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Day 13. For today’s trip Christian PFC , famous blogger https://christianpfc.blogspot.com/ who happened to be in Siem Reap at this time is joining S and me for the trip. Destination of Koh Ker and on our way back -Bang Melea. As before, we departed at 8 on the dot and it’s about 2 hrs. drive to Koh Ker. Admission 15 $. Temple is very unusual for Angkor temples as it’s pyramid shaped and would not be out of place in Chitzen Itza or other Mayan sites. Of course we climbed it as first step, wise move as more tourists arrived. After surveying pyramid and main temple underneath we surveyed about 10 smaller temples in the surrounding forest , all accessible by the vehicle. Then returned to main temple area for a lunch and on our way back checked another 2 or 3, last of them close to the exit Prasat Pram turned out to be second best to main temple only. Then to Bang Melea. Last time I was there my time was spoiled by 2 busloads of Chinese tourist who behaved below any standards, screaming and climbing ruins even where prohibited. This time , in the afternoon , just before closing time it was much more serene and most tourists at that time seemed to be locals. It used to be 5$ admission but now Bang Melea is included in Angkor ticket. Do not even try to arrive without one as guards were quite adamant to require one and even if they let you go , there’s another ticket check at main complex . Unfortunately that was our Christian’s fate but he patiently waited for s and me having driver as companion. Bang Melea is perhaps most atmospheric from all Angkor temples, specially if not crowded with it labyrinthine construction and deep shade from trees growing on the stones . Back in Siem Reap I secured our driver for trip to the airport tomorrow and three of us went for pizza to Pub street. Today is my last day in Cambodia and I was proud of my budgeting. After putting aside some money for the maid in hotel and for driver for the fare tomorrow I was left with 1$ and 1000 riels . For said dollar I bought my last Hanuman Black and 1000 riels took home as memento. As for entrainment, again some whispers on balcony while emptying that hanuman and another one I had in the refrigerator already. Nosy person should ask what about S ? Shouldn’t you give him at least that 1000 riels? Relax , all was fixed in advance as he preferred to be compensated in baht and in Bangkok. Day 14 After breakfast we parted ways , S went to see his folks with plan to come to Bangkok in the evening and I at 9 jumped into car and went in style to the airport. In 45 minutes I was there, this time admitted to the departure area. Since Keithambrose already placed pictures above no need for repeat but I need to mention I notices that all signs in departure are were in English and Chinese, nothing in Khmer in their own country !

Day 15 , off to Sukhotai No rush morning , we went for breakfast quite late, again no problem with guest as my reservation was for two as always. My flight to Sukhotai was at 15.30 from Swampy so no rush checking out , in fact I did it exactly at 12. 00 , by the book. Since it was domestic flight I had plenty of time at the airport where K joined me in the waiting area.. Bangkok Airways is only airline flying there with 2 flights a day I either direction , one in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Ticket was roughly 100$ return and flight was by turboprop , it took about 70 minutes to get there but Bangkok Airways being ‘Asia’s boutique airline” as they put in their commercials treated us with full meal. This is what I saw from my window seat Sukhotai is cute small airport as one can imagine with just 2 landings and take offs a day but has all necessary amenities traveler may need including restaurant , gift shop, public toilets and for those bored waiting for their flight mini Zoo right beside and exhibition of live size dinosaurs in front of the airport complex. There were taxis , public bus to New Sukhotai for 18 baht and well as door r to door van, option we opted for at 300 baht per person. Since its about 30 km to Old Sukhotai where ruins are it took about 1 hr to get there and it was getting dark already when we arrived. My hotel of choice was Thai Thai, highly recommended place of bungalows in the garden at 1200 a night. My friend decided on going bit to late but his hotel turned out to be immediately across the street or rather small side alley we were delivered to. Nice touch on check in was that I got all information I possibly could look for in print. Where are stops for local busses and their prices, cost of renting bicycles or cars for sightseeing, price list for private tours to nearby attractions of Kamphaeng Phet and Si Satchanalai-Chaliang historical parks. Location of the pool and local restaurants it was all there and also information about option how to get back to the airport. I even commented – you answered all my questions before I managed to ask them which was exactly what happened. To top it up I got also very handy map of local attractions attached here ( keep in mind is not up to scale ). After settling in , K and I went to the center for a dinner and ice cream from 7/11, walked along local night market , localized entry to central complex and returned to our room for well deserved rest before tomorrow’s expected sightseeing onslaught.

A related issue. I ate last night in a nice Tuscan restaurant in Florence. 2 tables were occupied by similar families, mother, father, 3yr old daughter. Both followed same procedure, install screen in front of child in high chair, and turn on. Quite noisy actually. Then parents got out their phones, and happily browsed, without talking to their child, or, hardly, to each other. Stimulating evening. Next to me family with 10 Yr old boy. No phones, three-way discussion for the whole meal. Strangely I preferred that.....

Hi I've been lurking in this forum as I'm currently travelling around Thailand, just went to Prince and thought I'd post. 90 minutes, 1400 minimum to Prince, 2000 to the therapist. Well worth it. Great facilities, full service, whatever you are up for. They can send you pictures on whatsapp if you want, or you can just pick someone out from the lineup. Mostly more built style guys. My therapist was a college student doing this part time. Very sweet, massage was okay, he seemed a little tentative, everything else was fantastic. He was rock hard for most of the session.

