pong2

Phuket 
Bars
Didn't go to any, next time! Massage
4 Massage: Only went here this trip but quite glad this place still exists, although they have moved just around the corner from where they previously were. I went with 3 different boys here, one of which I've been seeing since 2019 who is always good fun. He massaged my legs for probably 5 minutes before the main event started, but he always gives me a good time. Another who was messaging me on Grindr on my last trip to Phuket (2022) I finally got the chance to try, and he was very good and happily bottomed for me, and another boy who was relatively new was also quite good and bottomed for me also (requested an inflated tip which I just had to laugh at). I always have a good time here. Hotel
Baan Paradise: Situated in one of the streets in the paradise complex, it was decent enough and close to all the action. I had a balcony room so was able to look out onto the street and watch the people go by. It is a pretty lively area with people coming and going, plenty of restaurants, bars and massage shops (for gays and straights), and it is only a short walk to the beach.  Other
Didn't do much else here, and although Phuket isn't one of my favourite destinations, I still feel drawn to it every once in a while. Maybe for the massage boys, who knows. It is quite a big island so I may try staying in a different area next time. The Phuket Smart Bus runs up and down the west coast from the airport down to Rawai and it is reasonably priced for 100 THB one way. Doesn't run super often though, maybe once an hour or twice in the busy periods. Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat)
A boy I met in Jomtien a few years ago went back home to Korat and asks me occasionally to come visit him so I thought I would considering I didn't have much else to do. I also wanted to try out the long distance trains, which were easy enough to book online, and very affordable. The train left from the new Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, which is absolutely massive but probably good forward planning for the future. I took a 2nd class aircon carriage which was comfortable enough. My hotel was less than a 10 minute walk from the train station, and after meeting the boy at Terminal 21, we later had a look around some of the attractions in the city as well as going to the tower back at Terminal 21 to look at the view over Korat. Boy stayed overnight, which was my only overnight this whole trip as I don't usually like long time. He also insisted on buying me dinner which I thought was sweet. I only gave myself one night here as I wanted to give myself an out incase things went pear shaped. Would I go back? Maybe, but it wouldn't be somewhere I would go regularly. I did see some farang there though. On the way back to Bangkok, I was in a 2nd class aircon carriage and this was the type with the open windows and also the back door was wide open as we went. I really enjoyed watching the scenery go by, and really interesting and exciting to see all the new structures for the train lines going up, which are massive and seemingly a little out of place in the countryside, but I think these are for the new high speed rail that is going to Laos and other places? I had a cute guy sit next to me for some of the trip, and I offered him some of my bread (which he declined), and later on struck up a short conversation with me before he got off at Saraburi. Final thoughts: I had a nice time and just kinda tried to pace myself since I was here for a while (and also not incredibly fit). I'm slowly building up my list of regulars which is good for future trips, and ate quite a lot of nice food. And same as always, I would often get mistaken for being Thai (which I take as a compliment), even in bars, and it's amusing when they talk to me in Thai and I just kinda look confused, or say something like 'kor tord na kap, English na kap'. I'll get around to learning Thai one day. My next trip may be in June/July, or December, or both. I'm not sure yet. But I do want to visit a few more places, like more islands. Thanks for reading! 

Pattaya
Hotel
My main criteria for a hotel here was that it had a balcony with an ocean view. I had originally wanted to stay at Baywalk Residence in one of their suites which had an ocean view, however the pricing was on par to the Hilton and I didn't want to pay those prices, especially in Pattaya. I ended up finding the Hermann Hotel which was much cheaper and had the ocean view (well, half ocean view, which was sufficient) and balcony I was after. It's only a short 10 minute walk to BoysTown. The room is big and well-appointed, and reasonably priced. Only drawback was a couple of times early in the morning (maybe like 5am) I could hear a Thai lady yelling in the corridor. Bar
Only managed to get to X-boys, and it was quite good. There wasn't a huge rotation, but the show was quite good, very varied and at times hilarious. Later on, towards the end, the show boys were just dancing on stage with their dicks flopping about, mostly condomless if I remember correctly. Didn't off anyone on this occasion. Massage
Paradise: Had a great time with a boy here. I'm versatile but was in the mood for topping that day so I asked the boy who greeted me who can bottom, and he said all boys here can, so I ended up just going with him. I still ended up bottoming though?? Go figure..  Relax: Started with a foot massage before deciding if I wanted more, the foot massage was good so I decided to go for an oil massage. Had a good time with the boy, I just wanted light fun only that day, but I think more could be on the cards as he tried to stick it in at one point. Transport
Rather than use the cheaper bus from Suvarnabhumi that drops you to Jomtien bus station, I booked Bell Travel Service online in advance. A little more expensive (325 THB), still leaves from Suvarnabhumi but once you get to North Pattaya bus station, you are transferred to a mini bus which drops you to your hotel (and then vice versa on the way back). The bus itself was comfortable and in a 1-2 seating configuration. Other
They are currently ripping up the sidewalk on the non-beach side of Beach Road, so that can be a bit chaotic as you can imagine. To be continued...

