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I split the year between USA and Pattaya. I’m lonely in the USA, but I prefer the food and weather. It’s much more fun in Thailand, but might not be as much fun if full time. I kept my health insurance in the USA, which I can use in Thailand (. Haven’t used it there yet). It can be a little bit boring in Thailand at times. I filled much time furnishing my condo, playing pool, and enjoying the bars. Only drink on Saturday nights. Over drinking can be a problem for some.

It seems there is market demand for more of the gogo-style places of entertainment in Jomtien, but the landlords or the BIB are a constant threat. What should ideally happen, I suggest, is for a few of the bar owner in Jomtien Supertown who are interested in providing such a style of establishment, to agree to move at the same time to Sunee Plaza, and open in some of the empty units there. Then they would be more free to provide they sort of entertainment they seem to think their customers want. And if two or three moved at the same time, they could generate enough momentum that customers would follow. I always thought the host bars Jomtien Supertown provided a good option for a night out, and was pleased when it became popular. But i think the bar scene in Pattaya/Jomtien has become a bit lopsided since Covid , with the more "naughty" bars in Sunee and Boyztown shrinking numbers a bit too much, and the number of host bars in Jomtien growing a bit too large. I wonder will the next few years see a bit of a re-balancing?

I cannot imagine living in a 'new' country and ending up lonely and bored, no matter how attractive some of its other benefits. Earlier in the thread, @omega mentioned the effect of AIDS on the psyche of those who lived through that pandemic at a time when friends, acquaintances and sometimes lovers died horrible deaths while those of us sexually active at that time managed to escape. My guess is that almost all have managed to move on despite the losses and the feelings of survivor guilt. I know of two, though, who were never able to shake off the tragedy of those years, such was the effect on their personal lives. One could never form another close relationship, and he himself lived for another 27 years. Thankfuly I have quite a full life. When on my own, as is probably obvious from the length of my posts 😵 (!) I spend quite a lot of time writing. This has resulted in three books so far with a fourth hopefully about to find a publisher. They don't make more than beer money, but it's a hobby that I have found surprisingly interesting and absorbing. I suggest one problem for retirees in Thailand (and I mean in general rather than specifically in Pattaya) is that our visas not only prohibit any form of paid work, they prohibit all types of unpaid work - e.g. for charities. I would love to donate some of the skills I have learned in life to help a charity. That seems to me not just a productive use of time but a way of getting to know more people, some of whom might become friends. As for healthcare, that is a real problem for anyone who did not take out a policy prior to age 65. Even then, though, apart from small annual increases, the major jump every five years do raise premiums very substantially. I did have to downgrade and pay less for leser benefits. I have started using the public King Chulalongkorn Hospital where costs are a fraction of the private hospitals. That by no means reduces the quality of care. A doctor I occasionally see spends three days a week at KCH and the rest of the week at Bumrungrad. I recently required a retina check. The consultant I saw was a Professor of Retinology who works at KCH just two evenings every fortnight. Both doctors were excellent. But anyone who is living here without some form of health policy is playing a dangerous form of roulette IMHO.

I stopped counting the number of friends, and particularly sex partners that were lost to HIV/AIDS 40-years ago. There were scores. No exaggeration. A generation wiped out where I played: Chicago, NYC, Acapulco. I was prolifically sexual; almost exclusively a top. At the time, I would think: "How did I survive when so many others perished?" "Why?" Those of us sharing this experience in our lives had to start all over again - not only building new relationships, but being sexual - and it was so very depressing for a while. Now, once again, I'm at a point in my life when friends and acquaintances are at end-of-life or rapidly approaching - due to other ailments. And the beat goes on. I try not to dwell on the past but look forward to the time I have left. 😁 My observation of guys from the USA, as one example, who move abroad is that they typically do so woefully unprepared. The inability to communicate in the new county language is the first challenge. Foreigners who are non-communicators almost always pay more for everything - and are the most frustrated. Even if you can communicate, you'll likely pay more than a local. How do you make friends, develop relationships if you can't communicate? Then there is the challenge of trying to understand the culture of where you land, Thailand or elsewhere. Many are indifferent and underestimate the importance of understanding / learning the cultural norms and how they differ from where we come from - how they're so very important ... before we arrive in the new country. As Dorothy said, "We're not in Kansas anymore". And ... there's the issue of fragile funding; under capitalization. Lacking the ability to communicate in the local language, indifference to the culture, financial insecurity and the lack of a ready support network are prescriptions for frustration, stress and depression. It might be paradise, but what good is being in paradise if you cannot enjoy it? Not all is lost, though, because those of you who successfully live in Thailand, and other "foreign countries" are a testament to the fact that such a transition can be accomplished - happily. Not without effort, but it can be done.

