Gaybutton

I disagree. I haven't seen anything from The Venue stating they are collecting donations, but even if I had, my assumption would have been that they have a collection box somewhere on the premises. I think it is a huge leap to think they would present a program. In the entire history of Pattaya, I have never heard of any bar doing any such thing. What on earth would have caused anyone to suddenly expect a presentation, especially with no forewarning about it? I think all of us are sensitive to those less fortunate, but I don't think anyone is out of line to expect sensitivity from the venues soliciting to those making the donations. If I had gone to The Venue that night, I would have been there to have an enjoyable time. I wouldn't have been there to unexpectedly be subjected to their solicitation video. In all honesty, I think this has backfired on them. They may have been well intentioned, but I think the end result will be fewer people donating to this particular charity. If I had been there I would have been mad as hell.

Neither am I. Getting off the thread subject for a moment, if there is a bar show anywhere in this city that doesn't include drag and doesn't include lip sync, I'd like to know where. That might be a show I would enjoy. As far as I can tell, every bar show in Pattaya is essentially the same. Don't any of the bars believe in employing a singer who actually sings? Can't any of the bars come up with a show that leaves out the drag queens, the lip syncing, and the lady-boys with breast implants? That's why I never go to bar shows or always leave if a show is about to start. People tell me I must go to see this show or that show. It's fun! It's wonderful! Yeah? Bullshit! That's precisely what I hate. So, I don't go. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I certainly have no objection to them offering to help and it was kind of them to make the offer, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. When you run your charity events, Oogleman, you make plenty of announcements well in advance and people who come know they are going to be solicited for donations. Obviously RichLB did not know and resented being surprised by it and subjected to it. I would have felt the same way. I should also be obvious that I support this charity too. Otherwise I never would have subjected myself to "the gunking." Again, I knew in advance what I was in for and so did everyone else who attended and participated. But if I walked into a bar show at which I had no idea I was going to be solicited and if there was no prior announcement or nothing to indicate there would be a solicitation, whether it was part of the show or not, I would have donated nothing. To my mind, if it was done as RichLB described, that's a high pressure tactic and an abuse of the customers. There's no way I would put up with going to a bar at which there is an attempt to high pressure me into anything. I wouldn't stand for it and I would never return. Unless RichLB and I are the only ones who feel this way, then perhaps The Venue would be wise to reconsider their methods unless they like the idea of losing customers.

I don't know, but some of you guys sure seem to embarrass easily. If some schmuck really wants to leer at me messing around with one of the bar boys, let him. He's the one who ought to be embarrassed, not me. I'll ask him if he wants to buy a ticket or at least give me a tip for the show. Maybe that will offset the 150 baht fee. For me, if I'm up there "engaged" with a young gentleman, that's who I'm paying attention to. I guarantee I'm not paying attention to whoever might be looking, unless 'me mum' walks in . . .

That's good. I'd hate to go to a bar that was indefinitely open . . . I can think of several reasons to go upstairs rather than take a boy off. Instant gratification comes to mind. Then we had that thread here on which some people posted about being embarrassed to be seen walking the streets with a bar boy. That upstairs area is a good alternative for them, unless of course they are too embarrassed to even be seen walking up a set of stairs. It also saves time. By the time you arrange to take a boy off, wait for him to change clothes, get to your hotel, get to your room, and take the showers that neither of you probably really need anyway, who knows? You may have lost the mood and now have to wait for the Viagra to take effect. By taking him upstairs, you also don't have to be concerned about the possibility of him stealing any of your valuables. Some people enjoy doing their thing within the bar atmosphere. To some, while in the bar the boy is still perceived as a sexual being. Once he is in street clothes and is headed for your room with you, now he is a human being again. Going upstairs also can save money. Many people who take a boy off don't necessarily head directly for their hotel room. Sometimes they offer to take the boy somewhere to eat first, or maybe some shopping, or maybe a stop somewhere for a drink, or whatever. One other thing comes to mind. If you take him upstairs there is no television for him to turn on and most likely he doesn't have his mobile phone with him either. That alone can make the upstairs option very attractive.

