PeterRS

I have noticed a number of fare reductions out of Bangkok over the last few months. Some airlines used to offer discounts on tickets to Europe (and maybe elsewhere but my destination was always Europe) in October for travel up to the following summer. For quite a few years I have got Qatar tickets for the following March at a basic discount of at least 20% - sometimes 25%. I have even got mileage tickets almost always in or near the days I wished. With enough miles left for one more European biz class ticket, I called Qatar last October to find out which dates were available in March 2025. None! A week later I called, extended the search to 4 months and was told there was only one seat available back from Europe. None going to Europe. I found this ridiculous, the more so given that Qatar had resumed its 5 daily flights to Doha, including one A380, and had 2 onward daily connections to my European destintation. Finally I had to accept a mileage ticket on Cathay Pacific via HKG which meant a 14-hour HKG/Europe flight plus a purchased short haul ticket at the European end. But then I was quite surprised to find that all six flights on that trip were 100% full! Now, though, something is clearly happening. Qatar and Emirates have sent out several emails recently with special biz class discount offers through to November. Given that this covers the summer holiday period in Europe and the USA, I find this both surprising and unusual. Hopefully the post-covid hike in fares last year may now be coming to an end and airlines are keen to keep planes relatively full, even at a discount. Although we should be aware that often such discounts in biz class are only for the tickets. If you want lounge access and advance seat selection, you are often screwed for a considerable premium!

I have never seen Nespresso capsules in Starbucks, but will check, thanks. On the other hand, I tried out many Nespresso flavours before I finally found one I really like. That is the only one I purchase.

I read recently that a number of factors have negatively affected the price of coffee - meaning your morning cuppa is going to cost more, perhaps even considerably more. As a convert to Nespresso machines (yes, I know: the coffee is not quite as tasty as that freshly ground but it is much more convenient for me), I noticed in January that my favourite flavour had risen by around 12%. Seeing thereafter that the price of wholesale arabica beans has doubled in a year and that ground roast coffee in the USA was at an all-time high, I decided to buy more now. Droughts and weather-related factors in Brazil have seen a drop in exports of 11.3%. In Vietnam a drop of 39.5%. Added to the effects of climate change, here in Asia there has been a substantial increase in drinking coffee in China. As I result, I recently was back at Nespresso buying 300 more capsules. https://caffeinespots.com/news/why-coffee-prices-in-thailand-just-got-more-expensive/

I used to love visiting Singapore. Just walking down Orchard Road or cruising shopping malls you can see some of the most gorgeous young Chinese guys on the planet. There is a lot of sex available for free if a guy likes you. No idea about paid sex, though. There are gay saunas, gay bars and gay clubs. One part of the beach off Beach Road used to be very cruisy but it was always AYOR as cops would use entrapment. But now that the dreaded colonial law (Section 377A) was repealed in 2023, I suspect it may be more cruisy again. As younger Singaporeans are mostly well-educated, well-dressed, well-mannered and financially at least reasonably well-off, I suspect older, overweight, T-shirt, shorts and flip-flop visitors are unlikely to have much success - unless they can find some gay for play on the apps. Just my thoughts.

You should note that the original Thailand Elite programme was changed two years ago and is now Thailand Privilege. In typical Thai fashion, it has also become a great deal more expensive. Whereas before the basic 5-year visa cost 500,000 Bt but gave you the option at the end to convert for another 15 years for the same amount of 500,000, the option of extension has now disappeared. Apart from a 650,000 version which expires on June 30 this year, the new basic is 900,000 for five years - no option to extend other than purchasing a new basic visa. 1,500,000 baht buys you a 10 years Privilege Visa. 2,500,000 gets you 15 years. So whereas before you could get 20 years for 1 million, now 20 years would cost 3,400,000! Although these expensive options provide some additional perks, you'd be far better on a plain retirement visa avaiable after you are 50 and plonking 800,000 in a savings account. At present this permits annual renewals ad infinitum. Incidentally I recently asked a Thailand Privilege assistant at BKK if the new visa charges had proved popular. She said they can not satisfy demand - so far mostly from Chinese and Russians.

