macaroni21

I had no sooner finished my post above when I turned to read bbc online news, and the first video I saw there was about a beach in Chennai, southern India. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-50625760/chennai-children-play-as-toxic-foam-blankets-indian-beach Makes even Pattaya beach look clean. Seriously, in my (not that many) visits, I have noticed that India has a huge environmental problem. Be prepared for it when you're visiting. I have on occasion taken a nice photo of a landmark, paired with another photo zoomed out; once zoomed out, the filthy, trash-strewn nearby areas come into view, giving a whole new framing to the landmark.

"When we almost got arrested for being gay in Delhi" -- an alarming headline from one of Nomadic Boys' articles. Fortunately it explains that it was just a shakedown to get a bribe and anyway the law has changed since the incident in 2016. India is one of those places I have to go to for work and hardly ever get to see more of. I keep telling myself I should do a vacation there one day but have yet to get around to it. My sense is that the scene is not publicly accessible, you need to know someone to take you in. My brief glances at the apps however suggest that they are very active, but 2 hurdles: Outside of business and elite circles, English is much lass spoken than we might otherwise assume. I also believe the guys on the apps would have difficulties hosting you since most Indians live with their families. A couple of years ago, I made a side trip from Mumbai (where I was on business) to Kerala for a long weekend (not quite a vacation by my standards). Freed from the constraints of scheduling, I could wander around in a more relaxed way and noticed that here and there people were cruising. Mostly, I remained no more than a distant observer, though on two occasions I became prey. One was at a ferry terminal where a guy spotted me looking at a bunch of very good looking young men monkeying around. This guy figured out my interest and started to make a move on me. Unfortunately, it was a very public place (a busy ferry landing) and he didn't seem anywhere near my type, so it went no further. Another cruising incident (I think the very same afternoon or the next day) was at a temple! Once again, not truly my type, and I was too far from my hotel to even consider taking him back with me. I also had two massages while in the beach towns of Kerala. I had nothing but massage in mind, but as is my usual practice, I looked only for massage places where the service-provider was male. These were quite common. On both occasions, the masseur progressed to handjobs but remained fully clothed. The first time, I didn't want to go too far to tug away his clothing, not being familiar with the rules of the game, so to speak. The second time I tugged. But he resisted, so that was that. In short, nothing like Thailand. I think India must be seen as one of those countries (like most countries in the world) where sexual interest cannot be a major reason for going otherwise you'll be disappointed. If it happens, it's a bonus.

Great report by the OP. Fired up my itch to plan another trip. One small detail I noticed: Crowne Plaza Hotel Lumpini Park had no problem with the Arena guy joining you in the room right on check-in. Did you have to pre-arrange that with the hotel? I suppose it's less of a problem if during daylight hours.

At the risk of unfair speculation -- and I don't know this mamasan you're referring to -- whenever I meet with people whose behaviour has suddenly deteriorated, two thoughts come to mind: 1. The influence of mind-altering substances. 2. The new job pays much less than the old job and so there's a chip on the shoulder or a desperation to make up for the shortfall.

Here you go, 3 maps from the magazine. Good for the next couple of months but not forever, alas. Bars open and close all the time. (I didn't think there was any use for the Phuket map).

Your "occasional poodle of water" made me smile too.

Ah, that reminds me! At the same conference where I caught up with the Ethiopian guy -- I had known him from earlier -- he was one of 3 delegates from Africa. He at least, arrived on time, courtesy Ethiopian Airlines. There was supposed to be a delegate from either Uganda or Tanzania or some East African country, but she didn't show up at the meeting till 48 hours later on the conference's penultimate day, her planes having been repeatedly delayed. By the time she was settled in, it was time to pack for departure. She then was scheduled to fly home the next evening! I presume she made it. The 3rd guy from Africa was a Nigerian who showed up on time, but after the conference, I heard from the grapevine that he never went back home. Instead he slipped into illegal status somewhere. For all I know, he might be camping out in the Calais "jungle" right now hoping to steal into a container crossing into the UK! I shall stop here. I am getting dangerously close to racial profiling territory which is not my intention at all.

