richincali

Day 3
 In meantime N, the masseur,   is carpet bombing me with messages of how much he misses me, how great I am (like I don’t already know), dispensing advices to sleep plenty and eat well    etc.
I know it’s well intentioned but annoying too. My mother was not even 1/10 that overbearing. I like him and want to see him again so I feel entrapped.  
 On my way to Foodland I met him is Silom,  promised him another sleepover tonight.
Today is my tourist day, I went to Nakhon Pathom to see Great Stupa I saw from distance when going to train market in February.  
With trains moved to Bang Sue Grand Station it’s a bit of travel. -BTS  to Mor Chit,then  2 stops by MRT to station itself . Station is clearly oversized for traffic it handles and since my train was long distance it was some celebration. Passengers lined up in vast waiting area and we were admitted  to a platform in orderly queue only 20 minutes before departure but for 20 baht fare I can suffer plenty.
Right after train started rolling so did numerous food vendors offering food and drinks and as I noticed doing quite a brisk trade. In about 1 hr I was there. No problem finding stupa as it is 200 m from station at other end of wide street connecting those two. Admission for foreigners was 60 baht.
It is of impressive size and worth detour. On platform there’s big poster showing other attraction of the city certainly proud of being home of Thailand’s biggest stupa.
After sightseeing I walked through the market and acquired 2 pair of shorts with multiple pockets ( 6 at front and 2 in the back )  I so like at 400 baht a piece.
Returned by commuter train to Thonburi station, for some reason fare was not 20 but whopping 40 baht. From there walked to the river and took the Chao Praya Express boat to Saphan Taksin pier.
Jet lag is still tormenting me  but barely alive I went to G’Bangkok in soi 4  for their Thursday schnitzel special at 199 as always warmly greeted by the owner and both Banana barkers across. No doubt their enthusiasm is generated by my good looks and heart  , not the 100 baht I occasionally,  but not every time, no, no,  slip into their undies just to train my Vinapu tuck motions. But one of them is veteran of soi Twilight and another one object of my  quiet adoration, lol.
From there , invigorated by warm welcome and good food I went to Hot Male beer bar to have a beer there and chat with Aung, funny Myanmarese twink and then to Tawan where me, newest ATM model,  was enthusiastically welcomed with hugs, lowered briefs and  palms outstretched but today I had them disappointed for shortage of red notes.
 Even one of their performers sitting outside gave me heartily hug  saying ‘ welcome back Mr. KFC. I like that “Mister ‘ part as it boosted my ego exponentially. Tips or not , always fun there. It was still early but Mas, the twink did not waste time and offered massage upstairs. Generally not a good idea after just having a dinner but I like him and his massage is pretty skilled so I agreed and soon we were climbing stairs. Fee is 900 , not necessarily cheap for very average facilities but as I said I have weak spot for masseur so why not ? 1.5 hr nice session I can repeat every day although it crossed my mind it would be cheaper just to off him to hotel for 500 instead of paying their somewhat extortionate fee.
 By time we finished show started so additional bonus when going down was to see preparation and one of their guy was getting hard to a straight porn movie , I couldn’t resist and wrapped red note around his impressive, ready for presentation , endowment. He did not resist either, lol.
 Bar was packed and they had me sitting just by the back door but soon somebody left and I was offered better space.
I noticed few new faces , both bodybuilders and  some  twinky types and one very proportionally built hunk , not exactly teenager with ass to die for so spoiled few newbies with tips as I miraculously found 500 baht in 100 notes in one of my 8 pockets. Remember that hunk as we will  meet him toward end of trip.
 So as always despite  not so subtle tip pressure, that being my own  fault  I agree, I had , as always , tons of fun in Tawan.
Returned to hotel and was waiting for N to show up for promised overnight. Shortly I could welcome him in front of hotel but in the room we discovered nasty surprise – no water in the washroom. Fortunately he had shower before arrived and I had at Tawan after massage  . Big bottle in refrigerator was enough to refresh our teeth and we went to bed but activities for drought reason were somewhat restricted. Nobody’s fault and still nice exercise. Night guard promised things will be taken care in the morning and soothingly informed me that in case we need toilet , one by reception is  fully functional

few picks from trip to Nakhom Phatom : Bang Sue station from outside, line up to board train , train in platform, food offering aboard  and Great Stupa from as seen from the station and up close
 

Oh yes. I am staying at the agate and sometimes feel like i am the only gay in a village of russia. 
I am suprised though that the money exchangers are still accepting rubles.  
With so many russians here in pattaya and phuket there is a danger putin may annex these 2 provinces and hold a sham referendum and rename them pattayagrod and phuketsk. 

