PeterRS

"Dear Unkie, I loved your gift. Thank you so much for your generosity. And that pink Christmas wrapping paper with the silver and purple glitter and rainbow bow is just sooo cool."

Sorry, wrong diagnosis. If he was watching a sex movie, his underpants would be off

You make your statement on the basis of two flawed assumptions. First, if my experience of several years is anything to go by, few retired gay people in Bangkok actually read "these Boards", let alone contribute to them. Secondly, a lot of expats are involved in community projects like helping charities. One I know organises groups to visit parts of the city and its surroundings to learn more about Thailand and Thai culture. Don't pre-judge a large group of people by those you might see in the bars or in other Silom joints.

I should obviously have waited a few years before making the trip to get the benefit of the new staircase! But now I can understand why the steps are so narrow. If my guide told me that, I forgot. I have no clue how to black out anything, that's how bad I am with computers. I can get rid of red-eyes and downsize photos, but not much more

The farang who told you that was wrong!

Where in Chiang Mai is that? May we know?

I was reading a newspaper in Starbucks on Sunday when I heard an overloud very Scottish-voice complaining to the young lady taking his order. As with Starbucks the world over, she had to ask some questions. He wanted a large cappuccino. "Is that large size?" he asked. "That's crazy. It's much smaller than in Europe". After the next question, he shouted "Why are you asking me so many bloody questions?" He then complained that some of the tables outside had 'no smoking' signs on them. I was hugely embarrassed, not only for the young lady, but for the cute Thai guy he dragged along behind him. What anyone would see in that loud-mouthed lout, beats me. Unless it was a plentiful wad of cash, I suppose.

Amazon in Europe has been amazing this year. I was late in ordering family gifts. When I read of the snow problems on Saturday evening, I quickly made several orders with guaranteed delivery by Christmas. By Sunday evening, I got mails that all had been despatched. Yesterday and this morning, I have had three emails about the state of each order which may be delayed due to the traffic, rail and air chaos. Immediate refunds are offered, or I can wait for a coupe of days and still have the option of a refund if the delivery dates cannot be met. The snow is not amazon's fault, but amazon's customer service is excellent.

Thankfully I did not have the humidity to contend with, and I don't mind even hot sun. What got me by the 4th morning, which we spent going round the main Angkor Wat, were my thighs! I was fine until I was going up those horribly steep and sharply inclined steps to the top level. Half way up, I realised that my thighs were seizing up! I stopped to try and gently massage them, but to no avail. I then looked up, decided I'd never make it, and tried to go down again. But after looking down, I realised I would not make that either without falling! So I had no choice but to will myself up to the very top, in the knowledge that on the other side of the structure there were steps with - relief! - a handrail. Once i had got to the top, my guide mentioned that one or two people fall and get killed that way each year! If he'd told me that before I started up, no way would I have continued! So I'd say to anyone planning on going and whose legs are not as strong as they might be - exercise those thigh muscles for a couple of weeks before departure, guys! Found a pic of the FCC chair backs (with my modesty intact) - on the roof section.

I thought it was kinda strange having an FCC in a place like Phnom Penh. (Odd thinking, since there must have been many hundreds of them in the city during the pre-Pol Pot years). So I went to check it out and have a drink. Having seen the chairs, I had to have a photo of me sitting on one, which my guide kindly took. And it was the same side view as your pic. Modesty prevents me from posting it. Perhaps I should follow your lead and now do so with only an arm showing, but that might inflame passions amongst readers ("My right elbow has a fascination that few can resist" - Katisha in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado)! Interesting that that tree at Ta Promh is now cordoned off. It was certainly one of the most spectacular. In the interests of accuracy, I failed to mention that my trips were separated by 8 months. They were not done together. So I had the benefit of cooler early December weather to explore Ankor. I certainly think older guys would find it more difficult to 'do' too many of the ruins during the humid monsoon period. Thank you for sharing your interesting pics. They really make reports come alive.

