Short break with my boyfriend

The touristy part of this trip has been reduced to his minimum, as my boyfriend has just opened a karaoke in his home village and of course he has to make the shop turn.

The income is not great, purchasing power upcountry is not very high and the average bill does not reach the Pattaya levels for sure. Some week evenings can be very depressing, while Friday and Sunday allow more people to come. Those who had a chance to go to this kind of places know that the comfort is not great, but a lot of sanuk can be had. Of course some foreign sponsor helped him to start the activity, without hoping a huge return except giving a boy the opportunity to earn a decent living.

Tha Ton bridge

He could find an uncle to replace him for four days, so we met in Chiang Mai and a short drive with his car brought us to a very nice first stay in Tha Ton close to the burmese border. This place is known for its temple, which offers great views all over the region. We then went to the Tachilek market in Burma for some shopping.

No stop in Chiang Rai, so no update on the local scene, and it was then Phayao and its lake - still one of the best-kept secrets in Thailand.

And I could finally reach his home in Phrae province and see how the bar looked like : a small place in the middle of the rice fields along the local main road, with nice (female) staff and fresh beer.

It was already time to hop on the plane from Phrae and go back - alone - to Bangkok for some days.

Unimpressed

After a short warming up in Bangkok, the first part of my trip was dedicated to the north : not really a free choice, as my boyfriend lives and works there. However I had kept two days for myself, in order to check the situation in Chiang Mai.

Well I am sorry to say that the scene in the Rose of the North did not really impress me, knowing that such a claim cannot be asserted through a two-days stay. I visited most bars in Soi 6, thanks to the very accurate map provided on the Chiang Mai news website (link on the right) : most have a good atmosphere, the boys are welcoming and nice, but not in great numbers. And the sleaze factor which was permeating the famous alley facing the D2 hotel has gone : very few rough guys, and only some neat and tidy young men eager to find company for a night or support for life.

I visited only two bars in the Chang Phuak area. Freeguys was a favourite of mine, but has now turned to a host bar with karaoke late evening. The light is too weak so you simply cannot see clearly the boys : a pity as some could be very interesting ; 200 bahts for a drink seem a little bit steep in these conditions. Adam’s Apple is little bit more welcoming but I did not stay for the 22.30 show, and the boys there are really into muscle, which is not really my thing.

Staff in former Freeguys bar

Once again I was more lucky with the massage boys. I went exploring Chiang Mai Land village where there are at least three shops with boys. Despite the early hour, Sixty Nine club seemed to have already many lads available, judging from the number of motorbikes parked in front. However I wanted to try 333 Club, which is on the main street (but will change location very soon). Only three boys had arrived, most of them come only at about 7 o’clock, I chose Bank who first massaged my legs, and quickly asked me to turn over ; it did not take long for him to got to the main part, which he did skillfully despite being rather young. I asked him to take off what was still hiding his nudity, which he obliged and we ended cuddling together, as I could not take my hands off his silk-like skin.

Some further days would probably have allowed me to know the scene better, at least by visiting at more suitable times ; I have always been surprised by the fact that Chiang Mai seems to welcome newcomers rather reluctantly, and that you need more time for being acknowledged by the boys.

Starting full speed

Here I am again… looking at my usual hotel room and thinking that it is like my second home, which I think of almost everyday when in my country.

As expected, travelling with an arabic company was much more bearable than with the european ones. Two hours walking and sitting in Doha Airport in the middle of the trip was just what was needed for some relaxation. The second leg to Bangkok was flown in an Airbus A-800, which really offers more comfort and room even in Y class.

Leaving the airport, I had to remind my taxi driver to turn the meter on, which he obliged, and he was then very delightful and chatty. I told him about the best way to go to Saphan Khwai : the shortest route is not always the quickest.

Unfortunately I felt very quickly the effects of an old sore which could greatly disturb my trip. Long and too fast walks in the airports had awakened an old heel tendinitis which could bring me to cancel some trips. I had to go to a clinic where I was prescribed some medicine which will at least allow me to walk more or less normally.

As a consequence, I did not even visit the Silom area during my first three nights in Bangkok. From my hotel, most Saphan Kwai venues are within easy reach, and then I had already two appointments with Facebook “friends”. At first I went to Be High bar, still there but with only three boys on this Wednesday evening ; unfortunately the young captain/manager is not available. All bars were very quiet and the owners quite pessimistic. However a new place has just opened, another karaoke called D-door (or something like that), next door to Haven in Soi Kawtei (where most boys bars are). There are still some cuties to be found in Saphan Khwai, like this 18 y/o karen boy, not shy and whom I will take to my room for sure.

But the main change in Saphan Khwai is the increasing number of massage places with boys ; there are two of them just under the BTS station, three more in the backsois near the infamous Phahol Cinema, and Seven which has just moved to the area behind the Big C parking exit. Add some places with both boys and girls, and Nine Spa in the Liberty Garden court, and that gives about 10 shops within in a very small area.

