numazu

Day 7.25: The T in Thailand is for Threesome I’d say I’m usually up for things I’ve never done before. Whatever it is, if it sounds good, I won’t hesitate, and will just say yes. If I overthink it, I’ll just psyche myself out. That’s how I felt about the threesome with two Tawan men. The Tawan men, with big bulging muscles and the bravado that goes with it, in my experience, does not translate to particularly mind-blowing sex. This is subjective of course, and you might be all-in to what the hypermasculine have to offer, but I have the most luck with guys with just a tinge of gay in them. On the average, Tawan guys are not these, with a few exceptions, of course. And this is the first time I'm going to have a threesome with Tawan men. It's hard enough to get any threesome happen in other boy bars, let alone Tawan. But it was a situation where both men approached me first, showed some interest in making me feel comfortable, and made the suggestion of the threesome to me instead of me to them. It hasn’t even crossed my mind to have this in Tawan. I usually get just one guy and feast on him for the night. And the quality of sex has been uneven. Some have wowed me and do full on kissing and foreplay, others just insist on a muscle worship session and won’t initiate or be passionate. Probably because this is the mystique of the bar, and probably because most of them are straight. The two that I hired were the classic Tawan type. Even their profile pics on Line are of them competing in bodybuilding contests – all tan and oily and muscly. Not necessarily Tiago’s type. He is bowing out of this off for now. As he has newly acquired fighting gear to try on and admire, that will keep him busy while I am busy. I’ve been getting Line messages from both earlier in the day and closer to 5 pm. They both asked the address, and confirming our 5PM rendezvous. Tawan guy #2: Tawan Guy #1 Fairly professional communication. And at close to 5 PM I got a call from one of them asking for directions, as they were already closeby and wanted to confirm the address. They were on time, a very good sign. I told them I’d meet them at the curb so they know where to go. As I step out of the main gate of the AirBNB I was staying in, I see two big motorcycles, with big muscular dudes on them, literally a house away from me. I wave to them, and they look relieved that they weren’t lost. They parked in front of the gate, and followed me in to the house. You always get a different vibe whenever you see a bar boy in full street clothes. They were both in shorts, and wearing matching big Nike tennis shoes. 1 was in a fitting t-shirt, with his muscles bulging through the sleeves, and 2 was in a sleeveless shirt with biceps and arm veins prominently displayed. They lumber through the door and take off their shoes, another good sign, and survey the living room where Tiago, shirtless and trying out his boxing gloves, was. “Two?” 2 asks, pointing to me and him. “No, just me,” I laugh. They didn’t expect a foursome for sure, so I eased their confusion. “Boyfriend!” Tiago then exclaims, in English, standing up, pointing to himself. We weren’t really boyfriends, but I don’t mind when Tiago does this, perhaps to show that we are together, in case there was funny business planned by the two. He pointed with a gloved hand to himself, perhaps to further drive the point that he can mess these two up if need be. Not that there was any need for that. Tiago is just very protective when it comes to what he feels needs his care. “You do Muay Thai?” 1 asks Tiago. Translation was needed. Both Tawan guys got a kick out of Tiago. 1 asks where the bedroom would be, so I lead both to the room, and both take turns showering. As I already have showered, I hang out with Tiago until I see 2 in a towel. 2 is actually pretty talkative, telling us about his travels throughout Asia, selling his muscles all over. He said he has a hard time picking up other languages, and he has at least English to lean on, though it is not spoken in all the cities he has gone to. 1 now emerges in his own towel, and we go into the bedroom and I bid goodbye to Tiago. I was invited by both to strip down, as both take off their towels to reveal their moneymakers. 2 had some oil, and told me we can start by some light massage. The shoulder massage I got from the two last night, was continued, now with both hands touching my whole body. It wasn’t a massge per se, but it was a way for the sex to start, and it was effective. 2 was directing the whole tableau, as he instructed 1 on what to do, who is now super hard, with a nice thick cock, so feed me his cock, while 1 continued with using his hands all over me, and his tongue to play with my nipples, as he did last night. I was laying on my back, and 1 feeds his cock to me, as he offers up his body to my wandering hands. There was a lot of nice things to touch, as he had a a great ass, giant thighs, and a nice penis. 1 took a break from the pleasuring to wash his hands. After a while he came back hard as well, as he joins 1 with my wandering hands and mouth. Now it was his turn. He was smaller than 1, but he had big muscles and almost no body fat. After a few turns on foreplay on my part, 2 then again goes back to me to jack me off, while 1 continues to press his body against me. It wasn’t long till I came, all thanks to 2. 2 gets a towel to wipe away any of my spillage. And then 2 goes on to take a shower, as 1 stay behind with a still hard cock. I cuddle beside him, grasping his cock, as I talk to him about the night ahead – he’s heading to Tawan after this as it was a Saturday and it’s going to be a good night to work. A few more cuddles and 2 was done and it was 1’s turn to shower. I excuse myself to shower in the other bathroom. 2 stays behind in bed. Tiago at this point was shadow boxing, all sweaty and worked out wearing his new gear. “Good fighting,” 2 said, as he emerges from the bedroom, with 1 behind him. I give them what is owed, 2000 baht each, and no pleas for more money, which I expected but it did not come. They put on their shoes and asked me to see them at Tawan tonight. I say maybe, I’ll think about it. They find their motorcycles and off they go to probably eat. I just realized that aside from my alone time with Tiago, I’ve only had Threesomes with bar boys here in Bangkok. This must be a first. Tiago asks me about the off. I tell him it was fine, but I didn’t expect it to be as bed-shattering as how I usually prefer it. He asks me why I even wanted it, since he knows how I like it, knowing me very well by now. I tell him that sometimes I want the feel of a man’s body next to me, without the urgency of passion. It can be passionate sometimes, but the appreciation of other men’s bodies was the primary goal. “I don’t get it,” he says, as he takes off his shorts. “I’m super sweaty and taking a shower.” Two bouncy cheeks trailed him. I ask, “Do you want company?” “Come,” he says. I guess he was going to show me how I really liked it. After cumming twice in a row, I just needed a nap, which made us almost late to have time to have dinner and then a boy bar. But if one is pressed for time, one would only have to go to Foodland Patpong to have a decent and quick dinner, for cheap. It never disappoints. We taxi it to Patpong, first to Foodland, and then walk to our next boy bar… which ones do we have left to go to?

Stayed in both many many times, and have taken boys with me back to my hotel room many many times with no issue. Both hotels will need a key card to use the elevators so you'll have to meet incoming visitors at ground level, but again no issues whatsoever in meeting boys and taking them up to your room. Maximum number i've taken I think is 3 boys at one time.

Day 7: In the heat of shopping I can’t believe it. After two and a half years of waiting, and finally being able to travel to Thailand, here I am, down to my last two full days in the Land of Smiles. It might not be a traditional visit, as I have Tiago by my side, but it was nice to see the old haunts. We still had some things we needed to do, and one of them had to do with shopping – mine looking for bargains and Thai-specific items that I’ve missed for 2 and half years, and Tiago some fighting gear he will need for the months ahead. Thailand is many things, but finding cheaper goods in the nooks and crannies of Thailand is certainly one thing that I’ve missed. On the subject of shopping, Tiago was sent a list of shops that the part-owner of the his gym recommended: I looked at the list and saw that some of these were in Chatuchak Market, the legendary outdoor market in Bangkok. Which was good, because it will give us a chance to visit the market after all these years, plus it will also satiate my shopping urges. I look at the map and yes, here they are: After a hearty breakfast at Coffee Club, we take the BTS using the Silom Line and then the Sukhumvit Line to the Mo Chit station. Leaving the station to walk to the market itself, we get a generous helping of Bangkok’s unfortunate heat and humidity. Perhaps this would be good to do earlier in the morning, when it is less like the surface of the sun, but we are both creatures of pleasure, and getting out of bed was a struggle. Regardless, we are here, basking in the infamous Bangkok heat, about to partake in an outdoor activity. Chatuchak Market is always a nice alternative to the traditional malls in Bangkok. I’m sure there is some logic to how everything was organized here, but the beauty for me about Chatuchak is how seemingly random everything is laid out, and how I find the stuff I want is always purely by chance. I have a mental note of roughly what I want to get, but basically I am content with wandering aimlessly in the market, buying stuff if I see it, and if the price is right. I am not beyond haggling, and actually look forward to it. I always leave with a healthy number of plastic bags with little things that I’ve found along the way. The experience is not without challenges though. The heat is part of the experience, but it is doubly challenging with a mask on at all times. I’m thinking part of it is ultimately performative, part of it is probably mitigating the spread of the virus, but I am at least more than willing to take part in it, if it makes the locals feel safer about me being around them. They are all mostly masked as well, so if its good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. When in Rome and all that. Unfortunately, the two stores selling Muay Thai gear were both closed when we got there, with the storefronts shut and a peak inside the stores revealed scant inventory. A casualty of the pandemic perhaps? I’d imagine 2 years of little to no tourist foot traffic in the market takes a toll eventually. I do notice other empty stalls as well. I feel bad for the locals who could not make it work and hold on until things got better, so I feel even better being here and doing my part to help the economy by spending my modest coin here. We still had one Muay Thai store left in the list that we could try, and it was sort of close to the MRT Line. Luckily Chatuchak also had an MRT Station next to it, Chatuchak Park. We head over to the station, and we were surprised that there was a full blown shopping mall at the station, and we continued our shopping there, albeit in more comfortable confines (they had air conditioning, for example). One of the finds of the trip was actually at a Starbucks in the mall, and this old-school Thailand mug, which design I prefer from the more modern mugs: After a good lunch at the mall, we make our way to the MRT, and a few stations later we get to the store called Super Export Shop. We were relieved to see that it was open, since we came out all this way. They actually had a great selection of boxing gloves, leg pads and Muay Thai shorts. Tiago was as happy as a clam, trying things on, asking me what I thought, and asked me to translate for the workers there when needed: It was quite interesting to see and experience. And also interesting to meet some other Brazilians who were shopping there as well. One Brazilian in particular was actually shopping in bulk, for a big shipment to the US, as he is based there, teaching MMA. Tiago and he had a fairly productive conversation about the sport and his goals, and they also exchanged contacts. Pretty soon he has chosen a couple of gloves, some Muay Thai shorts, some shin guards and athletic tape. He also insisted that I buy a pair of shorts he thought would look great on me, so I got those as well. I intended to pay for all this, and just wanted Tiago to keep his money for more important things. It was actually pretty reasonable, all of that was about $150. Small price to pay for my beloved to be ready for his future battles. It was 3:30 PM, so it was time to go. Before we head home, I notice there was a 7-11 walking distance to the shop. I wanted to buy some condoms, as I was preparing for the short time visit of the two Tawan hunks: Time to get happy. So next, a Short Time with Tawan…

I never do, and this saga is totally my fault. Tiago and I were consolidating all our things into my one luggage because he left his at the Muay Thai gym, so I inadvertently put my power bank in with the rest. Normally I'd have it in my carry-on, which is the whole point of it, to be accessible to me whenever I travel. Yes, they would have allowed it on the carry-on. That's what the Bangkok Airways agent confirmed as well. And I only (usually) have it in my carry-on for easy access. Never had a problem with that in the past. I think it is allowed so at least you can "watch" over it if there is a problem. You know its one of those things that you forget happened because it happens to me so many times, and I take it for granted. I get on a plane at least once a week, so all this becomes so routine. I don't remember if the agent checking us in asked me that. I knew I was also distracted a little bit during that time because there were some super hot surfer dudes in the next counter trying to check-in their surfboard. This is the Bangkok Airways policy for carry-ons and power banks, so yes I could have 10 of my 20,000 mAh in my carry-on if I wanted. Nope, it was totally my fault. The Power Bank should have been in my carry-on, and they could not have it fly back in the next flight unless some flight attendant or pilot had it in their carry-on, and that's not their job. The agent did say that we can retrieve it in the original airport by just showing the receipt we were given. And that's exactly what Tiago did, and even with his limited english, was able to retrieve my power bank. Screenshot of a video he sent after he landed: OMG YES you reminded of that. I guess Tiago fits the stereotype.

