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Day 7 There's something therapeutic spending the night cuddled up under the sheets with a hunky guy. From experience, I was able to get more decent LT from Sauna GPs in SP/Rio compared to Thailand. Only in Thailand I experienced guys changing their minds coming up with an excuse to weasel their way out of an LT arrangement. Maybe Brasileiros are more open and chill with this kind of arrangement compared to Thais? What I usually do now is to initially avoid breaching the topic of LT during convos around taking them out of the club. When they initiate the possibility of an LT themselves, almost always, the chance of getting an enjoyable LT is high. When I have to bring up LT, even with an enthusiastic response, I'm always 50-50 with the outcome. Of course it also helps a lot if you treat the guy nicely and both of you have good banter and vibing well in the club. During breakfast, I was teasing Tun that his wife will be upset that he did not return home last night. He teased back saying "You're my wife!" I chuckled at his attempt to possibly earn additional tip. We exchanged Line details before he left. I let him do the QR code scan thingy as I'm totally oblivious to that. He finds this funny. I spent the rest of the morning catching up on work and when it starts being bland, I checked Grindr but for some reason, I can't see anyone ticking my box. I messaged S'sense again and inquired if Knott is available. Unfortunately, he's already booked. Even my second choice, Singha (who's highly commended in Google reviews) is not working. Luckily, another well built cutie, Tongtong is available. As usual, I was offered the higher priced package with the massage oil being the only difference. For some reason, I ended up choosing a 2-hour body scrub and massage package. I usually have my scrub in non hanky panky spas but given my positive experience with S'sense last time, I thought of giving it a try. Due to heavy rain, I arrived a bit late but they seem to not mind (I kept them updated on what's happening traffic wise). Tongtong then appeared with a shy smile on his face while holding a small glass of cold tea with flower on the side (nice touch). He later then asked me to remove my shoe, gave me a pair of slippers and were on our way to our love nest for the next couple of hours. I was a bit surprised that Tongtong is on the slim/twunk side. He sure got a very cute face and a nice well built body so even when he's not as bulky as Knott, I wasn't regretting my decision. He started off with the scrub and while my expectations were low, I was so surprised that I was getting a proper spa level body scrub. Once in Phuket I made the mistake of choosing a body scrub package in a guy massage place in the paradise complex and it was a hella mistake. But this time, Tongtong is skillfully scrubbing away every nook and cranny of my body and the experience was similar to a legit spa. I ended up with a soft and smooth skin that I never expected to get from this place. It was a pleasant surprise and will definitely in my list of Bangkok must dos. Then comes the massage, while not as intense as Knott, maybe due to size difference, the massage is still robust, relaxing and enjoyable. I keep on saying that its a spa experience because it is. I think that is one thing I appreciated from S'sense, you get the spa and the erotic experience from one place. Tongtong is a bit on the shy side when it comes to the sexier part of the package. He climbed up the bed and started doing body to body massage. It was enjoyable but I think he got the disadvantage of doing this after Knott so he's being measured against a higher standard. Everything started feeling mechanical and routinary at first until I decided to take matters in my own hands and reached down there. A few seconds later, Tongtong was smiling and was hard as a rock down there. We finished on a good note and he surely earned more than the minimum tip. Come night time, I decided to give Hotmale another visit. Given the dramatic texts and profession of love from the guy from Screwboys, I decided to reroute by going through patpong night market turning left to the Corner where dreamboys is straight up to Hotmale. The selection seems a lot better than my first visit so that's a big plus. I can't wrap my head though around the red athletic joggers. All I can think about is an erotic version of highschool musical. If that's what they are going after, they 100% nailed it. A couple of guys already caught my attention. I am making eye contact with both and alas! Like Bluetooth, one of them connected, gave me a wink, a huge cheeky smile and a silly dance that made me laugh internally. I have to save him from doing that silly dance and motioned to him to get down and join me for a drink. He introduced himself as Ae - he's Thai from a province near Chiang Rai. He's surprised to know that I'm not from Asia as he said I look like Chinese or Japanese. I was about to talk about the great Asian Diaspora but I got distracted with his looks and well chiseled chest and abs. He was clinging to me giving me massages and keeps on commenting how my complexion is fairer than his. I guess this was meant to be a compliment? He keeps on commenting how smooth my skin is and I chuckled internally thanking Tongtong for his work. He talked extensively about his diet and how he maintains his body and I'm just enjoying looking at him talking passionately about it. I mean you have to admire people with that kind of discipline. He also talked about his dream of someday playing with real snow and it just sounds so cute. When he saw that I was uncomfortable surrounded with a couple of groups smoking, he initiated moving us to another area so I according to him will not get "smoke poisoned". Call me gullible but that made me decide that even with a couple more potential cuties around, he's my man for the night. After the first show, we made our way out and let him decide where to eat. We ended up in Foodland and after the menu were given, he said he'll have whatever I'm ordering. I took it as a cue he's a bit cautious of ordering "too much". Told him to choose according to his diet. We settled with a few items and passed by the convenience store to buy some booze for later. In the taxi, he discreetly held my hand which kinda caught me off guard as I am not used to and comfortable with such gestures. Since it's dark inside and uncle cabbie seems to be busy with his own thing sending Line messages endlessly (at the expense of our safety!), I just let Ae do his thing hoping that this is a prelude to a good night. And luckily, I was right.

