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TRIP REPORT DAY 3 Woke up late today and went for breakfast/lunch af Coffee Club in the new Park Silom. Another brand new building with the first two or three floors filled with eateries. Silom Complex, Silom Edge, Park Silom... Same same but different.. I noticed a gap where the demolished the old buildings just next to Sala Daeng skytrain stations, between Park Silom and Silom Center. Probably another new development will be build there... Let me guess: big building with room for more of the same (fast food) restaurants... Lol Thanks for this idea. I went there in the afternoon. Beautiful place to visit. The less known temples can also be nice to visit. And so nice to be walking around almost empty temple grounds, without swarms of tourists. From Wat Ratchabophit I walked Wat Suthat Thep to conclude my little temple visiting afternoon. For dinner I went to one of the forum members favorites: Mango Tree. As always it was very nice and for a very very reasonable price. If you are few of the last ones on this forum that haven't been there yet, make sure to go there next time you're in Bangkok. JUPITER I totally understand the criticism Jupiter is getting sometimes on this forum. They have many boys on rotation, but there is not much variation in the kind of boys on stage. If you're looking for a skinny twink, you are not going to find it here. If your taste of boys is more like mine, hunks with some muscles, Jupiter is like being in heaven. Lol I think last night about 90% of the boys could be offed by me. How to make a choice when there's so much to your liking? Thank God (or Buddha) for the helpful papasan who gave me a sign by every "gay" that entered the stage. That narrowed down the amount of choices. And soon a had a nice smiling favorite as my choice of the day. The boys only wear numbered tags at the last round on the catwalk. Why don't they do that all evening? Now during rest of evening staff needed laserpens to point out which guy they were referring to or to make sure they asked the right boy to come sit with customer. Being back in Jupiter made me remember why I like it there. Not only because so many hot boys of my taste, but also because the music played (both show songs as in between acts) is good. And the acts nicer to watch than average gogo bars. For example, when a ladyboy has an act in Jupiter there will always be hot male dancers on stage together with her. Also the boys doing their dance routines are better than in other bars. More striptease like, instead of for example the old fashioned slow motion dancing or other things we see in the other bars. Pricewise it's not a big difference with the other bars... Barfee 500 baht, tip for boy 3000 for 2hrs according to papasan. Remind you: same prices are asked in Dreamboy. So Jupiter is not that much more expensive than some other bars.

After landing late last night, my JAL flight arrived at gate directly opposite immigration. Just as I entered “International Passport” side, young officer asked my age. When I told her, she directed me Priority lane. Either new procedure or evidence of advancing age. 🙂

Usually use Airport Rail Link but arrived too late last night an proceeded to taxi stand. Machine asks you to select type of car you want (for 2 or 4 persons; difference is initial meter reading 35 or 45 so I pushed former button and got receipt directing me to parking space 220). There must have been close to 50 taxis waiting. After telling driver my destination, he handed me his phone which he had switched to English and asked to enter name of condo. It quickly populated screen and we were off. When I noticed he hadn’t yet started meter, I said “meter please” and he promptly turned it on and asked, “highway’, to which I replied yes. Very little traffic and all green lights when we got of expressway. Fare came to 277 on meter plus 50 baht airport fee and 75 baht for tolls. Driver looked nearly old as me so tipped him well for good ride.

For now your logic should work as long as in the future that immigration will not count the number of calendar days that you stayed in Thailand in a given year as stamped in your passport -> if this count would exceed 180 days and then perhaps immigration might ask to see your Thai tax filing for that year. So far, nothing has been said about this - fingers crossed that it stays this way as I dread the idea of going to the Thai Revenue Department office to obtain my new tax ID number. Currently, my plan is to: Stay in Thailand less than 180 days in year 2025 - so I won't be a tax resident in 2025, Use year 2025 to top up my Thai bank account for years 2025 + 2026. Live 12 months in Thailand in tax year 2026 but without any assessable income (no remittances into Thailand in the 2026 tax year). Repeat this process until my age 70, when I should qualify for the BOI Wealthy Pensioner 10 year visa, which is currently exempt from any tax. But you must prove that you can bring $80,000 USD equivalent into Thailand in the previous 2 individual years, where this amount is ONLY sourced from passive income proven with 2 years of tax returns. It is ironic that you need to pay tax if you cannot bring in $80,000 USD equivalent per each tax year. So, tax the poor and do not tax the wealthy. TIT = This is Thailand

