spoon

Yes, it does makes the humble me, sounds like a jerk

Sorry, cant help myself from doing another installment of AI-generated trip report. This time i think it did a better job than day 1. Enjoy. Chapter 2: Happiness Is a Solution We live in a culture that is completely obsessed with unrealistic expectations. Lower your standards, they say. Don't give a fuck, they say. But let's be honest: when you’ve meticulously engineered a vacation around elite tier loyalty status and the transactional validation of young Thai men, you give an immense amount of fucks. Every single detail becomes a high-stakes metric for your personal happiness. Take my hotel situation. I woke up after my companion left and checked out at precisely 3:00 PM. Why? Because I am a top-tier member of this hotel chain, and by god, I will milk every single minute of that late checkout privilege to prove my existential worth. I packed my bags and migrated to the next bastion of luxury—closer to Silom, but far enough away that I wouldn't be associated with the unwashed masses in the actual Silom ghetto. Except for my final night at the Pullman G, I made a conscious, deeply neurotic choice to avoid Silom proper. I needed newness. I needed validation. I was trying out the Metropolis Suites Bangkok and the Conrad Bangkok, desperately hoping they would fill the void. Spoiler alert: they did. And more importantly, my nightly companions liked them too. Because it was low season, the universe decided to hand me a series of room upgrades. I practically vibrated with self-satisfaction. I had successfully negotiated a 2:00 PM checkout here, a 4:00 PM checkout there, and my rooms were magically ready before the standard 3:00 PM check-in time. I even managed lounge access for almost the entire itinerary. At the one hotel that dared deny me entry, I extracted a solitary drink voucher like a tax collector taking his due. I mapped my entire afternoon around the lounge schedules: Afternoon Tea from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, and Happy Hour from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. If I missed a single free finger sandwich or complimentary gin and tonic, the entire trip would be an objective failure. By the time I checked into my third hotel—the Hilton Grande Asoke, a comforting, predictable repeat—my delicate ego was thoroughly padded. But happiness isn't just about free hotel cheese; it's about the relentless pursuit of order. I marched over to X-One to exchange my cash. Why X-One? Because they offer the absolute best rate, and saving a fraction of a percent on currency exchange is the hill I am prepared to die on. There was virtually no queue. Another micro-victory. Next was Prime Massage for my mandatory, non-negotiable arrival ritual. I dropped 750 baht on a one-hour foot massage and a one-hour head and shoulder massage. I had to wait fifteen agonizing minutes for my masseur, a delay that threatened to derail my entire fragile psyche, but they escorted me inside immediately, so crisis averted. The ritual was complete. I was officially "relaxed," which is just a code word for being temporarily distracted from my own thoughts. I hurried back to the hotel to aggressively consume happy hour drinks, rested for a minute, and then ventured back into the night toward Silom's Midnight Bar. I bought a drink and sat there, waiting for showtime, radiating the anxiety of a man who needs to be entertained. My favorite waiter was on shift. To ensure he liked me, I bought him a drink. He asked if I knew how to play checkers. I said yes. We played a few games. It was a beautiful, calculated simulation of human connection. Then, I went to Hotmale for the 11:00 PM show. I walked in, and the place was a ghost town. Maybe one or two other customers. On a Saturday night! It was profoundly, deeply sad. There weren't even enough bodies in the room for them to stage the performance. I looked at the guys on stage, searching for a spark, but absolutely none of them appealed to me. I mean, sure, I could see a couple who might satisfy the specific, questionable tastes of my fellow online forum members, but for me? Nothing. I confirmed with the mamasan that the show was officially canceled, felt a heavy wave of disappointment, and immediately pivoted to my next target: Good Boy. Good Boy was the exact opposite. The universe had corrected itself. A show was in full swing, and the bar was packed to the gills. They ushered me down toward the stage, far from the entrance, right into the thick of the boy section. Almost instantly, familiar faces began greeting me with a wai. They asked for drinks. Mamasan Tee and another friendly mamasan materialized out of the neon haze, asking for my order and demanding to know who caught my eye. And then, I saw him. Amongst the crowd was a guy I hadn’t seen on my last trip. Word on the street was he had vanished back to his hometown. But here he was. He was the obvious choice—the only choice. I called him over, bought him a drink, and we began the delicate dance of catching up. He told me he’d been back at work for just two weeks after a seven-month hiatus from the scene. Then came the ultimate validation: he immediately expressed interest in an "off" and asked how long I was staying. Now, a lesser man would have jumped the gun. But I give too many fucks for that. I am a professional. I confirmed a few logistical variables with him first, ensuring everything was perfectly aligned before I summoned the mamasan to pay his bar fine. Let’s call him VB. While VB went to swap his stage gear for street clothes, I informed him we were waiting for a friend of mine who was landing in Bangkok shortly. VB knew him, so we took a tight, performative selfie and blasted it to my friend's phone. Around 12:30 AM, my friend arrived. We anchored ourselves in that bar until the final, late-night shows concluded. My friend, caught up in the momentum of the evening, bought a guy a drink and promptly offed him too. Success is contagious. We ended the night at the legendary Foodland, choking down late-night supper, before retreating to our respective hotels. VB was a repeat guy—proven quality, a certified blue-chip asset. The reunion was spectacular. He stayed all the way until breakfast, validating my existence for a few more hours, and the moment he left, I went right back to sleep. Because when you give this much of a fuck about optimizing your pleasure, you need your rest.

