Marc308

Which alas can also lead to loss of spongy tissue in the penis and erectile dysfunction if practiced regularly for some period of time. It's a tragedy actually.

Rob, this is very helpful. Do LoveBoy and 15M still have mattresses on the floor? And I do remember also some steep stairs to the higher floors in 15M. Given my aging bones, I'm not sure either of these would be appropriate choices for me alas. Jey Spa and Arena are my favorites in the Big Apple. Yes a bit more pricey though than the SK establishments. Also, I remember some talk of a Bangkok-style massage house opening in Pattaya -- where wares are listed on Line for appointment. I don't know if that ever happened, did it?

Yes this likely should work. It's likely some held-over cookies that are blocking you. Instead of "factory reset" a more modest "remove cookies" would probably work, but I can't say for sure.

You are right, in the days of ore the bars actually treated you like they were happy to host you. That "aloha spirit" (as we would call it here in Hawaii) is long gone alas. I once had the gal to complain to the papasan at A-Bomb about everyone smoking when there was plainly a "no smoking" sign staring at the offenders. He snarled at me, as if I were the culprit. Needless to say that was my last visit to A-Bomb. Alas I have a low tolerance for cigarette smoke, so that ended that. And yes I do remember the days of cold refreshing towels, what a joy they were on a muggy hot evening. And, does anybody still offer peanuts (or similar)? A nibble is a good prelude to a nibble, if you get my drift. ;)

Yes you are right. That's a quarter-century ago alas. Now Sunee is somewhat of a hell-hole with Kuwaiti dragsters tearing down the streets on their bikes. I do expect however that Yensabai units are now going for a song, but who would want to live there?

You are right. And that is the great challenge -- weeding groundless pleas for aid from genuine ones. I've tried for years to perfect detection, but have never been successful. I find out later I've either been duped, or I feel badly for not helping someone who was in fact in urgent need.

Oh gosh while there are many problems/risks with using the apps (as there are with other venues) but getting NO responses is definitely not one of them. More likely you are going to get more messages than you can easy track. ("Was it Yod or Noom who has the sick grandmother in Ubon?")

"A little? on the mature side?" Side of what? The pyramids of Giza? 😂

Is this the place on the corner of Silom and Thaniya Road? If so, that place is famous for $1,000+ suits.

How about to the El Salvador hell-hole where he sent so many would-be-asylum-seekers?

Moscow is far more cosmopolitan than most Westerners might imagine, that is so true. Russia is not a hell-hole, neither is it a paradise. (I suppose the same could be said about most any country on this globe?) I can say, from personal experience, that is difficult however to find many other countries who are more gay-phobic, antisemitic or corrupt than she is. Moses, I do appreciate your sharing your perspective with us.

The Queen Mother was a person of incredible beauty, dignity and kindness. In our haste for merriment, let's pause for a moment to savor this amazing piece of Thai culture which we are privileged to witness and participate in.

Interesting trivia, "Donki" stores were original Don Quixote, but way too long, so it became "Donki" I kind of like the overstuffed, disheveled look of Donki. Yes here in Hawaii everything is stacked to the rafters too with hugely narrow aisle which makes meeting "interesting" people a possibility ;) As for sushi who has good recommendations for finding good sushi in Thailand. You are right, Hank, its hard to find (reasonably priced) high-quality sashimi outside Japan. Has anybody found some in Bangkok or Pattaya?? My go-to is Sushiro which is a chain around Thailand. It is okay but the Japanese standards are hard to beat!

INDEED. The egg-salad sandwiches are terrific! Japanese 7-11's are an institution. Along with the Donki stories, you can live happily in Japan with products only from those two stores. Luckily some of the Japanese goodies seem to be spreading outside Japan. Here in Hawaii I am noticing more and more. I assume they will continue to grow in Thailand stores as well. <fingers-crossed>

Hey Peter, For sure we will miss you and your erudite and interesting posts. Like you I am also tiring of the "and tonight we visited Bar X and Bar Y and offed Boy A and Boy B". Seriously, isn't there more to life? For me the great fascination I have with Thailand (after visits spanning 30 years) is trying to understand its amazing "scene" (in the largest sense of that word) and how it differs from my home culture. For some years I posted quite regularly but my posts generated little interest, so I soon recognized I was out of step with the majority of people on the board -- who seem to be in their 20's and 30's (or so their posts would indicate <wink>). I abandoned the bars years ago, as I could not countenance supporting the Thai Mafia with my funds. I don't smoke, I drink very moderately. And I detest the "sit down and drink!" attitude at most bars (which bkkm.. often rails about.) Like OldDaddy I much prefer the serendipity and unexpected delights of using "gaydar" and intuition to land the perfect tryst. When enjoying the amazing pleasures of a kind "service provider" (as latin likes to call them), I much prefer to spend my funds supporting his needs, and hopefully his dreams, not those of a corrupt underground.