I hate it when they don't turn the meter on and quote ridiculous prices and hope they don't try it on me when I arrive (too late for the train), the reason I gave up using taxis when in Bangkok, once when hailing them from outside the Raya about 5 pulled up and the first words out of the drivers were ridiculous prices for the journey. After that day my use of taxis were airport to hotel and hotel to airport, BTS, MRT and river boat get me everywhere I need to go in Bangkok.

You could you know hehe.

Welcome home ! it seems recently more and more people are reporting about Swampy drivers forgetting to turn on the meters Have fun in fun capital of the entire world

I rather take cash

Nope. It is small indoor pool with wooden sauna cabin in the corner for 4-5 persons, huge window to hotel's yard and few training machines. And it is unisex. Public nudity prohibited including space of sauna cabin. At least it was like this when I visited it before covid. They had idea to change it to spa zone. There zero left from past Ganymede gay sauna.

TRIP REPORT DAY 2 THE ONE / TAWAN I went to The One just before their 22h45 was about to start. When I came in around 8 customers were having their drink and about 12 boys where on duty. I hate to say that I didn't feel the welcoming atmosphere that it used to have. The boys were even more on their phones than before. Almost the only moments somebody would have some attention for you was when they went around for tips for the different show acts. The type of guys on rotation where a mix from twink (yes, in the former Tawan... 2 or 3 twinks on duty) to older guys that have had their best days. And not much in between. On a positive note; no ladyboys in the show tonight. I did like the act with two guys in tight wrestle singlets. Would have loved to touch them in that lycra, but they didn't come around the customers for tips. All customers left very soon after show was finished. I had to rush my drink to get to leave also, as I was the only customer left and it felt a bit awkward. Maybe it was a bad night, maybe it is true that the former Tawan lost its charm. DREAMBOY Time to check out Dreamboy. Back in soi twilight this was the first gogo-bar I ever visited and it was my favorite for a long time. Who remembers the live fucking show there, while the guys where doing acrobatic moves on stage... Good old times. I was just in time for their 2nd show of the night. Can't remember how many guys were on rotation but I think it was about 25 till 30. But many of them a bit on the "bulkier" side. My type (a little bit muscle, not too much) not much available. During the coyoto dance act their was one guy really giving it all and dancing so much more active than the others. According to papasan he was "a good bottom too" besides a good dancer. And he was going to make sure the boy would come sit with me after the show. But apparently another customer already has eyes on him, because after show papasan came to say sorry that "my boy" was already sitting with other customer for drink. Not much later boy came anyway to me, because other customer only wanted drink and chat. Sometimes it pays off to wait a bit. Off fee for bar 550 baht, tip for boy st 3000. DJ STATION / GOD My dancer boy and I decided to check out the clubs together. First to DJ station. We danced, drink and looked at some hot guys. Must say he has good taste when it comes to which boys he liked. I also like watching the guys do their dance routine on the K-pop area. Fun to see how they learned the dances to all these songs. It was not too busy, but what to expect from a school night. Was still nice be there again. At 2:30am we decided to have a drink at GOD. Probably I'm the last one to find out, but till now I didn't know it's from the same owners as Dreamboy. The guys in GOD seemed to be a bit more under the influence of alcohol (or something else) than in DJ station. Many shorts came off and a lot of slutty dancing. Lol After two more drinks it was time to take my dancer boy back to my hotelroom. Where we had a very satisfying rendezvous. The naughty boy proposed to do a threeesome next time...

It's not just the "truckloads of shit all creatures living in the seas...", you need to be concerned with, it's the poorly designed / controlled sewage systems that's been installed. This from last year. https://esquare.co.th/?p=2552 With only a 2000THB fine for the hotels, it's hardly a deterrent. I live by the sea and can see clearly the discharge of Black Water after it rains. As for swimming in it, a definate no no for me. For an enjoyable near pollution free swim go out to the islands off the coast and use the west side of the island, i.e. the side furthest from Pattaya or Jomtien. Furthermore if you snorkel or dive you'll see some actual authentic colourful sea life.

