Bangkok Trip Report 2022: The wait is over. What was I waiting for?

[numazu]

Introduction

If this pandemic has ever taught me anything, is that to never take anything for granted ever again.

My last trip to Thailand was in December 2019. That trip was the only Thailand trip I had that year, having prioritized Brazil and Colombia that year. I was already figuring out that Brazil catered more to my evolving taste for both boys, sex and entertainment, but I was still wanting to go to Thailand because of the food, the locations, and yes, of course the boys. Thailand's unwillingness to reopen as soon as others have (during the pandemic), however, has given me the opportunity to visit Brazil more, thus deepening my connection to that country, at the expense of the Land of Smiles. Throughout all that though, I've been trying to go back to Thailand since it always will hold a special place in my heart.

I remember my last international trip before air travel was paused during the pandemic. No surprise, it was to Brazil. I remember entering Sao Paulo on March 17, 2020. The plane was half full, the streets of Sao Paulo where empty, and everyone was sheltering in place, even if Carnaval ended just 3 weeks before. On March 19, Brazil closed its land borders.  After that, I finally decided to go back home on March 23, 2020, fearing that flights back to the USA would be cancelled eventually.  And I was right. On March 27 they announced that Brazil would close all its borders, even air, on March 30.

Thailand had a similar thought process, closing its land borders on March 18, and then all borders on March 26, 2020.

I know that I am not the only one to think that this pandemic was only going to be 2-week thing when it started. And then a month rolled by, and then 3 months. Since I was just at home, my routine started to change. I exercised more. Ate better. I did more video calls, both for work, and for friends far away, similarly stuck at home, wondering when this will all end. I’ve gotten lots of desperate cries for money from boys (Brazil, Thailand, Colombia) without any incomes with all the saunas and clubs closed. Though it all, I thought I did pretty good for myself, and actually was able to focus on other important things that I wouldn’t normally would have without the urgency of the pandemic looming all over us.

I was pained of course, as I had plans to go Thailand over Songkran in 2020:

And then something miraculous happened: Brazil decided to open up again. July 30 was the date, so after only 4 months of staying put, I was able to travel again. And it was glorious. Less people in airports and airport parking which meant less time needing to be at the airport. Less people flying which means either instant upgrades to Business class, or having a row to myself in economy. Less stupid tourists clogging up the streets, and less people in the streets in general. And yeah, you had to wear a mask in the plane, but at that point, I’ve gotten used to it, and counted myself lucky to still be even traveling to care.

And with Brazil’s infinite wisdom, most of the clubs in Rio and Sao Paulo opened up as well, which meant that I was sometimes the only gringo at the premises.  I certainly made the most of it, judging from these trip reports:

 

Through it all though, I’ve had Thailand in the back of my mind.  When the hell will it ever open up? 2021 rolled around. Apart from my monthly, multi-week trips to Brazil, I’ve pretty much scoured most of Western Europe, the Middle East and Mexico. But Thailand has remained closed. (I’ve also have been keeping my eye on Japan, which is still in a weird reopening phase. I’ve been dying to return.) I see domino after domino of COVID restrictions fall down. Except Thailand. I shared this in August 2021:

Then the Phuket sandbox happened in July 2021, and while appealing, still was too restrictive for me. And news about the bars still closed was disheartening. Then Thai Pass was introduced in November 2021, and that felt more appealing to me, though the RT-PCR requirement, and the quarantine hotel requirement was something that was a bit unnerving to me. It just introduced (perhaps unnecessary) wildcards to a supposedly wonderful trip. I’d rather just go straight to Brazil, (even with their evolving COVID requirements as well – from medical insurance requirements, to COVID test, to having scrapped everything as of April 2022), and their open bars.

I finally bit the bullet and bought my ticket to Bangkok last April. I was heading to Dubai in June, and found it interesting to instead head over to Bangkok after that trip instead of high-tailing it back to California. Also, Thailand dropping the COVID test requirement for vaccinated travelers was the deciding factor for me as well. The COVID dominos were starting to fall in Thailand.  The June 12 announcement that the USA was dropping its COVID testing requirement to enter the USA was another domino falling that was just icing on the cake.  It seems that the stars are aligning in just the right times for me to make a comeback in Thailand.

So next post will be my preparations for the trip, and the REAL reason I am going to Thailand.

P.S.  To new posters, yes, I am always this long-winded when it comes to my trip reports.  An example:

 

[Vessey]

I am looking forward to this and to comparing experiences as I was also able to get to Thailand and Pattaya in April.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, numazu said:

So next post will be my preparations for the trip, and the REAL reason I am going to Thailand.

thank you for the excellent post and I’m happy to see you posting again here.  I always thought your trip reports were the most entertaining, yet still packed w real useful information.  Looking forward to more

[floridarob]

9 hours ago, numazu said:

I did more video calls, both for work, and for friends far away, similarly stuck at home, wondering when this will all end.

