Impermanence

Soi Twilight to be closed, huge cranes everywhere in Greater Bangkok, new BTS lines opening soon ... Bangkok is constantly changing, for the best or for the worst. Difficult to believe that according to some scientists, the town will be flooded in thirty years or so : life goes on, BTS trains are jam-packed during the whole day, and cuties abound everywhere. 

In my home far away from some, namely the Saphan Kwai area, street vendors who until now had run their business as usual, seem to slowly disappear from the pavement, probably chased away by the new policy. More and more shops have opened to replace them, as well as an open air food ground nearby. Good or bad ? Obviously good as long as the pathway upgrading works go on, but another blow to the traditional Bangkok atmosphere.

Even in my hotel, a full renovation has begun, leaving me taken aback when I discovered it when coming back from to the local internet shop. Fortunately it seems that I won't have to find a new accommodation, even if it means a small price hike which would be justified. I have fallen in love with the place almost twenty years ago and would not have liked to change : the place was more and more showing its age, but still remains one of the best-kept secrets in Bangkok.

Although staying in Saphan Kwai, I did not visit the local bars a lot. I had a bad experience in Street Boy where they served me a drink I had not ordered, and older bars mostly did not try to drag me inside ... what a change from Soi Twilight ! However I found some nice faces when glancing at the boys sitting outside D-Door et Heaven ; as both are karaokes, I am always reluctant to enter when I am alone and not touted inside.

I went most evenings to Silom area, but did not visit the usual gogo-bars because of their unappealing shows and their outrageous prices. So I often parked myself in Maxxis which is a great observation point to look a the hustle and bustle in the soi .. should soi Twilight close, I will miss such a place as much as I already miss Dicks'Café.

Boy in the dark

Soi 4 offers the same kind of activity but with a different atmosphere : more fun, more people, but without this erotic feeling that can be felt in Twilight. I did not like too much Balcony, especially when the waiter brought me a chicken with cashew nuts when I had ordered chicken with lemon sauce.. and he had the nerve to change the bill without a word after having brought the wrong meal ... I did not realise immediately the mistake, so could not refuse to pay the extra 40 THB but of course did not left any tip and went out with a long face.

Finally I went to the Grand  Palace area to check the boys on offer : they are really not a lot any more and gather along Klong Lot, in the area where City Walk bar is located. Some nice faces again that I did not sample as I had just fallen down just after exiting the taxi and looked more like a defeated thai boxer than a decent potential customer.

This put an unexpected end to my thai adventures; I just hope next trip will be better !

Surprises and disappointments

Bangkok is always my home port when I stay in Thailand, thanks especially to my hotel which accepts to keep my (excessive) luggage when I tour the provinces. But the Big Mango is also an attraction in itself where I like to relax and visit. Staying here in January, something I could not afford to do when I still was in the salt mine, also makes the city much more enjoyable.

Until now, I could only stay for short two-days periods. I used one of my evenings to visit the Hotel Malaysia lobby, where I have so many memories from my first trips to Thailand. Nothing has much changed – including the prices I am said - and the atmosphere is still the same as before : sleaze that you never see but that exudes from everywhere and everyone. A welcome addition to the area are the massage shops on the soi who seem to house some nice and willing cuties, making a further visit mandatory.

The good old days in Saranrom area

I also paid a visit to the Saranrom area, which came as a big disappointment : not more than about ten boys, all of them standing along Atsadang Road as if they were fearing police controls. This was on a Monday evening, I hope that the good old days of the Saranrom street hustlers have not gone.

Besides its overpriced gogo bars, Soi Twilight has got some beer bars that I had never taken the time to explore. The most interesting for me is the 1069 Bar just before reaching Classic Boys, also known for its vietnamese boys. And God they are cute ! I had a bad experience before with one of them that I had taken to a neighbouring short-time hotel. As always, I had not negotiated a price before, and was surprised to be strongly demanded 2500 THB when I had thought that a little more than 1500 THB would have been enough. The guy was cute but resolute, so I paid. I understand that the rules are now like these : if the boy is « offable », 500 THB for the bar, 500 THB for the so-called massage room and at least 1500 THB for the boy. This is what I was quoted by two of the guys working there, one of them with a « bad boy » look that I could not resist. I have still to figure whether some would accept to spend the night at my hotel.