From The Thaiger High-end hotel operators are poised to increase room rates during the High Season as tourist numbers are anticipated to rise in the coming months, while mid-tier and lower-tier hotels continue to face challenges. The hotel operator sentiment index reveals this trend. Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, President of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), reported that the average occupancy rate in September was 55%, a decline of seven percentage points from August and below the 63.4% recorded in the same period in 2019. Each hotel segment shows a different recovery rate. Three-star hotels and below had an occupancy rate of only 45% in September, whereas four-star hotels and above achieved 58.7%. Regionally, hotel occupancy rates varied significantly. The north saw its occupancy rate drop from 50% in August to 25.7% in September due to severe flooding in key areas of several provinces. The central region posted the highest occupancy rate at 64.4%, followed by the east at 57.1%. Both the south and northeast recorded 49%, according to Thienprasit.

TRIP REPORT DAY 4 As today is alcohol ban due to Buddhist holiday, the clubs and bars will be closed tonight. So i figured out this was a good day to meet up with my regular. A guy not working in a bar or club, but who I've met via Grindr some Bangkok visits ago. I wrote about him in earlier trip reports; see link if you want to know more "details", see quote below. I lost contact with him on Grindr. He doesn't share his line or WhatsApp as he wants his "side business" strictly seperate from his private life. When I was back in Bangkok I hoped to see his profile pop up again. Yesterday I was lucky. Fun fact: I remembered his profile pictures was close up of his ass with black underwear. First night I was in Bangkok I directly thought I've spotted him again. But it seemed to be somebody with a similar profile picture. I will post both, so you will understand my confusion. First one is not my regular, 2nd picture is his profile. See how they would look like each other in the grindr grid? After that disappointment of that first profile wasn't him, I was so happy to see the real regular pop up yesterday. Today in afternoon he visited me in the hotel. Like the other times I had a good massage and fireworks after. He was still that good as I remembered. Nice. After shower to wash off the massage oil it was time to head out for dinner. Passing by soi4 where indeed, except for G's restaurant, everything was dark and closed. See picture. During dinner I was thinking about what to do tonight. Bars closed. Already had massage and sex 1hr ago... During dinner I got grindr message from Italian guy who arrived in Bangkok today and was looking for someone to have a chat with. He was actually looking for somebody to explore Bangkok with and also go to bars and clubs together. Told him I'm leaving for Pattaya the next day but could give him some insider information and tips. He invited me to come have a drink with him, sending me picture of him sitting with a beer. What? It's alcohol-ban-day... Where is he? So I ended up chatting the rest of the evening with him, drinking alcoholic drinks, on the first floor of a bar/restaurant. Out of sight from the public and the men in brown. After all, it's Bangkok... Full of secrets en surprises everywhere. Lol

If you want to enter into the sea water I strongly suggest that you make the effort to venture over to nearby Koh Larn island - that is in front of Pattaya / Jomtien. see below.

Exactly what the papasan told me the one time I went to Jupiter, except back in the hotel room as boy was leaving, he said his rate was 5000 when I gave him 3000. Always check with the boy!

Sounds good to me! Happy with Soi 4, for meal.

Yes it’s definitely gay friendly like all the hotels in the Complex. I’ve stayed there a number of times and enjoyed sitting round the outdoor pool accompanied by boyfriends. Gays, like myself, seem to co-exist amongst the straights there without problems. There is a variety of room types and the breakfast restaurent is rather good. The Ganymede gay sauna is history.

