A Soft Lockdown In Pattaya

[Guest]

Upon arrival in Pattaya, the bars were still open, so I decided to visit a few gogo bars. Well that was the plan.
The first was Winner.  There were about 4 tables occupied by customers and a very nice selection of lads on stage. Well above average.  Several were candidates for offs, but then I spotted an old favourite who I hadn't seen for a couple of years.  Drinks plus off fee were about 640 baht.  As someone else said, the old policy of 600 baht off fee before 10pm is no longer applied.  Good value.  About 3 or 4 of the nearby host bars were open.
The plan to do several bars was then abandoned, in favour of long time with my friend.  The lad is one of very few who remembers my name and fortunately, I remembered his.   

Day #2 in Pattaya -Lockdown !
What's closed: Bars and the sauna.   Also hundreds of businesses I don't need
What's open: Coffee shops, restaurants, shops, the beach concessions, massage shops, barbers. Grindr, Hornet, Planet Romeo etc.

OK.   This is a slight simplification.   Supermarkets stayed open the whole time.  There was a brief period where coffee shops were offering "takeaway" service, where I would sit on a chair right next to the shop having the coffee and croissant.  It's was back to normal service after about 2 or 3 days.
Non essential shops closed for a while, but reopened about a week ago, before I really had time to miss them.
Massage shops pretended to close, but the shutters were never fully down and the masseurs were soliciting business the whole time.   Now they are not even pretending to be closed and there are about 8 male massage places open, in the places where you would normally look.  
Obviously this isn't all such businesses and some massage shops are closed.

Loads of businesses I don't need are permanently or temporarily closed.   Closures include shops selling tat to tourists, some of the 7-Elevens, lousy restaurants and probably a few good restaurants.  As anyone might expect, without tourists, much of Pattaya's economy will be in trouble.
However, every restaurant I visited in February 2020 is still open. Outstanding coffee shops like Gafae and Benjamit remain open.  There is some justice, where the best can survive !  So far.

My reporting on what's open may differ from more pessimistic accounts you might read elsewhere.   
I believe some of those reports of closures were based on announcements of the rules and assumptions that rules are followed.

Since Thailand is the kind of law abiding country, where there is no prostitution, no smoking in bars, everyone uses a helmet on a motorcycle and no-one ever pays tea money, we know it is only necessary to check the rules, right ?  What the governor says goes ?  If he announces closures, then it is closed. 

I've simply reported on what's open based on what I see, being out and about every day, not sat in a bunker.    I'm enjoying what's on offer, coffee, food, beach facilities, massage etc.  But if the law says it's closed, I must be wrong, so I apologize ☺.

Amongst the boys, the numbers of non-Thai lads are higher than I expected.   I've met lads from a couple of the neighbouring countries and heard several more of them, with the kind of tones typically heard in Cambodia rather than Thailand.   That's clucking away like chickens, but with more frequency changes.    I am not a linguist.

Just over half my hook ups are non-Thai, which is a lower percentage than the previous trip, but more than I expected with the borders "closed".   Rather than showing me a passport full of stamps, most are elusive about questions regarding border crossings now.  Except the one met in the big city 100km up the road, who admitted to an irregular border crossing, followed by a domestic flight.

Currently, we're not allowed out of Chonburi province without paperwork.  So my plans to go and try places like Ko Samui with a huge discount on some fancy hotels are postponed.  Even so, this is better than being in my own country, where it is dark, cold and covid restrictions are much tighter.
A side effect of restrictions is a much lower turnover of boys.   If I meet a hot lad from Cambodia on Grindr, he's still available 7 days later and hasn't gone home.  Also, no new boys on the apps each week.  The smart ones do enough to ensure eligibility for repeat meetings, which they get.  Not all are smart.

Despite bar closures, I have also seen people drinking beer at a few select places (very few places).   In fact, the 5 Sprites I enjoyed at a bar with a colleague did taste remarkably like Singha.   Also felt like it the next morning. Even though it must have been Sprite officer!  
The gay bars do appear to be closed, although I must check for any discrete nocturnal activity in the new shed. 

 

[Boy69]

Cam you give us more information what's going on Boyz Town and Jomtien Complex ?

[vinapu]

Glad to hear there is still life in Pattaya, that's hope for all of us

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Boy69 said:

Cam you give us more information what's going on Boyz Town and Jomtien Complex ?

