Gaybutton

How does it work at the bars? Is there "off" or "bar fines"? Is it farang customers simply meeting Cambodian customers? What's the story? Are there places other than bars recommended for cruising? Please don't forget the rest of my questions that have not yet been answered . . .

Exactly. I really don't have much choice. Even if I ever do find something that "cures" the burning, I don't want to go through the burning until the "cure" takes effect. Even then, so far nobody has come up with suggestions for a "morning after pill," so the spices would still get their revenge. I can do without that too. Anyway, there are plenty of non-spicy Thai foods out there that I truly enjoy. For me that will have to suffice.

I've heard all kinds of "remedies." The cabbage, iced coffee, hot coffee, iced tea, hot tea, green tea, milk, cucumbers, plain white rice, etc. I've heard them all and tried them all. For me, none of them work.

Because they're not from these waters. I never see commercial fishing going on anywhere near the polluted Pattaya waters.

Were they fresh?

We just had a thread all about gross things to eat in Thailand, so it stands to reason that we also ought to have a thread about things we enjoy eating in Thailand. First, I can't eat the spicy foods. It burns the hell out of my mouth and then I can't taste anything else for the rest of the meal. Next morning, it burns again! However, not all Thai food is spiced up. The fried rice and most of the noodle dishes aren't spicy at all, and many can be very good. But if I had to narrow it down to a single category of Thai foods I truly enjoy, for me it would be seafood. If you're a seafood lover, then Thailand is the place to be. I have never had a Thai seafood dish I didn't enjoy, except of course the ones that are too spicy for me. But most are not particularly spicy at all and there are so many kinds of fish, crab, and shellfish dishes that I can't count them all. And seafood is really a bargain in Thailand, especially when you consider how much a similar meal would cost 'back home.' I can't tell you the names of the different seafood dishes. I don't know most of them. Fortunately, the restaurants that serve them usually have picture menus. Sometimes I order for myself, but I enjoy it more when I let the Thai boy do the ordering. I just make sure to tell him not to order anything spicy for me, but he can order whatever spicy dishes he wants for himself. There is an abundance of great Thai seafood restaurants all over Thailand. You can even get most of the same foods in areas nowhere near the sea. The seafood restaurants are especially popular among the Thais. Quite often you can't get in. So, the Thai seafood is without question my personal favorite.

Did he say what he thinks of it?

Just think. Somebody had to be the first person to ever think of eating it. Maybe he was watching a vulture eat at the time.

Maybe it depends on how it's cooked or what species of jellyfish is used.

I'd like to know the name and contact information for where you stayed. As for boys, what is the expected "tip"? Besides Blue Chili, where do you recommend cruising for boys? Are there any problems about bringing boys back to your room? What kind of public transportation is available? In Thailand, ATMs are virtually everywhere. What about Phnom Penh? To see and do the touristy things, how many days would you recommend? Do you have any restaurant recommendations? Do you have any "must try" or "must avoid" foods? Do you have any "must see" or "must do" recommendations?

Actually, it's post #3, but I missed it somehow. Balut, yes that's it. I can't think of anything much worse than that. Yes, they do eat it here and I have never been to the Philippines. Fortunately it is quite uncommon in Thailand, but I was introduced to that fine gourmet delight at a Thai restaurant in Bangkok.

And don't think that devastation applies only to farang. I've had several boys come to me in tears. "Why him finish me? Why? I love him so much." Just off the top of my head I can recall five similar incidents. I think one of the worst things I see farang do is when they are here for a holiday, find a boy they really like, stay with him the whole time, make all kinds of promises to him, and then drop him like a hot potato as soon as they return to their "real" life. I can understand it when the boy is hitting him up for money every 14 seconds, but when that hasn't happened I think it's an awfully mean thing to do.

I read somewhere that shellfish also get rubbery when overcooked. Do you remember the name of that unhatched bird egg thing? I seem to remember you posted about it once a year or so ago, but I can't find the post.

I've always thought it might be because the final approval has to be done by some higher-up who simply isn't available other than certain hours. But who knows? From everything I read, it's just like the banks. You walk into one office and things are done entirely different from the way things are done in other offices. The coming back the next day part isn't so bad if you happen to live in the same city. But some people have to make a special trip to complete these papers and coming back the next day often means having to spend a night in a hotel.

Ohhhhhhh, you're supposed to eat it. Damn! I've been resoling my shoes with it.

Your post is making it seem as if you want to break up with him, but can't bring yourself to actually do it. Am I interpreting that correctly?

Granted, but I also wanted to see if anyone else is hearing the same thing or has seen news I hadn't seen. I think I made it quite clear that there has been no news and the only place I heard this was from this one bar owner.

