Gaybutton

The results of the "If ALL the gay bars were to close, would you still come to Thailand?" poll, so far, are very interesting to me. Most are saying they would continue coming to Thailand, bars or no bars. Now I'm wondering, assuming that for most gay men finding willing young gentlemen is at least one of your main reasons for coming to Thailand (or as TOQ pointed out - staying in Thailand), if there were no gay bars, how would you go about finding those willing young men?

I think Buckeroo2 now has his answers and I know he's not looking for alternative ways of taking out money, but I'm reminded of something rather bizarre incident that happened to me, involving Thai banking and removal of money. About 7 or 8 years ago, before I retired and moved to Thailand, I already had an account at Bangkok Bank and had an ATM card. For reasons I still don't really understand, my accountant wanted me to bring back a cashier's check, drawn from my Thai bank account, for some purpose regarding my taxes. She explained the reason, but I don't remember now what the reason was. It was complex. Anyway, I obtained a cashier's check from Bangkok Bank for 20,000 baht. Back then, that was the equivalent of US $500. When I returned to the USA I gave the check to the accountant, she did whatever it was she needed to do, and then returned the check to me. I went to my local bank in the USA to deposit the check. The bank told me that for a foreign check I should allow about 12 weeks for it to clear. 14 weeks later it still hadn't cleared. I called the bank and was placed in touch with someone who deals with foreign transactions. After I explained, he told me he'll investigate it and call me back. About an hour later he did call me back and said, "I've never seen anything like this in my entire career. Bangkok Bank is refusing to honor the check." I said, "They're refusing to honor their own cashier's check? Why?" He explained that they were telling him they won't honor the check unless I can explain, to their satisfaction, why I need to be taking money out of Thailand. He said he's never heard of such a thing. I said, "That makes even less sense to me than it does to you. I have an ATM card from Bangkok Bank. I can withdraw money with it from any ATM in the world, including right here. I could empty out the entire bank account with the ATM card, but they won't honor their own cashier's check?" My next question was what happens to the check now. He said they will send it back to me. About a week later I received the check. Next trip to Thailand I went to Bangkok Bank and had no problem at all depositing the check back into my account. So, the moral of the story is . . . . well, come to think of it, I have no idea.

The format depends on the article. I have a copy, however I have no intention of ever reestablishing the web site. If something ever happens to this web site, I would consider starting up another message board, but I would also consider 'retiring' from the boards.

Thank you, TomUK. Any of my old articles are available by Email request. Gaybutton@gmail.com

Sunday, November 21

When a boy is taken off from a bar or when he's coming over for sex, he's working and expects remuneration for his work. But the circumstance you describe, in my opinion, is something entirely different. You've invited him to join you for activities that in no way involve his work. I would explain beforehand that you are not inviting him for sex, but are inviting him to join you because you like him and enjoy his company and this is not a 'short time' type of thing. That way there will be no misunderstanding. I would pay for everything and make sure he has money for taxi fare and food later, but other than that I see no reason to tip unless you wish to. I think tipping under those circumstances would be more a gesture of kindness than something obligatory. Many of these boys are quite happy to do these kinds of things. Most have little or no money. Ask them what they do all day. Most of the time you'll hear that they stay in their rooms and either watch TV, if they even have one, or sleep until it's time to get ready to go to work. On most days, that's it. That's all they do because they don't have the means to do anything else. All the activities the average farang holiday maker enjoys in Pattaya are rarities for most of the bar boys. You're talking about a lot of boys who are barely able to scrape together money to eat, pay their rent, and send some money home to mama each month. So, if you're taking him to lunch and a movie, a tip should neither be expected or necessary, as long as you made your intentions clear at the time you invited him. If it's a one time thing, I would give him a few hundred baht along with it, again as a gesture of kindness, not out of obligation. However, if it's a boy you're going to invite relatively often I wouldn't always give him money and when I do, I would vary the amounts. Otherwise he will come to expect it and there will be bitterness if he doesn't get it. Also, rather than giving him money all the time, you could also take him shopping, set a spending limit before you enter the store (I do that by giving him whatever I am willing to give him when we enter the store and make sure he understands that's his limit. Whatever he doesn't spend is his to keep), and let him buy clothes, cosmetics, or whatever else he needs. That is also greatly appreciated.

I know two ways to save a lot of money. 1. Find a boyfriend who already became a monk, before you ever met him and 2. Make sure he is also an orphan . . .

Well, there is at least one who had no idea. So, please write out the words. As much as that's a terrible thing for me to ask, I'm asking anyhow.

Same thing. Half the boys on Gay Romeo are the bar boys.

Very sorry, but I removed the link you posted. The Thai government blocked my old web site for reasons I still don't know today and have never been told, so the last thing I need is for you to post a link on a web site I'm moderating. At the time, several gay web sites were blocked by the Thai government. Mine was the first they ever blocked. No reason was ever given. They simply blocked it. I took it offline for that reason. I had no idea, and still don't, what the legal implications for me might have been. Also, it's a little difficult to run a web site that I can't even access. Besides, it was getting to be too much work trying to maintain everything and keep it all up to date, so in that respect they did me a favor. It was getting so that I didn't have time to be doing anything else. Moderating this message board, GT gets to be the one who has to deal with all the headaches (including the ones I cause for him). As far as the book is concerned, the message boards have become sophisticated enough that I really can't think of anything to put into a book that isn't already thoroughly covered on the boards, so I dropped the idea.

