Londoner

I counted four that have closed recently in the Silom/Surawong area. Any explanation?

This thread illustrates very nicely how some governments have a vested interest in encouraging ignorance and Islamophobia. Cui bono?

Thanks witty....we must have posted almost simultaneously!

Any evidence of fundamentalist Islam in that area? the violence in the region isn't religious but nationalistic. It's about land and national identity. There are pockets of Islamism in Indonesia and perhaps some of the remote Philippine islands but not in Thailand. To my knowledge , anyway. I've spent too long in Muslim communities in Africa and the Middle East not to be suspicious of some of the generalisations I read in the western media.

I wish z909 had posted his Vietienne story before! I was there three months ago and saw only massage places with female masseurs. I know one gay mb in Pattaya from Vientienne; he told me that he had worked as a masseur there but that any sexual activity was forbidden. I guess that z209 was either lucky....or has a lot more nerve than me.!

My apologies if this has been discussed before. Can anyone offer advice about the massage joints in Surawong, close to the Tarntawan Hotel? Two at least now seem to be male-only. Are these guys available for offing to my hotel room for massage and the usual extras? Is there a bar-fine?

Thanks for that. But one question remains unanswered;. Regulars at Thai saunas know that, occasionally, a good-looking young guy will initiate sex with an older falang. It has even happened a few times in London saunas when I've met Asian guys. Very occasionally, sadly! I find such encounters more enjoyable than commercial ones because the choice is his, not mine. There are plenty of studies explaining cultural issues which lead some ( a few?) Asians to prefer sex with older men. I wonder if a447a frequents Thai saunas? If he were to meet such guys as I have, would he appreciate, even prefer, such encounters? Or is the commercial aspect an end in itself?

I'm fascinated by a447a's posts so I hope he can help me with this. I ask in the spirit of genuine enquiry, not wishing to offend but bewildered and intrigued by some responses to sexual activity. When one of of us posts about enjoying sex with a guy who is ostentatiously not gay and achieves erection/orgasm by looking at straight porn (or, as in a447a's report) thinking about his wife back home...is this in itself erotic for the falang? If the guy was gay and enjoyed what he was doing, would it detract from the falang's pleasure? There are of course, young Thai men who actually enjoy sex with older guys- I've met a number of them In Babylon, Sansuk and House of Male over they years. If a447 were to offered the services of one such guy in a massage parlour would he prefer to choose someone different?

The apps may have done the bars no favours but they have given me, at least, the opportunity to enjoy myself in the afternoons. And they have certainly increased the earning-potential of MBs!

I started visiting Pattaya in the late 90s and quickly fell in love with it....or rather its inhabitants. However, the go-go bars didn't open until 2100 and there were not the huge numbers of massage parlours that here are now. Nor of malls with a/c (Royal Garden had just opened its lower floors). And no Sansuk of course. I've never been a fan of Pattaya's beaches but was happy to spend a couple of hours at Jomtien if only because, in those days, the MBs would wander up and down the channels between the deck -chairs and there was always the possibility of a chat. Or more. The truth is that the hours between about 1600 and 1900 were boring. Apart from a meal and then a Singha in Cocobanana (later Panorama), I'd sit around my hotel room awaiting the magic moment when the go-go started.

I wasn't referring to your post, Paborn. And I was certainly not intending to be rude.The difference of opinion concerning the meaning of "twink" is long-standing. I'm not sure that many straight guys would welcome the term being applied to them! and for me, a twink is gay. But so what? I agree that there's room for both Nice and Winners in Sunee and there's even more room for these different perceptions of a word.

Only a couple of years ago, Ni e Boys would include femme guys amongst its staff. Often, they'd be the only ones actually dancing. And I remember there being twinks (yes, gay ones) three or four years back. Now it seems that all the guys there are of the same type. With Winners offering a very different crew, I suppose it's a case of niche marketing. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure.

I recognise the appeal of Nice Boys- it's certainly vibrant and the gays (not dancers....dancing is a thing of the past) are having a whale of a time. However, the tattoos are a turn-off for me as is the absence of anyone who doesn't appear to be aggressively (in the nicest way) straight. But even more disconcerting was that, on my visit in June, the guys were all transfixed by their mobiles and were watching straight porn. I usually manage to visit Sunee once or twice when I'm in Pattaya and have found Winners more to my taste. I prefer gay dancers...in fact I prefer "dancers" rather than standers.But it is a good thing that punters have a choice in Sunee.

