Gaybutton

I heard the same thing, but I have no confirmation of that. Last night I and some friends ate dinner at Sammy's in Sunee Plaza. As far as I could tell, the only bar that was open was TopMan. I didn't go, but my friends did. I did not check any of the Pattayaland bars. Expect the bar scene to be the same next weekend as well. The nature of this alcohol ban has earned a place on my "I Don't Get It" list. At least regarding the gay bars, the clientele is virtually 100% "farang." "Farang" don't vote in Thai elections. A great many bar employees are too young to vote in the first place and for those who are old enough to vote, voting has ended for the day by the time the bars open. So, what's the problem? I don't get it. There is confusion from among the bar owners as to whether they are even allowed to open at all, provided they sell only non-alcoholic beverages. The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Police Enforce Alcohol Ban During First Phase of Voting in General Election Pattaya Police were on the streets on Friday Night to enforce National Regulations relating to an Alcohol Ban during the first phase of voting for the General Election. Venues are not permitted to sell Alcoholic Beverages until Sunday Night at Midnight and any venue found to be flouting these regulations are subject to a possible 60 day closure notice. We joined the Police as they toured the City. Walking Street was very quiet with the majority of indoor bars deciding not to open. Many Beer Bars were open but were selling only soft drinks. Police did find some bars selling beer and spirits and the owners of the bars were arrested and taken to the Police Station for questioning and further action. Bar owners have been left confused as to whether they are allowed to open or not over the weekend, assuming they sell only soft drinks. There were reports of some Go-Go Bars being shut down by Police despite them selling only soft drinks, whereas other bars were allowed to remain open after Police checked them and found that no alcohol was beings served. The confusion is likely to continue over the weekend as holidaymakers and bar owners come to terms with the alcohol ban.

Last night (Friday) I received a call from a friend who was in Sunee Plaza. He said all the bars were closed. That means they probably will also be closed Saturday and Sunday night, at least this week. I have not yet heard whether the Pattayaland bars were open.

I have been very satisfied with MaxNet. Their office is on the top floor at Carrefour. Give them a try.

Villa Market and California Fitness are virtually next door to each other in the complex. To get there from Pattayaland, just take a baht bus north on Second Road. It will be on your right when you get to Soi 13. If you get as far as the Lek Hotel, then you just passed it. Don't worry, you can't miss it.

Thank you again for these posts. I think many have learned quite a bit from it, including me. If nothing else, we now know they give you a dressing down for not dressing up . . .

Hmmmm, wasn't he the Secretary of State for War in the UK during the early 60's . . . ?

Whatever it is, it must be something fairly new. I had the same kind of visa when I first applied for the retirement visa, but they dated the expiration date for the retirement visa 12 months after the date I first entered Thailand, and not a a year from the expiration date of the Type "O" visa. Ok, great! I'm glad you gents are getting lucky with this.

Literally any of the sois that take you to Sunee Plaza will do. Walking up Pattaya Tai and turning towards Sunee Plaza at the location of the old Hollywood Disco (especially right after the bars close. A large number of boys will be in that area, or headed for that area, eating at all those little mom-and-pop food stalls on Pattaya Tai), or turning at Soi Day-Night or Tuk.com. Also, continuing on Second Road, past the school toward the beach, just turn left any any soi you come to from the Pattaya Tai intersection to Soi V.C.

At my age, a prune juice or Pepto Bismol on the rocks would be perfectly adequate.

If you mean the Marina Inn Plaza, I've never seen any of the rooms and I don't know anyone who has actually stayed there, but I can tell you that at least their lobby is very nice. Also, Sammy's, Eric's new restaurant, is located on the ground floor and he's about to start offering breakfast on his menu. One plus is that if you want to be close to Sunee Plaza, you don't get any closer than that. Other choices in the same area include the Don Plaza Hotel, which is less than a year old and relatively high end and located right in the middle of Sunee Plaza. I believe their rate is about 2500 baht per night. There is also Howard's, located on Soi V.C, a very short walk from Sunee Plaza. I do know several people who have stayed at Howard's, some of whom are independently wealthy, and they prefer it to anywhere else in Pattaya. Howard's is what, about 600 or 700 baht per night? I forgot their price, but it's in that range. I don't have any idea what the rates are at the Marina Inn Plaza. I've never asked.

Thank you for your post. The way I see it, if they are giving you 15 months instead of 12, the last thing I would do would be to question it. While it is best to get the bank passbook update and letter from the bank on the same day you apply, that's not a requirement. They'll accept it as long as it's not more than a few days old. Your story about the dress code enforcement shows that it's hard to know what is a matter of policy or a matter of personal whim of the officer who happens to be on duty when you are there. I've seen plenty of people show up at the immigration office dressed in all kinds of bizarre outfits, but yours is the first time I've heard of anyone actually being refused service. Next time wear a tuxedo. I'm also wondering about the officer's suggestion about getting multiple proof-of-income statements from the embassy. That's a new one. Would the embassy even cooperate with something like that? Today, the US embassy is having an outreach session at the Amari Dusit. I'm not going, but if anyone who happens to read this message in time and is also planning to go, maybe you could ask them if they can do multiple proof-of-income statements and then let us know what they say.

