TotallyOz

I have an unlocked Iphone and it works well when I travel. I did have issues on my last trip to Brazil with data as they don't want to give foreigners a Sim with unlimited data without taking an arm or leg. You have to have a CPF and other documents. But, I use my phones in USA and Thailand and every other country I travel to. I just get a local SIM card and replace the ATT one. It works perfectly on the IPad as it is factory unlocked. You can also purchase factory unlocked IPhones in most Asian countries (Singapore phones or Hong Kong). And, when it is factory unlocked, that means you can update the software. I have a feeling that soon, all IPhones will be factory unlocked (as soon as the ATT and Apple marriage ends).

I have stayed at many of the hotels you mention. To avoid joiners fees, when you book, book for 2 people. If they ever give you a problem, add the boy to your room. When he leaves, remove him. When they do this once, they won't ask again as it is a lot of paperwork for them. I have never had any problems with these hotels in taking boys up. The hotel security will often ask to hold the ID or make a copy of it and that is fine with me. I prefer the hotel know who I am with.

Fun facts!

I was at the JW last week for 3 nights and loved it. I have also stayed at the Holiday Inn next door to the Intercontinental. It is fabulous as well. The Holiday Inn on Silom does not compare to the others. The Crown Plaza is nice hotel but they are a bit snoody there. IMHO

Franco is adorable. He is charming and I like it. The Oscars were boring this year but I still like Franco. IMHO, Billy Crystal and Robyn Williams and Whoopie Should host every year.

In Tagalog, it means

I am a former educator. I am happy to help your boys with my Oral Skills seminar. I have been meaning to test that in Thailand for years.

A motorist sped his car through a pack of more than 100 cycling activists in southern Brazil, sending bikes and screaming riders flying through the air and landing hard on the asphalt in a scene captured on amateur video and posted online. At least 40 cyclists were injured, with most suffering cuts and broken bones, but nobody was killed, authorities said. Police said the suspect, whose name they did not release, fled the scene of the incident Friday evening in Porto Alegre. He was brought in for questioning Monday after authorities found his abandoned car over the weekend. The man claimed riders surrounded his vehicle and began beating on it, causing him to panic and fear for his life, police said. But the lead investigator in the case called that version of events "fanciful," without giving other details. Inspector Gilberto Montenegro told Globo TV network's G1 website that the man could face charges of attempted homicide. Under Brazilian law, prosecutors can decide whether to bring charges only after police close their investigation, which may take 30 days. The man is currently free. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/car-runs-down-bicyclists-brazil_n_829425.html

Isn't this true for any airport in the USA. I think they all require this. I don't like LAX based on the way baggage is handled. IMHO, it is horrible and a disgrace.

I was talking to a friend who is a policeman in Pattaya. I have known him for many years and he invited me over for dinner last night with his family. I was one of the few that spoke English at the meal but I always chat with him and his son in English as that is my only language. His wife speaks some English but not as well as he does. He mentioned something about the Russians in town and I was surprised to hear him stay they were the majority of the issues with crime and violence in Pattaya. Does this stand to reason? I don't see this in the papers but he insisted that it is correct. Anyone seen any studies on the number of arrests and crime statistics on Pattaya related to nationality?

Is that comment only for Bangkok? Or, could it be spread to other cities in Thailand? I know that the gay friendly places I went to in NYC and LA were great. Good food. Good atmosphere. But, they were not often reasonable prices and often higher than the other restaurants in the area.

The app is free to download and it is amazing. If you speak into the phone in English, it will then translate it back to Portuguese. It is very accurate and I am sure will only get better with time. I have been using it in Thailand with Thai guys but I ran into a Brazilian lad here who is visiting and we chatted. I used it to chat with him it I was very impressed with the translation. Anyone else used this new app?

I agree with all the others. Thank you! Yum. Yum. Yum.

I could not agree with you more. The alternative would be horrendous. The question is why now? Why does he start making these moves now? What is the motivation? You may not feel that is important, but I do. And, it will also be one of the determining factors of my next vote. In the end, I'll still vote for him if he is the one on the ballot. But, I won't do it with a smile. And, I much prefer that he give his blessing for others to run that won't be so polarizing.

I look forward to this on my next visit.

I am in Thailand and there is NO place here with good bagels. It is hard to understand why.

I love Soap and watched it in full again last year. It was way ahead of its times.

Do you think that his pick is only because the election is over and he knows the next one is going to be harder as he has alienated his entire base?

Nor can I. But, I travel often with friends that use them for business. The reason, if anything changes in their itinerary, they just send an e-mail to the agent and all is magically changed for them with no hassle on their part. Other than business travelers, I don't see the benefit.

