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I guess now it’s time for usual day to day update of my trip. Some repeats will be necessary as I’m too lazy to spend much time polishing text so bear with me. Short lived ‘Test and go “ scheme served me very well and we hope it will be re-instated soon but trip was not only matter of luck but also utilizing it. Long ago I decided that as long as quarantine will be eliminated or shortened to max 2 days I jump into plane ASAP. So when it happened it took me only few hours to complete documents , do the bookings of planes , hotels and tests. I may try to repeat the feast if scheme will return even if for shorter period of time. First few months of year are not really me travelling time as greed prevails due to much increased opportunities to earn some spending cash. For quarantine hotel I had chosen Centre Point Riverview Silom and looking back it was wise decision. Knowing I will be locked I was looking for big room with balcony and a view. They had it all with Executive Suite, as it turned out complete with washing machine and microwave. Location steps from BTS SaphanTaksin proved beneficial when I was released about hour before bars are closing / 11 pm now/ . It was costly at about 5200 baht but not when one considers that I paid 4600 baht for pre-departure test at home so for me it looked like for 600 baht I had transport from airport, spacious room and 3 meals a day. Nice gesture was to allow me to check in early ,even if my plane arrived at 6 am , I was advised when asked that booking should be done for 1 night only As noted before arrival was very smooth, documents checked before lining up for immigration, taxi from hotel was handily waiting and it did not take much more than hour from landing to be already in the hotel to start solitary confinement of my: Day 1 On admission I asked to skip today’s breakfast as I was well fed by Swiss and opted for next day breakfast instead. Waiting to be called for test I despoiled after long trip, did some laundry ( I travel light so usually my first thing in hotel when travel is to wash my shirt and undergarments ) drying which was easy as washroom was equipped with laundry line. In Swampy I bought SIM card so installed Grindr and Romeo in addition to already installed Hornet and to kill time combed through offerings there. At 10.30 knock to door from the staff inviting me to go to the testing area on the roof. I was told results will arrive up to next morning. Tasty lunch delivered around noon, then I fell to jet lag and slept till 6 when another knock waked me up announcing equally tasty dinner. It was 9.55 p.m. when I got a call from reception that results are in and I’m free man again. 10 minutes later I was already on the Saphan Taksin platform and soon after , after 2 years of absence I was pounding pavements of my beloved Silom again. Since it was Sunday evening and in pandemic time it was rater quiet and in one of massage shops I noticed very handsome masseur playing with cat. Perhaps I should stop there but fate dragged me to soi 4 which is kind of sarcasm as I never really liked it. But now with Jupiter , only one of three bars opened others being Dreamboys and Fresh Boys there was no place to be picky. Beer at Jupiter was cheap at 150 which lasted till before Christmas and now is at more “normal” 400 so I got mine and noticed few guys drinking beside , one of them familiar face of one of Moonlight’ s go-gos I never offed but tipped few times for a good looks. Smile and signalized my interest but he gestured that he is with that company. Did not worry me as it was first out if 25 nights but fate had it , shortly after they all left he returned with knowing smile. It turned out he in not Jupiter guy , just visiting his friends there to have a drink, is willing to check my stamp collection. So I paid off fee of 500 and we went. No not to Centre Point but to Furama Silom as when booking originally I was not sure what will happen with my early check in and took advantage of cheap rates those days , booked 1 night at Furama just in case. Not a long walk and soon we were there. Reception asked for 1000 baht deposit, gave us a key and up we went to have our fun, short time one for which I was asked to fork 3000. How it came to it ? walking I asked about long time , 3000, answer was 3000 is for a short time. After 2 years I was in no mood to haggle. Fun we had and he is nice and very well built man but also resolve came that we met twice – first and last at the same time. No repeat as Christian PFC use to say . When he left , soon did I collecting my deposit left 3 hrs ago and walked all the way to Centre Point past 2 at night through completely empty streets with rats being busy here and there but no soul in sight. And I thought “ where in the world on his 1st day tourist can walk at almost 3 am through empty street in the middle of 10 million strange city and feel completely safe and relaxed “ ? Try that in Paris, London, Rio , Nairobi or even Flint , Michigan. Long live Bangkok , long live Thailand. Slept without A/c , with open windows, just like summer at home. And that’s how I finished day 1.

