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From Channel News Asia KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is aspiring to become the hepatitis C treatment hub for Asia, with promises of treatment at a fraction of current costs. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that Malaysia is poised to offer affordable and efficacious treatments for those infected with the virus. This is made possible as Malaysia is the first country in the world to be given conditional approval for the use of Ravidasvir in combination with Sofosbuvir to treat hepatitis C. “I hope Malaysia, launched today as a destination for Hep C treatment will offer those suffering from this disease access to more effective, accessible, and crucially more affordable solutions,” Mr Khairy said in a keynote address at a medical travel conference on Tuesday (Nov 16). A 12-week cost of treatment for hepatitis which in Malaysia could come up to RM356,000 (US$84,000), a factor that prohibits many from seeking treatment. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said previously that it is possible to get a 12-week treatment using Ravidasvir and a generic version of Sofosbuvir at a cost of US$100 by getting it produced locally. The hepatitis C virus, which is transmitted through blood, can cause liver cirrhosis, scarring and cancer if untreated. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-hepatitis-c-medical-tourism-2316876

From Bangkok Post Myanmar will reopen its land borders with China and Thailand from next month due to improvements in its Covid-19 vaccination rate, its information ministry said on Tuesday. The reopening, for which no specific date was set, would be followed by resumption of air travel in the first quarter of next year, the ministry said in a statement. https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2216471/myanmar-to-reopen-land-borders-with-thailand-china-next-month

Richard Barrow published the following numbers for top 10 “countries of origin” for people flying to Thailand from 1-14 November. The figures do not distinguish how many entered under COE and those arriving on Thai Pass. 1 USA 7,999 2 UAE 7,935 3 Germany 5,648 4 United Kingdom 2,706 5 Japan 2,530 6 France 1,953 7 Russia 1,875 8 South Korea 1,729 9 Israel 1,532 10 Switzerland 1,507

From Yahoo News Did You Know All the 'Mean Girls' Guys Are Gay Now? mean-girls-Rajiv-Surendra There's no doubt that 2004 comedy Mean Girls defined a generation. Seventeen years after its release, the film is still quoted and meme'd to this day, cementing it as a staple of pop culture. And while it's certainly become a part of gay canon, a movie that impacted nearly every LGBTQ+ person of a certain age, did you know that the main three male characters in the film have all come out as gay? That news has gone viral over at Buzzfeed, who compiled the coming outs of each Mean Girls actor earlier this week. Since then, Franzese has been an important voice for LGBTQ+ rights and appeared on queer shows like Looking and RuPaul's Drag Race. Jonathan Bennett, who stole our hearts as the teen heartthrob Aaron Samuels, was reportedly outed by Julianne Hough later in 2014. He didn't come out as gay himself until 2017. Bennett has been embraced by the community and is currently married to his partner, Jaymes Vaughan. He even reprised his role as Aaron Samuels for a quick cameo in Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" music video. Following the success of Mean Girls, he moved to Munich, Germany. "What was easy for me is that I moved to a completely foreign country. I had complete anonymity there, which I think helped me come to terms with doing what I wanted. I didn’t need to be worried about what everyone else thought." We're so grateful to all the cast for making Mean Girls even gayer than it already was! https://news.yahoo.com/did-know-mean-girls-guys-181141066.html Daniel Franzese, who played Damian in the film, came out as gay in 2014.

From Bangkok Post Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said he would need a fourth shot of Covid-19 vaccine because he needs to attend a meeting abroad. The Bhumjaithai Party leader, 55, received two Sinovac shots in February and later an AstraZeneca shot as the booster. But since he needs to attend a World Health Organization meeting in Switzerland late this month, he said he would need another AstraZeneca shot to qualify for entry without quarantine. Mr Anutin told a meeting at the ministry on Thursday that Thailand could be the first country to start administering fourth shots. “Now that more countries have reopened, we may have to rethink our vaccination strategy. Not every country approves entry [without quarantine] of people who have been vaccinated with the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, or the mixed regimens recommended by the [Thai] government,” he said. The ministry earlier recommended a mix-and-match approach of vaccinations based on local research. Under it, Sinovac was picked as the first shot and AstraZeneca as the second. Another formula adopted later was AstraZeneca-Pfizer. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2214875/anutin-defends-his-fourth-covid-shot

You'll find scattered posts about open (and some closed) massage shops on the board over the past several months. Although there have been reports of some open in the Silom area, they appear more numerous the further out you go. The Saphan Kwai area (reachable by BTS) has been mentioned several times. Most are offering both on-site and off-site service, and I heard one report that a few are not charging an off fee. Totally Oz has posted about some of the offerings. Many shops have LINE accounts.

