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So, I was curious about Facebook dating and gave it a try. People like you or you like them and if a match, you can chat. I met one guy that I thought was really cute and I wanted to meet him. We chatted for a few days and last night he came to my place for a date. We went to eat (not really as no seating but brought it back to the apartment). We chatted and had a great time. He speaks great English and is into computers and programming. He is a bit young, 20 years old, but very smart and funny. He did enjoy playing games online a bit, but that was fine. The night was great, sex was very good, and he asked for no money at all. He wants a BF. He comes to Bangkok once per week to play volleyball and asked if he could spend next weekend with me as well. I said yes. Since Jupiter Boy has left the picture, it looks like Volleyball Boy has came into the race.

It's clear we all have stories to tell about our times in Asia. Not necessarily with the boys of our dreams or the times of our lives. Often just general observations that strike us for one reason or another. Since few of us can travel and our time at home has not only already extended for the better part of 15 months but there is no end in sight, this little series (hopefully more will contribute) may help to while away the time - as well as raise a smile or two. As mentioned in another thread about Gay Icons, about 5 years ago I used to write for a blog run by an Ozzie guy. I kept much of the material and it's easy to bring it more up to date. So I'll start the ball rolling with an experience centred on two cute late teens Japanese guys. Dedicated Followers of Fashion I guess it must have been about 20 years or so ago. I had just spent a fun evening at the Ueno branch of Tokyo's 24 Sauna (the more popular branch in Shinjuku ni-chome had not yet opened) and was close to Ueno station for the train back to my hotel. It was then that I saw them. Two youngish Japanese guys chatting and laughing and turning right to the stairs taking them up towards the platforms. They looked cute - as most Japanese in their late teens do. Not unnaturally I followed, staying three or four steps behind so that my eyes would be in line with what I assumed had to a pair of lovely, lightly muscled Japanese derrières! Not that I had failed to see any in the sauna a little earlier. Far from it! Being a Saturday evening, 24 had been busy. The communal bathing area, the more personal showers and the rain shower room had all been full of a variety of tempting naked bodies. Even the darker communal rooms upstairs where coupling took place either on large mattresses on the floor or bunk beds with bodies only occasionally covered by duvets, had been witness to some lovely pounding flesh. But as I climbed those steps, assumption was as far as I would get that evening. Japanese youngsters are mostly slaves to the latest fashion craze. In my enthusiasm I had totally forgotten that the fashion of the day was a sort of grunge, loose-fitting look - in the case of my two boys, so loose that the crotch of their pants was as low as their knees. What a terrible shame, I thought! And then I remembered those days when skin-tight jeans had been all the rage. A bit before my time, but I had heard tales and seen photos of the mods and rockers and the skinhead motorcycle gangs. Drainpipe jeans, as they were called, had been all the rage then. Yet somehow for a growing boy who had never seen an Asian in his life, they held absolutely no appeal for me My youth coincided with the most inappropriately named bell-bottoms, for they had absolutely nothing to do with "bottoms" as I then associated the word. Cut rather tightly over the hips and thighs, these then flared out from the knee so that the bottom of the pants would be almost as wide as the length of the boots most commonly worn with them. Why on earth anyone thought these were fashionable beats me. But for a while they were immensely popular. The 1980s and 1990s seemed to flash by as I paid little attention to fashion trends. My work demanded suits or at least jacket and slacks, with jeans rarely figuring in my day-to-day existence. In those days before the Internet when hook ups took place mostly in bars and clubs, at first glance faces were more interesting than the lower part of guys' anatomies. By around the mid-2000s quite suddenly, or so it seemed to me, a merciful revolution took place. Around the world, designers decided that slim and skin-tight would return as the new 'look'. Young guys in Tokyo and all around Asia got rid of those low crotch garments in favour of increasingly hip-hugging, crotch-hugging, thigh-hugging, lower leg-hugging pants. Fashion now dictated that the precise contours of the lower body, every shape and every muscle, henceforth be visible in all their glory! All? Well, not quite all! Whilst derrières may now be proudly displayed leaving precious little to a fertile imagination, a certain degree of modesty extends to the slightly more loose-fitting front. No doubt some will suggest that in their quiescent state, few Asians have much to boast about in that department. And as a habitue of saunas and hot springs around parts of Asia in those days, I agree that is not entirely untrue. But then, who walks around with a permanent erection? And I can guarantee that once standing tall I have seen many young Asians with equipment that is more than merely satisfactory - in a few cases even humungous! But then, that's another story. In the meantime, I am just thrilled that every day I am able to see dozens of perfectly lovely slim young Asian guys showing me how they will look once those pants have been pulled off. Now if only someone would come up with a way of getting them off in a flash rather than the inelegant and constant tugging now required, many of us would be in seventh heaven.