Day 2 But not for long as shortly after 5 in the middle of said 10 million city I was waked up by the sound of crowing cock, no kidding. Somebody in the neighborhood must keep some on his balcony or something. For me it felt like afternoon already due to jet lag so again I did some computerizing and smartphoning waiting for my breakfast to be delivered. Soon after I packed and took motorsai taxi to my next step - Quarter Silom , new hotel steps from Tawan. Hotels in Thailand now are extremely good value due to lack of travelers but that one seemed as an exception, parking was full, lobby was crowded and reception told me that I can’t check in before 2 pm as no rooms are available. Fine. I left luggage with them and went to see covid damage done to the Patpong area. Not a pretty sign. Patpong itself quiet with all bars , shops and restaurants including my beloved Madrid closed. Patpong 2 the same , only Foodland with it’s world famous , 7 Michelin stars awarded restaurant opened as before but almost empty anyways. Suriwong the same , many shops closed or even boarded, Silom a bit better but still depressed. Soi Thaniya only shadow of herself. Former BBB Inn on Rama boarded and decaying, ready to be demolished perhaps. Soi Twilight boarded high. Former Oasis restaurant closed , still after 4 years. Another new hotel ‘ 56 Suriwong “ arisen, Thaniya Plaza renovated so some places are not wasting a good crisis and sprucing up but generally it looked bit sad. Tawan closed , Sun massage beside the same but few massage shpos in that soi on the stretch closer to Silom , inclusion Prime and Thai Prime opened as before. After being able to check in I did so. Rooms are not very spacious abut very well organized and I like Quarter quite a bit, perhaps more than similar Red Planed on Suriwong. They even have a pool and serve buffet breakfast as well at 130 unless included in the room rate / mine was not /. 500 baht refundable deposit on check in. In the afternoon I decided to see how Sukhumvit area is coping so went there. Located Jey Spa in soi 43. No sign so one needs to know address 14/6 soi 43 , shoes at entrance are betraying it’s busy place . I did not go there yet. In Soi 23 went to check if Urban Male is still there – it was not. Soi Cowboy sharing Patpong’s fate. In the afternoon in hotel I met other member , 10tazione who also lived there and we went to soi 4 where I had an opportunity to meet his boy special. When it got dark we went to Dreamboys. It turned out my last night companion works actually there, strange that Jupiter charged me off fee for him last night but oh , well. He tried to sit beside me but I was not too keen on carrying conversation still smarting over that short time charge from last night. There was the show and quite explicit at that with big c***k show being part of it. Yes , Johnny is still there, energetic dancer as always. After show boys filled stage , all dressed in jeans and t-shirt. One of them , if I recall number 38 being extremely cute twink so without hesitation I decided to cross the border , called and offed him before somebody else could. Gap is his name and I can recommend him with whole heart. No long time material though as he has full time job. But great guy and true asset of that bar. World must be coming to an end if vinapu is bringing twinks home and is very happy about an experience thought I walking him to a taxi thus finishing my day 2 .

I just returned from Thailand where I had numerous massages and other close connection contacts with young( 23-33 ) part of male Thai population. While most massage places and bars are posting something about having premises sterilized and staff vaccinated I did not bother with neither following on that nor being worried. My logic is I'm vaccinated in order not to be afraid of other people. Or like I said to my cousin ;" Margaret, if somebody must be sick , it better you than me ". So far it seems to be working. I'd find close encounter , with either masseur or regular bar off in masks weird and asking about status fun killing so I took calculated risk of not bothering about either. So my advice to Londoner and other with similar and it must to be admitted, valid concerns. Ease up your worries and let them go or stay home. Otherwise your vacation will become nightmarish string of worries with every person you encounter potential killer. That is not a receipt for happy holidays. If you are longing for reunion with P, just go and stay with him somewhere leaving massages and other debaucheries for future trip. Good news is that 100% of population is wearing masks , if in 25 days I saw 30 people on street without mask that's it. And all of them seem to be western slobs, mainly in Pattaya. So my guess risk of catching something in LOS is the same as catching something on the plane or airport. Just go and have fun.