Interesting choice of words . . . Villa Rouge is the new name of the former Kaos bar. Well, no matter what name they chose, all things considered I'd rather be there than Villa Torlonia, Mussolini's former residence.

This evening I finally made it to the newly reopened Happy Bar. Other than an entirely new wall decoration scheme (modern abstract art) you wouldn't know it had ever closed. It is exactly the same as before, including the upstairs and the "activities" that go with it. As a matter of fact, much of that same "activity" was also occurring downstairs. With the exception of one boy, all of the boys working there are new to Happy Bar and most are new to the Pattaya bars. At least, I didn't recognize any of them from elsewhere. I will say that shyness is not among their attributes. I think I'll just leave it to your own imagination to figure out what I mean by that. Drinks are still 99 baht. I didn't think to ask about the "off" fee, but I'll bet it is 250 baht. If you have no other reason to visit Happy Bar, I'll give you one. No mama-sans! Not one. Thank goodness. Happy Bar had no mama-sans before and they don't have any now. I hope they keep it that way. I'm not really sure why bars feel a need for mama-sans in the first place. There are excellent ones out there, but in my opinion they're rare. In my opinion, most of the mama-sans do more to drive away the customers than any other factor I can think of. I have yet to meet anyone who appreciates an aggressive mama-san, especially the ones who plop themselves down, uninvited, next to customers, try to get the customer to buy them a drink, and try to high pressure customers into calling a boy over, buying a drink for him, and taking him "off." Personally, I think most of the bars would be far better off if they get rid of the mama-sans, along with aggressive street touts too. In all these years, I still have never understood just what purpose the mama-sans serve. What, exactly, is their function? What are they supposed to do? What do they do that is so vital that the majority of bars have mama-sans, sometimes several of them? If their purpose is to cause customers not to want to return to the bar, then most are doing a great job of it. There are several bars I refuse to patronize, and in most cases it's because of the aggressive mama-sans, not the music volume or the drink and "off" prices. Fie on them, I say! The new owner is Michael, a gentleman from Germany. From what I was told, the previous owner, the one who closed the bar and left Thailand without paying his bills or the boys, returned to Pattaya, paid off his debts and also gave the boys their back pay. I have no idea how Michael became involved, but there he is. The only negative, in my opinion, is the music volume. Previously, the music volume was at a comfortable level. Now the volume is up. Not exceedingly so, but it is up to a level that causes you to have to speak loudly to be heard. That's my only suggestion to the bar. Turn down the damned volume. As a matter of fact, how about every bar in own following the same suggestion? The uncomfortably loud volume, and in some bars the dangerously loud volume, is something the customers don't want, and no matter what we say on the boards, as far as I can tell not one bar has ever taken the hint and reduced the volume. WHY? That's just one more item on my ever growing "I Don't Get It" list.

No need for an apology on this post. I hope anyone who reads your post and has that blood type will help out. If blood donations can be made somewhere in Pattaya, then if anyone with this blood type wishes to donate, but lacks transportation, if I am available I will be happy to personally drive donors to that location, wait for you to do the donation, and take you back again. Contact me by PM or email if you are of that blood type, wish to make a donation, and need transportation.

As many of you know, the major Thai governmental election will be held on Sunday, December 23. If you are interested in how the whole thing works, or at least is supposed to work, you might want to read the following from the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/showfeatur...reID=0000000634

Yes, that's the place. I still haven't been in there since they reopened, so I don't have any idea what changes have been made or if the same boys are still working there. I'll try to get there soon.

I'm not surprised. I hear that sort of thing quite frequently about a large number of Thai hotels and guest houses. So many of them never check that it's not possible to rely upon online reservation forms. I can't understand why they place online reservations on their web sites, and then never check them to see if anyone made a reservation. I have also heard of a number of incidents when people used an online reservation form, didn't hear from the hotel, but assumed they had a reservation. Then they arrived at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning only to find out that the hotel never heard of them, they had no reservation, and there was no room available for them. That's just fine after a long haul flight and arriving at an ungodly hour, especially if other hotels with which you are familiar are also full. I suggest that whenever anyone makes an online reservation, no matter which hotel it is, if you haven't heard from them within 48 hours then you probably won't hear from them at all. In that event I would suggest sending a fax, if they have a fax number, or better still, spring for a phone call. That's the only way to be certain there is a reservation for you. It also can't hurt to carry the hotel's phone number with you and give them a call upon arrival at the airport, just to be certain there won't be any unpleasant surprises when you get to the hotel. After all, even if you arrive at the airport in the dead of night, it's still a good hour and a half drive from the Airport to Pattaya, and that's after having spent an hour or so inside the airport retrieving luggage and clearing customs. If you arrive during the day, you'll be lucky if the drive is under two to three hours, due to traffic and road construction delays. I don't like it any more than you do, but that's the way it is.

