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Lack of vaccines, delay in bringing vaccine manufacturing on line, over confidence...infected folks going home because of lack of work...very sorry for Thailand's troubles which work to prohibit me from traveling to Thailand.

This is basically the third in the occasional series I wrote for a friend's blog a few years ago. The first two are found in the Experiences of Asia (Gay-Related) to While Away These Difficult Times thread under Gay Asia. This is much more general. It was also written at the start of 2017. I have looked at updating it, but sorry to say that involves too much work. So if you can think back to 2017, this will all make more sense and may make for an interesting short read. Change has Improved Some Gay Men’s Lives, but not Others Change affects us all throughout our lives – partners, friends, where we live, the fashions we wear, our hobbies, passions. You name it, for most of us life is a never-ceasing process of change. Almost frighteningly, it seems to gets faster as we grow older. I used to think life would slow down once I passed 50. Not a bit of it. Time moves forward with almost frightening speed. So much to do and less time to achieve it. As we start yet another year, as yet another line appears on our faces and a centimetre to our waists – oh, I just hate you gym bunnies! – take a moment to think of the changes that have occurred over the last 50 years. Since 1967 men have walked on the moon and the rich have travelled supersonic on Concorde. China had recently entered into a disastrous Cultural Revolution. Yet in 1967 it joined the nuclear club by testing its first nuclear bomb and would emerge as the world’s second largest economy. Thankfully the constant fear of a world-ending nuclear war was slowly to come to an end with the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union two decades later. In 1967 the average cost of a new house in the USA was $14,250 and in the UK £3,700. The US-led War in Vietnam had escalated into a maelstrom of horrific proportions drawing Cambodia and Laos into its theatre of operations before pulling out, leaving Cambodia in a political vacuum and the resultant unimaginable genocide of the Khmer Rouge. On a lighter note, in 1967 The Beatles issued the iconic album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Muhammad Ali was stripped of his World Heavyweight boxing title for refusing conscription into the US Army and Elvis married Priscilla. The world’s first heart transplant took place in South Africa, the first ATM machine appeared (in London) and Israel won the Six-Day War. The price was heavy, though. A barrel of oil that year cost US$1.50. Soon the world economy entered a tailspin as the Arab producers’ oil cartel OPEC increased the price by almost 500% in 1974 and a further 280% in 1979. A prisoner for 27 of his 95 years, Nelson Mandela became the world’s conscience and a beacon of hope for peaceful change. Vladimir Putin, the former KGB agent of whom President George W. Bush famously declared, “I looked the man in the eye . . . I was able to get a sense of his soul!” proved that Bush’s eye for character was as flawed as his decision to invade Iraq on false pretences. Putin was soon to show his real hand only too clearly. In 1967 Jim Thomson, founder of the Thai Silk Company still bearing his name and strongly rumoured to have been one of Bangkok's closet gays of the time, vanished without trace walking in the forest in Malaysia. US Navy pilot John McCain was shot down over North Vietnam. Actor Julia Roberts and CNN’s gay anchor Anderson Cooper were born. Another gay man, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, committed suicide. Advances in technology soon vastly improved most lives. Fax machines, scanners, CDs, mobile phones once the size of a brick and now so small they slip easily into pockets, digital cameras and recording, smart TVs, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook . . . What advances are 2017 likely to bring? All the while in what is called the developed world our lives as gay men are very different compared to 50 years ago. In the USA, President Eisenhower had issued an Executive Order in 1953 barring gay men and women from all federal jobs, quickly followed by many state governments. The FBI intensified its surveillance programme against known and suspected homosexuals. It was not until the Stonewall Riots of 1969 that gay men in the USA really began to organise. Then just as countless millions around the world were tentatively celebrating their freedom from the closet, a sword appeared threatening to strike all down with a new and unexplainable disease given the acronym AIDS. Those who lived through that first decade of the incurable disease will never forget the fear that gnawed at gay communities and preyed on our minds whenever we had sex with another man. Would we be the next victims? Many of us wept as we lost friends and friends of friends. But we marvelled at the love and compassion shown by lovers and carers as they helped make the end of life as comfortable as possible. Whatever the tragedies, there is surely no doubt that AIDS made most of the understanding world aware that gay people were everywhere, not just closeted in little ghettos. And perhaps the silver lining of the crisis is that this knowledge eventually led more and more to understand why gay people are no different from them – except we like to have sex with and be partnered with members of our own sex. Many – but far from all – were moved by books and movies which began to explore the subject of AIDS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYJYW_9mFVg Clip from “Philadelphia” (1993) with Tom Hanks as the AIDS patient 1967 was bittersweet in a matter of law. England and Wales finally struck from the statue book the out-dated Victorian law criminalising homosexual behaviour. Sadly, before it retreated from its Empire, the United Kingdom had singularly failed to strike out parallel laws in former colonies. Vikram Seth, the gay author of the marvellous novel “A Suitable Boy”, recently said, “You find homosexuality in the Kama Sutra . . . in the Hindu tradition, the Muslim tradition, the syncretic tradition . . . there has never been intolerance of this kind.” Indeed, half of the world’s countries that criminalize homosexuality today do so precisely because they cling to Victorian Britain’s idea of morality. And in ten nations, including former colonies, the punishment for being gay is death. So, as we celebrate the arrival of gay marriage in several countries including, I believe, soon in Taiwan, as we celebrate all the advances that have been made over the last 50 years for the gay community as much as for the world community, we must remember that for far too many of the peoples on our planet, not much has really changed. Today Taiwan is the one beacon of light that hopefully will lead the way to greater LGBT acceptance. This ad was recently seen on the Taipei MRT stations. For those for whom progress has largely passed them by, perhaps the French express it best in the saying, “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.” Usually said in a spirit of resigned acknowledgement, “the more things change, the more they remain the same” is sadly too true for too many. Let us hope that more and more positive changes will eventually come, and that “plus ça change” will be uttered less in 2017.