Cambodia's part of the trip is here: https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/41671-phnom-penh-angkor-koh-ker-and-sambor-prey-kuk-trip-to-cambodia-in-jan-2024/page/2/ Day 14 -back in Thailand Air Asia flight to Don Muang departed on time and flight was uneventful but seats were very cramped. I guess that’s the price for cheap flight. I paid 2/3 of price of ½ hr flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Immigration was breeze although approaching it I saw mob unloading from another plane so I guess it was lucky timing. SRT to Bang Sue and from there MRT to Sam Yan from where short walk to Siam Heritage on Suriwong. Since I’m only 1 night in Bangkok I decided to check it. Never stay there as hotel had reputation for being guest unfriendly and I’m happy to report it must be thing of the past. No problem at all, actually now if you have card you bypass reception are and go to the elevators directly. Room was quite big and comfortable and furnished nicely . I liked having real desk there. After setting in I went to XOne and at 4 pm on Monday I had shock , I was long line up outside , when I pulled number I realized there are 10 numbers ahead of me to be taken. But look at exchange rates cheered me and fast at that. From there to Foodland to eat something. At 19.30 I was supposed to meet forrestreid , that’s our first meet but we already had Line contact so it was easy. Over beer in Balcony we decided to check Banana so off we went. It was early but there were 4 guys on the stage including very handsome but never seen #31. Mamasan seeing our interest explained that he is new so as welcome treat I performed world acclaimed Vinapu Tuck on him with red note and soon after forrestreid called him over to offer him a drink. We know that boys and mamasans have good memory but this time even I was shocked. At one point another boy entered and mamas an told me pointing at him said “ you had him before”. I looked and recognized Vu Thy immediately but still it was at end of Jan of 2023, one year and three trips ago. And it was just only one off, short time at that and I’m not that frequent visitor to Banana as I’m at Tawan , Moonlight or Hot Male. But truth is he remembered that unless he mixed me with somebody else. Anyways another red note changed ownership for old times sake. In meantime , after a while forrestreid send his companion back to the stage and we walked to Tawan as planned before. Crowd there was sparse, probably more boys than customers but shortly it started to fill up and one of newcomers was K, my friend from Taiwan who decided to accompany to for 3 days trip to Sukhotai tomorrow . He managed to get seat on the same flight but couldn’t get room in my hotel , got place one across the street he told me . Of course boys there as always tried to extract some deserved and undeserved tips but today I decided to hold the purse’s strings prompting comment from one of the boys ‘ you always had good heart, what happened ? “ but seeing my stern face expression he rushed to exclaim ‘ you still have good heart” , what a relief ! After the show we parted ways and I went to S’s bar to see if he arrived but they told me he is not working today. Good news so I promptly fired message “are we sleeping together ?” , Confirmation came within seconds, I sent him location and told him I will be waiting in front of hotel. While waiting some disheveled passerby stopped asking for some money for food. I was surprised because his English was quite good . It looked he came to Bangkok looking for good luck but not necessarily got it. Gave him 100 , he was more then happy as ass soon as he said his thank yous and left taxi stopped with S emerging all in smiles . It was plain that he is very grateful for vacations and now for an off. Surely he expected kind of payday too as we agreed he will be paid when we return. Four nights is Siem Reap plus tonight , it was a bit, but well deserved. Like one of my forum friend says ‘it’s good to stick to our winners”

It's not a matter of "just checked." It's a matter of what the BP has been running. A valid BP has to be measured in a very specific way. In particular, most people don't follow the very important instruction of sitting quietly (no talking) for 5 minutes before taking the reading:

Your photo tours of the ruins much appreciated as I’ve never been to Cambodia. Not an oversight I’m sure. It’s China’s way of subjugating Cambodians. They’re telling them that learn to speak in Chinese.

