Vietnamese barista that I have a crush on. When I arrive, we are already like family and before I can open my mouth they tell me that I would like to order a salt coffee with a chicken club sesame seed bagel. We all laugh as I tell them – oops, I always eat a poppy seed bagel. I eat my meal and I wait until the guys are bored and there are no other customers and I walk over to all of them and I say: “Have you seen the Bánh Bao dance beat?” They don’t understand me and ask me if I want to eat a I say no, wait a minute and I show them the Bánh Bao YouTube dance video (that I posted in my yesterday trip report update). They all start laughing and are amazed that some crazy foreigner mixed that annoying Bánh Bao sound into a disco dance beat. I try to get closer to the sexy barista but the kind-of-cute male cashier tries instead to get my attention. He is nice but not what I desire. So, I then decide to leave and now I can have the freedom to tease the cute barista (when he is alone) with the Bánh Bao disco dance. All happy and elated with my sinister plot I decide that today is a good day to walk to the end of Da Nang city – on the beach. It is a very tiring walk (beach sand) but I need some good exercise and the constant wind coming off of the sea is refreshing – even if the intense sun can be annoying – but I am armed with my Crocodile Dundee hat. I reach the point where the beach promenade stops, and the beach road narrows and curves, and starts it assent up into Sơn Trà Mountain (aka Monkey Mountain). I take some photos of the iconic “thung chai” = “basket boats” that the local fisherman use here. Here in Da Nang, the fishermen use these basket boats to oar out to their anchored fishing boats. In the video below, you can see one in action. 20250520_162819.mp4 Now totally dehydrated and exhausted I call a Grab car to take me back to my AirBnB. The Grab driver speaks great English and he makes me laugh, so I show him the Bánh Bao dance video on YouTube and he is in awe that some foreigner took this mundane annoying sound and turned it into a song. He gets the YouTube information so that he can show it to his friends. I really enjoyed my time with him and he gives me his business card – where on the back are 4 distinct QR codes for , , , and . This is EXACTLY what I want for my BF’s to-be-created business cards where instead of chat apps they would be food delivery apps. I decide that I might hire this Grab driver when I will need to go to the airport to pickup my BF when he arrives from Thailand. I chat with BF and then I fall asleep for a short nap. Wake up and I feel hungry for Middle Eastern food and I walk around until I find: https://www.facebook.com/zzeytun.nha.hang There is a very sexy HOT arab looking man sitting at one of the other tables and after I ordered I understood that he was the cook – as he disappeared into the kitchen after my order was taken. I order the lamb shish kebab with kabsa rice and a plate of falafels with hummus dip and salad. The rice and the hummus were great. However, the lamb was overcooked and tough, and the pita bread was too hard. So, out of 10, I would give tonight’s meal a vote of 6. And perhaps a 12, if I was allowed to get on my knees and worship the hot Arab chef, who I later found out is from Lebanon. I can only imagine what was hiding in his pants – but he was very heterosexual and the female Vietnamese owner has him on a tight leash. I had seen the below post by our forum member = @alexch, and I imagined that the Arab chef had the same tool as in alexch’s post: What a piece of Arab meat in that post - thank you alexch. Mamma mia!!! Afterwards, while I am walking towards my favorite coconut ice cream food cart – a very sexy 20 year old Vietnamese kid, decides to chat me up with the excuse of wanting to practice his English. I already knew that this would be a scam or sales pitch for something else – as this already happened to me by 2 other paired Vietnamese university students who got me to buy some unneeded Vietnamese coffee – but I enjoyed my time with them. So, this kid tells me he is a university student in Economics and he needs to practice his English with real foreigners like me, because he will have an oral English proficiency exam at his university. He is truly adorable, manly, but very much a Fonzie type of Vietnamese kid. Anyway, he finally arrives at the true purpose of his approach when he finally asks me a dangerous question: “Can you guess what I want from you?” After the previous Arab chef meeting – I had to force myself to respond with, “you want to sell me something….” (I really wanted to say, can I bring you to my bed in my nearby condo?). He laughs – and says yes, but you have to guess what it is. Well he did not have any coffee products like the other university students that I encountered days ago, so I was perplexed. I said, No – what is it you want to sell me? He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pen – but this pen has a thick inkwell – which I really like as I hate when my favorite pen runs out of ink. So, I ask him the price. He says, that he normally sells it for 30k, but today because he really likes me I can have it for 20k (around $0.77 USD). So, I give him 50k and I tell him to keep the change. He turns bright red – I guess he never met a crazy gullible stupid American before. In the interval, I show the kid the Bánh Bao dance video on YouTube and he is amazed and really likes it. He takes the information about the video so that he can show his friends – he even makes some sexy dance moves to the video. After his redness passes, he tells me that his university gives him a quota to sell 2 pens per day and he only sold 1 pen for today. So, I give him another 50K for the 2nd pen and tell him to keep the change. Now he is flabbergasted and he insists on buying me something to eat – I tell him – no thanks, I already ate my dinner and I am on my way to get a coconut durian ice cream and I ask him if he also wants one. He says yes and I order us 2 of them. The shop already knows me, but I can sense that they are perplexed as to why a 63 year old foreigner is with a 20 year old Vietnamese kid – this is definitely NOT Pattaya. Then off in the distance I see Samy Social (the YouTube blogger) approaching, and I turn my back, so he won’t see me, as I don’t want this recorded on his YouTube broadcast. So, we finish our ice creams and part ways and that was definitely an enjoyable interaction. I head back to my room exhausted – it is now 11pm and I chat with my BF as he is closing his shop 30 minutes early tonight because – AGAIN – it is raining in Pattaya and the market is completely empty. I try to cheer him up. Afterwards, I can’t get that hot Arab chef out of my mind, so I fire up some Arab porn and I go to town until the resulting 🍆💦💦 End of day 27 in Da Nang – 20 May 2025

