macaroni21

Ok guys, time to let up on @Olddaddy. Despite this little adventure, he's nonetheless found his way around the provincial towns of Philippines (based on his trip reports), and now going to Vietnam. Not bad at all. Have some respect.😂

I wonder whether such a 12-hour rule is only for domestic US flights. For international flights the airline cannot assume that the passenger can get through immigration onto the land side, without which he cannot retrieve his luggage or check in again for the second leg of the journey.

One more thing - do check whether you need a visa to enter Thailand. The airline may call it a layover, but if you want to get past immigration to go downtown, you'll still need a visa unless your country is visa-exempt.

@pylonguy71 With careful prior research re transport options and locations, you may be able to squeeze in a massage at Arena and then book a boy from Moonlight during your layover. Given your preference for the more muscular types, these may be the least-bad options. I dare not say these are good options, because I don't know what you're expecting. The Asian body is not naturally thick like a European body, so it's much harder for an Asian to get as much mass as a European. What you may notice from this board is that (exceptions permitting) the twink lovers generally prefer Thailand and the muscle worshippers have a bias towards Brazil. @DenverDude is probably right about your luggage being tagged all the way to your final destination, so make sure you have what you need for the 16 hours in Bangkok in your carry-on. Although it may sound like a crazy idea to some others, I have done something similar before, during a 13- or 14-hour layover in Amsterdam, though it was a single cum, not twice. So it can be done. But then, I already knew the layout of the city from previous visits (making navigation much easier) whereas you're saying you've never been to Bangkok before. Arena Massage largely closes by about 9pm. I once made the mistake of getting there around 8pm and there weren't many boys left. But if your flight lands at 3pm, you may be able to make it there by 6pm which I think is their peak hour. This can be followed by a bit of dinner and then off to Moonlight for the show at 10:30pm. Get a boy by 11:30 or 12 midnight and use the short-time rooms at Suriwongse Hotel next door. Leave for the airport around 4am, perhaps? However, I don't think the short-time rooms are available for more than 1 or 2 hours, so it may be better to get a regular room in Suriwongse. It's going to be basic, but probably good enough for a few hours. Alternatively, the Raya Hotel almost across the street from Moonlight (it only has regular rooms, not short-time rooms). To make this work, you will need to understand the locations well, the transport system and have enough cash. It's a little worrying that you're not asking these logistical questions.

I went past about 5 pm yesterday but saw no sign of any work being done inside. That said, while another shop about 2 - 3 doors away had a "For sale/rent" sign on its shutters, Tawan's unit didn't have that, so it's not (yet) for sale/rent? That might be a teeny weeny straw we can clutch on to for the time being.

Such negotiations happen quite often in the massage shops of that area (I think you meant Silom 6). Management seems to want to maintain an image that these are proper massage places, even when the boys don't really know how to do one. So the boys are left to look after their own interests when the shop does not set a minimum tip as done in some other massage shops, e.g. in the Saphan Khwai area.

It's a little off convent road, midway between silom and sathorn. Google "eat me, Bangkok". It's been around for at least 25 years.

Considering how Grab made a handsome profit recently, I think we should olddaddy at his word.

By any chance have you heard of the State-of-the-art phone app called Google Map? Many members of this board have successfully found even the most out-of-the-way bars and massage parlours using it, without speaking the local language, in pouring rain and in the middle of the night too.

Does anyone have insight into the marketing mess at OneSpa? I get Line posts from OneSpa by Sky Massage and OneSpa by Barbra. Is one more legit than the other? Is one more reliable for making bookings than the other?

It may make for good copy, but do people seriously think that legalising same-sex marriage makes a country an LGBT tourist destination? I don't hear about LGBT tourists flocking to Uruguay, South Africa or Slovenia - legal in those places too. Nepal needs much better infrastructure and attractions than it currently has to attract more tourists. A lively scene with stripper bars, massage parlours aplenty, and perhaps a White Party for the younger party set would be what's needed to set it apart. But I don't see it happening. At the very least, a nice mountain village that serves as a gay enclave, with pretty cottages and modern conveniences, staffed with good-looking houseboys, willing to please... hmmm, that may be a start.

