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I hardly expected them to hang around a bar or a massage shop without the prospect of compensation. At my age, I fear losing sight of things other than the nature of the relationship. I think becoming an embittered yet older man who guards his emotions as closely as he guards his wallet poses a greater danger. I've enjoyed a fairly good life and am comfortable now in my retirement. The guys some of us travel 10,000-plus miles to see don't have much--if any--income at the moment. If I decide to help someone out I do so with my eyes wide open. Worrying about whether I'm being taken advantage of I'll put off until the next pandemic.

Tinder is an effort that's not worth it if you ask me. Grindr is insane. This morning at 4 am a boy send me a message. A photo of him naked on is belly showing his ass. I said hi, he asked if i wanted to meet. He was a few hundred meters away but I was tired and just didn't respond any more. Mind you, I had only seen his ass. Then my friend told me this morning that he had a date at 2pm, he showed the pics of the boy. I mean, he was so handsome that we both didn't believe the pics where real. Then I saw that one of the pics was the same that I had gotten earlier that morning. In other words, it was the boy that wanted to meet me and I didn't respond to any further. My friend met him and came by later that day and it was the cutest guy I had seen this trip. Ughh, Coulda Woulda Shoulda. Point is, Grindr is no hassle at all. Especially when you are white (which I am not btw)... So many cute guys are into older men and no money needs to change hands. But, I have no idea what the deal is with the muscle guys. My only experience is with the slim twinkies and it seems that most on the Latin board are into hunks.

I think you might have hit on an ingenious way of dealing with flooding and making the bars less expensive. Surely the owners could make bigger boats into bars? So as you float along, the boys will be closer to the customers. Short time rooms could be more fun, especially if the boat crashes into a wave or two from time to time! Come to think of it, there could be a fleet of large boats each offering different services. A bit like in the Hong Kong of olden days when you could have dinner on small boats floating around the Yacht Club. Other boats would come up to yours, each with different foods and drinks. It was a lovely rather cute way to dine. The only problem was that at the end of the meal as you left the boat, all the left overs and trash would be mindlessly thrown into the harbour! Not a good idea to have condoms and tissues floating around Bangkok's floods!

Hot Male Boat. Let them take you for a ride.

Wishful Prime Ministering

Now we can see foresight of some bar owners relocating from ground level of soi Twilight to 2nd floors on Patpong 2. It'll be quite romantic to go to HotMale by gondola

From Thai PBS / Thaiger Thailand’s massage parlours and spas are suing the government, demanding compensation for the loss of income they’ve endured as a result of Covid-19 partial lockdowns. Thai PBS World reports that 172 massage parlours and spas filed a class action suit against the Finance Ministry and the government. They are demanding to be compensated for the financial losses they’ve suffered since last year, as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. According to the Thai PBS World, the suit has the support of Aksika Chantarawinji and Pitak Yotha, MPs from the opposition Move Forward Party. Aksika has spoken out in defence of the massage businesses, saying they haven’t received any compensation or financial assistance, despite being closed since last year and hearing repeated promises of soft loans from the government. Furthermore, despite working in high-risk jobs, calls for vaccines for massage workers have been ignored. Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the Move Forward Party says the class action suit is being brought in order to get justice in a court of law. Sirikanya Tansakul describes the government’s treatment of massage businesses as unfair and insensitive and says the legal action will set a precedent for other businesses who’ve been similarly affected. https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/massage-businesses-file-class-action-suit-against-government-over-covid-restrictions

Russians, like many others went to Greece and Turkey because restrictions were manageable and minimal, no sandboxes, no tests, just show proof of vaccination and you can go where you want all the way from Istanbul to Kars. What is so hard to TAT to understand?

last year at this time we were all full of praise how Thailand is doing well handling covid. Now it turns is was easy handling something which wasn't there at first place. But to be honest, which government is handling covid really well ? Everywhere it looks like 'try and see" and luck or lack of it mixture