Yes, my belly and waist size has grown - unfortunately. I will probably need to return to the in Pattaya - the place where I did all of that crazy Focus Shockwave therapy for Erectile Dysfunction which I documented in our forum at: Before I left for Cebu, I had some belly fat reduction sessions that they refer to as: https://www.doctoryadaclinic.com/บริการที่เรามีให้คุณ-2/coolsculpting/ So, there is always a solution in today's world....

Thanks for your concerns and great question. In my prior careers in banking and then at the UN, I was always creating ways to mitigate potential problems, consequently I was always creating plan(s) B, C, D, E, etc. So, this is part of my DNA. I believe that I already stated my plan B (without calling it as such) in an earlier thread. If it does not work out, my plan B is to move on and to start dating other guys. The pain to activate plan B will be less - as I already invested too much sorry and tears and pain during the original breakup. This is not my first encounter with "second chances" in my life, as I have implemented them back in the USA, Italy, Hungary, and in Thailand (boyfriend prior to this one). Obviously they all failed - otherwise I would still now be with the guy that I gave a second chance to. Why do I do this then if I already know the outcome? Because I need to cancel in my brain and heart any doubts that it could have worked and that I gave said relationship all of my best efforts. Once I know this - it makes it much easier to walk away. I am not there yet - as I want to see if this plan B might work. 🤞

I thank you for enjoying my soap opera. Fingers crossed that for this 2nd time it will really work 🤞🤞

