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Gaybutton

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Everything posted by Gaybutton

  1. I would agree depending on what one is looking for. If you're looking for a guaranteed legitimate phone I would avoid Tuk Com. Many of the phone shops at Tuk Com are reputable, but others have no problem about selling counterfeit phones. The problem is it's difficult to know which shops - and there are dozens of them - are the safe ones to buy from. On the other hand, if you're looking only for an inexpensive temporary phone that will probably work if you're in Thailand for a couple weeks holiday, Tuk Com isn't such a bad risk. If you're looking for a cheap basic, but legitimate, phone Tesco-Lotus (and probably Big-C too, but I've never checked), sells perfectly good Nokia phones for as little as 450 baht. About 6 months ago I bought a couple of them to give to a few Thai boys. They both work just fine and are still working just fine. Make sure to take your passport, or at least a photocopy of your passport, if you're going to buy a SIM card. Due to Thailand's recent regulations about registering SIM cards, you'll need to present it or they can't sell you a SIM card. By the way, if you're looking for a top-of-the-line phone, I suggest having a look at the Huawei Mate 8. I recently bought one and I just love that phone. There are plenty of reviews online. You can download the user manuals at: http://consumer.huawei.com/uk/mobile-phones/support/manuals/mate8-uk.htm
  2. That depends on the bar. Some bars are strict about it and others don't seem to care. My guess is the Bangkok bars are probably much more strict than the Pattaya bars. I don't know for sure. I haven't been to a Bangkok go-go bar in years and I doubt I'll ever be in one of them again. I'm not about to pay those prices. I live here. I'm not here for a holiday. I can easily find all the boys I want without setting foot in a bar at all. Of course, if I was coming to Thailand for a holiday and had been without the company of a boy for a very long period of time, I would probably be in a bar as soon as the plane lands, maybe even before checking in at my hotel, and gladly pay them whatever the hell they want. I disagree with your comment, "please don't think a boy is at your side, he is at his bar's side." I don't think that's true. As far as I can tell, the only side he cares about is his own. Most boys I encounter are far more interested in making money than they are in taking sides with the bar - or me. Maybe the attitude of the Tawan bar boys is different. That bar is a 'type' bar - a muscle bar. The last time I was in Tawan is probably more than 10 years ago by now. For me, the muscle bound body builder type is as far from my type as it gets.
  3. First, you're using the wrong term. I don't know why, but "bar fine" almost always applies to lady-boy bars. For the rest of the gay bars, the usual term is "off." The answer to your question is no, the boy doesn't have to pay the bar anything. It doesn't matter why the boy might not have shown up for work. The bar will simply dock his pay for that night. Boys failing to show up for work is a very common problem. Many of these boys show up for work if they feel like working that night. If they don't feel like working, they very often simply don't go. That kind of thinking is quite common. Years ago the owner of a popular gay hotel told me a story. The hotel employed an electrician - who also did all kinds of other work. He was a full time employee. One day he didn't show up for work. He didn't call in. There was no word from him at all. The hotel tried to contact him, but for whatever reason, they couldn't. When several days passed, and nobody had heard from him or knew where he was, they hired somebody else. After about two weeks, the hotel owner arrived at his usual time in the morning and there was the electrician, working as if nothing ever happened. The hotel owner asked, "What are you doing here? Where have you been?" The answer was, "I go holiday." The hotel owner advised him that his holiday just became a whole lot longer. The electrician was dumbfounded. He had absolutely no idea why he was being fired. That kind of attitude and thinking applies to a great many bar boys. Many couldn't care less whether they're fired or not. They all know if they lose their job at one bar, all they have to do is go to another bar and they'll have a new job that same day. Just today I was talking with a boy who works in a Sunee Plaza beer bar. He told me he's going to wait until the end of the month when he gets paid (Thais typically get paid once per month - the last day of the month). Then he's going to quit and try a Jomtien Complex bar. I asked why he's doing that. His answer was tantamount to 'the grass is greener there.' I asked which bar he's planning to try. He said he'll decide that when he goes. He'll decide. He's not the least bit worried about it. He knows he can walk into any bar he wants and will be hired on the spot.
