reader

Dear Gaybutton, I did not suggest that "a Thai boyfriend, or anyone else for that matter, should have access to your money, gold accessories, or any other valuable temptations." You said that. What I did say was that if we lead a life in fear of developing trusting relationships we risk leading a very lonely one. Not every facet of friendship involves money or gold. I truly hope that you have some trusting relationships--ones that don't involve "valuable temptations". If we believe that others desire our friendship only because they covet our possessions, we erect emotional barriers that get ever higher as we age. I acknowledge that some some foreigners have fallen victim to scams like the individual described in the OP. But I also believe that they represent a small minority of those who come to Thailand and manage to enjoy what it offers., including healthy and rewarding relationships.

From Pattaya News By Goongnang Suksawat Police inspected an entertainment venue in Pattaya in a crackdown on people involved in transnational crime and people who have overstayed their legal visa to stay in Thailand. On Friday night (April 28th) a team of officers from Chonburi Provincial Police, the Pattaya City Police, and immigration officers inspected Ying Club on Pattaya Third Road in Central Pattaya. More than 120 Thai and foreign tourists were in the nightclub. Police checked ID cards and passports. Urine drug tests were conducted on a total of nine Chinese (8 men, 1 woman), a Korean, 4 Indonesians (2 men, 2 women), 32 Thais, and 64 staff (41 men, 23 women). None of them tested positive for drugs and no illegal items were found. Police also checked many cars in the parking lot for possible weapons or drugs but found neither. This is the third nightclub raid this week in Pattaya with a similar gameplan of drug testing all patrons and staff and checking all passports. Previously, Pattaya police raided popular Asian club Hollywood in North Pattaya as seen here. They also raided the Panda Club, popular with Chinese tourists, on Walking Street as seen here.

The answer is in not trusting everyone but be open to trusting some. Otherwise, like Stavros, you may indeed succeed in leading a very long but very lonely life.

From The Thaiger For all the shopaholics out there, travelling between three different shopping malls in Thailand is about to get easier. In a joint effort by Central Pattana and Klook, a new bus route is being launched to operate between three major malls in Pattaya and Bangkok: Central World, Central Pattaya, and Central Village, with fares of only 190 baht. Yesterday, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Vice President of the Marketing Division of Central Pattana Plc (CPN), unveiled the new bus route designed to accommodate the jump in the number of foreign tourists in Thailand. Tourists can easily purchase tickets online and reserve them for their travel day, provided they confirm their booking at least two hours before departure. Additionally, they can enjoy extra privileges at participating malls, such as a welcome package worth 3,000 baht if they become a member of The1 Tourist card. They can also receive a premium gift bag from Good Goods and two hours of free WiFi, The Pattaya News reported. The proposed bus route will connect Central World, Central Pattaya, and Central Village, with one round fare per person at 190 baht. For route and schedule information, which may be subject to change, tourists can visit the information desks at participating Central Malls.

From The Nation Covid booster shots will be available at the CentralWorld shopping complex in downtown Bangkok until May 28. The vaccination unit was set up on Saturday on the 5th floor of the complex’s Atrium Zone. The unit provides jabs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until May 28 (closed on May 13-14 for the general election). People can walk in between noon and 6pm to get a free jab of the Moderna bivalent vaccine, which is effective against both the original Wuhan strain and the Omicron subvariants. Shots will be provided to people above the age of 12 who have received at least one vaccine or have recovered from a Covid-19 infection more than three months ago. The jabs are free for Thais and expats if they show their ID cards or passports, though a fee may be charged for tourists. Recipients are required to show their vaccination history, the deputy governor said. ================ Tourists can get Covid booster shots at MBK until May 12 A Covid-19 vaccination unit has been set up at MBK Centre in downtown Bangkok to provide booster jabs for those whose last Covid jab was more than three months ago. Deputy governor Tavida Kamolvej on Friday officially opened a temporary vaccination unit on the 6th floor in Zone D of the MBK Centre shopping mall. People can walk in between 9am and 3pm daily to get a free jab of the Moderna bivalent vaccine. Foreigners can also get a jab by presenting their passports, but fees may apply. The unit will be open daily until May 12 and then again on the weekends of May 20-21 and May 27-28.

Can still fondly recall Josh Elliot in the sex on a train scene.

Had no idea that introverts were prone to stealing gold.

Experienced the round bed once before. Use your imagination and enjoy. 😄

I can still recall the vending machines at Don Mueang airport that collected 500 baht cash departure fee before proceeding to immigration (you got receipt to show officer). That was when DMK was known as BKK in the days before Swampy. I think this is that receipt.

