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Tipsy Talk Back at the hotel Bangkok Guy heads to IconSiam to get a shirt for tonight while I shower before the tailor arrives. I am very pleased with the clothes and by the time Bangkok Guy returns I am wearing some of my new wardrobe, a pair of high-waisted caramel linen trousers held up with woven silk braces in light blue with a tropical fish design and a white Chinese-collared shirt, the collar and placket lined in deep navy. Bangkok Guy both likes and is amused by the braces “They cute”. He explains his amusement by showing me a picture of little children wearing outfits with braces – he associates braces with children’s clothing. He has bought a white Chinese collared shirt which matches mine. His phone rings. It is our driver from today saying that she will not be driving us tonight, one of her colleagues will collect us. We are disappointed as she is a co-conspirator and we like her car, a black Honda Accord, which Bangkok Guy tells me in Thailand is a “Boss car”. Her colleague arrives in an SUV, apparently “Not Boss car”, so we arrive at Baan Suriyasai as our humble selves. Our reservation is in Khun Bangkok Guy’s name as the restaurant was having trouble with my name and Bangkok Guy took over. The new shirt matches his status as patron-of-record. We have our usual room, a private table-for-two overlooking the courtyard. Bangkok Guy orders for us, old favorites like the pork belly with different sizes of egg and a few new dishes. As always the food is wonderful. No champagne by the glass, only by the bottle. I ask Bangkok Guy if he likes champagne and if he can drink more than a glass. I order a bottle after he affirms both. We don’t usually drink this much, certainly not Bangkok Guy, and the alcohol loosens the conversation. “Why you drink so much?” “All Falang drink”. “I not know Falang, I know you. You like alcohol more strong (than the champagne)”. I later ask for an eau-de-vie, confirming his analysis. “Your mother knows you are gay?” “Yes”. “Does it bother her?” He looks confused “Why it bother her?” “In the West some parents do not like their sons being gay”. “Oh?” he is not sure what to make of this Falang peculiarity. “Why you give me everything?” “I don’t give you everything”. “You give a lot”. “I like you”. “How much you like me?” “A lot” and I extend my arms to indicate the entire room and the universe beyond. “Why you like me?” “You are a very nice person. You have a good heart. You are responsible. You have a sense of humor”. “I not so nice”. “Really, why you say that?” “If I no want to talk to someone they can see, my face look like this” (he tries to pull a face of someone turning up their nose, but does not really succeed). I had wondered how Bangkok Guy’s complete lack of a poker face went down with fellow Thais and this suggests that it can cause problems. “You like me?” “Yes, you always nice to me, never ‘Ack Ack’ me, and you are funny”. ‘Ack Ack’ is said rolling back the lips to show the teeth in a biting motion. It’s a gesture I have used to indicate that I have had to deal with someone. He sees it as part of my being a Boss, but happily I don’t act as Boss to him. “Why you stay in such expensive hotel?” in a slightly critical tone. Bangkok