Olddaddy

Day 2
First full day and kind of quiet. After energetic night and jet lag still lingering  I took it easy. D and me had breakfast at Foodland of all places and parted ways. As it happened I did not see him anymore this trip even if visited Tawan quite a few times, Perhaps he went home or it was just bad luck.
I had some dental work to do at Thai Smile. Passing by I stepped in just to book an appointment but doctor was  expected to be free in few minutes and since I had money on me I just wait and had it done . Then feeling bit sleepy decided to energize myself with massage so went  to soi 6 and Nut from Maha spotted me approaching from mile away and grabbed me  right away. Sweet , talkative , tiny but  very muscular guy and I was happy with our 1.5 hr session. Massage made me hungry so I took motorsai to Charoen Krung soi 49, you guessed rightly to Madrid Tavern for my first pizza this trip.
 Late afternoon jet lag made me wanting badly to get some sleep so I returned to the room, set my alarm for 21.00 as I was supposed to pick up Y at Moonlight as agreed yesterday and collapsed on the bed.
It was good idea with that alarm since I was sleeping soundly. After making myself looking decent – in Thailand I have habit to shave just before I hit bars in the evening and went to Moonlight. Y was there already , I bought him a drink and told him we will go after the show.
 At 10 pm bar was almost empty bar even if it was half an hour before show. But models and floor boys soldered on regardless. By 11 filled up nicely to about half capacity.
Show quite decent. There, s new model, I guess his nick is  Sam or similar. Quite handsome . Several new, floor boys, as well. Lack of crowds did not mean disaster as some high spending farang was holding court and was distributing tips by a handful.
Y when sitting with me  asked by said farang to join for round of drinks. Y asked my permission and he said  for 15 minutes only. I agreed and it was a good move costing me nothing. After 15 minutes, and gulping 2 or 3 shoots he was clutching in his fist no less than 900. 
So it seems that sparse crowd doesn’t mean financial disaster. All depends. On another hand during my time there i.e. 10 to 11.45 my off was only one and I was, sitting in good position to see comings and goings through the door. So at 11.45 we went to Happy Beer Garden to have some meal, no prize for guessing what I had. Y ordered something simple as well which can’t be said about most boys I used to invite there.
Since Raya is across the street few minutes after paying the bill we were already in the shower. Y never disappoints and did not even try to this time either. 2nd night and 2nd great one. Will I ever get decent sleep while in Thailand?

it was probably just automated move by the clerk without thinking.
reminds me visit to bank when clerk asked me ' how are you ?' and I answered ' not good, going to funeral right after that ' to which she responded ' have a nice day"

Two I like to watch are:
The Bald and Bankrupt Channel - run by a British guy who likes to travel to unusual places. Before the current Ukraine situation, he was particularly famous for travelling in the former Soviet Union and eastern bloc countries.
The video I link to below is a fascinating recent one, where he joined immigrants making their way north from Colombia to the USA trough the notorious Darien Gap, and area of complete lawless jungle between the the North and South American continents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aswvkdCpZYc&t=32s&ab_channel=baldandban
 
Of more Thai interest is the Bangkok Pat channel. Pat is a Thai/British guy who delved in considerable detail into certain historic old Bangkok neighbourhoods.
The video I link to is where he goes around the Soi Ngam Duphli & Soi Sri Bamphen (near Lumpinee BTS station) and talks about the sleazy history of the area in the 1980's and 1990's with another Thai Youtuber, Karl. They discuss, among other things, the  old rent boy scene in the Malaysia Hotel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZfaSNzrpf0&ab_channel=BangkokPat
 
 
 
 
 

Feel free to put your favourite YouTubers here or Gay related up to you I guess 
These ones though are "Thailand" related and I just realised there are many other Countries forum on here so they may not be a interest to others that are not into Thailand ...still I would love to see any YouTubers in other gay countries such as Africa etc if there's any 
Don't ask me to provide links ,I have no idea how to do it😀
But, I have been watching " Steve Rosse " every Friday, he is not gay but  retired to a place several hours near Phuket , Turtle Beach ,in which he spends his days making cardboard ......what else ....turtles !🐢🐢🐢
Another one is "native farang" about a Thai guy 30yo , extremely good-looking 🥰with a UK accent and his English born wife with 2 kids decided to go back to Thailand to start a farm which they got dick of and are now in Bangkok
I only watch because of the handsome Thai guy 😘

I wonder if in reality you need those BP meds?
Have you tried cutting them down to see if your BP rises?
 

