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It was 5:30 a.m. Tokyo time when my alarm went off but it was easy to climb out of bed. With purpose. I was leaving for Bangkok later that day and I still had to pack. It wasn't until 8:30 p.m. that I was able to check into my hotel. That's 10:30 Tokyo time. I was hungry and tired, not to mention sweaty, having had to walk and lug my suitcase for the last kilometer or so. I did not go straight up to my room to shave, shower and get myself ready for a Friday night on Silom. “Or maybe on Patpong,” I thought to myself. “Patpong is supposed to be getting busy with gay bars now that Soi Twilight has turned out the lights.” Before I could take a look around, I needed some calories. So I broke one of my Cardinal rules of traveling in Thailand — I ate dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Side note: I was the only solo diner in the place but I was mostly doing the same thing everyone else in the restaurant was, using my phone to scroll through my social media accounts. Even couples fed their smartphone addictions rather than make conversation. So rather than feel lonely, I was part of the club. I was also feeling my age. I didn't get up to my room, unpacked and showered until after 10. I was exhausted; there would be no Friday night out in Bangkok for me. All I could do was crawl in bed and let memories of my first trip to this megacity unspool in my head. That night I also broke a Cardinal rule. Was it really 23 years earlier? Must've been. Like tonight, it was a Friday, but when I arrived at my hotel much further into the night, I was exploding with energy. I just had to wash up, pull on a pair of designer jeans and a Calvin Klein T-shirt and find my way to the fabled Silom Soi 4, to Telephone, to Rome and so many other bars and clubs I had only read or heard about. Could I find the soi on my own? I probably could have squeezed my guide book, “The Men of Thailand,” into a pocket, but I wasn't going to embarrass myself. I wasn't going to look like a foolish tourist. And besides, how hard could it be? One alley over from Patpong, TMOT told me. And my hotel was a 10-minute walk down Surawong from Patpong. It would be easy. So off I went. I would sate my hunger at a street food stall on Patpong. I was going to get the full Bangkok experience. Then, finally, I began making my way to Soi 4. As I recall now, I was almost at a jog. And maybe my haste was my problem. I ended up making some wrong turns. As everyone knows, there are two Patpongs, but I let this slip my mind. When I finally did turn into Soi 4, well, that's when I broke that Cardinal rule. Only I did not realize it until several long minutes later. ”Are you looking for the gay bars?” someone asked. How did he know? That's exactly what I had been trying to do for, what, 15 minutes? Was I on the wrong street? Again? How many wrong streets could there be? I had initially missed Soi 4 and not realized it until I saw a sign for Soi 2. Surely I didn't double back too far. At least I hadn't got all the way back to Patpong. And who is my interrogator? A gay basher? I don't think I would admit to a stranger back home that I was looking for “the gay bars,” but this is Bangkok, and TMOT, while perhaps failing to give more specific directions to Soi 4, did insist that gays are not harassed in Bangkok, that even taxi drivers wouldn't think twice if I told them to take me to “the gay bars.” So I could tell this guy the truth, whoever he is. ”Yes,” I managed to say. He smiled. He knew the answer. So at least “The Men of Thailand” was right about Thais not being prejudiced against gays. I felt braver. I could safely add to my one-word reply. “Do you know where Telephone is? Is this Soi 4?” ”Follow me,” I remember him saying. “I'll take you there.” So off we went, back out of the alley I was sure was Soi 4. Apparently I had been wrong again. When we got to Silom, we turned right. We walked past the nicknack stalls of the night market. We walked by the first Patpong soi that I had missed earlier in the night. We passed the next Patpong street. Is that really a Christian bookstore on the corner? Odd place for a Christian bookstore. And aren't we going in the wrong direction? Or maybe that was my mistake all along. I was supposed to take a right at the end of Patpong, not a left. Wow, that would have saved me a lot of time. I could already be in Telephone, flirting with a cute local. Or maybe