g0ar0und

We booked 3 guys. All 3 guys confirmed that’s not the policy.  1 of them said he would be ok to talk privately. I offered 3K and told him my availability. He replied once or twice but never sealed the deal. 

Changsha - boys can’t be offed for hotel fun even if the line account said it was allowed. Went there and was politely declined 

Reciprocity
Bangkok Guy is good for me. This is not just my opinion but also that of friends.
Beyond being generally happy that I know him, he is slowly changing some of my habits and mind sets for the better. I no longer bolt down my food but put my cutlery down and pause between mouthfuls. I no longer feel compelled to eat and drink until the table is clear and the bottle empty. Following Bangkok Guy’s example, I now stop when I feel full without guilt about the leftovers. I am still organized by the clock independently of the day’s agenda – if it is x o’clock I must be up, or have accomplished y – but a little less so. Bangkok Guy is organized by the day’s agenda, not the clock, and if the agenda is empty he feels no compulsion to fill it but rather relaxes into the empty space. A little of this is rubbing off on me. A little.
I told Bangkok Guy this and it made him happy as it was reciprocal “You very good for me”, in a tone that sounded like a major statement.
I know his life is not easy. He is responsible for his mother and younger sister – he has pawned the ring-that-was-a-dragon to pay his sister’s school fees. Still, he is usually upbeat and cheerful so it surprised me (alarmed rather) when relaxing on the deck at Koh Lipe after a very enjoyable day snorkeling he said his head was so full of ‘pobpems’ that there was room for no more, illustrating this by filling a glass to the top with water “No more room”.
Right then it did not seem the time to press the issue. However back in Bangkok over dinner at Baan Suriyasai, the first outing in his tailored clothes, I enquired. “No worry, it nothing, I exaggerate”. “No, it is something. I want to understand”. A pause while he searches for words. “What my future? I not know. Have no power”. The issue is that without my support, if I drop dead or drop him, he would be in trouble, back to hand-to-mouth. He has several business ideas, but lacks the capital to initiate any of them. He has no power to change his situation.
Well, he has a little power, he has my goodwill.
I reassure him that our discussion in January still holds true. As I get new business, I will help him with the capital he needs. There is no guarantee on timing, but it will happen. He has proof that if I say something I follow through as this year, as travel opened up and business picked up, I increased his allowance.
He is a realist and knows the future is uncertain, but there is something here to hope for so, as a generally optimistic person, he is happy.
The importance of helping him get to a point where he has some independence (‘power’ in his words) is very clear. And as cost cutting is just as good and possibly more permanent than increasing income, I am going to try to adopt his frugal mindset to free up some cash. (That crashing sound is a friend falling off his chair laughing, ye of little faith!).

How to be Gay
Bangkok Guy is very boy-next-door and not obviously gay. He is very nice, polite, considerate and takes responsibility seriously. The fact that he dresses well, takes care of his skin and checks himself out in handy reflective surfaces might or might not be slight tells.
He does not do anything to overtly identify as gay – no rainbow stripes anywhere. I got him an Apple watch this trip. My suggestion to get him a watch as he has wanted one for some time, his suggestion that it be an Apple. My watch ideas were too “for boss” which in this instance was less about the power structure and more about age. The Apple store was displaying a range of Pride watches, but these did not hold his attention. He got a dark case with a dark metallic mesh strap – classic and clean.
The major tell occurs when we are in any form of transport together. He automatically holds my hand, sleeps on my shoulder, or puts his head in my lap. He has done this since we first met. In his mind it is totally the done thing and normal. So far there have been no negative reactions and a few positive ones, for example a stewardess smiling as he slept on my shoulder.
We had to overnight in Hat Yai on the way to Koh Lipe and I wondered in the South, more Muslim and conservative, if he would modify his behavior. He has been to Hat Yai in the past to see relatives and stay at a temple, so he knew the lay of the land. “No pork, eat chicken or fish”.
No modification at all, and also no consequences.
We discussed plans for international travel and I pointed out that in some countries gay people are not popular and he could not use me as a human pillow. “Not go” was the instant and definite response, which surprised me given how keen he is to travel. I tested his resolve. The Serengeti is in Tanzania and Kenya, neither of which is gay friendly. In January after I showed him pictures he was very keen to go. “Tanzania and Kenya, you cannot use me as pillow”. “Not go”. To me, accustomed to modifying my behavior as necessary, this level of resolve is quite an eye opener.
We went over the list of places to which Thais can travel without visas to see if any might be ‘human pillow friendly’ and came up with a revised list of destinations. However, even in this list I have difficulty imagining ‘human pillow’ being greeted with the same nonchalance as it is in Thailand.
Bangkok Guy is keen to travel, but as himself. I hope it is possible.