I definitely agree Lawrence of Arabia should be in a 10 best movies list, although I have not seen it 10 times. Arguably the greatest epic ever made - cast, director, writing, music and especially its cinematography and stunning desert scenery. Loved Noel Coward's quip to Peter O'Toole after seeing the premiere, "If you'd been any prettier, the film would have been called "Florence of Arabia"! David Lean was a wonderful director. Some might argue that Dr. Zhivago is at least as good, although I think not. Bridge on the River Kwai was surely one of the great non-epic movies. His one semi-failure was his last in my view - A Passage to India. Another superb cast led by Dame Peggy Ashcroft who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. But casting Alec Guinness as the Indian Professor was a major mistake. No matter how hard he tried, he could never portray an indian successfully. I also felt Lean's keen eye sometimes deserted him. When there is a close up of the train arriving (to take the party to the caves?) it is spotlessly clean, not a speck of dust anywhere. Yet it had just steamed through the Indian countryside and surely should have been caked in dirt!

Wonderful choices,,,if this thread continues I'll catch up.

Here is a good review of I Promised You the Moon. I clarifies the Time shifts in the Series. And provides other good insights into the Series.

Casablanca (1942) - Ageless. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - Classic cast, terrific soundtrack; a true epic. Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Anthony Hopkins; need I say more. All the best movies have already been made. "I'm shocked...shocked.." "He likes your lemonade" "Goodbye, Clarice"

My choices are less upscale : Stryker Force Tradewinds / best butt ever filmed / California Kings

Pre-pandemic, I never hesitated to lock in an airfare well in advance, usually just after returning from my previous trip. That was then, this is now. Four unknowns make booking way out hazardous for four reasons: First, you aren’t assured that the carrier you book will actually fly on your chosen days. Second, you don’t know if your destination will be open to you. Third, you don’t know what local restrictions may be in place on your departure date. Fourth, change fee ambiguities. Some fare have no change fees but you do have to pay any fare differences. Unless you’re prepared to book fully refundable fares, no carrier is offering refunds. I’ve noticed that “no change fees” are becoming progressively less frequent. I've noticed that some Expedia listings may not indicate "no change fee" but when you go to the air carrier's website, they do show no fees on same flight. If the airline is responsible for a schedule change, your fare should not change. Using Expedia to check schedules and fares, I considered two destinations: Bangkok and Hanoi. I sampled New York and London departures. Dates sampled: Departing 19 October, returning 19 November. (Please bear in mind that flight offerings and fares are subject to change without notice. The following were sampled on the afternoon of 5 July). NEW YORK TO BANGKOK ECONOMY: fare range $759-$997 Best value: Finnair $791 (duration 20:45) Runner-up: Cathay Pacific $915 (duration 21:00) BUSINESS: fare range: $3080 to $5936 Best value: Finnair $3080 (duration 20:45) Runner -up: Eithad $3089 (duration 29:20) NOTE: it stops in Phuket first LONDON TO BANGKOK ECONOMY: fare range: $604 to $719 Best value: Swiss Air $611 (duration 13:40 Runners-up: Lufthansa $664 (duration 14:40) Finnair $676 (duration 14:55) BUSINESS: fare range $2058 to $4122 Best value: Swiss Air $2058 (duration 13:40) Runner-up: Lufthansa $2081 (duration 14:40) NEW YORK TO HANOI ECONOMY: fare range $944 to $1200 Best value: Cathay Pacific $1178 (duration 21:55) NOTE: chose this over competitors due to significant differences in duration) BUSINESS: fare range $2452 to $6680 Best value: Japan Air $2452 (duration 27:35) Runner-up: Qatar Airways $4243 (duration 21:55) LONDON TO HANOI ECONOMY: fare range $826 TO $1174 Best value: Turkish Air $826 (duration 15:45) Runner-up: Cathay Pacific $1174 (duration 19:55) BUSINESS: fare range $3621 to $4792 Best value: Turkish Air $3621 (duration: 15:45) Runner-up: none really due to huge cost differences WHAT TO LOOK FOR AS YOUR INTENDED TRIP DATE GETS CLOSER What I'm looking out for is more flight offerings. Most carriers that were servicing Southeast Asia destinations have yet to resume the frequency of operations that we were accustomed to before the pandemic. When countries announce hard plans to reopen to foreign tourists. carriers will begin to slowly build capacity. But I expect the change will be gradual.