  4. I wouldn't. Suppose you truly believe, in that circumstance, the bar is entitled to an off fee. How would you go about paying it? Would you make a special trip to the bar during their open hours to pay it? That would work great if you're planning to leave town that same day or won't be anywhere near the bar. Would you give the money to the boy and trust him to give it to the bar? 3 guesses what the likelihood is of the boy giving the money to the bar instead of just pocketing it for himself. Would you give the bar an off fee in advance and trust the boy will show up at the appointed place and time? Maybe he will and maybe he won't. That's not good enough for me. What a boy does during non-working hours is his own affair and has nothing to do with the bar. Also, many boys are not actually employed by a bar at all. Many are freelancers who work in the bars and get maybe 100 baht per night from the bar or work without compensation from the bar at all, in hopes of being taken off by a customer. I know some boys who have a "legitimate" job during the day, and often also will work in a bar at night, trying to supplement their income. In my opinion a bar is entitled to an off fee if, and only if, the boy is in the bar during working hours and that's what he's doing - working. Suppose you didn't even make an arrangement, but encounter the boy during the day by sheer chance. If he goes to your room with you, do you think the bar is entitled to an off fee? Don't forget, many of the bar boys are also Gay Romeo boys. If you meet a boy via Gay Romeo, and then find out he also works in a bar, do you think the bar is entitled to an off fee? My answer to both of the above questions is no. If I take a boy off from a bar, the bar is entitled to the off fee. Under any other circumstances the bar is entitled to nothing, and from me that's exactly what the bar will get - nothing.
  5. When I see photos of boys from years ago, I can't help but wonder whatever became of them - like a "Where Are They Now?" article. Many boys I used to like and often see have vanished. My guess is most of them ended up back on the rice farm.
  6. Thank you and everyone else who posted and sent me PMs about this. I very much appreciate the kind thoughts. I never intended to be public about my personal troubles, but it did seem to me to be appropriate considering some of the context of this topic. One of my friends told me a comment someone else told him regarding the terrible experience I went through, and really still am going through, was "I guess GB isn't the heartless son of a bitch I thought he is." I liked that comment, but shhhhh! Don't tell anybody. I'd hate to see my reputation go out the window . . .
  7. I apologize for going off topic, but there are some things I think need to be said. Nobody relishes having to do that, but at least get somebody, even if a professional nurse has to be hired - and that would not be particularly expensive in Thailand - to take care of the person you're living with and supposedly love. You don't just abandon him and the responsibility that's supposed to go with it. This guy did nothing. You might remember my old boyfriend. Even though we "finished" several years ago, I was still putting him through college and helping him as best as I could. He was six months away from earning a doctorate. Several weeks ago he became quite ill and had to be hospitalized. He was in the hospital nearly two weeks before anyone even told me about it. Once I knew, I was in that hospital every day and was watching his condition get worse and worse until he finally looked like a dying anorexic. He became so weak that he couldn't even move his legs and arms without help. He had to be catheterized and put in adult diapers and developed bed sores. If you think that was easy to watch, and be virtually helpless to do anything about it, think again. I paid to have him moved to a private room. His father stayed with him 24/7. I was not responsible for him, but I did everything I could to try to help. The point is no matter how difficult it may be to watch somebody you're close to suffer and die, that is not - at least to me - a good enough excuse to have just abandoned Allen. If you truly believe that is something to reward with 20,000 baht, or anything at all, I can only say your opinion is different from mine. 19 days ago he died. His family had no money, so I also paid for his funeral. It's going to take me a very long time to be able to get over it. He was only 28.
  8. Actually that would be a terrible gesture. That so-called boyfriend literally abandoned Allen toward the end. He would often leave Allen completely alone and helpless in his condo. Friends would come and find Allen unable to move and lying in his own filth, and he had been that way for hours. No food. No water. No nothing. When Allen was dying in the hospital the boy was rarely there at all and was interested only in what would happen with Allen's belongings and money. There is an appropriate gesture - but giving him money is not exactly the gesture I have in mind.
  9. Allen and I were close friends. Knowing him as I did, I think he would be quite pleased to see interest in his board still exists more than a decade later. He certainly never gave any indication that he would want his board and his efforts to eventually vanish from memory. I'm happy to see what Moses is doing and I believe Allen would be even happier. I see nothing inappropriate about it at all.
  10. Regarding the photo of the boy that inspired the current dispute, his face is not clear enough to be certain, but I'm sure I recognize him. He used to be a regular at the beach, but disappeared several years ago. I haven't seen him anywhere since. If he's still in Pattaya or on Gay Romeo or any of the other apps, I haven't spotted him there either. Travellerdave said "What every gay beach should have plenty of." Dongtan beach really did have "plenty of" several years ago. I certainly enjoyed it when it was difficult to choose which boy I wanted since there were so many of them. Now, along with that boy, they've all disappeared too, which is why I rarely go to the beach at all these days. Whenever I see a post giving us an update of Dongtan Beach, I keep hoping to see something that says available boys are starting to come back. Unfortunately, so far the posts usually tell us it's still rare to see any boys at all other than boys with a farang who brought them there. No matter how you choose to refer to them or categorize them, at Dongtan beach there are few to none to refer to or categorize anymore.
