pong

even seen a complete Thai soap? With just 10% you have seen the complete drama. I guess though (as there was no battle of angels here) that it relates to SONGKRAM NANG FAH (=war/struggle of AIR-line-stewardesses), which probably ran 3-4 years ago by now. It even led, at the time (and if this forum was on by then, I think you may even have noted it), to protests of THAI=TG, the proud national airline here, in the degradation of the fame of their sky-angels. As you may also know (by now I gather you must do something in the tourist bisnis) being an airline host/ess is the ultimate wet dream (can you say that for girls?) of many a Thai pubescant girl. Whole schools thrive on it and there are even monthlies wholly dedicated to that dream-profession. But your pix are a bit misleading (that is-if my guess is right), as it was 98% ladies battling one another (often quite mean-like only ladies or gays can do?), but of course as a kind of love-affair with a glorified male-captain. Perhaps next year even the struggle-gossip-OOPS-subsub of the drama betwen FILM and ANNY (WHO is the father of that child?) may reach China? or still too hot for the cesnors there?

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they have already. but perhaps in that isolated Pattaya bubble you are not aware. I happen to live (part of the year) in a part of BKk side by side to all the protest-areas. Last one was sat 19-by those clad in red, following their dear and beloved leader, now living in a broke oil-state somewhere near the Gulf. Alas-this time he was not live online, though he about started the twitter fenomenon (followed by the Tunisians?). Maybe he was again flying around in the first class cabin of an airline chasing his investments in black mountains or other very important personal things. But he was online live! last week, sun 13, when he drew giant crowds, said to be around 30.000, and many coming from far beyond Khorat. BTW: this crony is living out of Thailand, as he refuses to sit in prison, due to exuberant corruption, favouring his mobuy-fone empire of the time. The pay-out for attention is said to be 500 THB=more/nearly double the daily rate (in case you did not know) for manual Thai workers. This even overcomes the eternal Thai superstition-as there are said to be 100s of 'phee''=ghosts roaming around in that area from the fallen comrades last year. This pay-out is also not apparent in the Mid East. Their fuming speeches are/were mainly about ''we will not forget'' and the shirts they wear often have ''kwaam ching wannee=the truth TODAY!'' on them. Many others think, they only do half the truth from yesterday. (conveniently forgetting torching of superstores and black-clad snipers among their last year demo). To make the picture even for all sides: since some 3/4 weeks now there is also a yellow clad protest (in the hot daytime on asfalt) numbering maybe a few dozen, Nonetheless, they occupy a large part of a very wide avenue, which mainly leads to further traffic jams in the area. It seems they oppose something from the Khmer neighbours (you may know it as Cambodia) as they claim a few square mtrs of THAI holy soil is occupied by them! And: this very same topic, but under a slightly different name, is already presented by our dear multi-contributor khun FH=FountainHall. Another well-known general Thai forum, mainly visited (so it seems to me) by always moaning and groaning expats, named thaivisa, also has a long thread about it. Any opinion vented is already there. So please-leave this forum to what the name says. Or-that is what I think of it.

(sorry, something went wrong here-had to reset) so here is part 2, the clubs: CASTRO, has disco, coyoteboys and lip-synch drags (Thai style this is). cheap drinks (for you-not for the normal Thai going out); soft 60, beer 100, cocktail 180-250. Has private rooms ''for karaOK''-but only for men. Mainstream popular (for Thai ) music, much K-POp (thats Korean, a crazy new wave in case you also did not know that). Customers described as early 30ies, a little older as the OToKo (Chatuchak) and Ratchada scene. A few monthes older is another gay disco; SanFRanDiscGo (I guess owned by same person, who may have been to SF in the US), which seems to be doing quite well in this o-so straight neighborhood. Worth going? hmm, maybe. IF you speak enough Thai, IF you have willing Thai friends (in the trendy BKK mid/hi-class , not your tipical Isan farmers son), if you can stand ear-splitting deafening music for more as 5 mins and If you have the newest supertrendy required new style of clothing (dont worry-that will be on sale just outside by an army of vendors) and IF you fancy going out very late, then-well, maybe. Strange thing is even more that none of the usual english gay sites that follow all the latest new openings have not yet discovered these places. (just checked, the Thai ones have them- but also seem quite reserved about it). SO; YOU may be the very first! Go Now (Beachlover, LetmeTellYou- i guess these are the most likely interested) before this secret is discovered! AND: a big chance to spot another Thai soapy star (dara!) or magazine celebrity-but then you have to know which are the ones to look out for.

