Back in Bangkok after 3 years

[VancBCMan]

Intro

I have been reading trip reports of those who have recently been to Bangkok, and taken in a lot of the information that helped me decide some of the things I could do and visit on this trip and places I might want to eat at.

It’s only fair that I return the favour by writing about my recent visit to Bangkok.

I was last in Bangkok in mid February 2020, soon after the start of COVID, and just a few weeks before travel started to shut down to/ from most countries. This February was my first time back in the city since then.

On this trip, I had visited a number of other cities in Africa before heading to Thailand. Bangkok was my last stop, before heading home. This time, I was there for 12 days, in mid February.

I came via Doha, travelling on Qatar Airways. I will say, without any hesitation, that their service is the best I have experienced compared to many of the other airlines I have travelled on over the past 5 years. Theirs was actually the cheapest fare in business class from the African city I was travelling from. Their lounge in Doha is huge and lots of staff there to help you if you needed any assistance. The lounge in Bangkok, although smaller, was quite something! They have a limited choice of food options in their lounges, although they will make fresh sandwiches and cook eggs for you, if requested. In comparison, the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul tops the list for food options. Sorry for a bit of digression….

I arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport around 12:30 pm. A few flights had landed about the same time, so there were several people in the arrivals area at the time. After a good walk, I was in the Fast track immigration line up. The line I was in was taking longer as a farang ahead of me was being asked several questions by the immigration officer. I changed lines and was served by another officer quickly. (The farang must have spent at least 15 mins with the officer overall). By the time I got to the luggage carousel, my bag was already there. I read in other posts that it had taken much longer to get the bags, so it seems some of those issues have now been addressed.

There was a lineup for taxis outside, so it took another 10 minutes before getting into the cab. The driver took the Expressway, but upon exit we had to deal with the daytime traffic in Bangkok. I was headed to the Raya, and told the driver to turn on Surawong, but he turned at Silom, so it took an additional 10 mins in that traffic (and slow traffic lights). Did he do that on purpose for the extra charge? I think so!

Check in was quick and I was in the suite on the 8th floor in no time. Agoda had a deal going on couple of months prior, so I got the suite at a very decent rate. This was the least I paid for a hotel room during this whole trip, where I stayed at a number of hotels in different cities.

I had invited a friend from Philippines to join me on day 5 of my trip. He was there for a week. While we had some of our meals together, we otherwise each did our own thing.

Over the course of 12 days, the weather was very warm, reaching up to 35 degrees on some days. Things cooled down to about 26 deg for 3-4 days after a heavy rainfall overnight and in the morning during the middle part of my trip. Although it became very humid for a day, it was then pleasant. After the short reprieve, the temperature soared back to 35 degrees.

What a change in the weather when heading home:  from temperatures that reached mid 30’s in Bangkok, to almost zero (with some snow and lots of rain) in my hometown.

[VancBCMan]

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.

Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip

• I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit.
• Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China.
• The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night.
• There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong.
• A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand.
• Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine.
• Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before.
• Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened.
• I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop).
• A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series.
• A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too.
• A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks.
• Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only.
• XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).

 

[VancBCMan]

Clubs

Hot Male: I visited Hot Male on the 1^st night I was in Bangkok. Entrance was 400 Baht. I went soon after the show had started. On that day, the place was almost full, but not packed. Almost 40% of those in the audience that day were women. There were about 15 guys on the stage, wide range to suit most. They were all wearing sweatpants and most wearing T-shirts. Hardly anyone was smiling; they looked bored. For me, the show was OK.

I visited Hot Male again towards the end of my trip. This time, there were very few women, and the choice of boys was not as good as the previous visit. The good-looking ones may have been “offed” already.

 

Fresh Boys:  I visited the Club after seeing the show at Hot Male on Day 1. Entrance was also 400 Baht. There were about 20 guys on stage, all wearing sweats and most wearing Ts. There were fewer women here and the place was about half full. Here, there were more smiles on the faces of the boys, compared to Hot Male. There was even a greater variety of guys here, some past their prime as go-go boys. They had their “cock show” as part of their overall show. Again, show was OK.