"Other questions that still need answering include how and why Sinovac became the main Thai vaccine. If it has to be Chinese, then why not Sinopharm? That a Thai conglomerate is a business partner and investor in Sinovac makes the outcome smell fishy." Bangkok Post 2 July

For me: All the Hobbit and Lord of Rings Trilogy All the Godfathers Roadhouse - Yes, this one is out there, but I loved it.

Just googled this and found out that there is a full version that is 16min longer than the director's cut.

I Like PVR and have had lots of fun, but too many queens from CA go there for my taste. Monterey has a great gay sex scene and tons of opportunities. Mexico city is always fun, in my eyes.

An Appendix to Dedicated Followers of Fashion The Long and the Short With the European Football Championship and the South American Copa America Championship now down to their semi-final stages, I willingly admit that in my youth I was a dedicated follower of football. ‘Real’ football, that is. Not the American corruption which to this uninitiated observer always seems much more a mixture of a dash of rugby in an outright war – with each stop/start play gaining one side merely a few yards before the head-butting and shoulder-charging relentlessly resume. It all does seem a bit like trench warfare in World War 1, one step forward – two steps back. Only the battle-dress is less depressing! Mind you, I don’t like rugby either! Most of the players are built too much like refugees from Bangkok’s Tawan bar for my liking. Now the beautiful game has conquered the world. Not even the USA is immune to soccer’s charms. I remember in my youth watching my local team in the UK. It was often frustrating, if only because they lost far more often then they won. But sometimes it was utterly magical. I particularly recall when a Hungarian was purchased by my team, the only foreigner in a team of Brits. He played at Inside Right. This was long before the days of football managers adopting various pitch formations with their 10 outfield players more like mathematical formulae: 4-2-4; 4-3-3; 1-4-2-3 and other such seeming nonsense. This player moved around the pitch like a gazelle. His deft swift passing threaded the ball past several defenders of the opposing team as though through a needle, and his goals frequently wondrous. Of course it could not last. He was just too good. Soon he was sold to another continental team. What a sad day! There was, though, another reason for my interest in these supremely fit and talented players. Their shorts were more like mini-skirts for men! They might not have been skin-tight, but you could see all the detail of the players’ thigh muscles below. Even better, when those wearing white shorts were running, the muscles in their bum were deliciously clear. And just occasionally a player would tug at his opponent’s shorts pulling them ever so tightly so that the outline of dick and balls were equally clear. Two English soccer players 38 years ago: Photo Getty Images Although as remarked earlier I was no fan of rugby, when living in Japan I would often be transfixed watching the game on television on a Saturday afternoon. There should have been another word for the shorts these guys wore. Short they were not. Ultra-shorts? These Japanese teams wore mere slips of cloth. Best of all was watching the scrums, those parts of the game where the eight forwards in each team grab hold of each other, face the other team and then bend down low to try and push the incoming ball to their back line. Imagine! To stick together, you need to grab hold of something down there, and most hands latched on to those slips. Inevitably with all the pushing and shoving, the shorts frequently rose up to expose an alabaster coloured butt. Not once! Not twice! Throughout the whole 80 minutes! So why did all this change? Somehow, somewhere, the football authorities – in fact many sports authorities – decided that shorts had to fall. Not off, alas. Just down. And so over a period of years their length at least doubled. Then they got even longer. By the turn of the century, describing a basketball players’ shorts was a complete misnomer. ‘Longs’ are now hardly appropriate. A glimpse of a thigh these days is often like trying to spot a tiny slice of chipolata in large loaf of bread. And don’t get me off on swimming shorts when all decent young slim Asian guys should only consider the skimpiest Speedos. Jeremy Lin the Taiwanese-American who inspired 'Linsanity' was a basketball sensation who fell from hero to zero. With those white 'longs' looking hideous over longer black leggings (true, I don't like them!), perhaps not surprising. Photo: Getty Images Ah well! Progress cannot satisfy everyone. I ‘long’ for the old days when soccer players’ shorts were akin to those worn today by the many cute Asian gymnasts today when doing their floor exercises. Will they ever return? I still watch soccer occasionally. But the beautiful game has lost a little of its temptation for me. Photo: Tiebreaker Times

For those who missed this Matt Sterling classic: https://thisvid.com/videos/gay-porn-retro-tradewinds/

Tell me something I don't know !

