PeterRS

I remember Sphinx well and both had drinks at the bar there and also dined many times over quite a few years. One particular memory. A month earlier I had been in Chiang Mai and visited the House of Male sauna. Had a great time with a handsome student but supidly left my varifocal spectacles in their case somewhere. No one could find them. As they are expensive, I did not replace them. My Chiang Mai student friend then arrived in Bangkok for New Year and I took him to Sphinx for dinner. Before our meal arrived, he played a trick on me. He asked me to look out of the window for a reason I cannot now recall. When I turned back to the table, there on my plate were my spectacles! He had found them near my locker as he left the sauna! I made sure he had a good time in Bangkok!!

One of Britain's fallouts from the Epstein scandal has been the sacking of a man who has been almost at the centre of much of British and European politics for almost 30 years, the British Ambassador to Washington Lord Peter Mandelson. There is now an enquiry as to whether he might have given away state secrets to Epstein. My own politics aside, I have always found Mandelson a somewhat creepy individual. It has nothing to do with his being gay. It is on the political influence he has exerted when he seemed to have little importance other than having been a key PR figure responsible for the election of Tony Blair to the PM's job in 1997. I found him creepy because I rarely believed what he said. To me, looking closely at his eyes gave his game away. When someone is trying to convince you of something and he knows that he has an ulterior motive, that person frequently cannot stare you straight in the eye. I found that with much of what Mandelson uttered over the years. I started looking more carefully at eye movements when a youngster and Harold Wilson was the Labour government's Prime Minister. Unless reading from a teleprompter, he could never keep his eyes straight ahead, always looking to the side momentarily, so much so that even I as a political neophyte then could tell he was lying. Once when the subject of a 'live' interview on the weekly news Panorama programme about the Vietnam War with the BBC's brilliant, knowledgable - and subsequently reveald as gay - reporter James Mossman, his words twisted and turned and his eyes darted about. Apart from his obvious discomfort, you could tell just from his eyes that he was lying. Spinning the truth - or outright lying - is now part and parcel of political life. Some like Trump have been lying for so many decades it has become second nature and his eyes give little away. But for lesser experienced public figures, even today I find their eyes often show it!

The influence of the USA in Asia, through indirect and direct action, is incalculable. Tens of millions of deaths in wars. We know now too much about the illegal wars in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and their consequences. We know much less about places like the bloodbaths in East Timor and West Pakistan/Bangladesh, for example, which could never have happened had Kissinger not visited Indonesia and East Pakistan just beforehand, providing the governments in each with a nod and a wink that the USA would not intervene to stop their proposed savagery. Millions died in those conflicts with even the US Ambassador in East Pakistan begging his government to do something to intervene. Several experts agree that Kissinger should have been tried for war crimes.

At the rates that hotel charges? Sadly out of my league just as the Capella is out of yours 🤪 Before I stayed at the Phu Quoc Marriott, the Obamas had stayed there at US$10,000 per night!

The British rightly receive virtually no credit for their colonial advances into Asia. But the Dutch atrocities in indonesia were almost certainly far worse. I suppose at least the Dutch government formally apologised to Indonesia for the "systematic and extreme violence" it indulged in during the Indonesian war of independence after WWII. No apology, though, for all the atrocities before then, including the forced transport of 33,000 Indonesians to work on their plantations in Suriname in South America. Mind you, the British have never issued any formal apology for its major part in the slave trade. Yet surveys conducted over several years show that while the older generation of Britons largely agree that colonialism was a force for pride, the majority of the younger generation now agree it is a matter of shame. Extraordinarily, last year the Shadow Justice Secretary in the British government actually stated that - Britain's former colonies owe us a debt of gratitude for the inheritance we left them https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/51483-british-attitudes-to-the-british-empire

