Alexx

There are plenty of 'regular' Thai guys (office workers and such) on Grindr and similar apps in the Lower Sukhumvit area as well.

http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/ More specifically for the post vinapu referred to: http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2014/02/thai-best-massage-silom-soi-8.html

Terminal 21 is indeed nearby one of the protest sites (Asoke intersection), but so far, going there hasn't been any problem. I live nearby and I've been going to Terminal 21 on an almost daily basis all throughout the protests. HERO is even less of a problem, because you'd access it from Nana BTS, where you don't even see any protesters. Don't worry, but do keep yourself up to date. The police have announced to reclaim (some of) the protest sites and they've started today. More might follow.

I think it's also true that different things make different people feel comfortable, depending on what they're familiar with. For example, I've been quite close to the mother of one of my Thai ex-boyfriends and I still meet her sometimes. She's perfectly happy to sit and sleep on the floor, because that's what she's been used to all her life (I guess). I bought a nice and comfy bed for her many years ago, but after trying she let other family members sleep in it saying it's too soft for her. In the same fashion, she sits in a chair when I come to visit her, but after a while she's getting uncomfortable and moves back to sit on the floor. Same with me the other way round, I can sit on the floor if that's required somewhere, but it makes my legs ache before long, my body just isn't used to it. Different kettle of fish, similar kind of problem. Same with hot water showers. Many Thai guys I've known over the years have commented that hot water feels uncomfortable or even painful on their skin. I, on the other hand, love hot showers. Not so much in Thailand, admittedly, but in general.

Great series of reports again, firecat69!

Songkran is anything but quiet. One of the major festivals in Thailand.

Not only do I like their calendar (obviously), I also think it's a very clever move. Previously, they had taken a lot of flak for publishing a similar calendar featuring hot girls, so they probably wanted to give those inclined to do so something else to bitch about. I've read several interviews with their CEO in recent years (some related to their calendars and choice of sexy flight attendants, others to other aspects of their business), and he comes across as a really cool guy. A breeze of fresh air in Corporate Thailand.

I think there's no valid reason for using more than one handle on the same forum at the same time, and I applaud efforts made by the admin in order to prevent that. From my experience across a broad selection of forums, those creating several personas for themselves usually either have a shady agenda (most seen on forums for professionals) or mental health issues (most seen on lifestyle forums such as this one). If someone takes a break from a forum and comes back later with the intention to let bygones be bygones, however, using a new handle might actually be a good idea. I'd say whether it's good or bad depends on the individual case. People using several forums are obviously always free to use different handles on each of them. Decreeing anything else would be madness. The various Gay Thailand forums are, in fact, the only group of related forums I'm familiar with where it's quite common that people try to consistently use the same handle across boards, even going as far as 'reserving' their handle when a new forum pops up, even if they have no intention to post there. That alone says a lot.

Here's the thing! The guy was Slovakian and we were drinking slivovic from his hometown. As my Slovak was even more limited than my Russian back then (i.e. zero words instead of one word), I said 'nastrovje', and indeed, he understood. That night I learned a lot of Slovak.

Ha! I'd guess you'll get some kind of a reaction, but whether they'll smash your head in or reconsider their 'uncultured' behavior remains to be seen... Thanks for the language lesson, in any case! My Russian so far was limited to 'nastrovje'.

My practical experience with this is limited to one case so far, when a boy who was more my friend than anything else had caught something from someone and came to visit me visibly unwell. He felt very shy about going to see a doctor, and that's something to consider, so I offered to take him. If you care about someone, no matter if he's your lover or your friend your even your paid companion, helping without being judgmental is the right thing to do. That said, I'd also take care of protecting myself first and foremost. If I'd realize that someone I'm about to have sex with has symptoms of any STD, I wouldn't be shy not to follow through and offer to take him to a doctor instead. Chances are my lust would be down to zero anyway. That's admittedly easier for me than for someone who is here on holiday and has precious little time that he wants to enjoy to the fullest.

A big thanks from me as well! That's great stuff Moses!

Outstanding report, bkkmfj2648, I really enjoyed reading it! I'm not a big fan of Pattaya, but reading your report almost made me want to go there again some time, perhaps for a weekend.

Even if it were true that 'thousands of Bangkokians are fleeing to Pattaya' - Greater Bangkok has some 10-15 million residents, of course there's a certain (low) percentage that's prone to panic. That's to be expected. At the same time, most Bangkokians go about their daily business as usual. Neither the shutdown nor the government's response to it have led to major disruptions so far. I'm saying that as someone who has been working here during this time, not merely watching people destroy police signage on TV and getting all worked up about it, and of course I've been talking to both Thai and foreign acquaintances here in Bangkok as well. It doesn't help us to discuss the 'what ifs' as if they were fact, or as if there were only one way this story could go. Sure, many things can happen, but they might as well not. SpermAholic, with all due respect, you remind me of Harold Camping, that guy who predicted the Rupture not once, but twice. I'd love to read what you had to write about the 2008 and 2010 situations back then - I'd bet you predicted a civil war back then already. So this time around might be your third time. Let's hope you're wrong (again?).

