Phuchai

En route for 2012

2011-12-31T18:56:00.004+01:00

.......................................................... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

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Mister Goody Goody

2011-12-11T18:34:00.002+01:00

With the floods coming closer every day, I had no time to waste in Bangkok. The Morchit area was already under water, meaning that I could have only three or four days left dry if things had to turn nasty. So I had hardly recovered from my Hua Hin adventures when I decided to call back the Samut Prakan boy. We agreed to meet again at the Baering BTS Station which is the current terminus of the Sukhumwit line (extension to Samut Prakan is due to be completed in 2014).

Once again he arrived on time, walking like a cat despite his lanky body. I proposed him to have a meal in the Silom area, which is a fourty minutes journey away. He had told me he had never used the BTS network alone, which could well be true. I chose to go to Dick's Cafe just for the atmosphere, as I had absolutely no intention to bring him to any gogo bar. Sure this is not the best eating place in town but you cannot beat the place in Bangkok for seeing the world go by in a not too noisy atmosphere. We chatted about this and that, he told me he was gay but no friend of him knew it and it hardly surprised me as Samut Prakan is still wery far from Bangkok in terms of tolerance and open-mindedness. As for me, I was more and more impressed by his big black eyes and his attitude, without daring to ask him how he would like to end the evening. I felt really like a teen trying to date his first love – although being perfectly aware the my wallet was probably a big part of the equation.

I brought him then to Soi 4 which was more bustling than ever being on a Friday night. We had still a drink or two on the Balcony terrasse ; I had already noticed that many people were looking at this fresh and innocent boy – probably a rare commodity in the area. So it was no surprise when a waiter brought him a slip of paper where someone had written in thai : "So lovely …" and a phone number. He was smart enough not to give any attention at it ; was he used to this kind of message or did he suddenly realise that he could be a subject of desire by other men, I will never know. Just before leaving, I finally asked whether he would come to my hotel or go back home ; the decision had to be made before the Siam change station where our ways would diverge.

On the Siam platform, he said me – in thai, as his english is very poor : "OK I go with you but we do not do anything". It was already good news for me : looking at him the whole night long was enough to keep me happy. So after a last drink in Waterloo Bar, one of the Saphan Khwai karaoke, we went to bed in the most platonic way. I thought I had met a very righteous boy who only wanted to know a farang man as part of an experience.

It did not last long. Without a word, the first physical contact in bed was the beginning of a long cuddling and kissing and exploring and exploding. At 6 o'clock on the following morning, he was again all over me and I clearly felt something long and hot trying to find its way between my buns. "Too much, to soon" I told him and he went on groping and kissing till late in the morning.

One week later, I met him again in Pattaya where I had convinced him to come and join me, although he had told he had never gone so far on his own. I brought him to the "Oh Aharn Thai" restaurant, and then to the Panorama Pub. Finally, we went to one of the gogobars in the area where he was quickly approached by the mamasan who was seemingly trying to recruit him. We told about all this, and it was another night of uninhibited pleasure.

On the following day, we went to the Buddha Hill, and then to Dongtan Beach and then further towards Jomtien ; I had to make all the schedule, he seemed to accept and to be interested by anything I wanted to show him. When asked whether he liked where he was or not, he always answered telling "chew chew" – the thai slang word meaning "chill out" – making a V with his fingers.

Genuine rookie, or casual moneyboy ; I still cannot figure. We are still in touch through Camfrog and I hope to meet him on my next trip (should there be one), but I really cannot imagine whom I will meet again. What I will remember is an unexpected refreshing experience, which is exactly what I am looking for when I come to Thailand.

Hua Hin

2011-12-05T18:43:00.000+01:00

Shame on me for not updating the blog while being in Thailand … I guess I should get one of those notebooks allowing me to prepare my masterpiece in the room or at the beach rather than in some internet shop … My boyfriend Tam is luckier than me on this one : he convinced me to transfer to his account the money needed for buying one … but for himself. Poor farang with his old-fashioned mobile phone and not being able to afford all the modern electronic gadgets that every thai boy must have ..

After the long trip from Chiang Mai, I would have loved to stay quiet in Bangkok, but the floods were getting closer to Saphan Kwai ; the first thing I made on the following day was looking through the window checking that the car park in front of my hotel was still dry .. and it was. Should I go to Pattaya and come to Bangkok two weeks later when the floods could have receded, or should I spend the time I wanted to stay in Bangkok immediateley, and then go to Pattaya ? I decided for the first option, as the floods seemed to be quite slow approaching the inner part of Bangkok. This proved to be the good decision but it was a long time of pondering and worrying.

I did not stay long in Bangkok however ; I wanted to know better Em, this boy from Camfrog who had told me he was in Hua Hin. I also wanted to be on my own after ten days with Tam, who staid alone in Bangkok - and I know he likes it too. So here I was at Victory Monument to find the rot too going there … Not that I like being seated in a cramped mini van recklessly speeding on the highway but the other means of transportation – public bus or train - are not convenient at all when you have little time to waste.

I arrived in Hua Hin along with droves of Bangkok residents fleeing the floods ; however my favorite hotel had still a room for me. Being there for one night meant I had to meet the boy, and then visiting the bars, all this within three hours … so I was almost relieved when the boy answering my phone call told me he was not Em, he did not know him and never heard of him. Surprising when this was a phone number I had already used to call him from my country... I also could have got in touch with him with Camfrog, but finding an internet shop with Camfrog in the touristy part of Hua Hin is not an easy task. The last chance was to meet him in one of the bars, but this did not happen.

I conscientiously visited each bar of the Hua Hin scene which had nicely developped since last year. Red Indian had only three boys, and the Nong Khai boy who stroke up a chat with me was not really my style, so I went on to Grasshopper Bar. I noticed a group of four, one of them being a wonderful young guy but they did not make a lot of eye contact. Hearing that the place had a massage service, I promised myself to come back should I not find the gem I was looking for.

From there, you just have to follow a bad-lit soi, cross the main street (which is the hardest part of any stay in this resort) and reach soi 81, one of the best night areas in town with many low-key girl bars, nice and cheap guesthouses, and now two boys bar – one of which having turned to girls since I went there. Few boys in each bar, so it was time to go to Chico Bar.

Fortunately I had already visited the place, as the motorsai driver did not know it, and I nearly missed the place now well-hidden behind a row of bushes. This bar was by far the best one in the evening despite Em not being there … Among the many nice lads working there, there was this 18 y/o guy from Ratchaburi : he would be the first guy I ever offed in Hua Hin, and also the first boy I offed during this trip.

To know more about this great place, go to this recent thread on Sawatdee Forum (by Smiles, an old resident in Hua Hin),
http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/new-ish-gay-bar-the-boonies-chico-hua-hin-t24185.html?hilit=Hua%20Hin
or to their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/CHICO-BAR-HUA-HIN/181212931934257?sk=photos

Some hours later, I was back in Bangkok after another hair-rising experience and the strange feeling that with all these cars parked along the bridges and the slightest puddle possibly announcing a disaster, I would not want to stay too long in the area.

By the way, Em is now working in Chico Bar and can be seen on one of the very enticing pictures provided on the Sawatdee thread.

Behind the bushes . . . . .

Sober in Chiang Mai

2011-10-27T11:59:00.004+02:00

Being with Tam, I had a very quiet stay in Chiang Mai. In fact most of my energy was used to visit further places around the town with the help of our rented car. So we could make it to Lamphun and its temple, the Samoeng loop in the mountains, and a new visit to the San Kampeng hot springs.

At night I did not forget to visit the main bars and found them to be as good as ever, be it Freeguys, New My Way or Adam's Apple. The shows are daring enough but very similar one to another, with a lot of nudity.. Only Freeguys has a male-only show, the other two having some katoey show as well. I did not go to Circle Pub as I know that this place has never been up to my taste.

Another evening was spent in the sleazy allay near Night Bazaar, but I have to say I was not impressed at all by the freelancers who hang around there. The atmosphere did not look as bad as it has been written here and there.

Finally I found the most stunning boys in Chiang Mai were the ones working as waiters in the Sabaidee Pub and Restaurant - a rather hard to find place near Santitham Plaza (look at their website for directions : http://www.sabaideesantitham.co ). Tasteful decoration, cute waiters, great food for a very resonable price, what do you want more ? Another magic place not to miss in Chiang Mai.

I am now in Bangkok after a strenuous 14 hours bus transfer following the cancellation of Nok Air flights. Bad luck I guess but the 1st class Nakhornchai busses are comfortable enough to support such a long punishment. Let now the plan to conquer the Samut Prakan boy's heart now go into action !

Hot in San Kampeng

Raw nature

2011-10-24T11:16:00.011+02:00

The first part of my stay is now over ; not a lot about the boys here - although they are never far when you are in Thailand - and everything about what Thailand has also to offer besides its male citizens.

As scheduled we got our rented car in Phitsanulok and this was not your usual Honda Jazz ; knowing that the roads will be tough, I had splashed out on a big four wheel Toyota Vigo, not the car that I would dare to drive at home if you ask me. My boyfriend Tam was happy about this choice and he drove most of the way, except in the really windy mountain roads which I am more used to.

Unfortunately the bar I had read about in Phitsanulok seems to have closed, at least we could not find it at the location it was supposed to be. I rather think that once again, the information I had being from thai people, it was probably false or incomplete as we spent one hour exploring this famous Soi 19 where nothing was to be seen looking like an open bar or even a closed one.

Our first stop was in Mae Sot and we made the mandatory trip to the so-called Friendship Bridge on the Burmese border. A rather curious place where burmese people come and sell their things - mostly cigarettes - down from the walkway which stretches along the thai side of the river, and under the view of the thai soldiers. Among them, some teenagers who would have a lot of success should they have sold something, say, more private ...

Our second day was along the thai-burmese border on very quiet roads with not a lot of people around except for many police controls. I was especially impressed by a huge refugee camp after Mae Ramat, hundreds of wooden houses all over the hills seeming to shelter so many unfortunate people fleeing their country. Probably a heavy burden for the thai Government. Besides this, there were viewpoints, waterfalls, caves, and a 50 km stretch of a rather small road on the borders of Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces, without any village, gas station, or eating place. You guess that finally arriving in Mae Sariang was a relief. A locale karaoke gave a nice end to the day.

Refugee camp near the border

Mae Sariang - Mae Hong Son was a more civilised stage although with countless curves, and more beautiful waterfalls. To Tam's dispair, the Thung Dok Bua Tong (the Mexican sunflower field) had not blossomed yet, but the Mae Surin waterfall on the same road was in good shape after all this rain. Thanks to a thai guidebook, we visited a little gem of a cave in Mae La Noi ; Kaew Komon Cave Forest Park is a calcite cave and the glittering calcite shines sparklingly in the cave walls, making it look like ice Zno picture allowed). In Mae Hong Son, we staid in the Bayoke Chalet Hotel, which doubles at night as a disco for the local teenagers, and of course we could not miss the opportunity to have a drink. Mae Hong Son population is mostly Thai Yai, and this is a guarantee for fine-looking well-built young men. Also not to be missed is also climbing up the hill which offers great views over the ton. At dusk it is also a flirting place for the local youth.

A long rest in a mud spa only 17 km from Mae Hong Son was enough for being ready for the following day which lead to Pai ; fantastic viewpoints over the mountains, another beautiful cave near Phang Ma Pha (Tham Lot, where the river flows through the cave) made another great day. In Pai the atmosphere was more touristy, with a huge amount of mostly young farangs, as Pai is known as a paradise for travelers.The population has kept his smile though, and the prices are still reasonable. The C Bar which is sometimes advertised as a gay bar is a very small bar but it seems that only the owner here is gay.

Pai was the first step back to bustling thai cities but it was still quiet, probably to the once again long and windy route leading there. We had still another hot spring and a waterfall to look at before finally arriving in Chiang Mai. Back to the bars and the boys, although the experiences with the boyfriend in tow should be more tame than when I come alone ...

. . . . . . . . . Mae Hong Son from above

Noo (rising tone)

2011-10-17T09:15:00.002+02:00

Noo (rising tone) is the thai word for "mouse" ; it is also the way parents call their children, or teachers their young pupils. But this boy wants me to call him "noo" as well, and he also always call me "than" which is the pronoun that you should use for people you respect (your parents). He is definitely not a child, and I have been chatting with this this 19y/o guy on Camfrog since about two months. He had told me that when I would see him for real, I would flee the scene because he was not handsome ... of course I was not worried as I know that for some unexplained reason, thai boys always look better in real life than through any camera.

I wanted to meet him near his place, and not near my hotel so that he would not feel ill at ease. And here I am, like a pre-teen going to his first date, sitting in the BTS train towards the new Bearing Station, as he lives in nearby Samut Prakan Province. The appointment place was not romantic at all as there is an easy to find Esso gas station just under the BTS. I even did not have to wait too long, and he appeared on the back of a motorsai. As handsome as I had imagined, as shy as I had guessed when chatting. We went to the nearby Imperial Word commercial center and had some steaks in a thai only atmosphere (BTW Samut Prakan province is a very populous area with heaps of nice boys all over) . We never had talked about sex on Camfrog, and we never talked sex either on our first meeting. I do not even know whether he is a king or a queen. And I cannot figure why he wants to talk with me ...curiosity, money or anything else. He laughed, I laughed, we promised to meet again and I think we will. I had brought some eau de toilette for him, and slipped a banknote in his hand, telling him it was for helping him start studying again.

He is a common next-door thai boy, meaning a very handsome, always smiling and very easygoing lad. Will we go further together ? Time will tell, but I guess I will have to make the first move if I want him in my bed, which is of course the ultimate goal. Anyway a refreshing experience, so different from the relations with your usual thai rent boy.

This was my first night in Thailand and I did not go anywhere else ; going back from Samrong, I made a short visit to the Silom area for a drink in Dicks Cafe ; I did not see a lot of customers in the whole soi. Same in Soi 6 area where there was almost no one in the Thai Boys 2011 Massage place, but it was already 11 pm and I guess you should come much earlier to see the nice guys the place is well-known for. I was too tired for going to Super A Bar, this will be for a next time as I plan to stay in Bangkok longer than before.

The travel to Thailand with Lufthansa was a breeze with very few travellers at Immigration in Suwanaphum airport. During my waiting time in Frankfurt, I wanted to go to downtown where I had a one month work experience about 38 years ago : I did not find anything I had known then and the closest thing to this period of my life was a beer in Romerplatz. I could not find either the "Come-In" hustler bar which I just wanted to visit, despite being in the right street. And I could see once again how quickly my formerly good knowledge of German language has gone away...

I am now awaiting my boyfriend Tam, and we will fly to-morrow to Phitsanulok where we will start our trip to the North with a rent car. Not many boys bars for a while I guess except for the special mission I have been assigned with, namely exploring the only gay bar in Phitsanulok.

I just hope that Don Muang airport will stay clear of flooding like Bangkok is until now. You would not even know of this threatening disaster when staying in downtown Bangkok for now, if there were not some rare shops (mostly Seven Eleven and banks) having built brick protection walls just in case. Phitsanulok should be better as everyone says the situation in the North is improving again.

Halcyon days or ...

2011-10-14T21:31:00.005+02:00

Thirty three hours more and I will land at Suwanaphum airport .. or wherever. I made more planning this time than ever and everything could as well be cancelled because of the terrible floods that thai people have to face now.

I can only hope that I will be able to fly from Don Muang to Phitsanulok on next Tuesday, as the situation in the North looks much better than in Bangkok. From there on, it will be travelling the way I like it : a car, a boy - my boyfriend of eight years - and freedom to stop and to go where we wish. Should the weather be nice, it could be great from Mae Sot to Chiang Mai via Mae Hong Son .. albeit without any boy bar (except one I have spotted in Pai).

Until then, I have only to pray that Saphan Kwai will stay dry so that I can taste the atmosphere once again - my own old ways should come back very quickly . If no one of the Camfrog boys is free, it could as well be a trip to some massage place in the Silom area ... And if the area is wet, the closest boy bar is only one hundred meters from my hotel.

Holidays have begun and the magic is here once again.

Gayromeo boy in Rayong

Waterfalls

2011-09-25T21:34:00.003+02:00

Thai are crazy with waterfalls ... OK some are worth the visit but many others are really very ordinary, at least for this mountain boy.

However I guess that this eagerness to visit the slightest cascade could have something to do with the atmosphere that you generally find in these places. They offer a nice relief for those wanting to escape the scorching heat, and especially during week-ends, many people gather with their families or whatever group they belong. Could this be the main reason why waterfalls attract so many people ?

National parks

2011-09-18T21:39:00.006+02:00

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Some will think I am busier at visiting new provinces than new national parks. They may be right, but should not forget that it is easy to go to every town in Thailand, but you have to be on your own wheels as soon as you want to go in the sticks. Moreover, I cannot come to Thailand during the best months, and being in the middle of nowhere in the mud and surrounded by all kinds of mosquitoes and leeches is not my idea of hard-earned holidays.

There are 48 national parks in Thailand and I think I only visited 4 of them : Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep-Pui in Chiang Mai, Mae Yom in Phrae and Had Nopparatthara-Mu Ko Phi Phi in Krabi. And each one for too short visits. However, more will follow next month during the planned trip to North Thailand. Many others are on the must-do list.

On the top of the list are most isaan parks, among them Phu Kradung (picture above) which is well-known for providing fantastic natural views ...

Outdoors

2011-09-11T21:01:00.002+02:00

Those coming from hot areas cannot realise how great it feels to have a drink or to eat outside ... a pleasure that I very rarely indulge in at home, as temperatures are on the fresh side most of the year.

This is the most likely reason why I like to sit in a beer bar or an open-air restaurant everytime I can. Despite all the little bugs you could meet in these places...

Why I love LOS (1)

2011-09-04T22:04:00.006+02:00

So many reasons why I love Thailand - the Land of Smiles ...

One of them is the convenient transport network .. be it by road or by train, by boat or by air, it is really not a problem to get from point A to point B in this country. Something we could take for granted, coming from so-called developped countries .. however I find using most means of transport (except cycling) more convenient in Thailand than in my own country. And more rewarding for the eye too.

Addictive

2011-08-27T22:52:00.003+02:00

I am now in the middle of my mandatory stay in Farangland and the setting up of my next trip filled most of my free time. The schedule is complete now, with more time in Bangkok as expected, and also a long car trip in the North with Tam – like in the good old times. I am really looking forward being with him for a long time, even if I will be careful to be on my own for another part of my stay. I still cannot realise how it is possible that we can be boyfriends since such a long time (more than eight years), though I am rather a butterfly, and more inclined to twinks than to more mature men …

The trip will begin in Phitsanuloke where I should gather some information about the two gay places I have already identified there (one bar and one massage place), and also visit the wats – that I had missed because of a Royal visit when I first came there. We should then drive to Mae Hong Son along the burmese boarder and to Chiang Mai, with enough time to stop in the most interesting places and make some side-trips.

But for now, most of my freetime goes to using this diabolical Camfrog network, which gives me the impression to be in Thailand every night … Having upgraded to Camfrog Pro, I can now see many webcams in the same time, and looking at some rooms sometimes looks like indulging into a fantastic bukkake party with the most handsome boys jerking-off for you … Seeing a young thai man in his briefs is an absolute turn-on for me, so you can imagine how addictive this Camfrog thing is becoming for me ..

I have two or three contacts with guys in Bangkok and hope to meet them for chatting, and then seeing where things can go … one is a young whore from Samut Sakhon, mostly interested in money but with the nicest face in Southeast Asia ; and the second one is his complete opposite : he describes himself as (and looks like) a shy boy "who cannot be easily got", and I think he has contacted me mainly out of curiosity – be sure I am ready to meet the challenge. The only problem on Camfrog is that very few English is spoken and much less written : at least this gives me a good excuse for lacking assiduity in my thai lessons. And if you could see the expression on the face of the young man when discovering that he is answered in thai …

I am now just crossing my fingers hoping that the final financial collapse will be kind enough to wait for next November. It will then be the time to bury the system who is currently crushing our lives and our hopes.

