July 28, 2008

Bangkok life

Bangkok life is definitely not bad when you are a tourist … Feeling alone in you room ? Just go outside, the streets are bustling with people, and every 30 seconds or so you will run into the nice face of a cute guy … who could well be your next friend if you are daring and lucky.

My hotel is located at the end of a small soi in Saphan Khwai, and I can enjoy the soi life as soon as I set a foot out of my room. At first I walk in front of the boy bars whose owners are cleaning their shop : those who know me as a regular never forget to greet and have a short chat. Further down the soi, there is the half hidden shop where I drop off my linen for washing .. when the laundrywoman prepares my pile of washing, she simply labels it with the word "farang" … I am probably her only non-thai customer.

Saphan Kwai aera eating paradiseAnd then there are the food stalls … they stay in the soi during daytime but as soon as 5 pm, they spread onto the both sides of the main street. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights, Pradiphat Street is a huge open-air restaurant with hundreds of thais enjoying their meal with friends or family. I love this atmosphere, I also love the convenience of a quick and cheap khao man kai when I feel a bit hungry, whatever the time of the night (and No, I never got sick from eating in the street ... )

Eye candy is of course always there in the soi or in the street … The waiters in the Rakhang Thong Restaurant are my current favourites, and I guess I will have to look closer at the workmen hired in the nearby construction site : I already know they leave at 6 pm and some of them are absolute stunners – to the point I did not dare to take a picture of them.

As for the boy working for the khao moo daeng stall at the soi entrance (owner's son probably), I still have to wait two or three more years, but he will surely be worth it. For now, his job is doing the washing up well hidden behind the cart, and helping serving the customers. Spending all his evenings near so many boy bars, it is impossible that when turning 18, he does't consider making use of his good looks ; after thinking over, he could well try his luck and if he agrees, I am OK to be his first customer

July 20, 2008

Posing

I would not like my holidays in Pattaya being restricted to bar-hopping and boy-offing. This is why I generally get up very soon (at least by Pattaya standards), just to have more time to do nothing .. lazily lying under the sun or just having time to take care of myself – a favor that us working class battlers cannot afford very often.

Nong Nooch Garden and boy
Nong Nooch garden and boy
Besides this I made the usual trip to Nang Ram Beach near Sattahip, only to find that many russians had already found their way to this little paradise. I guess I'll have to find something else soon.

I had never toured the Nong Nooch Garden and came here a little by chance, guided by one of the boys I had met. Not being mad about flowers and gardens, I was fearing a boring visit, but the place turned out being very entertaining. Go there with a thai boy and a camera and you will be surprised how gifted these guys are when posing for a photo … they really pose like stars but in a totally innate way. As the setting is quite appropriate for this, you should end with a lot of successful pictures.

July 7, 2008

Dek haat

In Jomtien, the gay beach is now very quiet. So I had more time to chat with the sellers and less noise to suffer from some rude neighbours. On the downside, there was still more pression from the massage boys and the nail girls .. there seemed to be a little too much of them this time.

My all-time favourites are like always the dek haat (the beach attendants) ; at least in my usual concession, these hard-working guys are invariably helpful, smiling and cute. It's part of the game to invite one of them for a meal or more … but these boys do not have a lot of free time and they are mostly straight ; so they will not readily agree. 

Beach attendants in gay beach, Jomtien, Pattaya
Yellow chairs in Jomtien ... a nice bunch of isaan boys

I asked a new boy (fresh from Udon Thani) what he thought about it and he just answered "Khit doo kawn ..." (I'll consider it). He has now another three months left for further pondering – unless another farang is persuasive enough to help him overcoming his apprehension (or unless he goes back home for the rice crop …).

July 6, 2008

Groundless fears

I generally go to Pattaya AFTER trips to other parts of Thailand. I know too well that the emollient way of life here could make me less prone to do the sidetrips that provide the best memories of a stay in Thailand, so the one-week or more time I stay in Pattaya is always scheduled at the end of my holiday.

After reading about all the police checks and the growing lack of safety, I had for the first time some fears about my stay. I have to say that these fears were completely groundless : during the eight days I spent in Sin City, it was business as usual : same easy-going atmosphere, same (wrong) feeling that you have reached a place where everything is possible, same number of cute boys everywhere and everytime.

My favourite haunts were as usual a long stay in Jomtien in the afternoon and hanging around Sunee Plaza at night. I had warned Tam that I was coming so he joined me for the last four days and I can only say that I loved the time we were together. We are now more friends than lovers, and he perfectly admits that I am a hopeless butterfly who sometimes needs a welcoming shoulder – as long as this shoulder is his …

Cha,thaburi bar boy
Chanthaburi boy : all my "specs"
During my "free" period, I visited almost every bar in Sunee and some in Boyztown. Most were open except for Villa Rouge ; I especially loved the new Euroboys which has been completely redesigned by the new owner. There is no elevated stage any more but the boys "dance" on the floor like in Minou Bar, and the all-white atmosphere is a pleasant change from the ubiquitous black colour prevailing in Boyztown bars. Soon after entering the place, I saw a tall, dark-skinned and shy-looking guy I could not take my eyes off : exactly my "sapek" (specs) as thai say. This 18 y/o cutie from Chanthaburi was my friend for two nights and did not disappointed although not very talkative even in Thai (his english was almost non-existent). This bar had some other cute ones but probably a little too young if you care to strictly abide by the law.

I also loved the JJJ James but did not take anyone there although one of the waiter was an absolute delight. Lot of young meat is on display in this bar, which I like to look at but avoid to take away. Good Boys gave the same sight, along with some bad feeling that I cannot only explain by the ciggie smoke and the large number of asian customers. Look Boys is another place with some (mostly) young staff but hardly any discipline and too many feminine young guys. Same in Nice Boys which is a pale imitation of the former Kaos. And Minou was an absolute dump giving a slight idea of what human degradation may look like (and be sure I am generally not too fussy about this ..).

Another group of bars is the "hands on" bars, of which I visited Crazy Dragon, Happy Boys, Le Gun 1 and 69. Each one has its own format, with boys either approaching or not, showing it all or not, dancing or not. Each one has its own but I must say Le Gun would be a winner if the boys did not approach too quickly, not allowing you enough time to look carefully at what is on offer. Another common point for all these places is the numerous tatooed bodies, which is a definite turn-off for me – a pity as there are beautiful guys here and there.

I hardly visited any beer bar for this time except my usual den Threezone Bar, which is more and more a place where you come for chatting with friends and looking at the Villa Rouge entrance, but not to find boys. I also saw some interesting lads in the Mic My Boy Bar, but did not have enough time to know them better.

I also met again a boy that I had known two years ago in Boy Isaan ; he said he had just come from his place in Udon Thani where he had been staying for the last twenty months – not that I am really convinced about this though. He was about to work in one of the Sunee beer bars when he saw me walking in the soi and stopped me. As he is a nice guy, I took him twice (paying the "off" fee to the bar although he was still not really hired …) and we had a very nice time together : we went to Nang Ram beach and to my favourite sea food restaurant in Bang Sare, which he appreciated. As he decided not to stay in Pattaya, I went with him to the bus station when he went back home. No idea wether we will meet again or not.

Udon Thani lad
Udon Thani lad at beach

July 4, 2008

Jomtien monsoon

Jomtien Beach
Quiet afternoon in Jomtien ....






Jomtien area after downpour


















Ninety minutes (and some drinks under the eaves of the toilet booth) later ...