Gaybutton

I called the US Embassy this morning. I reached someone in American Citizens Services and explained what is on their web site. He said, yes, there definitely must be some mistake because the embassy doesn't even have a consular visit scheduled for Pattaya at all in May. He asked for the URL of that announcement, which I qave him, and he put me on hold. When he came back he said, "Sir, I don't know how you got that URL, but what you are looking at is our announcement for May, 2007, not May 2008." He gave me the URL for the latest correct announcement, which is: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/embassy/wwc/r...may-9-2008.html So, the announcement above would be just fine if you enter a time machine and go back a year. Just so nobody is confused, there is no consular visit in either Pattaya or Phuket this month, and the Udon Thani visit has already come and gone. The posted announcement is incorrect.

About ten years ago I would have made the same assumption. Now I'm not so sure. Much has changed over the years and I don't think it's so easy, if one has enough money, to buy one's way out of this kind of trouble anymore. What I do know is that in certain criminal matters, it is legally possible in Thailand to reach a financial settlement with the victim and/or the victim's family and end the matter that way. What I don't know is whether that applies in pedophile cases. I think it's been about six or seven months, or so, since two farangs who live in Pattaya were caught in Khorat engaging in under-age sex. According to the news articles these two would make visits to Khorat on a regular basis for that purpose. Shortly after the major publicity died down one of them started showing up at the beach almost daily. I have no idea whether he bought his way out of trouble, was released on bail, or what. I haven't seen him lately. I haven't seen him for about two or three months. I have no idea whether he simply stopped coming to the beach, was able to leave Thailand, is in jail, was deported, was prosecuted in his home country, bought his way out of it, or what ended up happening to him. These cases are reported at the time of arrest, but I never see any follow-up publicity regarding the final outcome.

See: http://www.pattayapeople.com/default.asp?F...IdArticle=11864 I'm beginning to think there must be a convention in town.

Those dates are all Sundays, not Fridays. Unless the embassy has somehow managed to cause Sundays to actually occur on Fridays, I'd say somebody at the embassy made a slight error. It's midnight in Thailand at the moment. I'll call the embassy in the morning and see what I can find out.

Right. It was explained so clearly on that thread. How could I possibly have failed to realize?

Here is something I didn't know until today. Did you know that if you have a Thai bank account, you can add to your One-Two-Call time at an ATM or through your online banking? It never occurred to me you could do that until I spotted a woman in front of me, on an ATM line, doing it. Until now, I always thought you had to buy a time card at a convenience store or mobile phone shop. You can buy additional time in increments of 50, 100, 500, and 1000 baht. You can do this at any ATM that represents a Thai bank with which you have an account. If you have a Bangkok Bank account, then you have to do it at a Bangkok Bank ATM, using your Bangkok Bank ATM card. It won't work if you are at, for example, a Bangkok Bank ATM, but are using a Bank of Ayudhya ATM card. Just put your card into the ATM, enter your code, and press the button for "payments." You'll easily follow the rest. Out of curiosity I checked my online banking. Sure enough, you can do the same thing online. It's not just One-Two-Call. All of the phone systems that require time cards can be done at ATMs or online. Actually, I don't use One-Two-Call. I have an account with DTAC and I receive a bill once per month, which I can pay online or at any DTAC shop. I prefer DTAC to One-Two-Call because of the convenience of a monthly bill, rather than having to run out and buy time cards all the time. Also, DTAC's per-minute charge is less than One-Two-Call. I still prefer DTAC to One-Two-Call, but at least for me, One-Two-Call just became a lot more convenient if for some reason I ever switch over. By the way, a farang can use DTAC in the same way One-Two-Call is used - with time cards. A farang can only open an account in which he is billed each month if he has a work permit. If you want to do it the way I'm doing it, then you need to find a Thai (he must be at least 20 years old) who will trust you to pay the bill every month. He has to take out a DTAC account in his name, list your address as the billing address, and give you the SIM card.

Didn't anybody who reads this board go to the show? I was hoping to see a few reviews posted.

Note: There was a problem with the board this morning and it was not accessible until now. Obviously, now the problem is fixed, but today's opening rates are actually "Round 3" rates since I couldn't get onto the board until now. Tuesday, May 20: Opening rates: US Dollar: 31.99 Euro: 49.62 British Pound: 62.39 Australian Dollar: 30.5225 Canadian Dollar: 32.13 _____ Closing Rates: US Dollar: 31.91 Euro: 49.70 British Pound: 62.325 Australian Dollar: 30.485 Canadian Dollar: 31.995 Oh well, it was a nice dream, but it looks like the dollar is slipping against the baht again. Damn! If nothing else, most Americans who live in Thailand, who were also eligible for the tax rebate, who were also to receive it via direct deposit to a Thai bank account, received it while the baht was still at its recent peak.