Bars: Closed. Although I did see a couple of customers having a drink at a closed bar in the complex.   

Ambiance Hotel: Closed

Massage: Usually open.

Jomtien Restaurants: Appear to be open

So Boyztown is totally dead, except for the massage shop.

The attached photos show Sunee and Boyztown a couple of weeks ago.  It has been similar when I strolled through these areas more recently.

Actually, there was a bar across the road from Eros serving beer late one afternoon, with female looking customers.  I kept my distance.

It's about time for some more research.

[Gaybutton]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

Massage: Usually open.

I was in Jomtien Complex today, shortly before noon, and I noticed one gay massage shop open.  No customers, but it was open.

All I know is among the Chonburi governor's orders (Chonburi is Pattaya's province) is massage shops are closed.  You say you've noticed some open and I noticed this one.  I have seen nothing to indicate any exceptions to the governor's orders, so I don't know whether these massage shops are operating legally. 

Those of you who do partake, I have no idea how great a risk that might be, or even if it is a risk at all, but I do know foreigners caught in venues open illegally have been getting arrested right along with the Thais.  My guess is the penalty would be a bit more than a mere 'don't do it again'.

Until it is known for sure whether these massage shops are open legally or not, my advice would be instead of taking the risk and getting the 'massage' in the shop, arrange to have the boy to come to your room and get your massage there.   Maybe it will cost a little more, but at least you won't be in any legal jeopardy.  I'd say do that, or just stay in your room and have a self-service massage . . .

[Guest]

If you go to check at 7:00 am, you might do even better and prove you are "correct" by finding no massage shops open.  

I've walked through Jomtien several times per week, often early afternoon and late afternoon as well.   Later in the afternoon, there have been 3 all male massage places open virtually every time.

Additionally, there's another massage place with a choice of male or female staff. 

Finally, I've been offered a massage by lads at a fifth site, which I think is normally a bar.  

 

[Gaybutton]

1 hour ago, z909 said:

If you go to check at 7:00 am, you might do even better and prove you are "correct" by finding no massage shops open.

I don't dispute they are open.  I'm agreeing with you.  As I said in my post above, I saw for myself that one was open.

Personally I don't give a damn whether they are open or not.  I don't use them.  In the entire time I've lived in Thailand I've been to a "happy ending" massage a grand total of twice, and that was very many years ago.

However, if I was using them, I would want to know, not assume or guess, whether they are open legally.  For me, that would be the issue.  Legally, fine - use them to your heart's (or groin's) content.  If they are open illegally, against the Chonburi governor's orders, obviously people will have to decide for themselves whether the risk is worth it.

I'm not sure who to ask to get a reliable answer.

[captainmick]

“A Soft Lockdown In Pattaya”

A rare case when “soft” is better than “hard”......

[Guest]

My assumption is the massage places are not open legally, since, whilst some can be spotted from 200m away, many are quite discrete.

I think we can leave it to individuals to assess the legal risk.  Most board members and even board owners will be law abiding at all times, so would, for instance, never meet prostitutes, which is illegal. 

For similar reasons, we wouldn't risk gay sex in Malaysia, or a visit to the very special naked night at the sauna in Singapore (even though it's very good)

This evening, the first massage place which had been open was closed, with a sign showing 15-1.   Possibly implying reopening tomorrow. 

The one I was intending to visit was also closed and it seemed some of their boys were having their hair died.

The third one was open, but no sign of the boy I want to meet.  This has the cunning disguise of a half open roller shutter, with the boys outside in the street. I've been there last week. 

I discovered another open one on the main road towards the beach.  Not obviously open, but one of the 3 boys rushed out of the door when he saw me loitering.  As he was a fine specimen, I stopped here.  He used to work at Sea Massage and recognised me.   I have seen no signs of life at all at Sea Massage.

