VancBCMan

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.
Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip
I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit. Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China. The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night. There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong. A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand. Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine. Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before. Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened. I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop). A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series. A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too. A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks. Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only. XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).  

Intro

I have been reading trip reports of those who have recently been to Bangkok, and taken in a lot of the information that helped me decide some of the things I could do and visit on this trip and places I might want to eat at.

It’s only fair that I return the favour by writing about my recent visit to Bangkok.

I was last in Bangkok in mid February 2020, soon after the start of COVID, and just a few weeks before travel started to shut down to/ from most countries. This February was my first time back in the city since then.

On this trip, I had visited a number of other cities in Africa before heading to Thailand. Bangkok was my last stop, before heading home. This time, I was there for 12 days, in mid February.

I came via Doha, travelling on Qatar Airways. I will say, without any hesitation, that their service is the best I have experienced compared to many of the other airlines I have travelled on over the past 5 years. Theirs was actually the cheapest fare in business class from the African city I was travelling from. Their lounge in Doha is huge and lots of staff there to help you if you needed any assistance. The lounge in Bangkok, although smaller, was quite something! They have a limited choice of food options in their lounges, although they will make fresh sandwiches and cook eggs for you, if requested. In comparison, the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul tops the list for food options. Sorry for a bit of digression….


I arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport around 12:30 pm. A few flights had landed about the same time, so there were several people in the arrivals area at the time. After a good walk, I was in the Fast track immigration line up. The line I was in was taking longer as a farang ahead of me was being asked several questions by the immigration officer. I changed lines and was served by another officer quickly. (The farang must have spent at least 15 mins with the officer overall). By the time I got to the luggage carousel, my bag was already there. I read in other posts that it had taken much longer to get the bags, so it seems some of those issues have now been addressed.
There was a lineup for taxis outside, so it took another 10 minutes before getting into the cab. The driver took the Expressway, but upon exit we had to deal with the daytime traffic in Bangkok. I was headed to the Raya, and told the driver to turn on Surawong, but he turned at Silom, so it took an additional 10 mins in that traffic (and slow traffic lights). Did he do that on purpose for the extra charge? I think so!
Check in was quick and I was in the suite on the 8th floor in no time. Agoda had a deal going on couple of months prior, so I got the suite at a very decent rate. This was the least I paid for a hotel room during this whole trip, where I stayed at a number of hotels in different cities.
I had invited a friend from Philippines to join me on day 5 of my trip. He was there for a week. While we had some of our meals together, we otherwise each did our own thing.
Over the course of 12 days, the weather was very warm, reaching up to 35 degrees on some days. Things cooled down to about 26 deg for 3-4 days after a heavy rainfall overnight and in the morning during the middle part of my trip. Although it became very humid for a day, it was then pleasant. After the short reprieve, the temperature soared back to 35 degrees.
What a change in the weather when heading home:  from temperatures that reached mid 30’s in Bangkok, to almost zero (with some snow and lots of rain) in my hometown.

Eating
I visited the restaurant in Foodland, that has been mentioned several times by other members. I went there for breakfast the first morning in BKK. Cost was very reasonable, as has been mentioned, but I found the portions too big for me, so food went to waste. Following days, I went to a coffee shop in the Silom Complex, in Chamchuri Square and other shops near by. I also went to the Crackhouse (what a name!) for delicious pancakes. It is located in the Commons on Sala Daeng Road.
Dinners were at a mix of restaurants – Thai, Indian, fast food (had to try the chicken at Texas Chicken!).
Al Saray restaurant on Silom near the Sala Daeng BTS Station was a new find for me. They serve Indian and Lebanese food. I had one of the best biryanis there.
I also visited G’s (mentioned by @vinapu in his posts). Went there twice on subsequent days. Went alone one day and had their chicken with cashews. On that day, it was delicious. My Filipino friend also wanted to go there, so we went there the next day. And the same dish was not that great. Quite dry, less tasty and I had an upset stomach after eating there. Not sure what really caused that.
It is always a treat eating Thai dishes in the different restaurants. All (except for one day) are pretty good and quite reasonably priced.