Yes, although the move is not due to sinking city, but rather the City center is getting crowded with uncontrolled traffic. Putrajaya does have its own mall, housings, schools etc just like any other city and its only 20km away, and is situated in between KL and the airport. Majority of the population are government workers, but there are housings that can be purchased by general population albeit at a higher price. I personally think the move to putrajaya was well thought out. Indonesia announced the plan to move their administration to Balikpapan on the Borneo Island. Its a city that is mostly driven by oil and gas, similar to Malaysia's Miri in Sarawak. Itll be interesting to see how it will pan out. I had the opportunity to visit Napiydaw once, but didnt manage to tour the area as it was a work visit. Basically fly from yangon in the morning, meeting at one of the hotel, and back to yangon in the evening. But that city is like a ghost town, with oversized everything. Not a good sight when the rest of the country are suffering. Cant say im suprised though. Would be interesting to see if thailand would be planning similar transistion though.

make it October, I still have unused ticket from last year

Fundamentally, all the boys we meet in the bars and have fun with, also consider that they are 'working'. Keeping us happy in the bar and back in our rooms is all work to them, whatever 'connections' we think we make with them as individuals. Even the boys I have been seeing for years still regard me as a 'customer', albeit now a 'good customer'. Things can become quite friendly, but take away the money and that friendship rapidly fades. Can it ever grow into more than work?, well yes it obviously can, but that's far from inevitable.

Do they actually do business that isn't porn? This seems like them just deciding to go out of business....

Agree. You could throw at dart at that crew and you wouldn't be disappointed.

From Reuters / MSN Thailand to explore injecting coronavirus vaccines under skin BANGKOK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Thailand is studying the possibility of injecting coronavirus vaccines under the skin to try to stretch its limited supply, a health official said on Thursday, as the country races to inoculate the public faster amid a worsening epidemic. "Our previous experience shows that intradermal injections uses 25% of a muscular injection, but triggers the same level of immunity," head of the medical science department, Supakit Sirilak told reporters. But despite manufacturing vaccines for AstraZeneca and ordering enough doses of different brands to cover its population, Thailand is struggling to get supplies fast enough. If its research confirms intradermal injections are effective, regardless of brand, Thailand could vaccinate four to five times the number of people with the same amount of vaccine, Supakit said. AstraZeneca and Pfizer did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about intradermal injections. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/thailand-to-explore-injecting-coronavirus-vaccines-under-skin/ar-AANuzAM

From Thai Enquirer More than 1,000 inmates will be released from prisons when Kratom is delisted as a narcotic on August 24, the government said on Thursday. “The Kratom Plant Bill will come into effect on August 24 and the plant will be declassified as an illegal drug which means that people will be able to grow them and sell them,” said Anucha Burapachaisri, the government spokesman. “There will also be a release of 1,038 people who have violated the Narcotics Act with kratom on August 24,” he added. Kratom can be used as a traditional medicine but can also be a stimulant. It can be used as a recreational drug which is one of the reasons why it was classified as a narcotic. Anucha said the government will save 1.69 billion baht from delisting the plant via the lowering of expenses used to arrest and detain people for producing, possessing and selling kratom. According to the Thailand Development Research Institute, the average cost for the state to prosecute a person on Kratom charges is 76,612 baht. Between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, there were 22,076 kratom-related cases. https://www.thaienquirer.com/31495/government-to-release-prisoners-after-kratom-delisting/

He's probably good at jungle warfare....which is what his training and career prepared him for.

I use a google pixel and use their google fi service. I believe it’s available in 200 some countries. But it’s amazing to land anywhere and get cell and data service.

Am I right in thinking that Malaysia was the first to move much of the government from Kuala Lumpur to the then-new city of Petaling Jaya? The problem with transferring government offices is that these employ more than 700,000 people. Where in a smallish city like Chiang Mai do you find accommodation for them? I suppose you could also build new housing for them at the same time as the government buildings but how many would want to be relocated so far from family and friends? I am sure there must be a city a lot closer to Bangkok on higher ground and away from the Chao Phraya river.

I am still using my VIVO prepaid from 5 years ago. Top up via recharge.com once every few months when I am not in BR to keep it active. Its also my Whatsapp Business App number separate from my normal Whatsapp app (Both can be installed on the same phone). VIVO coverage is decent; never had an issue with internet in many of the cities in BR. Got mine from the official VIVO shop in one of the mall

Yup, cant argue with that biceps lol

Perhaps Abbott thinks Texas is overpopulated?