Is it 🙄

 
 
When he said, that's all... I would've said yes, talk to your mamasan.

A massage guy from paradise tried that in Pattaya, I said I'll walk back and we can talk to your boss together if you want to clear this up.

One of my biggest peeves in Thailand, wanting more than agreed to when many of the times doing less than agreed to. Is why I stayed away from the gogo's this trip, the ones I did go to was just a waste of money for overpriced drinks and stupid boy drink/off policies.

Nice report btw, I had every intention of heading  to other massage places further out, but deep down knew I wouldn't , lol

But some clients tip based on what they want the boy to perceive their net worth is  🧐

I had case in Amara when guy, tested by me few times before, when collecting his tip mused only half jokingly  that I have money for expensive hotel but I'm not generous enough with his tip. Since tip was better than market rate I did not say anything but it was last time we saw each other in privacy of my room

Actually, those isolated remote luxury resorts are quite suitable for heterosexual honey mooners who try to make babies, or monogamous gay couples who are anti-social, or daddies who want to lock up the sons to themselves. 

My thoughts too. The price differential between 3-star and the upper tiers is way bigger than the value-added (as far as my needs go). Add in the difficulties with transportation in Thailand, location becomes the main determinant. 
I can see, though, that others' needs and understanding of "comfort" varies from mine. Even among my own circle of friends (not just among members of this board), there are some who place a lot of value on breakfast - both in terms of quantity as well as in terms of the the type of foods they are used to. On hotel booking sites, for example, I am often amused to see comments (even those concerning 3-star hotels) complaining bitterly  about the fact that the breakfast did not have a sufficiently wide range of Viennoiseries ("the hotel should know that we French like our Viennoiseries?"), or did not have a suitable range of vegetarian options ("the hotel should know that we Indians are mostly vegetarian"), or no halal food, or too many Asian stir-fry choices, but without six-layer pancakes drenched in maple syrup ("like what we are used to back home"). I have also seen comments like "there is no nutella", "the coffee is not espresso", "the fruits are all tropical fruits" and "I asked for a poached egg, but they gave me blank stares like they didn't know what a poached egg was."
For someone like me who is a yogurt, banana and coffee type of breakfast person, paying for a hotel with huge breakfasts is a total waste of money. 
I also see comments about comfort of mattresses. Few people understand that is this not something with universal consensus. Americans especially are used to deep soft mattresses. They and Europeans are usually the ones complaining about mattresses being too soft. Asians are used to harder mattresses and I have seen them complain that a 5-star hotel's mattresses were too soft. 3-star hotels in Thailand tend to have foam mattresses which are harder than spring matresses, or spring mattresses that are not as deep. Some of us have gotten used to them, but I suppose other members would see this as an issue.
I don't need swimming pools, though having a gym is nice. But then, for short stays, I can dispense with that requirement; in any case there are other gym options.
In my experience, there are two things that make the higher-tier hotels negative value rather than no-value-add.
1. There have been times when I sensed the boy that I am taking back is more uncomfortable walking through their lobbies (full of hotel service staff) than through a 3-star hotel lobby (minimal staffing). I hate it when they hate it.
2. There was one time (many years ago) when the boy raided the minibar while I was in the shower. And as we know, the items there are totally overpriced. Ever since then, I have been happier to see an empty fridge than a stocked one. I can go to the 7-11 and stock it up with the things I want, at my kind of prices.

While you are right, I must say that I'm one of those frugal when comes to accommodation but  for a while on every  trip I treated myself  with something better for 2-3 nights just to see how it is for the best quarter .
I stopped it for two reasons : first I noticed  that I tend to spent more time in the room basking in those luxuries, second and most important I noticed that difference in price is much much more that difference in quality offered. Do I really need 4 towels when 2 or even 1 will do? Do I need an iron on whoring trip ? Or full set of kitchen utensils ?
Part most discouraging further splurging  ,  for me , being room size queen like floridarob once charitably remarked , was that often rooms while full of amenities were  of disappointingly small size. 

The speed of forum posters just can't keep up with horny @Olddaddy

This is the part one has to watch out for:

 
£4 - £6 sounds very cheap by Western standards, and comes across as more an invitation to book with this hotel than a barrier. It's good that @Pantherz is asking because those of us familiar with Pattaya might be able to advise if there are even any taxis there. I can't answer this question because I have never stayed south of Jomtien Complex, but having visited Pattaya many times, I hardly see taxis in the traditional sense. Grab cars maybe, but then they are unmarked, so I don't have visibility into that.
What I can say is that £4 - £6  is equivalent to 175 - 250 baht, which is not the amount I would pay for transport in this town short of having to be rushed to hospital. When I stayed in downtown Pattaya earlier this month, I travelled to Jomtien for 10 baht (albeit in a songtaew), which is one-twentieth of the "cheap" taxi rate mentioned in the above graphic. Context is everything.

