Bwana_LB

I'm not sure why one would book through Agoda. I have an upcoming trip and checked both with Agoda and directly with Mercure. For the same setup (Deluxe King, advance payment, no breakfast) Agoda charges $138/night all in, Mercure charges $121.25/night all in. I've almost always found booking directly with the hotel a better deal than through any of the consolidator companies. I've also done the same comparison for another hotel I'm considering (the Samala Hotel on Soi 15) and Agoda is closer to the Samala direct price but still a bit more expensive.

If she put you halfway inside her ass and you pulled out quickly, you really shouldn't spend much time fretting about it. Slightly different matter if she shoved her bare cock in your ass. If it's a brief in and out, probably nothing to worry about unless it was very rough and painful. As most know, the virus needs a pathway to your bloodstream. Being a bottom and taking it bare is a much bigger risk than being a top and giving it bare, although the latter still presents some risk. Anal tissue tears much more easily than penile tissue, so the virus has an easier path to your system. Reduce the risk: 1) Always have condoms with you. Never assume the LB will have any, and if she does they may be too small, and a too small condom is a condom that is both uncomfortable and is more likely to break. 2) Lube is your friend. Lube means a lower likelihood of tissue tearing and lower risk of a condom breaking. 3) PrEP is an option if you have a very low tolerance for risk, drink until you're drunk and don't trust your judgment, and/or you bottom very frequently. As a top, I don't mess with the PrEP drugs. They're pretty strong, and lots of guys have somewhat unpleasant side effects. If an accident happens and you're anxious, get tested. The problem with testing is you won't have results until it is too late to prevent infection. The earliest you're likely to test positive if infected is 10 days after exposure. For the prevention drugs to work, you have to start them within three days of the exposure. If you're really anxious, start a course of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis treatment (link below) immediately. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/hiv-prevention/using-hiv-medication-to-reduce-risk/post-exposure-prophylaxis I've had two broken condom accidents. In both cases I inspected myself, saw no indication of tearing or lesions, so I washed up thoroughly and carried on. I do test every few years and have always been negative and have always assumed that would be the case. Getting infected is not as easy as some people think. If you practice rough sex and are a bottom, and have lots of partners into the same thing, sure...you're at risk. But the occasional slip, even if that slip means getting topped by a LB who cums in your ass, is probably not going to be the end of you. She'd have to be positive, not using PrEP or being treated for HIV and thus shedding virus, and you'd have to have some tearing of tissue. Odds are fairly low all that happens. Stay calm and carry on.

Be wary of any injectables offered in Thailand. First, the newest are NOT available in any generic formulation and so will be quite expensive. And second, Thailand's CDC has not approved any of them for use, so what may be available is an unapproved generic from India that has not been tested. Thailand tests new PrEP drugs in Thailand before approving them.

I've seen very few Indians in the Mercure (topic of this thread). My LB friend who works at the Solitaire on Soi 11 ays the clientele there is heavily Indian. The company that owns the Solitaire also owns the Aria, Eleven, and Nysa hotels on Soi 11, and the have a new one opening in September on Soi 11 called the Pipa Hotel, almost next door to the Mercure.

@Denbosch1971, your experience mirrors mine. I was shocked at the indifference to customer service, as in virtually every other hotel I've stayed at in LOS the service has been impeccable. At the Mercure I asked for extra towels ("yes sir"), extra clothes hangers ("coming right up"), early cleaning ("she'll be there at 10am"), extra bottled water ("will 4 bottles be ok?"), etc. Last stay I left a coat in the cab I took from the airport to the hotel. The next morning the hotel concierge tracked down the cab and got my coat returned by that evening. Same level of service at the former Majestic Grande and at JW Marriott. Even Citrus Suites Soi 6 was very good about honoring my various requests. @SAGuy has a point. The Thai and Filipina staff are very service oriented.

https://blueelephant.com/restaurant/blue-elephant-sukhumvit/ There are a few restaurants in those beautiful old homes scattered around Bangkok. Blue Elephant/Monkey Pod is the most recent. Great review, @gainsbarre! A favorite of mine is The Local, which is located just a few blocks from Soi Cowboy. The house is over-the-top elegant, with teak and silk fabrics everywhere. The food is as good as the setting. I've never taken a LB here. It's definitely a Hi-So kind of place, dressy, and on the expensive side. http://www.thelocalthaicuisine.com

My cousin's hubby is an exec with Alaska, and he says while BKK is possible, it would be several years out. They are focused on other locations in Asia for now. They've just started flying to Tokyo and will start flights to Seoul in October. Nothing else is set, but they are looking at locations other than BKK for their next expansion in Asia. My money is on Delta as the next US carrier to fly to BKK. They definitely want to compete with United in Asia.

Just got that news from United. They credited me 25k miles for the fact that when I traveled home from Europe the Chicago lounge was closed and the LA lounge was so overcrowded that they sent many of us to the United Club. I think 25k will get me a free Tapas Snackbox.

It probably should be noted that almost no one is required to get an e-visa. Virtually all of us meet the qualifications for "visa exemption." If you're from any of these 93 countries you just need to complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card form either online or at the arrival airport (they encourage the former). The 93 countries eligible for the visa exemption scheme include: Africa: Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa Americas: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay East/Central Asia: Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom Middle East: Bahrain, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates Oceania: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga

Typical Thailand. This is correct--no mention of funds on the e-visa application.

I'd been wondering about this hotel. I had lunch in January at their restaurant, Mariga, and it was fantastic. Hmmmm, another option.

Hang out in the restrooms at the rear of the plane and you'll find out.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Polaris Club has been closed for a while for renovations. Returning from Europe last month I connected at ORD, and we were directed to the regular United Club which was completely overcrowded due to the closing of the Polaris Lounge. It looked like they were many months away from reopening it.

All three major US carriers suck. Who sucks the worst depends on the day of the week. I had an excellent business class flight on United from SFO to Amsterdam last month (on a 787-9), with access to their excellent Polaris Club in SFO. Three weeks later I flew to Rio on United, again in business, but on a particularly horrible 767, and the Polaris Club at LAX was so crowded I couldn't even find a seat, and finally went to the regular United Club. My only option for a direct flight from LAX to BKK is United, so that's what I'll take. In the past I had to fly United to NRT and either ANA or TG on to BKK. 22-24 hours, whereas the new route through HKG will be 20 hours. Still a long, long flight.

From United Airlines: "United will be the only U.S. airline to offer daily flights to Bangkok starting October 26. The flights will operate on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner." The flights are not non-stop, but out of LAX the flight is "direct" with a 2-hr stop in HKG. United flights from other cities will connect with the flight originating from LAX. I normally don't book this far in advance but there was a very good fare available. The LAX flight leaves in the evening (roughly 11:00p) and arrives in BKK at about 11a. Seems it will be possible to get a good sleep overnight on the HKG-bound portion. Luckily I have an upgrade that will get me into business/Polaris for the entire trip. I haven't seen anything from Delta or American as to whether they plan direct flights to BKK.