llz

From Pattaya Mail

At 79, Wichai Kaewintarathi earns a living by selling traditional musical instruments from northeastern Thailand, such as the khaen and pin along Jomtien Beach.
Originally from Nakhon Phanom Province, Uncle Wichai has been in this profession for over 40 years. The musical instruments he sells are crafted by his wife, who is skilled in this art. He then showcases these instruments to tourists, presenting them as authentic northeastern musical instruments.
Every morning Uncle Wichai sets up his stall at Jomtien Beach, where he remains until evening. In the evenings, he travels to South Pattaya on a song taew (baht-bus) to continue his sales, offering his items for prices ranging from one hundred to one thousand baht.
Uncle Wichai’s sales technique involves not just selling but also performing. He entertains passersby by playing melodies on the khaen and showcasing various songs, adding vibrancy to the tourist scene. Through his efforts, he not only earns a livelihood but also promotes awareness of northeastern cultural music.
 

Some of you are overly cautious, but to each their own...
Travel across the world to partake in male prostitution but afraid of some meat on a stick. 🤭

Exactly,
Why would anyone enter a Gogo bar where the boys are wearing twice as many clothes as I am?! 

and it will certainly help Cambodia to be more indebted and more   colonized by Chinese after those two mega airport projects.
I still marvel at fact that new Siem Reap airport did not have any sign in Khmer, just English and Chinese like Chonquing or Harbin airports.
On merit,  I think railway would better idea and less disruptive to environment than canal able presumably to carry ocean bound vessels.
Expected cost of 1.7 bn will for sure be twice as much if not more when completed as all big infrastructure projects are. 

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


 

Hi I've been lurking in this forum as I'm currently travelling around Thailand, just went to Prince and thought I'd post.
90 minutes, 1400 minimum to Prince, 2000 to the therapist. Well worth it. Great facilities, full service, whatever you are up for. They can send you pictures on whatsapp if you want, or you can just pick someone out from the lineup. Mostly more built style guys. My therapist was a college student doing this part time. Very sweet, massage was okay, he seemed a little tentative, everything else was fantastic. He was rock hard for most of the session.

Yes, remember it well. Great place. Food at reasonable prices in old Thai style surroundings.
Thanks for the link. Brought back many memories and all of them good.
It was Bangkok at its best in those years.

Here's a new video on Youtube touching on Malaysia Hotel and the Ngam Duphli/Sri Bamphen area. Interesting bits of information.
 

I have seen this my own bars quite a few times. The two most recent incidents (2022 and 2023) were in Toy Boys Pattaya and Fresh Boy Bangkok. In the Toy Boy case, I was in the bar pretty late. A dressed boy came into the bar, and the first thing he did was to hand over a wad of notes to the papasan. He was probably returning from an off from earlier that evening. A similar thing happened at Fresh Boy, except that it was quite early in the evening (only 9-something) before show time. A dressed boy came in and handed money (don't know how much) to the mamasan. He was probably off'd the previous night.
And that's what drives me nuts about how the businesses conduct themselves. If offing is what brings in the money, then why do they make such a bad job of marketing the boys? Instead, over-concentrating on the shows?

Reader and Travellerdave have said more or less everything I wanted to post and so I'll add just a couple of comments.
Now in my seventies and with my eightieth (more or less) trip only a few weeks away, I can express my profound gratitude to those who led me to Thailand in 1995, provided me with the necessary information to enjoy myself, and of course those who attended to my needs with a smile and, generally,  good grace.
Particularly one who remains the only love of my life.
Consider; some of us lived through decades of concealment, fearing exposure and-at least in my case- suppressing an essential aspect of our character for fear of arrest or public shame.  And then we experienced Pattaya.
How lucky we were. How fortunate I still am. And grateful, even if the vibrancy of Old Boyztown is long since gone.
 

Now to Bangkok, where my plans to meet Master Vinapu detailed by stomach issues. Last comment on Siem Reap, I was kept busy by a string of twinks, new ones turning up daily. Didn't try the other bar, in the end. 
 
When I flew out of Siem Reap, the farce of the airport was clear. When I checked in I was the only pax in the entire 30 or more desks. Ditto security and immigration. As I walked to gate 20, of 24, I wondered what was going on. There were 3 or 4 boutique shops, empty, a sort of coffee kiosk, serving takeaway from a hatch, and that was it. Signs to my gate proclaimed 'shops', confidently, but there weren't any. There were other pax at the gate, one who confirmed that it was not even possible to buy a bottle of water! Plane, 70 seater, filled up by a tour group who arrived late. In the circumstances, not surprisingly, we left early. Chinese built, 50 year contract. The Chinese will build a casino there. As my driver said, sourly, Cambodia is owned by China.

