PeterRS

I have acually lived in East Asia for 46 years in several countries. Although I never took the trouble to learn the languages well enough for conversations, I know enough for the basics. Fortunately friends I have made tend to speak at worst reasonable English. Everywhere I have had more "local" friends than western friends. For me I just cannot see the point of living outside my own country in an expat bubble - although of course I fully respect the rights of those who do.

To me that makes not one iota of difference. Of course, as stated I am not American and I do not understand much of what happens politically and socially in America. But the ability of virtually anyone in the USA to grab a gun and murder unarmed teenage and pre-teen boys virtually on their doorsteps whether or not they were playing a stupid prank or not, is the mark of a hideously warped society, one where people care little about anyone but themselves and where the callous murder of young children seems only to increase each time lawmakers talk about the need to preserve the ridiculous 2nd Amendment. How many recall this was actually ratified on December 15 1791? That anyone can remotely consider a law passed 234 years ago remains relevant without any further amendment or revision in the year 2025 is close to madness in my limited view. It is as though the good and the bad people in America consider they still live in a country where they can slaughter the Native American Indian communities with impunity and the horse and buggy remains the only mode of transport. All sensible societies accept that laws need to be revised or repealed with the passage of time. If not, homosexuals in England would still be subject to the death penalty under the Buggery Act of 1553. But that Act was revised in 1861 and again in 1885 before finally being being struck off the statute books (with certain exceptions as for sex with with minors, for example) in 1967. So if two gay members of this forum lived in England and the USA in the year 1886, would they rather be subject to two years in jail like Oscar Wilde or murdered on a doorstep?

Do let us know after your return. Sri Lanka is rarely mentioned here and a report from a member will I am certain be most welcome.

This should perhaps be in the Politics forum but I am today so angry I want it posted where more can see it. If there is one American gun event I remember more than the vast thousands of others during my lifetime, it is not Sandy Hook or other hideous massacres. It is the tragic tale of a 16-year old Japanese exchange student, Yoshiro Hattori. At Halloween in 1992, Hattori was invited to a party for Japanese students. His homestay 'brother' drove him to the party. Hattori was dressed in a white tuxedo in deference to the character played by John Travolta in the movie Saturday Night Fever. Finding an address with Halloween decorations outside, Hattori and his friend went up and rang the doorbell. It was the wrong address. As there was no response, they were in the act of leaving when the house owner, a 30-year old supermarket butcher named Rodney Peairs, opened the door, a magnum 44 in his hand. He shouted "Freeze". Almost certainly unaware what the word "freeze" meant, Hattori turned back to say to Peairs that they were there for the party. Hattori also did not have his contact lenses on that night. He moved towards Peairs. From a distance of just five feet, Peairs shot and killed him. This is where the law in the US appears to me madness! Originally Peairs was not charged with any crime as the Baton Rouge Police Department claimed Peairs had a legal right to shoot a trespasser. Only affter protests from the State Governor and the Japanese Consul was Peairs charged with manslaughter. It gets worse. Even though a police detective admitted in court that Peairs had said to him, "Boy, I messed up; I made a mistake," after a mere three hours deliberation, the jury found Peairs "not guilty". At an ensuing civil trial, that verdict was overturned and Hattori's parents awarded US$650,000 in compensation. The Peairs insurance company paid $100,000. Over more than three decades the Peairs have never paid one cent of any of the remainder. Why do I think of that today? Last Saturday evening a group of young kids were playing a prank in Houston, Texas. I am sure as kids we all played pranks of various descriptions, sometimes annoying those who were the subject of the prank. But virtually always we put it to the back of our minds and just got on with daily life. Last Saturday, the prank was ringing doorbells and then running away quickly. It seems there were three boys, not yet teenagers. After one bell was rung, the kids ran like mad down the street. The houseowner quickly appeared at the door, gun in hand, saw the boys and randomly shot several times. The intent clearly was to kill. An 11-year old boy was shot in the back and died the following day. The houseowner eventually gave himself up to the police and there is a possibility he will be charged with murder. Several guns were discovered in his home. Irrespective of the charge, in what civilised country in the world are people permitted to own guns and shoot anyone who comes near their front doors without first ascertaining the reason and a reasonable belief that they might come to serious harm? A halloween misunderstanding where the murdered victim is just 16 and has no gun and where the jury has the gall to bring a verdict of "not guilty" and an 11-year old playing a prank are wholly unacceptable circumstances for taking lives - young innocent lives. These are out and out murders which would never occur in most countries. And it is now finally being cited, along with a loathing of Donald Trump and what he, his sanctions and his law & order forces are doing in grabbing innocent people from the streets, as one reason for tourism to the United States starting to fall quite drastically. The US Travel Association estimated that the drop in inbound international travel to the US in March was 14%. The US then had a $50 billion travel trade deficit. https://abcnews.go.com/US/11-year-houston-boy-shot-door-knocking-prank/story?id=125141773 https://www.ustravel.org › us-travel-snapshot-april-2025

