fedssocr

I kind of refuse to go to mainland China. Hong Kong is a place where I've transited several times. I've also managed a layover of about 24 hours there which is enough time to see a couple of things and/or get a massage. The train from the airport is fast. I like Seoul, but ICN is a long way from the city. Even on the "express" train it takes at least an hour. I don't mind connecting at NRT but I've never had more than a couple of hours there. As noted it's a long way from the airport to Tokyo. Some airlines will allow you a free stopover of a more worthwhile length. I think Korean Airlines has restricted or curtailed the practice but I've used their free stopover a couple of times. First time for a week. And on my trip over this fall it will be 10 days. I'd check to see if Cathay or EVA or China Airlines (Taiwan) allows it. I think Qatar Airways allows a stopover too if you're dying to see Doha.

the only time I stayed there the bed was hard as a rock. And I agree the internet sucked. And the bathroom was a mess. I also found the breakfast time to be very sad...all of those Thai boys and their older friends dining in total silence because they couldn't communicate.

I guess nothing lasts forever. Glad I was able to spend some time there over the last decade or so. Same for Sunnee during its heyday.

yeah, I think the DIY travel market these days was probably the biggest problem for them. Paying for insurance that covers operator bankruptcy is probably a good idea too. The guides were essentially freelancers for the most part rather than employees of PD since it's not like they had enough business to keep them all busy all the time. Especially in some of the less popular locations. I would guess it's likely that the website hosting was paid up for a certain amount of time so it lives on. Douglas probably didn't have much incentive or interest in taking it all down. He's moved to Siem Reap and I think he's still running the Bhutan agency (I believe things work quite a bit differently there - when I went many years ago I was told that the government basically holds the money for your trip in escrow and then pays the tour company at the completion of your trip) and may be helping some old customers organize some trips. He's in a rather large house/compound and plans to rent out the extra bedrooms to long-term guests.

I think I need a body type system refresher course.

welcome back?

this all got a little off topic, but I've never found any gogo bar fuck show to be in any way erotic

Fair enough. I didn't really understand why they had the referendum since the court had already ordered that they had to legalize it. That seemed to be just asking for trouble.

It is great. It's unfortunate the legislature dragged it out until the end of the time limit set by the court. I'm headed over for Taipei Pride again this year. Should be quite a party

cost of everything in Thailand is going up, so why would the boy bars be any different? I know lots of people love the places you're considering going, so enjoy.

It seems the Utopia guys really got railroaded, so I'm not sure I would say that was his fault. The lack of capitalization seems to have been the biggest problem. I doubt many of us traveling with them through the years realized how close to the edge things were. The fact that some one paying for a trip in a few months was paying for the trip of some one traveling this week seems quite risky from a business standpoint and eventually it couldn't be sustained. As I said, most of my trips with them were very good. Since I was traveling solo it was always nice to have a guide and personal driver. While many of the vehicles were rather long in the tooth, on the whole the guides were good for me. As with anything in this sort of realm, personalities and chemistry are important especially on longer trips. I never minded that it was costing a bit more than I could have paid if I'd arranged it all myself. it looks like he's landed on his feet with a nice place in Siem Reap.

I was there to see the sights, not business. I had originally planned to "meet the locals" but once I arrived in SEA for some reason my sex drive went to near zero so I didn't have the interest

I was just there recently. I stayed at the Sedona Suites Grand Tower. Had a gorgeous apartment on the 40th floor with amazing views. A bit pricey but great location for various tourist spots and I found the mall and market downstairs useful. I didn't bring anyone home so I don't know if that's an issue. You do have to take 2 elevators to get to your apartment - the ground floor entrance has the concierge desk and then the main lobby you change to a different elevator. I also didn't visit any gay venues so I can't help you there. Crossing the streets takes a little courage but once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad. I also spent several days up the mountains at Dalat which I really enjoyed. Flowers everywhere. Much cooler weather. Beautiful waterfalls.

Good news. The diver has been saved. Story linked has been updated

one of the British rescue divers is missing in a Tennessee cave. They're not saying who it is at this point https://abc7news.com/diver-who-helped-free-thai-soccer-team-now-missing-in-tenn-cave/5256366/

even with a translation app it's not a totally natural conversation. In my experience Google translate is worthless beyond a couple of words. I did buy the latest version of the Travis translator on Indiegogo https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/travis-touch-i-speak-105-languages-so-can-you--2/x/7247010#/ But I didn't ever actually use it. In my brief testing at home though it was able to translate even my poor Thai into English correctly. So it might work. It claims to use several different translation engines depending on the language so that it probably why it would work better than Google alone.

because BKK doesn't already have enough luxury malls and luxury condos?

I think it would be neat to be there during the coronation. I'd be more concerned that it will be a billion degrees

Saw the news this morning on Douglas Thompson's blog that Purple Dragon travel agency has been forced out of business. Very sad. I've taken many, many trips with them over the past dozen years or so, including my recent trip to Vietnam. It's a shame for the folks working in their office as well as their excellent guides and drivers everywhere around the region. I traveled with them to Thailand a few times (especially my first few visits when I didn't know how to get around on my own or when I was going to some out of the way places), Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong... Most of the trips were great experiences and I definitely got to see a number of places I never would have been able to get to on my own or that would have required me to do a lot of planning and legwork.

there were a handful of guys on the apps. I don't know if that qualifies. For some reason on this trip my sex drive was zero (very sadly) so I didn't find out for sure.

I enjoyed my visit to Dalat even though it was much noisier and bustling than I expected it to be. Much cooler up there in the mountains. Pretty flowers all over. One awesome waterfall complex.

where are you all staying that it's taking an hour to get from the airport? Takes 30 mins to Silom in my experience

Just did this flight last week (expect to be late...all of my VN flights were late). Yes, VN gives you access to the fast track immigration line. I believe they gave me the fast track pass when I checked in at SGN.

I love Copenhagen and Stockholm. Gorgeous cities with great architecture, public transport and lots of typical Euro sightseeing. And plenty of gorgeous men. It's been a while since I've been to either. I do vaguely recall visiting a sauna in Copenhagen like 15 years ago. Planetromeo is usually where I check for escorts when I'm headed to Europe.

I agree with the above re: checked baggage. With TG business class you will get a fast track immigration pass. You can always arrange a car service pickup (or use AOT limo service) if you don't want to deal with the taxi queue. I've used S&P Limousine many times so I get a repeat customer discount. You meet the rep by exit door 4 and she walks you out to the driver. Their Camry's are getting a little advanced in age but still a perfectly reliable service. When I departed Tuesday night I could not believe how crowded the airport was. At 10:30 on a random Tuesday night it was a total madhouse.