You are a naughty boy! I could not understand why those were not familiar and so I Googled them. Then, bam, my memories returned.

All of the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

This guy, whoever he is, looks inebriated but quite, quite ripe and "ready to ride!" I'd like him to ride me into oblivion and then some!

I believe it's from My Own Private Idaho

I live with and amongst migrants (legal and illegal) from Myanmar. Most are from Shan, but there are a few Karen. They work in Thailand to be able to support their parents back in Shan/Kayah so, sadly, there's no possiblity for them to buy vaccines for their parents back in Myanmar. The border is closed and most of the 'informal' crossing points on the Northern Thai border are now patrolled by the Thai army. Under normal, non-COVID, circumstances the Thai army does not uually impede the use of these crossings.

A Thai friend of mine’s dismissive comment on sauna mania: “Office girls!”

Harry potter series. And local malay movies mostly cause back when we dont have netflix, these were shown in the tv multiple times lol. Im not so much of a movie junkies, but ive watch multiple tv series multiples times though.

The Wizard Of Oz 1939 Sorry not the original trailer. 424416709_TheWizardOfOzIMAX3DOfficialTrailer1(2013)-JudyGarlandMovieHD.mp4

Oh my there are so many...let's start with the 1930's...so many wonderful movies I've seen at least 10 times it's hard to pick 3 but here goes: King Kong 1933 Trailer re-release 322840805_KingKong(1933)OfficialTrailer.mp4

"When we are together it is clear that I am to be looked after." Yes; my experience is the same, even to the extent of my arm being held when we cross a road, even though my experience as a Londoner makes me far more aware of the dangers of traffic than a farmer from Kamphaeng Phaet, where two tractors are considered a traffic jam!

I don't tend to watch anything more than once...maybe twice at the most. But I did watch The Love of Siam at least 10 or 12 times. For several years it was my Christmas day tradition to watch it since it is set at Christmas time.

I thought I had never seen any movie ten times - then realised there is one I love which I have shown to many friends and boyfriends, Everyone loved it Victor Victoria with the quite wonderful Robert Preston as a gay nightclub singer, Julie Andrews, James Garner and Leslie Anne Warren Coming close would be Woody Allen's Manhattan with George Gershwin's great music.

Haha so many to choose from. I can stare at my various shelves of DVDs for ages looking for a 'different' one to watch; usually fail miserably, and then resort to one of my shelf-full of favourites. I am going to cheat and list three series/groups: Lord of the Rings/Hobbit Harry Potter Thor Undemanding fantasy, just what I need when I want to be able to relax over my dinner. And if I should fall asleep for a while during the film - doesn't matter, I know them all by heart

Can points be exchanged for frequent flier miles?

Alan has displaced Tony in my podium. He just left and I am too tired to write more than this line, but I can share a few pics. I am proud because my photography skills are improving.

