macaroni21

For citizens of poorer countries, foreign travel is a big deal. It's a symbol of status, simply because such "luxury" is very costly compared to their cost/standard of living back home. I've seen many people dress up for this status event, in the same way we dress up to attend the opera even if, in truth, there's no one there whom we need to impress. We just feel that dressing up would be the appropriate thing to do in such a situation. The foregoing is my theory whenever I see unusually well-dressed tourists at bazaars and food courts of foreign countries. There's also a rather comical scene I recall -- from Buenos Aires airport around 20 years ago. This woman was all dressed up to board a flight. Unfortunately, she had too much metal jewelry on her. Obviously, there was no way she could make it through the metal detector. First she had to remove her earrings, brooches , bracelets and necklaces in full public view, but even then the metal detector went hysterical and it turned out that she had all sorts of metallic sequins sewn onto her glittering dress, so she was led away for a strip search. She sort of made a scene too about the risk of her jewelry being stolen while they went into the Xray machine in a tray, and how she would be separated from that tray when she was led away for the strip search. Officers eventually carried the tray with them into the strip room. I had a hard time controlling my laughter. What's the point of dressing up for the flight when you have to undress for the public in a busy airport?

I think mnay countries have a similar requirement for entry -- to be able to demonstrate that one has a ticket for departure before visa-expiry date. Alternatively, to be able to demonstrate that you have the financial resources to purchase such a ticket if you do not yet have one. Enforcement however is patchy, or it comes in waves, such as when overstayers hit the news and the government has to be seen to be doing something. Another possibility is that those of us holding Western (or richer Asian) passports tend not to be asked to show departure tickets (so, we forget the rule may exist) whereas visitors originating from poorer countries are more likely to be asked this question. Such "racial profiling" (if you wish to call it that) happens just as often at Western airports (maybe even more often) than Bangkok or Asian cities. Some years ago, I saw a long slow-moving immigration queue at Heathrow comprising passengers just off a New Delhi flight and, as I was in a parallel (fortunately, faster-moving) queue, I overheard the mostly-Indian passengers passing a message down their line saying, "take out your departure ticket to show the officer when you get to the counter".

That's a bummer.

As far as I can remember, I made just the one visit to Super A in the 1990s and never went back. The visit lasted no more than one minute. Even so, it made a deep impression on me, starting with my shock at seeing only emaciated bodies, with the guy nearest me whipping his cock out even before I had a chance to find a seat. Somewhere in one corner was a farang sucking off 2 or 3 boys who formed a semi-circle around him. Taking a deep breath and collecting myself, I chose a seat, but just as I was about to lower myself into it, I saw a small pool of cum on the faux leather. I sprang up, looked for another seat only to see torn upholstery everywhere else, and decided that I was not sitting down anywhere. I turned to leave, but in my hurry kicked a small coffee table, whose leg immediately gave way and the table collapsed. I could not flee down the stairs fast enough. (Actually, I'm not even sure it was Super A. It might have been some other bar in the general area, but it was an upstairs place.)

A typo? "Funny Boys" was a bar from years ago in Pattaya, wasn't it? Perhaps you meant Fresh Boys.

I don't remember Classic House as a place for hunky masseurs, but then my last visit for maybe 5 - 6 years ago and things change. Overall, Chiang Mai's gay bar scene for visitors has been in decline for 25 years or more and I am hardly surprised that there are few attractions left. There may still exist gay bars for locals, but these are drinking and dancing places where friends go together for a night out... not the kind of place to see nude performances or take escorts out. Or speak much English. In short, my view is that Chiang Mai is worth going only if you're into cultural attractions. Not for its virtually non-existent gay scene. The other thing to beware of if you're visiting in summer is the mid-day temperature. It can get scorching hot in the day, yet without much relief in the evenings. Even when the rains come (starting in June perhaps), it doesn't get significantly cooler, it only gets more humid.

I wonder how the massage- and gogo- talent hoping to enter Thailand via land crossings are going to show USD 10,000 worth of medical insurance.

Debating the particular - patpong and Pattaya bars - does not really throw light on the more general issue. The general point as I see it is that reader and perhaps some others hold non-discrimination as an article of faith. With quasi religious fervour. I have explained that there are situations where a rational consideration can justify discrimination, and that discrimination in such situations can produce social good valued by people. Z909 has pointed out that all over the world, discrimination exists and is accepted. Sometimes, the rationale is clear. Other times, e.g. snooker contests, the rationale is not. Especially when it's a private business*, the owner should be free to establish whatever customer policies he thinks serves his business goal, including making his business exclusive to one community. *The exception is when a private business has such large market share, it approaches monopoly position. But these rational arguments and real life examples will never convince true believers. Dogma is funny, isn't it?