Gs Guy Hostel in Taipei sadly closed quite recently. It had single rooms in addition to various types of dorm rooms, open showers and a sort of suggestion that walking around naked was encouraged. Annoyingly agoda still adertises it on its list of hotels. When you try to make a booking it quotes "Just Missed It", which is probably true but actually misleading. But there are other hostels which are either gay or have gay floors. Just be careful when using websites. Nomadic Boys allegedly lists the ten most popular gay hotels. All, apart from Gs Guy which is closed, are regular hotels that have absolutely nothing to do with gay men! It's a total rip off. One popular gay hostel seems to be Miniinn close to the main station. Three of the floors are allegedly dedicated for gay guests. It has become so popular, one website states it will only take reservations two months in advance which I think is probably nonsense. But at around NT$770 (US$25) per night, it's a steal for younger travellers. Beds in male dormitory room Superior quadruple room

As I have written before, Pattaya is not my scene and I could not consider retiring there. But I could not agree more with @floridarob's advice. As I know thanks largely to the companies I have worked for, there are so many fabulous places to visit in this amazing world of ours. I may not have visited as many as @floridarob's 80 but certainly way over 50. Why deny yourself the opportunity of checking at least some of them? You don't always have to throw sex into the mix at the outset, athough I fully understand that for most readers that is a given. But you seem only to stick to South East Asia. Granted air fares to South America would be a lot more expensive but are you not on some airline mileage scheme? I seem to recall you travel business class much of the time and that should build miles. I expect you also have a credit card. If that is not linked to a points transfer to airline mileage, then you should change it. Over 3 or 4 years you could build enough miles to venture further afield. India may not be a preferred destination for you - although for sightseeing parts can be exceptionally hard to beat - but what about Sri Lanka? That has always had a major gay reputation. Beaches with tanned brown bodies, excellent relatively inexpensive hotels, great sightseeing in the interior of the country where there may be more sex-starved young men! It is surely not much more expensive to fly there than to Bangkok.

I go sometimes to the supermarket in the basement of Paragon. I never try to take a taxi from the rank. Instead, from the first floor I cross the road and descend to the other side. I walk 50-100 meters towards Discovery Centre and then stand at the side of the road. Contrary to what happens much more often on the opposite side from Central Chidlom when empty taxis sail by, I can frequently get a taxi here. Latest was yesterday around 2:30pm. The Kinokuniya book store in Paragon is excellent. I assume you know there is another branch on the 3rd floor of Unit B in Em Quartier which is right at Prom Phong Skytrain station. But do not try to get a taxi outside. That part of Silom is permanently clogged with horrendous traffic

But there are lots of entries and more videos about the onsen. Just google it.

I fear the same. The man is a snake. He's always been coiled and ready to pounce. This time he'll probably succeed, alas. He lives in the same expensive condo block where a friend of mine lives. When he was Minister of Health he was seen walking around the garage of his condo without a mask even though one of his entourage had caught the covid bug.