The Boys
I did not off any guys from the Clubs this time. All my meetings were arranged by intros on Grindr. 
My hook ups varied between slim to muscular to athletic guys. One is a soldier; he was really handsome! I met up with him towards the end of my trip. I would have definitely had some repeats with him, if I had met him earlier. Well, a reason to go back to Bangkok within next few months! Two of the other boys were from Vietnam.
They all spoke good English, so it was easy to communicate and chat with them.
For massage at a shop, I went to Senso and chose a tall handsome guy, who was smiling at me (took the advice of other members). Others have described the routine at Senso: shower alone first, massage, the fun part and then shower together. I would go back to this masseur the next time I’m in Bangkok. The other massage sessions were in my room.

Clubs

Hot Male: I visited Hot Male on the 1st night I was in Bangkok. Entrance was 400 Baht. I went soon after the show had started. On that day, the place was almost full, but not packed. Almost 40% of those in the audience that day were women. There were about 15 guys on the stage, wide range to suit most. They were all wearing sweatpants and most wearing T-shirts. Hardly anyone was smiling; they looked bored. For me, the show was OK.

I visited Hot Male again towards the end of my trip. This time, there were very few women, and the choice of boys was not as good as the previous visit. The good-looking ones may have been “offed” already.


 
Fresh Boys:  I visited the Club after seeing the show at Hot Male on Day 1. Entrance was also 400 Baht. There were about 20 guys on stage, all wearing sweats and most wearing Ts. There were fewer women here and the place was about half full. Here, there were more smiles on the faces of the boys, compared to Hot Male. There was even a greater variety of guys here, some past their prime as go-go boys. They had their “cock show” as part of their overall show. Again, show was OK. Dream Boys

I patronized Dream Boys 3 times during this trip. Cover charge was 500 Baht for the 2 times and 550 Baht on a Monday (not sure why the difference). Each time, the place was about half full. There were about 25 guys parading on stage each time, before and after the main show. They were all in briefs. Just before the start of the main show, 9 of the boys danced very well to upbeat music, and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. Of the Clubs I visited this time, I saw the most smiles here. There was a good selection and variety in the boys. I would say this Club had the best entertainment out of the 4 Clubs I went to this time. Each time, there were slightly different routines.

The costumes, which one can write home about, were also different each time. When performing, the guys were in sync during their dance performance. They put on a very decent performance. While the shows here are raunchier than at Moonlight, it almost seemed like the choreographer from Moonlight had moved to Dream Boys. The shows at Moonlight were great during past visits.
Moonlight
For old times sake, I visited Moonlight to see their show and their “models”. Cover charge was 450 Baht. The boys at Moonlight are good looking. However, except for a few, there weren’t many smiles on their faces. I used to enjoy their shows, but I was quite disappointed this time around. As mentioned above, I found the show at Dream Boys much better. One of the top models at Moonlight (let’s call him B) seems to have lost his touch, in my view. To me, B was one of the best performers there in the past, but no more. He even looked different this time. On the other hand, I found the other model, lets call him N, looking better as he is no longer buffed up, but still in decent shape. I only went to Moonlight once as I didn’t enjoy my time there as much this time.
Based on some of the comments posted by other Members, I skipped Jupiter this time.
General comment: I found the temperature pleasant at all 4 clubs, not very cool, as in previous times. The sound was also bearable, not very loud as to burst your ear drums. On the aside, I went to the famous Foodland, after visiting a Club, and it was bone chilling cold that night in one section.

Exercising is against my religion...
I will be waiting for them down the hill.

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.
Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip
I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit. Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China. The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night. There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong. A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand. Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine. Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before. Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened. I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop). A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series. A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too. A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks. Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only. XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).  

Eating
I visited the restaurant in Foodland, that has been mentioned several times by other members. I went there for breakfast the first morning in BKK. Cost was very reasonable, as has been mentioned, but I found the portions too big for me, so food went to waste. Following days, I went to a coffee shop in the Silom Complex, in Chamchuri Square and other shops near by. I also went to the Crackhouse (what a name!) for delicious pancakes. It is located in the Commons on Sala Daeng Road.
Dinners were at a mix of restaurants – Thai, Indian, fast food (had to try the chicken at Texas Chicken!).
Al Saray restaurant on Silom near the Sala Daeng BTS Station was a new find for me. They serve Indian and Lebanese food. I had one of the best biryanis there.
I also visited G’s (mentioned by @vinapu in his posts). Went there twice on subsequent days. Went alone one day and had their chicken with cashews. On that day, it was delicious. My Filipino friend also wanted to go there, so we went there the next day. And the same dish was not that great. Quite dry, less tasty and I had an upset stomach after eating there. Not sure what really caused that.
It is always a treat eating Thai dishes in the different restaurants. All (except for one day) are pretty good and quite reasonably priced.

