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Day 15 In the morning breakfast in hotel. I start missing my morning trips to world famous multi star Foodland and I suspect personnel there may wonder where’s that farang showing with different boy or other farangs every few hours? 4 days in Pattaya then 3 in hotel with breakfast, time to return where I belong. That’s easy, at 12 on the dot I left hotel, took motorsai for 60 baht and few minutes later I was checking in “At 21 Saladaeng”. Not quite hotel, more like serviced apartments but they have short time rentals ( not by the hour mind you) available on Agoda so I took a plunge for fun of it as I never stay there but knew somebody who did. They checked me right away without need to wait for 2 or 3 p.m. like in some places so I could Line K to come as soon as he finishes his workouts. It was first of those ‘more than once” I promised him”. Room at “ At 21 Saladaeng’ is more like small apartment with separate living room, full kitchen and a bedroom, lots of storage space too, not that I need much with my 7 kg carry on luggage only. Warning in that place – reception is open only during day time so no check in and presumably check out at night. Location is convenient, short walk from Silom past now closed Senso. Across the soi during day is market with lots of food options and some goodies for sale. On the ground floor there’s upscale Zanotti Italian restaurant Soon K lined me that he is coming so I went downstairs to help him in case there will be problem with parking his motorbike , was none , they just showed him where’s motorbike section , I forced 50 baht into attendant palm and we went upstairs where I had very bright idea of massaging him. That’s ridiculous , to pay inflated short time rate to boy to do nothing, just turn over when motioned. But I did more stupid things in my life and this actually was not as stupid as it sounds since we both enjoyed it. He did not fake being satisfied with my strokes because in few places he actually instructed me that pressure is too high / legs/ and too gentle / shoulders / . So I can say we had fun having fun as massage obviously did not fill all that, rather long , short time encounter . After session we went to soi 4 for a dinner. Since he had motorbike we travelled in style. Guardian Angel intervened and suggested K to park his bike at Tawan and then we could walk to soi 4. When we walked I saw familiar face, very familiar but who the hell he is? That question mark was visible on my face so guy hastened with introduction “ I’m Neo, Namo’s brother “ . What a surprise , another unexpected reunion. They both worked in Bangkok massage in soi Twilight and after that he was working at their new location in Patpong 2 while Namo went to Senso to be captain there. I know Neo only from chance meetings at massage , small talks, wais and handshakes but Namo is something else, along with certain Tao from BBB Inn with 11 offs is my third most offed guy in human history ! So inevitable I asked question how his brother is doing and where he is working now. Answer was freezing – while skating!!! In Thailand !!! he broke his leg and did it badly so for last 2 months he is stuck in his room very slowly recovering. Since he was going to work at Paradise massage in soi 6 and he saw me being with company we exchanged Line with promise to continue that way, to which I added I will visit him at his work at one point. But that news derailed me a bit as Namo obviously was one of my favorites for quite long time. Later on he helped me to get Line from Namo who send me picture of his injury and it was not a pleasant sight but recovery is at least progressing although much slower than he hopes. We will have more surprises in that subject later. After that surprise meeting K and me continued to G’Bangkok for our dinner and I must say my companion was head turner , fact noticed even by the owner. I imagine there were some nasty comments in the background in line with “such hunk wasting his time with some old fart, poor caricature of KFC man” but who cares ? I was that fart and hunk was dining with me ! After dinner we parted ways and in the evening I went for a beer to Hot Male to a delight of tiny Lao there and from there to Moonlight. As you may recall, yesterday I promised A the hunk to take him today and be prepared to pay his somewhat inflated tip. But he is worth it. Only 3 models on duty today , A was on the scene with some good looking new boy , smiled seeing me so I motion him to come, he suggested we go to Dreamboys because he wants to see his friend there. Why I should care ? thought I but before I dismissed idea Guardian Angel for second time today passed by and touched me with feather which I understand as order ‘ shut up and go you fool”. Off we went not waiting for show there since we were about to see one in Dreamboys. We arrived bit early so fully dressed boys were presenting themselves on the scene and I couldn’t believe whom I saw there !. Dit, formerly from Arena, world record holder with 15 offs over the years . Last time I saw him 4 if not 5 years ago, when I was in Arena in December they told me he went home, in short I thought I will never see him again. And this is exactly word for word what he told me when he came over. He remembered my name and where I’m coming from and even where I was born. I too remembered where he is from. No I did not waste money on drink for him , tipped him 500 instead and told him after tomorrow we have proper Long Time reunion since I was engaged tonight and had firm plans for tomorrow. As we learn later , after tomorrow will be more significant thus more suitable for such reunion , mother of all reunions. I did not forget I’m with A tonight , he won’t let me. A pointed at his friend and asked me to give him 200 so he can tip his friend. Some people have a nerve ! I don’t mind tipping his friend though but can do it myself so I took that 2 reds , went to the stage and using now world famous and patented Vinapu tuck I placed notes deep into friends briefs to an applause of audience as it was deep enough I could find that everything is in place THERE. That was not last of A’s antics today , while I was talking to Dit he invited his friend for a not one but two drinks ,beer and shot of some spirit , of course on my tab without even bothering to ask me. Not that friend bother to thank me either. But on such festive evening I let it go. We watched show, today there was f..k show as well and when performers approached me armed with 2 red notes I actually checked insertion to a second applause tonight. I could see that A did not approve it and immediately lent me a tissue to wipe my hand from KY or whatever ointment they were using. When setting a bill , for 4 drinks it was 1750 when change arrived before I could do anything A took 100 baht and tipped waiter and this was third antic I did not like. In bar for drinks I tip 20 baht per waiter’s trip regardless how many drinks he brings so it would be 40 , not 100. Why I’m writing all that ? For readers to learn what kind of pitfalls may await them when they go to a bar with guy who takes them for granted. As much as I like A , I did not like it. ATM don’t have it easy , do they? No pre-off dinner tonight, I was not hungry, he did not mention it and I , smarting after paying for those 2 friend’s drinks did not ask. In the room though all went very well. Such massive chiseled muscles at my disposal! In the morning we even had wrestling match which I lost but not that easy. Like my grandmother used to say “ in old stove devil sets flame “ . So at end of day 15 antics forgiven and forgotten but lesson learned.

