reader

Been using the shop on second floor on Silom (up same stairway used to reach the internet place). It's on right right between Silom Center and Soi Saladaeng. It's an old fashioned shop with 4-5 chairs and same barbers as my first cut years ago. Think it was 160 bht last time.

Excerpts from Pattaya One Calls have been made to clear up a notorious area of Pattaya after a man tried to rape a 14 year old girl near some toilets. The area in question is beneath the overpass leading to Bali Hai port at the foot of Pratumnak Hill. Yesterday police received a frantic call from an 18 year old woman who had been waiting for her 14 year old sister outside some toilets. A man produced what she thought was a knife and threatened her. She ran off to alert people nearby while the man – aged about 30 – broke down the door of the toilets and threatened the 14 year old inside ordering her to remove her clothing. But she fought back and screamed causing the man to flee while police were alerted. After a manhunt in the Pratumnak Hill area the man was found in some undergrowth sniffing glue. He was named as Burapha Suchart, 32, who described himself as a trader in second hand goods. He said he did not use a knife – it was a stick covered in a cloth made to look like a weapon. http://pattayaone.news/en/pratumnak-area-rape/

Don't doubt that at all. Purpose of my post to lend a bit of humor to the thread. View your post of this incident in the same way because it made me laugh.

We have here another interesting case that balances as much as on what we know as what we don't. On good authority we know that a farang of demonstrated endurance performed, for a captive audience, with much gusto. We are informed, however, that reward proffered was deemed insufficient by the audience and, presumably, the recipient of said services. What don't we know? Did the serviced individual deliver on his end of the bargain. Was there--how can I put this--physical evidence? What it comes down to, in the end, is getting both sides of any story is no easy task.

The Rubyfruit--and the much more numerous male-dominated bars--represented a time and place in Manhattan when smart phones were unknown and you had to actually go outside to meet people. And what grand choices there were! I'd trade all my devices (and years) for them in a heartbeat. The apps have created a new but, IMHO, a comparatively sterile atmosphere.

From Wikipedia Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง [faràŋ], colloquially [falàŋ]) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race". Edmund Roberts, US envoy in 1833, defined the term as "Frank (or European)."[2] People of mixed sub-Saharan African-European descent were called farang dam (Thai: ฝรั่งดำ; 'black farang') to distinguish them from white people. This began during the Vietnam War, when the United States military maintained bases in Thailand. The practice continues in present-day Bangkok. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farang

Free will? You're a philosopher, z909. Descartes would be on your side. Otherness? You're a philosopher and a sociologist, Thaiophilus. Foucault would be your guy. Actually, I think a gay forum is an ideal place for such discussion.

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Getting between downtown to Don Mueang International Airport will become easier when two new airport shuttle routes launch Monday. For 30 baht, travel between the airport and two new destinations: Lumphini Park downtown and Sanam Luang in the old quarter. The A3 service will stop at Lumphini Park, Ratchaprasong, Pratunam and Din Daeng before heading to the airport by tollway. The A4 line runs between the airport and Sanam Luang (Royal Grounds), stopping at Khaosan Road, the Democracy Monument, the Phanfa Bridge, Lan Luang, Yommarat, Tha Prachan and Tha Chang along the way. The two lines come two years after the introduction of bus routes between the Bangkok Bus Terminal (A1) and Victory Monument (A2). They are more affordable options than the Airport Limo Bus service, which can be booked online for 150 baht per person. The routes launch May 1 and will operate 7am to 11pm daily. At the airport, find the buses outside Terminal 1’s exit No. 6 or exit No. 12 in Terminal 2 http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/transpo/2017/04/28/new-shuttle-routes-don-mueang-airport-open-monday/

Not really. You don't decide to be gay but you do decide to be a lady boy.

