Bangkok March 19-25

[caeron]

So I'm visiting Bangkok March 19th to 25th.

I am engaging purple dragon (the gay tour agency) so that I can have somebody show me the sights.

Any recommendations for unexpected must-sees?

Anybody in Thailand want to have dinner?

Any general advice for a relative new traveler there?

[axiom2001]

Enjoy and keep your wits about you. When I traveled in Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya as a solo traveler in 2008, I felt safe and had a good itinerary based on my reading of gay sites as well as general ones. ...went to the boy bars and massage parlors and good restaurants and tourist haunts [which you'll, I hope, receive from Purple Dragons.

[Lucky]

I think you are well-covered with Purple Dragon taking care of you.

[TotallyOz]

I love the floating market and if you have not seen it, it is a must see. I also like lunch at Siam Paragon.

For bars, try Tawan (big muscle), Jupiter200, Boys Bangkok, and a few others on that Soi. I like Silom 4 for a fun dinner before.

What other kinds of things do you like? Have you been reading the gay Thailand forum boards for ideas?

[caeron]

Yes, I have indeed.

I'm a history & culture buff, so will be visiting the various temples in bangkok that I've never gotten to see, am looking forward to a rowdy evening at Muay Thai and the like.

Bar recommendations are welcome, since with the bazillion go-go places, who knows where to go!?!

[TotallyOz]

There are many places there. What kind of guys do you like?

If you are there on a weekend, try Chatuchak weekend market. It is a hoot.

Wat Pra Kaew and the Grand Palace are must sees.

If you like street trade, the park across from the Palace is a lot of fun at night and I have taken a few soldiers from there over the years.

If you want to see some ladyboys in action, there are a few close to the gay area that are a lot of fun and FILLED with ladyboys. Also, Nana Plaza has many of them and I love taking the BF there.

As a history buff, you will enjoy Ayutthaya if you spend some time there and is an easy commute from Bangkok. I went there by cruise one time and love it. I biked there once as well. But, do some research and see if you think you will like this.

[caeron]

I like masculine 'frat boy' kinda guys, and am mostly a bottom, so will definitely check out Tawan, and some of the boards suggest hero massage is another winner. It seems to me much of the complaints were about boys not bottoming since they were straight and didn't do that. Not an issue for me!

Street trade soldiers sounds like fun too :-)

I was thinking about whether to do Ayutthaya or not. I love history, but got the sense that there isn't much left of the ruins and that you can see living history much better in bangkok. I was in Chaing Mai on my last visit so saw some of the wonderful temples there.

I'd heard that the weekend market was kinda crazy, so maybe I'll schlep out to see it.

[caeron]

Arrived Sunday night, checked in and walked around the corner to the only place open, Super A boys. It was late, I was the only guy in the bar, and everyone swarmed me. Ended up taking two next door to the rooms they had. I would have taken them back to the room, but I guess one was Laotian without papers, so the hotel wouldn't let him in. The other one spent the night. A little twinky for my taste, but a real snuggler.

Bangkok in March is scorchingly hot. I knew it was gonna be hot, but I think I could steam an egg on my head. Taken to afternoon naps to escape the worst of the day.

Canal tour and temple of dawn were the highlights of monday. I went to see the Siam Niramit show and was so jet lagged a nodded off a few times. I liked the show, but I'm more historically/academically inclined, so these kind of fictionalized cirque de Soleil style culture shows always leave me a bit off. Crashed and burned that night.

Highlight of Tuesday was the golden buddha. A solid gold buddha weighing a mere 5.5 metric tons. Most intrinsically valuable religious item in the world. The south east asian buddhists can really give Rome a run for its money on ostentation when they want to. I was in Phnom Penh a few years ago and they had similar stuff, a mere 550 pure gold statue, but it was encrusted with thousands of carats of diamonds including a 25 carat one. Oh, and they had a couple feet tall buddha carved out of emerald.

Last night hit a few go-go bars, got a boy who agreed to top me, but couldn't quite accomplish the task, I paid him and booted him to his unhappiness (not sure why, I didn't short him, maybe he just hoped if he looked unhappy I'd pay him a lot more.) He told me the bars were closed and I was out of luck, but I thought it was close so I'd try.

Walked around the Corner to Tawan, which was in fact closed according to the hot boy build like a brick shithouse standing in front of it. Walked down the street, heading towards super A, and then decided the boy behind me was what I wanted. I walked back and asked him if he'd fuck me. He agreed, so I guess Tawan being closed saved me an off fee.

He fucked like a tiger, and his english was surprisingly good. A competition body builder who does personal training during the day. He wants to take me to Hua Hin for the weekend. I'm not one to mess with success and am inclined to let him.

Not the best picture since this was on his way out the door, but here's Tong of Tawan

[TotallyOz]

You are keeping busy. Sounds like you have a full agenda. That is great. Welcome to Thailand. I loved your report and the photo of the guy is great. He is very handsome.