So I have to start with a huge disclaimer. I cut and pasted the headline of that YouTube interview verbatim. It has had a quarter million views so far. In my mind, this is far more significant news than Tucker Carlson's snowflake interview of Murderous Vlad. Lichtman did NOT make a formal prediction of a Biden victory in 2024. If you don' want to watch the whole 14 minute interview, the key part is the last 90 seconds, starting at 12:30. That's where Lichtman says this: That's NOT a prediction. But it tells us very clearly where Lichtman's prediction is likely to come down, as of today. He said he'll make a prediction this Summer. This is a description of Lichtman's 13 Keys. He developed this system back in the 80's with a Russian global expert at predicting earthquakes. It basically uses pattern recognition techniques about how important variables - like the economy or scandal or social unrest - impacted the outcome of every US election since the Civil War. Lichtman argues it uses common sense. He says what matters is how well the party in power GOVERNS. Not how well they campaign or what kind of ads they buy. It is actually a huge compliment to American voters, and democracy in general. He does not think voters are stupid. He argues, with 100 % accurate predictions since 1984 behind him, that at the end of the day people care about important stuff. Like the economy, and war and peace. That's a breakdown of how Lichtman rated each election since 1992 in advance. The top line number is the number of FALSE keys, or keys turned against the incumbent. The theory is that every election is a thumbs up or thumbs down vote on the party in power. And if you have six or more keys turned against you, you lose. Probably the single most important variable right now is incumbency. Lichtman has been emphatic since 2020 that Democrats are far better off nominating the incumbent and avoiding a big party fight. Whether you think he is "Dementia Joe" or "Get Stuff Done" Joe, Lichtman says Democrats are far more likely to win with Biden at the top of the ticket. I think what he is saying is almost common sense. The main reason I feel that way is that if Biden did step aside there could be a huge divisive fight over who would replace him. It could tear the party apart. What Democrats are clearly doing instead is circling the wagons around Biden, warts and all. Lichtman thinks that's smart. If he stepped aside, there would for sure be one more nail in the Democrat's coffin, like in 2016: lack of an incumbent. If there were a huge divisive party fight, kind of like what happened in 2016, that would be a second nail in the coffin. My own read of Lichtman's system, which is easy to understand, is that Biden currently has 3 keys against him. 1) Democrats lost House seats in the midterms. 2) Biden is not charismatic. 3) There is no Biden foreign policy success. That's it. As of now, the last incumbent Presidents to be running with only 3 or fewer keys turned against them were Obama in 2012 and Reagan in 1984, when Lichtman predicted a Reagan victory over a year in advance. At the time Lichtman predicted Reagan would win, Reagan was looking wobbly and old. Obama's race was neck and neck until November 2012 in polls. Lichtman argues that, in the end, the fundamentals prevail. I have followed Lichtman closely enough, because he is right in his predictions all the time, that I think I can decode some things he says in that interview. The Economy: He says the economy is good. We clearly are NOT in a recession, despite public anxiety about prices. Lichtman's long-term economic variable is basically mathematical, about rates of long term GDP growth. As of today, Biden doesn't have the economy turned against him. One reason I'd guess Lichtman will wait until Summer is in 2020 COVID changed everything for Trump. Trump went into 2020 with only four keys turned against him. Then in 2020 both economy keys went bad, as did the social unrest key. So it ain't over til the fat man - Trump - eats his KFC. But the economy is looking good for Biden at this point. Third Party: I think @EmmetK is out to lunch on these polls that shows up to 1 in 4 Americans voting for RFK or West or Stein. Ain't gonna happen. Lichtman's standard is that if a third party candidate gets over 5 %, it is a sign of tremors against the incumbent. I would bet RFK, who is now polling as high as 20%, will actually get over 5 % of the vote. Lichtman mentions third party candidates as an important variable in the interview above. So it's pretty likely that this will be a fourth key turned against Biden by Election Day. And we all know it could make a huge difference in close votes in swing states. That said, the memo is out there that if you actually vote for Jill Stein you should be prepared for four more years of Trump. Gen Z is not stupid. War And Peace: This is the other variable Lichtman specifically mentions. And I'm already assuming Biden has one of these two keys turned against him: no foreign policy success. As of today, I'd guess Lichtman would NOT say Biden has had a foreign policy failure. Many people would of course argue Afghanistan was a disaster. And things could change in Ukraine. But it looks like both the EU and the US will manage to send lots of arms to Ukraine. So that Vlad can be successful at turning many more Russian men into fertilizer. Woo hoo! Will Americans punish Joe for helping Vlad cripple Russia's economy and turn his own people into fertilizer? I doubt it. But Gen Z may punish Biden for Netanyahu wantonly slaughtering Palestinian women and kids. There are no other keys likely to turn against Biden, as long as he is the incumbent. So that means probably 4, or possibly 5 keys, turned against him. Which is why Lichtman is saying "a lot of things would have to go wrong in the next several months to predict a Biden defeat." In every election involving Trump, Lichtman has thrown in the caveat that history has no precedent for some of the craziness. Like January 6th. Or an indicted or convicted candidate. If Lichtman is wrong this time, assuming this Summer he does publicly predict Biden will win, it could be like 2000. Lichtman predicted Gore would win. And he did win the popular vote, which at the time is what Lichtman said he was predicting. After 2000 Lichtman said I am simply predicting who will actually win the Presidency. And in 2016 he predicted Trump. But the issue in 2000 came down to a very close election in one state, and its electoral votes. It's easy to see something like that happening again in 2024. That said, Lichtman also refused to say it would be a close election. In 2012, Romney had a teeny (less than 1 %) lead in the RCP average for much of October. The final RCP average showed Obama winning by 0.7 %. Obama won by 4 %. Lichtmann is a historian. I think the right way to understand him is that he thinks Biden is probably going to have the winds of history at his back. Just like Obama did in 2012.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-fraud-case-damages-pay-millions-judge-engoron-rcna135283

Iconic Wat Si Chum in Northern Zone with 15m tall Buddha

Temples of Northern Zone

terrible part of history is not chasing you there, it's not like skulls are strewn all over the place. In fact only thing which may remind you about horrors are tour vans and busses with '" Killing Fileds" signs. As I mentioned people maimed by mines are very rate sight those days. Glorious part of history ie Angkor ruins are easy to explore with good infrastructure, surely with bit of walking involved but surely rewarding and easy to get to. 1 hr flight from Bangkok and one is there. Take you know whom and go

Thanks for this thought provoking piece. I think the title says it all and we should just accept this as the rule of law and forget November. Is this legal? Or, any more legal than an insurrectionist being President? Still, I like him but I did think he would be a one term President. I wish he would review his options and think that perhaps he will will. He is a great man. Sometimes great men have to do the thing they hate the most.

Indeed. Both Iran and North Korea have locked up innocent tourists. If they think they might need currency for an exchange, you might become it. I wouldn't go to either of these countries.

Home Spa has added two new “T & B” selections.

Lately I was very surprised when I had a meeting with my students. Normally they bring their computers/tablets/handy in those meetings and are doing something online during the meetings. This time I was the only one with a computer, all of them were writing their notes on paper and were quite were present and focused. So, there is hope...

