Gaybutton

June 1. ~ Onwards Gourmet Set Menu House Champagne *** Amuse Bouche *** White Wine Cackle Berry Chardonnay, Australia 2007 Goose Liver Terrine with potted Figs *** Cappucino of Cepes Mushroom Cream Soup *** Alaska King Crag Legs Ravioli in Ginger flavored Lobster Sauce *** Sherbet of mixed Berries *** Red Wine Kookaburra’s, Shiraz, Australia, 2007 Grilled Salmon Steak in Pernod Butter Sauce and Balsamico Asparagus -or- Roasted Beef Tenderloin with red Wine Reduction and Rosemary Potatoes *** Port Wine Zabayone with caramelized Peaches -or- Fine international Cheese Plate *** Coffee or Tea Calvados, Grappa, Remy Martin, Williams Food only 1,550 Baht (40.50 Є) Menu with Unlimited Beverages 3,350 Baht (87.00 Є) Restaurant Pattaya Casa Pascal

Maybe I'm overly harsh, but to me the issue is not the fact that they may have been in the country for a long time and are contributing positively. I think the issue is the fact they are there illegally. I understand the problem, but quite frankly I don't sympathize with it if they are there illegally. Even if they've been there for a number of years, to me that simply means they have gotten away with it for a number of years. If I had my way, illegals who already are in the USA as of a specified date, whether they arrived twenty years ago or fifteen minutes ago, would be given the opportunity to apply for citizenship and those that do would come under a general amnesty. Those who fail to do so and future illegals should not be allowed to stay if they are caught. I think one of the reasons I'm unsympathetic is because I was a Florida resident during the Mariel boat-lift. That was when, under Jimmy Carter, Castro emptied out his prisons and sent them along with all the people coming over from Cuba in boats. The problem was, no federal money covered it. Most of those people remained in Florida and it was the Florida taxpayers who ended up footing the bill. To this day I still resent having seen so many of them living in nicer homes than I could afford and getting all kinds of benefits unavailable to me as a taxpayer, and yet my tax money was financing it. Fair is fair. None of my ancestors received any kind of help when they came over, but they became citizens. I have no objection to permitting illegals already present in the USA to become citizens too. While I realize circumstances are different now, it just makes no sense to me to even have immigration laws if they are not going to be enforced and it makes even less sense to me to permit people who are there illegally to remain there.

Now you're talking. I see. Of course, a phrase probably much more appropriate when referring to me would be, "Happy as a pig in shit . . ."

And give up my 8K Atari? I've always wondered about6 the phrase, "happy as a clam." I don't know how happy clams actually are. Also, don't worry about Jomtien either, except for when the light is shining in just the right direction. It's awfully difficult to get him to turn off his head . . .

That happens, but not very often. Once you get a feel for the personals sites, it doesn't take long to learn what to look for. The red lights are headless photos. Photos that obviously are not the same body. I look for things like body hair in one photo, but not in another or not in the same places. If there are tattoos, are the tattoos the same in each photo and in the same places? A six-pack in some photos, but not in others. Photos that have different tan lines. A "treasure trail" in some photos, but not in others. It doesn't take long to learn to pick up on these kinds of things. A little less obvious are the things the boys say in their profiles. It takes awhile, but you eventually get to just kind of know when it's bullshit. For what it's worth, once in awhile I get a dud from the personals sites, but most have been great. I think I mentioned earlier that once I did have a boy show up who was not the same boy in the photos. But it turned out I liked him much better than the boy I saw in the photos and I still see him rather often. In the go-go bars you might be able to see the boys in the flesh, but by the time you've had your drink, paid for the boy's drink, and paid the off fee you've already gone through 600 or 700 baht and you haven't even walked out the door yet. And then he might turn out to be a dud. When that happens, assuming you give him his tip, you've kissed a good 1600 baht or more goodbye and haven't gotten much of anything to show for the money you've spent. Luckily, that kind of thing happening is also rather rare. The point I'm trying to make is I see no greater risk in using the gay personals sites than there is in going to the bars. Each has its risks and each has its pros and cons. Living here, I tend to do both, although I use the gay personals sites much more often than I go to the bars. But that's me and I live here. I can go to the bars any time I please. I guess I'm one of those people who when you live there, you don't go very often. But I also have friends who live here and are in the bars nearly every night. But holiday makers don't have the luxury of unlimited time and probably don't want to spend the limited time they do have available sitting there using the personals sites. I believe most holiday makers will prefer to go to the bars much more often than using the gay personals sites. After all, for most people here on a holiday, going to the bars is a major part of the reason for even being here at all, isn't it? Another advantage to the personals sites - if you're here on a holiday and you're unfortunate enough to be here when the bars are closed, all you need to do is head for the nearest Internet shop, get on Gay Romeo, and you'll probably have an attractive young man coming over to join you before you even leave the Internet shop.

