Lucky Days in Thailand 2012

[Lucky]

Sounds as if you are enjoying this trip at more of a leisure pace than previous visits. Thanks for all the updates. I enjoy reading them.

That is true, but there was also less reader participation than for last year. Reader participation, of course, prompts more interest in writing the vignettes. Last year's stories were new, so that probably made for more interest as well.

But I am now back in the USA, operating on adrenaline. I will write some more about the trip when I get recharged.

[Guest lurkerspeaks]

Lucky, welcome back to the USA..I hope you enjoyed your time in Thailand. I am sure I speak for many others when I say we eagerly await your final reports of your time abroad.

Be sure to rest up.. Looks like it is going to be busy for you over the next couple of months, what with the trip to Brazil immediately followed by the Palm Springs weekend.

[TotallyOz]

Welcome back to USA. I enjoyed your trip reports immensely. However, I was sick for about a week and didn't get to participate as much as I should have. It doesn't mean they were not read and greatly enjoyed.

Thailand is an amazing place and a place that I love to go back to time and time again. I find the boys there are better with long term situations than anywhere else on earth. Yes, the boys in Brazil are hot sex but they are in Thailand as well. But, it is so easy in Thailand to find a guy that truly wants to spend his life pleasing you. In Brazil, I find it easy to find a guy that truly wants to spend his time getting pleased by you. LOL

How did you find your experiences this year as compared to previous years? It seems you did get to see a lot and were adventurous and that is great. There is so much to see in LOS and I know I'll never get to see it all. Were you happier with your experience this time than last? When are you going again?

[Lucky]

Thanks for the encouraging comments. In my mind, I am working on two final posts for this thread, but damn I need some sleep first. I have been up for 32 hours straight now and endured 3 flights. LAX was an absolute nightmare as we went through customs and then had to re-go a security check. But the lines were enormous. Only for the grace of one kind soul who let me cut the line did I make my connecting flight home. 4 passengers did not.

[Lucky]

Oz asks how my visit compared with my 13 previous ones, and the answer is easy. I don't think any visit compares with your first one, where it is all new and you are amazed at all the available boys. Thailand has changed a lot since my first visit in 1987. No longer so demure a people, they have risen up in protest, both as red shirts and as yellow shirts. Their economy has taken off. So many can now afford a motorbike, the luxury malls are a beacon of capitalism, and materialism. So, what was in some ways a more innocent country has given way to a more confident people who no longer look the same at the farang as they might have in the past.

Which isn't to say that things are worse for the farang. The bars still proliferate in the areas we know. But it is all more commercial than before. (Those luxury malls are very busy.) I remember a time when money wasn't such a big factor. Perhaps it was because I was younger, guys used to approach me on the street with no desire other than to practice their English. The one who said he wanted to do so on this visit was an older man, who really didn't need the practice, but just wanted to make conversation and give his opinions.

I didn't have the pressure of needing to cram in as much sex as I could. Age has taken care of some of that, but my tastes have also become more limited. I don't care for skinny guys, and I don't enjoy being with guys who look 14, even if older in fact. The guys in Bangkok appealed to me the most, as big cities are more appealing to me anyway. Pattaya has many charms, and a great beach. Well, the beach is in Jomtien, but I stay in Pattaya. But those damn baht buses are not comfortable in any way. Cheap, though. I paid the same amount in 1987 as I did this year. The same at the beach. For a dollar, you get an umbrella, two chairs, and bar service.

The cost of an hour's pleasure was about $20 in 1987, and at has risen a whopping 50% or more today. Is that a deterrent? Hardly! (Do the math, it's about ten dollars!) No where can one find the quality and the quantity of available men that you do in Thailand. Plus there is so much else to do.

What was missing? In my heyday, as it were, I learned a little Thai and developed some friendships. A guy would be interested in your company for several days. That's what I was hoping to find this trip, but did not. Of course it could have happened, it just didn't. And I have forgotten much of the Thai I learned. For the first time, I had boys complain. a) you didn't let me fuck you. letter following a*)) I want to come inside you even if you say no. c) you didn't tip enough for that wasted half hour massage. I want double. It was my first experience with a guy lying to justify more money, and it was disturbing. Another guy could not get hard. It made me wonder why he was in the bar business. But I did have the traditional great experiences too- guys who were happy to have been selected and worked hard to please. I would still hope that the few negative experiences were a rare aberration to my history of good ones.

