Londoner

Interesting; my experience, as already mentioned was the same and I too arrived at that time. Are there good and bad times to arrive? I always thought that late afternoon was a busy period.

Not this old chestnut again. Its origins lie in another forum a few years ago and the posts it produced were sickening. I'm not surprised you "saw nothing of that"; it was always a fantasy propagated by a couple of individuals toying with racial stereotypes. I cannot believe there 's a safer place to wander at night than Pattaya....as long as you watch out for all the traffic, not just fantasy Arabs on motorcys! Not to mention broken pavements.

I know-knew- three of them: Tuk Com, Royal Garden top floor and Central. And they are now all gone. For those who didn't try them, they were slightly cheaper versions of MK, minus the cute waiters and waitresses* (they were buffet style) but with the benefit of free soft drinks and , significantly for me, free sweets which included unlimited Panna Cottas. Sadly, not MK's unmissable roast duck though. If a meal for falang+ boyfriend (non-drinkers) in MK cost 800bht or so, Hotpot's version was 500/600. Good value. Perhaps too good to survive. * And now those d**n robots.

I agree with that. I'm no lover of BKK but I find the journey from the airport into the city -traffic notwithstanding- nothing less than thrilling, even if it can be frustrating.

Macaroni21 makes reasonable points but our experiences in Pattaya, Chiang Mai and (briefly) Bangkok weren't different to those of non-gay tourists. We visited temples in and around Chiang Mai and the beaches and numerous restaurants in Jomtien and Pattaya, staying at hotels which were not specifically "gay". And no bars of any kind, by the way. And yes, China is the key. The booming Indian market cannot replace it and replicate its spending power.

It depends on what you mean by a beach view. The row of hotels overlooking Dongtan certainly have uninterrupted views of the sea but you'd have to check whether a particular room has one. Those hotels have narrow beach fronts for obvious reasons, stretching a long way back as far as the Pattaya road where the main entrances tend to be. I assume that the rooms with the best views will be priced accordingly. And will be the most in demand.

Is it being suggested that our experiences in Thailand are so bad that we won't return? Not in my case, anyway. I'm now just ending my second trip since the re-opening, with a third one only fourteen weeks away. Prices are still good-in particular restaurants and hotels- at least the Bkk, Chiang Mai and Pattaya ones we've been in- and, as far as concerned, no suggestion of a hike in prices.

On our return from Chiang Mai a week ago, the wait for luggage was only five minutes....perhaps the domestic services are better? After all, most of the passengers on my flight had hand-luggage only.....a d**n nuisance, by the way, since the overhead trays were clogged. In fairness, however, there was one carousel in that area suffering problems, resulting in hordes of passengers- I believe from more than one flight- crowding around it anxiously.

It was difficult enough for me to engage in any sort of verbal contact with the guys I offed from bar. An inevitably better-looking and wealthier falang would have made it impossible!

How on earth did those of us in Jomtien get into Pattaya itself last night? We watched a few baht-buses trundle past us with determined travellers hanging on the back for dear life- not just the usual three or four- and then saw a family anxiously waiting for a bus at 1900...which never arrived! And where could the buses drop their passengers? I've no doubt that 2nd Road was clogged with traffic. We were in Central at midday and even then central Pattaya was at a near-standstill. i saw footage on You tube; it looked a good show but I feel for those who never made it there. Particularly that family in Jomtien.

No, no and....no. Never have been sociable. But there was an occasion in Pattaya when I was exactly that. It was my during first trip in 1995 . I used to have a pre bar-opening drink in Panorama, and often found myself in fascinating conversation with other falangs. I'd only been "out" for a couple of years and being able to talk with other gay men was delightful after all those years of silence and repression..

Yes. It's not large....the buffet offered by Amora in Chiang Mai , a huge place where we stayed last week- was bigger and better, if more expensive. Agate is a relatively small place, after all. But it suits our needs, particularly in view of the fact that we eat early.

"Nobody had bothered to inform me...." Yes, me too. Prices good, planes fine, plenty of staff to assist but a change of time without notice on Sunday was a d**n nuisance. The real plus for me is that the airline is based at Swampy, meaning that the taxi trip to Pattaya is only an hour, as opposed to an eternity from DMK where most other budget airlines are based, particularly if the flight arrives in the evening.

My performance scrutinised? As P. often says, "OMG".

We used Thai Vietjet for our recent BKK-CNX trip; has anyone else had experience of this airline?

The Agate buffet breakfast is now available. We find it more convenient, both in terms of opening-times and the and variety of food on offer, than when we had to breakfast elsewhere on our previous visit. The cost is 200 bht for a cooked course- Western and Asian- bread/toast, cereal and fruit with orange juice and unlimited coffee. We find it good value.

The best advice I can offer is to stop fearing that any physical problem you suffer is a symptom of cancer. I know it 's difficult but, in terms of your general well-being, those fears are probably more damaging than the symptoms you are noticing. How? I really haven't got the answer but I do know that googling symptoms is not the way.

I wanted to change some money in the Silom area yesterday....and could find no exchange booths open. Not one. i eventually had to queue up in a bank. Odd; Pattaya had plenty when I was there a few months ago.

Yes....have just met him this morning to say hallo. Also, another face from the past (in so far as it can be discerned under the mask!), a quite small guy who has worked the front desk for many a year. Good to see.

I wish you well and hope that you are suffering from my latest problem; over-anxiety concerning health issues.

Does Urban Fit in a new hotel,The Quarter, in the soi next to Tarntawan, meet your requirements?

Just arrived! I thought that travellers may welcome the latest news on what's happening at Suvarnabhumi, particularly in the light of the taxi situation and the impact of the conference taking place. My EVA flight was on time and,walking towards immigration, I was surprised how quiet the airport was. As for Immigration itself, my intention had been to head for the Fast Track but no need; there were no queues and I waltzed through. A charming young woman welcomed me warmly. It made a change from the usual Officer Grumpy I encounter! A good start but the luggage was very slow. As slow as it was when the airport was brand new and suffering teething problems. However, a SIM station is newly open directly next to the luggage belt and so I was able to buy one as I waited for perhaps thirty minutes. Now the taxis. As forecast , a huge queue. i walked further along- that's left from the exit- and to my surprise there was another taxi station I've never noticed before. And with no queue. So future travellers should ignore the queue directly in front of the exit. It's only fifty metres or so extra to walk. Feeling smug about this, i enjoyed thirty minutes of the journey ....until we arrived at Rama 4, Silom and Surawong. A frustrating crawl. The driver pointed out the Army on stand-by but I can't say that security was the issue. It was, of course, rush- hour. Back in dear old Tarntawan eventually, after three years away. Sixty visits? not sure. i recognised not one of the staff. Pleased to see that those old carpets had gone, at last. The rooms are much the same but the beds and linen are first class, better than at more expensive hotels I've stayed in here. And Tarntawan is certainly well-priced.

Yes, it was a guest house, allegedly with its own sauna. To be honest, I thought it closed many years ago. Ten? I think it may have in the same soi as Agate.

Your next trip? "Trips" more likely. Once bitten by the Thailand bug, you won't be able to escape its allure. In my case, it led me to taking early retirement so that I could spend more time there. The best decision I ever made.

I was told that they were when I booked for my trip there next week (can't wait!). However, it won't be the pre-Covid buffet; residents will have to pre-order from a menu.