Gaybutton

That depends on your point of view. If you're looking at it strictly from a cost point of view, then the post is serious. If you're looking at it from the point of view that's below one's personal equator, then well . . . . . I may be totally naive about certain things, but I'm sure everyone comes here for the waters.

In my case, I haven't tried it yet, but I am planning to at some point within the next several days.

I don't view that aspect of it as something negative. I see it as positive. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as they're providing their 'services' within the bounds of the law. And by law, I mean what is actually enforced, not something that's been on the books for lord-knows-how-many years and has yet to ever be enforced. Yes, on a technical level prostitution is illegal in Thailand. On a practical level, it's perfectly legal. That satisfies me and I don't regard myself as less of a person for partaking and I don't see bar owners such as Mark as less of a person for providing. My question to you, Hedda, is do you support your position by refusing to patronize the bars?

Sounds almost as if that couple is grooming their kids for a future job doing the same thing.

I'm sure everyone is correct about how it would be less expensive to take rent boys in your home country rather than traveling to Thailand, but we all have our different points of view. To my mind, if your only reason for traveling to Thailand is sex, then that's not exactly the best reason to travel here. I would think the best reasons to travel to Thailand would include enjoying and experiencing as much as you can of what Thailand has to offer and also be able to take boys. But if you're coming to Thailand only for the boys, then I would agree that you're better off staying home and spending your money on rent boys.

They can think about it, but I doubt they would ever be allowed to close a public thoroughfare. Don't forget the tenement apartments in Sunee Plaza. It would be a little difficult to tell a kid he can't go home. Issuing special IDs to kids living in Sunee would be of no help. You can't deny access to friends and relatives coming over and you can't deny kids access to the street if they're on one side of Sunee Plaza and want to go to the other side. In other words, closing off the streets would not be a viable solution and would be illegal in any case. It's a truly difficult situation for the bar owners. There is already such a lack of customers and stepping up the raids is certainly no help. I'm almost convinced that someone in authority is trying to harass the bars out of business. Find one under-age boy, even if he managed to sneak in as a customer, or find one boy on ya ba, and close the bar. They'll also lose even more customers if people start avoiding Sunee Plaza for fear of being caught up in a raid. While nothing happens to the farang during these raids, it certainly is not a pleasant experience. The bar owners are caught between a rock and a hard place. The current system places the responsibility squarely on their shoulders. It doesn't seem fair to me that the bar owners have to also be de-facto police officers and also have to become responsible for their employees' use of drugs. Meanwhile, bar owners throughout Pattaya are protesting the restricted bar opening hours. I'm surprised they're not including police harassment as part of their protest. These raids are not limited to only Sunee Plaza. I can understand bar owners being held responsible if they have employees under-age, but I have never understood holding them responsible for their employees using drugs on their own time.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if their answer would be "Don't go at peak time."

To many, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Personally, I wouldn't make a special trip to India, but this is good information to have if I ever do find myself in India. I would be interested to know about other countries as well.

Do you realize that at 9:09 and 9 seconds this morning, the date and time will be: 090909090909 That won't happen again for a few years . . .

"You're eyes are full of hate, 41. That's good. Hate keeps a man alive. It gives him strength. Now listen to me, all of you. You are all condemned men. We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well and live." - Quintus Arrius, 'Ben Hur'

What on earth makes you sure of that? Nothing personal here, but your post is very naive. You're talking about streetwise boys who know all the ropes and all the tricks of the trade. You can be certain the the boys had food and a place to stay. Both. Sent to rehab? Thailand does have some programs for that. Many of these boys come out of those programs in worse shape than they were in when they got there. Apparently that was the case with these two. If HeyGay's information is correct, they were released, and in the same day where did they go? Sunee Plaza. And what did they do once they got there? Tried to rob somebody. Apparently whatever the rehab program was supposed to accomplish didn't exactly overwhelmingly succeed. Released to the parents? It's more likely the parents are the ones who sent them out into the streets in the first place. Unfortunately, with all the great things about Thailand, there is also a brutal reality that the poor and uneducated are mainly on their own and very little is done or even available to help them. Thailand is modernizing, but when it comes to those kinds of things, Thailand is still very much in the Dark Ages.

It seems to me that it stands to reason if there were 50% more boys last week, then the time to go is the same time you went last week . . .

Unless he gets outbid or gunks me by proxy, I think his anonymity will go bye-bye when he comes to give me the ol' gunkeroo. You don't really need me to tell you there are plenty of people on these boards who not only would love to gunk me, but would also love to add the tar and feathers, along with the rack, the Iron Maiden, and burning at the stake . . . slowly. I wonder how many other people, ever in history, found themselves "hated for charity."