I think we must add to that list two vital elements that are only partially implied: total ineptitude of the government and endemic corruption. If the numbers are really much higher than are being reported, opening up of the country is surely going to be a long way away.

I am not a Facebook member and have not desire to join. But we all know it is not the only way to meet guys and the apps we use have been changing over time. At the end of the 1990s there was one here in Thailand mostly for Thai boys but surprisingly was almost all in English. I'm sure it was only on the internet, but it was a good way of finding very agreeable company. For some years my two most successful Asian computer apps were fridae, based in Singapore, allegedly with 500,000 members around the Chinese diaspora, and gaydar. The former was free but you accessed the entire membership for a $49 annual fee. Living in Asia that was certainly worth it and I met many guys as a result. It was taken over from the gay guy who ran it as a commercial concern about 5 or so years ago. Now it is a shell and in its death throws. Perhaps surprisingly I found gaydar extremely good for making contacts in places like Japan and Taiwan. I may have mentioned this hook-up before - if so, apologies in advance. I have tried to find the key words on the search engine but without success. Once planning a trip to Tokyo in the mid-2000s I spotted a lovely 21 year old on gaydar. We chatted and agree to meet at my hotel for coffee after he had finished his studies. I never like to hook up with someone first in my room as descriptions and photos are still sometimes inaccurate. So I waited for my hoped-for new friend in a corner of the lobby coffee shop. A few minutes later in walked this vision. Surely it has to be him, I thought. It was. He came and sat with me and we chatted for about an hour. Not surprisingly for those looking for foreigners on the hook up sites in those days he spoke excellent English. He told me he had recently broken up with a US sailor from the nearby Yokosuka Naval base. He was happy to come up to my room. I was ecstatic! I was even more so when he hugged and held each other tightly. I could feel down below something which was certainly not the "medium" in the gaydar description. I told him, "Masayuki-san, that is not medium. It's not even big. Its humungous!" Clothes ripped off, I saw with my own eyes that I was right. A marvellous sight to behold - and he was not even a top! We quickly showered, played around a bit and then got down to business. Wow! What an evening. Later I suggested I take him for dinner. One of my favourite restaurants in Nishi-Azabu was full and so we went to a nice French restaurant across the road. He then came and stayed the night, as he was to do the following two nights until I had to leave. Masayuki was definitely boyfriend material - and more! But there were two problems. We lived in different countries and his studies were being paid by one of the Japanese large conglomerates. Six months later when he graduated, he was theirs for a minimum of five years and they could post him anywhere and everywhere in Japan they wanted and when they wanted. So as we discussed seeing each other again, we both knew we could only be together before his graduation. I made the most of it with three trips to Japan and he came to spend 8 days with me in Bangkok and Phuket. We said our goodbyes and they were tearful. Yet we did meet up once again. Probably around 2 years later I was whiling away time in the shower area of the 24 Kaikan sauna in Tokyo when I heard someone mention my name. Who on earth can this be? It was Masayuki. But he had changed. Once he started working, he had met up online with an New York banker who visited Japan every month and was a muscle mary. He had persuaded Masayuki to join him in the gyms. In a way I was glad, because this body was not the Masayuki I had known. But that "medium" appendage was still there! I wonder what the best apps are nowadays apart from Facebook.

