NIrishGuy

Thank you for that link GregVC, that's perfect for him and I've just forwarded that on to my friend. And PeterRS - funnily my guy and yours seem to have shared a very similar past, only difference perhaps being my guy claiming (probably quite correctly) that when he was young and inexperienced it was a farang who got drunk and then fucked him without a condom without his knowledge ( or perhaps that he was just troo drunk to notice or care maybe). Likewise he has also worked as a hotel receptionist and loved it until he was outed by someone he trusted there - which makes your advice re keeping his own business to himself very good advice indeed and I have suggested this to him and I'm guessing he IS a lot more cautious who he reveals his status now too. I can only guess that as my friend "obviously" appears very gay that if was sick ( which I know he was for quite a while as he developed TB as well as a result of his HIV) I'm guessing his co workers and management were able to two and two together and work out what was going on with him and when asked he either hadn't the wit to lie or it was perhaps so obvious there was no point. It's still sad that in this day and age with all we now know about HIV and that isn't / shouldn't be such a big thing at all anymore, that a lack of education on the subject in other Countries is still causing people with the virus there to suffer still on a daily basis - and not from anything medical but just more through peoples ignorance and predjudices, hopefully that's something will change in the future.

Only for him to come back and tell me has been diagnosed as hiv+ ....... I told him he should not be doing this but he says even with hiv+ he can have sex life .........and has to make money for medicine........ of course he's not the only guy on the app's in this position A couple of points re the above - A) he's right, just because he has HIV doesn't mean he should never have sex again - but RESPONSIBLE sex and therein is always the problem / worry, however that is exactly why we should treat EVERY sex partner we are with as if they are HIV positive of course to negate the risks as best as possible. and B) As far as Im aware HIV "medicine" is now free in Thailand so I'd be wary of perhaps sending anymore funds if requested in that area. But to be fair to the guy he may not for whatever reason have registered for the States free medicine scheme and is maybe trying to pay his own way in that regard and if so fair play to him - but I doubt it and if he's not getting free treatment for life he certainly SHOULD be and you should perhaps mention that to him? and C) You're absolutely right about the "there's plenty of other guys doing that too" and in fact the friend that I mention is also one of them. So a timely reminder to us all if it be needed to "take care" when playing in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter perhaps.

A Thai friend has contacted me asking could I ask around to see if anyone knows of any HIV Support groups in the Bangkok area ? He's been diagnosed for several years now but is still alone with his HIV ( so he thinks). I have pointed out that there are MANY people there in the same boat as himself but alas it seems the stigma in Thailand surround HIV is still rife and it's stopping him reaching out to "strangers" about his life. I am aware of the Thai Red cross "Wednesday club" and have sent him details for that ( if it's still in existence) but said I would also ask here just in case anyone else knows of any support groups / clubs / group of social networks who share his condition that he might join with for some mutual support and friendliness ?? I did point out of course that he'd be better asking Thai people about this but it seems it's a chicken and egg situation in that the few friends he has he doesn't / can't mention his HIV as he feels ( probably incorrectly) that it's very much of a don't ask /don't tell type situation and he's frightened that by bringing up the conversation he'll be immediately shunned by his existing "friends" ( and I use that word loosely) it seems who may fear losing face because of the whole "guilt by association" thing. He's also struggling to find and keep a job as every time he does find work either after telling a co worker or the company medical taking place he's wheeled in to the bosses office and fairly much un-ceremonially "let go" for whatever made up reason - sometimes that just being "you have HIV you cannot work here, please go".

What so you're literally a prisoner in your hotel !? I'd never heard of that Seclusion day and on googling a bit about it is certainly seems thats the case as aside from police etc there is no traffic allowed on the roads and the locals organise rotas for "patrolling" their areas to ensure "the silence and no lights lit etc" is being adhered too. So, if on holiday and you decided you wanted to spend your quiet day just sitting alone on the beach minding your own business quietly contemplating your navel ( as my mother used to say) and not bothering anyone else you wouldn't be allowed ? Wow. By the way I'm not knocking the idea, a day of peace and quiet to zone out from the world isn't such a bad idea actually, just surprised that it "seems to be" so rigidly enforced on tourists perhaps.

" Unlike here in Ireland where March the 17th is of course the holy day of Guinness ( St Patricks day

Again very much depends on so many differing things such as budget, preferred location either close to or far away from bars etc. If you’ve located seminyak and then naluka ( the street where the gays bars are located there are a myriad of suitable hotels all around that area at every budget so I’m sure you’ll find something to fit your requirements. Last time I stayed I used the Horrison hotel ( not Harrison although that’s fine too) - neither are anything special but clean, cheap and close enough to the bars for me. But have a good look around at hotels and villas etc as you’re fairly much spoilt for choice there.

Thats a VERY wide question.....perhaps narrow it down a little in terms of the area you're visiting, if you're alone, are you looking for a beach break, a full on party trip, a sex trip etc etc ...... For what it's worth Seminyak is considered the "gay" area as there are a few gay bars there and plenty of gay guys happy and willing to play. After speaking with a massage guy friend there jut last night he's telling me that even Seminyak ( which is always usually fairly busy) is fairly much quiet just now and customers are thin on the ground ( not necessarily a bad thing in my book!). Re what to do again depends on your ow preferences but shopping and nice eateries abound and you can hit several nice beaches or take a trip to Ubud or to the volcano etc. Enjoy,

I think you mean POSSIBILITY there rather probability perhaps - and to me it doesn't hurt to be realistic.

What horrible person would order 489 buses without any thought to us poor OCD types who are screaming that that number ordered should of course have been 500 !!!

