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Something tells me upgrading to a suite is not exactly possible. Internet connections!? You're kidding about all of this right?

Expecting a bar boy to teach you Thai in two months is unlikely. If you really want to learn Thai enroll in a language school or find a real teacher. I don't know that your compensation offer is enough exactly. Sounds like you are trying to avoid paying a bar's off fee and the usual long time rate. But times are tough and I suppose it's possible that some one would accept a "sure thing" albeit at a lower rate rather than the prospect of no off at all. I think your expectations for what you want may be too high. Do you really expect that after spending every night for two months plus some days here and there with some boy that you would be able to simply say "goodbye, nice knowing you" when it is all over? Remember that these guys are people after all. This arrangement you have planned does not seem realistic to me.

looks like there are some good deals out there, period. You can fly JFK-BKK for less than $1000 on Emirates including A380 flights to/from Dubai on the connection. Air China has fares of $870 on the same route. SFO-BKK for less than $700 on China Airlines

I am booked at Fraser resort for several nights in mid-November. I did a pre-paid rate that was about $2800++ for their top room, other categories were a good bit less. Looks like a nice place and pracitcally brand new. Gets pretty good reviews online.

yes, you can buy a DTAC card at convenience stores or their own DTAC stores, including one right in the airport.

If you Google around a bit on this topic you will find lots of info on Goa. There was a sort of red light district that catered to hetero sex tourists but I think I read it was largely torn down recently. But if you are looking for guys they are available too. You can find money boys on the beach or via taxi drivers and others catering to tourists. I guess as in most of the country there are lots of poor people who will do whatever they have to do to survive. Unfortunately that means selling their children in many cases.

I seem to recall reading that DTAC is just testing 3G at the moment in a few locations around BKK like Siam Square, Chula, and a couple of other "youth oriented" places. Isn't there some sort of auction later in the year for 3G space that all the companies will be taking part in? I think largely which one you pick depends on a number of factors. Including whether you live in Thailand or visit occasionally. Where you plan to visit depending on network coverage. Whether you also plan to travel in the region outside of Thailand... I have been doing a bit of research recently on this topic as I intend to have a phone while I am over there for a month over October/November. It looks like the best choice for me is one of the DTAC Happy prepaid plans. I have an unlocked quad band phone so I plan to just buy a SIM when I get there. Since I will be in Vietnam for part of my trip DTAC appears to be a good choice since you can use their service there and the usage is not TOO expensive.

yeah but then who wants to have sex with a guy who has been smoking cigs?

you guys are really bringing me down. Will Bangkok be under water by then due to global warming? I guess the prediction for that is a bit farther out. Will the world economy still be limping along eleven years from now with the global tourism and airline industries in the tank?

The banks will find a way to separate you from your money as much as they possibly can. I think my plan this year is to just buy a stack of baht here before I leave for Asia. American Express travel offices seem to have a good rate and just a 1% fee. I used to just always use my ATM card, but Bank of America is charging a US$5 fee plus 1% of the amount withdrawn which is a huge ripoff and their exchange rate isn't that great either...and now add on this Bt150 fee. So I always would get a pretty big amount of cash to avoid having to pay the fees too many times. I really ought to get a new bank.

here's a site devoted to homerotic Turkish traditional wrestling. Their giant wrestling festival looks like a great time to visit. Turkish Wrestling

I offed a boy once from WWB and once we got back to the hotel he was very shy and reluctant. We took a shower together but once we got to the bed he basically said he couldn't do anything and would leave. He didn't ask for any money and I didn't offer him any. It was odd. I tried not to take it too personally. :-)

my TV provider has this episode on their OnDemand viewing menu. It's pretty interesting and they produced it fast since it was just filmed over Songkran this year.

well, at least they were found guilty of illegally having the weapons. I was always dubious of the assassination charge.