Day 11 We raised to the sound of alarm clock at 6.45, prepared goods for today’s sightseeing and made sure to be first when they started serving breakfast in hotel at 7.30 because as suspected, my driver pulled in at 8 am on the dot. Plan for today was ambitious with 7 temples and first we set off was the farthest from the list- Banteai Srei. Not only because I consider smart thing to start sightseeing from most distant place just in case something happens and even more important, Banteai Srei is only temple where you can buy Angkor ticket apart from official ticket selling office on outskirts of Siem Reap. There are 3 kinds of tickets available – 1 day for 37 $, 3 days within 10 days for 62$ and 7 days within 30 days for 72 $. Payment in dollars only , that was only place where they are not accepting riels. I opted for 3 days ticket because after tomorrow I’m planning Bang Melea temple and recent change was to remove separate ticket there and include it in Angkor ticket. Good news for some and not so good as we learn for others. Another bonus of Banteai Srei ticket office was that there we no lineups. That temple is one of smallest Angkor temples but definitely most richly decorated and also one of most popular so it pays to be there early which we could appreciate when leaving and hordes in vans and tour buses start arriving. Next one is along with Ta Som my favorite -Banteai Samre. It’s quite a distance from main complex and one of least crowded. When I was there in 2001 there was no infrastructure there at all but now there are restaurants , toilets, souvenir stands and even guys playing Khmer music for donation. Often overlooked there is former ceremonial alley leading to the temple – on your left when you approach temple complex . Third one was of course Ta Som, at end of complex there gate enveloped by the tree , one of those iconic Angkor places. Again , in 2001 that tree was not trimmed yet, whet we see now is later job. If you are there make sure to go to the very end and then turn back to appreciate the sight. I stress it because I saw people missing it ‘ lets return , it’s only that small gate there” . Then Easten Mebon as I missed her in 2022 and lunch in some restaurant picked by driver which was not a good idea to leave that to him. He led us to typical crowded and overpriced tourist locale geared toward bus tours. Not that is busted my wallet but there are plenty of places I’d chose instead. After lunch we did three biggies ; Ta Prohm famous for giant trees eating into ruins but also I suspect holding them together. Then Bayon with hundreds of stone faces with mysterious smile and to crown of today’s selection Angkor Wat itself , biggest and most magnificent of them all. S, my guy as I expected was ideal tour companion, interested in sightseeing with none of those ‘ are we done already ? ” . Quite opposite after climbing highest level of Angkor and subsequent wandering through all level below I was ready to skip first floor galleries only to hear ‘ what ?, lets go”. It was really uplifting to see guy so interested in his country heritage. After such busy and intensive day we returned to the room quite tired. After it got dark we picked up ourselves to go for dinner and then, I swear it was not me, S suggested we go to 168 massage for massage. So we did . My boy was quite good and good looking too. Later and in the room I senses bit of jealousy ,S asking what we did to each other with the boy and visibly not believing my answers. Massage was 10$ for 1 hr, I tipped my guy 20$, S tipped his only 6$ but he was adamant it was nothing that just massage even if I did not really care having good idea how those stores are operating. Then he had another idea – to check Barcode bar so we went there but it was bit too early with only few patrons and working boys. We had drink and returned home . No need for me to stay and watch he show when I have in my room guy better looking that their selection, not to mention of tested quality.

