macaroni21

The incident I experienced wasn't intentional but nonetheless a loss. I was in Ben Thanh market in Saigon last year and liked a shirt. At the same time, another tourist was also buying. Through the corner of my eye, I noticed his choice of colours. He liked them bold. We both made up our minds around the same time and the shop owner collected payment from me to pass as change to the other guy. She packed our shirts into brown paper bags and thanked both of us as we left. "Come again soon," she said. When I got back to my hotel room, I stuffed the paper bag into my suitcase and forgot about it. It was a few days later, when I got home that I looked into the paper bag. I had the two garish shirts the other guy bought. Not only that, they were too big for me. He must have received the shirt I bought. Too small for him, I think. At least I paid for only one shirt, while he had paid for two. Ouch.

I've tried that but found the heat and humidity intolerable.

At a conference in Jamaica many years ago, there was a guy from India whose gold necklace was quite visible. Inside the posh (everything is relative, of course) hotel, it wasn't a problem. But the evening we were to go out for the conference dinner, the event leader suggested that he not wear it. I overheard a bit of the conversation. He explained that the chain had been blessed by his priest and he was to wear it at all times for protection or something like that. So, sometimes we shouldn't apply cold rationality to such issues. People have reasons for doing what they do. However, as I write this, I cannot recall whether that chap finally took the conference leader's advice or stuck to his priest's edict. Memory (or lack of) can be frustrating!

Like these very attractive men? Heehee

I think the term "public" is a classifier or tag to indicate that all the information on the info box for the named service provider is available for public release. Each provider may also have additional information in his database profile tagged as Private. Examples of Private info items might include his real name, personal phone or Line number, history of bookings, etc which only the shop management can access. Of course the tag "public" should not itself be displayed, since doing so would only confuse the public 🤣

The drop-down for service status has 3 labels: "Ready", "not available", and "not yet notified of employment". Any idea what the last means?

How does one get a sample of a massage out on the street with clothes on? What part of your body was the sampled area?

Getting COVID during a holiday is a bummer. Some precious days are lost as a result. Am glad my trip report was useful. However I think you meant 800,000 dong instead of 8,000. And so on....

