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maybe I can jump in between this 2-persons discussion: 1.after it was all worldwide in any newsppr, a French journalist also came to testify she was indecently touched (or whatever) by DSK when interviewing him. At that time her other, a high-up FR socialist lady, told her to keep silent-it would come much more valuable later on........ Oh what a nice game politics seems to be! 2.in local newspprs here a discussion came on as to why it was that about any high-ranking politician seems to run behind his c..k - maybe you can only succeed in politics if you have to much of that hormone burning in you? 3. is it really US-law that someone accused of raping a lady can be put behind bars (well, maybe precious self-paid ones) for such a long time? 4.if this high-placed person is so adapt at managing a world-wide big fund, was able to transform it succesfully into an institution of fame, probably an ''eleve'' of the ENA-that French state-run Eton-like training school (well, uni or so) for the really high-brow elite and those becoming the ruling elite, must know exceedingly well what the rules are in other countries, notoriously that USA, how the heck would he make such an idiot mistake? Is that really only libido going mad?

hello FYM. No, no specific recommendations, but some general thoughts/advice: 1.that area you lived in was Klong Toey-it is just 1 of BKK's +50 districts and an enormous variety (both BKK';s most maligend slums and its best hi-rise hotels are in it). 2.12k/month is feasible, but do not expect the Ritz. And do make it certain if that would include utilities or not and if fur(niture) is included or not. often you can choose-pay a little more for scratched items in it. CLoseness to the BTS certainly inflates prices. 3.general areas I would rec: on the BTS (though I think this ''advantage'' is often much overstated): around Onnut (current end of it- will be extended further on from 12/8) or the Sapan kwai area (op north, a ''local'' small gay area and very close to Weekend market). Soi Sukhumvit 101=Udomsuk might be upandcoming, as the extended BTS will stop there too-but then you are quite far from BKK's innercity (but can board a Pattaya-bound bus at the doorstep). These areas have all needed shopping, hypermarkets and local markets and services right by. 4.there are no www-sites that cover all aprtmts in the lower bracket. it goes mainly by word of mouth or simply very old-fashioned: stay in some HTL a few days and walk along and ask. A site named like tee-pak (=place to stay) might have some useful lists, or maybe try the relevant ajarn etc forums on thaivisa or ajarn.com- loads of englsih teachers also in the same search. NEVER commit yourself right on-try it out for a few days, pay by day and find out the hidden minuses-in these price bracket there are always unsaid potential negatives. Decide yourself if you can live with them (noise is generally the most disturbing factor in big city BKK) or want to go on searching.

only have seen it from outside-after renov. But: there appear to be more GLow HTls-nearly same-named. Again-surprisingly, the shamelessmack website has a review on it-I quite well remember he booked it as he saw an incredible low price, but then discovered it was an annex or 2nd rate sister nearby. So spare you the odd minute to look at his rec-s for it.

if you have been indeed there around other elections, you should have learnt. What seems to irritate most farang is the ban of alcohol-sell during electiondays (often also extra days, as by elections or whatever are held). Some bars then simply close, as they think noone would be interested in visiting. Sometimes there is a sudden rumour you HAVE to vote-as not to loose some benefit. As you can only do that in your hometown (where one is regisetred) suddenly all bargirls-and boys head for the Mochit and find a bus home. But this did not appear to happen a lot lately. (BTW-the rumour is false). What you mainly see are a growing nr of solemn placards on about any busstop, lantern, stake or other place with a ''dinosaur'' clad in some general or officer jacket with big nrs (voting means crossing out the right nr of list and person-these papers are usable for whatever ballot). ASs a farang you will not be able to take advantage of all those promised big handouts of red 100 notes.

no, not by myself, but if I remember well, the wellknown mr. mack-see shamelessmack.wordpress has en reported that the name has vanished, as it was sold to a HKG entrepreneur (or maybe Korean) and now has a new name in the old place with the old ''standards''. BTW-that was the place in Korea-town, nah?

This is just a rough estimate for gay bisnis in the big city of BKK. All figures rounded. GoGo-bars: 12 or 13, except 2 all in the Silom area, half of that in soi Pratoochai(or HOtmail). Other bars/pubs( the Thai is undecided how to name it): with karaOK and off-boys: 5-6, all in Sapan Kwai as a disco, no ''official'' off-boys: 10-15, a bit depending on how gay you want them to be. Except 2 (DJ and GOD) all OUT of Silom-area, with clusters in RamkamHaeng (LamSalee) and Chatuchak (or OTOKO or Kamphaeng Phet, that is all the same) and isolated ones in other areas. gay sauna"s: around 40-50 with no real cluster, but notably fewer west of the main Chao Praya river. In all the mentioned gay areas there at least 2 nearby. M2M massageshops: around 70-80, as the saun

