PeterRS

Its nonsense to draw a comparison between a government mandated fee and entrance to a private facility. The government here charges foreigners a lot more to enter national parks than locals. Thats fair in my book. I dont pay taxes and doubt if my contribution to the local economy amounts to much on the larger scheme of things. So unlike some moaners I happily pay that higher fee. I used to visit Chakran when there was no issue with foreigners and always enjoyed the place. Now it seems to be following the example of R3 which had a much higher charge for over 50s. Both are privately run facilities. I reckon they have a right to charge whatever they want and to have different prices if they want. I may object to it but I believe that is their right. So I will go elsewhere. Fortunately there is some choice here. Is it any different to my going to ritzy Central Chidlom where their croissants cost 35 baht but at the new Tops on Nanglinchee which has croissants from the same bakery they cost only 29 baht. Some of us faring seem to think we have a divine right to enter any sex establishment. IMHO we fail to realise that there are many younger Thais who for whatever reason feel uncomfortable in the presence of non-Thais and really want to spend time with their compatriots. We should respect that. On the other hand, Chakrans flimsy excuse is just plain nonsense and they should take it down immediately. If they don't want foreigners, post s notice to that effect. That is what the Japanese saunas did when AIDS cases started to appear in Japan. It was another stupid act as the cat was out of the bag by then. But did that cause howls from foreigners? I doubt it.

That very nice photo deserves a caption. My try - "OMG! Whats this? A pussy???"

I wonder if this is something to do with two things. Many Asian women are getting married later, live at home with their parents and so have a lot more spending power for holidays. Secondly the rise in host clubs specifically for ladies. These are mostly found in Japan but may be on the rise elsewhere. The ladies tend to be older than the hosts and happily drop a lot of money in the clubs for drinks, snacks and excessive pampering by a handsome young host. The tips at the end of an evening are very generous. And thats before the possibility of sex which will command an even more generous tip. have no idea about host bars in Thailand, but the male gogo bars could offer an alternative. After all we know that many if not most of the gogo boys now are straight.

Rubbish! As lines have been extended the number of passenger cars has all but remained the same. I sometimes see trains with one extra car but not many of them. This idiot clearly has not travelled on a non rush hour Skytrain. I have frequently found myself having to squeeze into a car that looks and feels like a rush hour train. The BTS determination not to pay for additional cars is one major reason for its whopping profits.

Is there not something omitted here? Government, Tourism Authority and City Councils policies? I realise that there have been crackdowns in the past and they have proved either totally unsuccessful or only partially so. This time I detect a difference. You can see it in the ads which keep on running on True Visions channels about a sparkling new Bangkok/Pattaya axis. Its a continuation of what has happened in Phuket and Chiang Mai. Venues for Thais will mostly remain open and hidden from tourists. Establishments catering mostly to tourists and farang will mostly not be permitted to continue. Redevelopment will account for some. Lack of finding a new business strategy for others. Failure to obtain new licences for the rest. I am not optimistic.

I dont quite understand this logic. I agree the apps make meeting up with fellow gays far easier than it ever was before. But if there is no need to converge in one location, how is it that new enclaves will develop elsewhere? Just curious.

A thought. My gut feel is that the number has not gone down much. Much more that the type of gay tourist has changed. At the turn of the century the majority were probably older westerners (older being 45 and up) who came for around 10 days to 3 weeks. This group focussed more on sex and the gogo bars and some saunas. Now the majority are quite well off younger Asians who come for much shorter two or three long weekends each year. I do not think gogo features much in most of these guys visits. They are more here for shopping in the daytimes and are later into the massage and sauna scene with disco, clubs or Soi 4 to follow. Far more come in pairs or groups than the solo westerners of earlier years and socialise within their own groups. Offing boys does not play a major part in their trips. You just have to check the Singapore based chat site mentioned here some time ago Blowingwind. It has long threads on visiting Thailands major cities and phuket. The vast majority of posts are about massage. What will happen as the number of gay Chinese visitors increases I cant guess.

Do you think it is normal for the wives in Japan to know?

I believe all the indicators point to the commercial gay scene getting even smaller. I think Vessey is correct. In Bangkok the scene will continue to see more closures and a move further from the centre. Same in Pattaya. The present government seems determined to get rid of the Thailand as a Gay Sex Tourist reputation and to finish off what the Thaikhsin government started in the early 2000s. Just look at how the scene in Chiang Mai and Phuket has virtually collapsed from the thriving places these used be for gay tourists with many got bars, host bars and other places. So many have closed and not been replaced. The one part which will probably survive and even flourish could be gay massage venues I reckon.

