PeterRS

Foreign relations is a curious beast. Cambodia has been in Beijings camp since the days of French colonial rule. King Sihanouk fled to Beijing after the 1970 coup which may well have had CIA backing. It was the US secret unsanctioned bombing of Cambodia that directly created the vacuum that led to the rise to power of the genocidal Khmer Rouge. Even after Vietnam invaded and liberated the country, the world led by the USA continued to recognise the murderers for another dozen years. The US even tried to persuade other nations to help rebuild the Khmer Rouge! President Carter in a policy continued by Reagan and Bush 41 called on other nations to cut off assistance and aid to Vietnam. How come the murder of about 1.5 million plus of its citizens would qualify the Khmer Rouge continuing in power? The Khmer Rouge then continued to represent Cambodia at the UN until 1991. Madness! Funny too that Vietnam is coupled with the USA and others in attempts to stamp out the covid19 virus. From what I read, Vietnam was way ahead of the USA in insisting on its people wearing facemarks and using hand sanitiser. This despite Vietnam having a weak healthcare system and small health budget. The leaders in Hanoi implemented their strategy during Tet, the same day as Chinese New Year before the end of January when there were no known cases outside China. Quarantine of those with the virus and tracking of contacts started long before Trump and his minions in Washington gave the virus the time of day.

Apologies to spoon. Id love to say it was an accidental spoonerism but it was merely a simple slip of the finger.

z909 is 100% correct. Taiwan obviously learned its lesson from the 2003 SARS outbreak and reports suggest that life there seems to be normal apart from mandatory wearing of facemarks and use of hand sanitisers. Given the lessons that other countries should have learned from SARS and the other killer virus outbreaks that have appeared since then, the WHO bears as much responsibility for the Covid19 spread as most ignorant and arrogant world leaders. These are the people gladly spend trillions on weapons of war but mere pence (sic) on preparing their countries for a virus outbreak that was bound to happen spooner rather than later,

This movie was popular when it was shown a couple of years ago. Its a tale of two Thai guys who happen to meet up by accident when holidaying in Hokkaido. I wont say more as it will give too much of the story away. I liked it even though it is quite slow moving. There are long silences which are almost Pinteresque but these provide an insight into the thoughts of the principal characters. The full movie is available on youtube. A sequel Present Perfect Part 2 was filmed last year and released last month. But it only had a run of a few days before cinemas were closed.

Second or third visit around 1996 I met the cutest Thai guy in Heaven sauna. I took him out for dinner after our encounter and discovered he was a student about to enter his final year at university. Lovely body, fascinating smile, very friendly, very good English, well endowed as befitted an Isaan boy and a great technique in bed! We continued to meet for my next three visits. Once I took him to Koh Samui for 4 days where we stayed in a hotel with a jacuzzi in the bathroom. What went on in that jacuzzi matched what went on in bed but seemed more exciting. Then he found a Thai boyfriend and our adventures ended. But we remained friends and I met up with him regularly for lunches or dinners until three years ago when he returned to open a business in his home town. I always found Babylon in its first more intimate incarnation in the 90s more exciting than the bigger premises it moved into down the soi. Many more cute young Thais than now, many eager to find older farangs. Never encountered any rent boys. Always queues to get in at the weekend. Once I was just standing around in the semi darkness when I heard a voice with an Australian accent behind me ask if Id like to go with him to a room. I turned around to explain I was only interested in Thais when I realised he was Thai. Turned out hed been to university in Sydney. Hence the Oz accent. He knew exactly what he wanted, had no inhibitions, was passionate and we had an amazing evening followed by dinner. I was staying at the Hyatt then and managed to get him past security for the next two nights. Great days and nights!

I may have confused readers when talking about the entertainment business. I not intend this to mean cock (as suggested by Vinapu) or offs. More the entertainment provided by the bar business. Many posters over several years have talked about how the 1990s saw the peak as far as entertainent value in the gogo bars is concerned. The boys actually danced. They were fun and seemed intent on giving customers a good time. The shows were mostly fun and often creative. Was there not also a less aggressive commercial aspect for customers? From my experience of the Bangkok bars over the last few years, the entertainment value in many has greatly diminished. Standing still with hands behind their backs in a slow rotation or at most a form of soft shoe shuffle has replaced real dancing at the same time as prices have risen very quickly way above any reasonable level. In my experience with few exceptions the boys from neighbouring countries mostly seem less concerned about the good time element in the bars. Perhaps I visited on the wrong nights.

