Gaybutton

That is partially correct. I stay at the Malaysia regularly - at least once every other month and sometimes more often than that. BIB are in the restaurant quite often, usually several of them sitting together. I don't know why. Maybe they get to eat free or at a discount or they simply like the food, but they still frequent the restaurant. The restaurant, by the way, is open 24 hours, so you can get a meal, snack, or a drink whenever you want it. As for boys hanging out, hoping for farang customers, there used to be several, some in the outdoor part of the restaurant and some in the gazebo. Now that the gazebo is gone and a security guard in the parking lot I never see them in the restaurant anymore, but there are usually one or two sitting on the end of the parking lot entrance walkway. That doesn't mean there is a shortage of available boys. Quite the contrary. Some hang out just outside, by the motorbike taxi stand or I'm always approached if I'm walking up Soi Si Bamphen - toward the Lido Italian restaurant. And there are the gay hookup apps, such as Planet Romeo, Grindr, or whatever and plenty of boys within very close proximity to the Malaysia Hotel. The Malaysia Hotel is quite gay friendly. The front desk will hold the boy's ID card while the boy is in your room and he doesn't get it back until they have the "all clear" from you. They do examine the ID card to make sure it is actually his. If a basic room is acceptable, the Malaysia Hotel is an excellent bargain. The high season price, now in effect, is 950 baht per night. With the room you get a 50 baht discount slip for the restaurant. WiFi is on offer too - sometimes free, sometimes not. There are better quality rooms available for about 1200 baht, but I tried one of those rooms only once. I didn't see much of a difference between those rooms and the basic rooms. Aside from the coffee and tea with water heater and a more fully stocked room refrigerator, there was little difference. If I want coffee, I'll get it at the restaurant. If I want any of the same things stocked in the refrigerator, I can get them at the 7-Eleven. The room is air conditioned, tile floor, closet, shower (no bathtub), small refrigerator, basic furniture, and flat screen TV. That's about it. For me, that's all I need. I have about zero interest in spending thousands of baht per night for luxury accommodations. My only complaint is I can never get hot water in the shower. The best I ever get is lukewarm. The maid staff is attentive, friendly, competent, and honest. They're not going to steal anything from you. There are only two or three electric outlets in the rooms. If you need more than that, the 7-Eleven right across the street sells extension cords. There is no room safe. If you need a safe, the front desk has safes right there. To my mind, that's better than room safes. The front desk staff is honest. I've never heard anyone accuse the front desk staff of stealing from the safes and nobody but the front desk staff can get to the safe. What I do is take the amount I intend to tip the boy, pocket it, and have the front desk put my wallet in the safe. Now I don't even have to think about the possibility of the boy making off with my wallet or cash. I also like the location. Good restaurants within easy walking distance. About a three block walk to the MRT station (or a 10 or 20 baht motorbike taxi ride). Taxis and motorbike taxis readily available. About a 10 minute ride to the Silom go-go bars. Easy walking distance to the Babylon sauna. If you drive, it's very close proximity to the expressway.

We've been hearing about high speed rail links for years. So far, all talk and no action. For me, it's another one of those "I'll believe it when I see it" kinds of things. Dalewood said, "I bet the train station will be a pain in the ass to get to." If the rail link is actually built that may very well happen. But even so, it might be worth the trouble. I drive to and from Bangkok fairly often. The expressway is unpredictable. You never know when there will be traffic jams, except of course during holidays when you can count on them. Just yesterday I drove to Bangkok on the expressway, Rte. 7. There was a traffic jam going toward Pattaya from Bangkok that was a good 6km long. If you're going into Bangkok, not long after passing the airport you can almost always expect a 15 to 30 minute traffic jam at a toll station for a lousy 25 baht. I returned to Pattaya today. No problem at all on the expressway going to Pattaya. But there was a huge traffic jam going toward Bangkok. And then, once you're in Bangkok, the traffic is a nightmare. So even if the train station is a pain to get to, I'd rather endure that pain than the traffic jams. I would take the rail link to Suvarnabhumi and then the train into town from there.

I don't know. You would have to check with Thai police. You might also want to check, if you are using a Malaysian driving license, whether Thailand would still require an International Driving Permit. If you drive a car in Thailand, no matter what kind of car you drive, and whether it's your own or a rental, you definitely want to check if your insurance will cover you in case of an accident.