After a short stay on my own in Siem Reap (more to come about it), I am now waiting for my boyfriend and a trip in the southern islands. No sex tourism this time (muslim area), but lazying on desert beaches and discovering the local cultures are on the agenda.

Rediscovery

Four days in Bangkok : this is probably the longest stay I have made in Bangkok since at least twelve years. In order to rediscover the town for a longer time, I even gave up going to Hua Hin for one night, partly because I thought it was a long and dangerous ride for so little time. Sorry for Chico Bar where I guess the boys are as welcoming as before, sorry for the other new bars,  I will have to wait the not so far blessed time when I should have some more time on my hands.

Although I like to visit the bars in Bangok and elsewhere, and hope that they will last for a long time, I have to confess I neglected them a little. Except for a short visit to the neighbouring Be High and to Classic Boys, I found once again my entertainment with boys I had known from Camfrog.  The first one was the boy I had met last June in Mahasarakham, as he is now working in Bangkok. We met at his working place in a distant suburb in Latphrao area, and I guess he was surprised to see I had not broken my promise to meet him again. We quickly came back to Saphan Kwai for a meal in my usual restaurant and then headed for a karaoke, as I knew he was a very good singer – when he sings Phai Phongsathon songs, it's like listening to the real singer. Unfortunately he wanted a karaoke with individual boxes and this is not the format they have in the Saphan Kwai bars … so back to my room where his shyness completely disappeared. He still has the body of a 16 year old boy (despite being 22) and I could cuddle this nice isan boys for the whole night and once again on the next afternoon : he seemed much more interested staying in the room than visiting the Grand Palace though he had never visited it before.

The other boy which I had dated was this young guy from Samut Prakarn that I had called Mr. Goody Goody in a former post. He could come alone to Saphan Kwai, but I still had to wait for him at the BTS station. The night was another touching and fondling  festival and more ; I sent him back to Samut Prakan on the following day, but I realise now he likely had hoped to stay with me for a longer time. Sorry boy, I am rather of the butterfly variety …

The rest of my days was used to "working" on the net (for example updating this blog !), with some heavy rainfalls preventing me from going outside as much as I had wanted. I also went to the Chatujak area, especially in the neigbouring park where many people come to rest after the strenuous visit to the market : some eye-candy to be seen and a pleasant and fresh area right in the middle of the awful traffic of people visiting the market.

Lazy times in Chatuchak Park

When being on my own at night, I used to have a meal in Dicks Café ; dining alone in Rakhang Thong or another fine restaurant would have been  completely out of place. One night, a short stroll brought me to the new Super A where this 22 y/o boy from Udon catched my eyes with his lean body and shy face : OK for a massage on the premises where they still have the rooms that were used when the place was a massage-only shop. What a pity they have recycled the former Super A mamasan into the official janitor of the rooms, with a mandatory 100 THB tip for getting a large amount of condoms. The boy was good but did not want to kiss.

Instead of going back to my hotel, I wanted to have another look at the Grand Palace area where I chose once again to walk rather than touring the place with a taxi. Definitely more boys than the last time I went, with some nice ones especially on the east side along Khlong Lot. Just across the canal, there is a long standing cafe/bar, open till late, which nobody ever tells about despite having quite a good patronage. Although not being 100 % gay, this City Walk Pub and Karaoke could be a very convenient basis for exploring the area.

I like being alone in Bangkok, there is always something to do, to see and to visit. End of freedom for the next 10 days in Pattaya where the boy-friend is awaiting me, but I know I will be able to visit many bars alone – result of the gentleman's agreements we had some years ago.

Longer stays

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, one week in the South and in the Northeast was enough, 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. 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.

