anddy

tooth braces mean nothing in Thailand. They seem to be a big thing here these days, I see them ALL the time now in people of all ages.

cool, let me know if and when you come ot BKK

should you pass through BKK and spend a bit of time here and look to draw, I'd be happy to model for you

you can also fly to Krabi to get to those places unless you prefer your main destination to be Patong in Phuket (with the whole commercial scene etc).

if you like we could meet up and I can show you around a bit

for seat info on any given flight www.seatguru.com is very helpful. As for emptying seatpockets as anonone suggests, that's a good idea and some airlines and seat designers had the same idea, sort of, by now putting the magazines etc. in a seat pocket on top of the seat, rather than at the bottom in front of your knees. The rationale for that, obvioulsy, may be less to give MORE leg-/kneeroom, but to squeeze in more seats at the same legroom. Still helps.

I'd recommend setting up a profile on www.planetromeo.com. You can also use their mobile app. And of course the usual mobile dating apps hornet, jack'd, grindr

I'd recommend setting up a profile on www.planetromeo.com. You can also use their mobile app. And of course the usual mobile dating apps hornet, jack'd, grindr

haha, point taken ;-) exactly, as so often (if not even always) in discussions like this. As we all know and appreciate, nobody wants to convince anyone of their personal choices/preferences, the point is to exchange ideas, suggestions, meybe sometimes, someone can learn something new for their benefit, which would be nice :-) haha, no I meant something like this. Have tried 2 or 3 times, worked fine for me. They are not so strong, but that can be helped by simply taking two.

if you noted the difference of some inflight sleep, why don't you learn the lesson and make it mandatory for yourself to sleep as much as possible? aonone got that part right. That way jet lag is no longer an issue, or at least not as much. I can speak for flights from Europe to BKK (10-12 hours), and I always try to take the night flights in either direction, so one is in sleep-mode anyway. Even if I can get only a day flight, I sleep (sometimes by reducing the previous night's sleep to a minimum, plus sleeping pill, see below). Sleep 8 hours, and not big issues with jet lag. The arrival day (arrive morning/midday) might not be your fittest, but go to bed fairly early for a full nights sleep and all jet lag is gone. Flight times to/from US might not work as well, plus unavoidable layovers, so you work out your optimal sleep schedule. If you "can't sleep on planes" (as many people claim), well for one apparently you already have on occasion, but more importantly business class is the way to go. IMHO it *IS* well worth the expentidure. Besides, always be on the lookout for airline specials. There have been dirt cheap offers, for example FRA-HEL-BKK and back in Finnair with lie-flat business class for only 1300 Euros, an absolute steal. Often, they offer it in the 1500-1700 range, still good. Currently, I heard Lufthansa has a special for only 1800, and that's non stop to boot. I have never paid full fare on a business of first class ticket, and of course sometimes just bought the whole thing with points (best value for points IMO, rather than upgrading, which requires ertain usually expensive economy booking class fares as a basis). If your pocket still revolts, I have discovered the huge benefit of sleeping pills, which in the US can easily be obtained over the counter. Work like a charm. They enable you to fall asleep more easily AND make the sleep you actually get deeper and less interrupted or uneasy. i.e. more gives you a closer semblance of quality sleep. And they do NOT leave you drowsy the upon waking up.

that actually concurs with kokopelli's point rather than contratict it. Columbus was never shown that way, so it was difficult. For everyone after him it was easy. Anyway, hairsplitting aside, I see your point of being just a blind follower not finding the way next time. But that's up to the traveller, to do things himself with the assistance of the guide, rather than let the guide do everything (which might be tempting for a first timer).

I beg to differ. First, they will show you things and allow you (rather than force) to see things through their eyses, which can also be viewed as opening your own eyes to things you wouldn't otherwise see. Part of the attraction of the concept of the local guide. Second, since it is a private, one-on-one guide, there will be no surprises or disappointments on the places visited, as everything can and will be discussed in advance. Unlike with a group tour, which have fixed intineraries and thus would justify your concern. Going by the river is a splendid way of getting to the Grand Palace and anyone afraid of boats should nevertheless be tried to be talked into it, There is no seasickness to be feared and for sure much more interesting and enjoyable than a boring taxi. But if they insisted, so be it. As for the malls, if your role is tour guide and they insist they want to see a mall, you'd be obliged to go. The guide doesn't determine things, it is discussed and agreed in advance, see above. Big plus of the individual guide, in addition to the other points mentioned in this thread.

see this thread: http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/9954-a-thai-gay-themed-movie/

yes a local (gay) guide is highly recommendable. I had one on my first ever trip to BKK (and, in fact, Asia) over 15 years ago from Purple Dragon, that made everything so easy in the unknown city. Don't worry about travelling alone, that's so easy especially in Thailand. With the local guide, everything will just be perfect. Some board members (including myself) live in Thailand, so who knows what help might be given.

already 3 boy's pics up in the site. Tum looks super nice :-) Too bad I have no plans to ever go to Pattaya ;-) Interesting the distinction of the minimum tip, haven't really seen that anywhere like that, but then I'm no expert on that....