The only point I'd add is once again fairly general elsewhere. If you happen to let you hand stray a little and touch the leg of a cute Asian you have an eye on, should he brush it off it means he is not interested. So just pass on to the next guy.

Another video. It is certainly tiny compared to Babylon. Also it is a more Japanese-style onsen even though there are obviously parts more common to saunas everywhere! I do like the idea of the neon wristbands.

I dont think anyone posted it. We all prety much knew it was going to happen. Hopefully the Shinawatra influence is now at an end. Hopefully, too, a way will be found for Pita Limjaroenkul and his party to return to parliament to do the job they were elected to do two years ago before the elite found a way of getting rid of them. I suspect they could actually effect some real change in the country.

Alexander the Great would have been proud of you!

From: The Guardian 1 September

Have you any suggestions? The democratic party did not recognise that Biden's presidency was one of the worst in its totality, they failed to see what everyone else was seeing that Biden was pretty close to a dementia candidate and backed him, they failed to realise it was only a close group of Biden loyalists who told lies after lies about his health, and actually believed his mantra that only he could beat Trump. They were in a political la-la-land that made it certain Trump would win. Now, almost 10 months after Trump won and more than 7 since his inauguration, they are in some biblical wilderness seemingly dependent only on Ghislaine Maxwell to get them out of the woods. I am not American and my attention to American politics is what I occasionally read on various internet sources. But I see a political party totally glued to doing nothing. Who do those supposed leaders think they are? Have they not heard of a democratic opposition? Indeed, where are their leaders? I read about Kamala Harris thinking about running again. That will be another major disaster. Chuck Schumer? A nonentity. Seriously, does the party not accept that it needs a credible leader who will actually LEAD - and take on Trump issue by issue. Or are they all cowering at the certainty that Trump will go at them hammer and tongs. Don't they accept that have to stand up and FIGHT? The Democrats appear to this outsider as a bunch of firghtened wimps, hoping against hope that the Repulicans will turn against Trump or that someone will do a Lee Harvey Oswald and bump him off. But if the latter happens, the good Lord help the world when J D Vance becomes an even worse President.

Thinking more on the subject, it seems to me in my advancing years that texting is in large part responsible for what is gradually becoming a lost art - conversation. I don't mean as in the great conversationalists of past centuries. Merely the art of considering in a meaningful way what somone says and responding in a similarly meaningful way. With texting. as indeed in chat rooms like this one, what can be quite a complicated subject is usually reduced to a few lines - or even just a few words. The danger then is that whereas instead of a proper conversation the entirety of which has been properly considered prior to a response being delivered, texters jump to conclusions. And in too many instances these conclusions are based on instant reactions which can often be inaccurate rather than a consideration of the subject matter as a whole. Clearly I do not mean those simple texts like, "Fancy a drink tonight?" "Free to go to Banana Bar?" etc. I do mean those slightly longer texts where some topic important to the texter, however accurate or not, is written and which deserves a considered reply. "Fuck off!" may not be a common response but words to that effect certainly seem to be on the few occasions I look at instagram or other social media. These last few days there have been a number of anger issues exhibited at the US Tennis Open which have drawn millions of short texts - players smashing rackets, one player - one of the recognised angry mob - even attempting to argue during a match screaming at the umpire and forcing a 6-minute delay while his opponent was on match point, one player trying to force an argument at the net at the end of a match. The last hapened during a match won by the German Daniel Altmeier against one of the acknowledged angry brigade, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Altmeier refused to be drawn into a shouting match and walked away. As he said at the end, "“Even if I would have lost, I would not enter discussions because it’s just like heat of the moment." It is that issue of sensibility that in my view gets lost in a great many texts. Replies too often lack that essence of sensibility. In our fast moving world, taking time to think, to consider before acting is fast being lost. I fear we are breeding a "Fuck you!" generation.