Would love to wake up to the old Sunee. The Complex is ok, but Sunee was so hands on.

It was 30-40 years ago. We're talking about men today who 40 years ago were in their 20's and 30's. One can always make new friends, but these friends do not have the benefit of experiencing your life with you. You can't replace a friend who shared your formative, prime years with you, who remembers those funny stories you'd rather forget. Who can remind you of all the good times you might forget. And vice versa. It gets harder to forge those kinds of connections. And if one lost a lover? Grief can be painful and long lasting. It's just a thought. Another might be that they're a product of the changing times. Men who followed the pattern of society; find a girl, get married, have kids.... and soon found themselves at 50+, with the kids having flown the nest and an unhappy wife, and in a society that now widely accepting of gay people. They leave their life behind to try to capture their lost youth, severing ties with their old social networks... and failing to find a new one. Just hypothesis

Boyztown has go-go bars, at last count 5 I guess and a show bar Castro. Jomtien doesn't have go-go's but has few dozen host bars and The Venue show bar. Both have massage parlours. Sunee has two go-go's thrown in what feels abandoned and ready to be demolished block but still both bars worth a visit, Winners for twink lovers and Nice Boys for sin lovers. No massages there but short walk of 6 mins 37 secs to TukCom area and one finds few venues there. In all three places you should feel some tingling under your zipper, as for crowd, farangs are predominant in Jomtien and Sunee but Asians seem to be in force in Boyztown. One is welcomed in all three, rest assured, and your wallet even more

Absolutely! My first place of call in Pattaya is Sunee, even with just Nice and Winner, serves my needs best. Boystown price gouging, Jomtien host bars not my style.

Yes I agree, I never understood the Jomtien Complex model of open beer bars and I don't like it, Sunnee Plaza in its glory days had sleezy and vibrant ambient.Had a great fun back than.

From MSN Sun, sea, surf and serenity are only a few of the things associated with Bali, Indonesia's touristic haven and coveted second-home destination. While hordes of expatriates and digital nomads have relocated to the province, long-term visa processes can often be convoluted and difficult to navigate. Now, Indonesia is aiming to simplify its immigration policies in a bid to promote foreign investment and attract more entrepreneurial and business-minded people to the country. This includes a golden visa initiative, which was announced during the G20 Bali summit last year and is due to launch before the end of the year. The new residency-by-investment visa has been created to attract international talent in sectors including health, research and technology. It is part of a goal to generate 4.4 million new jobs in the country's creative industries by next year, and was created with Bali in mind. The programme will be available to applicants with a five or 10-year validity and offer a range of benefits, including the right to own property in Bali. Other benefits reportedly include multiple entries into Indonesia, faster and easier processes for visas, plus a fast track for citizenship applications, if that is also of interest in future. The full terms of the programme are still being finalised. Continues at https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/what-to-know-about-balis-new-golden-visa-programme/ar-AA1fE0Rr

Yeah, it’s sort of the safe way if one can afford it. I think my possessions possess me. I can’t imagine getting rid of all my stuff I’ve accumulated through out my life. Maybe I’m too materialistic. Plus, I’m glad I still have my condo here in USA, it’s worth more.Had I sold it and moved to Thailand I might have blown that money by now.

try to be even handed and post some pictures of Gulag camps somewhere in Magadan , Kolyma or Chukotka . While American camps for Japanese were shame , at least prisoners eventually came out alive which can't be said for many Gulag prisoners.

he is right but unfortunately it's how politics work. Even Churchill offered to say few polite words about Lucipher in case hell would be invaded by Hitler. I have feeling time is on Move Forward side and as Peter mentioned above Thai population did not forget who they voted for and why

that was fast. Am I prophet or what ?

look at old pictures, a lot of Khmer Rouge taking Phnom Penh and subsequently chasing out it's entire population were extremely attractive. That's not an argument when we talk war and peace or even War and Peace

Blame the victim! May I remind you that innocents Ukrainians are slaughtered every day.

It is available for active / contributing members and not guests.

The fact that Pheu Thai has reneged on its election promise not to ally itself to any military party (there are 2 military backed parties in its coalition) is already causing anger around the country.