Trip Report – Koh Chang – 15 Jan 2024 – 18 Jan 2024 I am behind on my trip reports. I present this one from Koh Chang (which was easier to prepare) and then I will have a bigger one from Christmas/New Years - 17 day trip report for Songkhla. Sorry for the delays. Up to now, my favorite island in proximity of Pattaya has been Koh Samet. Hanging out with my volleyball friends at the Dongtan beach (Sea Rescue area), we were chatting about a new island place to go to and we decided to make a 4 day / 3 night visit to Koh Chang. Aerial shot of the Trat island archipelago One of them has a car, so that made the transportation modality easy. Note that a quick search in Google - notes that there are many busses that also go there – primarily from Bangkok but I believe that I saw one from Pattaya as well. -> Please note that their facial photos are included in this trip report with their permission given as well as their contact details in case any of you would like to use their services. <- We departed Jomtien around 9:45am and we arrived at the Ao Thammachat pier in Trat at around 14:30pm, almost 5 hours – leisurely driving with breaks for the bathroom, iced coffee, and gas. We were able to get onto the 15:30pm car ferry at a cost of 120 baht for the car and then 80 baht for the each of us for a total of 360 baht. The ferry crossing is about 30 minutes. Ferry info can be found here at: Koh Chang Ferries price list 2023 / 2024 Map of Koh Chang and surrounding islands. As you can see there are many ferry options to arrive onto the island from the mainland. Above places highlighted with a red circle are the places that we visited We booked our 3 night stay at the Klong Prao Resort Klong Prao Beach Resort webpage We booked 2 rooms and paid 1,840 baht per night for a total of 11,040 baht for 3 nights. This resort is lovely and very big with a beautiful sandy beach and lush tropical plants everywhere. As we booked kind of at the last minute we were assigned to 2 older rooms. There are 3 distinct zones around a large pond, where the zone we stayed in is the oldest and the other 2 zones are more modern. My only complaint about our rooms were there were hardly any electrical outlets for all of our devices (electric razor, tooth brush, boom box, mobile phones, etc.). Other than this inconvenience the rooms were perfect – air con worked very well, shower had hot water, and unlike my stay in Koh Samet and also in Songkhla (I still need to write this trip report) there were NO noisy geckos to wake us up in the early morning with their annoying chirping sounds. However, they are very handy for eating any annoying mosquitos, bugs and spiders. Note that the 2 newer zones have many electrical outlets as they were probably built after the advent of the popularity of mobile phones and all of our electrical gadgets. The highlights of this resort for us were: The pool and their pool bar with early evening 2 for 1 sunset happy hours – as evidenced in the below photos, The white sandy beaches and blue turquoise water. Note that the Koh Chang municipality has strict rules that keep the noisy speed boats and jet skis away – thus rendering the beaches to be more in their wonderful natural state. Day 1 (15 Jan 2024) itinerary Arrive onto the island, check in unpack, enjoy the resort grounds, pool, beach, happy hour, fantastic sunset and eat at the resort dining facility = RimHad Restaurant. Watched a great fire show performed by some hunky macho guys (similar to the familiar B-Boys, who perform all over Pattaya, Boyztown, Jomtien) on the beach in front of our resort restaurant. Like when I visited Koh Samet, these fire show guys can be found traveling up and down the beach performing in front of the many resorts and beach restaurants. It lasted about 10 minutes and was very entertaining. I realized that I did not take any still photos so the above photo is from a movie clip that I made. Then before going to sleep I received my customary massage – as both of these volleyball friends are also masseurs. Day 2 (16 Jan 2024) itinerary After the great resort buffet breakfast (an enormous selection of Western and Thai foods were available) we headed off to the Khlong Phlu Waterfall in the National Park. It was nearby, and perhaps after 30 minutes by car we were already at the trailhead for our hike. The hike took about 30 minutes and was rather easy. Explore Koh Chang - description of Koh Chang waterfalls As it was not rainy season, the waterfall was a little bit subdued, but it was still cool and refreshing to take a dip and to swim with the millions of fish that were in the water. You need to resist their lite nibbles at your skin – kind of like those tourist places that you see all over Thailand where the tourists put their feet into a fish tank to get their dead skin nibbled off. There were about 20 to 25 people there when we visited with about half of them brave enough to enter the chilly refreshing water. There is a lifeguard off to the left up on the rocks to prevent that tourists climb up onto the waterfall, as it can be quite dangerous as it is very slippery. And there I am trying to acclimate myself to the lite nibbles by the fish before I dove in and swam over to where the water was cascading down – as that end is very deep. Entrance fee to the waterfall (which is part of the national park system) was 40 baht for each of my 2 Thai friends and 200 baht for me for a total cost of 280 baht. Afterwards, back to our resort to relax, swim in the pool, take advantage of the 2-for-1 drink specials at the pool bar, and to watch the sunset. For that night’s dinner we drove over to the popular White Sands Beach area – full of restaurants, hotels, resorts, markets, etc. to eat at the Beach Tango restaurant Beach Tango restaurant Facebook page which became our favorite go-to place to eat. Why? The food and drinks were good. There was interesting eye candy – one of the wait staff had our constant attention. Plus, there were many interesting people walking up and down the beach – as there are many, many, bars and restaurants in this area. Beach Tango is smack in the middle of all of the fun and is an entertaining place to be situated. Then after dinner back to the room to relax for my nightly massage. Life is good. Day 3 (17 Jan 2024) itinerary Enjoy the buffet breakfast and then head down to the extreme southern part of Koh Chang (on the opposite side of the island) to visit the very famous Koh Ngam beach. It was a very long drive as we needed to cross the island to the other side (mainland facing), and this part of the island is not built up like the other side, so consequently, the main road became narrower and narrower up into the mountains to the point where there was only room for 1 car to pass one way with very steep curvy roads. Scary, but well worth the reward to arrive at the tiny boat station to take the 10 minute boat to cross over to the breath taking Koh Ngam. You can choose your mode of transportation – by kayak or by motorboat. We chose by motorboat as we were too excited to already be on Koh Ngam. I believe that we paid 80 baht for each Thai person, and I as a farang had to pay 200 baht, which included the boat ride over to the island. Fee is paid to a ranger on Koh Ngam – as it is now part of the Thailand National Park system. Here is a good short video with some drone footage of Koh Ngam: Youtube video with drone footage of Koh Ngam And here is what awaits you on Koh Ngam – truly amazing. After enjoying Koh Ngam (swimming, relaxing, and enjoying the view and the nature) – back on the boat to Koh Chang and then back in the car for the 1 hour trip back to our resort for those 2-for-1 pool bar cocktails and amazing sunsets. Rinse and repeat the previous night at Beach Tango for dinner and drinks and then back to the resort for my nightly good-night massage. Day 4 (18 Jan 2024) itinerary Enjoy the last breakfast buffet and check-out of the resort for the long 5 hour drive back to Pattaya (Jomtien). Phong says to me – do you want to see one more exciting place before we head back? I say, sure, why not. So, we drive over to the Kai Bae Viewpoint, which is famous for its spectacular view of 4 of the Koh Chang archipelago islands, Koh Yuak, Koh Man Noi, Koh Pli and Koh Man Nok. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kai+Bae+Viewpoint/@12.0205768,102.2919516,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x3104105179b452c7:0x2b4a04572dce185b!8m2!3d12.0205768!4d102.2919516!16s%2Fg%2F11b6tz721w?hl=en&entry=ttu Note that there is excellent coffee available at this Kai Bae viewpoint. Before almost reaching Pattaya, my 2 tour guides noticed that we were all sad that our 4 day trip was coming to a quick end, so they said do you want to eat at a fun place that is near Pattaya (about 1 hour away) before we call it a day? I said sure – as I really like to see and experience new places. So, we stopped off at the Tamnanpar Resort & Restaurant – one of these many nearby Pattaya / Rayong restaurants that are tucked away in a jungle theme – various Thai friends have taken me to different ones as each Thai person swears that his/her’s is the best. Tamnanpar resort and restaurant Facebook page This place is famous for their unique game cuisine where you can eat ostrich, crocodile, snake, and deer. All was good and our random waiter was someone that my 2 tour guides already knew and were teasing him about his in-the-bed attributes – he was quite shy but willing to tease back my 2 Thai friends. I truly enjoy when the Thais do this to each other as it is very entertaining. Then they dropped me off at my condo room in Jomtien and our trip concluded. Trip summary: Would I go back to Koh Chang? Most certainly – it is a large island and there is still more to see. Especially to visit many of the many off-shore islands in the archipelago. Maybe stay for one more additional day to take some time to do kayaking. Any regrets? Yes, we did not have time to see the famous abandoned boat “ghost” hotel. Nation Thailand article on the famous "ghost" ship on Koh Chang Contact details (HORNET and Line) for my 2 Thai tour guides from the Dongtan volleyball field in Jomtien. They can be available to be a tour guide, companion, or masseur. permission was granted to me by the both of them to publish their details for all of you Also, come and visit them at volleyball (nightly from about 5:30 pm until 8pm to 9pm daily) – right next to the Sea Rescue in front of the Pattaya Park Tower on the beach road of our Dongtan beach. Phong Hornet ID is: @m-thailand Boat Hornet ID is: @13hq91