DAYS 2 and 3 My two and half days in Bangkok were completely unproductive. Had plans to check out a couple of cafes, finally visit Icon Siam, drop in at a friend’s new gallery space - but of course all I did was get a few massages, toke up, hit the bars, in that order. The rain didn’t help. Kicked off my second day with some work, then it was off to Prime, a hop and a skip away, for a Thai massage. Was considering a more erotic experience at Jey or Prince, but those required a commute and I needed a real massage more than anything else. The clientele at Prime was almost exclusively male and gay; hardly a surprise. My masseur had some muscles on him, and looked pretty cute behind his mask, but gave off what I can only describe as straight vibes. (Has anyone tried propositioning the guys at Prime?) It was 550 baht for an hour and a half, sans tip for your boy. Had lunch at Mango Tree post-massage, but as I pointed out in my previous post, the chef there is a little too generous with the sugar. Wound up the day with dinner and drinks with a pal in Chinatown, which can be wonderfully tranquil after hours. Thanks to the reality of gentrification, there are any number of chic eateries and bars popping up these days. We dined at the Chop Chop Cookhouse, a new entity that took over an entire building that used to house a goldsmith’s. After food, we ended up for drinks at the cluster of bars on Soi Nana: the well-known Ba Hao is overhyped, but Asia Today - queer-friendly, queer-owned(?), both perhaps - was great. They have a cocktail menu that features drinks made from their collection of honey. Tried a couple, both fantastic. Cute, nerdy engineer type by himself next to us truck up a convo, and I think was trying to be friendly with me especially, but we didn’t hang out to chat, so that was that. Pal headed back to her hotel after cocktails, and I to Moonlight. One thing you’ve got to say about the place: they bother about standards. Whole new roster of faces in their non-model department, with quite a few head-turners. The papa I was acquainted with, Maxco, had also disappeared. Nothing new show-wise, but the models were a small group that evening, with only six present. There was Tum, York, Babe (of course), Mark and two others whose names I don’t know. I offed one of the regular boys, who told me he was Bank from Chiang Mai. He was a classic twink: fair-skinned, slim, athletic, big-eyed (likely the result of a surgeon’s knife rather than genetics, though I didn’t ask). He stayed the night, and the next morning, over a bagel and coffee, gave me the real scoop on himself: no Thai boy from CM, but like so many others in this business, from Myanmar. In his case, a Shan boy hailing from a town on the Myanmar-Thai border. He did go to school in Chiang Rai though, educated in a NGO-run school for underprivileged kids. The result: he proved to be a pretty good conversationalist with better-than-average linguistic skills, esp. English, and a decent dinner date. My thanks to the NGOs of SEA. My third day was even less thrilling; it was rinse and repeat. Work matters in the morn, a massage at Prime after lunch, a nap, and then I met Mr. Bouncer for dinner (from my first evening at Tawan). Original plan was to check out The Commons, but Saladaeng Rd was completely flooded out and near impassable on foot. We ended up at one of the Japanese joints on Soi Thaniya instead, cheek by jowl with the girlie bars. Got to know him a little better: he used to work as a Tawan boy back in the old space, but, now in his mid 40s and with a teenaged son to support, has decided to focus on more sustainable income sources (bouncer-ing is one of several side gigs apparently). I like him quite a bit: friendly and unpretentious, not hardened like some other bar boys, and clearly not out to fleece me for all I'm worth - though appreciative of the income opportunity I represent. Will probably hook up with him again the next time I'm in town. Rounded out my short, rainy stay in Bangkok on the rooftop deck of the Quarter Silom, staring up at the illuminated Lego tower that is the Mahanakhon, with a roll and some Donald Fagen on the playlist. Things have been decidedly dull so far in the sex department, but making a couple of new friends hasn't been a bad way of spending the last few days. Sitting in a restaurant in Pattaya as I type this, my first time in this city. Here's hoping the rest of the trip is more exciting ..