I think the moderation in tone of the last five posts reflects credit on the posters and helps all of us view this unfortunate incident more objectively. We may never know the other side but the discussion caused us to contemplate how we might react if we found ourselves in a similar situation.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, boys consider going the ladyboy route may want to take a long look at this one from Pattaya One. What may seem like a good idea at 18 may be less appealing three decades later when the lady boy transitions into lady man. From Pattaya One A plucky German tourist made a citizen’s arrest on a baht bus in Pattaya after a lady boy stole money from his pocket. Fifty nine year old Thomas Broschart was on his way back to his hotel on the baht bus in North Pattaya when it stopped to pick up a lady boy, reported Chonburi News As the bus moved along the lady boy made advances to the tourist and tried to get very close to him. But the game German noticed that the lady boy had lifted some money from his pocket and he grabbed the man’s arm and held on tight. He then notified the cops. The lady boy – 50 year old Penphat Suphaphat – was still under arrest when the cops arrived at the Pla Loma (Dolphin) Roundabout. http://pattayaone.news/en/plucky-german-tourist-foils-pattaya-lady-boy-pickpocket/

Really unusual incident. Don't recall anything quite as dramatic before, especially on Twilight. On my last trip, I frequently had a beer outside Dick's. On quite a few nights a middle age farang would come along and, uninvited, plonk down on a bench at Bonny's massage. Although all the boys seemed to know him, I never saw him take anyone upstairs. He'd just launch into stream-of-consciousness ramblings involving past wrongs done to him over time. The guys just listened and didn't seem to participate. Once or twice a night he'd dart across the street to the pool room to use the rest room. On the way in and out he'd loudly berate the boys at the tables. They just ignored him. He'd return to Bonny's and pick up where he left off. He'd occasionally harangue the customer hawkers outside Dream Boys. After about 45 minutes he'd leave. It puzzled me why no one confronted him but the more I thought about it the more I realized that ignoring him was a more Thai way of dealing with bad behavior--at least in a public place.

From the Financial Times Thailand is experiencing a tourism boom: great news for the ruling military junta, as revenue lines their pockets, but bad news for locals and the environment. The number of visitors is expected to rise to 60 million each year by 2030, the Financial Times reported, almost double the number of people who visited last year (32.6 million). There are concerns that local infrastructure, like airports and motorways, will be put under strain as more tourists flood the country. For the last ten years the number of Europeans visiting Thailand has steadily increased. In 2016, around one million Brits visited the ‘Land of Smiles,’ but the real influx is from China and Russia. The increase in Chinese tourists from 15.9 million in 2010 to 32.6 million last year was partly down to a 2012 film called Lost in Thailand, an immensely popular road trip movie, the FT reported. Thailand’s tourist industry faces “trouble” without urgent investment to cope with an expected near-doubling of visitors to 60m by 2030, a top official has warned. The Southeast Asian kingdom must press ahead with plans to expand ports, airports and railways to deal with a holidaymaker surge that has propped up the spluttering economy but put a growing strain on infrastructure, said Pongpanu Svetarundra, permanent secretary to the tourism ministry. The visitor boom partly reflects explosive travel growth among newly wealthy Chinese. The rush has delivered the ruling military junta in Bangkok a much-needed financial boost but left airports and other choke points buckling under the strain. Mr Pongpanu told the Financial Times “everyone is starting to get a little bit worried” by the impact of annual visitor numbers that have more than doubled in the past six years, with the tourism sector now accounting for almost a fifth of the economy. “If we don’t do anything, we will get into trouble,” Mr Pongpanu said, adding that his ministry was lobbying the transport department to push ahead with infrastructure plans. “The congestion will be more and more. This is why it’s the most opportune moment to talk of upgrading, investment and expansion of existing facilities.” Government figures suggest the sector accounts directly and indirectly for about 17.7 per cent of gross domestic product, while some international estimates put the number as high as 20 per cent, Mr Pongpanu said. He acknowledged the potential pitfalls of overdependence on the industry.

Although I rarely do LT I make exceptions if I really enjoy his company (attitude, mostly) and if he's the one to suggest it. I agree that most Bangkok guys don't for a variety of reasons. That they can pass on the extra cash says something about the overall rise in their income that allows them to make decisions based on opportunity costs. If they stay overnight with me they can't meet friends for some after work sanuk. Or they simply prefer their own place for the night, whether it's a shared room, space above their bar or home with the wife. I have to remind myself that this is often a second job and they need the sleep--something very high on any Thai's punch list. Watched this recent report about the rising fortunes of Thailand's northeast region from where many of the guys who populate the bars and massage shops come. It suggests to me that job opportunities at home may slow the migration to Bangkok and Pattaya. From NHK Newsline https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/editors/1/brighterfutureonthehorizon/