Last attempt, I'm perfectly happy to agree to disagree! Wikipedia articles are typically quite lengthy, and not surprisingly, your quote ends before it gets really interesting. From the very same article: Riots typically involve "vandalism and the destruction of private and/or public property." The specific property to be targeted varies depending on the riot and the inclinations of those involved. Targets can include shops, cars, restaurants, state-owned institutions, and religious buildings. Yep, I think that's it! What is missing in Bangkok, specifically, is vandalism and destruction. That's ultimately what distinguishes an organized protest or demonstration on the one hand from a riot on the other hand. By and large, it's simply too orderly, well organized and cheerful to qualify as a riot - with professional stages, TV broadcasts, concerts, street hawkers selling trinkets... You cannot necessarily know that, observing the situation from Pattaya, but just look what people who have actually seen it first-hand have to say about it. People always seem to know at which of the many sites they're supposed to show up for certain events. Many use the BTS and MRT - and buy tickets just like anyone else! There aren't all that many chaotic scenes, and more often than not, there simply aren't any LEOs to tell the crowds to disperse, so there's not a lot of opportunity for 'civil disobedience'. Khun Suthep mentioned yesterday that their electricity bill amounts to 6 million baht per day, they even seem to pay for it! I've never before read that 'rioters' anywhere in the world volunteer to pay utilities. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/392133/in-an-exclusive-interview-kamnan-suthep-reveals-how-his-life-has-changed-since-he-abandoned-conventional-politics-and-took-his-fight-to-the-streets

That was my point! You made the situation in Bangkok sound like we're in Kiev. There have been travel warnings and 'the worst is yet to come' / 'on the brink of civil war' predictions repeatedly ever since I moved to Bangkok (in 2006). I agree that it's better to err on the side of caution, and the advice you've given to travelers makes perfect sense. But as far as describing the current situation is concerned, I think you went way over the top by calling it 'riots'.

Just out of curiosity, how do you 'swallow the jizz' while 'playing safe with condoms'? At first glance, these two don't seem to go together. Am I missing something? Regarding your questions, I firmly believe that everyone should do what they like most, with the usual disclaimer 'as long as you don't hurt anyone'. I don't use the term 'faggot' myself and I'm not really into such labels. Unlike others here, it doesn't bother me that (some of) your posts are quite explicit, but if a forum such as this one is the best venue to look for guys to have sex with is another question. I'd daresay that most readers on here are 'rice queens' to at least a high degree, never mind what I just wrote about labels. That would include myself, I haven't had any sexual encounters with 'farang' guys or transgenders since moving to Thailand. Not because I don't fancy them at all, but because I fancy Thai guys more and there's no lack of them here.

My condolences to you, nakmuay. I've only known your uncle from the forums, but I'm sorry for your loss and I'd like to thank you for informing us about his passing. May he rest in peace. The Sawatdee Forum has been moved to a new domain. Try http://sawatdeenetwork.com/ instead, that should work (I can currently access it, so it isn't down or anything).

Yeah, since a couple of days it has warmed up considerably in Bangkok. Looks like that was it with the nice cool weather.

Come on, please! "The riots getting so out of hand" is how I'd describe what has been happening in the Ukraine in the last couple of weeks. It doesn't describe the situation here. In Bangkok so far, there has been precious little rioting. Protesters blocking roads and thereby causing inconvenience, yes. Rioting, not really. As for the isolated incidents of violence (shootings and grenade attacks in particular), and who has instigated them, I'd be very careful to believe any claims, no matter which camp they come from. Truth is often stranger than fiction, that much is certain. The latest round of arrest warrants for Emergency Decree violations was denied by the Criminal Court, but as there are other warrants out for the same protest leaders already, they're still facing arrest all the same. Not attempting to arrest them is probably a clever thing to do, however, at least for the time being. I fully agree on Khun Abhisit, he was really handed a big fat chance to endear himself to the populace at large, when the premiership was handed to him on the proverbial silver platter, and he was a complete and utter failure in that respect. Things could look much different now, had he succeeded.

Yeah, like Firecat said, post your dates once you know! I'm in Bangkok more often than not.

IF the election were postponed, the registration for the Feb 2 election would be null and void (since a new Royal Decree would be issued), so candidates could then register countrywide. This would only make sense, obviously, if some kind of a compromise can be hammered out that would lead to the Democrat Party's participation; otherwise postponing would probably just lead to the same result later. I don't agree that the Court's ruling isn't substantial. It clarified that neither the caretaker government nor the EC can be held responsible for violating the constitution if they agree to postpone the election, and that they share the responsibility to make that decision. That IS a significant clarification.

The funny thing is that they (BK Magazine) also pushed the original, Jay the Rabbit, and ran an interview with its creator last June: http://bk.asia-city.com/tech/article/interview-jay-the-rabbit-facebook-comic-bangkok Back then they already had more than 100,000 fans, and I became one of them at this time. Seeing this Gay the Rabbit spin-off is pretty cool.

Indeed, pronouncing English/foreign terms the same as Thais pronounce them does help a lot. When in Rome... It's often not much different in the US, by the way. I remember visiting Miami Beach many years ago, and the hotel I staid at was the Fontainebleau Hilton. Hailing a cab at the airport, I pronounced it like any educated member of society would do (French). Unfortunately, the cabbie would have none of it, and after quite some back and forth, he exclaimed "Fountain Blue!" and that was that. Not much different from some of my experiences in Bangkok in the early days.

The problem is that the Supreme Protest Leader (I love that title bestowed on Khun Suthep by the Bangkok Post) doesn't just want to postpone the election and implement reforms before said election, but also insists that the caretaker government must resign with immediate effect. That's probably still something they're not willing to do, so it remains interesting to see whether or not a compromise can be worked out. I certainly hope so and I think the Constitution Court did a really good job (not that my opinion matters) with their ruling, given the precarious situation a mere week before the scheduled election.