Londoner

One of the things I discovered thirty years ago in my first visit was that performance trumps looks and that older guys are more likely to know their arts and crafts than younger ones.

Agate's rooms are much cheaper if you book direct and the management of the hotel very efficient.

So we can expect the "Not So Fast Track As It Used To Be" to continue in its present form. The one that has added twenty or so minutes to my journey time. Never mind.

Yes, that's the fear. I'm assuming a whole year. I've established an account (Bangkok Bank) to "see him through" this period. Under his name, of course. Thanks for the reminder; neither of us have had any experience. You are right; we're talking about a lot of money. It's something I must look into.

Briefly, mainly for reasons I relate on another topic, this has not been our most successful stay. Or, at least the first two weeks of it haven't. Neither of us are party animals, and neither of us enjoy the crowds and the general merriment of a Songkran-type of stay. However, my goodness, Jomtien has been quiet. I walked through the bar sois a couple of days ago; the usual cheerful, hopeful guys doing their best (God bless them) but few visitors.... though admittedly it was early in the evening. My morning walks along the beach approach the solitary. Most telling of all, we never have to queue in 711! And the hotel? according to our charming cleaner from Laos, only 20% occupancy. We sometimes have the breakfast room to ourselves. T21 had more life last night (a quick "call-out" for Poon Thai restaurant on Level 3) but overall, the atmosphere has "got to me" this holiday. And I've had many Low Season stays over the years.

I wasn't planning to mention my experiences this week- the feelings are still rather raw- but I feel that I should comment on this topic. P. and I had arranged to marry this trip, entirely for the purpose of ensuring his well-being after my death. He is the major beneficiary of my Will, but since my solicitor is in the UK and the document was drawn-up there I wanted the extra assurance a formalised marriage would provide. The papers, which had taken me a number of weeks to assemble- and at considerable cost I should add because I used an agency for apostilles and translations- were summarily rejected by the Pattaya Registry Office. The authorisation I'd received from the UK FCO with the apostille was not enough; I needed another, from the Bangkok UK Embassy. We don't have enough time to obtain this, at least not this trip. P. was , as usual manifesting his "jai yen" said that nothing has changed, and that what we have, we have. To him, the Abbot's blessing in the Temple here was more significant than a piece of paper. Nevertheless, I remain concerned about possible problems with the transfer of money to Thailand. Those thinking of marriage but who don't reside here should learn from our experience. If I were to try again, I'd employ a Thai lawyer and book an appointment at my country's embassy. TotallyOz's post was sad to read; if I were advising anyone in a relationship similar to that of P and myself, I'd stress the need for total honesty and the sharing of documentation. I've told P that the first thing he must do after my demise is to find himself an English-speaking lawyer to represent him.

I did. My first visit to BKK. 1997. In those days I was too shy to take a guy back to my hotel so we used a strange little cubicle with a plastic -covered mattress. A porn video was running the whole time. Strangely enough I remember that video more then events in the cubicle.

I agree with the inclusion of the "old" Babylon" Putting aside the fact that it was packed with cute Thais, some of whom actually liked us, the roof- top terrace was special. Some moaned about the labyrinthine building; not me- in those days I could sprint up and down it and smile when I came to a dead end. Which I did frequently. I tried others- the well-appointed Obelisks I recall well-but they seemed to be "sticky rice." Bars? more difficult. Circa 1996, Screw Boys, in its old location, opened-up a new world of forbidden sensuality for me, though I don't think I ever offed anyone from there. I liked the bars in Soi Twilight, particularly Blue Star which offered two troops of dancers, one of twinks and the other of more masculine guys. They combined occasionally for a few minutes of nude dancing. It was a waiter from that bar who chased me down the soi to return my wallet when I had dropped it.

You mean they entered the details from my passport and cross-referenced them with my application. OK, sounds plausible. May I ask whether other travellers scanned their applications? or saw them being scanned by the Immigration Official? In my wanderings in search of the correct queue, I thought I saw a line of machines being used for something or other. However, the fact that yesterday, a low season day, queues were longer than before needs explanation. The arrivals hall was jammed with huge numbers of travellers trying to pass through Immigration.

My first experience with the new system yesterday. And it was odd. I was elevated to the Priority line at BKK a few years ago and have never had to queue for than more five minutes over many entries. But yesterday was something else. The signage to the Priority line was poor. Three officials I asked gave me contradictory answers. And when I finally arrived, there was a long queue. I stood for twenty plus minutes, clutching my QA code in my hand until I was finally seen by the officer. Nothing different as far as I could see. At no stage was I asked for the QA, nor was it scanned. I continued on to luggage retrieval just as I've been doing for a few years. Have I missed something? was the system inoperative?

My reading was that it was celebrating "the love that dare not speak its name...." That is, inter-generational and inter-racial, while recognising how impoverished in terms of physical and emotional comfort some elderly people feel in the West. Or perhaps that's reading too much in to it. It just made me smile.

Yes,floridabob, yes , yes.... I post this with a smile on my face because this time next week I'll be there.

There are many Russians in Jomtien. On my list visit I entered a Jomtien Complex Estate Agents' office in my (so far unfulfilled) efforts to find us a suitable home in the area. To my surprise, it was Russian and its clientele was potential Russian ex-pats. The manager claimed he could build us a villa to our requirements in Jomtien; there must be big business in that market. How things change. Our first visit was six years ago and Agate's clientele then included many Chinese tour parties. Bizarrely, their coaches would arrive in the late evening and depart in the morning. One-nighters, it seemed. None of this bothers me; live and let live. As long as P and I can stroll into breakfast holding hands, as is our wont being deeply sentimental, I couldn't care less. There are always plenty of gay guests and many of the staff are gay. Agate has the friendliest and most helpful staff we've encountered in Thailand in hotels stretching from Chiang Rai to Krabi. I suppose I should add that wherever we go in Thailand, hotel staffs treat our rather Odd Couple with respect.

I believe that the above is word-for-word what was in the FCO advice fifteen years ago. We, and even more so, US travellers are very fortunate that repercussions from our respective governments' appalling behaviour are so rare. Anywhere. I remember sitting in Chiang Mai Airport in 2003 and seeing a news bulletin on the departure lounge TV. it showed British troops- the Royal Marines- attacking a group of Iraqi youngsters, blindfolding and handcuffing them. One child was so frightened that his whole body was shaking in terror. I was profoundly upset, almost in tears, and ashamed. So much so that a Buddhist monk came to sit with me to comfort me. I count myself lucky to have travelled all over the world and found so many friends at the same time that the UK has made so many enemies.