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.

Optimistic me will offer him to buy a new computer and him refusing profusely and saying all he need is to come to your place more often so he can use your computer for study

don't waste time and buy him this computer today as you know you will anyways sooner or later so get over it ASAP and he will love you forever or at least till next Monday

Luckily Volleyball Boy did not ask for money. He is a good guy and only wants love. Then, today he told me about his computer being broken and he can't go to school or do work without it. So sad. I don't know why he told me that?

"I have certain rules I live by. My first rule: I don't believe anything the government tells me. Nada! Nothing! Zero! Works very well for me." - George Carlin

I do think a Lockdown is a good idea. But, it is because they did not prepare the vaccines properly for all to take. All of this could have been avoided.

In one of my first calls to American to inquire about earlier tickets, the agent on the other side of the line recognized me. He told me he remembered me from three years ago. Unbelievable. Following his advise, I have been calling everyday at 8am. No changes. Current restrictions expire this Friday, and there is a lot of expectations about whether the government will soften or harden them. I am not anxious about it, there is nothing I can do about it and all the pundits are just playing the guessing game. So far, I am staying until August 4th. I wanted to say goodbye to Palermo before moving to my new base. I walked down to what I believe is Palermo Soho. I am a little lost with all these realtors made up new neighborhoods. I walked around Plaza Armenia, enjoying an amazing sunny week end. Of course, the neighborhood fair was up, and they would take your temperature before being allowed in. I was glad that the park was fenced, to keep children away. I chose a cafe in a corner, to have a brunch sitting in a sidewalk table, under the sun. After brunching, I walked back to Palermo Hollywood. On the other side of Plaza Armenia, instead of a food fair there was an art craft fair. It was not a long walk, but the neighborhood has plenty of treasures. Palermo used to be not so trendy in this area because of inundations. Avda Juan B Justo, one of the many main arteries across the neighborhood, used to be a creek. It was intubated and burry, but the water stream increased with time and with a moderate rain the building would be one meter under water. Once the intubation was updated and the inundations stopped, Palermo Renaissance started. Another important infrastructure project that changed the area's physiognomy was the elevation of the train. All the land that used to belong to the railroad company is now being redesign mostly as new public open spaces. An example: What you see at the picture's right side is the elevated railroad. On both sides the city is landscaping public parks. Many are still under construction. Besides a last walk, I also had to visit my new favorite bakery in Buenos Aires. Panadería Don Blanco. Last Tuesday, I moved to my new airbnb. I chose the place because the pictures showed me a nice stage for new photoshoots with Alan. I am so disappointed. This was the first big mistake I made in this trip. Not only the place is actually smaller than expected. Not only there is limited natural light and the inside lighting is bad. The worst thing is that it does not feel like an airbnb. It is a beautiful, traditional building in the historic area of the city, Palacio Raggio. A huge, five stories building that serve different functions throughout its life. Now it was refurnished into small apartments. It feels like you are in an hotel, without the advantages of being in an hotel. I like airbnb because you stay in a place where someone is living, or could be. I doubt anyone is living in this building. These are all short term renting units, I bet. The first impression was just worse than disappointing. I was unpacking and settling down. I found an power outlet adaptor in a bookshelf, and plugged it on the power wall power source. The whole power shut down. I had to go to the reception and they had to restaure the power from the central control. Imagine my mood. This place definitely suck. I needed something comforting to cheer me up. A few days before I had found Jason in Skokka. Another Venezuelan import. The link is already gone, but I have a screen shot. I had seen him in one of LatinLeche clips, and in the local forums I found good references. The contact was quick as I did not have any questions. His response to my first contact was Besides cheering me up and out of my disappointment, I wanted to try the security system in this stupid fancy pretentious building. Jason arrived on time, he had texted me on his way and I was waiting for him in the lobby. He had to present his ID and his full name and time of entry were recorded. I hated it but it was not so bad. I could do this everyday, if I want to. The meeting was OK. Jason was very nice and likable, and did not care about watching the time. After a long conversation we started kissing, and I was not very happy. I was expecting something more passionate. We moved to the bed, which was still intact. He is beautiful, with tasteful tattoos and a huge dick. The kissing was still lacking, though. The temperature started to heat up when he gave me head. It was not outstanding but definitely good. When I turned him around and started to eat his ass, then the thing turned really hot. He was moaning, directing my work just as I like it to be. His ass was smooth, tight, and delicious. I thought that was pretty good. However, the thing actually erupted when my dick went in. The boy freaked and for the first time I felt he was really devouring my mouth while I was digging him. He is definitely an outstanding bottom, which compensated the other deficits. Overall, it was an OK experience sexually, and a very nice social meeting. I escorted (ha!) him for a few blocks when he left, and then returned to sleep my first night in my new nest. That was yesterday, Tuesday. Today was my first day teleworking full time, and it was rainy, so I did not explore my new neighborhood. The little bit I saw looks like crap after Palermo.