One evening I arranged to meet a guy who had given me a few massages during the proceeding week. He appeared on time at the designated meeting place (outside the Raya) at midnight. Things generally went well but there were some awkward moments. He slept soundly over night but declined invitation for breakfast. When we parted I was sure that was the beginning and the end of the affair.
As I reflected on the evening over breakfast, I was puzzled. We had gotten along really well in his shop, laughing easily and feeling anything but awkward. But he was on his home turf then. I concluded perhaps he had been burned before by a farang he had met. Nevertheless, I  tried to put him out of my mind.
It was only a few days later when I passed his shop again and he was among the guys standing outside with menus in their hand. He beamed a smile at me and we chatted for less than a minute before we went inside for our third session.  Everything went well. His English was almost non-existent at the time so as I was trying unsuccessfully to ask him a question as we walked out later he gestured to a coworker to act as interpreter.
"You want to meet me after work tonight" was turned into Thai and the reply was a vigorous nod of his head and huge smile.
So as much as I believe Vinapu's prince charming doesn't deserve another chance, I'm reminded that had I denied it to my masseur, I would have missed out on seven of the happiest years of my life. We remain together to this day.

Don't worry.  Next time I go to Bangkok and have time for a sauna, that is exactly what I'm going to do.  At my age and the way I look, if I get stares I'm expecting nothing more than their natural curiosity at spotting the bizarre.  If anything happens better than that, I'll be very pleasantly surprised.
Meanwhile, if some other customer, or even a staff member tries to tell me I shouldn't be there, they will very quickly be reminded that I have as much right to be there as they do and if to them I'm an eyesore and it really bothers him, let him be the one to go elsewhere.
I didn't always look the way I do now and there was a time when I too was young and attractive.  Those days are long gone - very long gone.  I wonder how they will react when they reach old age and start encountering people who no longer want to accept them.
I would go expecting nothing more than enjoying the sauna part of the sauna and a chance to feast my eyes on good looking boys.  If nothing more than that happens, Fine with me.  I'm not expecting anything more.
If I want sex, but nothing happens at this sauna I still have two options - go somewhere and pay for it or go back to my room and get it by self-service . . .

With age dementia must be hitting me because I noticed that from trip to trip I like Jupiter more and more. 
Visited last night, just before show bar was packed to standing room only. I was barely squeezed in, almost on lap of other  patron. From the look at audience I can tell Chinese wave is back. 
Jupiter is finally joining 21 century, in the show one could observe no less than 8nerect members attached to at least 6 different guys. Five were somewhat discreetly covered in mesh but other 3 ere in plain view. Now if I think again perhaps is not dementia but those dicks, starts with "d" anyways. 
But old sins still persist, music insanely loud, boys hidden other than their parade, show too long and disinterested look of most of boys parading. Shocking scene, Chinese lady sitting in 2nd row tried frantically tip one guy but he did not notice her hand with if I, m not mistaken 500 baht note. She sat down disgusted and did not try it again. 
As  always I tipped one of guys 100,he grabbed it but during second parade he did not even look at me, I was sitting right by walkway, not that he must have been confused. 
At end of day when singers took over, finally several bare chested guys stood right by the door. So I  opened door, in a  second realized how stupid move that is, closed, stepped back and invited some well muscled guy to sit down, gulp a drink at my expense and it took less than minute that our fate was sealed. Off fee and boy drink came to 950, don, t know what was 450 and what 500 (my drink was 500 when I entered) 
Paid with 1000 and did not receive change, it will be a while before I tip waiter there as I must recoup it. 
Before I asked guy, Mamasan announced tip for the boy of  3000 and from somebody who offs from there often I knew it,s too much by 500-1000. But  I had feeling it may work so gulped that. 
Off we went to UNESCO designated where my companion ordered most expensive dish on offer, some steak. I was after dinner already so had a tea and some tart, so you understand that 525 invoice was NOT for what I consumed. 
Then to Rose and things went very well . Word is coming to an end, my 2nd off from Jupiter in few months and guy performed very very to a degree that even with those greedy antics I, m thinking about repeat. 
Of course at good bye time he asked for taxi money only to be told "you already got plenty for taxi" but to his credit he took it with smile and even Lined me "thank you" from said taxi. For such tip expected but still.. 
So Jupiter I despised for so long finally hosts in my heart. 

