Gaybutton

Party Night at La Cage

China Demolishes 'Love Land' Sex Park (CNN) -- Chinese authorities were explicit: Tear down the nation's first sex-themed amusement park before it gets going full steam. Love Land had not opened its doors yet, but authorities in the city of Chongqing -- a sprawling metropolis on the banks of the Yangtze River -- got all hot and bothered over the park's plans to display naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals and a photo gallery on the history of sex, the state-run China Daily reported. Lu Xiaoqing, park manager, told the newspaper he got the idea for building Love Land after a visit to a sex park in Jeju, a popular destination in South Korea. Love Land would include sex-technique workshops and sex education to help adults "enjoy a harmonious sex life," Lu said. "Sex is a taboo subject in China, but people really need to have more access to information about it," he told the newspaper. "We are building the park for the good of the public." Whatever Lu's intentions, the newspaper said Chinese officials saw it another way: "vulgar, ill-minded and misleading." The park was to open in October but was demolished over the weekend -- thongs, replicas of derrieres and all. Reactions posted on the Internet were varied, according to the China Daily. Some thought sex was best left behind closed doors, while others argued that a real need for sex education existed in China. "Sex is a matter of privacy. It is not for publicity," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor at Beijing University. The officials in Chongquing apparently agreed.

'Gay Nights' Underground By Steven Jiang For CNN SHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- In between selling tickets and greeting customers, Min Min turned his curvy 6-feet-tall frame to survey the spacious dance hall and revealed he is no ordinary doorman at this extraordinary place. "When I first started this, it was only a dozen or so of us," reminisced the former factory worker-turned-drag queen. "Now 300 people or more come each night." Welcome to Lai Lai Dance Hall, arguably the only entertainment venue for older gay men in Shanghai, if not the whole of China. Tucked away in a rundown neighborhood in the city's northeast, Lai Lai sits atop a public bathhouse, and features cracked wooden floors and a primitive sound system. Its location and facilities, however, belie its prominence in a community that thrives almost entirely underground. Every weekend, men flock here to unleash their ballroom dancing skill as well as their true identities for three treasured hours. Lai Lai's "gay nights" are only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Casually dressed in jeans and sneakers, men of various ages -- but mostly in their 40's and upwards -- and shapes filled the dimly lit dance floor one recent evening. They waltzed, jitterbugged and rumbaed in pairs to the nostalgic Mandarin tunes churned out by a live band on the small stage. "You won't see this anywhere else," said Min, organizer of this regular gathering, himself a middle-aged gay man whose dual passions lie in ballroom dancing and performing in drag. On this Sunday night, however, he was out of drag, donning a sweater and cargo pants. "I don't really do this for the money -- it's just great fun." Patrons pay a mere 5 yuan (70 U.S. cents) to enter and enjoy cheap drinks -- a bottle of beer costs just 3 yuan. Observing from the sidelines, one of Min's fellow drag queens -- known as Teacher Zhang -- noted most older gay men don't feel comfortable going to the more expensive bars or clubs frequented by the younger generation. "It's a totally different culture and environment in those places, while everyone fits right in here," said the 58-year-old former soldier and retired school administrator. "It's a rare outlet for people to relax, to find friends or sex." Zhang's personal story mirrors those of many patrons at Lai Lai. Realizing he was gay at an early age, Zhang -- like many gay men in China -- married a woman because of family and social pressure. He is expecting to become a grandfather this autumn. "My wife and my son have suspicions about me, but it's always going to be a question mark in their minds," Zhang said. "They have seen me perform folk dance in drag, but I will never let them see me in an intimate situation with another man." Unlike many among Lai Lai's largely blue-collar clientele, Zhang said success in running his own catering business has injected freedom and flexibility into his closeted life. "I bought a big duplex for my wife, and I told her I would stay in the old apartment to concentrate on work," Zhang said. "Chinese women at her age are very pragmatic -- they are satisfied as long as you take good care of the family." Taking precautions Family issues aside, activists have pointed to inconsistencies in government policy to explain older gay men's reluctance to come out. Although homosexuality is not illegal in China and has been removed from the country's list of officially recognized mental disorders since 2001, it remains a taboo topic in the state-run media. Gay venues have popped up in major cities across China in recent years, but the authorities sometimes shut them down during politically sensitive times. The upcoming Olympics appears to be one such occasion, amid reports of a series of recent police raids on gay clubs, saunas and cruising spots in Beijing and Shanghai. Activists have voiced their worries about a new crackdown aimed at "cleaning up" the country ahead of the Summer Games in August. Both Zhang and Min said they will keep a low profile and be even more cautious about staging drag shows in the next few months. As an extra precaution, they requested their real names not published and Min also insisted no pictures be taken at Lai Lai. For now the dance routines continue and have attracted new fans like Ray Mahoney, an American volunteer with a local AIDS-prevention organization. Mahoney, 50, has been visiting Lai Lai with fellow volunteers to hand out free condoms and safe-sex literature. While he loves the uniquely romantic dance scene, Mahoney emphasized that he has an urgent message for Chinese gay men of his age group. He said many people in this generation, because of their educational and social background, have never used a condom before -- either with their wives or with their male sex partners. "I had three friends in the U.S. die in the 1980's of AIDS," Mahoney said. "The people at Lai Lai don't realize AIDS is really close to them and it's spreading quickly in the gay community here." Acknowledging the rising HIV-infection rate among gay men, Chinese health officials have quietly started their own outreach program, which calls for sending trained staff to gay venues nationwide to promote AIDS awareness and encourage voluntary testing. Although he has welcomed the volunteers and admires Mahoney's dedication, Min still focuses his attention on dancing. He is even prepared to set his sights on an alternative "Olympic" event that includes ballroom dancing as a competitive sport. "In the future we might," Min responded when asked if he and other Lai Lai regulars would join the Gay Games -- the gay answer to the Olympics -- next to be held in 2010 in Cologne, Germany. "We probably won't win," he said with a laugh. "But I bet we could finish in 6th place!"

