TotallyOz

Anyone tested this in Thailand yet? http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/07/1...hone_world.html http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

Those of you that live in Bangkok, what are some of the places that are often not on the major tourist attractions but that you should see if you want to see a different part of Bangkok?

I went to Adonis massage and was greeted at the entrance by a very sexy man who said, "I have big cock and I will fuck you good." Well, it was the thought that was nice. Adonis is located directly in front of Bangkok Nursing Hospital off of Sathorn in the business district and not far from Silom 4. It is a gay massage place in a house on a quiet street. Once inside, I was greeted by the manager and about 30 guys lined up. It was a great variety of guys with everything from muscle to fem to twink. I choose a tall handsome 25 year old. The manager told me he was gay and could do everything. To my disappointment, he could not do everything. He was a top only. I still would have gone with him as I really only wanted a good massage and a BJ. But, I hate being lied to. I have been to B and N so many times that the manager knows not to lie to me and I'll still go with a boy I like. I guess some guys walk out. I didn't. But, it would have been nice to have an honest manager. I will go again and they had a great selection of guys but I will not rely on the manager again and I will ask the guy I want directly what he is able to do and not do. The room was OK and fairly clean. I didn't like the sheet on the massage table as it was not clean and I had them remove it. The shower was fine. I am not sure if I just got a dud or not but he didn't shower with me and I showed myself. I guess I am just so use to other places doing this for me. I didn't mind it was just not what I expected and not sure if it is the norm there or just the guy I picked. Saturdays and Sundays are apparently popular and there was a slew of guys working. I will choose wisely next time. http://www.thaiadonismassage.com/ Hours of Operation Daily 2:00 pm - 11:30 pm 44/11 Convent Rd, Silom, Bangkok +66 (0)2236-7789 +66 (0)9010-3399

A friend asked me about medical coverage if they live in LOS. I gave them the information that I have used which is Traveler Jim's Insurance. He was looking for more comprehensive insurance. Any suggestions? One friend suggested Bupa. Any information on it? Costs? Reliability? Other options?

A friend of mine and I ate at a local well know gay restaurant and he got food poisoning which landed him in the hospital. Be careful when you eat out to make sure if you order American food that it is cooked the right way. I ordered the Chicken and it did not taste right to me and I only ate the fries. I have had sea food poisoning 5 times in LOS so I am always careful not to eat seafood at any place that I don't trust. My stomach is weaker than a Thai stomach and I have to be much more careful than most.

Lumphini Park is a 140-acre park in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a beautiful open space area with trails, benches and places to hand out and chill. It has an artificial lake that is very lovely. It has a running loop that is 2.5km in total length. Cycling is only allowed from 10-3. The park is a lovely get-a-way from the city! Any other similar parks that you have been to and recommend?

This week is the premiere of the new Harry Potter. I tried a few weeks back to get tickets to see Transformers at the Imax in Bangkok and drove to the city from Pattaya to see the feature. We got there early and the show was sold out. Harry Potter is also selling out days in advance. It seems if you want to see the movie on any larger screen, you will need to get advance tickets. Odd thing at Siam Paragon is that you go to the Imax booth and they have no good seats left. If you ask them about 2 good rows that have x's in them they will tell you another company has them and they are not allowed to sell them. I asked where this company was and they pointed across the room to another booth. I walked over and got the same tickets for less money. I don't get it? Why would there were 2 different booths that are selling tickets to the same theatre but different rows? If you are going to see Harry Potter for the first few days, get tickets as early as you can!

One of the best shopping centers in Thailand has one of the best grocery stores in the area as well. They have a wide variety of everything you need. I had a pre-made Lasagna a few days back and it was delicious. I also had a rack of lamb that was precooked and only needed warming up. Again divine. They have a large selection of fruits, cheeses, deli meats, bakery goods, etc. They seem to have just about everything you need!