Super A can be fun and it is all dependent on the night you are there. Glad you were able to find a guy out late. Usually, all you ever need to do is walk outside. Like you, I'm not shy and don't mind chatting up someone.

Keep having a great time!

[Guest FourAces]

caeron thanks for the travel report and the pic. Sounds like you had a awesome time. I'm stuck in the one of these days mode fro both Thailand and Brazil. So til that day comes I live it through reports like yours and OZ and tomcal and lucky and firecat and lurker and pualinero and the others I am forgetting right now

[axiom2001]

Last night hit a few go-go bars, got a boy who agreed to top me, but couldn't quite accomplish the task, I paid him and booted him to his unhappiness (not sure why, I didn't short him, maybe he just hoped if he looked unhappy I'd pay him a lot more.) He told me the bars were closed and I was out of luck, but I thought it was close so I'd try.

Thanks for writing and glad that you're enjoying your stay! Try to go to that property which was established by an American. I can't remember his name. It's architectually grand as well as historical, but that is NOT why I write completely here. Your little quoted segment reminded me of the time that I offed a boy who was in a show at one of the clubs. He was BIG on stage but seemed ambivalent to go to the hotel with me. We went; he didn't do much and wanted to spend the night with me. I firmly said, no, and told him why. I gave him his fee; he dressed (...having a sad look on face.) and left. I was pissed because he had turned me on to the point that I definitely wanted his company for later! Well, I got his company but NOTHING else!

[caeron]

I think you're talking about Jim Thompson's house. Rumored to be family. An american who fell in love with thailand and helped revive the Thai Silk trade. His house is lovely, and if he wasn't family, he sure had our taste!

Last night after touring, Tong shows back up late. He explains that he had an accident, or maybe that his car broke down. I'm not sure, I am not that good with accents, and he's not bad with English, but... He shows me what looks like some kind of accident report with the little car sides on it to mark what happened, I guess. Whatever, he's here now and prepares to take me to the promised show. I have no idea what I'm getting into, but I'm a 'go with the flow' kinda guy when I'm traveling. You get lots more interesting experiences, I think.

So he asks me if I want to take one or two of his friends from Tawan with us. I would have to pay their off fees, but I figure what the heck, a few bucks more for that, and we'll be off to dinner. So he happily calls Tam and Atuk(?), and we walk around the corner and pick them up and pile into a cab. These boys are built big, and I'm pretty tall and broad shouldered myself, so already we're all over each other just fitting in the cab.

We drive for a bit, and pull up in front of a place that turns out to be Tawandang german beer hall. A huge enormous room with a stage at the front with a middle aged thai woman in a hugely sparkly dress under the lights belting out some song. We all sit down, and I tell Tong to order. I love Thai food, and will eat pretty much anything, so I figure whatever the guys want will suit me. They ask if I want beer. I like a good beer, but I've got some gout issues and beer is a real trigger for me, so I order a Gin and Tonic. It arrives... with a maraschino cherry in it! What the hell, I think. I fish it out believing that God intended that the only thing that should EVER go in a gin and tonic is a lime, and Tong immediately scarfs it down. Ok, so I guess the cherry has a purpose, it just doesn't belong in my gin and tonic.

After that, the waiter arrives with a huge tube of beer. The thing must be 3 feet high, and maybe 6 inches around and immediately starts pouring for the boys... and adding ICE! The western culinary gods are in full revolt at this point, but this is Thailand, so what can you do but shake your head?

The lady on the stages sings a few more numbers. It is often a third of the way through the song before I realize that she's singing in english....

The room is packed, and the music is loud. The food is good, and the beer and the gin and tonics keep coming. I give Tam one of the cherries and Tong objects. He gets the rest of the cherries that evening.

After the middle-aged lady leaves the stage, Tong tells me that she used to be a famous Thai actress. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with that information, but I nod happily.

After that comes a series of one song numbers from I think about 4 singers, interspersed with dance numbers from a group of about 10. The male dancers are cute, but wearing entirely too many cloths. Many costume changes ensue. Some physical comedy. I get almost none of it, but the boys are laughing, singing, and dancing.

As many have reported, I can confirm these bar boys, while flexible, are pretty straight because they dance with that stiffness that only a straight boy afraid that if he actually allowed his limbs to bend that everyone would think his back door is fair game can manage.

I pace myself, the boys don't. Tam, in particular, gets quite vibrant, and hangs over everybody. After four hours, when midnight rolls around, I cut them off, pay the several hundred dollar tab, pay the boys their off fees, and depart with Tong. I am momentarily annoyed at the costs, but then stop myself when I realize that it's not that much for me. I signed up for it, and I did say that I liked the frat boy type, and boy, while these boys were built, they really were drunken frat boys. As the beer flowed, they danced, hung all over each and me, mugged for the pretty girls at the next table, and generally had a great time.