Yes, I am oblivious about them. If you havent put it in your report, I wouldnt have known at all lol. Ignorance is bliss. To be fair, both of us were sitting next to our guy to bother about other people lol and who goes to foodland for a quiet evening/morning?

@floridarob would appreciate this revelation for sure. Lol. At least now I will use @vinapu's name from this point onwards. And @jason1975 as well when its time, much later.

Yes, ive use it before. Last I recall was hilton millenium on new year's eve. Unfortunately, I didnt get the best view hotels but still river facing. I will look for opportunity to use it once I collected enough nights to maintain my status for next year. There is a whole dedicated forum discussing the best way to redeem your points to get the best value in forums like flyertalk or loyaltylobby.

Its not so bad with grande asoke as it is close to bts, and I make use of the shuttle to bts in conrad. Going back to hotel, always took taxi anyway since there is two of us and almost no traffic. Cant deny that Raya hotel used to be my go to, and will like use it for longer trip during high season. But for me to keep my current status, need to do some nights within the chain lol.

Chapter 2: Happiness Is a Solution I went back to sleep once my guy left and checked out around 3pm ish, which is the benefit of being a member of this hotel chain. I moved to my next hotel, closer to Silom, but still not in the Silom ghetto. Except for my last night at Pullman G, none of my hotels are in Silom. The first two hotels in my trip are new hotels (Metropolis Suites Bangkok and Conrad Bangkok) I'm trying this trip, and so far I really like these two hotels, and so do my nightly companions. I was upgraded in all my hotels this time, perks of coming in the low season, I suppose, and there was no issue getting a late checkout until at least 2pm, and up to 4pm for my first and last hotel. This wasn't a big issue anyway, as my rooms were ready for check-in earlier than the standard 3pm check-in in both cases. I have lounge access for most of my trips except for my first hotel, but they did give me one drink voucher. The lounges usually have afternoon tea (2–4pm) and happy hour (5–7pm). My third hotel was a repeat, Hilton Grande Asoke. After settling down in the new hotel, I made my way to X-One to change some cash. I always bring my local currency and exchange it here for the best rate. There was practically no queue. I went to Prime Massage afterward for my customary massage. This time, I chose a 1-hour foot massage and a 1-hour head and shoulder massage for 750 baht. I had to wait 15 minutes for my masseur but was escorted inside the massage area immediately. Now my arrival ritual has been completed lol. I went back to my hotel for the happy hour and rested a bit before making my way back to Silom and Midnight Bar. I stopped by and bought a drink, waiting a bit before showtime in the bar. My fav waiter was there, so I bought him a drink as well. He asked if I knew how to play checkers, and I said yes, so we had a few games before I made my way to Hotmale to see their offering and the 11pm show. When I entered, the customers were sparse, maybe one or two others besides me. Suffice it to say, it was not enough for them to do the show. It was a Saturday night, so it was kinda sad really. None of the guys on stage appealed to me either, though I could see one or two that might appeal to my fellow forum members. After confirming with the mamasan that there would be no show, I made my way to my next bar, Good Boy. When I entered Good Boy, they were right in the middle of a show. The bar was full, so I was ushered to a seat near the stage, further from the entrance, where mostly boys were sitting. Not long after, familiar faces started to greet me with a wai, asked me for drinks, and of course Mamasan Tee and another friendly mamasan came to me asking for my drink order and if there was anyone I liked. And amongst the familiar faces, there was a guy I didn't see on my last trip, as I had heard that he went back to his hometown. He was the obvious choice tonight, so I called him over for a drink and we chatted a bit to catch up. He told me he had just come back to work for 2 weeks, having been away from the scene for 7 months or so since last November. He immediately told me his interest for an off and asked how long I'll stay this trip. Not jumping the gun this time, I confirmed a few things with him before calling the mamasan for an off. Let's call him VB. Once he changed into his street clothes, I told him I was waiting for a friend who was coming to Bangkok and arriving soon. He knows this friend, so we sent him our selfie. Around 12:30am, my friend arrived, and we stayed in the bar until the late-night shows ended. My friend also bought a guy a drink, and it didn't take long for him to also off the guy. We went to the famous Foodland for supper and retired to our hotels for the night. Yet another repeat guy, proven quality, and the reunion was great! He stayed until breakfast, and I went back to sleep after he left.

With second chance, it can be very rewarding. Some of my best regulars were not so great on our first encounter but second and the rest was absolutely enjoyable.

The best of the bunch. Though id prefer them to be Vers Top lol

The subtle art of not giving a f*ck

Thanks. Its not really original but a parody of a title of a book lol

Thanks. Already back home and working unfortunately lol. Havent plan my next trip yet but I will have to use my leaves before year end lol

So far no one asked who he is. I wouldnt write him off myself either. Because up until he told me he had to leave earlier, the session was nice. Maybe his excuse might have been legit, albeit unlikely... Anyway, it will be a while before i take him again. Im not against giving someone a second chance.

Actually we are just below china on the number of tourist to thailand last year. But i guess that figure is inflated, because of cross border activities

You mean malaysia will be one day eligible to use e-gate right? Lol