While reasonable price discrimination based on age like @z909 mentioned for Singapore (which I've also witnessed there, including the beneficial effect on the composition of the crowd) is very much acceptable, the egregious one that R3 and to a lesser extent Sauna Mania had were not. However, if I remember correctly the outrageous 1200 or 1500 mentioned in some posts here (which were real, I've seem those stated there at the cashier myself) were for the orgy nights. On regular nights it wasn't so extreme. And regarding foreigner pricing at Mania, it wasn't for farang, but for foreigners in general, including the MANY Chinese tourists that used to frequent the place. There was a sign saying in English "Entry fee 200 (or 230 or whatever the fee of the day was)" and another one entirely in Thai quoting something like 120. But all those are now a thing of the past. All saunas of the R3 group have completely abolished all tiered pricing. Presumably a result of slow business due to covid to attract more customers. KRUBB has some price differentiation, i.e. discounts for youngsters. It's a nice and attractive place, even with an onsen bath on the top floor (6th) along with the dry sauna and steam room. Almost never any foreigners.

The original gay "rumba' in the Walled City of Cartagena, Le Petit is the local watering hole where locals meet tourists. Restaurant/bar upstairs with a tiny terrace, the party happens downstairs with a DJ after 10pm (11pm on weekends) in the main floor club. Goes late (2am weekdays - 5am weekends) Cover to enter (usually 20K COP or less, depends on day/event). Popular with escorts (especially Venezuelans) looking to meet tourists. Gets jammed on weekends. Watch your wallet. Side bar leading to washrooms gets very cruisy as the night goes on. Keep an eye on your wallet and mobile phone, many visitors have met sticky fingers here. Address: Calle del candilejo 32-34 Centro Histórico Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia (enter through Watch Tower, and immediate turn left and walk up one block to first corner (Hard Rock entrance). Turn right and continue to first cross road. Le Petit is on your immediate right) Tel. +57 305 9314242 FB: https://www.facebook.com/BARLEPETITSTUDIO54