That IS incredible actually. So I wonder how the police when investigating a shooting bye police go about ascertaining who's rounds are who as of course without the gun being registered to the police man in some way ( and him perhaps then having a few guns tucked up at home) how they ever can match "rounds fired" to any particular gun / policeman. Or perhaps I'm being a little too hopeful in the Thai police even thinking to investigate a case like that ?

When i last went there they had a strange system that one off users couldn't just pay at the corner gym but had to go to the other upstairs gym to pay and then get a ticket and take it back to the corner gym and hand it to the guy there before they could use the equipment. To try and avoid that I tried to get the guy at the corner gym just to take my money, either above board or below and he absolutely wouldn't hear of it and I did have to make the trek. The corner gym is outdoor of course whereas the other one is indoor ( and has air con !). I made the foolish mistake of thinking it would be nice to train outdoors so went there - until I actually started training as with the heat and humidity after doing almost nothing training wise I thought I was going to collapse and had to stop. I was about to give up and then the upside happened as it turns out the army gives their soldiers free use of the gym and about 15 ripped and hot as hell guys started using the equipment and I spent the next hour basically drooling at their hot and sweaty bodies as they worked out - worth every baht for that if nothing else !!

If thats the same one that Im thinking it is remember / be sure to bring your passport as for some strange reason they absolutely require it to allow you access, I also seem to recall that it was expensive enough too ( maybe 800-1000 baht or something ??)

"you are wrong about that. Bitcoin DO get stolen" Sorry you've misunderstood my post, that's exactly what I meant actually - to beware as as you've stated bitcoin wallets, if not stored correctly ARE very open to theft it seems ( from the little I know about it).

you're right re the real thing or not although whether his life story is fully accurate or not I dont disbelieve that he has more than half an idea about what he's talking about when it comes to I.T and bitcoin etc ( but I could be 100% wrong there of course) so like all and any investment advice the invester should take suitable care to make sure he's happy of the source of his info I guess. And re the "madness" to buy bitcoin just now etc, I guess it is - unless it keeps rising as it is ( and from the little I know about it that no one steals it out of your online wallet) - saying that I think everyone accepts that the current bubble HAS to pop at some point, the only question there then is "when" and if you've been smart enough to get in and out again before that happens. But if ANY of us knew that info we would of course be VERY rich men indeed. Personally I agree with you and wouldn't touch it with a bargepole right now as the risks are so great, but I guess if you like a gamble depending on the amount you invest that's about as big a turn of the roulette wheel as you can get out there just now.

CDNMatt over on Sawatdee is your go to man all re that I'm guessing.

Did you think to ask him WHY he lifted it in the first place perhaps before throwing him out ?

Also don't forget if you ever find yourself as the person standing at the side of the road when someone else has collapsed or been in an accident and you / the doctor needs their details and their iPhone is locked someone can simply lift their finger and place it on the fingerprint reader to open the phone ! I know this sounds SO bleeding obvious but the number of people I've mentioned that too who say they simply wouldn't have thought of it so it's worth flagging it up for use in an emergency situation. This is also the same reason why one if wanting to be ULTRA careful should perhaps think of scanning your big toe into your phone instead of your finger as this would certainly bugger up a jealous BF who decides to try and use your finger against you while you drunkenly sleep to enable him to ready all your damning grindr messages ! (joke !)

So, I wonder how much it cost him to get them to investigate and resolve the case then ? He'll maybe have an interesting time trying to get his credit card company to write off that debt on the basis that he's admitted that in effect he left his card unattended and unsecured, that perhaps was the point of the police action in the first place to help bolster this later claim perhaps?

Well if you do choose to stay in places costing on average 300/400 baht a night what can you expect sometimes but a shit hole with zero customer care or them giving a fuck, you sound surprised about this ?

i'm guessing that this happens a lot all over the world anyway and WAY more than any of us would perhaps like to believe re the hotels we ALL stay in - of every grade !

Of course and I'm not suggesting we should perhaps delve to deep either, it wasn't so much a question about that person, more the office and as to whether that office still had the power to "command" things, knowing of course that there's many ways they could make things happen one way or another but it was the "has ordered" statement that set me wondering how that works these days anywhere in a constitutional monarchy more just.

Just out of interest I wonder how the King "ordered" anything - and who pays for that Budget wise ( as Im guessing this latest order wouldn't be cheap) - so I wonder DID he order anything or was it more a case of the Government saying "here's what we suggest, sign that, you just ordered it ?" I can just see HM the Queen here in the UK "ordering" something, there would be a few raised eyebrows, request / suggest it no problem, you're our Queen and we'll consider it and probably do it as we respect you ( well most people do) but "order it" and she might be waiting a while I would guess.

You're all saying "well done to the police if it was noise related etc" as if the police "actually" give a shit ! When as always it's more likely that the owner has stopped or reduced their tea money payment or the police are trying to increase their request or some one else has paid the police to go and sort of their annoyance, hell if the police really cared they'd be closing bars all over Pattaya on a nightly basis.

Just be careful as the last time I legitimately tried to get on the bus ( my airline has screwed up and my ticket was left at the wrong counter or something and the staff member gave me a letter explaining this and telling me to go to Swampy from DMK to collect my new ticket - or something like that) and the guy operating the queue wouldn't let me on without a flight ticket clearly showing a departure from the other airport. I explained that that's exactly why I was going to the other airport to get it and he pointed to the sign saying only people with a ticket allowed on the bus, I was running late and explained again ( a little louder - I know fatal mistake) and after that I had ZERO chance of budging him ( although I had been VERY nice up until that point). So, don't assume you CAN get the free airport transfer bus perhaps without said flying on from the other airport ticket !?

"the ticket would be revoked if the investigator were convinced" Or you pay enough money......