Specs

2011-07-17T21:19:00.007+02:00

I had never seen so many building sites in Pattaya : there were at least four running in the immediate vicinity of my hotel – fortunately without any disturbing noise. And when there are construction sites going on, there is a great chance that construction workers come along.

I could by chance take some pictures, which only confirmed that I should one day try to know one of these workers better. They usually match what I say to a mamasan when she asks me about my specs regarding boys : soong, phom, dam (tall, lean and dark-skinned) and of course narak (cute).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . Sagging workwear

Still the best

2011-07-01T20:07:00.002+02:00

The last week in Pattaya was a little bit uneventful but every second of it was worthwhile. Pattaya is still the best place to go for us, and was much better than what I could have feared.

I staid most of the time with Tam who had taken some free days from his work. He is really not the kind of boy who would spend all his time in a room, so that having good meals and visiting new places were frequent. He brought me to the Floating Market south of Pattaya : a tourist-oriented place full of thai people, which was surprisingly well laid-out with a pleasant atmosphere. And Tam did not event indulge too much in boundless shopping of useless trinkets.

I also had some time of my own which I used as usual to stroll round the bars both in Sunee and Boystown. This was enough to feel relieved after all the bad things I had read on the boards : there are still boys, there are still customers, there is still life. Sure the numbers were not very high especially in Sunee but bar owners who know their jobs can still enjoy a regular customer flow.

I especially liked Nice Boys in Sunee where a waiter approached me, which is not the rule in this bar. He had probably noticed that I could not take my eyes out of him, so we spent a lot of time chatting before taking the plunge. I told him I had one day passed through his home town (Kalasin) and noticed how the boys there were especially beautiful : I could see him blushing at the compliment – and not I am not very good at smooth talking, I really thought this. This bar had for me by far the best staff all over Sunee.

Happy Boys was once again visited and once again, entering without any other attention than having a quiet drink quickly turned into a striong need to know better the boy who took my attention. He had already taken care of me last time and I did not remember it, although i should have printed his dark skin and his long hair in my brain. In this place you just have to be very cautious to turn down any offer by any other boy : some seem to specialise into coming upstairs uninvited.

I was more disappointed by the beer bars : few guys, fewer cuties in my opinion. I felt that you had to go many times in a bar and get acquainted with one guy or two before feeling really welcomed, so this is a definite hindrance for tourists. Not that this is a big surprise for me, as this is exactly the reason why I feel so good in my favourite taproom : Threezone Bar where I have been a loyal customer for the last nine years (and at first because my then boy special had moved to freelance there).

What was the most worrying was strolling along the sois in the immediate vicinity of Sunee : in either direction, arabic presence is increasingly heavy, making our Sunee looking more and more like the Gallic village in the middle of the roman empire. How much will this last I wonder, and I can only hope that another area would replace it in case of a huge gay drain.

For the time being, there should be still be some boys and bars available next time I go there, in October.

...................Floating Market in Pattaya ....

Longer stays

2011-06-21T06:14:00.002+02:00

It was good to be in Bangkok again. Sure the place is hot and overcrowded but there is always something to do there - the first being updating the blog after one week in the sticks.

I always find myself promising to spend more time in the capital, but I say the same about spending more time in Pattaya and also spending more time in the provinces. So I guess the problem could only be solved by a so much awaited retirement, which is not within sight for the time being. This time however, I had enough with one week in the South and in the Northeast, probably due to the fact I had packed to many things into a too short period of time.

I could not help but going again to the infamous Soi Anuman Ratchathon area, and if I managed to avoid Nature Boy, I was more than happy to enter the Nice Boys Bar. Not for the many questionable boys hanging about there, but for the boys on the scene who were rather intersting to say the least. I did not take one but chatted for a long time with a tall slim dark-skinned guy who was hiding behind the others.

In fact I had reserved my evening for the Boys Bangkok 2011 Massage Shop (under Super A Bar) where I had been so impressed by the overall cuteness of the staff. The best was still the one I had already taken - although I do not like to choose a boy for massaging more than once. And so we went up stairs with Bank, his stunning smile and his good skills for everything you want in a boy massage place (including massage).

On the next day, I went checking the situation in the Saranrom area, as I had not read anything new about it since a long time. I am happy to say that even on a Sunday evening, the place had many guys of all ages and all shapes, in fact more than I had seen last year. As usual you have to be cautious enough and also to know that the truth at, say, 10 pm, may be very different thirty minutes later.

In fact I walked around the magic area twice, and many of those whom I saw at first had disappeared on the second stroll thirty minutes later. Most potential customers use a car or a taxi to drive around the place but as a pedestrian I was welcomed by most boys.

The other places I visited were Solid Bar in Silom and Charmming Bar in Saphan Kwai where they have every day a steady flow of nice young men.

Pattaya will follow and I am already sure that the place is far from dead despite all comments that you can read here and there on the boards.

Isan fix

2011-06-20T10:37:00.007+02:00

I had not planned to visit the northeast this time as my schedule was very tight and I wanted mostly recover from a long hard-working period. However there was this boy from Camfrog, and there was also the opportunity to fly quickly from Phuket with Air Asia offering three flights a week directly to either Ubon or Udon.

So after a short 3 days stay in Phuket, it was a sharp transition from an over touristy island to an almost farang-free Isaan. My first night was in Ubon Ratchathani which I had liked so much last October. This time I chose to stay in downtown Ubon in a simple thai hotel : Krung Thong Hotel (welcoming staff, 450 THB a night and with very clean rooms), whose main advantage is to be next door with the Black Beans Karaoke.

After an afternoon of shopping and strolling around the Thung Sri Muang park, I went straight to the bar. However contrary to my last year's visit, they had less boys, and these were not really interested in this poor lonely farang. I was not treated to detailed introductions of every boy like last year, but left alone sipping my beer. A pity as the boys seemed to be on the interesting side as far as looks were concerned. As for the other places in town, I could not visit "Famous Bar" ; I could see that the place was now called "G-Place", not knowing whether the "G" would stand for "Gay" or for "Girls", which obviously would change completely the interest of the place. Just one word to say that the other place is still open and well.

I was a little bit intimidated to think that I would meet in real life the Camfrog boy with whom I have been chatting for a long time. And when I saw him sitting on his moped in front of my hotel in Mahasarakham, it seemed to me that I had been knowing him for ages. Everything went well, we spent two days and two nights together and he was far from being the shy student I had pictured.

By the way Mahasarakham is a vibrant small city with many students, and a general good atmosphere. I staid in the high-end Taksila Hotel (Wasu Hotel was full) which has everything you could want from the best hotel in town (except a swimming pool) ; it is rather conveniently located close to the market and the bus station. Nevertheless I do not really feel at ease in these "Hi So" places - even when they come at only 1000 THB a night. Having a young-looking boy (aged 21) in tow did not help, although the staff was absolutely delightful.

Coming back to Bangkok was an eight hours chore with an unexpected bus change in Khorat, and the dreadful section from Saraburi to Morchit where there is absolutely nothing to see except traffic jams, countless trucks and soulless factories. It was huge relief to be back in Saphan Khwai. Alone, meaning : with the whole town for myself.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Faces in Mahasarakham .....

Resting in Phuket

2011-06-16T09:38:00.002+02:00

I usually choose to stay in Phuket only for a few days because I know that except for the beach there are not many things to do there : everything is expensive, especially transportation, and as I can never go there when the weather is at its best (December to February), I have already spent many afternoons in my room catching upon my reading. Not my idea of a trip to a seaside resort, although my accommodation at the Rendez-Vous Guesthouse was as good as ever.

I had a nice day which I lazily spent on the beach, which ended with a wonderful sunburn. Curiously enough, the boys do not seem to know a lot about the so-called gay beach although it is well signposted with the rainbow flag.

As for the evenings, I visited my favorite Yes! Bar every night - only for the boys and the atmosphere as I did not time enough to look again at the show. Another bar of interest was Mamasan Bar which is a little bit hidden at the end of the main soi (turn left when going towards the mountain). They also have a staff of energetic boys, although obviously lacking some discipline. I took one from there for a nice evening. My Way was not on my list as I had read some bad reports, however I paid a short visit to find older boys, but some with a very nice face; like in most bars, not many boys due to the very low season I was assured.

Spartacus is as always specialised in rough isaan guys who lacked a little bit of distinction. And Super Boys is still sleazier than before with only four boys. Another bar has opened next door as a host bar (Backstage Bar) and seemed to be much classier from what I could see.

As for the beer bars of which there has to be more than a dozen all over Paradise Complex, they obviously had not a lot of staff but a deeper examination could have lead to find gems for sure.

Possibly best gay bar in Thailand

2011-06-14T13:40:00.009+02:00

I came into Phuket being a little bit worried about the scene there in the middle of the low season, and my first steps into Paradise Complex seemed to confirm this : few people and few boys in the open-air bars.

So I am delighted to tell that after a first evening, things are much better than expected. First there are a lot of gay places now, open-air bars, massage places and gogo bars. The boys are there and if they are probably in fewer numbers than in the winter, they still outnumber the customers.

I began the evening with a massage in Spartacus Bar, where they had many boys on the premises ; one of them was so insistent on providing a massage, and so good at selling his services, that I could not resist. The place is not really designed as a massage place with very little privacy in the rooms, but that could be more exciting for some …

I made a quick visit to Tangmo Bar where I had memories of a place filled with nice boys … it seems to have changed for the worst, but this was perhaps only one bad evening, or perhaps there was not anyone meeting my requirements.

I left then for a small place which has opened probably not a very long time ago ; one row for the customers on the length of the bar, facing the scene where the boys were dancing in two shifts. The place is called “Yes !’ Bar and is located on the main way to Paradise Hotels (which is now the way out). The first impression was great with probably one of the best mix of boys for everyone’s taste, two funny captains, and a boy which I thought was the usual underage boy hanging out in street clothes ; he told me he was in fact the mamasan and that he was 20 years old – which I still not really believe. No pressure from him, no boring words, a very cute face – I would vote him with no hesitation as the cutest and nicest mamasan in Thailand.

The better came with the show : not a cabaret show like those you usually find in the Phuket bars, not a sex show with the usual tricks, but and absolute success. The actors were some of their own gogoboys, and when you find that the one you had fancied will be part of the show, this is a first good news. When you then see that all acts are perfectly laid out, totally innovative, with good looking boys, a communicative atmosphere, you think you have had a good evening. And when you think of all the shows you have already seen in Thailand (be it in Adam’s Apple in Chiang Mai or of course the Soi Twilight ones), you can only conclude that you have never been fascinated by any show like this before.

They have made the traditional candle show a feast for the eye, and if only one boy could be seen in the nude (and not in the in-your-face way), the whole performance was an hymn to the young male beauty.

The conclusion is simple : nice mamasan + great looking boys for everyone’s taste + innovative and wonderfully performed show ; this bar has to be one of the best (or possibly the best) in Thailand now. As my Michelin guide says : “vaut le detour”.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes ! Bar is small place next door to Connect Bar

Down to the South

2011-06-13T13:11:00.003+02:00

The second day in Bangkok was less adventurous than the first one but quite as enjoyable. Tam and Phi Kor joind me for the evening and we could not have begun it better than by a great meal in my favourite Saphan Kwai open-air eatery - Rakhang Thong near Elisabeth Hotel for those who do not remember.

We then headed to Silom for a show ; on an advice by a boy from Maxxis Cafe we first went to Hotmale but quickly decide to change for entering X-Boys ; we had what we were looking for. Not really my cup of tea but you really have to see anything what Thailand can offer. I preferred by far our last stay in Staxx Bar in Saphan Kwai listening at thai songs and chatting again and again.

On the next morning, Tam and Khor brought me to the airport on their way back to Pattaya, as I had booked a flight to Hat Yai. I like to go to these towns where they do not see many farangs, especially if I know that there are a few bars that could interest me.

The situation has just changed a little since my last visit. The bars are still within walking distance one from another in the southern part of the town. The good news is that the overall quality of the boys has much improved and there was much more variety and numbers than before, even on a quiet Sunday evening. So for the record you have to know that Buddys Bar has opened again after a two year closure. G-Men seemed to be less interesting, but City Man (same street as G-Men) had really a good bunch of nice men from all over Thailand. They even provided a show as there were some customers (including a group of more or less true women) - very tame show by Bangkok standards though.

Drink prices were 120 THB in City Man and 150 in the other two ; and in Buddy Boys you off a boy paying 1200 THB for short time and 1700 THB for the whole night including the tip for the boy - an old Hat Yai tradition due to the fact that some customers (did I say from Malaysia ?) used to offer ridiculously low tips to the boys before this rule was introduced. Although I did not ask in the other bars, I guess that the rule and the prices are similar.

All this is probably not enough to be worth the trip but you could combine it with a trip to the south to discover an almost farang-free scene reminding the good old days in Thailand ... and also a bustling city which is a shopping paradise.

See you now in Phuket...

Life starts again

2011-06-11T09:41:00.003+02:00

Yes life has just started again. I have been in Thailand since 24 hours and it is as if I had never left. My hotel has the same outdated charm as ever and the boys seem to be cuter every year ... don]t tell me about being bored, I will be only when Thailand will turn into a new Singapore, and I hope it will never happen.

The flight with Swiss was a delight as I was lucky enough to have two seats for myself (some empty seats on the flight, which I have rarely seen before). And at the airport, I had just showed up when an immigration booth just opened in front of me .. good things can happen for me too.

As I had just left from work to go to the airport (with only two hours to have a meal, a shower, and finish packing my bags), no wonder I was quite tired for my first night in Bangkok, so I just went where I had dreamed to go : have a massage in Silom. In fact I wanted badly to try the new place below Super A and God I was not disappointed ; the staff is made only of gorgeous boys, and you would need more time than I have to try them all. I chose a young man from Bangkok who began with an almost serious massage, but the situation quickly changed as I felt his cock more and more close to my skin until he put it just in my willing hand. What could I do ? He had the face of an idol, he did not mind French kissing and he was the perfect introduction to three weeks in Thailand.

After this I went to Dick's Cafe just to see more cute faces in the massage places around and to tatse my fist Chang Classic since such a long time. Back to Saphan Kwai then with a short stay in Street Boy where I could not see many street boys that I like so much. And then I went to Be High which had about six very macho boys, including a young lad just arrived from isaan but with too many tatoos on his skin. I had a long chat with a young man from the north and he was very happy to tell me about his life which began in the Shan State in Burma.

To-day will be another day to get used to my new life in the three forthcoming weeks. Tam will come visit me during his weekly free day along with Phi Khor from Threezone Bar and it should be a nice evening. And to-morrow back to scouring the country for new places and new boys : I am booked on a flight to Hat Yai where I should stay for one or two nights.

Tunnel

2011-05-15T21:57:00.004+02:00

I am sorry I could not update lately, due to the usual reasons : nothing interesting to say, and too much work on my hands. Since I came back from Thailand, I am like inside a tunnel with very little light except when reading the boards, or lurking or chatting the Camfrog rooms.

By the way my boyfriend has now a Camfrog account too but he is on-line not very often – unlike some addicts whom I should worry for if I knew them better. Tam is still working in a restaurant in Pattaya and his life seems better now than the hard-working and boring few years he spent at home.

What seems now completely unreal for me is the fact that I will be soon once again in the land of my dreams. Although overwhelmed by daily routine and stress, I only have to look at the calendar and pinch myself to realize that there are less than four weeks left … and I will be able to smell the heat, the odours in the street, the easygoing peace of life…. All what made me happy as soon as I had set a foot outside of my hotel on my first day in Thailand, - exactly 15 years ago. I had only walked 100 meters out of my room and I was already in love with the country – and I still had to meet my first boy !

This next trip will be three weeks long and the schedule will once again be like a time trial : a short trip to Hat Yai and Phuket just to see how things are going on, a flying visit to Ubon Ratchathani for the atmosphere and Mahasarakham for the boy, and the usual lazy week in Pattaya for the boyfriend and the beach. Flights are booked already and I remember being filled with joy in the middle of another boring day, just because I had successfully – and should I say very easily – bought my Air Asia ticket from Phuket to Ubon.

Little things give people the most happiness...

Virtual

2011-02-20T20:47:00.017+01:00

Although I praise myself for being rather impervious to everything artificial and useless, I must confess I have nearly be taken in like a beginner …

During my last stay in Pattaya, the Threezone bar's owner showed me the Camfrog website and suggested me to use it at home so that we could keep in touch …and six weeks ago I finally decided to take the step and downloaded this software. Of course he had taken care to warn me that I should stick to Camfrog Thailand only …

For those who do not know it, just let me quote what Uncle Wiki tells about it : Camfrog client is like other instant message programs in that it allows users to instant message each other privately. Users can also interact via a private one-on-one audio / video chat. Unlike most instant message programs, users can also connect to one of thousands of chat rooms available, to view other users live video, text chat and audio chat.

It was not long before I discovered that this software could be the best way to spend all my free time in a virtual world that I did not want to be involved with. There are about ten to twenty chat rooms for gay thai boys, and each room is like a candy store where scores of thai lads mostly in their undershirts or in their pants show their face and more. It is like a dream come true, where you have instant confirmation that many thai boys are really absolutely beautiful men if you like the boy-next-door type. This is someting you could easily forget given what you can see in more than one gay bar. And not only are they beautiful, but some loose all inhibition and show more than you have ever seen even in the most daring bars : jerk-offs, and if you are lucky live sex and group sex, are common in the rooms that allow it.

Call me an innocent, but I did not know it was so easy to enter such a paradise … I did not know either that I would still meet so arousing sights which brought me to heaven more often that I could think of …

On the first days, I kept on going from one room to another, riveted to my computer, listening to the D'Js in charge of convincing as many users as possible to put off their clothes and to help themselves in front of everyone. And God these D'Js are not only funny, they are also not fussy at all .. ; I could hear one of them yesterday openly courting a 17 y/o guy and convincing him to show what he had between his legs although he was in a public internet shop ... and the boy seemed so aroused by the situation that he quickly looked around him to check that no one was seeing and suddenly plunged his hands deep inside his trousers … in front of dozens of invisible lurkers, and more than once.

Sure speaking thai is almost a must if you want to grasp most of what is said by the Djs who has the duty to lead you to the most "interesting" users. And reading thai is still better as you could well be greeted by one of the users who will send you an instant message – and most of them are not really at ease with english. Although not hiding my true age – which is much higher than most thai Camfrog users, I have got more than one message, and have been invited to private virtual shows – which I happily obliged. To be true, farangs are a rare sight in these rooms as almost everything is spoken and written in thai.

The novelty has now faded a little – although I still spend too much time on Camfrog and not enough updating the blog and learning thai. Camfrog is not only a matter of sex, as most users come there for chatting and looking for friends, and not for exposing their body. What is really refreshing and interesting is being able to meet guys who do not belong to the bar scene : chatting with them gives you a much broader idea of what a thai boy's life looks like. I feel that strong friendship ties could develop – or more. I am now in regular contact with a student in Mahasarakham who is as sweet and as fresh as you could imagine – and allowed me to post one of his pics. I also guess that it should be much easier to meet someone anywhere in Thailand – more easily than through Gay Romeo where you never have any visual contact with your new-found friend.

I still have to test in which way virtuality becomes reality and will try it next time I go to Thailand. Knowing too that I have a boyfriend who is quite real, and that virtuality will never replace reality.

