anddy

so you wanted to visit BOTH of these massage shops ni your short one night layover, AND take a boy back to the hotel. I'm jealous of your libido/stamina joking aside, the two shops mentioned are certainly good and all, but note that there is no such thing as THE good massage shop. It ALWAYS boils down to the individual masseur you get (or select). You will never know in advance how good it will be, and even in the supposedly "THE best" shop you may end up with a dud. That dud, on the other hand, may be a star fro someone else or on a different day. They are human after all. Vinapu always emphasizes this point. What I mean by all this is that if it is more convenient for taking a bar boy home to move hotels, then you will still be able to find good massages in that area - just read massage-guru vinapus reports. Arena, Senso, Prince, Bangkok, Bonny, and the countless "legit" (i.e. not full-service) shops in the Silom area. Also, if you are especially keen on those two shops, it's also easier to travel there at the reasonable hours they are open rather than have to travel late at night with a bar boy.

there may also be an element of standing/prestige/face a boy may gain by bringing a customer to a bar, even if only through off-fee but not drinks as well. In the west we might call this "brownie points" for the boy, but in this culture, standing/prestige/face are of far greater importance than brownie points in western ones. So by paying off-fee boy may not gain financially, but socially in his workplace, which may have the same/similar/greater value to him.

next time! I know you don't know when that will be due to those clouds over the horizon, but I'm sure it is a matter of when, not if. 1. that's correct, not heat - no effect. BUT with the pill just a little bit of heat is sufficient, whereas without it it needs to be a lot of heat. So both is correct: some heat need to be felt AND the pill does help 2. interesting, I wasn't aware of that. So much for hear-say and others' opinions - valuable as clues, but "truth" has to be discovered personally. You are certainly a master in that discipline these days!

I have experience with romeo, hornet, jack'd and grindr. I fail to understand why grindr is (still) so popular in the face of the competition. As the hornet marketing spiel says, why limit to ONE picture? Why limit to 100 guys only? Hornet has no such limits, multiple pictures (though no unlimited, but fair enough), and no limit on the visible guys. Same for the others. Grindr is a big loser in my view in terms of functionality. In Asia, romeo used and still is actively used, being the pioneer. Hornet and jack'd are very popular, too, but I have discontinued to use jack'd (not as easy userfriendly as hornet, too many apps lol). Grindr is more a farang thing is my impression. Blued I haven't tried.

if the plan involves a visit to gogo-bar(s), then why wold you want to stay so far away? It would GREATLY add to convenience (and save time, potential hassle with cab drivers, and a little money) to stay in Silom/Surawong area instead. Plenty of hotel choices, too. And massage shops abound, too. If I were you, and if you can cancel the reservation at no cost, then I'd change. Everything in walking distance. oh, tip is paid after you're done

you're here all of October? then we can try to meet for a drink or something.... => PM

as always, very enjoyable to sort of re-live your fun times through your reports Pity only it didn't work out to meet this time given our very brief overlap of only 2 days in BKK. Next time again for sure! 1. that may also owe something to the magic of a certain blue (or green) pill.... 2. that comes as a bit of a surprise given your taste.. you'd sure have discovered Tawan on your own too, very easy by just browsing the bar listings in travelgayasia for example. But here is kind of an information exchange, that's true

well, before you starve there is always 7/11 lol. Unlikely they will close...