(The letter following a types out like this: )

But I did enjoy so much else. I walked until I had no water left inside me. The people watching is beyond compare. The shopping constantly entertaining. The architecture amazing. The river life fascinating. And where else can you stay in five star hotels for a $100 a night?

Although I do travel well by myself, I also enjoy having someone else along. In Pattaya, firecat69 and I enjoyed an evening out, and it was quite fun. He knows a lot of people and I saw things I would not have seen otherwise. The same was true last year when Oz took me around Pattaya. Living there opens many doors that the short time visitor doesn't get to see. On the other hand, at the beer bar we went to, one table was filled with white-haired old men and not a Thai at the table. If I want a table full of white haired old men I don't have to leave town! I'd like to think that if I lived in Thailand my life would include a multitude of Thai friends. (Firecat seemed to have many of them!)

So, when am I going back? Who knows. I never plan the return trips, they just happen. I did have some unexpected pain problems on this one, and the pain meds caused increased sweating. In the humidity of Thailand, you don't want more sweating. I would like to go back right before Christmas, when, at the winter equinox, the temperatures actually fall under 70 at night. The Thais put on their leather jackets, and build fires. I just enjoy. But I did enjoy this visit, it just wasn't in the top 4 of my 14. So I have reason to go back and see what I can improve.

[firecat691614502759]

Oz asks how my visit compared with my 13 previous ones, and the answer is easy. I don't think any visit compares with your first one, where it is all new and you are amazed at all the available boys. Thailand has changed a lot since my first visit in 1987. No longer so demure a people, they have risen up in protest, both as red shirts and as yellow shirts. Their economy has taken off. So many can now afford a motorbike, the luxury malls are a beacon of capitalism, and materialism. So, what was in some ways a more innocent country has given way to a more confident people who no longer look the same at the farang as they might have in the past.

Which isn't to say that things are worse for the farang. The bars still proliferate in the areas we know. But it is all more commercial than before. (Those luxury malls are very busy.) I remember a time when money wasn't such a big factor. Perhaps it was because I was younger, guys used to approach me on the street with no desire other than to practice their English. The one who said he wanted to do so on this visit was an older man, who really didn't need the practice, but just wanted to make conversation and give his opinions.

I didn't have the pressure of needing to cram in as much sex as I could. Age has taken care of some of that, but my tastes have also become more limited. I don't care for skinny guys, and I don't enjoy being with guys who look 14, even if older in fact. The guys in Bangkok appealed to me the most, as big cities are more appealing to me anyway. Pattaya has many charms, and a great beach. Well, the beach is in Jomtien, but I stay in Pattaya. But those damn baht buses are not comfortable in any way. Cheap, though. I paid the same amount in 1987 as I did this year. The same at the beach. For a dollar, you get an umbrella, two chairs, and bar service.

The cost of an hour's pleasure was about $20 in 1987, and at has risen a whopping 50% or more today. Is that a deterrent? Hardly! (Do the math, it's about ten dollars!) No where can one find the quality and the quantity of available men that you do in Thailand. Plus there is so much else to do.

What was missing? In my heyday, as it were, I learned a little Thai and developed some friendships. A guy would be interested in your company for several days. That's what I was hoping to find this trip, but did not. Of course it could have happened, it just didn't. And I have forgotten much of the Thai I learned. For the first time, I had boys complain. a) you didn't let me fuck you. letter following a*)) I want to come inside you even if you say no. c) you didn't tip enough for that wasted half hour massage. I want double. It was my first experience with a guy lying to justify more money, and it was disturbing. Another guy could not get hard. It made me wonder why he was in the bar business. But I did have the traditional great experiences too- guys who were happy to have been selected and worked hard to please. I would still hope that the few negative experiences were a rare aberration to my history of good ones.

(The letter following a types out like this: )

But I did enjoy so much else. I walked until I had no water left inside me. The people watching is beyond compare. The shopping constantly entertaining. The architecture amazing. The river life fascinating. And where else can you stay in five star hotels for a $100 a night?

