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Received from one of my boys special and can,t just keep it for myself

Thank you, the happy merry people. From me it's a "Bah humbug!" But I do wish for a peaceful, happy world in 2022. My best wishes to all.

49371295_534746447029464_5423190320588259328_n.mp4 Merry Christmas from Siamroads.com team

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

With the Winter Olympics getting closer and in the same time zone as Thailand (just one hour ahead) I am getting quite excited about several of the events. I love the ski jumping but it is the men's figure skating that completely grabs me. At the last winter games in Pyeongchang, it was not known if the Sochi 2014 Gold Medallist, the cute Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, would be fit to take part. He had injured an ankle three months earlier and had pulled out of all competitions prior to the Olympics. He was not only fit enough to skate, he again won the Gold Medal. For the next Games, Hanyu may once again be unable to take part as he recently suffered another ankle injury. Hopefully he and his coach, the gay Brian Orser with whom Hanyu trains in Toronto, can get him fit enough. But the competition is getting tougher and Hanyu is not getting younger. By February he will be 28. Already a superstar in Japan with many sponsors, he will become Godlike if he could manage to win a third Gold Medal. He is the subject of many dozens of websites and innumerable social media, not a few of which speculate on his sexuality. It is assumed he is gay but those close to him never talk about it. Another Japanese Shoma Uno has been close on his heels for some years. Will this be his year? To me it's a pity that he is quite small whereas Hanyu is perfectly proportioned for a skater. Both, though, will have to beat the young American Nathan Chen, nicknamed the King of the Quads for the ease with which he executes these fiendishly difficult quadruple jumps. He is the present World Champion, a title he has won twice before, and he won Bronze in 2018. Although I really hope Hanyu competes and wins, my gut tells me Chen could well win the Gold this time around. A long shot could be the 20-year old Korean skater Cha Jun-Hwan. I reckon the area where Yuzuru Hanyu has had the edge on his competitors is his superb artistic interpretation. No one interprets the music as well as he does. There are times when it is almost balletic. His short programme in Pyeongchang was surely as close to skating perfection as one will ever see.

After reading so many trip reports on here I thought it was time I contributed back as I've just finished a 4 week stay in Thailand. I'm afraid it won't be as good as many of the excellent reports on here but Ill do my best. My trip consisted of Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. All of my hotels were booked through Agoda and I had great deals in all 3 cities through the app. I'll break it down in to 5 posts in this thread but it might take me a while to get all the posts up as I'm still playing catch up with work. Post 1 will be general planning/entry into the country, Post 2 Bangkok report, Post 3 Phuket report, Post 4 Pattaya report and Post 5 general observations (including info on internal flights). So here goes Post 1... My trip planning started on 1st November when the Thailand pass become live. I realised there were going to be many hurdles to overcome but I was determined after a 2 year break from the country. I juggled about whether to book the flight first or apply for the pass first, in the end I applied for the pass and kept fingers crossed it would be approved. The preparation took me quite a few hours because it was a nightmare trying to understand how to convert all the documents into jpg (something that I don't think is required now with later modifications). It took 3 days for my pass to be approved and 5 days later with pass in hand I was finally on a plane again to Thailand. Arrival into Bangkok Arrived 8 am and Suvarnabhumi airport was very well organised. As soon as I left the plane and turned right there were plastic chairs in the corridor. We asked to move along to the first available vacant chair. The chairs seemed to be in batches of about 30. This was first 'provisional' check of documents where a team swept through and checked we had the correct documents and asked us to put them in a particular order ready for the official check. This took only about 5 minutes but once our batch of people had been checked we were then asked to move forward to the Thailand Pass desk for the official check. They checked the pass and also wanted to the plane seat number (squeaky bum time because the plane I was on was full). Everything ok, took literally less than a minute and then on to immigration. Immigration was brilliant - no queues and all barriers removed - I walked straight up to a desk. Got my 30 day stamp, picked up my luggage and then into the arrivals hall where we were greeted with all the hotel reps and looked for the Trinity Silom sign form my 24 hour incarceration. I was put in a van on my own which I previously requested by email. I think from leaving the plane to getting into the van took 15 - 20 minutes. It felt good to be in Thailand again but apprehensive of getting over the quarantine hurdle. Quarantine I was take into the basement of the hotel and immediately had a swab for the PCR. It was about 10 am and asked how the long the result would take and they told me tomorrow morning. It was a bit nerve wracking thinking of the 'what ifs' but a shower and then some sleep. About 12 noon some lunch delivered outside the door and then to my surprise at 1pm (just 3 hours after arrival) the phone rang. Sir we have your results... and we have to inform you (gulp)... it is negative so you are free to check out when you want. I didn't want to stay in prison any longer than necessary so I immediately got onto Agoda and got a great deal at another hotel. I checked out, was given a copy of the PCR negative result and lateral flow test which I was told just for me to check after 7 days, no mention of reporting the result or about any apps. After checking out of the quarantine hotel I headed into the Bangkok streets for the adventure...