The place not mentioned often on this forum - but I've come back recently from two weeks in Buenos Aires. I want to come back already. I had a blast. This is my fourth time in Argentina, but my last visit was 9 or 10 years ago. I'd been to all the best places of this amazing country before, so this time I wanted just to have a chill city vacation in Buenos Aires, a city that I always considered one of the best in the world, and certainly the best in Latin America (for me). It's very different from the rest of Latin America, certainly different from Brazil. It does not feel Latin American, it feels more like a ramshackle Mediterranean European city instead - like Marseille or Genoa. It has that European cultured vibe, museums, theaters, leafy streets, public spaces, simply excellent food, and a great bar scene. It does not have that fire of Brazilian parties, no - it's more reserved and not that in-your-face fun, it's like a more refined sister of a loud brash half-drunk brother across the border. To put everything in the proper context from the very start: it is cheap. It is ridiculously cheap. It's cheaper than Cambodia. The economy went down the drain long ago, but the election of Milei propelled the inflation even further up. The local currency (black market rate) lost 20% just in the first three weeks of January. When I look up restaurants on Google Maps and see their menus photographed in November, I know that I need to double the prices for end-January (in pesos). Prices from a year ago do not mean anything, that was a different universe. I'm reading that just before covid, the taxi from the airport was 68 pesos, it is now 37,000 pesos (or 18,000 pesos on Uber) - you get the range. The wine is excellent - I was buying mine from a Chinese car service round the corner. They likely got the wine in stock in December before holidays and forgot to change prices - so I was buying wine from them in end-January for a price not seen anywhere else - $9 for a bottle with a Vivino rating 4.5 (normal malbecs are at around $2 per bottle). In an expensive Michelin restaurant, a huge 400g ribeye steak (dare I say the best steak in the world) and three negronis I accompanied it with rang me a bill of $20 total. In non-Michelin restaurants, steaks are between $5 and $8. In one of the top bars in the city mentioned in all sorts of awards and ratings, the happy hour sees two classic cocktails (I drink Negroni, but others may choose something else) for $3 (i.e. $1.50 each). Argentinian guys are not as defined or perfect as Brazilians - I'm a sucker for pectorals and abdominals, so I needed to dig hard. But thanks god for Venezuelans - they are plentiful in Buenos Aires, and they were more than half the guys I hired. Huge shout and huge thanks to @Latbear4blk who gave some incredibly useful advice on this forum. I was using local websites Soytuyo, Leonos, ArgentinaMasajes and Skokka to arrange all dates. The #1 piece of advice from @Latbear4blk was to check those profiles against the reviews on a local forum ForoPirata - that forum is gold, and I managed to save myself a lot of time (and trouble) by discarding quite a number of profiles who looked excellent on websites but got scathing reviews from previous customers on ForoPirata. If only such resources were available in other countries... I usually got two guys per day - one for "massage" and one for full sex. ArgentinaMasajes is an excellent resource, and I was very upfront with masseurs asking them direct questions on Whatsapp about what's possible on their side and what's not. Some were more modest and I wished them luck. Others entertained handjobs or fetishes, more daring ones were fine with BJs and cumming in my mouth, and the best allowed full-on sex. Mostly, I visited them in their places (after checking against references). This worked really well. Some, I invited to my place - and BA is a city where you can get excellent AirBnbs - mine was with a sweeping view from the 21st-floor balcony over the city, a rooftop gym on the 31st floor with panoramic windows, a swimming pool and a sundeck, and security that was ambivalent to visitors (the security guy just on one occasion recorded an ID of one of my guests who looked especially brutal, but on other occasions I met my guests downstairs at the security fence and then escorted them out afterwards bidding farewell without even talking to security- in most BA apartment blocks a guest would not be able to leave the building by himself without you escorting him out). "Massages" and other visits with full sex were all in $15-25 range, some slipping to $30, but never higher. (I got a local SIM card and conversed in Spanish over Whatsapp from a local number to make sure I'm not quoted crazy prices). One of my regulars was a well-known porn star - he's one of that Onlyfans cluster of Argentinian porn stars who have individual accounts and cross-pollinate bareback between each other with endless collabs. Well, I knew his name before, and his vids are everywhere (I'll omit the name). He was coming to my place for great sex for $25 ($20 rate + $5 Uber fare) and even spoke some English. I love Argentina. But as I said, it was mostly Venezuelans. If not for them, my picture would have not been this bright, but Venezuelans are muscular, defined, tattooed, insatiable, with a beautiful face and lots of kinky thoughts (and actions). One of the Venezuelans, I was coming to him every several days in the morning for a "massage" with some kinks and fetishes, and every time while I waited for him to come downstairs and open me the door, I saw the same beautiful girl coming out with two dogs, and one of them was usually immediately having a piss in front of me. When I saw her a second time, I thought it's such a coincidence, I'm at a different time than before but her dog-walking schedule matched. When I saw her again next time for the third time, it finally clicked for me that this was a GF of my "masseur" and their two dogs - she had to leave the apartment to walk the dogs for an hour so her guy would do various things with me disguised as a massage. Next time I saw her, I almost said hi. The guy was usually coming to let me in a minute after her leaving. With all that, I didn't go to any saunas - and as far as I know, there are no Brazil-style GP saunas anyway, they are normal non-escort saunas. I went once to Cine Ideal, an old grand cinema showing gay porn now in huge cinema halls with balconies - the entrance was something like $1 or $2, the cinema halls were pitch dark, and I probably could find someone and something there, but I saw little upside if I can have a $15-20 Venezuelan in proper comfort and lighting elsewhere. A couple of blocks from the cinema, there is another curious establishment - called MasajeClub. It's a business of massage coupled with a red wine bar. Apparently it's popular with locals at lunchtime and after work - the downside is that you can't select a masseur, he's assigned to you. The masseurs are your guys next door, not model-like, but they can go a looong way during the massage. The official line of this club is that you pay for massage ($4.50 one hour) and then whatever happens in the room is up to a masseur and you. There's nothing that the masseur is obliged to perform apart from the massage, but it usually involved sucking and even in some cases fucking. There are no minimum tips, so it is up to you if you want to leave anything to your masseur on top of $4.50. For something like $15 they have what they call a "circuit" - that's a 4-stage massage where four masseurs (again you can't pick) come to your room one after another to perform something like 20-25 min of massage - that may end up in four waves of different cum-shooting experiences. One or two of the four would usually not be averse to fucking. After that, they give you a glass of malbec. I've also been to the stripper bars. I remember there had been quite a few in my past visits, now only one remains, and it stages nightly shows rotating through three different locations in the city depending on the day of the week. Usually, it's three hunky straight strippers (usually coming in a bundle "one stunning, one ok, and one ugly") doing two routines - first stripping to a flaccid cock, and then the second one with a hardon. Then they come to the audience, and for a modest tip you can grab and fondle a hardon. I saw people leaving tips accounting for $0.1 or $0.2, so when I tipped $0.8, that gave me a really good grip of the cock and then a strong hug from a naked hard hunk and then a big thank you and usually a return trip from him to me for another $0.8. Big whisky cola is $2, beer is pretty much spare change. The show lasts for an hour and starts at 01:30. And then there are normal bars and clubs - again this is not the Brazilian level of eye candy, but it is still sexy in its own way. I really want to come back, this is such an underrated city to visit.