I think many people feeling lonely in Thailand would feel all the same if they stay at home. One either knows how to make friends or don't. Problem is if somebody moved with loved one and subsequently he/she passed away or relationship broke. Then often somebody may feel stuck abroad with not much to keep him there but nothing to return to either.

From The Nation Breaking a political standstill that has lasted nearly 100 days, Pheu Thai Party prime ministerial candidate Srettha Thavisin succeeded in becoming Thailand’s 30th prime minister. After hours of debate, the former real estate tycoon received ….(vote)… votes in the joint sitting on Tuesday. He required only 374 votes. Srettha was proposed by a Pheu Thai-led coalition, comprising 11 parties who together have a majority of seats in the lower house – 314 seats. The allocation of ministerial posts was made before today's PM election. After assuming office, the Pheu Thai-led government pledged to put forward an agenda for amending the present Constitution in its first Cabinet meeting. It claims the 2017 charter is Thailand's current problem. On the same day, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Thailand after spending 15 years living in self-exile.

A place where young likes old and vice versa. https://www.dad-son.com/ I could only open the website on a Japanese VPN.

Vladivostok by that time will not be Russia. I hope the empire will break into smaller pieces like USSR and then its safer for all.

and others escaped abroad to avoid draft beautifying other countries street and subway cars in the process. don't be so sure, as tittle of this thread attests former foe may become friend and quite fast. Wait until China says that Vladivostok was Chinese fishing village 200 years ago and West won't have better friend that Russia then, NATO membership included

The tragedy is that those handsome Russian students are now in a position where they have to (some want to) shoot off the heads of equally handsome Ukrainian guys. I worked and lived in 2012-13 in Kiev, visited most large cities in Ukraine including Bucha; later visited many times Moscow for work. In this life I will never visit Russia again.

27 million were Soviets, not just Russians. It includes the nations that Russia is currently terrorizes. Per capita, the losses for some of these nations were far greater than those of Russia.

while you are right we should remember that sizable part of Russians perished were owing to way they conducted their offensives war with trying to to minimize human toll being very foreign concept. Yes it worked and eternal glory to the fallen but a lot of those deaths were not necessary. It's the same today. Oh and I forget, there were no such thing like WWII, it was HSMO which stands for Hitler's Special Military Operation, don't you listen to RT ? Third thing is , past glories are not excuse for today's vile adventures. And other way around which brings us to an original subject of the thread.

I am nor aware that Ukrainian leaders are under international arrest warrant, but at least one guy (actually two) in Russia should be immediately arrested for war crimes. Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute). Please report when you see him!

Really? I'm daily seeing advertisements on Facebook for Thailand insurance, up to 100y.o. with all sorts of options, out/in patient, accident etc. I was recently quoted, at my great age -- don't ask -- of 8K Baht per month for inpatient only with a large $ cap (I forget how much). It was with WRLife -- a U.K. based company with agents in Pattaya. But many similar ads. out there. Oh SORRY I just re-read and you're talking about TRAVEL insurance.

This a good option , 6 months in each place and even better if you can work in your home country for 6 months at that time. 6 months in Thailand low season and 6 months in your home country sounds good

I never experienced that using Davivienda ATMs a lot last month. Declined the suggested currency conversion every time but still got the cash.

One last trio of trios: And AI decided to add the pubes to two of the likeable studs in the middle pic.

It's not only the Healthcare issue what happened if suddenly there are serious health problems who will take care of us and pay the costs in Thailand? Back in the days when there was many bars in Sunee every time bar was closed it was because the falang owner died or had health problems and returned to his country to take care of himself.

Red terror is normalized in Russia since Putin came to the power, why should they build memorials? Putin has closed organizations who collected data about crimes and victims of the communism. And holodamor in Ukraine - this is now replicated even in larger scale by the terrorist in Kremlin.

it will be interesting to see if they manage to get much done. Seems like a fairly unwieldy coalition but I guess they only need 251 votes to do things in the House.

John McCain is more of an unknown to younger Americans but older generations still honor and respect both his physical and political courage. A maverick in every sense of his life, McCain was true to his ideals to the very end. When the terminally-ill senator cast the deciding vote that preserved the Affordable Care Act in 2017, he defeated Trump's attempt to relegate Obama Care to the dustbin of history. Had he not resisted ll attempts by his party to vote with Trump, millions of low income citizens would today be without health care coverage. He truly understood and was inspired by the best traditions of his office. He also embraced the grace of being both forgiven and forgiving.

