Gaybutton

If you want to be in the thick of the action, you will be. The location is in the very center of Sunee Plaza. There used to be a bar called the Amigo Pub. The Amigo Pub closed down and reopened as the Diamond Pub. Don Plaza bought out the entire building, had it completely gutted, and built the Don Plaza in its place. It is directly across the street from the Clubber's restaurant.

The PATTAYA MAIL also published an article about this: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd5

So am I. My observations are a little different from yours. The Don Plaza seems to be doing quite well so far. The Clubber restaurant is also doing quite well. Only this evening I ate there with friends. There were plenty of people, sitting both inside and outside, and more were entering when we were leaving. You might want to try to convince people that these places aren't any good and you might try to insist that you wish them well, but when I see your statement making sure to mention the "fat" owner, instead of simply saying "owner," then it is quite obvious where you're coming from. The truth is the Don Plaza is beautiful and the Clubber restaurant offers delicious meals at very reasonable prices. The waiters are all very cute boys and they provide excellent service.

For a while, I thought George Bush was going to turn out to be a great president. That opinion also changed over time.

Just go to a different branch, or even talk to someone else at the same branch. You'll probably get an entirely different response. From what I have been told, anyone can open an account at Bangkok Bank, regardless of the type of visa you hold, but you can only get online banking if you have the one-year visa or a work permit.

Personally, I think criticism of this, or any other, gay web site because of links to porn is absurd and is coming from people who seem to spend their time trying to find something to criticize. The way I see it, it's very simple: If you want to click on the links, then click on them. If you don't want to click on the links, then don't click on them. What's the problem? If people have an objection to the fact that the owners of these web sites wish to generate enough money to at least cover the costs of providing the web site and maybe make some money for themselves, too bad. Nobody is twisting the arms of anyone to come to these web sites if they dislike them. And before anyone starts accusing me of lining my own pockets with the porn now available on this web site, I remind you that I do not own this web site and have no financial ties with it of any kind. I have not asked for so much as one baht from money generated from the porn links and none has been offered to me. I can't help but notice that those who criticize the most vehemently are never people who spend a single baht out of their own pockets to provide a web site themselves and never offer any financial support to the web sites they utilize on a daily basis. They get to use these web sites absolutely free and then criticize the owners for trying to make some money. Perhaps they would prefer that the porn links be eliminated and user fees be charged in order to be able to even read the messages, let alone do any posting. They're out there getting a free ride, and then jumping down the throats of those who provide them with the ride. Way to go.

Just like everything else in Thailand, from these posts it seems as if everybody gets a different story and it seems that what is actually required and/or accepted is entirely up to the staff officer you happen to be dealing with that day. It's not limited to just immigration. When I first moved here I wanted a second bank account. I went to one branch office and was told they no longer issue accounts to foreigners at all. I went to another branch of the same bank and was told they do issue bank accounts to foreigners, but you have to hold a work permit. I went to a third branch and was issued a bank account with no problem at all. All of these were branches of the very same bank, all within the same city. figure that one out.

That's 5000 baht, as in five-thousand? I thought it was 500 baht per day. If that's not a typo, then they've dramatically raised their fees.

As far as I know the letter from a Thai bank, at which you have an account, is still required and it has to be a new letter each year. The letter is written in Thai, so I don't have any idea what it actually says, but I do know the gist of it is a verification that the source funds is from abroad. Most of the banks, by the way, charge a fee of 200 baht for that letter.

If anyone out there is trying to make reservations somewhere and can't get an E-mail response, all they have to do is send an E-mail to me at gaybutton@gmail.com . If they give me the information required in order to make a reservation, I'll be glad to call the establishment or go over personally and make the reservation if anyone is having any problems contacting the place he wants to stay.

Where's Ross Perot when you need him?

"Dame Gaybutton" couldn't care less. People seem to think this is my web site. It isn't. I'm only a moderator on the message board. The rest of the web site has nothing to do with me. I don't particularly care for porn, but I also have nothing against it as long as there is no kiddie porn of any kind.