While I too don't know the cost differential between 150 kmh and 250kmh (and I agree that 150 kmh might be optimal for DMK to U-Tapao), I suspect the biggest factor would be the cost of land acquisition. Trains running at 250 kmh cannot tolerate the curves that slower trains can. In certain sections, they simply cannot run along the same rail reserves that had been set aside for slower trains; needing new pathways altogether. In urban Bangkok and the Eastern corridor, that sounds like a very expensive proposition. In China, the HSR mostly run on very different pathways compared to the old railways. In many cities, they also have new stations away from the city centre because the HSR just cannot run into downtown. Example: Bangkok's airport railway is barely able (with screeches and scratches) to make the turn out of Suvarnabhumi to the direction parallel to the expressway. We can forget about a HSR doing the same turn, unless it slows down to low-speed-rail speed, in which case, what's the point?

I won't swear to the truth of this story, because it came to me secondhand. Nonetheless I am going to repeat it The Chinese also built a spanking new rail line connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti, giving landlocked Ethiopia an outlet to the sea. But it still runs in fits and starts, as told to me by none other than an Ethiopian friend. Nothing wrong with the technology; during trial runs, it worked fine. Once the Ethiopians took over, things fell apart. Trains couldn't run on time for a multitude of reasons, not least of which was simply that the full crew simply didn't report to work on time! Not just the crew on the trains or at the terminii, but the loading/unloading crew at midway stops, delaying or messing up the loading and unloading and thus the overall schedule. My Ethiopian friend's point was that technology is only half the story. Management and societal culture can defeat the best of technology. The Thais may not be as bad as the Ethiopians, but they're certainly not in the same league as the Japanese, Chinese, Germans or Koreans.

Sounds straightforward enough. I presume there is an entry charge for the sauna facilities paid on entering like all saunas. I do wonder from a business angle whether the management, knowing which boys are regular hustlers, might give them a waiver on the entry fee since these are the boys that bring extra business Mack

I am hearing this from a different source who is able to read the local papers, but with a new twist: that the customers were also questioned. No mention about them being detained, but not sure if IDs of customers were also checked and recorded. And among the customers were some women!

I don't know about the others, but I do want to hear of your personal adventures. You write wonderfully and you get into the oddest situations, yet always with a bright outlook on life. Your reports are a joy to read. Never mind if you don't have the time to wrap everything up. Send us what you have.

$1000 over 9 days comes to $110 per day. I assume that does not cover airfare and accommodation. Were all 9 days in Rio?

Amazing Thailand! I can hardly believe this scene is still alive. I had a taste of it over 20 years ago when I was introduced by an acquaintance (reluctantly, as I recall) to one such cinema -- can't rememeber the name now. The screening hall was shabby with a distinct odour in the air. People were constantly changing seats (with the purpose of you-know-what), but most of all I remember a glimpse of the disgusting toilet where fullblown activities took place. I fled the premises within 10 or 15 minutes. Me, who normally can plumb great depths of debauchery.

Agreed, in the gay businesses especially those which see tourist traffic, the staff may be familiar with Western usage, but I was referring to normal usage among Thai people I've met, outside of gay sex-related environments. In any case, your examples are interesting in themselves. If the notion of "straight" is expressed with a strong relationship to "man" ("real man", "man=straight"), what does that indicate of their notion of gay?

Others have addressed Q1. Regarding Q2, the Patpong Soi 2 bars will have full exposure with engorged appendages at some or several points in their shows. Most of the time, the performers will come down from the stage and circulate amongst the audience for a few seconds' grope and a 100-baht tip. You can say "No, thank you" if you think 100-baht (3€) is ridiculous for a very brief handling of a sausage tied up in rubber. If you want something more aesthetic rather than crude (erotic is probably too much to ask for) Moonlight's and Jupiter's shows might fit the bill, but there will be some show items when drag lip-sync performers take centre-stage. Two bits more of explanation. Why do I say erotic is probably too much to ask for? Well, the performers are mostly straight. They may do nudity, even as a group, but touching another straight performer on stage in a truly erotic, sensual way is either beyond their instincts or inclination. They just don't do or maybe don't understand homo-erotic. How many of us would really know/want to do erotic with a woman even in a show act? Why can't they be trained? Bar owners can't really be bothered, especially since the boys move from bar to bar. Anyway, bar owners are policemen's wives (at least according to received wisdom), not show directors. Cold mechanic may be the best one can get. Second bit of explanation: I noticed you used the word "gay" in Q2 in a certain way. Avoid the use of this word (as you understand it) in Thailand. Thais tend to understand "gay" in a different way. They conflate it with katoey and cross-dressing. So if you use "gay" in your way, you will likely meet with cultural misunderstanding. E.g. if you ask to be shown to a "gay show", you will get drag. Regarding your Q3, ah, I see. You want homo sex 24/7 Unfortunately, not much to do in the day, in this respect. There are possibilities in the afternoon, say, after 3pm, in the saunas or massage parlours. But do give the ping-pong and shoot-darts show a try. I wasn't entirely joking. They're eye-openers and special Thai treats. I'm not sure where your Q4 is coming from, but I somehow have the sense that you're thinking Thais are mainly Muslim and thus were concerned that you can't find uncut boys in Bangkok? Pardon me if I have misunderstood.

