bobsaigon

Numazu wrote "He wants me to visit him in Myanmar, but I don't think I am going to do that. I am thinking my time with MonBoy will be just these magical 2 nights. Anything more would probably be less of the fantasy that I go to Thailand for, and more of the reality that I am eager to escape". When I first read this, the romantic in me was a bit disappointed. I thought it would have been a wonderful adventure to meet him in Myanmar. Then my memory gave me a well deserved kick in the butt and I recalled the numerous times I made visits to boys' homes in Issan or Chiang Mai. If I could do it all over again, I would say "no thanks" and just remain in Bangkok or Pattaya without delving into the family lives of these boys.

Spoon, thanks for your report. You say "i am not sure if its really a policy, or the boys just decided not to smile at me and other customers lol". I got an email last night from one of the Dream Boy capitans that might help explain the lack of smiles. The boss recently cut his salary from 13,500/month to 9,500, and for the past four days he didn't make any tip money.

It doesn't seem odd to me. I feel the same way.

tell us about acting appropriately and what what costs. Could you be a little less vague? As Boy69 said, it's probably going to be 1,000 Baht for short time and 2,000 for overnight, and don't expect the Royal Paradise to welcome your bar boy with open arms. "Acting appropriately" ? That does need clarification.

Long ago, airline advertisements featured smiling flight crew and passengers. That was when flights were shorter, when security was not an issue, and when one could expect other passengers to behave with a certain degree of decorum. But the times, they have changed.

Samebb is very protective of the contents of his threads. After reading today's posts, I went back to the beginning and read the complete thread, and I found it an enjoyable read, only somewhat tainted by the resident troll and a couple of people who got out of bed on the wrong side. I look forward to more of samebb's threads/posts.

Medical issues: If they can afford it, anyone living in Cambodia heads to Bangkok or Saigon for treatment of serious health problems.

Absolutely right. We farangs sometimes find it difficult to keep that in mind.

His behavior probably cannot be explained. Maybe even he doesn't know why he acted that way. May I suggest that you keep an eye open for a new stunning boy. There are quite a few of them in Thailand, as you have seen.

A Comfortable Retirement in Phnom Penh? In brief, one man’s comfort may be another man’s discomfort. Living abroad comfortably always depends on one’s tolerance levels. How well does one tolerate the climate, the overcrowding, air and noise pollution, the aesthetic shortcomings, and in Phnom Penh, the attitudes of the 1% whose very large SUV’s demand the respect and subservience of the inhabitants? I made a dozen trips to Phnom Penh over a recent five year period. Forty-five minutes flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. At least an hour in the taxi from the airport to the Rambutan Hotel. That discomfort was immediately offset by the warm welcome of the hotel staff. Lovely people in PP and from the gay point of view a compelling reason to live there. Going out means hiring a tuk tuk, safer than the Bangkok tuk tuks because they are forced to drive slowly on roads that are in such poor repair. In the evenings they are a convenient means of travel. Daytime travel is a challenge especially when traffic is heavy and your tuk tuk remains immobile in the 90+ degree heat. Air conditioned taxis are rarely seen. The Japanese-built Aeon mall is impressive, though I found it incongruous that in addition to the shops, restaurants and cinemas, they have, in SE Asia’s poorest country, an ice skating rink. Undoubtedly, Cambodia is cheaper than Thailand, cheaper than Vietnam. “Good” jobs pay the ordinary Cambodian $100 USD or less per month. A decent apartment for a foreigner could be had for under $1,000 per month. Air conditioning is essential but electricity can be expensive because some of it is supplied by Vietnam. After reading the article, I can only conclude that my tolerance levels are not nearly as high as the writer’s. I couldn’t bring myself to living in Bangkok again, but Pattaya is certainly more appealing to me than Phnom Penh.