TikTok is full of short clips of such wrestling bouts between young men in tight leotards - very alluring! Once you start clicking 'like' on one, they keep popping up on your feed. All quite legit, but they can stir the imagination! 🤣 v09044g40000cipshmbc77u96o58qcng.MP4 v10044g50000ci18vq3c77ufps0khrl0c.MP4

Vietnam remains very much in the present in most of our memories. Much of the rest is history, a tiny part of which is slowly being rectified through formal apologies and, in the UK at least, the tearing down of statues devoted to those who made fortunes from the slave trade. As for Vietnam, it is fact that both Roosevelt and Truman did not respond to Ho Chi Minh's urgent requests by letter to ensure the French did not return to continue its brutal regime in post-war Vietnam. After all, the USA was staunchly anti-colonial and Ho was a nationalist. Yet the USA did not put pressure on France as it did on other colonial countries. Considering the Vietnamese had been fighting on the sie of the Allies in WWII, this was essentially a major slap in the face. The war which folowed was essentially between the North Vietnamese and the French, one which the French lost miserably. After the Geneva Accords splitting country in the middle, the USA retained its influence over South Vietnam whilst Ho was further thrown into the Chinese and Russian camps. The US disaster in Vietnam was the result of failures in the Sate Department, a failed foreign policy, incompetence at a military level and a resultant war which was the result of a lie to Congress. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos may now be at peace. But many of the older generations remember the horrors of those years. All based on a false premise - the domino theory. Should Iraq be added to the list? Another country first supported by the US who then turned against it on grounds which were at best spurious, resulting in a country which remains a disaster and gave rise to one of the most evil sects in ISIS.

I have lived in Thailand for almost twelve years now, and I have a work pension of 60,000 Baht a month and next year I can claim my old age pension. What has hurt me a lot was the UK vote to leave the European Union. The day before the vote the exchange rate was 56 Baht to the UK pound, the day after it fell to 36! Currently it is around 44 so still a serious loss of income.

The CheckMig app for entry/exit from Colombia has finally been upgraded and those annoying bugs have been fixed. Brand new interface and works on mobile with no issues: https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro Just remember to complete up to 72 hours before arrival/departure to speed up the immigration process.

Twenty years or so ago, I was investigating the possibility of relocation to Thailand, having just met the love of my life. The UK pound was exchanging at around 73 bht; now it's close to 40 and dropped even lower recently. There's your answer, Scott......who could have foreseen such a rapid and (for some) devastating drop in the value of pensions and assets?

I agree completely with this scorecard based on my recent trips. Saturday and Sunday are strangely low-key at the Rio clubs. In general, SP and Lagoa are looking better, with more clients and guys. The fashion models aren't back, but the hungsters and steroid guys are. A good sequence might be Thu, Fri, Sat, and Sun in SP, then Mon, Tue, Wed in Rio, continuing through the weekend if you care to.

I've been wondering who the nymphet was too. For those who think that we old fogeys just complain about how things aren't what they used to be, 117 and Lagoa would use to have over 20 guys like this.

I said wealthy people, I didn't say celebrities. If you are American celebrities or politicians, it doesn't matter where you go, the press will dig out your dirts. And, Les Moonves, Harvey Weinstein got in trouble because of sexual harassment, not because of paid sex. There are plenty of prostitutes in America or Europe. So the supply is there for the demand.

Then they end up paying hush money or losing their jobs, like Les Moonves or Harvey Weinstein, wishing that they went to Thailand, lol

I like that younger picture of you with longer hair......👩

Free sex is good because first of all, it's free, and secondly your partner tend to be more proative, willing and horny. Paid sex is good because you save some time hunting on Grindr, and mostly likely you get better looking and nicer body guys.

Surely you'll set them on the right racism course of course....

Johan was born in March 1975, so he is FORTY-EIGHT now. OMG, almost FIFTY 😱

The only thing you have a grasp of is the misinformation and bigotry you've posted here. I frequently select Burmese guys and have yet to be dissatisfied.

The consulate I am required to use informs me: From October 1st, 2023, the requirement for a visit visa for trips to Brazil will be resumed for nationals of the following countries: Australia, Canada, United States and Japan. The electronic visa modality that was in force before the unilateral exemption put into practice from March 2019 will be adopted. Details regarding the granting of such visas will be announced in due course. So far, we haven't received instructions on visa applications for Canadians. We recommend checking our website for further information. Sincerely, Setor de Vistos | Visa Section Consulado Geral do Brasil em Vancouver | Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver "In due course" , ya right.