Travellerdave

In 8 years of visiting Thailand i have had very little sexual contact with other farangs. Thai (including Cambodian/vietamese) boys are who i like. The only exceptions were encounters in gay saunas. When i used to vacation in European gay resorts over 20 years i must have had sex with representatives of most Western Countries.

The question is not stupid but rather clumsy. Bareback is available in Thailand but I'm sure that few forum members here would indulge. I certainly would not. I value my life too much to risk it for a short period of enhanced pleasure. Whilst in bed with boys i place open condoms on both bedside tables ready for use when sometimes im half asleep.

I often hire a motorbike in Pattaya as I value the convenience of quickly moving between the different venues that I enjoy, such as Dongtan Beach, Samsuk Sauna and BT/Sunee, although I don't use the bike at night. In 9 years of visiting Thailand I have never hired a car and in fact I avoid using them as a passenger. From Suvanaphuni to Pats I generally take the big bus as I find Thai driving to be dangerous, in particular they drive far to close to vehicles in front and make erratic lane changes at speeds well above the limit. The drivers often look very tired and rely on their Budha image for protection. Maybe the odds of a accident are 100/1 as against 1000/1 in US or Europe but they will catch up on you. I use the big busses rather than mini ones for the Same reason and fly BKk to Chaing Mai. I accept I am being inconsistent by riding motor bikes - probably the odds are even worse.

Yes Z909 I noticed the similarity of the speedos worn by the boy (he's rather a cutie !), and those shown in your avatar. I like sometimes to take boys to Dongtan gay beach in the afternoon and I love them to wear brief speedos, which more often than not involves me buying. Still not expensive from that beach ware show in the Jomtien Centre. Mind you also like the boys in jeans with no shirt, like the one shown in Firecats post 89, but jeans are nore expensive than speedos.

I agree with finally that very late noise is a minus factor at the Ambiance, otherwise I think it's a very excellent hotel for the gay guest. Why can some bars can make noise at 4am, but the others have to stop the music at 2am ?. When I checked out last October before the date I had specified in my reservation the desk clerk asked me why. His reaction told me that my action was not an isolated occurence. In Sunee I have stayed at the Don Plaza which I have found to be fine, and of course it's convenient if offing boys from there, and if you like twinks. Noise seems to cease in Sunee earlier than in Boystown.

Regarding the Ambiance Hotel where I have stayed several times. The minus factor of late night noise varies according to the position of the room. During my last stay I was troubled by noise from a karioki bar which went on till about 4am, but this did not seem to affect guests in other locations. If noise is likely to Be an issue asking for a "quiet room" would be a good idea. A gay hotel in a very quiet location would be the Samsuk where I am planning to stay in August. This has the asset of including free entrance to the sauna and a small pool. I like to spend a little time beside a pool during the day often with my "boyfriend du jour ", and i don't like this so much at a non gay hotel due to the stare factor.

Firecat - your trip reports are really wetting my appetite for my next visit to Pattaya commencing early August. I'm a confirmed butterfly during the early part of my trips too. Later I move away from 18-22 ages like those whose pictures you have posted and prefer boys with boyfriend qualifications. I've started to log onto GR and a few messages appear from a few I have known in the past. I usually reply and a short conversation ensues.

Very nice Firecat - hes a real cutie !.

I've never come across any anti-gay attitudes whilst in Pattaya, although I have hardly visited typical girlie beer bars or gogos. The only times were to be sociable with str friends. I have had stares from passengers on baht busses when I was accompanied by a young Thai boyfriend, very often in transit from Boystown or Sunee to Jomtien. I would certainly avoid any business displaying anti-gay notices. I have a problem with noisy hotels as at home I live in a quiet location. I have noticed that boys I have slept with do not to mind noise. I suppose this is because Thailand is a noisy country - music especially is played at maximum volume. I try and get a room shielded as much as possible.

I've never been robbed in a sauna or massage spa, but did once lose my wallet climbing about on the Temple of the Dawn. I lost a small amount of cash and a credit card, but had a spare card back at the hotel. I always take two cards to Thailand for this reason. At the sauna I take additional condoms and lube, to the ones supplied, as I've found I have more than one encounter in the cruising areas including abortive ones where penetration was refused after I had put on the condom. Carrying them when wandering about wearing just a towel is awkward. A small bag with a cord to attach to my wrist is a good idea.

I've just checked GR today at 8.30 pm Thai time. 108 boys online aged 18 to 26 in Pattaya (including. Several ladyboys - not for me ) Including this one pictured on Dongtan Beach. So if the selection is rather limited in the bars and gogos get online - there is plenty to suit all tastes.

My trip starts soon also. I'm looking forward to your reports !

Thanks M I've just had another look at their website and on reflection I think a Bulgari Suite, with a private bathroom would be better for me and not much more expensive than the large Barrack Room. The breakfast finishing at 11 is not a problem for me as I often get up around 8 or 9 on holiday to eat and then go back to bed for another couple of hours, either alone or with a boyfriend du jour. Equally the distance to Silom / Twilight is easily overcome on motor bike taxis. I liked the Samsuk Sauna in Pattaya, with its quiet location, and of course the cruising areas upstairs. I hope the Babylon is a larger version.

