MrBill

On my 6 trips to Pattaya I have always stayed at Mike Hotel (above Mike Department Store, adjacent to Mike Massage and in front of Mike Billards - think of it as everything mike) http://www.mikehotel.com/. It's not gay owned but I find it perfect for me. It is steps away from Boyztown and about a 5 minute walk to Sunee. You can catch a Bhat bus to Jomtien. The hotel is gay friendly and no charge for joiners. The staff is pleasant and helpful. They've saved me tons of hassle and money. They check IDs closely and on a few occasions said "No good" They also are good at telling me what the Baht Bus should be to different places. I needed to go to BKK-Pattaya a few times on my last trip. The desk manager said "Pay only 150 baht" but when I went downstairs, drivers would quote anywhere from 150 - 300 baht until I said I pay what hotel tell me. Boat Bakery is across the street and 1 block down, great for a cheap breakfast. The last time I was there the manager said to request a rate on the internet and see if you can get a discount rather than paying the posted Internet rate. BTW on departure I usually put 3-4 hundred baht in an envelope and present it to the manager with my thanks for all their help. It's more honorific than anything but they always remember me by name. I looked a few weeks ago and think that a similar size room at Cafe Royale was about 200 bht/night cheaper (which was unusual) but Mike Hotel is definitely quieter and all of the boys I've met in Boyztown know it well and are never hesitant to go there.

I thought the entire study was well done and professional and it did get me the testing I needed at a greatly reduced price. Bangkok Pattaya is a great hospital and this overnight visit was very well worth my time and effort. I'm glad you had good results. My experience was just the opposite. I did get all the trimmings as you did, but when I brought the test results back to my doctor, he went balistic as there were many critical elements missing from my study. I get the impression yours was an initial study and perhaps they can do that pretrty good, but mine was a 5 year follow up to determine if my oxygen levels needed to be changed. My doctor told me that essentially the results were worthless. He was most insappointed that there was not a report, only a graph which did not provide the information he needed to determine if he needed to up my pressure. But I must say that the service and care was exceptional. Just be sure what you are getting. When mine was done they started late waiting for the tech to come from Bangkok. He was not an hospital employee. He worked for the local CPAP provider and was not a trained sleep specialist. His reason for being was to try and sell me a CPAP.

There are some decent half-day tour options you can find either through your hotel or from some travel agents along the main streets. I for one always enjoy Siracha Tiger Zoo and Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens. Both have web sites. If you have to pick one I would recommend Nong Nooch. You can catch a cultural show, have your pic taken feeding a baby tiger, being hoisted by an elephant or with a couple of orangutans (always makes for good conversation back home). These obviously are not gay venues but do give you a sense of the Thai culture beyond what you get in Boyztown

Go ahead and hate me. I can't tell you how many times I hate myself when I look up at the clock in the morning and find I have about 5 minutes to shower, shave and get out the door to get to work on time, generally as some cute Thai boy is about to shoot his load, (by the way, did you know that when they hold up 2 fingers in a V or write 22222 in the main room it means they are about to explode?) - those "I'm shine" Thai boys sure do have an exhibitionist bent to them To your point about losing contact - if you are in an "IM" conversation there is an icon at the top of that window with a male caricture head and a + sign. This allows you to add that individual to your friends list. It won't tell you where he is on line, but will tell you if he is online and you can IM him to find out where (if he hasn't forgotten who you are). Also, if I chat with someone I like, I either give them my secondary email or ask if they have msn or yahoo. If they are at all interested in future conversations, I have found that most have msn, hotmail or windowslive email addresses. Like you, I was astonished at how many guys have a full set up in their "looms". I think it points to how important the information age has become to the rest of the world, and how quickly they will overtake the complacent kids in the USA. Many of these guys have a matress on the floor, maybe one chair, a closet with a few clothes hanging and a computer with all the trimmings ... Makes me a bit sad to see young guys using the Internet to improve their English skills, study for university work, and relax with an occasional chok wao, while the kids here in America are playing Grand Theft Auto IV and occasionally updating their MySpace pages... Uh-oh, don't get me started!

Sorry GB, I forgot to respond to this part of your post. The room names seem to change quite often. One moderator explained to me that the Camfrog "powers" in US/UK occasionally monitor the rooms and shut down rooms with full nudity, so the local Thai moderators keep changing the names, but the players often stay the same. I have found that gay rooms with "Show" in the name are likely to have guys that do just that. If you click on "Room List" (the one with the little house icon) at the bottom of the Camfrog Video Chat box, it lists all the rooms, number of current users in chat, and how long it has been up. That will tell you which rooms are most popular at the moment. Some of the more popular rooms as of this writing seem to be: _Gay_King_Siam_, Gay_Zeed_Sard_2, xX_Gay_Station_X_Show_Xx, GayDuoDuy, and ___GaY_Ma_Do_K___ollo. Not that I spend much time in these rooms mind you!

On the right hand side of each room is a list of the current members. Rught-clicking your mouse on a member name gives you an options list that includes his profile, adding him to your friends list or ignoring him. One option is to IM (instant message) the user. If I see someone I like, I will send an instant message and say something like "Sawasdee krab. How r u?" If tyhe boy speaks English and wants to chat, hew'll reply in English. On rare occasion someone will block me assuming I am only interested in sex or just because they don't like farang. But more often than not, depending on their English skills, ylou can have a decent conversation, get an email and/or phone number, and make a friend. A few are MBs and immediately ask you to send money, but a lot are regularly employed or college students who ask for nothing but a respectful conversation and a chance to practice their English skills. It may be my imagination, but I have found that the boys who are chatting from Internet cafes are more likely to be in need/want of money. Those who have their own computers and cams who chat from their apartment are just regular (but quite handsome in many cases) guys.