Guy likes value-for-money, not expensive things. Now I discover why he called asking for the hotel address. I explain I have a deeply discounted rate, but admit it is still expensive. I am paying about twice as much as I normally would in order to get the space and river access, to keep distant from people because of covid. He nods, this is of a piece with my using the LimoPattaya rather than public transport and insisting on cracking the windows open despite smells outside. On the way to Ayutthaya, he wound the windows up because of a smell (not much of one to my nose, but he has a much keener sense of smell) and I put them back down. He felt the need to explain my odd behavior to our driver (I caught the word ‘covid’) and she just laughed. After driving me several times she was used to my strange obsession. “What do Thai people think when they see your ring?” I ask, indicating the ring-of-power-that-was-supposed-to-be-a-dragon on his ring-finger. “Think I am married”. “How many children do you tell them you have?” I tease him. Bangkok Guy gives me a tolerant ‘You are so Silly’ look and ignores the question. “In Thailand where you want to live, Bangkok or hometown?” “Bangkok too many people, but is business. Hometown is nice, have trees and nature, but no business. Stay Bangkok for business and live in hometown once business big enough. If could live anywhere, would live in mountains like you, cooler, air clean, not many people”. In mountains like me?! “I don’t live in mountains”. “Yes, I see many trees”. One time he called me I was in the garden and he has associated the many trees with forest, which he associates with mountains. He really does like nature. I explain the confusion. “Still many trees”, which I can’t deny. The comment about no business in hometown causes a penny to drop. The allowance I give him enables him to stay in Bangkok and keep alive his aspiration of creating a business. Without it covid would have forced a retreat to the hometown where the living is cheap but the opportunities are zero. “Outside Thailand, is there anywhere you would like to live?” “With you”. “You can live outside Thailand?” “Yes”. “But no Thai people, who you talk to?” His look implies I am missing something “Who you think run Thai restaurants?” he asks laughing. My local Thai restaurant is indeed run by Thais, and there is a temple twenty minutes away. I have always thought that Bangkok Guy was wedded to Thailand, so this is news. “You would be happy outside Thailand?” The answer here is nuanced. In Thailand getting ahead as a very poor person is difficult. His father went bankrupt a few years ago and now the responsibility for the financial wellbeing of the family unit (his mother and younger sister) rests on his shoulders. It is a lot. He accepts the responsibility, not accepting it is not a consideration, but he would like to be happy while he shoulders the responsibility and somehow this might be easier outside Thailand. My guess is that it comes back to needing emotional support and, possibly, he thinks there is more opportunity outside Thailand. Bangkok Guy, possessed of the ring of power, wants to join me in my woodland sanctuary. I wonder if this is how Tolkien got inspired? I’ve never heard that he visited Thailand.

