TMax

When people (like sports stars but it's spreading) in Australia are being asked a question the first words out of their mouths in response is "yeah nah", gawd but I hate that.

Technically yes Australians can visit Iran (at this point in time only god knows why though) however the following is from our governments smart traveller website.

In Australia as of October 22 2025, there have been just 203 confirmed infections across the country, with Victoria and NSW recording the bulk of cases. Apparently in 2024 there was 1409 cases.

After a few red wines I shall be in bed sound asleep by midnight as per usual at that time of year. As for my bucket list, right at the top is to heal properly and get a trip to Bangkok in the latter half of 2026 and get to enjoy some fun times and get intertwined with some hot brown bodies again😛

I've seen some news reports in The Straits Times of people going into Singapore from Thailand with cannabis in their luggage and they all pretty much said the same dumb thing "oh sorry I forgot I had it but I bought it legally in Thailand", I guess that's the defence by ignorance attempt. Of course the Singapore authorities couldn't care less if it was purchased elsewhere legally or not and that excuse just didn't work. Maybe they should have taken a few minutes to double check their luggage before leaving Thailand.

I have never carried my passport around with me when overseas except for the currency exchanges that require the passport and then it goes straight back to the room safe after the transaction, I carry my driver's license and a photocopy of my passport information page and visa / stamp page. On my last trip to Bangkok X-One currency exchange accepted the photocopy as identification. I also have my passport in an RFID sleeve which helps to keep it in very good condition.

I'm there now, in my head that is lol (reminiscing on past massage shops and the fun filled times there) but alas it still looks like late 2026 for the next fun trip to Bangkok. The surgery went well and now the recovery starts, in the meantime I will be doing a lot of lurking here and enjoying the posts and trip reports and want to say a big thanks to you guys for sharing your trip reports.

Haha when I moved to this town 10 years ago I had a land line but due to the non stop scam callers it soon went into the rubbish bin.

Correct yes Western Australia. Lol I have work for plumbers and electricians as well as a roofer, these will all be improvements from now on and I reckon will cost an arm and a leg but it all needs to be done. Maybe I can finally get a lucky lotto ticket to help it all 😜

Was a bit of a shit year and couldn't do too much, not only spinal issues that caused poor feeling in both hands but caught that poxy covid which delayed surgery for over a month, had to get contractors in for repairs on the house due to fowl weather. Hasn't finished yet, surgery next week (and that will be my highlight if all goes well but a long revovery) but after that will have more work done on the house when I can get contractors in. Did a lot of reminiscing of previous trips to LOS, Philippines and Vietnam and a fair bit of dreaming up next years trip and shenanigans. Looking forward to a much better year next year.

Towards the end of next year 😢 Surgery on my spine coming up and that's putting me out for at least 6 to 10 months, at least I can dream of my next trip.

Voco Bangkok Surawong is slated to open at the end of this year apparently (no actual date just a stab in the dark by the looks) and looking at their prices for June ($189 Australian) it will be a pass for me.

I used to read Stickman a lot and got a lot of info on the straight bars but since I started visiting the gay massage shops I stopped reading his stuff, I should have still kept reading it but alas not. Sorry to see it all go but time does catch up on everyone eventually.

Magnitude 7.4 earthquake rocks Davao Oriental, nearby provinces on Oct. 10 A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale struck Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). It was initially reported as magnitude 7.6 before Phivolcs revised it to 7.5 then 7.4 Phivolcs said the quake’s epicenter was located 43 kilometers northeast of Manay, Davao Oriental, at a shallow depth of 23 kilometers. Davao Oriental earthquake

Yes I second that, a good place for a bottom

Yes sure do 👍

I remember a time in Baguio the hotel I was staying in shaking a lot around 4:30-5:00am, somewhere nearby in the region had a quake that registered around 5 on the Richter scale and I can say it wasn't the best experience as my mind went back to the reports I had read and seen on the 1990 earthquake up there. I have been through many cyclones which includes a typhoon that passed over the town I was in when in the Philippines once and can luckily say I have always come through them all unscathed. My heart does go out to those in the Philippines that have their lives turned upside down by the earthquakes and typhoons.