I'm thinking of staying for a few days. On their website there appears to be two types of Barrack Room. The small ones seem to have twin beds and the large ones a queen size, which I would prefer. I note that they don't have private bathrooms, which is unusual bearing in mind the price of 1700 baht per night, although it includes admittance for two into the sauna, which I would like to enjoy, as I haven't been there before. Before I make a reservation (maybe not required in view of the current situation in Bkk), I wonder if anyone can give me the benefit of their experience ?. My previous Bkk stays have been at the Tantawan Hotel which is excellent and gay friendly, although I have been tempted to experience the BBB Inn.

Yes I believe the plan is for Pattaya to be gradually transformed into less of a sex tourist resort. The girlie bars are migrating to the Soi Buakhow area, where in had a walk during my last trip and was struck by the number of gogos in Soi LK Metro - there must have been about ten and also several ladyboy bars. It's predominantly a farang area as opposed to Beach Road where Chinese, Indian and other Asian nationalities and Russians are seen in great numbers. I also liked the improvements to the promenade but I can't say I saw any "Eye Candy" that appealed to me, although for str guys there were plenty of Russian girls wearing thong bikinis. Dongtan in the late afternoon is where I'm often found. One negative is that Beach Road is now more difficult for us joggers, apart from early morning when I'm usually otherwise engaged with my boyfriend du jour. The Chinese tour groups waiting to go paragliding and afterwards collecting their souvenir plates clog up the path.

I have been there twice more than five years ago. Once just for the day with a friend. We purchased a day excursion from Pattaya from a travel agent which included mini bus transport to Ban Phrea, (the ferry port to Koh Samet), the ferry to the island, the tourist tax (its a national park and non- Thais have to pay this,) lunch, and transport back to our hotel in Pattaya. The other time i took a boy and we stayed just for one night. Mini bus again to Ban Phrea and then ferry. The boy found us a bungalow to rent. There did not seem to be any hotels -just bungalows which i think can be expensive. I believe the island is busy at the weekends with Thais from Bkk. I was not aware of any specifically gay bars or beaches and you would be advised to take a boy with you. The beaches are far superior to those at Pattaya. For a first time visit it would be better to buy an inclusive trip probably from a travel agent.

I think it would bother you if you were caught up in violent riots or your hotel was near burning buildings. Perhaps BTS transportation would be shut down and the entertainment areas shut down. You should be cautious during you visit. As I mentioned before Pattaya has a substantial gay scene with bars, gogos, saunas and even a gay beach and of course many boys who would love to make your acquaintance. It has never been subject to significant unrest.

If there is trouble in Bangkok you would be better off in Pattaya, which is not usually subject to demonstrations or violence.

I never pay hotels, shops and restaurents using my cards. I pay cash in baht. I withdraw this in relatively large amounts (say 20,000 baht) from the ATM's situated in banks (not on the street). This mitigates the fees charged. I keep the bulk of the notes in the room safe. At the start of my trips I often change pounds or euros that i bring with me, although the rate seems to be worse than when using ATM's. I suppose if i was resident in Thailand I would open a bank account and transfer money in bulk. With the current turmoil you would think that there would be a further decline in the Thai Baht against dollar/euro/pound.

In England tipping is not so common as in North America, but is usual in restaurants and with taxis and very often, but not always in hotels. In bars and pubs I tip occasionally when the bar staff have given good service, but very often the customer does not give money directly. Instead at the bar whilst ordering a "round" I say "and one for yourself". This takes the form of the price of a drink being added to the bill at the discretion of the barman. He does not usually actually drink it but instead pockets the cash. Within limits he can determine his own tip, although any abuse, such as selecting an exotic, expensive spirit would quickly be news in the pub and further tips would dry up.

I always tip the room cleaner with 100 baht per day, although occasionally I will forget. If they are about I give it personally otherwise I leave the note on the bed. This pays off when I ask for extra towels above the normal two, when I have a boy during the day and another one overnight, or when I have thoughts about offing two boys overnight.

This thread is firing up my memory of incidents which have annoyed me over the years concerning overnight guests. The more expensive hotels always provide nice little bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Also small high quality small soaps and even tooth brushes and paste. I once had a boy take them all without permission and I didn't notice till he had gone. This like the raids on the mini bar show a lack of respect, which i suspect many Thais have of Guests in their country. On the hand i don't want to exaggerate . These incidents only occurred on a very small minority of occasions.

Yes Vinapu I also dislike them raiding the mini bar without permission. Sometimes I have drinks in there which I have bought from 7-11 but the boys go for the more expensive bottles charged by the hotel. This annoys me. During my last trip I was woken during the night by the boy who was going through the mini bar and making a noise clinking the bottles. I told him to stop and get back into bed. He did so but rolled into ball sulking. I suppose the few extra baht on my hotel bill is trivial but I value politeness and good manners.

It took me a couple of minutes to review what I actually do when the boy leaves me. I don't seem to have any set pattern. I always give the tip in the room and never at the hotel exit. I seldom give taxi money unless somehow he doesn't seem to have small change for this. I am a generous tipper which covers his expenses. Mostly I accompany him to the reception desk and wait for him to retrieve the card. Often I am leaving the hotel at the same time. Occasionally I have even bought him breakfast and one time having eaten we returned back to the room and got back into bed together. It's never happened when on receiving the phone call I reply in the negative having some sort of problem, like the boy removing some item. My money, IPad, phone etc are always in the room safe or hidden away.

Perhaps they have been eaten !. Thais will eat anything. I hope Lumpini Park is back to some semblance of normal during my next visit, as I will miss jogging a few circuits in the early evening. Perhaps the joggers have found somewhere else - I can't think where though. Running from the Tarntawan Hotel to Lumpini Park was impossible on the crowded pavements.