For years it's been generally accepted that tourism represents 10% of the Thai economy. However, this article from The Financial Times suggests that it's now twice that figure. Tourism has doubled in the past six years and officials claim it should reach 60 million annually by 2030, straining the industry and infrastructure to keep pace. https://www.ft.com/content/a6ba9aa0-2983-11e7-9ec8-168383da43b7

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Sweat, heat and the press of crowds on lengthy journeys is the experience of traveling Thailand by train. For director Sompot Chidgasornpongse, it’s the perfect allegory for Thai society. It took Sompot almost eight years observing and recording the mundane lives aboard several passenger cars – how they talk, walk, glance and sleep – to produce his debut documentary “Railway Sleepers.” “During the time spent on a train, a communal area is created, as strangers have to sit face-to-face across from one another. This transient moment replicates what happens in Thailand,” Sompot said. Inspired by the curious nature of a Mexican boy sitting across him during a train trip in the United States, Sompot intended to film lives aboard Thai trains for his master’s thesis for the California Institute of the Arts. He said people’s lives intertwine and connect through the railway: frequent commuters, tourists, vendors, officers, soldiers and monks. All separated are into three classes by ticket price. It’s a timeless hierarchy that, like the tracks, runs parallel to society. "Railway Sleepers"is showing in Thai with English subtitles once daily at SFW CentralWorld and SF Maya Chiangmai. Article with photos continues http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/arts/2017/04/25/society-railway-sleepers-resigned-long-uncomfortable-journey/

From Pattaya One Recent reports from locals have promoted police to investigate an area in South Pattaya in which they believe is being used by gay men as a midnight sex den. Several reports have been made regarding the area, which is located up on Pratumnak Hill, but also know as Sor Tor Lor. Police finally decided to act once pictures started appearing online showing lots of used condoms scattered all over the floor and in the bushes. One comment from the facebook post read: “What a mess. This is Pratumnak Hill tourist area, Pattaya. It has become an outdoor sex location for gays at night”. The area is hugely popular with many locals and tourists because of the nice views it offers over Pattaya, but also for it’s exercise facilities. Joggers and walkers looking to keep fit can often be found in and around the area and there are also a few weigh stations too. Recently however, there seems to be an increasing number of homosexual men appearing in the area, especially at night. Many locals turned a blind eye at first, thinking that they had come to exercise just like everyone else however, it is now clear for all to see that they were coming for a slightly different form of exercise. Photos at link http://pattayaone.news/en/pattaya-midnight-sex-den/

I've come to think of it as meaning "man" does not play feminine role. In the west it would probably be understood as "straight 8" but available. Have also learned that interaction that follows may vary depending upon circumstances (me, him, incentive). I found that it's not particularly helpful (for me, anyway) to ask a guy I'm interested in if he's gay.

There's a thread on My Hero. Reviews of new place begin on page 3 (post #58): http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/10617-hero-massage/page-3

Laos is apparently experiencing a shortage of sperm and has resorted to importing it--illegally--from Thailand. Don't ever recall having difficulty finding Thai and other SE Asian guys willing to donate their precious bodily fluid for, say, 300 baht a pop in any number of venues in Bangkok and Pattaya. This particular phrase caught my attention in a news article from today's The Nation: "...taking sperm out of the country is not legal...". How much more prodding do we need to ensure that we take every opportunity to depart Swampy with our supply fully exhausted. If that's not enough, consider the possible consequences: "Licences could be suspended." You mean we won't be allowed to drive again? Seems harsh. From The Nation AN ASSISTED Reproductive Technology (ART) clinic in Bangkok has denied any connection with the man who attempted to smuggle what is believed to be human sperm out of the country to another fertility clinic in Laos where surrogate pregnancies are not as strictly regulated as in Thailand. Officials from the Health Service Support Department of the Thai Public Health Ministry yesterday inspected the premises of the unnamed ART clinic on Bangkok’s Phloenchit Road after it was cited by Nithinon Srithaniyanun, the courier, as one of the four clinics in Bangkok where he had picked up the sperm for delivery to another fertility clinic in the Laotian capital of Vientiane . Nithinon was earlier arrested by authorities at the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge checkpoint in the northeastern Thai province of Nong Khai where he attempted to smuggle six tubes of what is believed to be human sperm stored in a frozen |nitrogen tank into the neighbouring country. Dr Thongchai Keeratihuttayakorn, deputy director-general of the Health Service Support Department, said the agency would take legal action against wrongdoers after contents in the frozen nitrogen tank carried by Nithinon are scientifically confirmed as human sperms, eggs and/or embryos. Thongchai said the Thai fertility clinic had denied any connection with the courier and had given a copy of the clinic’s complaint filed with police against Nithinon to public health authorities. The clinic admitted the human sperm belonged to two of its clients from China and Vietnam who had authorised a person to pick up the sperm but the clinic has no knowledge of the courier and his delivery service, according to Thongchai. The foreign clients said they wanted to take the sperm to be used at another fertility clinic, which is the patients’ right, but they were informed in advance that taking sperm out of the country is not legal, according to Sarayuth. Licences could be suspended. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312989 Or perhaps it's all part of a vast conspiracy?

