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Post 3 - Phuket report I had two visits to Phuket, both consisting of about 5 days. I had originally planned to visit only once, but I cut my Pattaya trip short as it was so quiet when I visited (bearing in mind this was the beginning of December) and returned to Phuket where it was more lively. Flights to Phuket I booked a flight from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi a day before travel each time and used Thai Smile and Air Asia. The four flights I booked cost (including luggage) 1200 bht, 850 baht, 2200 baht and 980 baht. I still find it amazing how ridiculously cheap internal flights are here. I was apprehensive about flying and what documents I would need, it turned out to be no hassle. Each time I was only asked show proof of my vaccination record on check in, so it's worth printing a copy for anyone thinking of doing the same. They didn't want to see my Thailand pass nor was I asked about the Mor Chana or any other app. I encountered no other check either end on my four flights and it was all very straightforward. Bars/Nightlife The main walking street / Bangla road was buzzing. It almost seemed like pre covid with most beer bars open and a throng of tourists. To enter the Bangla Road at night there was a check point at either end. Westerners simply had to take a temperature check but Thais had to take both a temperature check and show their vaccination certificate. This seemed quite the reversal to usual Thai/Farang policies on entering attractions! I spent some time in this area and although not gay there was plenty of handsome eye candy working in the bars. Inevitably, when drinking here I was had some attention from the ladies but if they were pleasant enough I didn't mind buying them the occasional drink and had a chat. This actually turned out to be quite fruitful as after making clear I wasn't interested and that I was gay this led on a few to times to being introduced to some guys. In one bar the very handsome bar tender was straight, but after being introduced by the lady I had a natter with he made it clear that he would be happy to take care of a "nice" (his words) foreign guy. On another occasion I was in more of a rock bar and got chatted up by a freelance lady where I made it clear straight away that I was gay. This time she told me that she was drinking with her gay friend and another lady and would I care to join them, now of course I know it was to secure them a few drinks for the night, but he was gorgeous so how could I refuse? I felt good, he was taking an interest, was taking care and there was a fun atmosphere all round - I enjoyed this night which culminated (metaphorically) with fireworks - worth every satang. In both situations it was all very relaxed and no pressure - I actually enjoyed doing things a little bit different to the usual haunts. The gay area around the royal paradise hotel was a little more subdued but there were enough bars open to make it worth a visit and there was a gentle cozy atmosphere. The main cabaret club which dominates the soi was closed during my visit so I think that might have had an impact, although on an occasional night they did put on a small bit of entertainment in the street with a drag artist which seemed to entertain the surrounding open bars. The saving bar for me turned out to be Gclub, recently opened next to Zag. I recognised some of the staff from Pattaya. I think eventually they will also do cabaret but the terrace was frequently busy and had passing boys regularly dropping by for a drink and a chat. There was also a bar opposite Zag (I think it might have once been connected to a hotel and is now called Zig, but I could have got this wrong). This bar was quite popular too and had a few pleasant drinks there, although on my second trip they suddenly closed - I was told by a boy that it was because someone was pinged through contact tracing and would be have to close for 10 days - though how accurate this was I don't know. It made me realise that people's businesses were just as vulnerable to these rules as tourists, except where a tourist might be inconvenienced after being pinged with these businesses it was their livelihoods at stake. I also discovered a small bar on the main massage soi called heaven. Apparently it's been there for years but I didn't know it existed in all the years id been visiting Phuket. 