No need to amend about Tend or take your shirt and rend. If you send some Tend or at least lend some Tend, that would make for an excellent end, especially if some of the beach boys start to vend some Tend.

Apparently Tend tends to tend to tender skin. GT intends to find out if tender skinned Thais intend to try Tend if it tends to their tender skin too. We'll see if the Thais intend to attend GT's booth selling Tend. Maybe he'll extend some free samples of Tend for those who intend to try Tend to find out if it will tend to what they intend to tend. Maybe he could just send some Tend. I don't intend to try Tend because I'd rather just pretend that Tend can't tend to what I need tended. Personally, I won't bend about Tend. What does that portend? Maybe that tends to end the thread about Tend. That's what I intend. The End

I believe you went to Honey Boys, not Happy Bar. Happy Bar is the one off of Sunee Plaza, the Po Pot restaurant side, to the left, next door to the Family Mart.

I haven't been in there yet and haven't spoken to anyone about the goings on yet, but last night I passed by and Happy bar is open again. I'll try to stop in within the next several days.

You've made my point for me. No matter what we do or how we do it, somebody doesn't like what we do or how we do it. I also think moderators should discuss what's best to do in public. It clarifies to people just how we think. But even more important, as far as I'm concerned, is it shows that while GayThailand and I vehemently disagree on certain issues, we still are able to discuss our disagreements without anger or degeneration into getting personal, pissing contests, insults, snide remarks, and all the other things that are so unnecessary. If we can disagree that way, then I'll be damned if I can understand why so many others can't.

It's no mystery to me. I know how to end it instantly, at least on this board. The trouble is, that's a big part of where we agree to disagree. If I had my way anyone, no matter who, would be warned once. If they refuse to comply and do the same kind of thing a second time, out they go. I get called a control freak for wanting to do things that way, but usually the ones who call me a control freak are the very same freaks that need controlling. It's your board, GT. You have to run it as you see fit, but it ought to be obvious to you by now that the people who do this are not going to stop simply because you ask them to stop. Everybody who writes these kinds of posts thinks they are the exception and everybody has to comply with the rules and our wishes except them. They post these things and the only consequence they ever face, if any at all, is having posts rendered invisible or ending up on moderated mode, usually only temporarily. Until you are ready to do more, or allow me to do more, it's going to continue. That's sad, but all my years of running message boards taught me that, if nothing else.

I disagree. That person does indeed post here, in my opinion, but he is certainly not the only one. No matter how you slice it, there are just too many people on the various boards who insist on carrying on with this nonsense and just run it into the ground. For what? Pissing and insult contests. As I said, no matter what I do as a moderator somebody is going to be right there to criticize it. I got heavily criticized because I had Hedda set up his own forum on my former message board. I happen to like Hedda. Isn't that terrible? Hedda has never had any qualms about criticizing me when he felt it was called for, but his criticism has always been just that . . . criticism. He never resorted to calling me names, getting personal, or publicly trying to embarrass me. But the people who hate Hedda still jump down my throat for it to this very day. As many recall, one person actually tried to blackmail me into removing Hedda's forum. I didn't know I had to clear it with others before deciding who I like or who can create a forum on a message board that was free for anyone who wanted to use it, with no paid advertising, and with the all the fees for it coming out of my own pocket. The same goes for EarWig. I do like very much when he posts useful venue information and he often does have good information nobody else has. I intensely dislike it when he posts about the people with whom he feuds. I intend to moderate as I see fit, not how somebody else sees fit. Nobody is forcing those who dislike the way I do it to read or participate on this message board. This evening a close friend made what I considered to be an excellent point. Many people who have never been to Thailand get their information from reading these boards. Half of what they see are these constant barbs and insults. I wouldn't be at all surprised if many people decided not to come to Thailand, or at least to Pattaya, for fear of ending up unwillingly involved in these disputes or forced to take sides. To my mind, not one of these insult and wisecrack posts have ever been necessary or of any value whatsoever, and that includes the ones I've been responsible for posting. I don't think that's what these boards should be all about, but they either are already that way or are quickly becoming that way. If I had my way, every one of those types of posters would not be allowed to post at all. But I don't have my way, whether that's a "lame excuse" or not. That's simply the way it is.

Amen!