I am happy for you that persistence paid off. Also, useful for this board to have this first-hand information. Imagine the headline: Mass shooting at gay bathhouse after man rejected four times; 27 dead. Police were called a little after 11pm to a building on 15th Street after shots rang out and naked men were seen fleeing the premises. The building, frequented by homosexuals and called Pleasure Hole had been an unassuming business in the community for several years, keeping a low profile. But the bathhouse was well-known in the homosexual community. The shooter is believed to have killed himself as police cornered him in the steam room. According to the name on his bathhouse membership card, he was Eugene Mattayod. His age is unknown. Membership records show that this was only his third visit, after signing up about seven weeks ago. A neighbour who was drying her hair near her upstairs window said she heard some muffled shots but wasn't alarmed as she wasn't initially sure that they came from a firearm. "The building had thick walls and closed windows," said Tricia Tricks, "and the sounds were not loud." Then she saw naked men feeling from the front door and an upstairs window, climbing onto the roof of a porch. "Some of them had really big dongs, like horses. It was so exciting, I was distracted and kept holding my hair dryer against the same side of my head until my hair caught fire." Her boyfriend then called the fire department to come put the fire out from her head. When the fire engines arrived, they were surprised to be surrounded by naked men on the street shouting about a shooting. This wasn't consistent with the call they received which was about a Tricia with her head on fire. They called the police who arrived shortly after. Meanwhile many other neighbours were peeping through their windows, but afraid to come out. They told this reporter that they too heard what sounded like gunshots and didn't think it safe to come out of their doors. On top of that, having naked men come scrambling over their garden hedges was not something their church had taught them how to respond to. "It was best to lock our doors," said Miriam Morales. "I pride myself on my moral standards," she added. "We shouldn't be talking to naked men, not even to find out what was happening. Who knows what psychological effect that might have on normal people, like turning homosexual ourselves and drowning in sin." Her 12-year-old son Angel had a different opinion. "The men were very beautiful," he said, earning him a smack on his head and a stern "Wash your mouth out and go to bed!" Two women from three doors away did come out. Dressed only in their nightgowns, they had been having a slow night, and thought that the sudden availability of men in their neighbourhood might be a godsend for their sales revenue tonight. "I lifted the front of my nightgown," said Lily Quicke, "but no one was interested." "Not a single one. It was so strange, especially when they were already naked and ready for action." Her room-mate, Dina Dynamite, said she was disappointed too that no business resulted. "I lifted the back of my gown and twerked," but the men fled even further. "My booties are massive and perfect for a sizzling performance. I dont understand why it didn't attract anyone this time." Rejected four times A few of the men on the street had noticed Mattayod while inside the bathhouse. None said they had much of a conversation with him, but apparently, he had been rejected four times. "I think I was the first of the four," said a tall, bearded guy who prefers to go by the name Duchess-Mary-the-loose. "We started making out on the sofa in the TV room. I did my best with my legs high up in the air, but somehow I didn't feel a thing. "When I looked towards the site of the action, I noticed that he was too small for me," Duchess-Mary-the-loose recounted. The tryst was cut short and Mattayod was sent on his way. "Most of us are too small for her," said a hunk of a guy listening in. "She's not called 'the-loose' for nothing." According to the hunk who preferred not to give us his name, even if one were not too small, performance anxiety when confronted with the high standards demanded by Duchess Mary would likely cause shrinkage. Hilario Clinto claimed to be the third of the four guys who had rejected Mattayod. "He came on to me while we were at the bar," said Clinto, "and at first I was interested in going with him into a cabin. "Then I noticed that he had a MAGA tattoo." Clinto explained that it was a matter of profound principle that he avoids people with MAGA tattoos. "I honestly don't know what to do with the deplorables." Duchess Mary and Hilaro Clinto considered themselves extremely lucky that they were in the dark maze when the shooting started. "We could have been his intended targets," Clinto said. "When I heard the first pop of the gun, I thought it was incredible," Duchess Mary said. That needed some explanation. "Not many guys can fill me," she began. "But this one in the dark room filled me like a huge, tight cork in a bottle, and when he was pulling out, I thought the pop was from the suction effect." "It rarely happens nowadays. It's hard to find big men." Might it have been Clinto while they were in the dark maze? Clinto laughed. "I don't dare go near her, and I certainly do not want to be attached to her with suction, struggling to be released." Your reporter was unable to interview the second and fourth guys who rejected Mattayod. They were unable to speak as they were in bodybags. The police asked Rodney Grease, the owner of the Pleasure Hole, why they didn't forbid customers from having firearms with them. "I believe in the Second Amendment," he replied.

@newtobangkok123 in Thailand's massage parlours, whether it's a place primarily for legit massages or one primarily for erotic massages, the client makes two payments. The first is to the shop. The amount will be based on the their price list depending on the service you choose. You know that already. Some shops require you to pay before the session begins, other shops are happy to take payment (for the shop) after the session. The second payment is directly from you to the service provider. It is always made AFTER the session. Your chief question is how to know how much. First of all, not all massage places publish minimum tips. Some do, some don't. Legit massage places almost never publish minimum tips. Erotic massage places mostly do nowadays, or if they do not publish them publicly, the receptionist will whisper to you as you pay the shop's fee. Or, there will be something stated as a footnote on the menu card. Just be alert and pay attention. The rule of thumb is that any place with a stated minimum, however stated - whether publicly published, whispered or footnoted - you can assume to be an erotic massage place where the service provider expects that you would want a happy ending, or at least to get hard. So, to your question: Once I know the minimum tip, does this tip include the happy ending? the answer is Yes. Also, even if you decline the offer of a happy ending during the session, the minimum applies. That's simple enough However, regular visitors to massage parlours do not always pay just the minimum. The "how much" gets trickier. If it's a handjob, something like the minimum, plus a bit more (20%?) if you're orgasmically over the moon, will be fine. But if it was mediocre, just pay the minimum. More often than not, there is no discussion about handjobs; the service provider proceeds towards it, and you have to stop him if you do not want the session to go in that direction. If you're into plugging holes, you will probably be having a brief discussion in the room regarding who does what to whose hole, and in the course of that discussion, the service provider may mention a figure perhaps 25-50% higher than the previously stated minimum. Naturally, if you agree, that's the new minimum for your session. (If he quotes a new figure that is 75 - 100% above the pre-session minimum, I am likely to turn it down, as such a high mark-up probably indicates an unwillingness to go that route.) Whatever you've agreed, you can tip another 20-30% more above that new minimum if you're intoxicated with delight from his services (but they don't expect that). If for some reason, there is no discussion about any new minimum, then if he bottoms, you can still use the above percentages as a guide, i.e. anything from 25 - 50% above the minimum that was stated pre-session. If he tops. I think the pre-session minimum is still the reference level (but this is not an area I am familiar with). If it's a legit massage, my practice is to think in terms of maximum tip and then discount from there. If it was an excellent legit massage, I would apply the maximum, which would be an amount for the service provider that is the same quantum as what the shop charged for the session. However, if it was legit, but substandard, then I start discounting from the maximum. Example: I book a legit massage for 700 baht. If the guy delivers a very good massage, he gets 700 too. If not so good, then 600, or 500 and so on. What happens if, in what looks like a legit place, the service provider also delivers a handjob in the privacy of the room? If there was a discussion in the room, then all's clear. If no discussion, then I tend to tip some kind of industry average for handjob, which, in Bangkok (since you asked about Bangkok), may be in the 1000 - 1200 range. As with all conversations about appropriate tips, this post is going to get wild reactions from other members of the board. Some will say my ranges are too high and I am spoiling the market. More likely, others will pick up a megaphone and decry what a cheapskate I am. Without knowing who I am or which country I come from, they will say that (a) I come from a rich country, (b) I am perforce rich, and (c) I am a disgrace to humanity for failing to throw money around like Mansa Musa on his pilgrimage to Mecca. All I can say is that my rules of thumb have worked for the hundreds of massages I have had over decades, and no service provider has said - not to my face at least - I tip too little. I simply don't believe in bragging about my wealth (if any) by showing off. I was raised by parents who taught me that showing off is very crass.