Yes, it is open. It's been open for quite a while now. It costs 150 baht to go upstairs, but only if you haven't bought a minimum amount of drinks while still downstairs. I really can't remember what that minimum is. It's probably about 250 baht, but maybe someone else knows for sure. Regarding a tip for a boy you bring upstairs with you, I can't answer that one. There is no set amount. It's an "up to you." I would imagine, depending on what you do and how good the boy is at doing it (if it goes beyond just having a nice little chat), 500 to 1000 baht would be appropriate.

Awwwwwwwww, shucks. I'm flattered you see it that way. Whatever you've been drinking, how would you like to wake up sober and find me next to you in bed? "If the room was on fire you wouldn't be hot!" -George Burns, 'The Sunshine Boys'

I fully agree with you. If I had been there it would have been the last time I would ever be there. I'm sorry, but I think you're right. Worthy cause or not, if I had gone, my reason for going would have been to spend my money having an enjoyable time. An evening of second and third rate acts is bad enough, but subjecting the audience to a plea for their favorite charitable cause was totally inappropriate. If there had simply been a quick announcement that the Venue supports this particular charity and donations would be appreciated, then I probably would have given some money. But if I had been surprised in the manner you describe, then you can bet I would have made Scrooge look like a spendthrift. In my opinion, that was a terribly rude thing to do to the audience and was very poor judgment on the part of the management. In that situation I would have immediately called a waiter over to pay my bill and would have been gone, never to return. If I couldn't get a waiter's attention, I would have gone to the cashier myself. I don't go to bars to end up being part of a captive audience and I'll decide for myself which charities I wish to donate to, thank you very much. Did you happen to notice whether other audience members shared your opinion? "The world is filled with worthy causes." - Bette Davis, 'The Whales of August'

Not if he pays for the room at the time he checks in, which is what most these places want you to do anyhow. And those rooms don't even have a mini bar. He won't exactly be checking into a Helmsley hotel . . .

You must have been way, way, way over the limit that time you propositioned me . . .

Right now the odds of that happening are quite remote. The bars, even during this high season, are not exactly filled to capacity with customers. The odds of that happening are even more remote. But even if that does happen, so what? What does he think would be the problem about that? I hope your friend is not stupid enough to take an under-age boy off. Assuming the boy is at least 18 years old, why would he care if the boy uses the room with another customer? Is he paranoid enough to figure the boy will give the room key to another boy, one who is under-age, and that boy goes to the room with a customer, and then the room gets raided? Even in that event it would be the farang with the under-age boy who gets arrested, not your friend. Anyway, the idea of the boy going back to the bar and getting taken off a second time, and assuming the farang who would take him off would want to go to a room where he would be using an unmade bed that had already just been used, instead of taking the boy to his own room, is kind of a strange thing to worry about, especially in light of the fact that these boys are lucky to be taken off two or three times a month, let alone twice in the same night. It seems to me your friend is kind of picky and wants to try to cover all possibilities of something going wrong, even the most oddball possibilities. Jomtien's point intrigues me. Is your friend doing this with or without his wife's knowledge? If it's with her knowledge, the idea of a threesome comes to mind . . .

I fixed it for you. You left off the end-quote bracket. You were sober? I'm not sure I would have recognized you in that state . . . Well, I guess he didn't actually say it, but I kind of hope that's what he's doing . . . Maybe later, if he really likes the boy: He: "Honey, I hate to tell you this, but we're getting a divorce." She: "Huh?!?!? What are you talking about. Why, is there someone else . . . another woman?" He: "Not exactly." "I asked a girl to marry me. She said no. I asked why, is there someone else? She said, 'There must be.'" - Rodney Dangerfield

Sometimes it's good to venture out into venues where you know the boys are not necessarily your type. The bar can still be fun and it can make you appreciate the venues where the boys are your type even more when you go again.