As I have written some time ago, I did a 9 day self-organised trip to central Vietnam in 2020 just before borders were closed for covid. I absolutely loved it. Stayed three nights in a lovely small hotel in Hoi An. I thoroughly recommend staying at least one night rather than a day trip. Hue was also fascinating but Danang was the surprise. I had gone purely for sightseeing but as soon as my flight landed in Danang I was chatted up by a guy from Grindr. We met when I returned from my three nights in Danang and he was a delighful companion. Showed me some sights, spent quite a time in my hotel room and took me to little restaurants I would never have known about. No, he was not a money boy and would not let me give him anything apart from paying for meals and cocktails, even when he came with me to the airport for my departure. He did visit Bangkok a couple of years later and I was glad i could repay at least a little of his hospitality. A few more pics to add to those from @vinapu As outlined in another thread, I stayed on Phu Quoc the previous year. There I had five free nights courtesy of Marriott points. Loved the beach, the sea, the island and of course the hotel. With I could stay at the hotel again, but the number of points required is now astronomical!

I have noticed today - and on a few days over about the last month - that there seems to be a small problem with the site. When trying to log in, or indeed having logged in and trying to make post, I get this message - We're sorry, but a temporary technical error has occurred which means we cannot display this site right now. Too many connections The interruptions do seem to be temporary and the page comes back with 15-30 minutes. Is this something to do with regular maintenance or just an occasional glitch?

I think we often tend to forget that following in the wake of the colonial powers' militaries the Christian missionaries were not far behind. I cannot speak for Africa, but in China, for example, the power of the missionaries, the propaganda they spread usually without hindrance, and the results of their actions is often forgotten. By the mid-19th century China was economically in a desperate state. One young man who had seen the pamphlets handed out by Protestant missionaries had merely put them to one side. He then failed the all-important civil service examinations four times. Realising he had little future in bettering himself in the country, he re-read the pamphlets. After studying the bible with an American Baptist missionary, he became convinced that he was the brother of Jesus Christ, born in the land of China to rid it of the rot and corruption that was enveloping it internally. This resulted in his starting a movement that was soon to become known as the Taiping Rebellion. This started in 1850. Within 10 years it had gathered a force of tens of thousands and laid siege to Shanghai for 15 months. That was finally repulsed by the Qing rulers, but the Taiping army continued its drive north towards Beijing. The Qing finally defeated the rebellion after 14 years of warfare. The total death toll will never be known but reliable estimates put it at between 20 and 30 million covilians and soldiers. Christians were therefore in large part responsible for these deaths. Of course it can be argued that had the economically prosperous China not descended into relative chaos over the previous century, the Rebellion could not have happened. Equally, though, had the far superior forces of Britain not started war on China over a right to import opium as payment for its exports instead of silver (which also resulted in several million Chinese deaths) and then forced it to open up treaty ports along its coastline, the missionaries would never have arrived.

A friend from Singapore stayed there a few weeks ago. He liked it. Said the gym had nice facilities but he was not there for cruising and so did not mention it to me. However, he said transport from that part of the city was sometimes quite difficult. Although it is relatively close to Thonglor Skytrain station, we had arranged to meet at the Yunimori onsen off Sukhumvit. This was his choice as I had sugested the newer Sathorn one. The original one is a lot closer to Rama 4 and badly placed for public transport. So he ordered a Grab car to get him there for 3:00 pm. It took 25 minutes for a car to arrive and then they got caught up in Sukhumvit traffic.

How sad that you don't even want to see snow! It has the same ability to transform relatively ordinary landscapes as blossoms do in the Spring. And throwing snowballs can be fun - but perhaps not as much as the balls you prefer playing with 🤪

Beautiful photo. I think any city is enhanced by the topography beyond it, even though it may not be sunny. Santiago with the Andes behind Hong Kong Island dominated by Victoria Peak Tokyo on a remarkably clear morning

I cannot compare with the UK as I have never had to attend any hospital there. I totally agree that at Chulalongkorn everyone is eager to help, and that makes for a very pleasant atmosphere. When I mentioned registration, I should have added when first registering as a patient. There are certainly lots of these machines at the main entrance which are also used for appointments, but each department also has usually three machines where I registered this afternoon. As foreigners usually do not have ID cards, the machines have a "foreigner" button. After pressing it, it's easy to manually insert your Hospital number, check the appointment details and get the long strip printed in English that way. It's only for the eye checks that I have to use a lift. Perhaps its because of the retina check procedure taking much longer, I've often had lifts that are empty!