Watched a show in M2M. Again, enjoyed it very much. I also wanna see again the dancer, who blowed me away (figuratively) in the previous trip. He's still great, moving like a gayish ballet dancer with a lot of energy and oozing charm. Guy is obviously not the kind of twinks I'm usually into (a bit mature and a bit big). In other words, his look is not really a turn-on for me. But somehow, I can't take my eyes off him when he performs. I even picture this crazy scene: off him and watch him dance in bed for an hour But when he drags, the whole package looks really disturbing Before show, I messaged a boy asking him to come and join me in M2M, and we can go to my hotel later. He replied "I don't want to go in there". I then asked if he can go to my hotel the next day, he said "Could you change hotel. I don't like Jomtien Complex" and only agreed to meet when I explained my hotel is close to but NOT in Jomtien Complex. This is the second time I saw this Jomtien-phobia thing. Right before Covid, a boy I had before (one of my memorable offs) turned down my offer for a repeat because that time I stayed in Zing. He made it very clear: If Jomtien Complex, I not go. Those two boys have something in common: pretty young, gay, have a regular job and only do this to earn extra money. I can't figure out why they hate Jomtien Complex (I asked but they wouldn't say). Any thoughts? So the next day, after an afternoon session with the boy who hates Jomtien, my boy quota for the day was met. Evening, I went to Winner Boy bar just to watch boys having fun in underwear. There were 9 boys working that night (one already got offed before I arrived) and 4 or 5 groups of customers, most of whom sat outside, only one inside with two boys. I bought drink for the first boy who approached me and we got talking. Little did I know, I got to hear his life story for the whole next hour He's from Bangkok, 25 years old, gay, vers top, started his MB career at Kawaii go-go bar in Boyztown when he was 17 (that means he was underaged and had to, his words, "run" whenever the police knocked on the door). His met his farang (French) boyfriend, now ex-bf, when he was 19 and the other 58, and stayed in that relationship for 4 years (show me his arm tattoo with his ex's name). It sounds like it was serious as he brought the guy home to meet the family (show me pictures of the boyfriend taken with him and his mum) and they even discussed the possibility of same-sex marriage. He didn't know why they broke up but the ex now has a new boyfriend back in France (show me pictures of a cute Caucasian teen whom I would totally off with the permission of the said boyfriend). Note to self: try to find cute boys who used to have farang boyfriends because they speak good English. During the course of their relationship, boyfriend rented him a room, told him to quit his go-go job and also not to let other boys stay with him. But he kept working without the other knowing because, he said, some months boyfriend only sent 10K and the room alone already cost 8K (it was a nice room), he didn't have enough money left for food and other stuff so he had to work. Boyfriend visited him three times each year, stayed roughly a month each. Whenever he visited, they had sex every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, it was too much for him, especially because he had to bottom while prefer being a top. It looks like the boyfriend was also a bad influence on him in the way that the former drank and smoked heavily. He said he was drunk all the time whenever the French guy visited and also became a chain-smoker himself. Now he can cut down on drinking, but couldn't give up smoking despite trying. Then he cheated and got a Thai boyfriend, who stayed with him in the same room the French rented for him. Once they video-called and the farang got glimpse of the other boyfriend, he got jealous. Next time they video-called, he made the poor lad go around the house with his phone camera, even into the toilet, to prove that there was no one else in the house Then he cheated some more and got another farang supporter, who also sent him money every month until he died of Covid. I asked the boy if he prefers Asians and he said "sure, any time". Without taking into consideration financial support, he would go for Asian boyfriends only. Anyway, back to his stories. Difficult times came with Covid. He went home to his mom for one year, then couldn't get along with her new boyfriend-cum-business-partner so he left and went back to Pattaya. Stayed in Winner Boy bar with 4 other boys for almost a year. Although his boss tried to support them as much as he could (providing accommodation, food ingredients and cookware so they can cook for themselves) and occasional customers who came to off them secretly from the closed bar, there were days he had nothing to eat or even had to pawn his cell phone to buy food. He gave a lot of credit to his boss, saying "we survived because we have a good boss". Now he moved out and can afford to have his own room but it's still difficult. He only had one customer in the last two weeks. The current room rent + utility bills cost 2.5K, he needs around 200 for food per day and another 100 for cigarette, so roughly 12K per month to live on. Back in Kawaii days, he said, he earned a lot of easy moneys, many days with two offs and customers were often more generous than the 1500ST/2500LT standard rate (now, he's willing to go ST for just 1000). He said he spent all that money on visiting karaoke host bars often having as many as 4 or 5 boys sit with him in one session (he's gay after all). So it's that funny cycle: he spent money from people who liked him on boys he liked, he used the support from his farang boyfriend to support his Thai boyfriend. His farang boyfriend f*cked him who in turns f*cked his Thai boyfriend (the so-called boy-on-boy-on-boy arrangement). I noticed that he talked about cheating quite nonchalantly like it was just the way of life, a fair exchange, not something morally wrong or shameful. This is the first time I digged into a Thai MB's complicated relationships with multiple partners-cum-supporters, so I don't know if this also speaks for others. He concluded his story, saying with regret: I used to have a lot of money, but I didn't save. Now I learned how to save but I don't have much anymore. It was 10.30 pm when I left. The bar was empty of customers except for one blond-haired farang sitting in a corner with a new boy who just showed up for work today (24 years old, nice ass, very sexy and revealing undies). They did something quietly for more than an hour, ordering several rounds of drinks and the boy later took a large tower to cover certain parts of his body (under-the-table activities under way I presume). Most boys also left (probably no hope for more customers to come). The only waiter (a chubby Thai with highlighted hairs in his mid-30s) nodded off in another corner. Boy told me he's the owner's boyfriend (who's 61, sitting outside with the only remaining boy) and they have been together for 13 years. My soft drink was 90, boy drink was 150. I gave the boy 500 for his time. I would see him again for other activities. The boy has good genes. Despite everything he had been through, smoking, drinking, Covid and all, still look quite boyish with a lean, supple body. To a Westerner, he may look like he's still in high school who took to wearing underwear as his uniform.

