Londoner

Good news for UK travellers. The EVA LHR-BKK flight, suspended for heaven knows how long and now scheduled to fly just once a week for a few weeks, is actually in the air as I post. Delayed.... but who cares? I must admit that I feared another cancellation after two disappointments and an enforced change of date.

Yes, I noticed that, although I think pressure is on all classes. Here are some possibilities. Many of us missed out on trips- in my case six- and promised ourselves that the Great Return would be special with so much money saved. For me, that meant Business Class instead of Premium Economy. EVA's Business Class prices (£3000 now and £2500 in November) are good value; consumer surveys rate it very highly. I've experienced it on up-grades and can vouch for its comfort.. And I was also aware extra space in EVA's Business Class with each seat protected by a sort of retractable barrier for privacy....I considered this an extra anti-Covid precaution. By the way, I think EVA's Business Class has been expanded....but this is only an impression. Other airlines may have made similar changes. .

I don't wish to be melancholic- particularly with my return only a week away- but when we are too old for this game, what will stay in our memories won't be a 3000bht here and there, but the pleasures such encounters gave. And still do in retrospect.

What about the numerous massage places in the Jomtien Complex? The guys seem to be visible, some in uniform, some not.

I was fascinated by vinapu's story. Some falangs develop a sense of ownership which is overpowering, and in the case of long-distance relationships, completely counter-productive...and ultimately destructive.

If you take a masseur to your hotel room, you pay a bar fine, just as you would when you off someone from a bar. This bar fine is the same as the basic fee you pay in the massage shop. So I suspect reader is correct. I was once brave, or foolhardy enough, to have massage on a recalcitrant shoulder in the Blind Masseur place in the JC. It was excruciating but, having paid the fee to the manager, I didn't think twice about paying the masseur a tip.

Yes, most of us - I know there are exceptions- seem absurdly wealthy to the guys we meet. It is sometimes hard to persuade them that money worries do affect us. Not however, hunger. Nearly all who travel to Thailand can afford a 100bht note that can mean two days of food to guys on the scene. I know some who have gone hungry and rely on the kindness of friends to eat. Accordingly, annoying though it can be , not to mention embarrassing to be taken for a fool , l refuse to make a stand and say no. Sometimes we understand very little of what's going on in the lives of the guys, not to mention the lives of their parents- something that is almost as important. By the way, the cost of living in rural areas has rocketed in the past few months- electricity, gas and , yes, even basic food -stuffs. And it's in rural areas that much of the money we give ends-up.

A good start; I'm happy for you! It's good to see that I'm not the only one who panics when confronted by a phones. Fortunately, I have my personal Technology Advisor who, among other attributes, is able to transform tablet, phone and computer with a couple of touches. And a twinkle in his eye which some would interpret as pity. If I were still in the game, I'd go to Winners; sounds my type of place. And reminiscent of the bars that drove to me to early retirement in 1998. As for the disappointing performance; mai pen rai....it's an occupational hazard. The next ones will be better. Though I do recall that a communication failure can lead to other failures in the bedroom.

I was checking prices of flights from LHR to BKK in the next few weeks a couple of days ago and found that the costs have doubled in a period of about two months. Emirates and Thai were offering Business Class flights for about 130,000bht in April; now, you will pay around 250,000. Economy lights have also been affected. Not only this; the number of tickets available for the next few weeks, certainly on direct flights, is limited. The EVA flights are full while Thai Air has but a handful of seats left. Will this be what we can expect? or is it a temporary response to the surge in demand from those of us cruelly separated for two plus years? On the plus side, EVA's Business class in November costs less than 100,000 bht.......at the moment.

I've just booked a room at Tarntawan for under 1000pn (breakfast not included.) I recall that the price never went below 2000 plus pre-Covid. In fact, hotel prices for my two up-coming trips (July and November) have been reassuring. BKK, Chiang Mai and Jomtien. Beware, however, of rapidly rising costs of flights....perhaps worth a discussion on another thread.