That seems to be true today but I doubt if it was so for Japanese gay travellers in the mid 1980s. With military rule I doubt if there was much of a gay scene in Taiwan then. The Japan sauna association (if such a body actually existed) certainly closed their doors to foreigners but as other have implied the horse had well and truly bolted before then. Besides, the ban really only meant a notice at the entry. I suspect Japanese saunas then were a bit like those today. The staff at the front desk have difficulty seeing the faces of those entering. I heard they never asked for passports to prove nationality. I know a Singaporean and an overseas Chinese from elsewhere who always got in during the late 80s and early 90s. Yet just a few years ago the popular 24 Shinjuku demanded passports before handing over a locker key. Funny lot the Japanese!

You are correct. The information is confusing. The closure on August 11 and 12 were specific days for the Queens Birthday holiday. As I write it also states "closed". This is because, like many restaurants now, it is not open at this moment. It adds that today it "Opens 10:00 AM". Whether that is true or the Hall is actually closed and no one has bother to update the website, I do not know. If anyone is interested, it is probably best to call the number listed on the site for information 02 283 9411. Hopefully that actually works!

Are you sure you are thinking of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall? Its the old Italian style parliament building, not the Throne Hall in the Grand Palace where the late Kings body lay in state. According to its website it is definitely open.

If your friends are remotely interested in Thai culture and artefacts, take them one morning or afternoon to the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall for the stunning exhibition Arts of the Kingdom. I have taken a few friends there over the years since it was first on display and each has loved it. http://www.artsofthekingdom.com/en/index.php?page=product_main Afterwards you can take a leisurely walk to Wat Benchamabophit, the Marble Temple. I know it is yet another temple but its perfect symmetry makes it special. Take a taxi to the Throne Hall if its not the rush hour. After the temple you can then walk to the river to get a river boat back if you wish. Grand Palace. Youll know that the best way is again to go by river boat, probably from Saphan Thaksin. Getting a taxi through Chinatown can take a huge amount of time and is just not worth it. Besides the river trip is fun. Nearby there is a good S&P restaurant to have lunch at a reasonable price. When you get to the entrance to the grounds beware of the tuk tuk touts. They will confidently tell you they are closed for lunch or some ceremony or other. But not to worry, instead of queuing they will give you an hours tour to fill the time at a very cheap price. It is a total scam! Note also there is a dress code. Check the internet or with your hotel concierge. Warning about Chatuchak. In May it will be fiendishly hot as little air gets circulated. There are fans around but you will be dripping with sweat. A lot of people poo-poo the Jim Thomson House and Museum. It may not be totally authentic but visitors always seem to love it. I have invariably found the food at the restaurant there good and there is the big shop on the grounds for checking out their products. Easy to get there by walking a short distance from the National Stadium Skytrain stop.

Can we now really trust any company/organisation to keep our data safe? As importantly how can we get them to obey our stated wishes? I was a member of Linked In for a few years. I thought it might be useful for business purposes. It wasnt. So five years ago I deleted the account. Since then I have had at least 40 requests from Linked In members to be a friend or link or whatever they call it. The last was just two weeks ago. Worse, one from from a close friend who died four years ago. Having cancelled the account I now cannot get in in order to tell the organisation to stop sending me useless emails. I suppose to them I remain a number to justify their total member count.

I was only in Seoul twice in the early 1990s. My hotel was near Itaewon and a gay Korean friend took me to a few mixed bars where there were obviously gay sections. We gravitated there and my friend chatted with a guy he knew. Hardly cruisy but I had a good time. Young Koreans then did not seem nearly as hot as they do today. There were a couple of openly gay bars. When i visited each had a few Korean customers but no young ones, only older. Eventually I found one so-called sauna advertised in Spartacus. It was in an alley off the north side of the main street running east from City Hall (cant recall the name now). I easily found the alley but remember walking around for at least half an hour trying to locate it. Eventually I succeeded. It was no Thailand style sauna. Downstairs was one very big room with a hot and cold pool on one side and a steam room on another. In the middle was a massage table where hefty guys were giving clients very strong scrub downs and massages. Upstairs there was a smaller low ceilinged room with mattresses and blankets. Each little area was separated by a very low partition that can not have been more than 18 inches. Not very dark it was easy to see that hands and arms were wandering. I noticed two guys in one partition but everything seems pretty discreet. I am surprised Seoul seems still to have so few gay places.

Interesting introduction to Blued on the AsiaGuys.net site http://www.asiaguys.net/i-guess-thats-why-they-call-it-the-blues/ I have been using it for a few months and like fedssocr find I am becoming more addicted to it than I ever was with jack/d, hornet and the others. Especially interesting is that the site is not only run out of Beijing, one of its investors is a state controlled media company. I have read that some guys can only get in on their phones. I can get it on both my phone and wireless-only iPad, although never together. But its odd that on the phone I get guys close to me in Thailand but on the iPad its only guys in China. With the latter the instant translation facility is pretty good.