(cute) Camfrog user in Mahasarakham

2011 + 543 = 2554

2011-01-01T17:53:00.006+01:00

Wish a New Year filled with peace, prosperity, happiness ...
and boys
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and thank you for your fidelity

Tendencies

2010-12-26T18:47:00.003+01:00

Five weeks after my flight back, I am not thinking of my next trip yet. Remembering the wonderful month I had in Thailand is enough for the moment to help me facing the everyday boredom.

Once again the best memories were collected outside Bangkok and Pattaya, during my trip to isaan ; the boys and places in Ubon and Udon were really a big deal from every point of view, and the times I had in Pattaya and Bangkok looked rather like routine when compared. Sure the fact that my trip to isan was the only time when I was on my own had someting to do with it. Moreover I vist Bangkok and Pattaya everytime I go to Thailand, when trip to other places are much less frequent.

Not that I am complaining about being in Pattaya or Bangkok .. I had my share of surprises, great times and nice boys there too. And if I did not fulfill some fantasies like bringing a construction worker to my room, I saw enough of them which could have done the trick.

. . . . . . Construction worker in Udon Thani

However I noticed some changes in my everyday life and would like to know if they are due to me getting older or the scene changing. I hit less bars and more massage places, I spent more time with Tam and less with casual encounters, I spent more money in the restaurants and less in the discos. All this had some effect on my finances as I was able to spend less money in euros than last time, despite the fact that our currency had lost something like 15 % against the thai baht during the same time …

Tendencies to be checked next time – economics and health allowing !

Game over

2010-11-20T13:18:00.002+01:00

Once again time has gone by so quickly … holidays #22 is now just a memory like the others. It has brought its share of bad news and good times, but like the others it has never been disppointing, sometimes surprising, always interesting.

The last days were spent in Pattaya with Tam who let me go alone more than he should have. After the usual afternoon at the beach, I went to most not yet visited bars. I was especially happy to go to the new David Boys Bar which I already have mentionned without having seen it. The owner approached me each time I went as we have been knowing each other for a long time : he was the former owner of my favourite bar in Saphan Kway. I could congratulate him on the nice layout of his new place, with the white colour offering a welcome change from most other bars in Boyztown. The boys were a nice bunch with one or two standing out ; on the evenings I went there, the boys were actually dancing but I don't know whether they will act this way after one month of daily work. I also went to Jomtien with Tam who wanted to see the show at The Venue ; this was another very good time : very professionnal show, some gorgeous lads, good atmosphere due to the fact that you are not locked in a room, and all this for a very reasonable price : what do you want more ?

The Sunee bars were duly visited as if I had to store up as many pictures in my mind as possible, before the unavoidable emptyness I know I will have to face back home. Nice Boys was a regular stop although I did not take any boy; I went to Eros Boys despite all the bad feedbacks (which I can only confirm), and also to some beer bars besides my usual Threezone refuge. And I have to confess that I went to the other places too, those that noone on the webboards admits to visit, but which get a steady flow of customers every night. I even saw the one with a secret passage leading to what I guess are short-time rooms. I like sleaze and I leave the right not to patronize these places to those who live in Pattaya all the year long.

I met only once this incredibly cute motorsai driver who picked me up in Sunee (near Nice Boys bar) late at night, so I guess he is not on duty there every evening. He did not react to my very light touching during the ride, and when I asked him what time he left his work, he answered "to-morrow morning" without the slightest hint he could be available. My pen rai, what is most interesting in Thailand is not to sleep with as many cute boys as possible, but to know that at least you have many more chances to get the one you fancy than elsewhere in the world – unless of course you are young and cute yourself.

The sunshine endly came on the day I had to go back to Bangkok for my last two days in Thailand. This is the time I try almost physically to hold back the time which flies on. Rather than a much needed good sleep, I chose to walk and walk again aimlessly, just to fill all my body with the odors, the atmosphere, the faces that I will crave for for eleven months to come. And I used the few minutes left to do all the chores and the shopping I had been conscientiously delaying for one month.

Once again I had to admit defeat against time. I know that one day I will be the one – and not my boss – who will choose the day I'll leave the country which I love.

Retreat

2010-11-10T14:05:00.010+01:00

One of my best memories of last year's holidays was a short trip I made with Tam and Phi Kho to Rayong Province … so I had decided to spend one or two nights there again in the middle of my Pattaya stay. I had made my housework so I had found a nice hotel in the middle of Hat Mae Ramphung, facing the beach and with reasonable rates.

I was not too keen on Tam coming with me, especially as I had spotted a nice local lad on Gayromeo who could have made a good companion for the night, but in the same time Tam had been a little bit upset by the fact I had gone to Isaan alone, so I owed him some compensation. I just feared that he would be bored stiff as the hotel was in the middle of nowhere except for the beach. Moreover we went there on a Monday and a Tuesday night to escape the crowds (and get better rates) – and there was really no crowd at all : like last year, a 10 km long beach with almost nobody except good and cheap seafood restaurants, which were our only entertainment. Unfortunately the sunshine was much less generous than last year with clouds desperately obstructing the sky, which somwhat dampened my mood.

. . . . . . Rayong Boy on Gayromeo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tam used the day we spent there to go to Rayong Town ; like me he likes to walk in town, to feel the atmosphere and visit temples and shopping malls … he went alone as I was sitting on the beach waiting for the sun to break through (which it did very shortly and very slightly). In the evening we were walking along the poorly lit beach road looking for a restaurant, thinking it would be nice to open a farang-oriented homestay with male staff and special transportation to and from Pattaya … the beach provides a nice change from the overcrowded Jomtien chairs and the overpriced Pattaya restaurants, you just have to provide the night entertainment to lure the crowds.

I came back to the Pattaya hustle and bustle with some relief – and on a bus so slow that it finally got on my nerves especially as I could see the sun finally shining through the dirty windows.

Practicalities : from Pattaya hop in any Rayong-bound bus from Sukhumwit Road ; in the main Rayong Bus Station (in downtown Rayong), songthaews leave to Hat Mae Ramphung every 30 minutes. Or have your own wheels.
There are many hotels and guesthouses along the beach and they are almost deserted during weekdays – we staid in Rayong Beach Hotel in the middle of the beach, go to http://rayongbeachhotel.com/ for more.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A rare sight on weekdays : tourists on Mae Ramphung Beach

Holy days

2010-11-07T20:05:00.003+01:00

The last ten days of my trip are the holidays inside the holiday : I stay in Pattaya, planning nothing, letting life carry me along. I have just come yesterday with Tam who had joined me in Bangkok, and he does not dislike this life as most of the time he has as much freedom as I have.

The typical day begins for me with a two or three hours working session around the hotel swimming pool, where I put a lot of efforts into improving my suntan. In the same time, Tam lazes in the room reading motoring magazines or looking at some movie on the TV. We get together at noon for a meal in our favourite eatery which is the same as last year : Nong Jai on Tipp Plaza – despite all the cute waiters from last year having gone elsewhere.

I then go to Jomtien, usually alone as Tam does not like too much doing nothing in the heat of the beach. I usually escape the hustle of the yellow chairs and walk some meters farther until I reach a place with less cute beach attendants but also less noise, less shouting, less cig smoking and more space. And this does not mean the place is boring : most beach sellers pass by, including the newest attraction which is a huge blue ball you can move from inside for a fee.

In the evening we have another meal at Nong Jai or at Oh Aharn Thai on Pattaya Tai where everything is really delicious. And then I go to the bars mostly alone, although Tam sometimes goes with me especially to the Pattayaland bars. And I have to say that I like to go to Pattayaland more than before : there are so many boys to look at, and so many bars to discover. With J Jimmy James, Euro Boys and Sundance now closed, shopping around Sunee Plaza is quickly done, whereas there always seem to be a bar you do not know in Pattayaland.

Two days ago, we went again to Tamnan Chon with Tam, one of his friends, and the usual friend of his friend with the girlfriend in tow. The night was good with lots of music and alcool but I could not stop noticing that the friend of the friend was more and more often looking at me and putting his hand on my knee – and I was more and more interested in him. When I went to the toilets, he followed me and stood in front of the next urinal ; it was obvious he wanted to show me what he had between his legs and it was not an ugly sight at all. I felt very unconfortable when we went back to our table where my boyfriend and his girl friend where waiting, pretending not to have noticed anything. To make a long story short, Tam went to his own room, and the boy came to mine. The action was beginning to heat up when he began to ask for a rather steep fee – just at the moment when I was really excited by this young isan guy, how could I have refused. Sex was good and I guess it was mostly due to the fact that I felt like a young man whom another young man was craving for (or was it for may wallet ?)… In fact the guy was a mere money-boy : I met him yesterday by chance in a beer bar where he was working. I will never know why this boy ended up at the same table as me that night, but it is such a nice illusion to feel desired by someone when you did not expect it at all …

Bangkok hunting

2010-11-05T14:39:00.001+01:00

Bangkok is the place where I like to drop my suitcases between two trips in Pattaya or in the provinces ; this is why I usuallty spend at least seven ot eight nights there during a one month stay in Thailand. I know many do not like the hectic pace of life in the big city, but Bangkok has really a lot to offer be it during the day or at night. For these two days between dusty Isaan and hot Pattaya, I could do some shopping, update my laundry – and my blog … - and sleep in after six tiring days.
I could not ignore the bars and divided my time between Patphong and Saphan Kway. In Patphong, Tam brought me to Dream Boys, and I have to thank him for this as I would not go alone in the Soi Twilight places mostly because of their outrageous prices (300 THB for a beer). We loved the show (with a lot of nudity and explicit sex), and some of the boys, but were a little bit upset to be invited to go downstairs in Boys Bangkok at the end of the show. Alone I could then visit Nice Boys – nothing to write home about -, Solid Boys which had only six boys, and My Way which was too dark to see anything except some young faces : they could well have been the jailbait that a recent thread talked about.

In Saphan Kway I turned up once again into my favourite Street Boy where the new owner seems to have good ideas to revive the place, including hiring some nice guys (and, I was told, proposing some dancing on Friday and Saturday nights). On the contrary I entered the neighbouring Adam just to be completely ignored by anyone, so another place to avoid in the future. Most bars seemed to have less boys than last year and the mamasan in Heaven did not even invite me to go inside although I have been knowing him for some time now : "only two boys to-night" he told me.

And then there are the massage places which could keep you busy for many months. Bangkok is thriving with new places in every nook and cranny of the town, most being in the grey area between authentic massage shops, and sex places – which is what makes them attractive. However selecting a place on the net – for example from the very good Thai Massage Boy website (http://www.thaimassageboys.com/home/index.php) is too uncertain because the boy you had picked from their website could well not be there or already busy. You cannot risk to loose an entire evening going for example to Nonthaburi when you have too little time. I had read about a place which had got good reviews on a thai webboard and was opportunely located in Saphan Kwai : it is curiously called "Pruksa Bureau Massage" and is hidden in a small soi along Phahonyothin Road – near the north west exit of Saphan Kwai BTS station, same soi as Samsara Spa. The experience was good and cheap but I could chose from only two boys and the one I picked was more into massage than into anything else ; however I know that some extra service can be had in this place like in most others.

And to confirm the general dwindling of the number of boys selling themselves – a rather good news for Thailand if you ask me -, I had another trip to the Sanam Luang area and found very few boys although I went at the suitable time (about 10 / 11 pm). The area east of Wat Phra Kaew was almost deserted problably to the road along the Defence Ministry being closed to trafic for security reason, making driving around Saranrom impossible. The boys were standing mostly south and west of the Wat Phra Kaew coumpounds, which is a poorly lit and more dangerous looking area. I asked the taxi driver do go on although there were some nice and desirable guys as usual, but clearly more scattered than before.

So all in all a rather ordinary time in Bangkok but with more time on my hands I would probably have found beautiful surprises …
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wat Phra Kaew at night

Paradorn

2010-11-02T06:37:00.004+01:00

Did you ever fancy to sleep with the famous thai tennis star ? It happened to me in Udon Thani. In fact I spent a night with a boy who looked very much like him, and about thirteen years younger ... to the point that you could imagine that Paradorn's father was a horny postman in the Udon Thani area. And more than this, the look-alike provided great sex and a very affectionate attitude.

I found this jewel in Boyzone Bar, which is one of the two gay bars left in Udon Thani. The location is not very convenient as it is quite far from the center and walking there would be at least a thirty minutes chore. Boyzone has just changed its location and some tuk tuk seem not to know the new place. They have a website which gives a good idea of what the boys there look like, but the new Paradorn is not featured yet ( go to http://www.theboyzone-udon.com/home ). The exact location is on PhornPhisai Road, west of the north end of Thanon Adunyadet, exacty between Adunyadet Soi 7 and Pracha Uthit Road intersections. Moreover the owner is a cute young thai who has a very pleasant attitude and speaks excellent english.

To my great disappointment, the old Boys Boys Bar closed four or five months ago ; they had moved to a new location near the Srisuk Road Post Office (same soi as Bandung Spa), and it is a pity they closed, as they had more of the boys next door type. The third bar is City Man on the south part of Adunyadet Road, between the Fountain Circle and what the locals call the Haayaek Wunwai (which translates approximately as a crossing with five roads converging which is a nightmare). They have four or five boys, all very male, but their policy is not very fair ; if you invite a boy (or if they invite him for you), they will add beers as long as you do not stop them so that you have to be on your guards if you want to keep in control of the tab and your alcohol consumption.

Besides these two bars (and I am surprised enough that no one has ever mentioned the Boys Boys closure on any thai related gay board - I guess I have to do all the dirty work here ...), there are two massage places that are still working and get good reviews. And boys are said to hustle at night on the north park of Sri Muang Park near the monuments - but I could not see anyone when I went there, although a tuk tuk driver had announced many young guys eager to go with you for 300/400 THB.

My hotel was the always good Charoen Hotel near the main bus station ; no Halloween in Udon Thani and no one missed this awful american thing.

On my lifelong duty to stay at least for one night in every thai province, I had a stop in Chayaphum where tourism is not really developped and you can understand why as there is not a lot to see in town - athough if you are on your own wheels, the national parks are beautiful. Many dark-skinned boys, with possibilities in a small pub called "Nice" opposite to the Dee Phrom Hotel, but I did not test at all.

The dreaded end of my holidays is aproaching, it will be now two days in Bangkok and then nine days in Pattaya and Rayong mostly with Tam, but I am as always free to look for other pleasures...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boy from the Boyzone website

Ubon and Udon

2010-10-31T05:08:00.006+01:00

Naklua’s suggestion was a great one. I went to this small place called Black Beans (which reminds something not very poetical relating to gay sex), I had read nothing about it on any webboard but my official tuk tuk driver knew everything about gay places in Ubon. This is a karaoke bar located almost next door to Krung Thong Hotel in downtown Ubon. There is a bunch of about eight to ten lads on duty, and once again I was surprised by their high level of cuteness. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that some seemed to be rather on the wrong side (at least legally) of the age limit. I took a 22 y/o student coming from Loei Province which proved to be an excellent partner for the night.

So that leaves us with the coyotee bar, the karaoke bar, and also two places where gay people go : one near Laithong Hotel and the other out of town (sorry I do not know more) – more than you could expect for what you could imagine as a gay desert. And I do not count the mysterious house of boys that no one wants to tell about …

As for praticalities, Ubon is a big town but they have a very easy bus system and tuk tuks can be found everywhere ; I staid in Nevada Grand Hotel (now Ubon International Hotel) which was nice despite showing its age, and within walking distance to Famous Bar. However the neighbouring Nevada Complex is now almost empty so I guess this is not any more the place to find boys at night.

My trip to Mukdahan was quite uneventful except for the fact that in these days of end of school holidays, busses and stations were filled to overflowing with pretty young things getting back to their universities. Mukdahan was another of these towns I would call John Deere Buri but with nice views over the Mekong as a premium. Strangely enough, the banks were almost deserted at night. One night was enough.

The trip to Udon was along a 2nd class bus and for more than five hours, it could have been a nightmare because the bus was more than full. I was lucky enough to get one of the last seats, about 20 other travellers had to stand for 2 hours until we could reach Sakhon Nakhon.

I was sitting on the back seat, trapped between an elederly monk and two students who shared the same seat, one sitting between the wide opened legs of the second.... You can imagine that the trip was a complete dream, and I had no qualms about pressing my leg towards the boy's in order to give as much space as possible to the monk, of course out of respect for him. The latter seemed to apreciate it as he suddenly tied a band around my wrist. This happened exactly when we were entering the That Phanom district, and this is where my boyfriend's favourite wat is located.

(above) Ubon Ratchathani street scene
(left) Mukdahan tower

Wild

2010-10-29T12:42:00.008+02:00

I am now beginning my second and last night in Ubon Ratchathani and I love to be here. First of all what I see all the day long is most pleasing to the eye, and if some Pattaya residents are asking where the beautiful boys are, well I guess there is a fair share left here in Isaan. Moreover the whole town exudes a wild atmosphere and at night the streets belong to young motorists all more handsome one than another... is it because helmets are a totally unknown thing here, is it because of the persistant wind ? Anyway I really feel like being in the Far West in Ubon.

However the official gay scene is rather limted ; my first visit was for the so-called "Famous Bar", which claims itself as a gay bar but is rather a boys bar with an unusual format ; they have six to eight boys acting both as waiters and coyotee dancers ; both women and gays come here but what I mainly saw was women yelling at the boys who of course are more interested in them than in older farangs ... This bar is located behind the former bus station which is now known as Talaat Hok (market number 6, along Chayangkhun Road (the big road towards Amnat Charoen). Things begin to liven up at midnight. Despite one of the boys here being what most would call an absolute stunner, I did not stay there. In fact I quickly realised that he was probably beyond reach, and so I had to look elsewhere - sorry cannot tell more.

This night I will try the suggestion by Naklua, and also see whether there are some hustlers near the park, and to-morrow it will be a short traval to Mukdahan where there will probably be not much to report about.

On the move

2010-10-27T12:21:00.005+02:00

After one week in Pattaya, I am now entering the second stage of my trip, the one which usually leaves me with the best and most vibrant memories. This is the ten days or so when I travel to places I know little or nothing about.

I have just come back for a one-day escape to Hua Hin where I like to go every second or third year. This is mainly because I like the quiet atmosphere of the place, and also as Hua Hin was the first area I went apart from the usual Bangkok-Pattaya pair. I had a nice chat in the old Red Indian Bar with a cool guy from Chonburi and then headed for the new Little Choices Bar ; about 5 or 6 guys there, but I could not detail them as much as I would have liked because one of them preyed on me and did not stop talking ; when he endly left, the brown-skinned young guy I had noticed at first had disappeared.

I gave the almost next-door Guyz Bar a miss as there was no boy sitting in front, and went then to another bar that the Chonburi guy had told me about - and I had never heard of this place before, though it is open since three or four months. It is called SM Bar but has nothing to do with what you could imagine. This bar is located on the south side of Chomsin Road, west of the railway (about 400 m from the level crossing) and it is just an ordinary bar and massage with five boys ; as it was beginning to rain, I stayed there more than I had thought and with the influence of numerous Chang beers, I finished the evening with one of the waiters in the so-called massage room.

All in all a nice but short stay in Hua Hin where I found more masculine boys than before, and where I always promise to myself that I should stay longer next time. The hotel I staid was a steal with big clean quiet rooms, a pool and one of the best locations in town (close to the gay bars) for only 980 THB.

To-morrow will be another day and atmosphere with a flight to Ubon Ratchathani where I will have two days to explore the town - at least the still not flooded areas.

New stage

2010-10-24T13:25:00.006+02:00

When you think you know all the best places in Thailand, you just wait for another year and everything will be changed.