I didn't necessarily mean that literally. No matter where you find a boy, the thing to do is make sure he has his ID card, that it's actually his own card, and that he's at least 18 years old. Gay and gay-friendly hotels know to hold his ID card until he is ready to leave and they have checked with you to make sure everything is ok. Before you give that ok, make sure nothing is missing. When you go out at night, before leaving your room make sure you have secured your valuables and that nothing is in sight if you bring a boy back. No sense inviting a potential burglary. If you have any reason to be seriously suspicious that the boy might come back and attempt to burglarize your room or whatever, since he now knows your room number, you could always ask the hotel to let you switch to a different room. Outside of a few rare cases, the only serious crimes and thefts I normally hear about are when farang took a Beach Road or Walking Street prostitute back to his room. Most of the time it's the street walkers who commit those thefts. I don't hear about lady-boys working in the various lady-boy bars committing those kinds of crimes. Of course, the safest is finding your boys in well-established venues. I don't know if this helps, and I can't speak for others, but I can tell you that I've met plenty of boys who work in the bars, come to the beach, from gay personals sites such as Gay Romeo, when shopping, and yes, on occasion someone I met while walking the streets. I've never had any kind of problem at all with any of them. That doesn't mean throw caution to the wind, but I think it does mean that the odds are greatly in your favor that you're not going to be robbed and that you're going to have a very good time with the boys you meet.

Ok, gentlemen, I've got my answer. When I can see that nearly 3 times as many people want me to continue the reviews, as opposed to those who don't, that tells me what I wanted to know. When I find restaurants I like I'm going to continue writing about them, even if they don't chill the salad forks or have tassels on the menus. For those who dislike my reviews and/or dislike the restaurants I recommend, then nobody is forcing you to read the reviews or go to those restaurants. Once again, I'm not trying to tout only those restaurants that meet gourmet standards. I write about restaurants I like regardless of whether they come up to snobbish standards. I don't pretend to be a professional restaurant reviewer. When I find restaurants I haven't been to before, and I try them and like them, I write about them. There are restaurants that meet all tastes and budgets in Pattaya and I like the "good plain food" restaurants as well as the gourmet quality restaurants. In deference to those who think I'm trying to pass off mediocre restaurants as gourmet quality, I'll try to make some sort of distinction in my reviews from now on. Some think I ought to assign ratings and stars to the restaurants. I won't do that for two reasons. One is that my opinion is obviously different from other people's opinions. The other is that I have no idea what criteria goes in to assigning stars. As I said, I'm no professional and I don't try to be. I simply make people aware of these restaurants and describe them as best as I can. Then it's an "up to you" as to whether to try them or not. The complainers are perfectly welcome to write and post their own reviews of restaurants they like, if they so desire. With that, I think enough has been said and I'm closing off the thread now.