From Thai Enquirer Experts say that Thailand may have Covid-19 infection numbers 3-4 times higher than the total number declared by the government per day, according to insiders within the healthcare sector. According to a doctor at the Bangkok Dusit Medical Services group, experts at the Private Hospitals Association meeting on Wednesday suggested that the real number of Covid-19 infections could be much higher than that being declared by the government. “We have no idea what the total number is but it could literally be 3 to 4 times higher than what is being declared based on the statistics we have gathered at our hospitals,” the doctor said on condition of anonymity. “The reason we don’t know is because private hospitals don’t have the capacity or the mandate to do widespread testing, we can only test people that come to our hospitals,” said the doctor who asked not to be named. “In April, we had infection rates around 10 per cent of people that were tested. Now it is much closer to 20 per cent.” Thailand’s government said that the country saw 6,464 new covid infections in the general public on Wednesday. “We do not know for sure what the actual number is we can only judge it by the rate of infections and by the numbers we see that come to get tested at the hospital,” said Dr Suwadee Puntpanich, a director at Thonburi Bamrungmuang Hospital which is part of the Thonburi Healthcare Group. “But in our hospitals, we have people lining up since 3 am to get tested in the morning as we have a limited number of tests. Of those that we do test, there are days when over half are found to be infected.” If the experts working for the Private Hospital Groups are correct, Thailand’s reopening plans for October may need to be shelved until the population can be vaccinated and protected against further infections. Thailand is currently in the midst of the third, most severe, wave of the pandemic with nearly 300,000 people infected since April 1. https://www.thaienquirer.com/29512/thailand-may-have-infection-numbers-3-4-times-higher-than-the-government-declared-total/

Hell, I remember when all you needed was Google Translate. Now I guess you need a calculator, lie detector and two-factor identification before you invite a guy to your room.

Allowing that this 20 percent positivity rate is coming from one hospital's testing and may not be representative of data from testing centres nationwide, it is indeed very concerning and supports the estimate that the true number of infections is a few mutliples higher. I doubt if Thailand's testing programme is comprehensive -- I can't find the data on total testing numbers in the short time I have. Here is an explanation of why high positivity numbers generally indicate under-reporting of cases. "This also makes sense intuitively: if you test everyone, then the positvity rate will be very low, and you will catch every case. But if testing is not widely available, then you will catch only the severe cases, resulting in a higher positivity rate. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as preferential testing." Source: https://covid19-projections.com/estimating-true-infections-revisited/ The World Health Organisation uses 5% as a bench-mark. A positivity rate above that should be taken to indicate that true infection numbers are higher than reported. Of course it is possible that at any one time, in a really terrible epidemic ( e.g. Black Death), more than 5% would be infected at any one time, and even if one tested 100% of the population, the positivity rate will be a figure higher than 5%. Yet, that result would not be an under-report becuase you had tested everyone. However, in most epidemics, including this one, it's really a rolling infection, and even in the worst situations, it is unlikely that more than 5% of people would be infected at any one time. So if test results come in at 20% positive, it suggests that we should test more for a better grasp of the situation. The only way out of this epidemic is vaccination, but as others have noted, the roll-out is relatively slow in Thailand, especially when compared against the greater transmissibility of the Delta variant. Bad news just came in. Even the best performing vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) are demonstrating only 64% effectiveness aganst infection from Delta. The silver lining is that even if infected, the vaccine will protect against serious illness from Delta. Here, it gives 94% protection. "TEL AVIV—Data from Israel suggest Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine is less effective at protecting against infections caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 but retains its potency to prevent severe illness from the highly contagious strain. The vaccine protected 64% of inoculated people from infection during an outbreak of the Delta variant, down from 94% before, according to Israel’s Health Ministry. It was 94% effective at preventing severe illness in the same period, compared with 97% before, the ministry said. An Israeli official said Tuesday the health ministry findings released a day earlier were preliminary and based on data collected from June 6 through early July." Source: Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizers-covid-19-vaccine-is-less-effective-against-delta-variant-israeli-data-show-11625572796

is that the BFE - boyfriend experience? It's like the guys on Sugarbaby sites who have all sorts of things they need money for. It's all a big game.

I don't think Gaybutton will mind if I borrow a post from his board. Pattaya cops walked in on a live broadcast involving three Thai guys that was being beamed to China for a select audience. https://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10704

in normal times yes but now? what bars and what customers other than few expats and locals ?