So if you want to be in the know now in Pattaya, you will have to bring your friends to Chamnan Chon (on Pattaya 3 close to new Hollywood) which is the newest place to go for a nice evening. You only have to love thai music, and you will listen to three or four bands singing luk thung, as well as string with intervals for dancing : a modern version of Chamnan Isan or Sri Saket with good eating, sturdy wooden tables and chairs, and the usual good service. No coyotee boys however. The time just seemed to fly when I went there with Tam and four of his friends (allowing him to gain more face in the same time). What I liked most was listening at all the audience singing together when the band suddenly stopped singing : this was in tune, enthusiastic, and very impressive. In fact it is in these moments that I understand why I love Thailand - and do not ask me why, I could not answer.

My first stay in Pattaya is now coming to an end, and I can only report of the few bars I went in ; as usual in Boyztown, Funny Boys still has a very welcomimg staff, and boys mostly to my taste unlike most other bars in the area. Besides this, I could find the new bar which the former Street Boy owner will work in : it will be called David and seems to be a big place with white colour as the theme. They should open before the end of this month in Pattayaland on the same side as Cupidol and Sawatdee.

I had five great days in Pattaya with lots of sun in Jomtien, not to many people on the beach or on the streets ; sure things will have changed when I will come back in two weeks. For now it will be a mix of Bangkok and Hua Hin with a trip to Isan, the only fear being of course the huge flood that are now hurting so many people in the country. A good news being that I will be on my own after one week with Tam ... not that I do not like being with him but having a full freedom is not so bad either.

Awkward

2010-10-21T14:52:00.005+02:00

I have just come back to Pattaya after a last night in Bangkok. Tam and me just went for a drink in City Walk : a rather out-of-the way place (near Saranrom Palace) where there were not a lot of people but we went there too early. Too early as well to find boys hustling along the streets ; however I saw two of them sitting on a bridge rail and they were handsome enough to justify a further trip there. We also went to some other Saphan Khwai bars, mainly to the famous "Charmming" which had been falsely announced as closed. However there were not a lot of boys sitting there, but all of them as cute as usual.

Tam is with me in Pattaya, which has prevented me so far to make some detailed exploration. However I saw enough to say I now realize that what had been said on the boards is not completely false. Yes there are still a lot of people in Sunee but when you come only once a year you can immediately notice how many bars have closed, how much they are missed in the scene, and also how much arabic places slowly invade the area. And I think that without all the boys that used to roam along the sois, the atmosphere is not quite the same as before - even if I would not have only spoken to anyone of them.

Speaking of questionable boys, I found myself in a very awkward situation in Jomtien when a -legal- seller came to sit with me, as we know each other since two years. All of a sudden he left to another customer leaving me with his young brother (13 y/o but looking only 10). And this boy was innocently sitting near me, making himself at home, sipping his Cola and lazily stretching his legs. Ten minutes which seemed one hour. The fact that I felt so uncomfortable during this time tells a lot about the present hysteria about underage boys whom we should avoid as if they were plague-stricken people.

Gift

2010-10-18T10:29:00.004+02:00

Christmas arrived yesterday and I got what I had asked for : being able to have once again a one month stay in Thailand.

It took a long time however as I had chosen to leave home early so that I could have a little time in Zurich ; I used it for strolling about in downtown where there are some gay bars - mostly one where I met another thai boy many years ago. I had been brought there by the first thai guy I met in Geneva ; as he had to go to Zurich, I proposed myself to take him with my car and when he brought me in Carousel bar, my jaw dropped at seing three or four asian boys waiting for a customer. I think this is one of the places which made me decide to go to Thailand as soon as possible, and this changed my life.

Thai guys have now left the Carousel Bar since many years, and I have still to find where they have gone. Hustlers are now mainly east-europeans and mostly gypsies ; I love their dark skin and their manly attitude but I would not be confident enough to take one, let alone having a holiday in Romania …

Swiss being what they are known for, my flight arrived just in time in Bangkok, and after a 15 minutes waiting for immigration and another 15 minutes for luggage, I arrived in my nest in Saphan Kwai 1 hour and a half after landing, which was not too bad. Of course having left the debilitating pace of everyday life for a one month interval, makes delays and wastes of time much more bearable.

Tam had left his work in a Pattaya hotel and come and see me in Bangkok, and we spent the evening together … not that this was the way I had imagined for my first night in Bangkok as I like to be alone as much as possible, but he is my boyfriend after all, and the nicest guy on earth when he is smiling. We made the usual trip to Rakhang Thong restaurant in front of Elisabeth Hotel and had a beautiful meal with a Tom Yam Kung to die for.

I brought him then to Street Boy, which has a new owner after the former one – an oldish kathoey who was very nice and spoke good english - has left for Pattaya. We listened to the latest lukthung hits while looking at the 5 or 6 boys working there – two of them I could easily have taken with me for a night. We were rather inebriated already when we arrived in Be High which had only two boys left after three were said to be already offed. A couple of beers and much flirting and chatting with a Chiang Mai host later, it was time to head for the hotel.

Still one day in Bangkok and then it wil be a short trip to Pattaya.

(the boy above is not an acquaintance of mine and has been put there for eye pleasing only)

Christmas

2010-10-10T17:47:00.007+02:00

Only one week to go … I spent my whole weekend gathering more information, packing my bags, downloading thai music to my MP3 for the long flight, all this with an unique thrill of anticipation that only an impending trip to Tailand can get you into.

Exactly the same thrill that I felt when I was a child and Christmas was coming : I cannot wait to discover what presents I will find under the tree. It's the excitement of not knowing what this month will bring … who I may see … where I may find someting or someone.

What is most incredible is that unique feeling is exactly the same I had before the first trip fourteen yers ago … At 56 I am somewhat jaded by many things in life .. except by what is the aim of a whole boring year and occupies a lot of mind every day and every night. And I am pretty sure this is not due only to the boys, but to the general atmosphere of a country that I love .. the atmosphere I had felt from my first hour in Bangkok when I was walking in the morning along the busy lanes near Malaysia Hotel.

Fourteen years ago, Christmas began coming in October and never moved any more.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unwrapping the gifts

Happiness

2010-09-19T21:48:00.004+02:00

Only four weeks to go .. I have just come to the point when I have less waiting time than the total amount of time I will spend in Thailand, and this is exactly the point when the next stay turns from an unreachable illusion to a possible fact.

No must-to-do list this time as two-thirds of what I schedule usually stay undone. I only have a booked flight form Bangkok to Ubon on October 28 th and the rest of the stay will be organised from day to day. I just noticed that there will be a long holiday around the 23rd of October so I will have to come to Pattaya some days before. Better to stay flexible as weather, politics, health hazards (and boys) could shatter any tight schedule.

Am I getting older ? I feel that I should be much more cautious this time with many things. I am really concerned about mosquito-borne deseases especially as I will spend some days in the Northeast. And some stories about the atmosphere getting worse in Pattaya are worrying .. not so much about crimes as it is only a matter of not being in the wrong place at the wrong time : but dealing with some of the new patronage Pattaya is now attracting seems more and more difficult for this farang who likes peacefulness, politeness and good eduaction, all of which do not seem to be the main characteristics of some of the new Pattaya visitors.

And what about my usual hotels ? As I mostly stay in places which are not advertised on the internet, they could as well be transformed now in high-rise buildings or posh hotels or parking lots …

Hey, it could be worse .. what would be really worrying would be not being able to go to Thailand any more because of money, health, or work … for the time being I am as excited as before my second trip because I know since then that Thailand is the place where I always find happiness.

Hope

2010-07-31T21:52:00.005+02:00

You are there so there is a dream
There is a dream so there is hope

These are the first words of one of the greatest lukthung hits of the year by Phai Phongsathon, the cute male singer from Yasothon (mi thoe jung mii khwamfan).

There is hope because once again I should have another stay in Thailand in two and a half month and this prospect fills me with joy – as childish as it may sound for those of you who live full time there.

I have not updated the blog since a long time because of too much work and also too many bad news : troubles in Bangkok, euro's plummetting value, and new rules regarding retirement age in my country : my government wants me to work for about two years more than expected … not very fair if you ask me (more appropriate words being treason and disgrace).

The drought hitting Thailand this year made me also very concerned about my boyfriend Tam who could not work at his farm, and I felt he was quite upset by the severe lack of rain. He has just been hired as a cook in a hotel restaurant in Jomtien and I hope everything will be OK for him.

Even the webboards about gay Thailand could not help alleviate the bad atmosphere. The main one has now turned into a hopeless battlefield where there is very little to read except for some trip reports. One of the posters – the famous LMTU – is one of the few bothering to give interesting information and feelings, but he is generally ranted at by some posters who seem to spend their whole aimless life behind a computer screen (although I admit not knowing – and not being interested by – the whole story). Gaybutton starting a new board again is a good news and the first threads seem to be encouraging (link on the right) - and yes this will be make all of us youger by many years !

I am now in the process of planning my stay and have a lot of housework arranging flights and hotels with the aim to visit some new places in Isaan and also taking my time in Bangkok and Pattaya. And I have to say I am more and more often thinking of having Tam or another brown-skinned Thai boy in my bed …

Uncertain times

2010-05-02T19:35:00.002+02:00

I am currently not in Thailand and far from being there … in fact I am just in the middle of my stay in Farangland and it is still five months and a half before I land again in Suwanaphum – flight booked since one month

Despite being very busy at work, I keep tightly in touch with what's going on in Thailand now and I understand the situation is very hot and could change for the worst at short notice. My opinion about all this doesn't matter except for the fact that all this mess is a very sad time for thai people whom I like so much, and beginning with the Highest Person in the country.

And also it seems another step in a downwards spiral which could bring Thailand to a point where I would not be interested to go there again … I am far from it now, having invested so much time and passion to learn this country, loving it so much and still being excited to go there as if it were the first trip.

You should see me recording thai music on my MP3 for my next trip … Or answering with all the details an inquiry about Ubon gay places on a gay webboard (which gave me a strong desire to plan a short visit there very soon …). Not what you could imagine from a respected mature adult …

Would I go if I were to leave in two weeks ? Of course yes but I would be very worried, not so much about my own security but because of all the hindrances the reds' actions would put across my way. I can live in Bangkok without setting a foot in Silom and Siam Square for sure, although I would miss my frequent jaunts to Dicks Café or the Soi Pratuchai massage places. From what I understand, my beloved Saphan Kwai area is not affected at all, and Saranrom area is still brimmed with boys at night - cute as ever and more willing than ever from what I understand on a thai website - although they moved a little further from the former area.

What is more disturbing are the road checks, time losses, and everything which could happen which would thwart the most carefully scheduled plans … This is why nothing is planned yet : I intended at first to go in Chiang Mai again with short stops in Uthai Thani and Phitsanuloke (where I just heard of a new gay bar) but am now more inclined towards Isaan.

Anyway being able to go there again would be so great in itself in these uncertain times that everything else will come as a bonus.

Samui

2010-04-04T19:26:00.003+02:00

Yes the pool is in Koh Samui ; at least this is what we could guess from this picture.

I never went there despite some good information we read here and there about gay nightlife in Chaweng. Samui is not yet in my plans for my next trip (just booked my flight at a reasonable rate but still a long time from to-day).

By the way I opened a Twitter account (see link in the upper right corner of this page) but I am not smart enough to be sure it will be useful or not ...

Trifles

2010-02-21T21:10:00.003+01:00

I still wonder how I am able to endure eleven months at home when I perfectly know that for the next four or five years, my stays in Thailand will only be the usual four-weeks trips – if everything goes well ! I am said you could get mental disorders from situations like this ?

How much I would like to explore the country on my own, go wherever I wish to go and stay as long as I want … for now it's only a dream and a dream which could come true .. or not ! Uncertainties about the time when I will be able to retire at last, about health and everything which could happen, about the future of our euro, seem to grow every year.

Some novelties have just come to enlighten the time I have to spend here … trivial things but which are so important when you are stuck in a neverending winter and a boring routine..

First there was the new Lonely Planet French edition … I know some regard this travel guide as useless and tacky and I am the first one to escape the places they advise too strongly. They have some good information however and they provide good reading when you are far from Thailand. For the first time they have included a chapter about a province which is one my favourite ones : Phayao ; this shows that they try hard to find interesting new places to visit. I was egoistically relieved that they did not list my preferred hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya, which will make them stay affordable and not too busy … And the two provinces I want to visit next time – after viewing some TV programs about them – were not listed as well, so I guess that I should be very quiet next time in Nong Bua Lamphu and Uthai Thani …

Another important (for me) trifle was the new Thai TV schedule. I know there are a lot of thai channels on the net but I prefer to look at TV on a real TV set so my choice is limited to the international thai channel known as TV Global Network. Since January they have a new schedule with lots of music which seem to come from Fun TV .. if you don't know this channel, your boyfriend does. Many programs show lots of songs in the lukthung and phua tchiwit genre, and this improves daily life a lot …

You need everything when you count eight months before going back to the place you love

Happy New Year 2553

2010-01-01T01:34:00.000+01:00

A very happy New Year to everyone ... and thank you for coming

Same same or different ?

2009-12-27T17:27:00.002+01:00

After a 10 years affair with Singha Beer, I changed my mind and turned to Beer Chang some years ago. I had the privilege to be the first customer to taste their new brand in Threezone Bar and must say I was very pleased with it. They call it Classic and I found that it tasted much better than the Singha Beer and also the former Chang … however some think that the Chang company changed only the packaging and not the liquid, so is there a chemist over here who could tell more ?

Speaking about drinks, I have closed the accounts of my trip and for the first time I spent much less in the bars and discos than before … an average 975 bahts a day against 1300/1400 before. Not sure this is linked to my new fondness towards Chang Classic, but I did not go very often to the karaokes and did not set a foot in any disco, and this made all the difference … However the costs for eating have soared to an average 1120 bahts a day, thanks to my boyfriend being a voracious gourmet … Accomodation remained low at an average 870 bahts a night tips included, and transport was 510 bahts a day despite three air tickets.

Highest item was the boys (counting all tips from the 100 bahts for the guy sitting and chatting in a bar, to the gifts and tips for the boyfriend) : 3300 bahts a day, accounting for about 45 % of my daily expenses.

But after all, aren't they the main reason why we go to Thailand ?

Missed ones

2009-12-18T12:21:00.004+01:00

It is already one month since I came back - boredom and sameness have taken its toll again after a one month stay in Thailand. Like before, phone calls with Tam, the net and the thai television will remain the only links with the place I love, and this probably for still ten months as I cannot see how I could go back before next October.

This trip was a nice one, and if I cannot say any more that the last trip was better than the former ones, I still have to wait for being disappointed. Despite all what you read here and there, Thailand is still the best place for single men who like hot weather, cheap prices and hot boys - and much more.

I could feel once again how easy it is to meet cute and willing boys not only in the bars but using different ways. I used Gayromeo for the first time and this was probably the best session in the trip – although without any romantism …

However I will forever think of another boy I had picked before the trip and whom I never could meet … he did not log in since October 17 th and we only had some short messages. He told me he worked in KFC Royal Garden so I went there to have a meal (which tells a lot about how badly I wanted to meet him)… no one to be seen. I guess I'll have to add him to the list of the missed ones – like the waiter in the hotel in Lampang and the waiter in the Nong Jai restaurant in Pattaya …

I will have to be bolder next time …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vanished and missed

Last day in Paradise

2009-11-16T13:40:00.004+01:00

This evening will be the 21st time I will leave Thailand to go back home. I never could get used to go through what is a real ordeal and this is like that since the very first time. And the thought of a long and tiring flight is another sad prospect.

The last two days were spent with Tam in Bangkok after our nine days in Pattaya : this allows us to sort out all sorts of things like last-minute shopping, laundry, and for Tam the mandatory visit to an aunt in Minburi. This also makes the transition to "normal life" easier. And I have to say that it makes me love Bangkok more, as it is there that I will have the last good time before all the hassle wiating me at home.

Yesterday, while Tam was in the sticks, I had a short trip to Silom where after all I have spent a lot of time during this stay. I wanted to see Soi Twilight for a last time – as if I wanted to be sure this place was not a dream. And I also wanted a last massage …

The Bangkok Massage boys had almost dragged me to their den but I decided to walk on to see what was available. The Bonny Boys were not up to my taste and there were not a lot of them outside so I went on to the Red Massage some meters further. Three or four guys were sitting waiting for customers, including a rather small one with a shy but beautiful face … I went upstairs and asked to see all the boys, and about seven or eight more lads sprang from nowhere .. a good bunch of guys of all styles, but I chose the one I had seen first.

He came from Cambodgia and was 19 y/o ; the message was rather curious : I had asked for an oil massage but he did not use any oil at first. He quickly managed to spend some more time insisting on my buttocks while I was still lying down, and he moved my arms in such a way that my hand was located exactly under his naked groin … I did not need any persuasion to do what I had to do and his cock quickly showed that he liked it. I was liking it too and we cuddled some more time before I came.

I was thinking that the sex had been good but the massage very brief, when he finally brought oil and another towel and made an ordinary but nice massage for exactly the time I had paid for. After some more cuddling – but once again no mouth-kissing - it was his turn to send a long spurt of his liquids inside my mouth.

I rewarded him accordingly and hurried back to Saphan Khwai where I was to meet Tam. After another meal in Rakhang Thong, we decided to go to Sanam Luang again … bad choice as the demonstration by the yellow shirts was just breaking up. Nevertheless the night market was in full swing, and there were even some boys along the streets, among many policement and all the demonstrators looking for their bus. Tam told me he had come across injured people due to what he thought being a crash ; only this morning we heard that this was in fact a bomb attack.

We escaped the place for our last night together before long. And believe me or not, I am almost weeping my tears when writing this.

. . . . . Night Market in Sanam Luang

Randy devil

2009-11-14T17:32:00.009+01:00

The best boy I had this time was not found in the bars : I finally could get in touch with one of the Gayromeo lads I had contacted before my trip.

His messages had been very straightforward and exciting : "can do everything", "I send you picture of my dick" and the like … not very romantic but we sometimes need raw sex, don't we ?

He gave me his phone number and we had an appointment in front of the movie rooms in Centre Festival (so very close to my hotel). Missed meeting as he failed to turn up, which was not a big surprise.

I called him back and we finally met in front of Tuk.com : he was only 40 minutes late … Small guy; seeming to be in a hurry … and curiously he spoke mostly english while our messages were all in thai. We hopped on a song thaew to my hotel and this was the big feast … a very passionate guy, who makes you understand what a sex worker really should be : kissing, fucking and being fucked, giving you the illusion he is really enjoying himself. It seemed everything could have been possible with this little sex bomb … exactly the kind of guy you would take for some hot group session.

. . . . . . . . . . . From the screen

His age was officially 18 but I still wonder whether this was true … the ID Card had an almost invisible picture ("should replace it but no have time"). He had worked in Euro Boys before (where I have always found the boys to be quite experienced despite being on the youger side ..), but I still wonder how one can be so skilful at having sex when being so young - or am I deluding myself about the young generation ?

Having seen this sex bomb on Gayromeo, I felt like having spent some time with a celebrity – and he did not refuse to have his pictures taken and sent on the net. He is often on line these times so you should find this little devil easily … don't expect too much preliminaries however, it's all about sex, and good sex. And beware the ID …

... to my bed

Out and about in Pattaya

2009-11-13T16:31:00.002+01:00

Beaches, pool and shopping .. there was of course a lot more than this during my nine days stay in Pattaya … and it was roaming the restaurants and the bars. The typical schedule being : a good meal with Tam, and then me heading to the bars with Tam spending time with his friends – there are still some who have not yet gone back home.

