Marc in Calif

Online jokes are typically accompanied by emoji. Or maybe an exclamation point. Your "joke" was a regular old sentence ending with a period... full stop. Although it might have been a "joke" in your mind, that's now how it landed.

We know that he rides horses for the same reason! 🐎

That's because you weren't living in traditional Bali. And because they knew you were a part-time visitor. And maybe because "the guys on Kuta beach" weren't all Balinese. It's not a question typically asked in Jakarta or Java or Sumatra, where lots of Indonesian "expats" in Bali come from. However, I can definitely assure you that Balinese people -- even in Kuta and Sanur -- will ask "Have you bathed yet?" (in either Balinese or Indonesian) in the late afternoons. As soon as I arrived in Bali for the first time, the hotel's Balinese cooks and houseboys knew I could speak Indonesian and Balinese and was going to be there for a period of years. Henceforth, I was invariably greeted with that question first thing in the morning as well as before dinner. Even today it's a standard greeting at the appropriate times. In Bali, I'm pretty sure that you've been asked both "Mau kemana?" and "Dari mana?" 😎

You don't seem to understand GDP. It includes manufacturing -- especially military arms and weapons, as well as all other spending on war. But how's the wartime economy doing for average Russians? Can you show that the following statements are incorrect? Facts, please. https://www.eurotopics.net/en/311865/how-is-the-russian-economy-really-faring Arms don't improve living standards Economics professor Konstantin Sonin explains in Novaya Gazeta Europe why living standards in Russia are only improving on paper: The 'GDP growth' that experts are currently discussing is a statistical fiction ... Under normal circumstances, a rise in the GDP per capita also shows how much the standards of living have improved. ... In wartime, these indicators diverge. ... This is because the tanks produced here which are burning outside Avdiivka in Ukraine or the missiles fired at Ukrainian cities are included in the GDP, but do not improve the living standards of Russians. If, instead of these things, it was computers or cars that were being manufactured, or dentists and sports coaches that were providing their services, this would actually have an impact on the standard of living. Eggs instead of chicken In a post on Facebook, journalist Anatoly Nesmiyan explains that there is a shortage of foreign currency in Russia: According to the official reports everything is fine, GDP is growing, unemployment is falling, people's incomes are going through the roof - but in real life, people are fighting over eggs, because even the cheapest chicken is no longer affordable for a considerable part of the population. You can go on lying unthinkingly for a long time, and the lies will be believed. But when the TV is switched off, everything looks the way it is. A raw materials-based economic model is risky in itself. But when the leadership has managed to break off relations with all major buyers of export goods and switch to random ones, it's no wonder that the sources of foreign currency are drying up.

Then you haven't been to Bali, where the locals typically bathe at least twice a day. You must say you've bathed before dinner or you will be looked at in shock!

Ah, thanks for reminding me of the always astute Harry Shearer! I'm with him every Sunday. And I fondly remember Le Show way back to the 1980s on local KCRW.

Nope! @Moses cares ONLY about dead people in Gaza. Nowhere else. However, I'm sure he never thought about Gaza before October 7. Now it empowers everything he writes. Isn't it strange what Putiphilia combined with anti-Semitism does to people?

There's no need for you to explain or apologize. By simply using "here," the OP left it open to some confusion. The word "here" means where the WRITER is at a particular moment. That's just a given in English writing. Were we supposed to assume that the OP is in the Philippines when he posted two hours ago? 🙄 Is this what he meant? --- "I'm here in the Philippines wondering if this photo of a cut Filipino guy is typical of circumcised men here." The fact that he used a frown symbol was a bit of a put-down. There was "no need" for that either! ☺️

The silly boy was absent from these forums for several days. Could it have been detention? Running a sex tourism website? 🤓

Aren't tangents fun?! 🥳

Or simply watch TikToks on your phone!

