Gaybutton

For some the novelty wears off and for some it doesn't. But other considerations include medical care availability and quality, availability of the foods you like, shopping, grocery stores, transportation, cost of living, proximity to immigration offices (some people have to make long trips every 90 days just to report their address), banks and ATMs, Internet availability, activities, etc. All of those, plus more, are things to check before coming to a decision.

I agree with every word you wrote.

"Let her gush and jabber. Let her be enthused. I cannot remember When I have been more amused." - Gaston, 'Gigi', song: The Night They Invented Champagne On the list of things I give a damn about, guess where DanT's complaints are . . .

I hope I'm wrong, but that's exactly what I think they're going to do. I also think saying they're only blocking a few intersections is oversimplifying the problems resulting from this, but I hope it doesn't take a bloodbath to resolve it.

I think the same as you do. But it is interesting to see what people are saying they would do if they are ever forced to leave Thailand.

I guess I should have followed the word 'imminent' with a question mark. The news reports make it seem as if something is going to happen, and very soon. The way I see it, the Red-Shirts are not going to give in. The Abhisit government is not going to give in. Now the "No Color Shirts" are planning a mass demonstration. There seems to be no end to it and Thailand can't afford to let this just go on and on as a never-ending stand-off. To me, it all seems to be heading in just one direction - the military. Unless something changes, the only way I can visualize this coming to an end is military intervention. I hope it doesn't come to that because it would mean more injuries, more deaths, more hatred, the possibility of martial law being imposed, and an outcome satisfactory to no one. Only a short time ago I was sure nothing was going to happen at all and that I hoped I wouldn't end up having to eat my words. Unfortunately, I've had to chow down on those words. I never expected the situation to degenerate to what it has become. I really didn't. My predictions couldn't have been more wrong. I can only hope my predictions about military intervention turn out to be just as wrong.

We all have our varying opinions as to who is right, who is wrong, and whether the government should or should not try to disperse the Red-Shirts. From the latest news reports, it does seem that the military is about to do something. Just what they intend to do remains to be seen. It's a sad thing when the military has to step in and take action against its own people. My own opinion is the Red-Shirts have a right to protest, but I have a problem with their methods. A protest and even marching is one thing, but to disrupt a city and cause problems that are directly and adversely affecting the entire country in order to get what they want is not my idea of how it ought to be done. Suppose they do get what they want, dissolution of the current government and new elections. Then what? What are they going to do if the candidates they support don't win? What will the opposition do if their own candidates don't win? What will the opposition do if a Red-Shirt government prevails and then tries to bring Thaksin back in? What will the military do if that happens, especially since it was the military that ousted Thaksin in the first place? I think no matter how it all plays out, Thailand is going to suffer serious consequences for quite some time to come. And no matter which side wins, look what a new government and Prime Minister would have to deal with - a country torn apart, with its reputation for being a peaceful, safe place to visit, invest in, and reside in ruined, with the tourism industry in terrible shape, and plenty of other problems to go with it. It's not a job I would want, that's for sure. "You were both wrong! And you were both right." - Yul Brynner, 'Taras Bulba' __________ PM Rejects Softened Red-Shirt Demands Dissolution deadline 30 days, talks set to restart Published: 24/04/2010 Politics plunged back into crisis on Saturday when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected a compromise offer from the red shirts, who said they were now braced for a crackdown. Hopes for an agreement to end weeks of protests, which have been punctuated by deadly street clashes, evaporated as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out the offer by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to disperse its protest if polls were called in 30 days. PM rejects softened red-shirt demands

