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Indeed. Full report will come in a couple of days. To make a long story short: it is now kinda shit and in no way even resembles what is was. But, I did had luck there. Even so, it was just luck, the place is dead.

There were only 6 guys working last night. I guess most of the guys are still afraid of getting Covid.

Did anyone watch Boy Scouts yet? It's Wayufilm so I'm not expecting a whole lot. But it's next on my list. Apparently Country Boy II is wrapping up production.

yes, it is on Viki. The consensus on MyDramaList is not very positive

I'm still enjoying Something in My Room altho Ch3 has been heavily editing the version on YouTube which is a bit of a drag. Even though a lot of the story doesn't make much sense it's been a fun ride. Enchante is kind of boring but Akk is gorgeous so I don't mind and there's enough gratuitous beefcake to keep me interested. You're My Sky is petering out a bit. I still found the basketball storyline totally cliche. The other two couples have been more interesting. I just started watching the Korean BL called Semantic Error which seems to be a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. But the guys are adorable.

you may be right, In Dec I visited 2 of such further away places and one had only 3 guys available , all suitable I hast to say, other one by Saphan Kwai station did not have any but helpful mamasan showed me pictures and told me which guy can be there in how many minutes.

Chill Host Bar is bar with karaoke, not massage. This is what I was told by one of our members who visited there and actually sung with one of boys in post above. ( I don't believe in that singing claim but I'm sure about boy above claim , LOL )

From The Thaiger / CNN Russians were the most visible travellers heading to Thailand post February 1, 2022, when the Thailand Pass Test & Go option was rebooted. Even with its 2 days of pre-booked SHA+ quarantine and PCR tests, along with US$50,000 Covid insurance (which has since been reduced to $20,000), the Russian travellers were delighted to jump on a plane and take the long trip to the much warmer Land of Smiles. That situation has now radically changed and the world is reverberating to the full impact of Russia’s aggression and the invasion of Ukraine. Now there’s a mere trickle of daily flights between Russia and either Suvarnabhumi or Phuket in Thailand. Whilst much of the rest of the world have said ’nyet’ to the arrival of any planes from Russia, Thailand is still allowing them to arrive. But even if the planes are still coming (albeit in vastly reduced numbers), the pressure of world sanctions, bans and the plunge of the Russian Ruble has already made the decision for any potential Russian travellers. Now, the latest data from ForwardKeys, shows that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, now into its 9th day, has prompted an instant spike in flight cancellations to and from Russia, worldwide. On the day after the first tanks rolled into Ukraine, every booking that was made for travel to Russia was outweighed by six cancellations of existing bookings. Russians escaping their bleak winter and heading to sunnier destinations were suddenly cancelling their trips. The cancellation rates between February 24 – 26 were Cyprus (300%), Egypt (234%), Turkey (153%), the UK (153%), Armenia (200%), and Maldives (165%). Bookings for March, April and May were already reaching 32% of the pre-Covid levels of travel for outbound Russians. They were heading to Mexico, Seychelles, Eygpt and Maldives. And Thailand. The outlook for Q3 this year was looking even stronger. All that Russian travel enthusiasm has now collapsed and, given the harsh economic weapons thrown at Vladimir Putin, his banks, his ‘friends’ and his citizens, any recovery will be a long, long way down the track. Even if there was a swift and unexpected reversal of the Ukraine situation, Russia has already been dealt a fatal economic blow – in just one week the country been turned into a pariah state and much of the rest of the world seems happy to punish the entire country for Putin’s violence. For countries like the Seychelles, Maldives and Cyprus, Russian arrivals represented a high percentage of their international arrivals. In Thailand that was about 8% of the total tourist mix. And, whilst the Chinese are still in China for at least the rest of this year, the loss of the Russian travel market probably represented an even higher percentage of tourists that won’t be coming to Thailand in 2022. The world travel industry will be further hit by rising airfares (due to the sharp surge in oil prices), cancellations of routes (across Eastern Europe), a higher resistance to international travel (for perceived safety reasons) and a lingering instability in world politics. While the Thailand Pass is still seen by many potential travellers as a significant barrier to their choice of Thailand as their next travel destination, and the Russian and Chinese traveller-tap turned off, Thailand’s immediate travel future looks bleak. And this follows nearly 2 years of border closures, false restarts, over-hyped TAT arrival projections and the former Thai tourism workforce heading home to find other work. The loss of the Russian travellers underscores a critical need for the Thai government to quickly modify the Thailand Pass, or scrap it completely. With so many other factors now making international travel difficult, Thailand will have to rethink their short to medium term tourism strategies to retain its share of the international travel market. Of course there is no comparison of the humanitarian tragedy underway inside the borders of Ukraine at this time, but Russia’s aggression will likely have much more long-term, and far-reaching, effects than the clear and present danger it poses on the Ukranian nation right now.

