PeterRS

In recent years India has been making progress - albeit slow - in giving those in the LGBTQ community more rights. Many of the country's homosexual men and women had pinned their hopes on a case heard before the country's Supreme Court in April and May putting forward the case for same-sex marriage. These were dashed today when 3 of the 5 Supreme Court Justices voted against the motion. The other two had been more in favour of civil unions rather than marriage, but that was also voted down. Calculations based on global estimates put the number of gay men and women in the country at around 100 million. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65525980

Ha! I'll be in Taipei for a week at the end of November. Maybe I can become a star 🤣 Well, it says guys over 20 but no maximum age mentioned!

Does anyone still wonder why Thaksin waited until now befiore returning to Thailand and was given a much reduced sentence for his crimes?

Thanks @moistmango for a fascinating post. Your reference to opium of course brings to mind the Opium Wars of the early 1800s when the British forced the Chinese to accept crates of opium for their exports instead of silver as mandated by Beijing. That in turn led to the ceding of Hong Kong to the British, the further decline of rotting Manchu rule, what the Chinese rightly call the "century of humiliation" when western powers took over chunks of the China coastline and imposed their own laws, the rise of nationalism with Sun Yat Sen at the forefront, the decades of uncertainty with Chiang Kao Shek and Mao finally joining forces temporarily during the horrendous atrocities of the Japanese invasion and then war, until what most Chinese felt would finally be an era of peace under the new communist rule. Little did they know that Mao was a megalomaniac in the tradition of many dictators whose ambitions created campaigns that were eventually to kill and murder an estimated 30 million Chinese, the remainder of whom continued to live in griding poverty until the excesses of the Cultural Revolution so drained the will of the people that Deng Xiao-ping was able to return to power. So opium and Deng in the 19th and 20th centuries basically shaped 21st century China.

I find that rather odd. Hong Kong has banned marijuana for many decades. Possession can carry a jail sentence of from 3 - 7 years under existing legislation. I even wonder if @moistmango's translation is correct. The characters for Hong Kong are 香港 and while the first is correct the second is not. The literal translation of the two chinese characters for Hong Kong is "Fragrant Harbour". I suspect the second is not harbour but some other character meaning something like watering hole. This video below illustrates that the marijuana industry deliberately targets Chinese tourists. But we still have to understand that the industry remains unregulated and is spiralling virtually out of control. A bill re regulation got caught up in the dissolution of parliament prior to the election and was never passed into law. Hence the speedy mushrooming (😵) of shops all over the country and concerns that almost anything can be sold as marijuana and purchasers will get ripped off by bad actors who have taken advantage of the climate of zero regulation. No doubt that is why the present PM is pressing to open up the debate again and have its sale restricted. Even Anutin has promised to roll back the 'open door' that he himself led the charge to open.

In all my many visits to Tokyo I have never heard of this shop. Perhaps because Shibuya is an expensive district and not known to have more than an occasional small gay bar. But I see it is mentioned on some of the international gay websites and the reviews that have been posted are generally extremely good. Seems their masseurs are better built than the shops offering lots of twinks, they are handsome, speak at least some good English and have very good massage skills. The only thing not mentioned are happy endings. In the descriptions of the boys, there are three different symbols re their being top, bottom or neither but I can see no explanation apart from X being rather obvious. Only two descriptions have English translation and so it is difficult to know. As there are so few masseurs, I suspect this may be a shop for genuine massage with only a bit of eroticism added - but a Japanese speaker may offer a more accurate description.