Day 6.75: If you Think of Happiness, Think of Tawan The title is the tagline that has permeated my brain ever since I first heard it in 2014. It is also the prominent tagline in one of the last fliers I’ve seen from a Bangkok boy bar back in 2019: Having physical fliers nowadays seems pretty quaint in today’s all digital world. Kind of like those business cards that I’ve had printed whenever I go to work conferences or work travel. Nowadays it’s just “add me on LinkedIn,” and coupled with the phone app, I must admit, is a way more efficient way to send your contacts to another professional. The analog to boy bars and fliers is the social media presence. Moonlight is the king of this, doing regular Facebook lives to give us an almost daily reminder of its existence. Fliers are nice to hold in your hand but to also ultimately throw away with the rest of your airline boarding passes (another example of something going digital) after your trip. Social media notifications however, are eternally pushy, to the point that one gets numb to their existence. I can say that Tawan as a Boy Bar falls into this “pretty quaint” category in the grand scheme of boy bars in Bangkok. Yes, it has tried to modernize a bit, as evidenced with its growing social media presence, since everyone is doing it. And they were giving out Tawan-branded alcohol gel to sanitize your hands. But generally Tawan has stayed true to what it has always been. Still the same muscular guys who some have probably been there 10+ years (and calling it a BOY bar is a misnomer). Still the same tired gogo numbers. Still the same chuck wow act that admittedly has the wow factor for newcomers, but as a veteran myself, find the tips pushing a little grating. Indeed, Tawan was showing its age even when I first started visiting 8 years ago. Going to it nowadays is like getting into a time machine, harkening back to a Bangkok that was grittier, dirtier, and maybe more fun(?), instead of the Disney-fied tourist paradise it is now. But even if you are not attracted to Tawan’s brand of boys - the rugged older muscular daddy types with the occasional pumped up younger pups - you have to admire its stubbornness to keep true to its identity, despite the success of the more recent crop of flashier, more popular, and better-attended bars that cater to the lowest common denominator: to try to appeal to everyone by sacrificing individuality. It’s like what gentrification has done to the character of our urban spaces, or former gayborhoods paving the way to kids in strollers instead of gays in tutus, Tawan still clings to its identity – even if it is to a smaller audience. Count me in as a fan, even after all this years. --- It is now 11:20 PM, and I head back to Tawan to hang out there while Tiago delivers my luggage back to the house. I figure he’ll at least be gone 30 minutes, accounting for the round trip back to here, so it’ll give me time to get to know the men of Tawan. Upon entering, the last of the numbers was ending, and at this point, the boys were milling around the room, and the stage, trying to get a sale. I head over to my old seat, and order a new drink. Rum coke as usual – and boy was it really strong. They know how to dose their drinks! I survey the landscape and I see probably about 10 boys still around, with about 5 I can see having fun with. At this point I wasn’t necessarily looking for a bottom, just someone who I can do a “muscle worship” session, like with some nice foreplay, and maybe someone to top me. I’m not sure Tiago will be up for anyone here, because I know what he likes, and he is not a mega slut like I am (even accounting for his Brazilian-ness). There are a million other bottoms out there in the boy bar landscape. I’m here for the muscle. Pretty soon, one of the muscular hunks sits beside me (let’s call him 1). I am guessing he is early 30s. Very very muscular, as in like one of the guys in the photo above. He had a nice face, classic asian features. He extends a hand to shake mine. He asks for my name, and then asks where I am from (I get “but you are Asian” reaction, maybe it’s just easier to say I am from some generic Asian place), and the other stock questions. He didn’t ask for a drink or anything, but he did take my hand to guide it to his groin. He was direct, which bodes well for me. I take liberty to squeeze the muscles, and he gives me a light massage on my neck and shoulders. Another equally muscular man heads over to me (let’s call him 2), and then sits on my other free side, opposite the guy who is massaging me. He is handsome, muscular cut, probably 4% body fat, and very strong thighs and nice abs. He tells me he has seen me before (no doubt), and asks me if I was well and all that. The massaging guy interjects something in Thai to the guy, and it seems there was a little argument going. They settle down and now the other guy is massaging me. I’m getting the treatment from both guys. They are angling for tips, which is fine, that’s why I’m here. Now 2 becomes even more direct. He puts his hand in my shorts, and expertly massages my groin until I am at attention. Again, very direct and showing really good signs here. I am glad I am semi-secluded by the stage from other customers, otherwise I’d be a little bit modest. 2 then puts his hand in my shorts and massges my cock. Wow, is this normal here? 2 then lifts up my shirt to suck on one of my nipples. Darn, this is really direct and, sudden. LOL. Not that I am not enjoying. I am also glad that I’ve had two of the strong rum cokes to make me a little bit less inhibited. So before things got out of hand, I ask 2 how much for short time. He stops the sucking of the nipples and the hand job to think about it, and quotes 3000, but with a sour face. That was odd. And I am not beyond paying 3000 if the sex was good, but at the time, found the price a little bit steep. 1 was just staring into space, probably incensed that he was customer-blocked by 2. The captain goes to me and asks me if I wanted to off both guys. I hesitated, not sure about all this. The captain then says that they have a room upstairs if I wanted to do the deed here. That was interesting, though I don’t think the two I have are into that idea. I get a text from Tiago, saying he is ready to come back. Oh that’s right Tiago is with me still lol. I get a Grabtaxi for him and send him a screenshot of the Grabtaxi detail so he knows which taxi to take. I seriously haven’t thought about the logistics of me doing a short time session without Tiago, but now I will need to think about with these two musclemen beside me. Though I was eager to open my luggage at home and check if my stuff was still in there, since Bangkok Airways opened it. When the captain leaves, 2 asks me when I will leave Thailand. I tell him three days from now. I then ask him if he does home visits. 2 says yes, and asks me when and where I wanted it to do it with him. I think about it and say before dinner tomorrow, around 5 pm. That’ll give Tiago and I time to do our errands in the day, and then sex with 2, and then dinner. 2 then wakes 1 up from his reverie, and then utters a few sentences in Thai, and 1 seems to agree with 1. 2 then talks in English to me, saying that 1 can also come, and it will be 2000 each. A threesome with Tawan hunks? That was new. I immediately say yes, and upon exchanging Line, I set a date for them. After more strokes from 2 (I am close to cumming) and some massages from 1, I get a text from Tiago. He said he just got dropped off Soi Than Tawan and is heading back to Tawan. Since I had a date with the two Tawan guys tomorrow, no need to have them suffer further. I take out 500 baht for each guy, and they seem pleased with the tips, and confirmed the time with me again tomorrow. Pretty soon I see Tiago emerge from the door of Tawan. 1 and 2 say their goodbyes. I'm still seated, because I still had a hard on, and waited for it to die down, though the sight of Tiago heading back to sit with me certainly didn’t help. I told Tiago what transpired, and broke the news of the 5 pm rendezvous with the Tawan guys tomorrow. He seemed unfazed by this. He told me he opened the luggage and all seemed to be in order. I was relieved. When I have calmed down, we decide to head over to Patpong again to check out what’s up there. Upon arriving at Hot Male, the tout there welcomes us again, and we talk for a bit about the crowd he’s seen so far. He says it has been picking up, but they have a ways to go from pre-COVID days. He then asks us if we wanted to go in the club. I told him maybe not. He insisted, saying that since there is not a show anymore at 12 midnight, he is going to charge us only 250 baht each, and we can check out the boys. That was a good deal. So that’s what we do, another late night Hot Male visit. There was still about 5 sets of customers in the vicinity, with boys sitting with them. There was about 5 boys onstage, and they were pretty nice looking. Tiago puts his head on my shoulder, probably signaling he is ready for some cuddles. No boy was really screaming at me to be offed, though there was one delicious one that I entertained the idea of offing for a minute but ultimately I didn't invite him to sit with us. One by one, the customers leave. And before we knew it, it was 1 AM, and it was time to leave. We see the boys putting on clothes, and the staff slowly clean up the bar. We pay 250 each as promised. As we leave Hot Male, I take a few snaps of the surrounding bars. Some closed, some abandoned. I was still looking for some kind of entertainment at this hour, but were was Screw Boy when you need it? I ask Tiago if he wanted to go to a club, maybe to see if G.O.D. is open, I wasn’t sure. Tiago said no. He just wanted a Netflix and chill after all the luggage saga today. So that’s what we do. For there was two muscular men to contend with tomorrow, next post…

I find that having the time to know these other cultural aspects of the country you are spending copious times in, very important to understanding more about the people you are spending time with. I could just spend the whole time chasing after boys in boy bars, online, or out and about, but once in a while chasing down these other experiences are a better use of my time, quite frankly. Getting boys in Boy Bars is fairly easy and straightforward, it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Discovering other facets of the country can be sometimes challenging and you have to go out of your comfort zone most of the time, but super worth it in the end, and oftentimes these are the moments I remember the most, and not the 25 cm cock I just sucked. Muay Thai is deeply ingrained in Thai culture, much like futebol (football or soccer) is with Brazilian culture. I've never really had an interest in either sport at the start, but I always admired both the grace and physicality that participants of both sports have. It's beyond the amazing bodies that these athletes possess, although I will admit that that is a wonderful by-product. It is how, somehow, the whole culture is wrapped around the sport activity, and getting to witness a game or a fight with locals is always an eye-opening experience. You can enjoy Brazil without having ever seen a futebol match, and it'll be a good experience! But if you have a chance seeing Flamengo in a home game at the legendary Maracana, or even watching an international game versus Argentina at a bar in Copacabana (or even at Club 117 - boys weren't working as were just transfixed watching the game), it is a fascinating experience. It's like learning the Tango in Argentina, or going to an Onsen in Japan. It is something that is deeply cultural that you just have to participate in, if you have the time. Combat sports are pretty brutal, there's no getting out of that fact. Tiago gets banged up after every fight, win or lose, and I get to witness first hand his bruises and blood and aches and pains. If you're not a fan of that brutality, this sport is not for you, especially if you're up close and personal with any participant. Still, the main attraction for us are the amazing musculature these guys ultimately develop when they train for the sport. I am not at all squeamish about that! I have found that certain Mr Straight Guys are FASCINATED with getting someone to stick it up their rear.

This reminds me of a post I did describing a way to compare different countries' cost to hire a boy relative to where I live, which is California. The information presented is old, since pricing is dynamic, for boys, airfare, cost of living etc, and the world has changed dramatically since 2018, but maybe I should update this for 2022 prices: It is a metric I came up with called the Monger Index, or a way to compare the cost of hiring in different countries versus the boys you get back home. It’s a metric me and a buddy of mine came up with while super drunk at the Crowne Plaza Bangkok at 3 AM in the morning years ago. He asked me why I get all these prostitutes overseas. With the airfare and hotel rooms, that cost adds up. Wouldn’t it be just cheaper to hire prostitutes back home? I told him he was crazy because (a) the prostitutes are expensive back home and (b) sex is more fun when on vacation anyway. But I disputed his thesis that it is cheaper to hire prostitutes back home. So I came up with an index that measures how much cheaper it is to get hot guys overseas than in the USA, accounting got airfare and lodging costs. This is the Monger index. I apologize for the math. I am Asian after all. Some assumptions: (1) Time Range: The index would not work in measuring one-offs. Of course ONE prostitute would be cheaper in the USA than ONE prostitute in Bangkok. A $250 an hour prostitute you hire for one hour to take home to your USA house is cheaper than a $50 gogo boy you get in a nice gogo bar if you add the $600 roundtrip airfare one needs to get to the sauna, plus the hotel cost. It will only work if you hire by bulk, and have a longer time range. My assumption for this index example is one week, or 7 days. For example, if you get one guy every day in a week in the USA, that adds up to 7*$250 = $1750. Now we are talking bigger dollars. Have sex in bulk when overseas helps you recoup your cost. (2) Airfare: The index should include the airfare. For my purposes here, I use airfare coming from California, because that's where I live. So for example, a typical off-season RT air ticket to Sao Paulo, Brazil is $1000. For Bangkok, it’s $550. This is a fixed cost in the index. (3) Hotel: Of course you have to assume you are getting a hotel in the city you are mongering in. I assume my hotels will be typical AirBNB’s, with basic amenities in a decent and nearby neighborhood. Translation: not a dump but not fancy, and Uberable or walkable to the sauna and tourist-friendly services. For Sao Paulo I assume of the cost, the AirBNB me and the BF got in Bela Vista last December. It was a decent $50 a night. For 7 nights that adds up to $350. For Bangkok, a typical decent Silom Soi 3 AirBNB costs $45 a night. (4) Overnights: I put in the calculation the cost it takes for hiring a guy overnight. For California, a typical overnight with a hot but not “superstar porn star” hot is $1000. For Sao Paulo, Jonas’ example was 200 reals, but I count his initial 200 reals in the sauna as part of the overnight, so 200+200 = 400 reals, or $104. For Bangkok, its a bit tricky, but I assumed a high-end 3000 baht overnight, or $91. I pay that because of all the sexual acrobatics I require all my boys. It is only fair. So here are the gross calcs. For 7 days, if I hired a boy for one hour and another boy for overnight every day: California Prostitute: Price for one hour times 7 + Price for an overnight times 7 = $250*7 + $1000*7 = $8750 Bangkok GoGo Boy: Airfare + 7 nights in AirBNB + Price for a garoto in the sauna times 7 + Price for a garoto overnight times 7 = $550 + $315 + $52*7 + $91*7 = $1866 Sao Paulo Garoto (Jonas): Airfare + 7 nights in AirBNB + Price for a garoto in the sauna times 7 + Price for a garoto overnight times 7 = $1000 + $350 + $52*7 + $104*7 = $2442 The index is calculated as the ratio of the 7-day cost of USA boys, divided by the total cost in that country. 7-day Monger Index for Sao Paulo = $8750/$2442 = 3.58 7-day Monger Index for Bangkok = $8750/$1866 = 4.70 Issues: (1) I do not count the Uber cost to get to the sauna or gogo bar, or the entrance fee for the sauna, or the cabina price, or the off fee, or the drink costs in a bar. (2) I do not account for food costs. Of course you have to eat whether in the USA or Brazil or Thailand. This may be a future improvement to be added. (3) The airfare is just from California, maybe it’s more or less where you are. Maybe my assumption of $550 for Bangkok is too much or too little. This is just what I see anecdotally. So, with that, here are my Monger Indices for some 6 cities I’ve been to, ranked by the best to worst: 1. Pattaya, Thailand: 5.54 2. Bangkok, Thailand: 4.70 3. Mexico City, Mexico: 4.53 4. Bogota, Colombia: 3.77 5. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 3.58 6. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 3.44 These are solely based on my experience. Your Monger Index may be different. Some observations: (1) Thailand remains the most bang for your buck, because of the presence of cheap decent places to stay in and low cost to fly there from California. (2) Mexico is helped by the fact that it’s so close to California, therefore the airfare is cheap. (3) Brazil on the other hand, is dinged by how expensive the airfares are from California. (4) If I factor in food, Thailand may even get a higher index, and Brazil may get a lower index. (5) Grindr prices were only used in Bogota and Mexico, because I do not have experiences getting anyone there outside of Grindr. So your mileage may vary. (6) Quality of boys is impossible to measure. And it is subjective, so it can’t be put in the index. The index is solely a quantitative metric. For example, twinks may be better in Thailand. Adonises may be better in Brazil. Again, quality is subjective, and can’t be measured meaningfully. Of course, in the end, your mileage may vary, and these indices are only meaningful to me. If you don’t like having sex with Asians, your Monger Index for Thailand is -1000000, for example. link:

Day 6.5: There is such a thing as too much technology, or A Numazu’s Guide on How to Not Experience Tawan There are a few things I carry with me on travel that I can’t live without. Apple Airtags (GPS trackers) are essential, and I have one on every piece of luggage, backpack, wallet, passport folio, and even in my car when I park it at the airport parking lot, so I can use my iphone to track all my belongings on any given time. Saved my bacon a few times when I left my wallet at home for example, and my iphone pings me saying it is not with me, or whenever the airline loses my luggage, at least I know where it was left, and can track its journey back to me. Having a power bank is also essential, for times when my cellphone dies and I need a quick jump, or if there are not enough outlets in a hotel room, and with my ever growing number of technology pieces that travel with me – cellphone, tablet, work laptop, wireless headphones, smart watch etc etc etc, having my power mobile is also essential. But sometimes having technology could screw you over. At Suvarnabhumi Airport, as we disembark from our plane and head over to domestic baggage claim, Tiago and I were just chattering away, trying to figure out the remaining things we wanted to in the 3 days remaining I had left in Thailand. We get to baggage claim 2 and see a Bangkok Airways agent waiting in front of it, with a piece of paper with two last names on it. My stomach turned. One of the last names was mine. “I’m Numazu,” I tell the agent. The agent apologizes, and proceeds to say that my luggage was randomly inspected back at our original destination, and they found my power bank inside. The agent then said that they could not put the bag in the plane without taking out the power bank, and needed my permission to take it out of the bag, so the rest of the bag can fly to BKK, so they just waited till the plane landed to tell me. I asked him if it was at all possible to have informed me while I was waiting to board the plane. I remember waiting 45 minutes to embark, so it would have been more efficient if they could’ve informed me then. The agent said he didn’t know if they did a notification of not. We were lead to the Bangkok Airways baggage office which was just next to baggage claim. While the agent left us to get some forms, I looked at my phone to use the GPS to track my bag. Yup, sure enough, it was still there at the previous airport. I was at least relieved that I knew where it was and I could track it. There is no worse feeling than having lost luggage. The agent went back with a form. I began writing my information on the form. “For telephone number, I have a US number, do you need a Thai number?” I ask. The agent confirms, so I look at the phone for contacts and put down Tiago’s Thai number. Thank goodness for having that. I put in the address of our AirBNB. As I give the form back to the Agent, the agent asks what I wanted to do about the power bank and my bag. Since I need my clothes and stuff I ask him if the bag can get on the next flight to BKK. He informs me that I can get the bag today, because there is another flight arriving in 2 and a half hours from our origin, so it can make the journey to BKK then, but they need to take out the power bank. I tell him to leave the damn power bank there and put the bag on the next plane. The agent then asks me if I will wait for the bag at the airport or have it delivered to the house. I turn to Tiago and asks him what to do. Tiago says since I can track the bag that just having the bag delivered will enable us to at least spend the time at the house instead of the airport, since it was going to be a 3 hour wait. I tell the agent that delivery is our option. The agent informs me that the delivery fee was 500 baht. Since it was my fault, I gladly pay the fee. The agent takes the money, gives me a receipt and a copy of the paperwork, and tells us that the bag will most likely be delivered at midnight. I thought this will work great, as we can have dinner, see a boy show at 10:30 PM, and then go home after that to receive the bag. So we make our way to the taxi stand. At the ride home Tiago takes my hand, as he perceives that I am worried about the bag. Every once in a while I check my phone to see if my bag is still where it was, or if it is magically finding its way to the house. It was still where it was. Tiago started yawning and says he is hungry. Tiago suggests we get something delivered at home instead of going out to dinner, and if we can get it now while in the taxi, so we don't need to wait for it at home that long. So I look for some options on Grab and settle for McDonalds, which was a treat that Tiago and I partake of once in a while. Tiago is looking at my phone as I scroll through the burger options. He finds it interesting that there is fried chicken offered at McDonalds here, so he asks for some of that and a Cheeseburger without pickles. Our order is 541 baht ($15): We get home, and 10 minutes later I get a call from the delivery guy saying he is at the house gate with the order. That was fast. And all the items in our order arrived in good condition, which is great. Tiago and I chow down (we have been pretty hungry). I was still worried about my luggage and I keep checking my phone to see where it is (it hasn’t moved), and Tiago always assures me that it will arrive today. It was only 7:30 PM so Tiago recommended that we take a nap so I can relax a bit and forget about the bag. Tiago always knows how to calm me. With AC in full blast we take that needed nap. At 9:30 the alarm goes off and I immediately look at my phone. Success! The bag is now in Suvarnabhumi! The smile on my face told Tiago the news. He takes my phone to see for himself. He then makes us both coffees and then we shower to get to our bar for the night, Tawan. Old map, still interesting: We take a Grab taxi and it had Tawan as one of the locations. Familiar tout at the door. I was curious to see Tawan in its new digs. I’ve heard that it was a smaller space than previous location. Upon entering I see a single row of seats to the right, and the stage to the left. It was indeed small. We were lead to the set of chairs towards the back, close to the bathrooms. There were some muscular boys sitting on our chairs but were quickly shooed away by one of the staff. I am quickly reminded what made me like this bar in the first place. Muscular guys in skimpy underwear running around the place. Some of them were flexing onstage, some were milling about, some were sitting with customers, and others just in the back with us, sitting down. There was probably about 15 boys in total. Not a lot but I figure enough for me, from the looks of it This bar was probably the singular bar that made me want to visit out Thailand. I was always curious about all the Bangkok boy bars, but Rush’s Bangkokbois blog (@ggobkk now I remember extensively reading it, once I googled it) has heavily featured Tawan, and it had captured my imagination ever since. And the bar has delivered on its promise of muscular boys to have sex with. So I kept going to Tawan. Even when the sauna Clube 117 in Rio de Janeiro came into my life, and thus replacing Tawan as my main source of good looking muscular guys, and the sex was superior to anything that Tawan could give me (i.e. having bottoms for starters), Tawan would still be an occasional haunt of mine. Even after Moonlight and Jupiter have eclipsed The Sun in my muscular Asian dreams. The show started, but I don’t remember any of it. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the action onstage as I was always looking at my phone to see where my luggage was. I can get pretty obsessive about things. Tiago, on the other hand, was reacting pretty openly on what was happening onstage. Gasping at the S&M parts, fascinated at the too perfect and pretty drag queen, and when the chuck wow session began, who could not believe his eyes. “Why are they jacking off?” he asks me. I tell him to notice the people with a collection cans asking for tips. “They are asking for tips, and if there is enough money collected, they will cum.” Tiago could not believe. “Fucking Thailand, man!” he exclaims. "Well the, put some money in!" Tiago excitedly tells me. I fish out 100 baht to add to the pot, to help hasten someone to cum, and to gross out Tiago more. After a few minutes, someone does cums, and Tiago watches jizz fly out from one muscular guy’s penis and land on one of the tables that was occupied by customers. I hope it missed the drinks. Or maybe the customers were into that. The stage is now so close to the seats that this was possible, as opposed to before that the tables were far enough that cum will just fall to the floor. #Tawan problems. Tiago was enjoying every minute of it. I check my phone and gasp. The luggage was mobile! And approaching Silom! And it was only 11 PM! I map out the location and see that it was 10 minutes away! I begin to panic. Should we leave and go back to the house to pick it up? I didn’t want to cut our time at Tawan. A few minutes later Tiago’s phone rings. Maybe it was the delivery driver that had our bag. Tiago hands me his phone and I go to the bathroom to answer it. It was indeed the driver. He tells me he is almost at the AirBNB. I tell him that we were not there, but if he could drive to Soi Than Tawan, we can meet him here. He agrees and hangs up. 5 minutes later he calls again, and upon answering tells me he is at the curb of the Soi. I tell Tiago that the bag has arrived. I quickly pay for our drinks and we leave Tawan. I wanted to spend more time there but this is more urgent. Sure enough the driver was there. He was in a van, no doubt delivering left or lost luggage all over Bangkok. He confirms that I was who I was, and then opens his van and produces my precious bag. I breathed a sigh of relief. Tiago then tells me to go back in Tawan to finish up the show. He will take the bag to the house and then come back to Tawan. He knows that I wanted to spend more time in the bar. He knows me very well by now. I fish out 200 baht out of my pocket, since Tiago did not have any Thai money yet, so he can get a taxi to the house. There are several taxis in the area, so we flag one down and I showed the driver the Thai directions of the AirBNB that was left by the owner. Tiago was on his way. So next post, I'm not gonna let technology ruin my time, is the rest of my time in Tawan, ALONE…

Oh gosh Screwboy!!! The legendary bar! I remember this bar closed late if my memory is not failing me. I've had so many great memories from that bar, and can still distinctly remember the bar's layout. I also remember having a preferred table to sit in that was far enough away from the stage to not be harassed by mamasans and boys, but close enough to have a good viewpoint of the merchandise, as well as ample seating for a boy when I am ready to get to know one up close. I also remember the sort of sketchy front door with a tour always up front. Looked at Google and found this. So much memories flooding back: And looking at an old flyer, I remember a lot more about this place. Yes there was karaoke in the bar as well, and I remember the bathroom for Screw Boy was in the karaoke area, if I am remembering it correctly. I haven't thought about this bar in a while: And to me its greatest strength was that it had a closing time that was later than a majority of the boy bars. I wonder how it was able to get away with that back in the day (as in the last decade). It was very useful if you ended up alone because you couldn't find someone to off earlier, or even more useful if you needed a second off for the night, after your short time session is over early. I don't know why there isn't a late night bar that can do this like Screwboy did before. I have a similar beef with Brazil saunas, with closing times at 11 pm or 12 mn. Which is why Termas in Barcelona is such a treasure. Some other pics I've seen: From 3rd Anniversary celebration. Not the usual boys on offer, but it has a nice shot of the stage, that also brings back memories: And I forgot all about this weird drag queen, but this number was a staple, so can't resist posting it here: So yes, I share all of your wishes to have Screwboys reopen, even mores than Lucky Boys (tho can't hurt having both reopen). Does anyone have the scoop on that? I am completely unaware of what the story has been on that, and the current word on the ground.

Day 4-6: Fighting for a new life Today is a new day, and for Tiago, today is the start of a new life. His main reason to be in Thailand is to stay for at least 6 months to get training in Muay Thai, as he had in Jiu Jitsu in Brazil, and economic realities meant that doing this in Thailand is way cheaper than in Brazil. It will also enabled him to get into the Asian fighting circuit that have boasted any number of Brazilians looking for easy money doing what they love to do. Having gotten to know him for a better part of a year, first in Brazil, then having him tag along in my travels, I am confident that he has the drive, and the skills necessary, to be a success. Probably not to the top of his sport, but enough to gain the necessary experience to further a career in this realm, to either teach the sport in western countries, or mount a school and/or gym himself in his home country, among other possibilities. He is certainly making the most of whatever physical gifts he has, and taking advantage of his youth and energy, to get to the next level. I’ve often wondered how boys get into prostitution. It takes a certain intestinal fortitude to withstand the day to day demands to survive the mental and physical toll that is inherent in the profession. One Brazilian boy I’ve known describes it as a constant series of humiliations, being objectified, poked and prodded, facing constant rejection, doing constant negotiating, a lot of chasing, all for the money he will need to pay his bills. He still sticks to it, because it is lucrative, and since he has not gone to school, and doesn’t have any traditionally marketable skills, this is his greatest chance to get the most money that he needs. He knows that he won’t be young forever, so why not strike while the iron is hot? Having a fat 9-inch penis doesn’t hurt either. Tiago has told me that the rigors of sauna and bar boy life aren’t for him. He is not above selling his body for money, he says, and admits he has entertained the random offers he has gotten when he is, for example, on a Brazilian beach or at a club. But he has a more stable family life and has gotten some support from his parents whenever he needed to get bailed out from a missed rent check or to refill his kitchen pantry. And he prefers using his body for fighting, a love of his that he has cultivated since he was a teen. After getting good at Jiu Jitsu back home, he has set his sights on Thailand where he wants to spread his wings. --- We wake up at 6 AM, to catch a 9:00 AM flight to another Thai city, where Tiago’s MMA gym is. We plan on spending 3 days there, to work out his living arrangements and secure his place in the classes that he wants to take, as well as to make sure that he has face-to-face interactions with the staff of the gym to make a determination that this was really where he wants to end up. Before this, all his conversations with the gym people have been virtual, with many video conference calls to the Brazilian part-owner and some of the Brazilian fighters on staff. Nothing beats in-the-flesh interactions, and he has asked me to form my own opinions of what I will see, to help him decide if this is indeed a good decision for him to take. I get us a Grab Taxi to the airport, which amounted to 427 baht, since I always ask the driver to take highways, and the driver was able to add the 75 baht tolls to the fare: The plane ride over was fairly quick and efficient. We then took a taxi to our hotel. I splurged a little bit on a resort hotel to at least get some pampering in, while taking advantage of the resort’s many pools, great restaurants, and other cool amenities. After a quick lunch, we quickly head over to the MMA Gym, to get it out of the way. Tiago wanted to spend the whole day tomorrow to just veg out in the resort with me, before we head back to Bangkok on the third day. Any doubts Tiago had over the gym quickly melted away when we stepped out of our taxi into the gym complex. Most of the workout facilities were outdoors, and with Thailand’s sweltering heat that might not be ideal, but we see a fair number of people working out sparring with each other and with punching bags which were a-plenty. There were two practice boxing rings that I saw, and a courtyard that had people milling about. Tiago’s eyes lit up. He was impressed. We were met with a Thai employee. He spoke to us in English, and as before I explained to him that Tiago didn’t speak English well. We were lead to where the living quarters would be, and we found some Brazilians who were living at the gym. Most of them then joined us and the Thai guy to take a tour of the place. There was a stage area, where the public fights happen, we were shown some of the living quarters – kitchen, bathrooms, and the room where Tiago would be staying at. It was a modest room, a bed, a fan, some shelving, closet space. We were told there was wifi all thoughout. Tiago told me this was more than enough for him. The room afforded him privacy, and a comfortable place to rest, which is all he needs. We then met up with the Brazilian part owner. He rolled up on his motorcycle, wearing Muay Thai shorts and nothing else but his flip flops. A fighter himself, he was 35, and still very much in fighting shape not to mention fairly handsome. A typical rugged Brazilian. After some introductions, he then takes us to his office to talk business. Tiago wanted me there with him to help with the decisions. The owner was impressed that I can speak Portuguese, and made the remark that when he first got to Thailand, he spoke no English, but learned through living here many years. Tiago then commented that he hopes that will be the case for him too. I mention my journey to Portuguese, and told them all the classes in the world were no match for actual immersion and speaking it with native people. The owner spelled out how things worked in the gym, the daily routine, how much the classes were, the accommodations, the food. The owner will be able to give Tiago a discount if he helped out with setting up the gym first thing in the morning, and cleaning up at night, since he was short-staffed. He then tells Tiago on how he can earn money with helping to teach MMA to western farangs who come to the gym to learn as well. He says that with Thailand reopening, he has seen student numbers tick up again, and is expecting to be really busy going into the high season. Also, there will be some opportunities to fight locally, in Bangkok, and overseas in Cambodia, South Korea, and other nearby countries is also a possibility, to earn some extra pocket money. This all sounded good to Tiago, and to me as well. After this we were shown some gyms with weights and cardio machines that Tiago can join to maintain muscle, and to a local fighting gear store where he can get his boxing gloves, tape and others things. The owner commented that it was more expensive to buy it here than in Bangkok, and recommends that if we were heading back to the capital that Tiago do his shopping there. We then sit down for some coffee (at the air conditioned gym thankfully) and just shared stories about Brazil and Thailand. The owner is very charming, and seems to be a really awesome guy, and he shared his take on how it was to live in Thailand as a Brazilian. As Tiago and I went back to the hotel after all this, we had a long conversation about all the information that was presented to us. Both of us had a good feeling about it. Tiago’s brain was already swimming with all the things he intended to get accomplished here. Once we step of the taxi at the hotel, Tiago holds my hand as we walk back to our room, and once we were in the room he hugs me, telling me that he is grateful for this opportunity, and it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t buy his plane tickets. I told him that it was his vision that got him here. I only greased the wheels. Plane tickets for Tiago: $453 one-way from Sao Paulo to Doha, 10k + 40k Avios points from Doha to Dubai to Bangkok. Gratitude that Tiago has shown me: Priceless We actually went back to the MMA gym later that day, because there was a public fight scheduled that featured 5 fights. I got to talk to the other Brazilians as well. Thank goodness for hot Thailand weather. All the fighters were shirtless, and I’ve lost count of the abs that I’ve seen total. The fights were well attended, with some farangs sprinkled in a mostly Thai audience. They sold some food and liquor during the fights, which I bet is a money maker for the owners. As promised by Tiago, we spent the next day just vegging out. The pool, strolls around the resort complex, pool, sex in the hotel room balcony, pool, hit the buffet and the pool bar, and then a nice dinner in one of the resort restaurants. Even if there was a whole city outside this resort, I picked it to take advantage of the amenities, and also to take a break from all the running around we’ve been doing this past 3 weeks. The next day, recharged because of the relaxing day before, and renewed because of the knowledge that Tiago will be in good hands once I leave him to his own devices next week, we were in good spirits. Tiago left his big luggage behind at the gym since he was coming back, and left with just the necessities for the rest of my stay with him in Bangkok. We consolidated all of our things into my big luggage including some in my carry-on, and then checked my big luggage at the airport for our flight to Bangkok. That was a mistake, as I left something in the checked bag that almost ruined my night. That’s next post.