Day 0 - Pre-trip preparation
I have been too lazy to start writing my report, mainly due to being busy at work but partially due to recent trolls that have been infesting the forum lately. Nevertheless, I shall treat this trip report as me reminiscing all the good times I had during my recent post covid trips and I'm sure it will benefit many others who are genuinely interested in reading my escapade. I used to write my report almost on real time but decided to not do that this time for obvious reasons. Perhaps it is just my own paranoia but it doesn't hurt to be on the safe side.
My trip this time is 18 days long, the longest trip I have had so far in thailand. In fact, it ties to my longest trip ever, and that was a road trip across the US during my university year. Why 18 days? It is exactly the amount of days I have from the last day I am needed at the office, as well as the day I needed to return home to attend a family event. I actually have been taking my leave of absence since last week of November, but there are several meetings and events I had committed to attend so I've been to the office on and off. I did manage to do a shorter trip to Medan, Indonesia in November though. If anyone is interested to read a trip report on that, do let me know as the trip is mostly tourist trip but there is a guy involved lol.
This trip has been very last minute in terms of planning, but going to a place that I've been numerous times before, I felt quite confident that everything will be smooth. After my return from Indonesia I started surveying the flight ticket to Thailand and booked my ticket. It wasn't cheap but it wasn't astronomically high either, comparable to peak season price pre-covid if one booked a ticket last minute like I did. Previously, Airasia was my go to for last minute booking as they usually have a last minute promotion pre-covid, but that kind of promotion did not make a return, so I settled with another airline which is called Batik Air, previously known as Malindo. I did invite my Indonesian guy to accompany me for part of my trip, but I have left some flexibility in my trip in case he decided he wanted to join. Alas this plan did not materialize.
As for hotel bookings, I am using the trusted Agoda booking site, and first booked my first 3 nights, suite room at Raya Surawong. Many posters had reviewed this hotel multiple times. Great location, great spacious room, comfortable bed and the suite comes with a full kitchen with microwave, full size fridge, electric stoves, pans, pots, dining ware etcs. Price was very reasonable even when I booked quite at the last minute. I also proceeded to book my last 3 nights as well, seeing that Raya hotel has already fully booked on those dates, and settled with a Furama Silom Deluxe room. Booking for the other nights was done much later when I was already there, offering me quite a good flexibility to change my plans if and when I wanted to. However, I did search for hotel availability on the dates in between to ensure there are ample choices for me when I need to book. I can honestly report that this has worked wonders for me for this trip.
As this is my first return trip to Thailand post covid, I want to make sure I don't need to skimp on budget when it comes to hiring boys and having fun, and the best way to tackle this is to ensure I did my budget right. I have a few scenarios in mind that allow me to have a min case, a maximum case and mid case for budget and fun. Without going into too much detail on my spending, I can say this has worked great for my peace of mind and I still have leftovers which can be used for future trips hehe. Lets just say I didn't manage to hit my maximum case but I leave Thailand with no regret.
As for boys, usually pre-trip, I would contact some of the boys I've taken before and see if they are still around, and let them know that I am coming to Thailand. But this trip, I already know several guys I like are still in the business thanks to the reports from fellow forum members and my friend who had been to Thailand earlier. Needless to say, I still contacted two boys, very special boys, and told them of my pending arrival to ensure that I will meet them when I'm there. One is a masseur from Arena, and another is a beach chair attendant in Pattaya. I leave the rest of my daily rosters up to what Thailand has to offer but I do have several guys that I am aiming to try this time, thanks to the abundance of sharing by fellow members, Line accounts of massage centers and social media of some gogo bars.
One last smaller detail I wanted to share is on exchanging money. I did a google search as well as asking a forum member who is staying in Bangkok to check on the exchange rate to see if it is better for me to change Thai Baht in Thailand or back home, and found out that changing in Thailand is much better, especially if you compare the rate offered by Superrich or XOne, both published their live rates online. So I decided to only change partly back home so I can immediately enjoy Thailand for a few days but bring most of the cash in my own currency and change only in Thailand.
Lastly, I posted a thread here to announce my arrival and asked if there are any members who are interested to meet me, either for coffee, lunch, dinner or better, bar hopping together. While I consider myself an introvert who enjoys my solitude, I also appreciate the company of like-minded members here where exchange of notes and experience is greatly enhanced with a face to face engagement lol. 
 
Next - Day 1 - The arrival

Since I am still fairly new here in Thailand as a recent retiree - I would like to share with you my first Thailand New Year's Eve period to get your feedback.
Part ONE - New House Blessing
On 29 December and 30 December - a gay couple (Thai + Lao) that I know bought a new flat in the Life City Park over in Bo Win in Rayong. They can be seen in the below first photo - the one in the green t-shirt making the peace sign and his partner inside the house standing up and pointing.
The monks were coming to the home early on the 30th so they asked me to sleep there on the 29th to guarantee my presence. I still don't have a car or motorcycle and we checked BOLT and its dependability on big distances like this during the crowded holiday period would not guarantee my arrival in time.

So, on the night of the 29th about 30 of their friends and family stopped by or slept there ( 16 people slept in the actual house as they also came from far away ). They finished the food preparation for the next day and we celebrated by eating some of it for dinner on the floor on floor mats. At my age, it takes me some effort to sit like that as my body is now more rigid than when I was young.
Are you able to sit and eat like them on the floor ??

The food was really good and I ate some things that I NEVER have eaten before. They even warned me to NOT use the hot sauce but I insisted on trying it anyway - and yes I sweated after eating it.

Morning came and the 5 monks arrived and they sat in the living room on the floor on special mats that were delivered from the local Buddhist temple. My friends had to move out of the living and dining room areas all of their furniture. Conveniently, as this is a new housing complex, the house immediately next to them is vacant so they used that patio to put all of their furniture. While the monks were praying and blessing inside the house the most important people of the 40 in attendance were busy preparing the monk's meals in special silver ornate metal bowls - also delivered ahead of time from the local Buddhist temple.

The part that most amazed me was the "opening of the third eye" - like right out of a science fiction film - as we don't give much attention to our individual third eyes in our Western world. So, the designated Buddha statue is given to the main primary monk where he makes this statue "operational" by opening up its third eye with a special Buddhist blessing. I believe that the third eye is like an antennae to our higher spiritual being (or creator). While the monk was performing this exercise, the hairs on my arm stood up as I found it so moving. I need to discover more about our dormant Western third eye.

Do any of you reading this use your third eye??
I believe that it is located in the center of your forehead above your nose.

