NIrishGuy

You are right MGB that dorms are used by much more than just low paid workers ( in fact I doubt they're used by them at ALL as I'm sure they've even lower cost accommodation provided "somewhere". You're also right about the social element to hostels as if solo travelling ( and young as you are) they ARE a great way to interact with people of roughly the same age as you who may have similar interests and you can end up all joining up and heading out of an evening in company together even possibly ( which when travelling alone can be much safer, so there are for sure benefits there. For some of the mature members of the board a hostel may not ( definitely would not !) suit so well perhaps as it IS shared accommodation and usually also a shared toilet and shower room etc which needless to say would seriously curtail any sexual activity ( or at least it SHOULD if you've any basic public decency and consideration for the other guests :-) Actually I'm 49 and just this week for the first time I seriously considered booking two bunks for my BF and I in a four bed hostel room in Soho in London. This was simply a matter of location ( hostels are usually located in or very close to the most sought after locations in most Cities) and also as I know we'd be out partying with friends I know we wouldn't be getting back until 4am or after and then we'd be up and out again around 9am so I was damned if I was going to spend upwards of £250+ as all and any hotels in that area were charging simply to "sleep" for a few hours - maybe for a nice relaxing weekend spa break perhaps - but for 5 hours sleep - no, I'd rather pay a quarter of the price ( the hosel was £22 each) and then blow that saved money when out and about in London when just there for one night "on the piss" and I'm guessing the same logic applies in Pattaya. So, whilst I'm guessing hostels aren't for the majority of us here 99% of the time I certainly wouldn't ever rule them out anymore ( as they're MUCH better then they used to be !) simply "because" they're a hostel - horses for courses and all that.

And people wonder well gay men get a bad press.......or, you could just leave the guy alone and let him get on with whatever it is he's doing was if it's not a gay establishment he may think nothing of walking around naked - just like in a gym shower area and we wouldn't start hitting on someone there "just in case" would we........ah, hang on, I forgot where I'm posting.....anyway, maybe just let the guy be as if he was interested I'm sure he'd of made it clear somehow without us resorting to hitting on him JUST because he happened to be walking around his on (albeit shared) dorm naked.

Is this perhaps the place you stayed before / are looking for - The DD Inn - used to be a gay hotel ( knocking shop) in Jomtiem but has now reopened as a genuine "hostel". Link below : https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/dd-...ch-hostel.html

For those that are interested / curious about taking Prep and issues like possibie side effects and can you start and stop taking it at will etc etc, below is a good link to a site that answers a lot of those very same questions and more..... https://men.prepfacts.org/the-questions/

Oh that point guys can I ask - have you experienced any negatives side effects wise or anything else from taking Prep ( either yet or at all perhaps ? )

Just put one of those wresting type pics up on grindr, say that's what you want and you will happily pay for that and then wait for the replies to comes and you can sift through them and select the guy you want - simples.

Does anyone know the actual reason for their decision ? Was it I wonder getting to be too much hassle to plastic up the place ( although they seemed to have it off to a fine art most years) OR was it perhaps that they believe that most people just stayed in the Soi playing water and didn't then come into their bars and spend money ? If they latter thats a bit sad as as already mentioned the Soi really did become gay central most years and the fun ( and cute boys) abounded and it would be a bit mean of the (gay) bars to limit everyones fun over two days lower trade ? Anyone know for SURE the actual ( or quoted) reason perhaps ?

For me I personally would offer more than moral support unless there was some very sound reason to differ from that as I DO believe free HIV treatment is available to all. EDIT - for clarity I meant I "wouldn't" offer more than moral support - simple typo but one that created a totally different position that I meant.

My friend who’s in a similar position gets totally free treatment from the Thai Goveenment scheme ( as I believe is available to all Thai people) - I can’t comment on better or worse than private but he’s been on that scheme for several years now without any specific quality driven issues arising. It’s sad to say and I’m not suggesting in the slightest that your friend is “at it” but do just be aware that “I need money for (HIV) medicine can be a line for getting a farang ATM to pay out ( continually) as they know that presses certain instant sumpathy buttons in most of us. Again that’s not to say your friend is lying - in a way I HOPE he is actually ! For me I personally would offer more than moral support unless there was some very sound reason to differ from that as I DO believe free HIV treatment is available to all. But like the last poster I think upbeat moral support is SO important to any Thai guy who tells you his diagnosis as unfortunately most Thais do still seem to think being HIV+ is simply a death sentence still, when of course with modern retrovirals it’s now absolutely not. Best wishes to your friend though, I hope he gets sorted out and onto a suitable treatment plan urgently if his case is genuine.

