faranglaw

As to the “any luck if you are older” question, Dear Husband and I went to visit an old friend in Tainan, on the southwest coast of Taiwan. At age 70, I dropped a note into Grindr and Hornet to the effect that Daddy is in town. With no effort on my part, I got a total of 27 responses from young and middle aged men, not one of which asked for money. Since I was with DH and friends for only four days, I couldn’t escape much, but I did manage to get together with a perfect twinkiest of twinks, the usual—small, slim, smooth, smiling. So I would strongly recommend Tainan or one of the smaller cities in Taiwan. There are very few foreign tourists and loads of Taiwanese guys looking for fun. DH gave me permission to go on my own when there’s a chance. Of course, Taiwan is completely closed to tourism at the moment, so all of this will have to wait. And damn, my biological clock is ticking!

Dear Husband and I are hoping to be in Thailand for three months starting at the end of November. I was disappointed to read that the Thai government will still require quarantine at that time, as an earlier report had suggested they would end the requirement on July 1st. I’m interested in reading about others’ experience with quarantine in Bangkok. Although I share everyone’s frustration with the restrictions in both Thailand our home countries, I note that the countries that have done the best in managing COVID were the ones that locked down early and locked down hard. New Zealand, Taiwan, and, yes, Thailand come to mind. There is also a bubble in Canada; the Atlantic provinces have kept their citizens inside a four province bubble and kept others out. They have very few cases, near zero. In early February, Canada instituted a three day $2,000+ hotel quarantine, when the Prime Minister got mad at Canadian snowbirds for traveling, so a bunch of us rushed back from wherever (DH and I were in Puerto Vallarta) before the hotel foolishness started. Other than a pelican hitting our plane and taking out one of the engines, we got back OK despite some anxiety. DH thought the row of Canadian Customs agents at YVR was hot. I just wanted to get the fuck home, which we did, and quarantined happily there for the required two weeks. If that hotel quarantine is still in place, we won’t be going to Thailand this year either. But I think enough of us will have been vaccinated by then that restriction will be lifted.

This might be of interest. The US used to have a good process that mandated alternative points of view on controversial issues. It died during the Reagan administration. A serious error in my view. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fairness-Doctrine

The US used to have

For those who want to dive deeper into this rabbit hole, I have two recommendations: 1. Google Heather Cox Richardson. She is an American History professor who offers two one hour lectures weekly. One on current politics and how it has evolved from the America past, and a second lecture that explores a particular theme in US history, usually focused on the 19th Century, her specialty. Who knew, for example, that, in 1892, having lost his reelection bid, Republican President Benjamin Harrison proceeded to do everything he could to wreck the economy so his successor, Grover Cleveland, would be blamed. And it worked! The Democrats didn’t win another election for twenty years. (I warned you: rabbit hole) 2. Podcast: The New Abnormal, with Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast. Fun profane banter about current politics by a Lincoln Project formerly highest level Republican operative now working for the Democrats, and a New York City left wing pundit. Lots of fun gossip about the Trump family crime syndicate, and interviews with interesting guests.

The purpose of this false accusation, that The Democrats have stolen the election, is not to overturn the results of this election. The idea is to establish a “stab in the back” theory, so that the next Fascist oriented politician, who will be smarter than DJT (Cotton, Cruz, Tucker Carlson), can use the conspiracy theory to win next time, or the time after that. They can then further unravel the democratic fabric and (re-)establish the (mostly White and very rich) oligarchy they think should run everything. Biden will have to be very strong to avoid leading an American Weimar Republic. I think he has been wildly underestimated and I have some hope he can pull it off. But there are, as we have seen, an enormous number of people who will believe this particular conspiracy theory, and, thanks to the NRA and the cowardly Republican Party, many of them have firearms. And of course they also have their very own sources of alternative reality news. Fox not crazy enough for ya? Welcome to Qanon, Newsmax, Parler. Not a great recipe for the future of my country of birth. Lucky me, having moved to Canada. But for the majority of my friends back home, American and world history does not provide much comfort just now.

The audience is young Thai girls. They like clean, gentle, rich boys. But I’m with you; I’d like to see a little more Isan poor boy action.

Schadenfreude: So unseeemly, so immature, so lacking in compassion. And so irresistible.

I don’t think so. All Biden has to do is say, “See? We should really take this seriously.” Most people decided a long time ago and the polls have not moved in six months. Trump might still win by theft, but that also seems a long shot.

Oh please God no...

Yes I read an article, maybe posted elsewhere on this blog, about a man from the Netherlands who did a visa run to his country and then faced a nightmare trying to get back to his Thai spouse and their children. The cost of quarantine, at $200/day, is daunting. If I could quarantine at our home in On Nut on arrival I would have no problem returning for my usual three months this winter. But under the current rules—no.

Thanks!

Hi all: I continue to enjoy reading everyone’s posts. I’m wondering if those of you residing in LOS can answer a couple of questions: 1. Will the new government proposal regarding same sex relationships apply at all to binational relationships? Will a foreign partner be recognized in some ways as equal to a foreign partner in a heterosexual marriage with a Thai national? 2. Regarding the quarantine requirement on entering Thailand, does anyone know where the quarantine facilities are, what they are like, and the cost? I understand farang would have to pay for their quarantine accommodations, but Thai nationals would not. I haven’t found answers to these questions on line. Neither has Dear Husband in his exploration of Thai language sources, although he did read that the food at the quarantine facilities was good! Thanks, faranglaw

Found it. Club Friday. Episode 2 what a tear jerker.

Present Perfect. I think.

or as we with wretched manners who hail from that wretchedest of countries sometimes say, “Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?”

But, but but...What about the one where the sweet boy is waiting at the airport with his homemade sign and the airline attendant he’s in love with doesn’t show up. Is that really the end? I’m still sad about it.

but...other than that...

Is the ride on MRT really that much longer than on BTS? You are probably well under 65, so this may not apply, but if you are over 65 you can ride on MRT for half price seniors’ fare. I have to use BTS to get home to On Nut, but I hate their card system as it doesn’t tell me how much is left on the card, and their noisy, repetitive announcements in that officious, abrasive female voice leaves me feeling homicidal. If I have a choice I will always take MRT.

We have filters on our taps. They seem to work nicely. I love Greta. She is our generation’s Jeremiah.

I think you are confusing two different things. The article is not quite clear, but it seems the Don Muang Line to Downtown Bangkok and on to Pattaya is not the same as the bullet train, which will serve the whole country from the Lao border town of Nong Khai through Udon and Korat down to Bangkok. At least, that’s my half informed understanding of it.

IMNSHO it would have been better if both of you had allowed Divine Madman’s thoughtful post be the last word. My thanks to DM for going a little deeper on this.