Exactly.
For my first five or so years of Bangkok visits, Robinson’s marked the beginning of some of the city’s best street cruising. It included the entire block of Rama IV from Silom to Surawong. Many uni students from the school across the way.

Convenience, sights make up for a lot, the food is decent and service generally efficient, which means a lot in Thailand....

As mandatsted by both UNESCO and Michelin I went to Foodland last night and happy to report nothing wrong with their chicken with cashew nuts. See attached.
It looks that OP had just misadventure.
7.5 stars and World Heritage designation reinstated effective 9.15 pm last night

Which Foodland  was that ? Patpong or Silom one?
If Patpong I will contact UNESCO to suspend their world heritage designation till I make personal inspection there.
The same with Michelin, at least 1.5 stars from their 7.5 should be taken away immediately.
You absolutely right , cashews should be  cooked with the dish , not served as also run.
Only explanation I'd accept was that the cook is in love, that was what we used to say where I grew up when served under- or overcooked meal.
I'm shocked to the bone !!!!  and want to scream murder . 
But as always , give them another chance or go to G'Bangkok or Happy Beer Garden and try theirs

There are 2 opposite sides on the Scala travelers who come to Thailand purely for tourism purposes against travellers who come only for sex trading, most of us are somewhere between these, for old men trying to find desent sex on reasonably rates at their own countries it's almost impossible so traveling to countries like Thailand where you can find sex and company with gorgeous guys on relatively very cheap prices is an excellent reason to visit this country so what's wrong with that ? 
What do you suggest @Marc in Calif older people should stay in their countries miserably do nothing till they die in sorrow?
Your comments are totally b***it & hypocritical and contributed nothing useful to this forum.

As one of those who regularly post trip reports here I can't leave that without answer because your post tickled me a bit and wrong way at that.
No,  I did not take it personally simply because in my reports you will not find narratives  you described " I got fucked  and then boy fucked me on the window ledge ". But that is because it's my personal choice believing those  details should be left out for privacy reasons, more so of boy's even  than mine , not because there's no market for that type of reports.
Quite opposite as we can easily measure by numbers of visits threads are receiving , not to mention emoticony reactions. We can easily see that more juicy threads ,  whatever it means , even lacking any graphics like mine,  are visited much more often than even most photogenic touristy ones , no to mention food and shopping related. That is simply nature on the forum. 
Readers are looking for leads and comments on sexy places , it's why they are visiting and it is what makes that forum both unique and useful . Info about restaurants and hotels can be found in many places , about off fees at Dreamboys only on few forums including this one.
As for midnight mass relation , surely it could be interesting for both churchgoers and those who are not but also there's danger , since politics , money and religion are such heat generating  subjects that thread  may turn into nasty discussion about religious believes , practices and figures. That may go against what actual attendee  of mass intends to trigger. 
Speaking about church matters  and in line with your suggestion I advise everybody to visit Holy Redeemer church in soi Ruam Rudi, walk distance from Silom ghetto diagonally across Lumpini park, perhpas 15 minutes walk from Rama VI monument if not less . Architecture is not churchy , it looks like most Thai temples , only cross atop indicates that it's the church.
Second reason are stations of the cross which everywhere are divided into 14 sections while there are two panels  , one on each side of church containing 7 stations seamlessly  connected and flowing into next one . I never saw anything like that anywhere
Other  thing which needs to be mentioned and floridarob said it already above. While all criticism is welcomed and may actually help to make posts and reports more readable it would immensely add credibility to critique if complainers were known for their own contribution . It's  one thing and easy at that , to complain about posts being boring and repetitive or whatever but another to try to put together one itself. 
Trip reports are very time and effort consuming and even if we don't read them we should be happy somebody is kind enough to share his vacation adventures , whatever their nature are. Even if sexscapades are not interesting it's always good to treat report as receipt for fun filled vacation. 
Happy to report that after writing it blood pressure is back to normal 130/74
 
  