I like Ratefun too, yes. Actually, I like them all! If I don't find the type I like on one site, I'm sure to find what I'm looking for on another. Another one I like is Gboysiam: http://www.gboysiam.com/picpost Many of the boys on Gboysiam publish their phone numbers. I never place a cold call, though. I always send a text message first. Sometimes I get a response and sometimes I don't. If they don't publish their phone number, I'll make a first contact by Email. Again, sometimes I get a response and sometimes I don't. Despite the warnings and potential problems, I have never had any kind of negative incident with any of the boys I've met via these personals sites. I've gotten to the point that I actually prefer the personals sites to the bars. None of the bullshit that goes on in the bars. No mama-sans. No drinks that I don't want in the first place. No "drink for boy." None of the game playing. No loud music volume. No police raids. No doormen screeching in my ear or trying to physically manhandle me into the bar. No off fees. No "go upstairs" fees. I realize many really enjoy the bars and also want to see what they're getting first, but for me, when I look at the pros and cons of going to the bars vs. the personals sites, the pros vastly outnumber the cons. Whenever I meet a boy from the personals sites for the first time, I always arrange to meet somewhere neutral. That gives me a chance to check his ID card, make sure his posted photos are really the same person, chat, and make sure we'll be compatible. That method has never failed me. I never have a "first timer" come directly over to my place. I doubt they could find it anyhow, but meeting first at a neutral place works best for me.

Somehow, from among all the descriptive words that can be applied to you, I would have thought "virgin" would be way down at the bottom of the list . . .

If I am forced to move away from Thailand, rather than somewhere else within Thailand, my next stop would be Phnom Penh as Plan A, Laos as Plan B.

You are much more of an optimist than I . . . Maybe we should start taking bets on how long it will take to start the repairs, to complete the repairs, and how long the repairs will last.

Why is anyone even responding to Mr. DanT? He has a grand total of 7 posts on this board and cries about how many posts I and others write. Troll with a capital T. He is at liberty, just like anyone else, to go to other boards if he doesn't like this one or who posts on it how many times. If it's my posts he specifically dislikes, is anyone out there twisting his arm to read them?

http://ww.cam4.com brings up the site. http://www.cam4.com brings up the announcement GT received I did manage to get through. HeyGay, what's so special about this site? What I saw was primarily heterosexual makes and females from all over the world. I couldn't even find anything about gays from Thailand, let alone specific areas of Thailand. If you like that site, fine with me, but I think I'll just stick with Gay Romeo and Camfrog, thank you very much.

Of course not. All this time, inconvenience, disruption of local businesses, difficulty of navigating the road, and everybody finally breathing a sigh of relief when the new road opens - plenty of lanes, a smooth ride, and everybody's happy. So what does the reality turn out to be? After waiting all this time, years, when it's all finished it turns out that was actually put in was an incompetent piece of shit that's already falling apart less than three weeks after completion. Way to go! Why am I not surprised?

Travel Alert: Thailand The State Department alerts U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Thailand of ongoing demonstrations in Bangkok. Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok, all U.S. citizens should avoid nonessential travel to Bangkok. Those traveling outside of Bangkok in Thailand should be aware of the possibility of disturbances elsewhere and should exercise caution and good judgment. This replaces the Travel Alert dated April 20, 2010, to update information on security concerns and to recommend against travel to Bangkok at this time. This Travel Alert will expire on July 22, 2010. On the evening of April 22, 2010, several explosions occurred in the Silom/Sala Daeng area at the Sala Daeng BTS Skytrain station causing a number of injuries, including at least one fatality. The possibility of more such attacks cannot be ruled out. U.S. citizens should avoid travel to and lodging in this area. You should monitor local news concerning demonstrations and avoid such areas, if possible. If U.S. citizens must travel to these areas, they should exercise special caution and remain vigilant with regard to their personal security. Immediately report to law enforcement or security personnel any unattended packages or bags or suspicious objects in public areas. The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (aka UDD or

Pattaya’s Recently Re-laid Thappraya Road Collapses The recently re-laid surface of Thappraya Road in Pattaya has collapsed in several places after the period of inclement weather and heavy traffic that was experienced over the Songkran festival period. Pattaya, the 23rd of April 2010 [PDN]: Several parts of the new road, which took contractors nearly 2 years to compete, have collapsed or are showing worrying signs of wear. Thappraya Road is a main artery of Pattaya, responsible for connecting South Pattaya to Jomtien with adjoining roads to the heavily populated Pratamnak Hill area. Thappraya Road started to show signs of undue wear within a fortnight of the official opening at the end of March. A large depression in the roads surface has formed at the junction with Pratamnak Road whilst more recently, during an entire day of inclement weather, a section of the road in the Jomtien bound lane has entirely caved-in allegedly due to the insufficient drainage installed. _____ Photos and the rest of the article at: Recently Re-laid Thappraya Road Collapses

"Anerucans" That's a correction?