That's the problem, right there. I'm glad at least some of you saw a police presence. I saw virtually zilch.

Mark has put an enormous effort into the improvements and still has even more innovative plans in mind. I think those of you familiar with Krazy Dragon will be pleasantly surprised during your next visit there and for those who have never been to Krazy Dragon, I think it's definitely worth a stop to see for yourself when you are in Sunee Plaza. I think Krazy Dragon is one of the best go-go bars in Pattaya and it's a Sunee Plaza bar where you can rest assured that the boys are 18+ years old . . . all of them.

Despite the efforts of the police to reduce road deaths over the New Year weekend, the death toll is reported to be 37% higher than it was last year. It was widely reported that the police would be out there enforcing traffic rules, setting up road checks for drunk drivers, cracking down hard on helmetless motorcyclists, etc. In Pattaya where was it? Throughout the entire weekend I actually saw less police presence on the roads than I see most other days. Within the city limits I saw no road checks at all. On New Year's Eve, I saw two spots where police were lurking. That's fewer spots than I normally see police officers lying in wait to stop people and fine them. I have not seen any reports yet as to how many deaths and injuries occurred in and around Pattaya. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ New Year's Day Road Deaths 37% Higher than Last Year January 3, 2010 New Year's Day saw 686 road accidents killing 70 people and injuring 737, bringing the cumulative casualty count for the long holiday to 238 deaths and 2,725 injuries from 2,510 accidents. Uthairat Chaiprasert, assistant to the justice minister, said yesterday that Friday's road casualties had surpassed the carnage for the first day of last year by 37 per cent for deaths and 50 per cent for injuries. Half of the traffic accidents on the fourth of the "seven dangerous days" were blamed on drunk driving, followed by speeding at 20.7 per cent, he said. Most accidents involved motorcycles at 84.9 per cent and occurred between 4pm-8pm. Checkpoints stopped 715,516 vehicles and arrested 69,515 motorists, with the main offence being not carrying a driver's licence at 23,006 cases, followed by bikers not wearing a helmet at 21,195 cases. Cumulative casualties had reached 238 deaths, 2,725 injured in 2,510 accidents, Uthairat said. While Yasothon was the only province still to report no accidents, Nakhon Si Thammarat had the most at 83 followed by Phetchabun at 82 and Chiang Mai at 80. Chanthaburi and Ayutthaya were the most deadly at 10 deaths each, while Phetchabun had the most injuries at 99 followed by Nakhon Si Thammarat at 98. The government began the seven-day safe driving campaign on Tuesday to reduce road casualties by 5 per cent from the last New Year break, which had logged 367 deaths and 4,107 injuries in road accidents nationwide. Uthairat also said the Excise Department had arrested 277 roadside shops for selling alcoholic drinks without permission and had revoked 26 liquor licenses for selling booze during times and at venues that were prohibited.

"I'm re--viewing The situation . . ." - Fagin, 'Oliver!' Sounds like a marriage made in heaven. Considering the way many of us feel about Pattaya, I guess it will be a divorce made in heaven if the wife catches him. And he's in no hurry???? As for being rushed, I've never heard of a bar saying "time's up" to anyone in a short-time room, at least until the bar closes. The boys who live upstairs won't be upstairs until the bar closes and many bars don't house the boys anyway. If he doesn't want to feel rushed, tell him to get there early . . . Also, if he's worried about feeling rushed, at the time he rents the short-time room he can tell the bar how long he wants the room and pay whatever their fee is for that length of time. He's better off, I think, just renting a hotel room for the night before he even hits the bars. Places like Howard's and Ben Mansion are so inexpensive anyway, I doubt it will hurt his bank account very much to do it that way. And if he does it that way, now he won't feel rushed. When he's finished doing whatever it is he's doing, he can just check out. He can also do the boy a favor and let him keep the room until check out time. A lot of these boys wouldn't mind at all having some privacy for a change and air conditioning. What poetic justice it would be if he pays extra to rent a short-time room for several hours so he can cheat on his wife, and the boy he takes to the room turns out to be a total dud. That would certainly give me my little laugh . . .