Re A-there is always an enormous lot of police standing idle and eating rice with about any demo. That says nothing. Look at last year reds-unable to be stopped by anyone. Looi at the yellows at the other side of ratchdamnern-since monthes-also unable to be shifted away to a more fitting place with less hindrance to traffic. (BTW-it is very apparent the airport occupation was done inj cooperation with hihg-ups at the airport-and nothing was damaged). Plus: why does anyone keep so upset about that-any strike in France by airtrtaffic or baggagehandlers in any US airport leads to same- a blocked airport. re B-no, not exciting at all. Unless you like to see about any lantern and busstop being plastered with boards with those big-jawed dinosaurs in official uniforms who tend to dominate Thai politics. (you do not vote for that Thaksin's cute daughter nor for that cute Abhisit-you vote for the dinosaur of your own district)-about same-same as in the UK). If you read the promises Thaksin dares to make from his foreign post-instant walhalla and a creditcard for anyone and his return too in a week or 6-8 after the glorious victory........ Some time ago someone on this forum commented about possible influence of the various Arab revolutions on Thai politics (at that time the Tunisian and Egypt). Now that was an interesting thing: in the march issues of the red pamflets/magazines, there were intellectual analysys of that impact. But apparantly DUbai sent a message this was not wished for (that revered cherished dear leader always showing his benevolence) and in the april issuies it was all deaf silence on that. Since then I read the peaceful revolutions over there were in fact taught by a Serb (serbia-former Yugoslavia, Beograd) institute who gives instructions on how to do that (from their own experience). This probably has not reached out to Lybia. As to Syria-anyones guess.

This Dittrich (he is the son of Czech immigrants to NL-who fled after the Prahy velvet revolution under Dubcek) now works for Human Right Watch, specially after the rights for gays. His position is paid for by an unknown benevolent person. He has also just published a crime-detective. The gay monthly magazine/newsppr the Gay Krant has abundantly congratulated itself with this achieved milestone-and asked all who benefitted from it to give a donation-this mag. struggels to survive. Figures after 10 years are a bit disappointing: just under 3% of all marriages (that nr is also going gown the last years-but there are fewer youth and more older people) are same-sex and nearly 2/3 of those same-sex are by ladies/lesbians. Of course there has been a surge when it was allowed 10 yrs ago, now flattened out. But the general tendency is for lower nrs and also lower % of totals. The main advantage a gay marriage brings is to the heritage: the surviving member of a married couple gains all -any children (their own or adopted) get a claim on their legal share, but that has to wait till the other dies-and s/he may have eaten it all up by then. This thus avoids nasty struggles with other family members (brothers/sisters) of the gay deceased. There may be a tax advantage-or not, this is all dependent on spread and level of income.

both those towns are very well on the main tourist-trail. Guilin is one of China's tourist-towns per se-even in the old days of communism. If people intend to go there, i would rather advise them to stay in nearby Yangshuo. This is one of the smaller villages opened up-by now decades ago, by intrepid backpackers. There is now a thriving english-lesson industry and there is West-Street, where now mainland Chinese come to gape at gwailo. (Do not worry-they have gone as evening falls). I always found Chinese from that area to be very close to Thai/Thailand. Sometimes I even thought they spoke a kind of Thai dialect. A local in Guilin once explained me that they are more close there to the Viet(namese) and that their local dialect resembles Viet very much.

agin my 2 cents: if you want to get a Thai angry- there is a short and simple way-let him/her peercieve that his/her bisnis is being ruined. Those people need to pay dearly to see naked tits, so that is a bisnis controlled by going inside the nearby PatPong bars and paying an expensive drink. But this story got a tail (read todays Thaivisa-news, FR 21/4): those girls come from west-BKk/border to Nakorn pathom province (Ohm noi and Ohm Yai, yes, I have been there), where they were regular patrons to a bar, where they said got free drinks (alco) by doing same-same. Now that bar got raided by independent police the very night after that confession-at 3,.30 Police found 100s of people still going on binging/drinking (as you all now that is way beyond the witch-hour), with also dozens of underage -18 ers, some as young as 14. There was also gambling and other acts of indecency. Dont know if the pink drug-using piss was also checked. The bar owner/manager told police, that he paid off local police for keeping order 500 bt./day-to some 20/25 policemen. So he was not to blame. The local head of police was moved to an inactive post in some boonsticks village right after learning this. Can anyone give me a thorough reason why ALL ''entertainment'' in Thailand always has to include of drink too muth at too late a time by too young people? Or that the only way a Thai can think of entertainment has to insist of those vices? the regular farang forums all cry foul of again yet another case of the tipical Thai hypocrysy.