  11. I agree completely with firecat69's post above and since I live in Pattaya I've probably had much more 'practice'. The worst problem I've ever had with any Gay Romeo boy is if he turns out to be a dud, and that has hardly ever happened. I have never had a theft. The only time I've ever had a boy show up who was not the boy in the photos worked out just fine for me. It turned out that I liked that boy much better than the boy in the photos. That was a few years ago and I still see him regularly. I used to prefer the bars to the apps. Times have changed. Now it's the opposite. I prefer the apps to the bars.
  12. Which one?
  13. I know nothing about the place, whether it meets proper medical standards, or even whether it's licensed, but in Pattaya there is a "Testosterone Clinic" at the corner of Third Road and Pattaya Klang.
  14. I'm banging on it? I'll repeat - this week, if you don't want to carry your passport, then don't. Personally, I don't give a damn whether you carry it with you or not. I posted what the police are doing. What you decide to do in light of that - I couldn't care less. Are you even in Thailand this week? Ok, I've said my piece. I won't post further on this topic. You can have the last word. Do you think you can do it without the snide remarks, or are they necessary for you to make your point?
  15. Right. People always bring up 'prostitution is against the law too.' In case you haven't noticed, that law is almost never enforced. But according to the articles, the police are checking passports this week and they're targeting farang. If you don't want to carry your passport this week, then don't carry it. I fail to see the point of arguing about it.
  16. During this week, do you really think it's a good idea to take that chance? With terrorism as a potential threat, the police aren't playing games. And based on the photos in the following article in today's Pattaya One, Caucasian farang are being checked, at least in Pattaya. Take the chance if you want to, gents, but if the police check me I'll have my passport. http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/220053/foreigners-detained-as-tourist-police-lead-south-pattaya-crime-suppression-raid/#prettyPhoto I also disagree with NIrishGuy's comment that these checks will hurt tourism. I don't think so. I would think tourists would appreciate knowing the police are on the ball, even if they are inconvenienced. I don't see much room for complaint if people are not complying with the law. Looking at it from the police point of view, what would happen if they don't conduct these checks and a terrorist attack does occur? What are they supposed to say then? Sorry?
  17. That's what most people do. However, between now and New Year's I suggest carrying your actual passport and be extra careful with it so that you don't lose it. As you can see from the article, the police were arresting people who were not carrying their passport. You have to decide whether to risk carrying your passport or whether to risk arrest. The problem is the police are obviously heavily cracking down during the Christmas-New Year's Eve holidays in their effort to prevent terrorist attacks. There's no way to know whether they will accept a photocopy if you get checked. The article doesn't say. NIrishGuy is probably right about who they're checking, but how can we know whether they're also interested in aging Caucasian farang, or will become interested later in the week? Personally, I'd rather carry my passport for the next several days and be extra careful with it instead of risking arrest. Maybe the police will still accept a photocopy and maybe they won't. There's no way to know. The thing is, they don't have to accept anything other than the actual passport.
  18. Perhaps so. Meanwhile, I'd rather submit a rude post than see the OP end up with a rude awakening . . .
  19. I understand how you feel. I've been there too. When you do have those rational thinking moments, when it's not nearly killing you, the question to ask yourself: Is it nearly killing him? I don't think you need me to answer that question unless you actually believe he's pining away over you as you're pining away over him. I'm sorry I'm telling you things I know you don't want to hear, but I've lived in Thailand a long time. I've seen this same kind of situation over and over again. An aging farang comes to Thailand, meets a boy, falls in love with him, and thinks the boy feels the same way. While some people are posting their success stories, and I'm truly happy for them, they're the exception. Most of the time the end result is another brokenhearted farang with a now empty wallet. You seem like a very nice person. I'm hoping your eyes will open enough so the same won't happen to you. In the post above traveller123 said make sure you really know the guy. He's right. REALLY know the guy. You said you met him at the end of your trip in November. There's no way you really know the guy. You hardly know him at all. Maybe after you've spent several months with him it will be a different story, but for now I urge you to wake up and take control of your emotions before you fall into the same trap I've seen so many times over the years. Maybe the boy is absolutely sincere. I'm not saying he isn't, but your job is to make damned sure of it. For all you know he might have a whole string of farang who are also convinced they are in love with the boy and he loves them. I've seen that many times too. I remember one boy who used to carry around 5 mobile phones. When I asked him why, he freely admitted, bragged about it actually, that each was for a different farang. I asked him why he wasn't carrying just one, he said each farang had bought him a phone and a phone number with it, so carrying around just one wouldn't work. The boy didn't have to work. He had all 5 of them sending him plenty of money. True story. Another favorite story was a Sunee Plaza bar manager who was also good at convincing farang of true love. He had a little problem when 2 of them showed up in Pattaya at the same time - and of course neither knew about the other. For two weeks he somehow managed to 'take care' of both farang and survived the two weeks without getting caught. If pleas for money get started and more and more often there's yet another reason he needs more money, that, my friend, is what's known as a 'red light' and that's when you'll know you're being conned. Look for other 'red lights' too. Once you've known him for at least a year, or more, and have been able to spend at least weeks, or better still months, with him and all is still going well, then you'll know you found the right boy. That's when to start centering your life around him. But since you first met him in November, now is much too soon. Don't let him take control of your life and emotions. And please . . . don't be trying to convince yourself of something else I've all too often heard farang say - "Not this boy. He's different." If I had 10 baht for every time I've heard that one, my bank account would rival Donald Trump's. Until then, I give you one of my favorite quotes - one I've posted many times before: "If you want love in Thailand, rent it." I hope it all works out. If you do this the right way, maybe it will. But be ready to drop him in case it doesn't. Believe me, there are plenty more boys if it doesn't work out. I hope you won't have to learn that the hard way. Ok, I've said my piece. Good luck.