In the midst of my week-long Thailand jaunt at the moment, and so far, so so. It is the low season ... DAY 1 My flight got in past 5 p.m. on a weekday. Maybe because the Chinese hordes aren't back yet, a situation that looks about to change soon, clearing immigration at Suvarnabhumi took all of 5 minutes. Decided to train it into the city, rather than risk Bangkok traffic at this hour, and, of course, when I arrived in Silom - am putting up at the Quarter Silom, more on which later - it was coming down cats and dogs. There's good reason why September is the low season! Thank goodness I packed a brolly. An hour later, the rain still hadn't let up, and the stretch of the soi in front of the hotel was literally flooded. Waited a bit more, then headed out to one of the many dispensaries in the neighbourhood. Enjoyed its merchandise for a bit - many feature a smoking area for customers - and then hit the Patpong go-gos. It was not even 10 p.m. on a weekday, and still drizzling lightly at this point, so you can imagine that the place was pretty quiet. The papa from Hotmale dragged me up to its bar, but their boys, while fetching in an aspiring-Moonlight-model sort of way, were clad in red sweat pants. All very Abercrombie and Fitch if that's your thing, but it wasn't mine. I departed quickly. Across the way, the boys loitering outside of the new Sol bar seemed less than promising, so I skipped it in favour of an old favorite, Dream Boys, now housed in the second-floor digs where Lucky Boys used to be. Turns out, I was the only paying customer in the bar at that hour. The boys on stage were still "practicing", according to the papa, and doing so in white boxer shorts. It was a huge disappointment. Clearly, gone are the days when they would be prancing around in briefs and cowboy boots, pre-show .. The boys weren't bad-looking, but I recognized no one from even last year. They were just rotating around on the stage, with several trying to give me the eye, and that was it. I stayed for 15 minutes and drank my 500-baht bottle of Tiger, during which the stereo system gave out at one point 🙄, decided I wasn't interested in the company of a twink that evening, and took off. Patpong 2 was looking sad in the drizzle, so Tawan it was. (Also, being right next to the hotel helps.) Well ... things weren't much better there, unfortunately. Aside from one regular - short, well-built dude with tats all over, even on his thighs, and vaguely reminiscent of a chipmunk in the face department, whose name I don't know - it was a small sea of new faces. Even the guy I off-ed last year was not to be seen. The biggest surprise was the fact that they now boast twinks in the employee roster! It's the end of an era ... They had about 12 boys there that evening, of which about 3 were twinks, 2 serious bodybuilders (incld. aforementioned guy with tats), several jock-y types (i.e. not quite bodybuilders), and with the rest looking like they could stand to hit the gym with a little more regularity. I was fairly stoned at this point, so I just sat and there at Tawan for about an hour and a half, watching the boys parade through their rotations, and then the show. The cute Asian otter seated next to me - most likely Taiwanese - tried to strike up a conversation, but I was too out of it to hold up my end, so that attempt died a pretty quick death ... The show was as it always was, just watered down. The highlight came during the cum competition, when one guy, quite the gusher, sprayed his load right at colleagues seated beneath the stage. Hilarity and some mild indignation followed. I was interested in none of the boys on stage, but I most definitely was in the bouncer at the door - a tall, built, dark type, with a great face, and likely well into his 40s, which I later found out was indeed the case. He would pop in occasionally to show new customers to their seats, and I'd grin at him like a dog in the presence of a treat, hoping he'd take the hint - which he eventually did. I brought him next door back to mine, and got to know him a little better, in all senses of the phrase. We made plans for dinner a few days later. I got the munchies in a bad way after he left, and cleaned the snack bar out in my room. About the Quarter Silom: as with real estate, it's all location, location, location. It's set smack in the middle of Soi Tarntawan, between the gay massage joints like Prime and 19-teen on one side, and Tawan on the other. The Patpong go-gos are five minutes away. There're lots of eating options on the soi itself, including a branch of Mango Tree - the grub is way too sweet for me, a real hazard in Thailand - as well as several izakaya-type Japanese joints. You could, as I have been doing, take forty-step stroll out for a massage in the late morning, have lunch, head back for a nap and maybe a puff and a swim, and then hit the bars. Frankly, this is the only reason to consider the Quarter Silom. (That, and the fact the their rooms come with a microwave oven, if that's a bonus.) The hotel may be barely two years old - I think - but already it's towels are looking pretty threadbare, for one. Walls are thin in this building, so you hear quite a bit of what happens in the corridor. (Thank goodness there are no families with small children, or at least I haven't seen or worse, heard any.) The staff are also, well, nonchalant, I guess, is the polite term for it, but being left alone is a plus for some folks, so whatever floats your boat. I paid a bit more than 2,200 baht a night, all in, so maybe I can't complain. TBC.

From VN Express National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Thursday announced that it plans to launch a direct route between the central coastal city of Da Nang and Thailand's Bangkok in November. This move materializes the outcomes of talks between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin on the sidelines of the recent high-level week of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the latter proposed the opening of additional flight routes between the two countries. Vietnam and Thailand celebrate their 10th anniversary of strategic partnership this year. Vietnam Airlines is coordinating with relevant authorities to launch the route linking the Da Nang international airport to Bangkok-based Don Mueang international airport in early November.

Day 4 The Pattaya virgin arrives in the promised land. Unfortunately, most of the day was spent in an incredibly frustrating back-and-forth with the hotel: I arrived to find that my category of room had been overbooked; I didn't like the room they offered me and requested another, only to find that the wifi in my substitute room of choice was non-existent, so ultimately returned to the original room they had offered. Ugh. The only thing that kept me from losing my sh*t like any entitled first-world tourist was the toke I had earlier, so all involved kept smiling on in the Land of Smiles - the most graceful outcome one could have hoped for. In between, I managed to make my way to Central Festival, a short stroll down Pattaya Beach, for lunch. Chain restaurants in a mall are just that, though, and the bucket list for tomorrow involves a decent place for a meal, either the buffet lunch at the Hilton or a nice seafood joint on Jomtien. I am dying to have a whole crab, all to myself ... After a post-dinner nap, I make my way to Boyztown - finally! I poke my head in at Toy Boyz first. There's a decent line-up of about 20 boys or so, all clad in their skivvies, but no show, so it's a tad awkward with them on stage all staring at you ... TB doesn't charge an entrance fee; beers are 300 baht. Only a handful of boys in the roster catch my eye. It's me and maybe 4 or 5 other johns in there, including several women, and at one point another shows up - a South Asian dude - and very quickly picks a boy out. Boy disappears to change into his civvies, and while he's gone, there seems to be some drama or misunderstanding of some sort, and the john leaves sans boy. The boy quite naturally throws a hissy fit, having already put on his clothes and assumed he was offed for the evening. In any case, I wasn't enthused about hanging around at TB, and decide to make my rounds of the other bars. I amble over to X-Boys and Dream Boys. Business seems slow, even for a Friday night. XB has a small crowd, and several small-ish twinks in their undies and angel wings are performing a number onstage. Not my cup of tea, so I cross the soi to Dream Boys, where the boys are wearing jeans. It's dead quiet, with no one in there - "no show", I was told - but several boys look promising, and I make a mental note to return if nothing else transpires elsewhere. At A-Bomb, the boys sitting outside again suggest a lack of patrons inside. When I show up, they all follow me indoors and leap up onto the stage to begin parading. They're all clad in jeans, and I'm not convinced. I ultimately end up at, yes, Boyz Boyz Boyz. The place is *packed* to the gills. They have a small army of boys parading around up on stage, and, unsurprisingly, quality varies quite widely. Only a handful are flaunting their wares shirtless, while the rest are fully clothed, which I find bizarre for a go-go. One guy catches my eye: he's built, tatted, with a real bad boy vibe to him, and quite obviously straight. There's also a big muscle daddy type - who goes by the handle "jakkrit_pongpaew" on Insta - so if anyone's on the prowl for huge bears in Pats, the zoo ain't where they're at. Like most other bars, BBB doesn't charge an entrance fee, and beers begin at 350 baht. I stay for the show, but clearly a single guy who's nursing one beer isn't a priority when there are large groups buying their booze by the bottle, so service standards aren't great, plus bad boy and muscle daddy get called over to a table by another guy, so after the show ends I cut my losses and return to Dream Boys. There's one other group of Thais in there playing a drinking game, but otherwise everyone seems to be jostling for space at BBB. No complaints from me. The DB crowd seems a little more on the rough trade side than their TB counterparts - just one man's impression - and there are one or two cuties. "All straight", the mama tells me. OK. I make my pick: a jock-y, party boy type who has one of the cutest faces in the room, and goes by "Arm". Off fee 500, tip 2000 minimum. We head back to my hotel, and it becomes quite obvious that Arm is certainly not as straight as DB mama claims. I think my dry spell is over. I'm not sure if I should do a second round of Boyz Town tomorrow, or hit Jomtien or Sunee. Suggestions welcome.