Reading the sad tale, it reminds me a little of the death of the actress Natasha Richardson last year. She fell whilst on a gentle ski slope and banged her head slightly. She felt fine and returned to the hotel. After an hour or so she began to feel unwell. Eventually an ambulance was called. But by the time she reached hospital it was too late. She died of a swelling of the brain. Seems Dae might have had a blot clot travel up to his brain as a result of his fight. Whatever, it illustrates the absolute necessity of being examined in hospital if anything violent happens to you. Maybe you will feel OK after the event, but you have no idea what is really going on in your body.

No idea about the Russian boat service now, sorry. I had some thoughts about reports in general and the controversy over did he/didn't he. OK. Does anyone not agree that it IS perfectly possible to craft a report by spending time looking through the masses of material available on the internet? To do that, all you need is a creative mind. You don’t need to go anywhere. It’s a work of fiction which can easily be interpreted as fact. But - and it's a big but - why would anyone waste hours of time to do that? Beats me. Looking back over this Board and a couple of others, virtually all reports stand out as pretty obviously written by the authors, in my view. How to tell? The little details that make it so personal. I came across a fantastic series of reports here about a long bicycle ride around Thailand GT did with some Thai friends.The title is "An Adventure Across Thailand on a Bicycle". It’s packed with descriptions of what heppened each day, the people they met, the little accidents, where they stayed and how they felt. All illustrated with dozens of insightfull photos. That could only have been written by GT who posted it. It’s hard to find one report that I’d say – wow, that doesn’t read like a real report. Beachlover’s report is long and full of specifics. It tells what he saw, where he stayed, what he did etc. I have no clue about the gay scene now compared to 6 years ago. You can pick holes in almost any report, but nothing in this report stands out as indicating that anything was made up. Moses, a regular visitor, pointed out there are some small inconsistencies. Who doesn’t make the odd mistake when recollecting things, unless you’ve written a daily journal? I read somewhere on another site than one poster even lists his exact expenses in a daily ‘what I did’ record! That’s weird in my view. Like, who makes lists of the price of every tuk-tuk ride or the beers he had in each bar??? Being totally subjectve, the only other thought I had is a lack of more personal ‘feelings’. I was blown away by the temples at Siem Reap. It’s all so much vaster than I expected, and they are all so different and unique. Also, nothing about time of visit and what time of year? I think there must be quite a difference if you go in the monsoon season, when it must be horribly hot and sticky for clambouring over all the temples. Only my view! Others may be more interested in what ordinary folks do and nightlife. Last point. It’s so easy to upload photos here. In such a scenic country as Cambodia, everyone I saw was clicking away madly. If there are doubters around, wouldn’t attaching photos be the best way to knock them out of court? (Yeah, I know, thousands of photos can also be found on the internet and so how do you know photos are genuine? I’m sure there’s a way, but I'm a computer illiterate and don’t know it!) But, hey, everyone’s writing style is different. Celebrate diversity.

I may have put 2 and 2 together wrongly - sorry. I looked again at the thread and a post mentions his girlfriend who was at his beside a lot of the time. Another has some pics and he is holding a small child. I just assumed it was his. Apologies again.

I believe it's called corruption! It's known that corrupution is rife at the airport. That taxi service enjoys special privileges. It is the only one allowed desks inside the baggage carousel area and immediately outside customs. So thousands of first-time visitors are no doubt conned into paying up thinking it will save them time in a taxi queue outside. Their fare to SIlom used to be 1200 baht. The regular taxi costs around 330 - 350 including tolls and the 50 airport surcharge. But as beachlover pointed out in one post, savvy travellers can go up to the departures area and flag down a taxi as it drops off its passengers. That brings the price down to around 300.

It is so desperately sad when a young life is taken. Looking at the link, it appears his parents may not have been located. And he leaves a girlfriend/wife and a small child. I wonder if anyone provides for them now. Maybe Krazy Dragon will open a donations account. I'll contribute as I am sure will many others who have been to the bar.