always good to stick to reality

From Pattaya Mail Play ball or footsie with the Thai Revenue Department By Barry Kenyon The TRD rule revision – it’s not actually a change in the law – to tax assessable overseas income remitted to Thailand since January 1 2024 continues to baffle many elderly expats. A recent Pattaya poll of 100 retirees and Facebook blogger research suggest that the overwhelming majority have only a faint idea about the implications for them. The typical reaction stated was to carry on regardless with a threat to quit Thailand if the taxman comes knocking. Of course, not everyone needs to worry. Those Thais or foreigners who spend less than a total of 180 days here in the calendar year 2024 are not deemed to be tax residents. Also exempt are those who are remitting income here which was actually earned in the year 2023, or earlier, as well as those who do not transfer any overseas cash at all in the current calendar year. Those who hold a 10-year Long Term Residence visa are also excused, although some accountants point to the small-print audit which will occur after the first five years completion. Some expats have signed up with tax lawyers or accountants who offer to act on their behalf. The general advice given so far seems to emphasize that the company will take care, if necessary, when the form filling season is upon us – January to March 2025. One is kinda reminded of the requirement for expats leaving Thailand in the 1980s to get a civil servant to stamp an immigration-required form (the informal fee was 500 baht) which stated that there was no income tax due. Of course, tax affairs are much more sophisticated these days. The experts are not unanimous. ASEAN Now runs a huge and popular forum about remitted income, but the top-notch contributors often disagree. Does use of a foreign credit card here count as assessable income? Are double taxation agreements the loophole hoped for? Is cash remitted to Thailand to buy a condominium taxable income? Is the TRD anyway interested in pensioned expats with a modest income? Will anything awful happen if you hide your head in the sand? Ask ten experts and you’ll get several contradictory interpretations. Some commentators see the salvation army arriving in December. This is traditionally the season for TRD to print new forms, so maybe there will be a commentary (in English) making clear all that has hitherto been speculative. Others will say that detailed notes are not the TRD style. The Thai tax system is an honor exercise. That means it’s your responsibility to get a tax identification number and fill in a tax form if you believe you need to. It’s not required to provide supporting documentation unless later you are chosen for audit. The fact you submit a tax return does not necessarily mean you have anything to pay. The real test for expats will be if the visa renewal process, for example for the annual retiree extensions at immigration, were to be linked to registration with TRD. But even that futuristic scenario is fraught with problems. It’s quite possible to clock up 180 days in a calendar year using visa exempt entries or tourist visas such as the new Destination Thailand Visa: simply extend at immigration or do a couple of border runs. Perhaps the best advice, at any rate for now, is to wait in the wings. Neighboring Vietnam specifically excludes overseas pension income from cash described as taxable. Such a welcome move here would turn the whole personal income tax debate upside down. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/foreign-retirees-ponder-whether-to-play-ball-or-footsie-with-the-thai-revenue-department-476178

It's certainly a gay friendly budget hotel. What I really like is that you can get inward facing rooms which get no noise at all from the bars.

I also have T from tawan as one of my regular. Great guy indeed.

Glad to see that US Department of Transportation and its director, Pete Buttigeg, took the initiative in this incident.

I mean technically you can always call the card company for "non delivery" of specific items... subject to investigation... so most likely the first question the card company will ask is... WHATS SERVICE DID YOU AVAIL? haha.. on the other hand, i have a pragmatic approach when it comes to these things.. you win some you lose some.. on the first night i lost... but boy number 3 made up for it, so i think it's still a win!

correct, last time I was in the cinema there to see latest Indiana Jones movie royal anthem was played but nobody bothered to stand up. Audiendce was mostly teenagers though

but still gay and visitors friendly and good value for money

In Bangkok, there is also an Air Taxi, you can fly between the five towers, visit the Sky Bars, and the guys will jump into your helicopter themselves 😀

By the way, the bars and clubs didn't close at midnight. So probably other rules applied this Wednesday night because Thursday is a non-alcohol day but not a national holiday. Jupiter for example was open till 2am (I informed when I was there earlier that evening), and around midnight there was a steady flow of guys going towards DJ station that was also open. Gogo bars stay closed tomorrow evening. As confirmed by gogo boy from Dreamboy and last night also confirmed by papasan of Jupiter. Let's see if anything will open up, for example the clubs after midnight.

Kristi Noehm should have SHOT Trump like she did her little pet dog, for "bad-performance". It was the biggest, hugest, worst performance EVER on a stage. Imagine Biden ever doing that, what the GOP chorus would be singing. ? BUT for Trump, its NORMAL......Is it normal for the White House ?