Available 7/11 boy

My first appointment was with a dark-skinned 19 y/o from Bang Na, who was OK to spend the night with me. As soon as I saw him approaching among the crowds of travelers leaving the BTS station, I knew I would like him : tall, dark-skinned and lean, so meeting exactly my specifications, and of course looking much better than on the pictures. He was a nice boy, not too much engrossed in his mobile phone, but was reluctant to kissing. I hope to see him again in Pattaya, where he would like to work in Toy Boys, where he would be undoubtedly very successful. No picture allowed for this little gem.

On the following day, I had a long bus ride to Minburi, where I had another appointment with a boy working in a 7/11 shop. I had reserved a room in a local hotel where he showed up on time. He did not loose time to open his trousers, and I must say that I liked what I saw …. Believe me, you are surely not cheated on quantity when you buy a sausage in his 7/11 outlet ! I went back to Saphan Khwai for sleeping, letting him make good use of the room with one of his boy- or girl-friend.

Time for another round

Touring Thailand in good company

Still three days … and I will escape the cold here in Europe for another one-month stay in Thailand. My boyfriend is now working and cannot leave, so we will have only four or five days together in the northern area where he is living. That will leave me a lot of free time to spend on my own : for my homework, Facebook, gay websites and forums were used much more than tourist guides !

My calendar has already some firm appointments, mostly in Bangkok. At first there will be this dark-skinned student who proposed his services on some appropriate Facebook group ; actually, he is the reason why I decided to come a little earlier than previously planned. I will meet him in Bangkok and if we get along well, I will invite him one or two days in Pattaya - where he already seems to stay more often than your usual broke student ... "I like the sea", he tells me.

There will be a promising Seven Eleven boy too (a fantasy come true !), whom I will meet in a far away suburb, fee and appointment already set. And also this pretty - legal - young thing who worked in a Sri Racha pub when we got acquainted, and has since moved to Chainat. We never chatted about sex with him, so it will be part of the thrill to get him into my room ; if this fails, I will have at least added a new province to my list !

I have also booked a three-days trip to Udon Thani, as there seemed to be some interesting lads in the area ; however most were underage, including a Nong Khai student who had been pledging his love daily for one month and has then disappeared – he has since entered a mor-lam group as a dancer. So I am still eagerly looking for someone, knowing that all bars in town have now closed. I will perhaps stay one night in neighbouring Nong Bua Lamphu, where I can only hope to be lucky.

Sure I know that inviting Facebook boys could be at best deceptive, at worst dangerous. But who could resist the continuous flow of cuties appearing daily on the social networks ? And then I regard it as a way to pay off all the time and efforts I put in learning thai ...

Massage boys bunch in Sukhumwit shop (Thailand Gay Guide)

During my extensive researches, I was also happy to discover how many new massage places open – and close – all over Thailand . I will try some, thanks to a japanese website (listed on the right), which gives detailed maps and enough information in english. According to a thai forum, there are added services offered in many ordinary massage shops, just like in Pattaya, including in some shops I had passed by daily in my beloved Saphan Khwai area - unaware of their mere presence.

Chiangmailand massage joints look promising too, so Chiang Mai should keep me very busy for the two days I will spend there alone.The huge information available on the Chiang Mai News website (listed aside too) will be put to good use for sure !

Thailand has always something new and promising to offer ; why should I be jaded going there for my 29th trip ?

Dual pricing

As western visitors, we often feel being overcharged only beacause we are just that : farang. I can understand it when I have a to pay a little more for motosai taxis or a hotel room though even so I feel that I am being taken advantage of, and supposed to be much richer than I am. I dislike it when the difference is made not because of my passport but because of my skin color : I would like to be sure that these ubiquitous chinese tourists pay the same price as me. And I am on the verge of non accepting it (meaning : turning my heels back) when the difference is farang prices being 10 times higher, like in most national parks : this is blatant robbery, especially as the maintenance in these parks is often hardly worth even the thai price.

Until now I did not see this bad habit spreading among the boys. Street boys in Grand Palace area ask 500 bahts whatever the customer’s nationality (although I usually give more), and the massage shops have the same price list too. In the bars I never discuss the price before and will normally give some extra above the going rate if satisfied.

However when chatting with a boy online, the boy almost always broaches the topic of financial reward. So I was not really impressed when a boy I chatted with on Line, bluntly shown how natural double pricing was for thai people.

The 18 y/o boy was from Suphanburi, and was OK for coming to my hotel in Bangkok, but only for short time. There was no time lost as his brother had told me that he was OK for selling his services so I could skip the usual small talking, courting, convincing and agreeing sessions. When I asked for the price, he answered : "When I go outside, I usually charge 1500 bahts including transport, but for foreigners I ask 2000 bahts". I did not answer anything, mainly because coming from Suphanburi and going back would have cost probably more than 500 bahts, not counting three lost hours for the boy, so his final pay would have been rather low.

So I will keep his name for a later visit to Suphanburi, where I spotted an interesting cheap hotel with pool, as well as many attractions and places to visit – but there is so few interesting things to do in these provincial towns at night .... Or I will wait till next year when he will probably be a student in Bangkok.