Gay Thailand

The Prime Minister will address the nation tonight. Also, in Bangkok reports are coming in that protesters are beginning to appear at various BTS and Metro stations. It is not yet clear whether they intend to block access to those modes of public transportation. Photo from THE NATION - showing taxis blocking the Victory Monument intersections The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ Pattaya in “lockdown” as the ASEAN Summit Begins Pattaya is in “lockdown” at the moment as the City hosts the second phase of the 14th ASEAN Summit and related summits at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort Peach Convention Center. As part of the massive security ope…

For more special reports and photos see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news -and- http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000008883 The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Dramatic Evacuation Ends Chaotic Asean Summit By: AFP Pattaya - Thundering low over the beach, helicopters airlifted bewildered foreign leaders in extraordinary scenes after red-shirts swarmed the luxury hotel venue. Thousands of supporters loyal to fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra barged past lines of soldiers and riot police, smashing their way through the glass doors of the upscale hotel hosting the Asean talks. Hooting horns and yelling …

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ PM: Reds 'Public Enemies' By Political Desk The Nation on Sunday Published on April 12, 2009 Coup Rumoured as Police and Army Hang Back Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last night called the red-shirts "public enemies" for declaring a victory over the cancellation of the Asean Summit with dialogue partners in Pattaya. "In this loss to the country, anyone or any group of people that announces a victory should be regarded as true enemies of Thailand. Whatever status I have, I will never allow these people to become influential," he told a press conference at the summit venue. Abhisit canceled the…

I think it may be a good idea to use this thread to keep track of traffic and transportation problems, both in Bangkok and Pattaya. As most of you know, the Red Shirts managed to break through the barriers and police and have reached the gates of the Royal Cliff Hotel, where the ASEAN summit is taking place, which is creating a traffic nightmare in that area. Lvdkeyes posted, earlier today: I just received a message from a friend who lives in Bangkok that bus service from Bangkok to Pattaya has been suspended. I have no word as to whether there is bus service from Pattaya to Bangkok. Along the Jomtien Beach Road, forget it. Don't even try. …

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Emergency Laws in Pattaya Llifted : PM Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government decided to lift the emergency law in Pattaya after all leaders of the Asean Summit left the country safely. The decision came after the law is imposed six hours ago after the red shirted protesters broke into the press hall of the Asean Summit in Pattaya. Speaking in a press conference at the press centre in Pattaya at about 7.15pm. The laws were imposed 1.30pm.

It's finally happened. Political violence has erupted in Pattaya. I'm sorry to see it come to this, but I'm not surprised. What nobody knows at this point is how much of an escalation there will be or whether any kind of retaliation will occur in Bangkok or other cities. Not exactly a good day to head for the beach in Pattaya today! The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Summit Postponed Following Clash in Pattaya By Supalak Ganjanakhundee The Natiton Pattaya The summit of Asean leaders with dialogue partners has been postponed from 9 am Saturday following a clash of red-shirted and blue-shirted people outside the meeting venue. The …

I hope that report is true. It will certainly be nice if things get back to normal around here within the next day or two. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Red-Shirts Disperse Following State of Emergency Arisman Pongruangron told red-shirted protesters to disperse from the Royal Cliff Beach Resort Hotel, TNN reported at 1:58 pm. Arisman said the red-shirted had scored a victory to prevent the Asean summit so they no longer needed to occupy the hotel.

This news just broke less than 10 minutes before this post: The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Arisman Directs Protesters to Hunt for PM Inside Royal Cliff Beach Hotel Arisman Pongruangrong, a red-shirted leade, directed protesters to raid inside the Royal Cliff Beach Resort Hotel to hunt for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. After the protesters broke inside the building of the hotel at 12:50 pm, Arisman kept on urging protesters to go inside to look for Abhisit and to disrupt all Asean meetings. TNN News agency reported that the raid by the protesters, who smashed the hotel's windows, prompted all meetings to be canceled immediately. …