My phone must've been on silent 😝

[ggobkk]

Numazu has advised - he's back to reporting and I for one appreciate this.  More notes to add to my invisible journal preparing for my September jaunt.

[scott456]

It's good that nobody here seems to have closed friends or relatives died from Covid during this period, and there is no grieving.  Everybody is still full of energy and sex drive and ready for action.  God blesses.

[vinapu]

53 minutes ago, scott456 said:

It's good that nobody here seems to have closed friends or relatives died from Covid during this period, and there is no grieving

Sometimes well placed inheritance wipes tears quite fast

[scott456]

11 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Sometimes well placed inheritance wipes tears quite fast

Especially for those who can not make it on their own, are desperate for the inheritance, and finally it happened.  That's a celebration for them, not grief.

[numazu]

15 hours ago, Vessey said:

I am looking forward to this and to comparing experiences as I was also able to get to Thailand and Pattaya in April.

Thanks @Vessey. I'm afraid that its not going to be quite the same experience for me like my old Trip Reports.  Probably a combination of the post-pandemic era surroundings, my changing tastes, or my changing circumstances. Still, I think it is still worth it to put on here.  Well, we'll see LOL.

14 hours ago, Slvkguy said:

thank you for the excellent post and I’m happy to see you posting again here.  I always thought your trip reports were the most entertaining, yet still packed w real useful information.  Looking forward to more

Thank you. The irony is that I've been traveling way more than before (it that was possible) so I have way more to share, but I have less time to write about them! I did, however, think that this trip report was something worthy of some time, even if some of my other experiences are also worth something as well.  The Middle East, for example, was very eye opening.

6 hours ago, floridarob said:

My phone must've been on silent 😝

LOL. Was I a bad freind?

5 hours ago, ggobkk said:

Numazu has advised - he's back to reporting and I for one appreciate this.  More notes to add to my invisible journal preparing for my September jaunt.

PM me @ggobkk, about your plans for September!

 

[numazu]

2 hours ago, scott456 said:

It's good that nobody here seems to have closed friends or relatives died from Covid during this period, and there is no grieving.  Everybody is still full of energy and sex drive and ready for action.  God blesses.

I mean, that’s a big assumption on your part. I’ve dealt with some loss during the pandemic, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to put that on here.

But yes, I can see how travel during the pandemic would be morally ambiguous for sure. All I can say is that this is how I spent my pandemic time, knowing the risks I was taking and I was exposing others, who have made their own risk analysis during that difficult time.

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, numazu said:

LOL. Was I a bad freind?

How could we tell.....Tom 😏

3 hours ago, numazu said:

 The Middle East, for example, was very eye opening.

That part of this message board is in need of more trip reports than Brasil or Thailand.....

[numazu]

Day 0: Brazil on my mind, even in Thailand

Needless to say that I have changed some personal information of certain individuals mentioned, due to some weird stalkers in this site.

So Brazil had me for itself for a better part of a year and a half during the pandemic. And when you get to know a place for that long on a regular basis, you tend to get to settle on what works for you best, after the initial novelty wears off. After running wild through the famous saunas of Brazil,  I’ve actually grown tired of it all, believe it or not. Don’t get me wrong, sex with a variety of beautiful guys will always be on the table for me, but during this time, working remotely in Brazil had me looking for something more substantial, after getting tired of the run-of-the-mill sauna-show-cabine-programa routine.

Because of the dire economic circumstances the pandemic has left some of the less fortunate of us, you can find that even more boys are available than usual. Most of them are after money, of course, but I have found that a few of them needed something else. I’ve certainly have met a few very interesting guys, who would not sell themselves in a Brazilian sauna, nor expose themselves in escort websites, but would like to earn a few dollars from you. I found these guys mostly from referrals from other boys, and they appreciate the discretion you give them, not being found out by familiars in saunas or websites, and they will pretty much do anything for you.

And then there are those, when I tell them I am going to Europe or Dubai for some work or vacation for a few weeks, ask for just a one-way ticket to the place in question, and they will be more than willing (thrilled in fact) to accompany you during your stay, free of charge (you pay for incidentals of course), and when its time for me to go, they opt to stay in Barcelona or Paris or Dubai or London, where they try to earn the money they were after in the first place (by usually escorting). I am probably responsible for a (not) significant amount of Brazilians ending up in Europe or the Middle East, using this method.

And then there’s this Brazilian guy who wanted to Thailand. Let’s call him Tiago. He is 28, European facial features, always bronzed skin, and let’s just say he is from the south of the country. Beautiful, of course, with a MMA fighter's body.  Oddly enough, I met him at a Smart Fit Gym in Sao Paulo. He was a personal trainer there, and a working boy introduced me to him in one my visits to his gym. He didn’t work at the sauna in Sao Paulo, nor did he sell himself in the websites. He did, however, belong to a Jiu Jitsu team in Sao Paulo, and did personal training on the side to pay the bills. He has done some MMA fights (20+), but wanted to train in Muay Thai, in Thailand, to expand his resume. He intended to stay for 6 months in Thailand, and has saved up enough for the gym fees and accommodation in his chosen Muay Thai school. What he didn’t have was the airfare to get to Thailand.

