Mavica

Once again, thank you for posting your report. I have comments to some of your remarks: On one of my two-week visits to the city I rented a beachfront apartment in Copacabana, several streets from Leme. On that visit and during others, I walked around Leme. Smallish in size, it's considered an upper middle-class section of the city. I won't describe the area as "There is no insecurity there." because I think there are varying degrees of safety risk throughout Rio. I observed many tourists, foreign and national, who wandered about and had lodging in Leme. I haven't swam at the Leme beach but leaving anything of value behind as I entered the water isn't something I'd personally do. I'm a walker when I visit Rio. I've extensively explored Centro, Copacabana, Ipanema, Urca, Catete, Botaforo, Flamingo and Niteroi on foot ... but I don't walk in certain sections of the city after dark or on streets where many others aren't also walking or aren't well-lit. After one visit I don't think it can be said "you can walk safely" as a general statement (particularly in Centro and Lapa). The challenge for us when we're newbies is we don't know what we don't know. Being able to select from a stable of very handsome young men for the price equivalent of US$30 is just one of the reasons so many of us enjoy visiting Rio. The relatively low cost helps to offset the oftentimes high cost of airfare. At least it is for me. In addition to paying the young men, before leaving for the night I always give a tip to the individual who takes care of the locker room, hands-out the sandals/flip-flops and towels, etc. I don't like to visit on the free cabin nights. Lots of competition for the guys and when I select one I've often had to wait an hour before getting into a room. I also think the rooms aren't cleaned well those busy nights. I always use the sauna/steam rooms. When I lived in Mexico City - where gay and straight saunas are plentiful - I'd go to one once weekly. Once, while in the sauna/steam at 117 I had a lengthy discussion with a Brazilian (in English) who discussed at length the history of saunas/steam baths and clients having sex with handsome young men ... starting with the Greeks ever so long ago. It was a great opportunity. Other than that opportunity, I've spoken with only several foreigner customers over the years. I don't patronize the saunas with garotos to socialize with other customers. I don't like the straight porn on the video monitors, because, my experience has been, most of the garotos are focusing on the straight porn sometimes more than me. Maybe they're having a better time watching the video, than having sex with me! 😁 I'm supposing our assessments are relative to our prior experiences. For me, I see a lot of diversity amongst the garotos. What I don't know won't bother me. However, if I knew a garoto was rimming customers ... I would not select him, no matter how awesome he looked. I don't understand why you think that. What experience with an English speaking garoto makes you think that way? Now, I can't think of many garotos I've been with who were fluent English speakers. Many I've been with do know some limited English. I've been with some who are Spanish speakers, and I can easily communicate with them. I know relatively few words in Portuguese as spoken in Brazil. I'm just the opposite. I prefer places ... be they in Rio or in Thailand ... where the young men are naked,or nearly so. I want to see as much of a young man's body as I can before making my choice. For a first-timer I think you did well. I've never thought of Rio as being a place to be fearless. If I'd lived there, if I had friends who live there with whom I was staying, I'd take some chances. But it's a destination that's not without safety risks. I'm not yet ready to pick-up a guy in Campo de Santana and invite him to one of the nearby hotels, and certainly not to my apartment! Over the years, I've developed a sense of comfortability in places and at times in the city ... but I remain cautious. Thank you.

I'm circling back to this discussion, because I returned from my first-ever cruise (ship) - three days ago. A Royal Caribbean Line ship, 7 nights to the Western Caribbean (4 port stops: Honduras, Belize and 2 in Mexico). A small ship with about 2,000 passengers. My observations: onboard were many gay men and lesbians spanning all age groups ... including one group of 50 gay men belonging to the Prime Timers social group. There was a nightly gathering for gays in one of the bars. The Cruise Director was gay. There was no assigned seating in the Main Dining Room, and the ship I was on had 5 or 6 eating areas. I was assigned one of the two time slots to eat in the Main Dining Room but I opted to eat in the buffet restaurant instead. Passengers interact with one another as they see fit. Engage in conversations with others, or not. I did not sense anyone judging another passenger - gay or straight. People go on cruises to have a good time. If you are sharing a stateroom with a younger man and enjoying the ship's various venues, I doubt anyone will care.

Thank you for returning to post your trip report.

Unrelated, but some similarities: 25 years ago a friend of mine underwent penile implant surgery. A pumped-up penis balloon of sorts. A pump control was placed behind his ball sac. He said the surgery was painful. He hadn't fucked his partner in more than a decade. The first time he tried the pump he was rock-hard and the two of them had wonderful sex. The pump relief valve malfunctioned and his long dick stayed hard; wouldn't deflate. His surgeon was out of town for a couple of weeks and the office told him to strap the big dick to his thigh with an "Ace" bandage. I told him to head to the nearest gay bath house and fuck everyone he could. Why waste such a gift. He didn't. When the surgeon returned he had the implant removed. No more sex for him (he would only top, no bottoming). $4,000 and his desires unfulfilled/wasted. Be careful what we wish for.

Not in Thailand, but other place in my life I've had friends and sex partners who died. Several died by suicide, some by illness ... most died in the USA of HIV/AIDS in the 89's and 90's. Actually, I lost count of the number of my sex partners and acquaintances who died of HIV/AIDS; scores. With each loss there are mostly fond memories, but always there's sorrow.

Without the opportunity to know the specific survey questions asked, how many people participated, where in the country participants live … I’ll ignore the survey as irrelevant.

The same things happen in Mexico, not only to tourists … but Mexicans, too.