Day 26 in Da Nang – 19 May 2025 Woke up without nausea today – yahoo – I am not pregnant!! Eat breakfast in condo and complete yesterday’s trip report update. It’s already twoish, so I head back to: And it is quite busy – so I am happy that their new business has taken off. I decide to try the Safari Signature Breakfast: As you can see, it is a vegetarian dish and very delicious, but I am still hungry, so I order their famous French Toast with Banana and Ice Cream plate: This was truly a delight to eat. I chat up the 1 Vietnamese barista / waiter, as it seems obvious that he is gay, and I compliment his salt coffee and I tell him that there are big variations between the salt coffees here in Da Nang and I tell him that his is one of the best, other than the one at Gordon’s Bagel shop. As it is now just a little after 3pm, I decide to walk (as the sun starts to weaken around now) to the far away ATM machine that can dispense 10,000,000 VND in one go. This walk takes 40 minutes and is a good way to try to stay healthy. Afterwards, I walk over to the beach promenade, which takes another 30 minutes. This part of my trip report I dedicate to our @Olddaddy Why? Our Olddaddy has often complained about horns and street noises in his travels. Here in Da Nang there are also daily noises and other than the constant car honking, I have encountered 2 additional noises that are unique here: This is the noise that the Bánh Bao vendors make with the megaphones that are attached to their motorbikes. Here is a YouTube video to this annoying sound – where this YouTuber takes it to the NEXT level and creates a disco song from this Bánh Bao vendor sound. Quite unique. So Olddaddy – could you get used to this noise – the part before the disco part starts ? There are at least 12 of these Bánh Bao vendors driving around all day and all night. 2.) Today on the beach I heard a NEW unique noise – it was the sound of a wailing siren that was emitting from a policeman’s megaphone on the beach. The Da Nang municipality takes very seriously to keep the Da Nang beach and adjacent promenade to be clean, curated, beautiful, and orderly. So, these police saw a bunch of motorbikes illegally parked and so they set off this weird siren noise to alert everyone that they would be moving the disorderly parked motorbikes to the nearby orderly area. The minute that sound initiated, flocks of people ran to their respective motorbikes to put them where they belong. The irony of all of this is that the Vietnamese people are notorious for parking their motorbikes all over the pedestrian sidewalks over in the city and I can say also in all of the other Vietnamese cities that I have visited. So, I was impressed that the police are willing to keep the beach promenade orderly but perplexed as to why they don’t also do it over in the city part of Da Nang? Anybody know why? I stop by to visit my favorite place to have a coffee on the beach: for a wonderful salt coffee and to watch some new type of team building event that is taking place on the beach: Head back to my room to do some laundry and chat with my BF who is in better spirits – as it is not raining back in Pattaya in this moment and there is a decent amount of foot traffic in the food market where his shop is located. I take a nap and afterwards I head over to a Japanese ramen restaurant: https://www.facebook.com/yoshinoshotendanang/ You may remember that I took a fancy to Japanese ramen when I was in Cebu for 2 months earlier this year. Prior to going to Cebu I had never eaten Japanese ramen – so I was very pleased to discover this ramen restaurant here in Da Nang. I ordered the “beef bone and thick white chicken broth based soy sauce ramen” and a side dish of gyoza with a cold Sapporo beer – this is how it was written on the menu. For me, this meal was outstanding and so tasty and delicious. I truly enjoyed my meal here and I will definitely be returning. I share with all of you a TikTok video of what I believe is the Japanese owner showing how his Japanese ramen is made and served – very impressive: Before heading back to my room I stop for a durian + coconut shavings ice cream: at the ice cream cart that is near my condo Chat with my BF and then watch some YouTube videos and then call it a night. End of day 26 in Da Nang – 19 May 2025

I don't know about the tax ramifications about this strategy - but I am aware that a lot of people are doing this. I even knowing of some non forum members, who live part-time in Pattaya, and they could not reduce their number of days in Thailand to be under the 180 day threshold for this 2025 tax year -- so what they are doing to avoid the "money transferred into Thailand as a remittance" problem is to stuff their carry on bags with Euro bank notes to avoid that they would have any inbound bank transfers into Thailand. So, between the above mentioned credit card workaround and the stuff your carry-on workaround - people are being creative. Hopefully the shock of the error of their ways will resolve this entire nightmare rather quickly 🤞

Breaking news - Thailand may have come to their senses. Their GDP is crashing, tourists have greatly reduced their visits to Thailand, and when they completed a survey - they discovered that 55% of us resident in Thailand were planning to stay outside of Thailand for more than 180 days. So, now the same Thai Revenue Department that implemented this nasty tax change back in September 2023 - effective 01-Jan-2024, has just now admitted that this was a bad idea and now wants to change/amend this part of the Thai taxation rules - and are working to submit a new Royal Decree at the soonest. You can read this very long well written article published by the Thai Examiner - it is truly fascinating and illuminating. Ignore the Bangkok Post and Pattaya Mail versions - as they are poorly written and incomplete. https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2025/05/19/thai-revenue-planning-new-decree-making-remitted-foreign-funds-within-one-year-tax-free-for-residents/#google_vignette Can I get on the next plane and return to Thailand? No, because TIT (This is Thailand) and until the Royal Decree is published and "the devil in the details" are thoroughly reviewed - only then one can learn and understand if this is truly good news.

