Gaybutton

Today someone sent an Email to me, pointing out that I have an error in terminology within my article. What I have been calling a "visa on arrival" is actually a "visa exemption." I will make the correction in the next revision. In the meantime, the details are below. Again, I sincerely appreciate it when people discover any errors in my article. I want it to be as accurate as I can make it, so if anyone else notices any errors, please continue letting me know. Here are the details (which I took the liberty of copying and pasting directly from the gentleman's Email): Visa Exemption Conditions applying to persons wishing to enter Thailand under the "Visa Exemption Rule" are as follows:- Passport holders of any of the 46 countries listed below are entitled to enter Thailand under the "Visa Exemption Rule" for a maximum period of 90 days in any 6-month period (see page 6/6) provided they meet all of the following criteria:- a) Purpose of visit is strictly tourism. B) Must be in possession of a confirmed flight ticket (e-ticket acceptable) to show they will be exiting Thailand within 30 days of entry. Open tickets do not qualify. Traveling overland out of Thailand to check-in for a flight from an airport in another country (Malaysia, Singapore, etc) is not accepted. c) Having access to living expenses of 20,000 baht (approx £300) per person or 40,000 baht (approx £600) per family. It may be necessary to be able to prove this on entry. List of countries which have special agreements with Thailand entitling their nationals to enter under the "Visa Exemption Rule" for a single stay of up to 30 days provided they can satisfy the conditions above:- 1. Argentina 2. Australia 3. Austria 4. Bahrain 5. Belgium 6. Brazil 7. Brunei 8. Canada 9. Chile 10. Denmark 11. Finland 12. France 13. Germany 14.Greece 15. Hong Kong 16. Iceland 17. Indonesia 18. Ireland 19. Israel 20. Italy 21. Japan 22. Kuwait 23. Laos 24. Luxembourg 25. Macao 26. Malaysia 27. Netherlands 28. New Zealand 29. Norway 30. Oman 31. Peru 32. Philippines 33. Portugal 34. Qatar 35. Russia 36. Singapore 37. South Africa 38. South Korea 39. Spain 40. Sweden 41. Switzerland 42. Turkey 43. United Arab Emirates 44. United Kingdom 45. United States 46. Vietnam Please note that effective from 01 October 2006 a maximum of 90 days in Thailand are allowed within any 6-month period under the Visa Exemption Rule. There is no visa fee applying to persons entering Thailand under the Visa Exemption Rule. Visa On Arrival Conditions applying to persons wishing to enter Thailand under the "Visa On Arrival Rule" are as follows:- Passport holders of any of the 19 countries listed below can enter Thailand under the "Visa On Arrival Rule" provided they meet all of the following criteria:- a) Purpose of visit is strictly tourism. B) Must be in possession of a confirmed flight ticket (e-ticket acceptable) to show they will be exiting Thailand within 15 days of entry. Open tickets do not qualify. Traveling overland out of Thailand to join a flight from another country is not accepted. c) Having access to living expenses of 20,000 baht (approx £300) per person or 40,000 baht (approx £600) per family. It may be necessary to be able to prove this on entry. List of countries which have special agreements with Thailand entitling their nationals to enter under the "Visa On Arrival Rule" for a single stay of up to 15 days provided they can satisfy the conditions above:- 1. Bhutan 2. China 3. Cyprus 4. Czech Republic 5. Estonia 6. Hungary 7. India 8. Kazakstan 9. Latvia 10. Liechtenstein 11. Lithuania 12. Maldives 13. Mauritius 14. Oman 15. Poland 16. Saudi Arabia 17. Slovakia 18. Slovenia 19. Ukraine The fee for this visa is 1,000 baht (approx £15), subject to change.

If he can do it, that is very good news indeed. If he remains open, I hope people will go and be supportive, even if Birdcage is not their favorite bar. If Birdcage can survive after all, then maybe other bars will give it a try on Soi Day-Night and maybe something can change things around for Soi Day-Night and end the 'jinx.' I think that would be to everyone's benefit. I hope Tam has a good imagination. I think he's going to have to come up with something beyond what is already happening in order to make the bar attractive enough for the gay crowd to want to make the effort to go there.

In that case, then there is no advantage to applying for a reentry permit early. Getting a reentry permit only takes ten or fifteen minutes. All that's involved is filling out an application and paying a fee, so there's no reason to get one until you know what you'll need.