What actually happens in 2020 may well be different. In 1997 the effect was principally limited to Asia. But Thailand did not recover quickly. It had totally exhausted all its foreign exchange reserves in the vain attempt to prop up the baht. The country suffered a good three years of severe economic pain. That crisis only had a minor effect on the rest of the world. China then was a tiny dot on the economic horizon. Now it has been contributing a third of the global economy. China's growth this year will be way lower than the last few years and this will have a huge effect around the world. Imports and exports are all falling dramatically as economic activity in countries increasingly being locked down declines. Already, as Tim Cook of Apple pointed out, there are huge disruptions to the world's supply chains. We have already seen the effect just on world tourism with Thailand especially hard hit as outbound Chinese travel is all but dead. Many major airlines and much of the hotel industry are on life support. When people start to fly in greater numbers again, I cannot see a return to pre Covid19 levels till far into the future. Recently I stayed in a 390 room hotel which had at most 30 rooms occupied. In my crystal ball I see a much greater wariness of the Chinese to travel even in the medium term since average incomes will have dropped and families will have less disposable income for two years or more. I suspect a more accurate comparison is with the global financial crisis in 2008. But I see this one as being even worse. I truly wish I am wrong. I do agree, though, that one result may be a drop in the number of Vietnamese, Laos and Cambodians in the entertainment business and a return of more Thais. Perhaps thats one little bright sot on the horizon.

This video by a Vietnamese pop star has gone viral. It focuses on the need for hand washing in a fun way. Interesting that it was made more than a month ago at a time when few seemed to have been paying much attention to the importance of hand washing! Apologies if it has already been posted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctF5aMV05kM

Yesterday the Bangkok Post reported the government has allowed one border crossing to Laos and one to Cambodia to remain open. The one for Cambodia is at Aranyaprathet. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1883110/more-border-closures-in-fight-against-virus

Surely it is more than ridiculous to make decisions based on reported statistics of those infected and those who have sadly died, however important these are. The key statistic has to be the number of those tested compared to total population. In the case of something like this virus, to assume that existing totals bear any reality to actual infections is fantasy. Mandating the testing of visitors before they can travel therefore seems to make a degree of sense. Hopefully most will not be infected between the date of the test and the date of travel.

Is there anything stopping you sending him a PM if you are seeking advice? Didnt Bob actually suggest this about 3 years ago?

Many belated congratulations to your parents. As DivineMadman points out, a lovely story. My own parents knew each other considerably longer before their marriage that would have reached well into its sixth decade had not my father succumbed to cancer. I do think our respective parents were probably far from unique. Six decades or so ago saw very different times when society in general worked in much simpler ways. But I wonder if your parents came from very different cultures and actually lived on opposite sides of the planet before those first happy meetings? Perhaps my comments on the OP are a result of a failed attempt to live with a lovely Thai young man in his late 20s who had earlier lived with a boyfriend in Australia. I assumed he would be accustomed to a different western culture and did not take the trouble to introduce him to it before he moved. I was stupid. Despite his promises of undying love and after a lengthy long distance relationship, he just could not settle down. Purely for info, he was not a money boy and had never been in any gay bar in Thailand.

Like it or not KhorTose has made a valid point. Can anyone really know another person enough to marry and spend his life with him when this man has never once been to their own country? When one party has never lived in Thailand for more than a few weeks at a time? Some posters here have given out details of their meetings with other posters. So let me add that I met KhorTose. I hope he will forgive me giving out a small bit of personal information in his defence in the face of the "offensive derogatory over-generalizations" he is being accused of. Before he proposed to his Thai partner he returned and actually lived in Thailand for several years during which time they lived together. He also took his partner on a visit to his home in the USA so the young man could get used to the living environment. Only after all that did he feel confident enough that his Thai partner would be happy to settle in a totally alien country. We are all different. What works for one may not for another. Some use stronger language and inferences than others. I do not believe Schuft is a troll and I wish him every success with the relationship.

I refer to the quote I made earlier - from an expert on viruses. They may not grow but they don't die in the absence of a human cell to latch on to. As she points out they can iive on surfaces other than skin for up to months in some cases But I certainly wouldnt be relying on any advice or quotes made here. Do your own research and make up your own mind. Its your life, after all. In fact, I think this thread can end up being misleading. I suggest it is closed.

Well that may be the theory but there really are no specific rules. It all depends on the individual hotels. I once stayed at an up market hotel in what was billed as a superior room. It was tiny, felt like a broom cupboard and had a view of rooftops. I called the management and asked to see the standard room. Oh we do not have standard rooms was the response. I then argued. I told him that in the English language, the language of the country we were in, the word superior meant superior to something inferior. Again I asked to see the standard room. To keep me quiet I was upgraded to a deluxe - which of course should have been named a superior! Deluxe is often used for rooms of exactly the same size but on higher floors. Now I just call and ask in advance precisely what each room type consists of!