Let me try to help with some of your questions. What/whom to avoid? Touts, touts and touts. They'll make a beeline for you once you look like a newbie. Mostly found in the Silom, Surawong and Patpong areas, they'll want to show you where the bars are, etc. Don't let them. Don't even answer their questions or make eye contact. Pretend that the only language you speak is Belorussian or Fulani and cannot understand a word of what they're saying. Keep walking on.The bars and massage places are not hard to find by yourself. Thailand is pretty open about sex and related businesses, and these establishments are not hidden in deep back alleys where tourists would never dream of entering alone and so might need someone to show them the way. They're on the main street! They have bright blinking neon signs. I would assume you have some sort of gaydar. Turn it on. Spot the gay guys and see where they're going. Follow. How much is an off? It'll vary from one place to another. Just ask the bar captain as to the bar fine and the desired boy about his own charges. They'll be upfront about it (especially the Vietnamese!) How much is a tip at the table? I assume you're indicating a situation where you've had a bar boy sit with you for more than 3 minutes but you really don't want him to continue sitting there, or he doesn't want to continue sitting there, so you part ways. 100 baht would be fine, that is in addition to the drink you've bought him (which he might have hardly touched, but that's not the point). A quick short visit like you have planned likely means you'll spend nearly all your time in touristy areas. The bars and massage parlours in these areas see mostly tourist patrons*. This means there is no working week to affect the pattern of traffic, so whether you go Saturday, Sunday or Monday won't make much difference. *On this note, I'll add that first-time farangs may make the mistake of thinking that the Asian-looking patrons of bars and massage parlours are Thais. While that may be true in some massage parlours, in general the Asians are tourists like you, from other neighbouring countries. Some will outspend the farang by a mile. They are now THAT rich! Best shows? It depends whether you're looking for Magicians pulling rabbits out of hats or nude girls spitting darts from their vaginas. Could you be more specific? By the way, my blog has a Massage explainer and a Bar explainer that throws a little light on the mysteries of the different kinds of gay bars and massage parlours, plus accounts of my experiences at some places. May give you an idea of how things work (or more often than not, how things fall apart ) Take it easy. Enjoy the experience, don't set your hopes on everything turning out perfect. They won't, but they'll be fun eye-openers. Anything to do in the day? Since you'll be there over a weekend, you could visit the Chatuchak bazaar (BTS skytrain, Morchit station) on Saturday and Sunday. Or you could marvel at the consumerism in any one of the countless shopping malls around BTS Siam station. Or even make your way, via BTS Saphan Taksin station, and a boat ride, to Icon Siam on the other side of the river. Well, of course, there's the Grand Palace, the Wat Keo, the Wat Arun.... google these up. They will need taxi or Grab. Along the way there you'll also get to experience another Bangkok attraction to write home about: horrendous traffic jams. Most of the bars on Patpong soi 2 (Hotmale, Lucky Boys,Dream Boys, Fresh, Screw Boys) and the Banana Boys on SIlom soi 4 will have some lean muscle chaps amongst their off-able crew. Ditto with the selection from Jupiter and Moonlight, though maybe a bit pricier -- these two bars think they are classier. Thais, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Lao and Burmese are almost all uncut. In fact, hey, most of the world are uncut Speak English? Keep your hopes low, real low. Consider this, how many farm boys in your country, hustling in the cities, speak Thai? Good luck! You'll be fine.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing and your advice, especially Anddy's tip about getting fresh notes at Superrich. I knew this would be a good community to reach out to for information. BTW, I need to apologise for putting this into the Gay Thailand forum; I've only just (like 2 minutes ago) noticed that there is a Gay Cambodia forum! Doesn't seem to be as active, though.