Try downloading the Firefox browser. That's what I use. Whether that has anything to do with the problem, I don't know. I also tried with the IE Explorer. The problem was the same. I don't know what other detail I can give. When I try to get to my messages, I end up on the screen for sending a message. By the way, that doesn't work properly either. I can send out a PM, but I can't write one on the screen. When I try to type in the message, nothing happens. I type, but nothing appears on the send screen. I have to write the message on a word processor and then copy and paste the message onto the send screen. That, at least, works. Then I can send it. Whether the recipient can see the message I wrote is another question. In short, the PM system isn't working the way it is supposed to work. What is even more frustrating for me is I have now posted about this three times, asked three times that people send an Email to me rather than a PM, and yet people are still sending me PMs. Not one of them has yet sent an Email to me to let me know what they wanted to say in the PM. That's the latest item on my "I Don't Get It" list. Folks, if you're reading this and you sent me a PM, have you understood yet that I haven't seen your PM and cannot see it? Just send an Email to me instead. What's the problem about that?

That is good advice, also quite useful in the USA. I would advise finding attorneys with whom others have had positive, successful experiences. Obviously, I am quite satisfied with the attorney I use. I'm sure others here can recommend reputable attorneys as well. You're right. I would not advise going to an attorney just because he hung a shingle outside his office door. Fountainhall is also right. It can't hurt to go to a top legal firm. Now all you have to do is find one . . . I found my own attorney through a reliable recommendation and, as I said, I have been quite satisfied. Another way to go about it might be to seek the recommendation of the Expat's Club. Also, your home country's embassy probably can provide a list of recommended reputable law firms.

My friends, This is now the third time I've had to post a message letting you know that if you send me a PM (that's Personal Message), I CAN'T READ IT. Repeat . . . I can't read it. I can't get to your message. There is a problem with the system. I don't know how many more times I can say it. DO NOT SEND ME A PM. SEND ME AN EMAIL INSTEAD AT: gaybutton@gmail.com . Today two more PMs were sent to me. I have no way to read them, so I don't have a clue what you wrote.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Let Them Eat Frogs Rangoon - The military junta began evicting destitute families from cyclone relief centres on Friday and rejected foreign food aid - because people can survive perfectly well by hunting "large, edible frogs." The New Light of Myanmar "newspaper", a government mouthpiece, also warned that foreign relief workers would snoop inside homes, and condemned donors for linking aid money to full access to the hardest-hit regions in the Irrawaddy Delta. The tirade came as the junta tightened its political grip on the country, extending democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and announcing that its new constitution has been enacted. The regime says the charter will pave the way for democratic elections in two years, but dissidents say it will enshrine military rule in a country ruled by generals since 1962. "It is better that they move to their homes where they are more stable," a government official said at one camp where people had been told to clear out at short notice. "Here, they are relying on donations and it is not stable." Locals and aid workers said 39 camps in the immediate vicinity of Kyauktan, 30km south of Rangoon, were being cleared as part of a general eviction plan. "We knew we had to go at some point but we had hoped for more support," 21-year-old trishaw driver Kyaw Moe Thu said as he trudged out of the camp with his five brothers and sisters. They had been given 20 bamboo poles and some tarpaulins to help rebuild their lives in the Irrawaddy delta, where 134,000 people were left dead or missing by Cyclone Nargis on May 2. "Right now, we are disappointed," Kyaw Moe Thu said. "We were promised 30 poles by the government. They told us we will get rice each month, but right now we have nothing." Why would they want rice? wondered the military regime. After several days of praising the work of the United Nations and charities, the regime's official newspaper renewed its attacks on foreign aid and insisted Burmese could survive without outside help. "The government and the people are like parents and children," the paper said. "We, all the people, were pleased with the efforts of the government." "Myanmar (Burmese) people are capable enough of rising from such natural disasters even if they are not provided with international assistance," the newspaper said. "Myanmar people can easily get fish for dishes by just fishing in the fields and ditches," the paper said. "In the early monsoon, large edible frogs are abundant." "The people (of the Irrawaddy delta) can survive with self-reliant efforts even if they are not given chocolate bars from (the) international community," it added. No aid agencies are known to have provided chocolate bars to victims of Cyclone Nargis. The United Nations estimates that about one million people in the delta are still without emergency aid. (Agencies)

That's right. When I expire, just like a magazine subscription, if there is no other legal leaseholder, then everything reverts back to the owner. I'm not sure what happens if I have sublet the property to someone. I don't know whether the property owner would have to honor the sublease or not. I believe he would, but again it would take a Thai attorney to clarify that circumstance.