Just a bit of context on the figures of deaths in the Donbas conflict that Tassojunior quotes in almost every post. The number of civilians who died in the Donbass conflict went from over 2000 in 2014, to 26 in 2019 and 27 in 2020. This was a more or less frozen conflict in military terms. In the wake of the Russian invasion last month, more civilians are being killed every hour in Ukraine than died annually in the Donbass conflict in recent years. Obviously every death is more than just a statistic, but Tassojunior quoting the figure of 14,000 overall in the conflict is misleading when many posters who are unfamiliar with the Donbass conflict may assume it was still going at that sort of level. Also remember that the conflict was started when Putin unilaterally invaded Crimea and aided an insurrection in the Donbass region. Perhaps the most famous incident in the early years was when Putin, with incredible recklessness, sent Buk missiles to the rebels, along with people could operate it, and they promptly bombed a civilian aircraft out of the sky, in the Flight MH17 tragedy. Another issue that Tassojunior continually raises is the failure of the Minsk process. However, the failure of the Minsk II process was not purely a stubborn refusal by Ukraine to accept a fair deal from Russia. Although France and Germany tried for several years to get the Minsk instruments to work, they came up against what has been referred to as the “Minsk conundrum.” This is how Al Jazeera explains the problem. I’m just using Al Jazeera here as example of a news website that wouldn’t be necessarily pro-Western. “Ukraine sees the 2015 agreement as an instrument to re-establish control over the rebel territories.It wants a ceasefire, control of the Russia-Ukraine border, elections in the Donbas, and a limited devolution of power to the separatists – in that order. Russia views the deal as obliging Ukraine to grant rebel authorities in Donbas comprehensive autonomy and representation in the central government, effectively giving Moscow the power to veto Kyiv’s foreign policy choices. Only then would Russia return the Russia-Ukraine border to Kyiv’s control” Full article here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/9/what-is-the-minsk-agreement-and-why-is-it-relevant-now The real stumbling block was that Putins real aim was never rights of self-government for Donbas, but instead his demand that the terms of the agreement would result in the Donbas region having a veto in international treaties and agreements by Ukraine, which would result in Ukraine being prevented joining NATO or the EU, even if a huge majority of the rest of country wanted to. In other words, Putin would have control over Ukraine is foreign policy, despite the policies of whatever person was elected democratically as the President of Ukraine.

Before Covid, I visited two fitness camps in Thailand -- one on Koh Samui for a month (KohFit, highly recommended) and one on Phuket for two weeks. It was fantastic. I ate healthy food, worked out multiple times a day, met a great group of friends, and then got to have fun on nights and weekends. I'd love to have the same experience somewhere else. Any suggestions?