The BF told me his son, 6 years old, had his school closed and his family is taking care of him in the day time. He said many schools in Thailand are now closed. The government has ordered other closures. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world...i.swine.flu.cnn It seems to me this may do little if the closures are only for a couple of weeks. The end of the report said that Thailand may have as many as 150,000 plus cases of the swine flu.

Duh! http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/11...ref=mpstoryview

Well, as Honest Abe said, "I cannot tell a lie." That said, I'll try not to be too harsh. Three nights in the gogo bars in Bangkok and I have yet to take anyone back to my hotel. Last night I went to EVERY gogo bar in Patpong and then ended up at Tawan. There was not one boy that peaked my interest. XBoys has a few sexy boys but I was there early and the mamasan was a bit pushy and I declined the invitation. The other bars were pretty sad. Dream Boy had only about 20 boys. My favorite bar in 7 years is Future Boys and to say it was sad is an understatement. Sorry, I could go on for a bit but no need to say anything other than all the boys in Bangkok must have gone home to help with family during low season. The stages are almost like a ghost town.

I love Italian food. I grew up with some amazing women who came from Italy who taught me how to cook some of their specialities and at all my parties in NYC, I cooked some great Italian meals. It is hard to find good places in Thailand but I do love Zanotti's! I was recently there and had the Pizza for appetizer and it was yummy. For main course I had the Ravioli with Whit Truffles. I also had desert. All 3 courses were excellent. They tasted good and the atmosphere was wonderful. The waiter even brought a straw that the paper was turned into a rose. The service was excellent and the place was mid range price. A great overall experience. Zanotti's 21/2 1st Floor, Saladaeng Colonnade Condominium,Silom Rd., Silom Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Tel. : +66 2 636-0002 ,+66 2 636-0266 Fax : +66 2 636-0221 email: info@zanottigroup.com

Based on what your have experienced in LOS or that you have seen others experience, what would you say are the best lessons to be learned by someone coming here for the first time?

We ended our bicycle ride in Udon Ratchatani. It was the annual candle festival. It is a world famous Thai festival where the locals parade wax candles carved wood and covered in wax around the city and to wat. The city was alive with hustle and activity. Tons of vendors and artists take part. The night before the festival you can walk around the floats to take photos and see them in the dark lit with light from the street lamps. The next day the actual parade occurs. I had a fantastic time with this and was very happy I got to spend some time at this local festival!

I am looking for the best steak in Bangkok. Any recommendations?

I went to B and N on Sukumvit Soi 12 today and it was pretty empty of boys. There were 5 or 6 guys there max. I picked the same guy who has massaged me in past and he was excellent. The manager told me to please come back as they have been having no customers and were very very slow. B and N is great and the boys I get are excellent. My 25 year old Thai man is excellent and the others I have gotten from there are always good. If in Bangkok, give them some business. Like most other places, they need it and have been consistent for a long time.

For me it is about one month. I love it in this great paradise but longer stays I tend to get in a rut. Maybe that is a good thing for until I can retire here, I think one month is about right for me.

The programmers got ahead of themselves. We are working to revert this and things will be back to normal soon. My apologies.