Marsha has announced that he has left the Birdcage bar and that the bar will soon close. Mr. Quill's current situation is not conducive to continue funneling money into the bar to keep it operational until it gets a steady following. I, for one, am very sorry to see the bar fail. I thought it was an excellent idea and had the potential of finally bringing real life to the Soi Day-Night area. For whatever reason, Soi Day-Night seems to either be jinxed or a curse has been put on it. Maybe both. Just about every gay venue that has been attempted there eventually failed. There is still a gay karaoke or two over there, but that's all. Only three or four years ago there were several gay go-go bars operating in Soi Day-Night. Now they're all gone. I don't know why Soi Day-Night has been so unsuccessful. It seems to me it's just as easy to get there as to most other gay venues. From Pattayaland, it's just as easy a walk, baht bus ride, or motorcycle taxi ride to get there. Just around the corner there are several popular restaurants. including the Flamingo Hotel, Little Planet, Cuisine Au Buerre, and others. Why won't people go to Soi Day-Night? I don't know, but so far nothing there has worked. I think Soi Day-Night has great potential, but the only way I can see for it to really work is if someone comes up with an innovative idea that is really going to attract and keep the gay farang crowd. I suppose there is something else I ought to say. I'm sure just about everyone who reads this web site knows I am no fan of EarWig, but several weeks ago he posted that Birdcage was going to close. People jumped all over him for that post and insisted he was wrong. You might notice this is the first time I'm saying anything about it. The truth is, I knew that Birdcage was going to close at the end of this month more than three weeks before EarWig wrote his post. I said nothing about it because I saw no reason to jump the gun until the owners were ready to make their own announcement. I don't get a thrill or ego boost from posting "scoops." I think EarWig was dead wrong to write that post when he did and I think he should have kept his mouth shut, but giving credit where it is due, his information was correct. I don't like EarWig worth a damn and I have no respect for him whatsoever, but for the sake of fairness I will say that when he posts bar information, it usually turns out to be correct.

I think he is trying to ask if it is possible to leave the lease to somebody in a will. For example, suppose his death occurs ten years before the lease expires. Suppose he also has a Thai boyfriend, but the house is not in that particular boyfriend's name. I believe he is asking whether it is possible, with a prepaid lease, to make arrangements so that the boyfriend can have the house for the duration of the lease. If I am correct about the question, I don't know the answer. I believe it is possible, but you would need a Thai attorney to put it together.

Believe it or not, the best I've ever had in my life was in, of all places, Buenos Aires, Argentina. I can't imagine better pizza anywhere. This evening a friend told me you can get excellent pizza at the Ciao Italian restaurant. You'll find it on Tappraya Road, on the way to the beach, right next to Mike's Mexican Restaurant. The Italian food there is excellent and very reasonably priced. The owner is Italian and he knows what he's doing. It never even occurred to me that they have pizza there. So between that, the recommendation for Linda's, and the recommendation for Gian's, now we're starting to get someplace.

Obviously I can't sell the house. It's not mine to sell. The house can be sold while I still hold the lease, but the buyer is legally obligated to honor the lease. If I voluntarily consent to the sale and voluntarily relinquish the lease, that would be a different story, but nobody can do anything without my consent until the lease expires. That holds true even if the bf dies. The heirs can't touch the house until the lease expires. You are fully protected for the duration of the lease if it's a prepaid lease and registered with the Land Office. If it's not a prepaid lease or if it's not registered with the Land Office, I don't have any idea what can happen. If I'm forced to return to the USA or otherwise forced to leave Thailand, it's still a prepaid lease and I do have subleasing rights. As far as I know, the only way I could lose the lease would be if I am deported and blacklisted. If I want to buy a condo, that has nothing to do with the lease. I would have the choice of holding the house for as long as I wish while the lease is in effect or subleasing the house.