If you edit your post using the full editor, you should be able to correct the title. Of course, there's always proofreading before hitting the post button . . . Anyway, that meeting seems like it will be interesting. If anyone attends, please let us know what is said. I'm really not sure what the embassy can tell us that most of us wouldn't already know from keeping up with the news, but maybe they know something we don't.

I have to leave it up to GT to do that. The only way I can physically remove your post since it is the first post on the thread would be to remove the entire thread. If I do that, now I will be in the doghouse with GT, so I'll pass the buck leave it up to him. Meanwhile, we can chalk this one up to a mild misunderstanding.

I sincerely and publicly apologize. I certainly didn't mean to offend you. I'm the one who moved it because most of the post is about your experience in Phnom Penh and is subheaded "Trip to Phnom Penh." The reason I moved it was because the post has very good information about Phnom Penh and most people looking for information about Cambodia are going to look for it on the Gay Asia forum, not the Pattaya Forum. That's the forum on which I thought the post would be the most appropriate. It never occurred to me that moving the post might upset you. However, the post has been moved back to the Gay Thailand forum and again I'm sorry if moving the post offended you. I didn't mean for that to happen.

You've got it. I'm definitely right. Yes, those do come to mind, along with a great many other similar concerns that interest me and plenty of other people. And guess what, I still concern myself with other things including the things of importance to you. Apparently you have a problem about that. Now I see. My concerns have to be the same as yours, or better still exclusively yours, otherwise it's time to start belittling. Nevertheless I see you too have read every one of those posts. Now that you've had your put-down, let's get back to the subject of the thread.

I'm sure there are many people around who can actually be "worried" about more than just one thing at a time. Sex? Ohhhh yes, I remember that . . . .

I suggest also looking at this web site: http://www.pattayashemales.com/bars.htm

I hope you don't let that happen. This guy sounds like some kind of a nut to me and your boyfriend seems perfectly capable of handling the situation himself. Obviously your boyfriend has no intention of having anything to do with that guy, so I wouldn't get involved unless your boyfriend asks you to. If you try to intervene, I can see that escalating and then you'll find yourself having to explain things to the police, who probably won't take very kindly to an incident. I think your boyfriend can handle it just fine.

Everything you say is correct, but that's not the point. The point is what you would choose to do if a friend asks you not to take a boy he either has, or is trying to establish, a relationship with. I don't think anybody disputes the idea that if a boy is working in a bar, then he is at liberty to go with anyone who wants him. But the question is, at least the way I'm seeing this issue, is if a friend asks you not to take that boy, would you take him anyway? In reality, I don't think a friend is going to ask that of you unless he has a damned good reason. His reason doesn't have to be anything I see as a valid reason. Even if I see his reason as ridiculous, he doesn't see it that way and, as I said, that's good enough for me. I'm not going to start arguing with him about it. If it's a friend, I would trust that he does have, in his view, a good reason and my choice would be to abide by his wishes. I would not give him the third degree as to why he has asked this or why the boy is still working in a bar or why he doesn't find a different job for him, or anything else. If he is my friend, then I'll simply abide by his wishes. I believe my friends would do the same for me. I thought that's how true friends are supposed to treat each other. If I had a friend who tells me that since that boy works in a bar, he's going to go ahead and take him despite my request and despite the availability of so many other boys, then he wouldn't be a friend much longer and probably never was a true friend in the first place.