Bwana_LB
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Posts posted by Bwana_LB
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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.
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27 minutes ago, Rodrigo said:Now lots of families especially Indian on soi 11. Divided between Aria and Eleven Hotel.
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.
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@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.
American Eagle, Unavowed and taaseesanuk reacted to this -
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.
Edisto and gainsbarre reacted to this -
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.
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19 hours ago, oliver17 said:ome good news on this front. The Polaris lounge at ORD reopened in late April.
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.
oliver17 reacted to this -
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
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50 minutes ago, tongting said:You can go right through the e-visa and there's no mention of proof of funds .
Typical Thailand. This is correct--no mention of funds on the e-visa application.
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36 minutes ago, Edisto said:I've stayed at both Landmark and Adelphi. I always preferred the Landmark.
You can ignore my wrench but.... I have a new great discovery which I love much more than either.
A Premium Executive Suite at the Samala Hotel on Soi 15. It's 2 years new.
651 euros
Incl. Breakfast for 2 - the restaurant is excellent
35 sq. Meter room
Request view of the pool
Quiet building. Great restaurants around. Short walk to Soi 11
Very guest friendly and no walk by the concierge desk as it's rather removed.
https://www.samalahotelbangkok.com/I'd been wondering about this hotel. I had lunch in January at their restaurant, Mariga, and it was fantastic.
Hmmmm, another option.
Edisto reacted to this -
6 hours ago, Long John said:In the wikipedia article it says that Thai air is full service. What does that mean???.
Hang out in the restrooms at the rear of the plane and you'll find out.
Long John reacted to this -
1 hour ago, oliver17 said:That said, I think United's Polaris lounge in Chicago is pretty much on a par some of the best in the world,
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.
oliver17 and JackJohn reacted to this -
2 hours ago, taaseesanuk said:Maybe it was just my rotten luck, but I would think twice before using them again.
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.
sydney69er and taaseesanuk reacted to this -
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.
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3 hours ago, SCdcjhk1hwe1w said:Let's say a LB freelancer who takes 5~10 customers a day,
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14 hours ago, CJ-BLF said:Yes, that is the "Not the Cheapest" part.
Well, it's FAR from "not the cheapest" (that's what "substantially more" means). As far as I can tell, it's one of the most expensive, charging almost double what the discount pharmacies charge.
For years many have recommended Chula Bhaesaj Drug Store on Rama IV. I've used it and found it to offer both the largest inventory and probably the lowest prices. You can find pretty much any drug there, things that the little Sukhumvit pharmacies won't have. The only drawback is that the lines can be a bit long, as it's not far from a major hospital.
https://www.thebigchilli.com/feature-stories/bangkok-pharmacy-with-a-cure-for-a-tight-budget
It's a short walk from the Sala Daeng BTS station, and convenient to Patpong
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11 hours ago, CJ-BLF said:PULSE CLINIC - Asia's Leading Lifestyle Clinics
Trendy Building, Sukhumvit 13,, Bangkok, 10110
Tel: (+66) 2 168 7459 / (+66) 95 915 6385www.pulse-clinic.com Email: info.bkk@pulse-clinic.com
Not the cheapest but properly run. They have everything.
Pulse was charging *substantially more* for PrEP prescriptions than almost everywhere else.
LBLover6969 reacted to this -
On 5/10/2024 at 12:24 AM, Gambino said:I have had the same Thai phone number for over a year, just by topping this up every time I'm here for a visit.
While I can see the value of this, I prefer a fresh start with a new number each visit. There's always a clingy few I never want to have contact with again.
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7 hours ago, oliver17 said:Citrus has better hotel amenities like restaurant and pool.
Hmmmm. The restaurant and pool are the two main reasons I stoped booking at Citrus Soi 6. The pool is tiny, has inadequate seating, and is in the shade much of the day. The restaurant is as average as average can be. I like the exec rooms just fine...lots of furniture to put to creative uses with the girls, and the showers are large enough for two to play in.
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I'm a bit shocked at how high prices have climbed at Citrus Suites Soi 6. I'm always in town during January and February and have typically paid about US$85 for an Executive Suite. Now they are going for close to $120.
Similar climbs in prices elsewhere, though. I did get a good price at the Mercure on Soi 11 for this January, but since my reservation prices have increased by about 30%.
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(Copied from elsewhere. No indication of how long approval might take or cost, but this is a huge improvement on the best PrEP available now)
Gilead, a California based pharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday (20 June 2024) that it was ending the phase 3, blinded clinical trial of its new, twice-a-year shot for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, lenacapavir, because it is too effective.
In this sort of clinical trial, some participants are randomly assigned to the new intervention that's under investigation (i.e. lenacapavir) and some are randomly assigned to the current standard of care (i.e. Truvada or Descovy, PrEP pills that must be taken every day). Why? Because it would be unethical to use placebo when we know that once-daily PrEP pills do prevent HIV.
The trial is also "blinded" to prevent investigator bias from influencing the results – to the maximum extent practicable, the investigators carrying out the research do not know, while the trial is being carried out, which participants are getting which treatment, nor do they know how effective those treatments are.
But an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) has access to all of the data. The IDMC can see, while the trial is ongoing, which participants have gotten which interventions, and they can see how effective those interventions are.
The IDMC saw that none of the 2,134 women who received the twice-yearly injection of lenacapavir developed HIV. 0 cases of HIV in any of the participants assigned to lenacapavir.
There were 16 cases of HIV in the 1,068 women assigned to Truvada. There were 39 cases of HIV in the 2,136 women assigned to Descovy.At that point, the IDMC has an ethical duty to recommend the blinded trial be stopped, and all of the participants assigned to Truvada and Descovy be offered lenacapavir. Why? Because they know lenacapavir works, it is superior to either Truvada or Descovy, and once that fact has been established, it would be unethical to deny participants the option to receive the more effective PrEP option of lenacapavir.
Lenacapavir is not the first injectable PrEP agent. FDA approved "apretude" in 2021; it must be injected every other month. The game changing nature of lenacapavir is that it only requires two injections per year in order to achieve 100% efficacy.george1515 reacted to this -
51 minutes ago, vevey2021 said:Can just walk into a pharmacy and obtain it?
I've never heard of a pharmacy declining to sell w/o a prescription. LB Pharmacy on lower Suk certainly will sell you any basic prescription.
vevey2021 reacted to this -
I had stomach and bowel issues with Truvada. I quite taking it and decided to just be extra vigilant about being covered at the appropriate times. I have not tried Descovy, but have friends who said they had similar stomach and bowel issues.
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9 hours ago, happyone said:Spasso? The Italian restaurant by day and freelance spot by night, is that the place?
That's the place. Not surprised it's gone. I think the hotel was a bit bothered to learn that they were hosting a club full of working girls.
LB putting your tip in bare?
in Health Issues
Posted
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.