Gaybutton

Please send the link to me in an Email. gaybutton@gmail.com . I'll try to figure out what's going wrong. If I get it figured out, I'll post the link for you.

I've never had a bellboy become rude, belligerent, or impolite when I've approached him for assistance in finding some "companionship." I think you can probably get an idea as to whether the bellboy would be responsive just by his demeanor. If he seems to be the type who might get upset if I ask, then I don't ask. But that's rare. I've never had one tell me he won't try. I've had them tell me they don't know anybody, but that's about it. Once when I was out in the hinterlands, there was no bellboy at all. I said something to the cleaning woman. She merely smiled and shrugged. Much to my surprise, about three hours later she showed up with a young gentleman who turned out to be her cousin. He was really cute and eager. I ended up having a fabulous night! But I was really stupid. It didn't even occur to me to get his phone number until I was far away from that place. Damn! I still bitch slap myself over that little mistake! I wish I turned around and went back. Oh well, ol' love 'em and lose 'em strikes again! I'm sure everyone has his own methods of approaching someone. When I ask for that kind of assistance from a bellboy I simply let him know I'm gay, alone, don't know anyone in this area, and am wondering if he might be able to help me out in return for a good tip. That usually works just fine. I try to solicit that kind of help from the cutest bellboy. That way, if he's interested himself, that's also just fine.

It did until I had another look at my own size. Well, I tried to have a look anyway, but I dropped the magnifying glass.

At the moment the plan is to at least do the drawing publicly. Just where and on exactly what date is still being planned. If GayThailand will not yet be back in Thailand, then I'm going to do it. What we have so far discussed is having GT make arrangements with one of the bars. He and I, even if he is not here, will tally up the names in "the hat" to make sure we both concur. We intend to have bar boys place the names in the hat, publicly, and have a bar boy be the one who draws out the winning name, also publicly. Whether the winner is present or not, he will be contacted by GT to arrange the prize. Whether GT intends to host a party on top of a $1500 prize, I don't know. My recommendation is that anyone who wishes to be there when we do the drawing is welcome, but has to open his own wallet if he wishes to drink. However, that's GT's decision.

And some will completely agree with your tipping policies. I'm one of the people who agrees with nearly everything you wrote with the exception of the amount you give to housekeeping. If I have a bellboy take my luggage to my room (and from my room when I check out) I usually tip him 20 to 100 baht, depending on the amount of luggage I have and how helpful he is. If I happen to be out in the middle of nowhere, or somewhere at which gay venues don't exist, then if I ask a bellboy for "assistance" in finding someone for the evening, and he comes up with what I'm looking for, then he'll get 300 to 500 baht. If it turns out that the bellboy himself provides the, uhhhhh, "companionship," then obviously he's going to get more. I also don't tip quite as you do in restaurants. In restaurants at which a service charge is added, as far as I'm concerned that's the tip. I'll tip beyond the service charge if the service was exceptional. In restaurants that do not have a service charge 20 baht is usually the expected tip. That's what I usually leave. Again, I'll leave more if I particularly liked the service. In restaurants that I consider to be "high class," but there is no service charge, I usually leave 10 to 15%. In the bars, if a boy invites himself to sit with me, and I neither asked him to sit with me nor wanted him to sit with me, he gets nothing. A pushy mama-san gets nothing. A truly helpful mama-san gets a tip from me. The amount is variable depending on many different factors. If I ask a boy to sit with me, he gets 100 baht. If I ask a boy to sit with me and I really enjoyed his company, then he usually gets 200 baht unless I take him off. If I take him off, then he gets his tip along with the amount I give him for his "services." It's difficult to come up with true standards in Thailand, where most everything is "up to you." I don't think true standards exist here at all when it comes to tipping.

That's exactly what I don't want. I don't like the idea of waking up one morning to find money has been deducted from my account without my confirmation first. If that's the way it works, I'd rather pay it myself when I decide to pay it.

I'm afraid my input won't be very helpful. This is the first time this question has come up. I would guess that you can renew at a Thai consulate because you can get a first retirement visa at a Thai consulate. But considering the weird way things can work Thai style, that's only a guess on my part. If I were you I would do either of two things: The Immigration authorities do allow people to renew their retirement visa prior to a trip that means they won't be back in Thailand before the visa expires. I know people who have done it months in advance. The second thing I would do would be to spring for a phone call to the Thai consulate at which you would apply for a renewal. They're the ones who would approve or reject the renewal, so you might as well get your information directly from them. The worst that can happen would be that you would lose the visa and have to go through the process again when you return to Thailand. That's not really much of a problem considering you have to provide most of the same documentation when you apply for a renewal anyway. It would mean an extra couple of thousand baht to convert your entry visa to the retirement visa, but I see no problem about it. Out of all the choices, I think the easiest, least expensive, and best choice is to renew your visa prior to leaving Thailand. Just don't forget to obtain a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand. If you fail to get a re-entry permit, then your visa will be null and void whether you renewed or not.