With looking for bottoms, I just used to just go it alone and make my determination with the boy itself. That often lead to me picking a boy that I think would be a bottom, but after him sitting with me and some talking, he will often that not will say he is a top. I've since learned to depend on the mamasan, I usually have one trusted one in almost every bar, and usually the mamasan will list the boys that are bottoms by their numbers onstage. I invite the one that I think would be the most attractive, and then I make sure he is a bottom by asking him directly. I'm sure he has me as Generic Asian Face. The were shirtless, but with pants, when I was there. LOL. They can return the favor and open Lucky Boys back up!

Day 3.75: Trip down memory lane For us return travelers to Thailand, there must be a beacon that gets released up in the air the minute we land at Suvarnabhumi Airport alerting the bars and the boys that we are back. How else would they know that we are back? I may be exaggerating, but it only took one night in two Bangkok bars, and a visit to the HotMale town crier, to get at least 5 messages on Line from past boys I’ve known, asking the eternal questions “You in Bangkok?” After two and a half years, they still hold on to our Line numbers, even after the conversations with them have stopped. Anyway, I received an interesting Line message on the first night of the trip from a past boy: I looked at the last time he messaged me, and it was on November 25, 2019(!), which was the last time I was in Bangkok. I look at his profile picture, and yes, he was one of the last offs I had on that trip. And on this current trip, I remember seeing him at Hotmale the first night, hanging out with a customer. I guess he recognized me as well, because this text message was sent a couple of hours after that encounter. Then I got to thinking, how did he know that it was me on Line? I didn’t have a profile pic, and I never send photos of myself to the boys, so the only way he would have remembered is that he just had a good memory. After two and a half years, remembering my Line from the other faceless farang contacts he has, and recognizing me after a passing encounter in a dark bar. That is truly impressive. I do remember my off with him fondly. I offed him an another boy from Lucky Boys for a threesome: And this little snippet about him: That then got me to thinking, why hasn’t Lucky Boys reopened? I googled and get this listing. Permanently closed? Looking at my last trip report, it seems that I identified Lucky Boys as the best Bangkok boy bar I went to on that trip, as I found the boy offerings, the boy show, and the ambiance to be the best and most balanced. After this New Twilight fiasco, I just don’t know why certain bars are still closed. This is what I said about it in 2019: So in this night of no off, since New Twilight did not deliver the goods for both Tiago and I, I am once again drawing from the past and relying on the company of a past off. Just like MonBoy, I was eager to connect again with Cambodia, and my threesome with him and another Lucky Boys off I called Myanmar which occurred last trip, was a good indicator that Cambodia would be open to a threesome also this time. I ask Tiago if he was up for another threesome with a fun bottom. He doesn’t always say yes when I ask this, sometimes it depends on whether he is tired or would rather watch tv or talk to friends on his phone. But tonight he asked, “Is it a boy from that awful bar?” I laughed. “No, its someone I knew in 2019.” I showed him pics that Cambodia had on his Line Feed. Tiago looks approvingly, and says “Yes let’s get him tonight.” I sent Cambodia a Line message, as we made our way to Patpong to hang out at Hot Male bar. As we sit down, I check my messages and see a response “Where are you.” I tell him where. “I go to you now.” I tell Tiago the news. I see one host boy trying to talk to Tiago and Tiago trying his best to talk back. He still needs help with the English. I wonder he will make it on his own after this week, but I realize there are even more Brazilians in his gym who supposedly can help him in this regard. After 15 minutes of drinking and talking to HM, Hotmale Bar Boy extraordinaire, a familiar figure comes up to us at the bar. It was Cambodia, grinning from ear to ear. He shakes my outstretched hand, and then looks to Tiago and shakes his hand as well. He looked genuinely happy to see me. I tell him to sit with us and asked him if he wanted something to drink (he didn’t). I look at Cambodia more closely. He has not aged at all. He told me he was 22 in late 2019, so he must be 24-25 now, but still looks like a teenager. He asks me about details of my trip, and who Tiago was, and I asked him about the pandemic. He told me he got back last May, after spending almost 2 years back in Cambodia. I asked him what he did during that time, and he said “take care of family,” which was pretty nice to hear. He said after the bars closed, and then customers dwindled, he decided to leave and stay home for a while, but came back once he thought he could make a living doing this again. “You want to come to our apartment?” I ask Cambodia. “Can,” he said. Just that. Can. I ask Tiago what he thought of the idea. He gave a longer answer, more than “Can” (more like beercan), but basically he also "Can". So with this “Can” do attitude, I hailed a Grab Taxi to meet us up at the Surawong side of Patpong, and pretty soon we were on our way. Same same order – Tiago to the left, boy to the right, and me, at the center of this triad, responsible for all of us getting together tonight. At the apartment, the first thing that Cambodia notices was the pile of 3-in-1 coffees left by the apartment owner. “Please?” Cambodia asks, taking one of the packets. “You?” I then ask Tiago. He nods. I guess everyone wants coffee, so I fill up the water heater with enough water, and pretty soon all 3 of us are drinking 3-in-1 coffee. Tiago is again being shirtless again, and is down to his shorts at this point. Cambodia, still as reserved as he was back when I first met him under 3 years ago, was still in his t-shirt and jeans. “You are not feeling hot?” I ask Cambodia. Cambodia smiled, knowing exactly what I meant. “Can I shower?” he asks me. I say yes, pointing to the master bedroom with the bathroom en suite. So he takes off his shirt, folds it neatly and sets it on the couch. He takes off his pants and then folds them as well. Then he turns around and takes off his underwear, and cheekily makes his way to the bathroom. I see Tiago laser focused on those perky buttocks. This was going to be interesting. Tiago chugs his coffee and then excuses himself to do a shower himself. I join Tiago in the second bathroom to have a shower as well. When we emerge back out to the living room, we see Cambodia sitting back down, wrapped in a towel, sipping the rest of his coffee. Tiago goes up to Cambodia, takes his hand, and leads him to the bedroom. Cambodia actually fit really well with Tiago. Cambodia seems to love the deep kissing, so Tiago and him had a time doing that a lot during our time together. And Tiago loves how smooth Asians are (probably why he’s with me) and could rim a smooth ass all night, as he did with Cambodia. Cambodia seemed to be game with everything, and when it came to bottoming for Tiago, seemed to relish the sensation way more than MonBoy did. I could tell that Tiago was enjoying himself, and that in itself was a huge turn on for me. There was a point where he had Cambodia on all fours, and he slid Cambodia towards me so Cambodia could suck my dick. Tiago then started fucking Cambodia slowly at first, and then with some force. Cambodia seem to be game for it, and continued to suck me while thrusts came. The whole time this was happening, Tiago was looking at me, and when Tiago caught my eye, he mouthed the words “Te amo,” to me, communicating that he hasn’t forgotten me in this tryst. “Te amo mais,” I mouthed back. That was actually pretty sweet. When we were done, and showered, Cambodia let me know that he can’t do long time tonight, as he has plans early tomorrow. I didn’t plan on having him on longer so that worked out. Before he left, Cambodia told me that “Next time, you fuck me,” which was a nice gesture. Probably needed to say because although Tiago could do it much better than I do, Cambodia knew I was the one making decisions. 4000 baht and a Grab Taxi later, he was on his way. So Cambodia is 2 for 2 with me, and both were threesomes as well. Some boys just play well with others. Next post, we had to wake up early tomorrow…

Day 3.5: Growing Pains The bar tonight was New Twilight. I was actually excited to go here. It’s not everyday a Bangkok Boy Bar is newly added to the dwindling slate of bars in the landscape. In these uncertain COVID times, it’s fairly bold to open up a new entertainment venue. When this report actually happened, I haven’t been keeping up with what others have been saying about it, just that it has opened, it where it was, near the Mango Tree restaurant. It would have made sense to eat at Mango Tree instead of G’s because of proximity, but something to look forward to in the coming days. As we make our way through Soi 6 to make our way to Soi Than Tawan, I opted to take a peak first at one my faves, Tawan Bar, just to see it from the outside, to check out the new location across the street. Actually Mango Tree, Tawan and New Twilight are within 2 minutes of each other. Kudos for Google Maps to have all three locations be searchable on their website: We arrive at Tawan and see this colorful rainbow flag: But Tawan was not our destination, but New Twilight. We get there soon enough. Good job on the outside signage: Entering the facilities, I was impressed by how spacious and well thought out the whole setup was. The stage had a center area and a runway, something that is working well for Jupiter, and not the static one center stage concept that Moonlight and Dreamboy has. Jupiter uses that runway to its full effect by showcasing the boys and its cool that New Twilight sought to do the same. As we got seated, I notice that seating is plentiful, though a little bit far from the stage. I like my bulges hanging over my head, and not need those mini binoculars one uses at the opera to see them. There were about 4 parties in the bar, which is fine I guess for a Tuesday night. We were asked drinks (again coke and rum cike – which was pretty weak). There was New Twilight branding everywhere, including the tissue dispensers: There was a huge stage backdrop screen that covered the entire backdrop of the stage, which was pretty impressive as well. As seen in this promotional video posted recently: TWBar.mp4 The boys on offer: there were about 6 boys on stage when we first got there. All were in jeans and tennis shoes. I took notes in my phone to remember the details of this bar, and I see in all caps: WHY THE PANTS?????? Some were cute but no one really interested me. No obvious stars. Noone on stage was catching my eye, tho a good number of them where trying their luck catching Tiago’s and my eye. The waiters were nice though. I think the waiters were much better looking than the boys onstage. There were two that I liked, one twinky one and one sort of hunky one. The stage numbers: kind of amateurish. The dancers were average at best, both in looks and in choreography. How new was this bar? Maybe they need more practice? There were some drag numbers which were fine. There was a teacher and student number that was just ok and clumsy. There were some sensual numbers, some actual smoking onstage which was funny. Tiago was yawning. He saw me catching him yawning and apologized. “The number are actually quite ok, but the other bars are better,” he said. “The boys in other bars are better too.” Since we were in Hot Male, Jupiter and Moonlight the nights prior, I’d say that is true. I was sort of keen to off someone here tonight, but no one was trully holding my attention. I asked Tiago what he thought and he commented on how nice the screen was and how high tech it was. I told him I was asking about the boys. He said they were a little bit “girly” for his taste. I laughed. Should we get you a real man? Because Tawan is next door. He laughed and said that he has nothing against more femmy guys but he wouldn’t necessarily want to pay for sex for one, even if I was paying. We decide to order another round of drinks, just to settle in and get into the mood of things. The two waiters I liked were unfortunately sitting with other customers. So, we tried, but unfortunately it was not meant to be. We pay for our drinks and head out into the night. --- I am just going to chock it up to growing pains. The bar is new. They are trying to find their identity. They are starting from scratch, developing numbers, building a boy base, and starting on a challenging time post-pandemic. Fortunately, time is on their side. It is late June (the time this report occurred), and high season starts in December. That’s 6 months worth of tweaking and perfecting before they find their voice. The good news: the bones are there - the venue is nice, the staging and seating are one of the best I’ve seen in Thailand. And the place is not that hard to find, and is close to Tawan, a bar with firm voice of its own. One glimmer of hope was this July 13 post on their Facebook: They have b-boys, and they look great. This takes me back from the b-boys in the Pattaya boy bars. And their message: So yeah, if you're in Bangkok, or planning to go in the near future, please go! It'll give them the necessary support to grow, and it'll give you a chance to report back on this board your opinion on the bar and tell us if they are changing for the better. But there was no off today sadly. But I did have on trick up my sleeve, next.

Muscled bottoms who kiss are indeed a harder thing to find in Thailand for some reason. Not in other places of the world. MonBoy is by no means a muscled-bound, but meatier than the average boy in Thailand. I'd recommend DreamBoy and Hot Boys. I've offed two who may fit your three criteria (muscle, kisses, bottom), and have had tremendous luck in those bars in the past. Happy Beer Garden has been a staple of mine, unfortunately these days I will only remember that it is there if I was walking from Moonlight to Patpong. Otherwise, with Soi Twilight gone, the area is less busy. Just like the good old days... how I wish. I'm glad I could enlighten you on the dick situation at Hotmale. Oddly enough, I found more impressive dicks at the bar a meters down the same floor as Hot Male ;). Yikes, those are indeed high fuel surcharges. Virgin is known for having these high fuel surcharges. Another reason to not fly them. 400 baht short time? Wow that is cheap. I think when I started it never went under 1000. Ummm, yes? I thought that was implied. And as for being generous - I thought that was the point of this website. LOL I was also gonna say, isn't sex considered exercise? I'm not disputing your point @z909. But I must say that there are a million walking spaces in Brazil that are safe. The 30-minute walk from Post 1 at Leme/Copacabana to Post 10 in Ipanema is a great example. Hiking up to Christ the Redeemer is another. Parque ibirapuera in Sao Paulo (great eye candy), and Avenida Paulista on Sundays when they close the whole major street for exercise, are the Sao Paulo standouts. Recife - late night/early morning strolls at Boa Viagem, with the bonus of jumping into the warm ocean, Fortaleza - the crazy Praia de Iracema park walk with LOTS of eye candy, walking at various times day or night at the Pelourinho in the old part of Salvador... I could go on and on. And pretty safe to do so. And Brazil has milder weather (still hot, but better relative to Thailand) so actually the walking is more pleasant. I'd argue that I walk outside in Brazil more than I do in Thailand, just because of the outside temperature, plus Brazilian boys walk more it seems than bar boys (who seem to need a taxi to go everywhere LOL).

Just speaking for myself, I don't think I was ever saying in my current trip report that things are back to "normal" whatever that means anymore. I remember saying that "Bangkok is back" and indeed it is. It might not be the cheek to jowl crowd that you can only see anyway during peak season, not on a rainy July, but it is indeed back. And I had a blast! And "gloomy post covid area (sic)" can be applied to any number of locations in the world, if that's how you view it, since none are "back to normal". Like others have said, everything you need in Bangkok is open. You can get your rocks off, you can eat the amazing food, BTS/taxis/tuk tuks are plentiful, and boy bars are open. If you'd rather stay home holding on to money while waiting for the world to get back to "normal", you might be waiting a long time.