Whaddya mean, old? What about them? I have no sympathy for them. How can you possibly know they needed the money to eat? I'm sorry for them if they were really hungry, but it's rare for any of these boys to go hungry, even when they're flat broke. It's much more likely they simply saw what they thought to be an easy target and went for it. I believe if anything, they weren't going to buy food. They were going to buy ya ba. But even if they were hungry and wanted to buy food with the money, what gives them the right to just help themselves and steal someone else's money? I'd bet that if a boy or two came up to a farang, said they have no money for food, and would the farang please buy something for them to eat, few people would say no. I wouldn't hand over money, but I would certainly at least take them to one of the food carts and pay for whatever they wanted to eat. To my mind, there is only one "real victim" here . . . the man whose money was stolen.

Well, I can't afford it and I also feel that I'm being ripped off. I have better things to do with my money than spend it on overpriced bars, excessively aggressive street touts, excessively aggressive mama-sans, excessively high music volume, boys who aren't my type in the first place, and boys who demand 1000 to 1500 baht, or more, for short time. I can do without all that and I don't think I would enjoy it even if money was no object.

Thai time is one thing, but this is ridiculous . . .

You spoke with him? I had no idea this is the same man who owns Little Planet. I would be very interested if you can post what he had to say about the incident. I would think he would have a much more detailed version of what took place than the article has.

The way things seem to happen around here, if customers keep coming they'll stick with these prices. If customers stop coming, they'll raise them.

I don't do very well on these kinds of puzzles.

This is probably an isolated incident, but it does show that you have to be vigilant at all times when your money is exposed. The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ Two Young Boys Arrested Following Street Theft in Soi Sunee Plaza, South Pattaya Pattaya, September 7 [PATTAYA ONE NEWS] In the early hours of Saturday Morning, Police were made aware of a robbery involving a Belgium Tourist; Mr. Albert Vanhove aged 56 in Soi Sunee Plaza, South Pattaya. The victim was preparing to pay a Bar Bill and had the money in his hand when two young boys approached him and snatched the money from Mr. Vanhove. Descriptions of the two boys were circulated amongst Patrolling Police Officers and thanks to the Pattaya SWAT Team who were close-by the two boys aged only 14 and 15 were arrested in a disused building near Soi Sunee Plaza. 1,260 Baht in cash was recovered and the two boys were taken to Pattaya Police Station for processing.

The closest I can find are: http://gmap.gits.net.th/en/projectInfo.asp http://www.bangkokairporttrain.com/index.html

I don't understand why many insurance companies don't have some sort of set-up that allows for giving the hospital the insurance card and you either pay the deductible or a co-payment, or whatever up front and the hospital then deals directly with the insurance company. Not everyone has the money to be able to pay everything up front and then wait for a reimbursement. For what it's worth, I recently spoke to a representative from the Muang Thai insurance company. I was told that for the first month after taking out the insurance policy, they pay nothing. The second month, you have to lay out the money and then they reimburse. They also told me that after the third month you don't have to pay anything up front and the hospital will bill them directly. That sounds good to me and I'm going to investigate that further with a friend who is Thai, but speaks fluent English. I'll let you know what I find out.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Link Sets Soft Launch for December 5 BANGKOK, Sept 5 (TNA) The long-delayed Airport Rail Link project, providing direct rail service to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport, will start providing free service to the public from this December 5 which coincides with the birthday celebrations of His Majesty the King, said State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Governor Yuthana Tupcharoen. People interested in free rides on December 5 may apply for tickets beginning October 1 at either the Airport Rail Link office or at SRT headquarters, Mr. Yuthana said. Test runs of the system have been conducted since February by Siemens, the manufacturer and installer of the rail system, and no problems have been found. However, independent engineers will inspect the safety system for the next three months and if no problems are found, the system will be ready for operation. The SRT board has also hired Deutsche Bahn International of Germany for Bt85 million to train Airport Rail Link staff. The board exports to launch the system on December 5, Mr Yuttana added. The 28-km rail link connects Suvarnabhumi International Airport in adjacent Samut Prakan province and the City Air Terminal in Bangkok’s Makkasan area. The Airport Rail Link is owned and will be operated by SRT, through a subsidiary company, which will administer the overall operations. According to a preliminary study, the fare for an express trip will be Bt150 per person, while fares for the City Line commuter trips, will vary from Bt30-50 per passenger. Transport for airport express riders and local commuters will run on the same track with the same equipment, but with a staggered schedule. Premium-fare express services will run on the hour between Suvarnabhumi Airport and City Air Terminal, while the City Line service will stop at six local stations along the route. (TNA)

I don't know what his problem is. But I do know what my problem is. I started this thread as a congratulations to Pattaya Players. Now it's turning into an argument. Can we please stop the arguing so that I don't have to end up locking the thread?