Alexx

Excellent, numazu... you're not only back, but back in top form indeed!

Yes, Andrew Drummond's site isn't blocked in Thailand because of that very article alone. He has exposed countless government and business shenanigans and has made powerful enemies, ultimately leading to his departure from Thailand. His style of investigative journalism and Andy Hall's style of human rights activism - sadly! - just aren't compatible with Thailand. Considering the circumstances, I'm just glad they made it out alive.

Sounds like nonsense to me. The average white foreigner who lives in Thailand doesn't strike me as very religious. "Nominally Christian" maybe, but I don't see them spreading the gospel.

Ein Schuft, wer Böses dabei denkt!

Very nice surprise to see the first part (well, the prologue) of your trip report this morning, numazu. I'm looking forward to all of it, I'd bet you made these few nights count as planned.

I guess from their point of view, they want to avoid having to maintain separate mobile and desktop versions of the site in the future. That's why the new desktop site resembles the look of their mobile site. I do understand that from a maintenance and cost cutting perspective, but as a user, I just don't think the mobile layout is very suitable for the desktop. One example: Swiping through photos works very well on my mobile phone, thanks to its touch screen. On my PC that's a pain with the new layout and using a mouse, you've got to click on a "next" arrow far out right. That just goes to show that you use a PC in a much different way than a mobile phone, and a user interface what works great on one platform might be a disaster on the other one.

Gaybutton, when they introduced the name PlanetRomeo as an alternative to GayRomeo, they did in fact explain why they did that. In certain countries, the term "gay" in the domain name attracted undue attention and led to it being blocked or users monitored. By renaming the site, they hoped to reduce the likelihood of such issues.

When I visited Thailand as a tourist, I always lost quite a bit of weight in the 1-2 weeks I holidayed here. Unfortunately, once I moved to Thailand, I eventually started to gain weight, probably due to a less active lifestyle (office instead of sightseeing and fewer long nights out).

Overthinking currency fluctuations only gives you a headache.

I'm okay with the new design on mobile devices, where they've been using it since quite a while. But I have to agree with what others wrote, for a PC the classic design looks much more suitable to me as well.

I'm with a447a on this one, I wouldn't knowingly have sex with anyone who's HIV positive, although the odds strongly suggest that I must have had sex - with condom - with many HIV guys in my 10+ years in Bangkok. Let's use a passenger van analogy: I know that many van drivers take drugs to keep them awake. Still I use vans every now and then, when it's the most convenient mode of transport. But I wouldn't knowingly board a van whose driver I saw taking drugs, even if seatbelts are provided.

I do have my doubts, but I've seen stranger things in real life when it comes to a farang being in pursuit of his Thai love interest. So I'm not convinced that Schuft is a troll, but even if he is, I don't see any harm in discussing the scenario he has shared with us. Coincidentally, my very first Thai boyfriend also offered to quit his job to be with me while I was visiting Thailand. So I know it does happen and that's why I consider it a scenario worth discussing.

Queen = Bottom, King = Top That he offers to quit his job for your visit is - in my opinion - a big, fat warning sign. That's not something that someone who's holding down a decent office job would do. Think about it.

Boo-hoo

Marijuana is probably healthier than beer, but they're obviously no match for your home-filtered water.

I believe that they get their antiviral drugs for free, but I very much doubt that they get paid to take them by the government. Just to put that into perspective, many Thais who work full-time don't earn those 15,000 baht per month you've mentioned.

To be pedantic, I was talking about ordering drinks, so the context is hanging out with a group of friends. I'm not criticizing your lifestyle, it just doesn't sound fun to me. Each to their own.

Does anyone know what "66+" in their name stands for? Any guesses?

I don't know, steveboy. To me, your lifestyle sounds anything but fun, but I might be wrong. You remind me of the sour faces who order a bottle of water when everyone around them orders cocktails. Is that you?

Yeah that's all very well, but where's the fun in that?

There's no safe mode of transportation in Thailand, except for flying. The single biggest mistake tourists make is renting motorbikes despite being unfamiliar with riding them in general or how to ride in Thailand in particular. Other than staying away from that, I wouldn't overthink it, but I definitely would have adequate insurance coverage. I've met some tourists whose tuk tuk had flipped over. They had some bruises and a great story to tell.

Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, but they can own condos, as long as total foreign ownership stays below 50% and some other conditions (e.g. source of funds) are met.

What's your beef with lesbians? If you as a gay man cannot show some tolerance towards them, how can you expect any from people for whom let's say anal sex is gross?

Right, I guess you could do a lot worse than being stuck in South Beach with thousands of fellow gay athletes...

Well, steveboy, one can always hope and dream. Who knows, we might even see such a Gay Paradise on Chinese soil...