  20. 2 friends. 2. Compared to the number who've tried it, and did fail, that's not a very promising figure. I have a feeling you disagree with me mainly because you intend to try it yourself. I'm not surprised you're not aware of failures. People usually don't post these kinds of failures. I, however, personally know several who tried it. You know how many of them succeeded? Zero. The only ones that succeeded at all were the ones in which the farang ended up returning to Thailand with the boyfriend and now lives here. And even some of those ended up failing. I really do hope it works out for you and your boyfriend. I know you're not going to change your mind because of what I'm posting, but if it doesn't work out you can't say you weren't warned.
  21. I agree with weewillie and anonone. No elaboration necessary. They said it just right. I wouldn't count on it if I were you. You might get very lucky and find a boy who would want to do that, but that would be the exception. I've seen it too many times over the years. It hardly ever works and the farang all too often ends up heartbroken, along with having spent a hell of a lot of money trying. A one or two week holiday would probably be ok, but longer than that stands very little chance. Why does it hardly ever work? You're probably a sophisticated traveler. The boy probably has never been out of Thailand in his life. He would be away from his family and friends and have no access to them other than a telephone call once in a while. He would be in an environment he's never experienced. He doesn't speak the language. He can't even understand what he watches on TV or a movie. He'll be away from the foods he likes. He'll feel completely out of place. He'll be too dependent on you. He'll be bored to death. Whether it's true or not, he'll very likely start thinking the only real reason you have him in your home country, long term, is for you to use him for sex and instead of being happy, he'll end up resenting you. That's the way it usually happens. No matter how well-intentioned your motives might be, most of the time the boy wants to go back to Thailand after only a few weeks - if that long. I'm sorry if I'm ruining your dream, but that's all it is - a dream - a dream highly unlikely to end happily. It's not realistic at all. I wish it was, but it simply is not. Your best chance for any kind of success is to be with him when you're in Thailand and leave it at that. If you think you're idea will have happy results and will somehow work out well, you're setting yourself up for a major, traumatic disappointment. My advice is to see it through his perspective. In other words, don't do it. If you really find yourself in love with a Thai boy, then love him enough to let him live his life where he belongs rather than thinking about it the way you want it to be.
  22. Somehow, I don't foresee that happening any time soon. Even if it does, I don't assume the fun will be over at all. Suppose every one of the Thai boys become completely disinterested in us aging farang. There are plenty of Cambodian and Lao boys, and soon probably plenty of Burmese boys too, to take over for them - unless, of course, those countries become rich too. I don't think the go go bars would have any trouble finding Thai boys even under those circumstances. Think about it - they work only 5 or 6 hours, spend their time with their friends, diddle around with farang customers once in a while, get free drinks when they have a customer, and make money doing it. "Hookers have the perfect job. You got it, you sell it, and you still got it." - Rodney Dangerfield
  23. I disagree with the idea that Thailand is particularly bad off economically. It may not be the world's richest country, populated by the world's richest people, but relatively speaking I think Thailand is doing just fine. I see plenty of nice homes, cars, shopping, entertainment, etc. What I don't see is people reduced to sleeping under bridges in makeshift cardboard shelters, getting their only meals at homeless shelters or scavenging dumpsters and carrying "will work for food" signs. But I sure see plenty of that where I come from in the USA.
  24. Why even bother trying to do it yourself? There are loads of air conditioning service shops. Any of them will be happy to come by and do a full service maintenance and cleaning, usually for 500 baht per unit. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour for the service.
  25. Charlie Mercer. Yes, that's his real name. He was found dead in his room. I have no details at this point and only just found out about it myself. Charlie was a long time moderator on this board. You heard about it at Nice Boys. Charlie was one of Nice Boys best customers. He was there most nights. He would regularly buy a bottle and share it with the boys. He has lived in Pattaya since about 2003-2004.
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