That's a question that has been asked in this forum for many years - over more than a decade. I suggest it is in part the government and the elite. They have increasingly disliked Thailand being called the sex capital of Asia and have taken action to clamp down on it. This was the primary reason for Interior Minister Purachai's Social Order campaigns two decades ago. Restrictions were then placed on nightlife. While this may have resulted in little change over the longer term provided the increasingly fat brown envelopes were regularly handed over, it did make in particular the gay venue owners think twice about their businesses. It is also in large part due to the bar owners themselves. They had a business model. When business fell off the only way they knew how to adapt was to raise prices to cover their shortfall. The attitude of the bar owners to a certain extent reflects that of Thai society as a whole, in my view. Having done business in this country for many years, there is clearly an in-built reluctance - some might say fear - of change. In one Thai company in which I have been involved over almost four decades, I have seen overseas consultants and experts brought in to write reports and offer constructive suggestions for change and development. In large part it has been money down the drain for so few recommendations were acted on. When I have asked top management the reason, I always get the response, "They don't understand Thailand!" It is a recurring refrain I hear with some frequency. Similarly, I believe bar owners are afraid of change in case it brings their business tumbling down. Then there was the drying up of the supply of young Thai guys ready and willing to be bar boys, especially in the go-go bars. The country's rapidly rising economic growth offered lads from up country more opportunities for gainful employment away from the rice paddies and village stores. Those prepared to work in the bars expect considerably more for their services than in the past. Thus the gradual influx into the bars of young guys from neighbouring countries, many without proper visas. The question I have never seen asnwered, though, is this: why is it that the gay venues have been reduced and yet it seems the establishments offering the services of young ladies continue to thrive? Or so it seems. Is this because the majority of new customers for gay bars, especially those from North and South East Asia, are much less interesting in offs from gogo bars? They tend to be younger than the westerners who mostly frequented bars two and three decades ago and much more interested in a spa experience followed by a bar show followed by dancing somewhere.

100% no!

I for one certainly don't feel in the slightest bit bitter about the past being gone. I'm just glad I was in Bangkok in those particular years and have so many extremely fond memories, some great. Nostalgia is part of our existence. Thankfully we all move on and experience a myriad of new things as we age.

I'm sure it is. But you mentioned your interest in being transported back 25 years when there were quite a few more bars staffed with lots more guys much more skimpily dressed than is the case today. Same with the best-known massage spas which have disappeared, many fondly remembered like Hero, Albury and Adonis each of which (if I remember correctly) usually had quite a few more masseurs. Same also with gay saunas, with Babylon being the most lamented casualty. Going back an extra few years, some months ago a member posted a list from one of the free mags that used to be available in many gay venues which listed even more bars with more bar boys, and not all in the Silom-Suriwong axis . Taking just one, Barbiery on Suriwong opposite the entrance to Soi Twilight often had 100 young guys working at the week-ends. Nudity and more adventurous, fun shows were the norm. Not sure if Twilight had as many guys in 1993 but it certainly had 60-70 a few years before then. But times change, society changes, government regulations have changed and the economics of gay venues have changed particularly in the face of competition from the apps. Also, as I have mentioned before in several posts, the customer base has changed. 30 years ago Thais virtually made up a majority of bar customers. We live in different times.

Note that the present Prime Minster is on record as saying he plans to change the law back to what it was within 6 months - i.e. medical use only. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/29/asia/thailand-cannabis-clampdown-what-next-intl-hnk/index.html

While we're at it, let's make it 30 years when the Bangkok gay scene was really hot and humming.

On the few occasions i visited Pattaya 15-25 years ago, there was always the possibility of finding attractive guys on the beach wearing skimpy trunks, especially in the late afternoons. In addition to the boys who came down to play a sort of volleyball, there was usually the accasional cruiser. There was also a host bar - Bamboo Bar? - located around the corner from the Police Box which was open in the afternoons. The gay area of the beach was then quite busy with cheap drinks and food available.

And that then becomes the bank's fault?

Sadly not so easy or cheap in many Asian countries like Thailand.