I don't know, but you can bet she wasn't there making coffee for everybody. The current crackdown is the most intense I've seen. It could very well be that the US embassy is behind the crackdown and that's why an official was there. Sunee Plaza being closely watched means that you're taking an enormous risk if you engage in a sexual liaison with a boy even one day under age 18. My guess is that it isn't limited to just Sunee Plaza being watched. If this isn't enough to scare off the pedophiles, I can't imagine that anything will ever scare them off. Apparently many of them are still willing to take the risk no matter how great the chances are of being caught. I have somewhat mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I don't like the idea that my tax dollars are paying for an American "Big Brother" (or "Big Sister") to be involved in what the Thai police are perfectly capable of doing on their own. On the other hand, I'm tired of a few pedophiles causing Pattaya to be regarded as a pedophile's haven and paradise. I'm tired of their actions causing problems and ruining things for everybody else. I am in favor of real action finally being taken to try to put a stop to to the pedophile activity or at least put the brakes on it. Unfortunately, in my opinion the pedophiles have no self control and are going to continue to be a problem no matter how heavy handed the police get. When someone is thinking with his crotch instead of his brain, then things like logic, caution, and self control don't even enter the thinking process at all. We're all paying quite a price because these guys don't seem to give a damn about anything other than how personally satisfying it is for them when they want to cum.

I won't be surprised at all if my question sparks more controversy than most questions that appear on this board, but here goes: I'm not much of a pizza eater, but on the rare occasions when I want some pizza I'd at least like it to be a good one. I've never found a really good pizza in Pattaya. Most I've tried have ranged from barely mediocre to just terrible. So, that's my question . . . Where's the best pizza in Pattaya?

The PATTAYA MAIL, in their May 30 edition, has released details involving the recent pedophile arrests. See: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd9 and http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd10

It is my understanding that this is no longer an option unless there are at least 5 Thai shareholders, all of whom can prove they have sufficient funds to purchase their shares. It is also my understanding that Thailand now checks these corporations to make sure they are legitimate corporations and not merely front corporations so that a farang can buy a house. I remember about a year or two ago there was a major upset about this because many farang who had bought that way were afraid they were going to lose their homes. What I recall is Thailand agreed not to do anything to existing corporations, despite the fact they were technically illegal, but would enforce the regulations with new corporations. I could be wrong, of course, but that's the way I remember it. I would certainly advise anyone who wishes to buy that way to first check with a reputable Thai attorney.

The two best I have found so far are: http://www.thai2english.com and http://www.thai-language.com

My friends, those pinned messages at the top of the posted messages are there for a reason. Please read them. Despite the pinned message, today I received three notifications of a PM. I can't read them. As I said above, when I try to read them, all I get is the screen on which I can send out a message. Please do NOT send PMs to me, unless you want to write a message that I'll never see. Instead, please send your messages to my Email: gaybutton@gmail.com . If you're one of the people who sent a message today, you'll have to send the message to my Email. I'm sorry, but obviously there is some sort of glitch in the system.

You don't pay any less. The price of the house is the same no matter who is paying for it. You not only don't get full ownership; you don't get any ownership. I have no idea. You'll have to ask a Thai attorney that question. That's between you and your Thai friend. How much you pay and how much he pays is a private matter between individuals. For my house, there was a one-time tax, which I assume was a property tax, payable at the time the final payment on the house gets paid. It wasn't much, about the equivalent of US $300, or some figure close to that. I really don't remember. There have been no property taxes since then.

That is precisely what I did, but I didn't leave it at that. I also, at the time of final payment on the house and with the help of a Thai attorney, took out a pre-paid thirty-year lease on the house. That lease is in my name and registered in the Land Office. That makes the house, for all intents and purposes, mine for the next thirty years. The lease also includes subleasing rights. When I took out the lease, thirty years was the maximum Thailand allows on such a lease. From what I understand, Thailand is now considering allowing leases up to sixty years, but I don't think a decision has yet been made. You might want to check into that with a Thai attorney. Whatever you do, no matter how close you are with your boyfriend, don't put the house in his name without doing something to protect yourself, such as the lease. Please don't make the mistake of simply trusting that all will go well with him 'till death do you part. That's how many farang have lost their home. If something ever goes wrong with your relationship, without any protection he can put you out the door and there won't be a thing you can do about it. Make sure you are the one who retains control, especially since it's your money buying the house in the first place.

Someone told me the same thing one time. I went to visit. It turned out the place to stay was a Holiday Inn . . .