The Boys
I did not off any guys from the Clubs this time. All my meetings were arranged by intros on Grindr. 
My hook ups varied between slim to muscular to athletic guys. One is a soldier; he was really handsome! I met up with him towards the end of my trip. I would have definitely had some repeats with him, if I had met him earlier. Well, a reason to go back to Bangkok within next few months! Two of the other boys were from Vietnam.
They all spoke good English, so it was easy to communicate and chat with them.
For massage at a shop, I went to Senso and chose a tall handsome guy, who was smiling at me (took the advice of other members). Others have described the routine at Senso: shower alone first, massage, the fun part and then shower together. I would go back to this masseur the next time I’m in Bangkok. The other massage sessions were in my room.

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.
Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip
I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit. Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China. The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night. There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong. A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand. Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine. Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before. Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened. I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop). A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series. A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too. A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks. Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only. XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).  

Clubs

Hot Male: I visited Hot Male on the 1st night I was in Bangkok. Entrance was 400 Baht. I went soon after the show had started. On that day, the place was almost full, but not packed. Almost 40% of those in the audience that day were women. There were about 15 guys on the stage, wide range to suit most. They were all wearing sweatpants and most wearing T-shirts. Hardly anyone was smiling; they looked bored. For me, the show was OK.

I visited Hot Male again towards the end of my trip. This time, there were very few women, and the choice of boys was not as good as the previous visit. The good-looking ones may have been “offed” already.


 
Fresh Boys:  I visited the Club after seeing the show at Hot Male on Day 1. Entrance was also 400 Baht. There were about 20 guys on stage, all wearing sweats and most wearing Ts. There were fewer women here and the place was about half full. Here, there were more smiles on the faces of the boys, compared to Hot Male. There was even a greater variety of guys here, some past their prime as go-go boys. They had their “cock show” as part of their overall show. Again, show was OK. Dream Boys

I patronized Dream Boys 3 times during this trip. Cover charge was 500 Baht for the 2 times and 550 Baht on a Monday (not sure why the difference). Each time, the place was about half full. There were about 25 guys parading on stage each time, before and after the main show. They were all in briefs. Just before the start of the main show, 9 of the boys danced very well to upbeat music, and they all looked like they were enjoying themselves. Of the Clubs I visited this time, I saw the most smiles here. There was a good selection and variety in the boys. I would say this Club had the best entertainment out of the 4 Clubs I went to this time. Each time, there were slightly different routines.

The costumes, which one can write home about, were also different each time. When performing, the guys were in sync during their dance performance. They put on a very decent performance. While the shows here are raunchier than at Moonlight, it almost seemed like the choreographer from Moonlight had moved to Dream Boys. The shows at Moonlight were great during past visits.
Moonlight
For old times sake, I visited Moonlight to see their show and their “models”. Cover charge was 450 Baht. The boys at Moonlight are good looking. However, except for a few, there weren’t many smiles on their faces. I used to enjoy their shows, but I was quite disappointed this time around. As mentioned above, I found the show at Dream Boys much better. One of the top models at Moonlight (let’s call him B) seems to have lost his touch, in my view. To me, B was one of the best performers there in the past, but no more. He even looked different this time. On the other hand, I found the other model, lets call him N, looking better as he is no longer buffed up, but still in decent shape. I only went to Moonlight once as I didn’t enjoy my time there as much this time.
Based on some of the comments posted by other Members, I skipped Jupiter this time.
General comment: I found the temperature pleasant at all 4 clubs, not very cool, as in previous times. The sound was also bearable, not very loud as to burst your ear drums. On the aside, I went to the famous Foodland, after visiting a Club, and it was bone chilling cold that night in one section.