For every expert saying one thing, there is another saying the opposite! Im not going to touch a planes video screen unless I know it has been properly cleaned with alcohol before I get on board. Same with the arm rests, the seat bels and the tray table. Who knows who has been on that plane and near that seat when it arrived before my departure? I may sneeze into my sleeve or a tissue or handkerchief, but no one knows who has been in that seat or near it and failed to cover his or her mouth or nose, When I come to Thailand I will use alcohol wipes liberally on the plane. Im taking no chances https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/how-coronavirus-spreads-on-a-plane/

Sobering indeed. A key part of the article is surely this one. After SARS it was widely reported that another similar illness would eventually appear and that it would originate in China where animals and humans often exist in close proximity to each other. Early and continuing research is vital with all new illnesses. Lest we forget, researchers now believe the first known AIDS patient in the USA was a teenager Robert Rayford whose immune system was dysfunctional and who suffered from a number of highly unusual symptoms including Kaposi's syndrome. Rayford died in St. Louis in 1969. The autopsry results baffled doctors. It was only in 1988 that tests found HIV antibodies in his blood samples. How he was infected is not known. It is suspected that he could have been a child prostitute. St. Louis was TWA's international hub city. The case was so unusual it was the subject of an extensive 1973 article in the medical journal Lymphology. It is mere speculation but had research continued on Rayford's death, could the HIV pandemic have been nipped in the bud?

I take the CDCs guidelines and use the N95 for greater protection against the smaller droplets getting through the mask. This type of mask is not very comfortable to wear in the heat of Thailand . But the normal surgical mask is not effective is protecting against the smaller droplets named aerosols. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/UnderstandDifferenceInfographic-508.pdf I agree there is so much advice in so many places it has all become very confusing.

Plenty. These masks do not fully cover the face. There are plenty of gaps at the sides and small gaps around the nose. Not difficult to breath only air that comes through the mask. The tight fitting N95 respirator masks are far more effective according to many medical websites.

The problem with almost all masks is they cover only the nose and mouth. A cough or a sneeze from an infected person near you releases small droplets into the air. These can just as easily infect you through your eyes. Short of wearing goggles I guess those weatring regular eye glasses have a slightly greater degree of protection. Other point is to avoid touching objects which may have been touched by an infected individual. Things like cash, elevator handrails, floor buttons on lifts etc. Always keep washing your hands.

Some years ago I did Brazil flying from Asia. Then it meant two 12 hour overnight flights with a long14 hour stopover in Europe. Thank goodness I had enough miles saved up to upgrade to biz class. With many more daytime flights to Europe now, the total trip time can be a lot shorter via cities like Dubai. Depending on where you live in Asia you can also consider flying via the Pacific. But total journey time will still be a bit more than 24 hours. Good luck! The trip is worth it.

In Bangkok you see lots of Indians in the main shopping malls. These ladies spend heavily judging by the luxury bags they carry.

There is lots to see in all three cities. Just check travel tips on the internet and youll get all the info you need on all the main ones. Dont forget take a half day trip to the Amber Fort outside Jaipur. Delhi has god awful traffic but there is a very basic underground network which can help get near some of the sights. Please do not miss Agra. Difficult to say when you will see it without much air pollution but it is definitely bucket list material. Try and see it at least twice - once just as dawn is breaking when the marble changes colour and then again during the day. Sorry cannot help with gay life other than gay sex was decriminalised earlier this year. It was very much AYOR for foreigners when I was there. I expect it will be much the same now.

I find it useless worrying about nomenclature. I for one hate the use of Queer. For decades when I was growing up it was filled with very negative connotations and I loathed it. Now it has become fashionable again. I wish the younger generation could be bothered to educate themselves about its history. Gay is one virtually generic term but there are many sub-terms. Even that is a fairly recent adoption of the term. In the years between the two world wars, it meant cheerful, carefree and fun. Even in the mid 1950s Leonard Bernstein composed a musical 'Candide' whose main song is "Glitter and be Gay". (Mind you, as Bernstein was himself a homosexual as his wife writes in one of her letters to him, its possible perhaps he wrote that with tongue in cheek!) In a way I am sorry the word gay has all but lost its earlier meanings. As for straights, I have no such problem. What other term is likely to be appropriate I wonder? Acceptance of the word heteros implies an equal acceptance of homos.

Thank you. I might check it out.