This evening I enjoyed one of the finest and most memorable dinners I've experienced in quite some time. A Thai friend and I had the Summer Promotion Steak & Wine special at the Poseidon restaurant, in Jomtien Complex. I have attached a copy of the menu to this post. As many of you know, Hugh Millar recently closed the Symphony Brasserie restaurant and joined forces with Pascal at the Poseidon. Two of the finest restaurateurs you will find anywhere have teamed up and the result is just marvelous. If you have not yet experienced a dinner at the Poseidon, then you're missing a treat that I doubt you can experience anywhere else. Hugh is the perfect host and the atmosphere at the Poseidon is perfect for fine dining. There is a choice of both indoor and outdoor seating and, of course, smoking is not permitted indoors. Your choice of wine is served immediately, along with an appetizer that is not on the menu. Fresh, hot breads are served along with butter and an absolutely delicious smoked salmon spread. We each started with the lobster bisque, which we both thought was wonderful, chock full of delicious lobster chunks. I had the Caesar salad and my friend had the appetizer plate. That appetizer plate is incredible. It's a meal in itself. For the main course, my friend had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, which I don't need to tell you was done perfectly. I had the Lobster Thermidor. Superb! You get two stuffed lobster tails, already chunked so you don't have to 'work' to eat it, with the potatoes and vegetables set out in the shape of a lobster's antennae. It was truly remarkable. Meanwhile, the wine was flowing steadily. As soon as your glass is becoming empty, a waiter is right there to give you a refill. Then came the dessert. My friend had the fresh fruit salad, consisting of a generous scoop of ice cream, with sauce, and fresh slices of pineapple, watermelon, and rambutan. He couldn't finish it all. Half of it went home with him. I had the mixed berries. That Mascarpone cream is to die for! That's the dessert I would recommend trying. I highly recommend placing the Poseidon on your "absolutely must" list when in Pattaya. Don't forget about Pascal's other fine restaurant, Casa Pascal. These are both fabulous restaurants and considering the unlimited wine, the quality of the food, and the ambiance, the price is quite reasonable. You can visit their web site at http://www.restaurant-pattaya.com . At the top of the web site you can click on either logo to get to each restaurant's area of the web site.

I have not read the referred-to thread on Sawatdee, so my response is based solely on the post above. I have been living as a retiree in Pattaya for four years. Prior to that I was in Thailand for several months each year. There is, of course, a major difference between living permanently here and being here only as a holiday maker. I believe life in Pattaya and Thailand is a combination of experiences most of us share and experiences you only have as an individual. In my own case, I have met many wonderful people, a few people who I thought were wonderful and it turned out they weren't (and I'm sure the feeling is mutual), and a few people I wish I had never encountered. I have been treated with complete honesty and kindness by most Thais I've met and used and abused by a few others. I have had fabulous boyfriend experiences and have survived two terrible horror stories. Pattaya itself has plenty of frustrating problems, but also offers very much of what I want out of life that I have never found anywhere else. When I step back and look at all the wonderful things that have happened to me here, along with the terrible things that have happened to me here, and also compare my life here to the life I was living before residing permanently here, for me the positive aspects of living here vastly outweigh the negatives. When I step back and consider the people, both Thai and farang, who I have met and with whom I have formed friendships, I realize the friends I have here are the best friends I've ever had in my life. Within my circle of friends there are people for whom I would do anything and I can honestly say I love. I can't recall feeling that way about anyone from "back home." There are very few people from "back home" who I miss at all. I am happier here than I have ever been in my life, and I'm grateful this is happening to me during what is probably the final third of my life. I am continually getting much more out of life here than I ever had before. I'm happy I'm finally getting what I've always wanted out of life now rather than feeling I'm losing anything I had before. In keeping with the idea that you can't appreciate the sweet without experiencing some of the bitter, I'm glad that I've gone through only enough bitter to be able to greatly appreciate the sweet. Like you, I too consider myself very fortunate to be able to live here and I cannot think of anywhere on Earth I would rather be than where I am right now.

I must say I admire your generosity. To my knowledge, very few bars fire boys who never get offs. They just pay them less. The bar has nothing to lose by letting the boy work there unless he is doing something that is causing them to lose customers. What usually ends up happening is the boys themselves decide to look for greener pastures. I went to the Happy Bar party last night for about an hour, right when the bar first opened. There were only a few boys still working there who I recognized from the last time I was there. Did you go last night? I left about 9:15. I did not stay for the show. By the time I left there were about a dozen farang customers there, and that was about it. I wonder if more people came later, after I had gone.

I disagree. If it gets more people into the bars, that helps the boys. Also, if the intent is to share some of he tips to help the rest of the boys, I see nothing negative about that. Most bars do little or nothing for the boys, other than pay their monthly salary. Some bars have been known to cheat the boys out of even that. So, if even a little something is being done, I'm all for it. Pattayamale has a point too. Maybe the reason more bars don't do promotions is because they figure the promotion will cost more than they can recoup. Maybe they feel that even if a promotion does attract more customers, there's not enough customers to attract during low season to make the effort worthwhile.