Gaybutton

Do you truly believe he wouldn't get away with it? Upon what grounds would there be a lawsuit that a judge wouldn't laugh right out of court? He might have lied about why he wanted it. So what? You gave him the money voluntarily. Nobody forced you to give him anything. Farang: "Gee, your honor. He told me the money was for a new water buffalo, but he got drunk, bought a motorbike, and a new telephone too." Judge: "He did? He changed his mind. Isn't that terrible? Ok, show me the contract he signed that guaranteed how he was going to spend the money and while you're at it, prove to me that he didn't. Otherwise, have a nice day . . ."

You would sue a money boy? Ok, you take him to court and win a judgment. He's a money boy. How's he supposed to pay? You know how you can easily avoid all that? When he asks for money, don't give him any.

The better word would have been correlation. Since, as you say, it's up to me, be informed that I couldn't care less whether you believe it or not or whether you want proof. You want proof? Good. Prove I'm wrong.

That is not what I said at all. What I said about the pics comments is I don't see the point - and I still don't. Like I said, maybe those who are so keen to let us all know which pics they don't like ought to take a look in a mirror before they start criticizing other people's looks. What I said about the decline of the gay scene - whether prostitution is involved or not - is in part due to the put-down posts, many of which are embellished, about the bars and venues. And that has everything to do with it. It isn't just a few of us who post regularly reading those comments. Look at the view numbers. Do you think people are not influenced by those comments? Instead of people posting about what they don't like about the gay scene, how about posting what they do like. Most gay farang are coming here precisely because of the gay scene, and yet some of those people seem to want to do everything they can to undermine it. Maybe that makes sense to you. It makes none to me.

Easy. All I have to do is read your posts. That does the trick.

I "kinda-sorta" agree with you. Tawan is the only go-go bar I'm aware of in all of Thailand where you can be certain of consistently finding a particular type - the body builder, super muscular type. I know of no other bar where you're always going to know what types will be working there. What you find today might not necessarily be true a week from now. The days of walking into nearly any go-go bar and knowing you're going to find scores of boys and plenty of customers are over. I remember it wasn't all that long ago when people were posting about the need to be at the bar right at opening time to be certain of being able to off the boy you want, before someone else takes him. Anyone feel that is still a necessity? Times have changed. Unless the wheel turns and things somehow revert to the way they used to be, the "golden years" of the gay bar scene, at least in Pattaya, are history. I agree with what you said about some posters going too far. Most gay farang coming to Thailand for a holiday are going to be heading for the bars. Meanwhile, all some seem to want to do is post put-downs about various bars. In case no one has noticed, the number of go-go bars today, and beer bars too, doesn't even come close to the number of bars there were ten years ago. In Pattaya, Sunee Plaza used to be one go-go bar after another. Now there are only three. There used to be about a half dozen go-go bars in the Soi Day-Night area, and even a couple along some of the side streets. Now there are none at all. The massage shops used to be quite busy. Now most of the time I see the boys sitting out front playing with their mobile phones, but I rarely see any customers. I've had some massage boys tell me they get more customers from Planet Romeo than they do at their massage shops. In Pattaya we've also already virtually lost the beach as a place to find scads of boys. Maybe some of these people won't be satisfied until there are no bars left at all. Maybe some ought to consider being more supportive of the scene you come here for instead of putting it down all the time. That is, of course, unless you want to see the reason you come here disappear forever. While I blame mismanagement and failure to do much of anything to attract customers for the eroding away of the bar scene, if it eventually disappears completely and you want to know who is at least partially responsible, if you're a put-down poster, look in a mirror.

Those are freelancers and it's by no means just the now former Copa. Many bars have freelancers doing the same thing. Some bars pay a freelancer 100 baht a night when they show up. Since so many go-go bars are currently in a state of decline or on the verge of going out of business, freelancers are welcomed - especially if they are good at getting customers to buy them drinks or, better still, good at getting customers to take them off. What the go-go bars and beer bars want is the presence of loads of boys. The more the merrier. That's a big part of what attracts customers and that's why freelancers are not only welcomed, but the way thing are going these days, vital. From what I see, the bars that get the most customers are the bars that have a lot of boys. If someone walks into a bar and sees a large number of boys, they're likely to sit down and at least have a drink. On the other hand, if someone walks into a bar and only two or three boys are there, then he's much more likely to turn around and walk right back out the door.

I wouldn't even do that. I fail to see the point of writing about the posted pics at all. For what? It has nothing to do with whether it is complementary or insulting. For me, I simply have no interest at all in somebody saying he likes or dislikes this one or that one. If it interests you and others, fine with me - post your comment. I also fail to see your connection between posts about religion and commenting about boy pics. Nobody is trying to deny you the right to comment if you want to. But if you do, no matter what you say about a particular pic, my reaction is "So what?" I'm interested in people's opinions about issues. I would probably be very interested in what you have to say about religion. But opinions about a pic turning you on or off? Speaking only for myself, zero interest.

