Gaybutton

I don't think it is "officially", but more like "usually". Early February usually is, but as February wears on the number of high season tourists wears off. Just what kind of high season there will be this year remains to be seen, but for several years even before anyone ever heard of Covid, the tourist numbers dropped off to the point that I could no longer tell much difference between high season and low season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I believe this upcoming high season is crucial to what will become of the Thailand gay scene, especially in Pattaya. If it is a really good high season, I think we will see more go-go bars opening and reopening and more boys working in them. If the high season is a bust, then I believe the best we can hope for any time soon will be status quo. So gents, if you wish to help save Thailand's gay bar scene, during high season pack your bags and get thee to Thailand - and bring plenty of money . . .

I'd say that depends. Have you got something better to do?

I am always delighted when a first timer's holiday goes well and he is thoroughly enjoying his time in Thailand. I am truly very happy for you and I certainly hope your first trip to Thailand won't be your last one. Thank you for your posts and please keep in touch with us once you return home. Returning home - that's the hard part . . .

I don't know about farang, but in my area along with everywhere else I've been, nearly all the Thais are still wearing masks. So am I, especially since now this new BQ.1 Omicron variant has made its way into Thailand. Only a couple cases so far, but we've all seen how that goes. Don't be surprised if a new mask mandate is imposed if it starts spreading. I don't have a problem about wearing the mask, so I'm going to wear it until the vast majority of Thais stop wearing it. Until that day comes, my mask stays on.

Anything wrong with trying to minimize the risk? Do you want to know who is most at risk? That's easy - the people who think they're least at risk. I've seen it happen much too often - people thinking with their crotch rather than their brain . . .

I have never been able to confirm this, so it is nothing more than rumor, but I heard he died several years ago. Again, I have no way to confirm that. I can only hope what I heard is not true,

As kind of an aside, those of you who have been around long enough might remember the Pattaya Gay board, owned by Allen Briggs, and the Dreaded Ned board. In those days my board and their boards constituted the "Big Three". The three of us used to meet regularly, usually at my house, and discuss the board goings on, how we each like to run our boards, what we want to see on our boards, how to handle trolls and other problem posters, etc. My boyfriend at the time always made lunch for us. Now I believe the only board owner actually living in Thailand is me, so such meetings are no longer possible. I miss that. One goal I had, and actually still do, was hoping to get good participation from all the major gay venue areas in Thailand - Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Samui, and Phuket. That has been a failure and instead my board became "Pattayacentic", mainly because Pattaya is where I live and I rely on those living elsewhere to help provide information about their areas. I get good participation from Bangkok, once in a while from Chiang Mai, but to this day I don't think I've ever had even one post from anyone living in Phuket or Samui. Even now the board owners cooperate with each other and try to help each other when a need arises.

I appreciate that very much. Each of the "Big 3" gay Thailand forums offer their own unique themes and approaches - which is good. If all the forums were doing the same thing, then it would all quickly become boring. By the way, I should have said the menu I posted is the entire menu. There are no additional pages.

I'm with you on that. I do like a high end expensive restaurant once in a while if I like the food. For me the priority is how well I like the food. It doesn't matter to me how well appointed the place might be. For example, I have a favorite restaurant for lunch - and it is open only for lunch. If you get there around 2:00pm don't be surprised if it's already closed. It's rickety old bench seating with rickety tables and flatware of the quality you might find in a Dollar Store. Nevertheless the place is almost always packed with Thais, even in heavy rains. The menu is entirely in Thai - no English at all. But the menu does have pictures. If your smartphone has a translator app such as LENS, no problem knowing what you're ordering. It's probably best to go with a Thai friend, at least the first time. Why do I like it so much? Because he specializes in crab dishes and every one of them are fantastic - better than I have ever had in the best of restaurants. And he doesn't skimp on the portions. Even better, the most expensive item on the menu is about 200 baht. The name of the restaurant is Gao Krapao Poo GPS coordinates: 12.96002, 100.91052 [img]https://i.imgur.com/roJi65v.jpg[/img]

You guessed right. It is perfectly safe. People without their own transportation, including the boys, use Bolt regularly. I have neither seen nor heard about any problems. Watch the video:

If you're willing to do a little trekking, I highly recommend: 1. iO Italian Osteria Pattaya - in Terminal 21 2. Suggestions - on "The Dark Side" 3. Any of the restaurants at the high end hotels 4. Sands Cafe - Jomtien at Pratumnak 5. L'Auberge - Third Road It won't be very expensive getting to and from if you use BOLT.

For several reasons I still wear the mask. For me, I wear it because nearly all the Thais wear it and I live here. Even though the mask is no longer required in public, so many places still require it that it seems pointless to me to try avoiding it. Also, I have become so used to wearing the mask that now I feel uncomfortable and awkward if I'm not wearing it. It's not hurting anything, so I wear it. I take it off when driving my car or entering a restaurant. Other than that, most of the time it's on. One other little thing - with a face that looks like mine, I'm doing the world a favor by covering it up with the mask. A few others around here might be kind enough to consider doing the same . . . "I know I'm ugly. On Halloween when I open the door, the kids give me candy." - Rodney Dangerfield

Bolt seems to be the most popular these days. Along with requesting a car you can also request a motorbike and ride the motorbike just as you would a motorbike taxi - which obviously is less expensive than a car.