3 or 4 waiters and a great vantage point to eye up the guys in the local massage shops. I actually had one of the neighboring massage shop guys come and join me for a drink. Massage The main central soi in paradise seemed to be where most of the gay massage shops are located where I counted about 5 or 6 shops open. My favourite place was a place called 4 Massage (red shop) at the top of the soi, as being into more guy next door/fuller guys this is where they seemed to be (when I visited anyway). Hotels On both occasions I stayed in the Hilton Banthai. Got an absolute bargain on Agoda working out at an average of 1300 baht a night. 3 good sized pools, swim up bars and restaurants on site. I took the buffet breakfast on a couple of occasions which only cost an extra 200 baht for a full selection of hot and cold food. Rooms were comfortable and spotless. The only surprise was that were no wall switches and the controls for the room lighting, air con etc were stuck on a panel from what seemed to once been on the set of a 1980s star trek film - very odd and in an inconvenient place stuck down beside the side of only one side of the bed. I had no problems with joiners, I was a bit apprehensive about this after reading online reviews but simply walked in confidently each night with my companion and not a single eye was batted. There are also plenty of ways to get to the room by avoiding reception, but I chose the safe route and decided just to be confident about doing so. Guys There were plenty of opportunities through the bars and massage shops, but my best guys came from the apps. Some of the guys turned out to be working in the massage shops and would try and entice you to visit, however the apps were busy and plenty of choice. Similar tip expectations on enquiry to Pattaya, which is less than my last visit 3 years ago. It's also worth noting that in Phuket everyone I encountered in the apps were Thai, I guess the pandemic is keeping the other guys away. Daytime activities There's enough to keep my occupied for 4/5 days. Plenty of walks when staying in Patong, either up the hills at the back or along the coast. I walk miles each day but it's usually from one coffee shop / drinking establishment to the next until I'm tired, a refreshment and then onwards again. Fortunately there's plenty of stop off places. No where to report of particular note, but some were situated in places with spectacular scenery - I even uploaded a pic to my Instagram account (which now has the grand total of 6 pictures in the 6 or 7 years I've had the account - I've got some catching up to do to keep up with the Thai boys!). Transport The transport in Phuket really is its Achilles Heal. A couple of poor experiences. Airport car from the airport to Patong was 800 baht, ticket bought at domestic arrivals on both occasions. First journey from airport was a gruff intimidating driver who, amongst other things, tried to sell me a return back after the trip and demanded my line account. He was quite persistent so just took a pic of his Line QR with no intention to link it. For the rest of the journey I played dumb, ignored him and put my headphones on. When we reached the hotel I continued to ignore him and made no eye contact and let the bell boy take care of the case, knowing I was safely in the grounds of the hotel. The bell boy ended with double the tip as the amount I usually set aside for the taxi driver went into his hand instead. It didn't really bother me, but it would be intimidating for new time tourists to the Island. The taxi that the hotel arranged back wasn't much better. 900 baht hotel to airport. No intimidation this time but the drivers were erratic, one particularly so. I didn't bother with any Tuk tuks in Patong, I noted there were plenty of motorbike taxis available but I don't know the fares as I never used them. I just wish the Phuket authorities would sort out its transport. When I return to Phuket again, I'm considering renting a car for the duration of the stay.