Both my mother and sister died at early age due to massive CVA’s. I watch my b/p like a hawk.

Trip Report – Koh Chang – 15 Jan 2024 – 18 Jan 2024
 
I am behind on my trip reports.  I present this one from Koh Chang (which was easier to prepare) and then I will have a bigger one from Christmas/New Years - 17 day trip report for Songkhla.  Sorry for the delays.
 
Up to now, my favorite island in proximity of Pattaya has been Koh Samet.
Hanging out with my volleyball friends at the Dongtan beach (Sea Rescue area), we were chatting about a new island place to go to and we decided to make a 4 day / 3 night visit to Koh Chang.

Aerial shot of the Trat island archipelago
One of them has a car, so that made the transportation modality easy. Note that a quick search in Google - notes that there are many busses that also go there – primarily from Bangkok but I believe that I saw one from Pattaya as well.
    -> Please note that their facial photos are included in this trip report with their permission given as well as their contact details in case any of you would like to use their services. <-
We departed Jomtien around 9:45am and we arrived at the Ao Thammachat pier in Trat at around 14:30pm, almost 5 hours – leisurely driving with breaks for the bathroom, iced coffee, and gas.
We were able to get onto the 15:30pm car ferry at a cost of 120 baht for the car and then 80 baht for the each of us for a total of 360 baht. The ferry crossing is about 30 minutes.  Ferry info can be found here at:  Koh Chang Ferries price list 2023 / 2024 


Map of Koh Chang and surrounding islands.  As you can see there are many ferry options to arrive onto the island from the mainland.

Above places highlighted with a red circle are the places that we visited
We booked our 3 night stay at the Klong Prao Resort    Klong Prao Beach Resort webpage 
We booked 2 rooms and paid 1,840 baht per night for a total of 11,040 baht for 3 nights.

This resort is lovely and very big with a beautiful sandy beach and lush tropical plants everywhere.  As we booked kind of at the last minute we were assigned to 2 older rooms.  There are 3 distinct zones around a large pond, where the zone we stayed in is the oldest and the other 2 zones are more modern.  My only complaint about our rooms were there were hardly any electrical outlets for all of our devices (electric razor, tooth brush, boom box, mobile phones, etc.).  Other than this inconvenience the rooms were perfect – air con worked very well, shower had hot water, and unlike my stay in Koh Samet and also in Songkhla (I still need to write this trip report) there were NO noisy geckos

to wake us up in the early morning with their annoying chirping sounds.  However, they are very handy for eating any annoying mosquitos, bugs and spiders.
Note that the 2 newer zones have many electrical outlets as they were probably built after the advent of the popularity of mobile phones and all of our electrical gadgets.
The highlights of this resort for us were:
The pool and their pool bar with early evening 2 for 1 sunset happy hours – as evidenced in the below photos, The white sandy beaches and blue turquoise water.  Note that the Koh Chang municipality has strict rules that keep the noisy speed boats and jet skis away – thus rendering the beaches to be more in their wonderful natural state.
Day 1 (15 Jan 2024) itinerary
Arrive onto the island, check in unpack, enjoy the resort grounds, pool, beach, happy hour, fantastic sunset and eat at the resort dining facility = RimHad Restaurant.  Watched a great fire show performed by some hunky macho guys (similar to the familiar B-Boys, who perform all over Pattaya, Boyztown, Jomtien) on the beach in front of our resort restaurant.  Like when I visited Koh Samet, these fire show guys can be found traveling up and down the beach performing in front of the many resorts and beach restaurants.  It lasted about 10 minutes and was very entertaining.