Rome. I really want to go to Rome. I've heard so much about it. The best gay nightclub in Asia, they were calling it. My new best friend then brought me out of my own thoughts. ”Where are you from?” he asked. I told him. “How many times have you been to Thailand?” “When did you arrive?” “How long are you staying?” Hey wait a minute, I thought. How far are we going to walk? One alley over from Patpong, right? And this neighborhood doesn't really look like a nighttime entertainment district anymore. In fact, we seem to be passing a hospital. A Christian hospital. I didn't realize there was such a big Christian influence in Thailand. My inner monologue is often over active. It also has the ability to make the exact same sound as a needle being dragged across a vinyl record when it's about to change topics. “Who is this guy I'm with?” I finally thought. I didn't actually ask that question out loud but I could see a little anxiety in his face as he noted my own. ”Just a little bit more,” he assured me as we turned right onto I don't know what street — a street that did not have nearly as many Friday night revelers on it as the street where I had met ... Who? Who the hell is this guy? And then it hit me. “Oh, no!” my inner monologue screamed. “I broke the TMOT Cardinal rule — ‘DON'T GO WITH TOUTS!’” ”Obviously we're not going to Soi 4,” I managed to say with a snarl. “Where are we going?” ”A gay bar,” the tout answered. “Trust me. You'll like it.” He was practiced. He recognized that I was about to turn back, so he turned into a desperate conversationalist, keeping me stupidly talking to him as we continued turning corners and walking down poorly lit streets until we were there ... Under a sign that read, Galaxy Boys. We walked up to the second floor and into a very dark, very uncrowded bar that had at least a dozen go-go dancers. All young, maybe late teens, early 20s. All with perfectly lean but beautifully defined bodies. All with smooth, bronze skin. All with long, lithe legs. All with supple calf muscles that took shape much higher toward the knee than I had ever seen before. All dressed in nothing but bikini bottoms. And those smiles! The walls appeared to be black, and there was little light, only dim beams that lit the boys on the stage. The ones in the shadows were pulling out their little soldiers and rubbing them until they stood at attention. The achievement of a full erection would bring a broad smile and a glance my way. The tout was right, I kind of did like this place. In fact, I was entranced. There's something to say for sleazy bars. Especially when no one sees you walking into one. I ordered a beer and sat back while the tout walked toward the entrance where he engaged the manager, at least I think she was the manager, in an animated conversation. More of the dancers smiled my way. I smiled back, unsure what else to do. You can probably guess the next several events. The manager and tout would return. The manager would insist one of the boys come down and sit with me. He put his hand on my thigh, and one of my hands on his thigh. His skin was warm, smooth, a little damp. I found myself in the same conversation I had been in minutes earlier with the tout. The go-go dancer took my hand and placed it further up his thigh, so that my pinky was rubbing his cock. He giggled when my head turned, betraying my startlement. ”I like you,” he said without pronouncing the k. I stared into his eyes, and as I searched for the proper response — Was there one? — he began to kiss me. It wasn't a peck, but a full, lips locked, open-mouthed, gentle jaw movement kiss that my tongue remembers well to this day. ”I like you, too,” I said, pronouncing the k and figuring I might as well state the obvious. “I'm also hard as a rock.” I don't think he understood that but the tout and manager seemed to know that the time to pounce was right and they were back at my sofa with a 2,200-baht bill. ”For one beer?” I sneered. ”No for boy off too. And must pay boy another 2,000 baht at hotel.” Apparently it had already been decided that I was taking the best kiss I had ever had back to my hotel. But I balked. I was on my way to Soi 4, remember. I never made it to my intended destination that night. I left Galaxy Boys and returned to my hotel as it had been ordained for me. ... I'm not sure what will come next, a report on Night II of my most recent trip to Bangkok, or me reminiscing about that first trip 23 years ago.