I could not agree more. That blog is the best for finding good massages in Bangkok. I disagree that there is no place consistent for good massages. I have rarely been disappointed in Hero. I find it excellent.

Yes, that is a paid link. Travel agents are dying as most people now book on the Internet for less.

I think Laguardia is disgusting depending on what terminal you come into. I don't like any of the NYC airports but they are easier to fly into than Detroit for immigration. America is not upgrading its airports, roads, bridges or infrastructure. Thus, in 10 years I would bet this thread would be all about how all the major terminals in the USA sucks. Obama isn't going to do anything and our next President, Sarah, has great foreign policy ideas (she could see Russia from her home remember).

Is Chris the one that kicked the gay chubby kid off his group?

President Obama, in a striking legal and political shift, has determined that the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — is unconstitutional, and has directed the Justice Department to stop defending the law in court, the administration said Wednesday. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced the decision in a letter to members of Congress. In it, he said the administration was taking the extraordinary step of refusing to defend the law, despite having done so during Mr. Obama’s first two years in the White House. “The president and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation” should be subjected to a strict legal test intended to block unfair discrimination, Mr. Holder wrote. As a result, he said, a crucial provision of the Defense of Marriage Act “is unconstitutional.” Conservatives denounced the shift, gay rights advocates hailed it as a watershed, and legal scholars said it could have far-reaching implications beyond the marriage law. For Mr. Obama, who opposes same-sex marriage but has said repeatedly that his views are “evolving,” there are political implications as well. Coming on the heels of his push for Congress to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law barring the military from allowing gay people to serve openly, the administration’s move seems likely to intensify the long-running cultural clash over same-sex marriage as the 2012 political campaign is heating up. “This is a great step by the Obama administration and a tipping point for the gay rights movement that will have ripple effects in contexts beyond the Defense of Marriage Act,” said Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “It will reach into issues of employment discrimination, family recognition and full equality rights for lesbian and gay people.” But some conservatives questioned Mr. Obama’s timing and accused him of trying to change the subject from spending cuts to social causes. Others portrayed the Justice Department’s abandonment of the Defense of Marriage Act as an outrageous political move that was legally unjustified. “It is a transparent attempt to shirk the department’s duty to defend the laws passed by Congress,” Representative Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “This is the real politicization of the Justice Department — when the personal views of the president override the government’s duty to defend the law of the land.” While the issue at hand is whether gay couples in the eight states that already legally recognize same-sex marriage may be discriminated against by the federal government, the administration’s decision raised anew the more fundamental question of whether same-sex couples should have a right to marry. Mr. Obama takes a nuanced position on same-sex marriage, and the White House was careful to say on Wednesday that his position on that issue — he favors civil unions — remains unchanged. Many advocates of same-sex marriage, though, perceived the administration’s new legal stance as a signal that Mr. Obama would soon embrace their cause. Polls show the public is broadly supportive of equal rights for gay people — with the exception of the right to marry. Nearly 90 percent of Americans favor equality of opportunity in the workplace, and more than 60 percent favored overturning “don’t ask, don’t tell.” But the public remains evenly divided on same-sex marriage. Tobias B. Wolff, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who has advised Mr. Obama on gay rights issues, said Wednesday’s decision may have bought the president some time with gay rights leaders, many of whom have been deeply critical of his position on the marriage issue. “He has said that he has been struggling with the issue, and I think he has earned a certain benefit of the doubt,” Mr. Wolff said. But the move also sharpened criticism of Mr. Obama from the right. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said the shift was “clearly based more on politics than the law.” While Mr. Obama has called for Congress to repeal the marriage law, in court his administration has supported the constitutional right of Congress to enact such a measure. But his legal team was forced to take a second look at the sustainability of that position because of two recent lawsuits challenging the statute. The Justice Department must file responses to both suits by March 11. For technical reasons, it would have been far more difficult — both legally and politically — for the administration to keep arguing that the marriage law is constitutional in these new lawsuits. To assert that gay people do not qualify for extra legal protection against official discrimination, legal specialists say, the Justice Department would most likely have had to conclude that they have not been historically stigmatized and can change their orientation. The development floored Edith S. Windsor, an 81-year-old widow who filed one of the two new lawsuits in New York. Ms. Windsor is seeking the return of about $360,000 in estate taxes she had to pay because the federal government did not recognize their marriage when her wife died two years ago. The couple married in Toronto. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/24marriage.html?_r=1&hp

Sorry guys. I was with a friend who had to be in the hospital for a bit. He has some heart surgery done in Bangkok and I went with him. I was VERY impressed with this world class hospital. Bumrungrad is one of the finest places I have seen. They made my friend feel at ease and they did a fantastic job taking care of him. People fly to Thailand often for medical tourism. I understand that. Most can get great care at a fraction of the cost in the USA.