I think the address on their website is wrong. Either that was an old address, and they have since moved, but did not update the website (a very common issue in both Thailand and Philippines), or they deliberately put up a fake address on their website to throw off the authorities. Between corrupt police and a prevailing homophobia in the country, police raids, closely followed by TV cameras, are a known thing. A more detailed websearch indicates their real address is 1148 E. Rodrigues Sr Ave. If you put that address into Google map and click their street view, you will see this, a Fahrenheit sign on the buidling. I would not expect the inside of the place to be anything like their pictures. I would not trust any of their pictures either. For example, if you clicked "gallery" from their menu bar on their website ( https://fahrenheitcafe.com/gallery/) , you will see no photos, but a strange opening paragraph that says "An unforgettable dining experience in the heart of Covent Garden, London. Contemporary british menu, inspired by the traditions of Great Britain.". I think they ran out of money and didn't pay their website developer who abandoned the job halfway. I won't be surprised if the interior of the premises also has signs of running out of money and not paying the contractor properly.

Some members here would be breaking such a rule each time they step into a gogo bar. Based on their reports, and my own observations every now and then when I am nursing a drink in a bar, some customers readily give out tips just because a boy looks handsome. I have always thought that that is a kind of cancer. It has damaged the work ethic when, from the boys' perspective, earnings are not dependent on having to work for the money. Mamasans expect to be tipped despite having been a nuisance; "models" get garlands for just standing around. There was one bar doorman who expected to be tipped because he saw me walk by. Thankfully he was no longer there a few months later.

Is that the one in an old house about 200m from the National Museum? If so, I think it was. On a related note, I also had cashew nuts ice-cream in Brazil. No cashews to be seen, but there was the distinct flavour of cashews in in the cream part....

Thanks, Vinapu. As a matter of curiosity, I wonder how many members of this board have never experienced a pingpong girlie show.....

I agree.

I have tasted a version of "chicken in cashewnuts" (note the variation in the name of the dish) in Phnom Penh, where they were no crunchy nuts either. However, the chicken was bathed in a creamy sauce, and I could detect that what probably went into the cooking process was a long cooking time during the which the cashew nuts (which might have been pre-crushed into tiny bits) softened so much, they became the thickener in the sauce. I could taste the cashew in the sauce, which had the consistency of thick cream.

Oops, sorry. I was momentarily confused. I was somehow thinking of S'sense, but that place is in Suan Plu. The massage at 9teen was OK but not one I would consider worthy of a repeat.

PS David sends his regards. Who is David? Regards sent to whom?

