Londoner

Good luck. I am envious but at the same time grateful; a few gay tourists putting their feet in the water and then telling me that it's warm and safe enough to swim in will persuade me to book a trip...in January.

Thanks : even a precis as short as this has identified several issues that have repeatedly arisen during my nearly eighteen years with P. I must explore further.

I try to be optimistic and so am heartened that the infection rate has stopped rising and that vaccinations are increasing. As for the resilient Thai population, I recall the sight of shop-keepers in Pattaya Tai standing knee-deep in flood water to continue their selling; I suspect that the moment restrictions are lifted we will see a similar determination to resume business. And to put my money in the till.

Brazil is open because its deranged President doesn't believe in Covid. Anyway, he needs more time to complete the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Accordingly, the death rate rivals that of Florida. However distressing the situation is in Thailand and however incompetent the junta is, at least it's not in denial. In other words, one day Thailand will recover and, if Bolsonaro stays in office, Brazil won't.

".....hardline young protesters...?" I'd have thought that the Thai elite were the the "hardline" party in this conflict, bearing in mind its refusal to respond appropriately to demands for democracy and human rights.

He's probably good at jungle warfare....which is what his training and career prepared him for.

I hope that when (or if) Thailand re-opens, prices in hotels and restaurants remain the same as last year....not forgetting that the recent drop in the value of the baht puts cash in our collective pocket!

Hotel prices in Thailand have been amazingly good; anyone living in London, or other European cities, knows that that the cost of a 2* or 3* hotel here would pay for a 4* or even , in certain situations, a 5* one in Thailand. Eighteen months ago we paid about 2000 baht a night for the best beachside resort in Krabi. That sort of money wouldn't even pay for a guest house in the UK. As for restaurants, it's difficult to spend 1000 bht per person on the food even in the up-marketplaces in Pattaya. P and I invariably eat well in Thai restaurants for well under 1000 bht for both of us. A Macdonald's for two in London costs about 700.

Carpe diem.

There is of course the Trumpian approach; if judges provide unwelcome decisions, appoint different ones.

I think that's "invasive" rather than "intensive" interrogation.

Eminently sensible demands, in my opinion and consequently doomed to be ignored. Poor Thailand. Still, good to see that the young are still struggling for justice.

This is how military juntas behave. It is just that- a junta- not a government. In fact, in some ways it has benefitted from Covid in so far as it put a lid on the street protests. And we all know that if, through an act of God, Covid disappeared tomorrow, the restrictions on dissent would remain. I sometimes wonder if the junta (like Bolsonaro and Duterte) may not be bothered too much about the epidemic. It's a perverted version of Rome's "blood and circuses"....it keeps the populations' collective mind off such minor issues as poverty.

To be blunt, the gay scene in Patong wasn't much cop on my first visit in 1997. Pre-app , of course. In the far-off days of a vibrant Boyztown, it offered a preview (on reflection) of what the future held for our beloved Pattaya.

I remember my first gay guide ("Thai Scene" circa 1996) suggesting that "well-dressed" joiners at The Oriental should have no problem. Isn't there at "jacket only " policy at their famous La Normandie restaurant? It'd be fun to take a money-boy there and see the result.

Apologies in advance for yet another reminiscence of doubtful relevance....but does anyone recall Blue Star in Soi Twilight, circa 1996? Two separate troupes, one macho , the other twinks, both of which appeared au naturel a busy periods? I particularly remember a couple of the twinks who were not proud of their parts so that they'd appear with their hands strategically placed. A bi like in a "Carry on" film. Those were the days.

Sansuk did when it opened. I don't know why it stopped......thirty guys paying 100bht each is better than ten paying 270. As z909 says, London saunas are depressing places for us. I'm not sure that I'll ever return, particularly to the one he mentions.... which I recognise.

I'm prepared to pay a higher price if it subsidises younger guys, the majority of whom cannot afford Babylon or Sansuk prices. I never understand why saunas (and this includes those in London) don't try to increase the number of customers by allowing younger guys in at rock-bottom prices. They'd increase revenue from older guys too, I suspect. No wonder so many have closed here over the past few years. As far as Babylon is concerned, they offered half-price entry a few years ago when the pool was out of action; the numbers of younger guys ( and I expect older ones, too) this attracted was astonishing. They must have made more money at those prices than when the pool was open. It reminded me of the Golden Years at the old location.

All is revealed! So that's where the young Thais and Asians went, leaving Babylon for the likes of me.

"When we are together it is clear that I am to be looked after." Yes; my experience is the same, even to the extent of my arm being held when we cross a road, even though my experience as a Londoner makes me far more aware of the dangers of traffic than a farmer from Kamphaeng Phaet, where two tractors are considered a traffic jam!

One of the other gay forums rarely includes any threads that aren't Covid-based. I know the issue is vitally important-it is for me- but for heaven's sake, let's talk about other things too.

Thanks; I love this post, not only because it's Covid-free but because so much of it resonates profoundly with those of us who in LTRs and are consequently struggling to ensure that our loved-ones are coping. I understand your decisions to help BG. I expect you have heard the warnings- silent or otherwise- not to be taken-in, exploited, abused and so on. We give, sometimes generously, but the amount of happiness and relief that our money provides is worth it. I've never gone hungry because of P; I've never said, "No, that new shirt is beyond me at the moment..." and so on. I tell him- and it is true- that giving money to him gives me happiness. And as a Buddhist, he appreciates this fully, perhaps beyond my understanding. The money I have I saved by missing four trips has certainly helped P..... a new smart TV, a new motor cy, the re-seeding of his small-holding and a spirit house the size of a Bangkok temple ....well almost.... not to mention the other day-to day expenses, none of which I have missed. He has done well out of lockdown!

Thanks for reminding me....I loved those books. I read the first two in the series but I see that there are more which I've now ordered, thanks to you!

Others on this site are far more knowledgeable about Japan and its culture than I am - I've not even been there- but may I make a couple of points? Is it possible that the communal bath-culture so loved in the country affected the acceptance and popularity of Japanese saunas? And I have been a London sauna- frequenter for twenty years and have the impression that Japanese guests are represented at a higher level than I'd expect from their numbers in London.

If Babylon is to close permanently- perhaps it has already- it will undoubtedly be the result of the property values of its surrounding area. However, anyone who remembers its old premises and the huge numbers it attracted twenty or so years ago will recognise that social media has affected the popularity of saunas, perhaps as much as that of gay go go bars. Obelisk and Colony went long ago. And others, whose names I cannot recall.