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ Meeting Discusses Plans to Extend the Width of Pattaya Beach Road On Monday afternoon at Pattaya City Hall, Khun Itipon, the Mayor of Pattaya chaired a meeting which discussed proposals to extend the width of Pattaya Beach Road, a plan which was prompted following a recent traffic survey. This initial meeting discussed the feasibility of the plan and what effects it would have on beach road businesses if the plan came to fruition. The plans indicate that the entire 3km stretch of Pattaya Beach Road which finishes at the entrance to Walking Street suffers from acute traffic congestion problems and an 18 meter ex…

How would you like to be a guest at the Royal Cliff Hotel today? The Red Shirts have actually managed to break into the hotel itself, with some of the foreign dignitaries already present. The Thai government keeps threatening to escalate their security steps, but so far there are no reports of any serious violence, although the Red Shirts did have some minor scuffling with the Pattaya police, who were unable to hold them back. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Pro-Thaksin Protesters Break into Pattaya Hotel By The Nation Some pro-Thaksin protesters broke into compound of Royal Cliff Beach Hotel which is hosting Asean Summit plus dialogue p…

For whatever reason, mosquitoes this year have been much more of a problem than in past years and I have been hearing a lot of complaints. I get plenty of them at my place too. They seem to start coming out primarily at dusk, although there are some during the day as well. Nothing seems to work very well at preventing them from getting in. Even people with window screens are getting them. They manage to somehow get in no matter what you do. So, the thing to do is to try to deal with them once they're in. Spray-on insect repellents such as Off don't seem to work for me, but there are a few things that work just fine. If you are having problems, you might want t…

Yesterday I visited Jomtien Immigration at 1330 for my 90 day reporting. The place was a zoo. There were 20 people ahead of me but I only waited 30 minutes. While I was waiting, I looked around at how people were dressed. I would estimate 70% were dressed inappropriately and thus showing disrespect. There was one person with unruly greasy hair, unshaven, tank top, beach shorts and flip flops - unbelievable. However, because I was dressed properly, I was processed in 30 seconds with a big smile and courtesy. I wonder what the Immigration officials think of these people.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ TURMOIL IN CITY Abhisit Refuses to Budge, Declares Friday National Holiday Published on April 9, 2009 Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared Friday a national holiday as he stands firm against the red-shirt protesters who caused traffic turmoil in Bangkok on Thursday. Prime Minister Abhisit had flown back from Pattaya for a national TV address in the evening, as pro-Thaksin protesters blocked all entrances to Victory Monument and drastically raised the already-high political tension. Abhisit, admitting that the anti-government protest involved as many as 100,000 people at its peak on Thursda…

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ Pattaya Songkran Festival 2009 Announcement On Wednesday Night at the Central Festival Pattaya Beach, a press conference was held to announce the Pattaya Songkran Fesitval which will take place at the Bali Hai Port located at the south-end of Pattaya Beach between 14th and 18th April. The 5 day event is organized by the Rangsi Noppadon Foundation, Pattaya City Hall, RKY Company Ltd and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The 5 day event will feature International Muay Thai Boxing where Thai and Japanese Female Boxers will compete. There will also be a free pop concert every day and top Thai Singers and Bands sig…

It's a very brief 'breaking news' article that appears in THE NATION, but it certainly says enough! Traffic in Pattaya yesterday flowed smoothly and was relatively light. Today (Thursday, April 9) however, from what I'm hearing, the closer you get to the beach area, the more it all becomes chaos. A few minutes ago (11:45am, Thailand time) I received a call from a friend who lives close to the beach and his report is that it's an absolute nightmare down there. He can't even go anywhere on his motorcycle. He says that he's running into streets that are blocked and/or traffic at a complete standstill and gridlocked. Meanwhile, regarding the US Dollar to Baht ex…

Wednesday, April 8 is "D-Day" for the Red Shirt Thaksin supporters. Prime Minister Abhisit says there will be no bloodshed or use of force, but the government also will not tolerate rioting. Meanwhile up to 500,000 protesters are expected in Bangkok. Thaksin has said there will be no civil war. We'll see. The Bangkok Post says, "On the eve of mass rallies by red-shirt protesters, the prime minister promises in a special TV speech to the nation that there will be no civil war on his watch: 'State officials will not use force against the people, but at the same time they will make sure the situation does not get out of hand.'" The following appears in THE NATI…