It states as follows: Dear Sir/Madam: This is to affirm that ______, an American Citizen, born on ______, at ______, is the holder of U.S. Passport number ______, issued at ______ on ______ and which expires on ______. He/she affirms that he/she receives in amount of US$______ every month from the United States Government and/or other sources. He/she is applying for an extension of a current Thai visa and any assistance you can provide in this request will be greatly appreciated. ________________________________ You fill in the blanks and the embassy notarizes it. The letter simply states that the person involved is affirming his income. It doesn't say anything about verification. In other words, anyone can get the letter and state any amount they want. The embassy is only notarizing the fact that this is what you stated. The whole thing seems ridiculous to me, but that's what Thailand requires in lieu of producing a Thai bank account that holds a minimum of US $20,000 for three months. It's just one more thing on my "I don't get it" list. The best part is the embassy charges 1200 baht for that letter.

Further details are now available in this week's PATTAYA MAIL. See: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd11 for details.

So far I haven't spotted anything about it in the local media. Maybe tomorrow . . .

One of the most "massive" raids ever took place last night at Sunee Plaza. The following is an eyewitness account from someone who was there, but wishes to remain anonymous: _____ About 22:00 on May 9, a huge raid was conducted in Sunee Plaza by uniformed Pattaya Police accompanied by army and navy personnel. Swooping from all three entrances to Sunee Pllaza, police went to each bar and required that all the bars' staff come to a meeting point in the soi in front of the Sunee Plaza bar("plastic chairs"). There must have been about 50 law enforcement officials herding over 100 bar employees. Police collected ID cards at their temporary "office" located at the picnic tables on the terrace of the Don Plaza Hotel. Urine samples were collected in the Corner Bar's bathroom and tested using the bar's pool table as a makeshift lab. Several TV cameras were present. In addition, the head official of the Banglamung licensing office led inspections of bars to check on their licenses. The number of young men that were arrested is unknown at this time. However, there were about six that appeared to have failed their initial pee test. The raid was finished about 23:30. No farang were bothered.

Trongpai is correct. At the US embassy you don't need to supply anything. I'll never forget the first time I went to the embassy. I was armed with a stack of documentation to prove my income. When I started to hand it over to the clerk, she stopped me and wasn't interested at all. She said she doesn't need any of that. They just take your word for it. Ok . . . I have no idea what the requirements are at embassies other than the US embassy, but a phone call to your country's embassy should answer that question. To answer Trongpai's question, the immigration police want both the bank passbook, preferably updated the same day you go to apply for the visa, and the letter from the bank. I have also heard they no longer require a medical certificate, but I'll take one anyway. My boyfriend recently needed a medical certificate. Any of the local clinics can supply one. We went to one near my home to get one for him. All he did was walk in and ask for it. He never even saw the doctor. The cashier simply handed one right over to him. We were in and out of that clinic in about 20 seconds. Apparently all that particular clinic required was that you have to actually be alive. The fee was 50 baht . . . Welcome to Thailand.

Many of you may be familiar with my article, "How to Obtain the Retirement Visa." If you would like to have it, please feel free to send an E-mail to me at gaybutton@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send you a copy. As many of you know, one of the ways to get the visa includes a letter from your embassy verifying your monthly retirement income. I have not yet had a chance to personally check this, but yesterday I was told by someone who holds the retirement visa that it is not , repeat not, necessary to obtain a new letter each year when you are about to apply for a new visa. According to his information, the original letter is valid until your passport expires. I hope that's correct. It would save a trip to Bangkok, going to the embassy at those terrible hours (The US embassy is open from 7:30 AM to 11:00 AM and then again from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM), and paying them the 1200 baht fee they require to issue the letter. If anyone has a chance to check this and verify the information before I have a chance to do it myself, please post what you are able to find out.

