vinapu

sooner hotels realize that good internet is as crucial as working A/C better for them. Even if we don use one this should be available 8 days a week / 25 hours a day.
 
I guess they took Michael's custom for granted, hence sloppy rush to fix trouble

Bangkok is world class city, Pattaya is provincial backwater with dirty beaches  but first class boys and girls.
 
You can easily spent 2 months in Bangkok not being bored, try that in Pattaya, fast you will gain that sad face of resident  farangs there.

I think I know what finger you have in mind, 
 
all this would be funny if it weren't truth

did you look into mirror when posting ?, just curious

It's nothing to laugh at firecat, this contribution of yours really helps local industry, after all chances boys spent tips in multinational  hotels or restaurants are none.
 
They will eat locally, smoke local cigarettes and invite their friends for Mekhong whisky not Balvenie or MacAllan. 

Walking along Beach RD near BT Sois and I look across the street and see one of my favorites from last trip sitting on motorbike. He works at Toyboys and has pics up on Jack'd. He had just returned from home and anxious to make some money . So he came over and we had our usual good time.
 
Then last night I was looking on Grindr and saw a really cute boy in a beach pic that looked familiar to me. I contacted him and he gave me his telephone number. When I went to put it in my iPhone his name came up and then I remembered he worked at Funnyboys and was fun in 3 ways with another boy there.
 
He is currently not working at Funnyboys because it is so slow. So as usual I figured I would help out the local economy (hehe) and invited him over this morning. It was good to see him again and he may have some friends that I would like to meet.
 
It has continued to be vey Hot here but the breeze has come back so it is bearable as long as you stay out of the direct sunlight.

With you on that one, for sure, but it usually happens on Thai Time. I stayed in a hotel last year where I'd asked where the wireless box was as a guesstimate to how good the coverage would be. The woman told me it was directly across the hall from my room, and it was; I could see it on the ceiling.  The problem was the box itself needed to be manually re-set four or five + times a day, there was only that one woman on staff who seemed to know how to do it, and she wasn't there 24 hours a day. I watched her do it the second time, and after that just reached up and pushed the button myself.  I didn't need to stand on a chair to reach it, either! 

I enjoyed reading your post.  Your descriptions show the variety of different ways different people enjoy Thailand. I also find myself drawn to Bangkok because of the variety. It can be a fulfilling trip just to experience the many different things that are offered there.
 
During my last trip I spent about a week taking cooking classes in the morning and a long massage in the afternoon.  The next week it was visiting museums in the morning and again long massages in the afternoon. It was very relaxing.
 
But I must admit, I still enjoyed my nightly visits to Soi Twilight.
 
Thanks again for the interesting post.
 
 

I always prefer to stay at service apartments. If may not be your style but I would recommend the Center Point Hotel near the BTS Saphan Taksin. The internet and staff are great and it has an 8.7 rating on Agoda.
 

Sounds like you are ready for Chiang Mai

Hero being hard to find is perpetual urban legend which always amazes me.
 
If one is walking from BTS only thing to remember is to take left fork of soi when soi 11 splits in two, the same goes with taxi driver.
If you hop on mototaxi at mouth of the soi at Sukhumvit  if you find driver who  doesn't know where Hero is,  buy lottery ticket immediately.

Thank you!
 

I don't really have bona fide vacations. I live in hotels 365 days a year and thus everywhere I am at I have some work to do which requires an Internet connection. I don't like long term breaks from the computer. If I took those, I would never be able to afford a hotel.
 

Well, I didn't mean to complain. I guess that is the way it sounded but it wasn't my intent. I just don't like spending more money on a drink than I would in a New York City club. I also grew tired of the shows there years back. There was one show a few years ago that I loved but they had different dance routines, cabaret type show. I loved it but it is now closed.
 
I always like to go for one or two visits on a trip but I hate the guys out front trying to ply you into their bar with broken promises.
 

The king of this type is the Vegas hotels. In each one, there is virtually everything you could need. Most have movie theaters, gyms, tons of restaurants, a full mall and the list goes on. I have to be in Vegas 2 times a year for conventions and every time I go I am really amazed at how easy it is to never leave your hotel. I was reading last week an article on the World's largest hotels and a great many are on the strip in Vegas.
 