Yesterday was a good one - my first full day in Pattaya. Firstly I got my iphone operational. I was under the impression that it was locked to o2, my U.K. service, and that unlocking would be difficult and that a solution would be to buy an old phone just to make calls back home and to potential boys. With that in mind I walked to Tuk Com when it opened at 11.00. Browsing around looking at the displays of old phones (around 1000 baht) I responded to a lady stall-holders’ “can I help you “ with “I hope so - I think this phone is locked”. She did something and replied with an emphatic “not locked” and described various SIM card options. However this needed my passport which I had left in the Ambiance room safe. Keen to get my problem sorted out with an obvious expert I went to and fro to fetch it by motor bike. Within 15 minutes my phone was equipped with a Thai SIM card plus 500 baht of data and a charger. My next task was to fill my wallet with cash using my bank debit card from an atm inside a bank (some years ago in Thailand the cash failed to emerge from a street atm and it was a lot of hassle to receive reimbursement) Thus armed my thoughts turned to boys and back at the hotel I logged on to Romeo having failed to understand how Grindr worked (i think it’s not properly installed on my iPad) I contacted a promising boy and within an hour he was with me in the room. It was a happy experience, principally because despite my worries, I was able to perform (non chemical aided) and he gave a 100% service, for which he was well rewarded. He said I had offed him 2 years ago, but I could not remember. My evening campaign was largely focussed on Winner Boy Bar, where at 10 pm the boys were still dancing in briefs inside. Selecting a cute one I tried to describe what my expectations were but his English was negligible and a rather unsatisfactory experience resulted. The preliminaries were fine but when it came to pénétration things came to a grinding halt with him stating - “I sorry -‘cannot’ . Oh well I thought you can’t win them all so he got minimum tip and I changed mode and read a book for an hour or so before sleep.

Yes Winner was certainly thriving last night when I was there at 10pm with around 10 boys still there - 2 or 3 outside sat at tables with customers and the rest taking it in turns to dance or with the 3 customers including myself. Drinks are inexpensive and the music volume is reasonable. Boys were all in briefs apart from one in a g-string. It’s an Oasis in the mIddle of a ghost town. The owner certainly has got the formula right, but then it always used to be right in days gone by. Sunee’s decline could be judged by the motor bike taxi driver I engaged on second road not knowing where it was situated - I had to direct him. When I told him to stop at the entrance he looked down the dark deserted Soi appeared worried and said “sure ?”

socialize rather with younger crowd , they are usually more upbeat. Expats have plenty of time to organize themselves semi -permanent massage guys and negotiate much lower prices. We people on holidays don't want to lose our two -weeks millionaire status and tip more generously

2. So around 8.30 pm, I reached Boyztown and first looked into Toy Boys. They only had three boys in total, all in boxers, two were talking to each other, and one standing at the door greeting customers. Since there were no customers yet and the mamasan in question was no where to be seen, I couldn't come in to ignore him so I left and decided to visit one of the soil's beer bars. The three beer bars currently in operation in Boyztown are Pikky, Serene and Panorama, situated right next to each other and in that order (from Pattayasaisong Road entrance). Both Panorama and Serene had virtually no customers at the time, while Pikky, the smallest one - just a quarter the size of Panorama, already had quite a few. It was not hard to see why: they had around 10 twinky boys, many of whom I found cute while the other bars had only one or two staffers on duty. So I sat at the Pikky bar, their front table, to watch the soi traffic, which was typically light on a Monday night. Ordered my drink and invited two boys over, one Thai and one Lao, both of whom I already knew from the apps. Thai boy used to work in Winner Boy bar (the one I mentioned in the Winner Boy bar thread a few weeks ago: he came to work and stripped down to his undies just to pull up again to go with a customer). He's really skinny and small built, gay and bottom-only. So just to tease him, I asked if customers ever asked him to top. There was one before Covid, a Chinese woman, who was into small-boy looking types. He told me, he didn't want to go because he knew he wouldn't be able to perform, but mamasan kept pressuring him, saying the customer would pay as much as 10K. So he went and of course, couldn't get it up (he also admitted he has a rather small "tool"), and hence, had to use his fingers (showing me his fingers while telling this - they don't look like they are great tools either). Probably because of that, he got "only" 5000 instead of the promised 10K. At that point, Boyz Boyz Boyz started their boy parade, which was put on pause for the last two years. Thai boy said they just restarted yesterday and it was not just BBB business. It's more like Pride parade and all the bars in the soi pooled their talents (the banner-carrier drag queen is actually Castro's staff and there were more than 30 boy participants), but the boys in Pikky stayed out of it because they were shy. Then there was a smart-dressing elderly farang in wheelchair, who wheeled himself in. Now it's Lao boy's turn, who got an off from that customer, volunteered to share his experience. He said the guy was paralyzed from waist down and didn't take off his pants. The boy just worked second base up, nipple playing, kissing and all. Having heard something I probably shouldn't have, I look at that farang with admiration, thinking: when I reach his age and if I ever were in a similarly unfortunate situation, would I still have it in me to keep going and enjoy life like that? To the gentleman himself and others, it was probably a patronizing thought, but it was inspiring to me. Lost in my thoughts for a while, until Lao boy brought me back to reality, asking "Are you okay?" Although Thai boy's look appeals more to me, I kinda connected better with Lao boy (also gay and bottom vers), who is more observant and also speaks better English. While I was there, another farang customer left with three boys in tow. I watched them walking away and Lao boy, as if he could read my thoughts, said: It's not like that. He took care of them during Covid times. He said with feeling. To lighten the mood, I asked would they be okay if I off them both at the same time. Both nodded. Then I added: but you have to do each other, I'm just there to watch. Lao boy was like "What???" then said "I can't but he (Thai boy) can f*ck me". They discussed this in Thai then Thai boy burst out laughing "No way!!!" Speaking of threesome, in my experience, straight guys often have little problem with this arrangement as to them, it's just work (like you are asked to do a gay porn together). Straight boys I know back in Vietnam certain don't. Some even offer "a discount" if you take their "brother" as well. On the other hand, gay boys who are "sisters" with each other might mind. My previous offers for threesome was turned down twice in Pattaya (one in Toy Boy and another in Power Boy). In each case, both boys wanted to go with me but separately. You can off him today, off me tomorrow. They wouldn't do it if their "sister" is around. It's too weird, they said. Enough joke. I didn't intend to off anyone anyway after my session with Kiwi earlier. Gave each boy 200 and mamasan 100 as tips. My Pikky soft drink was 80B, boy drink was 200 each (they get to keep 100), off fee is 300 (boys get to keep 100), so an off means boy can earn at least 1700 from drink, off fee and his ST fee. I thinks it's fair. For comparisons, Lao boy told me Toy Boys charges 500 off fee (boys also get to keep 100). Before Covid, a Viet boy I offed from Luck Boys in Bangkok told me he earned some from boy drink but nothing from the off fee (or bar fine). On my way out, I walked past Toy Boys again. They now had 5 boys (one got offed and went with his customer to Pikky) but still no sight of the mamasan I'm so eager to run into again. Maybe another time. I took the bus baht back to Jomtien Complex. (to be continued)

Those sneaky sons of guns. They’re just like us, pretending not to speak Thai.