When i was on my way back to the hotel i wrote a "complaint" via line not the nasty type of complain but a reasonable complain stating that i felt cheated blah blah, i got a reply few minutes later just saying "sorry". I'm thinking of calling my card company and cancel the transaction haha, i paid via credit card

He prefers gin.

I certainly don’t mind the phenomenon of structured prayer in flight and I agree based on the photo image that it was neither unacceptable nor disruptive in this case. It doesn’t nearly make the list of passenger behaviours that invoke in me homicidal fantasies that typically involve a garrotte from behind, there being obvious limits to methods on a plane. Indeed, there may be some tension between a practice that is religiously obligatory and a context in which dispensation or improvisation is warranted due to obvious obstacles. It turned out to be not a good idea due to the discriminatory profiling of an identifiable yet innocuous and improvising homogeneous group that ensued. Granted, the gathering would not have forecasted such a ridiculous consequence. I think that the threshold for common sense rule violation is lower in flight. I expect that I’m not the only one with an urgent bladder waiting in line for the toilet and being snapped at if not immediately complying with a seating command due to spontaneous turbulence. The crew constantly making judgement calls. It can go one way or another depending on the attendant, and I won’t back down, but I’m trading off compliance for a need out of my control that must be satisfied. However, the etiquette of structured group prayer is not without precedence because accommodation is made in most large airports and on some airlines inflight. I think that the rule of thumb in the absence of structured in-flight accommodation is to pose the request to a crew member for improvised dedicated space accommodation, or at the very least communicate the intent to gather unobtrusively for formal prayer and alert the crew member regarding the playbook details. It would be impossible to determine whether the request, if in fact denied, or responded to with “we’d prefer not due to safety considerations”, was tinged with discrimination. But the group would have a solid secularly governed basis for a hall pass and would not be restricted from substituting an improvised version of the religious observance, probably seated. It appears (not sure) in this case a complaint made it to the cockpit and a compliance order was made regarding seating, perhaps unheeded, or the profiling had already been irreversibly anchored. Surely any revision in airline best practices, while condemning the unique cascade effect in this case based on the incontrovertible discrimination on the part of a few rigid and stupid staff, would need to consider complex decision-making regarding such structured subgroup prayer gathering. It’s not just preventing recurrence but I would think need to formalize inflight religious practice terms of reference. That’s the $4,000,000 question. All I ever had to do was not eat meat on Friday and not suck cock without the subsequent sacrament of confession. With veg meal options only the second urge must be subdued inflight.

Here's thought for those of you who maintain a team of favourites.... In 2003, I was a regular bar-goer and , by accident rather than design, found myself in a routine in which my "offs" usually involved three guys whom I trusted. And of course, liked. Of the three, over a period of four or so visits, one of them became "number one" and the others only occasional recipients of my largesse. By my March trip of 2004, I found myself unwillingly, hesitantly and even annoyingly, falling in...well, you know. And to continue with yet another cliche, the rest is history, or at least my history. And don't any one dare to suggest that I was operating a test run to see see who was the winner in some sort of competition: I was bewitched. So, all of you, beware. You may end-up with a changed life you weren't expecting or wanting. In other words, it may even be safer to choose a newbie every night.

Haven't been in the right place at the right time since 2020, so I don't know. Regarding your last sentence, that's an interesting point, but the tune they play daily in Lumpini Park and elsewhere is the national anthem, which is highly nationalistic but doesn't refer to royalty at all. (Not surprising, as it was adopted in 1932 when the absolute monarchy was abolished.) To hear the royal anthem you need to go to the cinema.

Yes there is a feature on their site to schedule a ride up to 90 days in advance. It is located under the "Where to?"

THIS was the "sickest" and mosr DERANGED thing Trump has done yet, and should prove to EVERYONE, his supporters alike that the man needs to be institutionalized... And anyone "whitesplaining" this and trying to make it seem NORMAL is just as sick... And THIS is the man people want to make decisions for the well being of Americans and the World. New polling today showed Trump is MORE popular NOW than he has ever been. I am glad all his supporters are being ENTERTAINED by all this, but the man is sick, and dangerous, not only for Americans but for world order. All of our futures are at risk, and people are "laughing" and calling Trump events LOVE FESTS...... Just LOOK at all those Steppford supporters applauding in the background. How do we come to terms with that ?