While I don't quite consider myself a fearless traveller, the thing that has so far put me off making firm plans to visit is the risk of quarantine either in Thailand or on return, not the risk of catching Covid. This Bloomberg story dated 16 December 2021 says 43.8 million second shots have been administered, with another 4.4 million booster shots. Out of a population of 69 million, the 43.8 million with second shots represent 63%. The story further says that "At the current pace of vaccinations, the country should reach 90% coverage by March". Given these numbers, even if massage parlours don't visibly declare their staff to be fully vaccinated, the chance of meeting an unvaccinated person is low, and getting lower. I would also bear in mind that a vaccinated person can transmt the virus -- for why else do we have an Omicron surge in Western countries despite their high vaccination rate? It would therefore seem to be just a matter ot time before we bump into someone who is going to transmit it to us. Even people who have recovered from Covid-19 have come down a second and third time! I think we have to resign ourselves to the high likelihood that we will get it. The good news is that so far, Omicron appears, despite its high transmissibility, to cause less severe symptoms. Virologists would say this is entirely expected. Viruses tend to evolve towards greater transmissibility but lower lethality.

I'm a little diffident about posting this. I have no intention to pry, I am merely seeking information from our travellers and correspondents. Here are two concerns and I hope not too personal. When massages are given in BKK and Pattaya, are both masseur and customer expected to wear masks? Have the shops policies regarding this? And secondly, do the guys declare their vaccination status? again, do the shops (for example, the ones near Tarntawan Hotel, or those in the JC) have policies in place to ensure that the masseurs are vaccinated? Finally, what do out fearless travellers feel about it? I ask because, were I fortunate enough to be there in March as planned, I must confess I'd be rather diffident about close contact with strangers. P and I have been talking about what changes to our routines- taxis and restaurants, for example- may be required. Both of us are medically vulnerable in different ways.

From Reuters / The Thaiger He will forever be known as a hero, but Dr Li Wenliang, the Chinese ophthalmologist who first sounded the alarm over Covid-19, was initially shut down and threatened by his government. Now, nearly 2 years after his own death from the virus, thousands of Chinese netizens have posted messages to honour the Wuhan medic who tried to warn the world. According to a Reuters report, the messages have been posted on the second anniversary of Li discovering a pneumonia-causing virus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. On December 30, 2019, Li, who worked at a hospital in the city, caught sight of a medical report that referenced potential SARS coronavirus infections in Wuhan. He posted about the outbreak on the Weibo social media platform but his warnings were badly received by the government. He was reprimanded by the local police and accused of creating panic. On January 12, Li was admitted to hospital, infected with Covid-19. He died on February 7, 2020. Along with the grief triggered by his death came a rare outpouring of anger at the government over its lack of transparency and its attempts to censor Li. Nearly 2 years after his death, he is being commemorated as a hero. According to the Reuters report, Weibo is awash with candle emojis and messages of thanks to the doctor, with many posting as if talking directly to him. “Happy new year Dr. Li, we will remember you forever.” According to Fang Kecheng from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, people seem to feel more comfortable posting on Li’s Weibo microblog. “Such places for anonymous expression are needed in any society, and this is especially true in today’s China.” https://thethaiger.com/china/chinese-netizens-pay-tribute-to-the-doctor-who-tried-to-warn-the-world

'Tis that silly time that comes twice a year in the UK when the great, the good and a good few of the bad - along with some ordinary folk who have gone about their business with extraordinary zeal - are awarded with "honours." These are the people the British Empire continues to evoke - Member of the British Empire, Officer of the British Empire and Commander of the British Empire - all titles that should have died decades ago. Rightly, many this year have been health workers. But I will just select two from this year's long list. That Tony Blair, the Prime Minister who led Britain into the disastrous Iraq war, is not now merely Sir Tony but a member of the exclusive Order of the Garter (limited to the Queen, Prince Charles and 24 others) is a disgrace in my book. On the other hand, the actress who is now Dame Joanna Lumley fully deserves her accolade. Most of us know her merely as an actor from her time playing Patsy in the Absolutely Fabulous TV series or even earlier in The New Avengers. But she has espoused a large number of charitable causes and fought bravely for them. Born in India, in 2008 she became the face of the campaign to provide all Nepalese Gurkha soldiers who had worked for the British army before 1997 the right to settle in Britain. Many thousands had worked for the army, quite a few in Hong Kong who had effectively been left stateless after Britain's exit. Her campaign took several years and suffered many official rebuffs. Eventually she got together a petition signed by 250,000 citizens. Her campaign was finally successful. She is patron of as many as 60 other charities and in 1996 endowed a research fellowship at Oxford University for "major environmental and wildlife issues". For all these, please rise, Dame Joanna.