Hello @Ruthrieston I saw in this weeks PCEC - Pattaya City Expats Club newsletter that the below vaccine information was made available. I believe that you can sign up by writing to: info@pcec.club

I know how to cook a very limited set of dishes. But I don't like to cook, as going out to eat for me is an opportunity to socialize and meet new people. As I don't really like to sit and drink (I am not big on alcohol, as alcoholism was a nasty affair in my childhood, so being near alcohol can sometimes bring back some wicked memories) - I find it boring - going out to eat is my substitute for that activity.

Day 25 in Da Nang – 18 May 2025 Wake up with slight nausea again. Am I pregnant and I don’t realize it? 🤔 This morning is the next instalment of the meet up – but I am just not in the mood so I skip it. Eat my daily yoghurt and addictive wasabi covered cashew nuts. Respond to some not so easy posts and DMs and post my 17 May trip report updates. By 1:30pm, I am back at and the Vietnamese guy that I have a crush on is working today. He is adorable and soo my type and he is super friendly – but that friendliness is offered to all of the customers of Gordon’s. I sneak a few photos of him when he is not looking – but I won’t post them here as I would like to respect his privacy. Also, this guy (kid) makes the BEST salt coffee out of all of the staff – as the way he makes it so creamy is unique and lustful. I eat my usual chicken club sandwich on a poppy seed bagel. The sun is extreme today and in full force (but I am wearing my Crocodile Dundee hat to protect my scalp) and I decide to walk in a nearby neighborhood where they are constructing a new condo building that is on the beach that I really like as I like its form and huge balconies that overlook the sea. It is still in one of my 2 favorite neighborhoods, My Khe and is about a 10 minute walk northbound from where I am located now. My understanding is that it will be a mixed use Hotel/Condotel type of complex and should be ready for occupation towards the end of this year. It’s name is: My Khe T50 – being build by Sunjin Vietnam. Walk along the enchanting beach promenade to my favorite place to drink my salt coffee physically on the beach at: Today, I get to sit in one of the lovely blue wooden beach chairs (normally they are fully occupied), instead of having to sit on the traditional fragile low to the ground typical Vietnamese beach chairs where I can sip my yummy iced salt coffee Afterwards, when I get home, I realize that some of the blue paint from those wooden beach chairs is now on my white Cebu tourist shirt and I wash it and it won’t come out. So, I guess for my future visits to Caribou that I will need to sit my fat ass on those flimsy low to the ground Vietnamese beach chairs and hope that it does not break - hahaha… I get a craving for a massage and I look in Heesay (formerly BLUED) and I see profile = msaaassssssa and so I write to him asking if he makes massages – but as massage is a blacklisted word, I use the Vietnamese equivalent of mátxa . He sends me his photo on – very manly – and I tell him to come to my condo room at 6:30pm. I now tell the massage guys to come directly upstairs to my room because the security downstairs is similar to the security back in Jomtien and they rarely stop or question anyone. Also, in this Da Nang condo building you need an electronic key fob to use the elevator – but I have witnessed several times now that other inhabitants here in this big condo complex don’t use the key fob – and their strategy is to wait until someone enters the elevator and beeps his/her key fob on the scanner and then EVERYONE in the elevator is free to push his/her desired floor. So, now the massage guys follow this routine and I don’t need to go downstairs to get them and/or wait for them. So, this is a BIG win in my opinion, when I compare retiree life with that I found in Cebu with strict security controls, ID deposits, and signature books – and the security team knowing all about your private business. So, this Da Nang condo is similar to my retiree live in my VT building back in Jomtien where I can maintain my privacy. He arrives 20 minutes early and I let him in and he gives me a big octopus type of hug – and I think to myself – yuck – as I generally don’t like guys who are too touchy feely. But he only did that upon entering and upon leaving. In between he was a professional masculine masseur – so my fears of having to fight off an octopus were not realized. I offer him a drink and he wants to go out onto the balcony to see the beautiful 33rd floor amazing view and he asks me to take several photos of him looking at the sea from my balcony. It was fun. Afterwards we get naked and he starts his massage and it is truly professional and after like 30 minutes I caught myself falling asleep when one of my snores woke me up and we had a good laugh. I am truly enjoying his massage. At around the 45 minute mark he asks me to turn over and he starts licking my nipples and then moves to give me a really good BJ, but I can rarely get off from a BJ so I grab my special edging lotion and then I show him how to slowly edge the gland part of my cock – as that is my G-spot and he does a very good job and after like 20 minutes the happy ending arrives. He takes a shower and I gather the money to pay his requested fee of 1,400,000 VND (around $54 USD) for a 90 minute massage, but I don’t have the correct change – so I give him three 500,000 VND bank notes for 1,500,000 VND and I tell him to keep the change, which is around $3.85 USD. I take a shower and as per the suggestion of forum member, @aussie_ (see 18 May trip update comment) and I head over to: https://www.facebook.com/thenomadkitchendn/ which is nearby, but on a small street, An Thuong 32, which I have never ventured into. I wanted to get the Buffalo dinner as suggested by @aussie_ but they had a special Sunday menu that featured lamb leg, which I really like so I went with that special, which was truly enjoyable with a nice cool and refreshing San Miguel beer. The Nomad Kitchen menu can be found here at: https://9717abe07c8547378adf392fdf7cd220.sapofnb.vn/ I cannot wait to return so that I can try the buffalo meal – as I used to often eat buffalo when I lived in Denver, Colorado. I return back to my condo and I chat with my boyfriend and I try to boost his morale, with this Thai cartoon meme: as it is another slow night at the market as the rain is off-and-on, thus few customers. Fast asleep after the completion of a satisfying retiree day. End of day 25 in Da Nang – 18 May 2025

