Unlikely short trip to Salaya and some other places

An enjoyable meal with Christian PFC put a nice end to my first three days in Thailand. On the next morning I was in Bang Sue, facing the huge future railway station, and waiting for the ordinary train bound to Ratchaburi, Petchaburi and Hua Hin. Not that I really like traveling by train which in Thailand are always slow, late and not convenient at all but this had to be better than one of these small minivans and their reckless drivers.

Ratchaburi was my destination, not at all for a date as one could imagine but only to collect another province in my lifetime quest to spend one night in each one of the thai provinces. The train was full, many thais going to their place or to the beaches for their Sunday ; during the first part of this two-hours journey I could not sit except on the floor, slight annoyance that frequent glimpses towards a group of five local teenagers greatly counterbalanced. 

Passing through Photharam station station, I could not help thinking of the resort which specialized in providing young local males to interested travelers ; I had read about it in some thai forum and the news had already made its way to farang forums when the thai police closed the place for good mostly due to drugs problems. This was about fifteen years ago … another era !

Khao Ngu near Ratchaburi town

I do not have a lot of time when visiting new places but did not miss the trip to Khao Ngu (Snake Mountain), 8 km from town ; this park is like an island set in the middle of limestone mountains that rise out of then flat area. One of these low-profile places that I like to discover. Nothing else to tell about Ratchaburi town except that finding a decent eating place at night is difficult if you do not like Japanese food.

On the following day, the same train brought me to Hua Hin where Sirin Hotel has in the same time a fantastic location, low prices and welcoming staff. I had scheduled this short visit just to see how the Hua Hin scene was going, and no one will be surprised that it is very quiet. The historic Red Indian Bar is still open near the beach entrance ; no boy at 20.30 and two hours later still no boy and a sleeping waiter. New Guys is doing better with a nice setting and four or five very welcoming boys, but not a lot of customers.

Coming back to Bangkok, I had planned a stop in Salaya, one of the populous farang-free districts between Nakhon Pathom and Bangkok. In fact, the whole three days program had been scheduled around this visit as I had a date with a lao boy working in the area. I had been friend with him on Facebook for more than one year, and it appeared quickly that he was willing to meet, including when he was still in his town in Lao. I discovered that he had just turned 18 one week before, though he had long claimed to be older. 

Appointment was in the huge Central Plaza where he of course arrived late, but he has some justifications : he gets only one day off a week, with outrageously long working days in an old people’s home. He quickly and smartly made the deed, including kissing on the mouth which is nice from a newbie, and departed with a nice reward and a broad smile ; this did not prevent him to call me on the next day asking for more money …  I guess some older sister had briefed him about it after our meeting.

Now back in Saphan Khwai where I intend to pay more detailed visits to the local bars … the first one yesterday was promising !

33th first day

Just arrived in Thailand to-day for what should be my 33rd stay in the country I love. Speaking frankly, I come this time with mixed feelings mostly because of my mother’s declining health. I have to spend more and more time assisting her for everyday life and I cannot help thinking that she is probably not too happy seeing me leaving for one month – but then I have a younger brother who will be more than able to stand in for me during my leave.

Mixed feelings also because of the worrying increase of the thai baht towards euro, which makes everything more expensive by at least 50 percent when compared to, say, ten years ago. Fortunately I had transferred a good sum of money four years ego securing an acceptable rate but this nest egg is quickly dwindling away.

My pen rai, as they say, better to seize the moment, and here I was arriving in Suwanaphum after an uneventful flight where I was fortunate enough to have two seats for myself for each leg of the journey. Surprising to see that the first leg to Doha was quite full compared to before, and the second one to Bangkok on a smaller plane than before and not even full … just as if people were as keen to go to Asia as before but dropping Thailand for other countries.

My first day was as usual used to explore the area I use to stay to look for changes, and there were a lot of them, beginning with my hotel of twenty years going up for much needed renovation works and the price increase going along with it. Saphan Kwai is gentrifying a lot with new high rise buildings everywhere, but keeps its charm ; street food is still there, as well as small businesses and local people.

As for gay places, Soi 20 remains the main spot for karaoke bars, which seemed once again very quiet at least during weekdays. I still did not enter one of them, owners do not even bother to invite walkers to enter their place. Adam and Heaven are closed, leaving five places open all within a 50 meters range.

On the contrary, massage shops seem to do quite well ; they are mostly located near the BTS station ; two towards the north and four or five in the back sois on the south. There is also a cluster of them further along Suthisan Winichai which advertise heavily on Twitter keeping in the same time a low profile on-site. I must say I went to one of them – which seem to have the same owner, and was very satisfied with the shop - if not by the boy I chose who did not really deliver as promised by advertised description.