I have been going to Chulalongkorn hospital for 5 years now. It certainly is huge and very easy to get lost. At ground level for registration and first appointment, there are few staff members who speak English - perhaps just a smattering. The doctors I have seen have been excellent - and excellent English speakers - but it is rather like a railway station with many patients around, all having to register on their first visit before they go to their relevant department. Then there is another waiting period until your number comes up (literally). Finally you are in the right section but be prepared for yet another wait. I happen to have an appointment there this afternoon. Registration at 1st floor level opens at 3:00pm but a queue will start forming a good 20 minutes beforehand. Technically my appointment is between 4:30pm and 6:00pm, but it is usually nearer the end than the beginning. So I'm taking my Kindle. Getting a hospital appointment is not a case of walking in, though. It needs to be made some weeks in advance! Unless of course it is an emergency requiring Emergency Treatment. Last time I went to the private hospital BNH, I called at 08:30 am and was seen by a doctor at 10:40 am! How much longer I will go to Chulalongkorn I have not decided. Another reason is due to the government deciding 2 years ago that foreigners should be charged more than Thais. My doctor's fees used to be Bt. 200 + Bt. 50 for hospital facilities fee. I actually felt it was unfair for me as a foreigner not to pay a little more. But the government then whacked up my doctors' fees by 400% so they are now Bt. 800. Since I pay very little more if I go to BNH, I feel Bt. 800 is too much and I may just go back to BNH. I wonder if their Red Cross Clinic now has a foreigners' pricing.

Well the Winter Olympics are over for another four years. With a lot of time on my hands, I have watched more events than I have done in the past - and I have enjoyed virtually all of them, even the long distance speed skating which used to leave me cold (sic). Malinin's temporary fall from grace has obviously been a highlilght. In interviews after that Final he talked a lot about the pressure heaped on him. I always found that a little self serving. But this morning I found a fascinating interview on youtube with the man I still consider the greatest skater in my time, Yuzuru Hanyu. Speed and complex jumps are clearly essential in such a sport, but equally artistry - and no one has yet come close to Hanyu's supreme performances as an artist. Surprisingly, at least for me, in the vdo he stresses that taking part in the Olympics was never fun for him, even twice winning the Golds. I had never seen any interview with him more than a couple of minutes long. So it was also surprising that in this one he talks for 14 minutes solo. He had a number of bad times in his life, no more so than in 2011 when the tsunami off north-eastern Japan destroyed both his home and the Sendai ice rink where he practiced. Similarly three months prior to his second Gold, he had suffered a bad ankle accident preparing for the NHK Trophy in Japan and it was not known till a week or two before the Olympics if he could actually skate. He comes across in the vdo as a bright, intelligent young man, much more fluent than many Japanese, no doubt due in part to his years training in Toronto. I enjoyed watching him opening up about his life and career, and especially the final part where he is asked about death. I found that fascinating.

I wonder if you found the location of Isherwood and Auden's favourite gay bar, The Cosy Corner. It was where working men - and boys - were prostitutes. As one website mentions, it was a "truly decadent place". Undoubtedly no blue plaque!

I visited the park on one of my first ever visits to Japan decades ago. It is perfectly lovely. Smaller than many other parks but so typically Japanese and beautiful. I was there in the summer. I am sure in the sakura and late autumn fall colour seasons it will be wonderful, but I expect you would be joining a hoard of other visitors.