Dream Boys

I patronized Dream Boys 3 times during this trip. Cover charge was 500 Baht for the 2 times and 550 Baht on a Monday (not sure why the difference). Each time, the place was about half full. There were about 25 guys parading on stage each time, before and after the main show. They were all in briefs. Just before the start of the main show, 9 of the boys danced very well to upbeat music, and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. Of the Clubs I visited this time, I saw the most smiles here. There was a good selection and variety in the boys. I would say this Club had the best entertainment out of the 4 Clubs I went to this time. Each time, there were slightly different routines.

The costumes, which one can write home about, were also different each time. When performing, the guys were in sync during their dance performance. They put on a very decent performance. While the shows here are raunchier than at Moonlight, it almost seemed like the choreographer from Moonlight had moved to Dream Boys. The shows at Moonlight were great during past visits.

Moonlight

For old times sake, I visited Moonlight to see their show and their “models”. Cover charge was 450 Baht. The boys at Moonlight are good looking. However, except for a few, there weren’t many smiles on their faces. I used to enjoy their shows, but I was quite disappointed this time around. As mentioned above, I found the show at Dream Boys much better. One of the top models at Moonlight (let’s call him B) seems to have lost his touch, in my view. To me, B was one of the best performers there in the past, but no more. He even looked different this time. On the other hand, I found the other model, lets call him N, looking better as he is no longer buffed up, but still in decent shape. I only went to Moonlight once as I didn’t enjoy my time there as much this time.

Based on some of the comments posted by other Members, I skipped Jupiter this time.

General comment: I found the temperature pleasant at all 4 clubs, not very cool, as in previous times. The sound was also bearable, not very loud as to burst your ear drums. On the aside, I went to the famous Foodland, after visiting a Club, and it was bone chilling cold that night in one section.

[VancBCMan]

The Boys

I did not off any guys from the Clubs this time. All my meetings were arranged by intros on Grindr. 

My hook ups varied between slim to muscular to athletic guys. One is a soldier; he was really handsome! I met up with him towards the end of my trip. I would have definitely had some repeats with him, if I had met him earlier. Well, a reason to go back to Bangkok within next few months! Two of the other boys were from Vietnam.

They all spoke good English, so it was easy to communicate and chat with them.

For massage at a shop, I went to Senso and chose a tall handsome guy, who was smiling at me (took the advice of other members). Others have described the routine at Senso: shower alone first, massage, the fun part and then shower together. I would go back to this masseur the next time I’m in Bangkok. The other massage sessions were in my room.

[VancBCMan]

Eating

I visited the restaurant in Foodland, that has been mentioned several times by other members. I went there for breakfast the first morning in BKK. Cost was very reasonable, as has been mentioned, but I found the portions too big for me, so food went to waste. Following days, I went to a coffee shop in the Silom Complex, in Chamchuri Square and other shops near by. I also went to the Crackhouse (what a name!) for delicious pancakes. It is located in the Commons on Sala Daeng Road.

Dinners were at a mix of restaurants – Thai, Indian, fast food (had to try the chicken at Texas Chicken!).

Al Saray restaurant on Silom near the Sala Daeng BTS Station was a new find for me. They serve Indian and Lebanese food. I had one of the best biryanis there.

I also visited G’s (mentioned by @vinapu in his posts). Went there twice on subsequent days. Went alone one day and had their chicken with cashews. On that day, it was delicious. My Filipino friend also wanted to go there, so we went there the next day. And the same dish was not that great. Quite dry, less tasty and I had an upset stomach after eating there. Not sure what really caused that.

It is always a treat eating Thai dishes in the different restaurants. All (except for one day) are pretty good and quite reasonably priced.