The local oysters are ok, and maybe Khunatm's French oysters are great, but until you've had Apalachee Bay oysters from the Gulf coast of Florida, you haven't had oysters.

Today I drove right by Cherry's. I noticed they now have a new sign in place at the corner and a big sign on their now former premises telling people where the new location is. It's only 40 meters from the former location, so it won't be at all difficult to find.

The PATTAYA DAILY NEWS has now published its version of events, including photos. See: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000006033

It's possible, of course, but I doubt it. Thais are very protective of children. Somehow I can't envision police officers approaching parents and saying, "Pardon me, but we have a farang we suspect of being a pedophile. Would you mind if we borrow your eleven year old boy, teach him what he needs to do, and allow him to get naked and start having sex with this farang so we can catch the guy in the act?" Many members of the Thai police are corrupt when it comes to money, but I can't picture them using children in this manner, even if the children are street urchins. I believe it is much more likely they know children who are involved in this, possibly mafia controlled. They go after the farang pedophiles. When was the last time you heard about a Thai pedophile being arrested? Perhaps, as in Iran, they don't exist . . . I think it's selective enforcement and they don't put much effort into going after the Thai pedophiles or the Thai "Mr. Bigs" who traffic the children. That's my opinion. Whether my opinion is also a fact will probably never be known. No matter what, obviously farang are primary targets. It would take a lot more than people's personal opinions to convince me the police intentionally seek out and use children in that manner. Catching farang pedophiles is big news. Catching Thai pedophiles seems to be quite ho-hum. In any case, in my opinion foreigners who come to Thailand to have sex with children are not only reprehensible and causing those of us who are not pedophiles to share their terrible reputation, but they are also complete idiots for risking everything for the purpose of fulfilling whatever it is they need to fulfill. Where they're going they'll likely have plenty of sex, but it won't be with children. It will probably consist mainly of midnight conjugal visits from some big 'Mongos' they don't want one from.

My God! Just how many gay pedophiles are out there in Pattaya?!?!?!?! Aren't they ever going to learn? One of these guys is accused of actually having 8 boys delivered to him, just like having a few pizzas delivered. And they think they can get away with this. What's wrong with these people? Both stories appear in THE NATION: ____ Briton Arrested for Allegedly Buying Sex from 11-year-old Boy Pattaya- A British tourist has been arrested for allegedly buying sex service from a 11-year-old boy, police said. Police said Dee Christopher, 41, was arrested at his rented house in Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district at 7 pm Sunday. Police found the boy with him. The boy told police that Christopher picked him up while he was walking in a soi and he was given Bt500 in exchange for the sex. The Nation ____________________ Briton Arrested for Allegedly Buying Sex from 8 Underage Teenagers Pattaya - Police arrested a British tourist after found him inside his rented luxurious mansion with eight teenage boys ranging from 14 to 18 years old. Michael Terrance, 58, was arrested at 7:30 pm at the mansion in Chon Buri's Bang Lamug district on Saturday. Police said he had already had sex with one of the boys while the seven others were waiting for him in the living room when police raided the house. The eight boys told police that they were delivered to Terrance by Chalee Kengthanyakorn, 45 who works at a pub in Bangkok. They said Terrance gave Chalee Bt2,000 for each of them but Chalee deducted Bt1,000 each. Terrance declined to talk to police, saying he would consult his lawyer first. The Nation

GaySacGuy probably knows more about Phuket than most people here. I don't think he checks into the board all that often, but if you send him a PM he'll see it quickly enough and will be able to respond if nobody else does first.

This evening, Sunday, May 18, was the final night Cherry's will be open at their old location. Tomorrow, Monday, the restaurant will be closed while they are moving everything into the new location. The new location will open for business on Tuesday, May 20.

Le Café Royale, Throb, and Splash today began major renovations. From what I understand the entire reception area, bar, and restaurant is going to be redone at Le Café Royale. New awnings are already going up. I also understand that the plans for Throb and Splash also include major renovations, to begin within a month. The plans include combining the two bars under one new name, yet to be announced.

I did not attend, but I'm curious. What did those of you who did attend think about the show?

Well, some people out there say I'm full of something, anyway . . .