There has always been a Thailand-Brazil connection I wasn’t aware about till this trip.

So during the next few months we talked about it that possibility, in between some dates and gym training with him, of course. Throughout all that he didn’t ask me for any tips during my time with him in Brazil, I guess to sell me the idea that he is trustworthy and worthy of the cost of an air ticket. So when I told him in April that I was thinking about going to Thailand, after a trip to the Middle East, he said that was perfect timing, because that would get him back to Brazil in December, in time for Christmas and the Holidays. He even made himself available for the two weeks before to accompany me with some business in Doha and Dubai, before heading over to Thailand. I told him I’d go the extra mile and take him personally to his Muay Thai gym, which was not in Bangkok, but was a plane ride away. He was excited, and so was I. I was as curious to get to know more about this side of his life, as he was about going.

I took him for a test run to a nearby country just to see if we were gonna be good travel buddies. He passed with flying colors.

So in the next few weeks we try to get our requirements ready for Thailand. As we were entering Bangkok in mid-June, we didn’t have to do a COVID test to get to enter Thailand, but we still needed to complete the Thai Pass, which was easy enough since we were both vaxxed and boostered and he was able to get official documents and QR codes from the Brazilian health authority after some expected red tape. We still needed COVID tests to get into Qatar, and to complete their version of Thai Pass (Ehteraz), but that was easy to do as well, with my help. I guess after going through all this for almost two years, a few more QR codes was just easy-peasy for me to complete.

Two weeks in the Middle East with Tiago was a blast. He was game for a lot of my shenanigans, kept fit in the hotel gyms while I was working, and on my free times, he devoured all the tours and walking that was needed to explore the rich wonders of the area. He was even open to certain sexual exploration if he thought it would be fun to join in, and left me alone if he knew I wanted some alone time. Through it all those two weeks just flew by, and pretty soon it was time to go to Thailand.

We were in Dubai to catch our Qatar Airways flight to Bangkok via Doha. I decided to cash-in some Avios points from my British Airways account and buy us Business Class tickets, which was a just a surprisingly cheap 40k each from Dubai to Bangkok. Since our flight was at 5:30 AM, we decided to not sleep the night before and just enjoy Dubai nightlife. After an interesting encounter with some gay Emiratis hanging out at a Starbucks in the JBR district in Dubai, we were on our way to the airport at 3 AM. At the check-in counter, the nice Qatar Airways lady didn’t even check our Thai passes or COVID vaccination cards or any of his documentation. She was flirty and had some tips for Thailand, since she’s been there once. We played along, and got our tickets eventually, if we were cutting it close to boarding time. She ended with bidding us good luck, and she was sure we will have a great time, since we were men. Not sure what that meant but we ended that convo.

We were actually the last ones to check in. And the last ones to board. Still, Qatar Airways is famous for its top notch in-flight service, so we were pampered all throughout. I am always amazed by their first class service on one-hour flights. They are still able to get us 3 drinks and some yummy breakfast even with the very short (40-minute) flight from Dubai to Doha:

Doha airport on a Sunday was a madhouse. The place was packed. And there were almost no places to sit at the Biz class lounge but we managed. This was indeed a sign the time of COVID restricted travel was over. There was still mask wearing in the airport but that was the only apparent thing I can see that was COVID-related. 

Since we were super tired from not sleeping the night before, we slept the whole 6 hour and half plane ride from Doha to Bangkok. We got woken up by the flight attendant to say that we had to unrecline our seats for the initial plane descent. Still, five stars to Qatar Airways, we were still served a full dinner while we were descending, since we missed all the in-flight service.

As we landed, I got a bit of goosebumps and got excited. I was too tired to actually think about it before, but it just dawned on me now that I was going to be in Thailand after 2 and half years of being away. I started going to Thailand in 2014, and after a few years, the novelty has worn off. But after being away for that long I think the distance was all I needed to recharge my longing for Thailand once again. Tiago, of course, was beside himself. He was super excited to start his life in his new home. Once we were our of the plance we raced to immigration.

All this was still super familiar to me, the walk to the immigration desks. We eventually got to the intermediary desks, the Thai Pass station:

It was painless, they just needed to see the QR code, passports and COVID vaccine card. They attached stickers to our shirts saying we passed Thai pass and we were on our way to immigration. Since Tiago’s English was not that good, I knew I had to help him with this process (as I did in Doha and Dubai). At the immigration desk, I got my usual 30-day stamp. When it was Tiago’s turn, the immigration officer confirmed if the dates in the immigration card were correct. I said yes, so Tiago got his 90-day stamp. No other documentation was asked. Not the letters of invitation Tiago has from his Muay Thai gym, not our COVID vaccinations, not his yellow fever vaccine he got because that was requirement by the Thai government. Figures.