I have not attended the Semaforo event specifically, but I can tell you that the Sillón Rojo club, while compact, has always delivered great action. Other events that I have attended bring out a range of men looking for sex. The orgy room is always active and I have never had an issue finding a willing horny partner there. Since the main action happens in a group room, this may not be everyone´s flavour, but if you have an exhibitionist streak this place should satisfy. I appreciate that there is always a plentiful supply of condoms and lube around the club

This is good to see, the green bridge between Lumpini and Benjakitti parks is being renovated. On my trips I like to take the early morning walks around Lumpini park and the green bridge to Benjakitti will make it a good morning exercise walk, just trying to keep some fitness up on my trips. By the looks it may well be finished before my next "planned trip". The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has started renovation work on the “Green Bridge”, the elevated walkway connecting Lumpini and Benjakitti parks in Khlong Toei district. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the BMA said the renovation project started on March 1 and work on the 20-year-old walkway is expected to finish before the end of September 2022. The BMA also unveiled the concept design of the new Green Bridge (link below), with provision for pedestrian walkways, bicycle lanes and green space incorporated seamlessly to maximise space usage and offer convenience to visitors to both parks. The renovation project started from Phaisingto Canal next to Ratchadaphisek Road and will finish at the Sarasin intersection on Wireless Road near Lumpini Park, a total distance of 1.6 kilometres. Read on Green bridge renovation

Has anyone had any experience with Chill Host Bar? Their twitter handle is @changshabar. The boys there look really attractive and masculine. But it seems like it’s on the far outskirts of the city. Do these bars typically have rooms? Or is it an off fee/take home situation? Would a farang be welcome in these seemingly local places?

"There's also the like hood that with a Russian victory, Putin becomes a national hero like Hitler after extremely harsh sanctions on Germany. Today in Doha at the world gymnastics championships": Is that Putin in Doha? I thought he is much older ! " When all embassies were moved to Lviv, and US and UK instructors recalled from Ukraine, Russia started actions." you mean "Russia started war" ? ( for some reason my 'quote " button doesn't work )

Apologists for Putin need ask themselves one question at this point: are you better off today than before the invasion?

They offer a vip room. In the Philippines, that's where all the action happens. He may be using the guy's Mike for "singing".

how permanent is permanent we will learn in due course

"Meanwhile people need to understand how Russians are "different" to avoid assuming they understand them and can predict their actions" they are not, like everybody else they want to have their tea and go to bed quietly in order to have good sleep and wake up in the morning. Skills which they are lacking is ability to find and support leaders who can lead them to prosperity they deserved like all other nations.

If Putin succeeds in this venture, he'll be wildly emboldened. His next target will be Poland, encouraged because all he had to do was raise the specter of using his nuclear arsenal to get NATO to cower. He figures if it worked once, why not play that card again. Day after day over the next weeks and months, from the safety of our living rooms, we'll have to bear witness to the human carnage. And we'll do so knowing that it could have been avoided. If NATO checkmated the bear by placing a formidable force inside Ukraine before the invasion even got under way, it would have put Putin in the position of having to risk killing not only Ukrainians but also British, American, German soldiers and a host of others. Stop and consider how effective Ukraine forces have been on their own. Imagine now how the tide would turn if 50,000 NATO troops--and their superior firepower--also confronted the Russian columns. If NATO had the opportunity to go back in time a month or so, I think it would opt to poke the bear.

Even 17 years is not a long time to deal with a situation like the Minsk treaties. Instant gratification and short attention span is a big US problem now. My guess is if Ukraine advanced and became successful Dombas would reunite in time. If you think of some "recent" things, they've been longer. We expanded NATO to Russia's borders 18 years ago. We sent troops into Afghanistan 20 years ago. But my guess is Putin would leave before 80 and a decent chance Medvedev will take back over soon now as an "honorable" exit for Putin. The total ridiculousness of this whole thing is that the Ukraine government in negotiations is strongly pushing the Minsk treaties giving Dombas autonomy which they refused to comply with after signing for the past 8 years causing this war. Now it seems like a wonderful deal. "Friends" sometime in the past 8 years would have pushed them to take that deal and run. If you're ever in a room with a large bear go out the door asap and wait until the bear leaves. Backing it into a corner and poking it with sticks is a trendy but poor strategy.

Well since my content can't be worse than pretending not to understand that somebody who's been under direct physical bombardment and personal threat to his life for over a week might be sleep deprived, I guess I'll continue with it: re: Hmm...