Then the BIG event - the primary main monk got up on a chair above the main entrance of the house to paint / etch with a special golden pen a symbol that, according to my Thai friend, states that this house has been blessed and that evil is not welcome here. This process of etching and then placing seals on the etched insignia took quite a while and the gay couple had to stay on their knees for quite a while to support the chair that the monk was standing on to ensure his safety.

Lastly, the monks then went through each of the rooms sprinkling "holy" spiritual water ( it is probably sacrilegious to use the word holy to describe what I saw in the Buddhist religion ) and then they exited the house to sprinkle this religious water on each of us to bless us. They used a type of bamboo bundle of sticks to do it and I was told that the religious water is prepared back at the Buddhist temple.

 
Have any of you had similar Buddhist monk experiences in your time in Thailand ?


This ends part one of my lead up to my Dec 2022 New Year's celebrations.
Part TWO - Condo holiday party etiquette
About a week ago the condo where I live solicited for donations to pay for a New Year's Day party for the staff (maintenance, security, gardeners, administration, etc.). What I found weird is that the notice was directed towards condo owners. So I felt excluded as I rent here. So I called the number and I spoke to the organizer and she told me - well we don't include renters - as our past experience is that renters don't want to make donations as they are not owners. I asked her if I could make a donation as I am made to feel VERY welcome here by all of the condo complex staff here. She was quite surprised that I even cared about the condo complex building staff - as she said that they even have difficulties in getting donations from the actual condo owners.

The condo staff offer a great service. For example, if I am having difficulties coming home from shopping they are right at the BOLT taxi to help me get into the elevator and up to my condo - you never have to ask them. If they see you coming for the elevator they hold the door open to make sure that you can enter. Two times that I needed maintenance in my condo - the maintenance team was at my condo within 1 to 2 hours after my request. Every day when I go in and out they are always smiling and saying hello.

We used to have this kind of concierge service in our large condo buildings in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s - before the ravages of self-service in the USA came and all of these types of normal services were either taken away as cost cutting measures or made to be very expensive for the select few who could afford them. Living here in a Jomtien condo building is a real treat - especially if you are a baby boomer who remembers the good old days.

Being in the holiday spirit, I decided to take a personal initiative where I would prepare and give each condo staff member a personal card from me saying how much I appreciated their professional service and as a new retiree here that they make me feel special, welcome, and belonging to a great condo complex. Firstly, I had to find money cards. These are easily found back in Europe and in the USA during the holiday season. I had great difficulties finding something equivalent. I traveled over to Pattaya city and walked around until in a Mr. DIY shop at the Pattaya Avenue complex I found ornate Chinese money cards ( as the Chinese New Year will arrive at the end of January ) that were perfect and super cheap. Then onto my home computer to write the perfect thank you message in English and then to translate it from English to Thai and then back from Thai back to English to see what could be tweaked to make sure that I deliver a correct and meaningful message. Then the printing of the messages in both English and Thai that would fit into the size of the small money card envelopes. Then the ironing of the baht bank notes that I collected so that they would feel crisp, clean, and new. And then the assembly of the complete package - illustrated in the below photo collage.


Before heading over to Bo Win for the above mentioned house blessing I went around lunch time downstairs to the main floor where the hive of activity is by our condo workers and I started to distribute them to everyone I could find. And when I could not find someone the staff were already calling them from their work duty station to come to the lobby to collect their holiday note gift. The smiles on their individual faces and kind words in their limited English - truly made my holiday the best!! In fact, one of the security guys - every time he sees me he taps his shirt pocket ( as he showed me that he stored my note in his pocket ) and says thank you - I will never forget you. Truly a blessing to live here as a new retiree.

So, do any of you who live in a large condo building have any similar experiences?

I am curious to know how your condo building team that takes care of you every day is treated.
 
Part THREE - New Year's Eve festivities

Around 10:30pm I headed over to the Jomtien Supertown Complex to join my 2 Thai friends at the massage shop where they work - they had already been drinking for quite a while and kept asking me when am I coming to join them. I wanted to start late as I was sure that I would suffer a hangover the next day. They were already dancing in front of their massage shop and I immediately joined in - and got about 20 minutes of dancing in.
We drank until 11:45pm when we headed over to Dongtan beach to watch the local fireworks and the massive launching of the flying lanterns - the sky was amazingly alit and the beach was full of happy people.

    -->> sorry about the crappy third photo - as Koh Larn is quite far away - my mobile phone camera did not do a good job of capturing the amazing Koh Larn fireworks - but with the naked eye they were still breathtaking.
What was also amazing to note is that there was a dual firework show put on by Pattaya city with simultaneous fireworks on Koh Larn. From Dongtan beach we could see the fantastic (although distant) Koh Larn island fireworks. However, from Dongtan beach it was not possible to see the Pattaya city fireworks due to the curvature of the beach and Pratumnak hill. So we were truly immersed in 2 sets of fireworks and floating lanterns.

We hugged and kissed at the conclusion of the countdown and remained a little while to take in all of the amazing sights.

Then we walked back into the Jomtien Complex and walked through the main covered section which by now was heaving with a TON of people and there was a blockage in the main walkway as The Palace bar had constructed a dance floor that protruded out into the main walkway. You had to kind of climb over one of the edges of the dance floor to proceed to our destination, which was the Coqtale bar to say hello to our friend Paul and then to hopefully dance in the Double Shot bar.