Bangkok hunting

Bangkok is the place where I like to drop my suitcases between two trips in Pattaya or in the provinces ; this is why I usually spend at least seven or eight nights there in total 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. During 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 Kwai. 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 Kwai 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.thaimassageboy.com/homepage/ 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.

rent-boy near Saranrom Park

And to confirm the general dwindling of the number of boys selling themselves – a rather good news for Thailand if not for us -, I had another trip to the Saranrom area and found very few rent-boys although I went at the suitable time (about 10 / 11 pm). The area east of Wat Phra Kaew was almost deserted problably due to the closing of the road running along the Defence Ministry, 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 …

Good boy

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 country boy 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 rent-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 for so long without mobile phones ?) 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.

Bangkok extras (2)

Saphan Kwai

I already already wrote how much I was impressed by the selection of the boys there ; I dropped in on most bars with a preference for Be High (the only gogo bar in Saphan Kwai) where the boys are nice and friendly. Nothing new about the venues except some not too good news :
- Collection Boys was the name of a bar next door to Street Boys, but although some activity was to be seen inside during daytime, it did not open during the period I was there
- Eagle Pub, which is located on Pradiphat Road near Karmanee Hotel still has some good-looking boys and a friendly mamasan, but they told me they will turn to a karaoke at the beginning of the year ; this will leave only Charmming as a host bar in the area, all others are more or less karaoke (fortunately not all customers come there for singing and some evenings are very quiet)
- Hippodrome was a small karaoke place on Soi 12 and seems to have closed.
- Do not go to First Karaoke, which could be mistaken as a boy karaoke on the little soi leading to the gay 39 Sauna (near the BTS station) : this place is in fact a dump with overpriced drinks and absolute no boy to be seen.

Since last year, Saphan Kwai has also grown as a great eating place, with food stalls lining up along Pradiphat Road, all busy with customers, which is a sure sign of tasty food (and how convenient when you come back hungry from your short-time hotel and the coffee lodge of your hotel is closed ... ). There is also a great open-air restaurant in front of Pradiphat Hotel (on the northern side of the street) which is called Rakhang Thong (golden bell) to which I like to treat the boys I am with. Many farangs to be seen there, probably coming from the neighbouring Mido and Elisabeth Hotels.



Saranrom

I went there once again on my last night in Thailand. This time I did not want to depend on the willingness of the taxi drivers - who often drive past the boys too quickly, so you do not have the time to see them. So I went on foot along Sanamchai Road to the Saranrom park, then back around the whole main area rectangle, and then near Tha Chang along the Wat Phra Kaew compound.

I was some times among the boys, sometimes on the other side of the street ; the experience was a little bit intimidating, as most boys will hail you and ask you to go with them. I nearly accepted to go with a sturdy 20 y/o lad who accepted to spend the whole night with me but I changed my mind at the last minute, as he did not look trustworthy enough. Others wanted to go short time, some begged for money to eat.

Not a lot of people walk around the area at night but at least on the Sanamchai Road, there are some pedestrians, street hawkers or people waiting for the bus, making you feel almost safe. I also found that speaking thai was almost mandatory when walking, so that the boys assume that you know the ropes and you are not a rookie making an easy prey for some bad trick.

So much for my 2007 Bangkok observations ...

Wall-to-wall sunshine

This is how our late friend David described the weather in Pattaya like it is to-day... and this expression made me drool over it more than once. To-day I am there and I can live it to its best.

Before coming in Pattaya I had another trip to Saranrom, and as it was on Friday night, I expected to see plenty of new faces. In fact I saw mainly a heavy police presence on my first trip at about 22 am ; the daxi driver explained me that it was often like this on the first week-end of each month ; potential customers having just gotten their monthly wages would rush in droves to see the boys, the boys would rush to service the customers and police would be ready to welcome everyone ...