Ha normally when in Thailand Im the same re beaches etc but in Bali I di make the effort as a) they are so beautiful and also b) there can be quote a bit of hooking up goes on there for a little afternoon / early evening fun plus a lot of the guys you meet in the bars tend to head there too so it's nice to meet (meat) people outside the bar environment too sometimes I found - oh and there is of course all the cute eye candy running around in their speedos, yes theres that too !! :-)

if your grindr is running slow you may, depending on your wifi provider, need to run your connection through a VPN, this is as the Government . the main ISP ( and so several hotel chains there etc) TRY to block Grindr and other gay apps ) - mind you as your grindr seems to be red hot ( as is always the case in Bali) it sounds like for now that a VPN is the last of your needs thankfully - but if needed it does dramatically speed up your general viewing and receiving and sending of messages to guys etc if you find your signal is being forcibly slowed by others - and of course once loaded you can switch between using it or not if you find you dont need it in other places. I'm assuming you already know where the main gay bars such as Bali Joe's etc are located ( if not they can be found at Jln. Camplung Tanduk (Ex Dhyana Pura) No. 8, Seminyak ........also re the beaches you mentioned the main two beaches would be "Double Six" beach area in Seminyak and then for a slightly smaller but gayer beach area you can head to head to Cantina Beach. Bali is great isn't it. Enjoy :-)

Thanks Anddy, I'll be sure to pass those details on to my friend too.

Thank you for that link GregVC, that's perfect for him and I've just forwarded that on to my friend. And PeterRS - funnily my guy and yours seem to have shared a very similar past, only difference perhaps being my guy claiming (probably quite correctly) that when he was young and inexperienced it was a farang who got drunk and then fucked him without a condom without his knowledge ( or perhaps that he was just troo drunk to notice or care maybe). Likewise he has also worked as a hotel receptionist and loved it until he was outed by someone he trusted there - which makes your advice re keeping his own business to himself very good advice indeed and I have suggested this to him and I'm guessing he IS a lot more cautious who he reveals his status now too. I can only guess that as my friend "obviously" appears very gay that if was sick ( which I know he was for quite a while as he developed TB as well as a result of his HIV) I'm guessing his co workers and management were able to two and two together and work out what was going on with him and when asked he either hadn't the wit to lie or it was perhaps so obvious there was no point. It's still sad that in this day and age with all we now know about HIV and that isn't / shouldn't be such a big thing at all anymore, that a lack of education on the subject in other Countries is still causing people with the virus there to suffer still on a daily basis - and not from anything medical but just more through peoples ignorance and predjudices, hopefully that's something will change in the future.

Only for him to come back and tell me has been diagnosed as hiv+ ....... I told him he should not be doing this but he says even with hiv+ he can have sex life .........and has to make money for medicine........ of course he's not the only guy on the app's in this position A couple of points re the above - A) he's right, just because he has HIV doesn't mean he should never have sex again - but RESPONSIBLE sex and therein is always the problem / worry, however that is exactly why we should treat EVERY sex partner we are with as if they are HIV positive of course to negate the risks as best as possible. and B) As far as Im aware HIV "medicine" is now free in Thailand so I'd be wary of perhaps sending anymore funds if requested in that area. But to be fair to the guy he may not for whatever reason have registered for the States free medicine scheme and is maybe trying to pay his own way in that regard and if so fair play to him - but I doubt it and if he's not getting free treatment for life he certainly SHOULD be and you should perhaps mention that to him? and C) You're absolutely right about the "there's plenty of other guys doing that too" and in fact the friend that I mention is also one of them. So a timely reminder to us all if it be needed to "take care" when playing in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter perhaps.

