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Definitely the 2 for 1 short times in Bangkok 😅

From my Colombian friends, thing are progressing back to a new normal. You will be expected to wear masks in almost all indoor situations (malls, hotels, government buildings, etc. Bars are restaurants are back to full capacity. There you will be expected to wear a mask when moving through the room, but can remove it once seated. A curious custom I saw last year was Colombians putting masks back on when the waiter or service person approached the table. The big megaclubs (Theatron, El Mozo, Ghetto Tank, et al.) are very relaxed with masking and you will see very few masks indoors. Clubs like Gigolo Erotic House, Recreo de Adan, or Perro y Candelaría are also very lax on masking once inside. Likewise, any outdoor space (cafe, restaurant, bar etc.) will not have a requirement for masking. Keep in mind that Bogotá is at a very high altitude. The days in January can run into the mid 20's C, but things cool off in the evening. Much like Canada, you will see many outdoor spaces with heaters to keep the punters warm. You will see big crowds around the city as things have largely returned to a routine. Colombians are fun-loving and very social as a society.. They are fascinated by the sudden global interest in their country, and I believe you will meet many cute locals that will be happy to introduce you to Colombian culture. I would also suggest you might want to consider other warmer options during your trip, like Cali, Medellin or Cartagena -- there is a big sale on intercity travel right now and I got my flight from Bogota to Medellin for just $20CAD on Avianca. It's an incredible country and I hope you enjoy an amazing birthday trip.

Sudden is perhaps not the best choice of word here. Will keep this relatively concise. Following more than 20 years of internal strife (drug wars, paramilitaries, FARC) that made life in Colombia difficult, a peace agreement was reached (not yet ratified in 2021) that finally brought stability to much of the country. Since that time, tourism has grown significantly year-over-year until the pandemic. For an entire generation of Colombians, seeing foreign tourist is a novelty that they rarely saw during this period. Mass tourism as a business is relatively new, and Colombia sees tourists from all over the world. The NYT named it their top international travel destination in 2018. So this is not "sudden", I apologise, but rather a growing business that is still novel for the locals.

aren't wats open till late ?

I sty at The Venue few times and sadly must agree. While show noise is not that disturbing , on few occasion soi late night noises were. One I was so desperate that at 2 am I went down to QMark bar and hired twinky Cambodian to calm my nerves in the room. It worked

My EVA flight booked on Wednesday; cancelled today....no flights until March. The reason given? the delta variant. Really? we've known about that for months; has the prognosis for its spread in Thailand changed? Not a disaster but a nuisance. I've rebooked flight, hotel and quarantine night. But my concern is that, even when things seem to be getting back to a semblance of order, unexpected problems occur. And this one came right out of the blue. Any reports of other carriers cancelling Bangkok flights?

Britney Spears' conservatorship has finally ended https://www.npr.org/2021/11/12/1054860726/britney-spears-conservatorship-ended Now, that this is done, what should we work on next? Gay rights in the Middle East? More saunas opening in Rio? 2 for 1 short times in Bangkok?

A couple of weeks ago, I had an interesting encounter in Vancouver with a German guy visiting from Munich. We were eating by ourselves at a Brazilian restaurant and started a conversation after he heard me practicing my broken Portuguese with the waitress. After that, we shared a table and had some fun discussions about travel, languages, and life and shared some good laughs. Kinda craving that human interaction after being dormant for the entire pandemic It was very nice of him to buy me a capirinha even though he didn't need to. He said he would be staying in Rio in Copacabana from early Dec all the way until right before the New Year. I got the vibe that he could be bi, but I dared not ask. lol. Even though it's a long shot, I think he might be a member of this forum. If I get lucky, let me buy you capirinha this time.

Not forgetting of course that even if you're vaccinated or not there is a valid reason WHY they're closing everywhere and so putting yourself ( and then others) at risk if you catch or pass on Covid that you picked up somwhere like that by flouting the health advice / rules is something to consider too of course - if even just for your own health if nothing else.

The problem is not with arriving to Thailand but the complicated process to get the Thai pass to enter the country ,at the YouTube video below arriving to Thailand was smooth and easy but it took them nerve-racking weeks to receive the Thai pass .

You'll find scattered posts about open (and some closed) massage shops on the board over the past several months. Although there have been reports of some open in the Silom area, they appear more numerous the further out you go. The Saphan Kwai area (reachable by BTS) has been mentioned several times. Most are offering both on-site and off-site service, and I heard one report that a few are not charging an off fee. Totally Oz has posted about some of the offerings. Many shops have LINE accounts.

