Londoner

It is undoubtedly true that the Gold Old Days were very much for us- that is European/American/Australian gay men. Usually in our fifties and beyond. The entertainment we enjoyed was geared to our tastes. However, this couldn't go on; slowly and inexorably we were dying out and younger gay compatriots weren't interested in our scene. I regret the passing of that time but without the new arrivals, there'd be no Pattaya , and probably not even the remnants of a gay scene which we survivors can still enjoy. Go to Terminus 21 and observe the sky-line. Where are you? not in the Old Pattaya with its girlie bars and ramshackle shops but in a modern Asian city with high rise hotels and condos. They are there for the tourists who have replaced us. Best to enjoy what's left of the old gay scene while it's still there. As I shall do in my quest to grow old as disgracefully as possible.

There was another bar opposite, or at least nearby, that was reckoned by Michael Notcutt in this estimable Thai Scene (my well-thumbed handbook back then) to be a Super A plus. In other words, however sordid Super A was, this neighbour could out-sleaze it. A visit to BKK back then was indeed A Walk on the Wild Side. owned by

Forgive an old man reminiscing....but I went to the original upstairs Super A on my first trip to BKK in 1996. The mamasan gave a signal, the briefs were lowered and the guys started masturbating. All of them. I was the only customer and something of a newbie to the Thai sex scene; embarrassed, I made my excuses and left.

Babylon was welcoming to older guys and there were usually younger (that is under forties rather than twenty-year olds) who were interested in meeting them . Those Thais who weren't went elsewhere, though the fact that it was open early in the afternoon and had a pool was an attraction. It was also expensive for Thais. I recall a few years ago its pool was being renovated and it offered half-price admission. This resulted in many more younger guys going there. It became more than a venue for casual sex. Many older falangs would use the pool for the afternoon and eat in its two restaurants. I suspect that some never ventured into the cruising areas. It also had its own hotel. Its demise has led me to stop spending a couple of days in Bangkok on arrival in Thailand. It was that good.

At your age , you are in with a chance. Good luck. Carpe diem.

With great difficulty. Remember that some families had Isaan roots but moved to other parts of the country for work. I doubt if there are many "pure" (sorry about that word) Isaan guys, even in Isaan. I also quarrel with the suggestion that all Isaan guys are well-endowed. Some are. So are some from the far south are, too. Circumcised ones from Muslim backgrounds. My advice is not to pursue this idea. But it's up to you of course, and others may differ. Thai guys are among the most beautiful in the world. Whatever the size of their appendages!

It's none of my business but I'm about to apply for a Thai Pass...and yes, I know the regulations have changed...but what specifically went wrong with your application in December? any lessons to be learnt?

Two important questions, but they may be too personal so ignore if you want. How old are you? and are you a falang? It makes a big difference. The thing about Babylon which set it apart from many other saunas was that it didn't. Well, not much. By the way, I agree with vinapu. When I first arrived in Bangkok- in the Good Old Days- I maintained that the best-looking guys worked in the menswear department of Robinson's on Silom. Always my first port of call on Day One! of course, many a 7 11 has a cute guy or two even today.

Me too.....and so Londoner became New Londoner. For a few days only! Can't bear to be without this forum , even for a day.

Remember Villa Rouge in Sunee? and K-Boys in Soi VC? Also Bangkok's Screw Boys (in its Soi Twilight manifestation). The Good Old Days!

True....but that girl was well-over six foot . I referred to her as an Amazon but her blonde hair suggested a Viking warrior from that rather good TV series. She'd have eaten some of the go go dancers alive. I left the bar when she climbed up on the stage and started dancing.

And further improvements now that the hated pass is less burdensome. Makes a difference to me, anyway!

Ask the guys. I recall a scene in one bar when rather good-looking six-foot Amazon entered a bar in Pattaya; the guys separated into two groups. Most of them clustered around her, the others shrank into a corner, apparently embarrassed. I know how they felt.

My experience was the same as vinapu's. If someone young was interested in a guy of my age, he was a mb. Yes, yes, I know that miracles do happen in saunas- or used to- but if memory serves, I found that Pattaya's Romeo twinks expected to be paid without my needing to ask.

Thanks. I'm so pleased you enjoyed Chiang Mai and recognised that it "life was returning". It's one of our favourite places, though I prefer Chiang Rai- similar but smaller and less commercialised. It is certainly a city where it's probably best to have a companion. The gay scene was quite something twenty years back but now....well, you were right to have your own entertainment available.

Your guy will be required to leave his ID at the desk. This is for your protection, ensuring both that he is of legal age and that reception can call you when he leaves to ensure nothing has gone wrong.

I can't be the only one desperate to receive some good news about entry so that I can start looking forward to my trip in July without anxiety, whether or not that anxiety is justified.

I loved that.....not just the stares from the falang couples but the response of the of the door man to your arrival on a motor-cy taxi. It's good to know that the snobbery for which my country is notorious also exists in Thailand.

I was a committed traveller to unusual and sometimes risky places across the globe until my late forties....and my advice is exactly the same as vinapu's. "Be brave and just go". The trips , journeys and encounters that stay in my mind are those about which I was a little unsure; perhaps slightly dangerous? difficult to reach? Off the beaten track? Today , they are the ones that provide the best memories for me thirty years on. Thailand is, of course, none of these things but it offers more than just Silom and Boyztown. Explore!

I noticed a number of gay Chinese porn clips that showed guys wearing masks having sex....how does that work for you?

Yes. I'm frightened of mobile technology (in fact , all technology) and am unable even to put a new SIM in my phone. I also wish to phone P the minute I'm on the ground and so an airport shop that provides them is essential, particularly if I'm to be under armed-guard at an ASQ hotel. Yes, I know that I could use LINE , as Z909 told me some months back...but, bluntly , it's not the same since P's internet connection in darkest Kamphaeng Phaet isn't reliable. That airport shop is crucial for my peace of mind.

Crimes are assuredly being committed in Ukraine and there are more to come. However, I doubt anything similar to the total destruction of Fallujah will happen. Prisoner of war camps will be established but I doubt that they will be as bad as Abu Ghraib. Ukrainians are white Christians after all. I notice that two misleading photographs have been circulating on SM. One is of the destruction of a tower block that turns out to be the one hit by Israel in in Gaza . Another is of a little girl shouting at invading soldiers. Later it transpired it was of Ahmed Tahini, a Palestinian girl confronting Israeli soldiers outside her home. According to western governments, some but not all invasions are war-crimes.

We in the West may be animated by the events in Ukraine; it's not the case in other countries, many of whom view the unpunished war-crimes committed by our governments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine as no less reprehensible. Some countries, particularly poorer ones who do not share our (and Ukraine's) ethnicity are pointing out that while war-crimes committed on white people are considered worthy of condemnation and punitive action, those perpetrated upon peoples with darker skins or different religions aren't.

That is correct.....M*A*S*H* is still shown on TV here in the UK and deservedly so. when I think of the best of US TV, only The Wire has given me more pleasure.

I've never considered Pattaya a beach location....nor Jomtien, for that matter.