I also wouldn't be . . .

That's right. That's why all anyone needs to do to avoid that type of a problem is arrange to see the boy during his non-working hours. Then he won't be missing duty. Of course, there may be a little problem if the boy is expected to be present and working 24 hours a day . . . One can also opt to use the massage service offered by the link in your own posting signature. Somehow I doubt many bosses are going to be suspicious and jealous of that. I like the relatively new euphemism I see popping up every so often regarding having a boy drop by to spend a little time with you - "compensated dating."

I'm with firecat69 and Michael on this one. Suppose I dislike a boy pic somebody posted. Suppose I submit a post saying I don't like him, he's not my type, or whatever else. Is there anyone who really cares whether I like him or not? I'm not the least bit interested in what somebody else has to say about any of the posted pics. I'm only interested in the boys I like. Which ones do I like? Which ones do I not like? Other than me, who cares? We all have our individual tastes and preferences. But before posting that a particular boy doesn't appeal to you, have a look in a mirror. Then, even if he is not your type, see if you can figure out which of the two is better looking. Now, if you'll excuse me, It's time for me to go and masturbate to my nude pics of Ernest Borgnine . . .

The first thing I would do is scour Planet Romeo to see if he has a profile or simply ask him if he has a profile on Planet Romeo or any other hookup site. That way, the massage shop would have nothing to do with it. Failing that, I would ask him for his phone number and/or give him mine and ask him to call me during non-working hours, or call him, which would also eliminate the massage shop as middle man. If none of that works, then you're going to have to go through the massage shop. I disagree with Alizouzou. Whether you can off a boy from a massage shop depends on the individual massage shop. Many do have out-call service, but I have no idea how much to expect to be charged or how to go about paying for it if you're arranging by phone. If all else fails, you could always hang around the massage shop at closing time and catch him after he leaves and is on his way home . . . Seems to me the easiest thing to do is not to off him at all. Why not just get a 'massage' with him at the shop? That way you'll be alone with him, have a chance to find out whether he is what you were hoping he would be, and make whatever other outside arrangements with him when it's just the two of you in the room.

I just tried and the profile came right up for me, no problem. Try his profile number: 28382954 Did you type in his profile name or did you copy it from here and paste it in? I suggest trying copy and paste. It's easy to make a typo without noticing.

Ok, now I was able to have a look. I've seen him on Planet Romeo many times, although never met him. He can be a little difficult to find in a search because he's another one who often changes his profile name. I think many boys do that so they can appear as a "new boy." In my opinion, no. That's something to be careful about. Some boys will say they are 18+ when they're really under age. They can't even create a profile on Planet Romeo if they are younger than 18 and tell the truth about their actual age. It's not always the case because many boys look much younger than their actual age. A boy who appears to be 16 might very well actually be 18+, but why take a chance? There is no shortage of available boys here. If a boy appears to be truly under age, I don't take any chances. I'll assume he is under age. I might be wrong, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And around here, that kind of sorry will be a BIG problem. I would never want to meet a boy who appears to be under age without first seeing his ID card - and making damned sure the ID card is actually his . . .

Am I misunderstanding something? I just had a look. There are two pages of listings with the user name Treasure. None are in Thailand. Maybe for some reason he changed his user name or deleted his profile. Is Treasure this boy's user name? Posting his profile number along with the user name would help interested people find him.

For me it's more of a surprise rather than a concern. Personally, I couldn't care less what a farang in Thailand for a holiday has to spend topping up. Compared to how much their holiday costs, I doubt how much they spend for telephone calls is going to be a major financial burden. My surprise is that 7-Eleven is doing this at all. I don't see how they expect the majority of their Thai customers to be able to afford a 300 baht minimum. The only reason that makes any sense to me would be if it's costing 7-Eleven more to accommodate small amount top ups more than they are making from them. Then again, making sense is not necessarily a factor in Thailand. In any case, for those - Thai or farang - who want to top up for as little as 50 baht, it's certainly easy enough to do that other than in 7-Elevens.

I think you're right. I just now checked my online banking to make sure. Top-ups are still available at 50 baht increments. A 50 baht top up choice is still there and available. The only one saying anything about a 300 baht minimum is ChristianPFC. Has anyone else been told that at a 7-Eleven or anywhere else?

Apparently so. Every time I used it the connection was terrible. I uninstalled it. What about others? Is anyone else using LINE in Thailand, especially in Pattaya? What kind of quality are you getting?

One missing option is any phone shop can also sell top-up time.

I have a feeling that's exactly what 7-Eleven has done, at least in Bangkok. It seems to me this 300 baht minimum for a slip is something 7-Eleven came up with for whatever their reasons are. It's not coming from 1-2-Call - not since you can still buy time for as little as 50 baht. Is anyone encountering this 300 baht minimum, whether in a 7-Eleven or not, anywhere other than Bangkok?