Alright, you're compelling me to explain my reasoning. Speaking only of "discrimination" is too blunt and superficial a concept. A better way to think about the issue is to frame it with reference to (a) power (b) volume and (c) safe spaces. The concept of safe spaces is to permit small minorities or oppressed communities to have their own spaces which they can call their own and feel safe in. To enable such spaces, a degree of discrimination needs to be applied to keep the more powerful or more numerous out, otherwise the space becomes swamped or dominated by the powerful or the more populous. There is therefore an argument for women-only safe spaces, keeping men out. There is an argument for teenage girls safe spaces, keeping horny teenage boys and older men out. There is an argument for Muslim-only safe spaces (in heavily non-Muslim countries), keeping non-Muslims out (especially proselytising Christians). An argument for keeping anti-abortion protestors a minimum distance (several hundred metres) away from abortion clinics.... In the scale of things, hetero women are far more numerous than gay men, and therefore there is an argument for gay-male spaces that keep out hetero women, otherwise the tone of the space will change to cater to hetero women. The same argument can be made to keep out hetero men, but in practise the non-availability of boobs, tits and pussies would mean they have no interest in swamping the gay bar anyway. However, once boobs, tits and pussies get into a gay bar (in the form of women customers), you can bet the hetero men will follow. Thus the "slippery slope" I referred to above.

See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/covid-19-travel-information.html

It's all flights into the US (unless my information is out of date). But one does not need a PCR. A rapid antigen test will do. Won't any doctor's clinic be able to do this? Then again -- any doctor's clinic -- will the clinic be able to issue a test certificate that meets US regulations? Better to ask. Based on my recent entry into the US, all it requires are these details: name, date of birth or passport number (and country), type of test, date of test, who performed the test, test result.

Good idea.

After having visited Thailand's many kinds of gogo bars over the years (decades), I'm of the view that there's a downside to too large a space. Lucky Boys of Patpong 2 (which I understand has not reopened) is one such space I would consider too large. It makes it hard for eye contact and smile contact, and therefore tends to reduce the boys to mere statutes. This is not to say that (if rent is affordable) a large floor area serves no purpose. I can imagine a smart operator splitting a large area into several, more intimately-sized rooms with a different vibe in each room to suit various tastes. Some customers like drag shows; others like shows with full-on nudity; yet others just want to mingle with boys, talk and tip them with the aim of finding a suitable guy to take out. But first and foremost, the space must remain a gay male space. Owners must keep women out, in my view. Once they are let in, it's a slippery slope. The dancers (mostly straight) tend to pay attention to them over the gay male customers. Then women's tastes begin to change the flavour of the club (i.e. men in jeans preferred over nudity), and then the girls' hetero boyfriends start to go with them to the club.... and that's the end of the business as far as I am concerned. I recently read a comment somewhere about a Montreal bar (Stock bar, I think) letting more and more women in. Their gay customers then complained that screaming hordes of women utterly destroyed any gay vibe there used to be. The trouble with Western countries is this madness about non-discrimination and how it may be illegal to bar women from entering (but yet, it is OK to bar men from entering some clubs especially on Ladies Nights). I am all for discrimination in such matters. But it'll be a long thesis for me to explain my thoughts and reasoning, and I will spare you that.

As Thailand was announcing this half-measure of a relaxation, Singapore announced complete removal of all pre-departure testing for vaccinated travellers. On-arrival testing had been removed some weeks earlier. Now, only an online health declaration needs to be conpleted -- the online version of the pre-Covid arrival card, I guess with a few more Covid-related questions, perhaps. Thailand needs to scrap its insurance requirement and its Thai Pass system, which by all accounts, is slow and inefficient.

When a bar (or massage place) has more customers during weekends than weekdays, it usually means that it is drawing mainly local customers, not tourists. Here, by 'local' I mean folks resident in Thailand including expats. In pre pandemic years past, I have not noticed much difference between weekday and weekend traffic. The businesses then were heavily reliant on tourists, not locals. We will know when tourism has fully revived when weekend/weekday traffic evens out. Bkk bars and massage places used to have a distinct surge in customers during the major holiday periods of east Asian countries, particularly 1st week May and 1st half Oct, in addition to Christmas and new year. I wonder if we will see a surge in a month's time (May). If so, it will be a good sign, though personally for me, these are periods I avoid.

This thread is being bombed ... by a business providing female escorts! Shudder!

Here's a recent review of Thai Airways' business class from Bangkok to Heathrow. Has service deteriorated after the huge losses the airline suffered as a result of the pandemic?

