Gaybutton

I did try. You've seen what I look like? That's what did it to me . . .

I haven't tried it yet. Apparently they just opened on Second Road, across from the North Pattaya Big-C. I have attached the flier they were handing out at the beach. I think they confused AM and PM. I think the flier is incorrect and the actual opening times are most likely from 12:00 PM to 1:00 AM. I don't know why it never seems to occur to Thai-owned businesses to have their fliers proofread by a native English speaker, but that's the way they do things.

And now it begins . . . Today I started to notice several stores selling water shooters. Traffic is way down. The beaches were quite empty of the throngs of farang that were here just a week or so ago. The beginning of April really starts the low season in Pattaya. This is the time of year when so many farang start to avoid Pattaya and the rest of Thailand, preferring to make their holiday here during another month. That's fine with me. Now I'm not getting stuck in traffic and am easily finding plenty of parking when I wish to go to the beach. There isn't going to be any water spraying going on until April 12 and at about 7:00 PM on April 19 it will all come to a halt. That's in Pattaya. However in other areas of Thailand, where Songkran is celebrated only for one day, none of it begins until April 12 anyway.

There's a way to test that. Use the water purifier, drink a glass of the water before you go to bed, and set your alarm clock for 7:00 AM. When the alarm goes off and you wake up to turn it off, then you passed the test. If you don't wake up, then you flunked the test . . .

Even the water company says not to drink the tap water. I don't know why, but I go by that advice. I really don't want to find out the answer the hard way and bottled water is readily available and very cheap. I use tap water for showering, brushing my teeth, washing dishes, and washing food items such as fruit. I have never had any problem, no matter where I am in Thailand. I use only bottled water for cooking. The only exception I make is boiling eggs in tap water. Again, I have never had any kind of a problem.

I just looked at that video and I enjoyed it too. I agree that tells it and shows it the way it really is. The only thing missing was more shots of the local "eye candy" and some of the items commonly sold by the beach vendors.

So far this has not happened to me, but I always look and I make sure they see me looking. I have, however, heard and read enough stories in the local newspapers to know this scam does indeed exist and the unwary are going to get fleeced sooner or later. Watch for other scams too. If you're driving a car, don't let a gas station attendant check under the hood. You can bet that you're extremely likely to be told you have some sort of a problem. In Pattayqa, just a few months ago I had my oil changed. I always have my car serviced at the dealership where I bought it. They are totally honest there and they charge no more than a service station does. I drove out with a fresh oil and filter change, stopped at a filling station less than ten minutes later, and was told I need oil and ought to also let them change the oil filter. I politely said I'll take care of it some other time. They proceeded to try to high-pressure me into letting them do it. Of course, I paid for the fuel and left, never to return to that station. When I find a good, honest service station, that's where I try to go on a regular basis. In Pattaya I always try to go to the Caltex station on the east side of Sukhumvit Highway, just south of Central Road (Pattaya Klang) and the MP station on Tepprasit Road (the one with that excellent car wash). I have always been treated with honesty and excellent service at those particular stations, so I make a point of using them. Also, if you ever have any tire trouble, need a new tire, or prefer a good used tire, try the tire service facility at that same MP station. Their service is quick, honest, and they stand behind their work. It seems like I'm in there every other month or so with a nail in one of my tires and they usually have me back on the road within 15 minutes and charge a total of 100 baht to repair the tire.

