Leaderboard

He seems very genuine to me. He is very sweet and kind. He is easy going and smart. He is in his 20's and finished HS but not college. His goal is to return to college. Time will tell if all I said is true or not as I have been duped in the past but so far all is good in my fairy tale world.

Thanks for posting. I leave for my winter home in Medellin in one week, but will be spending time in Cartagena over the holidays. Sorry that no one warned you about the dirty beaches. The only fair beach in Bocagrande is close to El Laguito by the Hilton Hotel. Everyone else will choose to take a boat ride out to the islands for a carribean white sand beach day. I usually have success in Cartagena but not in the tourist areas. El Torre del Reloj (Watchtower) is the worst spot ever -- to be avoided at all costs. The walled city tends to attract some pretty aggressive players and is not worth the hassle (from experience). Most of the local gay spots were closed up due to the pandemic, and many of them (I suspect) will not be reopening. Hollywood beach on a Sunday used to be a reliable spot to meet locals but even that scene has slowed, I would imagine. Cartagena was hit hard economically by the quarantine, so I can appreciate that there would be some aggressive hustling these days as the tourists slowly trickle back. It will be a while before Cartagena bounces back, but I am confident this jewel of the Carribean will return.

No ferry for the fairies?

Enjoy the moment for however long it lasts!

From The Thai Enquirer Opinion: A rich Thai socialite just killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run; the legal double standards are shocking Meet Akarawin “Jimmy” Taechaubol, a young, prominent Thai businessman, socialite, millionaire heir to the JC Kevin Development real estate empire, and police captain working as a sub-inspector at the strategic division of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. On the morning of October 22, Akarawin struck his friend’s BMW into 49-year-old Udom Saengkaya, a lukchin (fishball) vendor who was on his way home from work. Udom died on the spot, with his body faced down on the ground, head bloodied, and limbs broken. Khlong Tan police chief Col. Ruetee Pandum, was asked [Ed: We have now bolded, struckthrough, underlined, and italicized the previous link so people won’t miss it] whether Akarawin will ever face a prison sentence, reportedly laughed nervously and responded, “that’s up to the court.” These will most likely be the only charges against him. Almost a week later, and it’s almost as if the case has been dropped, with hardly anyone or news media talking about it. This is not the first, the fifth, nor the last time Thailand will see this happen. The culture of impunity is so glaringly obvious, yet so normalized, ignored, and celebrated even, by mostly those holding onto power. We’ve seen it happen before, most recently and notoriously with the Red Bull heir case: eight years later, and Vorayuth Yoovidhya still hasn’t been held accountable for killing Wichian Klanprasert. His case was almost dropped back in July, if not for public outrage. Akarawin Taechaubol, no matter the intention, family background, or wealth, should face the same consequences and prosecution within the Thai justice system. Akarawin’s story, like Vorayuth, are merely symptoms of a disease that is far more problematic — and that is the Thai judiciary system. The privileged Thais, those in power, and people like Akarawin should not be put on a pedestal and made to feel that their lives are more important and worthy than others, merely because they have more in superficial and material gains.

So, I went to the movie again this weekend. I was a bit shocked to see that when the King's song came out that a large number of people did not stand. I have never been in Thailand when everyone didn't stand up. This tells me something much deeper is brewing in the hearts of many Thais. I was also told that the movie I went to was downtown and closer to the universities. But, still....

