Sex tourist ?

Khorat and Khon Kaen are not really places you would visit for their temples and their tourist attractions. And I did not visit these strange places for these reasons. In fact I wanted to meet two boys that I had known on Camfrog ; as it should not be for discussing philosophy, you would be right labelling me as a sex tourist.

I had visited Khorat some times before, and as the former Boys Bar is now closed since some years already, the main attraction was this 19 y/o boy called Art. He had been rather blunt in our conversations - although we never had anything lewd on line. He had called me several times to be sure I would visit him and finally he came to my hotel. Like always with thai boys, more sexy than I could have imagined from the poor views we get on Camfrog. In this case you never know what are the real intentions of the guy who is in front of you, so after some chit chat, I asked him : “do you want to have a meal ?” “Do you want to go somewhere ?” “No” was the answer. Only when I asked him “do you want to play with me”, he told me “yes” immediately . No more words were needed, we did what we had to do with this country boy kissing and hugging as if it was his last day. I gave him 1500 THB “to help for your studies”, he called a friend to take him back home and I slept alone for the night.

My hotel (Korat Hotel) was a typical thai hotel with excellent food, karaoke, cleanliness and good location. It was important to be near the Ya Mo monument as it is the place where boys are used to selling their services, and there were some at night when I went there for a last stroll (but no stunner in sight).

In Khon Kaen it was about the same story except for the fact that it lasted longer, and we had been much tamer in our almost daily chats. Nek is a student who has just finished his time at the University, and he was rather a shy and cautious guy. However after some words, I quickly discovered he too was not shy at all when it came to more intimate knowledge. Did he want to find a new experience and escape everyday life, did he hope some financial reward, I will never know but these non professional guys have always been much more willing and affectionate than their counterparts in the bars. We spent two nights together, the two nights I had booked in Khon Kaen. As we never had spoken about our sexual preferences, it took a little time to adjust as they did not really match, but kissing and stroking are universal ways or spending a good time.

Chilling out on Ubonrat dam

During the day we went with two of his friends (lesbian girls) to the Ubonrat area : a huge artificial lake which has some resorts where thai families love to come for chilling out. We had a long meal in one of the sheds which are built above the water in the middle of low mountains, and then we had a long walk along the dam. Nice atmosphere although the three had much more in common that I could have with the boy. I also gave him some help for "helping find a new job” before leaving ; I don't think I will see him again.

My hotel was a new one called The Boss Grand Tower, which is the only one close enough to the entertainment with affordable prices : 700 THB a night through Agoda - probably a promotion rate. However I was happy to leave Khon Kaen which is during the day a rather dull city ; it is another matter at night when the students gather in their pubs, U-Bar being the most popular now and deservedly so from what I could see.

Isan escapade (2)

On the third day, I went to Roi Et which is known for its lake in the middle of the town and also 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 should have been swift enough to tell “only one, but I would like so much pay for two …”.

Quiet afternoon in Roi Et . . .

Roi Et town was not quite 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 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 ...

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 Isaan but not for the boys - although I could have done much better with a little bit more luck, daring and experience.

Khorat

Cutie posing in front of Suranari Monument

One of the reasons why I love Thailand is that besides the Big Four (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai), there are around ten towns where you can find gay venues with boys available. Khorat is one of them, besides being known as the gate to Northeast. And we all know what Isaan means for those who like cute, willing and dark-skinned young men.

I had not gone there since so long that Khorat was on my schedule this time. I went for only one night and I was not disappointed. Sure the bar I went was nothing to write home about but the atmosphere, the faces in the streets, and the three hours trip in itself was a real enjoyment.

The change of scene begins at Morchit : if the first floor (buses to the North, the East and Pattaya) is quite farang-friendly, the second floor (in fact the third one if you use the lift or the stairs) where you will find the departures to every nook and cranny in Isaan is an all-thai place with hardly one word not written in thai. And of course there is always the cute face of some young man entering your field of view. There is a bus to Khorat / Nakhon Ratchasima every 20 minutes or so, so you will not to wait for a long time. If the first part of the trip in the unending suburbs from Bangkok to Saraburi is quite boring, you will then enter the mountains with some nice views along a lake and in the ricefields.

I arrived in Khorat at about 2 pm, put up at the Sripattana Hotel (615 THB breakfeast included with swimming pool, which is probably one of the best deals in the whole Thailand) and then walked along the streets. I went to The Mall where everything is still really cheap and the boys come in droves after the end of the school ..... free eye candy for everyone.

The only bar I went to was the Buddy Boy which is an old host bar near the Ningnong crossroad - rather difficult to find, walking on Suranaree towards the railway station, shortly after an hospital on your right (Khorat Memorial Hospital) and facing the Osaka karaoke building, there is a small dark soi forking on the right - walk about 200 meters and you should see on your right a white sign mostly in thai at the entry of a 100 meter long alley between houses, walk along this alley and there you are. Buddy is a host bar and they had only two boys, one of them a soldier from Ubon ; not really my style but they were very nice to chat with : they told me two other guys use to come but they did not come to-day (it was on a Wednesday night), and also that they had quite often farang customers, mostly local expats. 100 THB/drink, off fee 300 THB.

I then used a tuk tuk and went walking along Ratchadamnoen Road and found street hustlers, some with nice faces but I really did not feel secure even after chatting with them (thai only). You should find them at about 11 o'clock near the outdoor games for children (more or less facing the Cathay Hotel).

There are other gay places in Khorat but I did not visit because I was unsure about them and especially their location (I had to look around the Buddy Boys during daytime to avoid wasting too much time finding it at night). A reader on Ting Tong webboard went to a new-opened karaoke next door to Sima Thani Hotel called "Handsome Boys", a poster on the Thai Male Massage Board had heard rumours about a newly-opened bar near the "Hua Rotfay" market, and the massage place called "Tantawan" seems to be still operating in the Phailin Square area (opposite Sima Thai Hotel).

Guess I have to go back ...