Tam is always eager to eat thai food – although he cannot stand too spicy food which always allows me to make fun of this poor thai boy who streams with sweat as soon as he swallows some hot stuff. Not like his fellow countrymen, he also likes farang food and I had reserved our first night in Pattaya for a very nice meal in the Petite Planete Restaurant in Days and Night … This is a good French restaurant established since about 15 years which tells a lot. The pumpkin soup was a little too sweet for him but what he liked most was the Cotes-de-Bourg red wine I had ordered and which both of us enjoyed…

The other place we went most often was an open-air restaurant close to my hotel ; this delightful place is located along Pattaya 2nd Road on Tipp Plaza, which located between Mike Shopping Mall and Center Festival. Not gay at all – we felt sometimes like being given some funny looks by other farang customers – but with both thai and farang food being regularly good and plentiful and a very good atmosphere epecially at night. Like most eateries in Pattaya, there is always one waiter or more who is especially cute and enticing and I was beginning to have a special relationship (smiles, frequent glances … ) with one of them when it was time to leave.

What about the bars ? I had visited some of them during my first trip so I tried to visit more of them. All in all I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw especially in Boyztown area. I event took a boy there, which I had not done since a long time.

My favourite was by far Funny Boys, who had just got some new lads from isaan, and this is where I picked Kolf, a very sweet boy just arrived from Nong Han in Udon Thani province … short time of course (sending Tam spend the night elsewhere being out of the question) but great time. Funny Boys had a wide selection of guys, some stunners, a nice noise level and the perfect timing for seeing the guys go on stage and dance without being bored by a too long shift.

Most of my time was of course spent in Sunee ; I "offed" a young guy from Villa Rouge Bar during the short time the bar was open as I had been completely enthralled by his face as he was sitting on the scene waiting for his turn to dance : 19 y/o from Nakhon Pathom, rather effeminate which is not really my style but he was soooo cute. And I went to most gogo bars there; except Look Boys which was open and had boys in front of it but no one inviting you to enter. Curiously enough I did not enter any other beer bar than Threezone – which had loads of nice freelance boys with new ones turning up almost every day.

Beaches

2009-11-11T12:59:00.004+01:00

My holiday would not be a good one if I spent all my time in Pattaya. But it would not be a true one without at least some days in the sin city. Why ? Boys, of course, but also the sun and the beaches – I explained some months ago why I need a lot of sun-bathing - mostly for my health.

I was lucky this year as the weather changed around October 25th, while it had waited for November 10 something last year. Jomtien is not the proper place to get a good tan … the roof pool in my South Pattaya hotel was more efficient and Jomtien beach had to be left for relaxing and admiring the beauty of nature …

However I had a one-day trip to Kor Larn with Tam and another boy – the beach seller I met last year, who had never been there before. This time we hired a speedboat, hoping to escape the crowds … only to find ourselves on another beach with groups taking turns to land and to embark. By chance the afternoon was more quiet, but I guess I'll have to study carefully the map next time in ordre to go to one of the smaller beaches – if there is one left.

Another trip was made to Rayong with Tam and Phi Kho ; I had wanted to discover the beaches beyond Rayong since a long time and I was not disappointed. No need to go to the overcrowded and overpriced Koh Samet : on the mainland you will find miles of almost desert beaches (at least during weekdays), with clean and warm water and some delicious and cheap seafood restaurants – just check that thay have fresh food … I surprised myself thinking that this was the kind of place I could well choose for a quiet retirement … but it would probably be too boring to stay there, as it is a long 100 km drive to Pattaya.

. . . . . Haat Mae Ramphung east of Rayong

We also passed in the small fishing village of Samaesan which is the last one in Chonburi province before reaching Rayong. Besides a museum and a pagoda offering great views over the sea, Samaesan has no beach of its own and – to tell the truth – stinks of a strong fish odor. However I was said that some islands could be reached by hiring a boat and it would be possible to sunbathe and swim in the buff (information to be confirmed as I thought that these islands belonged to the Royal Navy). Also I could not help spotting some beautiful men in the streets of Samaesan : Burmese and Cambodian hired by fishing boats calling at the harbour.

Samaesan is about 40 km from Pattaya through Sattahip and could be reached on public transport using Rayong-bound bus until the Samaesan junction, and then on a motorbike taxi. Of course better to have one's own wheels – especially if you should be lucky with the young fishermen …

Fishboat and fischermen near Samaesan

Good boy

2009-11-07T18:06:00.004+01:00

After five days in Chiang Mai, it was time to come back to Bangkok … and this time I was not alone as Tam was to stay with me until the end of my trip. Curiously enough, I was not feeling incomfortable with this despite the little restrictions it would bring to my cherished freedom : not being alone has its advantages too especially when your companion is a delightful mature boy who loves life, accepts your infidelities, and has the brightest smile in Thailand.

Air Asia was as efficient as usual for bringing us to Sawanaphum and the first evening was reserved for what Tam likes most : having a good meal. This boys always amazes me for his wide knowing about thai food, especially seafood which is his little weakness. Saphan Khwai is an ideal place if you like a good meal : besides the many street stalls which are overrun every evening by a crowd of locals, one of the best choices is the Rakhang Thong Restaurant in front of Pradiphat Hotel : this is a semi open-air place where the food is constantly good and cheap, the service efficient, and the beer plentiful and I am always happy to go there with Tam, as I would not sit alone in this kind of place.

After a fantastic tom yam kung and some grilled fish with a delicious phanaeng sauce, we agreed to go to Sanam Luang : the market at night is a good attraction, although I prefer strolling around the magical square where the boys are. So while Tam was wandering around the night market, I walked two rounds along the Saranrom park, and then along Khlong Lot before coming back to the Defence Ministry. At 10 in the evening, a lot of boys were standing there among the usual cars slowly driving around them and stopping from time to time for further enquiries. I did not feel intimidated at all and if some boys completely ignored me (there are more thai drivers than farang pedestrians in these areas …), other tried to strike up a conversation, the first question usually being "do you speak thai ?". I could have taken more than one and almost fell for a 18 or 19 y/o dark-skinned lad standing near the bridge on Charoen Krung Road. He looked like a little rascal and finally I thought it was not a good idea to go with a boy on the first night with Tam in Bangkok – I have to be a good boy from time to time …

Where the action is at night : near Defence Ministry

So we got together again with Tam (how have we been able to live without mobile phones for so long ?) and ended the night in the Saphan Kwai karaokes : Street Boy (almost deserted this time), Waterloo (great decoration and many groups of thai revellers including many girls) and finally Heaven.

On the second day, we did some shopping and I quickly understood that Tam would be very happy with a new digital camera. I bought it for him in Big C Saphan Kwai : not the most expensive one, as Tam has now understood that his farang's pockets are not so deep and he knows exactly what I am ready to pay for him and what I will refuse. We then paid a visit to Soi Twilight where Tam loves seeing at least one show in a bar … this time we went to X Boys and it was not too bad, and the quality of the boys there appeared quite good for me.

After the good deed I had done in the afternoon, I had less qualms about going out alone… and I went back to Sanam Luang : it was 11 pm and there were as many boys as the day before. I met Mike near the bridge on Kanlayanamaitri Road – a 19 y/o boy from Bangkok, with the looks of a soldier and the beautiful face of a half isan half southern guy. We had a short chat and I walked on along the khlong and then along the Park : many proposals were made by boys, some gorgeous but too young, some less attractive but all very polite and respectful. Finally Mike was still there when I came back at his location : we quickly agreed on the price – the usual 500 bahts - and he told me he did not want to bottom … OK for me and up we went into a taxi which brought us to a short-time hotel beyond Khao San Road : 200 THB for two hours, clean, TV with sex DVDs. The sex was good although the boy did not like French kiss.

I finally came back to the hotel at the same time as Tam. He had spent the evening with the owner of Threezone Bar (in Pattaya), who happened to enter Soi Pratuchai just when Tam and I were there sitting at Maxxis Café and talking about him …

All in all another great night in Bangkok before the last stretch of my trip in Pattaya.

Along Chiang Mai streets

2009-11-05T19:50:00.000+01:00

On the footbridge near Warorot Market

Boys near Chang Phuak Bus Station

Impressions in Chiang Mai

2009-11-05T11:52:00.004+01:00

Five days were not enough to taste all what Chiang Mai had to offer ... and first of all there was the absolute cuteness of most of the boys met everywhere - the bars being no exception. I staid in the former Novotel Hotel (now branded as Mercure Hotel) which has a location that cannot be beaten for those who want to be close to the main gay area. Besides this you will be in a mostly thai area with the usual markets and street restaurants - by the way the one facing the entrance to Sri Pattana Market across Chang Phuak Road is a good one.

My first visit was for the row of sleazy bars near Night Bazaar ... someone had written that they were doomed to disparition but from what I saw they are quite active with sometimes more customers than boys ... how many bars can tell this in Thailand now ? Sure the guys seemed to be on the younger side, and also not really thai as far as their ID is concerned ... But the main problem is one I had already faced two years ago : these guys do not seem eager to mingle with newcomers : they stick to the regulars - who are quite a fair number. So you will have to be extremely insistent - or be content with the free eye-candy (some here are real stunners).

Still better, go to the Chang Phuak bars where the gay life is, and you will have the choice with the new Power Boys (part of the new Lavender Hotel}, the recently reopened Adam's Apple or three older bars which are New My Way, Freeguys and Circle. However these bars are not within walking distance and rather difficult to find - especially the New My Way.

. . . Chang Phuak (white elephant) Monument

Frankly my preference went clearly for the New My Way and Freeguys : both have a 100 % male staff and I found many guys I could have liked to take, had I the opportunity to stay longer. Besides this the shows are not too long, imaginative and with a lot of nudity although not really sex-oriented. The other places looked more ordinary for me although the show in Adam's Apple is on par with its neighbours.

If the boys here have the looks and the hormones, their skills or their will to please are more limited ; the both I "offed" (a small burmese guy in Freeguys and a 19 y/o thai yai cutie in New My Way) could not stay the whole night, and still more they refused any kind of French kiss ... They are obviously maen in these areas and they do not forget to boast about it.

Tam joined me for the Songkran Festival where a lot of farangs attended too ... and our reunion was duly clebrated with a fine meal near the Night Bazaar. Loy Krathong is absolutely wonderful in Chiang Mai with the lighted balloons everywhere in the sky, fireworks, joy and satisfaction in every eye, and of course the always touching ceremony of letting one's krathong float down the river. The only downside was the absolute lack of awareness by some thais, making the trip rather dangerous.

Back to Bangkok now for a short stay before the finals in Pattaya ; Tam will be with me from now so I guess I will have to be a good man ...

Following the Emerald Buddha's footsteps

2009-11-01T12:17:00.032+01:00

Would you believe it ? The theme of my trip to the north was following the Emerald Buddha's footsteps ... this highly revered figure was discovered in Chiang Rai in 1434 ; it then stayed in Lampang and Chiang Mai until 1552 when it was taken to Luang Prabang. It is now in Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok where it was brought in 1784.

Well I began my stay in Chiang Rai and visited of course the local Wat Phra Kaew as well as the countryside on a rented bicycle (the Merinda shop where Phahonyothin Road turns left to the south is a good place).

My hotel was the North Hotel in the Night Bazaar area ; 15 rooms and a guesthouse atmosphere, with really very small rooms but OK for two nights. This hotel has also a more or less advertised massage service with boys ; about 3 to 5 of them come at dusk and are available to offer their skills and more if needed.

This could provide a nice alternative should you not be able to find anyone to your taste in one of the two bars in town : Lobo Boys and Regency. Both are located in the immediate vicinity of the Wangcome Hotel and are very quiet, Lobo Boys also having a "for sale" sign in front. However the quality offered is quite decent in my opinion ; I took a guy in Lobo on the first night and he proposed a very satisfying massage in my room (for which you will have to pay the massage fee to the hotel) and could as well have taken another on the following night - but I had already used the in-home service.

North Hotel, Chiang Rai

I spent then one night in Lampang, a wide and green town also known for its horse carriages. Despite its not convenient location in the countryside, a visit to the Phra That Lampang Luang is a must : you should not miss an opportunity to visit this wooden wat which is said to be the oldest construction in northern Thailand. Besides this, the place (amphoe Ko Kha) where it is located is pleasant and the local population very welcoming. By the way the Emerald Buddha was not kept in this wat but in another Wat Phra Kaew in downtown Lampang.

I had very accurate information for finding a house which had boys for rent, after having read about on a thai website. I could find the house - close to the Clock Tower in a small soi leading to the School number 4, and sure it was this house as it matched all the details except one : the house had been done up a little, whereas the information I had (dated July 2009) told about a rather old place. No boy was to be seen except the normal life of a thai family, so I guess I had arrived too late : the house had probably been sold and the owner (described as an already old man) had retired from the business.

Speaking frankly I do not know if I would have dared to enter the place ; the website told about 4 or 5 boys, all of them aged 16 except one aged 19, and no room on the premises.... sounds a little bit hazardous for a lonely farang doesn't it ? Anyway this shows that Thailand has a scene that we do not know, with thai rules and thai prices (100 THB for the owner, 500 THB for the boy), and access to this information seems to be very sparse.

My hotel was the Kim City Hotel where for 600 THB you will get a huge room - simple but clean, As a premium you will have the privilege to look at the waiter in the restaurant downstairs, who is probably the most charming guy in town : a dark-skinned well-built boy - about 19 y/o - with the innocent smile of someone who has still to realise how cute he is.

Next stop in Chiang Mai which seems to have a lot to offer these times... beginning with the Loy Krathong festival.

Ups and downs in Saphan Khwai

2009-10-27T12:24:00.003+01:00

Coming back to Bangkok I continued my exploration of Saphan Khwai and thought it would be of interest for those who like to escape the crowds.

All the bars are still there except for Eagle Bar (the one facing Karmanee Hotel) which closed aboy ten months ago. Not a lot of boys in the bars but the general quality has improved.

More than ever Saphan Kwai is really a hit-and-miss place. I went to Street Boys on Sunday to find two bored and not to my taste boys. And I went back on Monday to find a place with a least five guys, one of them being one of those that you cannot wait to take with you by fear of seeing him go with another customer. And so I spent part of my evening with Pon, a very energetic boy from Phayao ... and if you know what is said about the Phayao boys and girls in Thailand, you will have understood he was a cute one.

I also went to Talent which is a karoke bar located at the end of Pradiphat Soi 10, so in a more remote location ... Not many guys either but a good selection and a nice captain who will not pressure you to take a boy or even to have a drink ... what a change !

I had also visited the Be High gogobar, Waterloo karaoke bar (next to Street Boy, no sign) and Heaven ... everywhere there was at least one boy that I could have taken.

Big change of pace ahead as I am booked to Chiang Rai, Lampang and Chiang Mai ... cannot wait to look again at these beautiful northern boys.

Gayromeo boy in Lampang

Not so quiet

2009-10-22T14:06:00.006+02:00

I have just spent two days in Pattaya and like everyone, I was impressed how easier it is now to cross Secomd Road than before ... Less tourists for sure, to the point that Sunee Plaza would be probably a deadzone without the all-year-long residents.

I spent my first evening in Sunee in my old favourite Threezone Bar ; this is a place which does not get a lot of advertising and this is probably better. The thai owner is an absolute delight and he is loved by all the boys who have come one day in his bar ; money does not come in the first place for him, he just likes his job of welcoming boys and customers and providing a nice atmosphere for those who like to chat with other farangs, those who look for company, or those who just want to see the world go by.

This is where I had Tam, and some other special boys too like the lao boy I almost fell in love two years ago. I had the chance to be able to meet the lao boy again and spent one night with him : an easy-going guy with a great face and body if you like them slim and masculine.

However I did not forget to visit some other places, and especially the new Mic My Boy gogobar where a boy I offed some years ago is now the mamasan ... I have to confess I liked the atmosphere there even if would not have taken a lot of the guys on scene mostly as a precaution. Next door Nice Boys is almost its clone but with a wider range of guys.

I spent one afternoon in Jomtien and dared to go a little bit further than the yellow chairs I usually patronize ; imagine more space than in Phuket Gay Beach, prices so low that you think there has to be a mistake, and mostly quietness. No loud-speaking farang, no screaming ladyboy, and no heavy smoker to be heard or smelt, only a former beach attendant which is now a massage boy and who took care of me for a very long time. I guess I will go back, it is worth every additional step needed to go there.

My only disappointment was with the Gayromeo boys I had carefully listed for a meeting. I am still waiting for answers as all of them seem to connect now very occasionally, while they seemed to sleep with their keyboard when I was in my country ...

Tentations

2009-10-20T09:20:00.010+02:00

I am now slowly recovering from the flight and am already completely immersed in what will be my new life ... unfortunately for only four weeks.

I have been busy for the whole of my second day with many things to settle and action to take regarding personal and uninteresting things. It appears that I will have to be in Bangkok on Friday morning so I am already in Pattaya now, one day sooner than expected.

Yesterday in Bangkok I had not lost any hope to find Art - the sexy boy from last year - so I went again to Silom and to Super A (undisputed sleaziest bar in Bangkok). Art was not there but I found Tom whom I had "offed" two years ago - as horny as ever. He told me he had "no money because no cutomers" but that was not enough for me : I love to change ....

I wanted to have a look to the street hustlers near Sanam Luang and went there with a taxi ; we spent some time driving through Chinatown where there is currently a big fair going on. There were not a lot of boys around Saranrom park, and I chatted with one of them who said me to be very careful of robbers - especially robbers on motorbikes. After this and due to rain, I decided for a last drink in the bars near my hotel in Saphan Kwai.

There were only two boys in my old favorite Street Boys and not to my sapecs at all so I left very quickly, only to be hailed into another nearby place. The captain of this bar is the former mamasan of another Saphan Kwai bar and we heve been knowing each other for a long time. When entering he pushed a boy to my table and I was happy to know better a young cutie coming from Udon Thani : about 18 y/o I was told, with a short but very strong body and a face to die for ... or to be jailed for. Checking the ID card of this delight, I saw that he was still 15 two weeks ago .... so I chose to leave him in the bar after offering a good tip for his time and the great songs he sang for me. There would probably have been no problem in my hotel which usually has a everything-goes attitude, but any other customer could have thrown me into a big shit.

So it was a second night alone - not really alone as I was already thinking of a Gayromeo boy that I will contact before my next stay in Bangkok.

..... Gayromeo boy in Bangkok ...

Realizing ... once again

2009-10-19T09:36:00.007+02:00

Finally I am here ... Despite the joy to come back being blurred by the rigours of the journey, I finally realise that the time has come for a new stay in the country I love.

The flight in itself was an ordinay one ; I saw my thai friend in Geneva when waiting for the plane and he asked me to settle some problems for him in Thailand, and I will happily oblige. And in Zurich I did not go to downtown because Zurich airport although nice is a little bit complicated for a newcomer, so I did not want to have to rush for my plane. I also was thinking about the dubious atmosphere in Zurich Railway Station at night and my holiday would have been completely destroyed should have I been robbed of my bag, so I did not want to take any risk.

Zurich Hauptbahnhof at night : not this time ...

In Suwanaphum I was a little worried to be noticed by the H1N1 squad, as I was not feeling very good and a little bit feverish due to a cold I had caught in France, but they did not spot anything. And going through Immigration was a breeze with only three indian people in front of me who were quickly turned back because they had not filled in the immigration form. Waiting for the luggage took another 15 minutes and I was down very quickly to the new taxi stand. Tam was the first and only thai I phoned.

However I did not realise I was in Thailand again until going out from my hotel for the first time. This has to be the best time of the holiday, when you feel free from all constraints and you are a little bit dizzy about this new freedom. I discovered the soi life again with great pleasure ... the boys were arriving for work in the local gay bars, the laundry had opened a new shop where a girl bar was located before, as well as a new restaurant right in the middle of the bars. And I will then discover that the very cute boy who used to sell coffee in front of my usual internet cafe was no more there .. he had opened a restaurant on his own, the owner told me. Eleven momths had gone by.