We left Pattaya around 7am to get to Bangkok. We had to get a van as we had our bicycle equipment to take as well as luggage. The van cost 2200 bath or approximately 60 USD for a 2 hour trip. Once in Bangkok we were to meet up with the group of bikers. As we had an hour to kill I had forgotten to get the guys bike shoes and so we took off to go to the Emporium Shopping Center. It is always a mistake to take a car in Bangkok. What would have been a 15 minute walk was even more in a taxi. We took a van to Nong Khai. The trip took about 10 hours or more and we chatted the whole way and listened to music and stopped and ate. We had a van and one truck that will support us on the ride so between the 2 there were plenty of people that needed pee breaks and I was always OK. The dinner at night was at an open air market with food stalls. I had some fried chicken and rice. The guys had noodles. We didn’t get to Nong Khai until almost midnight and I was exhausted. We stayed at the Pantawee Hotel. http://thailand.pantawee.com/ My favorite part of the hotel was the sign on the Men’s bathroom. It was so funny and soooo gay! A naked sailor. We slept the entire night as we were exhausted from the road trip. The next day we woke up and went to Laos for the day. In order to do this trip, you go to Friendship Bridge and then exit Thai Immigration and then take a bus to Laos (only a few minutes) and then go through Laos Immigration. The process take about an hour. Once in Laos, we hired a driver to show us the city. The first visit was to a great Laos’s temple and then we went to the Victory Gate. At the northwest end of LaneXang Ave. arises a huge structure resembling the Arc de Triomph. It is the Patuxay or Victory Gate of Vientiane, build in 1962 but never complete due to the turbulent history. From a distance, it appears impressive, like a monster of concrete. Nowadays this place is used as a leisure ground for the people of Vientiane and the Seventh floor is an excellent point of view of the entire city. We bought a cheap box of chocolates at the market there. Mistake. They were not real chocolate. Beware! We got some friends a 6 pack of Beer Laos as they asked for it and said it was good. Back at the hotel, we met for a river cruise with the group and then dinner. At night, we had to get the bikes ready in the rain. Yes, it is rainy season in Thailand and Isan does not escape this. We got drenched while we got things together. Day 1: Ride from Nong Khai to Pak Khat (63 Miles/101 KM) I was curious to see how the boyfriend would do on the ride as he is not trained and I was very worried he would hate it. Instead, so far quite the opposite. He really kicked ass today. He was one of the first 4 people into each water break and to lunch. He was fast and strong. I was impressed to say the least. I am not sure how much was him doing it to prove to me he could do it an dhow much was he wanted to prove to me he could do it. ☺ The ride was beautiful. We were joined to a group from Udon Thani bike club and it was nice to have 23-25 Thai riders with us. They loved my bike and all wanted pictures with it. We started out in the rain. It rained part of the day and was dry part of the afternoon. The clouds betrayed me as I thought the sun was away but it was just hiding and it came out and burned me red without my knowledge. I now know to put on sunscreen each leg of the journey no mater where rain or not. It was a pretty flat ride today and a short day for us. We finished about 5. Well, I finished around 5. Some got to the hotel at 3 or so. I was struggling as I can do comfortably about 16k a hour. The groups pace is double that. I can’t keep up with that pace and so I usually bike along directly in front of the support vehicle. That does not bother me although I guess I should try to pick up the pace. I had a talk with the boyfriend and his friend today and told them to be sure they didn’t go so fast they would hurt themselves. At the end of the day, the fell onto the bed and went into a coma. The hotel was the Khong Kham Khun. Phone: 042-404080 The owner was nice. The rooms were clean. No Internet that worked. Day 2: Ride from Pak Khat to Beung Khan (40 Miles/64 KM) The ride today was short but hard. We had a lot of rough roads and mud roads. It was the hardest I have toured. I had a hard time with the road today and I got so muddy that my face was not recognizable. I also encountered some of God’s creatures today. It wa an interesting day. The back roads along the Mekong are lovely. We pretty much have a nice visual of the river most days. There are rice fields all along the way with other crops. It Is not unusual to find a herd of cattle along the road grazing. It is not unusual to have every house have a dog that barks when you go by. It is not unusual to have a lot of “hello, hello” yelled from inside a home, business or school. The people in Isan are the friendliest I have met with the most beautiful smiles and everyone laughing and enjoying life. I stopped at one school to say hi to the kids and their teacher came out to talk. They all enjoyed sitting on my bike and some could speak a little English but not too much. The boyfriend and his friend did not listen to my advice today take it easy and they headed off 30 seconds in front of the group and they made a wrong turn. After about an hour, I asked about them and one of the support vehicles went back and found them on a big highway. They did not have to bike as far today but they missed the wonderful red sticky mud. I wondered if they had been told in advance about the shitty road and thought they would get out of it. I still have not come to any conclusion but they were only 2 without mud all over them today.

