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A friend asked me to pick her up a fake Rolex when in Bangkok, so I bought one for her at the Patpong night market. After 10 years or so, it is still working and keeping good time! Maybe it was one of those fakes made in Singapore or Taiwan, rather than China. The problem for people who want to show off their genuine Rolex is that 99% of people immediately think it's fake! 😂😂

A few years ago I watched a documentary on royal visits to Australia. A young princess Anne was being interviewed. 'What do you think of Australia, love'? She gave him a steely look. 'I'm your royal highness!' Many people did not appreciate her putting him in his place. This is Australia - OUR place, not hers.

Really rich people don't buy Rolex watches - they buy million dollar watches from boutique manufacturers like Richard Mille. I'll show you mine if you show me yours! 😂

I grew up in a society with a strict heirachy, in which we all knew our place. I learnt at an early age not to question things and above all, not to say or do anything that could offend others. (These societal norms do not apply among friends, where we can, and do, say whatever we want. It acts like a safety valve.) On returning to Australia to live permanently, I was surprised at how blunt people were when they spoke to each other, and was often deeply offended. I gradually learnt that that is just the way Aussies are and came to appreciate their straight forward way of talking and they way the openly spoke their minds. I was used to keeping my opinions to myself and was always conscious of not treading on other people's toes. And that is how, by and large, I have continued to live my life. Social media is little different; it gives me more freedom to state my case of offer up an opinion. And I have written a few fairly blunt letters to the editor of our local newspaper. If I find someone in real life annoying or argumentative, I just move away from them. No aggro, no angst, no stress. I love it! And when I am in Japan I quickly switch back to treading carefully and walking the tightrope.

I think he's straight. He had some boys sitting with him but no funny business. He would walk up to the stage and throw the money at the performers then go and sit down again. I had a chat with him outside the bar as it was closing. He seemed a nice enough guy. I remember admiring his watch!

I'm reminded of the Spanish guy - Ronaldo's doctor, I was told - dispensing money with gay abandon at Goodboys in Bangkok. He would arrive every night with a large bag filled with notes and literally shower the performers with thousands of baht. He would throw a handful of 100 / 1000 baht notes up into the air, followed by another handful, and another and another! The waiters would busily collect up all the money between acts. I presume it was shared amongst everyone later.

I've spoken to numerous young Muslim men, usually while waiting at the airport. They have all told me the same thing - they enjoy sex and alcohol just like us; the only difference is we do it in public while they do it in their homes. To have fun in Pakistan you may have to befriend a gay guy first and wait for an invitation to a house party.

Katsuhiko Ishibashi was a prominent seismologist at Kobe university. Back in the 1970s he fled Tokyo and moved up north, convinced that 'the big one' was coming in an area south of Tokyo. When asked how close we were to the earthquake, he said : imagine you have a pack of cards and you are turning them over, one by one, looking for the joker. You still haven't found it and now only have 3 cards left. That's how close it is. Ironically, the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Japan occurred.......up north!!! It was the 9.1 Tohoku earthquake in 2011. His escape from Tokyo got enormous media coverage and although there was no general panic, we all went out and bought survival kits. Obsessed with personal hygiene, it comes as no surprise that these kits included a toothbrush. I used to laugh, thinking about survivors sitting amongst the rubble, brushing their teeth.

What is the mpox situation like in Bangkok at the moment?

I was travelling around Spain in 2019 and made a special trip up to Bilbao just to see the museum. The building was jaw-dropping, both outside and inside, and well worth the 5 hour bus trip from Salamanca. Luckily, the bus had a business class section, which made the journey bearable. The exhibitions inside were pretty boring and not worth the admission fee. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Jeff Koons' "The Puppy" flower sculpture on the square outside the museum. Koons is also famous for marrying an Italian pornstar! He made a series of sculptures featuring their sex life called 'Made in Heaven'. Also, Louise Bougeois' giant spider 'maman' is outside.

I think he may have left his charger behind as a reason to contact you again.

Bollocks!!

I spend Christmas and New Year in Japan every year. As the emphasis there is on NY, Christmas day goes by unnoticed - which is fine by me! But I do enjoy visiting the various Christmas markets in the evening, mainly just to get something to eat. A typical Japanese Christmas cake is a sponge cake and Christmas dinner on the 25th is Kentucky Fried Chicken Thanks, but no thanks!

"Some producers are starting to use utilize pixilation that is so tame it is almost unnnoticed." Where there's a willy, there's a way! Before the women used their knives /needles to scrape away offending parts of Playboy photos, they blacked them out with texta. This was easily wiped away with a type of acetone sold at the pharmacy!

I think the average Japanese will welcome the Chinese decision. The main problem with the Chinese is the sheer number of tourists in the same place at the same time. It is simply overwhelming. Imagine trying to catch the bus or train to work, only to find it is full and you have to wait until the next one. Or going to your favourite restaurant during your lunch break, only to have to line up for an hour to get in. Or having to take the stairs because there is a long line waiting for a lift (elevator). Or being unable to move around in a convenience store (or worse still, a pharmacy) because the aisles are packed with tourists, many just standing there on their phones. This is what the Japanese face on a daily basis, and it is intolerable. I've spoken to a lot of staff in craft stores selling ceramics, lacquerwork and other traditional high-value products. (I'm a collector). They dread the Chinese tour groups because they storm into the shop, mishandle the goods and rarely buy anything. When they leave, the store looks as though it has been hit by a hurricane and the staff are left to clean up the mess in readiness for the next busload. I've heard some horror stories about their general behaviour - littering, spitting, shitting in public etc - but have never witnessed this myself. I just wish they wouldn't be so loud! I've been to China a couple of times and I find them very polite, helpful and friendly. I don't think retailers will be too worried about a decrease in the number of Chinese tourists. Many shops were struggling to serve them all, and there are still plenty of tourists about. I think the government can probably handle the financial hit to the economy. Chinese tour buses near Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto. Count them - there's over 50! And the tourists are all heading to the one temple!