Rather than describing what happened each day of my visit, I will provide comments on different parts of my stay in Bangkok.
Impressions & Observations of Bangkok on this trip
I walked around the Surawong and Silom areas everyday and here are my observations of what I noticed since my last visit. Overall, there were fewer tourists than before, particularly those from China. The Patpong Night market is open again, but there seemed to be fewer stalls and fewer people visiting them each night. There seemed to be more massage shops on Surawong. A number of marijuana shops have opened up all over, now that weed is legal in Thailand. Several food carts along Surawong were open and seemed to be doing fine. Shops and services on Thaniya Road seem to be catering to mostly Japanese tourists now; I don’t recall that being the case before. Things are still not quite back to normal after the pandemic. A few of the places were still shuttered shut and have not reopened. I initially thought that some of the restaurants I had previously gone to were permanently closed. But I was mistaken: 2 of the 3 were still open. An Indian restaurant on Surawong is no longer there. Of the other 2, one closes early at 9 pm (I went there after 9) and the other is a restaurant now also sells weed (I initially thought the whole place was converted to a weed shop). A new fast-food place has opened up on Silom, near Sala Deng BTS Station – Texas Chicken; you see them being promoted in some of the Thai BL series. A lot more MBs and “massage therapists” are now on Grindr. Others have mentioned this too. A good number of locals wore masks, even when outside. Most tourists did not. On BTS, most folks, including foreigners, wore masks. Tim Horton’s, which has thousands of coffee shops in Canada, has recently opened some shops in Bangkok. I went to one and was disappointed. They do not offer brewed coffee – a bread-and-butter item in Canada at Tim’s - nor a plain toasted bagel. They offer Americanos, lattes, and other beverages and bagels with cream cheese only. XOne had the best exchange rates as mentioned by @vinapu (I hang on to every word he writes, and then I can’t go wrong! ).  

Intro

I have been reading trip reports of those who have recently been to Bangkok, and taken in a lot of the information that helped me decide some of the things I could do and visit on this trip and places I might want to eat at.

It’s only fair that I return the favour by writing about my recent visit to Bangkok.

I was last in Bangkok in mid February 2020, soon after the start of COVID, and just a few weeks before travel started to shut down to/ from most countries. This February was my first time back in the city since then.

On this trip, I had visited a number of other cities in Africa before heading to Thailand. Bangkok was my last stop, before heading home. This time, I was there for 12 days, in mid February.

I came via Doha, travelling on Qatar Airways. I will say, without any hesitation, that their service is the best I have experienced compared to many of the other airlines I have travelled on over the past 5 years. Theirs was actually the cheapest fare in business class from the African city I was travelling from. Their lounge in Doha is huge and lots of staff there to help you if you needed any assistance. The lounge in Bangkok, although smaller, was quite something! They have a limited choice of food options in their lounges, although they will make fresh sandwiches and cook eggs for you, if requested. In comparison, the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul tops the list for food options. Sorry for a bit of digression….


I arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport around 12:30 pm. A few flights had landed about the same time, so there were several people in the arrivals area at the time. After a good walk, I was in the Fast track immigration line up. The line I was in was taking longer as a farang ahead of me was being asked several questions by the immigration officer. I changed lines and was served by another officer quickly. (The farang must have spent at least 15 mins with the officer overall). By the time I got to the luggage carousel, my bag was already there. I read in other posts that it had taken much longer to get the bags, so it seems some of those issues have now been addressed.
There was a lineup for taxis outside, so it took another 10 minutes before getting into the cab. The driver took the Expressway, but upon exit we had to deal with the daytime traffic in Bangkok. I was headed to the Raya, and told the driver to turn on Surawong, but he turned at Silom, so it took an additional 10 mins in that traffic (and slow traffic lights). Did he do that on purpose for the extra charge? I think so!
Check in was quick and I was in the suite on the 8th floor in no time. Agoda had a deal going on couple of months prior, so I got the suite at a very decent rate. This was the least I paid for a hotel room during this whole trip, where I stayed at a number of hotels in different cities.
I had invited a friend from Philippines to join me on day 5 of my trip. He was there for a week. While we had some of our meals together, we otherwise each did our own thing.
Over the course of 12 days, the weather was very warm, reaching up to 35 degrees on some days. Things cooled down to about 26 deg for 3-4 days after a heavy rainfall overnight and in the morning during the middle part of my trip. Although it became very humid for a day, it was then pleasant. After the short reprieve, the temperature soared back to 35 degrees.
What a change in the weather when heading home:  from temperatures that reached mid 30’s in Bangkok, to almost zero (with some snow and lots of rain) in my hometown.