And I always wondered, why people from the USA or UK or some other rich country can only get 30 day tourist stays in Thailand at a time, while Brazilians and Colombians, among others, can get 90 days?

After getting our luggage, I immediately get 20,000 baht from the ATM.  Then, as a favor, I immediately got Tiago a Thai SIM card from dtac for 90 days, which cost 1100 baht. I didn’t need one since I got Google Fi cell service. I then swiftly guide us to the ground floor to the taxi line, got a taxi ticket from the thingie, found our taxi number and taxi stand, flashed our AirBNB’s address and directions, in Thai, to our driver, and we were on our way, for a 40 minute ride to Silom.

Along the way, Tiago commented on how efficient I was with getting things done at the airport. I told him that Thailand was a very familiar place to me, and I still knew how things were done even after years away. Since Tiago was Brazilian and naturally warm, he immediately tried to talk to the driver, who obliged with Tiago’s broken English and answered with some broken English of his own. Noone understood anyone though, since the accents were unfamiliar to each other, even if both were speaking English.  Except to me of course, I was used to hearing both accents, so I was there to pretty much smoothen out the conversation. It was pretty entertaining, and pretty soon we arrived at the AirBNB.

I chose to stay at an AirBNB for our Bangkok stay, after staying in hotels for two weeks in Doha and Dubai. An AirBNB will afford us many creature comforts that hotels won’t have, like a washer and dryer in the unit (two weeks in the middle east meant we needed clean clothes), two bedrooms for cheap (more on this later), and some basic kitchen stuff if we needed to make something. Also, it’ll give Tiago a glimpse of Thai domestic life that he will be living in pretty soon, something that is not apparent in the insular confines of, say, the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park, even if I love that hotel sooooo much.

It was 9:20 PM by the time we got to the apartment. I knew I wanted to at least check out a boy bar or two, even if we were both tired, so we had to hurry. And Tiago was hungry. So to save time, we showered together (hot water in the unit worked!), and prepared for the night ahead. Since it was raining, I decided to get us a Grab Taxi (which I downloaded on my phone on the way to the apartment), and set up our destination to the first restaurant I thought of that served food really quickly: Happy Beer Garden.

As we get off the taxi and before we go in to eat, I look across the street:

The end of Soi Twilight, and the beginning of something else.

I remember that I when I used to eat at Happy Beer Garden, when it was around 8 or 9 PM, and I’d hear boys shouting at me from across the street, sitting in bars that don’t exist anymore, enticing us to join in the fun once I was done with dinner. Those were amazing times. I wonder if those time will ever come back. Probably not, as Soi Twilight was not coming back.  

Time to make me new memories.

Next post, guess which bar we went to first? 

[bkkmfj2648]

Numazu,

Excellent trip report and writing skills and narration. Bravo!!

and the way you ended this episode - like a cock tease - very tantalizing.

I cannot wait for the next segment.

Thanks,

M.

p.s., your writing style is very similar to Rush from   Dancing with the Devil in the City of Angels

unfortunately, he is no longer with us....

[vinapu]

First bar was Moonlight ?

 

 

 

 

[TotallyOz]

First bar: Screwboys (they opened back up for @numazu)

[jason1975]

I am guessing it's Moonlight and he takes a model back.

[numazu]

Day 1: The Quarantine 15

It’s no secret that my preference is for guys with a little bit of muscle on them. That’s just a preference, it’s like if men were all on a grocery store shelf, it’s the first one I’d pick out of the rest. But that does not mean that sometimes I'll venture further into the aisle and pick something fat-free, or something with more fat content, or something saltier (I don’t know what that means). I go with what is fun at the moment, and that kind of open-mindedness was improved by the pandemic, another unintended consequence of the event that changed all our lives.

So in picking the bar to go to tonight, being pressed for time, I decided on the low hanging fruit, the one that has worked for me in the past, filled with my usual preference for boys. I also had to balance that with what Tiago, my companion, would enjoy the most as well. Granted, that this is his first time going into a Thai boy bar, or any bar that had escorts (he has not been to the saunas in Brazil, he said), so he was eager to just experience it all. So I had to pick one with a decent show. So there was just one bar I could think of that fit all this – Moonlight Bangkok.

My first impression of Moonlight, July 2018:

On 7/3/2018 at 7:11 PM, numazu said:

This is the same reason why I was excited about the boy bar Moonlight, which is really a reimagined, more streamlined version of (old) Jupiter. New Jupiter seems to be cut from the same cloth, but more sanitized and gentrified to attract a more general type of audience. That is where the money is, obviously, and it is working for both bars. Much to the chagrin of course to most of us who long for the more sleazy Bangkok boy bars of the past. These are bars I would be comfortable bringing my boyfriend (or my sister really) to for a solid night of entertainment and staring at gorgeous guys, without the veil of sleaziness one associates Thai bars with.

