Gay Thailand

We can never say "thank you" enough to the great boys here at YaYa Bar. So.....we are giving them a party and you are invited....

I was walking along NYC the other day and I saw this ride and I knew that Jomtien must be inside the store. I waited and waited and he didn't show. Damn.

I missed an article in the Bangkok Post published on 1st March titled "The Truth about Tolerance". It examines Thailand’s perceived tolerance towards “people with different sexual orientations”, a country where it might seem that “gays, transgenders and lesbians have assimilated well into Thai society.” Not so, says the writer who, whilst not being gay herself, has a member of her family who is, as well as several gay friends. This has led her to campaign against the homophobia she has realised exists in the country. http://www.bangkokpo...about-tolerance In this and the rest of the article, I don’t find any new insights or any new solutions. But I think …

Yes-thats the AirAsia logo with just an H in front-also has a shop in ChMai and on NgamWongWan. We talked about word games so here a few more (I like that-shows at least some ability to think and originality). I take the bus over the river-pass the PATA dept.store and next is PO OTO-a 2nd hd cardealer. In Thai it is even more similar. Then we cross that current eternal jammed -subway works- and pass the Tesco and then LUNG KUNG (=uncle shrimp in Thai)-one of those giant openair seafood places. But wait-we'll have that drink in THIRSTday before. Or some cakes from the Breadroom. Buty there is now a new Japanese shop too=-konnichipan (konnichi wa= JPNese for goodday). I…

From here in BKK; last week I went to 3 areas that were seriously flooded-up to 1m50, for some weeks, like Pinklao (west of river), LardPrao/Tachda and Sapan Mai. It was amazing to see how CLEAN it was there-nothing of the usual rubbish that litters in BKks streets. The only thing to still be seen was here and there some brown marks till how high the water had come on some buildings. All those panicking newspapers about disease breaking out and all that garbage are not true. I have since heard that the BMA has an efficient post-flood plan and comes in with a host of clean-up and trucks to take the rubbish out. But when then the people come back and start cleaning out the…

Terminal 21 at Sukhumvit Asoke (there is a bridge link from Asoke BTS station) opened its doors four months ago and attracted some positive comments from pong and snapshot on a thread about the closure of Silom Complex. Having now visited it twice in a week, I do think it deserves a short thread of its own. This is no luxury mall along the lines of (yet another) Paragon and Emporium. Rather, it is a bit like a cross between Siam Centre, parts of MBK and Chatuchak Market, but with lots more open space and a much more contemporary feel – as well as a twist. It is intended to give younger Thais the ‘feel’ of air travel – not so much of a terminal itself, but a terminal a…

Put this with a Q-mark, as I am not sure if posted before-but it looked so new I guess not. Anyway: passed by yesterday, and saw signs for a new place advertising rooms for 799B/introductory offer, in Silom soi 6-the first small side-soi to left -end of it. Looked like not even being used-but the reception is the far end, BF included and free wiFi, 24 hrs reception. (psst! thats NOT boyfriend incl! Name is like Nantra-but when I googled for that, I only found ads for a budget place in Tonglor with that name. Now inevitably on a board like this anxious people start asking: Gayfriendly? I did not ask-I simply think logic: in this area any HTL must expect to have single …

So I'm strolling through ni-chome, Tokyo's homo 'hood, hoping to find some flyers for an upcoming nightclub party or two. The first shop I stop by has only one flyer. That's it. Just one flyer. Not so long ago, there'd be at least half a dozen. Mental note: Tokyo's gay scene is really dwindling. The flyer is touting something called SongKran6. Mental note: OK, the organizers are giving it a Thai theme. I can get into that. Next, I see that the event is being billed as "Asia's biggest gay circuit event." Mental note: Not really sure what a circuit event is but "Asia's biggest gay event" sounds pretty goddamn promising. Then I see the date -- April 2…

Our new website has finally been completed and now is up and running. Check it out and hope you like it. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. http://www.yaya-sunee.com The site still features events, promotions, specials, and newsy items. Also there is a new section entitled: This and That which is exactly "this and that."

A fire last night in a function room at the 3.5-star Grand Park Avenue Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22 has resulted in a female tourist dying from suffocation. Another tourist is in intensive care. It seems most of the guests ran up to the top of the building, but firefighters could not get to them them as their ladders could only reach the 6th and 7th floors. They had to be led out another way. From a photo on another site, it seems the hotel has about 12 floors. http://www.news24.com/World/News/Tourist-dies-in-Bangkok-hotel-fire-20120309

It seems an inevitable fact of gay life for PLU that there must be listings etc where we are suppoed to go to or ''are welcome''. Inevitably, commercialism will creep in and there is always a need for paid advertsing to get the ting rolling. Oldhands will remember the Spartacus guidebooks-full of codes, symbols : PWC! OYR or so-proceed with caution or On your own risk! and showing the young gay that there must be an enormous world behind his own area. Checking the area you would know best inevitably led to many shakes of disbelief and ''OMG-is that place gay? or so. And the flagrant degradation of the Pagsanjan waterfalls in PH that came with it-those were the days. No…

I missed this article in the Bangkok Post when it was printed a week ago. It basically summarises the findings of a regional Conference on the global AIDS pandemic held in Bangkok the previous week. This seems to have refocused attention on a topic which has in recent years rarely been discussed: “the extent to which Thailand's nightlife and entertainment industry contributes to the global spread of HIV/AIDS.” With around 20 million visitors a year, one of the background reports for the Conference, co-organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific, stated – Referencing Thailand, it adds – http://www.bangkokpo...s-may-resurface …