Glad that you enjoyed your guy even though he really treated you as ATM. But then, if he didn't ask you to take him to Dreamboys, you wouldn't have found out that Dit is working there. So everything happens for a reason. Same also for Neo bumping into you and K after motorbike ride.

Dusit closed over 3 years ago. Great shame. It was my favourite hotel, the suites were great. The executive lounge was like a second home, ' you like normal gin and tonic, not much ice.' I stayed there a week before it closed, all very sad. The new wing was not interesting, but the main building was really Thai, silk and wood everywhere. Also near gay area, and easy to bring boys back! Problem was the huge car park area, prime land, and produced no income. They say the 'new' Dusit will retain the iconic spire, but I fear it will be a featureless modern 5 star hotel.

There is an ignore feature that allows you to block out annoying users. I suggest people make use of it. These public pissing matches are just tedious for the rest of us. Enjoy, don't take it all too seriously, and don't share personal information here because some people are fucking crazy. The problem is that you often don't know which ones...

The beds at Tarntawan were replaced about the same time the Mahanakhon building observation deck opened. Remember this because day after going there I passed by Tarntawan and workers were hauling old mattresses down driveway. It coincided with change in name of hotel and management. Believe I posted photo on forum. If only those beds could talk.

I once offed a boy from Power Boy in Sunee. He was 19 years old at that time, tall (more than 1m80), lean and smooth, playing basketball in high school, so basically model materials if he gym-trained right. A couple of years later, I ran into him on Hornet. He moved to NAB but told me NAB charged a lot for both bar fine and boy fee (a few thousands each, if memory serves) so don't go there. Just contact him directly if I want to off him again.

Thank you fedssocr for the link to Better Burma, they need all the help and support we can give.

no , map shows old Tawan location ( # 27 ), now bar moved across the soi and quite possible it's in old Tomahawk location (#26). I remember Tomahawk but can't swear it was exactly in that unit. By the way , random look at Dreaded Ned website back on 2001 made me interested on Thailand when I was planning Burma and Cambodia trip so I can say his website is father of my 22 Thai trips

you can lobby your government to help and keep the issue in the minds of your circle if you are on social media (or off). And there are some NGOs that are helping people on the ground. I've been donating to Better Burma via Patreon

posters can share whatever they see fit as long as it's not offensive or against the rules. Readers have option of reading posted material or skipping it at will. Boring for one may be interesting for another

not that I care but staff at every hotel I stay with exception of possibly Classrooms with their discreet key operated entrance knows my routine . Out in the morning with guy in tow going for breakfast, somebody coming mid-day and 2-3 hrs. later I'm walking guy in at least to the street ( I always do that unless guy who came was flop, then I don't care), out at 7.30-8.30 and back with friend (rarely two of them). if polite question ' can I rape you ? " is considered rape, than answer is yes. I declined because I don't have habit of being raped on odd day and in fact on even days either.

it's exactly why I like him, at least in the picture. In order to follow on that I need to see that spark in the eye and / or the smile directed at me

Mena is a good friend of mine and always steered me right. He would never deliberately not recommend a boy, but would simply say "I think you can do better" when it came to the ones that had bad feedback from customers. He also introduced me to a lot of Khmer guys in the club's that I would not have met through the bar... The good old days!

In TB pre-covid Mena from Cambodia and Aof from Thailand were the official mamasans Pat/Puk was the manager (short 50s)and the owner was from Taiwan and rarely present, when present he was usually on the terrace (tall, fit with light beard early 40s) All the other floor staff were considered to be waiters, the Chinese speaking guy was often run off his feet doing the negotiations with Chinese customers. I have seen Mena requesting tips up front from middle Eastern or South Asian customers, but usually only on their first visit to ensure that they know the customs when it comes to tipping