Thanks. Looks like I need to equip myself with small USD before I arrive, but how to get them when I'm nowhere near the US of A?... hmmm, that's going to take some ingenuity. I'm been surfing the last hour and am reading that even the ATMs in Cambodia issue USD. That wasn't the case ten years ago -- or maybe there were no ATMS then (can't remember).

I was last in Cambodia more than 10 years ago, and I recall that both USD and the Cambodian riel were in circulation. It's been too long and I can't remember how the "system" worked or how I survived it, so I'm asking for updates or advice here, from those (and I think there quite a few) who've made one or more recent trips to the country. Firstly, is it still a dual currency system? Secondly, how does one know which currency to use? I guess the seller will say so, but if something is quoted in USD, can one say "No, I pay in riel"? Would that be a more advantageous rate? Thirdly, if one pays for something with a biggish USD note, does one get change in smaller USD or does change come in the form of little little riels at some arbitrary exchange rate? I don't expect to enter the country with a fistful of one-dollar or five-dollar notes, but I suppose I will need those smaller denominations for daily expenses. So what then happens? Do I get change in smaller USD denominations or do I end up with a satchel of riels by the end of the trip? Thanks in advance for any help.

They have a Facebook page with a number of videos on it. 1. If the quality of the massage shown on the videos is any indication, the skill standard isn't high enough for me. I might still go (correction: I would) to "low-standard" places if the massage is likely to be followed by a good romp, but, 2. There was at least one post on their Facebook page about welcoming women, men and LGBT (as if we're not men!). I think the atmosphere will be one with too much denial.... sort of, trying to be a "respectable" kind of place, so as not to frighten away their straight and female customers. Somewhere on the Facebook page, they said they have female masseuses too. I don't care for half-hearted neither-here-nor-there places.

If at all there is any strategy behind it -- and Thai businesses can often operate with no strategy at all -- I think it's more because their women customers prefer men with some clothes on. In my view, gay men across cultures (very much like straight men) prefer skin. The more exposure the better. One only has to look at advertising targetting men versus advertising targetting women. I wonder if places like Jupiter are going to be non-gay after a few more years, as more and more women flock to these places, and they morph into males-for-rich-females bars.

Interesting you said that. I've noticed that too and feel a similar way. There's a subtle difference in looks, which I cannot quite put my finger on. Sometimes it is because I think they have squarer jaws, squarer faces. Then other times, I tell myself I am just imagining it. When I was last in Cambodia some years ago thinking my beep ratio (meaning how many guys around me I'd have a second look) would be higher than if I was in Thailand, I found that it was no different. Still in the range of maybe 1 in 200 or 1 in 500! In fact, I am halfway through a draft of a ShamelessMack story about a massage boy in Bangkok Massage whom I guessed was Cambodian..... but was not, until.... (well, the story's still being worked on).

Jasper's right. When I saw the show recently, about half the boys had their singlets off. They're the ones with the bulkier upper bodies. Those who are more 'boy next door" types tend to keep their singlets on throughout. My problem was that they walked too fast and most of the time, I couldn't quite see the number tag. And when they were not parading (e.g. at the end of the video) they stood at the deep end of the stage, and since I was seated near the opposite end of the bar, they were too far away -- and once again, couldn't make out their numbers. It was frustrating. I suppose one could sit nearer the stage, but that also meant nearer the speakers!!

My only experiment with a parallel booking was on one occasion when the "other activities" visit allowed me to stay all the way to Sunday, with no meetings scheduled for Saturday. So I booked a room in La Residence for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday), allowing me to have nightly visitors, especially since my fancy official hotel was on the other side of the river. Waking up with boy in arms on Saturday morning, phone was without juice. Then "shit, phone is here but charger is there!". Sleepy boy had to be rushed through breakfast so that I could taxi over there to retrieve said charger. Got back to La Residence by midday to charge up the phone, and as soon as it had a bit of juice, mailbox was updated and one email in particular said, "Please open attachment".... which was the kind of attachment that I couldn't open on the phone. So rushed back to the other side of Chao Phraya again to turn on the laptop to read said email and open said attachment. And that was a day when I had no appointments to worry myself about. I've been wary of parallel bookings ever since, as you can imagine.