Day 3: Temple, Tailor, Scorcher, Tie This trip, I’ve been more animated with exploring Bangkok more than previous trips, probably because I had the secondary task of showing Tiago the country. He is seeing the country as a newbie, as I was when I first visited in 2014. It is always nice to go through the newbie experience again with someone, seeing the country through their eyes. And Tiago’s natural inquisitiveness always had me on my toes, so it was a treat for me to see this place again in that sense, after having taken past trips for “granted”. We had plans to go to the gym today but opted to sleep in instead (how many times has this happened to me in my life), but we did have plans to do an organized private tour of some temples in Bangkok, as well as to see other sites. I’ve done various versions of this tour in the past (with various friends, boys etc), and have been to these places with boys to observe how they worship, but seeing these temples again and again never seems to get old for me. It was also important for me to show these temples to Tiago. So we wake up at 10 am, which isn’t super late, but too late to entertain a gym session. Some coffee, a shower, and getting dressed, and we head over to a nearby Coffee Club. I’ve always liked Coffee Club, and seeing one always reminded me of my stays in Pattaya, where there was one at the Royal Garden Plaza, usually a fairly short walkable distance from any AirBNB or hotel I would stay near Boyztown. And they are more than just coffee, for me they were a consistent source of a savory breakfast. I of course got my cholesterol on a plate with eggs, bacon and sausage: Tiago, with his sweet tooth, got some pancakes. We had to fuel up, as we had a big day ahead. We go back to the apartment to wait for the tourist guide. For ideas on where to get a private guide, I usually go to Viator.com, but I instead contacted a prior SiamRoads guide that I hired 7 years ago to see if he was still available. Turns out he is retired from tourism, but recommended a reputable Tour company. He forwarded my Whatsapp number to the company, and two nights ago got a WhatsApp message from the tour company, asking me what I was looking for in a tour. I told them just a quick temple tour, with a private vehicle with AC, and was quoted $110 which I thought was reasonable. At 11:50 AM I got a Whatsapp message saying that the van taking us was parked by the curb in front of the apartment. We meet our guide, who was waiting for us at the curb. He was pretty friendly, and when we get seated, I explain to him that Tiago was Brazilian and did not speak much English, but I will translate whatever he told me. This is a running theme with most of the Brazilians I’ve taken with me to my travels, when we find ourselves in an English-speaking situation, like tours. I’d never thought I’d end up being a translator for Brazilians, but it inadvertently allows me to practice the Portuguese even outside of Brazil, trying to explain a certain country’s history or a monuments meaning, for example, stuff that is beyond the usual casual conversation. The tour guide showed his cards when he commented how handsome Tiago was. I had a hoot translating this to Tiago. Tiago just rolled his eyes. We had three main stops today, all temples. All chock full of history. 1. Wat Traimit, with the glistening architecture and the Golden Buddha: Wat Arun with the Hindu elements: And Wat Pho, with the reclining Buddha: The guide gives a side note on Thai Massage History, and how it was based on the concept of invisible energy lines running though the body. There was even a mural of it in one of the temples. Arena Spa was not mentioned tho, and no invisible lines pointing to where a happy ending would be located: I always like it when we get a temple to ourselves, and we get to sit on the floor (thankfully with fans blowing air throughout the facility), and we get to have a few minutes of peace and meditation while admiring the Buddhist elements of the room. Tiago said it was a highlight of his tour, and he would like to visit Buddhist temples more often: Overall, the guide was really knowledgeable. And Tiago absorbed all the information the guide had for us. As we drove around Bangkok, the guide would point out the important landmarks. While I pretty much been to all the places he mentioned, it was good to be reminded of them, and to tell Tiago about my impression of those places. It was a good jog down memory lane. I mentioned to the guide that I had certain things I wanted to accomplish in Bangkok that I haven’t gotten to yet, that I may not have time for. The guide asked me what they were, I told him, and one of the items the guide said he could help with – finding a tailor, could be our next stop. My usual tailor, Excelsior Tailors, was closed when we went by it yesterday afternoon. They might have pandemic-reduced hours, and they had a sign with a phone number in the front of the store, but I decided not to bother. The guide offered to take us to his recommended tailor. He told us that he trusts this tailor, and he has recommended this to other guests of his, and has been highly recommended by them as well. He then said that most of the tailors found in Silom or shopping malls usually outsource their work to another, central tailor. He was taking us to a tailor who did their own work, and it is a work of quality. He then said that if we had any problems with the tailor, then he will fix it. We arrive at the tailor shop named "James Fashion" (not "James Tailor" – they missed a golden opportunity here) in the Dusit District of Bangkok. We were expected, as one of the tailors greeted us at the curb and asked us if we wanted water or beer. We opted for coffees. I told him what I wanted (2 sports coats and three shirts) as well as Tiago, who I promised to also get one sports coat. We were shown some fabrics and we got to feel the material, as we chose our picks. We got measured, prodded, and the whole thing took only 15 minutes. The tailor then said asked when were we leaving Bangkok. I told him 6 days from today, so we made an appointment for a second fitting 3 days from now, and have the clothes delivered 2 days after that. I paid (fairly reasonable prices) and as a thank you, we were given two ties each as a present, to be delivered with the clothes on final delivery. The traffic was horrendous (Bangkok is back!) so we get home at 6 PM. Sitcky and gross after a half a day of walking in sweltering heat and humidity, we shower together, which led to some hanky-panky (his idea) which led to us exhausted after cumming, and which led to another nap. I was smart enough to have the alarm set at 9 PM, to wake us up for the night ahead. A couple of cups of 3-in-1, and a Grab Taxi later, we find ourselves back on Silom Soi 4, to have dinner at G’s Bangkok. Before we settle at the restaurant, I take a quick peak at the bars further down the Soi. It was busier than yesterday, and there was a good-sized crowd of farangs in the mix of all the revelry. I see Jupiter at the end, with the tout waiting his chance to convince people to come in. The tout by Banana Bar has already done that to us, and failed, to get our attention. Judging to the size of the crowd, Soi 4 seems to have the makings of a Soi Twilight. If they can find a way to replace some of the restaurants with more boy bars, and build out to the end of the Soi, we can get there. Interesting to me though, that any online guide describing Silom Soi 4 never mention the boy bars in the Soi, only the “normal” bars. Why is that? See article below titled "Bangkok's Best Gay Street": Anyway, we get back to G’s to have a hearty dinner. Tiago opted to eat some Thai food, even with the blander Bavarian options in the menu, and the danger of the food being spicy. Thankfully, the food we chose were tolerable to his unaccustomed tongue. To finish it off, he asks for a volcano cake which we shared, to satisfy his sweet tooth: At 10:10 PM we were on our way to our selected Boy Bar. Which one was it, next…

Tiago has been living in Thailand for a number of weeks now, so everything still feels new. But he says that cost of living is lower, and food, transportation and entertainment is cheaper. Plus things that have to do with his work - gear, gym time etc, are cheaper. He can also get compensation with teaching Jiu Jitsu in Thailand teaching either tourists of locals that he says is more than what he can get in Brazil, probably because there are fewer of him in Thailand with his set of skills so he is more in demand. He is already looking at staying longer than his planned 6 months and looking at his visa options. So yeah he likes it in Thailand better but he is looking at it through the lens of someone working. My take is complicated (always). I have my own preferences that may be different than yours. Sex - @floridarobhas alluded to this. I've had sex with duds in Brazil so that exists, but I found that a Brazilian's average minimum effort is still much more passionate and more to my liking than what I get in Thai. I get that in Thailand too, but I am more assured that the sex will be more passionate and I am left satisfied, sex-wise. Depends on the situation of course. Cost to hire - It's just cheaper in Brazil. No escaping that fact. I'd say basic short time fee in Brazil is $30 vs $40 in Thailand, and you get more for your money. Grindr - I've had way more luck in Brazil, but my Generic Asian Face™ is more of a novelty there relative to Thailand. Gay saunas (not for pay) - Brazil saunas are hotter and wilder Food - Thailand is way superior to that of Brazil, in my book. Food is also way cheaper in Thailand. Tourist Infrastructure - Thailand is more developed hands down. There is a reason Bangkok has toppled Paris as the most visited city in the world in 2019. Just the ease in which you get basic stuff like SIM cards (airport in Bangkok with clear pricing and GB vs not as easy in Brazil), taxis and hotel staff with English speaking drivers, the Tourist police etc., is superior than what you will find in Brazil. I've said before that Brazil has a steeper learning curve, though if you have a patience to see it through, it's hard to let go. Thailand was just love at first sight for me. One night in Silom and I was hooked forever. Safety - Advantage: Thailand. No way out of this. But I must say that if you know what you're doing, its fairly easy to keep safe in Brazil as well, as I have after a million trips to there. But yes, advantage: Thailand Shopping - Slight advantage to Thailand. Lots of cheap finds in both places but I think Thailand has better variety (MBK and Chatuchak are gold standards). Massage - Huge advantage to Thailand. Not even a question. Beaches - Beaches in Thailand are prettier and better, but Brazil's are more fun and more lively so, depends on what you like. Rio's Copacabana and Ipanema are obvious strengths, with Bangkok not having a comparable analog, but Phuket and Samui are stunning places to visit once you get there. Festivals - toss up. Songkran is fun, Carnaval is fun. It's all fun. Nightlife - both have their advantages, boils down to what you prefer or are looking for. Language - For me, Portuguese is way easier for me to learn, i.e. I learned it vs I will probably never learn to speak Thai because English is widely spoken in Thailand. There is some utility to learning the language in any country as you get to know it in a much deeper level. Even if Thais more or less speak English, I suspect I missing something by not speaking Thai. My 2¢. I love both. Will continue visiting both. Will account for the shortcomings and enjoy the strengths of either place. It's good to have these two wonderful options to choose from!

Day 2.5: Heavenly Bodies I am unclear on the origins of why Bangkok boy bars are named the way they are. Maybe the thought process is to have your bar name be as descriptive as possible, so customers know what they are getting when they want to go to that bar. So all your boys and males are either Fresh (boys), Hot (Male), Dream (y) (Boys) or Lucky (Boys), or you may want to Screw (boys) them, or want to play with their Bananas (bar). Then there are the bars that are named after heavenly bodies or phenomenon – Moonlight, Jupiter and Tawan (Tawan ตะวัน = Sun). These bars, more or less, have their specialized brand of boy bar, probably what sets them a little bit apart from the ones mentioned previously. I’d say these three bars indeed have “heavenly bodies”, and as such, have boys with more mass i.e. more meat on their bones than those bars that have predominantly twinks in them (those Freshboys really are fresh, for example). This is a generalization of course, Dreamboy had a lot of more meatier boys than twinks the night I was there (at least my definition of what Thailand meaty is), but generally you will not find any traditional twinks in the Solar System bars. Don't ask me about New Twilight. I don't know how that boy bar fits into things. Interestingly, to me at least, Tawan’s naming is more consistent with how most Brazil boy saunas are named. Tawan’s street is situated in Soi Than Tawan, from which I am assuming Tawan was then named after. In Rio de Janeiro for example, Clube 117 and Pointe 202 addresses are in 117 Rua Candido Mendes and 202 Siquiera Campos respectively, which means they are named after their street addresses as well. Various other saunas in Brazil do this (the ones in Salvador and Recife come to mind, etc.), and even if the name of the current street of the famous Sao Paulo sauna Lagoa is different from its name, originally it was located in a street called Borges Lagoa before its move to 130 Pedro Taques. So we find ourselves in one of the Solar System bars – Jupiter. My description of it in 2016 is here: Still, I do remember at least two memorable offs from Jupiter in the past. Both were the typical Jupiter type: tall, muscular athletic, fair skin and handsome. Both I’ve had trepidation offing in the past due to my preconceived assumptions about the aloofness of the Jupiter boys, and hence, both exceeded my expectation when it came to the off, further fueling my desire to go back to the heavens more and more. My whole off with MuscleBoy here: And a snippet of my off with Korean Boy: --- We emerge from a sex-induced slumber at 9:30 PM, after a half day of running around Bangkok and seeing the sights. Tiago, as goal-oriented as he was when it comes to going after his dreams, surely knows what he likes doing during vacations: lots of rest and lots of sex. He admitted to as such while we were traversing Dubai. As a result, we have missed a tourist spot or two that was on my list of must-see things to see. Still, my method of running ragged of wanting to see as many things as possible and to sleep with as many boys as possible, combined with his more leisurely pace of stopping and smelling the roses, and establishing deeper connections and sacrificing certain opportunities as a result, worked for both of us and benefitted our experiences. Quality over quantity was essentially the result. Still, he knew that it was important for me to go see a Boy Bar every night we were in Bangkok, so when the alarm went off to wake us up that night, he darted out of the bed and did a few shadow boxing exercises to wake himself up and get the blood flowing. I fired up the water heater and made two cups of those delish 3-in-1 coffees, and pair of showers later we were on a Grab to Silom Soi 4. 71 baht. We arrive at Soi 4 around 10:15 PM, and the familiar sights of the street were still there. I noticed a new (to me) boy bar called Banana Bar, with their tout enticing us to come in and partake of their fruit stand. Perhaps on another night. We passed by the usual bars, notably the renamed Circus Bar, formerly Telephone Pub – I am not too familiar what precipitated this name change. There was a good-sized crowd seated in almost all the bars, with a good showering of farang tourists, perhaps a sign that the tourist numbers are rebounding at a good clip. But we had our goal today – Jupiter. We were greeted by the sharply dressed tout who didn’t bother with his spiel because it looked like we knew where we were going. Inside, the outer seats were taken, some full with rowdy Thai revelers, others with more reserved farangs and Asian gays. We were seated at the very front. Tiago plopped himself on the seat, ready for the show. Regular coke and rum coke (pretty decent). Onstage where 3 or 4 boys at a time, rotating through their roster, a trick I’ve seen in almost all the bars that had more boys than a stage can logically contain. I am reminded right away of Jupiter delights: the preppy, handsome, clean cut, masculine fair boy. Tiago noticed this, and commented that the offerings were pretty enticing, and handsome. Perhaps Tiago was also a Jupiter man. I was overjoyed when I say MuscleBoy and Korean Boy still working here, as if nothing has changed through the years. They both still looked gorgeous and fit. There were other stunners as well, well-documented in the Jupiter facebook. They feature each of their models fairly well on FB, and some even have studio-quality photoshoots that highlights their best features. What impressed me was the number of guys that were on offer. If you want an idea of many guys are available on a given night, watch this: ParadeJupiter.mp4 Also, this was were I was seated, where the red dot is: So I was up close and bulge level to these fine specimens, so I was having a blast. I would highly recommend seating up there for maximum viewing. Not sure why the other customers here preferred sitting further away from the action. They are missing out. The show soon starts and it’s the usual drag queen/boy number combination. The drag queens were pretty polished, moreso than what I’ve seen elsewhere in Thailand, or even Brazil. Also, there were numbers with drag queens and boys combined, and I remember this was a thing before from pre-pandemic: With all this happening, Tiago was seemingly entertained. My hunches about this bar were right, that this was a bar that is easy to show to first-timers, or your girl best friend, that had enough distractions and hot boys to entertain pretty much anybody. I know a lot of us here prefer a less refined, more hardcore experience with Thai boy bars, and I do miss that type of atmosphere, but there is a place for these kind of bars both in the boy bar landscape, and in every one of my travel itineraries. There was the question of offing tough. I was thoroughly smitten with one of the guys in that clip above. Everyone in the bar was looking at him. Maybe it was the grinding and the dancing he did. I was about to look for him but saw that he sat down with some clients and I missed my chance. Still, there were a lot to choose from. I could choose from any number of tall, fair, lean muscular boys. There was something about that guy with the full body tattoo (see video). He looks like he would know a thing or two about a good time. Plus, in perusing Jupiter’s FB posts, he is figured in a set of photos that seem to show another, more fun side of him: I ask Tiago what he thought about that guy. He said he was more interested in another handsome lad, as he tells me his number. I recognized the guy from Patpong. He must’ve belonged to another bar but is now working in Jupiter. He was the Jupiter type. He had really white skin, very smooth. Boyish handsomeness, abs and muscles. He fit the type that I liked, so I motioned to him to sit with us once the show was over. He was in jeans and shirtless. He sat in between Tiago and I. A waiter quickly comes to us to ask if the boy wanted a drink. He asked for a coke. He recognized me from the pre-pandemic days, and asked me the usual stock questions of name, where you from, how long Bangkok and all that good stuff. I of course had to translate for Tiago, who was rubbing his leg and looking at him closely. He was Vietnamese, and Tiago found that fairly interesting possibly because it was the first time he has ever met a Viet guy. After a few more pleasantries, VietBoy asks if we wanted to off him. I then asked what he was into. He said he is all top. I translated this to Tiago and then he promptly grabbed his dick to see. More questions. 5000 for short time because we were two people, so double the price he said. Then I asked if he kisses. He said no. He said he was straight. I then translate this all to Tiago. “E hetero?” he said, sort of disappointed. “Quanto custa,” he asks. I do some quick math and tell him “130 dolares ou 700 reais,” I answer. Tiago makes a face, ”E caro demais,” he replies, thinking the price was a little bit too steep. He then asks me that its up to me, but I already knew my answer. After a few more pleasantries, and as he finshes his drink, I gave him 500 baht and bid him farewell. It was just not meant to be. To Tiago, a sexual partner who doesn’t kiss, let alone doesn't do it passionately, is not worth it, and life is too short for that kind of BS. I tend to agree. He later said that for 130 dollars, he’d do way more than just top. While all of this was going on, Jupiter turned from a Boy Bar to a lounge, and it was actually enjoyable. Customers were having a blast with the live singing, boys were joining the fun, drinking with customers, and it all looked like fun: Jupiter2018 - Everyday After Midnight It’s Time To Party 🎉... By Jupiter2018 Everyday After Midnight It’s Time To Party 🎉 With All The Jupiter’s Model 🤩 #jupiter #silom4 #bangkok.mp4 There is someone in the video clip waving some money in front of the boys. I figure that the video is at least accurate in that sense, as it will take that much money to get the boys to act happy to be with you. I didn’t even try to look for another boy to off. I tried, it didn’t work out, and that was that. I didn’t even feel that I was missing out. I had good memories of this place, and will continue to make more in the future. Right now it was about me and Tiago. He might be the ultimate cock block as he is giving me more than probably any of the boys in this building ever could, in arguably better physical attributes, among other things. There is a time and a place to “settle” for a more chill sexual encounter and I am willing to adjust to the task at hand. Sometimes that it was I need, other times, like right now, it is Quality over Quantity. After another round of drinks, we leave the celestial confines of Jupiter. While it weird for me to not off a guy form this bar, truth is Jupiter will always hold a special place in my groin. There will be other nights in Jupiter, to look for this guy, for example: We then head over to Footland Patpong to have a late dinner. After that we decide to make that 25-minute walk back to the apartment, since it has cooled down a bit. Tiago asked again if it was safe to walk at 2 AM in the morning in Bangkok. I said yes it was. He commented that if this was central Rio we would be assaulted many times over. i laughed, because it was true. And even Tiago had a hard time avoiding comparing Brazil to Thailand, but this time, he was noticing something that Thailand had an advantage over Brazil. “That’s why we are here Tiago,” I tell him. “We are here to forget about our troubles in Brazil. We are in Thailand now.” We should make the most of our time here, as Thailand has a lot to offer. And we do just that, next post.

