neddy

perhaps tippers should be more generous than going by Thai standards as I'm told by people in the know that Thais are not exactly lavish tippers in places they frequent 

some people may not believe in American cultural supremacy and very idea of giving money to somebody for doing his job may be very foreign / Japanese , most Pacific islanders and countless others including local Thais /.
 
Not every Cheap Charlie is actually one.

I agree the article contains inaccuracies. Stickmans main problem, though, seems to me to be that such a huge development basically covers a block from Rama IV to the Bangkok Christian Hospital on one axis and Silom and even across  Suriwong on the other. That is a massive chunk of land,
 
He mentions the possible reluctance of the mega rich family which owns Soi Thaniya. I would like to know who owns the rest of that area. We know that much of the land was purchased by the Patpongpanich family after World War 2. I know it owns the area around Patpong 1 and 2. Does that same family own Soi Thaniya? How about Silom Soi 4? I believe that is owned by the family which still lives on that soi in a mansion behind the gates at the end. Are these members of the Patponpanich clan?
 
The main reason why I think this is mostly pie in the sky is the nearby 41 acre One Bangkok development. This happens to be mostly on the other side of Rama 4, another massive area currently under development encompassing the area between Rama IV, Wireless Road and the expressway entrance. It is this development that will see the demolition of the Dust Thani.
 
One Bangkok has already announced it will include 5 office towers each incorporating a luxury hotel (one being a new Dust Thani), 3 mega luxury residential blocks and a vast area for upmarket retail outlets and additional green areas to complement Lumphini Park..
 
It is impossible to believe that the developers of One Bangkok will take over a similarly large chunk as suggested by Stickman on the other side of Rama IV for the purpose of building yet more hotels, tower blocks and retail spaces. One Bangkok will come on stream over a period of years finishing in 2025. In my book it is equally impossible that a separate group of developers will take over the Stickman area for the purpose of erecting precisely the same type of facilities. Even though One Bangkok will have a 2 or 3 year head start, it will take years before so much space is fully purchased and rented. Does anyone really believe the market could stand so many new but similar facilities so close and coming on to the market very soon afterwards? I dont.
 
Someone is developing Soi Twilight. If the leases on Soi 4 and the two Patpongs are just for one year, something may be about to happen. But what? And if all the leases are just for one year, why are some businesses still moving in?

In Pattaya I have never used a card to pay in a gay bar.
 
I feel sure that most would not take one.

Well, I plan to give it a try.
 
At those prices, once only, I suspect.

Or simply because they enjoy the company of their bar friends more than yours?

The entire staff call out "irasshaimase" (Welcome!) as you enter, the bar is absolutely spotless, the guys are incredibly polite, they bow and thank you when you ask them to sit with you, they shower you with compliments and pour your drink for you. And the waiters apologise for taking your money when you pay your bill!  
Lol

Hot Male downstairs bars just stopped paying their bar boys. They now work on tips only and most have left. Only a couple boys in sight at a Hot Male and Hot Male 2 . Not good. Up stairs they have gone back to their Thai boys only working. I haven’t been up recently but heard it’s slow. Both Hot Male and Banana Bar have been quiet most evenings during the slow season, but they do get a little bump after midnight.
 
XBoys and Freshboys have been very up and down. They both have some very hot boys in all sizes and shapes. They seem fully stocked for high season. The customers just haven’t arrived yet. Thursday Friday and Saturday have been good nights, the other nights quite slow. Over the past month you can see new boys arriving almost daily looking for work. Now, to many boys, not enough work. FreshBoys has all new management. They seem to start the shows at 10pm even if 1 customer. The 2 ladyboys run back and forth to FreshBoys 2 in Patpong as they do shows at both places.
 
XBoys shows start between 10:30 and 11, depending on customer count. Though always seem to end up with decent crowd by end of show.
 
Bangkok Massage has been doing very well. Chinese customers don’t off much, but they like massages and consistently have been using Bangkok Massage. Many come out of Dreamboys then go up for massage. This was a long holiday weekend and Bangkok was empty of people, so off to a very slow beginning of the week.
 
Dreamboys still does very well overall. It has its off night here and there, but better than average crowds. Not many changes.
 
Maxis Restaurant has been doing very well. Consistently busy between 8 to midnight. They just added a new experienced waiter last night as they get ready for the end of rainy season.
 
Screwboys has great selection of boys. For some reason it’s been a bit slow customer wise the last couple of weeks, but prior to that they were doing very well.
FreshBoys 2 in Patpong has its ups and downs. Some really good nights, some really slow nights. You just need to go and see what is happening on your night.
 
So right now there are a lot of boys working and a lot of boys looking for work. All hoping for good high season.

just visited them few minutes ago for  a dinner of chicken with cashew nuts, 169 baht , plate of steamed rice separate charge , very tasty and ample portion, actually one order and 2 bowls of rice would feed two
 
Hot drinks expensive - cup of Lipton tea 80 Baht
 
Very new place , tasty decoration in rustic style.
 
Four Japanese dining beside, all handsome . At one moment one waled to the washroom and not only my eyes followed him but also waitress's. Guy in charge noticed and smiled knowingly 

good news and thank you for letting us know

Question to OP:  How would you prevent the Thai guys from referring to themselves and unmarried colleagues as old as 35, as "boys" ?    "Boy", us used by the guys I have known, is more of a way of referencing someone who has not married, not settled down and not left the game.  At least that's what I have heard for 20 years, though the times they could be a changing.

I walked by now and then.
 
It seems to be open or closed to an unpredictable pattern.

I walked by now and then.
 
It seems to be open or closed to an unpredictable pattern.