This trip was planned in outline by Bangkok Guy and then refined by me as I encountered the reality of logistics in Thailand. All air routes pass through Bangkok, you can’t simply fly direct city-to-city, and this consumes a lot of time. It was not possible to fit Bangkok Guy’s top three destinations into ten days and we settled on two, Chang Mai and Koh Lipe, with an overnight transit stop in Hat Yai because the flight arrivals and boat departures do not match up if your starting point is Chang Mai and you have to travel via Bangkok.
No Covid issues this time. Bangkok Guy is double-vaccinated, Moderna as the second shot, bright eyed and looking forward to our trip. He has been helping his sister sell durian ‘It good business’, except his sister likes durian and eats some of the stock, which amuses him.
As I am with Bangkok Guy and not having daily bar-scene adventures I have experimented with the format of this report. Rather than write the report chronologically, after an initial touristic overview I have structured it by themes.
As usual we visited the jazz bars. I still can’t find a calendar of who is playing where, which is frustrating. We tried the Crimson Room for the first time and found Norwood Young and his band were the act. He was excellent, great voice and quite a showman. Bangkok Guy loved it, so we returned after our travels but found a Thai singer who was good but not Norwood Young.
Bamboo Bar was excellent as always. As in January Peter the resident pianist (I could listen to him all night) was backing Thai vocalists who were good but did not have quite the lungs and range of the vocalists in January. This was a disappointment to Bangkok Guy who particularly likes vocals that you could dance to if there was a dance floor. Bangkok Guy informs me that if you can’t dance to it, it “old people jazz” (which he still likes).
Our first night in Chang Mai Bangkok Guy was excited to go to the Sunday night market. He loves markets. It was large and fun. In addition to the shopping there was a lot of activity at Wat Chedi Luang. We bought flowers to offer and, assisted by a monk, Bangkok Guy hauled a water container up a rope pully to tip over the ruined chedi.
We returned to our hotel very late and Bangkok Guy discovered the night security guard was a guide (Bangkok Guy chats to everybody), so the next day he took us on a tour of the temples, a great restaurant in a garden by a reservoir, and shopping. The low tourist numbers were painfully obvious in the shops-geared-for-tourists to which he took us. Large complexes in which we were the only customers.
Koh Lipe I highly recommend, but we will not be returning as Bangkok Guy did not like the hour long boat ride. The route is a two hour ride in a van from Hat Yai to Pak Barra on a good road, followed by an hour in a speed boat to Koh Lipe. Picture a gutted cabin cruiser with one large open space holding seating for around 30-40 people and four massive outboard motors.
On the way there the sea had a slight swell which resulted in some exciting bumps even with an experienced driver, which in turn lead to a few cases of mild seasickness, one of whom was Bangkok Guy.
Despite a room right next to the water with a view-to-die-for, excellent food, great snorkeling and it generally being a great place, Bangkok Guy did not forgive the seasickness. On the return trip the sea was like glass and it was wonderful. Still no forgiveness. I would return in a heartbeat and will try to bribe Bangkok Guy with the Idyllic Resort which we found just down the beach from our resort. “We can move here?” he asked hopefully. The attraction was air-conditioning versus fans.
The return flight to Bangkok was an hour late due to weather. Approaching Bangkok the turbulence was uncomfortable – Bangkok Guy gripped my arm like a drowning sailor while I played at being calm and stoic. The cause of the turbulence became clear after the pilot made a U-turn into the landing approach. We had skirted a sizeable thunder storm with lightening the likes of which I have never before seen – massive, thick, bright white bolts that made me visualize pools of molten glass wherever they struck.
After washing off the day’s travel at the hotel we headed out to Silom for Issan food. I got the feeling that Bangkok Guy is not often in this part of Bangkok anymore, several times he was not so sure finding his way around, and this was one of these occasions. No Issan food where he expected it. We ended up at Fork and Cork, which we liked.
Since we were in the area, why not visit Jupiter? I wanted to see a show and Bangkok Guy was happy to go along as he likes the Jupiter guys more than I do. He likes buff. About ten guys in great shape. Good acts. A very thin crowd. Four or five young women front row at one end of the stage, two small mixed groups along the right-side front row, three guys on the left side and Bangkok Guy and I seated a little further back.
However Bangkok Guy did not get into playing the ‘Which guy you want?’ game and his body language became stiff. When I suggested we go he almost leapt from his seat. I have not taken him to a bar since the very early days of our relationship, wanting to spare him any possible loss of face at being perceived as a ‘boy du jour’ and possible discomfort if I too-visibly found a guy attractive.
Although none of the guys really appealed to me, the longer we stayed in the bar the more uncomfortable he was, particularly as I was trying to figure out if I thought #86 was attractive or not (conclusion, yes) causing my attention to be too focused.
Bangkok Guy and I are firm fans of Baan Suriyasai and that did not change this trip. We tried the Blue Elephant and while I would recommend it there were many people, so not a private dining experience, and it is a fraction Euro-centric. The wait staff automatically focused on me, while in Baan Suriyasai they focus on Bangkok Guy.
The limopattaya were great as usual, taking us to-and-from the airport and also around Bangkok in the evenings between restaurants and jazz bars.
For the first time ever on my departure Bangkok Guy decided he would keep the hotel room and check out after breakfast the next morning. I left him happily snuggled under the duvet.   

