RandiUno2

i guess it all boils down to what you think 100K lives are worth. Seems like the Thai and Vietnamese think their people are worth it. We, in America, would rather have the gears of capitalism run rather than keep 100K proletarians alive. Anyway, what is wrong with a total lockdown for 1 or two years. There is enough money sloshing around the world to feed everyone, but then we would have to take it from the 1%., but we can't ask the bourgeousie to help the proletarians. Doesn't work like that...So by December 250K Americans will be dead, but The Walton Family, The Kock Brothers, and Jeff Bezos will still have all their billions.

This is amazing. Two cases and a whole flow chart created. Even though I'm a never leave it American (I guess since my family is part Native American, and part African, I have always hoped we would get it together to make the it great for everyone), our total failure in addressing the Covid19 Pandemic shows just how backwards our politics is, and has been, since the founding of the nation.

Kinda wishing I had bought that condo in Pattaya a couple of years ago. Now I can't fly anywhere. Americans banned in Europe and most of SouthEast Asia. MAGA! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/world/asia/coronavirus-thailand-photos.html

Rom, Your a good man. I'm sure the pocket change goes a long way, and who can get made at some young ladyboys relieving the boredom and stress with some farang paid for libations. Al

A lot can be said about your post Pdogg. I have been sheltering in place in California with my family, and now our case count is going up again. I have a very strange feeling an American passport will be an impediment to travel anywhere in the near future.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think I get a refund on my ticket now. Hopefully, within the next 12 months treatment or vaccine found and I can do the trip.

Hahahaha...Just read all inbound international flights suspended until Jun 30. Is this true?

This may sound crazy, but I have non-refundable tickets to Bangkok for later this month and thinking of making the flight. Was supposed to have a 3 week trip with my daughter through South East Asia as a graduation present. What is going on on the ground. Are foreigners still denied entry/required to self quarantine 14 days? Are restaurants open? Any tourist sites/temples open in Bangkok? Had crazy idea of spending two days in Bangkok going to a couple of main tourist attractions, and then spending 2 1/2 weeks on the beach in Phuket or Krabi, but not sure this is even possible. Are beaches still completely closed throughout the country? Hope springs eternal even as my country devolves into a banana republic status and the world careens through a 100 years pandemic.

"Problem is that the heads of these governments being coerced are probably being led by the nose with money. Really dont give a rats about the normal citizen." Although many will argue with me, but this is why I have the highest respect for the now deceased Fidel Castro and Cuba. For 50 + years the most powerful country in the world (USA)tried to get rid of Castro, and tear down what he claimed he was trying to do for his people. He went with the Soviets to get protection, and when the soviets fell, he liberalized his economy enough to make up for the soviet losses. Although, we in the united states belittle Cuba for its lack of economic progress, the truth is Cuba is its own country not beholden to any power other than itself. That is self determination and that is freedom for a people. I'm paraphrasing Plutarch's Julius Ceasar, but there is a scene in which Ceasar and his troops have just laid waste a village in Gaul, and his troops were mocking the unsophistication of the village, and Julius Ceasar rebuked them by saying "I would rather be number one in this village, than number 2 in all of Rome". Cuba is autonomous and beholden to no-one. I can respect that in this world, and it is why so many of my American countrymen hate Castro and Cuba. Anyway, with respect to Boten, China is just following the playbook of all wanna be hegemonic world powers. They are "financing" the worldwide Belt and Road Initiative all over the world, to lever their power and prosperity into economic dominance and control in regions ceded by the Russian's and for which the Western former colonial powers have been unwilling to make real investments beyond "extraction" investments. We are witnessing a fundamental restructuring of the world order. The caveat of Machiavelli that any prince makes another prince strong to his own ruin is coming true. The Western Capital class has built up the Chinese economy in an attempt to get cheap labor and extract extra profits, and in the process made China the worlds trade/manufacturing leader, and soon the defacto world global power. My country, by electing a clown to the highest office, has just lost the global war for soft influence, and sadly I don't think we have to resources to win a conventional war to retain our central role. So, as the English empire collapsed after WW1 and WW2, so the US empire is collapsing as we speak.