If you're considering a Tokyo connection, ANA and JAL have been providing reliable service prior to and after Nov. 1 opening.

Street dogs are a way of life for Istanbul 's residents, many of whom feed and support them.

Today's announcement that the opening of club venues will be delayed until Jan. 16 doesn't make any mention of some high-end club venues in the RCA (Royal City Avenue) area, which were reported to be already open in an earlier post in this thread. RCA is the epicenter of the hi-so clubbing scene, stretching from Rama 9 on one end to Phetchaburi Road on the other.

The Bangkok Post reports confirms the delay but contains some conflicting information. "CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said the CCSA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha decided to defer by another month a plan to allow pubs, bars and karaokes to reopen on Dec 1. The new tentative reopening date was set for Jan 16 and only for some areas, depending on the Covid-19 situation." Later in the same article: "By Dec 1, we will also consider allowing the consumption of alcoholic beverages in restaurants, as well as the reopening of entertainment venues under appropriate health precautions to support the revitalisation of the tourism and leisure sectors, especially during the new year period..." That seems to leave the door open for a mid-December opening but it's certainly nothing to hang you hat on, given the messaging that emerged from Friday's meeting. If I was already planning a trip prior to year's end I don't see anything here that would cause me to cancel. As others have mentioned, it's still going to be Bangkok regardless of what restrictions are actually in place when you arrive. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2214487/reopening-delayed-for-nightclubs-bars

Richard Barrow had an interview with Thai officials that shed light on some much debated issued concerning Thai Pass. Here are some excerpts: "I think the biggest improvement that they will be implementing soon is the ability to log in to check on your application status. Which will also give you the ability to download the QR Code once it has been released." "...there are some (vaccination) certificates that are challenging for them which is why it sometimes takes time. Particularly if someone uploaded an image that is not clear." "Another problem is the “date of arrival”. For many people, there should also be a date of departure as it might take them several days to reach Thailand. This then becomes a problem if their QR Code doesn’t arrive before their first flight. They recognise that as a problem and have noted it. The second problem is that some people might need to move their flight date for some reason. I think most of us thought that to do that we would have to apply again from the start. But that is not so. You can apparently still arrive as long as it is within 72 hours of that date." "...many people asked how far in advance can you apply for a Thailand Pass. Well, the good news is that there is no time limit. If you want to, you can apply now for a holiday to Thailand in say January next year. If you do that now, then you don’t need to worry about the QR Code arriving on time." "... like I have said many times already, don’t rush to come to Thailand. Certainly not during this transition period between the COE and Thailand Pass. But, if you can wait until, say December, then you will find it much easier." "...there will be a big CCSA meeting on Friday that will be reviewing the first two weeks of the reopening of the country and will discuss possible easing of some of the rules. I think next week, we might see the exemption age for vaccination certificates for the Test & Go program will be raised from under 12 to under 18. Another major change we might see next week, is the dropping of the rule to have a RT-PCR test within 72 hours of departure. This is because there is a growing number of countries that don’t actually have an option to have this test done. If it doesn’t happen next week, then I think we should see that happen by 1st December. The other thing they should be discussing is the list of approved countries and territories." ====================== There's additional discussion about the RT-PCR test and other issues of interest and I encourage readers considering a future trip to check out the post in full context at link below. https://www.getrevue.co/profile/richardbarrow/issues/latest-updates-about-the-thailand-pass-849676?via=twitter-card-webview