Few more:

In order not to have post too long I decided to post pictures in a separate threads. Here are temples of Central zone:

Not a businessman. A con man. Judge Engoron ruled that Drump is "fraudulent" and borders on "pathological." Judge Engoron explicitly vindicated Drumpf's ex-attorney Michael Cohen, writing in his verdict that "Michael Cohen told the truth."

I was waiting for you here. and you already left again?

...like Finland or Sweden

I see your Nazi beliefs getting stronger and stronger. As you applauded the murder of children in Donbass from 2014 to the present, so you continue to do so. Let's remember who your political regime killed: Judge Roll, Ross and Colbert, Thomas Hale Boggs, Nick Begich, Larry McDonald, John Tower, William Colby, Sonny Bono, Melvin Eugene ‘Mel’ Carnahan, Paul Wellstone, Wayne Owens, Thelma Colbert, Shannon Ross, John Roll... The list can be continued indefinitely. But you believe your false propaganda, which told nonsense about every case.

You really have to be stupid to think every news organisation in the world other than Russian are lying. There is corruption in all media but if you think polonium and novichok poisonings, defenestrations and random opponents of Putin dying in plane crashes, prison, random muggings, etc then you're more stupid than I thought, which in itself is quite an achievement.

Or the guilty. Mass murderer Putin Now the EU and US will send weapons and hundreds of thousands of Russians will go off to Ukraine to be turned into fertilizer. Putin is a mass murdering sadist.

first one returned after some absence as I had pleasure to meet him there in the past

while not questioning your and professor's findings I's like to bring to your and everybody else's attention fact that those youngsters will be paying us a pensions and placing us in nursing homes they will run so be nice to them. I, being also of proper age, remember when we kids start switching to ball pens from ordinary , ink feeded ones , that was supposed to crook both of our characters and our limbs, we were supposed to get blind from watching 'Bonanza ' on TV, using make up was sure thing to turn our classmates girls tnto hookers and other horrors which never materialized. It was neatly summarized by my godmother who commented when I was about 30 ' I was thinking big zero will grow of you but now look !" . Travelling on underground recently I noticed that it was mostly younger people who were immersed in paperbacks and newspapers while us oldies were exclusively on our phones, fact that was also noticed and commented but soccer-mom type lady standing beside .

I'm proletarian, I don't like tittles

I should turn off predictive text.

Just ask him. You’d be surprised. I am guessing Nicolás Ovando (?) but Caribe Colonial is a sure bet and they’ll all know what’s up as he pretty much has his name painted on a parking spot there. As you are aware any visitor will need to produce ID to the reception. There are post notes on inexpensive tryst facilities in El Condé if you search. The subforum is not that extensive.

Sorry, but that's factually incorrect. Israel is not in the "exercise increased caution" list (level 2), but rather on the "reconsider travel" list (level 3). I admit that I have visited countries listed in level 3 (Egypt recently), but have not and probably will not ever visit countries in the "Do not travel" list (level 4). The country I'm most tempted by is Burma, but I'll wait until things calm down there. Most of Southeast Asia is Level 1, except for the Golden Triangle region. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/israel-west-bank-and-gaza-travel-advisory.html

I would have no qualms about traveling to Cuba. However, any US citizen (or citizens of countries with sanctions on Iran or North Korea) are subjecting themselves to being arrested on false charges and becoming hostages of government. The Otto Warmbier incident cited above is among the most tragic examples.

I believe you are correct, but it may backfire as from many comments I heard during week there people seem to know very well of what is going on.