I see that Santa Claus has left a new Model at Moonlight. Hope some of you will enjoy him at Hotmale!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

An important issue. At least for me. I have a flight for March 11th and Test and Go hotel for the 12th . Bluntly, I'm very pessimistic. However, were there a relaxation in the rules, the first thing I'd is to apply, hoping that even if the March12 date is lost, I could use it as soon as (or if) the scheme is reintroduced.

I watched the original 1961 film yesterday, and liked it at least as much as the new one.

I assume that you are doing the the direct flight to Bogota via Air Canada (apologies if incorrect) which take about 6 hours. It is nice to arrive directly at your destination, but landing in the middle of the night stinks. By the time you clear customs and have your luggage (BOG has one of the strictest baggage screening in the world) it is about 5am local time. I prefer to grab a room at a nearby airport hotel and get a few hours sleep before venturing into the city. El Dorado airport is in the west extreme of the city. Check with your hotel when they will allow you to do the check-in, as they are not as flexible as we are used to in Canada or U.S.A. Plan your travel times accordingly. Fun fact--the word in Colombian spanish for Check-in is "check-in". If you are transferring between flghts through either Panama or Mexico City (both are major hubs) then you may want to purchase a lounge pass where you can go relax between flights. Both airports are large and offer plenty of things to do while waiting for the next leg of the journey. I have flown through Panama City many times to arrive directly in Medellin and the layover was long, but the time went rather quickly. Take some entertainment to pass the time (book, music, podcasts, magazines). Merry Christmas!

While on the subject of Richard Barrow, he's posted this week about taking the night train to Chiang Mai and spending a day in the Diplomatic Suite at La Meridian. Check it out for some great photos and video.

There are two alternative ways to access Richard Barrow and neither require registration: https://www.richardbarrow.com/ Richard Barrow's Twitter site

Center Point Silom River View Touch down at 11:15 pm Airport pick up by a private nice sedan Check in around 12:30 am Swab test taken at 12:40 am Result became available around 2 pm US $150 for a spacious room with balcony, a kitchenette and even a washing machine inside the room. Food was pretty ok. All towels were brand new. I have never felt that clean inside any hotel room (even at those so called 5 stars) on the other side of the world. Everything was suspiciously clean and spotless. no AUNTS!!!!! Very well run, very well organized and nice - 5 Star from me. Highly recommended. I was also impressed by how well the whole process was run. i was swabbed and all set in my own hotel room within 90 minutes from the touch down. The fastest I have ever experienced.

Merry Christmas everyone

You have a good heart! Merry Christmas!

…. warm and lively, hot and wet

Welcome to Thailand, home of smiling , smooth and handsome

Jomtien Complex was open last night and Boyztown closed. A Boyztown staff member was at Jomtien Complex and said Boyztown would be open tonight, Christmas eve. The reasons for the closures vary from the new police boss visiting to someone calling and warning the bar owners that the police were on there way so the bars all closed. The Complex restaurants all remained open. The straight bars near the Jomtien Complex have all been open with no recent closures and not much in the way of Covid precautions being observed. It would be good to know the real reason for the closures of the Complex and Boyztown on alternate nights but it usually has something to do with the tea fund needing a top up.