Many cut Filipino guys do have more foreskin than in Europe and North America. This is because it's often a "superincision" in which foreskin is simply split but not removed. It just "hangs around" below the head. Some call this a "loose"-style circumcision. But they don't typically look like the one in your example. That discoloration is weird. It's possible that his botched circumcision is the result of events such as this -- where the scalpels must have been snipping at the speed of light! 🔪 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3545835/300-boys-undergo-mass-circumcision-Philippines.html Ouch! More than 300 pre-teen boys go under the knife on school tables in a mass circumcision in the Philippines The ritual of circumcision, known as tuli, is common in the Philippines where 93 per cent of men are circumcised Marikana City, in the eastern suburbs of Manila, has cornered the market in mass circumcisions In 2011 the city attempted to get in the Guinness Book of Records when 1,500 boys were circumcised Guinness Records rejected the bid, saying they do not accept mass operations on 'hygiene' grounds

You shouldn't always believe that these questions are suggestive. They are simply very typical questions in many parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. And when they're asked of foreigners, it's not to elicit possible sexual opportunities! ☺️ Have you eaten? Have you bathed? Where did you just come from? Are you married? How many children do you have? We, as foreigners, are asked these questions thousands of time -- with the first three asked even by close friends every time you see them (your response should always be "Yes" or "Over there" even if it's not true). It's just what they say as a general greeting. Only for the last two questions do they expect a real answer. In the West, we typically ask people where they grew up, where they went to school, and what kind of work they do. We always expect truthful responses. Yeah, it's culture.

Your father was correct: It's not dusty at all. But I'm sure that it's as old as the dust/earth that some people's god used to create Adam. ☺️

Why in the world are you concerned about comments on TikTok? 🤡

This is the standard comeback when others respond by saying things that a poster doesn't like. FYI... Tangents are allowed in these forums. There's nothing in the rules/guidelines that prohibit them. People do it here all the time. And when someone responds with structured paragraphs that are connected, it's not at all "scattershot." 😇 But did I go off on a tangent? No. I simply brought up some related details that offended you. 😘

I've traveled to and lived in Southeast Asia for many decades. I know exactly how things work -- even in the sex tourism industry. I've seen what it once was and what it's become today. Still, it's not "boastfulness" to want to be a somewhat equitable human being when in Asia. Sex tourists have the reputation of Ugly American for a very good reason -- no matter how many massage parlors and go-go bars you visit and how many sex workers you've "had" or "offed." Claiming to be "cheated" as if you're at Harrod's or Macy's is simply laughable when we're talking about such small amounts in our tourist pocketbooks -- wealthy or not. It probably feels cool to be a such a shameless expert in the industry that you classify it according to detailed metrics about massages, parlors, and "codes" for every aspect of a human body. But it's still the sex industry, and it is correctly viewed as ugly. The fact that it exists because of supply and demand doesn't make it a noble enterprise. Yes, most of us take part in it to some degree. We don't have to make each encounter seem like it's an example of a "contract" as described in a microeconomics textbook. So if a newcomer like @revengeboo wants to pay what he wants, nobody needs to call him out on it. He'll figure things out just as you did -- but hopefully not to such an ugly extreme.

Thanks for confirming!

@revengeboo, please excuse and ignore our resident curmudgeon and professional sex tourist @scott456 . He will always tell you that you're paying too much, and he'll encourage you to learn how to be a stingy, greedy complainer just like him. 😇

Exactly right! Those who complain about "high" service fees in third-world countries are perfect examples of stereotypically privleged, spoiled sex tourists. They'll try to bargain instead of pay what amounts to "chump change" in their home cities.

Boo, I posted my comment in direct response to the chronic complainer and know-it-all @Department_Of_Agriculture , who posted a lengthy comment ore than 24 hours ago. He had chastised you for paying too much! And you reacted to his post in the same way I did! 😎

Are they "expats" or actual refugees?

But that means there are bars primarily to find male prostitutes in Israel. There are none.

Where is Dr. @unicorn when we need him?

I hope this doesn't apply to hotel registration desks and lobbies! Will registered guests (and their guests) need a breathalyzer test to go to their rooms? 🤣 Or should I assume that it's just for hotel bars? 🍷🍺