The Portuguese Embassy, the oldest in the Kingom, is situated on the river and easily seen as it is next door to the large Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. It was a gift from Thailand in return for assistance the Portuguese had given the country during the late 1700s war against the invading Burmese who had sacked the capital at Ayutthaya. Only a couple of decades or so ago, it leased part of its extensive land down to the river to the hotel so that it could expand what had earlier been the hotel's much smaller pool area. Photo: Chaiyawat Chaiyachote, TIme Out Bangkok The Portuguese were the first traders to make serious inroads culturally in Asia. They had captured their first Asian base in Goa only the year before they appeared in Thailand. In this same year they took over Malacca which quickly became their primary base for further exploration and expansion in the continent. In 1517 they made their first commerical contacts with China, eventually leasing from the Ming Dynasty the tiny enclave of Macao on the western side of the mouth of the southern Pearl River in 1557. The terms of the lease meant an annual payment to the Emperor of 19 kgs of gold. Before that agreement with China, they had ventured north-east and started a small trading base at Nagasaki in 1543. The triangular trade in Chinese silk, porcelain and gold with Japanese silver was remakably successful for the time and soon became a monopoly. The Portuguese also brought guns which were of particular interest to the Japanese. As in all western expansion, it only took a few years for Catholic Church missionaries to follow, in this case those from the Jesuit order. To a certain extent this was tolerated by China but not in Japan. Within only a few decades, the Japanese kicked out the missionaries and very soon thereafter the traders. The arrival of the Shoguns as the absolute rulers of Japan meant the end of Japanese influence. China was different. It recognised the value of an association with the Portuguese who soon gained access to Chinese markets, especially silk, tea and porcelain. The Chinese valued the knowledge of science, mathematics and astronomy the Portuguese brought with them. As importantly, the Jesuits gained a foothold in the Chinese court. Perhaps surprisingly, the Jesuits efforts to integrate Christianity with strongly held Confucian values also gained a degree of acceptance. One Jesuit in particular gained the trust of the Emperor. Matteo Ricci was a Jesuit priest who had landed in Macao around 1580. Unlike most, he learned both to speak and write Chinese. He became the first European to enter Beijing's Forbidden City in 1601. He died in Beijing a few years later. Although he never met the Emperor, he did have the Emperor's patronage and was to meet and associate with a large number of his officials, also establishing the first Catholic Church in the city which remains today. Ironically this burgeoning relationship between an Empire and the Catholic Church was ended not by China, but by the Pope in Rome. In the early 18th century Pope Clement XI considered millennia-old Chinese socio-cultural rituals to be dangerous idol worship. He ordered all priests out of the heathen kingdom. The Portuguese then departed, but many of their ideas remained. The influence of Portugal within Asia as a whole in so many ways cannot be underestimated.

Yes I do.

I am one who has lived in Bangkok for 24 years. But I had visited the city and other parts of Thailand many dozens of times before I took the plunge, as it were. Since I was living in Hong Kong during the 1980s and 1990s, that made it easy for me. By the mid-1990s I realised I wished to remain in Asia for the rest of my life. The only question was: where? Once again I was extremely lucky. The jobs I had been doing took me regularly virtually all over Asia and so I was quickly able to rule out most countries. I had certain criteria - one being it had to be close to Hong Kong for I did not intend to retire in 2001. I planned to continue running my own small company in Hong Kong even after normal retirement age. So proximity and ease of travel were vital. I narrowed the choice down to two cities in two countries and eventually purchased a small Bangkok condo in mid-1999. While I had intended to rent it out for at least 15 or more years, the Asian Economic Crisis which started in Thailand on 1 July 1997 finally reached Hong Kong in 2000. There followed the worst recession there since WWII. With my company's budgeted income for 2001 and 2002 quickly vanishing, it became cheaper for me to base myself in Bangkok and commute to Hong Kong or wherever work took me each month. I had done my research and my sums. The one problem I had not factored in was the worldwide recession of 2008 and the resultant crash in interest rates. As Thailand's economy has grown extensively since 1999, everything is a good bit more expensive than I had expected by this stage. But that would almost certainly also be true of most retirement cities/countries.

Over the last 25 or so years China has developed many more contemporary dance troupes - a few of them near world-class.