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon Nobody is quite sure where the term Boyztown originated. One possibility is the 1938 movie of that name, but Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney were hardly icons of the gay civil right movement. There is a town in India’s Kerala state called Boys Town but it is apparently famous only for its herbal gardens and cucumber sandwiches. There is a Jamaican football club called Boystown, but there’s a high murder rate of gays over there. Oh well, never mind. Pattaya Boyztown (it was originally named Boystown) was the center of gay entertainment in the 1990s and early 2000s, before competition in Sunee Plaza and the Jomtien Complex caused a slow decline. In its prime, Boyztown played host to a score of restaurants, hotels, karaokes, bars, clubs and cabaret shows appealing mostly to European gay tourists who flocked in their thousands to spend the pink pound, get sunburned, watch the eye candy and let their hair down. But in October 2020, the Boyztown district is truly deserted. For the first year in ages, Halloween will likely be a flop. In the main street, only the Panorama bar is open most evenings, but plays host to scant customers and to two bored-looking staff checking their cell phones. The two biggest cabaret clubs, Castro and Boyz Boyz Boyz, appear to be open only at weekends presumably to cater for the Bangkok crowd taking a mini-break. The once elegant Toyboys, a male go go bar catering mainly for wealthy Asian men, now has fixtures and fittings piled up outside permanently locked doors. Flamboyant drag stars Eggz Benedict and Aggie Glitterbug, not actually their real names and currently unemployed, said that Boyztown’s decline wasn’t sudden. “From about 2010, the number of European tourists began to fall off as Thailand began to get expensive and eastern Europe opened up for the first time,” said Eggz. “It’s really been downhill since then,” adds Aggie, “although the shows were packed in recent years by Chinese tour groups who have also disappeared thanks to coronavirus.” In its heyday, Boyztown businesses were also significant fundraisers for various charities, especially aids-related and orphanages. Annual street cabarets and parties could haul in hundreds of thousands of baht for worthy Thai causes. The Bangkok Post gossip columnist Bernard Trink (who died earlier this year) always refused to mention gay venues, but even he did once congratulate the Pattaya Gay Festival committee for handing out free condoms to the male prostitutes who might need them. He then ruined the positive effect by complaining that the owner of the Amor restaurant in Boyztown had tried to poison him with a tarnished shrimp cocktail and a stale carrot cake. Will Boyztown recover its former glory? Eggz and Glitterbug think not. “Pattaya’s future lies in a different direction with literally millions of Chinese tourists waiting in the wings,” muses Eggz. “It’s not only Boyztown,” complains Aggie, “nobody is making any money these days.” Both of them point to social media apps, such as Grindr and Hornet, which have replaced gay bars and clubs as meeting places. “But what will come back after the virus are the cabaret extravaganzas,” predicts Eggz, “because you don’t have to be gay to enjoy a good drag show.” Can’t argue with that.

Theory of Love special Episode "Stand By Me"

I wish you all the best with him my friend. I can understand your uncertainty about him I have been duped in the past many times too , The attractive young boys I met where lovely at the beginning but turned to he horrible and dimending at the end.

THANK YOU

well said macdaddi..

That ferry is not currently operating. No word at this time whether this is temporary or permanent. If it is temporary, I doubt it will be placed back in service until there are enough customers to make it profitable. However another ferry is expected to launch soon - no date specified yet - from Satthip (just south of Pattaya) to Prachuap Khiri Khan and Songkhla, but not Hua Hin.

Barry Kenyon is the former British vice consul In Pattaya, who wrote a very entertaining book about his experiences of dealing with the difficulties and disasters of the British expat community over a number of years. So he certainly speaks with authority about the current situation. I’ve looked at a few YouTube videos of Covid Pattaya which show many girlie bars open for business (although customers are very thin on the ground), particularly in the Soi Buakhow area where many retired expats reside in cheap rooms. I have the impression that gay expats do not favour that area but instead live more in Jomtien often with their boyfriends. Perhaps the Complex bars are surviving better with their custom.

Most likely no tourists no ferries

There are numerous reports coming out in social media that people are not standing up to the royal song in the movie theatre anymore, sometimes only a foreigner stand and no Thais. Although movie goers are predominantly a younger crowd that supports pro democracy movement.

From Bangkok Post Cambodia officially launched on Wednesday a central bank-backed digital currency that draws on blockchain technology designed by a Japanese company. The e-money "Bakong", an initiative of the National Bank of Cambodia, joins a very small group of digital currencies backed by central banks that have gone fully operational. Bakong, which supports transactions in the dollar and riel, the Cambodian currency, is expected to help Cambodians make payments and transfer money between individuals using their smartphones. The e-money can be used through the mobile app installed on a smartphone. While the number of Cambodians who have traditional bank accounts is limited, smartphones have reached every corner of the Southeast Asian country. Japanese financial technology startup Soramitsu Co was involved in designing the system. The central bank began its pilot use in July last year. So far about 20 financial institutions have participated in the project, with dozens more expected to join. Users of the mobile app can make payments and transfer money from their e-wallets by scanning QR codes or tapping in phone numbers. Bakong was named after a prominent ancient temple in the country.