Report from freinds and trendy magazines: here in the big city of BKK you may have heard of RCA, Royal City Avenue, or ArSEeA or Ro-Yl SitDee in Thai. This is a private ''entertainment'' road about halfway along the tracks of the old train and new ARL between Makkasan and RamKamHeang stops, also halfway between Phetburi Rd. and Ram IX. Is famous since some 15 years, and has had waves of all kinds of tipical Thai pubescent behavior. Not the least underage (that means <21 ghere-so you need a fake ID to get into those disco's), prostituion, often fuelled by rumours that FAMOUS TV-stars and the like might be seen there! The biggest crowd-puller for the tipical Thai. The place was always strictly (well, as far as that can be said for Thaild) str8. But since late 2010 2 places have opened to cater for the trendy gay crowds.

there must be just 1 country left that spends such huge amounts on ''espionage/info gathering'' from most other countries. In the past there also were the red hammer and sickle adapts, who also had long legged blond Natasha's to get people in blackmail-worthy situtaions, but they were mostly after economic secrets and bisnis-gains. My bet for explanation are the simple things: 1.think that new-time technology can solve anything and forget about the basics of how human beings live on, i.e. psychology. They only know a bit of pychology in manipulating consumer behavior. Think Thai style: corruption drives anything. So that means the bisnis boys (directors,-I despise that newtime word of CEO) pay under the table to the govmt boys for new and much better, yet unproven technology. Sell padlocks from walmart @69 cents for 69 $$ to the govmt with some special claim. etc. That particular country may be very rich, but that richness also very uneven distributed and it does not score pretty good on corruption statistics. 2.but even then I think that the wikileaks (that they were so crazy-mad about-lost honour?) even revealed in the case of Tunisia that their workers there did had sent out warnings, gathered from TV and general local news. But in a country were the press is heavily censured-how do you find out, reliably, about ''grassroots'' movements? Embassy workers are not tipically those that engage much in contact with ''normal people'' as they even get their own cars=no knowledgeable taxidriver and their workmaids etc. are specially screened-possibly also by the local govmt, on loyalty to the present govmt. 3.or do that mentioned easy psychology: you must know that when big bisnisses fail, it is often when the utmost director goes mad, often led by an excessive greedy wife. In my country we had quite a few cases of that the last 20 years. it will not happen overnight-but there seems to be a leeway of maybe 10-12 years. Same-same seems to be the case with about any fallen dictator of the last 20 years or so, and a great many of those in the Mid-east. My bet would be much more on Cambodia/Kampuchea as a next candidate. And do not forget China: when their property bubble goes burst, and profit is the main driving force in the Chinese way of thinking, millions and millions of the masses loose out on millions and billions of yuan. Makes a nice recipe for a big revolt. Certainly when the green boys (army) also loose out, as they are hip-deep in all kinds of real estate. But they are very great in passing the bill on to someone else-so there may be some buffertime when they still can do that. 4. and ''real'' democracy does not come fallen from the sky. if there is suddenly no iron-fisted ruler, in a country with rivalling groups or tribes, then there are sure to come a wave of criminality (and calls for a new strong leader) or forms of tribal warfare. Those iron firsted leaders often favoured one of those groups, or were part of it. so there are bills to setlle in revenge. Iraq is sadly a much more fitting example as iran for that. For most people democracy simply means: we are nw free to do what ever we like to.

that doggy bag will be the normal plastic bag you get the takehome variety of the very same dish in-or a collection of those (1 for soup, 1 tiny for the unavoidable chilli, etc.). Sometimes att the very cheap 30 bt eating places you have to pay 5 bt for the plastic container. But in this area in BKK it is quite uncommon. Anyway-I think Thai food gets dull very soon if not kept well, kept too long or simply left to cold.

somehow I like this thread, so here is another one to change all the history: GoGO does exist since more as a century! In one of the not so well-described gogo-bars in soi 6, near Coca restrt, the boys have been donned with new white shirts saying; (our bar) since 1889 going strong! Thats is thus a whopping 122 prachampee coming up! Most of this therad is about hotmail/make, but the best known big bar was aross Suriwong, name BARBIERY. Very famous-untill they got oversized dreams and moved to that big newly built building in that same soi off Coca, beyond Golden Cock, where it miserably failed and all bisnisses since then also-whithin a few weeks or monthes.