Bravo, ichigo! Language imbeds so much culture, attitude, nuance. Translating this is difficult. Let me give one example: In Hawaiian we have the word "Imua!" which translates to English as "go forward". Alas it means so much more -- it was used by ancient canoe paddlers transiting between Honolulu and Tahiti (4000 kms!) as a word of encouragement: "keep on paddling!" "let's get there!" "come on we only have 3 days more!" ... well all of this is a far cry from "go forward". Bottom line, please learn the language of your host country if you want to participate in its cultural life. Or, the easiest way to destroy a culture is to destroy its language.

Learning to speak paasaa Thai is a real privilege. It means that Thailand is willing to share a bit of its culture with us. Of course, it is not absolutely necessary you learn to speak Thai. One could theoretically live in the UK or Canada without speaking English, but you would be strongly disadvantaged. You'd necessarily be ghettoized to live in a community which speaks your language instead of being able to roam freely. I suppose, thanks to AI, in the not too distant future we will have devices which go far beyond what Google Translate can do. I would find that eventuality somewhat sad, because so much of culture is wrapped up into language. I hope Thailand doesn't become Anglicized one day after all the centuries which Thailand has mostly successfully resisted colonization.

Interesting. I happen to like "shorter" men, more compact and "manageable".

high heels for men?

Hi Rob, The Allianz annual "Premier" plan (the intermediate-level plan) has a maximum trip length of 90 days. Not sure if that means one must return to one's home country every 90 days or whether one could go on to start a new "trip" to a third country for another 90 days and then (presumably) be able to return to Thailand for another 90 days. Not sure how it works, but you are right it definitely does not cover you if you plan to spend "a year" in Thailand. Aloha, Marc

I couldn't agree more. In all my visits to Cambodia (including cities in the north, PP, Sihanoukville and other towns in the south, everywhere but the east region bordering Vietnam) I never once had an unpleasant encounter with a Cambodian. Anybody who has visited the Killing Fields gets an idea about what the senior population has been through: Pol Pot and his "reformers" and murders, the American bombardments, the Vietnamese invasion, and Chinese meddling over the past few centuries! Somehow through this all the Cambodia spirit has pushed through. It is truly remarkable how resilient the human spirit can be and how adaptive it can remain under even the most strident forms of corruption.

Peter, your advice is very sensible. A visit to Pulse Clinic would make a lot of sense. But, regarding A/C, we have to remember that much of the world exists without A/C, and it feels very uncomfortable to some. They shiver, wrap themselves in swaddling clothes, and chatter their teeth sometimes. Seriously. And the opposite is true -- have you given a Thai boy a "hot shower"? You would think you were trying to scald them to death, as many are only used to room temperature showers with water scooped from the catchment tank near their home.

yes i meant northern Fall

@bkkmfj2648 Thanks for your reflections. I hope things are going well for you! I thought I'd share my plan, which works for me: I spend 2-3 months a year there, usually in Fall, during shoulder season. For healthcare, I buy the travel insurance which allows the longest continuous stay (Allianz, for max 90 day stay). I study paasaa Thai and have become better and can now read most signs. I love my stays in Thailand for all the obvious reasons but by the end of my stay I am looking forward to being home once again. As the saying goes, there is no place like home. When in Thailand I try to allow for a stay in some neighboring country. This year (September?) I am planning a trip to Sri Lanka which is a country which has always fascinated me. Alternatively perhaps a trip to Nepal. Neither country I have visited thus far. I've been doing this circuit now for 17 years and it works for me. Being a full-time expat really would not work for me.

Battambang is a great little city! I think you will like it. I would go back in a heartbeat. The other posters here are correct that SR is far more cosmopolitan and international, and of course Angkor is one of the world's top attractions. You can spend a week in that place and never see it all. There is not all that much to do in Battambang by comparison but that suited me just fine. It is a friendly place which hasn't (yet) been overrun by the Chinese. It is not THAT close between Battambang and Siem Reap. Nor from either of those cities to PP. Remember this is not Denver and Boulder! Hehe. Getting around is quite an ordeal. You will likely not be flitting back and forth on a "daily commute" What can I say... learning Khmer is not easy, not that Thai is that much easier, but it is worth the effort. To me you can never been fully aware of your new country without language. Think of it this way: What would Cam's life be like in Denver given he speaks only rudimentary English? It is a non-starter. Then there is a matter of religion. Assuming he is Buddhist (although some Khmer are Catholic as a result of French occupation), religion has a way of permeating life, especially in the countryside. Finally, you got a peak at the difference in medical practice. You will likely be aghast at some medical practices and even more at some superstitions. Animist faith healings, quack doctors, bizaar "cures" etc are part of the drama. May I tell you a short story? When working in Mongolia, a female colleague of mine came to work one day with gigantic staples in her ear lobes. They looked very painful. This lady had a graduate degree from a US university, was 100% fluent in English, yet she believed in this treatment from a local doctor for her recurrent ear infections. I tried to not look totally dumbfounded, but I don't know how successful I was. Asian "medicine" can appear quite bizarre at times to a Western viewer. Just go with the flow and smile.