After claiming less than five days ago that Thailand should keep the country open to tourists and not panic, the PM has does just that. Not withstanding that indeed, TIT, it's still sending an unambiguous message: don't trust your vacation plans to Thailand. Worse, it pulls the rug from under the hospitality industry--and the hundreds of thousands whose livelihood depends upon it. Heartened by the reports of the early arrivals, many of us have purchased air tickets, insurance and quarantine hotels. We have only ourselves to blame for trusting that the junta would make good on it's part of the arrangement. Thailand was receiving the safest tourists, fully vaccinated and tested before and after arrival. Now it erroneously languishes under the misconception that it can prevent an Omicron outbreak by keeping out these very individuals.

I visited Jupiter and Dreamboys last night, around 9:15pm, a little sad show at Jupiter only 3 boys available, the only perk was drinks were 180 Bhat so still okay there were only 2 customers including me, left in 10 minutes after arrival. Will try again tonight but around 10:00pm to see if the scene changes. Dreamboys, around 10:00pm, 7-8 boys available, 3-4 customers, stayed till 11:00pm, found a nice chap on grindr and decided to go with him instead. Let me know if any forum member who's in bangkok, interested in meet tonight for a drink or two.

Please welcome our new guide in Bangkok Andy. Andy is 22 yo UNI student, guide, concierge and companion in Bangkok, Thailand. Hobbies: music, cooking. Languages: English (fluent), Chinese (fluent), Thai. Full profile: https://siamroads.com/andy-bangkok-private-guide/

I visited Jupiter and Hot Male last night. Soi 4 busy, not overwhelmingly but busy. Entered Jupiter just before 9 , on time for 7 boys on duty to start their parade through the stage and audience which was about the same layer on swelling to perhaps 12-15. Smiling boy from week ago was gone or at least his smile was so boys sporting their usual sober look. Drink 150-180. After that they disappeared to their seats so interested party would have bit hard time to assess what's on offer. I find this model strange but that,s me. It seems that they repeat that routine every 30 minutes because the same happened at 9.30, this time with more boys including 1 or 2 traces of smile. Then again into shadows and of course smartphones. I used audiencecpartvof parade to force red note into palm of one of guys I liked look the most.THEN I got a smile indeed. At 10.00 Proper show, nothing unusuL there some more flesh and as always there , no nudity. About 10.15 I moved myself to Hot Male. 5 people inside, 4 of them half my age. Moonlight models Nicky , Tum, Smart, Bee and Tae on the stage, leaving after that without takers, Bee did not leave but joined about 8 bar boys on the stage. All fully clad but mostly cute and/ or handsome. Again one got 100 from me, I got the smile and young farang in the audience had flow of oxygen to his head improved seeing that as he called over that guy almost Immediately. We weren't in competition as I was in reporting mood only. it looks that poor cousin to more glorified other models Bee got lucky again called over by group of young Asians. so there,s some life with more to come we all hope

The joys of travel in trying times. Yesterday I decided I needed a backup plan in case test-and-go was terminated, so I contacted the owner of the villa on Koh Samui and asked if I could extend my booking forward a few days to enable me to switch to the Sandbox program. I was assuming the 7-day Sandbox was a safe bet. Not possible as the villa is not SHA+. Not to worry as there looked to be plenty of good SHA+ options available. I thought adding the flight to Koh Samui to my international ticket would be the big problem. To qualify for Sandbox the domestric flight has to be part of the international booking. So I planned to call the airline first thing in the morning as in my time zone their office was closed. Late in the evening before going to bed I looked at SHA+ options again and found they had shrunk dramatically on Expedia. Lots of 'you just missed out' notices on Agoda. A lot of people thinking the same thing as me? So I rang the airline's 24 hour desk in London. No problem adding the flight at all. The tough part turned out to be the easy part as the other bookings were painful to change. Everything was fully cancelable at no charge ..... except the quarantine fees at my first Bangkok hotel were not. Thai law. $180 gone. The Bangkok Airways flights were changable at no charge ..... but I ended up having to cancel and re-book as the on-line system could not accommodate the fact that I now only needed a one-way ticket while Bangkok Guy need a return ticket. $60 in cancellation fees plus waiting time on a long distance call attempting to get a customer representative to make the changes. Then there is a the cost of our new Koh Samui accommodation. Eye watering would be a fair assessment. 170% the cost of the villa, which was already a piece of self-indulgence. I had to submit the new arrangements to get a new Sandbox Thai Pass and luckily I did it straight away rather than leaving it until the morning. Almost instant approval. I guess a benefit of already being in the system. And now, after finishing my early morning calls, I log onto this Forum and find out that I would have been ok just leaving things alone. Ah well, rather an expensive insurance policy that you never use than an uninsured loss.

As reported elsewhere week after my first stay there Pattaya seems to be picking up slowly but surely. Both Boyztown and Walking Street were immensed in darkness 10 days ago but not they are lit. Just walked aptly named Walking Street, at least overhead lights are there and few bars pretending to be restaurants are open. No loud , in fact no music at all, few wanderers but at least it's something. About Boyztown I reported already , will check again tonight. Booking an emergency room through Agoda I noticed interesting fact. In quite a few cases in Pattaya hotels not available on the website we're still available on the Agoda's app. Also in case if few properties along Beach Road and possibly elsewhere as well prices were slightly different ( 100 - 300 ) baht. I did not detect particular pattern, some were cheaper on website, some on app. Bottom line - if you can, check both.

Although there are many opinions as to what happens if testing positive on arrival with no symptoms, (ASQ hotel, Hospital hotel [hospitel], Rest at home, etc) there is a detailed report on reddit that explains the chain of events. Here are a few excerpts from the report from a person who tested positive on arrival in Phuket. The original report is on Reddit.com:

Right now Siamroads has 2 full-time guides in Bangkok: Mac and Andy. Esso and Olay are working by weekends only (including Friday evening) - guys have another job at weekdays. The most significant changes happens in Ohh's life - he is now located in Ubon province, growing fruits and decorative plants at his eco-farm, and builds up his guest house. We hope to announce new tour soon: 2-3 days of living on eco-farm, visiting local temples and communities plus 1-2 days tour to Laos - to Pakse, the capital of the most populous southern Laotian province Champasak on Mekong river.