You guys are funny
So my hotel booked me a taxi to Jomtien. 1200baht, seemed like a good deal to me, especially since the trip back to BKK was 1600.
So on arrival at Jomtien, I check into hotel, and go for a little wander to find the beach and see the area. On walking past one of the massage shops in the complex, I'm grabbed at by multiple boys... clearly the boys are far more forward here! I carry on walking trying to smile and shake my head and say no.
On my return, I spy out Sophia's thai, and a couple cafe/resturants opposite, and make note for food later. My favourite thai food is 'pad gra pow'... and if you ask for not spicy, they simply leave out all of the chillis, If you ask for a little spice, you get all of the spice.
So my first night, I go around the Complex, checking out all the bars. It's busy because its christmas eve, seems like everyone is out. As I'm wandering through several of the bar boys try to grab me to pull me into their bars. One even gives me a bear hug and wont let me past. I was cold sober at this point, and I'm a pretty shy reserved guy. Stangers grabbing and hugging me uninvited is not what I call fun.
I eventually find a bar that looks a bit quiter with a good seat to people watch. After some time, I get a message from the boys I saw it BBK, they're sitting at the bar nearby and invite me over. I sit for drinks and get to know them all better. At the end of the night, I go back with one, I'll call him M, and M certainly wasn't just a beautiful face. He was defintely worth every baht of his tip. He leaves after, and I go to sleep satisfied.
The next morning I take a little trip over to Terminal 21 to wander the mall and see if there is any good sales on. I find a couple of nice things, and head back to the complex. After a swim and a rest, I'm ready for night 2. I run the massage shop gauntlet again to get some food, then I decide to go to the Venue for the show. After enjoying the awesome show, I end up back drinking with M and his friends. I go back to hotel alone though.
The following day I spend relaxing by at the beach and by the pool, and of the evening, I eat then join M and friends for drinks. We end up playing drinking games, and M asks me to take him back to the hotel, and thats where we go. After some good times were had, we both head back to join the others for more drinking and games. M wants to stay with me the night, and I say yes. I leave to your imaginations what we got up to.
At this point, M is starting to refer to me as his bf... which would suprise none of the more experienced members here I'm sure.
It's my last full day in Thailand, and I spend most of it with M, relaxing at the beach and having lunch. Of the evening, we part company for a while, before meeting up again. I want to see the Venue show again, and M comes along. He's really not into the show at all, but I'm enjoying it... technical issues and all
My last night I spend alone as I needed to be up early for the flight home.
 
I had thought this would be my last ever trip to LoS... but I think I've been convinced that there is still much more for me to enjoy there.
 
Thanks for reading

Short Bangkok Report
 
Visited Screwboy last night. Around 25 mostly twink physique straightish boys. Quite a lot of eye contact and smiles with 45 minute show at 2200, with later shows at 2330 and 0100. Drinks 400 Baht. Tip given to Boy with nice smile and great six pack but no further engagement. BF not interested and mamasan(known from way back) was not encouraging, (“from Vietnam”).
 
Too much less than basic quality drag content in the show, solo singers lip-syncing in sequins etc, each number greeted by cursory applause. Three elements in the show, say one third of the content, was male performers with “big cocks”(marginal in some cases) but it was the same five performers in each of the five minute segments, a couple of whom were past their prime and one of whom was not available for customers to off.
 
Might go back, all pleasant enough, but on balance probably won’t return on this trip, although good to visit for nostalgia’s sake as it was the original Patpong Soi two gay bar, and was convenient to drop in after a meal at Le Bouchon, now moved to Sathorn area but still worth a visit.
 
More to come.

I agree with you as I also find PC is more conductive to write and read longer stories which smartphone  is only for short quips and barks

I agree with your analysis but still love moment of arrival , buzz , lines , warts and all fully knowing that gates of paradise are right after leaving terminal and going down to railway station. No other airport in the world brings such promise

Sunee Plaza began to die when the police finally began to get serious about cracking down on underaged boys in the bars and those who used to hang around that area, generally. No, not all the bars in Sunee offered underaged boys and not everyone who went there was into that sort of thing but Sunee was a hotbed of that kind of thing. Once the police started cracking down in earnest, the gaps started showing very quickly. As the lights went out for good in some bars and as many "Sunee fans" stopped coming, the place lost momentum. Good riddance. Sunee was a shit hole and far cry from what Boyztown or Soi Twilight were.
It is sad that on another forum, which now largely consists of the owner speaking to himself, that period is still described as the good old days, with a little nudge and wink.

I can't speak for the hetero side of Pattaya, but "hazy" is too kind for the gay side. A new bar called Classic has taken over the former Cupidol premises, and stocked itself with about 15 fem twinks. Not a single customer inside. The mamasan could barely speak four sentencces of English. S/he was unable to understand a word of what I said, and to everything I tried to say (as simply as possible), the response was "What number you like?" I was out of there in ten minutes having performed my charitiable act for the month.
Meanwhile at X-Boys, the off fee has gone up to 800 baht. I thought I had misheard the first time, so I asked a second mamasan and sure enough, she typed "800" on her phone to show me (the music was too loud for speech). At least I made a point to find out - not that I had my eye on any of the boys, all too scrawny and tattooed for my taste. The poor guy to my right later had an argument with the manager over the off fee when he was surprised by the amount being added to his tab. He then said sorry to the boy who had put on his streetclothes, and left the bar alone.
You call that "hazy" or "suicidal"?

Great video and it feels like walking there but commentary is uninspiring.
Wonder if he did not notice he walked into boy bar area or chosen  not to say anything.
Considering he freely admitted to never hearing about Cambodia and her temples until this trip first option is possible.
I noticed Michelin added half star to Foodland and now it's fully 8 stars