Or tourist ?

Cute boat competitor in Nong Khai

No Camfrog boy in Nong Khai, just the wish to look at the Mae Khong river, and add another province to the list of the places I have spent at least one night (28 and counting ...). And also to try the ”Oasis Bar” which advertises itself as being the only gay bar in town.

However I was lucky enough to stay in Nong Khai just when the Boat Races took place, which prompted me to stay two nights instead of the one that I had planned. It is not possible to stay blind at the sight of these 40 + teams of brown-skinned and well-toned men doing their best for defending their province (the one I could snap above is for me an absolute cutie). The banks of the river were full of people looking at the races, many of them being groups of young local students offering one of the most beautiful sight I had ever seen in Thailand.

Oasis Bar in Nong Khai

As for the bar, forget finding a boy there : it is mostly a nice place to hang out in a good atmosphere close to the Maekhong river (breathtaking views at sunset). Do not fancy the gorgeous 17 y/o lad you could meet there, he is not available and not only for legal reasons. And do not trust the map on their website : the bar is still further downstream among other bars and restaurants between Soi Pho Sri 3 and Pho Sri 4, named from the neighbouring Pho Sri temple ; you will probably have to hire a tuk-tuk to go there.

Udon Thani was my last stop in Isan before flying back to Bangkok. I was rather disappointed by the place but I had probably not enough time to visit it. Boyzone Bar was not bad with a good bunch of boys but the owner told me he could close at the end of the year due to the lack of customers, which he explained by the new internet networks allowing people to meet boys everywhere merely  by contacting them on-line.

The other Bar (City Man) is still there but as I finished paying 90 THB for a 30 THB Coke I had ordered (mamasan drink ?), I guess its reputation as a place cheating customers is still justified (and I had to stop a boy from bringing me another bottle I had not ordered).

So much for Isan, and back to normal life with some days in Bangkok.

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.

Sight-seeing

My second day in Bangkok was just how I wanted it to be : walking in the Silom area, having a light meal in Dick’s Cafe and ending the night by a badly needed massage. Achieving the latest is not always an easy task : I remember having roamed around the area without finding the boy of my dreams and finally going home without entering any shop. It went better this time thanks to one of the four massage place in Soi Twilight - Marso Massage formerly Red Massage - and to one of their lads who happened to be good and really service-oriented.

Beauty is everywhere in Pattaya

I wanted to smell the atmosphere in Pattaya so I am there now for three days before going to isan. I spent the first evening with my boyfriend and treated him to a nice meal from my country, and especially the good bottle of wine which goes with it. So we went to Froggys near the bus station for Bangkok, and I was not disappointed. This time Tam was less positive, but I guess his recent and current health problems were the main reason.

The following evening was the usual Sunee Plaza sight-seeing tour on my own. After reading so much during eleven months about what has been going on, I am always excited to check by myself. The news from the boards are generally up-to-date but nothing can replace the personal feeling. Sure the place was rather quiet, but you could still have a good time there ; moreover the special village atmosphere which makes the place so attractive had not disappeared at all.

I have visited three gogo-bars so far : Nice Boys, Mic My Bar and Eros, all had their fair share of customers and boys. Sorry there were too many tatooed guys in Mic My Boy but I could meet an old acquaintance who is the mamasan (not the one who gets so much bad mouth here and there I think). Nice Boys was very lively but no-one to my taste when I went there. As for Eros, there were not many boys left so I did not visit the private boxes.

As for the beer bars, the advice to try Diamond Bar was a good one as the atmosphere here is very nice and the viewpoint valuable. They seem to do quite good and they even had more customers than the green chairs bar opposite. I also visited Samorn’s Bar but the boys did not seem really interested in new customers although some of them are obviously worth of a new visit - which I will do as soon as possible.

However the news that Threezone Bar has been taken over by two thais was a good one ; I just hope I will still be there on their opening day. Nostalgia, nostalgia ….

Welcome to Bangkok

Getting used to the QWERTY keyboard (and also with the new Blogger interface) was the hardest thing I had to face during the last 24 hours. As for thai food and beer and streets teeming with cuties, thank you, it’s something I can deal with.

I arrived very quickly at my hotel, having cleared the immigration in less than one minute - the clerks were definitely desperate for customers …. and I was soon joined by my boyfriend who had come back from Pattaya. He had a lot of problems during the last eleven months, including a bad eye sore which will force him to wear glasses, which this nice farang will helpfully pay for. Slimmer than ever, so we quickly went for a meal in our favorite restaurant in Saphan Kwai ; Rakhang Thong near Elisabeth Hotel is as good as ever, their tom yam is to die for but the fish tasted a little bit bland … not their fault as I had ordered “mai phet”, which they did literally.

We visited only two bars in Saphan Kwai, only to find that the boys were very scarce for a Sunday night, even in Charmming which is usually well staffed. I guess the students have gone back home for their holidays and helping papa mama harvesting the rice … or could it be another sign that less and less boys go work in the bars even in a thai for thai area ?


My boyfriend is now on the way back to Pattaya where I will meet him again to-morrow ; that leaves me with an evening on my own, so I guess a visit to Silom will be on the list. I would not mind a nice massage to help recovering from my trip … And to-morrow another bus will bring me to Pattaya for a three-days stay. Despite all the bad news we get here and there about the place, I guess this will be another great time to be had.

Race over

No more rain, please

Two hours and I will leave home ... and after a long travel will reach the place which has been my dream for the last 11 months.

No more rat race all day long, no more daily hassles, the rush is over at least for 28 days. The boys will be those I like, not like the overweight thugs that I met in the famous movie theater in Milano I ventured in last August.

And there will be many bars too choose from ... a nice change from the disappointment I felt when I saw that the Carousel Bar in Zurich - which was brimming with asian boys ten years ago and who still had some nice gipsy boys, was now a restaurant.

Not too much rain, no health trouble, and life will be good ...