Most visitors to this forum, these forums, never register or post questions/comments. That's a verifiable fact. They read, and learn what they/we can. Some of the reluctance is due to timidity, and for others the fear of being attacked by a resident troll is inhibiting. As for you, some contributors doubt your sincerity / authenticity. The content of your after-trip reports is anticipated. Whether that matters to you ... is up to you. For me? I'm hoping to learn something from your travels. Don't let me / us down!

The "second photo"? He appears to be worse than ugly. Actually, he looks sickly. 😒

Some degree of paranoia in the responses, bordering on scare tactics. Yes, don't be stupid. No matter the country we visit. And don't be reluctant to look with scant eye at a business suggesting we patronize their business because the owner says his/her environment is safer than another. Set your banking and credit card limits to acceptable levels and secondary approvals before charges/withdrawals are made.

Yes, local / country laws must be obeyed - that's a given. However, for Americans or US legal permanent residents, visiting NSW and while there they have sex with a 16 or 17 year old ... even if local laws permit such relationships ... there's the risk of being prosecuted under US federal statutes (not laws of individual states in the US). As I understand/interpret the US federal statutes, one need not have left the US and made a trip to a foreign destination for the sole purpose of engaging in sex acts with someone under 18 years old ... to avoid possible prosecution. There are countries, in addition to the US, that track the foreign travel history of some travelers who are suspected of engaging in sex with underaged persons and/or engaging in the distribution or possession of what's defined as child pornography. Several individuals I've met are and have been subjected to secondary inspections when arriving back in the US after foreign travel.

This is what I was referring to: Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/arrest-detention/crimes-against-minors.html

China's COVID-19 response is a failure ... in the eyes of so many not only in China, but worldwide.

There's / was an American who lived in Acapulco who had a taste for children under the age of 12 (much younger). He'd be seen about town on his motor bike with a child sitting behind and holding on. Many gay men in Acapulco avoided him, out of fear of guilt by association. He thought he was immune from arrest because, reportedly, one of his parents were connected with (or had influence with) the U.S. Department of State. This man was tipped-off that he was about to be arrested for his behavior in Mexico and ... as the story goes ... he moved to Pattaya. All of this occurred 30 years ago. My understanding is that he's undergone substantial plastic surgery in Thailand with the objective making him look younger than his actual age.

When I've been in Thailand, and I've wanted to kiss one of the young men - French Kiss - to my memory, none have been reluctant.

Probably the main reason gay tourism to Acapulco (Mexico) (by foreigners) is virtually non-existent is the several large-scale sweeps that saw a couple score gay men falsely arrested, charged and incarcerated in a not-so-nice prison for years before they were released after not being convicted. I know of one elderly Canadian man from Montreal who committed suicide while incarcerated there, awaiting his trial. It's because of those incidents particularly older gays (but young also) stopped visiting Acapulco and switched their Mexican destination to, primarily, Puerto Vallarta. At the same times, Acapulco police rounded-up young men from out-of-town who were play-for-pay and put them on busses bound for Vallarta ... or Mexico City. Know, however, that several men were guilty and convicted of having sex with under-aged boys (as young as under-12 years old). There is an organization which is or was once centered in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico which traveled throughout Mexico taking videos of allegedly (and actual) gay men talking with teens or a bit older young men in public spaces - and providing the videos to national television and local newspaper outlets with the allegation that the foreigners (and some who were Mexican nationals) were Pedophiles. When this was going on I visited acquaintances who were incarcerated in the Guerrero state prison on the outskirts of Acapulco, oftentimes they were there for close to a decade before being released ... after their bank accounts were drained by paying bribes tocorrupt prison officials, attorneys and judges. For Americans who have sex with young men or women when traveling abroad, my understanding is that we are obligated to observe the age of consent in the USA, not that of the country we are traveling to / visiting. We can be arrested and charged ... under USA law. p.s.: When visiting the state prison in Acapulco, I was always solicited by young inmates who wanted to trade sex with me for money. Reluctantly, I thanked them but declined the opportunity ... out of fear the jail cell would lock behind me and I'd be there for much longer than I'd intended!

Question: You've been in Rio for almost a week and it seems to me, reading your comments, you have yet to find a GP to spend time with. Or, are you saving that information for an end-of-trip report? Just wondering.

There are tattoos, and then ... tattoos that resemble art. "Hideous"? No. I'm attracted to many (not all) of the tattoos I see on guys. Body art; sexy.

Don't believe everything you read. 👽

From the UK, England ... I've always liked Keeping Up Appearances. In the USA, I enjoyed The Twilight Zone, The Ernie Kovacs Show ... amongst others. I've purchased DVDs of the entire Keeping Up Appearances series and occasionally view them. The Twilight Zone reruns are frequently aired on cable TV. For some unknown reason, I don't think The Ernie Kovacs Show is available for viewing.

Obviously, the decision(s) to wait, undergo radical prostatectomy or opt for another form of treatment is a personal one. Few of us face the same circumstances / situations when making these decisions. Age, health history, family medical history ... all play a factor. I don't second guess that the decision I made to undergo a radical prostatectomy via the Da Vinci robotic procedure and that it was right for me. True. And men who choose to wait die, too. Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22819416/#:~:text=At a median followup of,% and 69.2%%2C respectively. My older Brother /had/has prostate cancer. His choice of treatment was watchful waiting, followed by radiation. Not long ago, his physician advised him that his PC has spread outside of the prostate. Because of other serious health issues he's dealing with, no further treatment has been prescribed.

Such hatred as expressed is more popularly described as "trolling". Let's not feed the troll.

I, for one, would welcome an influx of some of the handsome Russian young men. Diversity!

Ditto.

Gaybutton, I've enjoyed reading your forum for a very long time ... the most informative for gay-in-Thailand ... and recommend it to others who are unfamiliar with it. https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/