PeterRS

I did say "when the antismoking ban was first introduced" and that was around ten or more years ago. Those were the days when I used to visit bars regularly. Solid Bar, for example, had three such large signs yet the owner and almost all the boys smoked.

FIrst I agree wholeheartedly about the King of College operating model in Tokyo, although like @macaroni21 the timing is too late for me now. And getting back to one's hotel afterwards unless it is within walking distance of Shinjuku ni-chome means a very expensive taxi. Second, I can recall only too well @macaroni21's bar model first introduced in these forums many years ago under his earlier nick. The dividing up of a bar into several sections semed such an ideal development and I am sure it would have taken off with the older westerner crowd of those days. @Keithambrose doubts if brown envelopes would be sufficient to cover a naked section nowadays. He may well be right but I'm not so sure. As long as there is no actual sexual activity underway, I suspect it could be worth trying. The entrance fee to that part of the bar could be increased a little more to cover a larger brown envelope. There is always an assumption - one I have also put forward years ago - that by concentrating on the older westerner market, Thai bar owners have shot themselves in the foot by failing to attract through advertising or other means the newer younger Asian market. Yet going back to King of College and the basic Japanese system in what is a plethora of host bars all over that country, I have occasionally wondered if I and others are in fact correct: is the Asian market really going to be attracted by Thai bars where the primary purpose is to off guys for sex? Some certainly. I see South East Asians as a very obvious market. Apart from the fact that they are all close by, most have no issue with enjoying sex with the Thais, Cambodians, Lao, Vietnamese and Myanmar boys who people most of Bangkok's bars. With the larger markets of Japanese and South Koreans, I am not quite so sure. Generally speaking, I think the cultures of those countries make it more difficult for gay men openly to accept sex with, say, South East Asian guys. This is not a racist issue so much as a cultural one. Of course it is not a universal fact, but I think as a generality it is true. It's why Japanese gay friends who visit Bangkok will happily visit a sauna, go to a massage spa, see a show in a bar and then disappear off to a disco. For many, offing is not really their thing. A section of bars where the boys are naked could, in my view, be extremely attractve to them. I am certain at the very least it would encourage them to drink more(!)

I'm saying that CNN writes for essentially largely an American audience. Lots of non-gay non-Chinese websites are not accessible in China without a VPN. It seems you did not read the article properly. It states - a source familiar with the matter told CNN that it appeared to be related to compliance issues This is stated twice. And after the fuss has died down some apps will reappear as has been the case in the past. Blued, the huge international site founded by a former Beiing policeman, has a Chinese state company as one of its investors. Would China permit a state enterprise to invest in a company which it wanted permanently out of the way? I have gay friends in various Chinese cities. They have no particular desire to march in or attend gay pride parades or even use apps to meet gay friends. That's the western way. They quickly develop their own circles of friends. If you are a one-time or just occasional visitor and you don't like the status quo, don't go. Simple as that. I am delighted to visit.

Yet another anniversary. This time the 40th since what was to become the winner of the Best Oscar was first shown, director Milos Forman's adaptation of the Peter Shaffer play Amadeus. On the face of it, the movie is about the rivalry that existed between the conventional and somewhat boring Viennese Court Composer Antonio Salieri and a young composer brought from the Court at Salzburg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the movie, that rivalry leads to near hatred with Salieri responsible for Mozart's early death at the age of 36. Salieri then goes mad. Like several other issues in the play and the film, that is dramatic licence for there is no evidence that Mozart's death was caused in any way by Salieri. That the two thoroughly disliked each other initially is fact. That Salieri was intensely jealous of Mozart's extraodinary talent compared to his own much more modest accomplishments is mostly fact. That Salieri blamed God for giving such gifts to such a silly and uncouth boy is another truth. Mozart may not have been quite as childish as shown in the movie, but he was no young saint. He enjoyed visiting the taverns in town, he wrote scatalogical references in many of his letters and even penned a series of musical pornographic canons (a canon being a musical device). One starts with the line "Lick me in the arse, quickly, quickly!", basically an 18th century verson of "Lick My Ass". Not shown in the movie is that Salieri on the other hand was equally no saint as attested by his wife, eight children and mistress. And the rivalry can not have been that serious given that Mozart entrusted the musical education of his son to Salieri. In today's BBC website, there is a long article about the movie and especially about Milos Forman's return to communist Czechoslovakia to film most of the movie in Prague, the city where Mozart spent several years and where several of his major works received their premiere. It even suggests that certain elements in the film reflect communist society before glasnost started to tear the Soviet Union apart. The writer even suggests - Forman's aim for Amadeus can be seen as radically different from a typical biopic, and that was to use a fictionalised version of an epic clash between musical composers to allegorise the defining global rivalry of the mid-to-late 20th Century: the Cold War. Put simply, the film may have played fast and loose with 1784 because its real preoccupation was 1984 . . . The Soviet allegory can certainly be applied to Amadeus. Perhaps Forman was less concerned with hewing to biographical facts as he was with presenting Mozart as a beleaguered type of ecstatic genius who, hostage to patronage, is stifled and finally crushed by the repressive apparatus of the state. Joseph II, absolute ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, is advised at court by a clutch of prudish sycophants who undermine Mozart's achievements and smear his reputation. Whatever its loose correspondence to the late-18th and early-19th Centuries, this critique can be read as a stab at the USSR – a debilitatingly centralised bureaucracy hostile to insurgent ideas and innovation. What is true is that after Forman saw the play, he persuaded Peter Shaffer to reimagine it in a slightly different way for his film. They spent four months cloistered in a farmhouse in Connecticut where they basically rebuilt the narrative with a "fresh palette of political references." Many major actors lobbied hard for the main parts. Kenneth Branagh almost landed the part of Mozart until Foreman decided on a largely US cast (with the honourable exceptions of the superb English actor Roy Dotrice as Mozart's father and Simon Callow as the theatre owner Emanuel Shikaneder). Mark Hamill undertook several auditions for the part of Mozart. For Salieri Al Pacino, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland and Burt Reynolds all lobbied for the part. Both were given to relative unknowns in the movie world. It is, I think, also interesting that today when much classical music around the world is suffering from major financial constraints, the music in the movie was selected by the conductor Neville Marriner and performed by him and his Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields orchestra (St. Martin's referring to the name of the Church in London's Trafalgar Square where they are based). At a time when most movie music was performed for fees, Marriner elected instead to be put on a royalty. The film's huge success resulted in a bonanza for the orchestra which enabled it to build its own completely new rehearsal studios. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240926-could-amadeus-be-the-most-misunderstood-oscar-winner-ever