Intro

I have been reading trip reports of those who have recently been to Bangkok, and taken in a lot of the information that helped me decide some of the things I could do and visit on this trip and places I might want to eat at.

It’s only fair that I return the favour by writing about my recent visit to Bangkok.

I was last in Bangkok in mid February 2020, soon after the start of COVID, and just a few weeks before travel started to shut down to/ from most countries. This February was my first time back in the city since then.

On this trip, I had visited a number of other cities in Africa before heading to Thailand. Bangkok was my last stop, before heading home. This time, I was there for 12 days, in mid February.

I came via Doha, travelling on Qatar Airways. I will say, without any hesitation, that their service is the best I have experienced compared to many of the other airlines I have travelled on over the past 5 years. Theirs was actually the cheapest fare in business class from the African city I was travelling from. Their lounge in Doha is huge and lots of staff there to help you if you needed any assistance. The lounge in Bangkok, although smaller, was quite something! They have a limited choice of food options in their lounges, although they will make fresh sandwiches and cook eggs for you, if requested. In comparison, the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul tops the list for food options. Sorry for a bit of digression….


I arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport around 12:30 pm. A few flights had landed about the same time, so there were several people in the arrivals area at the time. After a good walk, I was in the Fast track immigration line up. The line I was in was taking longer as a farang ahead of me was being asked several questions by the immigration officer. I changed lines and was served by another officer quickly. (The farang must have spent at least 15 mins with the officer overall). By the time I got to the luggage carousel, my bag was already there. I read in other posts that it had taken much longer to get the bags, so it seems some of those issues have now been addressed.
There was a lineup for taxis outside, so it took another 10 minutes before getting into the cab. The driver took the Expressway, but upon exit we had to deal with the daytime traffic in Bangkok. I was headed to the Raya, and told the driver to turn on Surawong, but he turned at Silom, so it took an additional 10 mins in that traffic (and slow traffic lights). Did he do that on purpose for the extra charge? I think so!
Check in was quick and I was in the suite on the 8th floor in no time. Agoda had a deal going on couple of months prior, so I got the suite at a very decent rate. This was the least I paid for a hotel room during this whole trip, where I stayed at a number of hotels in different cities.
I had invited a friend from Philippines to join me on day 5 of my trip. He was there for a week. While we had some of our meals together, we otherwise each did our own thing.
Over the course of 12 days, the weather was very warm, reaching up to 35 degrees on some days. Things cooled down to about 26 deg for 3-4 days after a heavy rainfall overnight and in the morning during the middle part of my trip. Although it became very humid for a day, it was then pleasant. After the short reprieve, the temperature soared back to 35 degrees.
What a change in the weather when heading home:  from temperatures that reached mid 30’s in Bangkok, to almost zero (with some snow and lots of rain) in my hometown.