Visited Jupiter at 10:00pm last night, show was about to start, 10-12 customers, 10-11 boys available, ratio wise this is the highest I have seen during my trip so far where customer number exceeds boys count. To top that 4 of them were girls and 1 wealthy customer who had one of those table occupied with lot of boys and whiskey bottle Most of the boys are top or straight acting (so they say), 3 of them were immediately offed by a table with 2 girls and 2 guys. 2 other boys were already booked by wealthy guy, leaving less offering on the table for others Nonetheless not too much loss for me as I already had something arranged for later this evening though wanted to check out how this bar has changed as my experience at Jupiter has been mixed. Anyway, paid 180 Bhat and off to Hotmale to see their model show, only 3 models available tonight, tempted to call "XYZ" (name changed due to privacy) looks very handsome, drinks 400 Bhat for me and for model/ any guy (no difference here). He speaks very little English so conversation was little difficult though that gives an opportunity to convey message with hands He's pure top and therefore things won't work between us but he was happy to offer oral experience with happy ending for 2K bhat (short time), while I love his nipples and very sensitive to touch (money on drinks worth spent), I would rather stick with full service so politely declined. He referred another guy who was cute but since I had an arrangement already so decided to stay with it. Got a text from my arrangement that he's waiting at hotel lobby so paid my bill (800 for drinks and 200 tip for our wonderful model) and called it a night.

Post 3 - Phuket report I had two visits to Phuket, both consisting of about 5 days. I had originally planned to visit only once, but I cut my Pattaya trip short as it was so quiet when I visited (bearing in mind this was the beginning of December) and returned to Phuket where it was more lively. Flights to Phuket I booked a flight from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi a day before travel each time and used Thai Smile and Air Asia. The four flights I booked cost (including luggage) 1200 bht, 850 baht, 2200 baht and 980 baht. I still find it amazing how ridiculously cheap internal flights are here. I was apprehensive about flying and what documents I would need, it turned out to be no hassle. Each time I was only asked show proof of my vaccination record on check in, so it's worth printing a copy for anyone thinking of doing the same. They didn't want to see my Thailand pass nor was I asked about the Mor Chana or any other app. I encountered no other check either end on my four flights and it was all very straightforward. Bars/Nightlife The main walking street / Bangla road was buzzing. It almost seemed like pre covid with most beer bars open and a throng of tourists. To enter the Bangla Road at night there was a check point at either end. Westerners simply had to take a temperature check but Thais had to take both a temperature check and show their vaccination certificate. This seemed quite the reversal to usual Thai/Farang policies on entering attractions! I spent some time in this area and although not gay there was plenty of handsome eye candy working in the bars. Inevitably, when drinking here I was had some attention from the ladies but if they were pleasant enough I didn't mind buying them the occasional drink and had a chat. This actually turned out to be quite fruitful as after making clear I wasn't interested and that I was gay this led on a few to times to being introduced to some guys. In one bar the very handsome bar tender was straight, but after being introduced by the lady I had a natter with he made it clear that he would be happy to take care of a "nice" (his words) foreign guy. On another occasion I was in more of a rock bar and got chatted up by a freelance lady where I made it clear straight away that I was gay. This time she told me that she was drinking with her gay friend and another lady and would I care to join them, now of course I know it was to secure them a few drinks for the night, but he was gorgeous so how could I refuse? I felt good, he was taking an interest, was taking care and there was a fun atmosphere all round - I enjoyed this night which culminated (metaphorically) with fireworks - worth every satang. In both situations it was all very relaxed and no pressure - I actually enjoyed doing things a little bit different to the usual haunts. The gay area around the royal paradise hotel was a little more subdued but there were enough bars open to make it worth a visit and there was a gentle cozy atmosphere. The main cabaret club which dominates the soi was closed during my visit so I think that might have had an impact, although on an occasional night they did put on a small bit of entertainment in the street with a drag artist which seemed to entertain the surrounding open bars. The saving bar for me turned out to be Gclub, recently opened next to Zag. I