I walked back to South Pattaya, going past the Jomtien bars on the way. These were closed, but there were some boys offering takeaway service
I have a new Boystown photo.   Taken from Panorama, facing BBB, just in case anyone can't figure it out:

[vinapu]

15 hours ago, z909 said:

I have a new Boystown photo.   Taken from Panorama, facing BBB, just in case anyone can't figure it out:

 

it looks Boyztown is doing it's best to reduce wasting precious energy, Greta would be happy

[Guest]

Nakluea and Wongamat

Getting to Nakluea is easy.  Just get on the baht buses that queue on second road just South of Boyztown.   They go all the way to Nakluea market for 10 baht.  The baht buses coming from Jomtien don't go this far,  as far as I can tell from past experience. 
The area around the market is rather quiet and more like a normal Thai town than the touristy area to the south.  There are some nice wooden buildings nearby, so exploring the side streets can be worthwhile.  There is also a Thai style vegetarian restaurant nearby, where a nice spicy lunch can be had for about 50 baht.  Pre-cooked, so don't arrive too late.

I then walked down the main street for some distance, tried another pleasant coffee shop and eventually turned right to the beach, which is apparently called Wongamat.  I walked along this towards Pattaya Beach.  There is no continuous path, but it's easily walkable, with lots of small beaches and is quite interesting. Almost all the people there seemed to be Thai, unlike at Jomtien beach.    

At one point, I looked up at one of the few sets of steps running up the hill and caught the unexpected sight of a nice brown butt, a pair of slim legs and everything else.    A lad was bending over, whilst changing into a poncho, which would certainly be well ventilated, with nothing underneath.  He was probably homeless and perhaps around 20.   

Eventually I reached the north end of Pattaya Beach, passing some people fishing on the rocks that mark the end of the bay.

[Guest]

After too many nuisance messages on Grindr, I decided to be more efficient and block every lady boy in a 50km radius.  That's a win win, since they don't have to waste time messaging me and I don't have to keep checking the messages, only to be disappointed.

The only lady boy I've ever met was one who I knew for years before the silicon implants.  I don't rule out another one, but I am very fussy.

Anyhow, there are now well over 20 of them on the blocked list. I'm surprised there are so many.

Naturally, I'm OK with such diversity, as long as I don't get bugged by too many messages.

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, z909 said:

... I am very fussy.

 

being there now is best time  to be fussy I guess, all the choices and very little competition for their charms I suppose

[Londoner]

I sometimes while away the gloomy hours of London's lockdown by looking at the Pattaya section of Romeo.....and note that the percentage of ladyboys seems to be rising by the week. So it's the same on the other apps, is it?

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, Londoner said:

I sometimes while away the gloomy hours of London's lockdown by looking at the Pattaya section of Romeo.....and note that the percentage of ladyboys seems to be rising by the week. So it's the same on the other apps, is it?

Grindr seems to have an increasing percentage of ladyboys.  After another round of blocking them, I seem to have 27 blocked now.  However, some are duplicate accounts.

Hornet has a much lower percentage of them

I'm not quite sure about Planet Romeo.   There's a fundamental problem with this app.  If I filter for on line now, there are hardly any users on line.  If I turn off that filter, it's showing people who have not logged on for 3 months.   They need a way of filtering for people who were on line in the last 24 hours. At least some of those might log on again soon.

[gerefan]

2 hours ago, z909 said:

I'm not quite sure about Planet Romeo.   There's a fundamental problem with this app.  If I filter for on line now, there are hardly any users on line.  If I turn off that filter, it's showing people who have not logged on for 3 months.   They need a way of filtering for people who were on line in the last 24 hours. At least some of those might log on again soon.

Try this:

Select “Activity”.....then in that little tiny hidden icon at the bottom of the page select “Search”. . Make sure that when you select Search you leave all the options for “other, date and now” deselected.

It will then show you the ones currently logged in with a green dot and for those not logged in it gives the time last logged on in the top left corner of the profile.

 I get the feeling that many of the boys have returned to their farms and there are far less available on the apps at the moment. It stands to reason that if large numbers is hospitality workers have left Pattaya then a large number of boys will have gone too. I did a count up and of my “favourites” on the apps I calculate 70% have gone home. That’s probably why you are seeing so many who have not logged on for  month or two. And they a have forgotten to delete their profiles.

 

Maybe that’s  also why ladyboys appear more prevelant?

[Guest]

I have now blocked 37 lady boys in and around Pattaya on Grindr.

If I log onto Grindr tomorrow,  there will still be more ladyboys showing up than on Hornet, as several will just have opened new accounts.