I'd like to know if they simply debit your account or if they contact you somehow first, let you know the amount to be debited, and you get some sort of control over whether to allow the debit to go through and have some control over the date and time for the debit. If you have control over it, I'm going to consider doing it. Sometimes I'm not in town when the bill comes and they don't give you very many days to pay it before they send someone over to cut off your electricity. Do you use automatic payment for both water and electricity? Also, what did you do to set it up? Can you set it up online or do you need to go to the bank to set it up?

The mobile phone gets the top-up instantly. Whether you have to enter a code number depends on the bank. I don't use 1-2-Call myself. I use DTAC. I have an account with them, so I simply receive a bill each month. However, I do often put some money into the mobile phones for boys I like. I think one of the easiest is via Siam Commercial Bank. They all work pretty much the same, but with Siam Commercial, you simply select which service you want to use, 1-2-Call, DTAC, True Move, or whatever. Then you enter in the mobile phone number you want to top-up. Then you select the amount you want to provide. It starts with 50 baht. You can select 50 baht, 90 baht, 150, 300, 500, or 1000 baht. Then, once you select the amount, you hit the submit button and presto! The mobile phone has been topped up and your account has been debited for the amount you sent. Just like that . . . By the way, if you don't have online banking you can do the same thing at ATMs.

Just what Thailand needs on top of everything else! The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Bird Flu Warning for 14 Provinces Published on January 17, 2009 The Public Health Ministry has listed 14 provinces as at risk from a reappearance of the H5N1 bird flu virus. "The cool weather provides a good environment for it," said deputy permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit. He named Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Chai Nat, Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen and Nong Bua Lamphu. Paijit said he had instructed health officers known as "Mr. Bird Flu" across the country to monitor for avian flu and infection in humans, especially in provinces where the virus appeared frequently. He said the ministry was bringing in stricter controls, even though H5N1 infection in humans had not been reported for three years. Measures include rapid detection and reporting of infection, rapid primary spreading control, sampling, containment training, laboratory preparation and information on prevention. He said national strategy covered poultry farming, surveillance, prevention of human and animal infection and pandemic preparedness. The World Health Organisation says 61 countries are infected. Thailand has seen 25 human cases, of whom 17 have died.

Neither. The glass is simply too big.

Definitely keep those receipts. I keep all my receipts for six months before disposing of them. Here are a couple examples as to why: One morning I was sitting here at my computer when all of a sudden my electricity went out. I went outside to find an electric company technician disconnecting my electricity! I asked him why he's doing that and he said I hadn't paid my bill. I asked him to wait a moment. I came back outside with the paid receipt. He had a look and said he will reconnect the electricity for me, but I have to pay the 50 baht reconnect fee! He wasn't pocketing it. He gave me a receipt for it. I wasn't about to stand there having a big argument over 50 baht, but I did ask him why I'm being charged a reconnect fee when it was their mistake to disconnect the electricity in the first place. He only shrugged. I didn't bother pursuing it further. I considered myself lucky I was home when he was there or I would have had to go to the electric company, take a number and wait lord-knows-how-long, still pay a reconnect fee, and then wait again for someone to get around to dropping by to reconnect. The other example occurred only a short time ago. My mail came and I received a notice informing me that I owed money on my car payments. Every month I pay exactly the amount I'm supposed to pay. I asked a Thai neighbor to call them for me and find out what this was all about. I had my paid receipt in my hand in case it was needed. Are you ready? The problem was that I was 3 baht short on my last payment! 3 baht! I wouldn't have been surprised if they sent someone over to repossess the car with 3 baht due. I had the neighbor tell them I'll pay the difference when I make the next car payment. The company was kind enough to accept my offer . . .

Nor any farangs I've talked to. I know of no cases in which a farang was ever arrested or hassled in any way when it comes to gay sex in Laos. Also, in Vientiane you get a much better exchange rate at any number of black market stalls at the Morning Market. That's illegal too, but that's what everybody does. I also know of no problems anyone has ever had making those exchanges. I cant say anything about Luang Prabang. I've never been there. But in Laos, don't try to exchange very much. You'll need a railroad car to contain all the Kip. The last time I was in Laos I exchanged US $20 and wound up with a wad of cash thicker than the Manhattan telephone directory.