HOST bars are very, very rare to non-existent on suburban BKK, but as you did not mention what place and I do not have line here in EUR, this is just guessing. Seeing these pix I assume its also one of the dozens of massage(+more) shops that will then indeed have massagerooms-all closed off. If not and its something different: ALL such places anywhere in TH will know of a nearby place (short-time HTL) that can accomodate you. There is no ´off´ but you simply pay the site the fixed price for a msg. and tip the guy. Most often there will be suggestions about MIN tip (which for a Thai means this is also a fixed price). For the money-police: yes, there are still a few places where this ´tip´ is below 1000.

I thought he must be in a retirement home by now - or should that be 'she'? It's a long time since we heard about the gay icon Dame Edna Everage. But even at age 88 she is still on the go. Next month she starts a 2 month The Man Behind The Mask tour around the UK. Well, I suppose it really should be 'he' for it is Barry Humphries who is touring and others appearing will no doubt be legendary characters like Sir Les Patterson. I once had the opportunity of meeting him. I was in Hong Kong and had had discussions with his manager, at that time John Reid. Barry wanted to do a week's season in a theatre in Hong Kong. After all, he had something to prove. In the late 70's he had done a stint at a cabaret restaurant at the top of the Mandarin Hotel - and totally bombed. Reid wanted me to meet him to give him some background on the territory. As requested, I called him at the Regent hotel on the other side of the harbour. He was charming. Rather than my going over to see him, he would be shopping in the afternoon. Could I meet him in the lobby of the Mandarin Hotel at 5:00pm? He suggested he tell me what he was wearing so I would recognise him. Oh, that's certainly not necessary, I said, as you are such a well known personality. Five minutes in advance, I was plonked on a comfy armchair in the lobby. I waited. Still I waited. By ten past 5:00, I realised the personality I knew was Dame Edna, not Barry Humphries. What if i missed him? So from then on I asked almost every middle-aged man who entered with shopping bags if he was "Mr. Humphries"! I felt so stupid. Eventually he arrived at 5:35 wearing a double breasted suit and carrying at least six large shopping bags. He was full of apologies. We ended up having a lovely long chat and I met Mrs. Humphries #3. I helped as much as I could but he was never to appear in Hong Kong. I understood from a promoter that he wanted a large fee on account of around 90% of all revenues including sponsorships. Around the end of the 1980s, as Dame Edna he did a series of interview shows for one of the London TV companies with many famous guests. Some were hilarious, including one with Sean Connery. This used to be available on youtube but has sadly been taken down. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/05/this-much-i-know-barry-humphries-edna-can-say-things-i-could-not-possibly-express

