TMax

I know many see Asiatique as a tourist trap but I quite like it there, once or twice a trip is about normal. Good to see it reopening.

It will be a good early morning walk (for the early birds that work on their fitness), rather than two laps of Lumphini it would be one full lap including Benjakitti. Yes just need to clean up that canal.

Ahh yes now my memory kicks in, thanks very much vinapu

Might be a silly question but while looking at a picture on Kmanspa (just a pic on google search), the photo of the boys (most likely an old one) it shows whether they are Top or T and B but it also has S.53 or S.54. Is there any meaning to the S.53 S.54 etc or is it nothing at all (T and B I know of)? There are a couple of tops in that picture that I wouldn't mind having some fun with😁

It looks like K-Man Spa is going to be very close to the top of my must do list when I get back😀

It would mean getting to the hotel close to midnight (depending on immigration and traffic) and for me that is just a wasted day, I always prefer morning flights that give me a good chance to unwind after arriving. Having not been into the bar scene my arrival usually starts with a massage and some fun with the massage boy then off for a good evening meal and relax with a few beers. All ready to start fresh the next day.

For those of us wanting to fly direct from Western Australia to Bangkok it looks like Thai Airways will be resuming that route from next month, I heard a rumour it was going to be 3 flights per week and looking on their website it does appear to be so. Flights look to be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, not too keen on the departure time listed (16:20) from Perth but it's better than nothing I guess. I do hope that it works out (and believe it will) and that by the end of the year there will be more than the 3 flights per week with a better departure time from Perth. Here's hoping for a successful resumption of that route with Thai Airways. As always this is all subject to change.

To add to vinapu's list, I believe Nine Spa on Sukhumvit road, soi 31 is still open (at least on the internet it appears to be) no disappointmets there. Had a couple of very athletic hunks there before and they certainly new just what the customer wanted and delivered it nicely 😍 I contact them via line to make appointment @NINESPA

I'm awake early and head down for breakfast around 6am as I just can't sleep in, after breakfast it's off for a walk around Lumphini park and then back to hotel to freshen up and then head out for the day. I may have a rest mid to late afternoon and then head out for the evening at about 6pm, usually back at hotel by 11pm after having some short time fun (one or more short times, just depends on the night and mood).

Good news, now it just needs to be published in the royal gazette and the Thai pass and insurance will not be required after July 1st. My trip for early next year just received a boost. From Richard Barrow: The CCSA has announced that the Thailand Pass will stop being required from 1st July onwards. People also don’t need to buy insurance. However, you may have to show vaccination documents or test results if asked. This will continue while the emergency decree remains. You also won’t be required to wear masks outdoors or in well ventilated places. There will be exceptions like crowded places. Entertainment venues can stay open until 2am and hotels can sell alcohol during the afternoon. More updates soon. Please note, as usual this isn’t law until it’s published in the royal gazette.

I'm not too sure about the situation at my local airport in Perth but in the eastern states they are really under the pump with long queues. Also in Australia so many people let their passports expire over the last 2 years (about two million passports expired) and have now all rushed in to get new passports, so many that there is a lengthy delay in issuing passports, not very bright of them for letting their passports expire as some have already booked trips and are needing passports in a hurry🙃

More like the hope stage than planning. Starting to think ahead to my trip for next year, March maybe, I know it's a long way off and things can change but it's good to start thinking about it and there are things here at home that require my attention before then. So far I look at the flights, Thai Airways are currently not flying the direct Perth to Bangkok route but hoping they start up again soon, every time I flew that route the flights were near full so there's hope. If they don't start up before I'm ready then it will be Singapore Air which is ok but the preference is a direct flight. Hotel choice will come down to either The Raya (stayed there a few times and liked it) or the Tarntawan (an old favourite) but I guess it will come down to the best value at the time. Hopefully by then things will have got back to normal or close to what it was before with plenty of massage shops open, lots of lost time to make up for so hoping the boys will be as horny as ever. Hell I might even start visiting some of the bars for a change. I am also interested to get away on some day trips so a bit of research to do, there are some old favourites that I will revisit like Ayutthaya. I have missed my trips over the last few years and I am hoping nothing else comes along to screw things up again.

I am much the same, walk very quickly and use the travelators to beat the others from my plane as well as many others but I find it frustrating when 2 or more people block the travelators and make it harder to get past. My last trip (so long ago now) I did my usual fast walk and just as I was getting to immigration I noticed a big crowd from another flight making their way to immigration, luckily for me I managed to arrive just in time to get in before them and save a lot of time.

Looking up Arena online and it looks like it's still open for business, may need verifying though.