I realized that I did not take any still photos so the above photo is from a movie clip that I made.
 
Then before going to sleep I received my customary massage – as both of these volleyball friends are also masseurs.
Day 2 (16 Jan 2024) itinerary
After the great resort buffet breakfast (an enormous selection of Western and Thai foods were available) we headed off to the Khlong Phlu Waterfall in the National Park.  It was nearby, and perhaps after 30 minutes by car we were already at the trailhead for our hike.  The hike took about 30 minutes and was rather easy. 
Explore Koh Chang - description of Koh Chang waterfalls  

As it was not rainy season, the waterfall was a little bit subdued, but it was still cool and refreshing to take a dip and to swim with the millions of fish that were in the water.  You need to resist their lite nibbles at your skin – kind of like those tourist places that you see all over Thailand where the tourists put their feet into a fish tank to get their dead skin nibbled off.

There were about 20 to 25 people there when we visited with about half of them brave enough to enter the chilly refreshing water.  There is a lifeguard off to the left up on the rocks to prevent that tourists climb up onto the waterfall, as it can be quite dangerous as it is very slippery.

And there I am trying to acclimate myself to the lite nibbles by the fish before I dove in and swam
over to where the water was cascading down – as that end is very deep.
 
Entrance fee to the waterfall (which is part of the national park system) was 40 baht for each of my 2 Thai friends and 200 baht for me for a total cost of 280 baht.
Afterwards, back to our resort to relax, swim in the pool, take advantage of the 2-for-1 drink specials at the pool bar, and to watch the sunset.
For that night’s dinner we drove over to the popular White Sands Beach area – full of restaurants, hotels, resorts, markets, etc. to eat at the Beach Tango restaurant 
     Beach Tango restaurant Facebook page  
which became our favorite go-to place to eat.
Why?
The food and drinks were good.  There was interesting eye candy – one of the wait staff had our constant attention.  Plus, there were many interesting people walking up and down the beach – as there are many, many, bars and restaurants in this area.  Beach Tango is smack in the middle of all of the fun and is an entertaining place to be situated.

Then after dinner back to the room to relax for my nightly massage.  Life is good.
 
Day 3 (17 Jan 2024) itinerary
Enjoy the buffet breakfast and then head down to the extreme southern part of Koh Chang (on the opposite side of the island) to visit the very famous Koh Ngam beach.  It was a very long drive as we needed to cross the island to the other side (mainland facing), and this part of the island is not built up like the other side, so consequently, the main road became narrower and narrower up into the mountains to the point where there was only room for 1 car to pass one way with very steep curvy roads.  Scary, but well worth the reward to arrive at the tiny boat station to take the 10 minute boat to cross over to the breath taking Koh Ngam.

You can choose your mode of transportation – by kayak or by motorboat.  We chose by motorboat as we were too excited to already be on Koh Ngam.  I believe that we paid 80 baht for each Thai person, and I as a farang had to pay 200 baht, which included the boat ride over to the island.  Fee is paid to a ranger on Koh Ngam – as it is now part of the Thailand National Park system.

Here is a good short video with some drone footage of Koh Ngam:  Youtube video with drone footage of Koh Ngam 
And here is what awaits you on Koh Ngam – truly amazing.

After enjoying Koh Ngam (swimming, relaxing, and enjoying the view and the nature) – back on the boat to Koh Chang and then back in the car for the 1 hour trip back to our resort for those 2-for-1 pool bar cocktails and amazing sunsets.

