Alexx

Yes good point firecat69, while "Bar Boy English" is quite distinct and easily recognized, those who have never worked in a bar and just freelance pass that test. Years ago I'd have said that's the #1 giveaway, but it's not that easy anymore.

It's great that your cash was still there, they probably thought you are a mafia figure best not messed with - come on, who else would walk around with that much cash?!

Actually many people living in rural areas don't spend any cash on food. It's shared, bartered, supplied by family members, any combination of that. 500 baht isn't that bad as an extra cash allowance for medicine, some special treats or helping with the PEA bill.

Oh, that would be sad! But I also have the feeling that you will be back sooner or later...

I'm surprised. Are you sure that you want to go back? It looks as if everyone (and their mother) is out to get you there...

Going to a Thai school does, too.

With CCTV in Thailand, you just never know if it's working when you need it...

Some rather random pieces of the framework that still leaves a lot to individuals and their families: The elderly can claim a pension funded by the government regardless of contributions when they worked, but it's a meager monthly allowance. Still, for someone living in a village with their family, it can make a difference, e.g. to be able to buy supplements and medicine. Referred to as "living allowance" in the following article: http://m.bangkokpost.com/news/1039713 The public sector and the private sector have separate pension schemes on top of that, and for those that who are employed "informally" (actually a huge chunk of those employed in the private sector), the government has introduced a new scheme that allows them to make contributions on their own. I doubt many have the spare cash and foresight to do so, however, but I don't have any numbers to support that claim - yet. In the case of an accident, coverage depends on many factors. In the best case, the accident was caused by someone who is both willing and able to pay. Health care for those who cannot afford it has been vastly improved. But depending on the particular circumstances, it can still range from adequate to substandard. All things considered, I think Thailand is making a real effort to improve social security. In comparison to many Western countries that have a long tradition in that field, obviously there's still a big difference.

People might like it so much they will need to find another boy for a flogging each and every night henceforth...

I don't know, Gaybutton. If I were a farang running a business specifically catering to gay farang in Pattaya, as Gary does, I would make sure to read all the relevant boards. This one here, yours and SGT. If you really think he doesn't do that and is therefore unaware of what is being posted about his bar, I'd say that alone pretty much disqualifies him to do his job in this day and age.

I don't think it's particularly dangerous. Don't wear jewelry or carry around an outrageous amount of cash, remain friendly when you have to reject someone's advances and you should be fine.

I've deleted all gay apps with the exception of Grindr and Hornet from my phone. Where I usually go, these two work best for me. I still use the web version of GayRomeo/PlanetRomeo, but mostly to keep in touch with old friends. I don't think it's very useful for making new connections around here nowadays. Well, at least that's my impression.

On professional or high-traffic boards, I'm sympathetic to the complaint that derailing threads causes a waste of time and energy to those readers specifically interested in certain topics. But here? Please! It is basically the virtual equivalent to a coffee house, where we meet like-minded people to have conversations with them. One thing leads to another, our experiences and views are all over the place, and I think it's a blessing that this board isn't over moderated. Long may it last, I say!

I've met my fair share of that type in Bangkok over the years, too. Some of them even twice, before they took off with their foreign husband and after they returned. To be brutally honest, I think my problem is that I quickly get bored of them. Or flipped around, I'm unworthy of these saints. On the other end of the spectrum are the hopeless yaba addicts. Never a dull day with them, but I learned to stay away from them for my own protection.

That is true. It just doesn't stop me from occasionally voicing my displeasure with the (lack of) choice we have.

I would vote for Donald Duck, given the choice between those three. From what I remember, he's a likeable chap.

A gay sauna in Pattaya.

But not to me, I haven't heard from her. B!tch.

From my experience, but mostly limited to HCMC where I go frequently, both Grindr and Hornet work well in Vietnam. GayRomeo, not so much.

I just had that vision of Hillary Clinton - once president - meeting Queen Elizabeth II. Will I be able to tell which one of the two ladies is older? But of course, I know their age. Just looking at them though? No way.

Please don't get me wrong, by itself "raw sex" does usually refer to barebacking and I don't dispute the results of your Google research. My point was that - despite being the wrong term - the context made it clear that Moses wasn't sharing his bareback escapades with us. Same with "outpatient". Wrong term, but given the context and keeping in mind that it hasn't been written by a native English speaker, it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that the intended meaning is "impatient". Yesterday an American colleague complained to me that he got an email from a Thai guy working at our Bangkok office reading, "John? Is that the negro?". I did agree that it's a good idea to explain to that Thai colleague why he shouldn't write anything like that when sending an email to the US, of all places, but looking at it from the Thai guy's angle, I can see why he didn't think twice about it when firing that email. I'm just glad he didn't send that email to a client and that he didn't use the other n-word. Ouch.

No worries, Moses, I'm quite sure captainmick deliberately misunderstood you just to write something dickish. From the context, it was perfectly clear for anyone with half a brain that you didn't describe the specifics (safe sex or bareback) of your sexual encounters, but meant no strings attached (no relationship, sex only).

We have actual apprentices at work and I tend to do some of their training, but that has little to do with this thread, it's just business. I've never hired anyone because I like them or want to help, I think that's a recipe for disaster and it's best not to mix work and personal life. From my experience, it's exceptionally rare that a Thai software developer can make anything near $50/h. Locally, nobody would pay that. Globally, it is of course often paid, but there's a lot of competition and Thais often lack important secondary skills to excel in such an environment. The idea to turn a random country bumpkin into such a high flyer sounds pretty outrageous to me, but please report back how it goes!

I haven't tried Passion Delivery yet, I don't usually eat at home and I do kind of like the sensation of seeing, smelling and touching the merchandise at a brick and mortar (super) market. But it's interesting to read about positive experiences anyway; at some point ordering something might come in handy for me, too. Seriously? Is Udon Thani really that far ahead of Khon Kaen nowadays? I would have guessed that you have at least one decent Tops plus one Villa Market.

Yeah I have to agree, if it was THAT annoying, why stay for a princely three drinks? Makes no sense whatsoever.