At this end of the complex - near the Poseidon hotel/restaurant the complex had a reasonable noise level and we could truly talk with each other and hear each other. My fantasy to dance in the Double Shot bar was not going to happen as the Double Shot bar was kind of subdued in my opinion ( whereas, on other nights it was more energetic and there were some people dancing ) - so dancing was not on the menu tonight. The only dancing would be to return to the madness of The Palace and the loud noise so we just decided to remain at the Coqtale bar until closing time. Before I knew it, Paul (the bar manager) said to me, hey you need to go as we need to close the bar before the police come. I looked at my phone and it was already 2:30 in the morning. Wow!! the night flew by. So I said good by to everyone and then walked home - and woke up very late the next day with a hangover. Had I been able to dance - I am sure that by dancing I would have burned off some of the excess alcohol and I would have had less of a hangover.

How were all of your New Year's Eve celebrations ?
 

Pattaya Koh Larn island trip report - November 2022

This is my trip report to Koh Larn from Pattaya. It is written for those who might want to venture over to this beautiful island for a day trip or to stay a couple of nights like we did. I travelled with 2 of my Thai friends, as it was one of their birthday’s, hence these chosen dates.
Why Koh Larn? Because you may want to get away from the hustle & bustle of busy Pattaya to stay at some truly beautiful beaches that have transparent blue turquoise clean water with nice white sand. As we know, most of Pattaya, and lesser so, Jomtien beaches have brownish water, consequently making it sometimes difficult to enjoy a true pleasant beach experience that Thailand is known for. Note, that Koh Larn is NOT at the level of beauty of Koh Samui or Phuket – but for only being 20 to 30 minutes away from Pattaya – it is a nice quick and easy substitute for them.
Day ONE - Monday 21 November 2022

We took a Grab taxi from Jomtien over to the Bali Hali Pier in Pattaya. At the pier, there are many offerings for private tours via speed boat (costing thousands of Thai baht) and also transport via speed boat for ฿150 baht per person one way. We opted for the speedboat transportation modality, which takes 20 minutes. Note that if you continue towards the pier you can buy a ฿30 baht one way fare on the ferry boat, which takes 40 to 45 minutes. Note ferry schedule below – there are 2 destinations available – Naban Port which faces Pattaya, and Tawaen Beach which faces west into the Gulf of Thailand.

http://kohlarn.com/getting-to-koh-larn.html
The speedboat ride was quite enjoyable, as the sea was calm – consequently there were not many bumps. If you find that the sea is rough, then I would suggest that you instead take the ferry. Each of us wore a life vest – including all of the other passengers. After exiting the speedboat onto the floating pier, you will be almost immediately solicited for room rentals, taxis, and motorbike rentals. My 2 Thai friends had already reserved us a place in a 2 unit bungalow that they really liked (from previous trips) because it is isolated and private and still within the Naban village. We walked about 5 to 6 minutes south from the pier (as indicated in the below map) to where my 2 friends were greeted by a friendly Thai lady who acted as the broker for our 2 sleeping accommodations, which included 2 motorbikes (1 per unit). The price was ฿1,500 baht per unit and we always took 2 units – as I like to sleep alone.

This is our first night accommodation. Simple – but nice and very private with a rocky beach front – when the tide is up the balcony is on top of the water and when the tide is out the balcony overlooks the rocks. Nice places to sit on each single balcony with 2 chairs each with a small table, nearby tree with tons of shade and an outdoor table if needed. From the below photo, you can see that the rooms are modest but practical. There was good air-conditioning and normal bathroom with hot water for a shower. The best part was the view of the Pattaya city and Jomtien skylines. For some months now, I can see Koh Larn from where I live in Jomtien and now I can look back to where I live. I have to say that it is very impressive – more so from Koh Larn looking towards Pattaya/Jomtien – especially at night when the entire city is illuminated. Note, there was NO breakfast included in the above mentioned price.

View of Pattaya City and Jomtien from our Koh Larn room balcony – quite impressive.

We unpacked our bags and then headed out to lunch at one of the many roadside cafes on our way to our first beach destination at Hat Nuan beach – which is on the southern tip of Koh Larn. Beach was pleasant and nice, but was not my favorite because when you walk into the water, it quickly gets deep – as there is a drop-off in the sea floor. I prefer a gradual drop off where you can walk out far into the water before it gets deep. At the far end of this beach – towards the rocks – are a group of monkeys. Many tourists were feeding them. I did not attempt to get too close as I saw many Youtube videos where the monkeys will steal something from you (like your mobile phone) and run away. No thanks.

After a couple of hours at Hat Nuan beach, we then drove over to Samae Beach, which is on the western side of the island. The center of the island is dense green with large hills – so the ride from west to east and east to west are breathtaking – as the views from high up are stunning.

Note the following - The roads on Koh Larn are narrow and there are NO cars – only the occasional baht busses that shuttle passengers back and forth between the different beaches. Each way on the baht bus is ฿30 baht for each single ride. Consequently, since there are NO cars – it makes driving on Koh Larn very pleasant, as it is just motorbikes going about – and they tended to drive slowly without any chaos. This is truly a nice experience after the crazy chaos of motorbikes in Pattaya city.

