Londoner

It was certainly quiet in March/April. I'd usually take a walk around the area at 2200 and it was exactly as others have said. However, on a more positive note, the Dick's Café Soi was lively, as was its corner with the Agate soi. The new-and cheap- restaurants/stands have improved the area noticeably. There are too many beer bars offering more or less the same product. Some were invariably empty of customers when at 2200. The customer base is exactly the same as it was when I arrived in Boyztown in 1995; predominantly elderly. And responding to Olddaddy's question, definitely not Asian. I'd add another issue pertinent to the JC; those who stay in Pattaya have an uncomfortable journey to reach it. We do the opposite journey, preferring to eat in Pattaya itself and we have found the bus trip infuriating since before Covd, owing to roadworks. Using taxis doesn't help. Not that Boyztown seems to have benefitted. I've just received an email from an old friend who works there telling me that it also is deserted. By the way, the Agate clientele has changed since it re-opened. Sometimes we're the only gay couple at breakfast, the other guests being in family groups. Many of them Russian.

The way things are going in some states, it'll soon be sixty. If at all.

Yes, the carpet - with its inimitable smell- was replaced by the ubiquitous flooring that graces just about every hotel in Thailand. The plumbing was improved, too. We stayed there overnight a few weeks ago. We still like it after many years of patronage and the prices offered are remarkably good.

What happened to Soi 4's Welcome Bar?

I know that some guys have a special interest in that sort of cruising - "cottaging" we call it here in the UK- but why would you want to? With the apps full of willing guys of all ages, sizes and preferences making themselves available, surely a bed in a hotel , with a shower before and after, as well as privacy and a locked door, is infinitely preferable? You should also remember that your activity may lead to public humiliation and even police trouble.

In the Good Old Days, Royal Garden was a good place, particularly around the designer clothes shops. I wonder why that was? And It was the only place in my life where I was actually approached in a toilet! Nowadays, I'm never on my own in any of the malls but I must admit I don't see any likely lads. And yes, I'd still notice.

I don't know. What I do know is that Dreamboys, Pattaya, circa 2005, was the meeting-place for a number of guys who established successful LTRs. Previously, I said I had met three but we met another couple, an American ex-pat living in Jomtien and his ex-Dreamboys dancer only last month. I was also given the names of others from posts in Facebook etc. As for "love", I wouldn't presume to be able to offer an answer but would point -out that, for centuries, traditional , straight marriages have been made for many different reasons, not all of which conform with romantic notions of love.

Of course, some falang visitors are easily seduced by their first encounters with beautiful Thai guys; I certainly was. And I've no doubt that some, overwhelmed and desperate for a partner, speak too soon of "love." Nevertheless, I'd suggest that most of us who are now happily in such relationships don't come into this category. It's probable that more, like me, were old hands at the game before meeting the right guy. And that the Thais, similarly, were not straight off an Isaan farm but had some experience of that "game." Genuine relationships are less likely to develop after a night or two of unbridled passion than over a period of time. I can understand why some are cynical. There are tourists who have been taken for a ride and have ended -up disappointed. Perhaps many. Equally, there are Thais whose falang boyfriends have been only too happy to find a younger guy when it suits them, destroying their hopes for a secure future . But I stand by my original post....and I'm echoing another forum member when I say this; a genuine relationship, despite difference in age, culture , religion and race can endure and flourish over decades, and prove to be (and here I quote) one of the best things that have happened in that person's life.

Yes. And I've also met three more in Pattaya with their LTRs, friends of P from his performing days. Two from the US, one from the UK. We may be a minority but we're real!

Undoubtedly true...and I know a number of falang men who met the loves of their lives in Thailand and thank God everyday for the blessings that followed. Some of them are members of this forum.

The JC guys use the Agate passage way to shop in the 7/11 across the road. Their presence, along with a handsome guy on the till, always cheers me.

The first time! How I envy you.....and how that August night in 1996 stays in my mind, even today.

A huge relief for a Certain Person who suffered from711 deprivation to a painful degree last month when we were at Tarntawan. And for me....well, there's inevitably a cute guy working the till to provide eye-candy. I'm told that, at least in the provinces, you can buy or order almost anything in a 711......well, why not a massage?

You could well be right but I can't remember an example off the top of my head. I suspect that you are spot-on when it comes to the cheapest options. I have noted that Agoda prices can change by the day, even the hour, in some instances.

The advantage of Agoda is that you can cancel without losing money. I've never tried this , but it may be that, faced with PeterRS's situation, you could probably do so and rebook at the cheaper price. To be honest, I wouldn't....Agoda's prices are usually good enough for us. However, if there is a hotel at which you are " face"- a regular- a direct booking may well be the better option. I have to admit that I envy those who don't book well in advance, as I always do. I'm a natural pessimist! Perhaps rightly so; our hotel-booked well in advance- was full when we arrived a few weeks ago. Anticipation and then recollection of a trip to Thailand is an important part of my enjoyment, and any insecurities about flights and bookings would disrupt the anticipation.

It may be that I have become sentimental in my old age and find myself much more comfortable with the "old" Thai culture. Or perhaps it is because, in 1997, I received a bucket of iced-water in my face while traveling on the Jomtien bus traveling at 30mph and have avoided Songkran ever since. Similarly, the traditional practice of making- not buying- kratongs, which I know took a lot of time and effort, appealed to be more than dangerous fireworks on Pattaya beach. But I suppose that's age too.

Has anyone been fortunate enough to experience the traditional ceremonies for Songkran, still practised in many areas of the country? I find the visits to elderly relatives, the sprinkling of water and the delight that is visible on the faces of the recipients touching....if only we showed similar respect here in the UK.

Agreed, and following on from an allusion to Chiang Mai, I also encountered my first mook there. I'd put my money on most of the possessors being straight.

Agreed, and following on from an allusion to Chiang Mai, I also encountered my first mook there. I'd put my money on most of the possessors being straight.

Mooks are bad enough but silicone enhanced penises worse. And don't get me started on tattoos- I know, we have differing opinions on those. But the bottom line is, why don't they leave their bodies alone? Why desecrate something already beautiful?

Has anyone any memories of pre-a/c Bangkok? I shudder when I recall nights in West African hotels with only a fan...and sometimes not even that.

On the positive side, early mornings were delightful. We are early risers and my delight was a 0630 walk along Jomtien beach....a walk shared by, I noticed, many others. But not by a Certain Person who preferred to stay in the room, much to my disappointment! Come to think of it, most of the walkers and joggers were falangs.

Yes; the hottest few weeks I've spent in Thailand in nearly seventy-five trips. For the final two weeks, we saw not a cloud in the sky. I can only imagine what it was like in pollution-struck Bangkok.

It is also true here in the UK that religious schools tend to get better results. However, this is due to selection processes that ensure that non-denominational schools are left with the less-able and more socially disadvantaged pupils.

If Trump could be said (cynically) to have been successful in anything he did in his four year nightmare, it was to pack the benches with MAGA extremists.