I see suitable candidates, specially one in black west sitting under F BDR sign

I think it will be sooner than that. As I said in a different forum recently, I can't believe there's been no plan made to move to higher ground or at least inland. It's going to take a long time to build a new capital. You'd expect with all of the corruption in Thailand that the opportunities for graft would be too good to pass up with all of the construction contracts. Instead they just keep pouring more money into BKK train systems and more and more big buildings. Indonesia has been making their plan. And as nuts as the generals in Myanmar are, building Naypyidaw in the middle of nowhere seems kind of prudent with the rising water likely to wipe out Yangon and the delta.

"A US-backed President who fled the moment things began to look really bad?" If you think 20 years of failure of the Neocon plan is "fled the moment things began to look really bad", I am not sure there is a basis for discussion. This reads more like somebody with an axe to grind against Biden.

I think it is wishful thinking to imagine the exit could have gone better. It was always going to suck. Putting it off just means more bleeding before the inevitable messy exit. How many more lives and how much more money are we supposed to spend in search of something that we haven't found after 20 years on the ground?

There's no formula that can analyze the the nature of individual relationships that had their origin in the exchange of cash for service. It would be naive to think that whatever money we give to the guys we know doesn't affect how they see us. But that's not only not a bad thing, it's to be expected. Over time they can come come to think of us as their patron. Here's the classical definition from Webster's that I prefer: a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian, protector, or supporter. And to those of us who've enjoyed a years-long relationship, I think this applies. When does someone go from customer to patron? That's surely up to debate but I think it's measured in the what emotional ties develop. If we're only concerned with what occurs between the sheets--not that there's anything wrong with that--then the whole customer/patron thing probably doesn't matter. But when we begin to simply enjoy the company of that guy, and come to know him truly as an individual, I think friendships can indeed blossom. I agree with Vessey's comment that it's "far from in inevitable," but firmly believe it's possible. I think that much of it depends on the emotional satisfaction each derives from the relationship. That, to me, is when we become patrons and, yes, possibly even friends.

You are spot on, vessey! Although I tend to stick with 2 regular guys -1 in Pattaya and 1 in Bangkok - we all know they are actually working - tham gan. I sometimes mention this to them so that we are all on the same page. They are lovely guys and very friendly and we have lots of fun times outside of bed as well as in, but they are not my friends in the real sense. They have their own friends and don't need me.

1. I am sure you are correct. But I do not agree he was boxed in. He still had a choice as to precisely when to leave. After all, Trump had said he would pull out everyone considerably earlier. Also, Trump did not invite the Afghan government to these talks. It was as though he were the pro-consul acting on behalf of the entire Afghan people. That said, though, Biden has to bear all the blame for the disasters of the last week. He has said on several occasions that he had full faith in what was in effect the US installed Afghan government and its armed forces which the US had spent years and billions of $$ training up. When he made his announcements in April, he had had months to consider it (after all, it as a campaign promise) and to obtain advice from supposedly the best experts in the world. The CIA estimated it would take the Taliban a minimum of 6 months to gain control and as much as a year. This is the same CIA which got things so wrong in Iran, so wrong in Vietnam, so wrong in Iraq! One wonders why there has not been a total clear out of many of its top officials in that agency. I have no doubt it does considerable good. but when it comes to the US disasters in its overseas invasions, someone has to be accountable. Amid all the Republican's trashing of Biden's mishandling of the departure, I I notice that the Republican National Committee has deleted a webpage hailing Trump's peace deal with the Taliban! But Business Insider still has a screen shot. Note that Trump's so-called agreement permitted the CIA to stay on in Taliban controlled Afghanistan! Did anyone seriously expect that would ever be allowed to happen? Trump's deal making another fiction! https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-removes-page-hailing-trump-taliban-deal-2021-8 2. That successive US governments have thought they had some God-given right to spread democracy around the world is one reason for its foreign disasters since the end to World War 2. Democracy means different things to different peoples. But you cannot impose it on peoples who for centuries have remained clan and tribe based and have little idea what the word means. It has to come from within. Hopefully all countries will pay heed to the this in future. The following is part of the webpage from the RNC which was taken down 2 days ago. PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CONTINUED TO TAKE THE LEAD IN PEACE TALKS AS HE SIGNED A HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN, WHICH WOULD END AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR On February 2, 2020, the Trump Administration signed a preliminary peace agreement with the Taliban that sets the stage to end America's longest war. Under the agreement, the U.S. will withdraw nearly 5,000 troops from the country in 135 days in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism. Time Magazine reported that other components of the agreement included an agreement that U.S. counterterrorism forces stay in the country, permissions for the CIA to operate in Taliban-held areas, and details of how the Taliban's promises to reduce violence will be monitored and verified. The deal has been called the " best chance to end this conflict ," a " decisive move " towards peace, and " the best path " for the United States. The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history, a conflict that has killed more than 3,500 U.S. and NATO troops and cost U.S. taxpayers nearly 900 billion dollars. As part of the peace agreement, the Taliban and the Afghan government recently began historic peace, talks which would end decades of war that Afghanistan has consumed. The negotiations will cover the terms of a " permanent ceasefire, the rights of women and minorities, and the disarmament of the country's many militia groups .