From the BBC France has passed a new law criminalising the use of so-called "conversion therapy" to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people. The measure was passed unanimously by the National Assembly, 142 votes to 0. Anyone convicted under the new law could face fines of up to €30,000 (£25,000) and two years in jail. President Emmanuel Macron praised the move, tweeting that "being oneself is not a crime". The law had already been overwhelmingly backed in the French upper house, the Senate, where it was passed by 305 votes to 28, with the conservative Republicans party opposing it. The bill will now take force in the next 14 days once signed off by Mr Macron. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60145970

Ayutthaya and Birthdays The same lady driver from LimoPattaya is on time in her very nice car to drive us to Ayutthaya. As usual, Bangkok Guy curls up on the back seat and rests his head in my lap. My role as human pillow is secure. After the first temple, one with tortoises, we are hungry. Bangkok Guy finds a place online and a ten minute stroll finds us at a charming old wooden Thai structure nestled in a garden. No one in sight, and we are concerned that it is closed until we find the proprietors seated around a table at the back having lunch. We are the only customers, and they are delighted to see us. Bangkok Guy selects what turns out to be a very good lunch. Over lunch we continue an earlier discussion of future travel plans. We have been looking at all the places that Thais can go without visas and some of these correspond to my bucket list, including the Maldives and the Serengeti (Tanzania and Kenya are e-visa, failing which South Africa and Kruger National Park is no visa). He does not know the Serengeti, so I type it on his phone and he explores the pictures on the web, his grin widening. He holds up a picture of one of the lodges with eco-style architecture: “This where we stay?”. “Can”. “I want!!” He is however a frugal realist: “But expensive?” Yes, compared to Tokyo which had been the next on our list, but as I want to go anyway and it will be more fun with Bangkok Guy than by myself, I assure him we can do it. Our post-covid travel plan is now the Maldives and Africa. Tokyo is banished: “It only shopping”. However, who knows when covid will end. For the second half of this year we agree that he will plan a trip for us in Thailand. Bangkok Guy is enthusiastic and shows me pics of himself on holiday in various spots of natural beauty around Thailand. He really likes scenic beauty, partly for the beauty and partly for the absence of people, and traces out a possible route on a map, all nature spots except Chang Mai which, as I have not been there, he thinks I should see. We will hire a car, he can drive, he is in fact very enthusiastic to drive me. To avoid circumnavigating Thailand by car, which I think would be tiring, I point out that he has a credit with Bangkok Airways for the cancelled Koh Samui ticket, so when we reach the far North we can fly South and hire another car. Given the logic of a free flight, he agrees, although left to himself he would drive the entire way. Lunch over, he calls the driver (they exchanged numbers and he is now in charge of driver relations) and we visit more temples including the Buddha-head-in-tree, the one with a big fishpond and the reclining Buddha. Our last stop is a floating market which Bangkok Guy is very keen to re-visit as he enjoyed it on a previous occasion. From his photos I thought it was a local market, but it is clearly built-for-tourists, albeit strongly appealing to Thai tourists. Unfortunately many of the shops and the ladies selling from boats in the small lake are no more, victims of the economy. Bangkok Guy is disappointed but unfazed and once he finds a clothing store I see why he likes this place – very attractive casual clothing at very cheap prices. He gets a stylish tie-died shirt and loose pants in white with a red-brown Thai-patten print for 100Bt each. H&M and Uniqlo, eat your hearts out. It is now a little past the hour at which we need to depart if I am going to be back at the hotel in time to receive the completed clothes from my tailor. Bangkok Guy speaks with our driver, and we are on the road home for all of four minutes when we suddenly pull over and circle around for a parking spot. To my questioning face Bangkok Guy says ‘Two minute’ with his ‘Trust Me’ expression. I assume he needs to go to the toilet. Ten minutes later I am beginning to wonder. Fifteen minutes later I line him “?” and get a quick response “Five minutes” and a sticker indicating ‘please’. My “Ok. What you doing?” gets a sticker of a figure biting its fingernails. “Not to worry, but only because it is you” to which he responds with a kiss sticker. Whatever he is doing, it means something to him, and I will find out eventually. I text my tailor that I am running late and can he please come thirty minutes later than scheduled, a request with which he is fine. I look back in the direction in which Bangkok Guy went to see if there is any sign of him and spot an advertising sign for a jeweler. Our driver is watching me. “Did he go to the jeweler?” “Yes”, she smiles. She is in on whatever he is up to. I decide to visit the jewelry shop. As I approach the shopgirls see me and by the time I enter they and Bangkok Guy are doubled-over in guilty laughter. A gold dragon on a red cord is just about to be placed in its gift box. Instead, Bangkok Guy places it around my wrist “Happy Birthday!” Everyone in the shop is beaming. It is the same type of dragon that I gave him the money to buy two years ago, instead of which he bought the ring. I had said I would like one and we had planned to take a boat to Chinatown tomorrow to get one for each of us. Bangkok Guy had drawn me into a thorough discussion of what size dragon I wanted compared to the size he wanted, and in the car on the drive here had played around comparing his hand and wrist with mine, I now realize to size the red cord correctly. I offer to buy him one but no, he has the ring, the whole point of the discussion was to find out what size of dragon I wanted. I am quite blown away and grinning from ear to ear. This is a nicest gift I have had in a long time, and the best planned. As an aside, our lady driver passed Bangkok Guy’s number on to LimoPattaya, and for the remainder of the trip LimoPattaya call Bangkok Guy, not me.