This is Bangkok Bangrak district. Tonight, Friday, normal till midnight then midnight close. Tomorrow, Saturday, open but soft drinks only till midnight-- then at midnight normal service till closing. Sorry but don't know about gogo bars. DJ Station closed tonight but open again at midnight Saturday. Balcony will have it's usual cabaret show tonight that will finish before midnight. Sorry if this offends anyone in Pattaya as being irrelevant to them.

I'm heading home from Suvarnabhumi Saturday afternoon. Can't say much about bars in Silom and Pattaya, spent most of the time in and around Korat with the in-laws. The apps however - how does numazu put it? - lit up like Christmas trees whenever I opened the phone. Have a good time.

don't despair, last year I arrived in Pattaya on the same day , bars were opened but did not serve alcohol till midnight ( discreet exceptions were applied here and there ). Guys were on duty and one of my favorite Copa masseurs who normally works evening only due to day time job of bartending somewhere because of that dry holiday was on duty from noon , thus we both had a nice surprise to see each other at much earlier than normal hour.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "new stream of clientele" but we were there recently (post Songkran) and the gay bars relocated in Patpong, the bars in Silom Soi 4, Silom Soi 2 and Moonlight were packing them in with mostly China and other Asia customers. A fun, vibrant and occasionally boisterous atmosphere and we enjoyed ourselves. Didn't see any farang lounging around like Cixi waiting to be fanned, fed and fawned over.

I wonder what your opinion will be when you reach 70 years and cannot get or afford health insurance here. Most insurance companies refuse applicants over the age of 70.

If you think that’s gross, take a look at some of the clients or customers.

You are a bright guy and probably nice on top of that. However, your writing is unnecessarily difficult to read. By way of example in the first paragraph of your post that I quoted above YOU HAVE 64 WORDS in the first paragraph. Not even a textbook would contain 64 words in a paragraph. If you want most others to understand your input, you should shorten your paragraphs by not including several different subjects and thoughts. Sixty-four words in a casual paragraph are unreasonable. Please do not feel offended by my observation and suggestion. If you want people to understand your posts, you should break each thought and/or subject into a separate paragraph.

I just refuse to pay the 500 baht entry. Doing that would only put pressure on other bars to inflated their prices. Sure it would not be a lot for the USA, and going out 2 nights a week it would be easy to blow $30 USD for a visit to 2 bars. But on Thailand we go to the bars almost every night and the money adds up. Yeah, the bars have to make a profit but I can look at their golden goose and see that it's missing 2 legs and a wing. It won't be long before they price themselves out of existence. Maybe that will happen with 600 baht or 700 baht bar entry? Even telephone pub has high drink prices. It's cheaper to drink at dj station than telephone pub. I miss the old Thailand that's never coming back. Time to explore Mexico, Brasil, Cambodia and a few other places after doing a Google, YouTube and pornhub search on the popular locations. I still can't believe I was in bkk for over a week and only visited 3 bars without any repeat visits.

Just one observation on what night is best in individual saunas. Some of my most memorable experiences have been on what turned out to be a “quiet” night with fewer boys but you connect with someone who is just right. There is an old saying, it only takes one to make an evening!

Make sure your connection to Bangkok is still there. I had a very strange go round with United in that my connection they provided from HKG to BKK kept disappearing from my reservation. Happen several times and they were less than helpful at the Premier Desk. They seem to think I should talk to the airline they booked me on about the problem. I told them it was their responsibility to solve this issue as I paid United for transportation to Bangkok. I finally rerouted via Tokyo and will terminate my future dealing with United. Found out later from another United agent they have some weird computer problem that does not secure your connecting flights on other carriers if they rebook after initial booking. A supervisor has to do something special in the system. The whole thing is bizarre and I can no longer trust United which ends 30 years of travel history with them.

@SolaceSoul, you hit the nail right on the head with this response. Weve had garatos tell us that because they really like my husband and myself, they would have sex with us bareback. We were shocked considering the amount of men they sleep with in a day, week or month. Weve visited last year in June of 2018 and about 2 of the guys we saw when we were there in March of 2019 look sickly and frail. One guy, a favorite of mine, I didnt even recognize at the sauna in March.