recognised some of the staff from Pattaya. I think eventually they will also do cabaret but the terrace was frequently busy and had passing boys regularly dropping by for a drink and a chat. There was also a bar opposite Zag (I think it might have once been connected to a hotel and is now called Zig, but I could have got this wrong). This bar was quite popular too and had a few pleasant drinks there, although on my second trip they suddenly closed - I was told by a boy that it was because someone was pinged through contact tracing and would be have to close for 10 days - though how accurate this was I don't know. It made me realise that people's businesses were just as vulnerable to these rules as tourists, except where a tourist might be inconvenienced after being pinged with these businesses it was their livelihoods at stake. I also discovered a small bar on the main massage soi called heaven. Apparently it's been there for years but I didn't know it existed in all the years id been visiting Phuket. 3 or 4 waiters and a great vantage point to eye up the guys in the local massage shops. I actually had one of the neighboring massage shop guys come and join me for a drink. Massage The main central soi in paradise seemed to be where most of the gay massage shops are located where I counted about 5 or 6 shops open. My favourite place was a place called 4 Massage (red shop) at the top of the soi, as being into more guy next door/fuller guys this is where they seemed to be (when I visited anyway). Hotels On both occasions I stayed in the Hilton Banthai. Got an absolute bargain on Agoda working out at an average of 1300 baht a night. 3 good sized pools, swim up bars and restaurants on site. I took the buffet breakfast on a couple of occasions which only cost an extra 200 baht for a full selection of hot and cold food. Rooms were comfortable and spotless. The only surprise was that were no wall switches and the controls for the room lighting, air con etc were stuck on a panel from what seemed to once been on the set of a 1980s star trek film - very odd and in an inconvenient place stuck down beside the side of only one side of the bed. I had no problems with joiners, I was a bit apprehensive about this after reading online reviews but simply walked in confidently each night with my companion and not a single eye was batted. There are also plenty of ways to get to the room by avoiding reception, but I chose the safe route and decided just to be confident about doing so. Guys There were plenty of opportunities through the bars and massage shops, but my best guys came from the apps. Some of the guys turned out to be working in the massage shops and would try and entice you to visit, however the apps were busy and plenty of choice. Similar tip expectations on enquiry to Pattaya, which is less than my last visit 3 years ago. It's also worth noting that in Phuket everyone I encountered in the apps were Thai, I guess the pandemic is keeping the other guys away. Daytime activities There's enough to keep my occupied for 4/5 days. Plenty of walks when staying in Patong, either up the hills at the back or along the coast. I walk miles each day but it's usually from one coffee shop / drinking establishment to the next until I'm tired, a refreshment and then onwards again. Fortunately there's plenty of stop off places. No where to report of particular note, but some were situated in places with spectacular scenery - I even uploaded a pic to my Instagram account (which now has the grand total of 6 pictures in the 6 or 7 years I've had the account - I've got some catching up to do to keep up with the Thai boys!). Transport The transport in Phuket really is its Achilles Heal. A couple of poor experiences. Airport car from the airport to Patong was 800 baht, ticket bought at domestic arrivals on both occasions. First journey from airport was a gruff intimidating driver who, amongst other things, tried to sell me a return back after the trip and demanded my line account. He was quite persistent so just took a pic of his Line QR with no intention to link it. For the rest of the journey I played dumb, ignored him and put my headphones on. When we reached the hotel I continued to ignore him and made no eye contact and let the bell boy take care of the case, knowing I was safely in the grounds of the hotel. The bell boy ended with double the tip as the amount I usually set aside for the taxi driver went into his hand instead. It didn't really bother me, but it would be intimidating for new time tourists to the Island. The taxi that the hotel arranged back wasn't much better. 900 baht hotel to airport. No intimidation this time but the drivers were erratic, one particularly so. I didn't bother with any Tuk tuks in Patong, I noted there were plenty of motorbike taxis available but I don't know the fares as I never used them. I just wish the Phuket authorities would sort out its transport. When I return to Phuket again, I'm considering renting a car for the duration of the stay.