I'm taking my final flight home tomorrow and will post about Thailand for the last 2 weeks, but your 1st night sounds a lot like my 2 weeks, except for the rain, I was lucky. I still like the Tarntawan place and at 1100 thb with b'fast, was still a bargain. I stayed at the Conrad for a couple of nights, but can't beat the location on Surawong for just going around the corner to look for fun.

Actually rather nice to read an actual trip report that isn't just another tedious litany of "when and where I got fucked in the arse", - or the pursuit thereof - which is, effectively, what most of them are these days. Let us hope it doesn't go south from here...

The ripped muscular guys who are still competing or kept their shape are mostly freelance and comes to bar if and when they are free or in need of money. So it can be a stroke of luck to find them if your star arent aligned. If u already have a person in particular u wanted to meet from previous encounter, maybe u can ask mamasan if the guy still with the bar or totally off the scene. Better yet, mamasan might call the guy for you to check if he is free, in which case, he deserve a tip hehe. Many of the good ones have other jobs, PT, gym owner, etc, so they might not come everyday, especially during low season.

When I was planning my first and so far only Sept trip back in 2017 several members warned me ' pack your umbrella". It was not bad abut I needed it few times. I find twinks at Tawan very refreshing, at one visit I counted at least 5 and I must say I like them even if twinks are not really my territory. Is good to have a choice. For bar it's good idea as it broadens clients base. While I agree location of Quarter Silom is close to perfect, central yet bit hidden. I'm not big fan myself as I find rooms bit cramped for a price. But they are well appointed and organized and very modern so it may satisfy many. The same I can say about Icon Styles on Silom between Convent and soi 3

"when you come back bb" "come see me soon krap" "new iphone come out darling, can you buy me my phone break" The waiting back home for the next trip is always the worst, with loving messages of past flings sporadically appearing in Line, they must really miss me. Lucky for me the wait is over and i'm back in the thick of it once again, dodging the guys I should've known better to avoid in the first place while chasing down the new and shiny ones that will soon become the former. This report will be breaking some of my own rules, after one previous live report was shown to a guy i was with, i told myself i will never do a live report again.. but here we are, so if you ever feel the urge to show my ramblings to anyone.. just don't! i've got enough headaches in my life. I'm going to do my best to protect the identities of myself and my acquaintances, let's all play nice and respect that. I'm going to be adding to this report over the next few months, how long, i still don't know because i've quit my job and decided i'll go spend time travelling around SEA as long as I want/need/can. I'm here for twinks, relaxation, food and sights.. in that order. I’m posting in the Thailand forum, but it will venture out into the unknown at a later date. --- Start of Bangkok --- Window shades up, tray tables locked, seats in upright positions.. there will be no further safety instruction, here i go. I had been dealing with a whirlwind of issues before my departure date which saw me flying around my home country for the days before I was set to embark on my longest ever trip, the stress of it all and flights to and fro really messed with my ability to plan this trip. So there i was about to check-in to my Thai Airways direct to BKK without a plan or even an onward flight booking, while waiting in queue i quickly book a flight to Cambodia for 29 days later. ok that should get me past immigration, turns out my Thai airways check-in agent asked if i had an onward flight, but just took my word for it and no one ever asked to see it. Thai airways is a solid 8/10 carrier as usual, older planes but service is good and the food was better than i remembered. My only real issue was one of my own doing, i dropped the left airpod out of my ear mid-flight and rather than waking the seatmate next to me i decided to search for it when we land. well, when we landed it was nowhere to be found even with the help of several flight attendants. So i'm day one into my trip with half a set of headphones, a pocket full of baht and no clue. I activate my AIS eSIM (900baht for 5G 30 days/50GB), for reference the comparable AIS SIM at the airport booth i spotted was 2000 baht. I already had baht in my wallet from my last trip so i head down to the taxis and onward to Le Meridien. First order of business, massage. I did the Surawong lap, down through the Tawan dogleg and past nineteen. Lots of bums on seats and offers but none that really caught my eye. I decided to head back to one of the mixed male/female shops where there was a guy that could meet my needs in low light conditions. Note: now before i tell this story, be aware that i know there were multiple junctures where i could have changed the outcome... i know this.. i am as the french would say Le Idiote (i dont know french). I approach the massage shop up to the guy of my interest and the mamasam (i assume) intervenes and asks if i want massage, well yes, I say and point at 60 minutes oil massage while looking and smiling toward the guy i like. she says 'follow me', off i go expecting him to tail in behind me, I pay my 600 baht at the register and right after I've paid I look behind me to discover a Shrek lookalike had followed me in... oh bother. I am far too polite to reject this poor lad grinning at me from ear to ear after i had just paid right in front of him, ladyboy mamasan had disappeared shouting something toward the front of the store the second after i paid, i'm standing there shell shocked while Shrek stomps up the stairs. Ok, suck it up... it's just a massage, maybe he won't try anything, at least his hands look strong.. reassuring myself as i sheepishly creak up the stairs. I shower in the piss smelling washroom, wrap the towel around my waist and walk towards the curtained 'room' with Shrek guarding the stairs so i can't make a run for it (presumably). Ok face first into the massage bed and out comes the oil, enough oil to fill a tanker evading sanctions, but at least the massage was strong. The reach under didn't take long, oh no, i press my pelvis against the bed, he starts rubbing his (thankfully clothed) dick against my arm and hands as i try to tuck my arms closer into my body... the hints just aren't reaching. The turn... well, it was inevitable at this point. I close my eyes and do everything in my mental power to remain soft to not encourage this any further (the places my mind had to go will remain unsaid), the thought does cross my mind if this has moved into assault territory as my balls are getting fondled for a good 5 minutes, but let's not dwell on it, I knew what i'm getting myself into by not backing out earlier. I am successful against all attempts from him to make me hard so he can offer the extras, clenched my eyes closed and let out a little sigh of relief when he gave up. Time to shower the buckets of oil off me, it doesn't work, the oil is immune to water and soap, i'm a baby penguin after and oil spill. I return to the room and he's gone, i guess he didn't want to stick around to see if i would tip (i was going to give him something small as a gesture of good will). i go downstairs and put my shoes on, grit my teeth through a smile to the mamasan then go straight to 7/11 to buy a packet of cigarettes. I need to process this so i headed to the safety of the highly regarded foodland restaurant, on my way a cute waiter tout outside one of the bars grabs at my arm but the oil.. his hand can't get a good grip as i tell him 'not tonight sorry'. What a sight i must have been, half wet hair, covered in oil, cigarette hanging from my mouth, pale and wide eyed like i've just seen a car crash. I eat my chicken cashew, shaking my head, exhausted... what a start to my trip, surely it's going to get better from here