Too far not only because of distance, but I suspect also very poor availability of transport, especially if you stay out late. 
I would suggest you decide which is your main priority: gay scene/fun or tropical beach? This hotel is likely to give you neither. 
If your top priority is the beach - warm ocean waters, low-rise bungalows in lush verdant settings, Pattaya/Jomtien will disappoint. Try Krabi perhaps or the resorts of Phuket (outside of Patong town). No gay life unless you bring your own.
If your top priority is the gay scene, then it won't be very fruitful to look for tropical beach resorts, least of all 4-star or 5-star places. All over the world the gay scene tends to be located in urban settings. Some of us even feel the grittier or grungier, the better.🤪
 

I was in Bangkok again recently and in between adventures in my hotel room at Ibis Styles Silom with guys I have met on previous visits and new guys, I made a few journeys around the city and once visited an old theatre in Saphan Kwai (Google Phahon or Saphan Kwai Theatre) that I had read about.  It is at the end of a Soi pretty much opposite the Big C on Phahon Yothin Road. Quite by accident I visited on the Father's Day public holiday.  Entry was 100 baht.  First let me say it is bloody hot in the theatre except for a few air conditioners that provided some relief from the heat when standing right underneath them, yet some guys walk around in there in jackets!  When I arrived there were a few guys hanging around but I couldn't see much as I stumbled around in the dark. Best off finding the nearest seat and waiting for your eyes to adjust before stumbling around as there are stairs everywhere...
While my eyes adjusted I bumped into a couple of hot looking (from what little I could see) young guys who were happy to let me suck them.  I think they were together and vasnished after they cum.   Once my eyes had adjusted I couldn't believe what I saw ... a huge theatre with hundreds of seats playing mainstream movies (and some softcore straight porn too) and easily over a hundred guys sitting in the chairs sucking and fucking and others walking around the edges of the theatre hooking up in pairs, threesomes and much more.  I have been to the 357 Sauna in Sydney a few times and spent the whole time drooling, and although the guys in this theatre weren't naked they were pretty nearly all 20s and 30s and most very fit looking and to me at least it was like paradise...  There was cock everywhere and beautiful smooth bodies and most of the guys seemed to be tops with a few bottoms taking it with many guys looking on and touching.  I have never seen anything like it... 
There were a couple of other foreigners there, but so few of us compared to Thais (and maybe others) that we paid each other no mind.  Most of the guys there seemed shy to initiate action and it usually took several passes and glances and then a touch to get something started.  I ended my visit after a guy with just about the biggest cock I have had took my hand and led me over to some seats and we had a very vigorous sucking session.  I am pretty much a total bottom so the activity ended up with me drenched in sweat (and some other fluid) and totally exhausted and I was done for the day.    We exchanged Line ID intending for him to visit me at the hotel, but he had to go to Chiang Mai for a few days and we missed out... next time!
As I said before, I have never seen anything like that place and I would love to go back there again sometime.  If that kind of venue might interest you, then I definitely recommend giving it a look in!  I'd love to hear about others' experiences there too if you have been there... 🙏🍆     

and bonus will be possibility of falling in love with such a  guide

I recommend you go to Hotmale Beer Bar downstairs at 8 plus. Speak to the waiters. Most of them speak good English. They will be willing to take you on a tour of all the gay places. You will have to pay an off fee to their bar (500 baht but 600 baht on weekends) and tip them at end of tour. You can negotiate with them in advance on their tip.

some of the more generous "like minded" members of this forum might be around to show you the ropes. There's a lot of good advice in the forum about gogos and other venues. But it will take you some time to read through. Maybe Mack's blog would be helpful? But I think these sorts of venues are generally fairly similar everywhere. So if you have experience in other places you should find the scene in Thailand to be pretty straightforward

I wonder why gay guide is needed if most of the gay venues are concentrated in one small are in Patpong .

If you look at the Blowing Wind website, recommended by PeterRS, a Singaporean based website, there are some graphic descriptions of encounters in these hostels. Interestingly, bearing in mind the comments on here about ageing farang, most of the posters on BW are young, and come to Bangkok for sex!

that is great idea indeed, such mini ASEAN Schengen zone. I'm pretty sure increased tourist revenue would make for lost income from visa fees. Long live President Vo  for coming with that idea !

I know about the saunas but have never visited them. Too self-conscious. Maybe one day I shall pluck up courage to go in.

Wish that I had a chance to see and report on the other Saunas.  Sauna Mania and R3 wore me out - very intense and well worth the visit.  Hope we see other posters venture out and let us know the latest on the sauna scene!

You could always try a nursing home instead. Might have luck with your peer group.

There is a tonne of fun to be had in Khao San. It isn't just backpackers. You actually get a fair number of Thai students there in search of cheap booze and bright lights. Plus, watching la comédie humaine is always amusing. As far as a gay bar in Khao San goes, does one really need a gay bar to have fun or find an encounter in Thailand?

Unfortunately, no or maybe, not yet. Depends on my mood tonight, might visit just to check it out. 

Maybe soon, we could see a guy bar in khaosan, as we see happened in walking street pattaya.

and one can always stop at Saranrom Park side of canal on his way to Khao San  to check offerings there