The following appears in the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: For artist conceptions, see: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000009256 _____ CENTRAL TO OPEN NEW SUPER SHOPPING COMPLEX IN CHONBURI The Central Group is to open a new lavish shopping mall in Chonburi, scheduled for May 29, 2009, to augment its extremely popular Central Festival Pattaya Beach Mall. The new Chonburi mall will cost Bt4.6-billion and cover an area of 165,000m2, housing in the range of 200 shops, which will include Robinson Department Store, Tops Market, PowerBuy and SF Cinema City. The Central Group had earlier put expansion plans on the back-boiler due to the gloomy economic outlook. However, new economic stimulus packages in neighbouring Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and China have restored an optimistic attitude to the SE Asian region, which will have knock-on effects on Thailand’s economy. There have also been encouraging signs that the American economy is also picking up, which will help to restore confidence worldwide. Central Group’s CEO, Kobchai Chirathivat, said "We believe that our economy and politics have already passed their lowest point and it is now the time to take off again". Accordingly, the company will revise its earlier decision to put on hold the construction of new shopping complexes in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bangkok’s Rama IX and the proposed renovation of Central Plaza Lat Phrao. The company has also been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response of shoppers to the Central Festival Pattaya Beach and its new Bangkok shopping mall. The grand opening of CentralPlaza Chonburi is due to take place on May 29 and the company expects to spend in the region of Bt90 million on the ceremony. The Central Group regards Chonburi Province as flourishing commercial and industrial area, housing a population of over 1 million locals as well as a significant number of expats, both retirees living in and around Pattaya and the employees of the numerous industrial estates, like the huge Amata estates, in the area.

What does that have to do with anything? Here's what you posted on Baht-Stop: _____ ...or eaten at one of Gaybutton's "not to be missed" restaurants. _____ You consider your posts quality posts? You attack on Baht-Stop, and I don't recall posting anything to provoke that attack, and now you come to this board to continue. So far every one of your posts on this board has been a put-down of one kind or another. As far as me opening that door, now I'm closing it. If you wish to continue posting on this board, you're perfectly welcome to post your opinions about the issue, without the personal attacks, whether directed toward me or directed toward anyone else. You gave me an unsolicited suggestion. Now I'm giving you one, but consider it a warning: Don't do it again. I don't think I need to explain how I deal with trolls.

I apologize if I gave you the impression that you I thought you were. That's not what I meant. I'm only trying to emphasize my opinion that if they are taking reservations at all, they need to say so and give people who are not in close proximity a method by which they can make reservations.

Interesting that you come up with comments like that and this is your 4th post on this board. What's your handle on Baht-Stop? Do you actually believe I can't handle message board "heat?" What do you think I've been doing for the last ten years? I can handle "heat" just fine and I don't need positive feedback. I also don't need personal insults when all I tried to do was be helpful. Again, my crime was to offer a restaurant I enjoyed in response to a question asking for suggestions. He also asked where he could get steak tartar and I told him he could get it at Bruno's. Isn't that terrible of me? The 'feedback' I received was nothing but personal insults from the very person who asked for suggestions in the first place. But, considering the source, the postings on that thread are not exactly what I would call 'heat.' Cooking contests and secret restaurants? Give me a break. I also made room for the possibility that people would rather that I don't write any more restaurant reviews. So far, the voting indicates that the overwhelming majority of people who responded do want me to continue. So, unless the voting trend has a dramatic reversal, I intend to continue writing reviews and calling it as I see it. If you and others dislike my reviews, then why are you reading them? It's so simple. If you don't like my reviews, don't read them. You suggest I remain on this board. I'll tell you what - when I want your suggestions I'll ask for them.

You live close enough to easily go over there and do that. But not everybody lives so close or goes to Jomtien Complex very often. If they were taking reservations, then they should have said so and provided a number to call. Don't forget, most of us haven't even been in there yet and have no idea what their seating capacity is. I think it is their responsibility to let people know. I don't think it's our responsibility to have to anticipate that. The idea of making reservations hadn't even occurred to me. Even if it had, they did not show a telephone number to call. Imagine if someone had come to Pattaya from Bangkok specifically to see this show, and then found out that he needed reservations.

And I sent you a PM accepting your offer. Apparently you didn't receive it. I'm always happy to meet people if they want to meet me.

I assumed the same thing. There is not one word in either the ad or the post written by The Venue that says anything about reservations or a telephone number to call to make a reservation. Now I'm glad I didn't go. I nearly canceled my plans last night in order to go to see the show, and I live quite a distance from Jomtien Complex. If I had made an effort to get there for the show, only to be turned away because I hadn't made a reservation, without even being informed they were taking reservations, then I definitely would have been angry. If the ad or post had said anything about reservations, that would be one thing, but since nothing was said, and I'm not a mind reader, then I think being upset with The Venue would certainly be justified. I also don't see anything about reservations or even an ad about this show on their web site. Tdeprhs, you mentioned you had already been to The Venue twice, but even within The Venue there was no information about reservations for this show? I don't know how the people who did have a reservation even knew that reservations were necessary or what they did to make their reservations. Their post on this web site includes, "The first of our Unique Sunday Night Jomtien Complex special evenings. Everybody's welcome to come along." Well, thanks a lot! Come along only to find that you can't get in, or at best end up with the least desirable seats in the house? That's some welcome! I hope the management of The Venue realizes that accepting reservations for their show without saying anything about reservations in their ad or post, or providing a telephone number to make a reservation, was definitely a mistake and that they won't let it happen again.