Sorry samebb, this will be my last off topic post. Steve, Certainly I have sympathy for the people struggling to provide a living for themselves and their families, however, I believe that the law should be followed. Change the law? Fine. Immigration law is ALWAYS politically based. The solution here is for the the immigrant groups in the US to pressure their politicians in Congress to change the law. This has already happened to some extent in California, because of the large Mexican population's influence on the state's lawmakers.

Steve----OK, you're saying the US should have an open door policy. But right now there isn't one and people who are not legally in the US are in violation of the law and will remain so until the law is changed by Congress. My work for 30 years has been to assist Vietnamese immigrant visa applicants. Some wait patiently for years until they are eligible to apply for the visas (certainly not as long as Mexican or Filipino applicants, I know). So you'll understand why I don't have a great deal of sympathy for people who arrive and remain in the US illegally, then announce they are there to stay, during demonstrations in which they sometimes wave the Mexican flag. Yes, I view them as illegal aliens, not as "undocumented immigrants". This is something you and I will never agree on. Sorry, na.

Steve, are you referring to the people who enter the US illegally and/or the ones who enter legally but then remain illegally? The ones known as illegal aliens? There are some strongly held opposing views on that subject. Perhaps you feel that there should be no legal requirements if a person wishes to remain in the US without proper documentation?

In this case, the body alone is sufficient. Perfectly formed, very smooth. Almost any kind of face would be great to go along with that. Thanks for tempting us. From what I hear, Jomtien is the best place to find attentive, agreeable bar guys. And they will be very appreciative if you can manage a few words in Khmer. One of the former Sun bar guys is now the BF of a very good friend of mine and is back in Phnom Penh learning fashion design.

reader: thanks for the clarification, verification re sglad. And thanks to Numazu for your suggestions. Both of you have provided calm, reasoned, unassailable comments on this situation. I agree, it would be great to have a separate forum for fiction writers. That would avoid any disrespect to board members when people persist in posting in one of their multiple personas.

Ever heard of SawatdeeGayThailand (SGT)? It's one of the "other" boards.

Have a look at SGT. Just saying.

A fraud is a fraud. Once having been exposed as such, there is no way to regain credibility. Just saying.

How dare samebb say "rubbish". "Balderdash" has a much nicer ring to it.

reader, that was clever, and you might even be right.

we clients can use some passion but asking for that in exchange for 1000 or even 3000 baht is perhaps too much. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

Boys are People, a fact that I tended to bury deep in my subconscious. I’m retired from The Game now because of health issues. I look back over the years, trying to recall the hundreds of boys I met. I think I did not give them the respect they deserved just because their bodies were available for money. If I had been in my 30’s instead of my 60’s and had met a young man non-commercially, a young man who was self-supporting and did not need or accept any money from me, I suspect I would have been quickly drawn to monogamy and to a greater respect for the young man as a person. But I was a very late entry into the Game and I shared a popular misconception that (a) money boys enjoyed sex with all their customers and (b) they were good at it. The truth was that many of them would have preferred to be back on the farm once the attraction of money and the glitter of the nightlife in Bangkok/Pattaya had worn off. Unlike today’s bar boys, most of the guys I met were actually gay, but gay or straight, there was no way in hell that they could have really enjoyed the encounters with customers 40 or 50 years older than they were. They may have enjoyed the attention they got, may have enjoyed being the star of their bar, and sure they were grateful, but grateful for the money, not for the “privilege” of getting into bed with grandfather. IMHO.

Probably the most emotive few lines I've read in a long time.

Thanks, Alexx. I wouldn't dare to venture there no matter how many supporters I had. Never could understand that whole BDSM attraction. Ordinary life itself seems to present us with enough pain and indignities without looking for clubs that would increase that.

Yes, the never ending question of how much one should pay and whether "over-payment" ruins it for everyone else. Well, I'm sorry for everyone else, but as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as over paying. It's a decision of the customer based on his budget or based on his satisfaction with the boy's performance. If you get by with paying 500 Baht, fine. And if I chose to pay 3,000 Baht, that's also fine. The boys will not expect more than 500 from you and they will expect 3,000 from me. So be it.