From Channel News Asia TAIPEI: Two Taiwanese soldiers and their civilian same-sex partners will tie the knot at a mass wedding hosted by the military on Friday (Oct 30) in another gay rights landmark in Asia. Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to allow same-sex marriage in May 2019 after a bruising political fight. The armed forces regularly put on mass weddings for staff, and the ceremony to be held on Friday will see two same sex-couples taking part - a first for the military. Taiwan "has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage and the ministry gives its blessings to same-sex servicemen who are getting married," it said in a statement. They both showed soldiers in uniforms with their partners donning traditional Qipao dresses that Taiwanese brides often wear for weddings. The post quickly went viral with over 25,000 "likes" under one of the photos and congratulatory messages pouring in. "It's great the Army can post this photo," read one message. "Congratulations, so happy to see Taiwan's progress!" echoed another.

Sorry vivapu, I think it an absolute disgrace that he turned up. How would your family feel if the person who murdered you and then ran from the crime scene turned up at your funeral? This criminal policeman is a member of the "super elite" and the heir to a family fortune. Remember what happened to the Red Bull heir, Boss whatever his name is? More than 8 years ago around 5 in the morning he murdered a traffic policeman in cold blood by mowing him down on Sukhumvit driving around 100 mph and then dragging the body for a few hundred meters before escaping to his family compound. His family would not release him and the Ferrari to the police for about 8 hours. Even so, he still had alcohol and drugs in his system. He has succeeded in escaping justice for 8 long years, finally fleeing Thailand in his private jet in 2017. Even with an Interpol arrest warrant, he is still at large allegedly enjoying the high life in Dubai. When the elite government announced earlier this year that all charges against him were being dropped, there was such an outcry on social media it was forced to do a U turn and reopen the case. Interpol is again involved. What's the betting that both he and now the murderer policeman get off scot free in the fullness of time. Money talks in Thailand.

From Vietnam News HÀ TĨNH — Now the waters have started to recede in flood-hit Cẩm Duệ Commune in central province of Hà Tĩnh’s Cẩm Xuyên District, local residents have set up a collective clean-up group. Memories of the historic floods will soon fade but one story that will remain in the community is that of the brave actions of Lê Văn Thành and three other young men. Residents have hailed the young men as heroes because together they saved more than 300 people from drowning. It was 5pm on October 18 and Thành was fishing near his house when he noticed the water was rising rapidly, he recalled. He rushed home to move his family to higher ground as water rushed through the commune submerging all 12 villages. The voices of people calling for each other and screaming caused unprecedented chaos, he said. After making sure his wife and children were safe, Thành decided to phone his younger brother Lê Văn Công and his friends Đậu Văn Hoàng and Phạm Văn Đồng to ask them to help rescue other villagers. Within minutes Công, Hoàng and Đồng were at his house and they jumped in a boat to set out for some of the houses where the water had reached up to the windows. Thanh rowed the boat towards houses that had water up to the windows using a lamp to search in the darkness. “Save me, let me get in the boat!" shouted 53-year-old Phạm Viết Phương from Trung Thành Village. "We saw Phương and a neighbour standing in front of a house. The water was up to his chest," said Thành. “When they got in the boat, they were shivering with cold,” Thành said. Seeing two elderly in the house next door, Thanh’s group also managed to help them. The group went back and forth for four hours, paddling in the surging floodwaters. By 11pm they had rescued 60 people. Continues at https://vietnamnews.vn/society/803897/young-men-save-hundreds-from-floods-in-ha-tinh-province.html

I tended to use the following websites... vivalocal - probably the best all-rounder fatalmodel - I can spend a good hour just watching video's of guys twirl round in their undies - the most difficult for guys to register on skokka - I think this is the cheapest (free-est) one to advertise on... so you get a fair number of young students I'd echo everyone saying that the sauna is safest... followed by the love motel... But once I had enough confidence, I did venture to guy's apartments. I remember one place in POA, where he ushered me through a sitting room full of people to get the bedroom! So embarrassing. More memorable than the sex itself. Another thing about being in someone's bedroom, is that you'll probably have to endure a 10 minute conversation about Pabllo Vittar, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, working out, baseball caps, "tenis" shoes or hardship at the end. In SP, I often splash out on a pornstar/stripper/gogoboy... and you get to see some very different people once you're on their territory... one guy who wanted to dress up in all his costumes for me! (I just sat and took photographs)... another who told me how much disliked his work in porn ... and another who lived in such a hovel that I paid, made excuses and left.

