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Perhaps superficially that is how it looks based on my writing style. In actuality, it was a VERY serious event because we need to remember that the average Thai daily salary here is only 400 baht per day ($12 USD / €10.50), so to win one of these model contests, POK included, it can offer a positive opportunity to break out of poverty and move oneself into a better career opportunity and financial situation. That is why everyone was upset. Yes, very similar. Some forum members over the years have reported having positive experiences as they were accompanied by Thai people who brought them to these types of venues. Also, the start time is often very late in these places (at least here in Pattaya) as they are geared to entertain the Thais who work in the local entertainment industry AFTER they finish their work for the night. So, to enjoy yourself, you might need to take a disco nap so that you will have enough energy to operate on Dracula/vampire operating hours. Yes I agree - I looked through the gazillions of photos that he posted in his FB photo collage and I only saw 1 photo that looks like it was taken from the parking lot of Tiffany's and I can see the Siam-Siam hotel in the background - but that is also visible from the Alcazar Showbar. I found via his FB his Instagram account and the below Instagram displays an amazing more exciting 🍆 juicy "package" 🍆 https://www.instagram.com/p/DUkjfgJE-Lm/?img_index=1

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F8mEVkxTo/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590577088216

This is a very difficult question for me to answer for the following reasons: Prior to attending this week's 2026 POK Modeling event in Supertown - I would have never been exposed to: Seeing and witnessing the transformation of Supertown from a typical 85% farang / 15% not farang customer distribution (excluding the staff that work in Supertown) on a typical low season night to what I witnessed as a packed Supertown (in the area of the POK Modeling catwalk runway) to be 80% Thai and 20% farang/other. That demographic change was shocking to me - because as a general rule here in Pattaya - Thais generally don't enter into Supertown (unless that is where they work) - because of its "reputation". So, it was very impressive to see Supertown FULL of Thais that would not normally be there. As my ExThaiBF#2 has friends across so many parts of local Thai society (Supertown workers, Dongtan gay volleyball + more recently Chaiyaphruek volleyball, kathoey - ladyboy friends, Jomtien soi 12 beach night, friends who work in the Pattaya entertainment sector in places like Tiffany's, Alcazar, and Colosseum, etc.) I am constantly exposed (thanks to him) to parts of Thai society that I would not normally come into contact with by just hanging out with the other farangs in Supertown. 2. I only desired to go to this specific POK Modeling event because I was having difficulties with many of the local Thais on why they had a lackluster response to Pangina "Pan Pan" Heals success with Ru Paul and her global success and related film = HEALS being debuted today at the Pattaya International Film Festival. Many people that I spoke with told me to go to the POK Modeling event to meet people who could properly provide answers to my above mentioned dilemma. 3. What I learned is that the Thais that were in attendance at the POK Modeling event on 24 August 2026 worked in the entertainment sector (Tiffany's, Alcazar, Colosseum, etc.) and were models and people who want to gain their BIG-Break (a chance to enter into) into modeling stardom that could lead to successful future careers in showbusiness, cinema, modeling, Thai TV, entertainment stars, fashion designers, makeup artists, beauty, clothing design, etc. Also, were in attendance many people who are friends and/or supporters of the above mentioned entertainment sectors. In fact, the sexy Thai guy who was sitting next to me when I asked him what was his job, he replied, I am a "host boy" - so I replied so in which Supertown bar do you work? He replied, oh no, I work in the Thai-on-Thai business sector and the host bar that I work in is near Tukom in Central Pattaya - perhaps the Diamond Club. I asked my ExThaiBF#2 and he said that there are many of these such places for Thai people to go and have fun. I learned that these places are often where the Thais who work in the above mentioned entertainment businesses go to relax and do what us farangs do in our Supertown/Boyztown host bars - "same same". 4. @emiel1981 I wanted to get specific names out of my ExThaiBF#2 to respond to your question - but after the 2026 Pok Model altercation about who is the true winner of the Popular Vote - ExThaiBF#2 and his friends do not want to speak with me any further about the Pok Model contest - as they are still very upset and they have all agreed to let the Pok Model event be history and that their potential future model contestants will no longer participate, as they believe that the judging mechanism that is currently in place is allegedly not fair. I can't say much more because Supertown is kind of home for me and I know the people involved - so I prefer to let the Thai vs. Thai guys hammer out their differences between them without me getting on the wrong side of the argument. 5. How can you proceed to gain access to these guys? Facebook. Below are the Facebook links to many of the guys where you could try to friend them and strike up a conversation to see if they would be willing to meetup. Scroll through their facebook feeds, click on the comments (many interesting people make comments), friends list, etc. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CqJMbT67q/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19MMd6XRHe/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/198pgb71Y5/ https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19Ng7dakfM/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GUWTmWN6Q/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19QTp7EGQ5/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1SnmdLGv1J/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/197tZtZ2xi/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/173MnYaFxV/ If you are good at understanding who is the hot/sexy guy out of his drag outfit - then the below 2026 POK Model winners photo may help you: Emiel, perhaps by the time that you arrive in Pattaya in a couple of months - things will have calmed down and we can try together to coax the information that you seek directly from my ExThaiBF#2 - or from his many gazillions of friends....