. I used to visit the T.O. site often but since it has been updated it is very slow loading. Now, I must admit, I have become addicted to camfrog. The Thailand 18+ rooms are awesome. You can talk to thai guys live cam-to-cam. But be ware! You WILL get hooked. Several times a day these "I'm shine" Thai boys like to give a little show Chok wao or more. I have met some nice guys with good English skills for just chatting and have been given many email addresses and/or phone numbers for when I visit next. It's ashame, in thailand the boys have to purchase camfrog Pro to use the 18+ rooms but elsewhere you can sign up for free usage.

From personal experience, I would stay away from Bangkok Pattaya Hoispital. I hadn't had a sleep study done in 5 years so my doctor wanted me to get an updated one. Here in Michigan it would have cost me $3,700 out of pocket since my insurance considered a sleep study the same as an X-Ray (go figure). I wrote to BKK-Pattaya Hospital. They said "Sure. No problem. We can do it." and at only $450 US including the overnight hospital stay. The day before they called me at my Pattaya hotel and said the ENT would like to see me that day. I caught a baht bus to the hospital. The ENT looked in my ears and my throat and that was it, "Please go to Cashier and pay." This was not included in the quoted fee. The next evening I went in for the study. Well, the room was awesome and the attrention was marvelous. But ... the sleep test was a farce. It was done by a salesman/technician from a medical supply company who drove in from BKK (This was never explained beforehand). The test left big gaps. There was no report, just the read-out from the machine. It was of such poor quality My doctor couldn't read it. Essentially, I had paid $450 for a night in a medium quality hotel, plus a mini-examn by an ENT.

Happy Bar now has a show? I was there over the New Year Holiday and there were no shows. It wwas a decent place to visit but even at that time, there were only a few customers.

I arrived in Pattaya yesterday after 1-1/2 days in BKK. Today I woke up with some serious knots in myt back, probably from not paying close attention to the differing height curbs and other uneven pavement. Problem is, about 2-1/2 months ago I herniated a disk in my lower back. My chiropractor did wonders which allowed me to make this rescheduled trip. So I am a little gun shy about letting anyone who claims to be a masseur touch my back. Not looking for any happy endings other than the4 relief in my back. Fortunately the part that is stiff is not in the lower part where I had the disk problem, I just want to be able to explain the situation and trust that when the masseur says "OK no problem" he really knows what I have said. I am staying at Mike Hotel which has Mike Massage, Mike Barber Shop, Mike Billiards and everything Mike above the department store, but I am having doubts about their specialization. As always any help would be appreciated. I dod look through the massage directory on the site but still can't see a clear choice. Thanks Bill

Thanks ReneThai. I have been to the web site but do you have experience with this place? Because of holiday many guest house is not aailable. Best rate I find so far is Mike Hotel 1200 bht/day this is 300 bht cheaper and includes breakfast for 2

Thanks to all who gave feedback and suggestions for options other than Mike Hotel. Today on Pattaya A2Z there is a listing for a gay friendly hotel Merry Inn Hotel 14-15 South Pattaya, Bangramung, Chonburi THAILAND 20260 The map on their web site show them off 2nd road almost opposite V.C. Hotel and Marine Hotel (Not Marina Plaza). Looks to me to be neare the Sunee area but not sure. I'd guess 5-10 minute walk to boys town. Deluxe room w/king bed and American breakfast is 700 bht/night and no extra charge for guest. Anyone familiar with this hotel? I know looks are deceiving on the web but the balcony rooms look nice. Thanks in advance for any feedback. KB

Lastly. there are some cruising places, but late on on a Sunday it will be mostly rent boys. Thanks for the good info. I'm not opposed to checking out the cruising places if I can find my way. Bill

Ah Mr. Sam ... I'm sure he wouldn't agee The rate posted on Marina Plaza web is 900 bht compared to 1200 for Mike for Superior. Mike wants 1600 for Suite room. It is convenient to Boyztown but not sure it is worth 1600 bht (discount) if things are as slow as people say. Thanks for the feedback Bill

Gaybutton - Can you say a little more about the area you are speaking of "between Pattayaland and Sunee Plaza" Are you talking about the area along 2nd Road past the school or whatever it is on the corner before you get into the Sunee area? I am trying to picture the area you are talking about but can't quite place it. thanks KB

I will be returning from Thailand to USA on 6 January. I have a layover in Taipei from 18:30 to 08:20 the next morning. Any thoughts on what I can do and with whom? I tried contacting a few cute yng Taiwanese on Gay Romeo but they don't seem to be like Thai boys, most in their 20s there don't want any contact from anyone over 32. I would like to see the city as I have never been and I am always open to meeting cute asian gay boys. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance Khun Bill

Greetings. I will be visiting Pattaya again 29 December - 6 Jan. In the past I have always stayed at Mike Hotel (above the Mike Department Store and connected to Mike Massage and Mike Pool Hall) on 2nd Rd. A Gay Travel Agent from California recommended it and I have always been pretty happy. A superior room with King bed is 1200 bht/night. I checked out a few web sites for guest houses and other area hotels. The Marina Hotel web talks about all renovated rooms. A similar room to Mike is only 900 bht. Some reviews of Marina that I have seen do not give it great marks for comfort etc, but these reviews have generally been from 2004-2005. Anyone experienced it lately? Are the rooms really renovated and is the hotel as good an option as their web suggests? Any first hand knowledge would be appreciated. Kop khun maak! Khun Bill from America

I'm not sure I would chalk this up to Thai maniplation. I find the same can be said for young guys I have chatted with in other countries as well. Once they detcide for themselves that there is no profit or immediate gratification coming their way from the older gent on the other end of the email or phone, they're off in search of a new conquest. When it comes to manipulation, these Thai boys aren't that different from manipulators around the world as far as I can tell.