Sitting at GRU now and I’ll try to sum up a bit my 8-day trip in Sao Paulo. This post is about non-sexual stuff, and the sexual part will be the next one. If you are a repeated visiter in Brazil, you might want to skip it as you’d know most of the things already. Seen that I’ll be back to Brazil next month after Colombia, I didn’t force myself to do anything that I didn’t feel like this past week. There will be more time… I’m fluent in Portuguese, but the European one. For those who are not familiar with the two versions of this lovely language, let’s say the difference is about 10 times the one between British and American English or European and Latin American Spanish, and 5 times the one between French and Quebecois. We in Europe have certain exposure to Brazilian Portuguese as many movies and tv-shows are dabbed into it. I was shocked to see how little Brazilians are exposed to European Portuguese. Most people I talked to, whichever social class they may be from, and I talked to a lot of them, don’t even recognize basic words such as Fixe (Legal), sesta (soneca) and Patavina (Nada). Of course there are also lots of slangs that I didn’t understand at first, but communication was not an issue. The arrival at GRU was very smooth, I was the first to pass immigration, and my luggage did follow from Paris and came out one of the firsts. I was somehow stressed about it as the stopover at MEX was CHAOTIC! The interline agreement from Air France and Aeromexco was a joke. Everyone had to go cross the immigration, retrieve the luggage, cross the customer with it, then right behind, on the left, there was a zone for connecting flights’ luggage. It was very badly explained or guided. Most passengers brought the luggages with them and took the monorail to T2 to recheck them in there, which was VERY far and very time consuming. The luggage service at MEX was a bigger joke! I was on biz and it took them more than one hour to deliver the luggage. Don’t even try if your connection is shorter than 3 hours. One of the Aeromexico lounge at T2 has a ‘Spa’ with ONE shower. They only schedule ONE passenger every half an hour, even most of us just need 5 minutes to fresh up. It was a big downgrade from Air France lounge at CDG, where you can even enjoy unlimited Finnish sauna… The Aeromexico flight to GRU was actually not half bad. Newish 787 and food has taste. It was my first time in SP and I was not impressed by the urbanism. Everything looks dated and tired. The historical centre is small and dirty. The Sé, the San Bento monastery and whatever touristic stuff they tried to fabricate has very limited interest compared to even 3rd tier European cities. The area of Republica and Bela Vista seemed safe but the infrastructure was dated. Patched roads, running-down houses and visible poverty. In Republica there are some small cute shops catering to lower mid-market, very possibly gay clientele. I spent most of my nights at Intercontinental. Dated design but very well maintained, and extremely well managed. Being the top-tier member, I was given the Paulista suite with a jacuzzi. Even though I had to break my stay into 3 checkins, they kept that suite for me and personalized it according to my preference without me asking for it. Hot milk upon arrival, cervical pillows, camomile tea with honey in the evening, etc. This level of service is standard in Four Seasons or Ritz but definitely a sign of high professionalism in an Intercon. I did venture to Wyndham Paulista once and I ran back screaming. In Europe, Wyndham is a well respected chain. How could this one be so racked? Everything was cheap and most things were broken. Anyhow, stay in Intercon if you want to be near MASP in SP. The breakfast is standard but with an impressive selection of cut fruits and juices. The lunch and dinner are served both in the restaurant and the lobby bar, and I had most of my dinners at the latter. Two of the evenings, they had a great vocal band there. Great performance. I’m a big fun of Bossa Nova and vocal jazz. FullSizeRender.MOV Ave. Paulista is a constant reminder of the lost glory of Brazil. Besides museums and public buildings, two shopping centres are considered good, City Sao Paulo and Patio Paulista. They are not very up-scale but have most things one might need. The exchange in Patio Paulista, near the food court, has the best rate (USD 4.8+ vers. 4.7). A much better shopping centre that I visited was the Iguatemi. It has Hermes, Louis Vuitton, etc. Most imported luxury goods are twice the price compared to Europe so I’m not buying ANYTHING foreign here. I do get the feeling that luxury goods are reserved to a very small portion of the population in Brazil. Most of mid-class Brazilians, based on my observation, would buy branded perfumes, which are btw extremely overpriced here, and refill them with local juice. I think it’s very smart and says a lot about Brazilian reality. I even had a GP who contacted me, asking me to bring him a bottle in exchange of 3 free sessions. Could it be a trick to score discounted sex? Lol. Maybe it’s the Japanese influence, massage seems to be an organic part of Paulista life. There is a very basic massage parlour on B1 of City Sao Paulo, right in front of the escalators. Two very cute masseurs were spotted there. With just a curtain which separates the bench from the reception, I didn’t feel like trying. But I was later told by a Grindr encounter that things do happen there. Many massage and beauty venues can be found on B1 of Patio Paulista yet I didn’t see any male therapists. I did get a good Shiazu massage from a nice Japenese lady from one of the places, which was good. I also had a massage from a stand-alone massage parlour on a side street of Ave. Paulista. I was lured in by the photo of the masseur posted outside. Quite curative Swedish-Thai mixture, no hanky-panky, not even suggestive. As the one previous one, I paid less than 200 reais. He did mentioned that he also do hotel outcall for 300 reais. Would it be more sensual? I also got a facial from one of the most famous local skin care brands, Adcos. Nothing to be compared to a French facial, but good enough to be called one. They have a very sophisticated cash-back, membership, and referral bonus system. The vendor was very surprised that I understood it right after he explained. LOL. I was like, Hey, I’m Chinese. We invented all this! I found the service in general very good. They are very driven yet not pushy. The Paulista Jardim area is much more affluent, and Rua Oscar Freire seem to be the ‘Faubourg Saint-Honoré’ of SP. Lots lots of nice local shops, cafés and restaurants. Besides major international mid-market brands, lots of local brands can be found there. What’s really exiting is the presence of many work-shop-stage local designer shops. Very often the shop is street level, and the atelier / office is upstairs or on the back. There are a couple galeries and one, Urban Art, is really good and extremely affordable. Big pieces are going around 500 USD and I was very attempted to get one for my new apartment in Lisbon. Maybe I’ll do that before I leave in August. Many trendy cafés on Rua Oscar Freire and the parallel Rua Lorena. One appears to be very popular, with a long queue outside all the time. I hate queueing. Many chic Paulistanos walk their cute little dogs in this area, which give it a ‘Avenue Montaigne’ vibe. If I were to rent an airbnb, I’d definitely consider here. I went to Bem Retiro, the Korean / Chinese town on Dia de Namorados (Brazilian Saint Valentine) with my little husband (I’ll explain it in the next post). We did Karaoke (about reais per hour) and had dinner in a very authentic (both the cooking and the decor) Chinese restaurant. It’s actually almost only cater to Chinese customers. My little hubby told me that he wanted to try it since long long time, but they actually request Brazilian customers to be accompanied by at least one Chinese. Not because they are racist, but because virtually no one there speaks Portuguese and the menu is completely in Chinese. It was my first Chinese meal there. I insisted to order Pax + 1 dishes, as we do normally in China. But when the three dishes showed up, we felt obliged to invite 5 more guys to join us. Lol. In Chinese / Korean restaurants here, portions are ridiculously huge. Days later, in another restaurant, we actually saw Brazilian families of 3 or 4 ordering only one dish to share, and it’s fairly common. Brazilians do bring over-ordered food home in plastic boxes, as in most Asian countries, and I love it. Wasting food nowadays is so shameful. Europeans need to learn that! I spent my last evening in Libertade, the Japanese / Asian town. Many asian shops, filled with cute little stuff. But I was told that most of those things can be found on Ali-express (a cheaper and foreign version of taobao, or a B2C version of Alibaba) for a fracture of the price. At least 3 guys talk about Ali-express and how much they are dependant on it. I’m not a big fun of Japanese food so we ate in a Filipino restaurant. On the table aside were an American couple and they told us that Filipino restaurants are very uncommon in SP. The food appeared authentic and we ate for less than 100 reais! Restaurants are somehow expensive in the city centre for the locals. I’d count 50 to 100 reais per person for fairly simple food. Food court in shopping centres may cost you 30 to 50 and really high-end places might have sky as limit. I did find a Michelin one star restaurant on Oscar Freire, and I tried to bring little husby there, but he insisted that we ate Asian food instead, as it’s more to our taste anyway. I was using uber most of the time. But I did try once the bus, out of curiosity. It’s extremely simple. There’s someone in the bus to sell the ticket, and it costs 4.4 reais. You can pay with cash, but maybe not too large note, because they won’t have enough changes for you. I didn’t manage to buy the famous ‘Bilhete Único’. They don’t sell it in the subway station, you need to go to main bus stations (am I mis-informed?) Once you have the card, you can charge it on the machines in the station. I was told that old people can ride for free and students pay only half. The bolistas (state scholarship owners) ride for free too. My little husby is doing an intern at an international fashion house and he’s paid pretty well for that in Brazilian standards, 1500 reais salary, plus 700 for food and 300 for transport, which he considers as very generous. He told me the entry level job in that company would be 500 reais more, and a entry level employee in a bank would be 1800 as salary but with probably less food and transport subsidies. The economy is very fragile here, largely due to bad management of the government. I saw in news that in 2021 Brazilian had the weakest income in the past ten years, with an average of merely 1535 reais per month (if I remember the number correctly), slightly above the minimal salary. 10.8% of the population had less than 210 reais as monthly income. There was the scandal of Petrobra, and another one about the 28 millions of Pfizer and Astrazenec vaccines, costing over 1 billion reais, are about to expire before reaching to the much in-need. Every time I turned on the news, some crazy shit is happening. I decided not to watch TV anymore. It’s a country with such potential, but so much was wasted. I remember, when I was a kid, before China became a thing, Brazil was often praised to be the next economy power house. Even as a foreigner, I feel great pity for it, especially for its people. That said, Brazilians need to learn to be more organized and more punctuate. The numbers of my appointments that were delayed and cancelled were scary. Actually, not once, not once, Brazilians I met were on time, if they decide to show up. I’m not talking about only private appointments here. The transport in SP city centre seems fine, but to / from GRU seems more challenging. My ride was about one hour each time, which is unbearably long for 24 km. Price-wise, it’s about 15 for 3 km, 20-25 for 5-6 km, and 70 for 24 km, so you get the idea. I got a haircut in a little hair salon, with a post-industrial vibe. It was 40 reais. The Cabeleireira had little idea what to do with Asian hair, and I wonder where those Japanese descendants get their hair done. I didn’t see any asian hair dresser even in Bem Retiro or Libertade. Later I noticed some more chic places charging 100 reais for a cut. Oh gosh, sorry for this random jabber. I just wanted to record some facts that I found interesting, amusing or shocking. I promise that the next post would be more to you guys’ taste. FullSizeRender.MOV