From Thai Enquirer Government to tighten restrictions amid record infections, denies “lockdown” The government will decide this week on extra Covid restriction measures suggested by the Ministry of Health, the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said on Thursday, as rates of infection and death reached new highs. “This is not going to be a full lockdown,” said Dr Apisamai Srirangsan, the CCSA’s deputy spokeswoman. The CCSA will decide on the added measures in hard-hit provinces on Friday, she said. The suggestions cover tighter checkpoints between provinces, temporary closure of businesses, changes in opening hours and mandatory working from home. “We have already been asking people to not make any unnecessary traveling between provinces unless they really have to in previous weeks,” Apisamai said. There have been 7,058 confirmed Covid cases and 75 related deaths in the past 24 hours, the CSSA said. From the total cases that were reported in the past 24 hours, 6,981 were found within the general Thai population, excluding the 68 cases in prisons and the nine imported cases. The previous record for the nationwide daily number within the general Thai population was 6,448 on Tuesday, and the one before that was Monday at 6,070 cases. The 75 Covid related deaths in past 24 hours is also a new record. The previous record was at 57 deaths on June 28. The CCSA said the surge of new cases is driven by the Delta variant, first identified in India, which has led to shortages of hospital beds in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, the hardest-hit provinces in the third wave which started April 1. They also said this week that they are preparing for up to a possible 10,000 cases per day by next week. At the moment, the only nationwide measure in effect is the temporary shutdown of all entertainment venues. Mandatory mask-wearing is being applied with 20,000 baht fine in some provinces. For Bangkok and the surrounding provinces of Samut Prakarn, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon, worker camps and working sites are closed, dining-in at restaurants is not allowed and events with more than 20 people are banned until the end of July, but people can still travel between provinces. All of these measures are subject to review by the CCSA on Friday. The Ministry of Public Health’s suggestions of extra measures for 14 days are as follows: The setting up of checkpoints to fully ban unnecessary travelling between provinces Fully implementing the work from home model for both public and private sector The temporary closure of high-risk businesses Adjusting the opening hours of businesses such as shopping centers and convenient stores Reducing public transport schedules to match the expected lowered number of passengers https://www.thaienquirer.com/29581/government-to-tighten-restrictions-amid-record-infections-denies-lockdown/

Agree on that, now it comes back to bite them.

I can see a lockdown for certain areas won't be too far away, Bangkok would be the prime place for lockdown. Looks like that idea is starting to float around in some peoples heads already. Of course if they start talking about it and it gets reported in the media (lol see below) there will be a mass exodus out of Bangkok and good luck trying to stop that. Lockdown in sight

Market share is indeed not most important. However, it does give you an idea about the size of the fleet. I'm not a big fan of waiting a long time before my ride request gets picked up by a driver. This is a problem that I often had with Cabify, in Spain. Here are two links from 2019. One from Mexico and the other from Colombia. The differences in Mexico city are not that deciding for me. Colombia seems to be a whole different matter. https://www.muycomputer.com/2019/07/05/didi-vs-uber-vs-beat-mexico-cual-es-mas-barata-en-mexico/ https://www.rcnradio.com/economia/uber-beat-didi-o-taxis-cual-servicio-es-mas-barato Translated to English by Google: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://www.muycomputer.com/2019/07/05/didi-vs-uber-vs-beat-mexico-cual-es-mas-barata-en-mexico/ https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://www.rcnradio.com/economia/uber-beat-didi-o-taxis-cual-servicio-es-mas-barato

Yes it is definitely so. Even if a Thai boy isn't a money boy and looking for Thai partners once falang is online chat they will demand money for meeting.

First, I think in most countries actual numbers were and still are higher or very much higher than actually reported as it's impossible to test everybody and a lot of people with lighter symptoms did not bother to report. Second, while number of cases in Thailand are worryingly climbing there are relatively low for 70 million nation so decision about closing or opening may be more political than data based, again , like in most countries. Where I'm we still can't dine indoors while a lot of countries with higher number of cases and lower numbers of vaccinated allow it already. Whether it's good or bad remains to be seen but clearly various governments are using various opening criteria and strategies.

This reminds of back in the day of traveling with a few and getting searched on return to USA by customs and the look of the custom's agents for sex toys was always enjoyable as I'd cock up my eyebrows and smile at them. None asked me their use but it was obvious they saw tons of them.

