Ups and downs in Saphan Khwai

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

All the bars are still there except 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.

Gayromeo boy in Lampang

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.

Not so quiet

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 met Tam in 2003 and some other special boys too. One of them was the lao boy I almost fell in love with two years ago. I had the chance to meet him again and spent one night with him : same easy-going guy with a great face and body if you like them slim and masculine.

Boy from Gayromeo

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. Both bars very well patronized by the way.

I also 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 a very welcomed 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

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.

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

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 have 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 very relaxed 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.

Realizing ... once again

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 intricate for a newcomer, and I did not want to have to rush for my connecting flight. 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.

Zürich Main Station 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 suddenly 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 (much more useful if you ask me !), 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 months had gone by.

How about my first night in gay Bangkok ... due to a short downpour at 7 pm I feared that not a lot of boys would turn up in the Saphan Kwai 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 - the boy I met last year in the now closed Golden Flower Bar, but he was nowhere to be seen. Lots of guys up to my taste in Solid Bar.

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 was not a massage fee but the price for the room ... couldn't be more clear ! I chose a 18 y/o Roi Et guy with a very cute and smiling face but obviously lacking experience.

At last I had reached in Thailand and well ...

Countdown

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 !