Several responses to that post are mine. Since people so often respond to my responses, I'd rather not have to deal with it on both this board and also on Baht-Stop. I hope you understand that is the reason, the only reason, why I am locking this thread, so that any further responses will be on Baht-Stop, rather than here. It makes life easier for me.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Patience Has Its Limits Rangoon - World frustration with Burma is beginning to boil over, with accusations of negligence and crimes against humanity. As the toll of dead and missing reached 134,000 the regime cynically kept away a French navy ship laden with aid, while proudly showing diplomats a model state relief camp for a few survivors. US President George W Bush extended sanctions on Burma, while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown denounced the junta's "inhuman" treatment of around two million survivors battling to stay alive two weeks after the storm hit. With the toll of dead and missing now 134,000, the pressure appeared to mark a shift in tactics in the face of the junta's reluctance to allow a full-scale emergency effort, despite fears more people could die of hunger or disease. "We have an intolerable situation created by a natural disaster," said Brown, whose country was the colonial power in Burma. "It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do." Wary of any foreign influence that could weaken its 46 years of iron rule in Burma, the junta has insisted on managing the operation itself and kept most international disaster experts away. But aid groups say the government cannot possibly handle the tragedy by itself, with hundreds of tonnes of supplies and high-tech equipment piling up in warehouses, bottle-necked by logistics and other problems. After announcing Friday that the toll from the tragedy had nearly doubled -- to 77,738 dead and 55,917 missing -- state television did not issue new figures on Saturday night. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu wrote to Brown, Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, calling on the UN Security Council to authorise aid drops over the objections of the generals. He said the regime had "effectively declared war on its own population and is committing crimes against humanity." Jean-Maurice Ripert, France's UN ambassador, told a meeting of all members of the United Nations that the situation was turning "slowly from a situation of not helping people in danger to a real risk of crimes against humanity." Bush announced that sanctions on the junta would be extended for a year because of its "large-scale repression of the democratic opposition." The statement stressed it would not affect US humanitarian cyclone aid. Faced with the mounting criticism, the junta flew some diplomats and aid workers Saturday into the heart of the disaster zone - which has been all but sealed off to the outside world. "What they showed us looked very good," said Chris Kaye, Burma director for the UN's World Food Programme. "But they are not showing us the whole picture." One diplomat said: "It was like a steam-roller had gone through the entire delta region." The junta has blocked journalists from getting to the southern Irrawaddy Delta, the rice-growing region hardest hit when Cyclone Nargis hit on May 2-3, bringing powerful winds and massive waves that wiped whole villages away. But those who have got through have returned with tales of unspeakable misery, including from some survivors who said they had received very little assistance from the government. Survivors have also reported that the military was pushing them out of temporary shelter in monasteries, whose revered Buddhist monks helped lead massive anti-government protests last year that were eventually put down. Navy ships from France and the United States are positioned off the Burmese coast stocked with emergency supplies, but have not been able to enter. The regime is said to fear a possible invasion by the United States, which has criticised the military regime for keeping democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest -- and for its slow moves toward elections promised by 2010. The government said this week that 99 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots last Saturday in a referendum it said approved a new constitution which would bar her from office. Her party rejected the result and said the vote should never have been held amid the cyclone tragedy. The regime has scheduled round two of the vote, in the disaster areas, on May 24. (Agencies) ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ Gordon Brown Hints at Aid Drops By By Jo Revill and Gaby Hinsliff in London and a special Correspondent in Burma OBSERVER NEWS SERVICE As millions face starvation and fears of cholera grow, Britain's Prime Minister rules nothing out Gordon Brown has raised the prospect of Britain carrying out unauthorized emergency aid drops into Burma as a last resort if its government continues to exclude foreign help. Amid evidence that cholera is already taking hold in parts of the stricken country and UN warnings that a 'second catastrophe' of disease and starvation could be worse than the initial cyclone, the British Prime Minister made clear that he would rule nothing out. Brown used an address to Church of Scotland leaders yesterday (17MAY) to accuse the Burmese junta of being an 'unnatural dictatorship' that cares more about its survival than its own people's. Privately diplomats see aid drops as a desperate last resort. One Whitehall source said there were 'huge problems' with such tactics. Experience shows that barely a fifth of aid dropped in such a way reaches the people who most need it, much of it rotting where it falls. The option will remain on the table in the hope of increasing pressure on the Burmese military government. It emerged last night that France is in talks about a possible delivery of aid. The French government said its Mistral navy helicopter carrier was in waters south of the storm-ravaged Irrawaddy delta, with supplies to feed 100,000 people over 15 days and shelter at least 60,000 people. Yet in this devastated land there remains little evidence of any government help. This weekend hundreds of people were lining the roads which run south of Rangoon, peering expectantly into passing cars and begging for help. 'We walked a long way to get here - our men are home trying to rebuild the house,' an exhausted-looking woman said, sitting among the debris of former homes. 'In the past five days we have received just a little rice and some condensed milk from the government. We wait here all day, hoping someone may bring some help.' All across the delta, carrying their few salvaged possessions in bundles, the new homeless travel by foot and by boat, navigating around the bodies that still clog the waterways of the Irrawaday, unclaimed and left to rot. The regime has sought to seal off the delta, setting up a grid of police and military checkpoints and turning back foreigners, including those seeking to help. The military leaders are determined to prevent the outside world from knowing the scale of the tragedy - or to discover that because of its own neglect this has become a man-made disaster, where starvation is now facing more than two million affected by the cyclone. Disease is also a growing possibility and doctors believe that cholera could take hold if the water supplies become very badly contaminated. Some doctors in Rangoon have already begun to try to treat children for it in case it does take hold. In an area near Kungyangon, south of Rangoon, where uncollected bodies are washed up in a paddy field, the stench of putrid flesh assaults the senses. One witness told The Observer they had received only a few bags of rice. 'Forty dead here,' he said. 'Most of them children.'

