farangyai

Thank you for the report detail. I will add the Prince Spa to my list for the next visit.

I have never had a bad experience at Screwboy. It has always been a good place to go if my flight arrives late in the evening and the other bars are closed. They generally have a variety of types and the managers have always been ok to me. Over the years I have met some decent guys there who took good care of me. I met one guy when he first started working and even after he left, I could call him. I also had a guy from their I took on a trip with me and had zero problems with him. I find it a different atmosphere than the Soi Twilight bars with some of the guys a little rough around the edges. But you never know what you will find there. So I always stop by at least once when visiting BKK.

I have always had good service at Adonis. I think some people have bad luck because of their attitude. I find that being nice and having mai pen rai attitude goes a long way in Thailand. Thai people are pretty good at sensing personalities.

My personal view is that Thailand is among the most racist people I have ever been around. So what you describe is certainly not a surprise or a new observation to me. Hell, they are even racist towards their own countrymen depending on where they are from and the color of their skin so it should not be surprising that an African American would experience racism in the Land of Smiles. If I referred to everyone of a different race than me as a foreigner (farang), doesn't that imply racism?

My experience is that a bar may have a set of rules about this situation or not. The mammasans may choose to try to enforce the rules or not. I have been told at one of the more aggressively priced bars in BKK that they claimed such a rule. But I only was told that once.The next night I chose to go to a different bar. This same bar will on weekends frequently(or used to) post a sign for admission price (which included a drink). I have seen the same done at Jupiter. I am sure this approach is to avoid the situation of someone walking in the bar, seeing someone on stage they wanted to off, and trying to arrange an off without buying a drink. On many occasions where I off the same boy on future nights, I have done so by tipping the mammasan a token amount to arrange and avoid any possible drink required rule. This has always worked fine for me. Sure, many times I just arrange it directly with the boy also. I recognize this is their living and I want the bar to stay in business, the mammasan to help me (now AND in the future) or leave me alone, and the boy to make a decent wage. So I just factor all of this in to my expectation of how to act. In some cases where I have gotten to know the mammasan, I feel I have gotten good value out of the small mammasan tip as they know what I look for and do a decent job of alerting me to someone new, or someone not yet arrived, or not yet out on stage who I might be interested in, and introducing me when they arrive. I give them a chance to earn their keep. I understand some may be on tighter budgets and choose not to do this and I respect that.

An interesting read about the impact of recent changes in Thailand impacted by actions of the junta. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/08/we_cannot_go_back_to_myanmar_thailand_refugees

Sorry, I did not think it was a truly "interesting" read at all. The article is poorly written with very ambiguous statements IMO. Punches from ?, bottle-wielding Brit, man with a Taser, graduates from a Chinese International School of unstated ethnicity, Mafia,???. I did not note any clear conclusion as to who did what and where they were from. Where were his five friends and his brother during all this? Were they all drinking? A few more facts would be a bit more informative than a sensationalist hodgepodge. I also did not see the relationship to Gay Thailand.

HeHe, Just so you know, we can see you in the mirror in second pic also. We appreciate the posting of info you do and you may still be a bit out of it from the trip so don't want you to be surprised that you are posting your own photo (in case you want to edit).

I have found perfectly fine beaches for peaceful relaxation in Rayong. It is not Pattaya so it is best to bring your own guy if needed. It is best to avoid weekends as buses and trucks of Thais descend on the place. You can find perfectly fine and reasonable places to stay near the beach. If you want to snorkel etc then Koh Samet is as option. But if you don't plan to spend much time in the water and just want to relax at the beach, read, eat fresh seafood, etc, the beaches between Rayong and Ban Phe are an option. It is an easy bus ride from BKK and there are plenty of songtal to take you to the beach areas. But there is no "gay scene", so BYOB.

I should also mention that Adonis Massage is nearby across the street. They also treat muscular and boner problems.

I have had all excellent results with services at BNH Hospital on Soi Convent. My past experience is that you explain the problem to a nurse and they refer you to the appropriate medical specialty. I found their services to be quick, efficient, and successful at a reasonable cost. I have used their services for a variety of medical problems over the years and feel they do an equal or better job than my home country. Sorry, I know this is not recommending a specific doctor but I focus on the overall quality of care at the hospital as experiences can still differ with specific doctors.

I enjoyed reading your post. Your descriptions show the variety of different ways different people enjoy Thailand. I also find myself drawn to Bangkok because of the variety. It can be a fulfilling trip just to experience the many different things that are offered there. During my last trip I spent about a week taking cooking classes in the morning and a long massage in the afternoon. The next week it was visiting museums in the morning and again long massages in the afternoon. It was very relaxing. But I must admit, I still enjoyed my nightly visits to Soi Twilight. Thanks again for the interesting post.

I have always considered it wise to cooperate with the customs folks. Telling any law enforcement officer "none of your business" is putting a big placard on yourself saying troublemaker. Rather than be easily inconvenienced, it is always wise to be cooperative and show a reasonable amount of respect. I have never had any significant customs issues, although I did resent when they wanted to search my camera, etc but after showing him some stuff out in the open, I was allowed to move on.