than you must be gay

From Thai PBS World The Chao Phraya River is the main artery of Bangkok. In the old days, it was where everything happened, full of life and culture. So, the river’s banks were where everyone wanted to settle when they moved to Bangkok. Walk-A-Tif introduces you to the foreign traders and diplomats who settled along the banks of this mighty river and traces their histories. Starting at the Kudeejeen community, this is where Portuguese settled about 250 years ago, during the Thonburi period. One of the icons of this community is the Santa Cruz Church, which was built around 1770AD, when Christian Portuguese settlers migrated here after the dissolution of Ayutthaya kingdom. It was then the main Catholic Church in Bangkok and served as the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam until 1821, when Assumption Cathedral was completed. This is where we can find Thai-Portuguese food and desserts, such as Kanom Farung or Kudeejeen Portuguese cake, Portuguese chicken curry noodles and Portuguese custard tarts. Even though this community is known as the Portuguese community, according to an expert, the people who first settled here were actually Thai and Chinese. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Predee Phisphumvidhi, Faculty of Liberal Arts at Mahidol University, said that “This was not originally a European community. It was established by the Chinese as (you can see) there is a Chinese shrine here. Both Thai and Chinese have been here from the beginning, and Europeans moved here to live with them. They choose to live here because, in the past, the government official in charge of international trade lived in this neighbourhood. The name of this community is still Kudeejeen, as it was then.” The next stop on our trip is the Talad Noi neighbourhood, which was established more than 200 years ago. The market was also originally settled by the Portuguese following the fall of Ayutthaya. As Bangkok’s first port, this place was also where Chinese immigrants landed, including Hokkien and Hakka ethnic groups. The church which typifies legacy of the Portuguese community is Holy Rosary Church, a Gothic-style building which has been an iconic structure in the Talad Noi neighbourhood for more than 120 years. Its Thai name, Wat Kalawar, is said to have been taken from the Portuguese word “Calvario” or Calvary, the site where Jesus Christ was crucified. Dr. Predee said the Holy Rosary Church is quite unique and different from many other churches because it is strongly influenced by the Chinese community in Talad Noi as Holy Rosary Church is a Catholic church, but it is located in a Chinese community. So there is a lot of uniqueness here, such as the Mass held in Chinese, decoration with Chinese art and design and Chinese lettering in the church. The architecture is beautiful, with cultural traces, and they still maintain a lot of interesting traditions today. Assumption Cathedral is also a landmark, which reflects the influence of the Western settlement along the river. It is the principal Roman Catholic Church of Thailand and the centre of the Archdiocese of Bangkok. The original building was the result of a request from a French missionary, Father Pascal, in 1809 and the work of a French architect, which saw the cathedral completed in 1821. It was named Assumption in honour of the Assumption of Mary. The cathedral hosted both Papal visits to Thailand, by Pope John Paul II in 1984 and Pope Francis in 2019. Dr. Predee said “This is the headquarters and the centre of the Roman Catholic administration in Thailand. Even though the church was built in the postmodern era, it is very big, exquisite and decorated with elegant and holy installations. It is a truly huge Cathedral.” In the same neighbourhood, there is also a mosque and a temple. This is said to be a symbol of cultural wealth. Father Anucha Chaiyadej, Director of the Catholic Church’s media relations in Thailand, said that the diversity here does not bring conflict, but peace and happiness. Ultimately, it brings a wealth of culture. by Kitipat Chuensukjit

Visiting Thailand? How about living in Thailand? I can assure you the answer is Go. First, it doesn't rain every day. Second, the rains are only torrential sometimes. Third, when it does rain, it usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour and that's the end of it for that day. Fourth, more often than not the rains occur in the wee hours of the morning. Yes, sometimes it rains hard enough and long enough to cause flooding, but it doesn't happen like that very often. Go to Thailand during rainy season and don't even think about letting that deter you. Most of the time you won't even need an umbrella.

Salvador is an experience that isn’t right for everyone.

My golden rule is to never go back to a stranger's house as you don't know who is waiting in the back room. For me, it's my hotel room only, although I have at times had fun in a bar with the doors locked- and that was only because I knew the guys well.

It reminds me a little of a similar accident which happened in Manila way back in November 1981. Imelda Marcos, she of the 3,000 pairs of shoes, untold wealth and personal possessions, decided she wanted a Film Festival. She saw one of her roles, apart from massive theft from the Treasury, as brightening the lives of the Filipinos with glamour and beauty (believe it or not, that is what she claimed!) So she had her minions set about building a Film Palace that would rival Cannes, Venice and Berlin. She owned a huge plot of land bordered on one side by the sea and on the other by Roxas Boulevard where she had earlier had built the Cultural Centre of the Philippines. Also on the site was the 5-star Philippine Plaza Hotel which for much the 1980s was effectively cruise central for visiting gay guys. The one problem was the timetable. The contractors had less than six months to complete the entire job. So it was round the clock working for roughly 8,000 labourers. One evening workers on the night shift heard a sound like thunder. The whole roof caved in. It was rumoured that 168 men were buried alive and another 41 injured. Immediately the government imposed a news blackout before eventually stating that just 3 men had died. With the deadline now even more tight, the contractors were ordered to continue with the construction without pulling out the dead bodies. Some who were alive but buried up to their waists in drying cement were never tended to and died where they landed. Only after the Marcos family was kicked out of the country did film of the true grisly event surface. When the Festival went ahead, most of the invitees had declined to accept. About the only 'stars' to attend were Peter Ustinov, Priscilla Presley, Brooke Shields and Imelda's favourite actor, the perennially sun-tanned George Hamilton. After much remodelling the building is currently used as a theatre.