My favorite Da Nang YouTuber (please don't tell Social Samy) is Travis, and he recently published a very good review of 4 of the Da Nang gyms that farangs would most likely go to. Probably not. After I left Jomtien for Cebu at the end of December, I stopped my gym routine acter 7 months. I'm just not in the mood at the moment. Perhaps, when I return to Jomtien in September I can restart. 🤞🤞💪

Day 24 in Da Nang – 17 May 2025 Wake up late with a headache and some nausea – which lightens up towards lunch time. Reply to the anonymous forum member who is helping me with the LineMan QR issue – as I am still not able to determine the methodology to acquire the QR code for my BFs business. With his help we troubleshoot some ideas that will need further investigation. I try to return for a second attempt to the Op La Café – but now it seems to have disappeared and is now Bikini Bottom Express. I also notice that the GioiA Gelati place that I visited on 7 May 2025 is already gone. This is a phenomena that is interesting here in Da Nang – there is so much constant construction of new places and reconstruction of existing places – and as a result – places that you get used to either disappear or are moved. I see that there is a construction tarp laid over the entire GioiA Gelati place so perhaps it will return but refurbished? Consequently, I extend my walk and to the left I see the below sign on one of the side streets. It peaks my curiosity and I go and check it out, as I have never ventured into this quiet street. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Sr45RXPixQusD8fr7 This place is new, the new owners, from St. Petersburg, only arrived 2 months prior and they opened this new lounge, kitchen, cool bar, kind of place. I ordered the Salmon Benedict with a salt coffee, and it was very good and I ate it rather quickly – as I was famished – it being 2pm and my first meal of the day. I call over the wife and tell her that I want to order something else and I order the omelette with roasted pepper and avocado, which was very delicious. Now that my appetite is totally satisfied, the wife asks me if I would like a tour of the place - and she introduces me to her husband (she has good taste in men) and one of their Russian friends - he is also good looking. Photo lifted from their Google site So, during the night it is a lounge bar, with an upstairs type of cool VIP room with air-conditioning, where there will be a karaoke system installed for entertainment. From their upstairs VIP type of lounge bar area. I can definitely identify with the above words written in neon. This young lovely Russian couple are very friendly and enjoyable to be around, and I wish them the best of luck with their new business venture and fresh new life here in Da Nang. As it is hotter than hell with the sun in full blaze (no cloud cover), I go back to my airconditioned room. I take a nap and then chat with my BF and discover that he is sad, because again it is raining back in Pattaya and there are very few prospective customers in the market. I tell him to use this idle time to work on his marketing and I again push him to post his new business in Google – as it is free. I tell him to take a photo of his shop, but to super impose his logo, that has his contact details with his QR code, onto the photo that he will upload, and to make it large – so that scanning the QR code from the photo would work from within Google. Later I return to to eat dinner. Shortly after I arrive, it becomes super packed, with a big table of young farangs (surfer guy types with their respective girlfriends) who are having a grand ole time. I eat a yummy pork enchilada with a great piña colada. Afterwards I take a walk on the beach and then head back to my room where I catch up on some YouTube bloggers that I follow. Say goodnight to BF, as he is closing his shop and heading back to his room wet from the rain. End of day 24 in Da Nang – 17 May 2025