I went back at about noon and the area was much more quiet except for the numerous cars rounding the place and picking up the boys in numbers ... one trip too much and the boy you had noticed was already gone. So I went back to the hotel alone - which was my first intention anyway, only to fantasize about the floor boy who takes his service at 1 am and that I would like to know better.

One warning about the Saranrom boys : on Friday I saw too many VERY underage boys especially on the west side of Wat Phra Kaew and I guess I can believe my taxi driver whan he warned me that some were used as live baits ...

Two days already in Pattaya and I staid the whole time with my new lao friend - I told him that I do not want to fall in love again and he accepts it but he makes abolutely nothing to help me in my courageous decision ...

Dek wang

I had gone there many years ago but was not impressed ... then there were some threads on the thai and farang messageboards and even some first-hand reports ... and finally I took the chance to go there myself. If it would be exagerated to say my life has changed, at least it is as if I had discovered a further reason to go to Thailand ... the street hustlers in the Saranrom area  in Bangkok.

I went there on Tuesday night at about 22.30 pm ; going out of the infamous Super A in Silom (where I had an almost platonic talk - only some dirty touching but no kiss and nothing else - with a shy guy from Udon Thani), I was excited enough to hire a taxi who understood very quickly what I was looking for ... and there we went.

From the Defence Ministry to Saranrom park, they were 30 or 40 rent-boys standing alone or in small groups. And most important, as Gaybutton wrote once, all "good-looking, VERY good-looking" ... and no one of the lady-boy kind that clutters the bars and streets in Pattaya.

After two or three trips around the magical rectangle, I chose a short-haired boy who happened to be able to come with me to my hotel (the boys there generally prefer short-time meetings), so we had time to chat along the way and in the room. He is still a student (Mor Sam if you want to know but I guess he has repeated one or two years), and goes very often to sell himself as his parents do not support him any more. So you will understand that the age limit there, if higher than in Sunee Plaza, seems to be lower than elsewhere... and this does not seem to be a problem to the thai customers (when they relate their experiences on the boards, they quite unshamefully write that their boy was a 17 years old or less).

This guy being so exciting with his manly attitude (although being gay, so he told me), I had a good time with him ; sorry he did not want me to take a picture so you will not see him (above picture is of another boy on the net).

I went back yesterday (Thursday) ; less boys, as I went earlier but still a lot of good-looking lads ; among them a wonderful student-looking guy with the typical hair cut (very short behind the head and longer above). When I asked him the price, he answered : "muan doem ngai !" ("same before" in thainglish)... him he was again, I had not recognized him with the new haircut he had to do because he had entered the school for the second term. But I had identified this guy once again as being exactly my type.

He could do only short-time because he had to go to school this morning ... and so I could discover the (in)famous short-time hotels I had read about in more than a few messages on the thai boards. He brought me to the Rose Inn on the Thonburi side, which has dozens of short-time rooms with car parking in front of each room and a curtain hiding them - the thai call them rongraem maan root (hotel with sliding curtains) - 290 THB for three hours. The atmosphere was so sleazy and he was so exciting that I had another good time with him.

This should not prevent the readers to be aware of the risks of messing with these guys ... some are probably bad boys and you have to remember you have no protection at all ... some are underage and this is illegal in this country (like so many other things you involve into both here and in your own country) ... and it is still better to speak enough thai to be understood by the taxi driver first and then by the boy, as any misunderstanding could turn into something very nasty ...

For further information :
- dek wang means the boys of the wang (Saranrom) area
- the going rate for short time is 500 THB, 1500 THB for the whole night

Saranrom update

Sure I am not in Thailand now (70 days and counting ...) and who I am to write about a place where I have not set a foot since so long .... Nevertheless there has been recently a lot of chatting on the boards about the Saranrom area in Bangkok, and I thought it could be of interest to some, at least for bringing a former entry on this blog up to date.

It seems this area has been for a while the place of choice for gay thais who look after some young male company. The Thai Rat daily published a long report in his July 26th edition ; the title was : "the yellow signboard boy" and it was the story of a 27 y/o rent-boy named Yao who provides services for gay people. So you can say that everyone in Thailand knows what is going on in the area - with all the overstatements that you may expect from a Thai Rat newshound ...