They are adept in using social media to evangelize their brand of boy bar. Which I admit bode well for them in the lonely months during quarantine. It is always interesting how any establishment that depends highly on reputation and hype dealt with the pandemic. In March 2020, as the world closed itself to deal with the pandemic, I remember Moonlight going from hyping Songkran 2020 (to which I was looking forward to):

to temperature checks in March 15, 2020 (they tried!):

to closure in March 18, 2020, with an expectation to reopen in 2 weeks (just like me who thought this was just a 2 week thing):

to continued closure:

to some reason the Moonlight models working at HotMale bar:

to a final reopening at the end of September 2020:

And a great show soon after, with an amazing model, Mr Jack, and his “sexist” underwear. i wish he would come back, he is hot:

Through it all, they’ve maintained their social media presence, keeping the light on in that sense, and always kept everyone informed about next steps. I think with all the uncertainty with what pandemic has brought in our lives, having this reliable source of info, good or bad, was a comfort. Kudos to the management of that establishment, I think this should be an example on how to do social media, and customers are not left with gossip and hearsay to sustain them during those dark days.

Back to the present: Happy Beer Garden has never changed. For some reason one of the waiters recognized me and asked me how I was. I do not remember him at all.  Anyway, after a few pleasantries, I told him we were in a hurry to make a 10:30 PM show at Moonlight so we had to get our food in a jiffy. Since Tiago is Brazilian, he does not like spicy food, so I had to scour for the mild offerings in the menu. I settled on a chicken dish with rice, which he still thought was spicy. I told him to get used to it, since he’ll be here for 6 months. I also got a Thai Icea Tea to calibrate my taste buds and remind it how awesome Thai food was and to get ready for its many delights.

Luckily the waiter was true to his word and we were out there in 15 minutes, which gave us plenty of time to saunter over that unpronounceable alley way off of Surawong Rd to Moonlight.

I guess Mr. Nut is now the face of Moonlight?  Great choice.

Things that felt familiar: the 400 baht entrance fee with welcome drink, no changes in seating and stage. AC was on full blast. We get guided by a mamasan to our seats, which was toward the back and at the center, which I thought was pretty good seating. Tiago sat down, and looked around, took it in, smiling the whole time. He looked across the room, and found 3 boys, some in underwear, some shirtless, some in tank tops, some in pants. The boys rotated, but it was always 3 at a time on stage. 

Tiago then had a million questions, possibly the same exact questions I had when it was my first time in this bar, and in a Bangkok boy bar. Yes, all the boys are available for sex. Yes, you can use the number to identify the boy you want to off. No, most of them are Thai, but some are from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. A boy costs probably 2000 baht to 5000 baht, depending on the boy snd the length of the off. Yes, most of them are tops, but there are a lot of bottoms as well.  And the most important answer – Maybe, I can get a boy, but only if you’re comfortable with it.  Tiago looks at me and shrugs. He tells me he always defers to me for that. “Let’s see who is hot among these guys,” he said.

We were asked our drinks.  Tiago, who doesn’t drink, ordered a water. I ordered a “rum coke”, which was a test drink I would order in every bar in order to judge who served the stiffest drink. This is a test I’ve employed in other establishments, and there was oftentimes a correlation between how good or strong my cuba libre (rum and coke) was to how much fun I’d have that night, since cocktails are of differing quality in the world. Tiago asks how much the drink was, I tell him it was roughly 55 Brazilian reais. “That seems really expensive,” he says. I tell him that this is like an entry fee, and tell him the entry fee to the Sao Paulo’s Lagoa sauna is 65 reais, without any drinks. And I tell him that we get to see this one-hour show, so it all is pretty worth it.

The drink was pretty weak.  Not a good sign lol.

Before the show started, I see a familiar face among the rotating boys.  The boy who has defined all my Thailand visits. The boy who other offs has been measured against – MonBoy, the Myanmar boy from Mon State.  My first impression of him, in June 2017:

On 6/7/2017 at 5:34 AM, numazu said:

Indeed he was there, the first Myanmar boy. He had a handsome young face, skin a healthy light tan, and very strong legs. He was wearing a medium length sleeveless white t-shirt, but was wearing only underwear and shoes. Another unique set of clothing that was memorable. Let’s call him MonBoy. I had to have him before anyone else got to him. I raise my hand to signal to him to come to us. He acknowledges and walks the runway to our direction and sits down with us.