Since there are no photos so far and some might be interested to see what others have described, I'll add a few general ones from a trip to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. It was 6 years ago and my information is therefore out of date, so there's no point my mentioning bars, hotels and prices which have already been covered. I loved Phnom Penh and its constant hustle and bustle. It was fun being there at the end of Songkran. This is the same period as Thailand and is celebrated with as much gusto as the revellers in Pattaya and elsewhere - especially around Wat Phnom hill. Dangerous going on a motorbike as kids were throwing water by the bucketsfull. The Royal Palace complex (first 2 photos) is more compact than Bangkok's. It's very beautiful and I felt one of the musts. Some will probably find the nearby Museum worth a visit. I found it a little boring - but maybe that was a result of a drink too many the previous evening. Others have mentioned the Tuol Sleng Museum (chilling and horrific), the riverfront, Russian Market etc. If you don't stay at the FCC like beachlover, I'm sure he'll agree it's worth going for a drink in the bar and just gazing out over that part of the river. The bar stools had FCC built into the ironwork backs! The Killing Fields outside the city are also a must. Man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds. it's hard to hold back the tears. The main purpose of visiting Siem Reap is of course the huge Angkor complex. It's not just the main Angkor Wat temple. It's hugely impressive at any time of day, but especially in the late afternoon. The whole area is something like a mind-boggling 400 square kms. Inevitably you have to choose which temples to visit and it's best to have your own guide and driver so you can arrange your visit at your own pace. If you don't know, get friends or the hotel to organise one in advance, which is what I was able to do. I was told the best ones were booked this way. Can't remember what the driver and guide fees were. You must purchase a ticket to enter, but one ticket gets you everywhere. You can get one either for one day, or multiple days. I assume it's still the same procedure. To appreciate the main Angkor Wat temple, you need half a day. Others on a must-see list are The Bayon and Ta Phrom, the one with trees coming through the stone walls and structures like at Bang Mealea further away. But Bang Mealea is much more as it was when discovered and seems still to be in the clutches of the jungle. Wherever you go, remember that the area was around the 12th century an enormous city of some 1 million people - by far the largest in the world. Also, as Moses mentioned in the Gay Siem Reap thread, take a boat on the Tongle Sap. Usually this is a relatively small freshwater lake which feeds into the Mekong river. By some quirk of geography, it reverses flow during the monsoon season and becomes huge. It makes for a fascinating half day trip.

Notice in the Bangkok Post 2011. Farang killed in motorbike crash with smile on his face. RIP z909

Thanks for the nice report. Love to see some of your photos.

Don't recall a Tongle Sap prison. Don't you mean the Tuol Sleng Museum? This was the school which housed the infamous Killing Fields prison.

Thanks Beachlover. That's what I meant. You might get in the door, but chances are you won't have much success once inside. Unless, of course, you are in possession of an extra special piece of equipment. Beachlover will be far too young to remember Australia's greatest ballet dancer, Robert Helpmann. Gay and proud of it, he always said he never liked the idea of nude dance performances because "when the music stops, part of the male anatomy doesn't."

I believe most of these 40+ suanas in BKK are really thai for thai. I expect beachlover would get in being young and of Asian origin. Older and out of shape farang might also get through the door, but the pickings would be slim. Also hear that the younger crowd in such saunas still tend to use hands to cover their lower reaches rather than saunter about au naturel. Or at least that is what I have been told.

Asking around, it seems almost all the guys in the main bars in Chiang Mai are straight.

How about the boys there? Looking back through posts, it seems most Chiang Mai barguys are straight.

Odd you just foud it. A search produced this thread which starts with your post Cam Frog Directions for those in wanting Gay action in Thailand

Some of these boys are cute. Can the people who run freeguy tell us how many of them are gay. I have seen some reports that most of the boys in the bars in Chiang Mai are straight and pretty much duds if you off them.