How about my first night in Bangkok ... due to a short downpour at 7 pm I feared that not a lot of boys would turn up in the Saphan Khwai bars so I decided for a trip to Silom instead. I drank a coke at Dick's Cafe where I had never seen so many people before. And in spite of repeated glances with a cute massage boy from neighbouring Bonny Massage, I chose to go to the sleazy places in Soi Anuman Ratchathon. I hoped to meet again Art whom I met last year in the now closed Golden Flower Bar but he was not in Solid Bar - where they were a lot of guys up to my taste.

Not willing to indulge in a night long relationship, I finally chose the easy option and entered the Twinks Massage Place - which had received some good and bad advertising recently on the Sawatdee Forums. What I can say is that there are a lot of cute boys on supply here, mostly in the 18-20 range and mostly with nice tanned faces. The welcoming ladyboy was not so bad although a little bit insistent ... He announced that the 500 THB you have to pay to the place was not a massage fee but the price for the room ... that says all. I chose a 18 y/o Roi Et guy with a very cute and smiling face but obviously lacking experience.

Finally I had arrived in Thailand and well ...

Countdown

2009-10-11T22:06:00.007+02:00

At the beginning it was eleven months … you could as well have said forever …

And the time elapsed slowly, punctuated by daily and weekly virtual trips through the net … and then it became six months to go, and then one month … and to-day it is one week ; one week left before I land in Suwanaphum.

I checked that the same Swiss flight to-day arrived on time, and it did. I checked my bags and they are still there … although far from being ready. I checked my international driving license and had to rush off to extend it in case Tam would like to drive out of Chiang Mai. And where is this thread with the directions to this gay karaoke in Laksi which I promise to visit since at least ten years ?

I got some news and they are now no more virtual : there was a terrible downpour in Pattaya to-day, and the 'reds' will stage a protest in Pattaya on the 24th, just on the day I will come back from Pattaya to Bangkok. And the guys on Gayromeo are less and less virtual too, and more and more like the promise of a nice evening … or more.

Once again the time has come back when there is nothing really important in life except my family and THE next trip. It looks like this last week is going to be soooooo… long.

See you in Bangkok !

Adam's Apple

2009-09-24T12:58:00.003+02:00

According to their newsletter that they just have sent me, Adam's Apple would already be open - contrary to what I wrote below. However it would be only a soft opening before the Grand Opening Party on October 9th (private party from what I read on Thaivisa.com), and probably a full closure on election days in Chiang Mai (October 4th).

For me the opening will be at the end of next October and I cannot wait to go and see their show ...

In-trend

2009-09-20T17:01:00.006+02:00

The in-trend destination for gay sex tourists this year will obviously be Chiang Mai – and you know what ? In about five weeks I will be there too - although I usually carefully shun everything "in-trend".

First there is this Lavender Lanna Hotel / Power Boys gogo bar and other businesses, which are due to open in October among growing controversy. Some tell that this will be a great improvement for the town, others including gay activist Nathee Thirarotjanapong fear that the complex will be located in a too visible location and will bring a bad light on Northern culture, especially because of the wide advertising all over the world. What do I think of this ? Well, erased threads, heavy insinuations, banned posters and conflicting viewpoints do not allow to have any opinion on this when you are 9000 km far from the spot, except that many businesses are probably feeling that their interests are seriously threatened by the new venue. There is likely still more to this, as I understand that Chiang Mai is currently preparing local elections. What I know is I did not choose to come to Chiang Mai for this place and I am not even sure I will have the time to visit.

What is more interesting is the opening of Adam's Apple which is scheduled on Octobre the 9 th after a dress rehearsal yesterday. I have great memories from this bar and can only hope the format will not be too different. In the same Chang Phuak area, another sleazy place is said to open soon near Viang Bua Mansion (Happy Dicks is the more recent name); and there is also the older bars like Freeguys where I already know I will "off" someone because these Thai Yai boys are really my style.

What worries me is the fate of some other bars. Those in the small alley near Night Bazaar seem to be still there : they will remind me the sudden surge of adrenalin I felt three years ago when facing unexpectedly a young Tai Yai boy in the common toilets. A similar bar is Yum Boi Boi which had just opened in Santitham Plaza – also north of town. It seems they had available hosts, unlike other gay bars in the area which are more thai-oriented. However I just had the news that they have closed until early October ; hopefully this will not be a permanent closure, as they are said to have promising young lads.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yummy guys in Chiang Mai (thai-eyes website)

What is also new about Chiang Mai these days is the great updated information you can get on the net through nice websites such as the already well-known ratchada.com, and also asiancoop.com, chiangmaichimes.com (Nightlife section), thai-eyes.com and the gay section on Thaivisa.

Housework is so easier when you have good updated information . . .

Things to do

2009-09-05T21:05:00.007+02:00

This morning I spent at least three hours choosing a hotel in Lampang where I will stay only for one night … and here I was once again roaming the streets of the small town, trying to locate the house of boys and another bar where there could be boys for rent … The hotel also had to be not too far from the bus station as I will use a bus for coming from Chiang Rai and for going on to Chiang Mai as well. And close to the song thaew which will bring me to the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang which will be the highlight of my short visit. Finally I will stay at the Phin Hotel which gets rather good reviews everywhere and is conveniently located in downtown Lampang.

So I am gradually working out the schedule of the trip, at least regarding transportation and lodging. The rest will be left to instant decision making depending on the boys I will meet, the rain, and a famous virus which hopefully will not destroy my so long awaited stay.

However this is the list of things to do for this trip …
- helping Tam to overcome his sadness after his mother passed away … he should like Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai
- using the stopover time I will have in Zurich for a short jaunt to Carousel Bar in the City where finding some thai boys 13 years ago, I decided that I HAD TO go to Thailand
- climbing the Samoeng Pass near Chiang Mai on a bike (already on the list two years ago and left undone)
- recovering from my trip in one of the Suriwong massage places, preferably Twinks Massage on Soi Anuman Ratchathon
- exploring Pradiphat Soi 21 where a little advertised boys bar is said to have opened recently
- expanding the list of the provinces where I have already already spent at least one night … 20 so far and counting… good excuse to go to Potharam in Ratchaburi province …
- finding the gorgeous boy met on Romeo … 19 y/o and a body to die for, not working in a bar but in the @~~##88$` Restaurant in Pattaya - and trying to off him (he is not the guy on the picture above).

So many things to do and so little time ..

Emotional

2009-08-10T21:45:00.004+02:00

I do not like to post links to songs I like because there would be too many of them and it is generally very boring for the readers.

This post will be an exception for a thai song that deeply moves me everytime I hear it. I first heard it when it was the the theme tune of a Thai TV programm about schools in the poorer areas of Thailand. And I burst into tears when my thai-swiss friend sang it in a karaoke in Saphan Kwai many years ago. This "rongrian khong noo" is simply one of the best songs I have ever heard.

It tells the life of schools in the mountains, far from anything and without too much money, where a lonely teacher dedicates himself body and soul to the education of the mountain children. It tells the will of the thai state to bring education into the remotest parts of the country, it tells the sadness of traditional life and culture being forgotten and in the same time the hope for a better life for these poor children.

It tells the feelings of my father and mother seventy years ago in the Alps ...

The lyrics are simple and incredibly touching, and the tune is also fantastic especially in the version linked below with an amazing flute player. May I say that tears still come into my eyes because of such a beautiful melody ...

My School by Phongsit Khamphee
โรงเรียนของหนู (พงษ์สิทธิ์ คำภีร์)

Too long

2009-07-26T22:03:00.016+02:00

Eleven months is really too long when this is the time you have to wait between two trips to Thailand.

Should I believe what is written on the boards, I should be cheated or assaulted at every street corner, laid up in bed by whatever virus, and stuck in an airport. Being a hardcore Thailand fan (should I write : sex tourist), it would take much more to give up a long-awaited trip.

What I fear much more is closed bars and too few boys – so just in case I opened a Gayromeo account ; I have to say I am favourably impressed by what I can see … no date for the moment (too early …) but a nice collection of boys who meet exactly my sapecs (specifications). And also some nice chats – some in thai, some in English with above average cute lads who are obviously looking for customers.

The schedule is now ready and flights are already booked … Air Asia had a promotion for flights priced at 700 THB including taxes … who could resist to that ? So it will be two days in Chiang Rai (I am booked at the North Hotel who is gay-friendly, ideally located and not expensive), one in Lampang just to find the house of boys I read about in the TMM webboard and five in Chiang Mai where I will stay in Mercure (former Novotel) : I had to weigh up the pros and cons of this hotel against the Viang Bua Mansion for a long time, but Mercure – although more expansive – has a pool and is closer to the main street, which could be convenient at night. They also have a shuttle bus to the Night Bazar at night ; I just hope that the sleazy joints overthere will hold out till next October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meeting my sapecs

The remaining weeks will be spent between Bangkok and Pattaya – I am already dreaming about my next visits to the Saranrom street hustlers (no way I will be deterred to go there by some unverified reports), to some massage places near Silom and some promising bars in Sunee Plaza.

Sorry not to give any report for the time being ; be sure I keep in touch with everything going on in Thailand so that I can waste as little time as possible once I am there.

Mourning

2009-07-05T22:03:00.000+02:00

Tam's mother has passed away … I had a phone call on a morning when going to work and I did not realise immediately, but had the confirmation when I phoned back four hours later. She was a heavy smoker and it was no surprise that she died of lung cancer despite being still young at 58 y/o.

She was a tiny and feeble woman that I had met her twice when going visiting Tam's house in Phrae province. She had probably some worries with her only son when he was a teenager ; they were living in the same house and they seemed to go along very well again.

Tam seemed to be very greatly affected by this death ; I am too because this woman was a shy but very nice and thoughtful mother. And her death made me realise how lucky I am to still have my own mother who despite being 82 y.o is as healthy as ever.

Tam had got his good looks and his strength from his father but she had given him her sweetness and her honesty. I hope that he will overcome this event with the help of his friends and his family ; what I hope too is that he will not sink into discouragement, especially as the bad economic situation does not allow him to find a job which would have helped him to forget.

He did not ask me for money but I sent some for helping him with the ceremony. We will meet again in Chiang Mai for the Loy Krathong festival, and though I still want to have some free time on my own, I think I will spend more time with him than last year.

Revival

2009-06-01T21:20:00.003+02:00

More than five months since I did not update the blog … I heve been really overloaded with work this year and did not have time to think of new subjects. In fact my only contacts with Thailand were through the news and through the webboards. I also had some phone calls with Tam who is going well despite a broken arm, and also with the two boys from my last stay in Pattaya : the beach seller and the youg looking freelancer ; both are now back home because of the poor number of tourists in Pattaya.

Things are going to improve for me and I should now have some more free time. Unfortunately I will go to Thailand only once this year, because of too short holidays. And I have now begun the process of planning and booking – the best part of the trip they say, but surely the most important when you do not want to waste your time. In fact I am already booked on a Swiss flight, a company I have never tried before and I am thrilled to test it for the first time (especially as I could have time enough for a drink in my favourite bar during waiting time in Zurich).

What stays in my memory after a Thailand trip is mostly the visits I make in the provinces, more than my stays in Pattaya. This year it should be up to the north once again ... In fact I cannot forget the wonderful Shan boys since my stay in 2007, and I also want to ride a bike in the mountains.

So my intention is to visit Chiang Rai for two nights, and Chiang Mai for four nights. Accomodation is not booked yet but I have read good reviews about The North Hotel in downtown Chiang Rai (they have a roof terrace too ..) and Wiang Bua Mansion in the northern part of Chiang Mai … close to Adams Apple which should have reopened.

I also will make a short stay in Lampang, for the horses and for the wat … and also to try a house of boys which was mentioned on a thai webboard … just for my own general knowledge of course.

I have yet to think about how Tam will fit into the schedule … I would like him to be with me for the Loy Krathong Festival and will get out of my way to be in any other place than Pattaya on that day. Loy Krathong is so romantic in any place in Thailand except Pattaya where it has turned into a commercial fair that I want to avoid at all costs.

Now four months and a half and counting ...

Central Mall

2009-01-25T18:04:00.011+01:00

.

I just read on the boards that the new Central Department Store has just opened in Pattaya ... a good news for me as the place where I generally stay in Pattaya is very close to it. This said I wonder whether the sales attendants will be as cute as the construction workers who were there last November (especially the two yellow-clad ones in the middle ... ).

BTW I have just introduced some minor changes to the blog layout ; I especially hope that it will be more Firefox-friendly than before.

Greetings

2008-12-31T20:48:00.004+01:00

Eternity

2008-12-27T14:08:00.001+01:00

I am back in Farangland since six weeks but it seems like an eternity. It is very cold here and we had a lot of snow, which should be good for business but not for heat lovers.

Of course everyone including my boss was delighted that I could escape Thailand one week before the airport closure … I would not frankly agree on this, because being stranded in Thailand is exactly what I secretly hope on the day when I leave. This being said, I had to suffer a three hours delay at the departure from Bangkok and did not really like it so I guess things are not so simple (and I would have been in a f… sh… had I arrived two weeks late at work …)

The airport closure was a torment for my mind, because of the bad image it gave to the country that I love (and which made one of my fellow worker cancel a four-people trip planned for Januray). And also because I was thinking of all the boys in Pattaya – and all Thailand workers - who were deprived of good business due to these well-to-do thugs blocking the airport only to maintain their egoistic privilege. I got another stab in the heart when I read the news that H M the King would cancel His adress to the nation, as I was really looking forward to hear His kind ans wise words.

Since then, I regularly get in touch with Tam, and much more often than before. To-day is his birthday – he is now 28 y/o but he still has the spontaneousness and the enthusiasm of a young guy. I guess our story is still far from the end and I am very happy with it. And I thought I was interested only in twinkies …

I have also kept in touch with the Threezone freelancer as well as with the beach seller. This one had to go back home for a while because of a lack of business. He has comme back to Pattaya now and I hope that he can sell his stuff without being too spoilt by his customers – call it jealousy ? I get a thrill everytime I hear his fresh voice and I really hope to see him again, even if I have to go to his place – it would be good as he lives in one of the provinces that I have still to visit.

What helps me a lot now is reading the reports of a cycling tour that a member of the Gay Thailand webboard is currently riding. Travelling with a bike is my other lifelong passion along with travelling in Thailand so you can imagine how this ride from Chiang Mai to Phuket is a fascinating story to this farang – even if I would rather travel alone to have a better contact with the locals. But of course this is now only a dream at least for the five years left before I can hopingly retire …

Leaving

2008-11-18T13:08:00.004+01:00

Sunday 16th was my last day in Pattaya before … not too long, this is at least what I hope. The beach seller had absolutely wanted to see me in the hotel for my leaving and I had to promise to see him again … I think I will because this boy really turned me on despite (or because of) his shiness. I almost felt some tears in my eyes when the boy walked away.

Back to Bangkok, Tam and me went to Sanam Luang to see the Monument erected for the Royal Cremation, but we both had forgotten to wear black clothes and besides this it was raining again. At night, I could not help going a last time to the Silom area where most bars were open despite the mourning. We went to the bar where I had offed Art ; I did not invite him but slipped him a small tip when leaving, which sparked off some whispering among the other boys.

The last day was the usual race to enjoy the slightest minute left, with a lump in the throat especially this time as it could be – who knows ? - my last time in Thailand … We visited Sanam Luang again, duly dressed in black and admiring the place among hundreds of thais. Back in the hotel, we made the usual last day chores, and then had a last drink in Dick's Cafe. I prefer not to remember the trip to the airport, and the time came for us to part.

After a last Singha beer, Tam went back alone to the hotel ; it made me feel as if I had one night more with him. And I passed the immigration, only to discover that the flight would be late and that I would miss the connection to Geneva. The hassle was beginning again ….

Sunbeams

2008-11-15T21:42:00.012+01:00

Tam arrived on the 10th although we had first agreed to meet for Loy Krathong on the 12th … but the busses from Phrae were full because of the Royal Cremation, so he had to come earlier. As soon as I saw him, I was sure that I loved him more than any one, more than the beach seller or than the Threezone freelancer. He was tanned from the works in the fields, he was smiling like always and he had the same radiant attitude which made me fall in love five years ago.

Being rather more educated than your average thai friend, Tam is open to everything and he really loves eating foreign food … he enjoyed the meal I had planned for our reunion in a good French restaurant (Freelax, Third Road behind Buffalo Bar). Be sure the red wine had the place of honour including for this thai country boy. We then went to Threezone where he is as popular as ever, and he did not mind going to Butterfly karaoke with other boys including the freelancer I had "offed" more than once already … what a change from his former obsessive jealousy.

We staid together on the second day too and went visiting some bars in Boyztown ; we enjoyed the Wild West Boys show as well as the boys : this place is by far the nicest among the bars I visited in the area, be it for the atmosphere, the service and did I mention the boys ?

The third day was the Loi Krathong day … a day that I have alays enjoyed to the deepest when in Bangkok but that has yet to impress me when celebrated in Pattaya. The atmosphere in Jomtien was the same as in a commercial fair, there was little to be felt of the incredible beauty of this tradition that you meet in less touristy places. I had the satisfaction to see Tam meeting again with his childhood friend (who is now a waiter in a Soi Buakhao day restaurant). A lot of pictures were taken but I swore Tam his picture would not appear on this blog …

There was then another visit to the beach chairs, with a nice weather for the fourth day in a row … my boyfriend had brought the sunshine with him and he made no bones about reminding me of this. The beach seller gave a massage to both of us and we then had a nice meal in my favorite open air eatery (Nong Jai, along Pattaya 2nd near Mike Shopping Mall, some nice male staff too). I could not help thinking while eating that I was there sitting at the same table with the two boys I liked the most in the world. Like a caring older brother, Tam brought then the beach seller back home on the motorbike we had rent, as the boy was living very far away in the Naklua area. I had not asked anything to him and it was impressing to see Tam taking care of this young guy which he could as well have considered as a possible rival. This day was the last one before the three mourning days, so I wanted to visit some more bars in Sunee while Tam went seeing some movie in Big C. In fact I went to Le Gun Bar where the cutest boy by far was one of the waiters just arrived from Khorat.

The last two days in Pattaya showed a very special atmosphere because of most bars being closed and most boys being off-duty ; we went visiting the countryside out of Pattaya, and I particularly liked the Buddha Image in the Mountain, where two busloads of school students from Nakhon Pathom were also visiting. We had another meal in Bang Sare (Rim Nam Restaurant, first one when coming from the Bang Sare beach (so with Jomtien in your back). Quiet atmosphere, great seafood and view over the sea and Jomtien : despite a very strong wind, it was another enjoyable time with my lover. The cute male staff was an unexpected bonus....

. . . . . . . . . . . . . What can I do for you ? (waiter in Bang Sare)

Beach seller

2008-11-10T16:52:00.026+01:00

After two weeks with a lot of daily packing and unpacking, I was happy to arrive in Pattaya for an eleven-day stay in my favourite hotel. With a nice roof pool, an attentive and never intrusive staff, and far from the gay ghettos, this is a place that I like to call "home away from home". Despite a never ending bad weather, the first half of my stay has been as pleasant as it could be, with the typical schedule being lazy afternoons at Jomtien, and roaming the Sunee Plaza bars in the evening.

If I did not mingle much with the Jomtien beach assistants this time, I had a special relation with one of the sellers – whom I cannot give too many details about, as he is still working there. Talking a lot with him, I could discover how hard the life of these guys can be – at least for those who do not want to accept the proposals that they invariably get from many farangs.