3000 baht and you haven't even met him? I would not meet him or even communicate with him again if I were you. Lvdkeyes is right. This stuff about not having money to eat is nonsense. Yes, they can go to a Wat, but that usually isn't necessary. The boys take care of each other when the chips are down. He is probably living with at least two or three other boys. I don't think the others or his friends are going to let him starve while they're eating. You can buy Thai food from the street vendors for 20 baht. If he was chatting with you online, then he most likely was in an Internet shop. He had the money to pay the Internet shop, but had no money to eat? I don't think so.

Other than eating my cooking, I can't tell you the most disgusting foods I've seen because I can't tell what most of it is or what it is made from. The three I can identify: Blood - I mean pure raw blood. I've seen some of the rural people buy a hunk of beef, extract the blood into a bowl, and eat it as is just as if it was soup. All I could think of was Dracula. Bats - I've seen them put up nets at fruit farms to catch fruit-eating bats. But waste not, want not. Once they catch them, they grill them and serve them, head and all. The third one has a name, but I forgot what the name is. It's the roasted unhatched baby birds. Sometimes they eat it raw too. To me, that is the most disgusting of all. I can't even look at them eating it.

In my opinion it's one thing to cover expenses of the boyfriend himself, but I make it clear from the outset that I'm not here to be the family ATM. If it's a question of life or death, that's something I would probably cover if I can, if it is the immediate family or someone I know the boy is very close to. But when it comes to weddings, funerals, etc, the family is on their own. That's the family, not the boy, and there is no way I'm going to take responsibility for the family's financial problems. Others do. I know many farang who have paid for major home repairs or even brand new homes for the family, cars, motorcycles, farming equipment, have paid for them to open businesses, paid off their loan shark debts, etc. That's great if that's what you wish to do and if you have the financial means to do it. But I don't have that kind of money and in keeping with learning the hard way, I've discovered that once you let it start there is no end to it. I've also seen many well meaning farang let themselves get trapped and they often end up broke. I've also seen too many times that once the money runs out, so does the boy. I think it is best to establish an allowance that you'll give the boy and make sure he understands that any money he wants to give to mama comes out of his allowance, but nothing from my wallet beyond that. The problem is where you want to draw the line, but wherever that may be, it is best to make it abundantly clear at the beginning of the relationship. That way the boy has been informed as to what you will and will not do. The trick is anticipating all the possibilities and then sticking to what you told him.

In my opinion there is only one strategy that heals - time. The more traumatic the breakup, the longer the time required to get over it. Sometimes you can never really quite get over it, but given enough time you can at least live with it. Life goes on. I think the worst thing to do, if you know a breakup is inevitable or it at least should be, is to put it off. As difficult as it may be, if it needs to be done, then get it over with. I think many of us have been there, and that includes me. I seem to be great at learning the hard way. In my case I delayed and delayed, forgave and forgave, and meanwhile everyone I knew could see that I was in a relationship that was spiraling from bad to worse and there was no end to it. Everyone could see it, that is, except me. When the moment finally came, it was one of the most difficult things I've ever been through. The guilt feelings I went through were terrible, even though I knew I had nothing to feel guilty about. Then, about a month or so later, that's when it began to change to 'what in the world was I waiting for?' Your friend will go through hell for awhile. But that will pass. Believe me, the hell of breaking up is a lot better than the hell of trying to continue a destructive relationship. Supposedly, when he was waiting for Eisenhower to decide whether to keep him on the ticket for Vice President or drop him, Richard Nixon finally confronted him and said, "Mr. President, there comes a time in every man's life when he has to either shit or get off the pot." I think the same holds true if the time comes when it is necessary to break up. I think the best thing, really the only thing, you can do for a friend who is going through it is to be there for him when he needs you and especially when he needs to talk. And if you're a true friend, that means you're available 24-7 until he can cope.

I hope he is wrong, but he seemed very sure about it. All we can do is wait and see. I have not seen or heard anything about this except from him. Let's hope no news is good news.

I hope he's wrong, but last night a Thai bar owner told me that yet another massive Red Shirt rally is planned for Bangkok on July 14, less than a month from now. I have no way to know if that is true, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. Keep your fingers crossed, folks. Enough is enough!

The point is they can ask if they so choose. Just take some sort of proof of address with you when you do the address report. If they do ask, now you have it. If they don't ask, you take it home again. No problem.

The only response you're going to get from me when I see a put-down post like yours is if you ever do it again, your post will be out of here as soon as I see it and so will you. If you can't state your views without trying to put down others, then there is no place for you on this board. You ought to know by now there is no way I tolerate such posts and you also ought to know I warn only once.