There is one member of this forum who seems to be suffering from some form of paranoia. It could be related to his past drug use (which he admitted in one of his posts). It seems he believes there are people who make fake profiles, join the forum, provide helpful information about a place, and then try to gather information about hustlers. It is one of the strangest conspiracy theories I have ever heard, and unfortunately, he's targeting me and several other members. He even went so far as to accuse people of not really being in the places they say they are and one unfortunate member after posting photos of his passport to prove it, was still called a liar. The sad thing is to see others jump on this bandwagon and then harass newer members on the forum. It seems like the forum is not moderated, but is instead controlled by a group of guys who seem to live here. They are literal trolls, like the fictional trolls who live under the bridge and force you to pay them before crossing. Apparently, you have to kiss these guys' asses in order to be able to be a member of this forum. In another case, I tried to open a discussion about Mexico in the Latin America forum where there are way too many discussions about Brazil and garotos - this is where most of these trolls seem to reside. I was then publicly shamed and told I was lazy and stupid. Mexico is a beautiful and diverse country and yet there are no posts about it? It's strange. The member who shamed me seems to be Argentine, so maybe he has some sort of prejudice about Mexico. I hope someone will fill this void and post something about places to visit. I won't be doing that. It's not worth it for me to be called names. Ironically, this person who shamed me for asking a question then went on to post about his trip to Buenos Aires - it's the type of thing I put on Facebook - not something I'd share with a bunch of strangers. He told us about his lunch with his mother and even posted photos of her! Ok, maybe I don't understand the rules of the forum, but is that what this is for, so that some people can share every detail of their lives and the rest of us swoon over them? It's really sad that gay men are not more supportive of one another. Rather than encouraging discussion and welcoming new members, the older trolls seem to want to keep this forum for themselves so that they can tell us about a boring lunch with their mother. I got a lot of good information here, but it's not a place where I feel welcomed. I've been called a liar, a fraud and lazy because I asked a question. I feel sorry for these guys. Also feel bad about the other victims of one particular members paranoia. It has unfortunately made this forum a toxic place. I hope the moderators will take a look at some of the behavior here that discourages discussion and results in people not wanting to share or ask questions.

From CNBC After more than two years of lockdowns and border controls, Southeast Asia is finally experiencing some semblance of the old days of travel. Flights are steadily returning to 2019 levels in the region’s major economies, with Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia being the most popular destinations this year, according to the flight data analytics firm Cirium. In Singapore, which had the most inbound flight bookings in the region this year, bookings rose from around 30% of 2019 levels in January to 48% by mid-June. The Philippines also saw a sharp uptick in bookings, from about 20% at the start of January, to almost 40% by mid-June, according to Cirium. Tourism is a key moneymaker for Southeast Asia, a region which saw international visitors more than double from 63 million in 2009 to 139 million in 2019, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The industry accounts for around 10% of gross domestic product in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia and between 20% and 25% of GDP in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, according to a May 2022 report published by the Asian Development Bank. The pandemic “was probably more devastating in Southeast Asia than the rest of the world [because] governments kept the borders closed for almost two years,” said Gary Bowerman, director of the travel research firm Check-in Asia. “There were even restrictions on domestic travel.” “If you compare that to North America or Europe, for example, in both years 2020 and 2021 … they had some tourism and travel flows,” he said. Changing travel habits Most countries in Southeast Asia — including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines — have stopped requiring fully vaccinated travelers to take Covid-19 tests before traveling. Continues at https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/23/travelers-return-to-southeast-asia-but-inflation-could-hurt-recovery.html After Singapore dropped its pre-travel testing requirement in April, business has been “picking up fast and furious,” said Stanley Foo, founder of the local tour operator Oriental Travel & Tours. He said travelers are booking longer trips and spending more than before too. Before the pandemic, the company received around 20 tour bookings a week, mostly for tours lasting three to four days. Now, its handling 25 bookings a week, some for trips up to 10 days long. Average expenditures on customized tours rose from around $2,000 per person before the pandemic to $4,000 to $6,000 today, said Foo. “It’s because of the revenge traveling,” Foo said. “They have saved up enough for the past two years.” Since tourists are spending more time in Singapore, Foo and his team of tour guides are taking clients to places outside the usual tourist itinerary — to the suburbs to watch residents do tai chi and to order coffee at hawker centers “the Singaporean way,” he said. Joanna Lu of Ascend by Cirium, the company’s consultancy arm, said people are spending more time planning their journeys too. They are “making sure they’re covered for unexpected changes,” she said. Not your usual tourists Tourists contacting Foo are from all over the world, especially Southeast Asian countries, he said. That’s in stark contrast to his pre-pandemic business, when Chinese nationals were among his company’s biggest client groups, said Foo. China continues to “strictly limit” non-essential travel out of the country. Continues at https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/23/travelers-return-to-southeast-asia-but-inflation-could-hurt-recovery.html