Post 2 - Bangkok report My trip was broken into 5/6 days staying in each of Bangkok - Phuket - Pattaya - Phuket - Bangkok. As explained in the previous post I'll give a report of each location rather than a chronological order of the trip, so this post will be about my Bangkok experiences. Daytime activities During the day I like to do a lot of walking. General plan is there is no plan. Went exploring and got lost, have a coffee, move on see where the wind takes me. I couldn't access lumphini park, the entrances I found were all closed but I saw people in there so there must have an entrance I couldn't find. Visited the Ari area, the riverside area and took 2 boat trips. To enter the malls had to scan temperature each time. Generally each day ended up with a massage from one of the establishments on either the surawong or silom roads. I didnt get to any of the more upmarket gay massage places this time, mainly through being otherwise occupied rather than choice. Bars/Nightlife I should point out that food was available in all the establishments I visited. The place to be was Silom Soi 4. The place was buzzing, even on week nights. When I visited at the weekend I couldn't get a seat either at the new Circus bar or Balcony bar so ventured on those nights to a quieter cozy bar at the end of the soi where I got a seat (and happily chatted to some handsome waiters). The Circus bar seemed to be in the in place to be and when meeting up with some local guys this was the bar of choice where they would like to meet for a drink. I frequented the Pride bar (seemed to be more local Thai oriented - maybe because of the live singer - but just my impression) and visited Connections bar where I was warmly welcomed by the Australian owner and his boyfriend. In my first Bangkok stint I mainly frequented Balcony, Circus and Connections but I'd have no hesitation in supporting any of the bars on this soi and would be happy drinking in them all. Closing time most nights was either 11pm or 12 pm and earlier in the trip on some days alcohol could not be purchased after 9pm or 10pm. I don't know what rules are/were, and would simply follow the flow and directions of the staff. Soi 2 - I visited the DJ station complex a couple of times and the bar opposite as it had opened up during my visit. There were times where I was the only foreigner there and I didn't get to chat to anyone. I still enjoyed visiting though. I think they closed at midnight. Patpong area - This was very quiet and dark. There was one gogo bar open and this changed to three on my return. I did visit one of the gogo bars open (full street clothes only) which I won't name because I didn't enjoy the experience. The tout told me a drink was 250 bht only to be given a bill for 450 bht. I'm not tight, but that left a sour taste so I finished my drink, payed my bill and didn't return. Maybe it was just some confusion. I hope that post covid this area can get back in full swing again. Jupiter 2018 - This turned out to be the highlight of my trip. It had opened up on my second visit. Unfortunately for the bar there were very few customers but fortunately for me it meant much more interaction with the staff. About 8-10 models each night with a rotating live singer and catwalk format for the evening. About 15 minutes each rotation. Drink price was 170 thb for a beer and no entry fee - expect this to change when the shows return. Because they were very welcoming and had reasonable drink prices I was happy to open up and spend. The mamasans/captains here are not pushy and I found them very friendly. I got acquainted with a few of the guys there strutting the catwalk where some of them were happy to come back to the hotel after the bar had closed on various evenings to discuss the climate crisis. Hotels I stayed in Trinity Silom (one night only), Crowne Plaza and Quarter Silom. Crowne Plaza without a doubt turned out to be the best value for money for me and I enjoyed staying here. It was very cheap at average price of about 1400 thb through the Agoda app. For my stay at Quarter Silom Soi 6 and paid an average of 750thb. In normal times I would stay at the quarter again, but, for a brand new hotel I was surprised at a couple of things. Firstly the bathroom and part of the room flooded when taking a shower (could be avoided if holding the shower head and carefully angling away), only two bath towels provided (not hand towels) and a lack of storage space. For a city centre hotel I would stay here again but in my opinion there are much better value options during the present time with many good quality hotels heavily discounted (purely my opinion of course and we are all different and I guess my view was tainted as i had been spoiled with high end hotels in other parts of the trip). Restaurants Many options in Silom Soi 4 but don't expect anything fancy. I had good meals in Gs, Pride and Balcony. I also visited some more upmarket restaurants and was taken to a fancy Italian restaurant on Witthaya Road (can't remember all the names sorry...) Two restaurants visited on Sukhumvit soi 11 - Hemingway's for Sunday lunch (nice roast) and Oskar for dinner. Guys Ive already mentioned my acquaintances at Jupiter. Everything else was via the apps. When I first arrived was bombarded with many offers from mostly Cambodian guys looking for some tips and got to know a few of them. What did surprise me was how many local and other expat asian guys there were interested in meeting up for free. It just needed a little patience and spectrum ranged from 21 year old twinky students to 35 year old very handsome muscle guys which wouldn't look out of place at some of the model bars and a few older gents too. Would you believe I even had one very attractive 25 hiso guy take me out to dinner picking me up in his BMW!! I couldn't believe my luck - he was just sexually attracted to older white guys. Back to our friends looking for some support I noticed more isaan boys on the apps for the second Bangkok stint where I became acquainted with a few of them - hopefully a sign many are starting to return back to the cities. Transport Mainly walking. I used the BTS and when needing to take a taxi I used the bolt app. The bolt app ended up being the best and cheapest taxi app. Overall, with the exception of Patpong being closed, and with some adjustment elsewhere there was much on offer in Bangkok.

I knew him when we were both young men. I’d never describe him as handsome as he had an angular face and a very big nose. We had what I’d call a nodding acquaintance as we’d acknowledge each other with a nod when we met. We weren’t friends as he was consumed with his film-making and I was heavily involved in the political aspects of gay liberation.