I'm sure we've all read the news about Paris and how bedbugs seem to have taken over the city. Now sightings are reported on the London underground. Unlike Bangkok, Hong Kong and many other cities, London's Tube cars have upholstered seating. Ideal for bedbugs to lurk and then climb on to whatever you are wearing. Before you know it, they have crept on to your bed, found a nice little niche and start to breed. They bite but to most people the bites are painless. They just leave red marks on the skin. The problem is essentially twofold: they breed like crazy and they are very difficult and usually expensive to eliminate. Bangkok is not immune to their infestation. Anyone who travels has a high chance of having bedbugs in their hotel/B&B beds. Put your clothes or suicases on to the bed and they will hitch a lift. Next thing you know you have brought some of these highly resilient buggers back to your home. Never put your suitcase and clothes on the bed and always keep the case firmly closed. As the following article from The Guardian points out, bedbugs "are incredibly good hitchkikers." The fact is that bedbugs have been around in most countries for centuries. The present rise in numbers seems to be associated with climate change and an increasing resistance to insectocides like DDT which was used to eliminate them decades ago. If you think you have found one or more, strip the bed and immediately get the bedclothes to a professional cleaner. Also get a pest control company in fast. It may not get rid of it/them at the first cleaning. That's why it can become quite expensive. Leave it too late and they will find their way into your furniture. As the article points out, we live in "a bug's world." We'll never get rid of them all. But we can take precautions to make sure this lot do not take up residence in our homes. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/11/french-bedbugs-britain-insects

Sorry I cannot remember despite having been there several times. Each time i was in dark jeans, a Polo shirt and sneakers. No probems. I suspect Hawaiian shirts and shorts may not be not permitted.

True! I got in at the seniors price but had to pay a great deal more for my partner! Drinks at Vertigo, the open air bar on top of the Banyan Tree Hotel on Sathorn, are not cheap but you get mostly the same view for considerably less than going to the top of Mahanakhon. No glass bottom though 🤣

I would hate to break up a relationship in the manner you suggest. It rather implies - at least to me - that boyfriends can be picked up and then dumped as though they never meant anything to you. I mean by boyfriend someone who has been with you for a considerable time and who is not paid for his time (other than meals, transport, vacations etc.)

Many thanks. I had never heard of it before.

For 2 or 3 years now, anyone living and having a private residence address in Thailand who returns after a trip outside the country has had to complete a computerised TM30 form and send it to Immigration within 24 hours of arrival. This was true even before arrival cards were dispensed with. It's a total pain in the neck and I fail to understand why it is necessary! Those staying in a hotel, B&B or guesthouse do not need to complete the form since the manager of your accommodation automatically does that. Recently we were informed that the website has been changed and everyone has to re-register. As usual with official forms, I got confused by the English on the first page and failed to get beyond that. My partner is away and so I had a Thai friend help with the re-registration. It took him the better part of 20 minutes to work it all out. Immigration should have informed everyone previously registered by an email with the new website. For anyone who has not received it, the site is - https://tm30.immigration.go.th/tm30/#/login On the opening page, all you need do is click on Register and then start on the new page. You will need to upload a low resolution copy of the information page of your passport.

As I posted on another thread, I was at Paragon last weekend. There was no security whatever at the entrance near Siam Centre. I have also been in Silom Complex with no security at 4 entrances. None of these entrances/exits had metal detectors either. Some years ago and also during covid there was security in shopping malls. But it is certainly not common now and I do not think there is really any need for it. Paragon would require a lot of security personnel if it was to cover all the entrances. And what would they do? Search everyone? Insist on backpacks being opened if the metal detector pinged? Some time ago the MRT had guards for security checks prior to entrance to stations. But the checks on backpacks were laughable.

Years ago Manila did have two or three gay go-go bars where the boys often stripped right off. The most 'outrageous' was the huge 690 Retiro Strip with catwalks running through the large audience area and always about 100 plus good-looking guys. I have not been to Manila for nearly two decades and I expect everything has been toned down now with nudity not permitted. Just my guess, though.

And I wonder what Anutin plans to do about the 10.3 million guns which were held mostly in private hands, legally and illegally, as reported a year ago? Will there be a government buy-back programme as in Australia? Or is this just one issue which has been conveniently put on the back burner?

I've been a points and miles junkie for almost as long as the schemes have been running. And I have had lots of freebies at great places along the way - many upgrades and business class tickets, stays at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo and the wonderful Marriott on Phu Quoc etc. When covid started, Marriott Bonvoy clearly in need of cash had an offer of a 70% addition to purchased points. So I bought 100,000. As I expected, following covid the number of points required for stays at Marriott properties jumped. For the Phu Quoc property at almost exactly the same period (and keeping clear of major public holiday periods), they have jumped 60%. I will still pick up whatever points and miles are offered, but no longer save up for specific stays or flights. It just takes too long now.