Day 2: Same same, but different Just a quick note on threeways in Thailand, and my inevitable comparison to those I've had in Brazil. In general, I usually don’t plan on particularly having threeways. I’ve always preferred the classic one-on-one, as it takes away certain wildcards out of the equation. But threeways are fun when they do happen, even if they come out a bit awkward if one or two people in the threesome are left a little less satisfied. There is always the danger of becoming the third wheel, with either having two participants in the threesome who seem to be enjoying each other more than the third person, or if you’re the only one enjoying the action and the other two are just going through the motions to satisfy you. I’m guessing the latter more has to do with clients getting two boys who may or may not click with each other or with you, but since money is in the equation, one tends to overlook certain misgivings. You can probably guess where I'm going with this, that even with the few threesomes I’ve had, on average, I’ve had more satisfying threeways in Brazil than in Thailand. Maybe it’s cultural, that South Americans bring in the heat way more often than their Asian counterparts, but anecdotally anyway, that’s been my experience. Take that as you will. I’m never going to say that Brazilians are better than the Thai, in bed. That simply is not true. What’s true is that the boy (or boys) in your bed at the moment is going to be always better than anyone else who is not in your bed, and you should make the most of any situation. I actually first met Tiago in a threeway situation. Last year, at a start of a Rio trip, I was met at the airport by a working boy I’ve known for a few months, and he told me that he was bringing a friend with him who he said was interested in meeting me, who turned out to be Tiago. After dinner, and then a shower back at the apartment in Copacabana, this working boy proceeded to start kissing me and taking off my clothes to initiate sex. He then asks me to kiss Tiago. Tiago was tentative at that point, since he is not used to this kind of setup (plus he just met me), but warmed up to me eventually. The resulting threesome was pretty good, but it turned out that the working boy was just using me to get to Tiago, who he had the hots for and couldn’t just hook up with him because theirs' was not that kind of friendship. Tiago mentioned this to me a few months after the encounter, after I’ve had a falling out with said boy. It didn’t matter to me at the time. I had two hot Brazilians in my bed no later than an hour after I arrived from the airport. That’s a win, and I sure made the most of it. So the threeway with MonBoy and Tiago was still fun, despite MonBoy’s apparent awkwardness in the situation. As long as I've known him, MonBoy was always eager to please, and our history through the years has shown that. The one threesome I had with MonBoy and another Burmese boy turned out pretty good. I’ll make sure I get MonBoy all to myself the next time we meet. I am actually looking forward to that. --- MonBoy wakes me up at 6:30 AM to tell me that he is leaving to take the BTS. As he puts on his clothes, I fish out 4000 baht from my wallet. I figure since he was technically offed by two people, not just me, then he deserves that double pay. He takes the money and pockets it, not counting it. He gives me a peck on the cheek as he always does, exits the apartment, and disappears into the early morning. I get back to bed. Tiago rolls over to spoon. “Everything ok with him?” Tiago asks. “I think so,” I answer, a bit tentatively. We both fall back to sleep. We wake up around 12:30 PM. We intended today to be a lazy day, a chance to catch up on rest and help get over jet lag, which was a little bit less painful this time since it was only a 3-hour adjustment from where we were. I go to the kitchen to try to make some coffee and could not find the coffee maker. I did find these ubiquitous 3-in-1 coffee packs that I forgot was more of a thing in this part of the world. The apartment owner left a generous care package of 3-in-1 coffees, instant noodles and some granola bars, which is perfect for moments when you need something fast to consume. So today, our first daytime in Bangkok, since Tiago is going to stay for at least half a year in Thailand, I was keen on showing Tiago around Bangkok, having him get used to how Thailand works, and also get used to the sights, the people, and other relevant things. I am not an expert though, I am just a humble tourist, but at least Tiago will not be starting from scratch with his Thailand knowledge when he sets out on his own next week. He of course has his fellow Brazilians to lean on that are part of his Muay Thai gym as well. But they don't know what Numazu knows. 1. Money Looks like I visited at the right time, as the dollar is pretty strong at the moment, compared to the Thai Baht (and pulled even with the Euro!). The rate has hovered around less than 0.03 baht to the dollar. Using my Charles Schwab ATM, which refunds the ATM fees at the end of the month whenever it is charged, I’ve consistently got a ~0.0283 baht to the dollar baht during this one week stay in Thailand. That meant when withdrawing 20,000 Baht + 250 baht ATM fee, my bank takes out $573. Which is an improvement to my standard brain shorthand conversion rate of 3000 baht for every $100. Brain Shorthand Conversion Rate: What I use when I’m calculating baht prices in my head, whenever I am out shopping or mongering. My brain math will always think that the standard Short Time rate of 2000 baht is 66 dollars. When in reality, $66 is actually 2332 baht. That’s 332 baht extra, almost enough to cover the entry fee/welcome drink at boy bars. That has been my point of reference even since I've been going to Thailand. I’ll be in trouble if the conversion rate ever creeps over 0.033. I think ever since I’ve been going to Thailand since 2014, the only other time that the dollar was stronger against the baht than it is now was in Christmas season of 2015. So life is pretty good right now, except if you were in Thailand Jan 30, 1998, where a 2000 baht short time fee was only $38. Granted, the short time fee back then was even less than 2000, so those of you who were there during that time, hope you made the most your time! Does anybody remember how much the ST fee was in 1998? Tiago has been saving his money to be able to devote to his Muay Thai training for 6 months in Thailand, as well as his accommodations, which was a room (no AC, just a fan) in the same building as the gym. While he has not saved up to cover all of expenses – like meals and transportation, he saved enough for some of his gym time and everything else related to his profession. The rest he hopes to earn through his fights. I told him he could try his hand (and penis) on escorting, but he said he hopes it doesn’t come to that, and his fellow Brazilians have been able to make it work without having to resort to that. So he took all of his savings with him from Brazil to Thailand. And instead of using a money changer in Sao Paulo to convert the Brazilian Reals to US Dollars, so he can then use those dollars to change to Baht with a money changer in Bangkok, which as you can see is double the fees, he will just gave me all the Reais that he had, and I will just take the money from the ATM to give him the equivalent Thai baht. Never fear, I’m always in Brazil, so those Reais he gave me will be put to good use. Unfortunately for Tiago, the Reais to Baht rate has not had the same trajectory as the dollar, and lost some value since 2017. Nevertheless, he is still saving money exchanging banknotes with me, than if through those money changers: 2. Transportation It was important for me to get an AirBNB with a washer and dryer, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, and some basic kitchen stuff, for this trip. Like I said earlier, after 2 weeks and half living in hotels with Tiago, it was nice to have the extra space, and the homelier facilities, to be able to stretch out more. And the extra privacy is nice, not because of modesty, as Tiago and I pretty much have no boundaries at this point, but because maybe I’d need some alone time with a boy and did not want Tiago to feel out of place or left out in the apartment, and he’d have another room in the house to occupy. Also, having a separate bedroom to house for our suitcases and valuables, devotes the other bedroom just for sleeping and sex, which is great both in a compartmentalization aspect and logistical aspect with hiring boys and having personal valuables isolated in a separate room. But having this perfect oasis meant picking an AirBNB a little bit further away from Patpong. The apartment I chose was still in the Silom area, but was a 25 minute walk to Patpong. However, GrabTaxi is easy enough to get, and is just a 65 baht ride away ($1.83), but today I decide to take the BTS with Tiago to show him where it was, how to buy fare, how much money it costs, how to use Google Maps to know what station to look for to get to your destination, etc. We use the BTS that was closest to the AirBNB to get to Siam Paragon, the glitzy shopping center to eat some lunch and window shop. Stock photo: Granted, Tiago is going to stay at a city that is not Bangkok (I choose to keep this unmentioned for reasons mentioned earlier), and will not have a BTS/MRT system to lean on, but nevertheless its good to know what is out there (I also talked to him about Tuktuks, Baht Buses, and regular buses). In reality though, Tiago is going to rent a motorbike during his 6-month stay for 1500 baht a month, which is roughly $45. Seems pretty cheap to me, but Tiago says that that’s what his Brazilian colleagues have been doing. 3. Food One of the main draws, if not the number one draw, of Thailand for me is the delicious food. I would like to think that I am pretty adventurous when it comes to my food choices, and for some reason Thailand that has that variety and balance that I look for when it comes to cuisine. So for lunch, we go to Taling Pling at Siam Paragon, which seems to be a staple for me everytime I find myself in Thailand. I of course order the Tom Yum soup with shrimp. I can’t get enough of that. Ordering for Tiago was a different matter. Like I said, the Brazilians aren’t particularly fond of spicy food, so his options are limited. The options in Thailand are still plentiful though, so the shrimp fried rice, soft shell crab, and Thai omelette that I picked for him was a winner. He ate all of that and wanted more. Tiago has mentioned his gym will serve regular Brazilian food everyday for 50 baht a meal, or $1.4 dollars. Pretty cheap again, but they are a group there so they can save up. After window shopping, and finding some items at Uniqlo, we head over to Siam Square to eat dessert at After You Dessert Café. BurBoy (remember him?) introduced me to this decadent café, and no Bangkok trip of mine can be complete without trying one of their Kakigoris (shaved ice dessert): It was sweet, not spicy, so Tiago devoured it all. Closing footnote: I find most of Bangkok unchanged this side of the pandemic. Everything felt the same, the same things were still at the same places. My usual haunts before the pandemic were still there. The traffic was still atrocious. The BTS still filled up during peak hours. The only thing that stood out was the mask wearing, which was understandable. It's kind of hard to wear a mask when you’re sweating in the heat and humidity, but it sure beats the alternative. With the removal of the Thai Pass requirement to enter Thailand, I’d say that Thailand is truly back, and I am very happy about that. There is some sadness though. Apart from the loss of lives due to the disease of course, it is sad to see some businesses have remained closed, sometimes it looks like for good, and that is more than likely is due to the pandemic rendering certain business unable to sustain themselves through the hard times. Screw Boy? Lucky Boys? All still closed. Don’t they know I'm back? And probably the saddest of all, Oasis Restaurant, with @vinapu's Award Winning Chicken and Cashew Nuts ™, is still closed, and looks like in disrepair: Next, a boy bar for a Monday Night. This next one should be obvious given my taste.

LOL that's funny. i wish I have that power. Then I'd have them reopen Soi Twilight next. WINNER! Also winner! Two posters who have met me in real life. You guys really know me well. Thank you for the very kind words @bkkmfj2648! I haven't read any of Rush's work but maybe i should. And yes the map, when I found it on that website, just had to be posted. Appreciate the complement @kjun12. Bangkok is a great subject matter to write about for sure. I am not sure if there are bottom out of the "stars" in the Moonlight roster, but I know some of the rest of the boys available there do bottom (have tried at least 3, including MonBoy). It was the same for me. Stepping into that Soi for the first time was pure sensory overload. the fact that it was a narrower street with the bars so close together and everyone was bumping into each other, that was a gift. I hope something like that can be reconstituted down the road. Silom Soi 4 has the makings of it, it just needs more bars to make it a worthy successor.