more like the gladiator games in ancient Rome ;-) Regarding endangered species, that concern is overblown too. Yes they may be endangered and I agree with all human efforts to save endangered species. However, some perspective is warranted here, too. The human race has brought to extinction hundreds or thousands of species in its rather short history, including many of the so-called mega-fauna in various continents (like the mammoth, sabre-tooth tiger, Megatherium, etc etc.,), many smaller animal species, plants as well as, indeed, other human species (such as homo erectus or the famous Neandertaler). That is not meant to be an excuse for ongoing extinction, especially nowadays when humans are aware of what is going on. Again, this is just about perspective and the unjustified hype. It was just another lion. The real and IMHO only issue (apart form this being apparently illegal, but that in itself is no big deal, either) is killing for fun, which I guess all in this thread so far agree, is wrong. By the same token, the distinction between herbivores and carnivores is irrelevant, as numerous wild herbivores are hunted for fun / "sport" as well (think of the nice trophy the antlers of moose or antelopes provide).

the global uproar is way overblown and completely out of proportion relative to the crime committed. Yes it was wrong and killing for pleasure is despicable. But at the end of the day it is just one guy who happened to (presumably) illegally shoot ONE animal. big deal. At the same time, there are thousands upon thousands, especially in gun-loving USA who are doing the same on a daily basis. And besides, if people are concerned about the animal cruelty involved (apparently it took many many hours for the lion to die because of the weapon being bow and arrow, adding to the oddity of the guy), all those people should be vegetarians given the immeasurably more severe cruelty that is inflicted on livestock mass produced for our food by the millions of individual animals every day. I am by no means an animal rights activist, nor a vegetarian (let alone vegan) but I find it hypocritical and annoying how this story is so blown out of proportion. The bottom line is still a good one, though, given the potential positive effect vinapu pointed out.

you are right, Christian didn't say or imply it is permanent for him. I was just equating "live here" with "permanently" ;-)

while abidismali's explanation makes some sense, too, I think it is much simpler: the simply subtract the year they were born in (say, 1990 / 2533) from the current year (2015 / 2558) and thus arrive - mathematically correct - at their age in numbers of years (25). This obviously disregards the months, but is a simple and not necessarily incorrect way to calculate age measured in years. Thais have a penchant for simplicity ;-)

that implies you are under 50, so you beat me to it ;-) Quite a nice achievement to quit work that young. I managed to do it at 50 even, no complaints, really

just avoid the taxi queues at DMK by going up to the departure level and hail a cab that has just dropped off passengers. Did that just last week, worked like a charm. He even turned on the meter right away, last time I did that I had to negotiate a flat rate (400 incl. toll, which is roughly what it comes out to anyway; couldn't wait for another one willing to use the meter coz quite some people were doing the same, chasing the few cabs available up there).

The Frankfurt-BKK flights are always full, too. Can't comment on the Rome route. That said, full doesn't necessarily mean profitable, as the money is earned with business class, and when that's empty a full economy class is not enough. @bkkmfj: if you prefer the long direct flight (as I do, I don't want the roughly 50/50 that the emirates routes make it), you can also switch in Brussels or Frankfurt or Paris or Copenhagen if you want to fly Thai. Then you have 1+10 instead of say 6+6. Or Frankfurt using LH or Zurich using Swiss. And surely more options similar than these few.

can't really comment on that, as we only went to 1 gay bar and that was empty (maybe 3 or 4 customers, one of which a somewhat older farang who obviously lives in Thailand given his fluent Thai, with 2 boys), but maybe that's to be expected on a Monday night. After that we had a massage at Paradise massage, but that was very disappointing. Other than that, didn't do anything gay...

Getting a Schengen visa is the easiest thing ever. He doesn't need any income or job, you just need to provide a formal "Schengen invitation". That is an official, formal document to be executed at city hall (my country) or whatever other office has been assigned this job by the laws of your country. Then, you send that document to the person wishing to travel to Schengen, they take it to the embassy when applying for a Schengen invitaition visa, and boom, you got it. Super easy. No need for any dodgy dealings. The Schengen invitaion involves you vouching for EVERYTHING about that the invited person's stay, i.e. expenses in particular, and his return to his country (though a return ticket may or may not be required, I'm not sure). That visa then allows for a stay of 3 months, not bad at all. The requirements you mentioned about job, school, income etc on ly apply when the person applies for a regular tourist visa on his own. The invitation visa is a different type and does not require that, because all of that is covered by the guarantee you provide through that document. Go to the website of your country's embassy in Bangkok to find out about the rules and requirements, it should all be there.

I'm actually just back from a couple of days in CM. Very nice town with a relaxed feel to it. Lots of great looking hotels and restaurants everywhere. As for a gay area, it appears there is none really. There are 3 or 4 gogo bars clustered in one area, but other bars are all over the place. See the gay map on travelgayasia.com http://www.travelgayasia.com/gay-map-of-chiang-mai/