Travellerdave

I first visited Pattaya in 2001 in company with another gay friend. That was just before the internet and websites like this one took off and due to scarce information we had no idea where to stay and where to find the gay scene. However we quickly found our feet one way or the other and enjoyed the exotic (for us ) atmosphere, the amazingly low prices (72 baht = £1), the food and hotels, the bars and gogos (took us a few days to find Sunee) and of course the boys . Especially the boys !. Since then I have visited Thailand numerous times, mainly Pattaya, but also bkk and a few other places. On return home from the first few trips friends and family were very interested in hearing all about my travels (my accounts varied according to the audience). This was before many people became active on the internet and only a few commented about the racy reputation that the country was beginning to acquire. That changed around the mid 2000’s, especially when accounts of under age sex started to appear in the tabloid newspapers and everyone started surfing the internet. I started to play down my visits and even lie occasionally as to where I spent my holidays. The gay friend of my first visit stopped going. Advance a few more years to the 2010’s and the Pattaya gay scene began to thin out, especially in Sunee which previously contained maybe 10 gogos plus a good number of bars. Contrast that with the booming str night life available to non-gays with girlie gogo’s opening all over, adding to the numerous beer bar complex’s. Visitors from non-farang countries, who don’t visit the gay bars greatly increased. The gay scene much reduced compared with the earlier period pre 2005 (the good old days ?) and gay visitors have become an even smaller minority than previously.My theory is that the unsavory reputation as regards sex and drinking has impacted more on the gay communities. There are other factors of course: the decline of the $ £ Eur against the baht and the.perceived less attractiveness of available Asian male prostitutes.

Insurance fraud attempt ?

Yes it would be interesting if there was a list of places attracting gay visitors. Before I discovered Thailand in 2002 I was a regular to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria and the resort of Playa del Ingles . Days posing and flirting on the beach, sex in the sand dunes and the night life made for a great holiday. But no Asian boys (not in those days anyway) unfortunately.

Reading Mack’s well written blog, made me slightly nauseous when getting to the appalling part about the girlie ping pong show. I think if I was str, a visit to such a performance would kill off any sexual desire for a while.

What’s the difference between “coyote dancing” and “dancing” ? I once had two boys doing the latter for me in my hotel room.

Foolish - inefficient aircon at the Tarntawan is not something I have experienced. You have to take these reviews with a degree of skepticism. See Londoner’s post - he’s stayed there many times and no mention of poor aircon.

My trips are normally based in Pattaya for 2 or 3 weeks, but I usually include a side trip to BKK for a couple of nights where my hotel of choice has been the Tarntawan, which was recommended to me as a gay hotel in 2002 when I made my first visit. I’ve never thought of staying anywhere else (bit boring I suppose).

Yes the gay scene in Pattaya is now just a shadow of what it was when I discovered the place in year 2000 and 2001, when it offered a proliferation of bars and gogos. I just hope it lingers on for a few more years to cater for myself and other gay sex tourists and our liking for Asian boys.

I would recommend reading Barry Kenyons book relating his role as the British Vice Consul in Pattaya, when a big part of his job was helping “Brits in the Shit”. The book also,covers the Bridge Club arrests, when the bib noticed a small amount of money on a table (very suspicious). It turned out to be members contributions towards the purchase of tea and coffee consumed during breaks in play.

When I was involved with a raid (3 times maybe) the BIB did not differentiate between single guys and those whose hands had strayed to playing with boys cocks. The one occasion I was in the latter category I was relieved to be waved on my way.

During the years 2004 to 2010 I remember raids by the bib were fairly common particularly in Sunee. If you were present the routine was to divest yourself of any boy with you and sit quietly while they checked boys I’d cards and possibly performed drug tests. Normally you would be allowed to leave without difficulty early in the proceedings.

I agrée with Vinapu regarding the merits of the hourly airport bus. However at busy times, as at high season, a snag can be waiting some time at the airport for a bus to have free space. Often passengers get off at one of the Sukhumvit Road stops and fall prey to the rip off merchants offering high priced transport to their accommodation. My advice when asked for is to stay on the bus until the terminus at Jomtien and use a baht bus from there to Pattaya. Many times I’ve pulled my wheelie bag over the last few hundred yards of rough ground from the Jomtien bus terminus to my hotel in the Complex to thankfully complete the 24 hour journey from the UK. I much prefer the bus over taxis - Thai driving scares me.