I tell them that I'm straight too...creates a bond 😄

I visited SR for 10 days in February and this is a brief write up of my visit. I am going to be discreet but I am happy answer any specific questions about venues or activities…..just drop me a message. 
I found vinapu’s previous account of his visit interesting and I did discover Hanuman beer…excellent!
I stayed at Men’s Resort. It was a real oasis in a busy city and excellent to return to after a busy day. The food was excellent as were the cocktails and were reasonably priced. The room was clean, cool and spacious and I would recommend this hotel. The only slight issue was the distance from the centre of town which did need a tuk tuk trip there and back unless you were going to arrive really sweaty. Tuk tuks plentiful outside the hotel and the price seemed to be $2 into Pub Street and $3 back. 
I did not sample the massages at the hotel but a friend who was staying had a number and said that there were excellent and enjoyable. I visited the spa in the hotel 3 times and each time was busy, especially on week ends and after 6.30/7pm. A real mix of locals who tended to outnumber the tourists. I found many local guys to be bottoms who wanted a European top guy so if you’re bottom, it can be a tad frustrating. Some beautiful men so if you’re a top, you will have a great time.
I also visited Massage 168 and had arranged via email to meet a beautiful guy from the pics they had sent me. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, the guy at reception said the guy I wanted to meet was unavailable as his grandmother was ill! There were two other massage guys there behind a curtain and I chose a muscular one for the massage. Massage was competent but it was obvious he was just going through the motions. I ended the massage early as there was no connection and did not return. I did not find the place particularly clean either and this was probably the least pleasurable experience I have had in Asia.
I also visited Gecko massage near Pub Street and chose a muscular Cambodian guy for a massage. He was very willing and enthusiastic as well as being gorgeous and this resulted in a $30 tip. This was a far better experience than the one previously.
In relation to the gay scene I went to 4 places.
A new bar called Rendezvous Bar has opened and this was a fun bar to meet other gay travellers. The owner, Roland, was lovely and the drinks were great, especially the gin and tonics. Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…you have to go to taste this as well as viewing the gorgeous bar staff, especially Mao. I met some lovely fellow travellers there and would recommend this bar as an enjoyable stop off to chat and have fun.
I went to the new Miss Wong’s cocktail bar which has moved from near Pub Street to the other side of the river. It is a beautiful old house setting and the cocktails were some of the best I had on my Asia visit. Not particularly a gay vibe, a bit formal cocktail loungy but hugely enjoyable none the less.
I also visited a place the other side of the Night Market called Look@Me which seemed a bit run down, was small, on a noisy road and had no customers but this was early evening. I did not go in. Not for me.
The place which was really fun was Barcode. I visited this years ago and it has got better. A great routine by the performers. When I visited three times, there was a mix of tourists and some Cambodians and the bar staff are really friendly especially some of the hot waiters. One of the muscular bar staff was so hot I and flirtatious and I wish I had followed vinapu’s tactic of tipping him $5! Maybe the next visit?
The place which is not really on any guide but which was a real discovery was Home Cocktail Bar. I met an Australian guy who lives in SR for part of the year and he recommended this bar to meet gay Cambodians. It has great cocktails and food, is very reasonably priced and when I visited, packed with gay Cambodian guys who seemed to be interested in tourists. I spent three evenings there talking, flirting and getting to know some lovely local guys. Cocktails $1.50! A huge recommendation with the plus side that you get to meet locals. I found that locals are priced out of some of the other bars so this is the place to go! It was my favourite place in SR.
I found that Blued was hopeless here and I had more success with Grindr with guys wanting to meet, invariably for payment. $30/40 seemed to be the going rate to meet and there are some beautiful guys in Siem Reap.
When I got Tuk tuks back to Men’s at night a lot of the drivers seemed to know guys who would meet tourists for fun and some showed pictures. I did not take them up on their offers but they seemed genuine.
All in all SR is a fun place to visit.

Day 10
Great feeling in he morning that all world problems were solved or at least I felt like it .
 Breakfast in hotel , I noticed quite a few glances by other guests. Old,  KFC like troll and muscle semi-god , hard not to notice contrast I guess. But expressions were rather ‘wow”  than condemnation so it made for  even better feeling  and boost to my self esteem.
 Today trip with my friend to train market in MaeKlong. That’s rewarding, entertaining but multi staged trip requiring some planning. I took BTS to Wongwian Yai BTS station , from there it’s about 500 m walk by covered walkway to Taksin Road and then another 500 m north along the street to Wongwian Yai railway SRT station. While BTS one is usual concrete monstrosity , railway station is just single track ending almost on the street. My guess would be it may be easy to miss but my friend was already there so he spared me finding out. We bought tickets to Machachai also known as Samut Sakhon at 10 baht a piece and while waiting for train I bought new baseball hat in adjacent market.
  Trains on this stretch are frequent, roughly hourly and ours at 10.40 am arrived and departed on time. No problem finding seat but train was by no means empty and whole 1 hour trip is basically through urban landscape never leaving really Greater Bangkok. Upon arrival , since we had more than hour to make connection we had a coffee , then took ferry across the river  for 4 baht and in 3 minutes we were on another side. From there about 800m well posted walk  to Ban Laem station.
There are only 4 trains  a day  on that railway from Ban Laem to Mae Klong so as I said some planning is required. We could see it when train rolled out of station and pair of young  tourists was running toward it but unfortunately too late to catch it. This part took also 1 hour, this time landscape was   rural , graced at one point  by  impressive sight of grand stupa Phra Pathom Chedi , tallest in all Thailand,   in Nakhon Pathom .
 Train market is on the last stretch , just before terminal station. On  last station before terminal train become very lively as whole tour of Japanese boarded brought there by bus. Wise move as in my opinion surveying market from moving train is  more interesting than being on the ground.
At one point train slowed to crawl through all the stalls and scores of tourists taking pictures. We responded in kind taking theirs.
 There’s recent post about market where I placed few pictures made that day to give you an idea.
https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/39029-railway-market-crowded-with-chinese-tourists/
 
 We had about hour to spend there and trekked back the same way in reverse. On Ban Laem station we met again that unfortunate pair waiting for our train to return and take them back. Girl cheerfully commented ‘ we are on vacation,  we have time”.
 
