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As my business is now closed already for 6 weeks due to Covid-19, I am getting bored and take some time to write a report about my latest trip to LOS. During winter, some take a shortski for a long weekend. I don’t like that, so I have booked a 5 day 4 nights trip to Bangkok at the end of January: leaving on Thursday evening after office hours, taking an overnight flight to BKK arriving on Friday afternoon and leaving Tuesday morning and be home on Tuesday evening. Back in the office on Wednesday morning, only missing 3 work days. As I only have a direct flight with Thai leaving at noon and arriving at 6 AM in BKK, I had to take a connecting flight. Last year, I used Aeroflot through Moscow, but this time Finnair was the cheapest, only 505 EUR. The day before departure, I got an email from Finnair that my flight was overbooked and offering compensation for voluntary denied boarding. Didn’t react to it, as I was not sure which leg of my flight was overbooked. After my first flight to Helsinki, I got the same email for the second time. Looked at the departures in Helsinki and noticed there was a Finnair flight to Moscow, which would give a nice connection to the Aeroflot flight to BKK I used last year. Arrival difference in BKK was about 3 hours, and I would still have my full first evening. I volunteered, and had to choose between 300 EUR cashback on my credit card or a flight voucher of 500 EUR. Hesitated a bit, but choose the 500 EUR flight voucher valid for 1 year. 3 hours less in BKK, but probably my next trip for free… Friday evening As usual, I have booked a suite on the top floor of the Raya Surawong hotel. I really like that hotel and all the boys know it. It is so sad to see Soi Twilight closed, but I’m up to discovering the new bars. But first, I decide to go to Golden Cock bar. I am lucky and get into some hot action with 3 of the boys. I really like that they are so open to each other. I left happy and gave a nice tip to the 3 boys. Afterwards, I visited Lucky Boys, which I really like. Even when crowded, it feels like you have enough air to breed, as it has many seats and a very high ceiling. Mamasan from X-boys recognized me immediately. It is really a “supermarket of boys” as so many cute guys are on stage. Had a drink, watched a show, selected a boy and we went back to my hotel room. Boy was from Cambodia, would do everything and kept that promise. Gave him a well deserved tip when saying goodbye and added him on my Facebook. I stayed in bed and had nice dreams…

They refuse to listen anyway, so just try not to smile too much...

Travel insurance issued on or after April 1 of this year specifically excludes coverage involving COVID-19 or the virus that causes it. Insurance companies have gone to great lengths to carve this coverage out in their new policies. Medical claims, evacuations, delays or cancellations unrelated to COVID should still apply. Make sure you read your policy before it is issued.

Here is the company I used. https://www.globalguardian.com/air-ambulance Here is also another alternative company https://medjetassist.com And yes when I used my company they paid all of the costs up front and made all arrangements. The owner of the company told me later if I had paid on my own for the services it would have been $100,000 usd. I did have to settle my bill with the hospital and doctor in Fortaleza before I left but that was only $2000 for three days which I later got reimbursed for by my medical insurance back home.

No one knows what the situation will be in October 2020 but the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is saying a second wave is likely in autumn and/or winter and that we could see simultaneous epidemics of Covid-19 and influenza at that time. That would be devastating to health care systems everywhere. This story linked below, about the current status of Covid-19 in hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, is heartbreaking. The young doctor in the more affluent Zona Oeste who is interviewed reports that he has only one ventilator per 30 Covid-19 cases and that they are having to make decisions about who receives - or doesn't receive - respiratory support. Another hospital in the more economically challenged Zona Norte, where many of our GdePs live, reports that facility's ICU beds are filled to capacity. It's a tragic state of affairs no matter how you look at it. And I suspect that much of Brazil is still on the upslope of the Covid-19 case and death curve. G1: Médico do Rio diz ter só um respirador para 30 pacientes: ‘A gente acaba tendo que escolher'. https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/04/22/medico-do-rio-diz-ter-so-um-respirador-para-30-pacientes-a-gente-acaba-tendo-que-escolher.ghtml

Absolutely the Darwinian answer.