In the context of body odour, why does anyone think men's colognes, aftershaves and deodorants are so incredibly popular? Partly because they make us smell more attractive to others - certainly more attractive than our own BO. And we have to be honest. Like it or not we all have BO.

OMG! The balcony might collapse! LOL

I almost titled this "Raunchy Sexual Experience" but felt that might be too limiting. Most of us here will have enjoyed many sexual trysts not just in Thailand but also in other parts of the world. I expect, too, that at least some will remain in our minds as among the great experiences of our lives, be you older or younger. Talking with friends the other evening, we were trying to recall if there was one experience that outclassed all the others and that when the time comes for us to shuffle off this mortal coil (well, bringing a quote from Hamlet into the thread might raise the tone if just a little ), we will take with us to the next world. The older one gets, I am sure the more difficult it becomes if only because so many trysts have been in their own way incredibly memorable. I have written a few months ago in a series of long posts about many of my own adventures, from the cutest Indonesian in an Amsterdam sauna, a night spent with as cute a Vietnamese whom I'd met in a Paris sauna who lived in the poshest of circles being the boyfriend of a very rich Frenchman who lived in one of the most elegant addresses in the city (thankfully the French guy was in the USA for 3 weeks!) or the first nights of sleepless passion with a Japanese in Tokyo. The one I might remember most? So hard to pick just one. But I would choose another Tokyo adventure. Armed with the Spartacus Guide - those of us of a certain age before the internet will recall that this thick tome was amost the only Guide which purportedly provided information on most of the world's gay venues - I happened to find a sauna in one of Tokyo's trendiest districts, Shibuya - not known then for gay hang outs. It was up a hill in a small building with a few floors and a roof terrace. I happened upon the most delightful young Chinese. We soon found our way into a smallish room and started what became a long session of love making. After some time, he suggested we go up to the roof and continue there. That even longer session quite literally under the stars was just something I could not forget even if I tried. Naturally it is not the sky or the stars I remember. It is merely the most beautiful face and body of someone who seemed as enrapt as I. Ah! What a memory!

I managed to avoid most of these, partly because I'd always try to start the week-ends earlier by getting the first flight out on Friday mornings and arrive back in Hong Kong early evening Sundays. Besides, my Sunday Bangkok routine used to end with a long massage before I left for the airport. So apart from topping up the alcohol level with a couple of vodkas on the plane, I rarely suffered the Monday morning hangover, thankfully.

Do you know if there is any reason for so many using drugs? Did you detect any sense of helplessness? No jobs? I wonder why so many are addicted.

The balcony hammocks are ready. Do you take tea or coffee in the mornings? Or something stronger? There used to be quite a few gays in my condo. On my floor 4 of the 6 apartments were occupied by gay guys. Sadly times have changed and I am the only one left. So a morning quickie will be out of the question, sorry.

So true. Over 20 years I was taking week's vacations and long weekends in Bangkok more often than I can possibly remember. Those were great days.

Well, I do fall into that elderly category. I suppose I have views both for and against. Firstly, I am surprised it has taken the world so long to discover that smartphones can do so much. Twenty years ago almost to the month when on a regular visit to Tokyo, I fell for a young Japanese student. Happily I was visiting Japan monthly and so we met over many months. He, like most Japanese it seemed, had a flip phone which seemed to do everything. Perhaps surprising to some he did not use it much for texting. He still preferred aural communication. But he used it for virtually everything else including payments, booking train tickets, paying at convenience stores, checking latest timetables etc. I never thought this would catch on elsewhere. Wrong! Now, with many in Bangkok using phones for payments, I am frequently somewhat pissed off when checking out at a supermarket. I have lost count of the number of times when a customer before me seemingly has to open several pages before she (almost always a woman) gets the right one to pay for her purchases. This usually takes between 2 and 3 times longer than paying by cash or with a credit/debit card. That certainly pisses me off. On the other hand, the more recent automatic check out machines make it easier. But even these go wrong more often that they should, especially on items which have been discounted. But that's another story.

Sure - he can keep the crows company!! LOL