We are in a world of mere rumors and speculation about virtually everything about the Coronavirus in the USA. There is an incentive to undercount the fatalities so that there is justification for business operations to start up again. What we could do in the USA is to institute rent, mortgage, and debt freezes, and payment of a universal basic income to all citizens until a vaccine developed. However, because we believe in the Divine Right of Capital that will never happen in the USA. Therefore, the subsistence workers must be put back to work to keep the engines of business activity going. Everyone knows how to truly measure the number of deaths from a pandemic or other event like war or famine. You take the historical mortality rate for a region for a period of time, i.e. USA January thru April for last five years, and compare that to the death rate for USA Jan thru April 2020. The difference between the expected mortality rate due to historical data and the actual mortality rate, is the actual excess mortality rate caused by the event....in this case the coronavirus pandemic. Nobody wants to look at this number because it shows that the we are undercounting the actual mortality rate due to this pandemic in the western nations by at least 50%. Thus, in the USA as of today the official death toll due attributable to Covid19 is about 60K, however, using mortality tables it is probably 100K. As business gets back to business as usual in my country, the pressure to continue to under report will continue to grow, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands will be willfully accounted and justified as a "cost of doing business". All you have to do is look at Ecuador and Brazil, and realize that the worldwide difference between deaths attributed to Covid19 and the actual numbers will be on a magnitude of 1:10. My central observation is that during the European plagues, and the 1918 Flu pandemic, life still had to go on, farmers had to farm, sailors continued to sail, and whores continued to Ho because there was no cure, or any prospect of a cure. So just like in times past when people knew they were essentially powerless to do anything to slow the spread and protect themselves from a deadly disease, my country, the USA has decided it is powerless, or at least unwilling, to do what countries like south Korea and New Zealand did to arrest the disease. In short, I will be wearing mask and gloves whenever I leave home and will not be getting on a plane anywhere until a vaccine is developed and proven to work. That is what we are left with at this point.

Thanks...that's the movie. I guess he changed the title.

Although I didn't hook up with any I seem to remember quite a few European looking girls on the thai hook up app, and grindr, and craigslist. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a large number of Russian trans girls given the number of Russian cisgender girls I saw on offer on Walking Street. Hopefully, a vaccine is developed soon, and we can return to enjoying the monger life. Randi

I saw this film about 7 years ago, but it had taken down and purged from the interwebs. Does anyone know what the issue is with the movie? Is anyone aware of where a copy can be obtained? I still think it was one of the most intense films about the risks many face in attempting to develop a relationship in Thailand as an ex-pat. Anyway, I have obviously gone through my private DVD library, completed all the missions on my video games, and I caught up on all the shows on Netflix, so need some additional content to fill the time. All the best, RandiUno

"Suggest PDoggg change the name of this thread to "Thais' Perception of Farangs as ATMs" or something like that, as so far no one posted about "sending money" (the thread's topic) and I am sure some of you did. I did. " Appreciate your post. It is kinda a "Drop the Mic" post as no one followed up. Of course, I'm a fucking ATM. I show up in Thailand, spend a few baht for a blow job, and I'm never heard from again. This disease, if you have eyes, even if not a heart, highlights the huge difference between the haves and have nots. We can blame the Thai (and others for a "live for today" attitude), or we can have compassion. I personally struggle in my heart seeing a working girl I know who used to brag about buying Cartier bags, and her $3K per month apartment in South Orange County, California, posting about needing a few dollars to make ends meet on Facebook. Maybe she should have saved, but she didn't. If Trump can say nobody expected this, then I guess a working girl can say the same. So let's all have compassion. The rain falls on the wicked and the just. RandiUno

The only way to really get an estimate of the increased mortality rate due to Covid19 (and related deaths, i.e. cardiac arrest patients not revived in NYC because of order not to transport to hospital). will be to compare the average mortality rate for a given period of time (ie March 201x-August 201x), and compare that to the actual mortality rate from March 1, 2020 through Aug 1, 2020. The difference between the historical average plus the Covid19 identified mortalities and the actual deaths from all causes, known and unknown, will identify the actual increased mortality due to this epidemic. They have done this in a couple of northern Italian towns, and have found the undercount to be as much as 40-50%. In addition, and I'm not trying to start an argument, in my country (USA), there are strong political reasons why certain regions will want to under count the number of fatalities. Consequently, we will never have a true count in the west. In places like India, Indonesia, Central and South America, and most of Africa, due to lack of resources and inadequate reporting, we will never know the actual toll. Sadly, pictures like some I have seen coming out of Iran of people expiring on the streets will happen all over the third world, but in the west people will just expire in their homes, alone, and unreported. Be safe everyone. Praying for us all. Randi.