There was short wait for return train from Mahachai after we crossed river and going to Bangkok train was quite full as it was rush hour.  At 6.30pm, 7 hrs. and 50 minutes from departure in the morning we were back.
Thank you Christian PFC for providing information about logistics of getting there.
 There’s other way to get to the market, by bus from Southern Bus terminal but is not as entertaining and getting to and from terminal takes time and effort as it’s not easily connected to BTS or MRT I was told.
 I suggested we will have pizza dinner at Madrid Tavern and my friend agreed so we took BTS to Saphan Taksin and walked to soi 49 from there.
 Greeted by smiles and question ‘ you want Chang , no glass,  and your usual pizza ? “ I knew I’m in the right place. My friend being vegetarian was concerned whether they will have some choice for his and it turned out they have no less than 4 pizzas of vegetarian kind including my favorite ‘Shallots and cherry tomatoes” .
 After dinner we walked to our hotels . I refreshed myself and went to HotMale go-go where I was supposed to meet  with Tartegogo for the first time. No problem recognizing each other as we provided kind of detailed descriptions of ourselves since we never met before.  He had his companion with him already and soon they took off and I invited Sam whom I offed few days ago and another boy, as twinky as they go whom I knew from 3some off on previous trip to seat with me. Sam clearly hoped for an off but tonight I opted for other guy. Perhaps taken by his smile which never left his face.
So another twink in my collection and it was good move.  He was not hungry so we went to hotel right away and had surprisingly romantic evening , night and morning. Am I in process of switching to twinks? That serious question I need to answer.
 

Day 8
 When parting in the morning I upped his tip by savings on his meal last night and even pointed it to him. Hope word spreads that it pays not to be too  glutenous.
 At 9 am met farang  friend in café near Mahanakhon, we had talk till 11  and resolved to go to train market after tomorrow , agreed to meet at Wongwian Yai station in time for 10.40  train.
Then I had mission as I got  suspicion from combing Grindr that one on my best guy ever, certain M from Senso is working as hairdresser in one of shops in Rama IX Central. So jumped on MRT and soon was combing that sizable mall in search of hairdresser shops.
Unfortunately did not spot him, perhaps too early , or his day off or whatever. Will try next time in Bangkok as I don’t give up on him easily.
Being in area went to Ratchada train market but it was too early and shops were closed but walking there I found 10 baht coin so at least my efforts paid of.
Next step was to have massage at new shop of 9-Teen in soi 6 with  guy who  was resident masseur in Tawan  last year , now task taken by Mas , their resident twink.
New shop is quite impressive, well designed and everything smells new. Word is that massage is proper , just like Prime around the corner without any sinister moves. Let’s say I decline comment on that , I liked my massage  session only conclusion was bit unnerving since my guy wanted higher tip than I offered. I succumbed to request but it will be while before he will see me if at all.
 As much as I like Tawan and their boys , I built reputation there as handy money dispenser. I know it’s my fault but it starts hurting me so perhaps it’s time to switch that pain to  guys and show them that greed is not good for their financial health. But that’s for future as that massage reminded me that this trip I did not go to Tawan yet so resolved to pay them a visit tonight.
But first a dinner, this time in G”Bangkok in soi 4 . they have one fusion German -Thai dish in casserole I like so much. Don’t remember name of it but on the page where they list fusion servings that’s the one in the very bottom.
 Next step was my daily drink with P at Hot Male and after a while there I walked to Tawan. It was nice to be greeted by all those smiles and handshakes, less nice to fend off   all those palms stretched for tips.  Today my tips  were reserved for performers in the show but yes , I bought drinks for 3 guys sitting with me including K  and B whom I offed few times in the past.
 I was bit surprised , K’s cousin waitress in Happy Beer did not spy on me as he was not aware I’m in Bangkok. I always admire Thai discretion.
Show as always was quite brave and very modern including not one but two special shows and usual  JO competition so I dispensed 9 red notes for their efforts.
K remembered that in Dec on his birthday I promised him to buy him whisky so I decided to off him tonight, invited him for a dinner in 7.5 stars and just before deadline bought him a bottle of wine as he asked for such substitution.
And then to hotel for  activities  like knitting , stamp  collection rearrangement and world peace discussions.
 