Enter Bangkok Guy Complete radio silence from Bangkok Guy, which is not a surprise as he only communicates if there is something to communicate and, unlike me, feels no need to reconfirm what is already agreed. The need to keep multiple balls in the air in business has habituated me to rigorous management of time and process which I unwisely carry over into my personal life. Unwisely, as it gets in the way of relaxation and spontaneity. In Bangkok Guy’s words ‘So much organize’. Bangkok Guy has three approaches to managing this potentially irritating part of my personality. Amused indulgence while he watches me attempt to bend the universe to my will, when a wise person would realize you can only organize so much and then play the rest by ear; persistent but gentle suggestions that I need to relax more; and simply ignoring me and doing what he thinks is necessary at the pace he considers suitable. Today he is ignoring me. A little after 5pm he Line’s me that he has finished his errands and is on his way, followed by a Thai-language screenshot of the hotel with the question “This your hotel?” Odd question as he has already spoken to the hotel about his vaccination status, so I guess that his taxi driver knows of other hotels with similar names and wants confirmation of the address. I later discover that he went into the website to get the address and got such a shock at the room rate (full board, not my heavily discounted rate) that he felt he needed to confirm. It is great to see him. He looks good and his eyes have their usual sense of mischief. After two years apart we are both happy, hopeful, but slightly hesitant. Is this going to click and pick up from where we left off? I reassure him that as he has been sick, we go at his pace. I follow him. He wants to rest, we rest. He wants to go to Bamboo Bar, we go, but if he does not feel up to it, we do not go. His face, mirroring his thoughts as always, is a picture of great satisfaction mixed with thought. He snuggles close and smiles “I follow you”. “You have been sick, I want to be sure you are ok”. “I not tired any more, can go anywhere. You want to go Ayutthaya? Can go.” I touch the gold ring on his ring-finger. “You give money for (he uses a Thai word meaning dragon charm) but I buy ring”. We have had this discussion on Line, but now that I am seeing the ring in person for the first time, he is watching my reaction. “So you wear my ring?” “Yes”, with a mischievous smile. “So you are mine?” “Yes”, with the mischief heading off the scale. I trace his eyebrows with my finger “These mine?” “Yes.” Stroking his nose “This mine?” “Yes.” Comprehensive exploration reveals that all of him is mine. Ah, but apparently a rule of reciprocity applies here. “If ring make you mine, then ring makes me yours?” “Yes.” “All of me?” “Yes” with a great grin. This is clearly a powerful ring, but alas for Sir Peter Jackson there is no material here for a further trilogy. Unlike Sauron, Bangkok Guy is likely to use the power of the ring gently and reasonably, mischief and grinning included. It does not take much empathy to understand that while Bangkok Guy needs and likes the financial support I provide, he also needs love. He has a romantic heart but beyond that, sane and well-balanced as he is, I sense a need for emotional support. I don’t know his full family background, but there is a deficit there that needs to be filled. After a couple of hours slowly reintroducing ourselves, we shower before heading to Bamboo Bar. We are again very comfortable with each other. Things are not back to where we left off. Somehow they have moved beyond that.

Make no mistake: Thai authorities are laser-focused on reducing deaths from Covid. Although we may differ on their priorities and methods, we have to give hem their due for efforts like expanding vaccination availability. Now if they only had put the same resolve into road safety, maybe they would have seen the same kind of success. But it's never too late. A tragic road accident last week that saw an off-duty cop mow down and kill a well-known eye doctor in a pedestrian crossing zone with his motorbike has garnered the type of social media saturation that always draws a response from Thai officialdom. Cross walks across the country are being repainted and expanded. Not bad for a start but today it was announced that the Royal Thai Police plan to increase the penalty for not stopping at a crosswalk from a maximum fine of 1,000 baht to 4,000 baht. The doctor's death (captured on video) led to seven charges against the cop who soon after attempted to escape into the monkhood but later rejected. Activists have been demonstrating for safer road crossings like this group of former accident victims. It was about three years ago that I posted a photo of a newly designed zebra crossing on Silom rd. near Patpong. I remarked at the time that it was so vividly painted and extended that it actually seemed to be getting some motorists to slow down. That, and hitting offenders where it huts--in the pocketbook, hopefully may make a dent in deaths like this.