I thought they revoked their citizenship. Be that as it may, I don't see national ID cards as equivalent to what the Nazis were trying to do, especially considering the number of countries, including Thailand, that issue national ID cards. I don't see anything going on in Thailand that even remotely resembles anything the Nazis did and I don't foresee the USA ever doing anything like that either. Illegal aliens in the USA has become a very serious problem and is costing legitimate citizens a fortune, money they need for themselves. I don't know of very many other countries that put up with illegal aliens. Why should the USA?

I don't see how WiFi in a Sunee Plaza beer bar is going to make things more attractive to customers. When was the last time you saw anyone walking through Sunee Plaza carrying a laptop computer? Who would even want to? Maybe one or two who have needs such as GT pointed out, but enough to justify the expense of providing WiFi? I don't think so. YaYa already said he'll have free Internet stations. I've met and seen all kinds of people around here, but I have yet to ever see anyone headed for a beer bar to sit there spending their evening using a laptop computer to access the Internet. If people really want to do that, I certainly have no objection, but somehow I don't foresee people headed to YaYa on the basis that he's got WiFi available. What are people going to do, go to YaYa with their laptops and start cruising Gay Romeo? If he's going to spend money on something, wouldn't he be better off spending it on something a lot of people would want? Now, if he starts giving away ear plugs for people who want to go into the go-go bars where the music is played loud enough to shatter triple reinforced concrete, then he might have something. But WiFi? What's the point? What's the attraction?

My opinion is it would not be necessary. I believe Corner Bar, directly across the street from you, already has WiFi. But how many of your customers do you think are going to Sunee Plaza while carrying a laptop computer?

So what? My interest was getting my question answered, not who answered it.

I have been informed that the Amor restaurant will reopen some time around October. Of course, once I have anything more specific I will post the information.

I thought he did in this post:

The USA and the UK have been guilty of many of the same things, haven't they? But I don't see people trying to convince others not to visit the USA or the UK. I also think it's unfair to start suggesting that josan must have an ulterior motive for his stance. I am sympathetic to Suu Kyi's plight and her cause and I have no respect at all for the junta, but quite frankly I doubt that my own decision as to whether or not to visit Myanmar-Burma, or whatever you want to call it, is going to be influenced by politics or the opinions of others, no matter how strong those opinions may be, that if you visit the country, then you are a bad person. I decide things for myself. I don't let other people decide for me. I don't like the junta. I am sympathetic to Suu Kyi. I know the country is guilty of human rights abuses. But speaking only for myself, it won't be any of those that determine my decision as to whether to visit the country.

I agree with both of those statements. I believe gay holiday makers are not coming to Thailand to sit on Gay Romeo and that's why I think many of the bars will survive, but I also think the ones at which nothing is done to make themselves more attractive to customers will not survive. After all, I can't speak for others, but given a choice of going to a bar where the music is at a comfortable level, where there are no pushy mama-sans, where drinks and off fees are reasonably priced, and the boys are at least entertaining to watch, guess which bars will get my business.

If you were not aware of it, you can also use that central wheel button on your mouse to zoom in and out on that map.

Can you make any specific hotel recommendations in both Mandalay and Yangon, including contact information? I seem to recall reading that now foreigners can enter the country without a visa and get one at the airport upon arrival. Is that correct?

I'm not trying to be flippant, but what are some of those reasons?