From Pride Bar website today Telephone Pub in Bangkok to rebrand as CIRCUS As the world recovers from Covid-19 LGBTQ venues and the Entertainment industry has suffered greatly. Unfortunately, one of the recent victims is the famous Telephone Pub in Silom Soi 4 Bangkok Thailand. Well known and loved by many over more then 34 years it was unable to reopen after the recent Covid related lockdowns in Thailand. Many of us have very fond memories of Telephone Pub. Some of us meet our friends and partners at this amazing venue. Telephone Pub became possibly one of the most famous in the LGBTQ community and friends. The team at Pride Management and Pride Bar and Restaurant have now taken over the venue in order to keep the location LGBTQ owned and operated. Unfortunately, as part of that arrangement the name was not able to be continued. The team at Pride Management who own Pride Bar and Restaurant are already well known for a LGBTQ Resort in Phuket. Most recently Pride Bar and Restaurant in Silom Soi 4 has been very successful and has been a strong support of the local community during the Covid pandemic that has seen many businesses closed. It was important to reopen as soon as possible to provide the local community with jobs and income so they too can recover from this difficult time. Khun Tai the manager from Telephone Pub will continue as an employee of the venue and we are very grateful for all his support. Past staff of Telephone Pub have now been invited back to work for Pride Management. While some are devastated by the loss of the name others feel that the time to refresh modernize and attract the next generation of customers has now come. Pride Management is pleased to announce that the new name has been chosen as “CIRCUS” and will show a fun modern exciting upgrade to this iconic location. The idea to come join the Circus and get away from the troubles from the last few years of this Covid 19 Pandemic and get the show back on the road. As many of us know change is inevitable. The local community has banded together to do all we can to revitalize and reopen Silom Soi 4 to be ready to welcome back tourists and locals in the coming weeks. With travel now becoming possible again the local community has seen many come back to support the local community and reconnect with friends that we have not seen for too long. We look forward to welcoming you to “CIRCUS “soon and the grand opening is due sometime in December 2021. https://pridethailand.com/news/telephonepub

From Pattaya Mail t’s all engines go again for Pattaya’s derelict tourism, with sports competitions and spectacle events planned from now until year-end. The Pattaya Music Festival resumes Nov. 12-13 with stages in Jomtien Beach and Nuay Beach on Koh Larn. December 3-4 shows will play out exclusively at Lan Po Public Park. The Dec. 10-11 finale weekend will have only one stage on Beach and Central roads. On Nov. 20-21, a three-on-three street basketball competition will post up at the Terminal 21 shopping mall. A week later will see the Pattaya International Fireworks Competition Nov. 27-28 and, a day later, the Rotary International Walk & Run for charity on the beach at Central Road. In December, the Pattaya Music Festival will take place over the long Dec. 10-13 weekend, lighting up stages Dec. 11-12. That same weekend, the 20th Pattaya Petanque Competition will be held Dec 10-12. The 13th Pattaya Cup Futsal Competition will take place Dec 18-23, the inaugural Thailand Grand Flight Championship Dec 19-20 and the annual Naklua Walk & Eat will open Dec. 19. It turns on weekends through Feb. 7 at the Naklua Old Market. Finally, Pattaya closes the year with King Taksin the Great Day on Dec. 28 and the Pattaya Countdown music festival Dec. 29-31 at Bali Hai Pier. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/non-stop-events-planned-for-pattaya-through-year-end-378677