https://pagesix.com/2022/01/26/howard-stern-meat-loafs-family-should-address-covid-19/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_7020316 "Howard Stern wants Meat Loaf’s family to speak out about COVID-19 vaccines — and believes the late singer got sucked into a “cult.” The “Bat Out of Hell” singer died earlier this month at 74, reportedly of COVID-19. The late rocker had been vigorously opposed to masking and vaccine mandates. In a recent interview last summer, Meat Loaf griped that masks are “useless. They don’t do anything. They don’t stop you from getting COVID. They’re just a nuisance and make your nose itch and make it so you can’t breathe.” He added, “If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled.” Speaking out about the performer’s death, Stern, 68, railed: “Poor Meat Loaf got sucked into some weird fucking cult. And somehow really believed that — he made a statement, ‘I’d rather die a free man than take that vaccine.’ And now he’s dead!” reports Uproxx. “I wish the family would come forward and say, ‘Ya know, when Meat Loaf was laying there in the hospital and he couldn’t breathe, he said, ‘I made a mistake,'” he continued. “‘I should have taken the vaccine.’ Like all these anti-vaxxers, they all say, ‘I made a mistake.'" The widow of Meat Loaf (né Marvin Lee Aday), Deborah Gillespie, issued a statement following his passing writing, “The grief I feel over the loss of my husband is gut-wrenching.” However, she didn’t specify how her husband of nearly 15 years died. This isn’t the first time the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” has bashed anti-vaxxers. Earlier this month, he went on a tirade about controversial tennis champ Novak Djokovic, who was thrown out of Australia after petitioning for an exemption to the country’s vaccination requirement for noncitizens. “That fuck-nut … Djokovic. The Joker, I call him the Joker,” the shock jock fumed. “What a fucking asshole.”"

Shopping and Business In the morning we follow Bangkok Guy’s habit of sleeping in if there is no specific reason to get up. I enjoy drifting along next to him. We leave the room in time for lunch and Shopping at IconSiam. First stop is for me, Jim Thompson where I buy additional masks as gifts and get one in yellow with an elephant pattern for Bangkok Guy. Then I follow Bangkok Guy to his usual go-to’s, H&M and Uniqlo where, to my surprise, he buys nothing. Too expensive as no Sale today. His frugality extends to my money. In Muji he finds underwear and hoodies he likes, and my views are sought on hoodie selection. He gets an attractive lemon yellow one with dove grey lining. We are heading for the escalator when I see Polo Ralph Lauren. “Expensive”. Yes, but they are having a sale, 50% off. Bangkok Guy needs ‘underwear for swim’ and these are on sale. My opinion is sought between pale pink and mid blue. I am surprised he likes the pink, but maybe it is only brighter shades to which he has an aversion. In the end price is the deciding factor, pink is 50% off while blue is only reduced 30%. To my surprise, we have to return to Jim Thompson where Bangkok Guy buys himself a black facemask. He has decided it will match his outfit better, which it does. He is frugal, but he is gay. All this activity requires a rest, so we return to the hotel and after a shower climb into bed for a nap which later becomes a ‘nap’. After dinner on the hotel terrace, we have a business discussion. I have updated the spreadsheet showing his monthly budget: his expenses, the money he makes from the market and his allowance from me. The last two years his market income has been erratic to put it mildly and I have provided additional funds to fill the gap. For the coming two years I have increased his allowance so that it fully covers his expenses: the additional money is funded from a new long term contract I recently landed. Whatever happens with covid, his basics are covered. The discussion then turns to his business. His experience with the market stalls is a textbook case of the need for differentiation and defensibility in a business model, without which you can’t maintain steady volume and reasonable margins. For example, he got into selling masks and sanitizer early and for around two months he was doing great business, until everyone else did the same thing. If he is going to move beyond hand-to-mouth he needs to find something which is both differentiated and defensible. I explain these ideas, using his experience as the example and sketching out pictures in my business notebook. Bangkok Guy becomes animated – he gets this – and takes over the conversation to explain to me how markets are organized, sketching pictures for me. He has a plan, which I think is a good one, that achieves a somewhat defensible business model by using access to goods from his hometown and the organizational structure of the markets. By employing his mother and sister the model also follows his understanding of the purpose of a small business, which is to support the family unit. Bangkok Guy and I have discussed business often enough that there is a mutual understanding that my suggestions are very welcome (“you are businessman” in a very approving tone), but that he will decide whether-or-not my ideas are workable for small business. Early in our friendship he had an idea for creating a laundry service to cater to the new middle-class tower blocks. I thought it was a good idea and a scalable one if he developed an app with a tie-in to courier services. From my perspective, the purpose of a small business is to scale enough to achieve a trade-sale or an IPO. As I waxed lyrical, I noticed I was on the receiving-end of the constipated look. “What think?” What he thought was that I did not understand the purpose of small business which is, as everyone knows, to support and provide employment for the family unit. So now I offer my insights from ‘big business’ which he then considers through the lens of his framing of small business. Capital is needed to make this new idea work, which is my role. He understands that anything beyond the allowance depends upon me generating additional income. I now know the goal for the additional income I need to make this year if the modest percentage I share with Bangkok Guy is going to meet his capital needs. I am keen to help him with this, partly as I think he has a good idea and partly because I want to move him away from hand-to-mouth and become financially independent. And of course, I like him and enjoy his enthusiasm. We do not go to Bamboo Bar tonight as Bangkok Guy points out that we have an early(ish) start in the morning.

