Leaderboard

This post is a bit of a self-indulgence, reflecting the fact that I am missing travel to Thailand. It has no current information, which will be obvious from ".. I am missing travel to Thailand" You have been warned. Somehow, when I book a trip it gets put on the calendar but cancelation of the trip does not remove it. Recently my calendar has been greeting me each morning with announcements to check-in to flights I will not be taking and hotels that no longer expect my arrival. It’s rubbing salt into the wound of not seeing Bangkok Guy for a very long time. Although Covid has closed his market he remains cheerful as he shows me his current stock, dark blue sports shorts with a gold Thai-style design. As always, very smart. He has good taste. I recently went through about eight years-worth of photos in my camera and iphone to find shots to put into frames to remind me of good times. An exercise in creating good cheer among the frustration. I wanted one of Bangkok Guy and I found I had fewer shots of him than I expected. Then the penny dropped. At the end of each trip Bangkok Guy goes through all the photos I have taken and edits out the ones of him that he does not like. Occasionally if I plead to keep one he relents, but often not. Image management is a serious business. After watching him I think what he is doing, apart from removing the obvious duds with shut eyes, is deleting those which do not comport to his self-image. Messy hair and untidy clothing are a no. The biggest no is if he thinks his skin looks dark. As long as his hair is in place, cloths tidy and skin fair, he passes over shots in which he looks kind of dorky. If it were me managing my image, those are the ones I would remove, although in his case I think the dorky ones are sweet. After you know someone for a while you come to recognize certain characteristic expressions. The photos caught two of Bangkok Guys characteristic expressions very well, omitted one and caught one I should have known existed but somehow it hadn’t registered. Some people suffer from resting bitch face. Not Bangkok Guy. The natural resting position of his face is a thoughtful, calm, into-the-distance expression, as though he is in quiet reflection. A photo from our Luang Prebang trip captured this perfectly. Attired in well-fitted cream and white linen and at ease in a wicker chair against a backdrop of jungle with a glimpse of the Mekong, his chin resting lightly on the tips of his long dancers' fingers, Bangkok Guy is a study in calm reflection. It’s almost a fashion catalogue shot. Bangkok Guy does not have a poker face. Some part of whatever is passing thorough his mind, probably the major part, shows on his face. Given our mutual language issue, this is very useful and face-reading is a big part of communication. To his frustration this makes it difficult for him to spring surprises on me as his sense of humor veers strongly towards a sense of mischief and his mischievous intent always shines out brightly. One photo perfectly captures this look of impending devilment. It is the one looking at me now from a silver frame on my desk. I showed it to Bangkok Guy during a Line call and the strength of his smile almost crashed the network. Very Happy that he is with me. The missing expression is Irritated. Bangkok Guy never looks cross or angry in the way I look cross and angry. When I am irritated it is obvious. When I am truly angry my expression could strip paint off a wall. With Bangkok Guy you need to know him to recognize the expression which conveys irritation. He looks constipated. My guess is that it comes out this way as he is experiencing an emotion which he feels the need to suppress. As soon as I see the constipated look I seek out its cause. It is important to prevent constipation lingering and turning into impacted bowel syndrome. It might be monkey pee and poop on the steps at Mt Popa or a family member on his iphone but if he is not on the phone and there are no monkeys nearby, it will be me. More specifically, it will be my farang-ness crossing some unseen-to-me line in his Thai-ness. The important thing is to recognize the expression as, once I have done this, it is easy to surface and solve. A questioning elevation of an eyebrow or a simple “What think?” is all it takes to indicate I have seen there is an issue and to open the door for him to tell me what is on his mind. He is not going to come straight out with some piece of criticism, I need to open the door, then he is responding to my question, not criticizing. At least I think that is the logic? My most frequent transgression is being tied to the hands of my watch. Bangkok Guy sees no point in rushing to be on time. Being more-or-less on time, yes ok. But rushing if you are running late, no. If you rush you are guaranteed to arrive sweating and bedraggled and that is a major no-no. Better to arrive late looking good. He is slowly breaking me in as I think he has a point, at least in Thailand. We had tried to fit too much into the day and I was running about 10-15 minutes late to a fitting, so once out of the BTS station I set off at a brisk trot to cover the long block or so to the tailor. Bangkok Guy gave me a constipated look and continued to stroll as I moved away with ‘sorry, late’. When he caught me up in the air-conditioned shop constipation turned to mischief and he asked ever-so-innocently ‘you not see tailor?’ Well, no, I was sweating and had to go and towel off and dry down before the fitting. Better to arrive late looking good. When traveling we are more in sync about being on time. Bangkok Guy approves of my habit of arriving ninety minutes to two hours in advance of a flight as he sees the point in ensuring there is no need to rush. He knows that planes unlike tailors will not wait. The expression that had not registered with me before was Seductive. Deeply, seriously, a finger dipped in an ice-cold martini and traced slowly over warm skin seductive. On the Mekong cruise Bangkok Guy in loose black cotton pants and a black short sleeved linen shirt is sitting, leaning back against the railing, both arms spread languidly along the top of the rail, his head very slightly down, looking straight at me from under his brow. Lauren Bacall has competition and from a very unexpected quarter. However, when I think about it, it is only unexpected because Bacall’s writers wrote in long pauses freighted with meaning to enable the stare to linger and burn into the soul while Bangkok Guy and I crack each other up too much for the whole slow-burn seductive thing to last more than a few seconds. Maybe we need a second set of writers?

