November 2, 2008

Isaan escapade (1)

It would be a boring holiday should I have to spend all my time in Pattaya or in Bangkok … this time, my side-trip was a short escapade to some isaan towns, with an aim to see the wats of course, but also to feel the atmosphere. And also to make some progress in my lifelong duty to spend at least one night in everyone of the 76 thai provinces.

The first stop was Udon Thani which has more and more farangs living there and roaming the streets mostly with their thai girlfriend. I had chosen the Thai Airways flight to go there at a time when Nok Air was not too well, and although paying more, I did not regret my choice : Nok had cancelled their midday flight on that day.

As always I chose to stay at the Charoen Hotel close to the main bus station and also within walking distance to the quickly growing entertainment area. Unfortunately there is no boy bar in the two new complexes in front of the Railway Station ; only girlie beer bars and it is hard to see how they could all survive for long.

I went searching the Antz Bar in the Ton Yang Yai area where it should have been but could not find it ; so I guess the only place for people like us still remains the Boy Boy Bar in a small soi not far from the Bus Station (west side of the soi where the Silver Reef Guesthouse is located).

I went there at 20.30 and was really surprised by the quality of the boys in this bar, especially one who was absolutely stunning : short hair, 18 y/o, beautiful face and deep eyes. I invited him, we chatted about his life (very few English spoken here …), I did not tell him he would have been a star in Pattaya as he was still a student in Udon (at least this is what he told me). Finally we agreed on going to a local disco with another of the boys (more dark-skinned, something “gothic” in his attitude but still more beautiful eyes) .. and here we went, three on the same bike along the busy Udon streets … my guy was much too young to be allowed to enter the discos, so we finished drinking our whisky in a less careful place, not too far from my hotel.

Alas what could have been a wonderful night with a magnificent guy failed and I still don’t know why … I had noticed he was smiling to someone else in the second bar but could not see whom (girl ? boy ?). Eventually he brought the second boy to his home after having carefully wrotten down my room number, but he never came back. I had not yet given any tip to him nor to the other boy, so I am still wondering why I spent the night alone … Unfortunately I had not the phone number of the bar so could not get any further news from him. Lesson number one : when you really fancy a guy, go immediately to the essential because precious jewels are the most easy to lose…

I could have staid one day more in Udon as I had no real schedule ; however I chose to go further and my next stage was in Sakhon Nakhon, a completely farang-free place. My hotel was the Dusit Hotel, clean and convenient for 350 THB with the most smiling and careful staff in Thailand - those who would feel ashamed if they paid less than 3000 THB a hotel night in Thailand do not know what they miss.

No boys bar here, but this is the town where someone I had known in Geneva is living, and we had agreed to meet on the day I would go there. I spent a great evening out with him and his delicious wife : great restaurant, and then two late night pubs where I was openly solicited by a (female) friend of his wife who had joined us. Axa Pub is a new pub and they have a band of male students who appears for singing every night. Believe me, the singer is an absolute stunner and gazing at him was enough to make made my evening very enjoyable.

Wat Phra That Choeng Chum in Sakhon Nakhon
Wat Phra That Choeng Chum in Sakhon Nakhon after the rain

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I too was in Udon Thani a few months before you,in April 08.
I too took two boys from BOY BOY BAR in that little soi,off to the disco AND guess what?
He took my room number down at the TOON GON hotel BUT never came back!
Could it be the same guy?
I never tipped him .