There's got to be a few here who recall flying into Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport before it closed in 1998. A single runway field, it was subject to regular fierce cross winds, requiring pilots to "crab" to maintain alignment until touchdown. Further complicating matters was the location's typography in a valley with hills all about. A unique approach was devised that required pilots to fly straight toward a huge checkerboard erected on the side of a hill and then execute a sharp right turn that would bring them very close to the field's edge. This video has excerpts from a documentary of a BAC 747 making what became known as the Kai Tak checkerboard approach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCOcyt7BPI

As disheartening as it was to learn that S. Korea--a first world industrialized nation--discriminates against gay servicemen, it pales in comparison to the torture and coercion taking place in Russian Chechnya. We tend to think that this sort of repression is limited to places like Saudi Arabia. We're lucky, lads. We get to enjoy the freedom to be ourselves. We get to debate the fine points and share our adventures. Reminders like the following makes me value my experiences and acknowledge their unique opportunity in this world. From NY Times GROZNY, Russia — It was supposed to be a night out. But for the young man who calls himself Maksim, as for scores of other gay men arrested in a pogrom this month in Russia’s Chechnya region, it pivoted into nearly two weeks of beatings and torture. Maksim said it had started with a chat room conversation with “a very good old friend who is also gay,” and who suggested that they meet at an apartment. When Maksim arrived, however, he was greeted not by his friend but by agents who beat him. Later, they strapped him to a chair, attached electrical wires to his hands with alligator clips and began an interrogation. “They yelled, ‘Who else do you know?’” Maksim said, and zapped him with current from time to time. “It was unbearably painful; I was hanging on with my last strength,” he added. “But I didn’t tell them anything.” Gay men have never had an easy life in Chechnya. But the targeted, collective punishment of gays that began last month under its pro-Kremlin leader, Ramzan A. Kadyrov, is a new turn in the region’s long history of rights abuses. Novaya Gazeta, an opposition newspaper, first reported the pogrom, saying that at least 100 gay men had been arrested and three killed in the roundup. Human Rights Watch corroborated those findings. The sweep has been widely condemned by Western governments, the United Nations and rights groups. Activists in Russia have set up an underground network to spirit the victims out of Chechnya and to protect them from potentially violent reprisals from their families and others. The victims use assumed names in their everyday dealings. The following account is based on interviews with Maksim, who is in his 20s, and two other gay men who were detained by Chechen security agents. Homosexuality is taboo in Chechnya and the mostly Muslim surrounding areas of the Caucasus region in southern Russia. “This society is highly homophobic,” said Ekaterina L. Sokiryanskaya, Russia project director for the International Crisis Group and an authority on Chechnya. “Homosexuality is condemned. It is believed Islam considers it a great sin.” Nevertheless, before the crackdown, gay men in Chechnya could at least lead social lives, if heavily closeted ones, Maksim said. They met largely in private chat rooms on social networking sites with names like the Village or What the Mountains Are Silent About. “When two gay men meet, they don’t tell one another their true names,” Maksim said. Men met at cafes or at apartments rented for a night, he said. “Nobody suspected my sexual orientation, not even my best friends.” Article continues: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/world/europe/chechnya-russia-attacks-gays.htm

The profit motive is alive and well in the MD community. Once had a doctor try to persuade me have a colonoscopy under general anesthesia! I disabused him of the notion and went elsewhere for the procedure. I've developed a healthy skepticism about initial medical opinions that has served me well over time.