Can’t they better spend their time helping sort out the pandemic/starvation/unemployed/Suicidal....Etc etc.?

Biden had no choice but to leave. He was boxed in by the Trump/Taliban deal and had to proceed. Also, leaving is the right thing to do. Twenty years was more than enough time to learn we couldn't actually change the local culture and have a lasting impact (duh??). It is and will continue to be messy as we exit. The images are ugly and could get worse. The potential for substantial loss of life (of Americans and foreigners) still exists over the coming weeks as our exit proceeds. It is pretty much dependent on how the Taliban acts as people try and get out. I am given to understand that many Americans and allies in the country are still not located at the airport. Will they all be able to get to the airport for safe passage out? Probably not all of them. The price we pay as we exit should be a lesson to all future leaders of the cost (in human lives) of wars and limitations that wars actually have. I support Biden's decision to exit Afghanistan (working within the timing framework set by Trump). Staying on and fighting would be pouring good money after bad there with zero chance of success. I hope the further loss of life will be minimal. I fear it won't. Oh...and let's stop pretending we can export democracy to far-flung countries that we know little about. Democracy hardly functions in the USA. You can forget about it in Afghanistan.

As events play out in Kabul, we're witnessing a great humiliation for a new US administration that narrowly avoided a constitutional crisis just seven months prior. That threat rapidly paled in comparison to the strangle hold Covid held on the nation. Overhanging these events was the impending departure from a decades long war in Afghanistan. Now as that plays out on the international stage, America's vulnerable underbelly is exposed to criticism for the manner it's managing this disentanglement. And justifiably so. I've shared my thoughts on the matter along with others who've posted in this thread. On the whole, comments cited the obvious missteps over the past 20 years. Yes, there were also advances in human rights westerners hold in high regard, but most of those will fade away as the Taliban promises to restore traditional customs. But also discussed was the inevitably of the outcome. For over a thousand years the country had been ruled by a religion-based code of behavior enforced by warlords who function as autonomous governors. They and their survivors have kept long memories and never considered democratic rule even remotely acceptable. The reckoning has arrived for them as they banish the Americans as they did the Russians and British before them. As an American, I share that humiliation. It reinforces lessons that should have been learned in the past: good intentions are insufficient to bring about nation building. Few in the population aspired to it because they never truly experienced it. They just want to live their lives in some manner of peace. As new rulers take over Afghanistan, attention will be drawn to other regions of the world. And it will fall, as it inevitably does, to the nations with the most assets to decipher what role--if any--they should play in current and future disputes. Already sides are being drawn in the South China Sea as an aggressive Beijing seeks to expand its domination of Southeast Asia with its 9-dash line claims. The US, UK, Australia and India appear determined to keep the seaways open but the situation remains tense. As the exodus from Afghanistan winds down, I expect that even America's friends will continue to be critical but I likewise hope they don't see it as an opportunity to kick their friend when she's down. You never know when you may very much need her once more in the future.

Perhaps better to wait until you can afford to pay the going rate and preferably also give the model a generous tip for good performance. If you are driven by “discount”, “cheap”, “cheapest”, you are unlikely to end up satisfied. Better to pay a bit more, show some respect, and end up with good value.

Well, we knew it was only a matter of time. I hope the sex workers saved all that money, because things are going to seriously change now. (I don't have a link. The news is trending all over the place.)