Pullman is the star. Different stories each season as Pullman is a detective trying to figure out a crime. Things aren't always as they seem and crimes happen for a reason beyond the actual event. There is often more to the story and Pullman's character tries to get to the bottom of it. In the current season, Bomer is a top but Pullman tries to get him to bottom. OK, last sentence is not true. But, the rest is about as close as I can give you.

After coronavirus

Hondureño red, for a touchable primary colour ...

You can add a third leader, Boris Johnson. There is much used footage of him at the end of February boasting at a press conference of shaking the hands of virus sufferers. There is nothing like catching the virus and nearly dying to make someone wake up to themselves. The virus has had a catastrophic impact in Britain and, very important, the official statistics as disastrous as they are, don’t include deaths in aged care facilities. Johnson has a lot to answer for.

Saturday I slept all morning and even part of the afternoon. Went out for a walk, but couldn’t find a masseur I really liked. Dinner buffet in Le Méridien hotel, which is expensive but really nice for a farang like me who is very picky on food. Many boys contacted me on Grindr. I noticed Rak, which I knew from previous visits, but does not work anymore as a gogoboy. He agreed to meet late in the evening. Nice to see him again. Visited Moonlight to start the evening. Too many Chinese with mouthmasks around me, and boys not really my type, so I left after 20 minutes. Went over to some bars on the first floor in front of Lucky Boys. Did not find the right boy, so went over to Lucky Boys again. Boy from yesterday evening recognized me, but I had decided to take different boy every evening during this short trip. During previous trips, I often had preferred one boy for several nights, but not this time. Number 1 in Lucky Boys tried to get a repeat off, but he as a dud when I offed him in his X-boys period, I ignored him. It took me a long time to make up my mind, as there are so many good looking boys. Mamasan came to sit next to me, so I gave her a tip when I had selected my boy. Once again a boy from Cambodia, who performed well. He really liked my room and made a lot of selfies. Even 3 months later, he still uses one on Grindr and another one on his Facebook. So nice to keep some connection with the boys on Facebook. Sunday Did not feel so inspired, so I went over again to the “super market of boys” Lucky Boys. Once again I noticed a very hot boy from Cambodia. I must say the quality of the boys in this bar is far above average I have seen in other bars in Bangkok or Pattaya. The boy turned out to be a great bottom, so tip well deserved. The evening is only starting, so I went to the soi with DJ Station, but didn’t like it over there. Came back to Screw Boys, noticed a younger Lao bottom and we went to my room. Not a top performer, but it was a great evening anyway. Monday Today is all dedicated to Viro, my all-time favorite boy from Battambang region. We met about 2 years ago when he was new at X-boys. Last year, we have spent a few days together in Poseidon hotel in Pattaya. We chat a few times a month on Facebook. He went back to school after returning to Cambodia, but came to BKK to meet me today and stay over until I leave for the airport tomorrow. He is the only boy I like so much he can stay all night. Otherwise I prefer to sleep alone. He really gives me a boyfriend experience. I am so happy to meet him again. I pay him for 2 days, as he has been travelling so far to meet me.

Make that at least two countries headed by Presidents with an anti-science, anti-medicine agenda.

As an aside it seems like on previous trips to Brazil that it's just my luck that the first guy I meet up with turns out to have a cold or cough halfway through the programma. I always think what bad luck--now I'm going to be sick for the rest of my vacation. In the past this was often just an annoying cold--though once I did have the worst flu of my life in Rio. I doubt that when things re-open the sauna guys will have access to testing or will stay at home if they are sick. It will for sure be interesting to see the vibe when things re-open. Maybe as foreigners people will shy away from us as it's widely thought that it was foreigners and rich Brazilians who travel that brought Covid to Brazil. I remember while traveling in the early days of HIV you didn't exactly want to advertise that you were from San Francisco or people would keep you at arms length. We will just have to see how this evolves and one day hopefully all will be back to the way it was!