He'll have to ask the desk clerk to scrutinize the ID card unless he can plainly see that the clerk is doing it anyway. Howard's, Marina Inn, Ben Mansion, etc. around Sunee Plaza usually have short time rooms available. Many of the bars have their own short time rooms upstairs. Maybe he doesn't want to carry his passport around, but the law is the law. But unless he is staying very far away from Sunee Plaza, what's wrong with his own hotel room, or even the boy's own room for that matter?

It's a good beginning. Only a few years ago it was nothing more than a dream. I wonder which state will be the last to allow it. I would guess Utah or Mississippi.

If you do, maybe I will take you to a gay proctologist. I hope he has good depth perception . . .

New Hampshire Now 5th State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage (CNN) -- After 19 years together Linda Murphy and Donna Swartwout tied the knot at 12:01 a.m. Friday, when New Hampshire's law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect. They were among several couples early Friday who married under a full moon on the steps of the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord. At midnight, New Hampshire became the fifth state to allow same-sex couples to marry, joining Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa. The couple, who live in Hudson, New Hampshire, said they wanted to be married as soon as they could. "We were thrilled and proud of New Hampshire ... it was a such a historic moment," Murphy said. Swartwout said the marriage gives them "words and language that the rest of the world uses." "When my nephew asks, 'Who's Linda?" I get to say, 'she's my wife,' " she said.

The drive will take approximately 8 hours. If you are talking about the roads between Chiang Mai and the city of Khon Kaen, not somewhere out in the boondocks, the roads are in excellent condition.

I think Astrrro has a good point. I don't think it should be required to have a printer in order for board members to get the discount. Besides, any non member who does have a printer and wants to cheat could just as easily print out the voucher and look for an obscure user name on the Ting&Tong forum, someone who is probably not personally known to Oogleman or anyone else and is also probably not even in Thailand, and get the freebie. On the other hand, legitimate members who have no printer could go to just about any internet shop and print out the voucher there for 10 or 15 baht. Meanwhile, Oogleman has a point too. Since the freebie is supposed to be only for registered members, I think he is entitled to do what he can do to make sure that non members aren't going to be able to just show up and get the freebie at someone else's expense. Maybe Oogleman can come up with an alternative method besides the printed voucher. For example, a board member maybe could send a PM to Oogleman and ask for a code word to give him upon arrival at the get-together. Looking at it from a practical standpoint, he might as well have some blank vouchers printed out and available at Memories and let those who have no printer write in their user name upon arrival. "You were both wrong! And you were both right." - Yul Brynner, 'Taras Bulba'

Dear members. We cordially invite you to come have a beer and a nibble on us and see YOUR money presented to the charity representatives - Pattaya Street Kids Support Project at Memories Music Bar , Pattaya on 9th January. We hope to have over THB 100,000 to present. TO GET YOUR 150 BAHT FREE DRINKS VOUCHER AND READ ABOUT THE PARTY/ ENTERTAINMENT WE HAVE LAID ON PLEASE CLICK BELOW! http://www.gaytingtong.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6313 (One voucher per member - you must write your forum name on the voucher) Come and meet other forum members, some of the moderating team, the charity representatives and some of the kids who are benefiting will pay a short visit with a chaperon to say hello and thank you. We have a buffet and some fun and sexy entertainers lined up for you ! Please help us raise a little more on the night by buying lots of Lucky Draw tickets or popping a donation in the collection boxes you will see in the bar - Enjoy yourselves & many thanks for your donations & efforts! paul (oogleman)

Sure! I resolve to make no New Year's resolutions at all. I would probably break them within the first 24 hours anyway . . .