I hope you don't mean it.
 
Vacation is form work or perhaps from everyday environment like neighbors and family but not from basic decency.
 
Would you pick up your nose in restaurant full of diners or  fart on songtaew  just because you are on vacation ?
 
Whenever we are in public space whether we like or not we are scrutinized  by all around, usually complete strangers - it's why , so to speak,  we use deodorants and shower every Friday or I was told some even more often.
 
I'm with you that is nothing to be embarrassed to be seen with much younger prostitute of the same sex in public, feast I practice myself very often,   but that public may not be actually interested ON THEIR VACATIONS to see behavior usually reserved for more private settings and not necessarily increasing their appetite. 
 
 
We are paying boys to have sex with us but embarrassing them in public  if they don't wish is not included in price, at least not in my book.

The on-line apps are convenient and if all you want is straight (sic) sex, that's fine,
 
However, on-line you get a few photographs (some older than others, some quiety photoshopped (the girls do it all the time)), and then there is a knock on the door and there they are, come to earn money from you.
 
Are they what you hoped for?, are they anything like what you hoped for?, but while you are thinking that there they are getting undressed in your room ......
 
The advantages of a bar is that you get a better chance to see what you are getting (and in some bars to be able to see exactly what you are getting! LOL). You get a chance to share a drink with them, to talk with them as best as language allows, you get a chance to see if there is any 'connection' between you. If they are touchy-feely with you, better yet if they kiss, you can start to feel more confident that any time spent up in your room with them will be worth the baht.
 
If the connection is not there, if the vibes are not good, you can back out after the first drink with no loss of face either way. But once they are undressing in your room that moment has already passed, for good or bad. 
 
Actually I do both, but the barfines I take from bars are more lilkely to end up being repeats, wheras the callers to my door tend to be more hit-and-miss. 

He must be something if after that kind of experience you still are in ' oh and ahhh " mode when thinking about him.
 
Not that I'm surprised, we all know that at times looks and performance are not going hand in hand. Look at bright side -at end of day he left you with some pleasant feeling about him as we can see above.

In answer to the question by the OP:
 
Yes.
 
I have had three(?) visits to Scandic.
The 1500 B up front is supposed to cover everything, as I understood it.
But in the room, more is always asked for. A few hundred should do it.
 
I haven't been there for a long time.
Poor facilities, and boys much more interested in the money than the service
is my assessment of the place.

This will probably disappoint you.
 
The go-go referred to is a lady bar.
It is close to the start of Beach Road, Jomtien.

A smile needs no interpreter or translation; it's message is universally understood. If I smile at a guy I'm interested in and he doesn't respond in kind, I've learned it's probably unwise to pursue the situation.
 
When a guy smiles, he acknowledges my existence.  It doesn't matter to me if he admiring the baht in my pocket, he's already made me feel better about him--and myself.
 
The fact that he smiled doesn't guarantee a memorable event is in the offing. Without it, however, there will be no event.

Oscar's chose to raise the retail price on a bottle a beer by 30 baht (about 37%) on a cost increase of 2.66 baht (about 2.13%).  In effect they increased their profit margin on the sale by about 34%, using the tax increase as the rationale. 
 
Will be interesting to see how other bars in Pattaya and Bangkok are responding.

I have the same issues at massage places, particularly where I have picked same guy more than one time. 
 
Vinapu provides solid advice but, as he says, you can't predict how individual boys will react.  I think you're more likely to run into this in the smaller places.
 
I was anticipating the dilemma as I approached one of my favorite haunts last month but I lucked out: my regular had gone home for a week.
 
In the end, it's always best to be as nice as possible about it while bearing in mind that we're the customer.

Is only a short cuddle and a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, but I appreciate the effort.

One of the best kissers I knew was a straight boy; the more we kissed the straighter "it" got. That was at Happy Boy Bar in vicinity of Sunee Plaza, Pattaya

Add to that the hideous mamasan "Leila" who worked at Wild West Boys and at 360.......now that he/she/it is working at Prisma let's hope she doesn't fuck that up too.

Years ago I was at a show somewhere the US where there was an excellent stand up comedian who used to open for some of the best known acts. He told a tale of a little old lady flying from San Francisco to Miami who was very concerned about her small dog in its little cage. She tried her best to persuade the check in clerk to let her take the dog on board.
 
"Madam, Im so sorry but that is just against our airline regulations. We will have to put it in a special section of the aircraft hold where your dog will be perfectly fine."
 
"But Im so worried about him. Cant he just go under my seat?"
 
"Please dont worry. Hell be just fine and youll see him again as soon as you get to Miami." So the old lady had no choice.
 
After the flight landed, the baggage handlers were horrified to see that the dog was no longer alive. Panic! A local staffer was quickly  despatched to a nearby pet shop to get a smail dog of a similar breed.
 
When the luggage came up on the carousel, the lady became concerned when there was no sign of her dog. She waited a full 45 minutes until all the bags had been taken but still no dog. So she went over to the airlines baggage supervisor.
 
"Wheres my dog? I'm so worried about him."
 
Playing for time, the supervisor told her, "Please dont worry. Your dog will be delivered to you very soon."
 
Another 20 minutes and finally the dog in the cage was brought out for her. She was so pleased - until she looked inside the cage. Her demeanour quickly changed.
 
"But this isnt my dog!"
 
"Madam thats your dog cage and I can assure you that is what we took off the plane with the greatest of care.And cant you see how happy he is to see you?"
 
"But that isnt my dog!"
 
"Madam, you're just a bit distraught."
 
"Distraught my ass! Its not my dog! My dog was dead!"