 

all I know we only know about them as much as they told us. The same works other way.
I personally am not that critical and as reader pointed , I see young men who are trying to make living using assets they have i.e themselves and their good looks.
some are quite uplifting like one of my semi-regulars , single father who use to proudly point 'I don't have girlfriend but i have a son"
Other one , also mentioned often in my reports was orphaned my mother in his childhood  ( my friend who also offed him overheard him mumbling to himself ' mom help me", quite moving ) and later father was killed by Thai police. Yet still managed to built a house in his native village, whatever it is he calls a house. 
Personally when I think about them I avoid generalizations. Not all are poor or coming from poor backround. I know about 4 who have a car. One has small business, other one owns a condo. few , judging but how they speak English have quite extensive education. By no means they are prevailing examples but they do exist.
One who has steady job but paying only 10200 per month freely admits he goes with clients for easy money. Sleepless night bringing him 3000 it's almost 1/3 of his monthly take after all 
The same applies to us,  their clients. Our motivations to engage in the world of paid sex half world from home are very different and sometimes not even clear to ourselves I suspect. Some like Asians, some like sex far from home, some like to avoid any commitments (old saying 'most expensive sex is free one). It will be sex addicts and those who treat sex as vacation adventure.
And it will be those like me who fruitlessly search  for dream guy who can be offed for hand holding session only. Such dream guys are existing but it seems heat of the moment always derails hand holding only part.

Your experience calls to mind a sports analogy. Although Man U is one of football's great clubs, on very rare occasions it takes the pitch but fails to score. Some might call it karma or just the odds of playing the game. And like that storied team, you surprise none of us by your penchant for picking yourself up and moving from setback to new beginning.

He should have stayed in Thailand. It's really very sad. 
Thai parents should learn not to send their kids to Islamic, non democratic shitholes, full of terrorists boated in daily. 

I agree with the first part but definitely not the second. In my view it has absolutely nothing to do with being paid or not. I referenced the gogo bars 30-40 years ago when the majority of the customers were Thais. How often have you seen lots of Thais in gogo bars in the past decade or more? That has nothing to do with their not preferring to be with farang. It's a sign that as the Thailand gay scene and Thai society has developed, Thais increasingly want to be with fellow Thais rather than in bars where there are increasing number of farang. Times change.
The same trend has become very obvious in other countries like Japan. As a gay bar/club/sauna culture developed in the 70s and 80s, young Japanese gays found it extremely difficult to form relationships with fellow Japanese. This reflected the long work hours of Japanese, the closeness of housing making it extremely difficult to keep any kind of MtoM sexual relationship private in a country in which the vast majority frowned on them, and overall low salaries. Gaijin generlly had large apartments in Japanese terms, far larger salaries and much more personal freedoms. Many young Japanese found it was far more convenient to live a gay lifestyle by attaching themselves to a foreigner. On my early visits to Japan, such relationships were extremely common.
With Japan having become very wealthy since then, with social attitudes changing and same sex civil partnerships now legal in several parts of the country, Japanese preferring to be with fellow Japanese has rightly become much more the norm.

Update. 
Yee, at Cutey and Beauty, shaved my private parts very thoroughly and was very professional.
Total price, something like 400 thb. 
He is really cute too. 

Update: the overnight was great. We got along fabulously and watched a movie, cooked dinner together, and good massage (me to him), we went swimming two times, and just had a fun time. Night was very good. He works and had to go back to work after one night, but next week will take 2 days off together and spend the entire weekend with me. Yesterday, I got a nice Valentine's Day gift from him. So, so far, things are progressing nicely.

Years ago, I was OK with a BF staying home and doing nothing. But, the more experiences I have had, I have come to give two choices if someone lives with me. Either work or go to school. If going to school, I'll pay for it all. No worries. But, if not progressing in a career in university, they must have a job. I just came to believe I was doing a disservice to them to let them do nothing but have fun and play and when things break off to have nothing to fall back on.