When the no smoking law came in, some bars posted prominent No Smoking signs, even though most patrons paid zero attention. I have never in my life seen a No Prostitution notice in a gay bar!

As I understand the regulations, smoking is not premitted in any indoor bars.

Oh really? The same sort of problem an Englishman, Scotsman, Welshman and Northern Irishman experience in the United Kingdom? As a Scot, I do not like being called an Englishman, but I am perfectly happy being called a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Having visited China many dozens of times, I do not agree at all with @KeepItReal's comments. There are plenty of places for gay men to meet up and the apps can be humming, even for older western guys.

Waiting for @Olddaddy to open his 'different' bar, no doubt. How often did we hear that in the old days of Soi Twight!

There is more on this story from abc news. As the Court was informed - His attorneys said that while in custody, Emerson realized he was an alcoholic and has since been sober for two years. He only then realised he was an alcoholic? So for some years at least there must have been some occasions when he must have been under the lingering influence of alcohol. That makes this case even more scary. Emerson was 44 at the time of the incident, had been a first officer since 2001 and a captain since 2019. He told the Court he had tried to pull the engine cut-off levers "because he thought he was dreaming and just wanted to wake up." Huh? As medical experts agree, the effect of the magic mushroons he allegedly consumed 40 hours earlier would have worn off within 10 hours. Within 24 hours they are undetectable. So how come that was an acceptable part of his defence? He himself then said in Court - ""I can tell you this tragic event has helped me grow, to trust God." What has God got to do with it?? Isn't that what all Americans say when appearing contrite in Court? https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-alaska-airlines-pilot-shut-engines-midflight-avoid/story?id=127594065

As I understand it, the special security screening applies to all airports with a plane change en route to the US ever since 9/11.

Should we ve surprised? @Moses has got it wrond AGAIN! So Chinese never pay attention to state advisories? Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues. Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan. One air travel analyst, Hanming Li, said departure data suggested about 500,000 flight tickets to Japan had been cancelled between 15 and 17 November. The Chinese outlet Jimu News reported that Sichuan Airlines had cancelled all flights between Chengdu and Sapporo from January until late March, and the budget carrier Spring Airlines had cancelled “multiple” Japan flights. At least seven Chinese airlines, including the three state carriers, said they would offer free cancellations to travellers with flights booked to the country. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/18/chinese-travellers-estimated-to-have-cancelled-500000-flights-to-japan-amid-rising-tensions

Sorry but I cannot agree. If an off-duty pilot for whatever reason delibrately reaches for levers to cut power to the engines and later delierately to reach for a door exit lever and then tell airline staff "I tried to kill everybody.", he deserves to be in prison for quite some considerable time. He knew he had done wrong. He took the magic mushrooms and he went without sleep for 40 hours. He made those decisions. Had he been successful, 84 including himself might have died. Mental health treatment could have been concurrent with his prison time. But for him to serve just 50 days is, in my view, utter madness. Remember the "Miracle on the Hudson"? The FAA spent a lot of time and effort to prove that Captain Sullenberg had done wrong and could easily have reached Teterboro Airport. Thankfully he was proved 100% correct in what he did. This pilot faced no such investigation as far as I am aware - and he certainly should have.