Is this something you've heard or read and accepted as fact? I heard that about 20 years ago. Doesn't it sound as utterly absurd to you as it does to me? I'm living proof that it is just not true, but you are by no means the only one who thinks it is. It is nothing but a nonsense rumor that somebody started years ago, and as a result many believe it really works that way. WRONG! It's another one of those things that is pure horse dung, but if repeated often enough people start believing it. Can you imagine your insurance company accepting that idea? It's right up there with the belief that Thais don't get upset when someone close dies because of their belief in the next life. Go to a Thai funeral. Then tell me all about how they don't get upset. Twice I was involved in accidents, one in which the Thai driver of the other vehicle suffered a broken bone, and in both instances the police blamed and fined the Thai driver - not me. And so, by the way, did his insurance company. I also know of other accidents involving farang and the Thai driver was blamed. Just like it is supposed to be, if you are at fault, you'll be blamed. If the Thai driver is at fault, the Thai driver will be blamed. The idea that "the farang is always in the wrong because, had he stayed in his own country, the accident wouldn't have happened" is absolutely ridiculous. I can't cite a single verified instance when that ever happened and I doubt either can you or anyone else - and for a very simple reason. It never happened. Don't forget - if you stayed in your own country you wouldn't have been the victim of a pickpocket, wouldn't have been shortchanged by a baht bus driver, wouldn't have had the wrong order served to you at a restaurant, and wouldn't have offed a boy who turned out to be a dud. Oh, I nearly forgot - how careless of me - it was Trump who really won the election . . .

I've never heard the one about the rice, but I have heard the one about leaving some on your plate. I also know it's something someone just made up years ago and somehow it stuck. It's not true.

It certainly is. For me it took a few years to be able to handle eating the spiced up foods, but now I can. That makes it even better for me and better for my Thai friends who no longer have to order special for me. Whatever they eat, I eat too (although half the time I have no idea what the hell it is - and I may be better off not knowing).

Was it a Thai restaurant? If it was, ordering 3 or 4 dishes is the norm. Only rarely do they order only one dish, especially if it's dinner time and for sure if someone else is paying. In farang restaurants the meal usually includes other items, such as potatoes and vegetables and it's your own food. In Thai restaurants what you order is what you get. The meal doesn't come with anything unless you order it. I quite often eat with Thais in Thai restaurants. Nobody ever orders a meal for himself. They always order several items and everybody shares.

The idea that it is valid to prejudge a bar boy based upon where he comes from has to be one of the most absurd, idiotic ideas I have ever seen posted on these boards. You go to a bar, see a boy you like, call him over for a drink, and then discover he comes from Vietnam. And that is supposed to automatically mean one way or another he is going to mistreat you or is at least more likely to mistreat you than boys who come from other countries? I don't know what kind of mind conjured up that one, but I hope those reading this have better sense than to assume such a thing is what to expect. Any bar boy, no matter where he comes from, has the potential to be one of the best experiences you have ever had or the potential to be a nightmare. It has been my experience that how well a bar boy treats you is the likely result of just one thing, and only one thing - how well you are treating him.

That was the smart thing to do and is what I always recommend. If serious about moving to Thailand, if possible try a long term stay first before committing and make sure to leave yourself an escape route in case it doesn't work out. Thailand is not for everybody. People very quickly find out that actually living in Thailand is very different from a holiday in Thailand. You did it just right. People like me are living in Thailand because it did work out and we are here because we want to be here - and wanting to be here is a far cry from finding yourself stuck here. It is reminiscent of that old saying - "It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Folks, if you are serious about wanting to live in Thailand, make sure you are doing your thinking with your head, not your crotch.

Do you know if the Thais were charged an entrance fee? If yes, do you know if they also were charged 200 baht?

For some strange reason I have a feeling the odds are heavily against me ever having to find out if you're right . . .

I have posted this many times - yes, I would - without the slightest hesitation or second thought. I love living in Pattaya and wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. I'm living where my first choice for a holiday would be. And for me, that has nothing to do with the bars and availability of sex. I also have never been interested in luxury living. I don't need or even want hotels such as Le Negresco. Even in Bangkok I am perfectly happy staying at the Malaysia Hotel - a place some think of as a dump. I truly believe if I were ever fortunate enough to become a billionaire I would still prefer to live exactly as I do now. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about that fucking 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account requirement . . . That's me. People have to make their own decisions. I've known my share of people who also chose to live in Pattaya, grew to hate it, and left. That is why I always say when people first come to live in Pattaya they should make sure to leave themselves an escape route in case it doesn't work out. I've also known people who wanted to get out, but burnt all their bridges and now have no place to go. Best piece of advice I can offer is to learn to speak as much Thai as possible, even before going to live in Thailand. The ability to speak the language is an enormous help. Again, speaking only for myself, I have never even tried to learn to read it. There is more than enough English that makes reading it unnecessary (for me). And it doesn't take long to pick up on the way most Thais who can speak some English do speak it. Many of us call it "Thainglish". Maybe one difference I would choose - and at my stage of the game I'm getting very close to deciding to do it - is hire a maid (or houseboy). I'm getting tired of doing all my own chores - everything from doing my own laundry to picking up after my dog. The idea of a maid sounds better every time I hear it.

Since so far there has been a total of 3 responses, are you truly surprised no one said Philippines yet? As for living in Asia, in my case I'll probably give it some thought . . .

If you're talking to a bar boy, you won't have to use that word. You'll mispronounce it anyway. You can say "horny". They know that one . . .

Do you sell tickets?