The schedule for this trip includes mostly trips to provinces, mostly for meeting new Facebook contacts and older acquaintances. Pattaya will be one of them, some others will be reached by train, a way of transport I have not used since a long time in Thailand – but for short distance only.

Sweet Valentine's Day

 













VALENTINE'S DAY
BOYSTYLE ...

Happy New Year

Wishing the best to every reader ... and thank you for coming !

Street Art

Do you like street art ? Like most big cities in the world, Bangkok scene is developing and I often saw old walls covered with colourful paintings.

The best-known spots are next to the Ratchathewi BTS station, especially along the Saen Saep canal nearby. Charoenkrung sois 28, 30 and 32 are also a must-see place for interested people.

I am not really a fan but think that a painted wall is much nicer than a decrepit one, and at least you can admire them for free. Better though when the view in enhanced by some good-looking specimen of mankind ...

Happy Loy Krathong

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 !

Pattaya routine

A routine is a sequence of actions regularly followed .. this does not mean it has to be boring. And God it is not boring at all staying in Pattaya on 12 consecutive days, which had not happened to me since seven years. In fact here I was in the morning shaving and telling myself : "It is so nice to be here" ... exactly the same words as those I utter when shaving in Bangkok or Lamphun or everywhere else in the area !

So the routine in Pattaya has mostly been : morning sunbathing at the hotel roof pool, breakfast at noon, and then going to Jomthian Beach to watch the world go by. As for evenings, I stuck mostly to "Salt and Pepper" for dinner, where the food is consistently tasty (although not spectacular) and cheap, and the atmosphere quiet and easy-going. After this comes the highlight of the day : visits to the bars in Sunee Plaza, Boyztown or Jomtien. Quite usual schedule for most of us I guess, which of course can vary a lot depending on the weather and the mood ..

I found Pattaya much nicer than last March, mostly because of a much lighter traffic and generally less people on the streets. Some nice weather at least during the first days was a big plus, and then more rain meant I could rest in the room. Or receive once again this enchanting Saek from Udon Thani (see post above in June) ... BTW he is OK that I give his Facebook to interested men, but he will not accept anyone and wants someone who can speak enough thai ; please PM for more.

What I liked less was the further tightening of the rules at the beach : the powers-that-be have still increased the free area, so that chair concessions have to even more squeeze the customers ; I wonder how this will look like during high season when you will not have any space if only to lay your things. Worrying, as let's face it : what to do in Pattaya in the afternoon if there is no more fun going to the beach ?

Afternoon routine in Pattaya : Jomthian gay beach

I spent again many days with my young sex-driven friend who now does not want to be called "Noo" any more ; two or three days with him are enough to let me exhausted and wanting some quietness, only to crave for new encounters after three or four days alone. I made the mandatory trip to Ko Larn with him, which was a little disappointing due to chinese tour groups having now discovered Thian Beach, a rather quiet place until now. I am absolutely sure that the decreasing numbers of farang visiting Pattaya has a lot to do with these noisy visitors, who have destroyed what remained of the quietness we could still enjoy before this plague. And the few cuties in the group did not make up for the nuisance for sure !

"Noo" also tried to work in the Jomtien Complex bars. He had an "off" on the first day (by a man who takes any new boy turning up in the Complex) and on the second day he had taken care of another farang until 6.am in another bar, without any "tip" from the guy. He will not repeat the experience and is now looking for another job.

When on my own, I did not visit many gogo-bars ; "Nice Boys" was of course on my list, as well as Winner (too many fem boys for me, but a great atmosphere), Power Boys (limited choice), Cupidol (pleasant atmosphere) and Kawai where I would have happily taken a dark-skinned tall boy (n° 11) back home, had I not already been the victim of "Noo"'s appetite in the morning.

For the first time since very long ago, I left a bar without leaving any tip in the folder. In one of the few beer bars in Soi Sunee, two cuties had appeared but never showed any interest despite my insistent looks. And for good reason : they were chatting with the two other boys, turning their backs and never looking at me. But when another customer showed up, they were all over him within one minute ... I did not finish my Chang beer and immediately left in a huff. Message received, boys ?

But be sure I will come back to Pattaya !

Having a ball in Chiang Rai

Was it because of The Wild Boars story ? Or a recent thread on one of the boards ? I wanted to visit Chiang Rai again and so had planned two days there. Beside a change of atmosphere, I wanted to see how the only gay bar in town was going, and I must say I was nicely surprised.