No-this will not work. The duration of the stay stamped in will not be extended (the clock keeps on counting while you are away), but you do not have to pay a new fee-that is all (unless this has also changed). Indeed, for up to 8 month (or 9 with a 3d extension), the triple 60-day tourist+local extension each (or just 2) time looks like best option. If you happen to stay in PTY anyway (or BKK) those ''borderruns'' are easily done in a nice van all-escorted in a short day. or -why not take that opportunity-and see a little more of those surrounding countries? Thailand can get pretty boring after a longer time to some-even if you now do not believe that. IMHO it may very well be that some CONSULS are now banned from issuing the more precious type O or whatever visa and you have to see the real (1 and only 1 in each country-in the capital) Royal Thai Embassy. I also (and I have to follow these news items due to profession) have not read anything about changes being made recently. But it may be yet another case of rules being tidied up or strengthened in their application. Or sometimes the ambassador himself acts like that-maybe some family member has been refused a visa by the Brits or so.......

depends what you name mass-and for which city. At least those redshirts have promised to hold at least a monthly ''remembrance'' protest/demo (that is named MOB in Thai-without the meaning the English attach to it) in their favorite spot in BKK- along Ratchdamnern, hindering about as much traffic as possible can. Every now and then one of their main sponsors opens his resort in Khao Yai national park-near Khorat and near the ChokeChai dairy farm/horse shows- for another demo-then the poor reds do not need to travel that far from their Isan base. When I am in BKk (not now-too hot) I tend to stay around there-it is mainly very annoying overloud music and speeches with communist undertones.

just to add my 2 fen worth of opinion, for what its worth. Mainly based on reading newspprs and listening to special radio, and after some 4-5 trips all across China, on my own. - any economic bubble will sooner or later burst-or flatten out, or hiss out. But you never know when-did any of those multi-million $$ earning economists predict the current crisis? - SOUTH of Sjanghai-for some 30-40 kms, another of those enormous, HKG-style high-rise blocks suburban sprawls is emerging, which I only happen to know as a 50 km long extension of the city-metro has just been opened to serve it. Well thats forward planning-except that reports (from a special and not biased that much economic reporter) tell, that at most 5% of those flats/apartmts are occupied. About ay of the dozens of multi-million cities is currently building or rapidly expanding their metro-systems-quite often to the same hardly occupied housing estates. But the very same happaned in HKG toward the the new developed west-inclduing a tramway-by now it is mostly taken up. At least the Chinese have some effective ways in bulldozing away the old decrepit housing of those intended to take up that new housing. - indeedd, FH is quite right in stating that avoiding civil unrest is one of, if not the main, priority for a Chinese govmt. But that as such does not mean that there will be no economic downturn or crisis- they also can do what here in the west is hardly possible-hard suppression. Or nationalise property, or whatever. Or put ''spies'in main westrn companies to silently take them over. Indeed, FH is right that if there will be losers-it will be mainly investors from other Chinese countries-Sin, Taiwan, etc. heck-their unrest will not matter in the middle kingdom-Zong Ghuo, mainland China.

you can easily find other gay blogs in the links in those mentioned already. One of them also has many Malay/KUL-blog-links. The best one for me has alas closed some time ago, I dont know if it is still read-able online, but was gayboybangkok.blogspot or .com (I think-have to check), by a German, Chris Koeln.

for another insider description of these bars (actually the OToKo=Chatuchak, if I remember well, go to the ricequeendiary.blogspot and search for it. it is by now some 2 years old, but will still hold. Safety is never an issue, nor is getting a taxi-back to that safe Silomzone. There are also allnight buses-pretty fast. In fact I really do not quite understand why people even fuss about that. And-as a reminder to al'this is such a great bar/place''-this is never ever true for 100%. At least try to make an effort to describe what kind of people it would appeal to. The 60+ senior visitor would not stand out too much at DJ, but will in these places. OTOH you may be such a novelty, that invitations are a plenty-especially if the bottle of local brown alcoholic spirits gets empty. Do not even expect to get hooked on-that will happen, if at all, later-on the street, when lights are on and closing time has arrived.

delving up this old thread-there is certainly now also a new april issue. Maybe it gets a little more attention by bringing it up again. But my Question is (sorry-as I am away from Thaild I only now started to try to open it up-why is it all hidden behind obligatory subscription-for a free giveaway magazine, that apparently must make its cost by advertising? The other-mainly or wholly Thai-same-same mags and sites do not do that. (liek g-thai.net , tmmsociety or menmenu.net etc.)

yes, exactly-I have also always described it that same way. But there are a few more-not nexcessarily anything other, in other sois from RKH, like the cvery famous Edok ()=Thai slang for ''slut''=bad flower). Also 4 sauna's: Farose2, Torpedo, Meeting (very small, very quiet) and Trio (new, soi 48-very quiet soi, sauna sometimes busy). Lamsalee is not the name of the soi, but of that area-crosing with the long Sri nakarin. BTW-the gay bars at Mochit/Kampaeng Phet rd/Chatuchak 9that is all the same) are 99,99% same-same. (a little north of Sapan kwai). Anyone with just the slightest idea of what young Thai think is fun would have figured that out by themselves, I guess.