A Thai friend has contacted me asking could I ask around to see if anyone knows of any HIV Support groups in the Bangkok area ? He's been diagnosed for several years now but is still alone with his HIV ( so he thinks). I have pointed out that there are MANY people there in the same boat as himself but alas it seems the stigma in Thailand surround HIV is still rife and it's stopping him reaching out to "strangers" about his life. I am aware of the Thai Red cross "Wednesday club" and have sent him details for that ( if it's still in existence) but said I would also ask here just in case anyone else knows of any support groups / clubs / group of social networks who share his condition that he might join with for some mutual support and friendliness ?? I did point out of course that he'd be better asking Thai people about this but it seems it's a chicken and egg situation in that the few friends he has he doesn't / can't mention his HIV as he feels ( probably incorrectly) that it's very much of a don't ask /don't tell type situation and he's frightened that by bringing up the conversation he'll be immediately shunned by his existing "friends" ( and I use that word loosely) it seems who may fear losing face because of the whole "guilt by association" thing. He's also struggling to find and keep a job as every time he does find work either after telling a co worker or the company medical taking place he's wheeled in to the bosses office and fairly much un-ceremonially "let go" for whatever made up reason - sometimes that just being "you have HIV you cannot work here, please go".

What so you're literally a prisoner in your hotel !? I'd never heard of that Seclusion day and on googling a bit about it is certainly seems thats the case as aside from police etc there is no traffic allowed on the roads and the locals organise rotas for "patrolling" their areas to ensure "the silence and no lights lit etc" is being adhered too. So, if on holiday and you decided you wanted to spend your quiet day just sitting alone on the beach minding your own business quietly contemplating your navel ( as my mother used to say) and not bothering anyone else you wouldn't be allowed ? Wow. By the way I'm not knocking the idea, a day of peace and quiet to zone out from the world isn't such a bad idea actually, just surprised that it "seems to be" so rigidly enforced on tourists perhaps.

" Unlike here in Ireland where March the 17th is of course the holy day of Guinness ( St Patricks day

Again very much depends on so many differing things such as budget, preferred location either close to or far away from bars etc. If you’ve located seminyak and then naluka ( the street where the gays bars are located there are a myriad of suitable hotels all around that area at every budget so I’m sure you’ll find something to fit your requirements. Last time I stayed I used the Horrison hotel ( not Harrison although that’s fine too) - neither are anything special but clean, cheap and close enough to the bars for me. But have a good look around at hotels and villas etc as you’re fairly much spoilt for choice there.

Thats a VERY wide question.....perhaps narrow it down a little in terms of the area you're visiting, if you're alone, are you looking for a beach break, a full on party trip, a sex trip etc etc ...... For what it's worth Seminyak is considered the "gay" area as there are a few gay bars there and plenty of gay guys happy and willing to play. After speaking with a massage guy friend there jut last night he's telling me that even Seminyak ( which is always usually fairly busy) is fairly much quiet just now and customers are thin on the ground ( not necessarily a bad thing in my book!). Re what to do again depends on your ow preferences but shopping and nice eateries abound and you can hit several nice beaches or take a trip to Ubud or to the volcano etc. Enjoy,

I think you mean POSSIBILITY there rather probability perhaps - and to me it doesn't hurt to be realistic.

What horrible person would order 489 buses without any thought to us poor OCD types who are screaming that that number ordered should of course have been 500 !!!

That IS incredible actually. So I wonder how the police when investigating a shooting bye police go about ascertaining who's rounds are who as of course without the gun being registered to the police man in some way ( and him perhaps then having a few guns tucked up at home) how they ever can match "rounds fired" to any particular gun / policeman. Or perhaps I'm being a little too hopeful in the Thai police even thinking to investigate a case like that ?

When i last went there they had a strange system that one off users couldn't just pay at the corner gym but had to go to the other upstairs gym to pay and then get a ticket and take it back to the corner gym and hand it to the guy there before they could use the equipment. To try and avoid that I tried to get the guy at the corner gym just to take my money, either above board or below and he absolutely wouldn't hear of it and I did have to make the trek. The corner gym is outdoor of course whereas the other one is indoor ( and has air con !). I made the foolish mistake of thinking it would be nice to train outdoors so went there - until I actually started training as with the heat and humidity after doing almost nothing training wise I thought I was going to collapse and had to stop. I was about to give up and then the upside happened as it turns out the army gives their soldiers free use of the gym and about 15 ripped and hot as hell guys started using the equipment and I spent the next hour basically drooling at their hot and sweaty bodies as they worked out - worth every baht for that if nothing else !!

If thats the same one that Im thinking it is remember / be sure to bring your passport as for some strange reason they absolutely require it to allow you access, I also seem to recall that it was expensive enough too ( maybe 800-1000 baht or something ??)

"you are wrong about that. Bitcoin DO get stolen" Sorry you've misunderstood my post, that's exactly what I meant actually - to beware as as you've stated bitcoin wallets, if not stored correctly ARE very open to theft it seems ( from the little I know about it).