It's interesting that Thailand is scrapping the pre-departure test but keeping the post-arrival test. It's the opposite of what four of its neighbours are doing. Vietnam: Pre-departure PCR or antigen test required. No post-arrival test Philippines: Pre-departure PCR or antigen test required. No post-arrival test Singapore: Pre-departure PCR or antigen test required. No post-arrival test Cambodia: No pre-departure test. No post-arrival test. -- Malaysia: Pre-departure PCR test required. Post-arrival antigen test required. Indonesia: Pre-departure PCR test required. Post-arrival PCR test required. --- If the rationale is to avoid imported Covid, one might think that screening before the flght is more important – though I fully agree with z909's point about the absurdity of shutting down an entire sector of the economy over 0.002% of infections. That Thailand is scrapping pre-depature tests but keeping post-arrival suggests to me that at last part of the reason may lie in the commercial interest among Thai labs and hotels in keeping the golden goose (mandatory PCR tests and SHA hotel stays) alive for as long as possible.

Thanks z909 for the update. It's disapponting; we can only hope that in a few months' time, they'll re-open. There was a period when Screw Boys was well-known for its Vietnamese offerings. If it wants to stick to that formula, it may be having a harder time than other bars in finding staff while borders remain difficult.

One bar which was a staple pre-pandemic doesn't seem to be much mentioned lately -- Screw Boys. Has anyone ventured in lately? Is it even open?

I came across this yesterday as I doing trawling through the web for information an have just found it again. It's from Singapore's Changi airport website, and it says "Covid-19 test requirement - A pre-departure test is not required for transit travellers for all flights arriving in Singapore, including VTL flights." A quick check on Expedia shows about 2 direct flights a day between Singapore and Phnom Penh.

Thanks, spoon. However, the linked article only says quarantine abolished. It does not say whether pre-departure and/or post-arrival tests are still required.

Thailand may be under increasing pressure to open up more quickly, considering the way its neighbours are opening up. Although Thailand will lift the requirement for pre-departure PCR tests on 1 April, the Thai Pass, insurance requirements and on-arrival tests are still in place. As seen in the above quote, Thailand's Tourism minister is only asking the cabinet for a downgrade from PCR test to antigen test after arrival on 1 May. No mention about abolishing the Thai Pass pre-application before entry. Reader posted that Malaysia will be liberalising its requirements on 1 April. With that, it will be ahead of Thailand. From 1 April, Malaysia will not require travellers to seek entry permission before travelling, and will only require an antigen test after arrival. However, a pre-departure test is still required. Today Singapore announced a liberalisation too. For fully vaccinated travellers, not only will Singapore abolish the requirement to seek permission before entry, it will abolish the post-arrival test from 1 April. Even the post-arrival test has, for some tme now, been just a rapid antigen test, not a PCR test. It will be gone from 1 April. Singapore still has a pre-departure requirement for an antigen test, but is now suggesting that at the next review in about 2 - 3 week's time, this may be abolished too - which will mean a full restoration of open borders as they were pre-Covid (for vaccinated travellers). The Philippines requires vaccinated travellers to register through Bureau of Quarantine’s OneHealthPass (OHP), an online platform, three days before departure -- no mention about waiting for approval, so I guess it's only registration, not application, unlike the Thai Pass -- and take a PCR or antigen test before flying. No post-arrival test, no quarantine. Vietnam requires a pre-departure PCR or antigen test and submission of an online health declaration. No post-arrival test. No quarantine. Cambodia, to the best of my knoweldge, is ahead of its neighbours. Fully vaccinated travellers do not have to take pre-departure or post-arrival tests when entering Cambodia. Disclaimer: The above information is what I read today in a quick bit of research into entry requirements. I don't swear that my information is fully accurate or up to date, so please don't rely on what I'm reporting here without doing your own checks. Indonesia is the one country where I am getting conflicting information, so I have left it out from this survey. Some information is about Bali only, others are about the whole country... confusing!

As so often is the case with such announcements that are intended to boost tourism, the minister is silent as to what will happen if the test result comes back positive.

Here's what may be an unusual viewpoint: At its peak of its "glory days", I could never find any guy from Tawan to off. They were way too muscly for my taste. Between competitions or in more recent (pre-Covid) years such as 2015 - 2016, I thought the selection was better. There would be some guys who were biggish but not Mr Rippled Hulk. Compared to other bars, they were also (generally speaking) more pleasant personality-wise. Unfortunately, while the period of faded glory of the mid-decade was good by my taste, it was beginning to "fade" a bit too much in the last 2 years or so pre-Covid. Several of the regular guys there were beginning to run to fat - it's a real risk when one has become used to eating big meals but do not hit the gym as much as before. Also, my recollection is that the number of working guys were dwindling.