PeterRS

Fair point. In framing my post I was thinking of American (and some other countries') adventures that start out linking sport and politics and then suddently the politics part disappears. Is any country more guilty of sportswashing than Saudi Arabia? For many years regarded as some kind of enemy to be kept at arms length, Saudi Arabia is now a leading soccer, snooker, golf (the massive salaries on the LIV tour are entirely funded by the Saudis), F1 racing, boxing and e-sports country among others. Yet how many years have passed since the country was condemned worldwide for the brutal slaying of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi and a massive number of human rights abuses? Linking sports to human rights frequently has zero effect.

I cringe every time I read about "inflated rates". There is no such thing as an infated rate. The tip you pay is your way of thanking the boy you have just been with. If you are basically in the category of being poor, it will inevitably be on the small side. If you are well off, it ought to be much higher - although there are skinflints everywhere. In my decades of bar hopping in Bangkok, tips were generally on the low side - but that was because there were too many young guys in Thailand in those years for whom the alternative to bar work was working in the paddy fields or in the village shop. Laterly I paid according to the experience I had just enjoyed. We already know from posts on this and another chat Board that there is quite a variance between what posters regard as a minimum tip. But since this keeps coming up on posts, why not pin a small post at the top of the Thailand thread that the "usual' minimum tip for young guys from the apps is X and from the bars is Y - with stress that this is a minimum tip! Now I can see our friends @vinapu, @ChristianPFC and others jumping in to say this is a lousy idea. I look forward to such responses. And I hope those in Bangkok will realise that it is a large spread-out city and accept the point made in an earlier post by @Olddaddy

Do you always bring politics into a post dealing with sport? I don't recall any comments by you during the Winter Olympics or any other major sporting event? Nothing about the Iranian Women Football players who recently took part in the Women's Asian Cup? Or Chinese payers who now dominate World badminton, diving and table tennis? Or even when Venezuala participated in the Summer Olympics. Just because the USA got beaten, perhaps?

I fail to understand why anyone should think that whoever honours the life and work of a great actor would be in bad taste. The focus should be on the deceased and definitely not on the living.

The chatter about Chalamet has recently mostly been about his remark to Matthew McConaughy on TV when he basically trashed opera and ballet performances in saying that he did not want to be working in dying art forms which no one cares about any more. Leave aside it was a very stupid comment considering his mother and sister were trained at one of America's most prestigious ballet companies and worked in ballet and dance. Leave aside the actual numbers which prove that ballet and opera audiences, whilst often intensely loyal to their art forms, are indeed falling. Let's just recall that movie stars in general have never been to a performance of either art form. I remember when the BAFTA Awards ceremony moved to London's Royal Opera House in 2008, Stephen Fry was the host. In his inroduction, he told his audience how wonderful it was to be on the same stage where Nijinsky sang and Nellie Melba danced. There was not one titter from anyone in the packed theatre. Yet it was a joke. Nijinsky was arguably the greatest male ballet dancer the world has ever known and Melba, whose name is carried forward in Melba Toast and Peach Melba both created in her honour by the renowned chef Escoffier, was one of the greatest opera singers.

So after 47 games around the world in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Venezuela won. It beat the USA 3 to 2. There's some justice in the world - but sadly not much.

The topic mentioned "Dancing". So you agree there would be chaos on stage without a choreographer. Yet you stated "who cares about a choreographer"??

Put a bunch of dancers on stage without a clue what they are doing in terms of dance and movement and you have chaos. Had you seem the X-Treme dancers you'd know what I mean.

Seville is fantastic. Please don't forget Cordoba. No idea of the sex scene there as i was only there for 1 day, but the absolutely unique Mezquita and other sites should not be missed.

Is it a sign of age that Awards shows just seem to get more and more boring each year? But then why watch them? This year it was in the hope that Timothee Chalamet would not win the Best Actor Oscar - and he didn't! Like so many, I really enjoyed his performance in Call Me By Your Name. Increasingly since then, I find him - frankly - boring. I also have little respect for anyone who says he wants to be the GOAT. You can have achieved the acclamation of GOAT but to state that as your goal in your professional life for me is a definite no-no! This is what he said after he won for the movie A Complete Unknown at last years SAG Awards - “I can’t downplay the significance of this award because it means the most to me, and I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Chalamet said. “I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats." And who can respect anyone who says he is going out with Kylie Jenner? As one commentator has asked, is that just a stunt to prove he is probably not gay? https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2026/1/5/timothe-chalamet-wants-to-be-the-goat-and-im-here-for-it

Or nothing at all! They should be like X-Treme Bar (died 23 years ago in Soi Twilight!) and hire a group of dance students with proper dancing skills, great personalities and decent presentation with proper lighting. These boys were sexy in their own way and sometimes teased with a towel slipping off for a moment. Their weakness? Far too much time between the dances. With the right gay choreographer, they could be a lot of fun.

I mentioned in an ealrier post that I have done three cruises, thanks to a good friend being invited as a lecturer and his wife being unable to join him. On the longest 17-day one around the Caribbean and then up the Amazon to Manaus, my friend decided he'd like to be seated with some other "entertainers" (all non passengers and crew were lumped under this category) for dinners rather than guests. We were a bit late getting to the dining room and found we were at a table of five: a couple from New York and one lecturer whose subject was Princess Diana and the Royal Family! (The Princess had died years before). The lecturer, a lady, was around 80. She was fun to be with but a compete con merchant! When I explained that i was based in Bangkok, she waxed lyrical about the time earlier in her life when she had been invited to be a guest of the Sultan of Fookay and had a marvellous time in his Palace. She clearly meant Phuket which never had a sultan. Most of her lectures were clearly taken from a book she'd read.

From its name and location in Quezon City, this sounds like the reincarnation of the huge 690 Quezon Strip bar of the 1980s. Then it was the most raunchy gay venue in the city and so well known all you had to say to a taxi drivr was 690 and he knew exacty where to take you. But I am sure it has changed although lots of good looking guys on their website. I suspect nudity and soap bubble shows on the cat walks may be out, but worth checking it out.

I am sure thee are several instances of bar owners committing suicide, sadly. Can you recall the name of the bar? And the owner? I can find nothing on the internet, whereas i know Andrew Drummond wrote about the Lanna Lavender disaster which also took place in 2009/2010.

Doi Inthanon is certainly worth a visit. It has at least two waterfalls.