Also, even though I have my official Thai motorbike driving license – I have not yet started to drive a motorbike in Thailand. I believe that driving one on Koh Larn will help me get over my fear to get started. Consequently, during this trip, I was the 2nd passenger on one of our 2 motorbikes. Going up some of the bigger hills puts a strain on the motorbike – so, if you plan to go 2 persons on a single bike – make sure that you get a motorbike strong enough. For sure, 2 falangs on a single motorbike might not make it up some of the steeper hills. In my case, we were always 1 falang and 1 Thai – and as we know, the Thais don’t weigh much.

Next stop, was Samae Beach. This beach I really liked. During this trip, we visited 5 beaches in total and Samae was tied for my favorite with another beach that we visited on day 2. Samae, has the type of white beach sand that I really like with the gradual decline in the seabed, that allows you to walk out quite far before having to start swimming. The water is a beautiful transparent turquoise color.

After almost arriving to sunset, we drove back to our room to freshen up for our Main Event – the birthday celebration of my Thai friend at the infamous Klom Klom restaurant / bar.

The Klom Klom restaurant / bar is truly an eclectic cool hippy type of place and was an excellent choice to celebrate my friend’s birthday. This was one of my most favorite places in Thailand – something that I would expect to find up in PAI, in northern Thailand. A jazz band was playing during our visit. The food and drinks were very good. The only negative is that the food came from another affiliated place that is across the street – which made the wait for our meal somewhat longer than normal. When I thought that the bill would come, instead the waiters and band played and sang happy birthday for my Thai friend – which was a nice surprise. Even the customers joined into sing. A weird jello birthday dish was served with a lit candle in it (?? Thai tradition ??).
To find this place – see below map – as it is about half way between Naban village and Tawaen Beach. Anybody who lives on Koh Larn knows about this place as it is super famous.

Back home for some more drinks on our balcony to enjoy the illuminated Pattaya skyline.

Day TWO – Tuesday 22 November 2022

We had to switch accommodation locations because one of our 2 bungalow rooms was rented out to another party (surprise snafu). So, we moved north of the main Naban village pier to ธนัชชา รีสอร์ท (Thanatcha Resort). Note from the map below, that this place is VERY close to the main ferry pier and if you remember from the above ferry schedule, the first ferry is at 6:30am bound for Pattaya. It starts blasting its horns for departure at 6:20am. So, I would avoid this place if you do not like to wake up early. Also, it is kind of run down and you can see that it has seen better days. It has a large wooden deck that is tastefully illuminated in the evening with an excellent view of the Pattaya city skyline. Breakfast is included. Price was the same as the previous accommodation, ฿1,500 baht per unit and we took 2 units. This place includes breakfast out on the terrace, which included a Thai kind of rice / chicken soup, toast and marmalades, and eggs sunny side up + coffee.

Our next destination was to go see the BIG giant Buddha up on Buddha hill. What is impressive about this place is that you have an incredible view of almost all of Koh Larn – especially looking down onto the tourist packed Tawaen beach. Furthermore, this is where the paragliders take off and land – it was truly breathtaking to watch all of them as there was at least a dozen of them up in the air above us.

Have any of you tried this paragliding thing?     https://www.flykohlarn.com

Driving down into Tawaen Beach, the scene was overwhelming, as the beach was teeming with tourists mainly from India – it was loud and super crowded. I told the guys to continue onwards, and we found a great place to have lunch just before the next beach over, where Tong Lang Beach starts. It was much more quiet and tranquil. I believe that Tawaen Beach is extremely crowded because the main ferry from Pattaya also stops here.

Here is a photo of the tranquil and beautiful Tong Lang Beach, where we relaxed for a couple of hours. It was nice and pleasant – but was still not yet my most favorite beach spot.

Our next stop was Tiennara (Tien Beach). As I mentioned from day one this was also my most favorite beach.

But now after writing this report and reliving the fond memories, this beach is my number one favorite from this Koh Larn trip. Why?
It is a very BIG (long) beach with many variations within the beach, such as lush green canopy overgrowth where there were many places to stay shaded, eat, relax, etc. There are even secluded places to lodge and stay overnight here --> I definitely need to return to sleep in one of them. Have any of you slept in any rooms that are directly at Tien Beach? If so, please share with us the relevant contact information.

To arrive at this paradise, you first park your motorbikes and then walk on this elevated concrete pathway until you arrive onto Tiennara (Tien Beach). It feels different than the other beaches as you feel more isolated and more immersed into the nature with the white powdery beach sand.

Note that walking north (opposite way from which you entered) you will eventually find some red chair lounges. This is where we stayed, and the older owner/manager is most likely gay and one of his sexy younger workers appears to also be gay. He was quite flirty – another reason to return to this beach. On our way into this beach over the elevated concrete walkway, my 2 Thai friends acknowledged a group of fellow gay Thai individuals who were heading back – as they only came for the day. So, perhaps this is the beach more frequented by us gays ?

The sun was starting to set and it was time to drive back to our accommodation to freshen up and to head out to our last dinner on Koh Larn.

