Londoner

There's an airport in LP and daily flights from BKK on Air Asia.

We've been in Luang Prabang twice. We were travelling as a couple and so commercial sex wasn't on our menu. I suspect that, had it been, we'd have been very disappointed! In one of the hotels we stayed in, there was a letter from the police attached to the door, warning against non-marital sex; only married couples were allowed to share a room. Not impressed by the two hotels we used. The first was acceptable but simple. Much more expensive than similar ones in Thailand. The second was very poor...more expensive than the first and inadequate. Both were on the river side and so benefitted from offering superb views. There are some expensive 1st class places outside the city. No problems for a gay couple but I wouldn't advise anyone seeking a Pattaya-experience to go there. Vientiane didn't seem to have much to offer. The river-front was particularly disappointing. But Luang Prabang is charming.

A number of options there, both gay and and gay-friendly. Agate is our choice. Spick-and- span, some cute staff, quiet (ask for a room on the swimming pools side) prices at about 1600 pn. Book direct rather than through Agoda etc. We've stayed at many Thai hotels; my boyfriend reckons this to be his favourite, even if we've stayed at places a lot more expensive. Rooms a bit small but each has a nice balcony .

Are you suggesting that Americans are particularly.....um....overweight?

Correct.Don't lead him on. Don't let him think that a few offs means than a ltr is a possibility. In my case, I was meeting my partner for offs from his bar for a year ( I was visiting three or four times annually) before it became apparent that this relationship was different. To both of us. It was another two years or so before I used the word "love". I recall exactly the circumstances because I emailed an old friend that he (my partner) hadn't been well and that I was worried about him. It was then that I said to my old friend, "I think I love him." What I didn't realise then was that my partner was beginning to suffer the early symptoms of TB which, a few months later, would put him in hospital and begin a difficult chapter in our relationship.

I experienced that in January. It was , apparently, a birthday party. I was in Ambiance and so was able to look down from the balcony at about 0300; the performance was for four people. Falangs, as far as I could see.

Jack'd (and Blue'd) were only accessible on a mobile....didn't work either on my tablet or my lap-top. Is Scruff any better?

The internet was replaced almost yearly at Tarntawan and, for the last five years, has been as good as anywhere. Back in 2003, I suspect that it was still dial-up. I remember trying internet shops in Chiang Mai; almost impossible to get a decent connection. The ones I've been using recently- Tarntawan, Ambiance, Agate, Amora (Chiang Mai) and Aonang Villas (Kabi)- even three hotels in Laos- have been almost as good as here in London.

JimmyJoe identifies a Thai characteristic that many of us have experienced. Our partners prefer us to look smart....not expensively so but well-cared for. It shows respect just as he does his best for us. In my case , this means in an evening ritual lasting an hour while he showers and dresses for dinner. I invariably sneak out for a beer out of sheer boredom! In the case of a relatively new friend who is testing the waters, he wants to be seen with a falang but not just "any" falang; he prefers a touch of class. It's a status thing. Indulge him!

Venezuela is a beautiful country- wonderful rain forests, waterfalls and gay-friendly beaches. However, the fact that the the US covets its oil and is itching to invade, even if Trump is happy for his proxies to act in the meantime, means that I won't be visiting anytime soon! By the way, I'd love to hear the Simon Bolivar Orchestra live again....I was at the London concert a few years ago and it remains one of the exciting experiences for me in sixty years of concert-going.

There are some interesting videos of 1980s/1990s on Youtube. Low-rise , distinctly shabby back then. On the other hand....

It was the smell of the carpets that announced my arrival in Thailand. Distinctive to say the least. My seventieth visit in ten weeks....they must have done something right.

Let me be clear....LTRs, particularly when you are separated by 5000 miles, are not easy. At least mine isn't. And I'm lucky that, for me, the cost is the least of the worries. I don't recommend it. And, come to think of it, I never wanted a boyfriend. I visited Thailand happily for nine years, about forty trips, and enjoyed every minute . Bars, offs, massages... interesting encounters; I had it all. And then one night, I met someone different; or so it seemed. When we finished that first encounter and I'd paid , he waited by the door as though there was something more that should be said or perhaps done.. How long? I'm not sure but it seemed a long, long time. Fifteen years ago and it seems like yesterday. Fifteen years of tribulation and worry. And, I'm not too proud to say it, tears. But I love him and, when troubles come-and they certainly have to us- you have two choices; either say, that's it. The end. Or you love him all the more. And I do.

