PeterRS

I wonder when the distinction between High Tea and Afternoon Tea got lost. I believe High Tea is more of a Scottish term. It refers back to a meal taken immediately after a worker got home in the early evening and involves a cooked dish plus strong tea, bread and perhaps a cake or two. I believe abang is referring to the traditional Afternoon Tea which was much more the preserve of the upper classes and served in the middle of the afternoon. It is this which is served in many of the better hotels. This consists of lighter fare with fresh tea, freshly made scones (always with clotted cream and most often with fresh strawberry or rosehip jam), a variety of finger sandwiches which will always include one with thinly sliced cucumber, and a variety of small savouries and cakes. If waistline and cholesterol levels are of no great importance, it can be a very satisfying experience!

It will never happen in our lifetimes. One reason why Singapore has so little corruption is that official salaries are set at an incredibly high level. There is therefore no need to become involved in corruption. The Prime Minster earns about 1.7 million US$ - more than four times the salary of the US President. A Cabinet Minister earns $830,000 and a lowly MP a minimum of $150,000. Even in the Police, the average salary is $47,500. Then compare that with Thailand. Waste of time. Thailand can never reach that level of salary unless oil or gold is found in considerable quantities.

What a strange post from Christianpfc. Does it matter what the objectives of any blogsite are? If it gets readers it ,must be worth the trouble Im sure it takes to get one up and running. Christianpfcs own blogsite has a lot of valuable information but it also has a ton of little personal details of no interest to most travellers who restrict their Thai vacations to the main cities and islands. Asiaguys is a mix of travel, stories and photos. Are the stories fact? Are they fiction? A mix of the two? Does it matter?

I have no idea how complicated or otherwise blogs are to manage. But Id have thought one interesting article per week interspersed with a good quality boy pic photo every 2 or 3 days, you will revive the blog quite quickly. Your site breathes quality. Please keep that going with the photos rather than just re-posting pics from the average tumblr site.

For a time your blog made for good reading with some great articles and even better guy photos being posted very regularly. When the Winter Olympics were happening recently, I remembered a cheeky little piece you had run about cute athletes! Sometimes you had three new articles a week I think. Then after a year or so, new articles seemed to disappear. Surely it would have been better to have spaced them out with more cute guy pics to whet appetites between them? So can I make one suggestion? Unless a blog has new content being posted regularly, it simply cannot hold readers. I know you have a few writers. Cant they be persuaded to write more? You also pick up some of the best tumblr pics. Post one every day or every two days to keep readers looking at the site between articles. If this forum had no new content every day, it would die. I hope you can continue with your blog and wish you luck.

Not sure what his qualifications are but I know one Thai who was raped by an uncle at age 14 and caught HIV as a result. He has been on medication ever since. He passed all his college and university exams but could not get the job he really wanted because of the requirement of a medical check up. But not all jobs require that. He is now a receptionist at a first-class hotel making good money. Unlike your friend though he never tells any of his co workers or even long-time friends. He has only revealed his status to a couple of others and to his partner. I am sure it must be difficult keeping it all secret. But given the stigma here I would suggest your friend keeps his status extremely confidential other than to a support group and a most trusted friend.

Maybe time for some - ummm - bananas to celebrate? Have a great birthday

That is correct. Sorry for the misinformation. Until last week the hotel had notice of its closing in April on its website. Now that has disappeared but other sites say it is postponed to January 5 next year.

Take a look at the development plans already agreed for more than a kilometre of Rama 4. Bangkok may not need more malls and 5 star hotels but that's what will go up. To make way for that lot the Dust Thani will close in mid-April. The huge area occupied by the old night market on the corner of Rama 4 and Witayu has finally been closed off and seems ready for construction vehicles. The Rama 4/Soi Twilight block is all old low rise buildings ripe for the wreckers ball. It may not close as stated in May or even later this year. But my view is there is zero chance of it taking years. One reason I have stated before why I feel moving Twilight to a totally different area will never work is the lack of mass. Twilight works because it is near Silom Soi 4, DJ Station and the other venues on Soi 2, and within a short cab ride of Babylon etc. I dont think it matters where the relocation would be. Even if it is right next to a BTS or MRT station, I cannot see it thriving in virtual isolation. Take away the Chinese tour groups and it is already suffering from a severe lack of customers. Are those few regulars seriously going to hop between Soi 4 and another location a few BTS stations away? I doubt it. Then there are the government designated 'entertainment' districts. It would have to be located one of those. Sorry I dont know where they are.

There seem to be lots of little sois in the Silom area that could become the future Soi Twilghts. The problem as I see it is that the Center of the city is becoming much more built up and the rest must eventually become a target for developers. We already know that huge chunks of Rama 4 from the Sam Yan to Klong Toey MRT stations are due for massive redevelopment over the next few years. Sathorn is already built up. The chances are that lower Silom could be next. So even if a soi could be found at reasonable rents, what guarantee would bar owners have that that soi will not next on the list for demolition. It even makes me wonder what is the future for Soi 4. All I know is that the owners live in the house behind the gates at the end of the soi. Obviously they must be making good money in rentals at present. But at what point do they say the developers money is too good and well well out?

