Alexx

If you cannot prove how old they are, how do you know they are of legal age? Maybe most are but some aren't.

Good point, forky123. And considering that I've seen the dumbest stunts by long-term visitors or expats who clearly should know better, that line of argument is pretty questionable anyway. "There's no fool like an old fool", comes to mind.

Interesting how readers' perceptions differ! Based on whatever has influenced our minds. When I read what Ryan shared with us about his life as a moneyboy, the picture I had in my mind was that of River Phoenix in "My Own Private Idaho". So for me, he was clearly a pretty Caucasian boy.

Wow, Khon Kaen for a whole week, I hope you aren't someone who gets bored easily. Congrats on your decision to be decisive!

Trolls vs Cyber Bullies sounds catchy enough I think...

Does it really surprise you that these clowns are racists on top of being pests? It usually goes hand in hand nicely.

My point was that alcohol sales weren't banned as part of the mourning period. It was left to the individual businesses to decide when they considered selling alcohol appropriate. Some chose not to sell alcohol for a few days, while others did sell alcohol without breaking any law doing so. The End of the Buddhist Lent holiday (which fell on Sunday), on the other hand, comes with an alcohol sales ban. Not only this year.

Just like some Thais who see it fit to stage witch hunts at this time. There have been some really ugly news reports. And I mean local news with video evidence, not the "foreign distortions" the government complains about. So those who chose to turn this thread into a bitch fest are in "good" company. As for the forum bully, Firecat is a natural, election or not we couldn't have picked anyone better.

It should be said that there's no ban of alcohol sales as part of the mourning period, in case someone gets that impression from reading the OP. Yesterday was a Buddhist holiday, the end of the lent, that is a dry day.

There's nothing wrong with the Second Amendment as such, it's its legal interpretation that is questionable. A SCOTUS composed of less morons and more sensible justices could rectify that. A well regulated militia. That's what is written and it has nothing to do with gun nutters being allowed to hoard military grade weapons for their own enjoyment. That is just an NRA sponsored interpretation that can be changed. They do realize that, obviously, and are scared shitless of whoever might get appointed by Hillary.

I didn't move to Thailand for its sex scene, and I still would have moved to Thailand if it hadn't existed back then. I don't want it to disappear, but if it did, it wouldn't be a catastrophic event for me personally. Finding guys online has been and still is an important factor though, right from the start. I chatted with a Thai guy before my first ever visit to Thailand, and he later became my first Thai boyfriend. Since then I've found two more boyfriends, quite a number of friends and even more flings online.

I agree, but I still think it's sad that I have to vote for the undeserving one in order to help defeating the unfit one. I would much prefer to have the option to vote for someone I actually admire for their character, charisma, vision or leadership - anything positive at all, really.

How would you feel if someone wrote something like that about one of your guides? Completely unnecessary, I think. If they scare you, just don't use their services. Also, what's the benefit of sharing their WHOIS information with us? Those of us who are so inclined can look it up by ourselves.

Don't be mean. Many foreigners who move to Thailand simply don't get as agitated about Thai politics as about their own country's. As an expat, you don't have a vote anyway, even if the country you move to isn't ruled by a bunch of generals. OP, thanks for sharing and take it easy. Splitting your story into several installments doesn't hurt.

Ha! I didn't mean to encourage you to slow down, please keep it up. Regarding the motorbike, much like a fancy mobile phone among many young people around here, it also serves as a status symbol. You've said he and his family used to be very poor, so being able to buy a brand spanking new motorbike instead of some rusty secondhand hovel will be seen as quite an accomplishment. So while I personally also feel tempted to say it would be wiser to buy a $700 moto and save the remaining money in the bank, I realize that it's unlikely to happen. That's not at all limited to moneyboys, by the way. Among my Thai colleagues whose salary is significantly lower than mine, it's very common to buy the latest gadgets or cars they cannot really afford, without much of a thought given to the monthly payments that keep piling up. I probably have the cheapest phone among my colleagues and use it twice as long as anyone else before buying the next one.

Welcome to the forum, Thomas! See, the problem with "not fully understanding the situation" is that it often extends to those IN that situation. A fair part of "jaded" comments come from the experience that many "my situation is different" or "this boy is different" stories ultimately develop into something not at all different, given some time. Not saying that this is the case with your personal situation in particular, but it's a fact that it turns out that way often. Don't let that discourage you from sharing your story!

Obviously I agree with all the praise, and in fact couldn't agree more. But in hindsight, I do wonder about the poll - less sex. It sure doesn't look like that, at least so far, I'd say there has been plenty of sex.

I think we can safely assume that vinapu said that in jest.

By how many years exactly does he raise the average age of Jupiter boys? Or does he work there as a captain/mamasan?

numazu, wonderful reporting as always, it's a joy to read about your exploits again. I think an important aspect regarding the Khmer Rouge era vs. contemporary Cambodia is that Cambodia's population is very young and has grown a lot since back then. Young Cambodians have no first-hand knowledge of the horrors and older Cambodians often aren't too keen to share their - often traumatic - experiences from what I've heard. Vietnam is somewhat similar in that regard, many Americans are surprised that they don't encounter a lot of resentment there (often actually quite the opposite), despite the horrors of the "American War". Not dwelling on the past and eagerly embracing what the future has in store seems to be the mantra of the young generation in both countries.

Looking at many if not most people of that age, I find it hard to agree that it's a triumph. Yes, they are alive, but that's about it, too many times it's mere existence. I don't see any glory in prolonging that.

I would guess that one particularly obnoxious "quality" poster is now gone.

Has been discussed recently, you need an app that can fake the GPS location (search "fake GPS") to trick Grindr into thinking you are somewhere else. Works great.

I've seen Thai boys post pictures of their farang "acquaintances" in group chats on Line, along with comments. I'd assume that's very common among Thai boys, we just don't usually get to see it (in my case, I was added to that Line group by accident). This board here is a (predominantly) farang board, so it's the Thai boys that are commented on and pictured. Same same but different. I don't really like it, all things considered, but that's life in this day and age - smartphones with cameras and chat apps aplenty that are being used enthusiastically by many.

I'd say there's nothing wrong with these!