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Here's the map of the parade route http://twpride.org/twp/?q=node/94 Looks like the main starting point (and ending point?) is the big square/park in front of City Hall near the Grand Hyatt and 101. The whole two route thing seems a little confusing to me. Any ideas on the best location to be? Parade starts at 14:00

I agree that pushing a camera in some one's face and photographing them is rude. I think in general it's possible in most places to take some one's photograph if you first develop a rapport without having to pay them...unless you plan to make money off of your pictures in which case you'd likely need a model release anyway. Of course with telephoto lenses you can do the paparazzi thing too. But I think it's fair enough to pay a little if necessary as long as it's agreed up front. I was traveling in Bhutan a couple of years ago. I was walking down the road alone and passed a yard with a couple of little kids. They saw my camera and asked me to take their picture so I did. I showed them the picture on the camera and they demanded a dollar. I deleted the photo on principle.

I guess it's not just sex I'm looking for. :-) And I only have a couple of days so it didn't make any sense for me to go down to Pattaya this time around. I'm sure I will find enough boys to keep me occupied.

Nice report. Glad you had a good time! And also glad that you enjoyed Le Meridien BKK. I also stayed at the ICON when I was in HKG last year. I really liked it. I had a big room with a nice harbour view. I liked the fact that it is attached to the technical university's hospitality program so everyone (almost) that works there is also a student. Some VERY hot boys working there when I visited. It is definitely not cheap though. And not my favorite city either. No one looked happy or smiled.

all of these reports almost make me wish I had planned to visit Pattaya on this year's trip after all. But I'll have to make do with 3 days in BKK between Taiwan and Singapore... In your last set of photos I know I have seen the second boy listed on GR.

Yeah. I have T-mobile's $30/month prepaid plan (100 voice minutes plus unlimited text and data). But it appears that you need to have at least their $50/month plan to qualify for this. I think there's going to be a lot of confusion. I got a Nexus 4 partly because it comes unlocked. As Firecat notes, it's still cheaper in Asia to just get a local prepaid SIM.

Nice report. Cute boys. I really like Central Festival too. I tend to spend a lot of my daytime hours there when I am in Pattaya.

There's plenty to do in Myanmar that doesn't involve having sex with anyone. If you're bringing some one with you, then I am sure you have nothing to worry about. But stay away if you want to. They've got too many tourists these days anyway

All sorts of things are illegal in Thailand, but that doesn't stop us from going there. Plenty of other reasons for concern in Burma like the continuing discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. The endemic corruption that's not really getting any better. Political prisoners still in jail. But it's a fascinating country. The people are extremely friendly and hospitable. Some truly amazing sights. I became convinced that contact was preferable to boycott.

I have stayed at the Sukhothai but not Banyan Tree which is right next door. Sukhothai is a very nice hotel. But the location is not ideal in my opinion. It is closer to Babylon though for your sauna adventures. It's not as close to Silom (time wise) as you might think due to the road configuration. MRT is about 10 or so minutes walk away. Sathorn is a very busy road especially during rush hours. If you want to be in the middle of it all then Le Meridien would be a better choice. It's extremely close to the gogo bars for example and Suriwong Rd has a lot to offer. And probably 10-15 walk to BTS skytrain. Or you might consider somewhere like the Dusit Thani which is in a very good location on Silom right across from Lumpini Park. Very close to BTS and MRT and there's a ton of street life right there on Silom. One problem with staying at the Sukhothai is that there's nothing right around the hotel as far as food for example. I used to stay at the Siri Sathorn all the time. It's a serviced apartment place run by the same company as the Sukhothai. You get a lot more space, your own kitchen, etc. The location is not the greatest as it is 10 minutes or more walk to Silom Rd but they have a shuttle van during the day that can drop you off on Silom and you just have to walk back or take a taxi. Probably a good 20 minute walk the gogo bars. One problem with Bangkok is that there are just too many great choices of places to stay at reasonable prices. I think it can lead to some paralysis in making a choice. Service is almost uniformly gracious and friendly wherever you stay.

Afraid I am not really able to answer some of your questions as I am not a beach person at all. You are young. If you are also good looking I would think that finding non-paid hookups should be easy. It is my understanding that Grindr is also popular in Thailand. When hooking up there I think I would assume in general that he's not a moneyboy unless he makes it obvious that he is. There are tons of nice hotels in Bangkok and elsewhere. The non-chain places tend to be cheaper. I think hotel recommendations would depend on your budget. Bangkok always has something going on so I wouldn't be concerned about being there on a Sunday.