Spoon is onto something. Based on 4-5 sessions with Silom 6 shops over the past 5 years, I'd say they are more rub-and-tug than any decent massage, with one exception. My recent visit to 9teen turned out well, with a pretty good massage. On the Surawong side ( Green, new Aravin) you're more likely to get a decent massage. The extras have always been available as well.

I trust that other members of this board are aware that if one substituted the word "American" for "Chinese" in the above comment, they would make exactly the things that locals in many Asian countries would say too.

There was one year when I happened to visit the city during one of these big events. The vast majority of the visitors at the event were Thais. I reckon they were either living in the Chonburi area or from Bangkok. I can't imagine them needing to spend an average of 8,333 baht per head. Even if that figure included hotel costs for 1 or 2 nights, they are almost all family groups, and so would have shared rooms.

I'm glad you appreciate the map that I have drawn, and yours is a good question that gives me a chance to explain the editorial policy behind the blog and its contents. To answer your specific question first, about the others that are left out ..... I have read about 27M massage near Inthamara 27, Home Massage about 100 metres short of the Vibhavadi Rangsit expressway, and 15M massage a bit NW of Exit 3 of Saphan Khwai. But (a) they are outside the boundaries of my map; (b) I have not verified their locations personally. My general policy for my blog is that what I say is based on personal observation and verification. It is not supposed to be a compendium of the many different things said by others. In the occasional post, I may refer to something reported by others. When that happens, I make that abundantly clear in the text. For maps, if I haven't verified its existance, it is not there. You will notice that I try to take a picture of a shop's front, as sort of proof it is real and that I saw it for myself. The drawback of such a policy is that the blog and its maps may omit places that I don't know about or haven't verified (it becomes under-inclusive). The upside is that I do not risk including things based on hearsay, e.g. resulting in the location marked wrongly. Of course, it would be great if others likewise build their own maps.

Wait.... who is this new bus service supposed to serve? If it is tourists arriving at Chiang Mai airport, then whoever planned or approved this is unfit for his or her job. Arriving tourists want to get to their hotels, not to trudge their luggage immediately to "well-known tourist destinations such as One Nimman, Chang Phueak Gate, Tha Phae Gate, Flower Market, Chiang Mai Gate". I magnified the map, and Chiangmai Boutique Lodge is the only stop with a name resembling that of lodgings. I don't see any other hotel listed amng the stops. Instead, we have totally irresistible places of interest 🤪 such as Suriwong Book Center, Mae Ping Post Office, Yupparaj School, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Computer City. To be fair, perhaps there are hotels near these bus stops, but if so, the least the map can do is to mark the hotels and indicate which stop is nearest which one. In the absence of such markings, hardly any arriving tourist is going to see any use for the service. It also seems to be a one-way route, going clockwise from the airport. Even if you're brave or impecunious enough to put your trust in this service, should your hotel be towards the end of the circular route, then you'd have to endure a very long ride - - and Chiang Mai's traffic can't have improved from "terrible" since I was last there 5 - 6 years ago) - - to your hotel. Look at how the Koreans do it. They have a number of express airport buses from Incheon airport to Seoul. Click their links and you see how they have a clear timetable, information about major hotels served and an app for real-time information. https://airportkobus.com/seoul-incheon-airport-bus/ https://airportkobus.com/the-incheon-airport-bus-6001-route-to-seoul/

** blush ** Thank you for the compliment and feather.

Only been there once, though good enough that I'd repeat when there's an opportunity. In that one time, my guy was nude from the start, and transitioned to body-to-body midway. That said, I don't know if that is just the guy I hired (whose face is no longer among the pictures that Apollo sends out, so I guess he has quit), or if it is house policy. In the Saphan Khwai places for example, I have yet to discern any house policy, for example. Technique and service standard vary from one guy to the next, and it's likely because the boys are freelancers. Frankly, this is something that the client can indicate, if the place is more brothel than massage. Since the boy is anyway going to remove his shorts midway, I doubt that he'd be offended if, at the very start, the client made some hand gestures that signal him to dispense with textile right away. He should only be delighted at the assurances of "special service required" and tip that are implied. I just glanced up at the pic of Baller again, and now I think he's more Iranian or Indian. Perhaps he is from the localised Indian community of Thailand (which may explain his speaking Thai).