From The Nation The word "police" (“tumruat”) in Thai has its roots in Cambodia’s native language, Khmer, and the oldest evidence of this word in Thailand can be found in a stone inscription in Lopburi province, which was created between 1022 and 1057. It is believed that this term referred to individuals who worked in government-related roles. However, the oldest known institution in Thailand with functions similar to the modern police force existed during the Ayutthaya period under King Borommatrailokkanat (1448 to 1488). During that time, police officers acted as royal guards and worked within the Grand Palace. They would accompany the king wherever he went, and they were allowed to carry weapons within the palace grounds. Additionally, these officers served as a judicial body to settle disputes, as if the king himself were the judge. To become a police officer during this period, one had to come from a respected family lineage and earn the trust of the king. During the reign of King Mongkut or Rama IV (1851 to 1868), the police force was formally established in 1860 to maintain peace in the capital, Bangkok. Its main duties were suppressing disturbances caused by bandits and ensuring the safety of the population. They had the authority to intervene in disputes. Captain Samuel Joseph Bird Ames, an Englishman who had worked as a merchant ship captain, was appointed to establish this new police force. His expertise in maintaining regulations and discipline on ship operations led the King to believe that he could help establish a police organisation. As a result, Captain Ames became the first police chief in Thai history. The chief of police was a foreign national (“farang” in Thai), and the police officers themselves were not Thai either. Malay Muslims were hired to serve in the force, which created problems from the beginning, as they did not understand the local language, customs and traditions. They were mocked by the locals. People also complained that the police did not take their duties seriously, lacked courage, stole people's food, did not pursue criminals, and slept on the job. These issues led to a negative perception of the police. But as the police force expanded, recruitment was opened to the locals to join the police. Eventually, Thai people were recruited into the police force. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who modernised Thailand significantly, there was further development in the police force. The city was expanding, and there was a need for more police presence in various regions. Furthermore, the status of police officers was elevated to that of civil servants, and a police academy was established.

OMG even Asians think all Asians look the same😀

It may puzzle us farangs why a high-level cop would seemingly be so careless in advertising his wealth, but to a Thai it's no mystery at all. Consider this narrative from "Bangkok 8" between Colonel Vikon and Detective Jitpleecheep, the protagonist: "Don't I know I'm vulnerable to an enquiry anytime? Don't I know that some army bastard or muckraking journalist, or some asshole who wants my job, can start digging anytime and find my stuff--my boat, my little house up north, my handful of bungalows on Samui--and start pointing the finger? Wouldn't I be happier with less assets and more peace of mind? Why d'you I think I keep that stuff where everyone can see it, when I could just sell up and put the money in a bank in Switzerland? Why?" "Because this is Asia." "Exactly. If I'm to do my job properly I have to have face. And my enemies have to see the war chest. You don't survive at the top of a greasy pole if you're a humble little cop piously shuffling files around."

Cheers for reminding me of this. I remember overhearing another guest speculating around the red joggers saying that........ maybe because red is a lucky colour for the Chinese 😁

What about the rats!

Meridien is very close!

not really, specially when you take their show into consideration, much more progressive than all other bars combined. And no, guys on the stage are not in jeans or even boxers.

I agree on Conrad, it's location is not desirable for gay night life.