He sits between me and The Lion. He shakes my hand and whispers in my ear “Thank you,” and kisses my cheek. Wow he was pretty forward already with me. He was sitting pretty close to me. He takes my hand and puts it in his hand, and navigates it near his crotch. I get a feel of his big bulge. This was really promising. He also smelled good. He had some fragrance on that complimented his own body scent. I tell him to get himself a drink, as he seemed to have forgotten that he can do that. He signals to one of the waiters and his drink shows up pretty quickly. I pay 250 baht for that.

I look at his face, and he smiles at me. I ask him the usual questions. He asks me to repeat certain questions again as his English was not the best. I figure out his proficiency was able to ask him further questions after that. He said he is 23, a Myanmar boy from Mon State. He has been working as a gogo boy in Jupiter for 2 weeks. He says he was a farmer before being a gogo boy and just wanted to earn enough money to bring back home to his family.

I tell Tiago the cliff notes of my past relationship with MonBoy. He takes a look at him and tell me to invite him to sit with us. I mention to him to come over. He bows, but was hesitant, and then gets off the stage and goes over a group of 4 Thais sitting just to the left of the stage and talked to them for a bit. MonBoy then goes over to us. “Where sitting?” Mon Boy asks. Tiago schooches over to make a space between us so MonBoy can be sandwiched in between. Good sign. He greets both of us, and then leans on me and asks “Your boyfriend?” pertaining to Tiago.  Good question.

When we were planning the Doha-Dubai-Bangkok trip, Tiago brought up the subject of what were supposed to be to each other while traveling. This question came up when we went on that trial run to Mexico, when he was showing immigration hotel accommodations for Cancun where we were staying, which had both our names on it. He told immigration that I was his boyfriend, and I was American, which was code for “Don’t worry about the Brazilian entering your country, he is with an American who will pay for everything.” He even showed the immigration people our pics together (chaste ones having dinner, walking along Paulista Street, at the gym). I told him sure, this will work for Thailand too, but not in Qatar, or the United Arab Emirates.

Not true, it did work, indirectly, in Dubai, where we checked in together at the Hilton. When we handed over our passports, the handsome check-in guy asked us if we needed a King size bed instead of two doubles. I replied “King, of course” and the guy didn’t even bat an eye. 

I reflexively said “Yes, he is my boyfriend,” after introducing him as such for a better part of 2 weeks now. MonBoy then looks at Tiago and shook his hand. Tiago, all Brazilian, pulls him in for a hug. They laughed. This might actually work out.

After some initial greetings, MonBoy tells me that he is actually committed to a short time encounter with the Thais he talked to before. But he says that he can meet up after that if I was still interested. I told him of course. He gives me a kiss in the cheek, and gets Tiago’s left hand and kisses his hand, and leaves.  This works out, no payment of an off fee.  I explain the situation to Tiago. 

The show starts, and quite frankly, nothing has changed in the numbers, the drag queens, and the quality of the show. It’s like I’ve never left and just saw this same show the week before. I knew certain songs were different, and some numbers were different, but it all just felt the same. What changed me for, however, was I was with Tiago. He kept asking first-timer questions that were interesting and funny. Like “Is that really a guy,” or “Do Asian boys kiss like Brazilians,” or “Do these shows also exist in Brazil?” I tell him, no. The shows in saunas in Brazil were kind of different. Some drag queens, yes, depending on the venue, but the males did not have elaborate numbers like here. In Brazil, it was just a man, a very muscular man, stripping sensually to nothing but his undies, and then showing his ass, and then his erection, after the number was over. 

“Which one do you prefer? This, or Brazil’s way?” he asks. I think about it for a minute. I tell him it depends. Sometimes I like this spectacle and disciplined dance numbers. Sometimes I’d just like to see a large cock. So, “Os dois – Both,” was my final answer. “Very American of you,” he tells me. That was not the first time he has called me as such during this trip. 

Just some asides, and this might sound a bit petty, but I did notice some models were a little less defined than before.  Don't get me wrong, they still look fine. The pandemic was hard to us all, and I am in no prized shape either. Maybe its because I was with Tiago, and therefore I was measuring everything with his (fairly large) measuring stick, but judge for yourself. 2019 in the left, when I left them last, and 2022 how I’ve seen them now:

Mr York

Mr Tum

Or maybe they just had a big dinner, who knows.

I did like Mr Korn A LOT. He has this cocky humbleness to him, and once in a while he would smirk and I see possibilities.  Maybe a future off:

The show finishes. Some live entertainment was next, and as advertised, it was pretty fun, and the vocalist, May, was pretty good  I think this was a good addition to the bar. If we weren't tired, we would have stayed longer:

I get a message from MonBoy, telling me he is going to his client’s hotel. We leave Moonlight.  I tell him we were going to Patpong, to see what’s up.

Next post, another Boy Bar to go to (which one, can you guess), and a familiar face, next.

[jason1975]

2 hours ago, numazu said:

I did like Mr Korn A LOT. He has this cocky humbleness to him, and once in a while he would smirk and I see possibilities.  Maybe a future off:

Wow! So handsome and what a nice body!