Tong was too drunk to accomplish much, but we managed, and I sent him home. He said something about his mother or his brother being in town, or maybe out of town, and something about his two kids, four and five. I'm not surprised, when he told me he was 34 I would have thought he'd have kids by now. Sober his accent was hard to manage at times, drunk, definitely too much. He promised, however, to make it up to me tonight. We'll see.

Today was Lopburi. A good two hour drive out of the city, but I enjoyed it. There is a temple in the middle of the city with a street monkey population. They've been there a long time apparently, and now the government feeds them. I took a lot of pictures. I've seen places with a lot of stray cats and dogs, but having that many stray monkeys hanging around was really kind of neat. The temples were mostly in ruins, though the palace museum in the wasn't bad (it was on a couple of occasions in history the capital).

Our last stop was a temple that has become an AIDS hospice. It hit me harder than I thought looking through the door at those lying in beds. It reminded me of the men I've known who aren't here any more because of that evil fucking disease. I climbed the hill to the large buddha statue there and thought about them. I left a large donation behind, and their thoughts stayed in my head most of the two hour ride home.

[caeron]

We went; he didn't do much and wanted to spend the night with me. I firmly said, no, and told him why. I gave him his fee; he dressed (...having a sad look on face.) and left. I was pissed because he had turned me on to the point that I definitely wanted his company for later! Well, I got his company but NOTHING else!

Yeah, he was a cute chinese boy. I got one of the mamasans to make clear what I wanted, and he said he could, which I guess if you count about 4 minutes, he could, but it didn't suit me. Maybe he wanted to spend the night and score up a bit more money, if so he didn't mention it, but that could have been is disappointment when I booted him. Lucky for me that Fortuna was with me that night when I made a second cast into the sea.

And on the note of brazenness, I have found over the years that coyness is a really bad idea. Escorts, bar boys, anybody you're going to pay to crawl in the sack with you ought to know exactly what you want there, if you have particular tastes (I do.). If you're like a lot of different things, I guess you don't need to be so direct, but for many of us, we don't have the time or economic freedom to just 'go with the flow' and hope we get our itch scratched.

[axiom2001]

I'm enjoying your reads! ...makes me yearn to be back in The Land of Smiles!

[caeron]

Tong has stayed missing, who knows, but Dream boys just down the road boasts 65 boys, and I don't think they're lying! I haven't had any trouble finding something to suit!

I lack Tomcal's stamina, so one an evening is enough for me.

On a sadder note, Hero massage got raided, so I never got the chance to check out that recommendation. Apparently the police were shocked to find they were engaging in prostitution!? Gay Thailand boards suspect they just didn't pay their bribes on time. That and Lumphini park is now shuttered at 8pm to avoid the night time cruising, so my hopes of finding a Thai soldier boy have been dashed.

The weekend Chatuchak market is insane. A complete warren of stalls that seems to go on infinitely. I became lost very quickly. If you are looking for cheap clothing, this seems to be the place, but it has a lot of different stuff. Furniture, housewares, even a pet section if you fancy a new dog or cat. After wandering around for a few hours, and feeling like I'd barely scratched the surface, I gave up to escape the heat of the day.

I thought I could handle a little heat, but 95 degree days, with high humidity have taken their toll. I come back to the hotel and have to change because my clothes are soaked with sweat.

Next time, I'll come back in the 'winter'.

[TotallyOz]

Great updates! It sounds like you are still having a blast. If you want a soldier, go to the park across from the Palace. It is cruisy at night. There are reports on it on http://gaythailand.com Also, I agree with the heat but I love the 90's and high humidity. I hate cold weather.

The weekend market is a blast but hot as hell in the summer! I bought my 3 dogs there. LOL And, then had to wait in Thailand for another few months to get all their shots, before I could bring them back to USA. They do miss Thailand though.

[caeron]

The puppies at the market were adorable, so I can see how you would. I was looking for a buddha statue in the 'conquering mara' positiont, but never found anything that I liked.

I guess I've spent too much time in the north, so this heat is debilitating. Heard the Mayflower hotel dim sum was great, so had that for lunch today. It was good, but I've had better. Service was confused. Going to try one of the roof top dining meals for tonight. Leave tonight at 3:30 to catch a 6am flight back to portland.

Will make one last wild trek through the bars tonight. Then it's a long 22 hour trip home. Thank god for frequent flier miles and first class seats!

[caeron]

Am in Narita waiting my connection. Brought 5 boys back to the room last night for a huge hoopla, only to find the limit was 4. But that was still plenty! One straight top boy, a couple of twinks, and one of the waiters whose smile was so stunning I couldn't say no.

Then a nap and on to the airport at 3:30 in the morning to catch a 6:00am flight. That is just not civilized at all!

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I had a fantastic time.