Passing the Time As originally conceived this trip had a significant business component, using Bangkok as a hub to visit other cities in the region or people coming to Bangkok to meet me, and re-establish face contact after two years. The removal of Test-and-Go shut the door on this. However, my presence in Thailand and this time zone makes me useful to others whose plans have also been disrupted and I receive requests for all manner of help from meeting potential investors to conducting a Zoom-forum and even interviewing a candidate. With my days free I am happy to oblige and the days before Bangkok Guy joins me become a pleasant routine of swimming, working, dining by the river and becoming a regular at the Bamboo Bar where the captain now automatically orders me a Sazerac. Not wanting to risk crowds on the Metro or Sky Train I hire a car and driver from TheLimoPattaya whenever I need to get around and re-experience what we all know – Bangkok is not a city in which driving makes much sense as a transport option. I have the same lady driver with the very nice car, the weather is mild enough that cracking the windows open does not cause discomfort, and as the traffic is taken into account in planning, everything goes smoothly. For those into shopping, Jim Thompson is making a great N95-design mask in a fun selection of fabrics. Much more comfortable than the regular ones as the straps are adjustable. Hovering in the background is a nagging concern over the true state of Bangkok Guy’s health. It is not a concern that can be addressed through Line exchanges for language reasons and also because he is both a Stoic and believes in looking good. I will only find out when we meet as, in person, when it is just the two of us face-to-face, communication is much easier and it is always the plain truth, politely expressed. Things Begin to Fall into Place, Finally The morning of the day prior to Bangkok Guy’s emancipation from home-isolation begins with an apology he sent late the night before, after I had turned in. ‘Sorry I didn’t answer you. I take medicine and sleepy all day’. That explains his total radio silence yesterday. I tell him no problem, rest and get better. After swimming laps I have an early lunch by the pool and doze in the shade of the cabana, enjoying the soft breeze off the river. A ping from my iphone breaks my reverie, a sticker of a rabbit and a chick popping out from behind a wall. Bangkok Guy signaling he would like to talk. I ask if I can call him – our established etiquette to give him time to make himself presentable before a live audience – and the next thing he is calling me, voice only. He clearly doesn’t want to make a live appearance. He sounds tired but says he feels better and his sense of mischief is alive and well. I tell him the next few days are what he wants, I follow him. We have established ‘I follow you’ as our code for who is in charge of the task at hand for everything from choosing a restaurant to finding a temple or deciding on the main activity for the day. What I mean to convey is that he is recovering, so we go at his pace. His response is a mischievous giggle while he repeats ‘you follow me’ in a very satisfied tone of voice. We will see where this leads. We agree he will come to the hotel at 5pm the next day. His choice of timing. My guess is that he has a lot of errands to run after being quarantined for so long, some of which will involve restoring his grooming to its usual high standard. I slip back into my cabana reverie only to be pulled out of it by another ping, this time from my tailor. I have an appointment in the afternoon but he is at the hotel for another client, so if it suits me we can have a fitting now. I am very happy with what he has made and, seeing my satisfaction, he suggests that now I will of course want ten of everything. I do get a few extra, including an additional pair of linen trousers in terracotta-with-orange-highlights which I like but which I know Bangkok Guy will view with considerable skepticism. If he is going to pull my chain, I am going to pull his. For a change I lunch outside the hotel on the terrace at D’ARK in IconSiam. It is 1.45pm and the waiter (extremely cute) tells me alcohol sales stop at 2pm, so rather than a glass I order a carafe of the Sancerre with fanciful thoughts of acquiring a monopoly on alcohol between 2-5pm, and selling glasses from my stock at outrageous prices to parched Falang. It is an excellent Sancerre and I happily consume my cache, parched Falang be damned.