Wallet isn't too thin then 😝

Assuming your sincerity, there is a perfectly reasonable way to deal with unfriendly or unwelcoming members here: contact the board's owner, Oz. From my experience, Oz is a reasonable listener who will have just the right suggestion on how to deal with certain posters. He has always helped me. This board has changed over time, and it doesn't seem to be the place I originally joined. I miss sharing favorite porn videos. But it still has something to offer. When I see the word "troll," I think of some seriously awful, cancerous people, who were so miserably unhappy. They came here to dominate and make everyone else miserable, too. There seems to be nothing worse than a miserable, aging gay guy, unless, perhaps, you're a miserable lesbian who hates gay guys. I no longer visit here often, but it's been a long time since I've seen what I would call a TROLL. If you want a taste of the shit-stained behavior I've endured, I'm sure you can find some nasty turds clogging The Sandbox. Truthfully, the best way to deal with a troll is to ignore him. Trolls HATE to be ignored. I realize this is a difficult ask. This is supposed to be a "community," and ignoring a troll is like ignoring an asshole roommate: very hard to do when he's sharing your bed. But, unless the troll is hell-bent on forcing you off the board, in which case I would contact Oz, it's best to develop a thicker skin or learn how to engage with smarter troll tactics. Some queens do find these cheap, bitchy battles entertaining. Good luck!

If you search for past threads on this topic, you will find that people are reluctant to share specific properties for fear of having them booked during one’s own planned trips (as has happened to members here in the past). General rule of thumb - avoid any properties that specify “no guests” or “guests must be registered with owner in advance” etc in the rules.

Once a guy did that to me too, but it wasnt as direct. I told the guy im going to a bar, and asked if he want to join me or ill come back to pick him up so he can still earn tips/drinks etc back at the bar. He said he will follow me coz he knows someone at that bar. I, happy to have someone to tag along with me, is more than happy to pay for his drink at that bar. Of course, he introduce me his friend there, luckily already doing good with a customer of his own. So i dont need to dispense another boy's drink but tips the boy still. At that time though, i see that he is just doing his part to help out his friends/brothers who might not do as well, of course not using his own money but ours haha. I recalled one other guy did tips the waiter and guys at door when he went out with me after i off him. To his credit, he used his own money, but of course seeing this, i added his tips accordingly. Of course all these antics wont matter if their service back at hotel doesnt measure up. In the end, as long as im happy and these antics didnt really hurt my wallet that much, i rarely let it ruin my day. Sometimes i also forget that some of those who work in the bars rarely gets much tips from any customers (door guy for example) and i appreciate it when boys show me that sharing some of the wealth with the people around you is a good thing especially when we are more fortunate than them. Having said this, i wouldnt appreciate a guy who is my regulars, who shouldve have know my way of tippings etc, to treat me like ATM. Its not really the money but the feeling it made me, somehow feels a little disrespect, as if i wont tip myself. Though i am guilty of forgiving this if i like the guy enough hahahaha.

I agree with colmx, the minimum tip should be, at least, the cost charged by the shop. Naturally if a lousy massage a tip can be reduced. The masseur/masseuse live on their tips, not on the fee charged by the shop.

Exactly. This was my first thought when I got initially upset over those friend's drinks. If he did not take me there I was not planning to go to Dreamboys that trip although I could see Dit smoking outside when passing by or sitting at HotMale across. But chances for that were statistically slim. So I was not upset or angry, just pissed off but also better educated what may happen. But chances are next time he suggests the same or similar I will go for it. At end of day I won reunion with Dit and he lost LT as he was candidate nr1 for repeat off two nights later but for obvious reasons I asked Dit to go with me.

Yeah, now it is like huge inflow of tourists in Thailand, we are about 96% booked in June there, Mac has 16 days in row non-stop, Andy is busy by weekdays in UNI. I suggest to book tours in Bangkok at least 3 weeks in advance. We already have placed ads about hiring of new guides in Bangkok and on Phuket.

Tomahawk was across from the old location of the Tawan Bar. But Tawan has now moved across the Soi. Looking at the Dreaded Ned Map it is Number 26.

z909, I share the pain of anyone looking at airfares to Thailand right now. I am looking at departure dates from New York in September. Premium Economy is a bit more than pre-Covid but business class fares are much, much higher. The good news for you is that airlines may start adding flights between now & November, which might lower the prices. The bad news is that your dates are peak season & the airlines are taking maximum advantage of the pent-up demand for air travel & the higher fuel costs.

Hotel Mansion suites is still there. however the street is mostly closed down, a victim of the pandemic. Of the many bars along this tiny street, only Machete Club and Moe's are still open. The Game bar on the corner is gone and bricked up entirely. Not sure about the future of the Calle de los Pecados in Medellin.