I think over the years, I have just tried to relax a bit more and not try to cram so much into my trips to LOS.

Nice report, 
 
This internet  fuck -up really tickled you off. I understand it messed you with your research.
 
On bona fide vacations I'd  be happy  if internet would not be working, excuse of not even looking computer side just for break.
 
Congrats from me as well on weight loss, 2 pounds every 3 days shows it can be done if one is motivated enough.
 
I'm glad you found Banana  , IMHO underrated competitor to HERO , for me  is usually other way around, going to Hero but getting disctracted by Banana sign and finishing up there.
 
What is wrong with soi Twilight? Not a first time somebody complains that is getting boring and uninteresting,
 
Certainly not my impression, I could spent whole days there just watching traffic passing by. 
But like you I found joys of slow speed vacations so I'm not surprised you liked being enclosed in Sathorn. This is why I don't like luxury hotels in BKK  , they are so nice that  one doesn't feel even need to hit streets.

It was a very interesting trip for me to Thailand this year. I did not go for the bars, Clubs, massage parlors or anything of the sort very many times. I made this trip to Thailand and order to get into shape and to lose some weight. All in all, I spent slightly less than two months in Thailand. I stayed in three different hotels, visited three different fitness centers, and had approximately 15 Thai massages.
 
When I first arrived in Thailand I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok. I have stated this hotel many times over the last 10 years. It is one of my favorite hotels in Thailand. I like the convenience of being close to all the malls and easy access to the sky-train. From this hotel I am able to walk to at least four or five major malls. And I also enjoyed being able to recover in this hotel after a long flight to Thailand.
 
The majority of my time I stayed at the Ascott Hotel near Chong Nosi. The boys and I got a two bedroom two bath apartment unit. It was an executive two bedroom apartment. It was approximately 2000 ft.². The hotel includes a fitness center called the Cascade Club. The Cascade Club is one of the best fitness centers in Bangkok. The cost for month for the apartment was 90,000 Thai baht per month and that included everything but there was a limit on electricity and we ended up paying about another 5k per month for that.
 
I have stayed at The Ascott 4 times over the years and always loved it. This time was a bit different. A hotel has to live up to certain standards to get my business. The most important thing to me is the Internet. This hotel is a bit older but having stayed here in the past, I did not have any problem and thus, all my great past reviews of The Ascott. But, on this trip, the Internet was horrendous.
 
The Internet was so bad that I called to the front desk to complain over 47 times in 2 months. I had to go downstairs and talk to them 16 times. In other words, the Internet was so horrible that often I could not even access websites or do any work. Skype was impossible and I could not get through one call without the call being dropped or the Internet freezing up.
 
After 6 weeks, they sent a letter to all guests that they were upgrading the system and it would be down for a few hours while they did that. I was thrilled and saw this as a way for the hotel to redeem itself. It had the opposite effect. The "new fix" made it even worse than before.
 
If I thought it was just me, I might be a bit more positive. But, I had conversations over the 2 months with over 15 other residents who said the exact same thing. They were all shocked at the hotel having the worst Internet they had seen.
 
I will have to say, that I have stayed here in the past with no issue. The issue must reside in their current Internet provider as they changed companies. But, they went from something that worked to something that was totally useless.
 
After one week, I was ready to go. If I had not paid for the 2nd month in advance, I would have just left. But, after 2 months staying at the hotel that I have praised in the past, I can say that I am more disappointed in the management of this hotel for failing to come up with a solution to a crisis that existed for at least 2 months. They may respond and say it is all better now, but the truth it, they told me that repeatedly over my trip there and I was deceived. As I have traveled across Thailand and stayed in very small hotels in the middle of no where, it is sad when a huge hotel in the capital of Thailand has worst Internet service than any other hotel I have stayed at in over 10 years of visiting the country.
 
On all my other stays at The Ascott, I was wishing I had booked longer. On this stay, I could not wait to get away. The hotel was a major disappoint and the lack of action spoke a great deal of managements lack of having ears that listen to customers.
 