Just as the action in Brazil is mainly in the GP saunas, so the action in Thailand is mostly in the "massage" places now. Most of them are not where you would get a proper massage anyway. If at all there's a bit of a rub here and a rub there, it's more accurate to describe it as foreplay. Overall, it works out to be better value for money than offing from the gogo bars. My vague recollection is that you like your boys on the meatier side though I may be wrong and confusing you with some other member, but if so, turn your attention to Jey Spa, Sabaidee Massage, Arena Massage and maybe Goo Guy (their stable is mixed but they have some bigger ones). Vinapu should be able to give you more information about getting to those places.

Huh? My eyes got burned by that blazing tattoo on the chest. Even when I recovered my eyesight I couldn't see any handsome boy.

My last visit to the bars was in December 2023, with I think just one visit (to Dream Boy) in January. For January's Dream Boy, my notes (see https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2024/02/28/the-supermarket-stacker/#more-4022) say: Customer drink: 500 baht, Boy drink: 400 baht, Off fee: 550 baht. For December, my notes in relation to Banana Room say First drink 500 baht. Boy drink 300 baht. Off fee 500 baht. In relation to Hotmale, First drink 500 baht. Boy drink 400 baht. Off fee 500 baht. See https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2023/12/22/three-bars-three-obsessions/ I'm in no position to say whether there have been further increases as I haven't been back. I don't know what you mean by "were hitting over 400 baht per if tip is included in the transaction." Tips have always been separate from drinks and off-fees. As for the boys' expectations, budget for 2,500 baht short time, but if you time your visit right and the boys need you more than you need them, 2,000 should be the right level. And for me too, the attractions of Thailand are gradually fading.

You can try saying you're in a long-distance relationship with someone in Brazil. Boyfriend or girlfriend, take your pick.

+1

From BBC Weather (https://www.bbc.com/weather/1609350) I see predictions of thundery showers in the coming week for Bangkok. Daily maximum temperatures are indicated to be 33 degrees Tuesday to Friday. But of course weather forecasts are fickle things.

...which can be a problem, as my story here will show. This was from years ago. Chosen boy from gogo bar and me got into a taxi starting from Surawong Road towards my hotel in the Sukhumvit area. Along the way, the boy asked the driver why he was taking the scenic route. In response, the driver said something offensive about him being a sex worker. A heated argument broke out, and it was obvious we had to alight from the cab before things got worse. On the sidewalk, boy said sorry but he was too upset to be a companion tonight. He would go home. I didn't have to tip him, he said. We parted ways, each hailing separate cabs to our separate beds.

If only the gay bars of Patpong had something of this standard for their shows, it might actually be worth the 500 baht they charge. Then again, I noticed the investment in technology...

Hmm, my recall is that I had far more boys to choose from last year than is now shown on the list. Their roster has shrunk, it seems.

Oh, forgive me. I had a report on my visit to this place, but obviously I didn't link it here. It's at https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2024/01/14/went-river-fishing-for-aroma-caught-thai/

If it was me, I'd avoid the complication and not meet up at all in Paris. See him next time in Rio.

https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2023/12/26/map-of-saphan-khwai-and-sutthisan-winitchai-area-december-2023/

Yes, you are right. I knew this board's group intelligence is a valuable resource. Sake Pub is alive and well, but it is now located on the Thonburi side of the river. The valid Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/SakePubnew (note the word "new") complete with recent photos and video clips (poor quality). Its address is stated to be 89/3-5 Arun Amarin Road, Bangkok Noi, Bangkok, Thailand, Bangkok.

This bar needs to be checked out. Its Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sake-Pub-สาเก-ผับ/341416052585697 where its address is stated as 60/1 Soi Damnoen Klang Tai. This seems to be a tiny road 250m south of Khaosan Road and 350m east of Sanam Luang. I reckon it is in the vicinity of Google Coordinates 13.756346380428468, 100.49797434403985. There are some interesting pictures on its Facebook page around April 8th or 9th. Here's a Songkran poster from April 12th: And on Youtube, a video from 2019: Almost certainly a bar for Thais rather than foreigners.