Best GoGo Bar

[reader]

6 minutes ago, Boy69 said:

I am completely shock a veteran member like you never been in Pattaya ?

Best wishes for a quick recovery but not once in 21 years have I been tempted. Bangkok provides more than I can handle.🙂

[Bravo]

Ive not been to pattaya either.. been to bangkok over 10 times in 10 years… but always curious. is there anything available in pattaya not available in bangkok? Besides being cheaper?

[Boy69]

7 hours ago, reader said:

Best wishes for a quick recovery but not once in 21 years have I been tempted. Bangkok provides more than I can handle.🙂

 

2 hours ago, Bravo said:

Ive not been to pattaya either.. been to bangkok over 10 times in 10 years… but always curious. is there anything available in pattaya not available in bangkok? Besides being cheaper?

It's only one 1.5 hours drive from BKK , Why not just pay a visit and check ?

I personally prefer Pattaya : beaches ( Kho Larn beutiful island only half hour sailing), vibrant night life lots of restaurants and great shopping malls and of course many boys and cheaper than Bangkok. In general I don't like big cities because of the air pollution and traffic.

[floridarob]

8 hours ago, reader said:

Best wishes for a quick recovery but not once in 21 years have I been tempted. Bangkok provides more than I can handle.🙂

You'd get to show off your legs at the beach or try the metal tables restaurant in Boystown area or best yet, meet gayinpattaya in person 😆

But seriously, it's worth a trip at least once to experience it...not like getting on a plane to Phuket or CM, that's too much work for the payout.

[khaolakguy]

2 hours ago, Boy69 said:

In general I don't like big cities because of the air pollution and traffic.

Oh right, and Pattaya has neither pollution nor traffic problems.........

[Boy69]

Just now, khaolakguy said:

Oh right, and Pattaya has neither pollution nor traffic problems.........

Yes but compared to BKK it's heaven. 

[Shonen]

Yes, Pattaya has a nice breeze because of its location. I always can’t wait to leave Bangkok because of the heat and pollution.

My condo in Pattaya has an incredible feel because of the cross ventilation when I open my bedroom window and the balcony.

[macaroni21]

While Pattaya is hardly more inconvenient to get to from Suvarnabhumi compared to downtown Bangkok, the play options in Pattaya simply don't compare, especially with the two-decade long decline of the scene.

It's not as if Pattaya/Jomtien is such a great beach either. Between a mediocre scene and a mediocre beach, I can see why it's losing its attractiveness.

And the traffic on second road, with interminable roadworks... Now that's another thing.

[Londoner]

My first trip to Thailand was to Pattaya. Subsequently, i tried Phuket, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, all of which had promising reports regarding encounters with Thais, and each  proved to have  its own distinctive charms. However, none has replaced Pattaya.

The one thing that continued to drew me to Bkk was Babylon. Specifically the "old" Babylon. But even the new one gave me hours of pleasure- and often surprising delights ("Does this guy really fancy me? Me? Surely not!"). It was the best sauna I've ever attended. And I've tried  quite a few  around the world.

Now that it  has gone, there remains just one Bkk experience which ensures that  I always spend a day or two there; the sheer thrill of arrival at the airport and then the drive into Surawong...the clammy heat as the doors slide open and I look for a taxi, the sights, smells, sounds. After nearly eighty visits, it still sets the pulse racing.  

And the bars? I 'm years out of date but i was (and remain) a twink-lover and this was a good reason to prefer Pattaya. Not that there weren't once enjoyable twink-bars in Bkk, but to me they just didn't compare to what was on offer in Pattaya. From what I've read here, Bkk still seems to be more suitable for admirers of hunkier guys.

[PeterRS]

I also visited Pattaya on one of my first visits to Thailand. It was in the early 1980s just as the gay scene was starting to develop. I enjoyed the beach, but during the infrequent visits I have made since then the beach has become a reason for not visiting. I realise it's close to Bangkok but I like a beach to be a proper beach with white sand and great clean water. The Thai guys who'd come down in the late afternoon were certainly an added attraction. But in those days, there were a few go-go bars in Bangkok with great young guys and nudity after around 9:30 pm. But not in Pattaya. Hence Bangkok was more interesting.

And so it has remained. That said, I did enjoy staying at the small, isolated 6 bungalow Le Prive on Thappraya Soi 1 when it was run by the two French guys. Not sure what it is like now. I also enjoyed staying at the Rabbit Resort and Deborah's always warm welcome. Both were easy to bring gay nighttime visitors. I did visit some of the bars but apart from a couple I still found Bangkok more interesting and enjoyable. Now I am more settled down, even the Bangkok bars in their new locations hold little interest.

But I still love a great beach. I used to love Nai Harn and some other beaches in Phuket but not since the real tourism invasion a decade or so ago. Have written elsewhere that I think Khao Lak is wonderful for its peace and fantastic beach.

Few in Thailand though have equalled the beach on nearby Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam. It is actually relatively close as it is located just under Sihanoukville.

[Travellerdave]

Londoners account has just resonated with me as it has similarities to my own experience. 
My first visit to Thailand was in year 2001 in company with another gay friend. We had been discussing going on holiday to Spain in a gay pub when a stranger joined our conversation by recommending we go instead to Thailand, specifically to Pattaya, where he said we could enjoy lots of sex with attractive young guys. He spent some time giving us essential travel information such as flights, transport, where to stay, etc etc, at the conclusion of which we decided to take his advice and go a few weeks later.  For us it was an incredible three weeks, not just for the sex (there was plenty of that, specifically with twinks from the BT and Sunee gogos) but as for Londoner the sights, sounds and smells of the exotic atmosphere, and also for the low cost with £1 purchasing 70 baht. I can’t remember whether we actually went to the beach on that trip - the bars and boys were probably too much of a magnet, but I certainly took advantage during subsequent visits when beach pickups were an additional source of boys  for my bed, rather than the less than ideal sea and sand at Dongtan.
Short visits to Bkk did later in my life feature including several to Babylon, but as a twink lover Pattaya has always been the place for me, despite visits over the years to a few of the well known other beach resorts.