I've had the same experience as Travellerdave . Part of the problem is that many guys use photos taken for Facebook or LINE for their friends; these photos may show them pulling silly faces or acting the fool. And on other occasions, I see photos which are believed by the guy to make them look sexy but appear slightly comical to me. What appeals to me- and what a guy, particularly a newbie thinks will engage my attention- are often very different. For one thing, a warm smile melts my heart while a fierce, provocative stare at the camera does nothing for me.

I was interested by a447a's comment about the guy he fancied "acting femme". My experience is that it is not unusual for otherwise straight-acting guys to behave like this in a bar. Once they have their client, they revert to their more natural style. While on show, they play the perceived role of a gogo dancer, at least in a bar like Hotmail. I suspect that in some of the other bars that cater for muscle-guys, the gay plays it straight.....but of that I have personal experience.

Caveat emptor. Remember that our visitors take chances too. And not just with photos....I must confess to not having changed my profile age for three years! And there are also safety issues for them to consider, particularly visiting homes and apartments. The advice on checking all the photos is good; indeed, I'm suspicious of any profile that only shows one photo. My reaction to the advice to use other sites to back-up hornet et al is that for my age group, the struggle to master even the most straightforward technology is such that the prospect of further adventures into an alien world is unwelcome.

Planet Romeo and hornet will result in many offers....but not many will be from the under 45s.

Yes, there have been losses but the gains are that our commercial transactions are more relaxed and more equal. I feel more comfortable. By the way, returning to the money issue, prices for such encounters have barely risen, at least the ones via the apps.

Correct. The guys were certainly more plentiful- at least twinks were- and my impression is that there were more good-looking ones than now. But perhaps that's my memory playing tricks. No pun intended. In terms of numbers, were the ones from Laos, Cambodia and so on to stay at home, there'd be an obvious shortage. And I don't recall many non-Thais fifteen or twenty years ago. The Thaksin government initiated a lot of reforms and economic improvements in Isaan, resulting in less deprivation. It was then that my boyfriend's village was provided with electricity. He had watched TV by battery previously and done his homework by candle-light.. Secondly, birth-control became easily-available and popular resulting in families which had supported six or seven children in the 80s and 90s were now providing for two or three. This affected the numbers migrating south for work. I'd hazard a guess that this also may be why today's guys are less eager to please; they are not so desperate as their forebears. Returning home without much falang money may not be so devastating as it may have been twenty years ago....and the "home" they return too may be rather better, too.

The problem is the drop in the value of our money, not prices in Thailand. it wasn't long ago that we were getting 73 bht to the pound. If you look at hotel prices, drinks, travel and company and use the exchange rates we had five, ten, fifteen years ago, you'll see this. Two months ago, I paid 80 bht for a Coke in Winners. It was the same as I paid in 1996 in Moonlight and Cockpit. BBB, by the way, charged 100.

No doubt many Britons have been going to Thailand to escape the heat. Now the weather has broken....

Carpe diem.

. If a guy's profile says that he's looking for partners between the ages of 18 and 70 you can be pretty sure he's an MB! In Pattaya, few of those using Romeo or hornet aren't looking for falang money. I prefer Classic Romeo on my lap-top but the new version is better on my tablet....I suspect that it is also better on mobiles. I agree that it offers less guidance when it comes to different physical types.

It's important for us to have regard for the feelings of the Thais we are with; and that includes an "off" as much as a partner. Public displays of affection- involving any sexuality are not readily accepted in Thailand. Come to think of it, I was uncomfortable when I was in a Pattaya host bar and a falang gave his boyfriend a prolonged French kiss I saw the same on Beach Road one Loy Khatong and noticed Thai families (it was a busy night) looking askance and giving the couple a wide birth. I wouldn't consider holding hands with my partner in The Agate; he would be mortified if there were any reaction while I'd be merely angry.

Traveller 123....71 and 35 are our ages too. The prime of life, don't you agree? Sadly, only one of us has kept his looks. Mynakedtop....you need to consider the distance between Baan Souy and restaurants/bars/shops. It is certainly said to be beautiful and up-market....but I don't believe it to be exclusively gay. I've never stayed there so I am ready to be corrected