In that case, unless you want to buy 300 baht or more, find a different way to buy top up time. I can't speak to anything other than what I see for myself in Pattaya and, as I said, I haven't needed to buy top up time in 10 years - but I do see others buying it and at least where I am, you can buy in 50 baht increments starting with 50 baht. I have no idea why it should be different in Bangkok or anywhere else. Have you tried stores other than 7-Elevens? Have you tried with an ATM? Have you tried with online banking? I don't know how they're expecting the average Thai to part with 300 baht for telephone time. Many can't afford it and 300 baht is as much, or more, than many make for a full day's work. Sometimes I use online banking to buy top up time for some of my Thai friends. With online banking you can buy as little as 50 baht. A few weeks ago, when we encountered each other in the Malaysia Hotel parking lot, that same day I bought a 1-2-Call SIM card for a Thai friend. The 7-Eleven on the corner was out of SIM cards. The mobile phone-pawn shop just up the street had plenty of SIM cards. When I bought the card I also bought time for the card - 100 baht. There was no problem and no mention of a 300 baht minimum. By the way, just today I bought the "pro" version of one of my mobile phone apps. I don't know if this is available with top up rather than subscription, but one of the options was to pay for it via DTAC billing. That's how I paid for it. The conversion from the free version to the "pro" version was instant. First I received an OTP (One Time Password). After entering it, I then received a confirmation from Google Play and another one from DTAC. The purchase price will appear on my next bill from DTAC.

I don't know where you got that from, but I'm in 7-Elevens very frequently and quite often see people buying slips for as little as 50 baht. Just yesterday I was behind a woman buying a 50 baht slip. Don't you have a Thai bank account? You can top up, again for as little as 50 baht, at any ATM. You can also top up via online banking. I use DTAC. If you have a Thai friend, you can also choose to use a subscription rather than top up. That's what I do. I don't have to top up at all. I simply receive a monthly bill via Email and I pay it via online banking. The reason I mention a Thai friend is because for whatever reason, they won't sell a subscription to a farang unless he has a work permit. A Thai friend was perfectly willing to take out a subscription for me in his name and let me have the SIM card. That's how it works with DTAC. I went with the subscription about 10 years ago. I still have the same phone number and I've never had any problems. I would imagine other companies have a similar system available. If I remember correctly, several years ago Geezer told me he has a subscription with AIS and also receives a monthly bill. AIS is 1-2-Call. With a subscription you also don't have to be surprised by the bill you receive. If you have a subscription, one of the items on your Contacts list will be "Billing." You can tap on that any time and a message appears showing you how much your bill is up to that moment. There is no charge for that and you can check as often as you wish. When I pay online, I instantly receive a text message from DTAC verifying the bill has been paid. If you don't have online banking, you can also pay the bill at any bank or ATM.

Those apps, and others too, have always worked for me, and I've had several phones in Thailand - all Android. The hook-up apps I like worked even on a counterfeit phone I naively bought one time. That phone was bought at Tuk Com and lasted about 5 months before going into its death throes. I haven't seen Pattayamale on the boards in quite some time, but I'd like to take moment to thank him. Several years ago when I bought my first smartphone and was totally clueless about how to use it, Pattayamale spent a lot of time, along with patiently taking a lot of annoying calls from me when I was still confused, showing me how to use it and take advantage of all the features - many of which I didn't even know existed. All kinds of advice and suggestions on this topic - all good. Let us know what you decide to do and whether you end up satisfied with the decision you make.

He won't see your phone number, but the recipient also has to have Line and he needs to have it open. You can't send text messages directly to telephone numbers with Line. There are no charges for texting or speaking, but the connection for speaking is usually bad. I really don't understand why this is even an issue. A Thai SIM card, along with some time, and the cost of making phone calls and text messages is so inexpensive that it's hardly a factor. If you stay in Thailand for two weeks, unless you're making a lot of phone calls and talking for a long time on every one of them, I doubt you would be spending more than 500 baht total - including the SIM card. If you want a second telephone for your Thai SIM card, as I said above, you can buy a brand new basic telephone for as little as 450 baht. If you do that, you would probably still be spending less than 1000 baht total.

I suppose that would depend on which is most cost effective for you. Apparently your carrier is a foreign carrier. How much does it cost you to place calls when you're in Thailand and how many would you anticipate placing? If you want calls from boys, would they even place a call to a foreign number? If it were me, I would get a Thai SIM card. You can get them at any convenience store for about 100 baht and buy time for the card at increments of 50 baht on up. If there is some reason why you would need your foreign SIM card, you could always temporarily switch SIM cards if the need arises. Another method of keeping a phone card topped up would be to have a Thai bank account with online banking. You can then top up from any computer, anywhere in the world.