Logic? In Thailand? Surely you jest. I don't know what happens if you lose your departure card. Maybe they don't let you leave . . .

There have been no reports in the media about jet ski scams lately. However, even if the problem has been solved, I would still advise you to avoid jet skis or even swimming in the sea in Pattaya. The water is incredibly polluted. Just a couple days ago a lot of trash and dead fish washed up on the beach. If you want to swim in the sea or rent jet skis, I would suggest doing that far from Pattaya - VERY far from Pattaya - at least until the local powers-that-be get the pollution cleaned up (don't hold your breath for that).

Your "trial by fire" was quite common for gay farang new to Thailand. What you went through was difficult for you, but thankfully not devastating. Now you know what so many of us, including me, learned the hard way. Many farang ended up not only heartbroken, but financially devastated too. Reading your posts I believe you are a very nice person. I'm glad you found your way out of the trap and I'm glad you did not let that boy ruin your holiday. I think it's appropriate for me to repeat what I have posted so many times before - what I call "The Richard Burk Philosophy." I think now you will far better understand why he said it: "If you want love in Thailand, rent it."

That's not always true. When I was a child I had an imaginary friend. He didn't like me . . .

"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." - Groucho Marx

Thank you for that, and you are correct. Several of us do know each other quite well and are always happy to make new friends and help people new to Pattaya.. If you are interested, every Thursday a group, usually 12 to 18 people, meet for dinner at 7:00pm at Sunee Plaza's Ting Tong Red bar. The owner, Mario, serves a meatloaf dinner. If you are interested, let me know and I'll be happy to put you in touch with the gent who makes all the arrangements. Also, nearly every night, right next door to Ting Tong Red, is the Elephant bar. A small group can almost always be found there at "The Round Table" from about 8:30pm-10:00pm. You would be most welcome. Most of these people have lived in Pattaya for many years and are just the right people to meet if you are new to Pattaya and don't have man farang friends just yet. You'll know all the ins and outs of Pattaya in no time. If you are not familiar with my board, it's: http://www.gaybuttonthai.com

No apology necessary. I can't speak for Fountainhall, but I certainly don't mind at all. You're welcome to use anything at all, any time you want, that you find on my board if you would also like to have it on your board.

Why am I not surprised?

Thais interested in bondage - that must be "The Thai that Binds" . . . Don't feel badly that the BDSM club closed. I often see local people, both Thai and farang, interested in BDSM advertising themselves on Planet Romeo.

You're going to have to do better than that. Out of curiosity I looked for the pic. I can't find it. You need to either attach the pic to your post or give us the exact URL for the pic so that all anyone needs to do is click on the URL and the pic comes up.

Thank you. That explanation makes sense out of it, although it does bother me that here we are in 2017 and there is still such a stigma attached not only to being gay, but the word gay itself. I'd like to live long enough to see the day when there is no longer any kind of stigma attached to gay at all. I believe that day will come. I also believe the day will come when indisputable proof of life on other planets is finally discovered. My only question is which day will come first. I hope I live long enough to see both, but somehow I doubt I'll live long enough to see either. Oh well, at least I now, thanks to Alexx, have an explanation about the name change.

I get annoyed at "new and improved" when I can't figure out what needed improving to begin with. Was there something wrong with their "classic" format that virtually cried out for improvement? I'm not particularly confused by their new site, but I too intend to stick with the "classic" site. That's what I'm used to and that's what I like. I can't find any aspect at all on their "improved" site that strikes me as any better than it was in the first place. I have a similar peeve in certain grocery stores. I finally get to know just where certain items that interest me are located, and then some schmuck who apparently has nothing better to do decides that all kinds of things need to be moved around. Now I can't find what I'm looking for when during my last visit I knew exactly where to look. Same for Planet Romeo. While I greatly appreciate the site and have met many wonderful boys because of it, when it comes to major changes and moving things around - you know - to improve the site, my first question would be "Who asked you to improve the site?" While we're at it, I would also want to know, "Who asked you to change the name from Gay Romeo to Planet Romeo? You did that for what?" Oh well - maybe we'll get lucky and the improved format will confuse the Pattaya boys so much that they'll all return to doing their farang hunting on the beach. As far as I'm concerned, that would be an improvement . . .

You don't have to use their new site. You have the option of using the new site or sticking with their "classic" site. I too dislike their "new and improved site." What were we using before, old and crummy? In any case, if you prefer to remain with their "classic" site, the URL is: https://classic.planetromeo.com/

I'd say the more open your wallet is, the more open the boys will be.