I spelt it wrong Suriwongse hotel, yep a seedy place but quite OK for short times 🤪

I think that short time hotel with the mirror above the bed may have been the Suriwonse hotel, I did enquire with them pre covid but it seems the mirrors are gone, much to my dismay.

So far in my life there are only 3 people (other than money boys) that I have told face to face that I enjoy being with another guy and 2 of those people are members here that I have met in Bangkok, that's why I like the anonymity here and find it easier to open up a bit and share experiences. Where I grew up it wasn't wise to let anyone know that a person had thoughts of being with another guy let alone doing something with another guy, luckily for me at that time those thoughts were only in the back of my mind. Likewise when I did military service I kept those thoughts bottled up inside for obvious reasons. When I went into the mining industry and moved to the towns in the north of Australia there was no way in hell I was going to come out and confess I liked m2m sex (when I finally got into it that is), I saw what mental torture some were put through when it was discovered they were either bi or gay and that worried me a lot. Even though I have been enjoying my bi side for many years now, in my life here I still have a padlock on the inside of my closet door and seriously doubt I will ever open up that door (certainly not where I am at the moment), I still like to keep some parts of my life private and away from those I know.

I can only speak for myself but being bi I have never felt challenged when it came to commitment due to being bi, I've always thought that when the right person came along I would commit and it wouldn't matter if it was a male or female. I do have a golden rule or standard that if I commit to someone it would strictly be a one on one relationship and that goes both ways, no extras on the side for either me or him / her. The only challenge to commitment I have ever had was through my old job and the hours I worked, others that worked the same had no issues but for me it was a deal breaker, after the long shifts I just wanted to switch off and that was best achieved by being by myself.

My flying habits have changed numerous times, used to be economy flights when flying overseas but my last several years working for a big mining company I splashed and went business class (economy to Bali from my old home town then business class onward). Since retirement and before covid it was economy from Perth WA to Thailand but my last trip and where possible from here on it will be business class, had enough of sitting in cattle class down the back. Partly to do with that I find the extra bit of comfort on direct flights from Perth much easier on the back and spine and I do like that extra bit of service up front enjoyable. Whenever I flew Perth to either Vietnam or the Philippines I would transit through Singapore (making sure I had a 3 hour stop in transit to help break up the flights) but on the return flight I would always stay in Singapore for at least 3 nights. Domestic flights in Australia I would never ever pay their bloated business class bullshit prices, they're just a blatant rip off on domestic flights and the so called 'extra service' on those flights are a load of bollocks.

A quick stabilisation effort and that is one hell of a lot of concrete. From The Nation Bangkok authorities have abandoned an effort to winch debris out of a 50-metre deep sinkhole on Samsen Road, choosing instead to rapidly pour 500 cubic metres of concrete into the cavern to stabilise the ground before anticipated heavy rainfall. The sinkhole, which opened near the entrance to Vajira Hospital during construction of the MRT Purple Line extension, poses a significant threat to the adjacent Samsen Police Station. Suriyachai Rawiwan, Director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, confirmed the urgent change in strategy on Thursday. The original plan, devised by Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, failed after a crane could not lift the debris and concrete sections. "The pieces were jammed against the earth and other fragments inside the hole," Suriyachai explained. "This necessitated an urgent plan change: pouring concrete directly into the sinkhole to rapidly restore the road surface and minimise impact on the public."

An update and it's not looking good, I believe the purple line extension runs under this road and this one is just short of the Thai Parliament. Mightn't mean anything but I would be very worried about that stretch of road at the moment.

Not so much on moral grounds and more on bad experiences but I avoid Qantas and Jetstar like the plague, Jetstar because they are a part of Qantas and are just a crap airline all up. Also avoid MacDonald's, mostly because it's grossly overrated and in my view not very appetising.