I don't share your opinion, but you are, of course, entitled to it. I think some people are expecting too much. Some out there must be expecting Broadway quality at a bar. Try to remember that you're going to a bar, one that offers a show along with everything else. It's one of the few shows I have ever liked. Sure, it could stand improvement. What bar show couldn't? I think this one is the best bar show available in Pattaya. If you know of a better one, please let us know where it is. As far as the quality of the boys is concerned, that's a matter of individual taste. Boys who could easily replace Michaelangelo's 'David' are not usually found in a go-go bar. I do have one complaint, however. There is a toilet attendant. I never did like that and don't understand why anyone would think that is necessary or even desirable. When I go to a toilet, all I want to do is pee and go back to my seat. I very much dislike having someone try to massage me or stare at me while I'm trying to go. I can't even do what I went in there to do when that sort of thing is going on and I'm extremely uncomfortable with it. I end up going into a stall instead. At least the attendant can't follow me in there. If I were to request a change at Birdcage, being left alone in the toilet would be my first request. I've managed to take care of myself just fine in toilets ever since I was first potty-trained. I neither need nor want an attendant in the toilet and, in my opinion, having a toilet attendant is a terrible idea. Maybe whoever it was who thought that one up enjoys it, thinks it's a wonderful idea, and assumes everyone else thinks the same thing, but I'm someone who ends up feeling harassed and being made miserable in the toilet when an attendant is present. In short, when I have a need to go to the toilet, please . . . leave me alone.

Hmmmmm. Are you sure it's rice powder?

No need. Just go to YouTube and enter "Songkran" on the video search. Page after page of Songkran videos will come up and many are quite good.

Ok, good. I didn't spot that when I looked at the web site before. Good luck with everything. As they say, "break a leg." Just don't break mine . . .

If you don't enjoy Songkran, I can understand that, but why three weeks? The holiday exists everywhere in Thailand on various dates from April 12 through April 19. That's only one week. You won't get splashed before that and you won't get splashed after that. The only thing I dislike about Songkran is when some people, usually drunken farang, get carried away and cause real danger to other people, especially those driving motorcycles. There are enough accidents as it is, but I've actually witnessed bunches of idiot farang who intentionally try to temporarily blind people on motorcycles. Those are the kinds of people who ruin it for everyone else. It was either last year or the year before, I don't remember which, when one farang was actually caught squirting people with a caustic acid mixed in with the water. He seriously hurt a 12 year old boy. He was caught and arrested, but there are, unfortunately, others like him out there. I fail to see how intentionally hurting others can be anyone's idea of great fun, but apparently for some it is. That's another one I can add to my "I Don't Get It" list. I never see or hear about Thais doing things like that. Only farang. Fortunately, those kinds of incidents are not common, but they do happen. In any case, if getting splashed for a week puts you off, then yes, I would avoid Pattaya during that week. In most other areas of Thailand, the splashing only occurs for one day.

May I suggest that at some point you tell us what these acts are? I looked on your web site, but I can't find anything that tells us what the acts will be. I can't speak for others, but I would be much more inclined to buy a ticket if I had some idea of what I would actually be seeing.

As many of you know, Songkran is Thailand's water festival, during which you're going to be soaked. In Pattaya, the main Songkran day is always April 19. Usually, the water splashing starts sporadically about a week before and the pace picks up until the entire city turns out for the holiday on the 19th, which is a Saturday this year. Most farang run for cover during this time period. I'm already hearing about plans being made to hole-up or go somewhere else for that week. Not me. I'm going to be right here and I am one of the crazies who thoroughly enjoys it. I only know of two other farang who love it, as I do. Of course, being able to get around in a car does help . . . One of the reasons I like it so much is all the soaking wet, shirtless boys who will be all over town! Even the ones who usually avoid the beach because they don't want to be "color black" are usually shirtless on the 19th. I think it's a lot of fun, but I know I'm in the minority as far as farang are concerned. I do recall that last year, people who remained on the sidewalks, close to the buildings, were mostly spared, but I wouldn't want to bet the farm on that. If you're here, you're going to be soaked and that's all there is to it. If you are going to be here during that time period, it is advisable to take certain practical precautions, such as protecting your valuables. I wouldn't carry around any more cash than is necessary and you might want to keep it in a plastic bag. Protect your ATM card too and try to withdraw whatever cash you'll need either before the 12th of April or at night, when the splashing stops (or at least dramatically slows down). If you're going to carry a camera, make sure it's also in a plastic bag. If you have a watch that is susceptible to water damage, don't wear it during Songkran. Wear clothes and shoes that can take a soaking. Songkran is not exactly the time to be wearing a tuxedo. Carry disposable wipes. If you wear glasses, take along whatever materials you use to clean them, and keep them in a plastic bag. I wonder how you feel about Songkran and what those of you who will be present in Thailand will be doing during that week.