Joseph Emerson was an off-duty pilot hitching a ride in the jump seat of a Horizon Air flight from Everett Washington to San Francisco. There were 84 on board. He admitted in court that he had not splept for about 40 hours and had taken the drug psilocybin (known as magic mushrooms) around 48 hours prior to boarding the aircraft. He claimed he was also suffering from depression. He informed the court that he was aware he should not have been flying! Yet there he was in the cockpit jump seat. Suddenly, early in the the flight, he tried to cut off power to the engines. It took the cockpit crew around 90 seconds to restrain Emerson. Moved to the passenger cabin - After being subdued, Emerson said to flight attendants: "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad" and later tried to reach for the emergency exit handle during the plane's descent. One flight attendant told investigators they had observed Emerson saying "I messed everything up" and that he "tried to kill everybody". The aircraft made an emergency landing at Portland and no one was hurt. The incident happened in October 2023 and came to court in September. By then Emerson had spent 50 days in jail. Depite the fact that his rogue actions could have seriously endangered the aircraft, the District Court judge ordered that he serve no more jail time, instead sentencing him to 5 years of problation, 664 hours of community service and a fine of $60,569. Amazingly, she also told the court - "Pilots are not perfect. They are human," Judge Amy Baggio said. "They are people and all people need help sometimes." Emerson had admitted guilt and apologised. Yet I find it totally unbelievable that the judge in this case did not consider these actions of a man who was a pilot particularly severe and failed to sentence him to prison for up to 20 years as allowed by Federal law.. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kp6j5n68do https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-pilot-tried-cut-engines-flight-taking-magic-mushrooms-pleads-gu-rcna229490

Living in Bangkok, my feeling is the major shopping malls would not consier this as they would be too easily discovered by some local residents and that could result in a lot of bad PR. On the other hand, online stores could easily indulge in that practice.

You and the Chinese may not be concerned, but Japanese stockholders most definitely are. Japanese stocks related to tourism and retail fell on Monday after China warned its citizens not to travel to the country as Tokyo and Beijing remain locked in a row over Taiwan . . . Shares in Japanese department stores were hit hard, with the parent company of the Mitsukoshi and Isetan chains plunging by almost 12%. Other well-known brands like cosmetics company Shiseido also fell sharply. China has consistently ranked among the top sources of tourists visiting Japan. Shares in department store chain Takashimaya, and the owner of global fashion chain Uniqlo closed more than 5% lower. Carriers Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings were also down. Shares in Oriental Land, the theme park company that runs the Tokyo Disney resort, ended the day 5.8% lower . . . Chinese airlines - including China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Air China - offered refunds for flights to Japan. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9n25r0qyo

I have been hearing this from several visitors (as opposed to expats living there). It's a great city, easy to get around, lots to see nearby - but precious little for gay visitors compared to Bangkok and Pattaya - or even what it offered ten years ago.

Just for info, it is not Hong Kong that requires extra security screening. It is mandated by the US government for fights to the USA at the original point of departure if there is a plane change en route. And all transit passengers have to go throuigh another security screening process in Hong Kong - but that would be the same whichever transit airport you used.

I have no idea what this means! Is it closed for renovation?

Allegedly there should indeed be bargains throughout the main shopping malls. I have seen 45% off advertised for a pair of sneakers that week-end, but inevitably with these kind of sales stores usually have some loss leaders to encourage you hrough their doors. If you do not need your equipment immediately, I'd just wait and see in the hope there will be discounts.

Oh really? With Shohei Ohtani getting paid $700 million for a ten year contract? Or soccer player Christino Ronaldo taking home $275 million? Or Alcaraz and Sinner each earning up to $40 million or more this year in tennis winnings and endorsements? But I detect a tongue in cheek!

Sorry I do not know which cruise line or which ship as it was quite a few years ago. The week's route was from Barcelona to Rome stopping at various ports in between.

I have never been on a gay cruise, but good friends did one in the Mediterranean some years ago and absolutely loved it. Not sure the Baltic one would interest me, though. Part of the enjoyment, according to my friends, was being outdoor in the heat of a Mediterranean summer and seeing so many gay singles and couples partying in revealing outfits day and night. The average temperature around the Baltic in summer is only around 20 celsius - more than a bit chilly for sunbathing and swimming. The other is that I'm not sure I would personally enjoy the ports of call - although I stress again that's a personal view. Such a pity that St. Petersburg could not be included for pretty obvious reasons. Bornholm does not look interesting but Helsinki and Tallinn would have been great destinations.

This might be a good time for those considering visiting Japan. Not only is the ¥ at very low levels (today US$1 - ¥154), the Chinese tourists who have been arriving in Japan in droves recently have just been advised by their government not to visit. The reason is a result of recent remarks in parliament by Japan's new right-wing and China-hawk Prime Minister that a military response from Tokyo might be necessary if China were to invade Taiwan. Previous Prime Ministers have always maintained a policy of "strategic" ambiguity over the Taiwan issue. Chinese tourists to Japan have risen to become second in number only to Americans. If Chinese numbers quickly fall, even by a relatively small amount, the tourism industry in Japan may have to resort to lowering prices to attract others. That will be my hope, anyway.

Why would I write cheques to anyone in Thailand? I still do business in the UK and depend on my suppliers getting paid. All UK funds are remitted to my UK bank and I was informed there was no other way to access them. The Banking Commissioner agreed that no other apps would have worked!