[vinapu]

4 hours ago, VancBCMan said:

I have been reading trip reports of those who have recently been to Bangkok, and taken in a lot of the information that helped me decide some of the things I could do and visit on this trip and places I might want to eat at.

It’s only fair that I return the favour by writing about my recent visit to Bangkok.

 

I wish more of  readers of trip reports here would be such kind hearted

[MarcSingap]

3 hours ago, VancBCMan said:

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.

Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip

• I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit.
• Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China.
• The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night.
• There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong.
• A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand.
• Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine.
• Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before.
• Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened.
• I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop).
• A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series.
• A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too.
• A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks.
• Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only.
• XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).

 

"now that weed is legal in Thailand"

be very careful about this ! Only weed with less than 0,2 of THC is legal. This is quite low and many shops does not respect this limit... at the buyer risk.

The new Police Scam is for them to randomly check tourists with weed... they know that it is quite probable that the weed will not comply with this limit (they have fast check kits). So if you buy weed, have also 15 000 THB with you to pay the fine... the police love these new easy income...

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, VancBCMan said:

 

•  as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).

 

thank you , it's nice but don't overdue it, LOL

[reader]

6 hours ago, VancBCMan said:

I went to the famous Foodland, after visiting a Club, and it was bone chilling cold that night in one section.

I learned the reason why the temperature is kept so low in Foodland a few trips ago when the store lost its power for about 4-5 hours one evening  They have so much fresh produce and other perishables on display that the cooler temperature helps maintain quality of product. It also keeps the place relatively cool during period of temporary power outages.

[fedssocr]

Thanks for all of this info. I arrive Tuesday for the first time in 4 years. Very excited.

[VancBCMan]

9 hours ago, MarcSingap said:

be very careful about this ! Only weed with less than 0,2 of THC is legal. This is quite low and many shops does not respect this limit... at the buyer risk.

Thanks for the info.

Had no idea about restrictions. I don't smoke weed, so haven't paid much attention to how much THC in weed is legal.

[zoomomancs]

Thank you for the report. I'm curious about the men on stage in Freshboys wearing t shirts? I left there on Feb 19th and there was no sign of t shirts.

[Tartegogo]

2 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

Thank you for the report. I'm curious about the men on stage in Freshboys wearing t shirts? I left there on Feb 19th and there was no sign of t shirts.

I can confirmed that in Feb 2023, all the freshboys were topless every night that I visited. 

[VancBCMan]

1 hour ago, Tartegogo said:

I can confirmed that in Feb 2023, all the freshboys were topless every night that I visited

Sorry, my mistake. Thanks for correcting me.

[VancBCMan]

Future plans: I am hoping to visit South America for the first time this September. I am looking for feedback or suggestions on my proposed plan.

Would really appreciate any suggestions/ comments.

Just started a new topic on this in Latin American section:

https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/39192-any-feedback-or-suggestions-on-my-plans-for-the-1st-trip-to-south-america-in-sept-2023-will-be-appreciated/

 

[macaroni21]

On 3/9/2023 at 1:09 PM, VancBCMan said:

Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before.

But... but... it's been so for at least 40 years!

[Keithambrose]

18 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

But... but... it's been so for at least 40 years!

44 years, to my knowledge!

[paborn]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:39 AM, macaroni21 said:

But... but... it's been so for at least 40 years!

exactly. Japanese all the way , always has been. 

[VancBCMan]

On 3/27/2023 at 12:45 PM, paborn said:

exactly. Japanese all the way , always has been

@macaroni21,  @Keithambrose and @paborn

I was was obviously not paying much attention in the past!

[macaroni21]

Way back in the early 1990s, there was a gay gogo bar on Thaniya called Banana Bar. It literally had a banana in its logo, displayed on a neon sign among the numerous neon signs of the street. The bar itself was on one of the upper floors of a building on the eastern side of the street closer to Suriwong Road than Silom Road. I must have visited it just once or twice. It didn't leave much of an impression on me. I can't even remember if it aimed at Japanese men.