From Bangkok Post Authorities plan to convert a terminal at the main international airport into a field hospital as a surge in coronavirus infections that’s straining the public health system shows little sign of easing. Airports of Thailand Plc, operator of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, has been asked to convert the newly completed terminal into a facility with an intensive-care unit, medical rooms and support for patients with mild to medium symptoms. The hospital will initially provide at least 5,000 patient beds, according to a government statement late Tuesday. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2144959/new-suvarnabhumi-airport-terminal-to-become-covid-hospital

Same is happening elsewhere - South Africa is another example: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/africa/covid-19-in-africa-real-toll-may-be-thrice-the-official-figure-77825

Reuters reports that: "Thailand's Siam Bioscience last year signed a technology transfer agreement with AstraZeneca to produce 200 million doses per year, with 61 million doses going to Thailand this year and the rest to other Southeast Asian countries." The terms of the contract may require in the case of delays, that the vaccines are shared pro rata, but the article does not give detailed terms.

From Khaosod English Facebook Rescue worker 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. From Bangkok Post 80,000 impacted by huge blaze At least 80,000 people have been affected by a massive fire that ravaged the Ming Dih Chemical Co factory complex in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan on Monday. The blaze was brought under control briefly on Tuesday only to reignite amid the charred ruins of the factory on Tuesday around 4pm, prompting firefighters to spray flame retardant foam in an attempt to control the latest blaze. Overall, firefighters took more than 24 hours to douse the fire that followed an explosion around 3am on Monday. Provincial governor Wanchai Kongkasem on Tuesday said that the damage from the fire spanned a vast radius around the burned-out factory, causing damage to private property and affecting 80,916 people across four tambons in Bang Phli district. Of the total, 34,736 people in 22,563 households were impacted in tambon Racha Thewa, 18,490 people in 12,363 households in tambon Bang Phli Yai, 23,277 people in 17,188 households in tambon Bang Kaew and 4,413 people in 4,177 households in tambon Bang Chalong. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the Pollution Control Department needs to ensure the air quality within 3-5km from the fire-gutted factory is safe before residents in the areas were allowed to return home. An initial inspection showed that the air quality within one kilometre of the site was harmful to health on Tuesday. Mr Varawut also noted the factory opened three decades when there was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulation in place. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2144431/80-000-impacted-by-huge-blaze

As airport to hotel taxi rip offs go the world over 100 baht is hardly at the upper end of the rip off scam scale though.......

I had to have a friend take me to a gay sauna to overcome my shyness. But once experienced, I just wanted more and for 25 years or so I enjoyed many experiences in a sauna environment. If I could knock those years and more off my age, I expect I would be similarly keen. And I see no reason why younger guys today would not have a similar desire. You can be shy in the anonymous environment of a sauna, You cannot be shy meeting someone from the apps. Then of course, your only worry might be bumping into someone you would not want to see. A good friend was once in a small sauna when the door to a cubicle opened and his boss emerged. Their eyes locked whereupon the boss quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. As a married man with two kids, he must have been rather terrified. Realising the situation, my friend wrote a quick note and slipped it under the cubicle door. Basically he just wrote, "Please do not worry. We are both in the same boat. Our secret will be safe from others."

American fitness chains pester the customer with a questionnaire so that the product can be sold to him as expensively as possible before there is any thought of answering his questions. Horrible. And then all the superfluous stuff like coffee and films, dear God, who cares? This modest and small gym is mixed, and I liked it immediately. After the work out, I could turn to one of my favourite activities just around the corner. Fitness Thaniya 9th Floor, Thaniya Plaza, 52 Silom Road Suriyawongse Bangrak 02 231 2250 https://fitnessthaniya.business.site/

Situation getting worse here in malaysia too. Hospitals are rejecting patient, more gov hospitals converted to full covid hospitals, community clinics now have to house patients waiting for placement on hospitals bed. Daily cases today is 8.6k for a 32mil population, but 6k of them are concentrated in the center between 3 states. Some patient had to be transferred to neighboring states hospital for treatment. I think we are hit worse than thailand at the moment. We have been in lockdown of variety of stages for a really long time now and cases are not going down. Vaccination are our only way out and luckily we fare a bit better than thailand in this regard. But we are still behind. Vaccine pace has been picking up to 375k doses a day now, and 12million doses will be distributed within this month. Needless to say, friends and family have been infected left and right.