I’ve been regularly going to Salvador and the Bahia state for over a decade and it’s absolutely one of my favorite places in the world. I love the people, the history, the food, the culture, the music, the dialect, and yes, the men — and I’m a bit protective of it all. I’ve seen good and bad visitors come and go. I’ve seen people have wondrous experiences and I’ve watched tourists “get got”. From my perspective, I will address your concerns: Safety: No, it’s NOT “safe”, and also, yes it IS “safe”, depending on where you go, who you are, and who you’re with. The touristy area of Barra around the beaches (Porto da Barra and Farol da Barra) and the streets which face it are the safest in the day and relatively safe at night along the beach boardwalk. If you like to put your life on the line, you can try cruising at night around the lighthouse or the small Christ statue, where rough trade and malandros are just waiting with knives for horny gringo turistas. Also, the world-famous UNESCO site the Pelourinho district is nice to visit, but not adviseable to do at night alone if you’re new and stick out like a sore thumb (in recent years, it was being heavily patrolled by police to make it safer for tourists but lately, due to the economy, that’s backed off and the crime and drugs seemed to have taken over once more). So again, use caution — even someone who “fits in” shouldn’t be dumb enough to walk around those dark alleys at night. Areas like Rio Vermelho and Pituba are considered more upscale but may be out of the way for other areas of interest. Remember, there are lots of pockets of favelas all over Salvador, including on the outskirts of Barra, Ondina, Rio Vermelho and Pituba, and while most people are good and honest and frankly, unconcerned about you, there are plenty of poor, desperate people (especially young men) looking to prey on an out-of-place, non-Portuguese-speaking gringo tourist — especially one who is alone and without the benefit of locals. Crime and violence is higher in the Northeast of Brazil, where Salvador is. You can keep your chances of being a statistic down by staying in well-lit, well-traveled tourist areas in the daytime (where you’re a lot more likely to find English speakers), having a local guide for everything else, and sticking to Uber or cabs. If you look Caucasian or Asian, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb in Salvador. Of course, if you open your mouth, it’ll remove all doubt. This won’t matter much in well-traveled touristy areas, but can be a cause for concern elsewhere, which is why traipsing around Salvador alone under these circumstances is not such a good idea. Saunas: They’re not 117 in Rio or Lagoa in São Paulo. Perhaps they are more comparable to 202, but not on its busiest nights. Salvador is of a slower pace. The atmosphere is more laid-back, and the garotos de programa there are fewer and in most cases, more average to slimmer builds (with some exceptions). As mentioned many times before, 90% of the inhabitants of the city are black or mixed with black, so you’ll find a multitude of shades, but not much “white” (branco) there — if that’s what you seek, you should go to Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul. The prices ARE already cheaper in Salvador and in the entire Northeast, so don’t be a dickcheese asshole and try to talk them down too much. The exchange rate would currently make 100 reais around only $17 USD. If you’re haggling over that at a sauna for a sexual encounter with a living, breathing human being, then you are seriously psychologically damaged and ethically compromised. Be prepared to take cabs or Ubers to and from the saunas.

Thanks for the recommendation. What area in the city would you recommend staying? Did you stay at a hotel or Airbnb? Any issues with guests?

My experience is similar. I have not hired from online ads, but I have hired from my network guys who do advertise and do not go to saunas. In general, most of these guys follow the more traditional escorting model as we know it in all the big cities I have visited. The contrast with sauna GPs is evident. In general, they do not watch the clock and very often feels like they moved in without asking for more money. Also, although it is true that beauty does not equals good sex; I have hooked up with sauna GPs astonishingly/IG beautiful, and the sex was great. Online does not have the monopoly of beauty.