Gee, the problem in Thailand doesn't sound so different than the USA. I feel sorry for the Thai people.

I do the same as Z909 but also give him a nice kiss if all went well.

First of all, I am not "steered" by others and their feedback. I take all reviews with a grain of salt as what one person likes, another does not. Some people do not have favorable chemistry with anyone or have totally different requirements/priorities/likes/dislikes. It is best not to rely on others. The best thing is to go where I want for my own reasons. Others feedback is only a single data point. My own sense, vibes, etc about a place carries more weight. Others feedback is only a pointer to possible likes. I believe in investigating places based on my own requirements and preferences. Bar- I always make sure both the mammasan and guy understand what I expect before the off. I also generally tip the mammasans. If the boy doesn't want to do as agreed or demonstrates a bad attitude (both which are rare IMO), I stop things and give a very minimal tip and send him on his way. I also follow up with the owner or mammasan and CALMLY tell them I was disappointed and specifically why. My experience is that I normally get an apology and either a free drink or free off. If I don't feel my disappointment is acknowledged, I do not visit that establishment again. (I think that has only happened at one place.) But I think reacting calmly and reasonably in Thailand is very important. It is not necessary to show anger and you lose respect if you do. Massage- If disappointed, I try to address the shortcoming during massage. If really disappointed, I choose someone different the next time.

I think you have been given some very appropriate advice. I have always found the captains at Hero helpful and tip them for their help. I always take the time to tell them what I want so they ensure there is no misunderstanding. I have also had guys where the chemistry was not right the first time, but sometimes found that the chemistry improved the second time. I knew them a bit and better and they also knew me better and what I enjoyed. Some customers keep trying different guys looking for what they want. I have had good results with staying with someone I liked, even if things weren't perfect and working to improve things.

My observations are that the poor education system plays a very big role. I have shown students in a class that is comprised of students from many different provinces a map of Thailand and asked them where they come from (in both Thai and English). They do not generally recognize the map and do not know where there city is on it. (map is in Thai and English language). So if they do not learn it as part of primary education, where will they learn it? On the other hand I have had drivers who took me places on long trips and never got lost. We always ended up where we wanted to.

ShyatFirst said: I am not trolling , fake or telling lies. please believe me. It would be much easier to believe someone if it didn't take two weeks to tell at least some basic facts of the story. As others have commented, we have no way of knowing whether it is true or not. Assuming it is true, you are not the first one to be professionally lied to in the Land of Smiles. Don't let the Buddhist atmosphere fool you. Many on this board could point out to you the signs that you were being scammed and you should certainly see them all in retrospect. The best thing anyone can do is to learn from their mistakes and MOVE ON. It sounds like there were many missteps in your situation as you seem to have moved apparently totally unaware down the path of the scam. How would you change that next time? Rehashing it and beating yourself up over it serves no useful purpose. But it is useful to analyze the situation and learn what you could have done differently. If some Thai guy wanted to latch onto you tomorrow- what would you do differently?? Tell yourself you just paid for a very expensive course on how not to be scammed. Now- what did you learn?

Thank you for your excellent trip report. It brought back fond memories of when I visited the same areas and a few other nearby areas. I took the bus between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. I also took a car to Pai.

ShyatFirst- I think we have identified the problem in your relationship. If you communicated by email, your bf probably got married and had a family in between your messages and lost interest and concluded you were a fake.

I agree with LuvThai above. I am also a confirmed Butterfly and find it much easier. I also have a few Thai friends where the only expectation is to hang out and have a good time together.

Thank you for the great reports. This is a bit like the 12 Days Of Christmas!

I love my pizza. Over the years I have tried many different places and my favorites have changed over time. I have been to Zanotti when I used to stay in the apartments above which I regarded as a decent pizza and the same with Scoozi. On my last trip a year ago I got hooked on Pizza Pizza on the top floor at CentralWorld, a few doors away from the supermarket/ movie theater. It was a nice thin crust and I liked the meatball pizza. Interesting to see that I show up as a newbie here although my registration goes back to 2007. I guess I have not posted in a LONG time.

I am happy you enjoyed my post and am honored that you went to the trouble to cut and paste it. I hesitated about posting it this year on any of the forums but felt at least some got some useful information from it. Two years ago, I even had one of the Thai Gay mags PM me and ask if they could reprint it. I declined. I write my impressions through my paradigm and try to avoid too many adjectives. But I caution everyone that my filter may be different than your own. Things can vary tremendously night to night for unknown (to me) reasons so it is always best to check out things yourself. I have read through many of the posts on this forum and find them to be much better controlled and without so much negativity. I will now be a regualr reader. I will also try to post a different review here with a few different odds and ends from my experiences. This trip I visited many more things to do and see during the day than I normally do. It reinforced why I like Bangkok.