Many are not aware that Booking.com is not just one search engine. It is the parent of quite a few. Booking.com, Agoda, Priceline, Kayak, Getaroom, Momondo and HotelsCombined (which I used to use a lot for vacation travel) and others are all subsidiaries of Booking.com which is listed on the Nasdaq 100. Phishing is not Booking.com's only problem. Six months ago a law suit was taken out by the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes in Europe (Hotrec) with more than 10,000 hotels in Europe joining the suit alleging that booking.com - used its muscle to distort the market to their detriment over a 20-year period . . . It alleges that the “best price” pledge on Booking.com was extracted from hotels under huge pressure not to offer rooms at lower prices on other platforms, including their own websites. The hotel industry says that the Netherlands-based platform also used the clauses to prevent customers making what it called “free-rider” bookings, which it defined as using its services to find a hotel but then booking directly with the management, cutting out Booking.com. A study by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland found that Booking Holding, the website’s parent company, controlled 71% of the European market in 2024, compared with 68.4% in 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/07/thousands-of-hotels-in-europe-to-sue-booking-com-over-abusive-practices In 2024 the European Court of Justice ruled that clauses that prevented hotels from offering lower prices on their own or other websites are anti-competitive. Booking.com charges hotels commissions of between 10% and 25% with the global average being around 15%. With so many sites under booking.com's control, it's little wonder the company makes mega-profits. Little wonder, too, that booking directly with a hotel will usually - but not always - provide a more competitive rate (but always depending on season and other variables).

I fully accept you are the expert here. However, if Britain and other colonial powers had not introduced anti-sodomy laws and not only had them on these countries' statute books for around a century but also rigorously enforced them, might today's anti-gay sentiments be less? Might not those African countries which had been colonised just continue what they had been practising before the colonial powers arrived (and I frankly do not know if homosexuality was encouraged/tolerated/banned in any of these countries before then)? Just curious as to your thoughts.

Not again! Such a typical @Keithambrose comment - merely a word or two instead of a reasoned discussion (and this from a lawyer!) and no substance.

So if a poster comments that what you and some others have posted is nonsense, you'd rather walk away than present the facts? I'm perfectly happy to stop when you tell the other poster @unicorn to stop - and he then stops. Have you done so? Good luck!

And as a place to change trains! I once did a lovely short week-end trip outside Tokyo to Matsumoto and the lovely old town of Takayama. I had got there by train and bus, but getting back I needed a faster route. So local train to Nagoya linking with shinkansen back to Tokyo. No need even to step outside the station.

And that is total and utter B/S. You seriously believe that Japanese land was dished out by the US administration? What a ridiculous joke! You are implying that Japanese agriculltural history started after WWII? As others wrote consistently to which you failed to pay any attention, most Japanese land had been farmed for many, many generations of the same family. You will no doubt claim that the land itself became subject to Japanese government control following increasing resentment against landlords who hiked rents to ridiculous levels, drove many farmers from their land, the establishment of the earlier Imperial Agricultural Association and then the Nihon Nomin Kumiai, the latter effectively the farmers' union formed for collective bargaining. During the wartime economy, the government realised that the landlord system was a serious impediment to increasing productivity. It set up the Central Agricultural Association to supervise farming under the economy in wartime and later. This is typical of many worldwide governments which have departments in charge of agriculture. But farmers still owned the land their families had owned for generations and generations. This fact you cannot grasp. So best not to comment on it.

Presumably you set your payment currency as CNY

LOL indeed!

Having been a regular traveller for decades, I totally agree. I have used agoda, expedia and perhaps a couple of others and found they were basically fine. But the older I have got the more fussy I am about my room and its location - not on the first few floors and definitely not near a lift lobby, for example. Now I am only a member of one hotel chain but it consistently lives up to its promises. On my recent visit to Taipei, though, I found the price for my usual chain hotel had risen quite considerably. Having once enjoyed a very pleasant stay at a Japanese chain hotel in Tokyo (the one overlooking Kabukicho with a huge godzilla character overlooking the street), I decided to try their one in Taipei a couple of weeks ago. Excellent room, superb breakfast and very welcoming staff, plus only 100 meters or so from a subway station. It is essentially part of a chain and so I suppose I now belong to two, although the Japanese one does not have many hotels yet outside Japan.