Rinse and repeat the previous night at Beach Tango for dinner and drinks and then back to the resort for my nightly good-night massage.
Day 4 (18 Jan 2024) itinerary
Enjoy the last breakfast buffet and check-out of the resort for the long 5 hour drive back to Pattaya (Jomtien).
Phong says to me – do you want to see one more exciting place before we head back?  I say, sure, why not.  So, we drive over to the Kai Bae Viewpoint, which is famous for its spectacular view of 4 of the Koh Chang archipelago islands, Koh Yuak, Koh Man Noi, Koh Pli and Koh Man Nok.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kai+Bae+Viewpoint/@12.0205768,102.2919516,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x3104105179b452c7:0x2b4a04572dce185b!8m2!3d12.0205768!4d102.2919516!16s%2Fg%2F11b6tz721w?hl=en&entry=ttu
Note that there is excellent coffee available at this Kai Bae viewpoint.

Before almost reaching Pattaya, my 2 tour guides noticed that we were all sad that our 4 day trip was coming to a quick end, so they said do you want to eat at a fun place that is near Pattaya (about 1 hour away) before we call it a day?  I said sure – as I really like to see and experience new places.
So, we stopped off at the Tamnanpar Resort & Restaurant – one of these many nearby Pattaya / Rayong restaurants that are tucked away in a jungle theme – various Thai friends have taken me to different ones as each Thai person swears that his/her’s is the best.
Tamnanpar resort and restaurant Facebook page 


This place is famous for their unique game cuisine where you can eat ostrich, crocodile, snake, and deer. All was good and our random waiter was someone that my 2 tour guides already knew and were teasing him about his in-the-bed attributes – he was quite shy but willing to tease back my 2 Thai friends.  I truly enjoy when the Thais do this to each other as it is very entertaining.
Then they dropped me off at my condo room in Jomtien and our trip concluded.
 
 
Trip summary:
Would I go back to Koh Chang?  Most certainly – it is a large island and there is still more to see. Especially to visit many of the many off-shore islands in the archipelago. Maybe stay for one more additional day to take some time to do kayaking.
Any regrets?  Yes, we did not have time to see the famous abandoned boat “ghost” hotel.   Nation Thailand article on the famous "ghost" ship on Koh Chang
 
Contact details (HORNET and Line) for my 2 Thai tour guides from the Dongtan volleyball field in Jomtien.  They can be available to be a tour guide, companion, or masseur. 
 permission was granted to me by the both of them to publish their details for all of you Also, come and visit them at volleyball (nightly from about 5:30 pm until 8pm to 9pm daily) – right next to the Sea Rescue in front of the Pattaya Park Tower on the beach road of our Dongtan beach. 
Phong Hornet ID is:  @m-thailand
Boat Hornet ID is:  @13hq91


 

Somewhat of a downer of a movie. It moved slowly for my tastes (and that of my fiance). 

I loved it.  Although it is not a feel good movie.
The critics are all right.  It is an emotionally evocative work about the enduring power of love.  And the complications of that when you're a Gay man of a certain age.
I also loved Red, White, and Royal Blue.  And this is pretty much the opposite.  RWRB speaks to young queers who want to and now can believe boy meets boy and they live in a fairy tale.  All Of Us Strangers isn't about a fairy tale world.  It's about the world we Gay men actually grew up in.  Lots of discrimination, lots of AIDS, lots of death.  Add some ghosts and it makes for one hell of a story.
The Queer Kids Are All Right. And Now They’re Making Me Better.
I don't know if that link will transfer, since someone posted it as a shared story from a New York Times reporter on a different site.  It's a good read. 
In case the link doesn't work and you can't get it online, the phrase that really worked for me in that story about recent queer cinema is "emotional reparations."  As in, a lot of recent LGBTQ film provides a form of emotional reparations for everything that we didn't necessarily get growing up.  Like support, and understanding.  I think RWRB and Heartstoppers are just sweet fairy tales.  I took All Of Us Strangers, appropriately titled, as a form of emotional reparations for those of us who didn't grow up in a sweet Gay fairy tale.  Fellow Travelers comes to mind as another recent and excellent example.
The director and writer, Andrew Haigh, insists that the movie overall is a story about a Gay man accepting himself and overcoming obstacles to love.  One could debate that, given the final plot twist.  Haigh says he wanted to make a movie that made people think.  But I think you settled the question for us, @unicorn.  The fact that you can go see a movie like this WITH YOUR FIANCE (a man, I assume) settles the question.  To quote the fairy tale heroes of Red, White, and Royal Blue, "We won."  In real life, we got the happy ending. Congratulations!  Even if Gay men like Andrew Scott's character in the movie, and Andrew Haigh in real life, paid an emotional price for it.

