Alexx

Well he has a new fan. In my eyes at least, he looks a lot cuter in that video than I had thought from seeing photos in the past.

I first visited Babylon in 2004 and I first visited their website in 2010 or so (just to check what time they open), so I don't find that particular aspect of Steve's history with them that strange. Also, he didn't say website but Facebook page - I have yet to visit the latter and I'm no stranger to Babylon nevertheless!

An amazing aspect is that many Thais who use the BTS or MRT on a daily basis don't bother to get these cards; instead they stand in line twice a day to purchase single trip passes or tokens. Hopefully the unified ticket will tackle that as well, by providing stronger incentives. Regarding the issue of productivity and buses, by far the biggest impediment is the time spent stuck in traffic. Whether there's a fare collector or how many seconds the payment process takes surely pales in comparison.

They will pay a fine and that's it.

It's not necessarily racist. Fair(er) skin used to be a privilege of those who didn't have to toil away in the rice fields, so it can well be seen as a status symbol between people of the same race. Whenever I've asked Thais where their preference for white skin comes from, I've heard this explanation more often than any other - they simply believe it makes them look "more hi-so". In the same vein, many Thai women have commented on my hands being smoother, more delicate and (again) whiter than theirs. They are not that far off the mark when they say it's because I haven't worked a day in my life - as they mean manual labor, not work in general.

I think in this case Steve has a valid point - the priorities the Thai public and Thai prosecutors have are often weird! It goes without saying that it's easier to go after misbehaving tourists than after rich kids committing vehicular manslaughter or after army units that overdo it on the discipline front. That's all very well, but claiming any kind of moral high ground before that backdrop is plain ridiculous to any sane outside observer.

And the same goes for their motorbikes.

Not nearly sleazy enough for my taste, but each to their own.

Bad form, but certainly not the Crime of the Century. If only they were as quick with other arrest warrants!

A trip to Thailand is much cheaper and it's a path well traveled for Cambodian migrant workers. They cannot legally work as moneyboys here either.

That's a very romantic view, unfortunately for many the very real limitations and lack of opportunities due to not having proper citizenship leads to problems they'd probably prefer not to have. I remember having to turn away a job applicant who was allowed to study at a Thai college under a special program, but wasn't granted Thai citizenship (yet?). From a legal point of view, that meant that he couldn't be employed in any other province than his home province. Tell him and others in the same situation that passports are not needed because their ancestors didn't need them or other such drivel (from the comfort zone of holding not just a passport, but a first world one, obviously!). Who cares, maybe they can have a career in opium farming instead, who needs hill tribe software engineers after all...

The short answer is, money.

"Many hilltribes consider passports/nations etc just a nuisance without much relevance." No offense, pong, but I think that's an incredibly dumb and ignorant statement, at least as a broad generalization. Isn't it the other way round, the SEA countries where these hill tribes reside tend to treat them as 2nd class citizens - at best? Growing up and living their lives in such an environment, one cannot really blame them for adapting to their lot in creative ways, as it were. Even though things are changing, many of them still cannot just apply for an ID card that easily that you could call dealing with the bureaucracy a mere nuisance.

Did I miss the part where a payment being due was even discussed?

I find it hilarious that some of you suggest that a moneyboy who's gay has more fun having sex with you than a moneyboy who's straight. Isn't the fun part for him getting paid, regardless of his sexuality? Don't people who pay for sex usually do so in order to have sex with those who otherwise would be out of reach for them (by means of sexual attraction alone)? If that's the case, I don't see a big difference between paying a gay guy vs. paying a straight guy. The straight guy will think along the lines, screw it, I want the money and can get it easily, a hole is a hole, let's forget for a moment who's attached to it. It's also nonsense that all straight moneyboys are unwilling to bottom. Some do and others don't.

That's really shocking news, I just read his trip reports and he seemed to have a good time exploring the delights of Bangkok despite his health issues. It saddens me that I then came across this thread, RIP Lurker.

Well at least you'll have quite an exciting story to tell once you return from the tropics.

Ah, nothing much to see here, yet another premature obituary. I should have known.

Condoms for oral sex? Are you for real?

No, at least not yet.

October 26th was very visibly a very special day in Bangkok. Almost everyone dressed in black, many businesses shut even including most shopping malls and all of the 7/11s from the early afternoon. The city came back to life the following day and that's when most entertainment areas reopened as well. Now at the end of more than one year of mourning, I think it was a remarkable and impressive farewell, with regards to both the official ceremonies and the participation of the general public.

You don't need to jailbreak your phone, but you do need an app that can fake the GPS location. That will trick apps such as Grindr into using whatever location you choose.

With Lao and Khmer boys, I've had more luck meeting nice ones in Thailand than in their respective home countries. For whatever reason, it's exactly the opposite with Vietnamese boys, my best encounters with them have all happened in Vietnam. Nowadays I don't exactly try to avoid them in Thailand, but my excitement when getting in touch with one is pretty limited.

He disappeared, relocated to Buenos Aires and lived happily ever after. Don't take my word for it though.

That's about the 10th announcement in about as many years. We live in hope.