Do you tell your folks about vacations in Thailand ?

[vinapu]

Sounds like trolling question and probably was discussed here before  but I'm not a troll ,  curious only :

 

Do you tell your  family , friends, co-workers and neighbors  that you are vacationing in Thailand or rather you prefer to keep it private due  to country reputation as sex destination ?

 

Or you do not see any issue with that in your circles ?

 

To answer my own question  my first 8 trips were in connection with other destinations in the region with  Thailand as  a transit point so folks knew that I was in Burma, Cambodia etc and in between flights I spent few days in BKK.

 

Nobody dwelled on the issue and still I managed to have deserved reputation of somebody who knows Bangkok tourist  charms very  well. When asked about sex scene always claimed that while existing is well hidden and visible only to people who are looking for it which is true.

 

I had people on Silom asking me where famous Patpong is and I know straight guy regularly whoring in Nana Plaza who for years did not know about existence of soi Cowboy not that far away.

 

My last trip, the 9th of them all was entirely 2 weeks in Thailand  and I decided to keep it strictly in the closet as to not rise any eyebrows for two reasons - to avoid probing questions in relation to LOS reputation as sex heaven and to avoid jealousy as lots of people are equating exotic vacations with great expense not knowing actually how great value for money Thailand is.

 

You think I'm a bit paranoid or about right?

[ChristianPFC]

Those who know I'm gay get the truth. Those who don't know I'm gay get the usual sightseeing, weather, food, temples...

 

It's interesting to see their reactions. People who have never been to Thailand and don't know that I'm gay have heard of the sex industry, one commented: "be careful, there are pretty ladies in Thailand" (original in German: Sei vorsichtig, da gibt's flotte Miezen).

[Guest LoveThailand]

I flaunt it: Yes, I go to Thailand. And yes, there is a lot of to see and experience there. And yes - there IS a sex scene. But there is one (almost) everywhere (think, for example Spain, Brazil to name but a few). So on vacation one gets what one is after. In my case I stress I go to Thailand to eat, to enjoy the sun and the sea (while back home it is ugly autumn or winter) and  the friendliness of Thais (and all of this IS true). If I lie - it is by omission . But frankly, I give very little fuck what others think.

[Alexx]

In my case, it would have been very hard to keep my visits secret, in 2005 alone I visited Thailand a whopping 7 times. Once I reached that point, I knew I'd better move, and that's what I did in 2006. Again, everyone knew where I moved. I had a good excuse for all these visits and the move (business), but of course a few people have questioned my motives, and rightly so.

[1moRussian]

First time - it was November of 2012 - I just needed vacations and have some paper work, that I could do anywhere. So I spent a month here in Pattaya. My additional excuse was 2 sisters of one my good friend from my native town - they moved to Thailand with their children. Although, they lived in Phuket actually

 

It's the 6th trip to Thailand and I still use this excuse (but these 2 sisters have return to Russia actually). And this time I made a whole thing of getting upgrade to gold status in Qatarairways loyalty programme.

 

I hope, my coworkers got used to my trips to Thailand. However, once I told them "I go to my native city" (it is Souther than Moscow, so my tanned skin was OK).

 

Anyway, I always try to mention Bangkok and say that Pattaya has it all - if you want sex scene you should go to the center, but Northern and Southern Pattaya are full of retired family people with their grandchildren.

Moreover, Thailand (and Turkey and Egypt) are visa-free for Russians - it helps a little bit too. Russia has quite short hot sea coast, so these three countries are popular sea destinations.

 

The question is with my mother... I was thinking to introduce my Thai friend (that is the "advice on Korat trip" trend), but now I am not so sure.

[Guest]

A good question.   So far, I've always been to Thailand and one or more other Asian countries on the trip.  So I state all the countries when asked, including Thailand.

 

Even though half the trip is spent somewhere else and the sightseeing stories always genuinely cover somewhere like Luang Prabang,  Angkor Wat, etc, the questions come around to "Are you going to Thailand again this year?"   The answer is yes.

[Guest abang1961]

You must laugh at me...

I inform my office colleagues, my mom and her Indonesian domestic helper that I am taking a break in Thailand, generally Bangkok for a couple of days.

They are more enthused to ask whether I can get them some bags from Naraya, yes the cloth bag..

Yes, those cute little useless bags....

[kokopelli]

I do tell anyone that I have gone to Thailand and most people are interested and intrigued but I don't tell them the reasons I go unless they are gay. Even then I found best to not use the word "boys" in describing the sex scene as many people think "under age".

[vinapu]

You must laugh at me...

I inform my office colleagues, my mom and her Indonesian domestic helper that I am taking a break in Thailand, generally Bangkok for a couple of days.

They are more enthused to ask whether I can get them some bags from Naraya, yes the cloth bag..

Yes, those cute little useless bags....

For you trip to BKK is local venture like for Europeans hop to Amsterdam or Americans one to Las Vegas. 

 

But trip  to Thailand from those continents is far away and exotic one so is attracting more attention and possibly speculation as to how one can afford it  and why is willing to suffer indignity of 24  hours flights

[vinapu]

 Even then I found best to not use the word "boys" in describing the sex scene as many people think "under age".

and that's the reason I decided to keep quiet. My  folks here don't even think about Thailand as gay destination .

 

I never heard comment to this effect but  after hearing ' pedo destination ' musings , particularly about Pattaya , again in hetero context I think is better to advertise loudly  trip to  other destinations in region particularly Cambodia.

 

I'm well known as ruins connoisseur and nobody knowing me   would raise a brow if I'd be flying there annually.

[vinapu]

The question is with my mother... I was thinking to introduce my Thai friend (that is the "advice on Korat trip" trend), but now I am not so sure.

This is only for you to decide as only you know how she would take such a news.

 

Being mother she probably knows anyways, whether we tell her or not.

[Guest]

For you trip to BKK is local venture like for Europeans hop to Amsterdam or Americans one to Las Vegas. 

 

But trip  to Thailand from those continents is far away and exotic one so is attracting more attention and possibly speculation as to how one can afford it  and why is willing to suffer indignity of 24  hours flights

 

Bangkok is about 12 hours from London. 

The flight cost is about £7~800, which is easily affordable for a professional who is otherwise very good at keeping expenditure optimised. 

Then if it's a long holiday to Thailand, the saving on the hotel bill more than covers the flight cost.

[colmx]

better to advertise loudly  trip to  other destinations in region particularly Cambodia.

From my perspective Cambodia trip usually raises more eyebrows than a Thai trip... Cambodia has a worse reputationas a destination for child predators than thailand currently has... (certainly here in Europe anyway)

[vinapu]

I'm lucky, after singing accolades for Angkor Wat since my first visit there in 2001 all my folks know what Cambodia is famous for and I don't need to worry about any stares, actually often I'm asked when I will go again.

[TotallyOz]

I tell everyone I know. I do not hid the fact I love Thailand and visit it often. When asked why, I always say they welcome gays better than any place on earth. When asked about the sex scene, I tell them it is great. When asked about the temples, I say "what is that?" (jk on the last one)

[kokopelli]

I like that Michael!  Next time someone asks why I go to Thailand I will just reply, Wat, Wat, Wat.

[TMax]

I tell them where I'm going and I tell them about the day trips and touristy stuff I do but not about my seedier fun activities.

[Guest abang1961]

I just send my mom and her domestic helper a selfie of me at ko larn .. mom's reply was classic.. dont (sun) burnt yourself and wear something decent ...

[Guest LoveThailand]

Did she mean condoms?