I agree wholeheartedly with you on the need for medical evacuation insurance, in particular, when traveling to medical resource limited destinations, e.g., Brazil. This was true prior to Covid-19 and will continue to be true when the pandemic seems like a bad nightmare in our distant memories. The problem with this disease, however, is that hypoxia and respiratory collapse occur suddenly and without much warning. So, there wouldn't be time to do all of the following requisite steps: -- (1) to make the call to the evacuation insurance company (2) to have them do your insurance verification and medical qualification for international air transport (3) to round up and dispatch the air ambulance and its qualified medical crew (4) for the evacuation crew to fly from, for example, North America to Brazil (at least an 8 hour trip from the nearest U.S. cities and, I imagine, much longer from Europe and Down Under) (5) for the crew to travel through urban traffic in Brazil to your hospital (6) for the crew to do the medical handoff with your Brazilian ICU care team (7) through (10) then to repeat all of the steps above in reverse until you are safely inside an ICU in North America or wherever you wish to be transported. (11) and (12) Oh, and I forgot the time spent to facilitate your passage through Customs and Immigration for Brazil and your destination country. Now, let's assume that you have survived in Brazil up to the point of loading you and your rapidly failing organ systems onto the air ambulance. Remember that your air ambulance will be pressurized, like any other jet, to a high altitude barometric pressure. This will place an additional strain on your capacity to breathe. And I see that @SolaceSoul: has already provided the answer to my following question: In the fine print legalese that none of us non-attorney types understand or take the time to read, is there not an exclusion in these medical evacuation policies for illnesses caused by declared epidemics and pandemics? [@SolaceSoul indicates that, yes, there IS an exclusion for Covid-19. Thanks!] TL;DR Travel to Brazil is not advisable unless and until you have been demonstrated to be protected against the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a result of either symptomatic or asymptomatic Covid-19 acquisition OR as a consequence of having received a safe and effective vaccine.

This is hilarious.

More than ever it is essential that anyone planning to travel outside the US have medical evacuation insurance that guarantees they will be evacuated to the hospital of their choice. I have posted about this before and I feel strongly about it. On a pre-Covid trip to Brazil a few years back I got a nasty fracture in some sporting actives in Northern Brazil. I was able to get myself to the nicest private hospital in Fortaleza--but even there I had to spend over 24 hours soon a gurney in the emergency department before spending a few days in a room. My Brazilian friends told me that wait was typical--public hospitals much worse. My medical evacuation insurance company sent a private jet to transport me all the way to California at no cost to me. I had surgery in California and I am as good as new, You do not want to be seriously ill in Brazil without a way to get back home for care. Coverage is about $265/year and a bargain when you consider the alternative.

DRAFTING JOE BURROW I have no interest in football, or the NFL draft. But I sure would like to draft Joe Burrow! We'd start with a physical exam! But, I'd grab him more gently!

Granted. But point being that prominent public-facing First Lady position requires considerably more political finesse savvy etc than head toilet-cleaner.

THere's nothing stopping them from changing anything in the future. I'm just trying to make the simple point that there might be a simple explanation on why they did what they did.

Fans of LA's Studio One, which was actually in West Hollywood, may like this new video which I learned about on towleroad.com: https://www.towleroad.com/2020/04/studio-one-forever/

I didn't know that!

Ansel raised a small fortune with his pic! https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-coronavirus-ansel-elgotrt-nsfw-nude-photo-instagram-charity-20200423-27pphugzeraxhh6zur6cr5bvwe-story.html

Well, most countries are blanket banning travel anyway, so i see this exercise to choose which countries to be classed as high risk is futile to say the least. Time would be better spent in tackling internal issues rather than worry which country is high risk or low risk as it doesnt take much for the virus to spread. But if you really feel its necessary to do it now, do it properly and based it on active cases.

I’m booked for late October but I don’t like my chances.

My intellectual & spiritual god till now was the lit-crit academic Harold Bloom. Now, this guy.