Only gay bar in Chiang Rai ... but worth it !

Chiang Rai is one of the few small towns in Thailand where there is a gay bar left, and this Regency Bar has not changed a lot since I discovered it many years ago : same furniture, of course well worn now, same old-style bathroom remembering of what we were used to in Sunee fifteen years ago. But also a nice bunch of boys : I saw five of them, and they told me that some evenings more than ten come hanging around. And many of them quite good-looking, entertaining and fun loving local young lads. They are mostly on the masculine side but some would probably accept more if duly rewarded. Off fee is 300 THB and minimum tip 1000 THB short time.

Chiang Rai has many pubs and a great time may be had there with one boy or more. I felt that coming to the bar is for them a way to end the night dancing and drinking in one of them ; the rightly called Sperm Pub is still the most favored. 

Besides this little gem of a bar, I was blessed with the Annual Province festival which sees everyone of its 20 districts featuring in a long parade of traditional outfits and beautifully decorated floats. Useless to say that the local talent was perfectly showcased often in groups of half-naked boys of the same age … an absolute delight for the eyes, sorry the event took place at night time thus preventing to shot suggestive pictures.

Back now to more traditional activities in Bangkok and Pattaya.

 

Gay Chiang Mai revisited

Every trip I make to Thailand involves some days out of the infernal Bangkok / Pattaya pair. I have to say that these excursions often produce the best memories from my holidays in Thailand as each of them are obviously different. This time I wanted to go again to the north as it has been a long time since I went there on my own. Only five days were allowed for this short journey with one in the Lamphun province which I had only visited during a short getaway from Chiang Mai.

As I had enough time to do my housework, going to Lamphun was not a hassle : flight to Chiang Mai, short taxi ride to the local bus station in Chang Phuak, and a quiet short transfer to Lamphun. I had reserved a room in a homestay which offered the most convenient location to downtown Lamphun : no chance then to bring someone back to my room. Not that it mattered as the town is quite small and quiet and the aim was mostly to visit the temple and feel the atmosphere

After a quiet night, back to Chiang Mai and Chiang Phuak where I had reserved two nights in my favorite Mercure Hotel. With very smooth prices and flawless service, this accomodation deserves more attention from those looking to be near the Chang Phuak bars and massage shops, and is an obviously much nicer place than the grim Lotus Hotel that I saw from outside. The only gay venue I went in the area was Adam’s Apple where the show had a full room attendance. Good and imaginative show with a lot of flesh, but finally not really my thing as I prefer personal contact and interaction. On my second day I wanted to go to New My Way which is still open, but confess that I was too exhausted (read : intoxicated) by my former visit to the Night Bazaar bars.

Welcoming Pandee Bar in Night Bazaar

So most of my time was spent in the soi 6 beer bars ; eight are listed on the gayinchiangmai website, but three of them were closed or devoid of any gay life, so that leave us with five, all of them within walking distance. Going rather early in the evening, I did not like Ram Bar which has a cabaret show later in the evening but charges the same prices even when there is still no boy and nothing special. Neighboring Secrets Bar had only one waiter on duty so I did not venture … perhaps boys come later ? Next door to the easy-going and tasty food court is the very welcoming Pandee Bar which offers a good atmosphere.

I spent some quality time with the boys in the small Chiang Mai 19 Bar, at the far end of the Night Bazaar building which is now almost deserted. This is a small bar with only three or four boys with a nice attitude and taking really care of the customers.

And finally there is of course the famous Orion Bar which stands proudly in the middle of the soi. Full of handsome guys lured by the pool table and by the lively atmosphere, and also full of local expats who seem to regard the place as their own playground … I sat in what was probably the best spot in the bar and almost could hear the sigh of relief when I finally had to leave …. The nice boys come and go during the whole evening so you have to pay close attention to what is going on if you want to take someone with you. Anyway a great place to relax watching the world – and the boys – go by.

Going to the Night Bazaar area at night from Chang Phuak was not really an issue as the hotel offers a free shuttle to and back from there. I finally spent more time in Night Bazaar than in Chang Phuak, and will probably consider staying in Chiang Mai center next time I go there, although I usually do not like to stay in touristy areas. Provided of course the bar situation doesn’t change too much by then.

Enjoy

Let’s enjoy Thailand as long as we can. This is what I told myself when booking another flight which brought me to Bangkok five days ago. When reading threads on the boards such as “Sunee some years ago”, I cannot help think that in 10 years we will probably read reports about “Thailand 10 years ago” and then we will have only eyes to weep.