The dress code certainly does not formally apply to foreigner. Even on Thai people other than government employees it is not a legally enforceable thing. Most (at least in BKK), of course, will comply. However, I would feel very awkward indeed wearing colorful clothes in a sea of black and white. I've not been wearing overly colorful clothes since one year, have gone to even more subdued since Oct. 1st, and will go black from Oct. 13. If tourists are doing this, Thais do appreciate it (I received comments to that effect last year in the weeks after his death), but obviously not all tourist arriving in that period can be aware of any kind of dress code. After all, if the Queen of England were to pass away, no such dress code would be imposed or even recommended (I guess).. As for things and entertainment being toned down, that will certainly happen. A small indicator might be that since Oct 1st. in shopping malls, supermarkets, BTS and MRT stations and in trains they play somber (mourning) music.Also, some companies, including Tesco-Lortus with all their 1900 branches nationwide as well as Major Cineplex with 119 branches nationwide, have started to announce closure of business onOct 26 to allow employees to follow the ceremonies; more are sure to follow. Further reading for those interested: http://bk.asia-city.com/city-living/news/everything-you-need-know-about-royal-cremation-period-bangkok https://kingrama9.bangkokpost.com/

interesting.... expensive but then again not THAT expensive considering it's FOUR boys for quite a long time. Could only do such thing in BKK, though

I'll be here. Though not one to frequent Soi Twilight, I could meet you for a drink, and would suggest to hook you up with someone who does and is also into twinks... PM me for more info, logistics etc...

I have just recently seen Melatonin being sold over the counter in a drugstore in Germany. One of those drugstores similar to the US, where they sell everything from toiletries like toothpaste and shampoos to detergents and other household items to baby diapers to food & pet food etc etc etc. AND herbal medicines and supplements like vitamin pills. They had melatonin bottles on the shelf with all the zinc and magnesium and what have you. Haven't seen (nor looked for) in BKK. So on the return flight you take a day flight, which is a different strategy to my night flight one. Sounds like it should work well, only I like to NOT to have to kill 12 hours on a plane.... I rather sleep those long hours away

Going to and from Europe I find jet lag issues more or less non-existent. I always take the night flights either direction which work like this: Europe to BKK: fly out something like 8 to 10 pm, so it's almost bedtime anyway. After dinner on board go to sleep right away and sleep as much as possible, which can be up to 8 hours on the 10+ hours flight. Skip breakfast on the plane in favor of maximizing sleep time. Arrive BKK around 1 pm, feeling decently fresh, even though plane sleep is certainly not top-quality sleep (despite sleeping aids listed below). But staying awake until local bedtime arrives is not an issue at all, and depending on level of fatigue go to sleep anywhere between 10 pm and midnight for a good night of quality sleep. Wake up firmly in BKK time zone, no issues at all. BKK to Europe: take the night flights leaving BKK around midnight. Same procedure as above, only difference being that arrival time in Europe is VERY early in the morning, like 6 or 7 am. So even after up to almost 10 hours of sleep on this 12 hour flight, it's a long day ahead, but still manageable. Go sleep a bit early, good night's sleep. all set. in-flight sleeping aids: 1. ear plugs, absolutely mandatory not only to avoid noise from other passengers or service (remember, breakfast service is being skipped, so that noise needs to be blocked out) 2. face mask (provided in business class, or else BYO) to avoid the light when they switch it back on for breakfast 3. optional: some light over-the-counter sleeping pills bought in the US. They don't really make me tired or sleepy per se, but assist in falling asleep and a more consistent sleep-through. No drowsiness whatsoever after waking, or even when waking during the night to go pee. Have only started to use these a couple of years ago, but did fine all these years before it https://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/533815/450.jpg 4. Flying up front, as fedssocr puts it. Above routine worked well enough in economy, but flying biz or 1st is certainly the icing on the cake. Now, to and from the US is a different story with much longer flight ties and approximately DOUBLE the time difference. I experienced that a couple of years ago going to San Francisco from BKK, I could only attempt to apply the same strategy to the return flight, the outbound flight unfortunately was at the ungodly hour of 7 am BKK time arriving in SFO at 10 am, so difficult to put in sleep at any sort of "natural" time. Going back was fine, leaving SFO 6 pm, arriving BKK 6 am

only after 4 days got around to reading these, always a pleasure to read vinapu reports, thanks for writing & posting them