I Googled it too. Several definitions came up. How do you know the one you posted is the right one? What's wrong with just writing out the words in the post? Is it really that much of a chore to do? When I use these acronyms, when they first appear in my post I write the words in parentheses next to the acronym to make sure everyone knows what the words are supposed to be. Then, if I use the acronym again in the same post or even on the same thread, at least the words appeared once. A common one is BoT. I don't just assume everyone knows what that means and I don't see why people who don't know should have to Google it, so the first time I write it in a post I do it like this: BoT (Bank of Thailand) What's the hard part?

Won't anybody listen about these acronyms? Am I the only one around here who never knows what they mean? What is USP?

True, but I really meant this for holiday makers. I should have been clear about that. Oh well, that's why I always put in an "other" option - to cover what I didn't think of.

Make that almost anyone . . .

Sounds better every time I hear it . . .

That's something I sometimes wonder about. I certainly don't expect all the bars to close. This is just a purely hypothetical question. But apparently many think the only way, or the best way, to find willing young gentlemen is to go to the bars. Many love going to the bars because nothing similar exists where they live. Many love the atmosphere of the bar scene. So, if all of a sudden there was no gay bar scene, would you still come to Thailand?

Why not? I think it's perfectly understandable they would assume that farang typically don't want their food spiced up to the extent that the Thais like. They probably hear that from farang customers all the time. If you like your food spiced to that extent, I would make sure they understand that at the time you order. After that, if they still don't give you what you want, that's when I would decide not to go back.

Maybe it's not merely rumor after all: _____ Reds Planning Revenge By THE NATION ON SUNDAY Published on June 20, 2010 Security intelligence warns of new round of anti-government rallies once emergency is lifted. Anti-government red shirts seeking revenge are expected to instigate fresh turmoil in Bangkok and the provinces after the government lifts the emergency decree, security agency sources said yesterday. Some provincial leaders of the red shirts have also begun warning about a new round of anti-government activities and rallies in several provinces, including Chiang Mai where anti-government sentiment and movement still run strong, according to the security intelligence appraisal. Reds planning revenge

You might not say that if you ever ate some of the food I cook! "My wife - what a lousy cook. She can't cook. At my house we pray after we eat. She's so bad, in the back the flies chipped in to fix the screen door. I've got the only dog that begs for Alka Seltzer." - Rodney Dangerfield

How does it work at the bars? Is there "off" or "bar fines"? Is it farang customers simply meeting Cambodian customers? What's the story? Are there places other than bars recommended for cruising? Please don't forget the rest of my questions that have not yet been answered . . .

Exactly. I really don't have much choice. Even if I ever do find something that "cures" the burning, I don't want to go through the burning until the "cure" takes effect. Even then, so far nobody has come up with suggestions for a "morning after pill," so the spices would still get their revenge. I can do without that too. Anyway, there are plenty of non-spicy Thai foods out there that I truly enjoy. For me that will have to suffice.

I've heard all kinds of "remedies." The cabbage, iced coffee, hot coffee, iced tea, hot tea, green tea, milk, cucumbers, plain white rice, etc. I've heard them all and tried them all. For me, none of them work.

Because they're not from these waters. I never see commercial fishing going on anywhere near the polluted Pattaya waters.

Were they fresh?

We just had a thread all about gross things to eat in Thailand, so it stands to reason that we also ought to have a thread about things we enjoy eating in Thailand. First, I can't eat the spicy foods. It burns the hell out of my mouth and then I can't taste anything else for the rest of the meal. Next morning, it burns again! However, not all Thai food is spiced up. The fried rice and most of the noodle dishes aren't spicy at all, and many can be very good. But if I had to narrow it down to a single category of Thai foods I truly enjoy, for me it would be seafood. If you're a seafood lover, then Thailand is the place to be. I have never had a Thai seafood dish I didn't enjoy, except of course the ones that are too spicy for me. But most are not particularly spicy at all and there are so many kinds of fish, crab, and shellfish dishes that I can't count them all. And seafood is really a bargain in Thailand, especially when you consider how much a similar meal would cost 'back home.' I can't tell you the names of the different seafood dishes. I don't know most of them. Fortunately, the restaurants that serve them usually have picture menus. Sometimes I order for myself, but I enjoy it more when I let the Thai boy do the ordering. I just make sure to tell him not to order anything spicy for me, but he can order whatever spicy dishes he wants for himself. There is an abundance of great Thai seafood restaurants all over Thailand. You can even get most of the same foods in areas nowhere near the sea. The seafood restaurants are especially popular among the Thais. Quite often you can't get in. So, the Thai seafood is without question my personal favorite.