There is a thread in the Gay Asia forum about Sihanoukville http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/index.php?/topic/2338-cambodia-sihanoukville/ It's hard to imagine there is much of a gay scene there yet. I spent some time last year in southern Cambodia at Kep. It is very quiet there. Bokor Mountain was quite interesting and a bone-jarring ride I hope to never repeat. There are some islands off the coast that are unspoiled for the most part.

I think we all know why these places aren't shut down and why the owners don't go to jail. How many times do we talk about endemic corruption across Thai society? Supply and demand are strong market forces. And since these kids are generally not valued by their families or society they end up in places like this. Hopeless people resort to what they need to do to survive. I don't know if the drug use comes first or the sex industry work comes first. But if you are a poor kid with no hope and fewer prospects it's not hard to see how you end up in a place like this.

I believe we have had a thread here previously on Phnom Penh or Cambodia at any rate. There are a couple of gay bars as noted by z909. Blue Chili is a fun little bar with very cute staff. They have drag shows at the weekend. The Salt Lounge is a laid back bar. Both places have locals money-boys looking to hook up. There seems to be a growing scene. There are a couple of blogs http://queercambodia.blogspot.com/ http://www.cambodiaout.webs.com/ And I completely agree on the beauty of Khmer boys. There was a guy at Blue Chili last time I was there who had the most gorgeous face. He looked just like a Khmer Buddha statue.

if you can I would try to stay in the old town. I stayed at the Victoria Angkor which was pretty nice (other than the frequent power outages) but it is located a bit away from town. There are lots of tuk tuks around but didn't use them. I prefer to walk as much as I can.

Purple Dragon do not issue airline tickets themselves. But they use this place on Soi Convent EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL-SILOM 10/12-13 CONVENT ROAD BANGKOK 10500 BANGKOK THAILAND Tel:233-4714

I always assumed the boys kept the tips you give them, for example when they sit with you for a while and you give them 100 baht or whatever when you don't take them off. Are you saying that in some places they have to hand that over? I tend to overtip in that situation. And it is funny to watch the boys signal each other to let them know how much you tipped them. I don't know if they think I didn't notice. But the next time I came into the bar I was set upon pretty quickly by a bunch of boys who wanted to sit with me.

you might also want to try Fan Club massage on Soi Convent (near the Silom end on a little sidestreet, I think there is a restaurant called Indigo on the same street). I have had a good time there but it was a little less clean the last time than it had been. But that was 6+ months ago.

The ranking are constantly changing because they are based on votes by the people visiting the site not any sort of objective criteria.

You asked if he had a bf. Did you also ask if he had a girlfriend? Maybe he is married... I think honesty is usually the best policy. You obviously feel guilty or it is weighing on your conscience. So I think you need to unburden yourself. You just need to be prepared for all of the possible outcomes. Maybe he will be relieved to find out you are not looking to marry him on the spot. Maybe he will be unhappy. You can't know that at this point. Maybe he will want to have sex with you, maybe not. But I think your instincts about treating him with some respect are good. The world could use a lot more of that in general.

I don't see how this is a blow to Thai tourism. There is no suggestion that he was kidnapped out of the airport, merely that he turned around and left on his own. Maybe he met a girl/boy who he became infatuated with... Or who knows what he could be involved in. What about the friends he said he went there with on vacation? What happened to them? What do they know?

I never really got the whole drag thing either. I think that subculture seems to be dying out a bit in the US these days as gay kids see more "normal" possibilities for themselves. Not that long ago the whole view of gays in mainstream culture was that we were all drag queens or wanted to be women. Now that there are more and different role models I think that has made a big difference. But I think there is a difference between ladyboys and drag queens. When I first went to Thailand it was worth seeing a show or three to have done it. The cabaret shows are least interesting to me. I went to the famous one in Bangkok on my first visit. It was way overpriced and the audience was full of Russian tourists who seemed to have no idea how to react or what they were supposed to be doing when. But now all of the shows are all boring and repetitive to me. I do like to see the boys dancing though...especially if they are actually dancing. Whenever I go to a strip club or go go bar anywhere I am always more attracted to the boys who actually dance or seem to be having a good time.