You really have nothing to worry about. I do that sort of thing constantly and have done so online with Thai banks for years. I've never had any kind of problem at all. Also, when the transfer is done, the banks provide a confirmation that you can save and/or print out, just in case of a problem. Even if you don't do that, they all have a button to click for a history of your transactions. When making an online transfer, before the transfer goes through a confirmation page comes up that shows the amount you are transferring and the name of the party to whom the transfer is going. They do that just in case you might have made a typo. That gives you the opportunity to double check before hitting the 'confirm' button. Some banks even have an OTP (one-time password) requirement before the transfer will go through. They send the password to your choice of Email or text message to your mobile phone. You use that password to fill in a blank on the confirmation page before the transaction will go through. Every time you do that a different password is sent. That's why it's called a one-time password. Even when paying bills or simply topping off a 1-2-Call account a confirmation page will come up. It's really quite safe and convenient. As I said, I've never had any trouble and I don't know anyone who uses Thai online banking who has ever had a problem. As a matter of fact, the only problem I have is finding a bank whose online payments system covers every bill I need to pay. I still have to pay my electric bill, water bill, and car payment at 7-Eleven or at a bank. I can't find a bank that lets you pay the local Pattaya electric bill and water bill online. The odd thing about my car payment is that there are several banks where you can make the payment personally, but they don't include the same company on their online payments system. If I remember correctly, Bangkok Bank (and probably others) does allow you to set up a monthly automatic deduction to pay the electric bill, but I don't like doing things that way. I prefer to make online payments manually. That way I'm the one in control of what day and time the money leaves my account.

Sorry, but you'll have to post those on the Beer Bar forum if you don't want the post moved. We can't start making exceptions and we can't sit here trying to determine whether more people are going to read it on one forum as opposed to another. If we allow that for you, then we're going to have to start allowing the same thing for everyone else, and there goes the purpose of distinctive forums. Of course, if the humorous post, or any other post for that matter, has something to do with Thailand or gay Thailand, this is the forum on which to post it.

From what I've seen over the years, there are plenty of them that do the same thing even in the best of times.

Does it really make some sort of difference to you how I would classify it? Ok, here's how I will classify it: Most means more than half.

Nobody has more detail than that. At this time the waiver is only a proposal. As soon as there is an official announcement it will be posted. In the meantime, you might want to call the Thai embassy or a Thai consulate in your home country for details. They will probably know before anyone else.

I wouldn't classify "most," at least not in those terms. Of course you disagree with me. Most people disagree with me (1 in 10 perhaps? Probably more). Don't worry, I'm not going to stop people from posting their examples, even the absurd ones. All I ask is those opinions be posted on the appropriate forum.

I think, in addition to the embassy and Thai attorneys, it would also be a good idea to seek out and meet with directors of charities already established in Thailand and find out whatever you can from them, especially any charities that are similar in nature to the type of charity you intend to establish.

That's the truth! It's anything goes, any direction, anywhere. I have personally witnessed, more than once, motorcyclists killed when they come zooming out of a side soi onto Sukhumvit Highway without even looking. Another favorite pastime is when cars coming in the opposite direction come into my lane because they can't wait two seconds to pass the car in front of them. They seem to think nothing of it. I've had a hell of a lot of narrow escapes from those potential head-on collisions. I've said this before and I'll repeat it now. Something my driver's education instructor said, many moons ago when I was in high school learning to drive: "Always expect the unexpected." Those words stuck with me and have saved me from many accidents, and also probably saved my life, more times than I can count. I don't have a problem driving in Thailand, but I have yet to drive anywhere, ever, without some sort of a near miss, and quite often more than just one.

Their ID cards, if the ID card is actually theirs . . . I suppose you can also believe the police officer as he's explaining things on the way downtown . . .

Not everyone agrees with the way we do things. The three major forums on this board are this one, the Beer Bar forum, and the Gay Asia forum. This forum is for anything that applies directly to Thailand and gay aspects of Thailand. The Gay Asia forum is for anything that applies to other Asian countries and the gay aspects. The Beer Bar is essentially for anything else. This web site is called Gay Thailand. We establish the other forums so that nobody has to feel limited as to what they want to talk about, but people come here looking for specific information. I think it makes life much easier for people looking for gay information or information about Thailand if they know that's what they're going to find on this forum. I don't think they want to wade through posts about Bush and Obama, actors who passed away, air crashes in the Hudson River, etc, none of which have anything to do directly with Thailand or gay Thailand, to find what they're looking for. That's why we do it this way.

What's wrong with hiring a baht bus? They'll pay about 150 baht or so, but they would be able to shop where they like.

I always liked him in "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan." That film means more if you also saw the original TV episode in which Khan first appears, also starring Ricardo Montalban. One of the things people said was that he was too old to have such a muscular chest as was displayed in the movie and that it must be movie makeup. I saw him on Johnny Carson one night and that subject was brought up. He insisted that was his actual chest. He made me laugh too. On that same Johnny Carson show he told a story about when he made commercials for Colgate. He had trouble because he kept pronouncing it the Spanish way . . . col-gah-tay.