[floridarob]

You're reviews are always so detailed.....even Joe commented that you're a good writer.....guess you are more than just a whore 😝

[ggobkk]

My hunch is next stop is Hot Male...

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, ggobkk said:

My hunch is next stop is Hot Male...

I'm guessing a massage place....

[vinapu]

I,d say, Dreamboys will be next.

 

 

 

 

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, floridarob said:

I'm guessing a massage place....

I missed the part where he said boy bar next....

[numazu]

Day 1.5: Just like riding a bike

So we slingshotted from the muggy streets of JBR Beach in Dubai at 3 AM, to the damp streets of Silom in Bangkok at 12 midnight, in under just 13 hours, we really didn’t have any time to stop and smell the roses. Until now. We wandered our way from Moonlight to Patpong, where the cluster of boy bars resided. Not many people were still out and about, and I wasn't sure if it was because it's already 12 midnight on a Sunday, or it just rained, or because of the lingering pandemic, or all of the above. I was expecting the usual throng of people milling about, and street vendors hawking food and souvenirs, and massage therapists enticing you with their brand of relaxation, and with all the smells and the heat that is in this part of the world, made a heady mixture in the air that can make you delirious and keep wanting more.  

Instead it was almost solemn, peaceful, sleepy. Not dead, or empty, just tranquil and serene. We walked, without urgency, only purpose, to Patpong. Tiago held my hand, as he has been accustomed to do in Brazil, and as he was forbidden to do in the Middle East.  “This is fine, right?” he asks me, as he squeezes the hand he was holding. I assured him it was. We were in Bangkok after all. And not just any place, we were in Silom. This place is legendary. You just had to see it to believe it existed. No Bangkok guidebook or Tripadvisor review or Instagram post can capture its true essence. You only had to hear about it, to know it’s worth visiting. And once you do, there’s no way you want to leave.

Well, ok, that was the Silom of old. The Silom of right now was kind of a sleepy place, at least at this hour. As we make our way into Patpong 2, Tiago notices a bar that advertised Muay Thai fights on its street sign.  It was the Pink Panther. “Are there fights here?” he asked, interested in seeing something that is in his line of work. I’ve never been, but I answered that “I think there are, but this place is mostly a girlie joint.” Tiago then asks “And we are not doing any girl stuff this trip right?” I laugh. I know that these bisexual Brazilians will fuck anything in sight, but I tell him “Maybe, if you’re good,” just to tease him.

You have to admit, that Patpong 2 is a poor substitute for Soi Twilight. Yes, thank goodness that a lot of the refugee bars from Soi Twilight found a home on Patpong 2, but the Soi is bookended by girlie bars, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Foodland ™ was smack dab in the middle of all the action. Gone are the days that most of the gay bars were concentrated in a focused strip of a street, with touts manhandling you to compete for your attention as you make your way through the Soi. A bit of that still happens, but it's just not the same. Perhaps, it is just following a world trend that has done away with gay neighborhoods, and welcoming a more integrated world. We are the victims of our own success. We demanded for visibility and equality, and once we've achieved it, we became just like everyone else, sandwiched between girlie bars.

Probably outdated, still interesting, from bangkokeyes.com

The tout of Fresh Boys was the first to greet us, trying very hard for us to get to go enter the bar. “No thank you,” was my answer, even with the tout promising that the boys were fresher here than anywhere else on the Soi. I dragged Tiago away from the tout to get to the nexus of Dream Boy and Hot Male. And before their respective touts had a chance to plead their cases, a boyish voice suddenly shouts “Numazu, what the hell are you doing here?” And the voice used my real name too. Tiago asks, “How does he know your name?” I answer “The same reason everyone in Sao Paulo knows my name."

Let's call him HM, the bar boy extraordinaire of Hot Male, who shouted out that sentence alerting boys in even as far as Jupiter (the bar? the planet? your call) that Numazu has arrived.  He runs over to hug me. I introduce Tiago, who then hugs HM in return. “Your boyfriend?” HM asks, of course. “Yes,” and I fill him in the details of our trip. He then fills me in about the scene, what he has been doing, and regaled me with stories of mutual friends, and heartaches, that I have been witness to in the past. It was like catching up with an old friend. And he truly was an old friend. A sexy old friend.

Tiago, meanwhile, was getting some attention from the tout of Hot Male, who was enticing him to go up to see some hot males to his bar. “I don’t know what he wants me to do,” he tells me, not understanding Thai accented English. “He was asking you if we wanted to go upstairs to another boy bar. He asked me if I wanted to. I said sure, why not, since we are here. I bid adieu to the town crier and headed up over to Hot Male.

There was still a lot of people inside Hot Male even if it was after the show. About 4 groups of people, with a variety of boys sprinkled in there.  As we get settled in our seats, and get our drink order (water and rum coke – weak af), I see that there were 5 guys onstage with their dicks hanging out on full display. I’d say that they were all nice looking, so it was pleasant sight to see. Tiago of course, asked about this display of dicks, so I give him a rundown of what I usually see in a boy bar. 