Fair enough but a massage or an encounter isn't the same as meal in a restaurant. The tip is not an extra for an app guy; it's only payment. If he isn't much good- and we've all met such guys- unless you are prepared for a confrontation and capable of winning one, my advice stands. Get rid of him quickly.

12is12....no, not in my estimation. Some are, some aren't and some are what I call (using an old English word) "fey". in the Good Old Days, there were plenty of twink bars in Pattaya where the guys were very cute, under twenty-three or so, gay and straight-acting. In fact it was they who brought me to Thailand in 1995. And kept me returning.

Not quite the same situation but I recall a masseur years ago in Boyztown who was offed for ten days or so by a falang and had to spend the day sitting with him on the terrace, he on his phone, the falang reading a book. Not only that; the falang had LT-offed two masseurs. There they sat, one on each side of him, day after day, bored and frustrated. I assumed they had to ask permission to go for a ching-chong!

My advice to Olddaddy and anyone else facing disappointing service is "mai pen rai"; take it in your stride. You are on holiday and I suspect (and hope ) that the loss of a 100bht note won't result in your going hungry. And I'd say the same if it's 1000bht wasted on an unhappy app encounter or bar off. In such circumstances, pay and get rid of the miscreant quickly. Shrug your shoulders and say "Next time, it'll be better..." Perhaps there may even be lessons leaned from your choice of visitor or masseur. If you wish to make a moral stand, choose an issue of more importance.

It's the smile. It worked eighteen years ago and the guy who provided it is still enjoying the consequences. As I am. And just to confirm how correct z909 is, I remember his telling me soon after we met about the advice he gave to a newbie at his bar. In one word, smile.

Lucky you! I have to wait three weeks for my return. After thirty months away. I hope your trip all goes well. And so for me the usual....butterflies in the stomach, obsessive pre-planning of journey and arrival, disturbed sleep patterns. All worth it.

Yes....he's a good guide and he likes and respects the Thai people.

Coincidentally, I was on a London Underground train yesterday. Opposite me was a sign that said , in effect, "Staring can be a form of sexual harassment. Don't do it" Makes sense.

People must be fed-up with me referring to The Good Old Days ....but in one respect, they don't compare with what's on offer, at least in Pattaya, today. In the 90s, I found the time between breakfast and the bars opening quite tedious. A couple of hours on Jomtien beach- which never impressed me after holidaying in the Caribbean for a decade- and then....well, not much until the go go bars opened, never before 2100. No Sansuk. Only Royal Garden in which to cool-off and have a coffee. Not even a decent TV programme. And, no apps with which to engage a partner for the afternoon. I must be honest; Pattaya is now more of a twenty-four city than it was then.

1995, first visit; up at 1000, bed at 0100. Now, up at 0730, bed at 2200. Sums up getting old. P is a farmer and so he's the same, fortunately.

Luang Prabang in Laos is also worth a visit. Vientianne, the capital, in my opinion isn't.

As far as islands are concerned, the more "off the beaten track" , the better they are. Go south, young man, and if you don't like the idea of a sea ferry, there's always Krabi. For me, the pearl in Thailand's crown is the far north. Chiang Rai is an excellent base for touring. The driving is easy, the roads quiet, the views spectacular and, if you prefer to hire a driver, we've always been able to get one for about 1000bht a day. Hotels at all prices and my favourite night market.

What forms are we required to fill-out? I thought presentation of the TP QR ensured immediate entry.

You won't get a phone call like you would in the Amsterdam brothels that taught me how to be gay in the 90s. In Thailand, I appreciated a chat, and drink from the minibar, before and after. In fact, I was a little cross if the time was exclusively bed-centred, noting that the best performances usually followed some degree of social interaction.

In the 90s, I often sported a beard. However, on advice which I respected (but can't recall its origin), I learnt that Thais "don't trust" men with beards....and so shaved it off for my first trip . It has never been allowed to grow again! I also recall experiences in Babylon's darkroom where Thais searched my chest for evidence of hair, soon learning that I needed to be clean-shaven there as well.