The staff was apologetic and nice but they were helpless to do anything to fix this. One-Hundred percent of this blame goes to upper management and their inability to solve a crisis situation. They should have fired the company providing the Internet or came up with another way for residents to get a decent connection. Having said that, the owners of the hotel must either pay more attention to what is going on at their properties so that the great reputation they have build up is not destroyed based on incompetent management of one property and for my stay, the management not only underachieved but turned one of my favorite properties into one I doubt I'll ever visit again!
 
I only went to Soi Twilight on three or four occasions. I went with a friend for him to see his boyfriend. And I went a couple more times on my own. This area is not as enjoyable to me as it once was. I tend to get bored in this area very easily and to stay in the area for a long period of time is not something I have enjoyed for many years.
 
I want to Hero Massage about five times. All but one of those times I had a good time. On one occasion I didn't find what I was looking for and my regular massage boy was not there so I took a walk down to Banana Massage. At Banana Massage I found a very handsome Vietnamese boy that I had a very good time with. He was extremely sexy and he was also new to Bangkok. I enjoyed spending time with him. The massage was not great and the sex was not great but I still had a good time as he was so adorable.
 
There was a three-week stretch that I did not even leave my hotel. The hotel has three different restaurants inside and I enjoy each of the restaurants. But the boys and I ended up cooking the vast majority of our meals as I was trying to eat in a more nutritious way than most restaurants will cook. We did our grocery shopping once a week at Siam Paragon Mall and we would stock up on all the fresh vegetables and meats that we needed for the week.
 
I was also able to visit Chiva Som for a five day spa vacation. Chiva Som is one of the best spas and all of the world. It is extremely beautiful, extremely serene, and unfortunately is also extremely expensive. I booked a five day program that included several massage therapies per day as well as some personal training sessions. I also upgraded to one of there larger rooms. The cost was 265,000 baht for the 5 days. That is an extremely high rate to pay but I was doing research for a company and my expenses were covered.
 
I visited 3 different fitness centers near Chong Nosi. My hotel has the Cascade Club inside so that is where we spent a great deal of time. But, Richard Branson opened up Virgin Fitness next door to us in Empire Building. One of my former trainers works there and invited me over for a week. It is very very nice and I'd really consider joining on my next trip.
 
They also opened up a Fitness First right near the sky train entrance. It was also a great gym and great facility. So for me, there were 3 amazing fitness centers all within about 5 minutes walk of each other. I am not sure why they did this but I am glad they did. This area of Sathorn is filled with traffic and often hard to get a taxi but they keep building more and more condos and hotels. The Ascott is right across the street from the new W Hotel in Bangkok. The area has tons of great places to visit and eat.
 
I did not venture out to many new restaurants but did eat at several that I had eaten at before.
 
I spent most days at the pool at in the afternoon or evening and I really enjoyed the lack of tourists. I had the pool to myself for many days and I would swim a few laps and just swim around in the water for hours. Near the end of my stay, it started to get a bit rainy and windy and that drove even more people from the hotel.
 
I was there during the coup but that did not affect me in the least other than the lack of foreign news, etc. that others experienced.
 
I didn't post blow by blow of my trip as I have written about most places I visited on this trip in the past. Other than the disappointment with my 2 months stay at The Ascott, I had a great time. I have 2 amazing guys that take wonderful care of me. I ended up loosing a bit over 40 pounds in 2 months. I also was able to meet up with old friends from days gone by.
 
I still love Thailand but I think over the years I have grown to love the slow pace of life much more than the high speed of the bars and clubs. I spent less than 4 hours total in all the bars on this trip. So, more time was spent just enjoying life.
 
The biggest treat for me was Chiva Som. I have been there 2 times in the past and I love the place. I would live there if I could afford it but the cost is just over the top.
 
I took Delta both ways. I like their service and I sat in Business Class. I always buy a cheap ticket and upgrade with miles to business class. My return cost 1700 USD plus 30k miles.
 
Other than one day in Pattaya, 5 days in Hua Hin at Chiva Som, I spent the rest of my time in Bangkok in the Sathorn area.
 
It was a fun 2 months!