I've never had any problems except with the taxis that park along Suriwong and wait for unsuspecting people. They quote some crazy fare and I just laugh and close the door, then walk s few yards down the street and hail a moving taxi who always turns on the meter. I've long thought that Bangkok taxis are probably too cheap. I don't know how any of those guys makes a living.

3.5 hours! I don't think it's ever taken me that long except for the days before the expressway was finished. I've used TheLimoPattaya for the last several years. Always a fine experience at a reasonable price. And never more than 2 hours from Silom to Pattaya and vv.

Thanks for this. I may well try it out next time I am in town. This is probably a dumb question, but do you wear any footware (i.e. flip flops or "shower shoes")?

I will be there. I still need to figure out where I am going to stay. Leaning towards an apartment type thing instead of a regular hotel.

Yes, I am sure that is the same person. I witnessed him totally bilk another customer who was Asian and didn't seem to have the ability to say "no" out of a lot of money for drinks. After the guy left the mamasan "high-fived" one of the boys which seemed very poor form to me. I offed a very cute boy (who had moved on to Boys Bangkok last time I saw him) with whom I should have negotiated in advance on his short time rate. We had a 500 baht difference of opinion over the going rate. Ultimately I just paid him to avoid a scene. I would have happily offed him again until that unpleasantness. But I think he wasn't hurting for offs since he seemed to be one of the stars there at the time so maybe repeat business wasn't a concern to him. But I may well give Classic another look next time I am in town. Things could change again between now and then though as well. :-)

what's disgusting about pineapple? They do put some weird stuff on pizza, but I don't count pineapple among them.

I really liked Pizzeria Limoncello off Suk 11.http://www.zanottigroup.com/pizzeria-limoncello.html As you can see form the URL it's part of the Zanotti group. It's a nice little place. I ate there twice on a visit a couple of years ago when I was staying on Sukhumvit Soi 11 at the Fraser and then at the Aloft. Lots of gay patrons and hi-so Thais. Service was a little slow. But the pizza was great...and enormous. Too much for one person really. Good desserts too. I agree that Scoozi is pretty good too if you are in the Silom/Suriwong neighborhood.

Nice to hear Classic has turned over a new leaf. The mamasan that used to be there was such an objectionable person that I swore the place off a couple of years ago.

Well, with the growing Chinese middle class looking to travel I think it is not a surprise that a city in Asia would have this distinction. London is too expensive for a lot of people. Add in the UK's onerous taxes on flights and It think London has some high hurdles.

Does the climate there lend itself to bike riding? Bike share has been very popular here in Washington. And I know the program in Montreal has been quite successful too. But it's only 100 degrees here a few days out of the year. But given Bangkok's traffic and weather conditions I can't imagine this project has much chance to succeed.

Maybe he makes money by bringing in unsuspecting guys who like cute Vietnamese boys? Perhaps his job is to lure you in so you'll buy drinks for him or others. The boys usually get a cut of the drinks you buy for them. I agree I don't see where the deception is. You asked if he could go off and were told no multiple times. If he's Vietnamese it's likely that he isn't allowed to work. So maybe they can keep him in the bar but its too risky to them to let him go off.

"After frolicking with Bangkok’s people, Bryan got a taste of this city’s notorious architecture and history at the local temple and grand palace." Notorious architecture and history? The writing is pretty horrific even if you overlook the factual inaccuracies.

I love that in China 1.5 million people is considered a "small" city! I have an expat friend who has been living for 7+ years in Taipei. He really likes it there and I can see why. I think it might be tempting to a degree as there are so many things I enjoyed about the place in my short visit last year. Headed back for a longer time this year. Not sure I could ever live there or anywhere else in Asia though for a variety of reason.

Wow, those problems would certainly put me off going back! While I am sure it costs more, I booked my trip through Purple Dragon and had no problems...other than some really crappy weather in Hoi An which was no one's fault of course. I did meet a guy in Hanoi at the lake who seemed to be obviously trying to angle me for a scam but I had my defenses up. I tried to be pleasant but wasn't about to give in to anything. The trip on Halong Bay I had a whole boat to myself. I just went for a day trip though and didn't stay overnight on a boat. I understand the new road from Hanoi to Halong Bay has dramatically reduced the time it takes to get there. Having a private car and guide is very helpful and for me it is the best way to travel around Asia.