Would you please clarify that statement? I don't have any idea what you're talking about.

Be careful please. I've already locked one thread because things got personal. If that happens on this thread, I'll be locking this too. Confine your comments to the show itself, please.

Several have asked that question. All I did was respond to a question about where one can go to get a good steak. I didn't know that was going to trigger off a brouhaha. Why did I let it get as far as it did? Maybe the following answers that question: "Let her gush and jabber. Let her be enthused. I cannot remember When I have been more amused." - Gaston Lachaille, 'Gigi' - The Night They Invented Champagne

Who is Alex from Norway? Never heard of him.

Thank you (I think). No, I didn't go. I had other things going on that were a little more interesting for me. Actually, I'm not much for bar shows in the first place. I have yet to go to a show that I liked, with the exception of one, and this demonstrates my taste! I like Monty's show. I'll get to the Venue show sooner or later, and I'll say what I honestly think of it. I'll go with an open mind, although if the regular show turns out to include the usual lady-boys in drag, the lip synching, the extremely loud volume, and everything else that most of these bars do for their shows, it just isn't my cup of tea. Different strokes for different folks. But I certainly will at least go to see for myself and I hope I'll love it.

True, but you can say the same about me!

Right. Actually one person has already taken advantage of that offer and he received his response within a half hour of his request for help.

Rin Tin Tin humped mine. I rather liked it . . .

If any of you have been reading the Baht-Stop board, you have probably noticed the little skirmish that's been going on between some posters there and me about my restaurant reviews. One of the things being said is that I should stop writing restaurant reviews because I'm not an expert, that I embellish the quality, that most of the restaurants I recommend are lousy, and that I really don't know what I'm talking about. I have nothing personal to gain by writing about my "restaurant finds." Obviously, I already know about them. I write the reviews of restaurants I've tried and enjoyed so that others will know they exist, where they are, what kind of food is served, and my personal opinion of the food. I couldn't care less what the Baht-Stop posters think, but I do care what the people on this board think. So, I'll leave it up to you. If you want me to continue writing about restaurants I find, I will. If you want me to stop, I'll stop.

I'm going to disagree with you about that because I'm not trying to compare the two in that respect. I have been suggesting that people open a Thai bank account and place their holiday funds into that account as a solution to avoiding the foreign 150 baht ATM fees. That's why I'm saying 20 baht is better than 150 baht. There are a lot of reasons to open a Thai bank account if you travel to Thailand on any kind of regular basis. That's just one reason. Another reason is there are no guarantees that the 150 baht fee won't eventually be raised even higher. It's getting to be very difficult to open a Thai bank account at all any more unless you are in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa. So, if you anticipate any need at all for a Thai bank account, I advise getting one while you still can. I think it's better to have it and not need it than to later wish you had it, but can't get it. Don't forget, if you are contemplating retirement in Thailand, you must have a Thai bank account in order to get the visa. Better to get one now than to end up having real problems and hassles later if you do decide to get the retirement visa. Again, if you are someone who comes to Thailand, even if only once in a while, opening a Thai bank account is the smart move, in my opinion.

I'll have to save you the trouble on this one. It turns out that I do have other plans for this evening and will not be able to go.

I'm completely stumped on this one. I just looked at my passbook and online statements and there are no charges for withdrawals I've made at their ATMs. I have no idea why your friend is being charged, but I'm not.

Of course I do believe you and I'm beginning to think I've been mistaken about these fees. Maybe I've been charged fees and just didn't notice. On the strength of your post I just now double-checked my Siam Commercial Bank passbook. Sure enough, there is a 25 baht charge for the update showing in the passbook. I never noticed that before. I hold a few different Thai bank accounts, mainly because I can pay different bills via online banking that way. I just checked the passbooks for those as well. Thai Military Bank also assesses a 25 baht fee for the passbook update. There was no fee assessed on any of my other accounts, though. From now on I'm going to have a much closer look at what I am and am not being charged fees for. I don't know what you can do about it, though, other than complain. I have a feeling, though, the complaints are going to fall on smiling faces, but deaf ears. Still, a 20 baht or 25 baht fee beats a 150 baht fee, so I don't feel that I have very much to complain about.