Days off in Hua Hin

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, mostly busy with girlfriends)....

It was then the 5-hours long 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 and looking outside.

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 way : 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.

Hua Hin Beach

That leaves mainly the good 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 beautiful lads there. 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 street 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

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.

Five gay places next door one to another

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 years 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 gay 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 ... He worked in the now-disappeared Khun Bar when he was more or less 18 y/o, and we spent then some days together, including a short trip to Pattaya ; I was a rookie at the time 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

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.

Wat Sothon in Chachoengsao town

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 ...