Followed by....

It was just a joke Lucky. Everyone is making that joke. I had no predicting intention.

The end of empire? I was going to suggest this be in the Politics forum until I realized it was about a tv show!

RockHard, you crack me up. But, I'd always rather had an OK cup of coffee (does the deed) and a lot of hot guys cruising than tranquility any day of the week. I'm a guy snob and love to look at as many as possible. Lucky, you would have made a mint!

I mean, does everything about Trump's supporters come down to racism? Obviously the answer we need to the pandemic is to shut down immigration, which, in fact, is the answer to everything, right? Unless we're talking about a white prostitute who lied on and violated her visa, with an anchor baby and chain migration of her family--that's First Lady material, because, well, at least she's not black like the last one... Oh and by the way this Christian conservative giant cheated on her with another prostitute and payed hush money with campaign funds. But everybody's white so again, OK. It's OK to gridlock the entrance to a fucking hospital during a pandemic--while waving confederate flags--because you can't currently go to your hairdresser, but NOT ok to take a knee for a moment in protest of clear and documented police brutality... again, it's like there's a difference I'm missing I can't quite put my thumb on that drives this base forward at almost every turn. Ok, ok, it's not just racism. There's misogyny too.

The afterwards is what is happening to so many I know.

If they can do it we can do it ...

Qualified, educated woman of color would piss you off, but a fucking dipshit pretend-billionare game show host con-man you're just fine with. What are her qualifications, you ask? Well, speechwriter for Melanoma Trump, for one.

What is your favorite color? Show a photo (not the x forum here).

I like black.

I like yellow. This was my favorite thong, but the guy I was dating begged me not to wear it as he couldn't restrain himself. j/k

Yes. 100% agree. And traffic fatalities do not overwhelm the health care system or endanger the lives of health care workers. Boggles the mind that after all this time some people are still saying there's nothing special about a highly contagious disease with serious health consequences.

Many ask for advise but don’t pay heed.

Yes. Death accident is not contagious. Covid-19 is. And we have seen much wealthier countries with much better healthcare being overwhelm by covid-19 and death counts were in ten of thousands because they didnt shut down their economy early enough. Thailand death toll is low because they of this, and they will continue to do all they can to avoid being the next USA (used to be italy, and before that, wuhan)

Because I am a Horny Slut and love the sex I get in Brazil.

My 2 cents... If you still haven't bought a ticket to Brazil...then WAIT...here it's a complete mess: lack of reliable sources of information, lack of tests, people doing whatever they want, Federal government (BOLSONARO) acting like dumbasses. Many people here are still thinking that it's nothing more than a bad flu thanks to how the information has been delivered by those people who should actually protect the ones who are not enough educated to fully understand the situation. Here it's completely down to the governors choices...every state here it's taking its own choices, some are in lockdown (RJ and SP for example, with SP being close to EU standards), some are doing nearly nothing. If you have already bought a ticket...90% chance that your flight is going to be canceled if it is scheduled to happen before the end of July. So i you wanna buy a ticket, or if you are rebooking a canceled trip, first of all keep in mind that your travel insurance, won't cover eventual medical expenses following incidents related to a pandemy...so even if you manage to come here before the end of July and you manage to get infected, chances are you're going to pay a ton of money to get a proper medical attention if you'll end up needing ICU. Second of all keep saunas out of your mind until at least October 2020 (if we're lucky).

I'm thinking about the second half of August for 3 or 4 weeks. But I have been thinking for too long. I could buy lufthansa ticket from my city in europe to rio for $500, now it's $1100 I could buy latam to SDU for $600, now it's 1200. I wonder if the prices drop again I checked airbnb. The appartment I rented for $38 now $16 Still there are so many questions - will it be possible to transit via european airports? What about a quarantine on arrival to brazil (now it's voluntary 7 days if i am not wrong)? What about quarantine on returning home? And I think august-september is the best time to sneak in between two waves of virus, isn't it?