I did the Phanon Rung trip from Korat about 15 years ago in company with a friend and our Thai boyfriends, both of whom came from the area. It’s a rather impressive ancient ruined temple complex. We got to the site by taxi and after making a self-guided tour we found there was no hotel accommodation nearby, necessitating a return to Korat in the back of a local’s pickup truck.

Spoon and omega - Agree with both of you . I’ve had boys with big cocks, but the pain overwhelms the pleasure even at the start of insertion. Love to suck them though.

I’m mostly bottom these days and need to avoid guys with very large cocks. Before offing or choosing a masseur, I try and check, but occasionally my judgement is faulty, requiring a change to my expectations.

Yes the Bamboo Bar is still there . I think it is in rather an inappropriate location for a gay bar. I called in a year ago and was “getting to know” one of the staff when an str older couple came in but exited rather quickly.

‘Taking Breakfast’. - is room service available at the Ambiance or does it consist of your own supplies ? I agree 100% about the penthouse rooms.

Yes Elek really got things done unlike myself. I hate to think of the stress and conflict when I made a mess of finishing with several boyfriends over the years. You have to think and think again before getting into a relationship.

I think Eiek is in big trouble. I wonder what provoked him to kil his boyfriend? I’ve had thoughts about disposing of Asian boyfriends but never taken things that far.

Sunee is a quick motorbike taxi trip to and from the Complex. Over the years I’ve returned 3 up with an offed boy from Winner to my Complex hotel. Memories of blasting through the night air with a boy clinging on behind me !. I’ve always checked out Winner during my trips particularly when I’ve wanted a twink for the night. It’s a “traditional” Gogo where you can call boys down to sit with you, maybe use the cushions to check out their cocks or tongue kiss them, after giving them a tip.

During the first couple of days of my trips checking out the Complex I sometimes find difficulty in making the decision as to which bar to sit down at. Early in the evening the boys are concentrating on attracting custom rather than latching onto a potential off. A couple of strolls up and down is needed to assess the attractiveness of the boys, the music being played and if there is a customer there who I know. Later, say 11+ they become somewhat more interested in drink invitations and maybe potential offs. You see more customers having closer contact with the boys possibly cuddling and kissing. I’ve stayed at the Zing a few times, usually in one of the larger rooms, and have never been troubled by bar noise. The pool is of reasonable size allowing a bit of exercise swimming and is very pleasant to sit by during the daytime, possibly with a “boyfriend du jour”.

There are a lot of UK pensioners resident in Spain (Chasing the sun ) and France (relatively cheap country property) and to a lesser extent in Italy, Cyprus, & Greece. They benefit from a brexit deal with the EC. However many there are suffering from the EC rule allowing only 90 days stay in any period of 6 months, resulting in the necessity to return to the UK periodically, where maybe they had not retained a property. Gay pensioners in Thailand have other benefits in addition to cheap property and sunny weather !.

About the state pension increase for UK citizens living overseas. Pensioners will receive increases if they are resident in the EC and a few other countries, but definitely not in Thailand, and surprisingly not in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. All very unfair as pointed out by PeterRS. Another point is that pensioners who have no other income or resources apart from the state pension receive “pension credit” as a supplement. This does stop completely on becoming resident anywhere abroad. Any UK citizen contemplating moving abroad who has a fairly substantial income or assets should talk to an accountant with specialized knowledge as there are taxation implications as well as pension ones. In addition there are jealous people only too ready to spill the beans to HMRC (HM Customs and Excise - like the IRS In the US) about those who seem to be bending the rules.

I remember that during my early visits to Pattaya ( year 2000 to 2005), I was rather inhibited whilst circulating with boyfriends (both Asian and farang) away from the gay ghettos. Avoiding close contact and certainly no kissing or cuddling, so as to avoid censure or stares. Boyztown was on the tourist trail for voyeur str’s. It’s a lot more relaxed now causing far fewer gay visitors to identify as such.

Up to 13 years ago Sunee was definitely my first call, with up to 10 boy gogos plus host bars. But now it’s a bit limited and during my last trip i gravitated towards BT. I like to see the boys dancing in briefs and occasionally in thongs. You just don’t find that in the Complex although there are plenty of boys to sit with you and to off for later. The approach to Sunee from second road down Soi VC through the muslin area is a bit intimidating.