One of the things I always recommend to people who are taking strangers to their rooms is to have the desk clerk check the person's ID card and hold it until an "all clear" is received from the "farang" and the person leaves. I would still recommend that, but it may not be enough. Anyone reading the news in Pattaya is well aware that crime has been steadily on the increase. I've been reading more and more stories in which the "farang" does take that precaution and yet he still becomes a victim of theft, even when the hotel has made a copy of the criminal's ID card. In virtually every case, the "farang" has left money, mobile phones, cameras, or other valuables in plain sight. Apparently that is often too much of a temptation for would-be thieves, despite the ID card being left at the front desk. The thing to do is make sure there are no valuables accessible at all. Lock them in the room safe or leave them in the hotel safe. No matter how sweet and innocent looking the person you take to your room may be, it is a very risky mistake to have valuables accessible. The same people who become victims of these crimes probably are also reading these news items, and yet they still leave valuables in plain sight and then wonder why they became a victim. Most of the time the theft occurs when the "farang" is either in the bathroom or asleep. I know that many "farang" want the Thai boy to spend the night with them, but I don't recommend it. Until you really get to know the boy, I recommend short-time only. In other words, my recommendation is to do whatever it is you brought him to your room to do, give him his tip, and then send him home. It's sad to have to make such a recommendation, but that's the safest thing to do.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS (Click the link for photos: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_07_05_50_2.htm ): _____ English Man Arrested by Tourist Police Accused of Conducting Lewd Acts with Minors Police Colonel Choochart, the acting Commander of Tourist Police in Thailand led this press conference at the Tourist Police Station in South Pattaya on Sunday Afternoon which announced the arrest of an English National accused of conducting lewd acts with minors. Acting on an arrest warrant issued earlier in the week, the suspect was arrested at house number 51/27 in Soi Nong Yai in Banglamung. The warrant number 502/2550 dated 5th May stated that the suspect was alleged to have conducted sexual acts with three boys aged between 12 and 17. All three boys were found inside the house at the time of the arrest. At the Police Station, Mr. Richard Jeremy Morrish aged 66 originally from Sunderland in UK confessed to taking in the three boys after a request from their parents to support them through school. A laptop containing sexually explicit images of the boys was found along with pictures around the house. Mr. Morrish, a former teacher here in Thailand who is now living on a retirement visa denied all allegations and is now being held at Banglamung Police Station after bail was refused. The initial complaint came after one of the boys was caught glue sniffing and was told to leave the house by the suspect. The British Embassy in Bangkok is aware of the case and is arranging legal representation for Mr. Morrish.

Six

Most of these arrests I read about are not arrests stemming from someone taking an under-age boy "off" from a bar. Most of these arrests seem to occur with local "farang" residents who make "arrangements" in their own neighborhoods. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Briton Arrested for Alleged Child Molestation Chonburi - A 66-year-old former English teacher was arrested Sunday for allegedly molesting two underage boys. Acting tourist police chief Pol. Col Chuchart Suwannakhom told a press conference that Morrish Richard Jeremy was arrested for having sex with a 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy and took their pictures. Chuchart said police found a lot of pornographic pictures of boys in the Briton's notebook computer. The Briton was arrested at his rented house in Chonburi's Banglamung district. Chuchart said the man adopted the two boys from their parents, promising to be their stepfather but later sexually abusing them by having them. The Nation

A few days ago the police launched a raid against the pirate software and DVD vendors at Tuk Com. The following appeared in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ 1.5 Million Baht raid of Tuk.Com IT Center in South Pattaya It is widely known that the Tuk.Com IT Center located on the South Pattaya Road sells copies of well known Audio CD’s and DVD Movies on the 4th Floor. The vendors run the risk of arrest and confiscation of the CD’s on a daily basis and we have reported on raids by Police at the Center on many occasions. This is one such raid conducted by Police Lieutenant Colonel Santi from Pattaya Police Station who conducted a raid of around 30 shops on the 4th Floor of the Center on Wednesday Night. On this occasion no vendors could be arrested as they were able to escape before the Police arrived. The Police entered each unattended shop and confiscated over 10,000 CD’s, VCD’s and DVD’s worth an estimated 1.5 Million Baht. The Police will conduct further investigations into the sale of these items at the Center and will attempt to locate and arrest the vendors as soon as they can. _____ Today I was in Tuk Com. Out of curiosity I went to the fourth floor. Lo and behold, every one of the vendors was back in business, fully stocked. Welcome to Thailand, y'all.

http://www.mosaikpattaya.com

I'm beginning to wonder if there actually are any professionals in Pattaya who know what they're doing. Of course, they might be highly professional . . . get paid big bucks to do the road work, but use cheap, inferior products with which to do the work, hire uneducated, unskilled workers, make a bundle, and to hell with the rest.