aussie_

I have been looking at various options of where best to invest funds upon retiring to live in Thailand after moving from Australia. There are so many taxation and other considerations that I have decided to see a tax accountant/financial advisor before making any big decisions. It would be interesting to hear from any Thailand retirees or others about your tactics regarding maintaining your financial security when moving/retiring to Thailand.

Wonderland Go Go Show Bar was closed last night

It was 1215am, the show was in progress and some of the go go boys were sitting at the bar. These aged punters were about 25yo. My comments are an accurate report about a disgraceful display of poor behavior. I have never seen anyone behave like that in a show bar before and I have been visiting Thailand for many years.

I also have a problem with bad behavior and lack of respect for Thai culture and poor manners around other visitors to Thailand. I was in Wonderland show bar in Sunee last Sunday night for the midnight show when three very drunk, loud young men from the land of many camels walked in from the club next door and proceeded to grope any go go boy in sight and disrupt the show. They also refused to buy the boys a drink or to tip them. I told the waiter that they or anyone else in such a drunken state should not be allowed in. Clubs like Wonderland will need to employ some decent size security staff as I can see this problem is on the increase.

In Australia grindr and social networking sites seem to be the preferred means of access for meets with other gays for younger guys who nearly all have I Phones. I was discussing with a friend how the popular sites in Australia like Gaydar, Manhunt and Gaymatchmaker seemed so quiet with only a few new members joining when he told me his workmate who is 45yo was using grindr and having a regular flow of meets with guys 18 to 30 yo. In the near future as more Thais get I Phones then grindr may become as popular as Gayromeo in Thailand.

I would follow the advise of Gaybutton and Gay Thailand very closely. I have visited Thailand many times and still consider that I have much to learn about living in Thailand permanently, which also is my plan for the future. I believe that you do have more than "sex" on your mind because we all appreciate the freedom regarding gay lifestyle that we can have in Thailand and do not have in our home towns. Before making any decisions about selling up and moving you really need to spend more time in Thailand. Travel through the country, talk to other farangs about what it is like living in Thailand. Most are happy to give advise.

I was at Boytown last night. Visited three go go bars away from the main soi with approx eight dancers on stage in each, there must have been a lot of early offs or the rest have gone back to the village before high season comes. We then sat at a hotel bar near Panorama and my friend commented on the waiter out front reading the newspaper and yelling loudly. "No way this guy would ever be employed if I was running the place". Many of the staff at most bars look bored and disinterested and I have rarely had any interaction with management that I know of in any of these bars. The only exception is Funny Boys which always seems to get positive reports and is very well run. Most of the Sunee Bars are better run, good value food and drinks with friendly management and staff and you don't feel like your being ripped off. Boytown could be so much better and a good alternative but there's not much incentive to go there. We then went on the Dave Man Club near Pattaya Klang at 1.30am, not a coyote boy on stage for the next hour before the show, they spend most of their time out with customers scrounging drinks. We had a bottle of whiskey but one friend got a shock when his Heineken was 200 baht a small bottle. This place used to be good but it's off my list now, I will only go to NAB occasionally, at least the coyote boys are on stage dancing most of the time. Sorry if this all sounds a bit negative but some work needs to be done by the bar and also disco owners. A survey of customers would be a good start to see what they want. It seems a "if you don't like it......." attitude is how many places are run.

Because of the pollution of Bangkok I would rather live near the beach but If I did live in Bangkok Sathorn would be my choice. It is walking distance to Metro/Skytrain and if you keep away from the main roads it is a very pleasant area to walk around with nice houses and their gardens and relative fresh air. It is also close to the shopping/entertainment venues at Silom. I would also enjoy going to Lumpini Park which is a nice place to spend some time and an oasis away from the surrounding business district. Saphan Taskin is also nearby for a boat trip to see the Grand Palace, parks or other sights. I have stayed a few days at Ramkhamhaeng and have wandered around areas like Ari and they are very nice but I felt a bit isolated. A condo in Sathorn to stay a few days each month and a house near Jomtiem would suit me with an occasional trip to the countryside and islands.

Most boys from the bars in Pattaya are happy with 1000 to 1200 baht short time so you can save by not paying the longer time rate.

I would recommend to go to NAB with a friend or group if you want a fun night out. The farangs that I have seen there alone don't seem to get a lot of interest from the locals. A lot of boys from the bars go to NAB in groups after they finish work and might be looking for company or someone to help pay for their drinks. You can off a coyote boy but it might be an expensive exercise after you buy drinks and from what I have heard they might expect a larger tip than you might pay to a go go bar boy. I have found the management and coyote boys at Dave Man Club are more up front about approaching customers to see if they want some company whether you are alone or in a group at a table.

They are not rooms, just partitioned areas with a table and chairs and a good view of the downstairs stage and crowd. If you had a sexual encounter it would not be very private. Last month when I was in Pattaya NAB were charging 100 baht each admittance if you were not going to purchase a bottle with your friends. There were previously too many freeloaders going in to gawk at the dancers, hassle the locals and not buy any drinks. I prefer NAB over the Dave Man Club because it is still mostly smoke free.

I was sitting in a bar recently with my boyfriend who has excellent english language skills. Across from us a loud farang was telling the owner of the bar about all of his recent conquests and sexual prowess with bar boys. I felt that the farang showed a total lack of respect for all of us, especially zero sensitivity to my Thai friend. We left.

Taylorsquare "Last night (Monday night ? )I went to baan charm ? issaan near Hollywood" It was probably the "Tumnan Kon Isaan" club which is packed every night. Unfortunately the no smoking rules are not enforced so be prepared if you don't like cigarette smoke. Otherwise it is a great place if you go with some boys into Isaan music and dancing. There was an outdoor concert last night, February 1 on 3rd Road Pattaya and there will be another on February 14. I went to the January 14 concert at the same venue and it was a great night out, most of the Isaan bar boys took the night off and went to the concert. You can imagine the eye candy when they took off their shirts later in the night.

Before I first visited Thailand two years ago I was seeing a guy for about six months who I thought I could trust. One night after taking a shower alone he had disappeared with my laptop, modem and more. It taught me a valuable lesson and I do not leave anyone alone in my hotel room or house, even long term friends. We shower together or I wait till they are gone. Lock everything valuable in the safe or suitcase. Sorry to hear about your lost phone firecat and thanks for the reminder not to relax about security.