We do, but it just isn't enough. All the problems Thailand has gone through over the last few years, coupled with the strength of the baht compared to most western currencies, has caused a serious decline in tourist numbers. As a result, the casualty list is getting longer. Unless something changes, and soon, I think this is only the beginning of the number of venues we'll see go under. After all, how long can you sustain a business if you're not getting customers? I think in many cases, the venues are just as much to blame for their own demise as circumstances are to blame. I'll repeat what I've been saying for a long time. If the venues want to survive and get the customers to come, then they're going to have to change the paradigm. They need to get it through their heads that they are going to have to make changes that are attractive to customers. I keep using the go-go bars as an example. We've been saying for years that raising prices, the excessively loud music, the pushy mama-sans, the high off fees, and the boys just standing there on the stage looking bored out of their minds, along with the same damned drag shows in nearly every bar is driving away customers, not attracting them. People keep posting that the gay farang come to Thailand for the cheap sex. Maybe they do, but that doesn't mean they're going to look for it in bars that don't bother to do a damned thing to make themselves more attractive to customers. Just this evening I was in a popular Sunee Plaza go-go bar. I lasted about 15 minutes before the incredibly loud music volume was hurting my ears and making them throb so much that I just couldn't take it any longer. That's not my idea of an enjoyable way to spend an evening. The man sitting next to me told me he has talked to the owner several times about the music volume, but the owner pays no attention. We both left. That bar would have been a lot of fun and I would have spent much more money in there if it wasn't for the music volume. But I walked out. So did the man with whom I spoke. So did other customers. And there was the owner sitting by the entrance door doing nothing about it. I won't be back in that bar any time soon. I doubt that the other people who also walked out will be back any time soon either. Why on earth the bars refuse to listen to the customer complaints and make that one simple improvement goes beyond me. All he had to do was turn a switch a little bit and he would have taken in several thousand more baht. But nooooooo. Keep the music volume so loud that customers can't stand it. WHY? As I've said, the only thing I've seen any of the bars change is their prices. They're going to have to change much more than that if they are going to attract customers and survive. They're going to have to do things to get the customer numbers back and get gay customers to want to make the trip to Thailand. If not, it won't be Gay Romeo that destroys them. In my opinion they're doing a great job of destroying themselves through sheer complacency. And peripheral businesses, such as restaurants, that depend on gay customer numbers coming to Thailand are going to go right down the drain with them.

Bye bye . . .

When I click on those red icons, names pop up. Are those not the station names?

You better plan on waiting a lot longer than that . . . When I was young I tried hustling too. Nobody was interested.

While you're busy showing us all these terrible lies Fountainhall is telling us, would you mind doing it without the name calling? I've asked you to stop doing that. Now I'm warning you. I warn only once, my friend.

It is really sad to see so many venues closing their doors. Amor has been a Pattaya icon for over 16 years. Amor is closing, supposedly for renovations. I do not know if or when Amor will reopen. I understand this evening was the last night. Wi's will be open through Saturday, June 5. Then he will close his doors for good. He says he will reopen when high season comes around, but not in the same location. He is looking at one location in north Pattaya. We're trying to convince him to also look in the Jomtien area. Mr. Wi told us that he will do his 275 baht dinner special one last time on Saturday, June 5. After that, he closes. I will post more details about both restaurants if I am told anything more that I can confirm.

I didn't say I'm going, but I do think it's important that information be posted for those who do choose to go. The Suu Kyi vs tourism issue is a separate issue. To my mind, however, the Suu Kyi issue is one thing. Supporting gays in Burma is another and this would make for an interesting debate. While I am in full support of Suu Kyi, I also don't think a few gay farang going to Burma for a gay festival would make one iota of difference to her plight. Whether I choose to go or not, the Suu Kyi issue would be a factor in my decision, but it wouldn't be the decision-making factor. If I decide to go, for me neither the Suu Kyi issue nor support of gays issue would be the thing that makes my decision for me. For me it would be simply whether it is something I wish to do. I don't know whether that is pure selfishness on my part or not. I don't need to go to Burma to find gay young men, especially considering where I live, so that would not be my reason. I'm also not so sure that I would want to base my decision on political issues. To tell the truth, I don't really know for sure why I would go, if I go. I've never been to the Phuket gay festival either. Why would I decide to go to Burma, but not go to the Phuket gay festival or vice-versa? Why would I decide to do both? Why would I decide to do neither? At the moment I can't answer any of those, even for myself.

That doesn't work either. This link will work: http://www.citilabs.com/usergroup/files/futurapresentations/NChanchareon_Dynasim_Application_in_Bangkok.pdf However, all that file really does is tell what a good idea this BRT is. There is still no English language map of where it goes, where the stations are, the times of operation, or anything else. Is there anyone in Bangkok who can post some good, solid, English language information so that we can know what we need to know?