Gay Thailand

Greetings Friends of Pattaya Players! It's official! Our 5th Anniversary Celebratory Cruise is on! We now need to get final numbers. Please email us back ASAP if you are interested in attending. We will ask for 400 Baht per person to help cover extra expenses aboard. Depending on final numbers, any monies in excess of what we need will be put towards the onboard cooler of beverages! The cruise date will be this Sunday August 12, 2012, leaving Bali Hai Pier at 8:00 AM and returning mid to late afternoon. As a reminder, here is the breakdown so far... This daylong cruise will leave from Bali Hai Pier in the morning and provide an opportunity for every…

There was an unbelievable short piece of advice in the Traveller’s Check section of The Nation yesterday. Someone had written in asking for suggestions for a quick 6-hour sightseeing trip with his two children in Bangkok. This is what Vipasai Niyamabha, a highly experienced travel writer, said: http://www.nationmul...u-30187393.html Well, it’s possible they might not enjoy their trip if they take Khun Vipasai’s advice. Perhaps Khun Vipasai does not actually read The Nation – or gaythailand.com, for that matter – for then he would certainly know that as of 8 weeks ago Saphan Taksin station no longer exists, and it's a long, hot 800-meter walk from Surasak sta…

Thanks to the internet it's now easy to arrive in Bangkok, Hanoi, Phnom Pen or wherever, already armed with a map that shows where all the gay bars, saunas etc are located. This can be particularly useful for that one bar that's located on it's own in some obscure location. I guess some of our members might just have been travelling around Asia before the internet really caught on. So back then, how did you find the gay bars etc? Word of mouth? Taxi drivers? Touts? Or just arriving in town and eventually picking up a gay advertising magazine?

There has been much comment over the years about Thaksin’s “war on drugs” which resulted in more than 2,500 extra-judicial killings. Famously – and with a ridiculous pomposity – Thaksin thereafter announced that the "war" had been won! The chickens are now coming home to roost, however. The courts have just sentenced to death three policemen who tortured and murdered a 17-year old in 2004 as part of this “war”. Another two have been sentenced to life in prison, and a fifth to seven years in prison. The National Human Rights Commission has so far not called for action against the government ministers who thought up and approved this phony media “war”, notably the …

At yesterday's Pattaya City Expats Club meeting, one of the members that lives near Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration on Jomtien Soi 5 said that construction has started on Jomtien Soi 5 for a new drainage system (whoopee - when finished, maybe we can get there without swimming when it rains). But, he warned that one half of Soi 5 is dug up and traffic is still two-way resulting in more congestion than usual and no place on Soi 5 for parking - he recommended that for the near (and maybe distant) future, if visiting Immigration, you may want to park on Jomtien 2nd Road or Jomtien Beach Road and walk.

We have quite a number of threads on the airports themselves, but the issue of transfers will become a topic of increasing interest as we get close to October 1 when Don Mueang (DMK) takes over more lccs. So a new thread seems sensible. You'd have thought that someone, somewhere would have been beavering away finding a solution to the problem of transfers. Well, an announcement was recently made that the BMTA has been doing just that. Wonderful! Ah, but don't jump the gun! This being Thailand, the solution that has been arrived at is, frankly, another utter botch up. If you are in the mood to work out a puzzle, read on. If not, pass on to another thread From the b…

Yes, baht stop is sort of back with a message basically asking if anyone wants to take it over and be the moderator. I am making the assumption that the old mod/owner is definitely no longer available and this is someone connected with him/her looking for someone to take the board. http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.php?app=members&module=messaging&section=send&do=editMessage&topicID=564&msgID=592

There’s a report on another website about the Chiang Mai massage establishment One-2-Come being raided by the police last night. Anyone have any news on this?

For 5k point per night, you can get a night stay at several hotels around the world. Click the link and scroll to the bottom. Of interest is the one in Chiang Mai in Thailand which I have stayed at and enjoyed and one in Porto Alegre, Brazil. And, for 5k points, a better deal will be hard to find. See all the other locations: http://www.priorityclub.com/hotels/us/en/global/redeem/pointbreaks/unitedstates

THAI has taken what is in my view the sensible decision not to enter the low cast carrier market - for the time being. It will concentrate on its main full-service carrier and the new mid-price Thai Smile that has just been launched. Instead, Nok Air will start to fly international routes from early next year. http://www.nationmul...e-30187084.html

There's a rumour going around that Super A has closed - for good. Seems the boys have been moved to the bar downstairs. Anyone have any more info? I'll try and check it out on Sunday.

Does anyone actively use Netflix in Thailand? I am thinking of subscribing and want to know if it will allow me to watch movies from a Thai IP address. Thanks.

Does anyone know if there will be any Isaan (Morlam) concerts in Pattaya next month, August and if so what dates? Want to bring my BF down from Udon to see.