Rap ngan

Before coming again, I tried to secure some contacts using Facebook and was quite impressed by the number of young men offering their services, the usual word for this being now rap ngan (accept work). I quickly discovered that students are now on holiday since the beginning of October and for the whole month. And as they always need some funds, if only for going touring somewhere, they use the easiest way that the young men use nowadays.

Speaking frankly, I did not go very far with this kind of offer as the risks are rather significant. I will just post a picture of two of these young men as they posted all over Facebook offering their services.

So these first days were rather quiet with four days in Bangkok and two in Pattaya. What struck me most at first were the frequent rain showers, and as a possible consequence the rather low number of tourists especially on Pattaya. Not that I am to complain about this of course.

What are the news in Bangkok ? Well Soi Twilight was not too bad with the greatest void being the closing of Dicks Café. I have not been setting a foot in the gogo bars for many years already, but Bonny Massage was open again after some rumour of a closure ; they seemed to have a nice group staffing the massage shop facing Dicks Café, whose name I cannot remember. Sorry that the most handsome guy in the pack gave a great massage but did not want to provide any special service. On the contrary the bars in Saphan Khwai are really quiet now, and Adam karaoke one of the oldest ones in the area, has now a “for rent” sign in front.

Rap ngan

My two nights in Jomtien were well used to roam the famous stretch of bars, as lively as ever. It remains difficult to find company in the “Cambodian” places where the boys sit with you only if being expressly invited … you just have to show very openly that you are interested. Once you have got to know one boy, he will not forget you (at least if he is not already busy) and this is the door to open before being admitted in the circle and treated like regular customers. In the bars who are mainly staffed by thais, the boys are most likely to approach.

I am now getting out of two day with the sex machine I met last year, just coming back from his isan province. This is a time when nothing matters except being in bed and playing, which brings me in an advanced stage of exhaustion. I will try to recover from to-morrow on, as I am booked on a flight to the North where I will stay five days just to see how they are doing now, and filling an empty space in the map of the thai provinces that I want to visit.

Spoilt but not hellish .. yet !

Better late than never, so I thought I could write about the end of my last stay in Thailand. I guess I did not before because I had rather mixed feelings about it : my usual ten days in Pattaya were great but too many little things did annoy me.

I can stand too much traffic, I can understand that there are too many tourists as I am not more than one of them. What is now harder to accept is the general degradation of the overall atmosphere, mainly because of the changes in the customer base. Noisy russians with no consideration to people around them, rowdy arabs or whatever speeding on their bikes with no respect for everyone, groups of tourists jostling their way on narrow pavements, these are more and more obvious little events that make a former paradise looking more and more like hell. Not that I have something against russians or chinese people, but have everything against lack of respect and impolite behaviour.

The worst happened when I was quietly sitting with Noo at Oh Aharn restaurant : suddenly an extended family of young french-speaking arabs came and sat near our table, and began to speak loudly. Sure one of them was a real cutie but what they spoke about sounded more like stories of trafficking and cheating, with the usual shoutings. We went to sit at a quieter table but once again a place that was an oasis seemed spoilt for ever (I know some will wrongly call me a racist but I could not care less).

I had finally four nights on my own in Pattaya : not a lot but no regrets about the ones I had spent before with Noo ! So I did not visit many places and even had to struggle to find a massage boy to my taste ! I took some time to chat with boys both in Jomtien and in Nice Boys, but could not take the latter as I had already a "full" massage just before ... As for eating, I especially liked the isaan restaurant near the eastern entrance to Jomtien Complex ; I had many meals too at Salt and Pepper in Day&Night where eating alone did not make me feel uncomfortable.

Angel boy in Pattaya paradise

I had a date with a Facebook boy in Pattaya, and like the ones in Satuk and Kalasin, it was great. He was the 7/11 boy I had shortly written about before, and who confirmed he was OK to meet me. He only wanted to be sure that I would give him some money for his time ... The meeting place was in Pattaya Nua, which gave me the opportunity to see the future Terminal 21 mall ... huge ! Saek was much shier than he looked on the pictures, and also very protective of this senior citizen ... we went for a meal in Center Festival as he was hungry, and probably wanted to assess this farang. He did not disappoint in the room, both in attitude and equipment, and of course was still better looking than in the pictures. As he was OK to his picture being displayed on my blog (not that he seemed to know clearly what a "blog" is before I explained it), I happily oblige : this Udon Thani boy is - at least for me - a real stunner.

Back to Bangkok, flight back home, everyday life (not so bad when you do not work any more) and still thinking of the boys who make this place a ... paradise !