According to a short report in utopia-asia, in the charming town/village of Nongh Khai (along the Mekong river, besides the bridge to Vientiane/Laos) a gay bar has opened under the name of OASIS. No real facts, except that it is ''along/beside the river'' (no sweat-anything in NK is-but it stretches for some 3-4 kms) and open from very late till in the wee small hours. I do not think it will be worth the effort to go there for just this bar, but it might be kind of interesting to find out, if you are there anyway, what it is like. And in case its faltered: Udorn, some 50/60 kms south or across the river (pay for Laos visum) Vientiane, might offer more to your taste.

so what do the Thai do: in front of a high-class girls matayom (=grammar) in the morning, well before 8.00, they distribute FREE supersweet toffee candy -and to the girls only, farang were barred- to promote selling them. And by chance the se=hwen round the corner next day had a prominent display of those toffees. I guess thats at least nonallowed in UK and AUS and USA?

but to the subject of gay life developing in Camb/PnPn: just found a link/announcement that a new gay-aimed disco has opened, I think not mentioned before (sorry-too lazy to make a post on the other forum for that country-seems that anything gets into this thailand branch anyway): qgpnompanh.com. opens from 22.00 till very late. stickyrice.ws is mentioned as having a recent overveiw and mentions bars like glory hole and pontoon. And we have the dear BL from Australia, posting recently about his adventures.

as for this-and just a side-remark. Watch what happens in soi Arab=Sukhumvit 2, near nana here in BKK. Arabs on the main str8 side also do not (in general) go to gogos etc. They love to hire streetwalkers. Think it is cheaper or so, or do not want all that hassle before with talks and buying drinks. I guess that is also how they hire any needed male serviceboy. BTW-in the past (years ago, when I talked more with barboys about their life) most of the Thai sex-workers nearly hate Arabs clients. Are afraid of them, but thats partly probably also the Thai parrotting without any thinking way.

Sondee either owns or runs the ASTV-a TV and newsppr bisnis on Pra Athit road, near the river in nearby Banglamphu. This was also the place where the then yellow airport-occupation was run from. You can buy that newsppr from most stands (at least in BKK-and read it if you can find someone to do the Thai). The yellows are still there. yesterday eve they even had found a supporting band. But then they have to protect their hi-so standard, so there can be no look-thoong music. Strangely there was agian a fuming speech from someone who exactly copied the reds last year: Abhisit?!-go away! Already 10 days we are here and the govmt. does not do anyting! And talks about the khon djon (=poor people) and their miserable fate. All their banners there have first: rao rak naay luangh = we love the important fellow, then about the din Thai=Thai ground that cannot be given up. It seems the extremes se touchent-or the fiend of my fiend is my friend. The reds started already yesterday eve in setting up their stands along the main part of Ratchdamnern. There was a minor clash with a scooterclub that has meetings there on sat-this was quite uncommon for Thai as they did not gave in, not even when those bar-bouncing lookalike black safetyguards of the reds came in (they wear black 2nd hand Korean POLICE-jackets). The reds were told they have sat-and sund is for red. Eventually the reds gave in. But yet another red demo is announced for next sunday,. Seems the rice tending season is at its low anyway-same time as last year, so enough time to go bigcity for yet another mob.

for this current demo, there has been no mention at all of that %elections etc. There is always the verdict of: why would they throw us out, when they left the reds there (same avenue-just a little further on) for weeks on end. Plus that in this time now, neither army nor plice seem particularly impressed with their claims. Anyway: the announced demo for tomorrow, fr 11/2, seems to be cancelled. The villagers in the Isan?khmer area have clearly let them know, they do not want them there in that disputed border-area, not even to distribute used clothes etc. from BKK's upper class ''for the poor people''. Sometimes the hi-so have very clever ways to protect their interests and let all others dance to their tune,but this time apparently not so much. Now even newspapers start to say that roads are blokced, in far too large amounts, for just a few dozen protesters (which is true daytime). That Chamlong, with his organic vegetalble growing patches and living ''close to nature'' in his whealthy Dusit (a cityquarter very nearby and very whealthy) villa, has to swallow his pride and give up. But that is for any Thai more hard to do as even saying s/he had seen it worngly. Many hi-class people anywhere in this world (with the UK not except) have that hautain behavior, probably the things they learned in those expensive private schools, to nullify those ''who are not in our class''. The French burocrats learn that in their ENA-schools. The communists learned that with too much drinking in their private red clubs. And the Chinese....?

please note for the time being; This place (across from the zoo, and very near to Wat Benchamabopit, the marble temple) is right smack at the side of the yellow PAD-demo area. This means traffic is very congested and has to take big ways around. Have no fear-there is no strife, but it is mainly inconvenient. BUS 70 is the only one crossing this road, but is currently rerouted. (Sanam Luang-BangSue/MRT-Prachachuen-Prachanivet) Nearest BTS is Phiyathai, but I advice anyone to go to Vict. Monmt instead and take taxi, or bus 18/28/108 Go down left hand exit to find these) from there. Get of when they pass the zoo-and then go left into the street=street with this hall, which hjas a kind of Capitol-lokalike cupola on top.