I'm not inclined to read too much into this until the matter is decided, reportedly on Friday. It appears to be as much about politics as it does public health. If the Dec. 1 reopening phase is actually scaled back, it throws into chaos the plans of many clubs that are now gearing up to open their doors. From Pattaya Mail Thailand to consider keeping bars, clubs closed through New Year The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Friday will consider a proposal to keep Thailand’s bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues closed through the new year, with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admonishing operators not to be “selfish.” Thai media reported today that at the weekly Cabinet meeting, ministers discussed the idea of keeping entertainment businesses, including karaoke clubs and soapy massage parlors, shuttered until 2022 to prevent another major coronavirus outbreak over the holidays. Despite the holiday worries, the Cabinet moved forward with plans for five large regional new year’s “countdown” events. Previously, Prayut had told the nation that the resumption of alcohol sales in restaurants and the reopening of bars would be considered in December. The alcohol ban was lifted in parts or all of Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and Phangnga provinces when they were designated “blue” tourism zones this month and 17 more blue zones likely will be announced for December. Bars, clubs and parlors appear to be another matter, however. Those who don’t have nefarious connections – such as the many straight-up watering holes on lower Sukhumvit Road and Khao San Road – remain closed. The same is true for nightclubs. Big nightspots in the RCA area or on Soi 11 continue to be shut down while Thai clubs with the aforementioned nefarious connections are back to normal, such as Top One in the Rachada area, which has bottle service, live bands and discos lights going nightly. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thailand-to-consider-keeping-bars-clubs-closed-through-new-year-378789

From Bangkok Post Authorities will set aside up to 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines for foreign workers as it prepares to welcome them back to the country to help ease a labour shortage, a government minister said on Wednesday. The government plans to allow workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to re-enter the country beginning next month and fill up shortages in big exporting industries such as food and rubber production. Workers will be placed in a two-week quarantine and during that time the vaccines will be administered, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said. They will also be tested for Covid-19. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2213231/govt-offers-covid-19-vaccines-to-migrant-workers

A recent photo posted on the above Twitter account. Classic boy-next-doors; my favorite type. I'll take them any day of the week and twice on Sundays. And thinking back, I do believe I have.

This is not altogether a unique theme. The powers that be in Thailand made their case for attracting exclusively high-spending foreigners right up until the moment they realized that they weren't showing up in numbers sufficient to revive the economy. Now Indonesia believes it can get by with a fraction of the 17 million who arrived annually before the pandemic. Only time will tell. From Channel News Asia SINGAPORE: Indonesia is aiming for quality over quantity of tourists as it opens up after 18 tough months of closed borders and bumpy transitions into post-pandemic life, said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is targeting only 2 million visitors in 2022, a sharp drop of nearly 90 per cent from its pre-pandemic figure of close on 17 million foreign tourists a year. Instead, the sprawling archipelago, known for its famous beaches and lush green landscapes, is focusing on the amount of time visitors stay in Indonesia and their impact on the environment. “This is the concept of personalise, customise, localise and smaller, much, much smaller in size tourism,” the minister said in an exclusive interview with CNA. “We want to improve the number of days that they are spending in Indonesia, the length of stay. We want to make sure not only a much better-quality spending but also the impact to environment. The 17 million plus numbers put a heavy tax on our environment. We’re moving into quality and sustainability type of tourism,” he explained. This radical shift comes as the pandemic calls into question the viability of mass travel and as the climate crisis pushes environmental concerns up the agenda. Tourism is one of the main sources of Indonesia’s foreign currency earnings – contributing close to 6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product pre-pandemic. Two of Indonesia’s most popular tourist spots, Bali and the Riau islands, rolled out the welcome mat to foreign visitors from 19 countries last month as COVID-19 cases subsided in the country. However, the reopening has been plagued by few international flights and a mandatory quarantine still in force. The Indonesian tourism minister was more cautious about when such curbs will be lifted, emphasising that health concerns must still be the priority, although weekly reviews will be made based on the health data. He said chartered flights in Bali might be a possibility and scheduled flights would likely follow-up on that. “There’s a lot of demand for the live on boat quarantine, meaning that they arrive in Bali and they go straight to the boat ... They would be allowed to go into the dive sites and enjoy the open seas but within the premise of the boat,” he said. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-tourism-sandiaga-uno-conversation-bali-riau-2301211

From CNN The adventures of Boji, Istanbul’s traveling dog A street dog named Boji has become something of a celebrity in Istanbul, where he travels around the city on its ferries, trams and subway cars https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/10/travel/dog-istanbul-boji-cnnphotos/