Meeting Place Cafe opposite the French bakery in Jomtien Complex also make very good coffee and tea, and it is an excellent location to view the many massuers sitting outside of their shops along the soi.

From Bangkok Post The government is expected to revise its list of "Test & Go" countries following the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as details on Monday emerged of the country's earliest recorded local case of the strain. Gen Supoj Malaniyom, chief of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration's (CCSA) operations base, said the list of of low-risk countries eligible for the tourism opening scheme will be reviewed and Covid-19 screening measures will be intensified. Gen Supoj said the CCSA's operation centre will identify "high-risk" countries before holding a meeting on Friday to decide on the extent to which the "Test & Go" scheme may need to be revised. If the risk of further infections is considered high, the scheme may be suspended completely. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2235135/test-go-country-list-to-change ================================ 'Test & Go' rumour irking operators Tourism operators are crying foul over a proposal to scrap the "Test & Go" scheme, as an immediate change would affect the international market during the high season. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) insisted no such decision has been made. "We still have to hear from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration [CCSA] about the final decision this week. The CCSA has stated clearly it plans to listen to all stakeholders carefully before nailing down a decision," said Yuthasak Supasorn, the TAT governor. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2235183/test-go-rumour-irking-operators

I'd rather say the package is included in the boy.

Yesterday along with distinguished member we visited Boyztown between 8-9. Earlier , around 5 while passing by I took some pictures attached. What a change to a week ago when it was dead dead. Red carpets on the soi, Copa , Castro , New bear between Castro and Serene,( name escaped me), Serene, Panorama and BBB opened! Number of customers not overwhelming but perhaps 2 dozen scattered in the seats. It was still early. BBB mamasan told me the show will be on the street. Several boys attending , almost all new faces but few veterans including one who remembered not only me but also that I liked his massages. Will visit again today . earlier rather long stroll from Boyztown along Bitch Road ( spelling ? )all the way to Terminal 21 proved the same observation. Compare to week ago city is much busier, more venues opened and sidewalks are more crowded BOYZTOWN AT 5 pm yesterday Week ago it was dead as I said.

According to the official announcement, even those who have received approved Thailand Pass but have not yet arrived will experience a new wrinkle: "Passengers who will arrive in Thailand under Test and Go and Sandbox Programme must undergo their 2nd COVID-19 test using the RT-PCR technique (not ATK self-test) at government-designated facilities (no additional cost)."

Another lunacy introduced by panicky politicians not knowing what to do. Nothing particular about Thailand as that is worldwide phenomen I suspect the suspension will be reversed before Christmas , yes this 2021 Christmas.

4 Massage is great! I went there a couple of years ago and had a lot of fun with a couple of the guys there. Glad to hear they are still open. Agree about the transport. There was a 'smart bus' last time I was there that ran the length of the west coast from the airport, not sure if it is still running but from memory I think it was under 200 baht, and I think it also accepted rabbit cards. The bus stops were limited though and I ended up walking about 10-15 minutes with my suitcase to my hotel. Fun times though and I hope to return at some point in the future.

In Thailand? Please give me about 15 minutes to finish having my little laugh. And if you really want to start laughing, that controversial health minister - the one who called us "dirty farang" announced today that he is "ready to be Thailand's next Prime Minister".