One of the most popular gay hotels in Pattaya is Le Cafe Royale. Today, at the beach, the rumor mill included gossip about some sort of a brouhaha at Le Cafe Royale. It is all being explained on the Sawatdee Forum. See http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum...now-t14380.html I see no reason why anyone should cancel reservations or be hesitant about making reservations, but I do feel it is only fair for people to be aware of what is going on. Since Mr. Quill, himself, is explaining the situation, then I think it is appropriate to refer you to the thread. I also feel that comments and questions should be posted only on the thread on which Mr. Quill is posting. Therefore, in fairness, I am not going to permit comments to be posted on this forum. Those of you who have questions and comments will have to post them on the Sawatdee forum's thread, so that those involved can have a reasonable opportunity to respond.

You might also want to check out Pattaya Male's post at: http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum...ces-t14365.html

If we are discussing Burma on this thread, despite the fact that this is the Thailand forum, does that present some sort of a problem for you? We've left it on this forum because it is obviously generating a great deal of interest. In Thailand, you'll find Burma in the north and west, where the Karen hill tribes live. They're Burmese. As far as vacationing in "Haiiti," I know of no such place.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Pattaya Prices Take Off Market Rides on Strong Foreign Investor Interest Published on March 20, 2008 Resale prices of luxury condominium projects in Pattaya have surged by up to 100 per cent due to strong demand from foreign investors, especially from the UK and Russia, according to a research report by property firm Raimon Land yesterday. The Raimon Land report said that demand for luxury condominium projects located close to Jomtien Beach, Wong-Amat Beach and Pattaya Bay had risen strongly while new project launches have been limited. As a result, the resale price of luxury condominium projects in Pattaya have increased from an average of Bt74,000 per square metre in 2005 to Bt150,000 in the first two months of this year. Investors who are interested in snapping up properties in Pattaya are mainly from Russia, the UK, Australia, Germany, and Sweden. Half the buyers of Pattaya properties treat it as an investment, which generates returns of between 8 to 10 per cent a year, while the other half invest in them as a second home, Simon Derville, Raimon Land vice president for research and development, said. With strong demand in the market, a number of property firms have launched new residential projects. According to the report, 19 new luxury condominium projects, or 5,177 units, were launched last year worth nearly Bt30 billion. Some are going through the construction phase and this year about 281 units would be completed. About 1,115 units are being constructed now and will be completed next year or over the next two years. Some 3,781 units would be built over the next two years, to add to the booming Pattaya property market. Raimon Land is a property firm, which is planning to launch a new luxury condominium project this year called "EDGE", with an investment of Bt3.6 billion. Raimon Land was very successful with its Northshore project in Pattaya, worth Bt1.49 billion. Its Northpoint project has recorded presales of more than 50 per cent. Somluck Srimalee The Nation

We went for months without any "flying farang" stories. Now, all of a sudden, there's two stories. Here it is, from the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Austrian Man Jumps to his Death at Mike Shopping Mall Police Major Sawai from Pattaya Police Station along with Police Lieutenant Colonel Suwan, from Pattaya’s Tourist Police made their way to Mike Shopping Mall in South Pattaya early on Wednesday Morning to investigate reports of a suspected suicide. At the scene, officers inspected the body of Mr. Ernst Prosch aged 48 from Austria who was lying on the ground outside the Shopping Mall. The man was known to have used the Swimming Pool located on the 10th Floor of the Shopping Mall on many occasions and around 10pm on Wednesday Night Khun Montar aged 49, who lives in a small house nearby, mentioned to Police that she heard a loud thud nearby but did not investigate. The body was discovered by her when she awoke on Wednesday. An inspection of the body was conducted and no signs of third party involvement in his death were evident. A packet of sleeping tablets and other medications were found in his pocket and Police suspect that he may have taken his own life because of his medical condition. The Austrian Embassy have been informed of the case.