I'm not concerned, I don't swim in the sea in Pattaya, water is too wet for my taste

not the words that come to mind when Pattaya is concerned 😬

TRIP REPORT DAY 1 Finally... Today in arrived in Bangkok. It was the first time my flight was at a gate at the remote airport terminal. So I had to take the train to the main terminal. As we all know: quite some walking required at BKK to finally get to passport control. I didn't bother to look for a priority lane for business class passengers as many desks in the "normal" area were open with just two or three people in front of each desk. So entering the kingdom went very smoothly. No landing card anymore to fill in. Just give them your passport and boarding card. While waiting for my baggage I took enough bahts from the atm to cover a few days and bought a Thai simcard. I went to the public taxi bays. No cues. And before I knew it I was in the taxi on my way to Silom. I arrived at my hotel around 2pm. Room in Ibis Styles Silom was already available. Check in could be a bit more time efficient in this hotel. I was tired after my long flights. So I decided to have a nap after I first stocked up in the 7eleven around the corner. Couldn't resist to open Grindr. My non-representative research conslusion: many freelancers on Grindr ask 3000baht for st but almost all of them are willing to come visit you in your hotel room for 2000. Not much negotiation skills needed for them to drop the price. FRESHBOYS After a good sleep it was time to go out for my first night in Bangkok since more than a year. Excited to see what has changed and what has stayed the same. After a quick Thai bite at Pride in soi4 I walked to Patpong soi 2. Last times I was in Bangkok I had good experiences in Freshboys (my taste of boys plus nice show, the ladyboy they had was good and even had a fire act) so I decided that was going to be my first stop of the night. Convenient sign outside with showtimes. I watched the first show full, and part of the second show. The timings were correct, but the kind of acts the perform is not completely as how they advertise it on the board outside. The ladyboy performing tonight was not the same as before, was oké but not so good. Rest of show was what you expect as a veteran and can be a bit boring when you've seen all many times before. Around 25 boys on rotation. Bare chested, only wearing white sportshorts. Mix between skinnier twins to guys with abs and light muscled bodies. The last categorie is the kind of guys I like. Unfortunately most of this type of boys in the bars are top, while I'm looking for bottoms. A not (very) pushy papasan helped me out by writing down numbers of many of the bottoms or "can do all"-types. Unfortunately the 3 favorites I had were not on his list. More thorough research concluded in that one of my favorites actually would be able to bottom. Happy me. But I was not ready for my pick of the day yet. It was still too early and had other places to check. So I politely promised I will be back another night and took the paper with all the numbers papasan wrote down with me. Convenient to take with me next time I go to freshboys. Hopefully same boys keep same number though. THE ONE / TAWAN It was around 23h24 when I arrived at The One. I remembered they always had a midnight show so I planned to go there to check it out. But... I didn't even get inside as the friendly guys outside told me show was already over. Only at 22h45 the have a show apparently now. Maybe this is different in weekends, as it is Monday now with less customers. Have to get back to The One on an earlier evening. HOTMALE Back to Patpong soi 2 I went. Decided to check out Hotmale. They had some upgrades. New logo that is on some of the outside signs and even on the glassware inside. Also inside some small changes, mainly new led-lightning on the wall. The just-after-midnight-show was about to start according to the papasan. I double checked as I could only see 2 other customers inside. But the secured me the show was going to start anyway. The 22h30 show is more busy normally according to staff. Around 15 boys on rotation. Red long (!?) sporttrousers and while most of the boys where bare chested, some did wear a hotmale shirt. I directly spotted a familiar face between them. One of my offs the last time I was in Bangkok. He was smiling naughty at me. I instantly knew: this boy is coming home with me tonight. Nice 6 pack, cute smile. And I remember some good advise from this forum : always go for boys that make eye contact with you so they are "interested" and more likely to "give better quality of service". During the show no new customers arrived. So the boys ended up doing it for only me and 2 other customers. Felt a bit embarrassing actually. My boy was in the show. He was doing a dance act and is part of the big cock parade. So I made sure I "reserved" him to come sit with me after the show. During the show more naughty looks to eachother were exchanged. Apparently it was bit clear to all other boys that I already made my decision as two others kept fighting desperate for my attention (and money). Talking about money: price for entrance plus drink in Hot ale went up to 500baht. Off-fee (500) and tip for boy (2000 for st) still the same. A good first night in Bangkok!