I will start by stating that this is not the official name of this location. It does not have an actual name, just a location operating out of a private home located in Chapinero, Bogota. The club advertises on the major escort websites (Mileroticos, Skokka, GuiaGay Colombia, etc.) and has a website that does necessarily contain up-to-date images of the "service providers" on offer. URL is below. The house is currently located in central Chapinero, Bogota on a residential street just east off the major artery Avenida Caracas (Cra. 13). It is easy to identify as it is the only “white” building on the street (all others are the common red brick found in Bogota). To set up an appointment, you must contact the club via WhatsApp with a proposed time you will visit the club. The idea is that you will be shown the boys available during your visit, but the offer does not feel particularly curated. When booking, the response was consistently to message only when I was in Colombia and prepared to visit. I am certain that they deal with a high number of false requests, so be clear on your intent to visit and what time (hour) you will arrive. You can reserve a boy in advance or agree to the services you will purchase in advance. But you must agree to one of these conditions to advance to the next step of visiting the property. The house is easy to locate and access is simple. Buzz from the gate and you will be admitted to the property. Someone will meet you at the front door. Once inside, you will confirm either your original selection and be escorted to a room. Or if you were confirmed for multiple partners -- threesomes (MMM & MFM on offer) and foursomes (MMMM only) on offer – then you will be able to review your selections and make substitutions as available, before heading to your room. The facility is clean and comfortable and they do provide excellent service overall. Discretion is a primary concern and they took effort to ensure clients have no contact with each other – the proximity to the financial district might have something to do with that 😊 The initial contact can be challenging, but I am willing to accept that, and would assume that multiple return visits would improve the experience. Note: I asked about language and they are very limited with English. Be prepared with Google translate through the entire process if you are not reasonably comfortable in Spanish. Cost + Hours The menu of pricing is published in the escort sites. As of January 2022: One male, one hour 120K COP Threesome – 2 males, one hour 180K COP (same price to only watch) Threesome – bisex, one hour 180K COP Foursome – male, one hour 220K COP No interest? 20K COP for the visit. All prices include condoms and lube. The Club accepts all major credit cards. Officially the property is “open” 24 hours, but all is contingent on the time agreed for your appointment. So to be clear, you cannot just drop in to see who/what is available. The advertisements ask for a minimum 30 minute request prior to visiting. Getting there The club is located at Carrera 16 #61-09, three blocks west of Avenida Caracas (Cra 13) which is the major north-south transit artery for the city. Walk east along Calle 61 until you reach Carrera 16. The Casa is the white one across the street with the gated entrance. Parking is available if you organized ahead of time. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cra.+16+%2361-11,+Bogot%C3%A1,+Colombia/@4.6487691,-74.0669601,19z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x8e3f9a485e8b7057:0x68e6083867fbbe90!2sCra.+16+%2361-11,+Bogot%C3%A1,+Colombia!3b1!8m2!3d4.6485926!4d-74.0671401!3m4!1s0x8e3f9a485e8b7057:0x68e6083867fbbe90!8m2!3d4.6485926!4d-74.0671401 Image of House https://www.google.com/maps/@4.6486594,-74.0669818,3a,83.5y,203.83h,43.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBeOLwgBnI_h1GNM_XlrXNw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Social Media WhatsApp +57 324 6138588 Website https://colombiaescorts.co/