Cruising around the internet this morning, I was looking at various vdos commenting on how airlines are all reducing their tier points and increasing their mileage requirements for free flights. Having just spent most of my remaining air miles on the flight to Hong Kong and the UK last month, I’m not sure why I was bothering with this. Purely habit, I guess, because I used to have tons of miles and was always looking for the best way of using them. For some strange reason, I noticed a video about attitudes of gay guys in China. I clicked on it and found it quite fascinating. When this forum has focused on gay life in China, that has generally been life in Beijing and Shanghai. In the recent thread titled "Most Obscure Places You Have Found Someone" in the The Beer Bar, I did mention my experience on a visit to Chengdu when I met several young gay guys from the apps – and could have met many more had I had time, given the number of hits I was getting. This video I found has a Chinese guy who at the end reveals he is actually straight interviewing three Chinese gay guys in their 20s. His interviews are quite probing – and I suggest quite revealing about how the guys came to realise they preferred men and what gay life in China is really like, especially the attitude of ordinary folk to the LGBT community. I think it is even more interesting that two of the guys live in Chengdu and the third in nearby Chongqing, both large cities and both in central China approx. 240 kms apart and both mentioned by @terper. So perhaps they are more representative of better-off young men in the country than a small sample from the main coastal cities. I certainly found their views pretty much the same as guys I know or have met over the last 10 - 15 or so years. You will note that the vdo does not discuss money boys, but it does seek views on the difference between Chinese gay guys and foreign gay guys. I think this is more for relationships for the Chinese I have met have been as eager for sex as most non-Chinese. But perhaps it is a point just worth bearing in mind for those planning to visit China.

A couple of interesting points from the discussion in the link. 1. As Dr. Morgentaler points out: "When testosterone is low, it means the testicles aren’t producing an adequate amount. That can lead to all kinds of signs and symptoms including: lower sex drive, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, brain fog, loss of muscle mass and strength, more body fat, weight gain, breast growth, sleep problems, mood swings, weak bones, and fertility problems." 2. I am really srprised that at no point is another possible reason for low testosterone levels mentioned. It has been thought by many in the medical research profession for years that constantly wearing tight underwear or tight jeans could have a considerable negative effect on testosterone levels. As one journal reported - " . . . it is thought that excessive heat and pressure caused by tight underwear may contribute to reduced testosterone production. The testicles, where testosterone is primarily produced, are more sensitive to temperature changes. When the temperature in the testicular region increases due to tight clothing, it may disrupt the normal functioning of Leydig cells, which are responsible for testosterone production." Although nothing has yet been proved conclusively and more controlled studies are necessary, many now believe the above may well be true. https://medshun.com/article/does-tight-underwear-affect-testosterone

@Olddaddy - what happened to the idea of your owning a bar in Pattaya?

I suspect that is merely wishful thinking. Isn't the Thai way of coping with reduced income to raise prices, not reduce them to encourage more business? Around 12 years ago on this forum, I extolled the virtues and products of the British Pie Shop not far from Sathorn. It even made Green Curry pies (very tasty) and a host of sinful dessert pies. A year or so later it had to close in that location when the landlord upped the rent. I frequently pass that area and noticed yesterday that in all the time since the Pie Shop had to leave, it has remained completely vacant! It is not in a section of the soi that would be redeveloped for condos or whatever. So the property owner has lost roughly 11 years of rent when the Pie Shop could have remained at least for a few years more. That's the Thai way! There are still various pie shops around when searching the internet. But all different from the one I used to patronise. I assume it must have gone out of business.

To enlighten @Ken76, the PFC stands for the Pattaya Flying Club. No, it does not teach you to fly an aircraft, although some who have participated might have had far too much acohol and assumed they could fly solo. It basically means depression-related suicide by jumping off a balcony. Generally, I suggest it is near madness to consider retiring anywhere unless you have a pretty good knowledge of the country/area. Just because some countries have a reputation for being gay friendly should not make it the reason for investing in retirement there. I suggest @Olddaddy's earlier post has several very pertinent points you have to consider (although I got the impression from your OP that your boyfriend is not in fact Thai - if he is, then that changes things somewhat). There are lots of Americans in Thailand, more than a few are gay and have Thai boyfriends. As a gay couple you will be welcomed, but key to that as @bkkmfj2648 pointed out above is you respecting Thai people, their culture, customs and religion. This is their country - not America. So you have to adapt and respect them rather than the other way around. It would be interesting to know if you have visited Thailand before - or indeed any Asian country.

Remembering the self-combustion problems on the then new 787 Dreamliners resulting from Boeing's use of lithium ion batteries, as well as the UPS cargo 747 which crashed in the UAE when lithium batteries in the hold started a catastrophic fire, I am not surprised. Yet at the same time I remain amazed that airlines still permit the carriage of items like litre bottles of booze. These can cause death if a passenger decided to go on the rampage. Unlikely I know - and I do not think it has yet happened. But with air rage on the increase . . .? I realise airport managers would scream if they were banned. Yet, purchasing on arrival prior to customs checks is quite common at some airports. Although not at BKK any longer. On arrival in mid-March i noticed that the small Duty Free shop had disappeared.