He then asks about HM, how I know him, where he was from, and asked me if HM's English was fluent. I said it was, and its fairly advanced compared to the average working boy, and it is better than even (Tiago's) English. He asked how this was possible, since he was having a hard time getting to that level of fluency. I told him that HM probably learned the most from all the farangs he has met through the years, just practicing with them, not afraid to make mistakes and open in being corrected, etc. Tiago said that he took classes in Brazil but still struggles.

Hot Male didn’t have a lot of boys in the bar, but the ones they had were a pretty nice selection.  I could see offing almost everyone in the bar at this moment, but we already had that pending off.  One stand out for me was this guy. Amazing body and cute face. Could be fun:

I get a text from MonBoy saying he was wrapping up and asked me where we could meet him. Told him we will wait for him on Patpong 2. And then one by one, people at Hot Male got up and left. We pay for our two drinks, and descend back to street level. After a few minutes of banter with HM, MonBoy shows up. HM does a double take, and then greets him, in Burmese, Thai?  Of course HM knows him, and knows him being with me in the past. He bids all of us farewell as he helps close down his bar. I order a Grab Taxi, and soon the three of us are bunched in together in the back seat.  I was in the middle. Tiago rests put his hand on my thigh as he looks out at the scenery. MonBoy held my hand and rested his head on my shoulder. We get home, and Tiago immediately takes off his shirt, as it was hot.

MonBoy suddenly gets bashful. He sits on the couch, saying nothing, while Tiago and I get comfortable at home. I sense MonBoy’s sudden shyness and ask him if he wanted to shower. He said he just showered so he was fine. Tiago, eager for a shower, strips naked as the day he was born, and heads for the shower in the guest bedroom. MonBoy laughs, perhaps not used to such immodest manner from clients. “Why don’t we shower together?” I ask him. OK he said. He takes off his shirt, and takes the rest of his clothes in the free bathroom. I join him, stark naked.

I have known every angle of every nook and every cranny of MonBoy’s body. I was eager to see how it feels after almost 3 years of not seeing him. There, in the shower, I see that he has not changed much. He still has that bronze skin that was smooth as silk. His torso was a leaner than before, still athletic, still fit as ever, but he was noticeably smaller. Except the ass, all its glory is still there. Two perfect mounds. The cock was the cock, he still has that famous bigger than average cock. And the face, maybe a little bit more worn, gaunter, but still beautiful as ever before.

After some initial soap and rinse down, we make out. He still is the best kisser I’ve ever had in Thailand. He certainly knows how to do it, or at least how I wanted it. I stroke his dick, it gets to attention. After some more foreplay, I reach for the towel to dry us off. We emerge from the bathroom and find Tiago laying on the bed, stroking his dick on one hand, his phone on the other, watching a video. He puts the phone away when he sees us emerge. MonBoy gets shy again looking at me, and then at Tiago, and then at Tiago’s dick. I tell Tiago, in Portuguese, that MonBoy is a little bit shy. Tiago gets the hint and stands up, to make some space, dick swinging with his motion. 

What followed was a little bit awkward, but nonetheless fun to explore and try out. MonBoy eventually got settled in bed, but couldn’t get hard again like he was in the shower. Tiago asked if he was in the way, but MonBoy assured us he was fine with the two of us being there. The kissing was hot, everyone tried to suck each other, which was hot. Tiago was really into rimming MonBoy, which was fun to watch. Monboy probably embarrassed with his shy penis, offered to bottom for both of us. I asked MonBoy if he has taken anyone as big as Tiago before. MonBoy assured us he did. I’ve seen MonBoy take dick like a champion before.  Tonight was not one of those nights. He tried tho, which was in itself a triumph.

Tiago came jacking himself off while rimming MonBoy. I came while jacking myself off, Tiago sucking my nipples, and MonBoy making out with me. MonBoy stayed being shy. Which was fine. We all shower after, with again Tiago in the second bathroom and MonBoy and me in the master. MonBoy asks to stay for a little bit because he wants to take the BTS/MRT home and it doesn’t start up till morning.  I offer a GrabTaxi and he says its just easier for him to use the train. Tiago settles in the bed and gets to deep slumber almost immediately. I plop myself in the middle while MonBoy settles in beside me. It was a long day, and it all hit me and put me to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Everything that happened tonight was very familiar. It was like those 2 and a half years never happened. And I got on the saddle really quick. It was just like riding a bike. Well, almost. I guess Tiago’s bike was too large for MonBoy to ride. It doesn’t matter. As long as you are along for the ride, that’s what counts.

Next, the morning after…

[floridarob]

10 hours ago, ggobkk said:

My hunch is next stop is Hot Male...

were you there too ....😉