Oh, that's an easy one. The sign consists of three M - MMM - which is short for "Men, Men, Men". Explanation: Since the "Boyz" of Boyz Boyz Boyz (once popular night club in Pattaya) got older and older, the club had to be renamed accordingly to "Men, Men, Men".

Finished season 2 and would say it was even better than season one! Since there is still something unclear between Earth, Stud and Dr. Sam, I hope they will make some kind of sequel.

This is a very interesting survey and I am not surprised to see that meetings and offs after the first one usually prove to be better. That has by and large been my experience when I have had boys for multiple nights. The reason I think in my case is that I pay relatively well so from the second meet the boy will give good service knowing he will be well rewarded for pandering to my sexual tastes. in recent years I have visited Pattaya for multiple short periods whilst about 10 years ago I was able to stay for a couple of months. During those trips I settled after my first week, with one boy rather than “ do the butterfly”, with him being a live-in boyfriend. Although I did occasionally spice things up with threesomes. Looking back I believe those periods were the best periods of my adventures in Thailand.

It has been my experience that the second time is better than the first because the young gent loses any shyness after the first encounter. Along with that, I wonder if he thinks I'm any better the second time . . .

Spoon will be better able to comment. But I do not believe democracy is merely the ability of the electorate to eject a government and install a new one. When Article 153 of its Constitution guarantees racial priority to ethnic Malays over the other ethnic peoples in the country, that in my view is not democracy. Its first Chief Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had clearly stated to the British colonial government that the new Malaya should not discriminate on the grounds of race or creed and that all citizens should have equal rights. Yet discrimination has always existed and is enshrined in Article 153. It is also illegal for Parliament to discuss any changes to Article 153. So, for example, ethnic Chinese do not have the same rights as Malays even though it is the Chinese who drive most of the economy.

you wouldn't be so delighted if you happen to disagree with them. But you are right as for monoparty rule Singapore is shining and rare example of success. Democracy , like recent examples of Phillippines and 75 million voting for Trump shows is not a panacea for countries ills but at least electorate has nobody but themselves to blame, option sadly removed by military in Myanmar.

Yes I assume the majority of Pattaya’s sex workers are still back at their homes in Isaan where the living is much cheaper and maybe a few low wage employment opportunities exist. Meanwhile the bulk of their customers are in some form of lockdown in farang land reminiscing about happy times.

Thanks for the update and photos z909. It looks like it's still very quiet but just maybe things are starting to get a little better. Small steps are better than no steps. I really feel for all the Thai lads and girls who depend on the tourists to earn their living with few or no benefits from the government it must be really hard for them.

Helios Massage (the former Blue House Massage) is (or was?) the only gay massage shop in Pattaya (that I know of) where every room comes with a shower, and an aircon, and a lockable door. The boys were lined up in the reception room and all questions about their individual skills were answered. This luxury makes up for the little inconvenience of having to go in to see the guys, in my opinion.

i have been to Brazil(Rio and São Paulo)twice since the end of october and saw more everyday precautions taken there then in SoCal where i live! So no i am not worried! i just got back Monday from Merida Mexico and they also had more protocols in place the SoCal. two days ago i got the first of 2 injections of the Pfizer Vacine, the 2nd dose is on 2/24 but i take the normal precautions and I am fine as is a travel buddy that was also there!

No I’ve had covid and I live in Atlanta. I don’t see much more risk of being here. If I get covid again here it would suck but it also sucks in the USA lol.

I have my regulars, I love my regulars, and, particularly now, I look forward so much to seeing them again. That said, the best performances come from those of them who I do see again and again, but not on a predictable basis. They know I like them, they know I will treat them well but they also know I am essentially a 'butterfly' and that they have to compete for my time (and money!). That keeps them keen and anxious to please. Sexually I do less well with my either my long, long-times (effectively holiday live-ins) and almost predictable daily short-times, they can easily get lazy and blaze and stop trying so hard, but I am, at least partially, compensated by their companionship which I often crave as much as the sex itself.