Pattaya Mail published this article recently and it is so true: https://www.pattayamail.com/news/walking-atms-of-pattaya-machines-metaphors-and-the-retiree-reality-500911

Thanks for your honesty. And yes, all of what you wrote is very near to the truth. Why do I humiliate myself by sharing all of this in this forum? Perhaps, to give hope to other "farangs" to not follow in my footsteps.... OR - as you wrote yourself: Just maybe, I may have the same fortune as you --> from a poor prognosis - to an amazing relationship --> through the final years of my life....

Day 23 in Da Nang – 16 May 2025 Continue the QR research during the morning. Brunch at and today the bagel shop is FULL so there is chaos. Normally when I go there are only 1 or 2 other customers. I take the only free table next to a heterosexual couple who did not like the chaos with the delivery of their order – and having to go to the counter to remind the staff which parts of their order were missing. I tell them that normally everything is perfect at Gordon’s and that I have never seen it FULL like today. My chicken club bagel sandwich arrived and after I finished it finally my salt coffee arrived. So, they need to work on their preparation and delivery coordination when the place is busy. Spend the entire afternoon trying to understand how we can create the required 3 QR codes for my BF’s new fruit salad shop. For ShopeeFood and GrabFood, I managed to discover how. For LineMan it is not obvious to me how to generate or obtain their QR code. Thanks to this forum, another anonymous forum member (thank you by the way) has been giving me guidance with how LineMan works and that has helped a lot. But, I will still need to invest more time and research to get this part of the QR dilemma sorted. Around 5:30pm, I decide to go to dinner in a place that I used to frequent when I was here 1 year ago. So, I walk along the beach promenade in the north direction, over to the Võ Văn Kiệt traffic circle and then I walk inland about 2 blocks to the restaurant (37 Võ Văn Kiệt branch - as I believe that they have 3 other branches). https://www.facebook.com/people/PapaSteak-Restaurant-37-V%C3%B5-V%C4%83n-Ki%E1%BB%87t/100084026036016/ I ate a nice juicy 200 gram steak with fries, salad, bread, and a watermelon drink. The total bill came to 217,000 VND (around $8.40 USD) – incredibly good value especially for retirees on a fixed pension. Afterwards, I walk on the busy beach promenade, and tonight there are a couple of sexy male participants (foreigners – in the back row with naked torsos) doing aerobics with the Vietnamese ladies. 20250516_183952.mp4 Since tonight’s restaurant was one I frequented last year – I became nostalgic for a coconut ice cream place that I frequented last year. It took some searching to find it, as the ice cream stand had moved from its previous location at JJ Market to now on the corner that is only 2 blocks from my condo. It’s official name is: Kem trái dừa Bali NZ I ordered the chocolate coconut ice cream, which cost 40,000 VND (around $1.54 USD). It is served in a coconut shell with 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream with a nice portion of fresh scraped coconut slices, topped with some chocolate syrup. It is served with a small cup of fresh coconut water. This great place does not have FB or any other social media or web site that I am aware of. However, I can share the below Google map representation of this wonderful ice cream place: https://maps.app.goo.gl/beWknr7c1mmHZ5ue8 Return to my room and chat with BF and some other friends and then call it a night. End of day 23 in Da Nang – 16 May 2025