I was gonna, say, when did this happen @scott456 lol. Then you gave some context, so I dug up that snippet you posted, shown here: Yes, that is true, but I did not date him in the U.S. Gosh, I wish he did, that would've saved a lot money going back and forth to... Portugal. He was my first Brazilian bf, and he lived in Lisbon at that time. I met him in Lisbon, and "dated" him long-distance. So to bring it back to the topic of this thread: @floridarobyou know me very well, and for a few years now, so yes you would have seen the evolution from absolutely no Brazil whatsoever in brain to what I am now. My advice, if you're just starting out: 1. Apps: I've never really learned as much from apps like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, but if you're just starting out, I guess the repetition of these apps would benefit you, just to increase your vocabulary. Its funny that I've tried to learn other languages using Rosetta Stone and Duolingo but never really got fluent, but I've never tried learning PT on the apps and got fluent because... 2. Private lessons worked well for me. I'd recommend https://streetsmartbrazil.com or private tutors from https://preply.com. It'll be on your own pace, and you can tailor the lessons to what you want to know (tourist phrases, basic greetings, verb conjugation etc). It was worth every penny for me. When I started, I did about 2 months of classes and then that's all it took to get over the hump and after that I learned and practiced further fine on my own. 3. Increasing vocabulary is key: Like @scott456 said, I've learned Spanish in school, and the vocabulary of Spanish words I remembered from that was fairly useful for portuguese. I'd learn a word a day, and verbs are key as always, from either apps in the phone if you search "portuguese word a day" or sites like https://www.transparent.com/word-of-the-day/today/portuguese.html. And don't just read the words, try to say them out loud/pronounce them, correctly. These sites (and Google Translate) can sound out the word for you so you can say it correctly. 4. Get used to how PT sounds: If you're American like me, you're used to how Mexicans speak and therefore how Spanish sounds like, from TV or from neighbors. But you are never really exposed to spoken Portuguese in America. So listening to PT is as important as speaking PT. You have to get used to how Brazilian PT is spoken and pronounced. Once you have increased your vocabulary, you can identify the words you know from listening to PT, and you get used to how it sounds. Another tip: try to start to watch Brazilian shows, first with english subtitles, so you know what is going on, and then with PT subtitles on, so you can read what they are saying, and know how words you recognize are pronounced. I recommend the Netflix show O Mecanismo. They seem to speak PT with the least amount of "girias" or slang, which could trip you up when you are starting, but eventually useful down the road. 5. Practice, practice, practice: You will never be fluent in any language if you don't practice with people who speak the language, and who are able to correct you and give you tips on your delivery. I'm sure once you are in Brazil you can do this, but while you are at home, that's what these private tutors are for. Let us know how you do. And maybe we can meet up one day in BR and you can dazzle us with your newfound PT skills.

Day 1.5: Just like riding a bike So we slingshotted from the muggy streets of JBR Beach in Dubai at 3 AM, to the damp streets of Silom in Bangkok at 12 midnight, in under just 13 hours, we really didn’t have any time to stop and smell the roses. Until now. We wandered our way from Moonlight to Patpong, where the cluster of boy bars resided. Not many people were still out and about, and I wasn't sure if it was because it's already 12 midnight on a Sunday, or it just rained, or because of the lingering pandemic, or all of the above. I was expecting the usual throng of people milling about, and street vendors hawking food and souvenirs, and massage therapists enticing you with their brand of relaxation, and with all the smells and the heat that is in this part of the world, made a heady mixture in the air that can make you delirious and keep wanting more. Instead it was almost solemn, peaceful, sleepy. Not dead, or empty, just tranquil and serene. We walked, without urgency, only purpose, to Patpong. Tiago held my hand, as he has been accustomed to do in Brazil, and as he was forbidden to do in the Middle East. “This is fine, right?” he asks me, as he squeezes the hand he was holding. I assured him it was. We were in Bangkok after all. And not just any place, we were in Silom. This place is legendary. You just had to see it to believe it existed. No Bangkok guidebook or Tripadvisor review or Instagram post can capture its true essence. You only had to hear about it, to know it’s worth visiting. And once you do, there’s no way you want to leave. Well, ok, that was the Silom of old. The Silom of right now was kind of a sleepy place, at least at this hour. As we make our way into Patpong 2, Tiago notices a bar that advertised Muay Thai fights on its street sign. It was the Pink Panther. “Are there fights here?” he asked, interested in seeing something that is in his line of work. I’ve never been, but I answered that “I think there are, but this place is mostly a girlie joint.” Tiago then asks “And we are not doing any girl stuff this trip right?” I laugh. I know that these bisexual Brazilians will fuck anything in sight, but I tell him “Maybe, if you’re good,” just to tease him. You have to admit, that Patpong 2 is a poor substitute for Soi Twilight. Yes, thank goodness that a lot of the refugee bars from Soi Twilight found a home on Patpong 2, but the Soi is bookended by girlie bars, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Foodland ™ was smack dab in the middle of all the action. Gone are the days that most of the gay bars were concentrated in a focused strip of a street, with touts manhandling you to compete for your attention as you make your way through the Soi. A bit of that still happens, but it's just not the same. Perhaps, it is just following a world trend that has done away with gay neighborhoods, and welcoming a more integrated world. We are the victims of our own success. We demanded for visibility and equality, and once we've achieved it, we became just like everyone else, sandwiched between girlie bars. Probably outdated, still interesting, from bangkokeyes.com The tout of Fresh Boys was the first to greet us, trying very hard for us to get to go enter the bar. “No thank you,” was my answer, even with the tout promising that the boys were fresher here than anywhere else on the Soi. I dragged Tiago away from the tout to get to the nexus of Dream Boy and Hot Male. And before their respective touts had a chance to plead their cases, a boyish voice suddenly shouts “Numazu, what the hell are you doing here?” And the voice used my real name too. Tiago asks, “How does he know your name?” I answer “The same reason everyone in Sao Paulo knows my name." Let's call him HM, the bar boy extraordinaire of Hot Male, who shouted out that sentence alerting boys in even as far as Jupiter (the bar? the planet? your call) that Numazu has arrived. He runs over to hug me. I introduce Tiago, who then hugs HM in return. “Your boyfriend?” HM asks, of course. “Yes,” and I fill him in the details of our trip. He then fills me in about the scene, what he has been doing, and regaled me with stories of mutual friends, and heartaches, that I have been witness to in the past. It was like catching up with an old friend. And he truly was an old friend. A sexy old friend. Tiago, meanwhile, was getting some attention from the tout of Hot Male, who was enticing him to go up to see some hot males to his bar. “I don’t know what he wants me to do,” he tells me, not understanding Thai accented English. “He was asking you if we wanted to go upstairs to another boy bar. He asked me if I wanted to. I said sure, why not, since we are here. I bid adieu to the town crier and headed up over to Hot Male. There was still a lot of people inside Hot Male even if it was after the show. About 4 groups of people, with a variety of boys sprinkled in there. As we get settled in our seats, and get our drink order (water and rum coke – weak af), I see that there were 5 guys onstage with their dicks hanging out on full display. I’d say that they were all nice looking, so it was pleasant sight to see. Tiago of course, asked about this display of dicks, so I give him a rundown of what I usually see in a boy bar. He then asks about HM, how I know him, where he was from, and asked me if HM's English was fluent. I said it was, and its fairly advanced compared to the average working boy, and it is better than even (Tiago's) English. He asked how this was possible, since he was having a hard time getting to that level of fluency. I told him that HM probably learned the most from all the farangs he has met through the years, just practicing with them, not afraid to make mistakes and open in being corrected, etc. Tiago said that he took classes in Brazil but still struggles. Hot Male didn’t have a lot of boys in the bar, but the ones they had were a pretty nice selection. I could see offing almost everyone in the bar at this moment, but we already had that pending off. One stand out for me was this guy. Amazing body and cute face. Could be fun: I get a text from MonBoy saying he was wrapping up and asked me where we could meet him. Told him we will wait for him on Patpong 2. And then one by one, people at Hot Male got up and left. We pay for our two drinks, and descend back to street level. After a few minutes of banter with HM, MonBoy shows up. HM does a double take, and then greets him, in Burmese, Thai? Of course HM knows him, and knows him being with me in the past. He bids all of us farewell as he helps close down his bar. I order a Grab Taxi, and soon the three of us are bunched in together in the back seat. I was in the middle. Tiago rests put his hand on my thigh as he looks out at the scenery. MonBoy held my hand and rested his head on my shoulder. We get home, and Tiago immediately takes off his shirt, as it was hot. MonBoy suddenly gets bashful. He sits on the couch, saying nothing, while Tiago and I get comfortable at home. I sense MonBoy’s sudden shyness and ask him if he wanted to shower. He said he just showered so he was fine. Tiago, eager for a shower, strips naked as the day he was born, and heads for the shower in the guest bedroom. MonBoy laughs, perhaps not used to such immodest manner from clients. “Why don’t we shower together?” I ask him. OK he said. He takes off his shirt, and takes the rest of his clothes in the free bathroom. I join him, stark naked. I have known every angle of every nook and every cranny of MonBoy’s body. I was eager to see how it feels after almost 3 years of not seeing him. There, in the shower, I see that he has not changed much. He still has that bronze skin that was smooth as silk. His torso was a leaner than before, still athletic, still fit as ever, but he was noticeably smaller. Except the ass, all its glory is still there. Two perfect mounds. The cock was the cock, he still has that famous bigger than average cock. And the face, maybe a little bit more worn, gaunter, but still beautiful as ever before. After some initial soap and rinse down, we make out. He still is the best kisser I’ve ever had in Thailand. He certainly knows how to do it, or at least how I wanted it. I stroke his dick, it gets to attention. After some more foreplay, I reach for the towel to dry us off. We emerge from the bathroom and find Tiago laying on the bed, stroking his dick on one hand, his phone on the other, watching a video. He puts the phone away when he sees us emerge. MonBoy gets shy again looking at me, and then at Tiago, and then at Tiago’s dick. I tell Tiago, in Portuguese, that MonBoy is a little bit shy. Tiago gets the hint and stands up, to make some space, dick swinging with his motion. What followed was a little bit awkward, but nonetheless fun to explore and try out. MonBoy eventually got settled in bed, but couldn’t get hard again like he was in the shower. Tiago asked if he was in the way, but MonBoy assured us he was fine with the two of us being there. The kissing was hot, everyone tried to suck each other, which was hot. Tiago was really into rimming MonBoy, which was fun to watch. Monboy probably embarrassed with his shy penis, offered to bottom for both of us. I asked MonBoy if he has taken anyone as big as Tiago before. MonBoy assured us he did. I’ve seen MonBoy take dick like a champion before. Tonight was not one of those nights. He tried tho, which was in itself a triumph. Tiago came jacking himself off while rimming MonBoy. I came while jacking myself off, Tiago sucking my nipples, and MonBoy making out with me. MonBoy stayed being shy. Which was fine. We all shower after, with again Tiago in the second bathroom and MonBoy and me in the master. MonBoy asks to stay for a little bit because he wants to take the BTS/MRT home and it doesn’t start up till morning. I offer a GrabTaxi and he says its just easier for him to use the train. Tiago settles in the bed and gets to deep slumber almost immediately. I plop myself in the middle while MonBoy settles in beside me. It was a long day, and it all hit me and put me to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Everything that happened tonight was very familiar. It was like those 2 and a half years never happened. And I got on the saddle really quick. It was just like riding a bike. Well, almost. I guess Tiago’s bike was too large for MonBoy to ride. It doesn’t matter. As long as you are along for the ride, that’s what counts. Next, the morning after…