This one was a good-looking 18 y/o from Isan, not gay at all and very shy – except for selling his stuff where he showed genuine talent despite his limited English. He had to leave school at age 11 mostly because his mother abandoned the family and he had to take care of an ill father. He worked at home, then staid some years in Bangkok as a construction worker, and finally came to Pattaya as an occasionnal seller. He told me "boss" gave him 30 % of what he could sell, but not a lot of farang were buyers, so the income was not high. What struck me was his incredible willpower to face all the problems he had, and his invariably good-humoured nature despite a not so bright future. Refusing any extra money above the agreed price and embarassed as a child when I offered him a mobile phone to replace the broken one he had, it was obvious that he was not a liar but a good boy.

He moonlighted as a masseur too and took care of me with much more strength than many others on the beach ; on the following day, unable to stand it any longer, I asked him if he could give me another massage, but this time I would need a special one. After some hesitation, he told me that he had gone only once to a farang's place (he feared being raped ...) and only for an ordinary massage. However he finally accepted to go and I have to say that I was very happy to give him the tip he had asked for – I will never forget the time when he took his briefs off and his virility at first very discreet quickly developped into a long and slim pole that I had the pleasure to bring to climax. This is when he told me he had never jacked off before, and only had wet dreams – I will never know whether this was true or not.

Other discoveries of this first week were the Jomtien night venues that are easy to forget when you live in Pattaya. A special mention goes to Rockhard Boys where the guys are really cute and the atmosphere very hot. Another usual haunt was an old favourite of mine, the Threezone Beer Bar in Sunee where I had met Tam five years ago. After a long "lady-boy only" period, they now welcome freelancers again and they have some real cuties coming on a more or less regular basis. Besides this, the thai owner is a very nice guy, and he has completely redone the place ; what has not changed is the unobstructed view over the entry to Villa Rouge and the soi life, which leads to carefree and relaxing unforgettable times.

A promising excursion to Kor Larn which turned quickly to a nightmare because of pouring rain (but these russian boys are so hot!), and more than one disappointment from visiting some Boyztown bars : these were the other events of this first week. To-night Tam will join me for the rest of my stay and this prospect makes me surprisingly happy despite what it means as regards my cherished freedom ..... I guess that I love him more than I thought …

Halftime in Bangkok

2008-11-06T16:14:00.003+01:00

Coming back from Isaan, I decided not to go to Pattaya immediately, but rather stay three more days in Bangkok.

I can swear the coffee boy from Saphan Khwai was not the reason for this difficult decision, as I quickly understood that he was not available ; a very shy guy too as he chose to flee the scene when I asked him if I could take a picture of his shop. So you will have to go to Pradiphat Road if you want to see him (Sunday closed). Avoid Mondays because it seems it is his girlsfriend's free day.

I finally went back to the Flower Shower Gogo Bar (or is it the Taurus Bar ?) in Silom Soi 6 (between Golden Cock and Nature Boy) as I could not help thinking of Art, the dark-skinned boy I had chatted with on my first day. This time I "offed" him to my room and he accepted – after much pressure from me - to stay for the night. Was it because of his dark skin ? Or his wild looks ? This guy turned me on big scale, and each time I touched his skin, I felt horny like with very few boys before ; a matter of chemistry I guess as he his not outstandingly cute. He also proposed me to go to the internet cafe and find boys on-line and invite them for a sex party in my room … which I declined for obvious security reasons. Unfortunately this boy was also a heavy (ciggies) smoker and had the typical barboy biorythm : looking at TV for the whole night and going to sleep at dawn, so I was almost relieved to see him go back home at 6 in the morning.

Not wishing to spend another day in Bangkok, I then took one day off in Hua Hin. Using one of the numerous rot too leaving from Victory Monument saves the long trip to the Southern Bus Station, so I arrived in the sea resort at 1 in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time for shopping and for a short walk to the beach. My hotel was the PP Villa Resort which doesn't advertise on the net but proposes a perfect location (300 m to the beach and should be the centre of gravity of all the local gay places), big and quiet rooms and a sunny pool for a very decent price (1200 THB high season).

The main reason for my short trip to Hua Hin was seeing again the Nong Khai boys in Faq Thong Massage Place. And the good news was that the three of last July were still there, with a fourth one having joined meanwhile. I chose two of them, the one I had chosen in July and another one, very short and very tanned and who will prove a tireless mouth-kisser. As always when you take two boys from the same place, the performance was tempered by a lot of shyness, but they were so hot that I did not regret my choice.

I paid a short visit to the other places in Hua Hin : Red indian had more boys than last time including some isaan delights, Guys Bar was less exciting than in July, and I finally could locate the Candlelight Bar that I had vainly looked for last July (and it was worth it despite the very few boys in this bar)

Although the beach, with its dead fishes, sandflies and horse dung, didn't appeal to me, I could really have staid longer in Hua Hin without feeling in the least bored. I guess I should consider staying longer there in the future : Hua Hin is definitely not a BYOB (Bring Your Own Boy) place any more. However I went back to Bangkok, without stopping in the famous gay resorts in Potharam ; I would have taken some pride to have been the first one to write a review on the boards, but time is really too short when you are on holiday.

My last visit in Bangkok was another taxi trip to Sanam Luang ; despite the Royal Cremation events, it was business as usual along the streets including near the entry to Tha Tian pier ; however I went back home alone : I wanted to be on top form for my stay in Pattaya.

Isan escapade (2)

2008-11-04T12:38:00.028+01:00

On the third day, I went to Roi Et which is known for its lake in the middle of the town and although for a big Buddha statue. It is a very short trip from Sakhon Nakhon with at first a beautiful mountain scenery, a bus change in Kalasin and then the typical isaan landscape until Roi Et. The bus from Kalasin to Roi Et was full with gorgeous students, one of them seating next to me.. I will always regret to have answered “one” to the bus attendant who was collecting the travel fare and had asked me “kii thii” (how many tickets) ?” ; I did not even had enough presence of mind to tell “only one, but I would like so much pay for two …”.

Roi Et was not up to what I expected : I thought the lake would be busy at night but it was not at all despite the place being very romantic and convenient for cruising. There are only two bars near the lake, all of them farang places for the few local expats living there… That will teach me not to believe one word of what local motorsai drivers say : one of them had insured me that boys came at night near the 99 Hotel, but I did not see anyone of them. So much it was another lonely night in the Petchara Garden Hotel, a former upmarket place who has lowered its prices down to 550 THB (breakfeast included) probably due to a not very convenient location two kilometers far from downtown. But god how boring these upmarket hotels are ...

Quiet afternoon in Roi Et . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The last stay was in Khorat where I had a great disappointment seeing that the alley leading to the Buddy Boys Bar had remained locked up – with no explanation about a possible closure. Sure this place never had a lot of boys but it is (was ?) a very old gay place in Khorat and I hope I just went there on a wrong day (east end of Soi Lampru, 120 meters coming from the Thanon Suranari intersection, find a wooden sign on your right with only thai writing except for the word “IN" in English).

With the help of a motorsai driver, I could locate the Tawan Bar ... closed as well. It is a place in the middle of nowhere with no sign on the house, but this was probably the right location (south west of Sima Thani Hotel but south of the railway) as it fitted with the description I had read on the TMM website. The motorsai driver told me it was a very good bar and was still opened yesterday, but who would believe a motorsai driver ?

In Pailin Square, there is also an all-male disco called Khorat 69, I did not go inside because I was alone, but this one was well alive and had very promising boys standing in front. Another small bar reported to be located in the commercial center along the Sima Thani Hotel could not be found as well, despite an eager search... So much for the Khorat scene on that day (and it was on a Saturday night).

There are still some hookers along the moat near the Ya Mo Monument (in the Cathai Hotel area), but one who solicited me had no ID Card and seemed a little bit dangerous so I did not take him - although being so horny after four nights of chastity …

All in all an interesting trip to Isan but not for the boys - although I could have done much better with a little bit more luck, daring and experience.

Isan escapade (1)

2008-11-02T09:59:00.022+01:00

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 of choice 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 are missing ...

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 only seeing him made my evening very enjoyable.

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

Recovering

2008-10-28T11:07:00.004+01:00

Pattaya is also the place where I come for the sun, and this 5-days stay was not really up to what I had expected. I had never seen any serious flood since 10 years I come here, and this year I saw 2nd road under the water three times … a sign that the end of the world is near or only bad luck ?

However the rain could not thwart my nightly activities and I could visit most of the Sunee bars, including Happy Boys which was quite interesting. I had read about it on the boards but you never know before experiencing by yourself … So I fell for this 19 y/o Nong Khai guy and he did not wait long to invite me to go upstairs where there was no one. Another boy joined us uninvited, which I found somewhat upsetting, but this guy was probably the appointed specialist when it comes to giving a blowjob. So went the trousers down, me sucking the boy I had chosen and the “expert” doing me very skillfully. Useless to say the climax came very quickly, despite (or because) some other boys regularly passing in front of us going up to their own rooms.

Other bars were more standard but the standard in Pattaya is what you dream about all the year long. There seems to be a constant flow of “new boys” in Villa Rouge, which keeps the interest going. I invited one of these – or so he was described to me – for a drink .. completely illegal, cute as an isaan god, bud hardly any interaction – he did not even asked my name and I had to make all the conversation.

Look Boys and Sundance were also on my list but there were really too many too young lady boys in most. The really cute ones (the real boys if you prefer) seem to be in the minority, or work as waiters or doormen… a pity, as it seems obvious that they are in higher demand than the ubiquitous skinny underage ladyboys. I had the luck to find one – the muu katha guy – and I still dream over his carefulness, his charm, and also I must say about what seems to be an everlasting erection. Sorry I have not fallen in love – yet.

Please do not tell anyone that I went to Minou, although the place has slightly improved from the pit it was last June ; it is also briefs down over there (at least the boys’ones).

It is nice to recover from all this craziness, and this is why I am now in Bangkok for three days. Wasted time perhaps but the town has its charms and it also allows some shopping with a much wider choice than in Pattaya.

However boy shopping was not what it used to be in the Saranrom area : I went there last Monday but the display was really disappointing : very few guys, some of them too young to be honest, and not the good feeling I had last time. One of the boys I spoke with, explained that one of the reasons why not a lot turned up was the activities of the motorists gangs (dek waen) who sometimes come at night in the area.

Timeless city

2008-10-23T13:46:00.009+02:00

As soon as I set my feet in Pattaya, everything has changed. The time has now come when you look at your watch when you begin your evening (and it is generally 8 o'clock), and the next time you look at it, it shows 3 in the morning and you wonder what you are doing sitting in a karaoke place surrounded with cute boys, half of them you do not know even their name.

So the updating will be much looser from now on, due to an obvious lack of time. Those wanting to come here should know that not much has changed, except for the quick decline of euro and the steady increase of dollar.

My first day in Pattaya was on Thursday, it began with a too long trip with the bus dropping off passengers every 500 meters or so - but this is the price to pay when you want to go local, and at least you may meet nice people during the journey. I visited several bars in Sunee with only Euro Boys having about the same boys as in June, which tells a lot about the quality of management there. I also went to Good Boys and Nice Boys which are the typical Sunee bars no one wants to speak about.

And I finally took a guy who freelanced in the Threezone Bar - young looking but with an ID card which could not possibly have been forged. We ended the night in a small thai "mou katha" shop where he had worked before - thai boys often bring you to the place where they are known, a matter of face-saving I guess but most often this ends with a good experience.

The choice had to be good because the second day was a rainy one, like I had never seen in Pattaya (but I am only a tourist). And we both staid in the room recovering from a long night out ; be sure the TV was not much used on this day. The evening was devoted to Butterfly karaoke with 5 young lads eager to sing and to have sanuk together. Among them the lao I had met last year ; he is really more sexy than ever and he has the same easygoing nature.

The sun has come again to-day, which allowed a first visit to the beach. Many people there, as everyone has really missed the place since it has been raining for quite a long time from what I understand. I did not stay too long because some people heavy smokers sitting close - and I am not an anti-smokers fundamentalist.

Life will continue like this for three days, the greatest worry being what shirt you will wear at night, and then I should go back to Bangkok and then Isaan. Probably a huge change of pace from the Pattaya atmosphere.

Bell boy

2008-10-21T11:47:00.008+02:00

My second day in Thailand began rather late in the day as I wanted a good night sleep to recover from the trip. I also needed more coffee than usual, which provided the best excuse to visit the small stall with the nice boy ... however he seems more interested in his very cute girlfriend than in my repeated glances ...

I spent the evening in Sanam Luang where there was a royal ceremony with a huge attendance from thais of all ages and all conditions. HM the King attended and it was a great relief to see him in rather good shape. You will understand it was not the best moment to go to the area around Sarantom park for the boys, as the place was brimmed with policemen.

At night I visited some Saphan Kwai bars and found that the boys there are as cute as ever. In every bar I visited I could have taken one or two, especially - and this is not surprise - in Charmming ; they have really good-looking guys overthere, and more than this the mamasan often boasts their "big thing' as they say in thai. I already checked in the past that this was no lie.

Another enthusiastic mamasan works in U-Turn, you just have to tell him what kind of boy you like and he will scour the neighbouring bars to find one matching your specifications.

I visited Eagle Pub, U-Turn, Charmming and Waterloo (which is currently on repair but has opened opposite in what is usually a girlie bar called Swan) and Adam was full due to a party. That leaves only three bars to visit and I should go next time I am in Bangkok ; for the first time in ages, their doormen invited me inside - sign of harder times ?

I am now in Pattaya where a strong rain in the afternoon has flooded some streets. The bell boy who helped with my luggage will be my impossible mission for this trip ; he told me "see you later" when leaving my room and these three words made me completely randy.

First steps

2008-10-20T07:54:00.007+02:00

It was an uneventful trip that I even managed not to find too long. The KLM plane landed 30 minutes ahead of scheduled time, but the extra time was quickly lost due to my choosing the wrong queue at the immigration (you should never forget to check whether the counter is single or double manned BEFORE entering the queue) …

The taxi driver made his job to bring me safe to my hotel in Saphan Khwai using the quickest route which is longer but uses much less time, so the 337 THB - toll fares and airport commission included - became 400 THB in his pocket.

Arriving at one in the afternoon leaves plenty of time to buy all forgotten items and get slowly accustomed to the local way of life ; watching over the holes in the pavement when gazing at the cute boys you encounter is one of the most challenging novelties here (in my country there are no holes in the pavement and hardly any cute boy walking).

You also will have to check the new interesting features in the neighborhood and this generally leads to good and bad surprises ; for example the boy who worked in the khao muu daeng food stall has disappeared, so I guess he was not the owner’s son but only an assistant. On the contrary there is a very good looking guy now working in front of my internet café, who provides free eye-candy when the connection is too slow. He sells coffee and it happens that I am a real coffee lover ...

At 6.30 pm I decided it was time to go for a skytrain trip to Silom where I only wanted to look at the atmosphere. After a nice meal in Dick’s, I walked along the bars and the massage places but no one took my fancy ; the new restaurant facing the Bangkok Boys Massage Place will be my next choice because it seems to be an excellent viewpoint over what is on offer opposite.

A tout wanted me to have a massage in K-Why ; I could get rid of him walking further to Soi 6. I walked in front of Tawan Bar where I never set a foot since I come to Thailand and hurried up to Solid. However I chose a new gogo bar first ; it is located on the first floor (or is it the second one for some), and is called Flower Shower or something like that. What I saw on the scene was quite pleasant with some very good looking lads. I invited Art to sit with me : a dark-skinned playful 20 y/o Bangkok boy. We flirted a little but I decided not to take him because he could not spend the night – mi thoora, so he told me, which of course I did not believe.

I went then to the infamous Nature Boy bar where they have six or seven lads ; one of them was taking care of another farang while three isaan citizens sat at my table. No tasty detail here as it was only hands on the pant, some hard dick showing and not much more. The shiest guy was the cutest.

Getting out of the bar, I was once again called by one of the doormen in the message place almost opposite, which is called Taurus. I had noticed a young guy that seemed perfect for a first night, so I chose him for an one hour and a half oil massage. This barely legal Roi Et cutie gave me a massage that was too soft and without too much imagination, and after only twenty minutes he asked me to turn over and proposed to take care of my virility. I should have told him to massage my legs first but the boy was too hot and I was too horny … so I guess I will have to wait some more for a real massage.

It was 10.30 already and I felt too tired to continue my exploration in the Silom area ; moreover I had to update my information about Saphan Kwai venues for a thread on Sawatdee forum. I arrived back in Saphan Kwai at 11 pm and headed for my all-time favorite Street Boy Bar ; being the first bar in this non sheltered soi, it was a good idea as it was now pouring with rain. There were five boys on duty on this Sunday evening, including one with long hair, nice face, and who was a real boy according to the owner.

My last visit was for “Be High” gogo bar where there is a fair selection of masculine boys again, proving that my previous reviews had to be updated for the best. I chatted quietly with a guy from Khemmarat (Ubon Ratchathani province) which is one of the most remote places in Thailand and he understood that I was not in the mood to take him to my room.

At 0.25 it was time to call it a day and I went back to my hotel – alone, but I had seen more cute faces in 10 hours here than in eleven months at home.

On the road again

2008-10-18T12:44:00.007+02:00

I did not think it could arrive ... still twenty minutes and I will hop on a car which will bring me to the airport ... and to-morrow at noon I should step once again on the thai soil. Pii thii sip song, khrang thii yiisip (twelvth year and twentieth time).

World crisis ? Which world crisis ?

. . . . . . . . . . KLM I love you ...

Titanic

2008-10-05T20:41:00.012+02:00

My last post sounded very pessimistic but how can you see brightness in the short-term future – at least when you are a worker - when every news you read in the papers or listen in the radio talks about unemployment, failures and recession ?

This never-ending economic crisis was probably the price to be paid for all the greediness in this world, with our governments as accomplice. I guess we will still have to wait a little bit longer before seing all the benefits that globalisation and unregulated business were due to bring to everyone – at least that was what self-proclaimed experts were promising and you were immediately labelled as a has-been or a communist if you did not agree with these crooks.

This economic system looks in fact more and more like an easy smokescreen whose only aim in our countries was to make the rich always richer. I fear this world is too rotten to draw the lessons it should draw from this mess and to make a little more room for human beings in the future …

Four weeks in Thailand will be the more efficient way to escape all the bad vibes that are now invading the world ; I trust the thai boys to be able to make all my worries disappear, and I promise to act in Thailand like the guys on the Titanic … partying as if there were no to-morrow. A la thai, sort of.

A cure for pessimism . . . . . . . . . . .

From bliss to darkness

2008-09-14T20:54:00.004+02:00

Five weeks and I will land in Suwanaphum for another happy and carefree holiday … I should of course jump for joy but why is it that I am not as blissful as I should be ?

However hard I try to deny reality, I just cant'help thinking that every trip could be as well be the last one. Some personal concerns especially regarding work, and many more general problems ranging from rising flight costs, weakening euro and thai prices going up, lessening numbers of boys due to the economic crisis … the outlook for the sex tourist's future in Thailand is rather bleak now. The current political turmoil is of course not taken into account by this seasoned traveller, but the security concerns in Bangkok and Pattaya could be.

These grim thoughts are another reason why I will try to make the best out of from my one-month trip … like I have always done. I have planned only a short sidetrip to Isan with one or two nights in Udon and then one-night stays in three or four towns like Roi Et and Khorat … hoping for nice encounters or fulfilling my lifetime mission to visit everyone of the 76 thai provinces, I don't know…. But some words I got from boys saying there are now gay bars in Sakhon Nakhon and Buriram did not fall on deaf ears for sure !

For the remaining time, I should stick to Bangkok and Pattaya ; you also will have to tie me firmly if you do not want me to go to Hua Hin for one night, trying to meet one (or all) of the three isan cuties who were in Faq Thong massage place last June … Tam will probably join me for my last days in Pattaya : I hope that this will help him to overcome the hard times that the chao naa like him have to face now because of the unusual amount of rain this year …

This will be my twentieth trip to Thailand in thirteen years. And this is also my hundredth entry in this blog .. thank you to all for taking the time to read it and I really hope there will be another hundred and more in the future.