Surely such incriminating (we assume) information would be used behind closed doors? Interesting that he says he wants to protect the police force and so "will not reveal it yet." Yet! Such a tiny three letter word so full of meaning!

after visiting few years ago Bang Melea temple in early morning with me and two Chinese loads of buses present , I'm not surprised. Good that temple was already ruined, otherwise would not likely survive that attack. I'm not saying it was representative of how Chinese behave, far from it but still what I saw was bordering on scary. At least after giving up on ruins they were buying trinkets at local market.

I think I like 38 the best

But this is Thailand!

I am sure tgat is the case in Mexico, but most people just go online (usually Tripadvisor etc) and buy tours, unless you are already in Mexico and talking to someone there in person. Same for Rome, Paris, London...etc. If you book tours locally through the hotel you stay, it will cost you more than the online farang price.

Tawan started-out as a twink bar when it was on Surawong Road in the 80s. It only gradually became a muscle man bar. It was several years before the first muscle men started showing-up and they had both twinks and hunks alongside each other for several years. That is the original location. The others are all branches. Mango Tree is owned by the same people who own that Chinese restaurant across the road from it; or at least it was.

Wrong. Chinese spend more than average tourist: The average Chinese tourist spends 6,400 baht (US$180) per day—more than the average visitor's 5,690 baht (US$160)

"Chinese owned" companies pay the same taxes in Thailand as taxes paid by Thai owned companies, so it is the same and ownership doesn't matter. "Chinese owned" companies hire only Thai people because only Thai may work in tourism by law. So ownership doesn't matter for labor market as well.

It's like Cambodia. They fly on Chinese airlines, travel on Chinese owned buses, stay at Chinese owned hotels etc. Almost nothing to local economy.

Elsewhere he has claimed his wife bought the houses. Apparently she comes from a very wealthy family. But when this information dribbles out, there is inevitably a smell of corruption, whether in fact or merely supposition. Also he has admitted that he paid members of the media who covered him and his actions positively. He claimed reporters were underpaid and would regularly hand out 500 baht bills to all. When a particularly favourable article appeared, the 'tip' could be as much as 10,000 baht. And this is not corruption??? https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2653830/big-joke-says-he-paid-reporters

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=winner boy bar pattaya Was there a year ago. Business was so slow they had one table in the dark street with two boys and the owner. Went a couple times for a drink and tipping. Jomtien was jumping with customers and boys.

Completely off topic, but I have a couple of 60 baht notes hanging on my wall (hint: they were issued in 1987 and 2006).

I had arranged my airbnb from day 2, so in the morning I head out to go meet the host and pickup my keys. The room is ok I guess, but I’m starting to wonder who got the idea of misleading sizes in their photos first, grindr or Airbnb. Not to worry, it has a bed, a washing machine and a friendly security guard at the front. My second arrangement for the day was due to catch his flight from hometown into BKK that afternoon, he is a non-mb in the traditional sense and someone I’ve known for a couple of years now. The expectation from him is generally gifts in exchange for BFE. He stayed with me for about a week and well, I guess his actual boyfriend in farangland may have caught on (to me or one of the others he runs off with) because there was some significant mood change and not much action after day 2 after some private phone calls happened. I got the real BFE from then on, no sex just me buying dinner every night. As the arrangement had stopped meeting my expectations the gifts stopped. I did of course still enjoy this time with him, we did a bit of restaurant hopping and markets and things, nothing too exciting or noteworthy but always nice to have pleasant company and a translator with a cute smile. Eventually after his planned trip is over, I get him back to BKK airport and he’s on a flight back to farangland to live happily ever after with visa sponsor #1. Off to the Apple store to get a replacement airpod, 2500 baht and a few minutes of dodging tables of people touching the new colour ‘same same but different’ phone and I’m out of there into torrential downpours. Oh, this is the rainy season I’ve heard so much about. I’m not one to wade through floodwaters so I spent the night inside wondering what could have been if I decided to outbid the farangland bf, not at the very start of my trip was my conclusion. I should wait at least 2 weeks before I fall in love with ‘definitely not’ a moneyboy again. I need a good cleanse from all this relationship drama being near me, so I’m off to Pattaya to indulge in some long cigarettes, survey the financial market for investments and see what falls in my lap. Next update sometime soon