I wonder if the ladyboys are mo're inclined to stick it out in Pattaya, as they might just find it harder to get a real job ?   Note: I'm not condoning such discrimination, just suggesting it might exist.  

[Londoner]

They may be less willing to do the farming and labouring  jobs to which others   are returning. 

[Travellerdave]

I’ve also noticed the quantity of ladyboys logged onto Grindr and Romeo when I’ve occasionally checked looking for boys I remember. Compared with pre-COVID there were few boys in the prime 18-25 age group - in fact outnumbered by ladyboys.
Yes the reason about no alternative work is likely. But I wonder also if there is more of a market for ladyboy sex in lockdown wanted by expats, whereas gay tourists like me want boys and we are not there.

[Guest]

I've not seen much evidence of expats on the gay forums chasing lady boys either. With the frequency of them popping up on Grindr and spamming me, I guess that supply exceeds demand.

The Kitten club looks like it's permanently closed and for sale.   If I'm not mistaken, that's the bar that spammed this forum with a rotation of pictures of the same lady boys, day after day.    That never persuaded me to visit.

Thankfully there are still enough boys on the apps.

[gerefan]

The Ladyboys probably came to Pattaya some years ago as real boys before “transforming”. That being the case they are probably scared stiff to return to their villages armed with a huge pair of tits and possibly no cock!

I went to the Kitten Club before it closed (probably 3 or 4 years ago). An entirely forgettable experience...you didn’t miss much!

[Guest]

Well it seems likely the bars will be allowed to open until 11:00pm in Pattaya .  That's late enough for me! 

Apparently the governor of Chonburi has ordered all hotels to close, so they can claim salaries from the government.  There are exclusions for guests already checked in and appartments are also exempt, so it's not a major problem.   As with any of the "closures", it doesn't necessarily mean a closure in practice.

 

[Guest]

Effectively, there are no lockdown measures that affect me in Pattaya.

The bars are open and massage places are legally open, as opposed to being discreetly open last month.  The bar closure time of 23:00 seems not to be enforced.

Jomtien has most of the host bars open, under the new roof.  This construction is not quite as elegant as the roof of the Berlin Reichstag, but what's underneath is of more interest.

Sunee had about 3 host bars and 2 gogo bars open.

Cupidol opened, but with 2 fully clothed boys, they have no customers. Even with just 2 boys, I'd have bought a drink, had they been appropriately dressed for a gogo bar.

Since the bars reopened, I've bought drinks at several bars, but there has been just the one off, from Winner.   Most of my dates have been via Grindr and Hornet.   Several repeat visits for a couple of lads, lad S and lad M, neither from Thailand.  After a carefully defining expectations, S&M are both good fun, although S does have a naughty streak. 

There are a few other interesting candidates for meetings in the next couple of months

I've noticed that the response to the question "What did you do today ?" is always "nothing", "stay in room" or "play game".

That might be true, but the answer is never "I've done 3 other customers, 2 tops and a bottom" .  I've also never heard any answers that indicate they are reading or doing anything that could be construed as educational. 

Even lad N who is a graduate in "Hotel Management" and is faced with no immediate prospect of employment in that industry, seems unable to comprehend the idea that he might counter the boredom by reading at least one book per week.  The concept of lifelong learning is not one he follows.

When offered  drink from the fridge, all the recent visitors have chosen water, rather than anything alcoholic.  Commendable restraint.

I note one of the other visitors to the local coffee shop often has an entourage of at least 2 boys and it tends not to be the same boys either.

On more mundane matters, the back case of my phone started coming off.  I went to the phone spares store on the ground floor of Tuk Com (avoiding all the vultures upstairs) and asked if she had some adhesive.  She be said "battery go big, if I stick this, it will only last one hour".   Having encountered battery swelling on another phone and a laptop, I knew what she was referring to and I'm probably delinquent for not doing root cause analysis.  I got a similar diagnosis at the shop across the street.  As it's a high spec phone from the more oscure Korean brand, they don't have the batteries.  I levered the back of the case off, checked the part number and ordered a new battery and some adhesive off Lazada.  That arrived a couple of days later and after some dismantling, the swollen battery came out and I slotted the new one in.  All good, so far.

[spoon]

Duplicate

[spoon]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

After a carefully defining expectations, S&M are both good fun, although S does have a naughty streak. 

I didnt know you are into S&M lol