What I meant was that if someone has a complaint about the Birdcage show, then posting about it here is unlikely to change anything. Marsha does listen and if someone wants something changed, then taking it directly to him will be the most effective way to see the changes actually happen, rather than complaining on the message board. You might notice that the complaints I post "often enough" never result in any changes. You know why? Because the only people reading the complaints are people who are in no position to do anything about it. Marsha is in a position to do something about it. Maybe he reads this board and maybe he doesn't. I don't know. But if you want to see changes made to the things you're complaining about, then it seems to me that talking directly to Marsha is the best way to go about it.

If the boys used in the scam are under-age, then the people who fall for the scam don't get any sympathy from me because they were involving themselves with an under-age boy. The fathers, if they are indeed the fathers, are just as reprehensible. Your post says the farang gets confronted as he is leaving the room. My interpretation of that is that the fathers are allowing the sons to engage in sex and then, afterwards, try to blackmail the farang. If that isn't child abuse, then what is? I'm surprised the farangs are not calling the bluff. Those "fathers" aren't going to go anywhere near the police. They would be in major hot water themselves for allowing their under-age sons to engage in sex with a farang, especially if they are also foreigners. If they're not the actual fathers, then they're in for just as much trouble as the farang, perhaps even more. Either way, involving the police is the last thing they would want to do. They might have a rough time explaining to the police that they did not set up the farang, since they obviously knew where their "son" was, who he was with, and what he was doing. It would be hard for them to convince the police they thought the farang was only reading Rumplestiltskin to the boy. Regarding naughtybutnice's post, I have not seen the posts that were removed. My guess is the posts would be removed if the names of specific bars were used. If the bar names are given in an accusatory post on this board, I would remove the post too. A board can't tolerate that due to Thailand's libel laws. Even if Thailand did not have this sort of libel law, I would still remove the post if there is no solid evidence included in the post other than the poster's say-so. We get too many people who have something against a bar or bar owner, and they set out to ruin the bar's business through posts. That is something this board does not allow. If no names were used and if there was nothing to make it obvious as to which bars were being referred to, then I would have to see the post to understand why it was removed. Whether the moderators should provide a public explanation as to why posts are removed is subject to debate. In my opinion, if a post is removed, then the reason for the removal is between the moderator and the person who wrote the post, but not between the moderator and the rest of the world. In my opinion, it is optional for the moderator to provide a public explanation. If the moderator chooses to post an explanation, fine with me. If he chooses not to, that's also fine with me. Moderators often end up catching hell whether they explain or not. In my case, when I have found it necessary to remove a post, it doesn't make any difference whether I provide an explanation or not. As soon as I remove a post, that's when I start getting called a control freak, a Hitler, and a whole litany of other names. I can't speak for other boards, but on this board we don't remove posts lightly, especially since we know the name callers are going to be right there, almost immediately. I am well aware that many disagree with me on that issue, but that is my opinion nevertheless.

I didn't find the show boring at all. I imagine that visiting the same bar several times and seeing the same show several times would eventually become boring. They can't present a different show every night, you know. My information is that the show will be changed periodically, but I have no idea when or how often. You're not going to get Broadway quality at a bar show. As I said above, I don't usually like any of the bar shows, but I did like the Birdcage show. A message board is the wrong place to state your complaint. Next time you're at the Birdcage, talk to Marsha. He's listening seriously to comments and suggestions and what you suggest to him will not fall on deaf ears.

