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I couldn't live my life without at least a basic plan, so what the OP is doing is completely foreign to me. Not good or bad, just different. I'm sure people have been doing this sort of drifting thing forever. Hasn't there been a significant crackdown by the current government over the last couple of years on visa overstays. Or was that just for show? If you understand the rules and are careful you should be fine. For me the gogo bar scene is tiring and not all that exciting. Perhaps it was at one time. But now it almost seems like too much hassle. But I've always said there's much more to Thailand than the sex scene. The whole region has a very interesting history and great hospitality.

If I were you I would read about the latest visa rules just so you don't get into any trouble there. 2-3 weeks should be more than enough time to see the things worth seeing in Bangkok. If you've been reading here I guess it should be clear that the most popular places for gays in Thailand are Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. I'd say each has its positives and negatives.

maybe with the funeral coming up this week the town emptied out some?

Not "recently". I was there about the same time as fountainhall apparently. I will put in a plug for Purple Dragon's Bhutan arm called Better Bhutan (www.betterbhutan.com) I am pretty sure the daily tariff is still about the same. But BB uses better hotels at a bit of a higher price. If I were to go back I would definitely check them out. I spent almost 3 weeks and went all the way from west to east and back again. It was a lot of riding in the car. There's one "highway" across the country that is basically a road that's 1.5 cars wide. Lots of big trucks, some minibuses, and other traffic to deal with. And the ever-present threat of landslides and rock falls. It is a spectacular place. I never adjusted to the altitude so it didn't take much exertion to wear me out. The country essentially consists of a series of mountain valleys so you have to go up over a lot of mountain passes so it takes a while to get anywhere. I am happy to try and answer questions. Here's a trip report I did for FlyerTalk with lots of photos

I am not aware of any gogo bars in Cambodia. Going to Cambodia for gay sex venues is likely to leave you disappointed. There are a couple of bars in Phnom Penh. And I think there's at least one sauna. Travelgayasia is a decent source of info

Information on how to watch the funeral if you are outside of Thailand http://www.thaitravelblogs.com/2017/10/how-to-watch-the-royal-cremation-ceremony-on-television/?utm_content=buffer079c1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer The broadcast authorities just ordered all of the TV channels to restore themselves to full color.

the apps are pretty popular there. I would guess you'd have no problem meeting guys that way I went to one of the gay massage places there on my last visit. No choice of masseur and not really the greatest experience. I just changed $100 bills at the hotel I was staying at. They were much more indulgent about it than they probably should have been, but it was the hotel with the best service I have ever experienced (Shinta Mani Club). I'd say just take smaller notes with you. It is a great place. Check out the Phare circus while you are there. It's a fun show.

I installed blued since seeing it mentioned here. Seems to be a ton of Thai guys. And lots of Pinoys. And Indonesians. And pretty much everyone local to me seems to be Asian...including one guy who I think must be my neighbor based on the distance info (he's also on jack'd). I find grindr's ads more annoying than hornet's. Grindr plays a lot of video ads which can be very loud if you're not expecting them

I thought Uber was still illegal in Thailand. :-)

if you use the mobile apps you're likely to get a lot of daytime messages I will be in town from the 4th to the 8th. Hoping to see the royal crematorium but expect it will be mobbed. Looks like lots of rain and floods this month. Hopefully things will be dried out by then.

for me the difference is also 12 hours (east coast USA). On the way over I always prefer to go TPAC and arrive late night so I can pretty much just get to the hotel and go straight to bed. That seems to help me get right onto local time. I find I usually have the toughest time on the second day. On the way back home I also find that going TPAC is better for me than going TATL. I came home via Dubai last year and was completely messed up for a week. Most flights arrive back here in the early afternoon. It's a long trip but I try to go to bed when I usually would to again try to get my body clock set back to local time. I've never tried any particular drugs or other substances. I'm headed to Australia next year for the first time in a while. That will be a very long trip with the routing I am taking so we'll see how my body reacts to that. Flying up front helps some but trying to sleep on a plane is always hard for me no matter which class I am in.

I am not sure how much difference it really makes that it's a different sort of system. the "spider card" integrated payment system has been in development for quite a while now. I think it was originally supposed to be in operation a year ago. The biggest problem is that there are separate entities running all of the systems. They need to get everything under one roof. This thread over at FlyerTalk is very comprehensive with respect to what's being planned. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thailand/1549502-bangkoks-metro-network-expansion-plans-updates-5.html

USD seems to be on the decline for some reason this year. Maybe it's because the world hates Trump?

but "Communist Vietnam" also requires actual visas for a lot more places too

I thought maybe that was the view when you passed out

The boxers over briefs thing baffled me as well. I guess the explanation makes some sense. But in such a hot climate why would anyone want another layer there? The glasses frames without lenses I can't explain. Maybe they think glasses make them look smart? It's an Asia-wide thing, not just Thailand. Same same the jeans with torn knees. Lots of Korean stars wear those too. I don't get it.

I think Paragon is hilarious. All of those high end stores with no shoppers in them. I don't know how they stay in business. I like the floor with all of the car dealers though. Want a Rolls Royce or Aston Martin? Go to the mall and buy one! But I love Central World. I don't think many places in BKK have any issues with hotel visitors. However when I stayed at Siam Heritage Hotel many years ago they didn't allow anyone not a registered guest to go upstairs. I stayed at Tarntawan once and didn't enjoy it (hard as concrete bed and the bathroom wasn't great either). But I suppose maybe they've renovated since then. You didn't mention a budget. The Le Meridien on Surawong is nice but a little expensive. Great breakfast buffet. The Crowne Plaza Lumpini is also pretty nice and in a decent location. Airbnb is also an option.

or HiSo matrons

thanks for the replies

Planning my next (brief) visit for November. I had good luck in Seoul with AriBnB and will be using them again for an upcoming Europe trip. So, anyone have a favorite AirBnB or MisterB&B (like Airbnb for gays) in Bangkok? I see several places listed at this building called Klass on Soi Phiphat in the US$50-60 per night range. But I don't mind not staying in Silom. There are also some nice condos on Sukhumvit that are out a ways but offer nice views and are quite new.

I sent them a note and they responded that the new site will eventually have all of the same functionality as the old one. So I take that to mean the escort section will still be around. It's only really all that useful in Europe in my experience, but that's still worthwhile.

Not a fan. Seems like change for the sake of change with no clearly articulated reason why. It's too much like a mobile app. What's the point of putting a mobile app on a desktop website? They have their own mobile app already - although you have to jump through some hoops to download because it's not on the official Google Play store Are they eliminating the escort listings and trying to reposition purely as a "dating" site?

yeah, that certainly sounds like cart before horse alright!

false advertising

I used to use TheLimoPattaya. But I think I paid something like 2400 baht return. So 1000 baht noted above sounds like a very good deal. Looks like a similar sort of set up.