 

[vinapu]

I prefer Bangkok simply because I like big cities with pollution and noise but also options they are bringing. But it needs to be said that ever since I tried Pataya I always try to go there for at least 1- 3 days.

Current trip us first  I skipped Pattaya entirely. I may correct it next time though

[reader]

17 hours ago, Boy69 said:

I personally prefer Pattaya : beaches ( Kho Larn beutiful island only half hour sailing), vibrant night life lots of restaurants and great shopping malls and of course many boys and cheaper than Bangkok. In general I don't like big cities because of the air pollution and traffic.

 

16 hours ago, floridarob said:

But seriously, it's worth a trip at least once to experience it...not like getting on a plane to Phuket or CM, that's too much work for the payout.

You both make good cases for Pattaya. My lack of motivation to visit is primarily because I'm not the beach person I was 30 years ago. I have no problem finding the type of guys and venues in Bangkok that more than satisfy my needs. But I never say never and appreciate your feedback.

[alexrick]

I have never been to Pattaya either but have been to Bangkok many times. Every time when I tried to make plans for Pattaya, I read some info that says it is great destination for twink lover, and couldn't find much info about other non-twink types(which I prefer). Then I decided to stay in Bangkok only.

[Bravo]

Wow didnt know its 2+ hour drive away only, thought had to fly. Beach and boys, guess ill check it out one day

 

but how do you combine beach and boys, are there working boys at the beach? Or you just bring your boy over haha

[Boy69]

13 minutes ago, Bravo said:

Wow didnt know its 2+ hour drive away only, thought had to fly. Beach and boys, guess ill check it out one day

 

but how do you combine beach and boys, are there working boys at the beach? Or you just bring your boy over haha

In the glory days Dongtan beach was exclusively gay with lots of boys , unfortunately these days are gone but still nice beach to relax,eat and have a massage. If you really want nice beaches with crystal clear water Kho Larn nearby island is the place to visit.

[ichigo]

3 hours ago, Bravo said:

Wow didnt know its 2+ hour drive away only, thought had to fly.

Well there is an airport there, but it is a bit of a distance from Pattaya/Jomtien and has limited routes. But I guess it depends where you are coming from. 

[Travellerdave]

11 hours ago, Boy69 said:

In the glory days Dongtan beach was exclusively gay with lots of boys , unfortunately these days are gone but still nice beach to relax,eat and have a massage. If you really want nice beaches with crystal clear water Kho Larn nearby island is the place to visit.

Yes I remember those glory days Dongtan in years 2001/2 . Any ladies or str couples making the mistake of sitting there would quickly realise that they were in the wrong  section of the beach unless they were there for a little voyeuring watching us gays with our Thai boyfriends. But you are right about just going there to relax and enjoy sea breezes and have a small meal and perhaps reading a book purchased from one of the second hand bookshops.

Agree about Koh Larn for a day trip, although it gets rather crowded in high season. Nual or “monkey beach” at the south end of the island is my usual choice despite being some distance from the ferry. Some boys enjoy the trip away from the chaos of Pattaya. 

[Londoner]

True....the guys who used to cruise us on Dongtan are now sitting at home playing with their phones rather than with us.  As someone says In Shakespeare's Henry 4 (don't ask which part)...."The times that we have seen. Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?"

A moment of melancholy for me. Apologies.

[Boy69]

1 hour ago, Londoner said:

True....the guys who used to cruise us on Dongtan are now sitting at home playing with their phones rather than with us.  As someone says In Shakespeare's Henry 4 (don't ask which part)...."The times that we have seen. Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?"

A moment of melancholy for me. Apologies.

Nowadays Thai guys don't have to lie on the beach and look for customers they find them on the apps while sitting at home and playing with their smartphones.

[Lucky]

Is Ambiance Hotel still okay as a place to stay? I used to like it and stayed there several times.

As for the old beach, there was once a pedophile section. I only realized this as I was walking by and a young boy was on the lap of an old man asking him if he wanted to fuck. You don't see that anymore, which is a good thing!

[Travellerdave]

I’ve stayed at the Ambience a few times over 20 years but stopped in about 2017 due to excessive noise from a late night karaoke bar at approx 3 am. However I tried the hotel again in June last year and after about midnight it was relatively quiet. But that was at the end of covid and things had not really got going, so maybe it’s back to “I did it my way” echoing down BT again. Perhaps a member knows ?

[vinapu]

Rooms at Ambience are comfortable and good value for money but I don't like their maze of corridors and prefer Copa  or Classrooms there in Boyztown 

[Travellerdave]

You are very right there Vinapu about the maze of corridors and floors at the Ambiance. A few times I’ve got lost when returning there after a few drinks after climbing the stairs and finding myself unable to locate my room. The only solution was to return to the ground floor and start again taking note of landmarks like the large vase and any room signposts. On another occasion whilst in the room, the phone rang so say that I had a visitor. I told the clerk to send him up, but 10 minutes later the boy from Grindr had not appeared so I had to go searching and found him sat on the stairs, also lost.  I think years ago the present hotel would gave been two or even three separate units.

[a-447]

3 hours ago, Travellerdave said:

You are very right there Vinapu about the maze of corridors and floors at the Ambiance. 

Imagine what would happen if a fire broke out! Escaping quickly would be a nightmare, especially if you'd had a few drinks.

That's why I stopped staying there.