So the article was strongly questioned on many points by some regulars of the place. For example the journalist wrote that the going rate of the boy was 1500 THB, and he would not cut his price ... One poster assured that not a lot of rent-boys ask for more than 500 THB, but some customers use to give more. Especially as some customers are policemen or politicians who prefer to meet boys here than in the gay places : they feel that their privacy is more guaranteed with the street boys than in a gay bar.

Is the Saranrom area as interesting as before ? It seems that since the political demonstrations in Sanam Luang, there are less boys than before because police and army have set many barriers all over the area for checking motocycles and taxis. In fact these control posts are not a problem for the boys, who only fear the patrols who have been arresting them since a long time. But the new police checks are an ennoyance for the customers, who as a result (and also because of the bad economic situation) come in smaller numbers. Less customers, less boys ...

Nothing is lost ... another poster went in the area last Sunday, and he found less boys than before but there are still enough to please anyone. The problem is that he did not dare to chat with some boys because the police presence was a little bit intimidating ; now some boys are waiting in other places in the neighbourhood such as around the Wat Pho compound or south of the park.

Everyone strongly advises againts walking alone and wearing anything that could make the boy think you are a rich person. Chartering a taxi and visiting the whole area seems to be the best and safest way to find new friends ...

Bangkok guns

Saranrom has been for a long time a well-known place where you can find street rent-boys in Bangkok. The boys mainly ply their trade along Sanamchai Road, from the Ministry of Defence to the Saranrom Park, on the side facing the Wat Phra Kaew coumpounds. I dropped by there once or twice many years ago but never took a boy, mainly because I did not feel really secure with this place, and also because no one attracted my interest.

The place was brought out again to everyone's knowledge by a recent thread on the Gaythailand website ("Oodles of boys !") with Gaybutton writing enticing things such as : "If you go to Saranrom Park at night you're going to find available boys virtually everywhere !!" or "Many of these boys are very good looking. VERY good looking!".

Guns at Defence Minister - sorry prefer guns that stay there at night ...

To complete this interesting information (or shall I rather say "confirmation"), I read a very long thread which is currently going on on the TM messageboard ; the main poster writes about the most intimate details of his encounters with Saranrom rent-boys, explaining things that we farang would not dare to expose on a public website ... for example you will know that he took Khim, a 18 y/o boy who is a student in a technical school in the Phetkasem area ... This boy only agrees to top but he does it extremely well (soot yot ...), his sperm sprouted like tap water and he came twice ...

Besides this, the poster gives advice that should be of interest for all of us who would wish to go there.
At first he says that there are three very different periods in the evening : from 8 pm to 9.30 pm, the boys are mostly students and there are not a lot, but they are cute and it is the most secure time to go. There is some police presence after this time and then from 10.30 pm to 1 am, the regulars come in numbers (especially on Fridays and Sundays) including some rough ones ; there are a lot of car-driving cruisers too and you find all kinds of boys. After 1.30 am, fewer people and lower prices.

Another advice is to choose boys who are alone rather than those who stay in a group.

Third advice is avoiding gold and mobile phones - but this is a common precaution everytime you go with hustlers, especially in Thailand.

In the fourth place, and most important : be fully aware that you are mostly dealing with boys who have few education, so don't be selfish and inconsiderate, and never go into an argument about the price (which should be 500/700 THB).

As the posts go by, there are lots of other information and experiences (better to cruise in a car - or taxi, better to go in a nearby hotel such as Rose Inn (?),... ) and you will even know that the boys do not like to stay on the south part (Wat Pho, Saranrom) because the Phraratchawang policemen are harsher than their Samranrat counterparts who rule the Defence Ministry area...

All in all with the information provided by the Gaythailand website and all what is written on the TG Messageboard, I am sure I'll give Saranrom rent-boys a new try next time I am in Bangkok