In Bangkok Silom Soi 4 seems to be thriving.

Cathay Pacific has the same problems as many of the older established carriers in Asia. Like SIA it built its long-haul international reputation by offering far better service and plane interiors when it entered into competition on routes previously served by airlines like BA, UA and Northwest. With lower costs it had lower fares. As one of its former Chairmen lamented some years ago, it was making such good profits it overdid its in flight offerings for example giving business class passengers wines that it cannot now afford to offer in first. Despite reining in costs regularly as Hong Kong became a far more expensive base from which to operate, it has never been able to generate anywhere like the profits of the 1980s and 90s. So just as Cathay was once the upstart cheaper competitor, now it is the Gulf and Chinese airlines with their lower cost base that can offer much cheaper fares. The business class offerings on the Gulf carriers seem unbeatable. Over the Pacific few Chinese carriers can yet compete on service, seating and journey length. But when the business fare difference is less than half, many companies now insist their executives take the longer journey. And it was at the front of the planes that Cathay used to make most of its profits.

Welcome back. Always nice to see a Singaporean here.

Excellent report. Very many thanks. Just one question. On some on the list you mention an HJ . With some spas you mention a higher tip for extra services after. Is it reasonable to assume that where you dont mention this, extra services beyond an HJ are indeed available? Thanks again.

I fail to understand how 10 bidders can voluntarily pull out of a tender leaving just one to get the contract. Naturally it is a Chinese company! In answer to NIrishguys question, perhaps 489 is a lucky number in Chinese thinking!

Baseball has actually had a few very fine Japanese baseball players. The Seattle Mariners signed "Ichiro" Suzuki when he was a sensation in Japan around 2000. He was also extremely good looking and featured at least once on a Time magazine cover. Pity the looks have gone! He remained with the Mariners until about 4 years ago. Then there was the pitcher Hideo Nomo who I think was the first of the Japanese contingent to have a full contract in the USA. He did not have Ichiros looks but I remember his pitching a no hitter for the LA Dodgers around 20 years ago at Denvers Coors Field, a ground notoriously difficult for pitchers. Totally agree. Some of the Chinese divers and Japanese skaters (Yuzuru Hanyu who won gold at the last Winter Olympics is aggressively cute) and gymnasts are amongst the best looking of them all.

Form my limited experience, I dont think the boys who work at these Japanese Kids host bars are masseurs. They are joints to pick up boys for sex. If you are interested in one from the long photo page, make sure you book him in advance because the chances are that hell have been taken off before you get there. This guy seems to offer professional massage at his place near Haneda. The site makes it clear the massage offers HEs but not more. Also he needs to be booked a week in advance. Prices are clearly stated. https://bangkok787.jimdo.com/english-guide/

Only six boys there around 9:30 on a Friday evening. All had pants underneath except one who frankly did not have much to hide! I agree with z909. Having underwear on underneath the towels is just plain stupid. Why two levels of protection?? Three other customers when I arrived, one playing with a willing boy under his towel. I was then alone for about 20 minutes before two more arrived. They left after ten minutes. After all the initial enthusiasm about this bar, I found little to interest me, let alone excite me. Cant recall the drink prices but they were certainly reasonable. It was the entertainment on offer that needed a bit of spicing up - correction, a lot of spicing up.

If you have much ass left by that time! LOL

So as a tourist you happily and frequently complain about the government of Thailand and its laws. I assume therefore you have equally criticised in similar vein the government of Singapore? There is after all a Singapore section in this forum. Funny I cant find your criticisms there. Just a post about the delights of gay sex in Singapore saunas. How about that other single party state that is a dictatorship in all but name with even greater restrictions on civil liberties - Malaysia? Theres also a Malaysia forum in case you forgot! As a tourist in Singapore and Malaysia, Ill bet you have never once gone up to a mosque or a Hindu Temple or Christian Church or a Chinese Temple, dropped your pants, taken a photo and left behind (sic) a group of amazed and shocked locals. Do correct me if I am wrong. But I reckon Im right because you would have faced much harsher penalties than those levied on those moron tourists in Thailand.

Did anyone attend the movie? Is the mystery of Jim Thomsons disappearance now solved?

Sorry. I found some of the posts confusing

Start time is 7:00pm. The FCCT is right by Chidlom BTS station. https://www.fccthai.com/items/2333.html

That's just nonsense unless you are looking at one of those hand-out tourist maps that distort everything. A walk from the Malaysia Hotel to Babylon is shorter than a walk from the hotel to the Sathorn/Rama 4 junction. Add another 400 - 500 meters to get to the top of Silom. Want to get to Soi 4? Add another 400 meters or so. Next time I suggest you let you r feet do the judging.

Obviously that is not the view of those who buy such products. What is wrong with anyone buying any beauty product which makes them feel better? Why restrict yourself to south east Asians? If you looked in the personal stores in north Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas, these products are all widely available. Whitening products are no different from tanning products, as another poster has pointed out, or from eyeliners, lipsticks and goodness knows what else people buy. This is not all down to marketing. Personal choice, peer pressure and other factors come into play.