Day 6 After doing a bit of work, laundry (advantage of Airbnb) and room tidy up (disadvantage), I felt l like rewarding myself and immediately looked up massage options. I messaged VClub7 and JeySpa but an hour later, never heard back from both. I looked up online and realised that Jey Spa approximately a 12 minute walk from my place. I decided to just walk in to have a look with the plan of going somewhere else, maybe a no hanky panky spa if no sparks were found. It was one of those pleasant day in Bangkok for a walk so I appreciated the chance to stretch away from my current sedentary routine of lying down in a massage bed, sitting cuddled with a bar guy or in a horizontal position on a bed parallel to my boyfriend for the hour. Given the photo I found online, Jey Spa wasn't hard to find and I was able to shortlist a couple before reception welcomed me in. I was about to be shown a small tablet but I inquired and pointed to a guy standing a few metres away and asked if he's a masseur. Receptionist swiped through the tablet to show me his profile and minimum tip expected. While he's swiping, I saw quite a number of hunky potential but I decided to stick with my choice - with the advent of image enhancing apps, nothing beats seeing them face to face. After getting cleaned up, Put (????? as he introduced himself) started the message. It was reasonably good and I started to let myself relax. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and backwards and forwards with questions. I was once told that when asked, never admit that you are a newbie in Bangkok and must make yourself sound like a frequent visitor (less chance of them pulling a trick on you) and make it always sound that you are staying for many days (better chance of good service to entice repeat). Not sure if it works but fortunately I don't need to lie as both are true and I also have another trick on my sleeves: to not be an a**hole. Around the 30 minute mark, I can see from my peripheral vision that Put is starting to lose pieces of his clothing. I ignored that for a while wanting to squeeze a bit more massage time from him. A few minutes later, he brought the big guns out and started doing body to body massage. I waved my white flag and let him take over. Overall, the experience was pleasant. It was a good amount of intensity that I enjoyed immensely. Looking back, I really appreciate having the subject of tip sorted prior to the session. It removes the guesswork and that awkward negotiation while you have most of your blood rushing down your hard on. I left the place satisfied and feeling really rewarded. I added a bit more tip and Put seems to be satisfied. He even stayed with me chatting while waiting for my taxi. What a gentleman! Come night time, I decided to play it safe and went straight to friendly Tawan. I haven't fully warmed my seat when I felt a tap on my shoulder followed by a big hug. "Welcome again!" said Tun. He sat beside me and clung like a koala which I find cute. I immediately scan the area to assess other guys and I decided to stick with Tun. We already have a good vibe between us since my last visit so I think it's the most logical choice. Did I mention that he's good looking too? We stay cuddled and chatted while watching the show. He's a bit cheeky constantly grabbing my hand placing it down his crotch and look at me with a mischievous smile. By almost midnight, I decided I had enough and we made our way outside. I asked him what he would like to eat and we ended up in 7-11. He and I bought several items and Tun asked if we can buy booze and drink it in my place. We continued our chatter over our 7-11 purchases. It wasn't long before the conversation progressed to the shower then bed. After cleaning up, he asked if he can turn the TV on which I gladly obliged. He tuned in to a Thai TV show and he animatedly explained to me what is going on. I find his effort to translate and the cute thinking face he makes the most entertaining of all. A little while later, we were cuddled and I start hearing a gentle faint snoring from him. I panicked a bit as there's no plan for it to be a LT. But then I realised: there's a hunky tawan guy sleeping in my bed, what am I panicking about?

I have just returned from Japan and South Korea. The big topic of conversation in Japan at the moment is the effect over-tourism is having on the local people. The vast majority of tourists were from Singapore and Taiwan. The locals in Kyoto were complaining that they can't move around freely or even catch buses to work and litter is becoming a big problem. For those who are not familiar with Japan, years ago the government removed all bins from public areas and told citizens that from now on, you are going to take your rubbish home and dispose of it there - which is what everyone does. When you head our for the day you always make sure you have a bag of some sort into which you can put your rubbish and then carry it around all day. Unfortunately, tourists are not always familiar with this concept and so in frustration, they tend to just quietly - or blatantly - dump it along the way of leave it in toilets. Kyoto's government decided to deal with the problem by setting up 3 large bins on the main street but by late afternoon they were full and rubbish was piling up around them. Litter is such a rare sight in Japan that it came as quite a shock to everyone. The biggest fear now is what will happen once the mainland Chinese tour groups start returning. If Japan is already overwhelmed by tourists and finding it difficult to cope, this will be disastrous for the locals. I recall a couple of years ago when I was walking around Kenrokuen, one of the 3 great Japanese -style gardens. I was enjoying the serenity when suddenly large numbers of huge tour buses turned up all at once and disgorged a tsunami of Chinese tourists. The serenity disappeared, as did the views, because everywhere you looked you just saw people. They all wanted the photo with the famous stone lantern; the problem is, they don't just take 1 photo and move on so that others can have a turn; they have to take multiple shots going through a series of poses. I, along with others, fled the park and vowed to return another day - which I did back in January and without the tourists. It was wonderful! Chinese tourists have a perfect right to visit these places just like we do. But I wish they would not travel in such large groups because the sheer number overwhelms everyone and everything. (Try buying an icecream when the Chinese are in town!) I remember the tour groups being a problem in Pattaya before Covid. I dread to think what it will be like once the Chinese start to travel again.

more than once boys in both Bangkok and Pattaya told me that we shouldn't eat at least 2 hours before massage so it must be some reason for that. Sorry to hear you did not like Banana but you did right thing going, if we don't go we never know. You may want to give them another try next visit, old rule , one statistic sample is not enough to formulate hypothesis. As for Jupiter as I said in another post few days ago, yes it's discouraging looking at their disinterested look but this is mandated by managemnet, I heard it at least two times from different boys. When they sit down with you they are smiling all of the sudden. All my 3 or 4 post covid offs from there were good to very good and this comes from me who did not like that bar for many years, No I do and visit it at least once every trip. Getting long time mat be very hard but at least they tell you up front they are not interesting in or quote you prohibitive price like 6000 with the same effect.