Daily Mail plus Rupert Sheldrake adds up to pseudoscientific clickbait.

From the BBC When it comes to longevity, few places in the world have seen such a drastic jump in life expectancy as the island city-state in Southeast Asia. A child born in the country in 1960 was only likely to live (at the time) to 65, but a child born in Singapore today can expect to live to more than 86 according to estimates. In addition, the number of centenarians in Singapore doubled over the 10-year period from 2010-2020. This huge leap in longevity has largely been driven by intentional government policy and investment. The distinction even was enough to have the country named the world's sixth "Blue Zone" in August 2023. Though recently questioned for their accuracy by demographers, the Blue Zones were discovered and coined by National Geographic journalist Dan Buettner, who claimed to identify regions where people lived longer, healthier lives, in large part due to a combination of culture, lifestyle, diet and community. Singapore was the first new region to be added to the Blue Zones in decades (dubbed a "Blue Zone 2.0" by Buettner) and stands apart from the other Blue Zones in part because the longevity of its people comes more from forward-thinking policies than long-established cultural traditions in other Blue Zone communities like Ikaria, Greece or Nicoya, Costa Rica. But it's not just the quantity of life, but also the quality of life that residents here appreciate. We spoke to a few of them to understand which policies and practices make their lives healthier, and happier – and what they recommend to others seeking to live here in search of a longer life. Residents in Singapore have witnessed the government's gradual policy changes that affect their health and wellness. "Having grown up here, I've seen firsthand the transformation in community health consciousness," said resident Firdaus Syazwani, who runs the financial advice blog Dollar Bureau. "The heavy taxation on cigarettes and alcohol coupled with stringent public smoking bans not only improves individual health but also enhances public spaces, making them more welcoming and cleaner. No more second-hand smoke!" He was surprised to learn about the Blue Zone designation, if only because of the high amount of sugar, salt and coconut milk used in local dishes. But even that's changing (if slowly) because of policy. "Given our local cuisine's penchant for richer ingredients, the Health Promotion Board has initiatives to encourage healthier dietary choices among residents," he explained. "Measures like mandatory nutritional labelling and the reduction of sugar content in beverages have made a noticeable difference in public health awareness and choices. Although it's yet to be known exactly how effective this initiative is, I personally tend to steer away from sugary drinks when I see these labels." Continues at https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20241002-singapore-the-worlds-sixth-blue-zone

Hi all, thanks to this forum i managed to have a good time while i was in a Tokyo. I had a different boy every other day haha and all are good looking and are on a mission to please. Based on my experience I highly recommend heroes-tokyo.jp with all that being said, my expectations were a bit high for OSAKA. But ended up disappointed. i’m on my first night here and decided to go to kids-jp.com (OSAKA), and it’s borderline a scam!! Kids-JP.com (Osaka) Review coming right up. I paid upfront for 2 hours and after i paid, the boy came in and we did the usual shower and the routine hi/hello. And when while we were doing foreplay the boy said he is not feeling well today so he can only kiss and talk! I was like i’m not here to kiss for 2 hours and talk via google translate. So i kindly told the boy i’m not gonna waste my time. I got up and changed. Was offered a shower, but i refused as i was just out of the shower 20 mins ago. Overall the encounter took 45 mins out of 2 hours i paid. I l just threw JPY 22,000 today and i’m just sad that this thing can happen in Japan. before you assume anything, i’m asian with a slightly above average package but not considered big (i think) by western standards. Mid 30s and In general a normal BMI, and can easily pass a 6.8/10 in looks. On my way out, by the road, i saw a young (i assume also 30+) caucasian guy who had the same experience, the boy was “not feeling well”. He too was out after 30mins+ after paying for 90mins So with that i’d say Kids-JP.com is a redflag and you should reconsider. -Marc

From my experiences at Adams Apple over the years, YES!!