1. well what are the floors supposed to be like? Like a hotel floor with several rooms, and a shared bathroom 2. each guest room of course has a lockable door, like any other hotel room 3. the shared bathroom has semi-open showers (for the encouraged "mingling" of the guests, though they do have curtains I think), but the toilets are normal with doors, so you can take your dump in private 4. I believe so 5. yes, as there is a normal, lockable door like anywhere else 6. Babylon Sauna which attracts a mixed farang (farang=white person) and Asian crowd into each other. Sauna Mania is more sticky rice, but can be fun on the nude nights as has been mentioned. In addition, don't forget the awesome and seemingly unlimited massage options in Bangkok!

sounds like my kind of massage, too :-) Though actual touching and massaging of the hole would be a big plus!

I wouldn't call this outlook "not good" - quality time with BurBoy isn't exactly a "bad" thing na! Too bad I'll miss you this trip as I'm not back yet. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

you mentioned a divide between "lovers" and "haters", so you DID say "hate", see quote! (emphasis mine to highlight the H-word lol) /nit-picking mode off just as Soi Twilight is not my thing really, so is Pattaya (without having ever been). Both are just commercial sex scenes, which is perfectly fine (or else I wouldn't be frequenting this board LOL), but not really my thing. So I guess I'm not a Pattaya "hater" but I'm indifferent to it, whereas I do love Bangkok and to live there, coz its a huge and sometimes messy big city, which *IS* my thing

face pillow? like a 3/4 donut-shaped one to make the table opening softter? Yeah, but htose make for an even more unfomfortable position as it raises the head, or rather pushes it back, a rather unnatural position The same is in fact true of just using the table hole by itself, the head is somewhat unnaturally pushed back - normally when standing straight the face is a bit in front of the chest, but on a table with hole pushed back to be more or less aligned with the chest, which I very much dislike. Therefore, I use the hole in conjunction with the pillow-under-the-upper chest method already mentioned a couple of times here. Other than that, I don't recall ever having an oil massage NOT on a table at Prime. Thai massages, by contrast, are (almost) NEVER on a table in ANY massage shop, but on floor mattress or platform.

The Prime in Silom Soi 6 has such tables. That's a legit place, not a gay full service one, though HE may (or may not) happen. OP doesn't state what kind of massage place it is supposed to be.... Paradise massage also in Silom Soi 6 has them, too, I THINK, but not 100% sure. Spa Bangkok in Silom Plaza has them.

I should be in town in November....

yes, that "naked zone" at Babylon is not always open. It may or may not be open daily, but only later in the evenings, I think something like from pm, but that may vary depending on the weekday, too. Unortunately, their website is not well maintained with regard to information about such details. Alternatively, if you want open play, I'd suggest and recommend the orgy parties ar R3 Sauna, most Saturdays I think. Check their website www.r3sauna.com

concept sounds very similar to that of (straight) BarBar Fetish Club in Bangkok on Patpong 2

I don't even know what it is.... Only thing I know is there used to be a gay massage shop in Sukhumvit called Waternest, specializing in some water treatments and scrubs, having rainshowers over the massage bed and such. But that's closed now, so dunno what else a water massage could be.

another option for the semi-frequent BTS user, who doesn't ride enough in one day to make the unlimited pass worthwhile is just getting a standard rabbit card for his stay in BKK. It is a stored value (or stored trips, but that's no value for the tourist) card that can be purchased at any BTS counter. It costs a fee of 50 Baht (which is lost, i.e. a true cost) and a deposit of 50 Baht which is fully refunded upon return of the card. The card can be topped up in increments of 100 Baht, and any remainder is also refunded. Costs of trips are simply deducted from the card's balance at the regular, single ride fare. While this option doesn't save any money, indeed costs 50 baht just to have, it affords the sometimes extreme convenience of NOT having to queue at the ticket machines, or even twice to get change before getting the ticket from the machine. The queues can be insane, especially at rush hour and at Mo Chit around closing time of Chatuchak market, so well worth IMHO. And thanks so much for a great and well written report! :-)