From MSN Laos has announced plans to partially re-open its borders to foreign visitors in the new year. The South-East Asian country has been closed to international arrivals for more than 18 months, in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19. Fully vaccinated visitors on pre-booked tours will be able to enter Laos from January 1 and visit a select number of destinations, including the capital Vientiane, eco-tourism hotspot Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, a Unesco World Heritage-listed site in the north of the country. Further destinations will be opened in April and July as vaccination rates in Laos increase. For now, entry will be limited to tourists from 17 countries, predominantly in South-East Asia and Europe, as well as the US, Australia and Canada. All arrivals will need to test negative for Covid-19 before their journey. Vaccination rates in the country are expected to be bolstered by the recent opening of a railway connecting Vientiane to the south-western Chinese city of Kunming. The $6 billion rail link was hailed as a "new era of modern infrastructure development” by Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, and health authorities are already working to deliver Covid booster shots to people living in tourist spots along the train line. https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/laos-to-reopen-its-borders-to-international-visitors-on-january-1/ar-AARXwxt

After reading so many trip reports on here I thought it was time I contributed back as I've just finished a 4 week stay in Thailand. I'm afraid it won't be as good as many of the excellent reports on here but Ill do my best. My trip consisted of Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. All of my hotels were booked through Agoda and I had great deals in all 3 cities through the app. I'll break it down in to 5 posts in this thread but it might take me a while to get all the posts up as I'm still playing catch up with work. Post 1 will be general planning/entry into the country, Post 2 Bangkok report, Post 3 Phuket report, Post 4 Pattaya report and Post 5 general observations (including info on internal flights). So here goes Post 1... My trip planning started on 1st November when the Thailand pass become live. I realised there were going to be many hurdles to overcome but I was determined after a 2 year break from the country. I juggled about whether to book the flight first or apply for the pass first, in the end I applied for the pass and kept fingers crossed it would be approved. The preparation took me quite a few hours because it was a nightmare trying to understand how to convert all the documents into jpg (something that I don't think is required now with later modifications). It took 3 days for my pass to be approved and 5 days later with pass in hand I was finally on a plane again to Thailand. Arrival into Bangkok Arrived 8 am and Suvarnabhumi airport was very well organised. As soon as I left the plane and turned right there were plastic chairs in the corridor. We asked to move along to the first available vacant chair. The chairs seemed to be in batches of about 30. This was first 'provisional' check of documents where a team swept through and checked we had the correct documents and asked us to put them in a particular order ready for the official check. This took only about 5 minutes but once our batch of people had been checked we were then asked to move forward to the Thailand Pass desk for the official check. They checked the pass and also wanted to the plane seat number (squeaky bum time because the plane I was on was full). Everything ok, took literally less than a minute and then on to immigration. Immigration was brilliant - no queues and all barriers removed - I walked straight up to a desk. Got my 30 day stamp, picked up my luggage and then into the arrivals hall where we were greeted with all the hotel reps and looked for the Trinity Silom sign form my 24 hour incarceration. I was put in a van on my own which I previously requested by email. I think from leaving the plane to getting into the van took 15 - 20 minutes. It felt good to be in Thailand again but apprehensive of getting over the quarantine hurdle. Quarantine I was take into the basement of the hotel and immediately had a swab for the PCR. It was about 10 am and asked how the long the result would take and they told me tomorrow morning. It was a bit nerve wracking thinking of the 'what ifs' but a shower and then some sleep. About 12 noon some lunch delivered outside the door and then to my surprise at 1pm (just 3 hours after arrival) the phone rang. Sir we have your results... and we have to inform you (gulp)... it is negative so you are free to check out when you want. I didn't want to stay in prison any longer than necessary so I immediately got onto Agoda and got a great deal at another hotel. I checked out, was given a copy of the PCR negative result and lateral flow test which I was told just for me to check after 7 days, no mention of reporting the result or about any apps. After checking out of the quarantine hotel I headed into the Bangkok streets for the adventure...

Siamroads started to get orders again. We had no bookings since Jan 2020 till November 2021. Now we are in business again. Thanks to our customers. This thread will be about gay tours in Bangkok and other places in Thailand, and about companions and guides from Siamroads.com who are working there. old (before COVID) thread is here

- Yes, you should book day by day. It is how this booking engine works, sorry. - Correct, Andy does only day tours for now.

The picture above is just click bait, but the video itself is interesting in its own way. Perhaps those more familiar with the non-touristy parts of the city can tell us where it was filmed. It has English subtitles (I think machine-translated but good enough to get a sense of what it's about).

I hope Simon in Myanmar is doing ok in the midst of all their madness. He was a fabulous guide for me. I was hoping to go back and see more of the country... Maybe some day.

Good news Moses. A (straight) lady friend of mine booked Mac three years ago for guiding in Bangkok and she was full of praise for how he looked after her.