That's serious dedication to getting there....I've been twice by Uber with friends and wouldn't bother going back a third time. However, a friend was there recently on various Sundays and he said it's good, like the old times at Meio Mundo

Just curious if any of you know a good massage place in the D.R., either Santo Domingo or Punta Cana?

not sure it's only young adults. At end of 2023 I was on the trip with friend whose absolutely first thing after entering hotel room, restaurant and any other place with free wi-fi was to check what's new on his media. I was amazed but at the same time happy - no lineup to the washroom.

stop complaining , they will be paying you your pension

Absolutely! Interesting, if not surprising, that inflation continues to roar away under the new President!

Talking about permanently changing the brains of young adults, how about banning social media?

When I went to Colombia in mid-January there was one station in the Bogota airport's customs hall with a credit card handset designated for Canadians to pay the fee. But there wasn't any kind of notice posted about it. So after a longish wait to get to the front of the line, I realized I could have just gone directly to that station where there would have been a short wait or no wait at all to clear customs. As you walk into the hall, it's the very last station on the left hand side.

Day 10 continued - in Siem Reap At 12 noon I left hotel , took 9$ tuk-tuk to the airport and while flying high above Cambodia I realized that I got infamous senior moment in the hotel. When emptying safe box I put pile of 100 000 riels ( 25$ ) in 5000 notes on the night stand and forgot to pick it up from there. Can only imagine how happy cleaner was finding it and hope she was not stupid enough to report it to the reception but harvested that pile in full. As my mom used to say ‘ in nature nothing gets lost , only finds new owner”. In ½ hr we were landing already. Airport looks very pleasant but was empty, our plane was only one at time I was there. My driver greeted me immediately but I told him I need to do my survey. In improvement to early reports now there’s place one can buy snacks, there are desks for taxi and public bus to the city as well as kiosk with SIM cards. Unfortunately I couldn’t see departure area as there are guards who are admitting actually people who are departing only. This tells us whole thing is Chinese built , run and milked. There are no such restriction in Phnom Penh. Quite possible in generation people will be marveling of how far sighted builders if this airport were but for now it’s just waste od space and money as old airport was running well and was very close to the city. I’m not buying BS that it needed to be closed because vibrations were hurting ancient temples. In my 5 visits there I never heard any plane landing or taking off. Anyways if we don’t have what we liked we must like what we have. It's about 1 hr. to the city and one can take car for 35$ or van for 40$ or public bus for 8$. Apparently there’s also postal bus for the same 8$ but I did not find any information not stop for it there so it needs to be confirmed. Half way is very modern highway which is joining old National Road number 6. One hour and 35$ later I was in hotel. Big room with balcony , separate shower / bathtub area and toilet itself. Breakfast included and even small pool at disposal, all for 40$ , life is beautiful. Knowing S is coming I was waiting for him , he updated me where he is and finally knock into door and happy squeak from him. It look he was really happy for such vacations. Today we took it easy , went to Old Market area to eat something and returned to the room as two happy people have no better place to spend rest of day and night like bed , specially knowing driver will be 8 am on the dot. I know him and was sure so instructed S to behave but forgot to instruct myself so we had some steam in the room before we fell asleep..

Both the convenience store and exterior fascade to old Bangkok Massage were for movie set only. The filming took three days. Construction crew making rapid progress on new venue. One side will have great view of main entrance to Dream Boy.

I find as I get older I don't like crowds or noise , it's not something I like though ....to be that way. I get invited by friends to a Gay Mardi Gras pre event party ,I declined , years ago I would if loved going but not now, I really envy the guys I see my age who are still out on weekend nights partying , I wish I could still be like that . Every year up till about 2015 I went to Songkran , loved it , splashing water , face painting but as years went by my "spark" started fading ,no idea why , then crowds started to annoy me. I miss those days 😭

Re the UK and possible overstays etc I douby the UK Government will have to worry too much as any Thai I know who has ever visited the UK generally cant wait to get home again after seeing what it is they've arrived to ! This relates to longer stays relating to visiting BF's etc perhaps more than a quick two week holiday perhaps - but even if I'm wrong some Thai's decide to overstay - personally I think that would be a positive net result not a negative one, especially based on what other nations are rocking up on our shores illegally these days perhaps.

From The Nation Thailand’s rail transport network saw a 40 per cent increase in use by the public in 2023, the Department of Rail Transport reported on Friday. Commuters from Bangkok’s metropolitan areas were the biggest users, accounting for 94.97% of total, while only 5.03% came from interprovincial trains operated by the State Railway of Thailand. Factors contributing to increased users included expanding rail networks in metropolitan and urban areas, the department said. These networks included the Yellow Line (Lat Phrao-Samrong section), Pink Line (Kae Rai-Minburi section) and Red Line (Taling Chan-Bang Sue-Rangsit), which helped facilitate the commute from urban areas to inner city zones and vice versa. The department also ranked the top five electric train routes that recorded the most users in Bangkok’s metropolitan area last year, as follows: 1. Green Line - 264,066,131 people/trips, or 54.03% of total rail usage in Bangkok metropolitan 2. Blue Line - 137,336,127 people/trips, 28.1% 3. Airport Rail Link - 22,495,300 people/trips, 4.6% 4. Purple Line - 18,398,106 people/trips, 3.76% 5. Yellow Line - 8,296,347 people/trips, 1.7%

Well, this report is from News Nation -- so take that for what it's worth. The story was featured on no other news site/channel. Moreover, the video isn't attributed to a specific source. And the "expert" is nothing of the sort. He's a very creative artist and fantasist who likely created the video or doctored an existing one. ☺️ Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell is an American contemporary artist, filmmaker, and ufologist based in Los Angeles, California. Corbell is a mixed media artist whose exhibitions combine art, fashion, and film. He is also a photographer, fashion designer, and author.