Day 5 here we go! This is the part of the trip where the excitement is still there but I can no longer ignore the jetlag and the fatigue coming mainly from days 1 to 4. So after Ghanaian guy left, I felt the need to properly recharge in order for me to fully enjoy the remaining days - reminding myself that this trip is a marathon not a sprint. Woke up at around 11am with a message from "lone wolf" (see Day 2 report) asking if I'm keen to get some crabs. I responded saying that as long as she's referring to the crustaceans, she can count me in. She then forwarded a link of this restaurant in Khet Taling Chan (Mae Khlong) which is quite far to where I would go for food. But having read the glowing reviews saying how popular this restaurant is with locals, I was convinced. Imagine having good food while people watching! We meet up at Iconsiam, loaded up on coffee and took a taxi for possibly an early dinner gig. Overall, the food was so worth the trip especially if you like seafood dishes. I particularly enjoyed the grilled crab with roe on shell and the giant river prawns. We order a couple more item and it became obvious that it was too much. I looked around and other items looks yummy too. Kinda the same feeling when you're sitting with a bar boy and enjoying yourself but also eyeing and low key jealous of the customer and his guy at the other table! We parted ways and I decided to give Arena another go. I was a bit self conscious how my breath will be like so I got myself a brush and toothpaste in 7-11 before taking the lift to Arena. After a mind boggling selection process, I asked the uncle to tell my guy not to massage my feet and leg because I have an injury. He walked up to the guy, whispered something and my guy (who introduced himself later as kao) gave me a thumbs up. Hopefully this trick will avoid the masseur for spending so much time down there. The session with Kao was quite an enjoyable one. Not as intense but exactly what I need given the heavy meal I had prior! I'm glad i went to 7-11 prior as Kao seems to enjoy kissing a lot. I stepped out of Arena feeling a lot refreshed. I then decided to walk towards Starbucks in Montien Plaza while waiting for things to get busy in Surawong. After my coffee, I walked a bit further through patpong market and attempted to satisfy my curiosity by going to Banana Club. Not sure if it's just a bad night or completely a wrong decision in my part but I did not enjoy my time in there. There were only four guys on stage alternating between performances. I know it only takes one guy to make one's bar experience extra special but unfortunately, I can't see any of the four fulfilling that role. After about 40 minutes, I decided to leave and give Jupiter a visit. Jupiter is totally another Kettle of fish but from experience, I'm already expecting that the possibility of an off will be very slim. I think it got something to do with how the guys project themselves onstage or most probably how they were told to do so. Maybe it's just me but the stage feels more like a catwalk with most guys giving that standoffish model vibe. I can see a couple of ex dreamboys guys in there and remember having good fun with them. But given the vibe they are now projecting, I decided not to call anyone down and just enjoy the show. Jupiter is a type of club I imagine myself bringing my female best mate in and we can have lots of good time - but not a place I can source my BF for the night (and next morning). Don't get me wrong, maybe Jupiter's approach works for other clientele. And maybe I'm just not their key target market? With a not so successful attempt at bars, I decided to taxi back to my place and possibly look at the apps. Found this guy visiting from the Philippines who turned out to be an MB. He showed up half an hour later. I was pleased that he got good banter and can carry a decent conversation. I opened up a bottle of wine apologising to him that it's not the best but he drank more than half of it like a champ. We eventually found ourselves in the bedroom and after the deed had a quick shower and he stayed a couple more hours for a chat. Today may be a mixed bag bar-wise. But overall, I felt happy and satisfied and can go to bed with a cheeky smile on my face. Got a week more left so I can still afford nights like these.

And that's the problem. Pattaya is holding less and less interest for me. My usual favourites, relatively speaking, are Abomb and Toyboys. BoyzBoyzBoyz used to be on the list but since it has gone hetero, it's been scratched. The other thing about Pattaya is that massage skills tend to be poor. One may be able to get a bigger boy for massage out of the (exaggeration) hundreds sitting outside their shops, but nothing that comes close to Prime in Bangkok (if I want a real massage) or Arena (if my interest is more carnal). The only thing Pattaya has over Bangkok is the beach... But now that the gay area is also disappearing... sigh.

Don't think you'll find any accurate map because of a few recent changes and additions. The good news is that the area is so compact that you really don't need one. Gay venues when entering from Surawong: LEFT SIDE: Screwboy Freshboy Red Dragon beer bar (pool table) Hot Male beer bar (also upstairs beer bar) Hot Male Go-Go RIGHT SIDE: SOL Go-Go Dreamboy Go-Go NOTE: Although not exclusively gay (or you may not know it at 2a.m.), Foodland on your left

one still can come up with old shoe instead

No reason in my experience.....which consists of about seventy-five trips between 1997 and this year. Only once did a driver try to suggest that 800 bht for a trip to Surawong was appropriate and he was quickly and cheerfully disabused. A year or so back, there were long queues for taxis at BKK-most unwelcome after a long flight. But my last four trips have been fine in this respect. I pay 500 bht plus express-way charges and a 100bht tip. The thought of dragging my luggage to the train or bus (and then another journey if by train) appals me. And that's not just due to age. .

7 years is a long time. The graduate crisis that has become serious in China is post-covid. Covid caused deep fissures in the country's economy. Almost everything in China has been changing rapidly since 2019. Look at the real estate market. We know that the debts of the two largest companies, Evergrande and Country Garden, are over US$500 billion and the inventory of unsold properties is rising daily. 53 smaller developers have collapsed in little more than two years. $14 billion of Country Garden's outstanding local and foreign currency bonds have lost at least 90% of their face value. We know that Chinese banks are owed over US$3 trillion by the property sector as a whole. Bloomberg estimates that the real estate development sector as a whole has debts worth 12% of GDP which are at risk of default. According to Bllomberg estimates, this places "a massive burden that could curb growth in the world’s second-largest economy for years to come." https://news.bloomberglaw.com/capital-markets/china-faces-property-debt-defaults-worth-12-of-gdp-be-says Most local and regional governments in China depend for a large chunk of their income from the property sector. These local government bodies are vital to China's economy. But overspending on major infrastructure projects and plummeting returns from land sales have increased local government debt levels to US$12.8 trillion in 2022 - up by 50% from 2019. But these are only reported figures on balance sheets. Experts say the central government does not know the level of hidden debts. After decades of increasing prosperity virtually each year, much economic activity in China has crashed dramatically. In such a scenario, it is absolutely the case that employment in better jobs has decreased substantially because the jobs are no longer there. Hence the graduate job crisis and hence the general youth unemployment crisis. China's economy is virtually in uncharted waters.

I guess, but Tawan was always the place where one could go to find a particular type - rugged bodybuilders who still had an edge to them, not all smoothed out in the way of Moonlight's models. Now it's just more or less like the other bars ..