Hello Vinapu - great trip report. Reminds me of old times. May I ask, was it easy to buy SIM card at the airport with the Test & GO. If you are to be quarantined - do they mind if you are shopping for a SIM card? If I am going to be quarantined a SIM card purchase is essential for the quarantine period. Thanks, M.

Fuck 2021.

I agree with 18past19, now one has feeling of having country to himself. There are visitors but nowhere in overwhelming numbers, even Chao Praya Tourist Boat had choice of seats whenever one wanted. Thais finally have country to themselves but that's mixed blessing as we can imagine.

Although I remain among those still hoping to experience Bangkok again in the not too distant future, news that my favorite method of getting around Krung Thep--second only to walking--continues to thrive helps keep the dream alive. From The Nation More than 1.3 million people used Thailand’s railway services on December 29 and 30 The five lines that saw the highest number of passengers were: • Southern: 26,852 passengers • Northeast: 26,420 passengers • Northern: 23,402 passengers • Eastern: 11,010 passengers • Mahachai-Mae Khlong: 6,066 passengers Meanwhile, more than 1.28 million people used rail services in Greater Bangkok on December 29 and 30: • Airport Rail Link: 57,446 passengers • SRT Red Line: 15,590 passengers • MRT Purple Line: 50,721 passengers • MRT Blue Line: 355,242 passengers • BTS: 805,331 passengers Continues with photos https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40010669

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

I've seen that Adam massage in soi 4 are saying all their staff are fully vaccinated and I would imagine that they would all be or at least most massage shops would be

Handy, cheap and nice smelling micro-towel. I always made sure I have few on me at any time . Refreshing , stays moist for few hours, can be washed and reused. Whether you feel sweaty, oily , soiled you appreciate having it on you . comes in 3 sizes ay 9, 13 and 16 baht, can be found in 7/11 and the like not where other toiletries are but curiously where dairy items are shelved. Don't ask me why. I even went as far as bringing few of those home.

at least she had long and successful life so now can rest in peace. Rest in peace Rose, I mean Ms. White.

I used to visit Fitness Thaniya but sadly it seems they have closed which is a pity as their pool was great, my last few trips staying at the Raya Surawong I just did a couple of early morning 7am laps of Lumpini Park (yes a bit of an early bird) and that managed to burn off some calories. For that bit extra there is the connecting walkway between Lumpini and Benjakitti Park which makes for a fair lap of the two parks and gets those calories pouring out in sweat, even early mornings.

I hire a personal trainer 3 days a week who works the fuck out of me. I'd imagine in Bangkok you could get the same with a special bonus when the workout was over....

It's lovely in Thailand now. Here in Chiang Mai we have 28-30C highs during the day, dropping to 16-20C at night. Just perfect.

eat less, don't sleep during day, have a daily walk to Hualampong or ChitLom and back and don't let boys to do all the work should do the trick. Don't waste your money on gym, waste it on guys

His treatment by Chinese authorities will be forever reminder that authoritarian governments can't be trusted , no matter their achievements are. Mussolini made trains going on time, Hitler eliminated unemployment and still very few tears are shed for them and this should act as warning to all who think they have all answers

Then no other time could be better than now. you could get the whole Ayutthaya to yourself. only a handful of visitors at most famous places i went yesterday with the exception of Wat Phanan Choeng where there were a lot of locals paying homage.

Agreed 100%. In the past I have made inquiries and the answer is either (A) absofreakinglutely no way or (B) sure for $200-$400 USD with a gift included. Most don't bother past that point (have not had someone that obsessed thus far). The boys risk their employment if caught as it is against the rules in the signed agreement with the employers (Chaterbate and Flirt4Free are sister corporations). For the long-term successful performers (like Dante Santos named above) it is not worth risking a lucrative career that he can do from home. Also, the vast majority of performers are straight and not interested in making cash on the side.

Wheel of Time, on the other hand, I'm really starting to like. At first I was worried because the first episode was good and the next two weren't that exciting, thought it would be like Foundation, but then the 4th episode hit it out of the park and I am eager for more!

We lost a true star tonight. She will be missed.

I wish I could say the same but unfortunately I'm home already