This is a lovely story. Some months ago there was a longer programme about Khun Ayu and his Akha Ama coffee innovations in the north of the country on Discovery Asia Channel. It showed that to get the beans to the market in Chiang Mai requires a rickety road trip of 4 hours. The tale is especially heartwarming when you know that Khun Ayu was told by his villager parents who had never had an education that he must go to school. He then walked 4 kms to and from school every day. He learned fluent Thai and English, got himself to University and became the first from the village to graduate. The villagers knew nothing about coffee but Khun Ayu learned about coffee, how it could be planted and harvested, and how he could improve not just the quality of life for the villages but also the quality of the coffee they produce. This is a different video in which Khun Ayu talks about his life, how he founded the coffee company, marketed the coffee and later the coffee shop in Chiang Mai. He is truly an inspiration.

What a load of rubbish! When you take the country as a whole the number of those engaged in the sex industry has to be a great deal more than 120,000! Then the suggestion that each earns 5000 baht per night must be utter nonsense. that is an equivalent of up to almost 2 million a year. For each guy and gal? Someone has been spouting a great deal of BS

I could get a group together but at 1,696.50 baht plus tips and transport for a few nibbles and a cup of tea, none of us is all that keen, even if wed love to meet you. Now if you are paying, just tell us the day and time!

I doubt it any of us could actually afford their prices! For info the Mandarin Oriental does not actually serve a High Tea! As you can see from the website, it serves traditional Afternoon Tea!! Bad example hehe https://www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/chao-phraya-river/fine-dining/tea-rooms/authors-lounge

Obviously there is indeed confusion even amongst travel writers. Although the title of the last article Jasper posts starts off Afternoon Tea in Bangkok, the sub heading mentions High Tea. Yet the article is mostly about Afternoon Tea! But in describing the Shangri La offering, it does appear this is more of a traditional High Tea because the article adds You will never find hot dishes served with Afternoon Tea. Obviously the hotel and restaurant management association needs to be educated on the differences between the two. I suspect quite a few English/western tourists will not consider going for High Tea if what they want is a traditional Afternoon Tea. Since Afternoon Tea is so traditional, I also wonder when the confusion with High Tea arose?

I have occasionally heard Afternoon Tea referred to as High Tea. Maybe its a class thing! Perhaps dear abang you should start visiting some of the better class of hotel and restaurant around Asia. None appears to use the term High Tea! Maybe its a Singapore thing - but not totally so http://www.ladyironchef.com/2016/01/singapore-afternoon-tea/

Just go to Moscow. It is eerily similar to the six architecturally similar piles erected by Stalin. Can not agree more. Missionaries encouraged by their western governments were amongst the first to follow the battleships during their centuries of global cultural imperialism. In Asia these so called men of God actively encouraged the opium trade. Damn them all!

Thais refusing corruption? Sorry a447a, thats rather like trying to convince me that the moon is made of cheese! Corruption is completely endemic in this country from the very top to the very bottom. Even the Anti Corruption Commission, a watchdog with rubber teeth, has admitted the rate of corruption on official government contracts has risen from between 10% to 15% in the 1990s to between 25% and 50% now! I agree that it is partly a cultural thing going back to the time when people asked others for favours and were then rewarded with small tokens on thanks. Now it is pure greed on a monster scale. Since governments are only in power for short periods of time, minsters and their cohorts aim to make as much extra corrupt income as they can from buying up land where they know a high speed train will be routed to more straightforward cash in hand - huge bundies of cash as discovered the home of the Permanent Secretary for Transport after he had reported a robbery to the police. What a dumbfuck! He stores something like 1 billion baht in his basement and calls the police over a robbery of some trinkets! Then theres the case of the present Deputy PM having a stash of expensive watches costing over 1.5 million US$ - on a military salary? Puhlease! It was only thanks to eagle-eyed reporters spotting all those watches in different photographs that the Corruption Commission is considering the Deputy PMs case. Will he suffer consequences? Thats probably a joke! And lest we forget, there is the malodorous stench arising from the case of the Red Bull heir who murdered a policeman six years ago and has avoided every court hearing since then. This spoiled brat worth billions is living it up around Europe and elsewhere but the government cannot get Interpol to find and arrest him, The reason given to the Thai media? They need to give Interpol an address. WTF! Thats utter nonsense. But of course money buys everything in this country.

Back on topic, V Club 7 mentioned by the OP was originally the legendary V Club situated in its own premises on Soi Aree. Here it had a large number of masseurs, a few who featured in the gay photo magazines you could commonly pick up on Silom. Some others were strikingly handsome models in more upmarket magazines. I rarely had any dud massages in V Club. If you told the mamasan what you wished for afters, hed point out the ones you should select. Quite a few years later Chakran was opened by the same owners as V Club. In its early years it was very welcoming of farang although I never saw many around. Then as rents started to spiral on Aree, I suppose it was natural that the two were merged. This was a shame as I believe both suffered and the model boys gradually drifted off.