The issue of what actually might happen in you test positive. Members have speculated on the outcome. Here's two tales about those who have. From Richard Barrow's Twitter site Today’s special newsletter is about the nightmare that falls upon you if you test positive on arrival in Thailand. This is what happened to Kirovs, a tourist who came to Thailand with his family. He is now in hospital and his family are in hotel quarantine. The second story is from James who is considered a close contact as he was in the same car from the airport as someone who tested positive. Neither of the people who tested positive have any symptoms and they are now desperately trying to find out if their insurance will cover the large hospital bill. https://www.getrevue.co/profile/richardbarrow/issues/the-nightmare-of-testing-positive-on-arrival-in-thailand-848695

Only 7 of the 14,728 who entered Thailand under the provisions of "Test-and-go" for the period Nov. 1-7 tested positive, according to Richard Barrow's Twitter site. That's a 0.05 positive rate.

From VN Express The U.S., the U.K., Japan and Belarus have officially accepted Vietnam's vaccine passport, while others are waiting for the country to use a consistent template. The four countries made their decisions early November, with specific certifications regarding the vaccine types, Pham Thu Hang, deputy spokeswoman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said at a press meet Tursday. India has also agreed in principle; while China, South Korea, and countries in ASEAN and the European Union are in the process of reviewing and waiting for Vietnam to come up with a consistent vaccine template, Hang said. People from these countries can use them directly in Vietnam, and have their quarantine duration reduced to seven days in line with the Health Ministry’s guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19. Vietnam accepts all types of vaccines that have been recognized by the World Health Organization(WHO), the U.S. CDC, the European Medicines Agency, and the Ministry of Health. The template for vaccine passports need to be issued both digitally and in a hard copy and it needs to bear a verification code. The issuing countries and territories need to have a high safety index and a high rate of vaccination. She said Vietnam has temporarily recognized the vaccine certificates of 72 countries and territories. They are: Algeria, Argentia, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hashemite Jordani, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Isreal, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Timor Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE, the U.K., Ukraine, and the U.S. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/four-countries-recognize-vietnam-s-vaccine-passport-4381422.html

Post on SN reports that owner of Pride Bar on Soi 4 has purchased Telephone Pub (terrace open but interior currently closed).

Judging by this post on Richard Barrow's Twitter site today, US applicants appear to be having their CDC vaccination card processed without too much difficulty. Top 10 nationalities that travelled to Thailand since the re-opening: 1 USA 2,465 2 Germany 2,334 3 United Kingdom 1,376 4 Japan 1,258 5 South Korea 906 6 Russia 905 7 Switzerland 838 8 Sweden, 724 9 France 695 10 United Arab Emirates 542

From Phnom Penh Post The Ministry of Health has authorised the Indian-made Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin for temporary emergency use in Cambodia. According to a notice of emergency use authorisation (EUA) issued by health minister Mam Bun Heng on November 5, the vaccine is permitted to be used for people aged 18 and over. The vaccine is produced by Bharat Biotech International Limited, a pharmaceutical firm based in the Indian state of Telangana. The ministry said the approval is based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL) dated November 3. “[Covaxin] is permitted for use only during the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic as public health emergency. With a 78 per cent efficacy rate after two doses over a month, Covaxin “is extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements”, the UN body said. https://phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-authorises-indias-covaxin-jab-use-cambodia

From The Nation Ministry warns of fake Thailand Pass registration website Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) on Friday warned people of a website claiming to let visitors register for Thailand Pass, a new system for vaccinated visitors who wish to enter Thailand that has replaced the Certificate of Entry (COE) since November 1. he website address is www.thailandpass.org,” said DES spokeswoman Nopphawan Huajaiman. “The ministry’s Information Department has investigated and confirmed that it has no affiliation with the DES or any government agency.” “To apply for Thailand Pass, you must visit https://tp.consular.go.th, which has opened for registration since November 1 at 9am,” she said. Nopphawan added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working with Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), the developer of Thailand Pass registration platform, to ensure the smooth operation for all registrants. “Since the registration platform is still new, some users might experience some problems when using the website. The responsible agencies are aware of this and will fix them as soon as possible,” she said. “DGA is also working on optimizing the Thailand Pass website for mobile phone users.” https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40008459