I've taken the plunge and booked for December. Flights booked with Thai Airways and Thailand pass received which took 3 days from application to receipt of QR code.

Somehow I doubt that there are many true bisexuals as members of this forum; the majority is gay. That being said, I hope you reconnect with him in Rio.

With the bars and clubs now ordered to stay closed until the middle of January at least you are not missing much. At least when I go to Bangkok next week I can actually have a drink with my meal in a restaurant which is more than I can have in Pattaya.

Street dogs are a way of life for Istanbul 's residents, many of whom feed and support them.

certainly he doesn't look abused or neglected and since he has tracking device, chances are transit people there know but may prefer not to make it public so celebrity dog has some privacy and quiet moments

Ok. That regrettably seals the deal for me. I will cancel my December hotel bookings I reserved last July. early next year perhaps. I love going around Bangkok in the mornings, but nice to go out sometimes at night.

Tourists could also go to a wat & pray for the bars to reopen.

hopefully museums, temples and shopping malls will be opened so those naïve enough to go can be somehow entertained.

Maybe just maybe, hope they do go down the path of the rapid test. The government is considering replacing the RT-PCR test with other screening methods for vaccinated tourists under the Test & Go scheme, and easing high-risk close contact (HRC) rules which force airplane passengers who had sat near Covid-19 patients to undergo mandatory quarantine. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said these decisions would be up to the national communicable disease control committee, and would also require approval from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) meeting to be chaired by the prime minister on Friday. As the RT-PCR test requires at least six hours for the result, and inbound travellers must book and stay in a hotel room while awaiting the outcome, alternative methods, such as antigen test kits, are more convenient and help manage the flow of tourists better if the number of arrivals increases. Mr Yuthasak said the CCSA will also consider easing current HRC rules which force those who sit two rows in front of or two rows behind infected passengers on a plane to be relocated to quarantine facilities. Under the new proposal, only passengers who had sat next to a Covid-19 patient would be kept in quarantine, for a shorter period, meaning there would be a maximum of two travellers affected by the HRC rule. Meanwhile, those who test positive with mild or no symptoms don't have to be relocated to hospital to receive treatment, but can choose a hospitel or alternative quarantine instead with a shorter period of up to 10 days, from the current 14 days Maybe rapid testing

lol indeed.

Massage, visit snake temple, drink at restaurant lol

I would rather see the RT-PCR pre-departure test changed to a regular PCR test This will be the next best thing, but still not as cheap and widely assessable as rtk selft test kit, where u can even just use saliva and takes 15min to get the result. The accuracy is not as good but it is high enough for some brands (95-96%) and can be done in the airport if there is a clinic there. I know for a fact that KLIA2 (malaysia) have a counter that will provide the documents for only Rm5 (40 baht if u bring your own kit to test there. And price of the kit itself has gone down to around rm6-7 (50-60 baht) only. I guess other airports might have it too. You will need a rt-pcr test on arrival anyway. Though id still prefer for some kind of test pre-departure if it helps reduce the chances of sitting next to a positive person.

The issue of what actually might happen in you test positive. Members have speculated on the outcome. Here's two tales about those who have. From Richard Barrow's Twitter site Today’s special newsletter is about the nightmare that falls upon you if you test positive on arrival in Thailand. This is what happened to Kirovs, a tourist who came to Thailand with his family. He is now in hospital and his family are in hotel quarantine. The second story is from James who is considered a close contact as he was in the same car from the airport as someone who tested positive. Neither of the people who tested positive have any symptoms and they are now desperately trying to find out if their insurance will cover the large hospital bill. https://www.getrevue.co/profile/richardbarrow/issues/the-nightmare-of-testing-positive-on-arrival-in-thailand-848695

+1 I counted 14 flights, 4 of them transcontinental in last 5 months and boringly negative so far

Seems like Babe is working the VIP zone of Fake Club on 4 September. No idea if this is a one off or he’s joining the club permanently.

Guess you Guys will have to wait a bit longer. Got this Notification from Moonlight today... The Thai government announced the postponement Open for entertainment on 15th January 2022 and may change depending on the situation at that time. We will inform you in all social media and sorry for any inconvenience. 🙄

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/11/12/thailands-covid-19-center-holds-major-meeting-bars-and-nightlife-opening-postponed-officially-until-next-year-nationally-covid-19-recap-zone-changes/?fbclid=IwAR2pmS8y6h9SiIO13KUgxcG9gr9AYNPiCPg0xjxOziS2EPIXsu9ztMlo5tA