I first rented a deck chair on the gay beach in 1996; by 2000, the Golden Age was over. Just one example; it was difficult to find a spare deckchair in the late afternoon. By 2005, the beach was well past its sell-by date.....even if the quality of the water was improving!

LTRs can also be problematic for the Thai partner. I know of cases where a relationship of many years or so is precipitously severed by a falang who has found a younger and cuter partner, causing not only emotional distress but also leading to financial problems for not just the guy but his family. In one case, the the thirty-year-old Thai, in a relationship with a falang for ten years, went out for few hours and, returning home, found his partner with all his belongings gone; no forwarding address, no explanation. When we take on a guy and make certain promises or raise certain expectations, we owe our partner honesty. Sometimes relationships fail but when they do, the falang probably has more options open to him than the Thai, particularly if he is now ageing and less attractive. I've no doubt that there are Thais who have acted badly towards loving and generous falangs but sometimes it's the falang who has failed his partner and failed to adapt to a relationship which is no longer as sexually stimulating as when it started.

It's absolutely true that cute guys attract older admirers. I always wonder why more saunas don't give under twenty- fives a cheap rate. The best afternoon I had in Babylon was when they lowered their entrance fee while the swimming pool was being renovated...large numbers of cute Thai guys outnumbered people like me.

I always gave the average amount for an off....1000- 1300 bht. I recall two occasions when the guy said, no, that's too much. I persuaded both to accept it!

That's all true. I love my three visits a year to Pattaya but I'm not certain I'd be quite so excited by the prospect if I wasn't in a ltr. Observing the bar-scene from outside, I'm not impressed. Nevertheless, there have been improvements since my first visit. 1) Apps ensure that sanuk is available twenty-four hours a day 2) The range of restaurants is astonishing. The new Terminus 21 alone could keep a tourist sated for three weeks 3) The malls can provide a respite to the heat during the daytime. 4) Issues relating to underage sex seem to have disappeared. 5) More flights are available to and from Bangkok, both international and domestic. And perhaps surprisingly, those flights are not much more expensive than when I first came in 1995 while the cost of hotels and restaurants , not to mention company, has remained pretty stable.

But, I emphasise, not "gay" business. My suspicion is that, if it thrives, and the successfully-expanding Ambiance becomes even more reliant on the Chinese/Asian market, the "Boyztown" sign will soon be taken -down as an embarrassment. Perhaps it doesn't matter; it makes commercial sense. Nevertheless, it is sad for my generation. Back in 1995 I recall the sheer joy of sitting in Panorama surrounded by guys just like me, watching the go go dancers saunter past on the way to work. I'd never felt so much at home.

The new venue at LCR is a major problem. I could feel as well as the thumping of the loudspeakers in my bed at 0300 the night before my return home in June. I've cancelled my next stay with great disappointment after twenty-five years and seventy visits. I'm too old to lose a night's sleep and my boyfriend and I prefer to retire before midnight. Of course, noise isn't a problem for everyone; if you go to bed at 0400 or aren't sensitive to noise, you won't be affected. Ambiance is replacing its penthouse doors, by the way. That may help. LCR may make money for the owners; unfortunately it runs the risk of ensuring that other businesses don't. Boyztown has declined year by year with old favourites like Oscars, Funny Boys and Panorama closed. I fear that it will soon be darkened, boarded-up soi only coming to a very limited life between 1200 and 0300. And, by the way, not for gays; we are not LCR's target group.

What is the situation for gays now that there is an evangelical, homophobic, racist thug is in power? I have read reports that the gay community is very nervous.

Agoda calls it "imm" on my receipt for September....but I'll be pleased if the old name is preserved.

Circadin (melatonin) helps with jet-lag. I bought mine at Boots, Silom. 500 bht for 18 tablets, if I recall correctly. As far as expense is concerned, you are right but hotels and restaurants remain good value. And, by the way, the old Tarntawan Hotel, beloved by many, will be called the imm hotel, Surawong (yes, small "i") and will offer excellent prices. Check out Agoda. My September room costs less than £25 pn. I paid nearer £50 in May.

Absolutely. And , apparently, Panorama in Boyztown has been bought by Castro. That's another one gone. O tempora, o mores......those happy early evenings sitting there, bir-singh at the ready, watching the go-go dancers pass by on their way to work, waiting for the bars to open......

A drink in Dick's, watching the crowds- tourists, dancers, staff- the cheapest and best (almost) way to spend an hour in Bangkok. And the same goes for Panorama. Ten years ago.