One of the musicians that helped make MTV and change the course of the music industry has died in LA. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/...kson/index.html

I heard a rumor that the owner is converting this into nice apartments. I have not confirmed this but think the location is excellent and would be a great addition to Pattaya. I really like the old group that was at the hotel and if they decide to do apartments, I'm sure they would do it in a wonderful fashion.

For the price and consistency, Salt and Pepper Restaurant in Soi Day Night 2 is the best value in Pattaya. The menu is Thai and the owners are easy to deal with. The place is clean and easy to have conversations and watch the street traffic for those heading to Tut Com. The food is good and always prepared well. I normally have the steamed fish which is not on the menu but it is great. They also make a good cup of coffee. The restaurant is directly next to the old Flamingo Hotel and right across from the Mosaik apartments.

Things sure changes since my last visit to Sunee. Several bars closed and others have started. The gogo scene is not as thriving as it once was. The streets seem quiet. Many of the boys had to switch bars as theirs closed. From what I have seen: Most of the boys from Minou and Sundance are now at Villa Rouge. Most of the Jim Jimmy James boys are at Tom Yum. Most of the boys from Nice Boys have shuffled around to all the bars. I have heard that many went to Crazy Dragon but the 2 nights I was there this trip, I didn't see them. I am also an early bird so they may not have showed up yet.

By Joe DeCapua Washington D.C 22 June 2009 There's been a breakthrough in AIDS research. Scientists have found out where HIV, the AIDS virus, hides when it's under attack from anti-retroviral drugs. So far, the drugs have managed to keep HIV at very low levels in the body. But they are unable to get rid of the virus completely. Scientists have been searching for places where the virus could hide. Now, they believe they have found them. The discovery could eventually lead to better treatments and perhaps a cure. Professor Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, scientific director at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Port St. Lucie, Florida, spoke to VOA about the difficulty in finding HIV's hiding places. "We had some clues, but nobody had been able to identify precisely the cells in which it was hiding," he says. Assumptions were wrong "Everybody went with the assumption that by using more and more potent drugs that target the virus that we were going to be able to get rid of it. And in fact what we found is that that will never work," he says. He says a different approach is needed to eliminate the virus. "You have to target not the virus, but the cells in which the virus is hiding. And that I think it is a very different concept than what everybody has been pushing for. That clearly is a major finding that we have got to the table," he says. So, where is HIV hiding? "HIV is hiding in a cell…that can remain in your body for the rest of your life. It's a very important cell in the immune system. This is the kind of cells that are called memory T-cells. They are the cells that carry the memory of seeing an infectious disease," he says. When a person is vaccinated against a particular disease, these memory T-cells remember how to respond if that pathogen is somehow introduced into the body. They then launch a very specific attack. But, they are also the perfect hiding place for HIV. "So, we honed down on these cells, identified precisely as the cells as the ones where the virus was hiding," he says. Like a chameleon "It's important to understand the virus evolves. It kills the cells that can mount the immune response… and it hides in those cells that remain in the body for the rest of your life…. And so it adapts like a chameleon," he says. Now that HIV's hiding places have been discovered, what's next? "I think what we need to do now, and that really is going to be…our major challenge, is really to find drugs that can kill the cells in which the virus is hiding without affecting the memory T-cells that are good for the body," he says. He says he's "quite optimistic" researchers will be able to develop such drugs "because we've already gone a long way in targeting specifically those cells." Sekaly says there's a "long way ahead," however, to find such medications, "but at least now we have a target." He says advances in science in recent years should help speed the search. http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-06-22-voa32.cfm

I took a taxi yesterday to get to Bangkok to go shopping. I got several quotes and finally just got a guy off the street. He charged 1k each way and was willing to wait for us as we went shopping. To me this seemed low. He paid for tolls each way and waited for us about 5 hours or so in Bangkok. I did tip him well. I am curious for those of you that drive, about how much of his expenses are in gas? How much profit would he make if I didn't tip?