Although I do travel well by myself, I also enjoy having someone else along. In Pattaya, firecat69 and I enjoyed an evening out, and it was quite fun. He knows a lot of people and I saw things I would not have seen otherwise. The same was true last year when Oz took me around Pattaya. Living there opens many doors that the short time visitor doesn't get to see. On the other hand, at the beer bar we went to, one table was filled with white-haired old men and not a Thai at the table. If I want a table full of white haired old men I don't have to leave town! I'd like to think that if I lived in Thailand my life would include a multitude of Thai friends. (Firecat seemed to have many of them!)

So, when am I going back? Who knows. I never plan the return trips, they just happen. I did have some unexpected pain problems on this one, and the pain meds caused increased sweating. In the humidity of Thailand, you don't want more sweating. I would like to go back right before Christmas, when, at the winter equinox, the temperatures actually fall under 70 at night. The Thais put on their leather jackets, and build fires. I just enjoy. But I did enjoy this visit, it just wasn't in the top 4 of my 14. So I have reason to go back and see what I can improve.

So true what you say Lucky. If only #444 had been as good in private as he was on stage and in your lap, then it might have made the Top 4. Unless you are Tomcal, one great find can make a whole trip . Tomcal need 8 or 9 I am afraid. LOL. The one thing you can always be sure of in Thailand is that you will have many choices, you will be able to have them in your 5 star Hotels which cost less then 1/3 of Brazil and you will never even have to consider your saftey. Those things are probably why you and so many others have made the long trek to the Land of Smiles.

[Lucky]

Ah, 444. Firecat had told me to check him out as I was bound to like him. So three nights I went to the bar where he worked, but he was not there. Thus, when firecat came to town, I asked him to go with me. Sure enough, 444 was there, and yes, I liked his look. He turned out to be a quite pleasant guy, and I had my hopes up for a renewal of old Thailand memories. But not to be. 444 was as eager as he could be, just not hard. I am sure that he is straight, so imagine what it must be like to go to work every night with the expectation that you will be hired to do things you don't enjoy. But, as they say, your mileage may vary, and no doubt firecat will bring out the best in him. I did tip him extra since I made him sit through the show for 40 minutes even after he confessed that it did not interest him. I liked it, though. Nude dancers, break dancers, clothed dancers who could really dance, one of whom had the most charming smile. I would have hired him just to see him smile at me.

[Lucky]

SHOPPING

I mentioned all of the time I spent shopping, but it was more window shopping than anything else. I bought a lot of t-shirts, a DVD of Breaking Bad, Season 4 for 7 dollars, and a DVD of The Help for $3. Yes, I have looked at them since I got home and they are not blank. Various chocolates, of course. But I do worry about Customs on the pirated purses and watches. They seem not to mind, though, if you keep a limit on what you buy.

Of the t-shirts, I bought an Ed Hardy for $7. They are $155 in the store. That's a joke, of course, as I would never pay that much for a t-shirt. When the same shirt can be sold for $7, the people paying $155 should have their head examined.

The night markets are full of designer purses and watches, and there is always the Rolex that looks real for about $30. They even have a weight in it to give it heft, and a genuine looking certificate of authenticity. I bought one back in the 90's for $25, and it did last a year.

There is also Thai art, sculpture, and jewelery. Once in the Chiang Mai night market I bought two lions made of wood that looked quite old. So when I got to the checkout I was surprised to pay only $6 each. Later, I learned that Thai markets specialize in phony antiques. I was a novice back then.

But you have to lug the stuff home, and it doesn't always look so great in your living room as it did in Thailand. So, considering that, and considering the lugging home, and considering customs, I buy very little these days. So many of the Thai Tchotchkes I bought years ago still remain around the house, and I don't regret buying them. I just don't need any more.

[Lucky]

Last year I wrote about the police raid on the gay Sunnee plaza bars. Yesterday I saw a report at gaythailand.com that the police raided again this year, right after I left. No violations were found, but rumor is that the bars were forewarned by the locals who get the bribes. The underworld there must be fascinating.

Sunnee Plaza has a large Arab influence now, which may make for interesting times as they work to eliminate gays from the neighborhood...if they do, of course. Russians are also big in Pattaya, and I fell in love a couple of times with Russian guys I saw. They do not age well, however, as not a single older Russian man I saw was attractive, not a one.