1.as there is no real law against that. may seem quite funny to you, i think 2.as this would give the yellows even more ammunition Now just as coincidence yesterday eve I went for a walk to there. they do not occupy streetS-rather a section of North-ratchdamnern. When going there, from the Demo-crazy Monmt, I first passed a rather ragged and unseemingly for the hi-so yellows group a few 100 isan people, on another section of same avenue, in front of min. of transport, toward JoPoRo crossing. This morning the BKkpost told me, they were asking the govmt. for debt-relief. There is a section along a canal a little furhter where always some groups are protesting. But for the yellows, this was not good enough. They thus took another portion of same avenue (making for tremendous traffic jams in the peaks-it s mainly office there and not much housing), with severely watched entries, where they search anyone, like in airports (but no separate sexes). BTW-there are also a small group of blues. Agents guarding this had blue/yellow hand clappers, i suggested they put in some red ''hearts'' inside and they had a big laugh. This farang is funny! There was a big stage, with speakers (often this Chamlong), repeating no end the claims, the bad Khmer, the give up of that precious Thai land (a sandbag where not even rice will grow) etc. Many people came to join in a taxi-and often these were all-yellow. Tipical hi-so Thai (muu luoy we say here=rich pigs, the class-conscious Brits may take a note of that). Indeed it was most peoples guess as to what this Sondhee is in fact up to. Most agree it was his pride in being bypassed in last elections and make up of this govmt. Chamlong is a famous BKK former city-governor and still highly esteemed by many people, but these also shake their head and do not understand as to what he is now up to. His new party got a big battering in last city-elections, and it is seen this was not to his liking. All in all this is so out of anyones normal thinking, it remains hard to see what they are up to. They could simply just move to that sandpatch at the border and get shot at-but thats too far out of the comfortzone of this bigcity, I guess.

TODAY's =sun 6/2/11 newspaper BangkokPost has a report on what the Pattaya police (surveying about 100.000 Thai and they quoted as 400.000 farang!! in their hood) did, incl, this Sunee raid (said to be mainly aiming at drug-users). The dapper men in brown were shouted and abused at by the farang customers, said to be mainly pensioners living permanently in PTY, as were the journalists. Apparently the farang did not know this abuse might also have landed them in jail-but the police turned a blind eye for that. It also stated these raids were weekly routine, a week before done in soi 6 (thats north PTY)-mainly Isan bargirls and katoeys there. Most other reports they had to deal with were thefts and robberies, often by katoeys.

''queer" happens often with translations-they just pick the wrong word from a dictionary. I have also seen it labelled as ''faggots'' I guess very same explanation. If you think wider-maybe, Lao-Tse forgives, the old and perhaps by now even wisened old and superold ruling elite has got the grabs that a giant oversupply of horny young males in their early 20ies, due to their 1-child policy, needs some outlet. If the tipical Chinese ghist for making money also arises, they may even softly and secretly start promoting gay trips-first of course with the overseas infidles of states like Singapore etc. These sports-teams may be secretive fact-seeking teams to check if those markets are open for that??

these notes/mails also land in my postbox, due to other jobs. This is then nr 4 to enter that promising bandwagon of what i recall seems to be named the ''pink dollar'' (though most visitors aimed at do not even use that money). There was tel Aviv, in Israel, with a grand budget of 50/60,000 US$-mainly put into clever use in social networking twitters and faceymyhyvespagebooks and the like. Then Nepal came on, smiling Sherpa's and all that. PLU or gays are named like ''frinds of Dorothy,, again if i recall correctly. BTW: an amazing nr of Nepalis look quite simliar to Thai. The faded glory of Amsterdam, which lost most of its brothels, bars and discos, closed, got fresh money to relive and revive its once thriving name. Lets just think forward: when a more liberated regime starts in revolt-struck countries like Tunisia, it may even also jump on this bandwaggon. Gays are known to quicker jump into that as people to afraid of any violence hurting their holidays they (thats what they claim on telly) have saved all their life to scrape by for that final dream-holiday. And for Khmerland/Kampuchea: (if people are able to conceive that there is no war going on-more like overgrown kids playing in the schoolgarden with real in lieu of plastic pistols)-they have money for nothing. All these modern looking things are paid for by some subsidy (development aid) from a western nation. The main benefitors are the adv-agencies setting up those campaigns. So who was it? OZzieland?