Day 1: The Quarantine 15 It’s no secret that my preference is for guys with a little bit of muscle on them. That’s just a preference, it’s like if men were all on a grocery store shelf, it’s the first one I’d pick out of the rest. But that does not mean that sometimes I'll venture further into the aisle and pick something fat-free, or something with more fat content, or something saltier (I don’t know what that means). I go with what is fun at the moment, and that kind of open-mindedness was improved by the pandemic, another unintended consequence of the event that changed all our lives. So in picking the bar to go to tonight, being pressed for time, I decided on the low hanging fruit, the one that has worked for me in the past, filled with my usual preference for boys. I also had to balance that with what Tiago, my companion, would enjoy the most as well. Granted, that this is his first time going into a Thai boy bar, or any bar that had escorts (he has not been to the saunas in Brazil, he said), so he was eager to just experience it all. So I had to pick one with a decent show. So there was just one bar I could think of that fit all this – Moonlight Bangkok. My first impression of Moonlight, July 2018: They are adept in using social media to evangelize their brand of boy bar. Which I admit bode well for them in the lonely months during quarantine. It is always interesting how any establishment that depends highly on reputation and hype dealt with the pandemic. In March 2020, as the world closed itself to deal with the pandemic, I remember Moonlight going from hyping Songkran 2020 (to which I was looking forward to): to temperature checks in March 15, 2020 (they tried!): to closure in March 18, 2020, with an expectation to reopen in 2 weeks (just like me who thought this was just a 2 week thing): to continued closure: to some reason the Moonlight models working at HotMale bar: to a final reopening at the end of September 2020: And a great show soon after, with an amazing model, Mr Jack, and his “sexist” underwear. i wish he would come back, he is hot: Through it all, they’ve maintained their social media presence, keeping the light on in that sense, and always kept everyone informed about next steps. I think with all the uncertainty with what pandemic has brought in our lives, having this reliable source of info, good or bad, was a comfort. Kudos to the management of that establishment, I think this should be an example on how to do social media, and customers are not left with gossip and hearsay to sustain them during those dark days. Back to the present: Happy Beer Garden has never changed. For some reason one of the waiters recognized me and asked me how I was. I do not remember him at all. Anyway, after a few pleasantries, I told him we were in a hurry to make a 10:30 PM show at Moonlight so we had to get our food in a jiffy. Since Tiago is Brazilian, he does not like spicy food, so I had to scour for the mild offerings in the menu. I settled on a chicken dish with rice, which he still thought was spicy. I told him to get used to it, since he’ll be here for 6 months. I also got a Thai Icea Tea to calibrate my taste buds and remind it how awesome Thai food was and to get ready for its many delights. Luckily the waiter was true to his word and we were out there in 15 minutes, which gave us plenty of time to saunter over that unpronounceable alley way off of Surawong Rd to Moonlight. I guess Mr. Nut is now the face of Moonlight? Great choice. Things that felt familiar: the 400 baht entrance fee with welcome drink, no changes in seating and stage. AC was on full blast. We get guided by a mamasan to our seats, which was toward the back and at the center, which I thought was pretty good seating. Tiago sat down, and looked around, took it in, smiling the whole time. He looked across the room, and found 3 boys, some in underwear, some shirtless, some in tank tops, some in pants. The boys rotated, but it was always 3 at a time on stage. Tiago then had a million questions, possibly the same exact questions I had when it was my first time in this bar, and in a Bangkok boy bar. Yes, all the boys are available for sex. Yes, you can use the number to identify the boy you want to off. No, most of them are Thai, but some are from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. A boy costs probably 2000 baht to 5000 baht, depending on the boy snd the length of the off. Yes, most of them are tops, but there are a lot of bottoms as well. And the most important answer – Maybe, I can get a boy, but only if you’re comfortable with it. Tiago looks at me and shrugs. He tells me he always defers to me for that. “Let’s see who is hot among these guys,” he said. We were asked our drinks. Tiago, who doesn’t drink, ordered a water. I ordered a “rum coke”, which was a test drink I would order in every bar in order to judge who served the stiffest drink. This is a test I’ve employed in other establishments, and there was oftentimes a correlation between how good or strong my cuba libre (rum and coke) was to how much fun I’d have that night, since cocktails are of differing quality in the world. Tiago asks how much the drink was, I tell him it was roughly 55 Brazilian reais. “That seems really expensive,” he says. I tell him that this is like an entry fee, and tell him the entry fee to the Sao Paulo’s Lagoa sauna is 65 reais, without any drinks. And I tell him that we get to see this one-hour show, so it all is pretty worth it. The drink was pretty weak. Not a good sign lol. Before the show started, I see a familiar face among the rotating boys. The boy who has defined all my Thailand visits. The boy who other offs has been measured against – MonBoy, the Myanmar boy from Mon State. My first impression of him, in June 2017: I tell Tiago the cliff notes of my past relationship with MonBoy. He takes a look at him and tell me to invite him to sit with us. I mention to him to come over. He bows, but was hesitant, and then gets off the stage and goes over a group of 4 Thais sitting just to the left of the stage and talked to them for a bit. MonBoy then goes over to us. “Where sitting?” Mon Boy asks. Tiago schooches over to make a space between us so MonBoy can be sandwiched in between. Good sign. He greets both of us, and then leans on me and asks “Your boyfriend?” pertaining to Tiago. Good question. When we were planning the Doha-Dubai-Bangkok trip, Tiago brought up the subject of what were supposed to be to each other while traveling. This question came up when we went on that trial run to Mexico, when he was showing immigration hotel accommodations for Cancun where we were staying, which had both our names on it. He told immigration that I was his boyfriend, and I was American, which was code for “Don’t worry about the Brazilian entering your country, he is with an American who will pay for everything.” He even showed the immigration people our pics together (chaste ones having dinner, walking along Paulista Street, at the gym). I told him sure, this will work for Thailand too, but not in Qatar, or the United Arab Emirates. Not true, it did work, indirectly, in Dubai, where we checked in together at the Hilton. When we handed over our passports, the handsome check-in guy asked us if we needed a King size bed instead of two doubles. I replied “King, of course” and the guy didn’t even bat an eye. I reflexively said “Yes, he is my boyfriend,” after introducing him as such for a better part of 2 weeks now. MonBoy then looks at Tiago and shook his hand. Tiago, all Brazilian, pulls him in for a hug. They laughed. This might actually work out. After some initial greetings, MonBoy tells me that he is actually committed to a short time encounter with the Thais he talked to before. But he says that he can meet up after that if I was still interested. I told him of course. He gives me a kiss in the cheek, and gets Tiago’s left hand and kisses his hand, and leaves. This works out, no payment of an off fee. I explain the situation to Tiago. The show starts, and quite frankly, nothing has changed in the numbers, the drag queens, and the quality of the show. It’s like I’ve never left and just saw this same show the week before. I knew certain songs were different, and some numbers were different, but it all just felt the same. What changed me for, however, was I was with Tiago. He kept asking first-timer questions that were interesting and funny. Like “Is that really a guy,” or “Do Asian boys kiss like Brazilians,” or “Do these shows also exist in Brazil?” I tell him, no. The shows in saunas in Brazil were kind of different. Some drag queens, yes, depending on the venue, but the males did not have elaborate numbers like here. In Brazil, it was just a man, a very muscular man, stripping sensually to nothing but his undies, and then showing his ass, and then his erection, after the number was over. “Which one do you prefer? This, or Brazil’s way?” he asks. I think about it for a minute. I tell him it depends. Sometimes I like this spectacle and disciplined dance numbers. Sometimes I’d just like to see a large cock. So, “Os dois – Both,” was my final answer. “Very American of you,” he tells me. That was not the first time he has called me as such during this trip. Just some asides, and this might sound a bit petty, but I did notice some models were a little less defined than before. Don't get me wrong, they still look fine. The pandemic was hard to us all, and I am in no prized shape either. Maybe its because I was with Tiago, and therefore I was measuring everything with his (fairly large) measuring stick, but judge for yourself. 2019 in the left, when I left them last, and 2022 how I’ve seen them now: Mr York Mr Tum Or maybe they just had a big dinner, who knows. I did like Mr Korn A LOT. He has this cocky humbleness to him, and once in a while he would smirk and I see possibilities. Maybe a future off: The show finishes. Some live entertainment was next, and as advertised, it was pretty fun, and the vocalist, May, was pretty good I think this was a good addition to the bar. If we weren't tired, we would have stayed longer: I get a message from MonBoy, telling me he is going to his client’s hotel. We leave Moonlight. I tell him we were going to Patpong, to see what’s up. Next post, another Boy Bar to go to (which one, can you guess), and a familiar face, next.

Day 0: Brazil on my mind, even in Thailand Needless to say that I have changed some personal information of certain individuals mentioned, due to some weird stalkers in this site. So Brazil had me for itself for a better part of a year and a half during the pandemic. And when you get to know a place for that long on a regular basis, you tend to get to settle on what works for you best, after the initial novelty wears off. After running wild through the famous saunas of Brazil, I’ve actually grown tired of it all, believe it or not. Don’t get me wrong, sex with a variety of beautiful guys will always be on the table for me, but during this time, working remotely in Brazil had me looking for something more substantial, after getting tired of the run-of-the-mill sauna-show-cabine-programa routine. Because of the dire economic circumstances the pandemic has left some of the less fortunate of us, you can find that even more boys are available than usual. Most of them are after money, of course, but I have found that a few of them needed something else. I’ve certainly have met a few very interesting guys, who would not sell themselves in a Brazilian sauna, nor expose themselves in escort websites, but would like to earn a few dollars from you. I found these guys mostly from referrals from other boys, and they appreciate the discretion you give them, not being found out by familiars in saunas or websites, and they will pretty much do anything for you. And then there are those, when I tell them I am going to Europe or Dubai for some work or vacation for a few weeks, ask for just a one-way ticket to the place in question, and they will be more than willing (thrilled in fact) to accompany you during your stay, free of charge (you pay for incidentals of course), and when its time for me to go, they opt to stay in Barcelona or Paris or Dubai or London, where they try to earn the money they were after in the first place (by usually escorting). I am probably responsible for a (not) significant amount of Brazilians ending up in Europe or the Middle East, using this method. And then there’s this Brazilian guy who wanted to Thailand. Let’s call him Tiago. He is 28, European facial features, always bronzed skin, and let’s just say he is from the south of the country. Beautiful, of course, with a MMA fighter's body. Oddly enough, I met him at a Smart Fit Gym in Sao Paulo. He was a personal trainer there, and a working boy introduced me to him in one my visits to his gym. He didn’t work at the sauna in Sao Paulo, nor did he sell himself in the websites. He did, however, belong to a Jiu Jitsu team in Sao Paulo, and did personal training on the side to pay the bills. He has done some MMA fights (20+), but wanted to train in Muay Thai, in Thailand, to expand his resume. He intended to stay for 6 months in Thailand, and has saved up enough for the gym fees and accommodation in his chosen Muay Thai school. What he didn’t have was the airfare to get to Thailand. There has always been a Thailand-Brazil connection I wasn’t aware about till this trip. So during the next few months we talked about it that possibility, in between some dates and gym training with him, of course. Throughout all that he didn’t ask me for any tips during my time with him in Brazil, I guess to sell me the idea that he is trustworthy and worthy of the cost of an air ticket. So when I told him in April that I was thinking about going to Thailand, after a trip to the Middle East, he said that was perfect timing, because that would get him back to Brazil in December, in time for Christmas and the Holidays. He even made himself available for the two weeks before to accompany me with some business in Doha and Dubai, before heading over to Thailand. I told him I’d go the extra mile and take him personally to his Muay Thai gym, which was not in Bangkok, but was a plane ride away. He was excited, and so was I. I was as curious to get to know more about this side of his life, as he was about going. I took him for a test run to a nearby country just to see if we were gonna be good travel buddies. He passed with flying colors. So in the next few weeks we try to get our requirements ready for Thailand. As we were entering Bangkok in mid-June, we didn’t have to do a COVID test to get to enter Thailand, but we still needed to complete the Thai Pass, which was easy enough since we were both vaxxed and boostered and he was able to get official documents and QR codes from the Brazilian health authority after some expected red tape. We still needed COVID tests to get into Qatar, and to complete their version of Thai Pass (Ehteraz), but that was easy to do as well, with my help. I guess after going through all this for almost two years, a few more QR codes was just easy-peasy for me to complete. Two weeks in the Middle East with Tiago was a blast. He was game for a lot of my shenanigans, kept fit in the hotel gyms while I was working, and on my free times, he devoured all the tours and walking that was needed to explore the rich wonders of the area. He was even open to certain sexual exploration if he thought it would be fun to join in, and left me alone if he knew I wanted some alone time. Through it all those two weeks just flew by, and pretty soon it was time to go to Thailand. We were in Dubai to catch our Qatar Airways flight to Bangkok via Doha. I decided to cash-in some Avios points from my British Airways account and buy us Business Class tickets, which was a just a surprisingly cheap 40k each from Dubai to Bangkok. Since our flight was at 5:30 AM, we decided to not sleep the night before and just enjoy Dubai nightlife. After an interesting encounter with some gay Emiratis hanging out at a Starbucks in the JBR district in Dubai, we were on our way to the airport at 3 AM. At the check-in counter, the nice Qatar Airways lady didn’t even check our Thai passes or COVID vaccination cards or any of his documentation. She was flirty and had some tips for Thailand, since she’s been there once. We played along, and got our tickets eventually, if we were cutting it close to boarding time. She ended with bidding us good luck, and she was sure we will have a great time, since we were men. Not sure what that meant but we ended that convo. We were actually the last ones to check in. And the last ones to board. Still, Qatar Airways is famous for its top notch in-flight service, so we were pampered all throughout. I am always amazed by their first class service on one-hour flights. They are still able to get us 3 drinks and some yummy breakfast even with the very short (40-minute) flight from Dubai to Doha: Doha airport on a Sunday was a madhouse. The place was packed. And there were almost no places to sit at the Biz class lounge but we managed. This was indeed a sign the time of COVID restricted travel was over. There was still mask wearing in the airport but that was the only apparent thing I can see that was COVID-related. Since we were super tired from not sleeping the night before, we slept the whole 6 hour and half plane ride from Doha to Bangkok. We got woken up by the flight attendant to say that we had to unrecline our seats for the initial plane descent. Still, five stars to Qatar Airways, we were still served a full dinner while we were descending, since we missed all the in-flight service. As we landed, I got a bit of goosebumps and got excited. I was too tired to actually think about it before, but it just dawned on me now that I was going to be in Thailand after 2 and half years of being away. I started going to Thailand in 2014, and after a few years, the novelty has worn off. But after being away for that long I think the distance was all I needed to recharge my longing for Thailand once again. Tiago, of course, was beside himself. He was super excited to start his life in his new home. Once we were our of the plance we raced to immigration. All this was still super familiar to me, the walk to the immigration desks. We eventually got to the intermediary desks, the Thai Pass station: It was painless, they just needed to see the QR code, passports and COVID vaccine card. They attached stickers to our shirts saying we passed Thai pass and we were on our way to immigration. Since Tiago’s English was not that good, I knew I had to help him with this process (as I did in Doha and Dubai). At the immigration desk, I got my usual 30-day stamp. When it was Tiago’s turn, the immigration officer confirmed if the dates in the immigration card were correct. I said yes, so Tiago got his 90-day stamp. No other documentation was asked. Not the letters of invitation Tiago has from his Muay Thai gym, not our COVID vaccinations, not his yellow fever vaccine he got because that was requirement by the Thai government. Figures. And I always wondered, why people from the USA or UK or some other rich country can only get 30 day tourist stays in Thailand at a time, while Brazilians and Colombians, among others, can get 90 days? After getting our luggage, I immediately get 20,000 baht from the ATM. Then, as a favor, I immediately got Tiago a Thai SIM card from dtac for 90 days, which cost 1100 baht. I didn’t need one since I got Google Fi cell service. I then swiftly guide us to the ground floor to the taxi line, got a taxi ticket from the thingie, found our taxi number and taxi stand, flashed our AirBNB’s address and directions, in Thai, to our driver, and we were on our way, for a 40 minute ride to Silom. Along the way, Tiago commented on how efficient I was with getting things done at the airport. I told him that Thailand was a very familiar place to me, and I still knew how things were done even after years away. Since Tiago was Brazilian and naturally warm, he immediately tried to talk to the driver, who obliged with Tiago’s broken English and answered with some broken English of his own. Noone understood anyone though, since the accents were unfamiliar to each other, even if both were speaking English. Except to me of course, I was used to hearing both accents, so I was there to pretty much smoothen out the conversation. It was pretty entertaining, and pretty soon we arrived at the AirBNB. I chose to stay at an AirBNB for our Bangkok stay, after staying in hotels for two weeks in Doha and Dubai. An AirBNB will afford us many creature comforts that hotels won’t have, like a washer and dryer in the unit (two weeks in the middle east meant we needed clean clothes), two bedrooms for cheap (more on this later), and some basic kitchen stuff if we needed to make something. Also, it’ll give Tiago a glimpse of Thai domestic life that he will be living in pretty soon, something that is not apparent in the insular confines of, say, the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park, even if I love that hotel sooooo much. It was 9:20 PM by the time we got to the apartment. I knew I wanted to at least check out a boy bar or two, even if we were both tired, so we had to hurry. And Tiago was hungry. So to save time, we showered together (hot water in the unit worked!), and prepared for the night ahead. Since it was raining, I decided to get us a Grab Taxi (which I downloaded on my phone on the way to the apartment), and set up our destination to the first restaurant I thought of that served food really quickly: Happy Beer Garden. As we get off the taxi and before we go in to eat, I look across the street: The end of Soi Twilight, and the beginning of something else. I remember that I when I used to eat at Happy Beer Garden, when it was around 8 or 9 PM, and I’d hear boys shouting at me from across the street, sitting in bars that don’t exist anymore, enticing us to join in the fun once I was done with dinner. Those were amazing times. I wonder if those time will ever come back. Probably not, as Soi Twilight was not coming back. Time to make me new memories. Next post, guess which bar we went to first?