I heard those complaints about beds many times but after so many trips and so many hotels, which I change every 2-3 nights just for fun I still can't say I know what it is all about. Nothing wrong with Tarntawan beds as far as I see other than at times they seem to be cold so I need to organize bed warmer. But this is a case of all hotels in Thailand I ever stay Dusit Thani is just memory without beds and at the same time construction place like Peter just reported above. Hotel, once tallest building in Thailand, was razed last year I guess. I stay at Crowne Plaza for 4 night over Christmas last year, took advantage of covid slump and their low (relatively at 1800 baht, breakfast in ) rates. Now they raised them substantially. I liked it there, breakfast was kind of opulent but will not stay there until perhaps next slump, God forbid ( slump , not stay), just too costly for cheap skate like me. Room was well appointed and organized with great view but quite small, half of Raya's Executive Suite for the same price (then , now perhaps twice ). but for people who like to splurge on hotels Crowne Plaza is definitely recommended, location , location , location

Did you seriously not even try to look for threads about Mexico??? You've spent more time crying about people being unfair instead of spending that time to research. You joined Sunday, yet you know an awful lot of history ....except that of Mexico.....weird. Let us know if you need any info on Thailand too.....might be hard to find.

Good points. It's not a place I'm likely to return to, I was just wondering if 12is12 ever made it and what his experience was. When I went, I was hesitant because of the human rights situation back then - it was not nearly as bad as it is now, but it was still not good. I don't regret going, because it was a beautiful country - nothing like any place I'd ever been, but I definitely would not go now. It's very sad for those who have to endure those conditions. I wish there was something we could do to help.

when I was visiting Patpong Museum early in Jun guide told me that owner moved business to new premises somewhere on Charoen Krung, now we know. But New location signs says "Madrid Cafe and bistro" which coupled with old location of Madrid Tavern not looking completely abandoned leave me hope that Madrid Tavern still may be resurrected. Time will tell

From the Thaiger The Airport of Thailand announced that the new passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok will be ready for use by April 2023. The Automated People Mover train, which will be the nation’s first driverless electric train used in Thai airports, will be available for passengers to travel between each terminal at the same time too. The President of the AOT, Nitinai Siriamatthakarn, informed the media that the construction of the new passenger terminal, Satellite 1 (SAT1) had finished, and it would be ready for use in April next year. He also added that the airport capacity would be increased to welcome 60 million passengers per year, up from 45 million passengers. And, with 28 aircraft stand taxiplanes, the airport will be able to support up to 68 flights per hour. The new SAT1 terminal is a 4-story building giving way to 216,ooo square metres. The B2 floor is for the APM trains, the B1 floor is for the airport office, the G floor is for a conveyor belt, the 2nd floor is for arrivals, the 3rd floor is for departures, and the 4th floor is for restaurants.

Isn't it hilarious that he found all this information, but nothing about Mexico?

I usually walk Patpong 1 nightly if for no other reason than to judge how its reopening is progressing. Last night I was impressed how many of the lady bars were open. What’s different is taxis now have free use in either direction, dropping off and picking up patrons. One of the old restaurants seems to be doing a halfway decent business, feeding the workers. I make it a point to check the Madrid for signs of life. Nothing new to report but it does not appear abandoned, just closed. I walked it from end to end this afternoon and was surprised by how many small shops had recently opened (eateries, barber, nails shop, massage and sundry others). Would not be surprised if night market returns by high season.

I've just booked a room at Tarntawan for under 1000pn (breakfast not included.) I recall that the price never went below 2000 plus pre-Covid. In fact, hotel prices for my two up-coming trips (July and November) have been reassuring. BKK, Chiang Mai and Jomtien. Beware, however, of rapidly rising costs of flights....perhaps worth a discussion on another thread.

I have been a regular customer at Toyboys for many years. It was my favourite bar. I know the owner well and also the cashier. However, I have never seen a Mamasan in Toyboys. Do you mean the owner? Guy named Pat or Put, or some similar sounding name? Often hovering around and changing the music. Or do you mean the cashier (Mr Aoff) who got promoted? As far as I know he is still in Esaan. I have never seen anyone else who I would call a mamasan. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about some fiddles but I have never had any problems in there and they both always gave regulars a free drink for each one bought...provided you tipped and bought to odd waiter a drink!

Air Canada is introducing 'seasonal' non-stop service between Vancouver & BKK, the only non-stop flights between North America & the LOS: https://thepointsguy.com/news/air-canada-vancouver-bangkok-nonstop-flights/

Only three times do I remember calling off a massage in Thailand. Twice iit was due to repeated request for tip before, or immediately after, massage started.. I paid the shop the fee but did not tip and told manager why. The third time occurred after guy agreed to 1200 but then demanded 1500 five minutes into massage. Best advice is to follow your instincts. If it’s going down hill early, it’s unlikely to improve with time. All three instances were rare and all took place over 5-6 years ago, as I recall. Any time now a guy asks me in advance how much I pay, I assure him the best way to get a good tip is to do a good job.

A couple of updated pics from their FB page: (boys dancing in their pants - wonderful!) (Nam, the bar's little superstar; just the perfect twink and a happy and fun-loving boy) Bars like these desperately need professional or semi-professional pictures to promote themselves. The girlie bars fill their FaceBooks with enticing pictures that are regularly updated. Why are boy bars so reticent?

they may be enjoying it the same way we enjoy our work with view of Thursday cheque even if we don't like it. I'm of opinion repeated many times that straight guys are trying harder as they know they need to make good impression to stay in business. And when you take them to restaurant or store they make their choices fast. Once in Pattaya I went with certain Z to buy a shirt as one of mine was soiled with ink. I found one I liked , similar to soiled one , checked size and bought it , all it took was 87 seconds. His comment : "you are not gay"

This is pretty much the guiding principle for any kind of whoremongering, no matter what your type or preference may be. Clients want to pay for the kind of guy that’s either out of their league or is otherwise unavailable to them back home. I’ve found that to be the case even with those who say they prefer the “boy next door, normal / average” guys — not just those who prefer the so-called muscle gods and supermodels.

I don't know u Canadian, and it's a bit presumtuous on my part, but I humbly submit the following thought. In 'real' life, in front of all kinds of acquaintences, I too wld feel the need to rspnd. Here, in the digital anonymous life, there's no need to. Furthermore, even in real life there's no need to rspnd to an insult if the insultor is unworthy. If an F student tells me I m an idiot, he doesnt rate an answer. This Slvk likes to pick on guys here with similar-identical accusations; its not only u. He once told someone he wasn't in Colombia, when that guy was sending me pics of himself from there. Just ignore these harassments by a self-appointed troll police.