Sadly, I'm sure most girls (escorts) are scrambling to survive. I hope a few farang with steady pensions will send their favorite girl(s) a few baht to be able to survive. In the states here, even though in my state (California) is in a lock down, there are so many girls with their ads up still, and probably just scrambling trying to pay rent. Difficult times for most people, catastrophic times for the working girls. Be kind to one another. RandiUno

Well, I have always been a softie for the working girls. Good to see she is still alive. Thanks for the photos and letting me know she is still around. I will always have good memories of her.

I had a 3 week trip book for Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Short trip with my daughter to celebrate her college graduation. Now her graduation ceremony cancelled (she will get diploma in mail), and so it trip to Thailand. Will rebook as soon as a vaccine is developed and deployed world wide. I see that as the only way resort destinations will ever truly open up again. Stay safe everyone.

Hope all my expat friends are staying safe. Had to cancel my trip to Land of Smiles which was scheduled for June. Not sure if I will get a refund on ticket since its a Chinese carrier and they are still flying routes from USA (Los Angeles) to Bangkok via Beijing, and I bought super discount non-refundable tickets (for 3 passengers -Ouch!) Anyway, I'm living in the resort city of Palm Springs, California, and we have been on lockdown since March 14. The tennis clubs, golf courses, and hiking trail all closed down. Basically, all I can do is suntan on a chaise lounge in my back yard and smoke cigars. Actually, I realize I'm very lucky. I could be stuck indoors in an eastern US city on cold rainy/snowy late spring days. Hoping we all get through this safely and they develop a vaccine soon; and believe me, once they do, I'm going broke traveling and sexing ladyboys all over the world. I truly understand now You Only Live Once! All the best, and see you all on the other side RandyUno

They say you never forget your first. My first Thai ladyboy was Cheri. Haven't kept up with the scene, and sure since the working life of most girls is short she probably isn't around anymore, but here she is from 2012, and I will never forget the days we spent together.

"Everybody wants to be the biggest. But no one focuses on being the nicest. James Garetson, Tiger King. These are trying times. Let's work on being nice to each other. So when this pandemic is over, the fight for our survival, and those we love, will not have been done in vain.

Man. The whole world on lock down.

Final point. The street food in Vietnam is the better than Cambodia and Thailand by a long shot. I loved sitting on the plastic kindergarten chairs as a roadside stall, only to have a big Mercedes Benz pull up, and 4 guys in business attire jump out and sit right on the same plastic chairs at the next table and order a 1.50 broken rice, or a bowl of Bahn Cahn (typo). The food was AMAZING.

Hey Pdogg, So glad you are keeping this site going, and hope you are doing well. Looks like I will be making another trip to the region in the summer. My middle child graduating, and since I took her older sister through South East Asia as a graduation present, I guess I'm doing it for her as well. She wants to see some of the same spots, so looks like Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are on the list for me again. All the best, Randi.

Wrote a long post on Cat Ba Island and Ha Long Bay, but it was deleted. Nutshell - Cat Ba Island developing fast, contruction everywhere. Enjoyed my hotel Catba Sunrise Resort, but it was overpriced. Ha Long Bay - Disappointment of the trip. Its a desert. No wildlife(ie you would expect to see tons of seabirds, but absolutely none...no exaggeration). Ha Long Bay near some of the busiest shipping lanes and ports in the world, so waters are filthy. I rarely write negatives, but Ha Long Bay is visual only....take pictures, enjoy the views of the islands, but don't plan on swimming or seeing anything alive. VID-20190421-WA0001.mp4