From Pattaya News PHOTO: พัทยา โฟกัส Pattaya Movie on The Beach is set to make a big splash from June 14th to the 17th, according to mayor Poramase Ngampiches. The aim of the event is to transform Pattaya City into a ‘city of movies’ by 2027 as well as to stimulate tourism in June. The event will feature an outdoor cinema where attendees can watch movies on the breezy beach of Pattaya over a four-day period . Two movies will be played each day in multiple languages, with films focusing on things in Pattaya. Selfie booths and food stalls will also be set up. Entry will reportedly be free. Pattaya is also looking at organizing a proper film festival in the future to become a centerpiece of arts, culture, and entertainment according to the mayor.

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon The latest notice from the Thai tourism ministry lists the exceptions to the rule that all foreigners must pay on arrival 300 baht at airports and 150 baht by land or sea. The fortunate ones are diplomats, infants under 2 years, those with work permits, single day and transit passengers and that famous expression: foreign residents in Thailand. The latter phrase is optimistically being interpreted by some expats to include themselves as they see themselves as “residents” by virtue of their annual, renewable extensions of stay based on retirement or marriage or because they are learning Thai. But the contextual meaning of “resident” here is “permanent resident” or that category of foreigner who holds a red police residency book and has no visa expiry date in his or her passport. Needless to say, it is a much sought-after status with a complex application procedure which can take years. The scheme has been delayed until September because of the publicized reluctance of airlines to include the tax in most airfares whilst skillfully excluding the 300 baht from the tickets of Thai nationals and the foreign exempt groups. It is not yet clear whether this dilemma will be resolved by taxing everybody and instituting a post-arrival refund policy, or by training travel agents what documentation to look for when deciding whether to include the tax. Of course, establishing a payment system on arrival at Thai airports would risk macro crowd control issues. Taxable foreigners arriving at land border crossings have their own issues such as needing change, paying in foreign currencies or offering online payments. How to avoid long queues of discontented travellers has not yet been resolved, according to the Tourist Authority of Thailand. The proposed solutions have included advance payment online, cash booths at immigration checkpoints and, latterly, the establishment of a private company to sort everything out. The Thailand Tourism Fee (TTF), according to the latest publicity circular, is to develop and keep up tourist destinations – presumably renovations and improvements – and “to provide medical insurance for tourists”. Without clarification, this seems to suggest that tourists – whoever they are – are automatically covered for medical emergencies and do not need their own insurance cover. But previous announcements suggested that government cover would be restricted to discretionary help in mass accidents such as cremation costs and compensation to family members. A spokesman at the tourist ministry said further information on TTF might be delayed until after the general election in mid May. Can’t come soon enough.

Nothing succeeds like success.

Conservative politicians are frequently too bizarre to contemplate not only in Thailand but in other places as well.

Could you please tell us how your sex money differs from regular money?

I didn’t mean to imply that it’s easy. I think it provides the opportunity to meet guys. As like every where else, no guarantees.

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon The suggestion of an executive of the Democrat party that Thailand should decriminalize sex toys after the next election has sent vibrations throughout the political spectrum. Here in Pattaya, other parties have hastened to disassociate themselves from the trivial and boring issue. “We should be concentrating on the economic and political future of Thailand,” said a senior Pheu Thai party member. Sex toys have been banned from sale in Thailand since a 1928 obscenity law although the penalties are rather lopsided: a mild US$1,800 fine or draconian three years in prison are mentioned in the criminal code. According to internet reports over the years, Pattaya has taken the brunt of the publicity. A tragedy occurred in 2006 when a British vacationer took a large female balloon doll back to his hotel room and tried to blow-inflate it without mechanical assistance. A fatal heart attack followed. Prosecutions have been rare. In 2018 a Pattaya night market was raided and thousands of liberators, rings, strap-ons arousal drugs and bondage gear were seized. Some of the equipment had names which require specialist interpretation, including erotic glider, the poached egg and the starfish. One of the salesmen arrested said his intentions were simply to improve the sex lives of old men, reduce rapes and save marriages. Whilst the Democrat party executive did mention those so-called bonuses of legalization, the real justification is certainly to make money. If sex toys were legal, then factories could be set up in Thailand to sell internationally. There is evidently a multi-billion market – in any currency – waiting to be exploited out there. Many would argue that a principal reason for the decriminalization of cannabis was similarly to encourage Thai exports as more and more countries legalize the weed or use it in medicine. It is inconceivable that the Thai sex toy legislation will be amended any time soon. The notion of every 24-hour convenience store having a sex toy section or even a selection of pornography for stimulation is too bizarre a prospect for conservative politicians to contemplate. The current situation may be ambiguous but it works. No formal displays, but sex toys are none the less available in ill-lit side-streets or on shopping carts which appear after midnight. After all, nobody wants to buy a dildo in the morning.