A gay-owned coffee company in Rio has launched in just the last two weeks called Jacu (after the bird, it is not Jacu Bird Poop Coffee). I met the owner, and he is impressive. He is pushing diversity and has hired a great team. One of his executives I met is a guy who grew up in a favela and is now finishing his third year of law school. The company pays his tuition and high salaries. I asked how I could help. If you are in Rio, you can order the coffee at @jacucoffee. It is shipped the same day and takes about two days to your location in Rio or SP. Just great tasting coffee and the picture on the box is the owner's farm. He also said they started to use social influencers to add followers to @jacucoffee. They are opening a coffee and doughnut cafe in Rio Sul. Can we help to drive up the Instagram numbers? Can work to get placement from more retail stores in Rio and SP. And when you are in Rio, ordering some coffee makes a great gift. I just brought back 12 boxes to the USA. Selling at R$39 for 250 g box in Brazil, this same quality coffee in the USA would be priced over US$15. Say they are expanding to the USA market, have meetings set with large retailers.

SIMS

You are right, I did not get the reference. The only other time I have been called a shark it was intended as a complement by a friend who I helped when he had trouble with his bank, "It's great to be friends with a shark", but it was one of those complements that are, well, possibly best left unspoken, such as "I really like the way you use a knife in a fight". Many ways to do it - IP, a more efficient business model which gives a cost advantage, better product design or quality, better sourcing or logistics, branding, greater scale etc - but it is not simple, easy or static (i.e. what is differentiated or defensible now will cease to be so in the future). The concepts are also relative to the competition, not an absolute universal standard. In Bangkok Guy's case he needs to find something which is differentiated and defensible relative to other market traders, not relative to Amazon.

But in August I will be moving to BA Argentina...so Brazil will be very close and lots of trips there I imagine.

Guanajuato city

If you are looking to rent or buy a place to live in Brazil, here are the real estate websites locals use: www.quintoandar.com.br Zapimoveis.com.br Good luck to all Int’l house hunters!

I actually view the sharks as those waiting to take advantage of those poor young entrepreneur haha.

331 Baht BKK versus 336 Baht Phuket, I guess that explains why taxi fares in Phuket are double as high as in BKK

according to recent post on Twitter , Moonlight will re-open on Thursday, Jan 27 see below Moonlight Bangkok @Moonlight_Silom · Jan 24 We are back to open for service. According to the prevention of the epidemic of covids of the Ministry of Health on January 27 onwards It will be open from 7 pm until 11 pm. See you soon.

@vinapu For the past month, as I've sat down for my short lunch overlooking the city, I've anxiously read about just one day of your adventures in Thailand, graciously and amusingly written. As I finished your 'final thoughts' today, I'm saddened it's come to an end, yet thankful for 25 days of your journeys, your insight, your boys, and your generosity. K̄hxbkhuṇ

Sinclair ZX Spectrum for me too playing Arcadia

It is almost guaranteed that you will not find any info about this in booking.com, Expedia, Agoda etc. If you are luckly you may find the info on the webpage of the hotel, but most likely you will not. You would need to contact the hotel and inquire about their practice. Be prepared to dispute the matter? You will be asked to sign the form where you accept the payment and it will be charged to you room. If you don't sign, you will walk alone to your room... You don't want to take that discussing with an embarrassed boy next to you.

Just found it and loving it,