Just in case you haven't found it (probably have by now) - https://tp.consular.go.th/

Latest from Richard Barrow, from the latest CCSA meeting. 1. Overview: Global situation and relaxation of measures - Thailand ranks 24th globally for number of new infections, and is on a general downward trend. Fatalities are still concentrated in the elderly and 608 groups and hospital occupancy rates remain low. - The number of new cases is expected to continue to decline and additional relaxed measures approved at the Meeting chaired by the PM today, will take effect on 1 June 2022. - As COVID-19 is now entering its endemic phase in Thailand, The Ministry of Public Health has issued a new set of recommendations on public health measures for “high-risk contacts” to self-monitor for 10 days without having to quarantine. - It should be noted however, that the endemic designation does not mean the disease is no longer dangerous. Top priority remains the healthcare system's capacity to handle emergency situations. - The General CCSA meeting also approved the reopening of nightclubs, bars and karaoke venues and extended the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations for another two months from 1 June to 31 July. 2. Adjustments on provincial zoning - The number of provinces designated “yellow” or “High Surveillance” zones will be reduced from 65 to 46. - The number of provinces designated “green” or “Surveillance” zones will increase to 14. - The number of provinces designated “blue” or “Pilot Tourism” zones will increase from 12 to 17. 3. Adjusted Entry Requirements/Thailand Pass - Starting 1 June 2022, foreigners planning to travel to Thailand will have to provide: 1) COVID-19 vaccination certificates or COVID-19 test results (for unvaccinated persons); 2) a minimum of 10,000 USD travel insurance covering COVID-19 medical expenses; and 3) a copy of a valid passport. - After registering the above on Thailand Pass, the QR code will be auto-generated immediately, which is intended to save time and the worry of waiting for approval. Airlines will then pre-check that QR code prior to issuing boarding passes and once arriving, travelers will go through the usual checks at the airport. - Another adjustment that should facilitate Thailand Pass for foreign visitors is that Thai nationals will no longer be required to register for it. So in fact, Thailand Pass will function next month as a pre-arrival registration, not an approval system, for foreign travelers. - Until the revised Thailand Pass measure takes effect on 1 June 2022, Thais and foreign visitors are still required to register with Thailand Pass and seek approval from the system. - The CCSA has been tracking the measures employed by other countries as well and these adjusted entry requirements/registration process for travelers coming to Thailand are similar to the public health measures and practices of other countries in Southeast Asia. 4. General situation - New confirmed cases on 20 May 2022 total 6,463, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 4.4 million. There are 58,910 active cases. - A total of 7,091 new recoveries are logged today, bringing the number of total recoveries to 4.31 million. Unfortunately, 41 new fatalities have been reported, with accumulated recorded deaths totaling 7,980. The fatality rate is low at 0.15%. - The top ten provinces with the highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are Bangkok (109), Ubon Ratchathani (61), Nakhon Ratchasima (54), Suphan Buri (51), Udon Thani (36), Chanthaburi (34), Chaiyaphum (33), Nakhon Sawan (30), Samut Prakarn (29), Nakhon Si Thammarat (27). 5. Vaccination progress - The total number of vaccine doses administered currently stands at 136 million. The total number of first vaccine doses administered amounts to 56.5 million, covering 81.3% of the population. The total number of second doses administered stands at 52.1 million, covering 74.9% of the population. The total number of third doses admnistered is 27.3 million, covering 39.4% of the population. 6. Thailand chosen as ASEAN Health Emergency Hub - Thailand will serve as the new ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), which is expected to strengthen ASEAN’s regional capacity for responding to public health emergencies and emerging diseases.

Looking at Google it says Patpong night market is permanently closed, I'm hoping not and that it reopens when more people return

For a straight one the Star of Light on Patpong 2 is / was a bj bar, quite a dingy atmosphere inside it despite the name (that was when I made my one and only foray there), would love to find one there for the gay guys but maybe not as dingy 😜

Yes Vessey I suspect you are correct on that one, it's certainly starting to look that way.

It will be interesting to see if they do agree to scrap the Thai Pass on June 1, also if they will add a section to the TM6 to declare vaccination status (as suggested elsewhere).

They change their plans like they change their undies, I can wait a bit longer.

I once did a tour to Ayutthaya and booked through TAT (several years back now and was in a mini bus), went via Bang Pa In - return was by river boat with buffet lunch. Well worth it too, had a great day out and the river boat ride back to Bangkok was nice and relaxing.

Black Swan

Silly question, have they ironed out the bugs with the Thai Pass website? Things like not accepting pdf, issues using certain browsers (chrome), being hacked etc. I saw a while back where they said they were working on all the issues but haven't seen anything about the bugs lately.

From Richard Barrow.