TALES from a GAY LIFE (mostly in Asia) – Part 1

[PeterRS]

I want to thank Macaroni21, a-447 and those who agreed with them for their kind suggestion that I return to posting. I had decided about 16 months ago to cease posting (other than one recent post about Myanmar about which I am writing a book). For those who remember some of my posts, you will know that I had a tendency to write at length. This explanation/exploration will be similarly long - very long, and therefore in several parts. So if you are no fan of length, please stop here. I must add that I have written part of what follows in several earlier posts. To those who have read them before, my apologies in advance.

I have just returned from a long weekend in one of my regular haunts, Taipei. On the flights I read Edmund White’s recently published latest book, The Loves of My Life; what he calls his final autobiography - after all, this icon of gay literature is now over 80. It is particularly very graphic in the description of his vast number of sexual encounters starting in his early teens. At one point he writes about a friend’s comment that he must have had sex with about 3,000 other men. To which he replies, “Why so few?”

As I was reading I was reminded of the number of posts I must have made on this Board. After lurking for a year, I summoned up the courage to start posting (although then under a different name). That must have been around 2004 or 2005. When I left, it was nearly the end of 2023. I have zero no idea of the number of posts I have made. I enjoy writing and trying to convey to readers my travel enthusiasms. Another hobby that has turned slightly to longer writing is history. I love the vast history of Asia – of what we know and the great deal we know absolutely nothing about. One blog series I posted here was a history of Gay Sex in Asia. This covered Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and ending with the gay-bashing Brunei. I cannot find it using the search engine but it is on my computer. I cannot even recall when it was written, but judging by the content I think around 2015. Should anyone wish to read it, I will be happy to repost. I have also enjoyed photography and always found that, as in the recent excellent series of posts about the Philippines by @bkkmfj2648, photos can say much more than words. It would not surprise me if in terms of posts I have got quite close to Edmund White’s 3,000+!

Which of course means nothing. A post can be one line - as many now seem to be, a jocular response to an earlier post, perhaps. Or it can be of considerable length. I tended towards the latter.  Actually I also enjoy sex as much though in my latter years of posting, visiting sex venues in Thailand was no longer my thing, despite having lived much of the last 24 years in Bangkok. Domesticity, work and a committed and wonderful relationship do tend to reduce such desires for external stimulation.

But I suppose the point of this post (perhaps I should really say "essay") is to fall back on my memory for, after my first visit to Bangkok when I had moved to first Hong Kong and then Tokyo to work, I became what can only be termed a slut of the first order.

Not that I was a total ingenue on arrival in Asia. My previous employment in the UK had introduced me to the temptations of the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, the saunas in Amsterdam where I had my first encounter with a lithe ever-so-willing young Indonesian and the vast Le Continental sauna in Paris peopled by so many young Vietnamese. With one I had the most fabulous time. I said I hoped we could also meet up the following evening, my last before returning to London. After a little kissing and hugging on my 5-star hotel bed (paid for thankfully by the French government), he suggested I spend the night at his place after dinner. Assuming this might be a cheap dive somewhere, the thought of a night with him overruled any idea of grottiness. Imagine then my surprise when the taxi dropped us off at a single house just round the corner from the Place des Voges, one of the most exclusive and expensive addresses in the city. He lived in this utterly gorgeous house with his French lover, conveniently away for 3 weeks in the USA! As with so many such wonderful one-night stands, we were never to meet again. But what a glorious memory remains!

Part of the reason for this series of posts is not merely vanity. This Board has lots of new members. While much of my posting is out of date, some perhaps give an inkling of what a city or place or event is like, with a rough idea of gay life and gay venues. That at least is my hope. And that is why at the end of the series, I will add in several photo-illustrated posts from older years of Gay Guides.

[bkkmfj2648]

9 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

as in the recent excellent series of posts about the Philippines by @bkkmfj2648, photos can say much more than words.

Many thanks for your kind words Peter.

I wish that I had the writing style and talent that you have.  Your choice of word usage always mesmerizes me as a great piece of music does.

I write the best that I can with my limited repertoire of the English language - I am from the USA, with a middle class educational upbringing.  Later in life, I was fortunate to land an international job that sent me to many places in the world and thanks to this job, exposed me to South East Asia (SEA) - hence my retirement as an expat in Thailand.

I often worry that my posts - especially this new Philippine one is a bore as they are daily updates - but I am trying to capture what the daily life / grind is here for potential retirees who might want to retire in the Philippines.

I know that the primary focus of this site, gayguides.com, is to share our hunt for our sexcapades and share some of those details - which I truly enjoy and I do participate in those when I am having one of those adventures.  But, I also believe that it is good for our forum to also delve in life choices and how they are or are not made.

Variety is the spice of life.

[PeterRS]

You are much too kind, the more so when I for one loved your Philippines posts. Sometimes I used to think that perhaps I actually thought too much instead of posting what first came in to my head. Your Philippines posts tell readers exactly what you thought, how places compare with every other ones, what the prices were and a host of other useful information. You mention life choices, and I can not agree more. I made a decision to buy a small condo unit in Bangkok after thinking about it for nearly 2 years. Then my choice was going to be between Bangkok and KL - somewhere that had to be near an airport with a relatively easy flight to Hong Kong. Although I had been going to Taipei several times a year over a decade for business and pleasure, it was never on my list of possible cities. Now of course, as anyone who has read my posts will know, I love Taipei and sometimes wish I had thought more about it 25 or so years ago. This perhaps surprisingly is the start of my next Tale. Now it's too late, but I still have the joy of visiting regularly.

[TotallyOz]

PeterRS you are really talented and we are all thrilled you are posting again. Your posts are always informative and insightful!

[macaroni21]

This is a great start and yes, I too love the style. If I may be selfish 😁 I feel so much better now that there's someone else who also tends to write at length; hurray, I am not alone!

The only problem is that it's going to take me a couple of days to read all the seven parts. I do want to read slowly and diligently. 

[a-447]

Thanks, Peter, for coming back to the forum.

Your knowledge, expertise and experience in all things Asian has been sorely missed.

I look forward to reading about your reminisces of your life in Asia, as well as any future escapades.

"So if you are no fan of length.."

Actually, I am!