V Club 7 posted the following on their line account 
 

Day 1
Tittle sounds somewhat dramatic but I couldn’t think about something better reflecting that, my 22nd trip to Thailand  so here we go.
As soon as I recovered from jet lag after returning from my December trip I start plotting when my next one should be. Not only missing Thailand but also still not depleted travel fund  made itching to go unbearable  so I decided to go in May , in my circumstances meaning ASAP.
Thailand Pass approval came in a day, I managed to secure quite good  flight price with somewhat exotic connection through New Delhi with equally exotic arrival time at 5 a.m.
On my way I had a bit of crisis sitting so long in the silver tube, after 8 hours realizing that it’s only mid-way  that I started having doubts if  it’s to long before I decide that those  long  flights are not for my anymore.
At 5 in the morning Swampy was quite empty and since plane parked at very far end of terminal it was good 15 minutes walk to immigration allowing me to finally stretch my legs  not to mention ventilate my digestive system after almost full day on the go. Since I travel light no waiting for the luggage, just purchase Thai SIM card and I was on my way to train station, managed even to check exchange rates in adjacent kiosks and find them this time disappointing  so wisely as it turned out I decided to  exchange money in my favorite spot XONE on Suriwong  close to my first stop – Tarntawan.
Historic moment for me –  for a first time I took first train of the day out of Swampy  and in 45 minutes or so I was marching toward hotel through already bustling part of Silom .
I did not want any issues with early checking  so took an advantage of their low rates and booked for day before  asking them to keep the room  as I will be arriving early in the morning. This way I could go straight to the  room to shower and take short nap.
Rested I went to world famous , UNESCO heritage , 7 ½ Michelin stars Foodland for a breakfast, exchanged money , made rounds through Silom sois and around 1 pm went around the corner to see if it’s really true that Tawan is offering massages during day. It was opened, sign posted ‘massage 500” and lonely guy named  M sitting at the door. He lead me through now empty bar to a staircase , we climbed all the way to 4th floor to find  few neat massage rooms.
Massage was good , after about 1 hr I made some indecent but well received move  and we went to stage 2 . Good start of the trip , promised to come later for the show, tip 1500 for 1.5 hr. session.
 Walked again length of Silom on both sides to see signs of gentrifications with shiny eateries and shops taking place of former ordinary ones. In the hotel I nap for a hour, than used Line to ask certain V, known to me from last trip if he can come for 2 hours of reunion . Answer come right away and soon he was knocking my door. He is not greedy but I , excited to be back in his embraces lavished 2000 tip on him , money well spent.
At 8.30 pm to Hot Male downstairs in Patpong 2  to meet with paulsf and jimbill already conversing  there. It’s a whole since I saw them both so we had some stuff to catch up but    at 10.30 jimbill and I left , me quietly excited to see my first Tawan show in the new place.
Tawan is by far friendlest bar in BKK, as soon as we showed up buys and mamasans rushed to shake our hands, few boys recognized me right away including Dam , whom I offed few times already and M, who massaged me few hours earlier. I was surprised to see that staff includes quite twinky guy with very attractive face
My attention was on K, new guy , well under 30 y.o . with nice , symmetrical tattoos , no trace of hair and bulky muscles. When he noticed I’m staring at him intensely , he smiled broadly so I called him over for a drink and  did not waste time asking if he goes with me (yes), if he does long time (yes) , if he kisses ( nit noi) i.e. my all liturgical questions  finally to arrive to final one, how much you want. Answer was freezing 2500 ST , 5000 LT but I was not about to pass such opportunity  for sake of spending  2000 more  of what I think  is fair Long Time rate. So I quietly gulped and asked him to dress and go. Not that we walked far to Tarntawan. It was great move on my part, money be damned and I couldn’t imagine better start to a trip than having such a hunk as my first night companion. Before day 1 finished we already agreed on  noon  trip to Mahanakhon tomorrow and mid-day visit  in my room after that. So may day 1 finished in serious embraces , let me  tell you.  
    

V Club 7 posted the following on their line account 
 

V Club 7 posted the following on their line account