I just returned from a few days in Bangkok. Sorry, I don't go to the Bangkok bars, but I do have some information to share: The USA embassy has entirely changed its entrance facade since I was last there. It's much more high tech now and much quicker to enter, leave your belongings, and retrieve them when you leave. Three of us went to the embassy and each of us had appointments we had made online. ( see: https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.as...K&appcode=1 ). Due to traffic we were more than half an hour late for our appointments and the American Citizens Services room was crowded. Nevertheless, they still accepted our appointments, mentioned that…

HELP!!!!! I have looked and looked but cannot find here in pattaya. Has anyone any idea where I could find?

Pattaya police chief transferred By: BangkokPost.com Published: 8/04/2009 at 01:59 PM The superintendent of Pattaya police station, Pol Col Sarayuth Sa-nguanpokai, was on Wednesday transferred to Provincial Police Region 2 headquarters for 30 days after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's car was attacked as he was leaving Pattaya on Tuesday. The deputy Commander of Chonburi Provincial Police becomes acting superintendent of Pattaya. Red-shirt protesters smashed the back window of Mr Abhisit's Land Cruiser and blocked its passage after he left a cabinet meeting in Pattaya. One of the accused assailants, Wanchalerm Kulsen, escaped from Pattaya City poli…

Below is a rough translation of a report in the Khao Sod newspaper on 8 Feb. I found this on Stephen Cleary's weblog. Former ladyboy monk (abbot) Je Dao of Sri Boon Reung temple in the northern province of Lamphun, has quickly and quietly disrobed. In ladyboy circles, Je Dao had become well-known for changing into a skirt and bra and sneaking out at night to discotheques. On top of that debauchery, Je Dao was known to sleep around with commoner gays. Je Dao had very recently come under the suspicions of locals who, alongside a female student, informed the cops of the truly immoral behaviour of a monk who takes medicine to grow breasts, goes out at night and…

Some more thoughts on BKK scene. This is first of many trips where we did not spend the majority of our time in Pattaya. The big negative for me in BKK is the price of the drinks. It changes how I feel about buying a boy a drink and getting to know him before offing. And if you have someone with you as you visit the bars then the amount of money you spend before going home escalates quite quickly. That said I have enjoyed this trip the most of many. It may be , because of the boys I met or the fact that BKK has so many more things to do in terms of shopping , restaurants etc then Pattaya. I also find it much easier to arrange 3 ways here then in Pattaya. BT…

No, that's not something to do to people you dislike. That's the name of a computer technician I can't recommend highly enough. I've written about Killin before and I'm prompted to write about him again. If you are having computer troubles, Killin is a miracle worker. I've had any number of people thank me for referring them to Killin and if you experience any computer troubles, even with a laptop when in Pattaya on a holiday, Killin is the person I recommend contacting. Killin will come to you and repair your computer on the spot. If he has to take your computer with him, he'll almost always have it back to you the next day. His English is excellent and his pr…

Well, some things do make the USA's freedoms seem better! By: SURASAK GLAHAN Published: 4/04/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: NewsThe Criminal Court on Friday sentenced an internet user to 10 years in jail for posting web material deemed insulting to the royal family. Suvicha Thakhor, a 34-year-old former oil engineer, held back tears as he listened to a brief statement by the court which found him guilty of posing a threat to national security. It is the first lese majeste ruling based on the controversial 2007 Computer Crime Act which critics said could have an impact on online political debates. The court cited offences under both the …

Hello all, I am trying to find out how many gay men live in the Krabi area. The reason is I want to know if it will be profitable to open a gay sauna there. Unfortunately I do not speak Thai, so any help from native Thais would be of a great help. The sauna will not be exclusively for tourists but for everyone over the age of 18. I will be in the area after Songkran to look for a suitable place. If anyone knows of a building with garden and swimming pool for sale please leave a message. Hope to get a lot of information from here. thanks.

I believe that GB and/or others have posted about a form Americans must file by June 30th if they have an account greater than 10K USD. Can;t find it. Does nyone have info or a link?