From South China Morning Post A watchdog group says South Korea’s army is hunting down and prosecuting gay servicemen after a video of two male soldiers having sex was posted on the internet earlier this year, stoking fear in an already persecuted minority group. Military investigators looking into the case have threatened soldiers to out their gay peers, confiscated cellphones to check communication records, and even used dating apps to dupe soldiers into revealing their sexual identity, said Lim Tae-hoon, the head of the Military Human Rights Centre for Korea, which tracks down abuses in the armed forces. South Korea’s army says it’s conducting a proper criminal investigation into soldiers allegedly involved with filming and uploading the video, which is a violation of the country’s communications laws and a military penal code that makes homosexual activity punishable by up to two years in prison. The army has denied allegations tha “Military investigators used the information they gained from the investigation on the sex video to track down other gay soldiers in the army, starting by forcing the suspects to identify who they had sex with and then widening their search from there,” said Lim, who said a soldier tipped his group off about the alleged crackdown. In conservative South Korea, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people are harshly stigmatised and struggle to be politically visible, while a powerful Christian lobby immobilises politicians seeking to pass anti-discrimination laws. That stigma is amplified in the military, where most able-bodied South Korean men are required to serve about two years as the country maintains a large force in the face of potential conflict with North Korea. Gay men are not exempt from conscription but are banned from engaging in homosexual activity while serving, leading to an environment in which they serve without revealing their sexual identity for fear of discrimination and reprisals. http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2089473/sex-tape-featuring-south-korean-soldiers-prompts-crackdown

In effect, there is no difference. It was a slight-of-hand concept of the type officialdom uses to give the appearance of addressing an issue that may reflect poorly on then in the media. It's over with almost before it starts. Although not specifically mentioned in the article, the gay venues are typically required to tone down their shows and dress up their boys until the thing blows over. Sometimes non-Thai guys are required to make themselves scarce for a while. The French news agency AFP visited Pattaya after the Happy Zones were implemented and distributed the following account that was picked up by The Nation. By Agence France-Presse PATTAYA, Thailand In a daring nautical themed outfit, sex worker May confidently predicts the survival of Thai sleaze town Pattaya despite a junta attempt to tame the kingdom's "Sin City". She is bullish because she, like tens of thousands of others in the industry, have no plans to give up their jobs. And there are no signs the hordes of foreign sex tourists are abating. Two hours east of Bangkok, Pattaya's bawdy reputation hails from the Vietnam War era when American GIs partied in their downtime. Today it spins money off its no-holds-barred reputation and its most successful sex workers earn anywhere between 70-150,000 baht ($2-4,400) a month, as much as ten times the national average wage. "I make good money here, for me and my family," May told AFP as she touted for clients near 'Walking Street' -- a mile-long drag festooned with bars and clubs pouring out ear-crushing EDM music. But concerns about the impact on Thailand's reputation have spurred authorities to act, while frequent reports of underage sex workers, drug abuse and mafia operations further muddy Pattaya's name. May, who is transgender, said the strip has felt more subdued in recent weeks as police and soldiers conduct frequent patrols as part of a clean-up ordered by the censorious ruling junta. Police Lieutenant Colonel Sulasak Kalokwilas is one of those tasked with what many might deem the ultimate Sisyphean task: weaning Pattaya off sex. "We are suppressing obscene and dirty shows. We're trying to make those bars disappear," he explained. As he spoke, lines of women stood behind him in revealing outfits enticing punters into bars with names like Taboo and G-Spot as well as Fahrenheit -- a nightspot boasting "The Hottest Girls in Pattaya". "The lady boys and women working there, they are not involved in the sex trade," said Pattaya's police chief Colonel Apichai Kroppeth, echoing the kind of Thai police rhetoric commonly divorced from reality. For many residents of the city the latest moral outrage fits a familiar pattern: negative overseas headlines prompt authorities to launch high-visibility -- yet limited -- crackdowns on an industry that pays the bills for everyone. "You're expecting the poachers to be the gamekeepers?" said one westerner who has made Pattaya his home, when asked if the latest clean-up will work. The sex trade is a cash cow for the bar owners, girls, massage parlours, hotels, taxis, mafia and, many have long alleged, the cops charged with policing. A small "bar fine", usually around 500 baht ($14), secures private "short time" away from the bar where any deal struck for sex is purely between the punter and prostitute. While authorities have vowed to shutter the trade, there is little discussion on what happens to the sex workers -- who often support large families with their earnings. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312573