In that case you don't have to worry about reporting your address once you exit Thailand. You report again 90 days after you return to Thailand. If you clear customs in Bangkok, then yes, you must have a reentry permit. If you are going to remain in the international transit area, then you don't need a reentry permit because there will be no stamp in your passport that shows you have reentered. If you do want to clear customs in Bangkok for any reason, then you will need a multiple reentry permit. You've got me on that one. I don't know. What you would need to do is explain your situation to the Immigration office shortly before you leave Thailand and see what they say. If I were to guess, if you are talking about a month or less, then they would probably let you renew prior to leaving Thailand. More than that, then I would guess they will say you will have to go through the process again and obtain a new retirement visa when you return to Thailand. But I'm only guessing. I would also guess they would want to see your airline ticket if you are asking to renew significantly early. You're the first person to come up with that question, so we'll need you to let the rest of us know once you get an answer. 1000 baht for a single reentry permit. 3800 baht for a multiple reentry permit.

Do you know if this is a relatively new bar or one that has been established for some time? If it's been around for a while, and none of us even knew it existed, then that opens up the possibility of more gay bars in different Thai cities about which we also know nothing. How did you discover this bar? Also, I didn't quite understand what you meant by 'short time' and 'full off.' My interpretation of that is 'short time' means two hours in the bar's short time room. 'Full off' means you take him back to your place for 2 hours, or whatever the amount of time is. Is that correct? How much time is 'full off'?

The following appear in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: for photos see: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_17_05_51_4.html _____ Police Check for Drugs in Sunee Plaza Area Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya is well know for its gay bars, many of which employ underage workers. There is also a major drug problem in the area and local Police will often receive complaints from people who frequent the area. Responding to these complaints, Police Colonel Nopadon, the Superintendant of Pattaya Police Station organized an operation in Soi Sunee Plaza in the early hours of Saturday Morning. More than 100 staff members from bars inside the Soi were checked for the presence of illegal narcotics inside their bodies. 34 urine tests came back positive and these individuals were subsequently arrested and processed back at Pattaya Police Station.

This just keeps getting better and better! Only a few years ago it was quite rare to hear about raids on the bars. Now it's rare when you don't hear about them. Until recently, raids on Pattayaland were unheard of. Now we're hearing about them occurring more and more often. I guess those responsible for organizing these raids must think they're not already doing enough to drive away customers. I also like the fact that the bars can open, but they are 'advised' not to open. That's like IRS advising Americans that it's a good idea to pay their taxes. Great! Let's play, "Put the bars in a damned if you do, damned if you don't position." If I'm counting correctly, this is the sixth time since the first of the year the bars are being ordered, or in effect being ordered, to close. I'm surprised the bars are being harassed to this extent. After all, if they end up being forced out of business because of nonsensical closings, raids, ridiculous closing hours, and lord-knows-what-else, those in uniform who are somewhat less than scrupulous will lose getting their monthly 'tea' money. It's not just the bars. If the bars go, so will several hotels, restaurants, and many other related businesses. Well, maybe Pattayaland won't become wasted space. It would make an excellent location for a Thai branch of the Womens Christian Temperance Union.

It sounds very interesting, but awfully expensive, especially for that area. But apparently it's the only game in town, so there's not much choice. At least a game exists at all. Ubon Ratchatani is about an 8 hour drive from Pattaya, isn't it? Maybe a little less to Bangkok. So, it seems to me people will have to pay the price or do without.