And some dum---s have suggested elsewhere that additional manpower and the new snake system in the Departures area has, at a stroke of Thaiworthy's wand (the magic one, I hasten to add ), solved what were not really problems at BKK in the first place - and it really is a well-functioning airport!! Bullfuc--ngsh-t! I arrived back on a full Emirates A380 around 12:20 a.m. this morning. Fast track was in operation, but with one desk manned and several dozen premium passengers coming off that Emirates flight alone, you can guess how that queue built up. For the economy punters, inexplicably and utterly stupidly, with the airport having introduced the successful snake…

This is really a rhetorical question, but has been prompted by the seeming disappearance of Baht Stop which has been inaccessible for several days. Since I rarely read it, I am not sure if this was planned downtime for maintenance or some other reason, but it has set tongues wagging on at least one other Board. Of course, each of the various forums supposedly has its own particular character – although even that seems less true now than a few years ago. The reason for the question, though, is that clearly there are both posters and readers common to several. And I seem to note an increasing tendency for posters to start threads with 100% identical posts on several sit…

Just a brief reminder about the fun that can be had every month at BONDI BEACH BAR. Each month beginning at about 9:00 pm on the last Sunday of the month, the guys at BONDI host a (sometimes raucous) night of quizzing fun. Proceeds go to the TAKE CARE!! HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. So come along this Sunday 29 July, bring a friend (or six) and join in the fun. Hope to see you there.

Writing in the British Medical Journal The Lancet, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has called for homosexuality to be decriminalized. Ostensibly to help tackle HIV, the Archbishop adds – An international team of medical researchers said - This Board and others have often commented that the number of HIV MSM in Bangkok is very high – estimated at just under 25%. Perhaps we sometimes forget that even in western countries, the number with HIV is still high. http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-18913497

I have not reached the age to need a assisted care facility yet. But, I do think about the future. While I do love the idea of a "Golden Girls" type of situation, I am not sure that will happen. I had to put my grandmother in a facility last year at a cost of over 10k per month. The prices in the USA are crazy. I read this article below today on Flyer Talk and wondered if there were places in Thailand that others heard about? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-health-fitness/1325596-memory-assisted-care-facilities-homes-abroad.html

Been to Thailand 6 times before. Last trip was 2007. Have only visited BKK, Pattatya & Phuket. Want to visit later this year and explore more of Thailand. Have been checking out Chaing Mai, Koh Samui and Hua Hin. The more I read the more I am leaning toward HH (but I'm open to other viewpoints. Any recommendations on hotels there or other advice? Thanks in advance.

A good idea for American expats and travelers... The Department of State encourages U.S. citizens living overseas or planning to travel abroad to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. http://travel.state.gov/

At last a Gay Spa specifically elegant - clean and well run. Excellent massage and hosting not dingy - unkept or smutty. Beautifully appointed rooms - with shower and Marble everywhere. Must not tell too many as I don't want it to become overcrowded. !! Magnolia Spa - Off Pattaya Tai - that's near Big C Pattaya South. Px

I have talked to several business owners who have said very clearly that they have more Arab customers than they do Americans. This may or may not bother others. For me, I don't care as long as the places in Pattaya are getting business. Each person said that this is not a low season thing but a trend over the last year or so. I know that part of this has to do with the horrible economy that the USA currently has and part may be the high cost and long distance of the airfare. I have had several really nice conversations with people from the Middle East and they have told me the prices they are paying for their airline tickets and it was more expensive than I pa…

After all my rants against Air Asia, last night I booked a return ticket on Nok Air to Chiang Mai. For some reason, two credit cards were rejected. (No! They were not overdrawn and had not been hacked. Indeed, I had used one only moments earlier to pay for the Chiang Mai hotel.) So I called the Nok hotline. I give the hotline staff ten out of ten for amazing service! The young lady spoke flawless English, guided me through the process, pointed out the additional fees I would have for paying through an ATM or at 7-11, and generally made the booking process effortless! She was just fantastic!

Another article in the Bangkok Post suggests that - http://www.bangkokpo...mar-travel-boom These numbers are clearly infinitesimal compared to Thailand’s. And replacing Suvarnabhumi as a “gateway” is surely mere fantasy, as it will take well over a decade – at least - for Myanmar’s infrastructure to be anywhere comparable, despite the country’s intention to build a new airport. More likely, in my view, Myanmar may soon start taking some tourists away from Thai beach resorts. I know a Hong Kong developer who recently purchased an entire beach in Myanmar. That will no doubt be dotted with hotels and other tourism paraphernalia within 3 or so years - most at…

The Furama Hotel is offered at A$56 (incl. tax n service) per night (approx. US$57). Free extras include – - Guaranteed upgrade to a Deluxe Room - Daily breakfast - Free in-room Wi-Fi - Late check-out to 3:00pm Valid till October 31 but voucher must be booked by 18 July. http://www.travelzoo...tm_medium=email This seems not such a great deal as Agoda lists the lesser Superior rooms at around US$61 but without free Wi-Fi. But the deal offers bigger savings on Agoda’s Deluxe room rate of US$83, also without fee Wi-Fi. Both rates were checked for mid-August bookings.