Londoner

Are these guys confined to the bar or offable?l

I was in both Winners and Nice three weeks ago. On both occasions I saw falangs who were so ignorant of safe sex- or uncaring about the risks they are taking- that they were giving blow-jobs to the dancers, one after the other. Taking risks with their own health is, of course, up to them; risking the health of young guys who may not know better or who are desperate for money to pay the rent is another.

I don't see BBB as necessarily the best place to start. The guys there are predominantly straight and macho. Many of us are more interested in gay twinks and so a newcomer should be aware of Cupidol and Prisma if he wants to see go-go. But I agree that Oscar's, Panorama and Serene are good places to catch the atmosphere of the soi.

I have arranged next-day assignations in bars - on one occasion receiving abuse from the bar-owner for so doing- but am aware that, if a guy receives a better offer from another punter, he'll take it. And that the next day, his circumstances may have changed. The last time I did this- apart from with whom guys I know well- I was kept waiting all afternoon....and eventually he didn't turn-up. For me, a wasted afternoon in a relatively short holiday.

I shall say this again, as I always do when the bar/apps dispute occurs...if bars were open in the afternoons, I wouldn't need the apps.

Disappointed with hornet this trip, I tried registering for Jack'd and Blue'd on my my laptop and then my tablet and was unsuccessful. Both devices were deemed "incompatible." Romeo, which last time (June) yielded no riches, has now overtaken the truncated hornet as the better option, at least for me.

The show bars in BT aren't operating at the moment (the funeral? or the low season?) and the soi is quiet, even at 2300. I found last time that the show bars were just about tolerable and it's only the karaoke nights that, like Macbeth "murder sleep." And , to be fair, they don't happen often. Street parties, when they do occur, are equally disruptive....but I've often posted about this problem so shall say no more. By the way, Up2U, The Boat Bakery has been closed for some months now. The site is being re-developed. I remember it from back in 1996....a long time for a business like that to survive in Pattaya.

I'm a regular- three times a year- at Ambiance so I declare my bias. But I did inspect both Copa and Le Cafe for a friend. I used to stay at the latter when Robbie was there, The place has been up-graded since those days. There is a lot of difference in the the rooms at Ambiance. The cheapest are small and, facing the back, have little natural light. The better ones are fine but I always take a Penthouse room; I like the open-ness of them, their size and the views of the soi, the sea and the chedi. But you have to pay for these privileges, naturally. I like the reception staff-indeed all the staff- and this brings me onto Copa. If anything, the rooms are better. Newer of course and brighter. But the reception is not as professional as Ambiance and it is more of an apartment block than a hotel. My friend chose Copa and was happy there but this one issue led him to Ambiance for his second visit. He felt more secure (particularly with visitors) as a newbie than at Copa. The rooms at Le Cafe are fine but there are no penthouse ones .Good restaurant, too. Copa has none. The other factor is noise. Copa and Cafe Royal sit on top of noisy show-bars. Ambiance is affected by this too but has the advantage of its show bar being enclosed. Even there noise from across the soi is sometimes a problem. The 0300 karaoke at Cafe Royal is unbearable. Of course, these are not considerations for night-owls.

I had a good friend who was living in Thailand. His beloved boyfriend was continually stealing money from him. He refused to give him up; he was deeply committed to him. My advice to him was never ever to leave money lying around, not just for his own sake but to protect his boyfriend by not placing temptation in his way. It is wrong to tempt others to commit a misdeed.

I'd be annoyed. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I'm afraid that it is a case of caveat emptor; if we invite strangers into our rooms, we need to take care that there is nothing available that may be taken. To be blunt, though I lock money , camera etc, away,I'd never before considered the possibility that the minibar would be a temptation. I suppose that all you can do is to check the bar before before and after, while the visitor is still there. Or just accept this this is an occupational hazard that's unlikely to happen again.

The older I get the worse it becomes and its apogee is the second or third night in Thailand when I go to be sleepy, fall asleep immediately and then wake after an hour unable to continue my sleep. A distressing experience. I was advised to try valerian and I still use it, but I'm doubtful as to its efficacy. I'm diffident when it comes to sleeping tablets. Are they available over the counter in Thailand?

Numerous massage joints in Day/Night area are worth a look. The masseurs tend to sit outside so you can check what's on offer without entering.

Were there many punters present? And what time were you there?

"Arab" guys ? are you sure? do they define themselves as "Arab" or are you making a judgement? I've never seen Arabs on hornet and very rarely on Romeo. Certainly not in the bars. The Arabs in Pattaya tend to be holidays from Gulf states or Kuwait; they are middle-class guys who are unlikely to want money for their affections.

It varies according to the time of day. Three hours is fine unless you are travelling in the evening.

You are wise not to take chances. Be particularly aware of the practice of declaring a guy declaring himself to be eighteen when he is due to reach eighteen later that year.

Sglad acted wisely. i was very surprised that Travellerdave took that chance and wouldn't recommend it even if the guy looked old enough. I'm surprised that the hotel allowed him in.

A few are "into" older men. Anyone who's been to Babylon knows that.

Nature Boys is more or less opposite Golden Cock and Super A is in under that little tunnel (for want of a better word) on your left as you pass on the way to GC. If you are at GC you are less than 50 metres from these two bars.

I find the five or so host bars in Soi Twilight more appealing than over-priced go-go bars. For one thing, you are more likely to meet someone who speaks some English. And the costs of drinks and bar-fines tend to be a little lower. Another "plus" is that you can judge whether you want to have a drink there without leaving the soi. The two bars at the entrance are off-bars. Further down the soi there are others. The guys will approach you and if there's one you like (he may be the waiter who brought you your drink) merely ask him if he wants a drink himself. This will lead to...anything you want. There have been times when some of the guys are fixated on their phones...but they are there for you.

Utterly disgraceful behaviour. Our police should exercise extreme caution when dealing with military juntas, particularly in Thailand which has a long history of racism towards the Burmese.

The forensic evidence was shot to pieces by a British expert a couple of years back. It is believed that the murder was committed by members of an important and powerful Thai family that more or less "runs" the island. Burmese are the easy fall-guys on whom to pin their crimes.

I agree. I find it hard to empathise with those who see a someone in need on the streets and then enjoy an internal debate about the whys, wherefores and long-term possibilities and probabilities rather than just giving him/her a few bht before continuing their journey.

DeWinter refers specifically to twinks....not many (if any) of those to be found at BBB. Come to think of it, even when it had one hundred dancers back in the 90s. only a handful were twinks.

My habits are much the same as vinapu's. And I agree that helping beggars is appropriate in a country that lacks basic social support. I do not give money to toddlers on their own but am happy to buy them an orange juice.