PeterRS

Tokyo has so many delights to offer. In over four decades of visiting the city and two years living there, I never found any place as complicated as Re:Born. Finding an escort in one of the more regular escort services is really so easy. On the other hand, the city is so big and public transport so incredibly easy as long as you aim to be home before it closes just before midnight, there are obviously so many out of the way gay places that most foreigners know nothing about. Inevitably finding these can be more difficult and as @joizy's post mentions there can be difficulties to overcome. But for those prepared to give it a try, occasionally little gems can be found. I never used rooms in the venues. Always had boys come back to my hotel - and they always arrived exactly on time.

Agreed that the driving distance makes it seem considerably further than it actually is. As the crow flies, it is quite a thin strip of land. And I agree on the concensus re the weather on east and west coasts. But it's been some years since global warming has been changing weather patterns. I experienced daily rainfall four times visiting Phuket in mid-December spread over a number of years starting around 1995. I am glad you were luckier.

You do realise I assume that the distance between the east and the west in the south of Thailand is very small. Monsoon rains that quite regularly hit the west coast at the end of the year do sometimes affect the east, although the amount of rainfall may differ considerably. Your experience differs from mine.

When the whole point of a family holiday is sun, sand and swimming, rain is inevitably a considerable disappointment. People do nor fly thousands of kms for rain!

I wrote in an earlier thread that I stopped going to Phuket in December many years ago because the last time it rained every day. GIven what seems like the increasing possibility of monsoon rains at this time of year, I fail to understand why people fly in from places like Europe for family holidays.

My one concern is having photos taken as I have no idea where or in what format they might appear. Personally I think photography in or near bars and restaurants should be banned. Sadly, with most Asians desperate to tske photos of every single dish they eat, that just won't happen.

Quite agree. But if a spa only has four boys on the premises - and I have both experienced this some years ago at Senso and read about it more recently in this forum - fitting the specification surely does not always work.

Certainly tips are not expected. I recall my first-ever visit to Tokyo decades ago. I stayed at the huge Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku and had to have a lovely young porter bring the bag to my room. Stupidly i tried to tip him. He recoiled as if in horror and would not accept it. As for the boy bars, I expect most will not accept a tip, but a few will - and be embarrassed doing to. Personally I do not tip.

Am I not right in thinking based on reports here that Senso frequently has very few masseurs available?

Since starting to work, I have always been much more of a late person. On working days (when I still worked full time) I'd rarely be in bed before 1:00am and ready to start sometime late morning. Now I am slightly less late getting to bed, but the habits of a lifetime are difficult to change.

I don't know why but several of the pics are still just blank!

Totally agree. The "forgot password" on Sawatdee is a disaster. You never get a response.

Ditto

The Ruen Urai restaurant in the Rose Hotel off Suriwong (close to its new building and at the end of the swimming pool) has been a favourite of many readers for years. Last night, Friday, as I have done every time he has visited Bangkok for over a dozen years I took a friend there for dinner. For the first time the restaurant was totally empty apart from the owner at one table and the two of us at another. It is in the medium expensive category. Our bill for drinks and three courses came to Bt. 1,943. It is a lovely venue for dinner, but I fear if it gets no customers on a Friday evening, the end may be nigh. I sincerely hope not.

Again you misquote me to fit your own narrative. I have never once stated the parents were responsible - and it is totally incorrect of you to even suggest that. How many times must I state taht what I wrote was this? "Perhaps – although this is only being hinted at and may not be fact - a misunderstanding on the part of the boy’s parents on how to deal with such very substantial on-going substance abuse, and a steady build-up of anger." You say you "imply"! Please realise once and for all you implied wrongly and only do so to fit your version. You are wrong! If you imply, then you should state that when you make your first post - and not leave it so you can cover up your earlier inaccurate comments.