I think 7-Elevens are an underappreciated venue for late night dates. Consider the advantages: No. 1 The customers -- They're predominately male, commonly alone, possibly just getting off work, quite often attractive. No. 2 The employees -- They have all the same attributes as customers except just getting off work. But some shifts terminate after the restocking is accomplished in the early morning hours. No. 3 The location -- They're strategically situated near the gay venues along Silom and Surawong. None are more than a few minutes walk from wherever you are when you find yourself in need of company in the wee hours. But this is not work for the faint of heart. As always, the best opener is a smile. Just hanging around outside signals others that you're not waiting for a bus because foreigners take taxis at that hour.

Be careful what you hope for... He is out of a job.

From CNBC Tucker Carlson leaves Fox News in wake of Dominion defamation settlement Right wing primetime host Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News immediately, the cable network announced Monday. The announcement came days after Fox News’ parent company settled Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million. “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement on Monday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” There will be no sendoff for Carlson, as his last program aired on Friday. Carlson had signed off on Friday stating he would be back on Monday. The company wouldn’t comment beyond the release, and whether Carlson was being taken off air in response to the Dominion defamation case.

From the Thaiger Today, the Ministry of Commerce’s Director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Poonping Naiyanapakorn, revealed that Thailand was the champion exporter of five outstanding Thai products in 2022. Thailand exported US$3.21942 billion worth of fresh durian in 2022, with the largest demand coming from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, respectively. Thailand takes up 93% of the global fresh durian market followed by Vietnam (6%) and Malaysia (0.7%). Thailand exported US$1.52380 billion worth of cassava in 2022, the biggest markets being China, the United States, and Vietnam, respectively. Thailand’s cassava represents 46.5% of the world’s cassava market, followed by Cambodia (34.1%) and Laos (9.1%). In 2022, Thailand exported US$2.7226 billion worth of condoms with the most demand coming from China, the United States, and Vietnam, respectively. Thai condoms comprise 44% of the world’s condoms, followed by condoms made in China (12.8%) and Malaysia (10.8%). Thailand exported US$469.69 million worth of canned pineapple in 2022, with the biggest markets being the United States, Russia, and Germany, respectively. Thailand’s tinned pineapple represents 36.4% of the world’s tinned pineapple, followed by exporters Indonesia (25.7%) and the Philippines (18%). Last year, Thailand exported US$2.28421 billion worth of canned tuna, the biggest consumers being the United States, Japan and Australia, respectively. Thailand holds a 24.8% share in the global canned tuna market, followed by Ecuador (15.2%) and Spain (9.5%).

The popular K-Man shop in Saphan Kwai (steps from the BTS station) has posted some new photos of "T&B"s in the past 24 hours. And here's a top for good measure.

From Pattaya Mail Nong Nooch Tropical Garden welcomed its second baby elephant of 2023. Park Director Kampol Tansajja presided over the April 20 blessing ceremony for the new calf, named “Plai Chai”, with Phra Khru Kittisophon, abbot of Wat Samakkhi Banphot temple in Bang Saray. Nong Nooch organized an elephant-dancing parade to celebrate the April 9 birth. A flower garland was placed the baby elephant’s head and it was sprinkled with holy water. “Plai Chai” is the offspring of cow “Pang Yok” and bull “Plai Ning Nong”. Both baby and mother were said to be healthy. Editor’s note: Pang and Plai are prefix names, used in Thailand for female and male elephants respectively. Phra Khru Kittisophon, abbot of Wat Samakkhi Banphot temple blesses the other elephants and their mahouts at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden.

Fox owes it's success to lying. Like sanctions on Russia, it doesn't keep Putin from lying and it won't stop Tucker Carlson, et al, going forward, either. The ONLY thing that will is for viewers not to tune in and advertisers not to advertise. But since Fox is the most popular and profitable cable network, sadly neither scenario is likely.

A new 7-Eleven has opened on Surawong between Soi Tarntawan and the driveway entrance to Tarntawan Hotel. In the process, it gobbled up one of the mixed massage shops. This may turn out to be an even better after-hours cruising spot that Vinapu is known to periodically check out.

Ashley86 of TikTok fame?