Londoner

The JC's expansion into adjoining sois is a good sign. i recall how the darkening of the sois around Sunee contributed to its decline. There were at least five or six new businesses attracting custom on my last visit. Potential punters don't appreciated walking through deserted sois with empty premises.

I chose a HUAWEI phone last year because if I'm to be watched, I'd rather it be by the Chinese with whom I have no discernible beef than by MI5 or the CIA who I know to disapprove of my politics. And it was cheap.

I believe that the boat only operates in the high season and you're right; it's difficult. The photos are stunning though. Koh Samui has some beautiful beaches and top-class hotels. Best to take a friend with you!

Koh Lipe looks good, though reaching requires a boat journey after the plane. We're off to Koh Samui in a couple of weeks....direct flights on Bangkok Air. I was there in 1998; I suspect it has seen major development since then. A plus is that it's in a different climatic zone....it's dry when Phuket et al are wet.

Vinapu's hotel photos seemed familiar, despite my never having stayed at Furama. It was the floor; I've seen that same wood (faux-wood?) flooring from Krabi to Chiang Rai. Some Thai business-I hope it's Thai- is making a good profit. PeterRS is certainly right about noise- and I'm very sensitive to any disturbance- but when Tarntawan dispensed with those old, smelly carpets a few years ago to be replaced by you-know-what, I was delighted.

Meeting my boyfriend in Pattaya two decades ago was one of the best things that happened in my life. And there are other posters who have been similarly blessed. Yes, there are gold-diggers, as there are here in the UK. I'd visited Thailand on thirty occasions before we met and even then, it took a year before I even considered using the word love. It could happen to anyone. For those nine years as a butterfly, I swore I'd never fall for a Thai guy- I was having too much fun. Now look at me! Still besotted!

Firstly, never in public. Secondly, you may ( I stress "may") find what we call French kissing unwelcome or perhaps unexpected. Younger Thais, brought-up on falang porn and so on, may be more receptive. If I were in the market for such things, I think I'd be careful. That's all. You may like to investigate (on Google!) the sniff-kiss. Or, if you can, get hold of "Very Thai" by Philip Cornwel-Smith which is full of information relating to popular Thai culture.

Kissing is viewed rather differently in Thai culture than ours.

We too were driven-out of Ambience and moved to the Agate in Jomtien....but , much as we love the hotel facilities, we miss Pattaya. In fact, most days we get the bus there. I've heard recommendations for those big hotels on the other side of Second Road...Welcome Plaza? Royal Twins? Only 100metres from Boyztown.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/28/i-was-a-drunk-for-20-years-the-unlikely-us-priest-revered-in-the-slums-of-bangkok I've never been an admirer of Catholicism- too prescriptive for someone brought-up as a non-conformist Christian- but this guy is worth reading about. Though (sadly) less political, he reminds me of the Liberation Theology priests in Latin America who supported the working-classes and indigenous peoples there....until officially disavowed by conservatives in Rome.

P and I have spent two Chinese New Years in Thailand.....great memories of dragon dances, lion dances and human towers (on one occasion, with a baby balanced on the top!). Jaw-dropping. I envy you. Have a good time.

I respect your wise decision to arrange your trip so carefully. A man after my own heart! In contrast, my neighbour's gay son (twenty three) and his boyfriend-and yes, they make a cute couple- have just left for BKK with only their first three nights' accommodation booked. Then they spend three months travelling, where to know they not. In a way, I envy that attitude but I'd be scared to emulate it now. I like flights and rooms booked. And on hard copies! What it is to be young!. Nevertheless, one of the great things about Thailand is that it offers something for all ages.

I paid the agreed fare. I've always found Thai taxi drivers honest and considerate.

Those d**n Evangelicals and their deranged money-grabbing preachers, like Kenneth Copland. A bizarre perversion of Christianity....minus the love.

Thanks! It always cheers me to hear of posters' happy returns to Thailand! Happy and eager to follow. I was amused by your "lost" taxi driver. Recently, I took a taxi from the airport to the Jomtien Complex and we ended -up exploring parts of that fair city ( in the dark) which I didn't know existed after the driver got lost. Heaven knows where we ended-up, a frustration after twelve hours in the plane. "Jomtien Complex!" I repeatedly cried which , when he used his google sounded like....well, I don't know what but it certainly had nothing to with Jomtien. Or Complex. Eventually, I said to him "Talay! Talay" (the sea), and even though my Thai pronunciation is worse than his English, we arrived.

True....and as for after effects, I was so ill the night after my smallpox vacc that I thought that death was imminent! Five Covid vaccs- four Pfizer and the last one Moderna- and not a bad moment, even though I'm fifty years older. And I didn't get smallpox either.

I'd suggest that, over the last twenty-five years, the age-profile of gay falang visitors has increased markedly. There were rarely men under sixty or so in the Jomtien Complex when I was last there in November. At the same time, it is possible that the medication and care which we receive now for conditions associated with age is better. Perhaps some of the over-seventies enjoying Pattaya today would not have been around years ago?

Ever the pessimist and with my next trip planned for March, my nightmare scenario is that the influx of Chinese tourists from a country which has yet to control the pandemic will lead to "hotspots" in Thailand in tourist areas. This could result in the Government panicking and, before long, we could be back to the dreaded Pass- or even quarantine. I felt for those whom the just-rescinded regulations affected but for those who've been vaccinated ( I assume the vast majority), presenting a piece of paper at check-in wouldn't have been too much trouble. Unlike experiencing a spike in Covid cases.

We shall need to show proof at check-in. An interesting post on the Sawatdee Forum reports that 20% of Chinese visitors to a Korean airport have just proved positive when taking a mandatory Covid test on arrival.

Is a visa to the US that easy for a Thai to obtain? Certainly not true for a Thai wishing to visit the Island Fortress of the UK.

For those of us getting older, carpe diem. Spend as much time as you can with your loved-one. Or ones! And have as much fun in 2023 as you possibly can.

Austrian Airlines was recommended to me before EVA was back in the sky. Change of plane in Vienna of course....plenty of choice if memory serves. Personally, I wouldn't mind a day or so in Vienna. I'm paying £2500 for an EVA trip in March and £3400 in July.

Balcony, Soi4? I like the food there, too. Plus people-watching. Perhaps amore lively environment than in Patpong?

There is a brand-new fitness centre between Surawong an Silom, almost next to Tarntawan. Perhaps there' s a pool there?

I'm paying about 1300bht pn in March via Agoda. More than in November but less than pre-Covid. A good price I think.