Its distressing to see footage of the flooding north of Chiang Mai - towns like Thaton, Fang, Chiang Rai, Mae Sai - dirty brown water floods places you would never expect to see threatened by water. The beautiful Blue Temple in Chiang Rai surrounded by metre deep water- and sadly there have been fatalities. Chiang Mai itself although rained upon for several days has so far escaped any serious flooding and today has been relatively rain free. For visitors Chiang Mai old town is great for walking and exploring - innumerable innovative coffee shops, great street food and restaurants- markets- temples - massage shops The gay scene is not as it used to be - not as expansive or vibrant but places like Adams Apple,New Circle Club,Orion Bar, Connections Bar, Ram Bar keep the flame burning - all have Facebook sites. Chiang Mai venues have mainly lads from Myanmar - the Shan State in particular with ethnic backgrounds of Tai Yai and Lisu. Dark skinned? Well I guess they are compared to Moonlight models - and if they are outside working construction dark as you like. come visit

Yes, it's 70, and older.

Meh...Wouldn't make a special trip for the guys. If you've never been and want to see Cuba go, but don't expect a hopping night scene like years ago. I ended up with a Cuban National League baseball player....he was hot and good in bed, with a big dick and and even bigger ego, lol But the malecon and la Rampa were dead, nothing like before. Las Vegas gay bar was dead, even the Hotel Nacional and Habana Libre didn't have things in stock.....it's sad.

I was in Chiang Mai ~6months ago. Adams Apple Bar was good. They had a varied selection of guys when I went; but as with all go-go bars, the guys that are there can change like the tides. For something more along the lines of fun.. I don't think you can go wrong with RAM bar, it's a fantastic show, and different each night. I found myself going back night after night. However, Chiang Mai has an entirely different vibe to Bangkok. Expect things to be much quieter, and much less choice. Don't forget to spend some time during the day exploring the temples and coffee shops.

Thanks Moses for your very thorough explanation and guidance. There was talk about (rumor) where they would count the number of actual days spent in Thailand as displayed in your passport (for citizens of multiple countries [with multiple passports] - the one that has your Thailand visa) to determine the 183 days threshold and maybe tying that to your visa renewal with immigration - where if you exceeded the 183 days immigration may ask to see your Thai tax ID number and related Thai tax filings (if required). In tax year 2023, I was outside of Thailand for 7 months for work reasons but I maintained a 12 month "residence" in Thailand - and I declared this as my bona-fide residence for purposes of determining my primary residence - as I had 2 residences in 2023 - but the other residence back in Europe was not "permanent" in nature as it was connected to my temporary work contract. So, if in tax year 2025, I were to live in 3 different countries - but maintained a 12 month "residence" in one of these 3 countries (demonstrated by a 12 month rental agreement), wouldn't that country be my primary bona-fide residence - as it would also be linked to my 12 month visa in said country (with a right to stay as displayed on the visa) ?

I was in Cuba 4-5 years ago and the mood is somehow pessimistic depressive - daily struggle to get food (“there are eggs in shop x, we must hurry there”), authorities removing satellite attennas (illegal to watch noncuban channels) - they cost a fortune in Cuba; Havana looks mostly like it was bombarded a week ago (crumbling houses, no maintenance in 50 years). Yes the center is nice with some fancy hotels and nice restaurants. Cars are wrecks but still super expensive, not available for all (gov. restrictions on cars import and ownership). TV news were like Soviet Union Vremja. Offices of Revolution Guards or something like that everywhere in the city. All in all, daily life was pretty awful - prison like. Luckily, many cubans have relatives and friends in US, who send dollars to survive. Good looking guys, I remember I was in one small bar or coffeshop and said to the barmen I look for a male company, he introduced me immediately a very handsome (pay/straight) guy)). If you are able to ignore the Cuban daily life and focus only on the guys, maybe it could be a nice trip.