Here's something else we haven't seen for a while . . . a "flying farang" story. Here's the latest, from the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ English Man Jumps to his Death at View Talay 2 In the early hours of Wednesday Morning, Police Major Anuchaert from Dongtan Police Sub-Station located on Jomtien Beach was called to View Talay Condominium 2, Building B to investigate a case of suspected suicide. At the base of the building, the body of Mr. Malcolm Roland Jackov aged 56 from England who was known to be staying on the 12th Floor of the apartment block was found. There is a suggestion that he may have jumped from the 16th floor although this has not been confirmed. Security Guards were alerted by a crashing sound and discovered the body of Mr. Jackov who was known to drink heavily on a daily basis. Pictures inside his room showed him with a Thai woman and for now Police theorize that a relationship issue may be the motive behind the suspected suicide. The British Embassy in Bangkok are aware of the case.

It's been a few months since the last arrests involving farang accused of having sex with under-age boys, so I guess we were about due. The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Two English Men Arrested by Region 2 Police, Accused of Having Sex with Minors. We joined Police Colonel Tanisorn from the Child and Women Protection Unit from Region 2 Police as he attended two locations in search of two foreign men wanted by Police. We begin in Soi Bongkot where the Colonel served an arrest warrant on Mr. Morris John Praill aged 77 from England. The warrant stated that he was alleged to have engaged in sexual activities with minors aged under 15. Mr. Brown who is already facing similar charges relating to previous cases is alleged to have gone to Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya and offered money in exchange for sex to a boy aged 8 years. Mr. Praill denied the charges but did admit to giving money to the boy as he felt sorry for him. Mr. Praill was taken into custody and will appear in court next week. The second arrest warrant was served on Mr. Ronald David Wiener aged 60 from London, England. He was arrested at his 13th Floor apartment in Jomtien. A search of the room uncovered CD’s featuring underage sex. The warrant stated that Mr. Wiener was accused of having sex with a 13 year old boy in exchange for money. He will now receive additional charges of possession of child pornography and will also appear in court next week. Both cases are being monitored by the British Embassy in Bangkok. __________ You might also want to read the following story from the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000005410

The exchange rate isn't getting any better for the US dollar. I'm sorry to say that now we're in the 30's. The following is the exchange rate as of 10:30 AM, Wednesday, March 19, Thailand time. I did 'beware the Ides of March.' Unfortunately that didn't help: US Dollar: 30.95 Euro: 48.405 British Pound: 62.125 Australian Dollar: 28.68 Canadian Dollar: 31.055 I notice that once again the Canadian Dollar has more value than the US dollar. It's not much consolation, but the Thais don't like this any more than we do. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ More Baht, Oil Price Worries Thai exporters yesterday asked the government to manage the exchange-rate policy competently amid increasing volatility in global financial markets following the latest bail-out of US securities firm Bear Sterns. Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) chairman Santi Vilassakdanont said the deepening US sub-prime crisis could jeopardise the baht, due to an expected rise in capital inflows. "Exporters are increasingly worried the US Federal Reserve Bank will further cut its interest rate [following the Bear Sterns crisis], resulting in huge capital inflows into Asia," he said. "China and Vietnam may not be seriously affected, because of their tight capital controls. However, countries like Thailand could be hurt, because of our liberalisation policy, so the authorities need to manage the baht properly, or else it could become much stronger, because of the cancellation of the 30-per-cent capital reserve requirement." The FTI chairman also urged the government to come up with urgent measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises and fishermen who are being hit hard by the unrelenting rise in crude oil prices, which soared to US$111 (Bt3,500) per barrel yesterday. Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Atchana Waiquamdee agreed the condition of the US economy and rising oil prices were still key risk factors for Thailand's economic growth. Paiboon Ponsuwanna, chairman of the FTI's Food Industry Club, said the growth of food exports would be hit if the baht appreciated further significantly. "If the exchange rate is Bt33.5 to the US dollar, our food exports will expand 7.6 per cent year on year. But if the baht become stronger, say, 30 to the dollar, exports will grow only 1.9 per cent," he said. A growing number of food factories have reduced output, because they expect big losses from the baht's appreciation and higher production costs, he said. The Nation, APDJ