Happy end

The last days in Bangkok were once again spent on updating my blog, as I do not really have time to write it when I am in Pattaya or elsewhere. I could type it in my hotel room but it is too much of a hassle with the need to have a swift wifi connection, a big screen for the many windows I have to open (including some much needed French/English dictionaries), and a nice keyboard with visible keys as I use the QWERTY lay-out only in Thailand. So what is best than a good old computer to work efficiently ? And what is nicer than seeking inspiration while ogling at the incredibly cute young clerk managing the store down the corner from my hotel … A pity that I have only a few hours left, I would happily have handed my calling card to him, his broad smiles had let me hoping for the best.

Bangkok Boyztown

When I am alone at night in Bangkok, I often ride the long journey from Saphan Kwai to Soi Twilight where I feel much more at ease eating alone at Dick's Café. Everyone knows that Soi Twilight at night is a show by itself, with all the touts, the boys and the tourists happily mingling in a festive atmosphere. This makes for an almost free entertainment which widely outperforms the shows offered at an outrageous price in the local bars, before heading to a beer bar or giving the eye to massage boys eagerly waiting for a customer.

However I had not found someone to my taste (or had not looked carefully enough), so I decided on the last night to have a meal at the famous Hotel Malaysia where I used to stay in my first years in Thailand (before a Saphan Kwai boy convinced me to choose a place closer to his bar). En route to Soi Ngam Duplee, I knew that there were some massage places along Rama IV and along the soi and that I should walk on the (dangerous) left side of the soi to have a closer look at the boys.

I did not have to go further than the former Lomchey shop, which has been now renamed as Zee Massage : half a dozen of boys were there, most of all worth a second look. I did not have the time to choose and was immediately assigned a fresh isan lad who had just come two weeks ago. He explained me later that the customer could choose his masseur when entering, otherwise he would get the first boy on the queue … no problem, I would have taken him anyway (my boot-licker side …). Before doing any inappropriate gesture, the boy also explained me that it would have been better value to pay 500 baths to the shop (the price for a one hour oil massage) and take a boy for the night … first time I hear a massage boy advertising an "off" out of his place ! From this point there was no doubt that there would be more to the massage, which he delivered in a very nice way. Much better – although less classy - than the neighbouring "Magic Hands" which I had visited some years ago and where the boy did nothing despite obvious hints that I wanted more. Depends on the boy or on the shop, I don't know.

Legendary coffe shop in Hotel Malaysia

The meal at Malaysia Hotel was satisfying, but I was rather surprised to see many girls and even a group of locals, when the dining room was usually filled with farangs with their boy(s). I could not even smell the unmistakable odour of the place, which I can swear was still there last year, and saw that they have renovated their façade. Hoping that these facts do not convey a trend towards the standardization of this former cult hotel, overloaded with souvenirs for I guess a lot of people like us.