Jack passed away this past year; Ralph is still with us as is Oud.

I wonder if in reality you need those BP meds?
Have you tried cutting them down to see if your BP rises?
 

Im guessing the guys from Memories bar have passed? 
I wonder if Crabby from the Corner bar is still around , haven't heard from him for years .
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_(software)
800 000 000 users

I find these guys incredibly sexy. 
From Thai PBS World

More than 5,000 Muay Thai boxers from Thailand and 60 other countries took part in a ceremony to pay respects to Muay Thai teachers during the Amazing Muay Thai World Festival 2024, held on Tuesday at the Rajabhakti Park in Hua Hin to commemorate world Muay Thai Day.
The event was presided over by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and was attended by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang, Culture Minister Sermsak Pongpanich, Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol and Army Commander-in-Chief General Charoenchai Hinthao.
The event featured a card stunt by more than 700 drones and a fireworks display. It was also intended to set a new Guinness world record for the largest single gathering of Muay Thai boxers.
 
 

Thanks for sharing your insights Chucky. Does Goa have a good gay scene by the beach? I have heard many people say that the Indians are generally better looking in the north than in the south. Any thoughts?

Yes, I have a holiday home in Goa, and have travelled around extensively. 
There is lots of sex on offer, most for free, as young Indians have a thing for white skin, and having sex with a "European ".
Grindr is very active. In the big cities the first 50 will be within around 500metres. 
Do ensure you use protection, as disease is on the increase in India. 
Several of the big cities  including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad have weekly gay events/clubbing which you will find advertised on Grindr  or just ask. 
Most guys are pretty polite and discreet however, so do bear that in mind.
Lots of offers for massage 💆‍♂️ on the apps too. 

Wow !!  🥰🥰🥰🥰
Admit that's you !!!!!
 

https://www.facebook.com/realdoctormike
https://www.instagram.com/doctor.mike/
https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/mikhail-varshavski.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Mike


 

Are you a psychiatrist by any chance?

Yes, she said to him "You look so young. We have to be careful about trafficking."

You've only noticed it now? I've been saying this for years now. It's also been there in the official tourism statistics for over a decade. Asian tourists far outnumber westerners in both the general as well as gay traffic. And here I qualify that I am not using "asian" in the UK sense where it means indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi, but I mean the oriental Asian (what a quaint term).
 

Great for you young fit guys, not so much for us old daddies 😊

Kokopelli passed?  I never knew that; sorry to read of his passing, he was like a twin brother to me.

I can't say much about Pattaya as on last trip I was there only 2 days but week or two ago while strolling Silom it dawned on me that while say 10 years ago majority of obvious tourists were Westerners now  they are replaced by Asians. There were visits in bars where I was one of very few farangs in attendance and once in Tawan even boy sitting with me noticed ' you only farang in bar".
Only place when one can still see farangs en masse is soi 4. 
Is this good or bad? I don't care who keeps our bars running and boys employed. So as long as I have fun for me this is cosmetic change but change it is.
Only negative part of that shift for some may be that boys in bars are more overdressed now than in the past. I was told that this is what Asians like. Whether it's true , I don't know. I can live with guys on the stage in sexy , fitting jeans although ones in tracksuit pants are bit too much when boys esthetics are discussed.

I've never been to Fake. How is it on Songkran? I considered going on one of the evenings but then I saw a video of a huge queue that they posted on IG last year. Do they sell tickets in advance?