The chosen Thai restaurant is, ยกยอ-เกาะล้าน (Lifted Yo - Koh Larn)

       https://yokyor-kohlarn.business.site/
which is located on the main road going south from the Naban village that follows the sea shoreline (see below map). It is a somtum type of Thai restaurant and the food was great. It received a 4.3 rating out of 5 maximum in Google.

After dinner, we made a quick stop at 7-Eleven (even on Koh Larn they seem to be almost everywhere) to grab some beers to enjoy our last view of our hotel sea deck illuminated Pattaya / Jomtien city skyline.

We had breakfast in the following morning at our 2nd day hotel and then off to return our motorbikes and join the crowd looking for speedboats back to Pattaya. Again, ฿150 baht per person one way. In about 22 minutes we were already back at the Bali Hali pier in Pattaya. We called a BOLT taxi to take us back to Jomtien.

Would I go back to Koh Larn? MOST definitely – I was truly enchanted with this place and I see that it will take several trips to discover all of the nooks and crannies on this wonderful island – truly an oasis in nature to get away from the craziness of Pattaya city.

What would I change?
1.) To have better control over the accommodations that were chosen – there are tons of them and some are truly amazing.
2.) To get over my anxiety to drive a motorbike in Thailand – as Koh Larn is definitely a tranquil place to overcome this fear.

In closing, I hope that you enjoyed my long trip report. I hope by sharing all of this information with all of you that it will encourage some of you to take advantage of this unique place in Pattaya.
 

Went to Lagoa last night, their first night open after about a month. Hours are Noon- 7pm but let most stay until 8pm. Was the busiest I think 've seen it in the new space. Namazu was there along with a couple of other board members. I told Namazu that people were waiting for his updates and he said he's busy "making new content", lmao

I was also in Rio last week, the Atlantico Copacabana rooms were about $20 usd a night, felt like old times staying there. Lions is closed with doubts that it will re-open, who knows. Point 202 had a few good nights Meio Mundo is good on Monday, 117 was good on Tuesday, 202 on Wed.....but 202 seemed like it had the most going on more than just 1 night.

With restrictions in SP of most everything closing at 7pm is kind of different, but I always plan to have someone come to my place after to keep me entertained. Seems like if you get into a restaurant or sauna before 7pm, you can stay until 8pm.

That's all I got, not the writer like Namazu....I don't know how he does it 

I had a great time today at Prince. They had about 30 guys via Internet, but when I got there, only around 10 guys in the area. However, I had found one I liked online and knew I wanted to see him. Tall and a great massage. I chose the first guy.
https://www.gayguides.com/listing/the-prince-massage-bangkok/
 

As z909 accurately points out, the list of irritants when visiting gogo bars has steadily increased over the years. I miss the days when we could affordably hop between 4 or 5 bars in a night with each one having a stage full of attractive boys.
I’m cautiously optimistic that the Bangkok gogo bars will survive a while longer. I miss the excitement and anticipation of an evening at the bars. There is no place else where we can have such an experience. And after a year spending most of my time alone at home, I’m eager to get back and enjoy some live entertainment.
Personally, I’ve had less success with the apps in Bangkok. I’ve had boys who don’t look like their pics or who don’t want to perform as agreed. For my typical 7 to 10 day holiday, I don’t want to risk wasting time searching for boys.

Absolutely correct @z909.  Thailand is going to struggle with balancing their zero Covid tolerance policy with normalizing tourism. Most reports I've read seem to acknowledge Covid will not disappear anytime soon even with widespread vaccinations.  Thailand and many other Asian countries that have been successful managing Covid are going to need to be very cautious in reopening. While they need tourists to come back for their economies to rebound, Thai government leadership have so far demonstrated this is not the highest priority. And at this point, I haven't seen a clear timeline or even much of a plan as to how they will vaccinate the Thai population.
This is going to be frustrating to those of us who have been vaccinated and wish to return to Thailand under less restrictive conditions.

There are so many wonderful gay-friendly restaurants in Bangkok. Several of my favorite places have been listed.
While I agree, most restaurants are gay-friendly, some places have an ambiance  (e.g. too hiso or tables uncomfortably close so others might eavesdrop, etc.) that may put off a comfortable dinner for a typical date night.
A couple of my favorite places. Hopefully they have remained open during this time:
- (Not Just) Another Cup - Nice place for coffee and brunch located in Sathorn Soi 10
- Feung Nara - Mid-priced Thai restaurant in a charming old-house. Located on Naradhiwat Rajanagarindra Road just off an exit for the Chong Nonsi BTS station.
- The Deck by Arun Residence - A lovely place across the river from Wat Arun. Located near Wat Po. I like to make dinner an event starting with a Chao Praya ferry trip from Sathorn Pier to Tha Chang Pier near the Grand Palace. Then a short walk in the leafy sois to the restaurant. After dinner, there is a nearby street flower market that opens in the evening and is a delightful stroll.