Thai Blog

2008-08-27T20:57:00.003+02:00

I have just come across a blog that I did not know. It is called Dekwang Saranrom which could be translated as "Hustler boy from the Saranrom area" ; I have still to establish whether it is written by one of the boys who come there or by someone else.

The blog is in thai language but has some english text too and nice male pics, some of them X-rated. For what I have read and understood for the time being, the blog has stories of the Saranrom hustlers, newpapers reports about male prostitution, AIDS warnings and more. For those who can read thai, it is rather well written - meaning : intelligible but with a good dictionary within reach.

The link has been added (on the right part of this page) as well as a link to PattayaPassion - a new and welcomed addition to the already numerous boards about gay Thailand.

Stiff neck

2008-08-17T11:43:00.003+02:00

Looking both backwards and forward may be dangerous and cause a stiff neck, they say. This is exactly where I am standing now, although my neck is quite OK, thank you.

Looking back, I still remember my last days in Bangkok – only five weeks since I came back, but it looks like ages ago … My last evening was spent with Tam who always seems very interested going to the gogo bars in Soi Twilight to look at the shows. Perhaps he is REALLY gay after all… And if it was not with him, I would probably never enter any bar in this touristy and expensive area … So here we went into Fresh Beach Boys, as Boys Bangkok was really too much packed with customers. Show so-so, some nice guys (I had forgotten there could be nice boys in Soi Twilight too).

We then went together to the Saranrom area where there were less boys than before : police seems to make some random checks making it harder for the boys. However as soon as the way is clear, they suddenly spring up from nowhere just to be picked out by the customers … so the whole matter is being there at the right time. Walking along the street, I could spot some guys which I could have taken without hesitation. Just in case, I also saved the phone number of Fiew, one of the most attractive ones.

What stroke me most was that on the following day, Tam went back alone to Boys Bangkok after returning from the airport where he had sent me … like letting steam off a last time before going back home. A feeling that I know all too well.

Bangkok life

2008-07-28T22:06:00.004+02:00

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.

And 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

Posing

2008-07-20T18:58:00.004+02:00

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 battlers cannot afford very often.

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 Nut 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 …

Dek haat

2008-07-07T21:43:00.008+02:00

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.

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 …)

....... The yellow chairs boys ... a nice bunch of isaan guys

Groundless fears

2008-07-06T21:24:00.008+02:00

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 …

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" 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 want 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.

. . . . Emollient atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jomtien monsoon

2008-07-04T21:47:00.005+02:00

Quiet afternoon in Jomtien ....

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

Days off in Hua Hin

2008-06-29T13:58:00.003+02:00

Coming from Phuket I staid one night in Surat Thani, which is a town no farang visits except as a harbour to Ko Samui. I love to spend one night or two in these thai towns because you can easily find the real thai way of life with no influence at all from the tourist industry. I have to say I could not find any chance to meet a willing boy ; even the banks of the Tapee River, how romantic they could be, seemed to be quite ordinary at night (including a lot of eye-candy)....

It was then the 5-hours travel on the train from Surat Thani to Hua Hin - not as boring as it could sound because there is always a lot to see and to feel in the thai trains.

I loved Hua Hin where I spent only two nights ... I had made my homework in Farangland and expected to find enough gay venues to stay busy for my stay. In fact the reviews that were written on the boards could be upadted and not in the right direction : I never could find the Candlelight bar which is said to be located in Soi Sarakham (one of the few nightlife-oriented sois in Hua Hin that I walked up and down many times in vain) ; and the recently opened Kaos 1 Bar and Massage Place has closed some weeks ago.

That leaves mainly the old Red Indian Bar and two massage places, and this was more than enough. Red Indian is a kind of beer bar with welcoming boys (6 or 7 on a week evening), but most of them were of the ladyboy type so I did not stay long. This bar is right in the middle of the Hua Hin Bazar (near the entrance to the beach) and you should find it easily.

I went then to the Guys Massage Place where they have a dozen of boys, all of the rather masculine type. Some will try to entice you for a quick massage, but take the time to look at everyone, including those who try to stave off boredom sitting on their bikes - some beutiful lads here. The massage rooms are better than before and the place is currently undergoing some renovations. You will find this place walking further than the entry to Sofitel Hotel, just before the streets forks for linking the main (Phetchkasem) Road.

The third place is within walking distance : coming from Guys, cross (well, ... try to ...) the Petchkasem Road and walk up Soi 80 in the direction of the railway ; just before the end of the soi, you will find on your left the Faq Thong Bar and Massage - don't be mislead by some poorly updated guides which still quote Faq Thong in its older location on Sasong Street. This is a small bar but well decorated and friendly, and they had 7 to 8 boys on the evening I went ... among them a trio of young Nong Khai rookies of which I chose one for my great satisfaction (do not expect a great massage though).

I guess I will come back more often to Hua Hin because of its special atmosphere ... For now, it will be three days in Bangkok and then the trip to a more common place that some still call Pattaya ...

It's a small world

2008-06-24T13:47:00.006+02:00

One more day in Bangkok and I am now in Phuket where I had not come since before the 2004 tsunami. The weather does not seem very appealing so I should stick to the three days I had scheduled. However I like the quiet and sound atmosphere here, and lodging in the quiet and spotless Rendez-Vous Hotel in the middle of the gay places is always a real treat. All but one gay venues are clustered together which gives the area a nice village atmosphere which you do not find elsewhere in Thailand including in Sunee Plaza.

James Dean & Friends, Kar-Door, Knud's Bar, Spartacus and Taengmor : five gay places next door one to another (and there are more both on the left and on the right)

A lot of reviews have been posted recently on the boards so I will not add mine because it would not bring anything new. Phuket is now very quiet and all the boys complain about the lack of customers. I was generally the only khaek in most bars I visited although there was a full staff of boys everywhere.

I could write the same as I could have written four yers ago : for me Tangmo is still the best for the boys, My Way very disappointing, and the best treasures always hide in the most out-of-the-way places. For example I liked the boys in the new Dempseys Bar which is a host bar next door to Connect House. And I quickly used to go to the Bi Ba Bo Restaurant which is in the inner alley which runs parallel to the Rat Uthit Road ; in this thai-owned place, they have a welcoming and caring staff, added to an unobstructed view over J&B Bar and Kai Boy Bar.

There I was sitting quietly chatting with one of the boys when a house painter working nearby approached me and asked me if I remembered him. Sorry, I could not, although his face did not seem completely unknown to the depths of my memory. It was Khit, the second boy I ever offed in Thailand, twelve years ago ... We met in the now-disappeared Khun Bar when he was more or less 18 y/o and spent then some days together, including a short trip to Pattaya ; I was a rookie then and did not know all the ropes so I still have mixed souvenirs of our relation which ended abruptly in a Phatphong Restaurant. He is now a wonderful 30 y/o thai man and he had since then been able to replace the broken tooth that I remembered ... Being an opportunist as he has always been, he proposed a massage which I declined ... not without an hesitation, leaving me with a strange feeling about this incredible coincidence.

Just hope it is just this .. a coincidence .. and not a bad omen that the end of my trips to Thaland could be near ...

Realizing

2008-06-20T12:41:00.005+02:00

I am back in Bangkok since yesterday and still not fully realizing that I am now in the place I have been dreaming of since so many months ... Probably a too quick transition from boredom to abundancy, from cold weather to heat, from sharp problems to a carefree existence ...

The plane to Bangkok was far from being full (of course I could not benefit from it, being in one of the few seats which had someone next to it ...) and this is I guess a bad sign for future .. unless Austrian people are too busy with their Euro 2008).

Arriving in my hotel I had the pleasure to see they have changed their TVs and painted the whole building new ... the prices have increased but it is still a bargain. However I did not off a boy from Saphan Kwai but went to a massage place in Silom so that I could relax more easily. After a short walk, a boy in Eve House took my attention and up we went ; average massage but a very nice face face and body. There are not a lot of boys there but I always found at least one who took my fancy.

Back in Saphan Kwai i entered my old favorite Street Boy Bar which had two students with nice faces, will take one of them for sure. In Be high only one boy looking at TV with the owner, we chatted together and he explained that because of rain, not a lot of boys had turned up and two of them were already out with customers.

To-day I made a short day trip to visit Chachoengsao which is a quiet town not far from the Bangkok -Pattaya road. No farangs to be seen but a lot of eye-candy along the streets especially as this town has a lot of universities (sorry, no picture). I was somewhat surprised that as soon as I walked along the river, I saw a young boy and then a woman coming to me and begging (in thai) for money for a meal ... Not an usual sight in Thailand, I hope this was only a casual encounter. Wat Sothon is huge but almost deserted ; thai people generally come in crowds every week-end. And the walk along the river or the Somdet Nakharin Park are probably the place to be at dusk if you want a boy.

To-morrow I will fly to Phuket and then slowly make my way back to Bangkok on the thai busses and trains. Hope it will not rain too much down there ...

Wat Sothon in Chachoengsao . . . . . . . .

Homework

2008-05-25T22:16:00.005+02:00

I am now slowly emerging of a very difficult period when I have had a lot of work and very little time to think of what is really important in life : thai boys. This dreadful time is almost over and I can enjoy again the prospect of having more freedom soon.

In fact what is now bringing me back to life is my next trip to Thailand … I am already booked for June 19th and it is the same bliss as every time … nothing in life is more important than this next stay. The outlook for the future is not grim anymore, and there will always be oil to feed the planes that bring us to Thailand – since there will be enough kerosene on June the 18 th at 5.15 pm ....

I have already done my homework for this trip : another flight is already booked for Phuket where I have not set a foot since the tsunami. I should stay there only a couple of days, as I know that this place can be quite boring during the day when the weather is bad. I will then slowly make my way back to Bangkok with a short stay in Hua Hin where I never had the chance to be on my own - the listings recently provided on the Sawatdee Gay Board being duly saved.

I should then stay three days in Bangkok : because of the Euro 2008, I surmise that a lot of boys will go to Sanam Luang to repay their gambling debts, and this could provide some interesting company . . .

And then it will be the usual stay in Pattaya where a lot of new places are awaiting me – including the bars which have been closed by the police and should reopen just before I arrive.

Call me a sex tourist if you want ! But I have also planned a day trip to Chachoengsao town (near Bangkok) where there are more wats than boy bars .. and I will probably take a look at the Phra Sri Nakharin park too !

Winter

2008-04-16T22:14:00.002+02:00

I am now more stuck than ever in Farangland, with a lot of work on the hands, an everlasting winter, and an awful atmosphere like in most european countries ; everyone including me feels that future seems gloomier than ever for most people - except the rich of course.

I read the forums where spoilt expats and tourists rant over the Songkran festival and tell us how good they feel locked up at home looking at TV and DVDs ... I just hope they still realise they are living in paradise !

As for Songkran, ... I think I would LOVE it !

What's on this week ?

2008-03-23T15:49:00.003+01:00

I was quietly looking at the Thai TV trying to forget the snowy landscape I have now around my place. It was some program about new thai movies and my eyes were suddenly caught by some male cuties ... a short enquiry on my favourite website about thai pictures and I understood that a new teenager film has just come out on the thai screens.

It is called "Pidtermyai Huajai Wawoon" ("Hormones" is the English title); they describe it as "A heart-warming movie for all that brings the joy of summer when the school holiday has come. The film focuses to 4 stories from 4 highschool boys and girls who come across different love situations during their school break. For them, this summer is a special time to learn love."

Nothing gay, but an unpretentious story picturing another set of nice thai boys.

Learning thai

2008-03-09T13:34:00.013+01:00

I came in Thailand for the first time in June 1996, and never could have imagined to visit the country without at least speaking the most basic language.

At that time, I was still not connected to the net and anyway the resources were still very scarce. And being in France was a restriction for an easy access to learning material : I had forgotten most of my English due to lack of practising, and learning thai from French was the only option. So I first worked the Assimil method, which is curiously named "introduction to thai language" whereas it is called "English (or whatever) without trouble" for most other languages. This handbook is based on reading romanized thai and listening at everyday conversations. Not the best for really learning a language but it was a good introduction to the basic words and expressions, and probably for a full awareness to the importance of tunes.

My first stay made me quickly understand that it would not be enough, and I immediately found out that learning how to write was an absolute necessity not only to get around in Thailand, but mostly to have a thorough knowledge of the language. I bought two books in France ("Méthode de thai" volumes 1 and 2 by a teacher in the French Institute for Oriental Languages) which also came along with audio tapes. I also found a little treasure – also in French - promising you to be able to read and write thai within two weeks ("Grapho-Thaï 14", DK Editions, out of print since many years).

Using these books was the most difficult part of the process. Not that they were bad of course (although a little bit too academic), but the time had come when I had to overcome the difficulties which could not be ignored any more : the alphabet with these off-putting letters which are pronounced one way if standing before the vowel and another way if standing after, these vowels which are written before, or above, or beneath, or "around" the consonant, the long phrases without any space between the words, and of course the tone rules. Lack of logic is a big turn-off for Cartesian French people, and this was the time when I had to struggle hard for not dropping out. In the same time thai television had appeared on the dish, which helped to keep the ear familiar with thai intonations, although it was – and still is – very hard to understand everything.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good student !

After a lot of writing, trying to understand and memorizing, it seemed one day that everything had suddenly become clear : I could get the right tone without thinking of it, isolate the words in the phrases, understand what I was reading, and write the Assimil exercises in thai. However I was still unable to build elaborate phrases. This is when I turned to what I would call an essential step to learning thai : the well-known "The fundamentals of the thai language" which I bought in Asia Books in Bangkok (also out of print now). This one was in English, which helped me to improve my English too, but most important of all was the fact that it provided me with many new words, expressions and phrases.

In the same time as working with this book, I used the "Bangkok Post" Tuesday lessons which were very useful for new expressions and words linked to current events ; it is a pity that they seem to have stopped it last November at least on the web. I read every lesson, writing down every unknown word and looking for sample phrases on the net (the Lexitron dictionary is a fantastic resource for this). I also tried to study from thai textbooks I found in Thailand (Pathom 1 and so on like thai children ...), and of course from all the websites that you can find now, the better being probably the learningthai.com website and all its related resources.

Learning more words and spoken expressions is now my main target, along with trying not to forget too much of what I have already learnt : like every language, practising is essential and staying only one month a year in Thailand is definitely far from enough….

Farewell

2008-03-08T11:09:00.001+01:00

I just got the news of Wowpow’s passing away … a very sad news indeed as he was one of the outstanding posters on the boards, and his posts were always informative and positive contributions. Did you notice he is (I am still unable to write
"was") one of the few who has always been posting with the same handle along the years and on all the boards ?

I had met him some years ago and treated him to a drink in Panorama, as I wanted to make amends for some minor misunderstanding we had on the boards. He was a delightful guest and I will never forget the hour we spent together. He was I think the only member of the webboards community I had the luck to have met personnally, which makes me all the more saddened by this unexpected loss.

Like being there

2008-02-17T19:24:00.009+01:00

No post for about one month … not that I do not think about Thailand but what I can only do is think of it. Is it so boring to wait for the next trip ? Finally not too much : almost every bit of my free time is devoted to Thailand, and I do not mean only surfing the web.

I recently bought a new MP 3 reader and my choice was dictated only by the way I will use it in Thailand : listening to thai music during the flight, and listening to thai radio when sitting at the beach or at the swimming pool. I am now downloading some fantastic thai radio streams that will provide me all the music I want. And these are as many minutes when my mind is in Thailand and not here.

I am also doing my homework in order not to waste any second during my next trip. Reading the new French edition of the Lonely Planet guides (Thailand and Laos have just been updated …) helps a lot, looking after and improving my thai is sometimes demanding after a long day at work but this is more time I virtually spend in Thailand. And beginning to learn speaking and writing lao (more difficult than I thought because more different to thai than I expected) gives me another incentive to be more diligent.

I am not sure to go back in June because of work but in my mind I will go there on June the 17 th. And I will stick to this deadline as long as I can.

Financial report

2008-01-20T20:50:00.001+01:00

It has been two months since I came back from Thailand, and I am now living the usual depressing gloomy life of someone who is waiting to go back. When ? I still do not know but my brain is programmed to go in June.

When in Thailand, I try to log every expense I make in order to better plan for the next time and also to compare them on a long period. I thought I could open my books for everyone in case this helps, especially those who like me are not rich and cannot afford throwing their hard-earned money down the drain.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Sparkling neon signs and flowing money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I have split my expenses into seven main items and then divided each subtotal by the amount of nights I spent in Thailand (which roughly equals the number of full days, as I generally arrive in the afternoon and leave in the evening .The results are the following :

- Accomodation (including tips) : 881 THB – up from 713 THB on my previous holiday ; this would had been even lower if I had not paid two extra nights for my own convenience. For this price I always stay in full-comfort hotels with TV – pool – fridge – air-con and restaurant, including four nights in the Chiang Mai Novotel.
- Meals (including casual drinks and snacks) : 884 THB – down from a previous 967 THB – fewer expensive restaurants with Tam I guess …
- Transport : 517 THB down from 827 THB in 2006 when we rent a car for many days, and of course I had to pay for Tam’s tickets.
- Bars, discos, massage (drinks and fees ; « tip for boy » not included) : 1 601 THB which seems to be very high but some nights out with Tam and his friends could explain this.
- Tips and gifts for boys – including Tam : 2 715 THB / night, down from 3 269 THB in 2006 : spent fewer days with Tam, tried not to off the same boy for many days (but could not achieve it because of the lao cutie) – and was too generous by Pattaya standards. I did not take a boy every night.
- Others (laundry – books – newspapers – clothes – internet – health and so on) : 760 THB. I generally buy all my new clothes in Thailand.

Grand amount – flight not included : 7 357 THB a day … way over what I can afford but at least I know that more than half of it are paid to the bars and the boys. And it is markedly cheaper than when Tam was staying with me during my whole holiday - we have been staying together for only five days in 2007.

I guess I will REALLY fly back next June (another problem being what my boss will think about it) …

Happy New Year ...

2008-01-01T10:52:00.000+01:00

Feast

2007-12-29T18:17:00.000+01:00

I am upset everytime I come in Pattaya … I hardly have got out of the bus and it seems that the whole atmosphere is loaded with beauty and sensuality … Bangkok has its fair share of nice boys in the streets but you don’t always get the feeling that you could actually sleep with them … too much civilised, too much normalised …

But all over the streets in Pattaya, wherever you look, you will see nice lads … be it riding a motorbike, working on a building site, waiting the customer in front of their shop or being a bell boy or the pool attendant in your (not gay) hotel. Why ? Probably because the booming economy in Pattaya lures many young men from all over the country – and I do not mean only for working in the sex industry. And that makes you getting an eyeful of cute boys when you walk along the sois, any time in the day and in the year .

The most beautiful face I saw during my last trip was from a motorbike getting me to Jomtien … it was 5 pm in the evening, the boy was packed in the back of a truck among other fellow workers, probably coming from some building area where they had been working hard the whole day . It lasted for fifteen seconds, and then our ways branched off …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Everydaylife along Pattaya streets . . . . . . . . . . .

Another one was among a bunch of roadworks workers who were mending the sewage pipes on the road leading to Jomtien … What stroke me at first was that despite the deafening noise and the stench, the guys were laughing at what they were doing – a perfect illustration of what sanuk means for the thai. I quickly noticed that some of them were real cuties under their dirty clothes, especially the one who was leaning against the truck. No saucy adventure to relate, but the simple memory of one of this short moments that make living in Pattaya, among other things, a permanent feast for the eyes …

Best wishes

2007-12-25T09:55:00.000+01:00

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Merry Christmas to everyone ...