Londoner

I must correct Boy69; I paid 1600 in October and I'm paying 1800 in early January. High Season certainly affects prices....but not that much. The same goes for flights. Anyone staying at the Agate should book direct; unlike other Thai hotels (Tarntawan springs to mind) Agoda et al do not offer the best prices.

Flights and accommodation are always the major costs of a Thailand trip. The good news is that hotel prices remain remarkably good value- I've just paid 1600 pn at the Agate which includes breakfast- while flights booked on-line from LHR to BKK remain good value, particularly if you compare the cost of European travel. Restaurants- of all levels from the cheapest to those offering "fine-dining"- are much more affordable than here in the UK. It's not all bad news!

Many gay men don't do anal sex. If you are enjoying your current practices, why is it so important to change?

Does anyone remember Star Boys, opposite Boyztown near Welcome Hotel? Many , many years ago it was a favourite (only twinks!) and I remember the bar -prices placed on each table. After drinks it listed the cost of "offs". The cheapest were, of course, the go-go boys. But then the pricing went on to list waiters, the barmen, and- and this is why I recall it so vividly- the mamasan. She or he was forty at least and....well, not very attractive. And the most expensive. And no, it wasn't a joke.

I remember when Screwboys opened- it was in the late 90s- and that the owners had toyed with the idea of calling it "Schoolboys". Not a good choice.

Thanks for that....I hadn't bothered to check. I'll be pleased if EVA flights are better value-they usually are- because I'm flying BR 68 to BKK tomorrow. The cost of my Elite ticket was over £1000, the highest I've ever paid . That's more than £100 than my May ticket and my January 2020 one. I put it down to the Brexit pound. I enjoy EVA privileges- most significantly lounge access- and so I'll remain loyal.

The hotels look attractive and well-priced. Gay-friendly? visitors welcome?

True...even BA is offering cheap flights (direct) from London. Despite the strikes.

I was shy on my first couple of visits back in 1990s. A lot less so once I started staying in gay hotels but even then I can recall the first time I left Boyztown with my future boyfriend. No longer do I worry. I've taken P all over Thailand and beyond. Of course, he is thirty-six now and so doesn't look like bar-boy even to the tutored eye.

Are the staff at Soi 4 Banana offable?

Thanks. It seems a long closure for such a meagre result! Not sorry to say goodbye to those carpets but pleased that breakfasts remain the same. It is one of the very few Thai hotels- some of which are more expensive than Tarntawan- where I can get decent bread. I must confess that I miss some of the staff who left when the new management took over.

After my first , life -changing stay in Pattaya, I sought a way to return as soon as possible. I was working at the time. I managed five nights from London, plus a night on the plane and a late arrival home on the seventh. I was twenty plus years younger and I couldn't do it now that jet-lag is much more of a factor. But it was worth it!

Any up-dates on the Tarntawan refurbishment?

The rise in the number of Indian tourists in Pattaya has been interesting. For a number of years, there have been new venues aimed at the market but, during the last year os so, the rise has been significant. One thing I notice is that they are not family groups but groups of friends, usually (it appears to me) in their late twenties to thirties. . A few visible in the gay areas but not many. It looks as if these guys are leaving their wives and children at home to enjoy themselves! The Chinese tourists that I've seen in both Pattaya and Bali are group-travellers- often very large groups. This means that small changes in the market are quickly visible.

Forty years of travel- Africa, Asia,the Middle East, Europe, even the USA (once)- and my moments of fear have been few. A gang of feral Israeli Border Police in Palestine (Silwan), a wrong turning in my car in West Kingston, Jamaica, during the JLP-PNP disturbances in 1973, an unwise encounter with a handsome Nubian felacca captain in Luxor, Egypt and with an interested policeman as I disembarked an hour later... ....that's all I can think of. And I regret none of those visits. I raise the issue of Brazil on a gay forum because of its poisonously homophobic government threatening our community specifically, though there are anti-racist issues there for me as well. I agree with z909 and Paulsf; there are risks when we travel and there are risks when we stay at home. More Britons are killed by accidents in the kitchen than on roads or on planes. Carpe diem. And as far as Thailand is concerned, seventy plus visits and my only moments of unease were encountering a pack of soi-dogs in Chiang Mai (and I'm a dog-lover) and a ride on a motor-cy taxi driven by a barely-pubescent kid who had yet to learn the meaning of fear. We are indeed fortunate to have discovered Thailand.

The assault on the boy was merely an illustration of the behaviour enabled and encouraged by a vicious regime which, you may recall, won an election after imprisoning democratically elected leaders to stop them from participating in elections. Street-children are particularly vulnerable, but there are other minorities- gays, blacks- who are also being targeted. I don't expect posters to boycott all countries with less than perfect (sic) human rights records- Myanmar, the Philippines, Israel etc- but I thought that the specifically homophobic nature of Bolsonaro's government may make potential gay tourists just a little uneasy. Evidently, I was wrong; as long as the guys are cheap and the saunas busy, all is well.

My concern is that Brazil is dangerous for Brazilians, not for tourists, if they are black, gay or poor. or Indians in the Amazon region. Or opponents of a racist, homophobic government. This is how homeless, black kids are treated by security guards. https://atlantablackstar.com/2019/09/04/shocking-video-shows-black-homeless-teen-stripped-gagged-and-whipped-for-allegedly-stealing-chocolate-in-brazil/ Of course, death squads , involving police and paramilitary personnel, have a long history of crimes, including murder, against street kids. Particularly black ones. Watch the movie "Pixote".

Hosts as in "guys available for offing?"

I did! I offed four.....individually, of course! I can even provide the names of three of them. The first was so long ago that I've forgotten his . To be fair, there have been so few waiters working there lately that it would probably have been impossible. You are right about the Bangkok bars but, a few years ago, a very cute Balcony waiter tried very hard to "bag" me. Co-incidentally, I met him by chance at Babylon the next day and we had a good time. Heaven knows why he liked me so much. I was perplexed . And still am.

Will it be a beer bar? with hosts? surely not another show bar? Like thaiophilus, I have happy members of Cocobana. The place to be before the 2100 opening of the go go bars, watching the guys on their way to work. Crowds of them. You'd have to be there before 2000 to get a seat with a good view. O tempores, o mores.

We've stayed in more than twenty Thai hotels (plus some Balinese and Laos ones) over the past few years and haven't encountered anything like that.....perhaps some make a distinction between registered guests and casual visitors? I'm surprised by Copa. A friend of mine stayed there and entertained regularly without problems. Perhaps there was something personal between your friend and the receptionist? Not that this would justify it.

Those bloody yellow signs... I can't walk past one without a sigh.

Email the hotel a few days before you leave giving time of arrival.

The shopping improved when a new mall opened a few years ago... but I can't think of other improvements between my first and last visits- 1997 and 2017. Anyone seeking a commercial sex scene (including via apps) should stay in Pattaya. As far as are beaches are concerned, Krabi is a good bet. Temples and culture? the north - Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai- or Bangkok.

Meanwhile , members of the "hi-so" family believed by many to have been the killers, having escaped from the island after the murder are living in luxury elsewhere. When it comes to the use of torture, even the medievals didn't believe that it led to the truth....and , no doubt, the Thai authorities don't either. Their concern is merely to protect the tarnished image of their country; any foreigners would fit the bill. And a "confession" was essential.