Let's start with the (not so) bad news. Argentinean federal government has put in place restrictions that forced airlines to drastically reduce flights frequencies. I was supposed to be leaving on June 6th. Believe it or not, my new date to leave Buenos Aires is August 4th. I got an email from American yesterday, so you can imagine how stressed I have been since then. I perhaps-maybe-with luck could leave triangulating 30+ hours several stops flights and paying 3K, but fortunately I do not need to do that. Money is not an issue, lodging is not an issue (I already rented a place even better than the current one), not even my job is an issue, they will make accommodations. I am distressed mostly for two reasons. The most important one is my inability to deal with uncertainty. I had a plan that was working perfectly, and it was for a month. I did not plan for two months and right now I am in the middle of making re-arrangements. That stresses me out as hell. The secondary reason is my relationship with my "supervisor". I placed it in between quotation marks because we are also very close friends. She is right now going crazy because she needed me in DC next week, and as I love her beyond our professional relationship, I am upset. Hopefully, I will be fine tomorrow. Certainly, I am better than yesterday. It will be easy to readapt. First, I am not going broke because of this situation. My new airbnb is better and more expensive than the current one, but it is only 500 bucks for the full month. I still have plenty of cash, and if I run out of it I always have the CCs. I would lose the advantage of the black market exchange, but still everything is affordable. I will have to restrict the money invested in sex, but will have more time to explore Grindr and the local sex for free. I will have more time to spend with my mother, the rest of my relatives, and close friends. I will have to stop gaining weight at this pace, but still will be dieting eating delicious local food. My place in DC and my kitty are well taken care of by my friends and they are not a concern. The government's decision caught me unprepared, as the feeling in Buenos Aires is that the restrictions are being lifted. I even went out with friends a few days ago to a great Parrilla, and ate my first provoleta, another item checked out from my To Eat List. We ate in a place by my place, and all the restaurants seem born again with porteños (no tourists in the city) taking advantage of the few expected hours of sun, as rain was in the forecasting. When we sat to eat it was sunny and nice enough to endure the cold with the help of the sidewalk heating towers. When we finish eating, it was freezing and cloudy. So we decided to move inside to a coffee shop. As we were leaving the parrilla, we saw a street performance on its twin restaurant (same owners, we were in the parrilla corner, the other corner was a fish restaurant: La Dorita y La Pescadorita). Take a look, when I film back you can see the parrilla we are coming from. Notice the male siren in La Pescadorita. IMG_3226.MOV We just walked a block to find a nice coffee shop: Alchemia. The menu displayed dozens of coffee variations presented as the work of an alchemist, and the beverages were served in different shapes lab containers. I chose a spoon of vanilla ice cream with a double espresso shot. IMG_3229.MOV Delicious. Today I visited the Mercado de Pulgas. It is specialized in furniture and decoration, a traditional flee market refurnished and pumped as a touristic attraction by the city government. These are some of the pics I took. I loved these bar stalls, to sit butt to butt: I think I mention Mafalda to someone in some forum. She is the main character of a very popular comic strip from the 70s and after, very representative of Porteños hyper psychoanalyzed and over thinking nature. After walking around all these treasures, we sat in an organic bar in the very market to grab a bite. Prices were not low for local standards, just slightly above average, and the food was delicious. I ate a portobello cream soup and a spinach and cheese quiche. Including my water, my check was $AR 590 (U$S 6 at official rate/3.50 at Blue rate). Some of you like to check prices. As of today, June 30th, the exchange rate is U$S 1 = $AR 98 at official/167 at Blue). Take a look. Yesterday was a shitty day with all the stress triggered by my flight cancelation. But I had had a great day before. Tomy came to my place and we had a long session of pictures, video, and sex. I truly love some of the pictures we made, but I was frustrated at my clumsiness multitasking, which affected my sexual performance. I hope so. The other explanation is that I am just aging and my erection is not reliable at all. The boy is a masturbatory nuke, we had an earth shaking two hours fuck a couple of days before, but this time I was not happy with my performance. As I said, I love the pictures, though. I cannot say the same of the videos we recorded while fucking. I cannot fuck and film, my respect to the independent performers who can do that with mastery. Unfortunately, part of the adjustments I will have to make is cutting my budget on escorts. Tomy is relatively expensive and I will not hire him again as a model, hopefully only as an escort. On the other hand, and surprisingly to me, my rapport with Alan does not stop getting better. I am confident you will se more of him in the next weeks. He asked me for a last photoshoot for tomorrow, no charge, with fuck included as my goodbye. Now, that one is not our last chance and the boy is over excited because I am staying longer and we will be able to work more. THAT BOY!

An injured victim is carried away from the flames in a fireman's lift at the burning Ming Dih Chemical factory in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan, on Monday. One rescuer died fighting the blaze and at least 60 people were injured by the massive explosion and subsequent fire. (Rescue foundations photo) From Bangkok Post One rescuer was killed and more than 60 people injured in an overnight explosion and inferno at a chemical factory that continued to send black smoke into the sky over Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan late into Monday afternoon. Helicopters, some from the army, were called in to help firefighters spray flame retardant foam over the burning Ming Dih Chemical Co factory complex. They were battling to keep the advancing flames away from further stores of chemicals at the site, and prevent another explosion. Authorities warned of toxic fumes being generated by the burning chemicals. The initial explosion, which was felt nine kilometres away, damaged 73 houses and 15 cars in the nearby neighbourhood. Thai Rath identified the dead victim as Kornsith Laophan, 18, who was killed as he and other volunteers were fleeing flames surging from a store of chemicals. He stumbled and was overtaken by the fire. The Taiwanese-owned factory manufactures plastic foam and pellets. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said the inferno began with an explosion about 3.20am. What set it off was not known. Homes within a five-kilometre radius were evacuated amid fears of further explosions of the reported 50 tonnes of chemicals stored at the premises. Firefighters and helicopters were reportedly trying to defend one particular area that held 20,000 litres of chemicals. Pollution Control Department director-general Attapol Charoenchansa warned people that styrene monomer fumes from the blaze were carcinogenic . Continues with video https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2143767/factory-inferno-kills-1-at-least-60-injured