In fact Midnight cowboy overgrew its initial success (their shows changed quite frequently-I cannot recall the one described), moved to larger premises a few houses on. As so often happens in BKk/LOS, some one grabbed the chance and started a new bar, I think that was named Apache, in the old house of MC. The new MC was awfully icy cold, so soon the boys protested and started wearing jackets etc, Soon after that the original owner/manager, mr. John from Singapore, died. The bars soon dwindled down too. Apache remained on for a longer time. That soi is now closed off to the street, by a new condo block. Besides STAX (which for a long time had an offshoot, 1 for kara-OK and 1 for some mild go-go the most long running bar is CHARMMING, still in the old location. The best known bar was ADAM-but has changed name a year, or 2, ago. In Spn Kw bars it was and still is Thai style. In most bars the boys were and still are fully clothed. You wont get approached untill you invite one (and for a short talk no need to immediately buy drinks and all that, nor for tips, this is not Pattaya, but Thai style). Most clients would rely on advice by the captian (aka mamasan). I really doubt if these bars (1 by 1 they closed thelast years-just 4 or 5 remaining) would appeal to the tastes this thread now describes. And a good dose of knowledge of Thai would be needed to. In fact there are 3 gay sauna's over there, but the formerly numerous short-time HTLs have mostly closed or turned into other bisnis. If you would not know how the system in these bars works, you would as an unknowing farang, left baffled and wondering why all the heck this was about.

Really? I'll ask a Japanese later om, but from what I remember (2 vists there-but quite some time ago) it was same sex only, or maybe it was time-separated? i mean the normal bath-areas in hostels, hotels etc., not the open-air onsen=hot springs.

in case you did not know it-it only starts tomorrow, 2/2/11. The Viet however, do not like rabbits, as they see it as a kind of rodent eating their precious rice, and have opted for the CAT (but I guess not those shiny gold coloured ones with 1 arm beckoning you into Chinese shops). Be aware if you have any Chinese friends, even mildly Sino-Thai, that all celebrations last for a week or so (nicely started up last sunday with a big house cleaning-I just hope all Chinese bisnis bar-owners have complied with that too in those bars) and are struck with enormous superstitious beliefs and rules as how to it should be done, on risc of having your whole new year spoiled for good luck. Here in this part of BKK where I stay, it really is enormously busy, AirAsia must have done good bisnis, with loads of Taiwanese, Malays and Singaporese going on hols. Even some mainland Chinese are now starting to dare to travel on their own without state-provided minder. And then they find that here in BKK celebrations are not that big, with just the dept.store sponsored dances and a few parades-and some thai popbands playing deafening music in/on Yaowarat, 3 and 4/2, late afternoon and evening. The tourist office did not even bother to print the leaflets in english or chinese.

If i remember well, this festival Khun FH muses on, is held in Kawasaki. The young boys dream....... There are also (or maybe that is yet another Yipun festival) crowds of Japanese men, only clad in a fundoshi (a kind of loincloth) but among which is one man fully naked- and if you can touch him, good luck for bext year is assured. Right now while I write this Chinese nw yr seems to have started with big fireworks going off in the soi.

Dear khun FH-this seems indeed to be a prob in some areas of this big city. I encounter the same (relying purely on intershetshops) in Pra nakorn area-all. Here where I now sit, in RamkamHaeng=uni area,it comes along. it also seems to be different from the common blocking of many Thai/Asian poh-sites, which will give you a Thai+english explanation.

the main carrot for this scheme, mainly taken by Japanese and Taiwanese, was life-long visa free entry without any time-restrictions. Which as such is not costing very much in lost fees. I remember quite well an all-open glass enclosed cell in the mid of Don Muang/International for this elite members, later it got blackened window panes, to give them some prvacy from the rzzmatazz walking around. I myself rally wonder if those figures are not blown up out of any proportion-or the still lingering on workers for the scheme are out in full hand to maintain their costly jobs-doing nothing (welcoming the odd member-maybe 5 a year?) for an ensured source of income. Simply rent it out to some ''hospitality'' company, if which there are dozens working at swampy.