Too bad about the Facade. At least it made the Raya stand out along Suriwong Rd... 😉

I tried using your link and here are few problems - First you can't select multiple days - Second it doesn't allow you to choose day/night as it's only showing day option.

Sounds like he was going around areas that Christianpfc is an expert on...

Don't panic yet! Some media report "back to quarantine", some media report "back to Sandbox scheme" (wouldnt be that bad but doesnt make any sense), so let's just wait and see what will happen in the end,probably nothing will happen (unless Omicron turns out to be a really bad guy)

With a 30-day visa as the prize, a 7-day quarantine might as well be 30 days when measured in effect. It would only be considered by returning citizens or retirees with residence in Thailand. And a small numbers of those on business.

Well, my partner and I saw the new West Side Story this afternoon. Not surprisingly, our views were different. Surprisingly, though, whereas I thought I would love it, I was quite disappointed. My younger Thai partner on the other hand really enjoyed it. His only concern near the start was the question he asked, "What's Puerto Rican?" I think he still has no idea why people from a small island would be going to live in New York and want to start gang warfare in the city. That, for me, is a very definite reason for Spielberg to have had more courage and brought the time the show is set much more up to date. What disappointed me? Certainly not the two lovers Tony and Maria. They were excellent actors and singers. Indeed, most of the acting was very fine. It is much more that the movie looks and feels dated. I found the dancing, the choreography and the big production numbers more convincing in the Robert Wise version (or what I remember of that movie). Indeed, I much preferred a touring version of the musical at the Thailand Cultural Centre during one of the Dance and Music Festivals about 15 years ago. That stage production kept me emotionally involved throughout. Spielberg's movie just lacked that emotional pull. My last beef was that the balance between the singing and the orchestra was just too much in favour of the singers. Naturally they have to be heard and understood. But in a theatre, the balance engineers keep the smallish orchestra at a good level. Having employed the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to play Bernstein's gorgeous score, it was mostly kept just too much in the background. I came out of the cinema disappointed.

Hello. The truth is that it is very difficult to meet one of these webcam guys in person. The rules of the sites prohibit models from giving their personal data to clients. I have tried and I have never succeeded

Thank kindly for your suggestions. I want to enjoy Bogota to the fullest. So as we say in Ojibwe/Chippewa, MIIGWECH!