There is-at least IMHO-one more en decisive big caveat in this game. It is mainly aimed at USAers (or maybe Norte-Americano's). In Europe-and I guess also OZzieland=Australia, where most of Thailands visitors in fact hail from, it works a bit different. Miles expire-pretty soon. You have to fly on that airline at least once a year-on paid flights to maintain. You cannot get an unlimited nr. of credit-cards-in some countries you cannot even get 1. (in case USAers find this incomprehensible-we have loads of other bankcards that fit nicely). That compensation or ''a new airline will take your old status'' is only for very special high-flying bisnis people. I pretty well know, I have some 3 different ones. I advise flyertalk.com as the best forum to get more tips and recommendations apt at your situation. Next thing is-in Europe there are far more of those nofrills airlines, that offer dirt-cheap fares but no miles or even attempt in that direction. Also many of the lower fares to BKK on the major airlines do not even earn miles-or at best maybe 50 or 40 or 25% of the distance. Most conclude that if you are satisfied wit them (think AirAsia and the like) you better forego that miles game at all.

yes, sometimes, in some areas, but not that many. More annoying are the fires deliberately put on-mainly in the north (to clear the fields of old scraps) that run out of hand and make nasty fogs.

support khun FH. But thats no detective-I for a few years worked for travel-insurance and checking claims people made after their holidays and dealing with any emergency too while on vacation=holiday). There you really learn to check and ask anything and even the minor details. In fact I have great respect for the ability of many a Thai to do that to. Maybe that is when you grow up in a continuously cheating environment? 1 thing though; dear FH-that point about no safe in room is trivial-and certainly not a thing taken for granted-at that time and even in 5-6**ry resorts. (psst! dont tell-he might even have been living on credit-the most normal thing for a Thai to do would take some barter for that.......

Maybe this is of interest to some-certainly not all. In another, general forum there was a question : Looking for cheap-budget hotels under 800 THB near BTS in BKK, which got ample replies. And even without the usual sneers or other nasty remarks from the regulars, that seem to caracterise that forum. At least a dozen were mentioned in many parts of BKK, notably also the SapanKwai area. The site is www.thaivisa.com, then go to thailand travel and find it. Now on this specific forum many will immediately ask: Is this hotel gay-friendly? That is a nonsense question in Thailand. What you should ask is: Do they allow prostitutes? It really does not matter if your friend for the night is male or female. And yes-most of these places do. If however gayfriendly is your wording for men-only-then this is not for you. But that should have been pretty obvious by the question-which was mentioning ''for my Lao lady friend''.

yes-there are 2 traintypes-on the same tracks. EXPRESS runs nonstop Airpt-Makkasan, in 15 mins, cost 150 THB. About noone uses it. At Makkasan you can-with a walk of about 300 mtrs- go to PHetburi stop of MRT=UNDERground=rot fay faa taay din in Thai, which has a strictly enforced LUGgage check, taking the metro toward Hualampong, go to Saladaeng station (maybe they call it Silom-obviously it is underground there). Looks inside pretty plush-like any western train. (about like BART in SFO-but slightly better seats). The CITYRAIL slow train makes 6-7 stops, incl also Makaasan, and continues to Phyathai station. There you can change to the BTS=skytrain, and to reach Sldng have to change again=cross the platform, at Siam station. This costs 45 bt (or 35 till MKsn). These trains also run ev 15 mins-and take about 26 mins endtoend. It is often quite overcrowded at the other stops. Looks inside like BTS. ALL trains only run from 6.00-0.00(midnight). Fare for MRT or BTS for the short sectors is about 30-35 bt. You have to buy a new token from a machine for that, on MRT/BTS only with coins. Maps: also for any other metro in this world: www.urbanrail.net Report and live review [also] by the dear shamelessmack on his wordpress site/blog. Do I really need to say you could also avail yourself of a taximeter at Mksn? in lieu of the MRT? But that makes a direct taxi just as good and probably even a little cheaper. PS: at the MO they have problems with some of the parts of the trains, that go much, much fatser as they thought in the tropics. THUS express is cancelled for a week or 2 and service on City reduced. But songkran holiday is coming anyway-much less people.

this purple line is well under construction-most of the pillars stand and the depot is quite visible in its building. What is not fully solved is the connection with the current MRT, near Tao Poon )ever been there?/there is a Tesco and a big wet market). The root of the problem is that noone has ever thought of the sheer possibility that these lines would not pay their way/and who funds the money for the losses. AFAIK about only HongKong has a money/making subway-underground-metro in this world. What would inconvenience those in high Thai places in the know and having bought up the land on which endless new condo