I asked this before about a year ago, and regret I cannot locate the earlier thread. But with all the recent technological advances, the answers almost certainly need updating. I certainly need my equipment updated! As I have explained before, I am not good with computers and suchlike. Now I have two issues I must resolve quite soon. For internet, I have a fixed line service through KSC in Bangkok which essentially uses True's facilities. It's more expensive, but is supposed to provide a better service, something I find hard to believe! If I change my isp, I know I can get a higher speed at a cheaper rate. elsewhere But I would now like to get a server that will…

TAKE CARE!! is pleased to announce that we have received funding in the amount of $250 CAD (Canadian dollars) per month ($3,000 for 2012; renewable next year) from VOICES-Thailand www.voices-th.com to support us in our mission to provide HIV prevention and education. During 2012, this grant will generate 90,000 baht which will be used for the purchase of condoms and lubricant sachets – the contents of nearly 9,000 Safer Sex packs – for distribution in Pattayaland, Sunee Plaza and Jomtien Complex. To put this in the context of our program over the past three years, TAKE CARE!! spent 178,737 baht in 2009, 183,326 baht in 2010 and 247,590 baht in 2011. VOICES-Thailand i…

TAKE CARE!! is pleased to announce the results of the gala 2nd Annual Ganymede Fundraising Event held on 3 March 2012 at GANYMEDE SPA AND RESORT in Jomtien Complex. We apologize for the delay in presenting this information as there were several loose ends to wrap up. The net amount raised was 56,350 baht, quite similar to the amount raised at the 1st Annual event in March 2011. There were 94 persons in attendance. The funds were raised through the sale of admission tickets (200 baht, all to TAKE CARE!!), lucky ticket draw, sexy underwear auction, and private contributions. This amount will enable TAKE CARE!! to provide well over 5,500 Safer Sex Packs to approximately…

8 March... 8 o'clock... FREE entry... FREE food... Guest Star singer Justin Pascau... Yokka Dok Chiang Mai... be there!

Thanks to Mark of the Krazy Dragon Bar in Pattaya for posting this Guide to Bar closures on Buddhist and other holidays on GB's forum. I am sure neither will object to my reposting it here - http://www.boomboomme.com/resources/holidays/thailand/ Mark says it is the most accurate he has come across. But, best to double check as this is Thailand . . . ! http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4375&start=20

With this I mean those shops that advertise as having male staff only and m2m should be clear. There was some discussion a time agio about having female spectators in gogobars and looking at the shows there-this is 1 step further. Not that you will note it very often-if they allow it at all, as you hardly ever bump into other patrons at such shops anyway. But the other week I had a service in AQUA (Satorn soi 9) and just before I left (good service, nice place, but price higher as advertised- cheating? as EZ or RYAN do?) and just before I left I discovered that the other client in-occupying the shower, locked- was a lady (or maybe-sometimes hard to see, a katoey). S?He …

When thaiworthy recently posted a photo and vdo of a young Korean singer, within a day the number of views went ballistic in comparison to other posts. Whether this was due to interest in the singer, in Korean pop in general or in external views prompted by the thread getting high up on the google lists, I have zero idea. But I was curious. Looking through the new threads over the last nine months, though, some seem somewhat remarkable for their high readership. Here is a purely random sampling of various types of thread (start dates in brackets and threads shown in reverse chronological order) – Gay Thailand Coming to Bangkok for the very first time (3 October) …

Big ad in the Bangkok Post today for Lady Gaga’s Bangkok concert on Friday 25 May. It’s expensive, with tickets up to Bt. 7,000. Note that it will be at the cavernous open-air Rajamalanga Stadium. This seats around 50,000 and is located off Ramkhamhaeng in the Hua Mark area. There is no Skytrain or MRT station anywhere near, but the Airport Express City Line’s Ramkhamhaeng Station gets you fairly close. Tickets go on sale at Thaiticketmajor online and at their various outlets on 17 March. http://www.thaiticketmajor.com/concert/concert-detail.php?sid=1195&la=en

Tarzan Night at Eros Boy Bar March 11. Sunday March 11, Tarzan night at Eros Boy Bar. Great fun for all From 8 PM till closing http://erosboybar.com/special-events/

If I am not mistaken, today (1 March) is GayThailand's (aka: Michael's) Birthday. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!

THE APPLE-TINI The Cocktail of the Month at YaYa's Bar, Sunee Plaza Yes, they do look yummy. Of course, I mean the Apple-tinis! Pictured here are two of our waiters, Sa (left) and Mai, toasting you "chock dee". Featured all of March at 90 baht

It’s the burning season again up north and I see the smog and haze pollution indices have soared. Although they now seem to have come down from their highs, two days ago Phayao reported 278.71 micrograms of dust level and Chiang Rai was up at 249.88 micrograms. The safety standard is 120. I noted that the government’s Pollution Control Director-General claimed that most of the problem was due to neighbouring countries. Ahem! Well, no doubt that is partly true, but if the government was to implement what I believe is the law against the annual slashing and burning by farmers, surely pollution levels would not be so bad? What is it like in Chiang Mai? http://www…

TAKE CARE!! sends a big special thanks to Robin, Ward, and Stuart of Ganymede for their generosity in facilitating 3 March event. Thank you is due to our sponsors, MLG Consulting Service, Thai Sound, Thonglor Clinic, and Worldwide Meats Co., LTD. for underwriting costs for the event's entertainment, and to Sexy Body Underwear Shop on the ground floor of Tuk Com for donation of BBoyz underwear for awesome auction. Dinner: TAKE CARE!! thanks attendees for their 200 baht contribution at the door. Ganymede has arranged for a BBQ dinner and is offering one free drink to our guests. Drink choices are Soda (Coke, Diet Coke, or Sprite), Water, Leo Beer, or Gin, Vodka, or 100 …