Post 2 - Bangkok report My trip was broken into 5/6 days staying in each of Bangkok - Phuket - Pattaya - Phuket - Bangkok. As explained in the previous post I'll give a report of each location rather than a chronological order of the trip, so this post will be about my Bangkok experiences. Daytime activities During the day I like to do a lot of walking. General plan is there is no plan. Went exploring and got lost, have a coffee, move on see where the wind takes me. I couldn't access lumphini park, the entrances I found were all closed but I saw people in there so there must have an entrance I couldn't find. Visited the Ari area, the riverside area and took 2 boat trips. To enter the malls had to scan temperature each time. Generally each day ended up with a massage from one of the establishments on either the surawong or silom roads. I didnt get to any of the more upmarket gay massage places this time, mainly through being otherwise occupied rather than choice. Bars/Nightlife I should point out that food was available in all the establishments I visited. The place to be was Silom Soi 4. The place was buzzing, even on week nights. When I visited at the weekend I couldn't get a seat either at the new Circus bar or Balcony bar so ventured on those nights to a quieter cozy bar at the end of the soi where I got a seat (and happily chatted to some handsome waiters). The Circus bar seemed to be in the in place to be and when meeting up with some local guys this was the bar of choice where they would like to meet for a drink. I frequented the Pride bar (seemed to be more local Thai oriented - maybe because of the live singer - but just my impression) and visited Connections bar where I was warmly welcomed by the Australian owner and his boyfriend. In my first Bangkok stint I mainly frequented Balcony, Circus and Connections but I'd have no hesitation in supporting any of the bars on this soi and would be happy drinking in them all. Closing time most nights was either 11pm or 12 pm and earlier in the trip on some days alcohol could not be purchased after 9pm or 10pm. I don't know what rules are/were, and would simply follow the flow and directions of the staff. Soi 2 - I visited the DJ station complex a couple of times and the bar opposite as it had opened up during my visit. There were times where I was the only foreigner there and I didn't get to chat to anyone. I still enjoyed visiting though. I think they closed at midnight. Patpong area - This was very quiet and dark. There was one gogo bar open and this changed to three on my return. I did visit one of the gogo bars open (full street clothes only) which I won't name because I didn't enjoy the experience. The tout told me a drink was 250 bht only to be given a bill for 450 bht. I'm not tight, but that left a sour taste so I finished my drink, payed my bill and didn't return. Maybe it was just some confusion. I hope that post covid this area can get back in full swing again. Jupiter 2018 - This turned out to be the highlight of my trip. It had opened up on my second visit. Unfortunately for the bar there were very few customers but fortunately for me it meant much more interaction with the staff. About 8-10 models each night with a rotating live singer and catwalk format for the evening. About 15 minutes each rotation. Drink price was 170 thb for a beer and no entry fee - expect this to change when the shows return. Because they were very welcoming and had reasonable drink prices I was happy to open up and spend. The mamasans/captains here are not pushy and I found them very friendly. I got acquainted with a few of the guys there strutting the catwalk where some of them were happy to come back to the hotel after the bar had closed on various evenings to discuss the climate crisis. Hotels I stayed in Trinity Silom (one night only), Crowne Plaza and Quarter Silom. Crowne Plaza without a doubt turned out to be the best value for money for me and I enjoyed staying here. It was very cheap at average price of about 1400 thb through the Agoda app. For my stay at Quarter Silom Soi 6 and paid an average of 750thb. In normal times I would stay at the quarter again, but, for a brand new hotel I was surprised at a couple of things. Firstly the bathroom and part of the room flooded when taking a shower (could be avoided if holding the shower head and carefully angling away), only two bath towels provided (not hand towels) and a lack of storage space. For a city centre hotel I would stay here again but in my opinion there are much better value options during the present time with many good quality hotels heavily discounted (purely my opinion of course and we are all different and I guess my view was tainted as i had been spoiled with high end hotels in other parts of the trip). Restaurants Many options in Silom Soi 4 but don't expect anything fancy. I had good meals in Gs, Pride and Balcony. I also visited some more upmarket restaurants and was taken to a fancy Italian restaurant on Witthaya Road (can't remember all the names sorry...) Two restaurants visited on Sukhumvit soi 11 - Hemingway's for Sunday lunch (nice roast) and Oskar for dinner. Guys Ive already mentioned my acquaintances at Jupiter. Everything else was via the apps. When I first arrived was bombarded with many offers from mostly Cambodian guys looking for some tips and got to know a few of them. What did surprise me was how many local and other expat asian guys there were interested in meeting up for free. It just needed a little patience and spectrum ranged from 21 year old twinky students to 35 year old very handsome muscle guys which wouldn't look out of place at some of the model bars and a few older gents too. Would you believe I even had one very attractive 25 hiso guy take me out to dinner picking me up in his BMW!! I couldn't believe my luck - he was just sexually attracted to older white guys. Back to our friends looking for some support I noticed more isaan boys on the apps for the second Bangkok stint where I became acquainted with a few of them - hopefully a sign many are starting to return back to the cities. Transport Mainly walking. I used the BTS and when needing to take a taxi I used the bolt app. The bolt app ended up being the best and cheapest taxi app. Overall, with the exception of Patpong being closed, and with some adjustment elsewhere there was much on offer in Bangkok.

Great report, waiting impatiently for next 4 installments with benefit of being in Thailand myself. Hope 18past19 will have such enviable turnarrond as well, I was imprisoned 7am to 22 pm at Centre Point with test taken at 10.30am

I'll put this one here rather than start a new thread, until further notice and or discussions no doubt. Sorry for those that were about to apply. BANGKOK — PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday afternoon said Thailand will no longer accept any further applications from international travelers for quarantine exemption until further notice, starting today. Prayut said he gave the order to suspend the “Test and Go” program during a meeting with the government’s coronavirus response center. Accordingly, the Thailand Pass system, which is required by travelers to forego quarantine provided that they test negative for COVID-19 on arrival, will stop accepting new applications. However, people who have already applied will still be allowed to come. Suspension of test n go applications