As far as I know, none of mine are gay owned, but all are definitely gay-friendly.
There's a new restaurant on Soi Yen Akat (about 400 meters from the Malaysia Hotel) called Workshop. Intimate, mid-price but great food and service. At least one of the staff came from Zanotti in Soi Saldaeng. Portions may be on the smallish side if you are desperately hungry!
Il Bolognaise at the end of the short Sathorn Soi 7 (the Singapore Embassy is on the corner of Sathorn and Sathorn Soi 7). Been around quite a few years, excellent Italian food at reasonable prices.
Near the top end of the price scale, Eat Me off Soi Convent has consistently been wonderful for probably around 20 years. Great atmosphere, impeccable friendly service, Australian fusion menu, several wines by the glass selections - and fabulous desserts!
For a small coffee shop with a small menu of excellent food and again excellent service, Kush on Soi Nanglinchee has become a favourite. For breakfast or brunch, their scrambled eggs with melted cheese, bacon, salad and the largest and best croissant you will find in the city is superb. Nanglinchee is the extension of Soi Suan Plu off Sathorn. Kush is on the right just before the gas station on the opposite side.
For Thai food, it takes a lot to beat Ruen Urai. This is set in a Thai House in the grounds of the Rose Hotel off Suriwong. This s nothing like the hotel itself. The quality is really excellent and the atmosphere almost unbeatable. However, always book ahead and ask to be seated on the ground floor. The upper floor is boring! Mid-price.
The only restaurant that I have ever found gay un-friendly was Indigo off the Silom end of Soi Convent. French cuisine, mid-price and patronised by many of the French community. The owner was a total homophobe who would rant about the gay Fan Club massage being just across the soi until it closed some years ago. I believe it is now run by his son, but after one of his rants 6 years or so ago, I vowed not to return.

Seen on Facebook : Moonlight will be open on 18 March, We have hot promotion BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!! DRINK all night. Please join us and fun with us, we missed you every one

By rights, Thailand might do well to maintain a visitor quarantine in perpetuity, notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic. It might help control influenza incidence and mortality to the extent that a proportion of cases are brought in by travellers. 
You could receive training and testing for swimming skills while waiting to be let loose. Kidding aside, Thailand values its health and life. They would prefer to draw the line at their 85 COVID deaths to date, with a case fatality of less than 1 in 300. 
In the meantime, here in Montreal today thousands of protestors marching against mitigation measures ... cringeworthy. The restrictions are actually really helping to control spread and overrun of hospital resources. 
Thailand’s causes of death past year ... 55 seconds animation.

FullSizeRender.mov

This is a step in the right direction and not really surprising given how Thailand has cautiously managed Covid. While it would be great to see Thailand open up again and go back to the glory days of free and easy travel, I expect it will take some time.  The particulars of this proposal are somewhat strange - why is someone who has been vaccinated required a 7 day quarantine while an unvaccinated foreigner from the same country is required only 3 extra days quarantine? They both are still required to have a negative covid test (although there was an interesting article on an American who recently received a false negative test while visiting Thailand before flying home).
Personally, I would be willing to do a short quarantine of say 2-3 days with vaccination and negative covid test but hard for me to justify the time and cost of a longer quarantine. 
https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/american-has-false-negative-covid-19-test-result-in-thailand-positive-result-after-return-to-the-us

It’s been 14 months since I was in Thailand. Before that I’d make 2 or 3 trips a year. I like the clubs and have success with apps, especially outside of Bangkok. If I have to have a preference, I’d go with the clubs/gogo bars mainly for the vibe of people watching or seeing the boys show their exhibitionist side.  I maintain a transactional relationship with several of the mamasans.  They keep me updated, they (sort of) know my preferences and give me a heads up.  A non-app, non-mamasan variation are previous offs who knowing my likes/dislikes make suggestions which are usually excellent. 
I know why I enjoy my visits and I know their is a financial aspect involved - it is what it is - so I go with what the moment,  venue, and person provides.  Kismet!

I visited soi 4 last night and what a pleasant surprise. Busy just like the old days.
Every bar (except  Welcome Bar) was open and busy.
Jupiter open again.
Banana open again
Hugs open again.
Strangers Bar open again.

Balcony Pub had Aomam the lady singer.
Pride had a singer guitarist.
Stranger was packed into the soi like the old weekend nights.
Balcony and Telephone terraces were full to capacity as was Connection.

Let's hope that was a sign of things to come.
The only downside was the thousands of tiny moths gathered around any bright lights. I'm told that this is a regular annual occurrence and usually is only one night -- then disappear the next night as if by magic.
Let's see tonight.
Closing time, midnight (except Pride 23:00)

for an update on that see the other thread about Soi 4. Soi 2 hopping this last weekend.

I was in Soi 4 and then Soi 2 last night and confirm things were BUSY. Stranger bar packed as in "normal" times, with people spilling out into the Soi. Soi 2 was busy already after 11pm, and got packed around midnight. Also almost just like in "normal" times, minus the gazillions of (mostly Chinese, in recent years) tourists. That missing contingent of patrons meant that the upper floors of DJ Station were empty and everything just happened on ground floor level, where it was busy indeed.

Sorry, I did not. I'll try to the next time I go out.

Good report @TotallyOzand great to hear things are coming back to life! The pic of Soi 4 looked quiet but nice to see some people out enjoying the evening. 
Did you happen to walk by DJ Station/Soi 2? Haven’t heard much about how they’ve been doing. It’s one of my favorite places and hope it makes it through the shutdown.

And it's a lovely time of year because many trees and plants begin to blossom. These were taken on a short walk near my apartment this morning.