I like Jack'd better then Grindr but checked out Grindr this afternoon and found a really adorable boy.
 
And he was willing in all respects. Definitely a keeper, I hope he has friends??
 
The cool weather has disappeared along with the breeze 88 with 75% humidity for which my iPhone app says is the equivalent of 101 degree. Not nice in the sun.
 
Supposed to b TStorms tomorrow maybe that will cool it down. I got spoiled the first 8 days. It is never that nice in June.

no , I even can't believe how backward I'm and still read  / and own  /  books in paper format.

I would not worry at all about posting his picture  being appropriate or not , this is gay forum and we should help ourselves by pointing out who hates us.
 
He is not worrying if what he is doing is politically correct ,  why should we?

I would not worry at all about posting his picture  being appropriate or not , this is gay forum and we should help ourselves by pointing out who hates us.
 
He is not worrying if what he is doing is politically correct ,  why should we?

Little slow last few days because of some dental work and seeing regulars. Also trying to burn myself out in the first 2 weeks.
 
Found a cutie on Jack'd today and had him come over. Really a delightful kid who was unable to fulfill all my likes but he was just fun to be around. English was decent and had a sense of humor.
 
He made me laugh and feel very comfortable and that makes up for some unwillingness on his part.
 
He also works at a BT Bar which I did not know.

Imkeev ,
 
don't get discouraged by remarks above, full moon is coming so we are getting cranky at times.
 
Keep posting and enjoy your time in BKK.
vinapu

unfortunately I can't sleep too much  on the plane and watching movies makes my eyes  tired so I need to resort to old fashioned reading books and magazines and internet would be nice addition.
 
What I find surprising as age progresses I'm taking those long flights better and better but jet lags becoming problem more and more.

just don't try doing it on the handful of Thai Airways flights that have this available, currently just A330 and A380 flights to Perth, Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Osaka  - they don't charge by the leg, they charge an arm and a leg by the MB and $15 US will get you the Bangkok Post website main page and a few pages from this site before you have to reach for your credit card again
 
bkkguy

That'll be the Shamerock bar / cafe you'll be thinking of I believe, ha I'm always torn as on one hand with an owner like that of course one wouldn't want to give him a single baht BUT they do loads of "ordinary" every day Irish grub and "sometimes" when I'm all Thai fooded out I have to admit I do nip in for a quick bowl of stew or something just to ride me over. But I promise I keep my fingers crossed under the table the while time I'm there AND make a point of sashchying up to the counter just as gayly as I can to pay my bill as my token protest lol
 
Actually seriously the one and only time I ever had an issue in that place was some drink dickhead who when he asked and I told him I was gay started to be a homophobic prick which of course got the standard go fuck yourself you tosser response from me - only for me to discover he actually lived about 3 miles from my home in N Ireland !! To say I was both wasn't surprised at all and was also disgusted at the small minded price all in the same breath just about covers it !! :-(

This is exactly what I think ,
 
On another hand bar is not public space but private business so it's up to owner and clients to decide who is welcomed and who is not.
 
After all we often have complains that our bars are invaded by noisy girls and on more than one occasion I saw guys backing up from door when they spot busty contingent occupying prime space. So we can't be too sanctimonious when comes to not being welcomed here and there.
 
Bottom line - find gay friendly businesses and spent your money there.
 
Second bottom line, welcome ladies in our bars, I was against until black lady sitting beside me in X-boys complemented me " You have a handsome  boyfriend", we both , boy and me left happy . 

This is exactly what I think ,
 
On another hand bar is not public space but private business so it's up to owner and clients to decide who is welcomed and who is not.
 
After all we often have complains that our bars are invaded by noisy girls and on more than one occasion I saw guys backing up from door when they spot busty contingent occupying prime space. So we can't be too sanctimonious when comes to not being welcomed here and there.
 
Bottom line - find gay friendly businesses and spent your money there.
 
Second bottom line, welcome ladies in our bars, I was against until black lady sitting beside me in X-boys complemented me " You have a handsome  boyfriend", we both , boy and me left happy . 

Unfortunately I'm not good at stocks but still gladly have a coffee with you