I too recommend both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn, with Siam Commercial Bank as a third choice. Debit cards are 300 baht or less, depending on the bank. I am able to withdraw money from any ATM in the world. They all have online banking with English interface. I haven't checked the others, but Bangkok Bank has a non-commercial branch in New York. I easily arranged to have my retirement pension direct deposited into my Bangkok Bank account via the New York branch. The transfer is instantaneous, meaning the moment the money is deposited via the New York branch, it is immediately available to me in Thailand. That has worked just fine ever since I've lived in Thailand. Even when I am entitled to tax refund, IRS sends my refund to me the same way - direct deposit via the New York branch. I receive a text message on my phone when the money is available. The message includes the gross amount sent, the fee Bangkok Bank deducts (usually about 250 baht), the exchange rate at the moment the deposit is made, and the net amount transferred to my account, both in dollars and baht. The one negative for me about that is a few years ago the USA started requiring that money transferred via a government source has to go into a receive-only account. My money does come from a government source, so I actually have to hold two accounts. One is the receive-only account and the other is my "regular" account. Both appear on online banking, but with the receive-only account the money cannot be touched. I have to physically go to a Bangkok Bank branch and transfer the money out of the receive-only account and placed into my "regular" account. Supposedly, that prevents the money from being accessed in case I die. I asked the manager at my local bank what happens if I am incapacitated in some way and cannot physically go to the bank. He said they would send a bank representative to wherever I am in Thailand and arrange the transfer. See: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/InternationalNetwork/InternationalBranches/USA/pages/index.aspx Then click on "About Us"

How about some details, ChristianPFC. What did you like about them? What makes them worth a visit?

If it was something such as a trip to his hometown, no problem. But you're going to Boyztown, not to mention the other Pattaya gay venues. Of course you're going to be attracted to other boys and this is your holiday. My advice - don't take him. If you take him, you're asking for trouble and trouble is what you'll get. If you want to help him financially, give him some good farewell money, maybe even buy an airline ticket for him to go to Phnom Penh or wherever to visit his family, say goodbye, and have a fabulous time in Pattaya without having to worry about a boy you brought along - no matter what his motivation might be.

The point is not 'how to save pics' lessons. The point is if the OP had downloaded the boy's pic, by whatever method, and had included it in his post, that would have made it far easier for us to help find him. My suggestion is anyone interested in a particular boy and wants to see him again when he returns to Thailand, or even see him for a first time, making sure to have a good pic of him available - just in case - would be enormously helpful. I even tried looking for Chati on the popular chat app, LINE. Unfortunately there is no user by that name. "153 cm, 45 kg, 21 year old, nice looking" is a description that easily applies to literally hundreds of boys. I have no idea how the OP could even hope any of us could track him down based solely upon that. This is once circumstance in which one picture is probably worth far more than a mere thousand words.

I use Firefox. I don't know what happens to you, but I simply click on the photo I like, let it open, and then do CTRL-S. I've never had a problem.

Firecat69 is right. Especially if it's a money boy, they very often delete one profile and start a new one with a different name. That way they try to appear as if they're new to Planet Romeo. When you log in to Planet Romeo, do a "Detailed User Search" for Pattaya, Bangkok, or wherever. If it is checked, uncheck "online Now", and then select "Newest Accounts First." Chances are very good that you'll do the search and Bingo! There he is . . . Do you know if he is a bar boy? If he is, you might check the gay bars to try to find him. Maybe you won't find him, but you at least can have a good time looking for him. Something else to think about - As a 'just in case,' next time you find a boy you like, download at least one good face pic of him, if available. If you open the pic and then do a CTRL-S, on Planet Romeo the picture will download. If you had a pic of him and posted it, that would make it much easier for us to help you find him. Don't forget to check some of the other gay hookup sites too, such as Grindr, Hornet, et al. I've seen many times when, for whatever reason, a boy will delete his Planet Romeo profile, but has an active profile on other hookup sites.

You're probably right. Nevertheless, when deciding whether or not it's worth the risk to break a law when visiting a foreign country, at least base the decision on facts, not erroneous information, especially when it comes to controlled substances.

Condoms / Lube / PoppersCondoms and lube are widely available, although the best advice is to bring your own. Poppers are illegal in Thailand. https://www.travelgayasia.com/essential-guide-to-thailand/