Thanks for documenting this process for us. This is one area that I wish our forum had more information about = what is required in country X to retire in and how was forum member's said experience. I find it very useful instead of trying to be a pioneer and to go it alone. Yes, there are tons of Youtube videos out there about this topic for many countries - but it is very rare to find this information from a gay retiree perspective with feet on the ground experience. That is why I painstakenly documented my "trying to live as an elderly gay retiree in country X" experience last year in the Vietnam and Philippines sub-forums last year.

Yes, he was so annoying. And it was hard to get away from him.

I had to ask A.I. to help me with that reference. MOA" in Manila? +1 "Conrad at MOA" refers to Conrad Manila, a luxury upscale hotel located right next to the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) complex in Pasay City, Metro Manila. [1, 2, 3]

Better to be safe than sorry. Here in Pattaya (more so in Pattaya City and rarely in Jomtien) there is a group of Indians or Pakistani men who will approach you and point to your belly. Their scam is to take you to a nearby shop where they will sell you expensive herbal products that will make your belly fat go away. These "finders" get a commission if the "potential customer" makes a purchase from said shop. After many articles in the local farang newspapers were published about this scam - now when they try with me I respond: "Wow, I just read about you guys recently. In fact the police are looking for you...." Then they usually run away.

I stayed in various AirBnBs in the Cebu region (IT Park, CBP, and Mactan Newtown) for 2 months and the "trick" to ease the lobby check-in process (which I found to be somewhat embarrassing) was to be super friendly with the security team. Like when I checked in or checked out I made sure that they were tipped in a good way - I also made small chit chat with them when I was having a 2 hour guest up in my rented condo room. I never had any issues or problems.

Massage Insider often does reviews of therapists from Chapter 6 Use the below query in Twitter (X) and you can see some of the guys: https://x.com/search?q="Chapter 6" massage insider&src=typed_query&f=top

Some of you have asked me - why can't we see the sexy arousal scene (mentioned in the above post) while the POK contestants transformed into their on-the-spot white sheet costumes. Note that he is only 1 of the perhaps 3 guys that I noticed doing this during the contest. Well, here is one short snippet that was posted today: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1PWwQodsHi/ And here is his FB page - truly a sexy guy: https://www.facebook.com/kong.kittiphong.31

Remember that tomorrow, Thursday August 27, 2026 is the official showing of the Pangina "Pan Pan" Heals film = HEALS https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1047429791106826 The Pattaya International Film Festival (PTYIFF) is free on a first come first serve basis. However, they are promoting a QR pre-booking type of system - as you need to register when you arrive. There is confusion - because these QR codes are designated by the venue that is hosting the film that you want to see. Consequently, there are 3 distinct venue QR codes for: SFX Cinema Terminal 21, SF Cinema Central Marina Outlet, Major Avenue Pattaya. I believe that HEALS will be shown at the SF Cinema Central Marina Outlet at 8pm and the related QR code for this specific cinema can be found at ( use the QR code on the left that is displayed ) : https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=992919027135340&set=pcb.992919633801946 Buona visione!!

Last night I attended the 2026 POK Model Contest in Supertown and I returned to my condo very late - after the supposed official closing hours of the Jomtien Complex - as the contest got off to a late start - instead of starting at 7pm but instead after 8pm, the model competition commenced. Below I have inserted the Facebook live feed that was posted by Nut TY - note that it is almost 5 hours long. I am hoping that in the next days someone (like the famous Youtube blogger = Pure ThailandBKK) will produce a condensed highlights version. It was packed in the area of the contest red carpet runway, which started from Rob's CockA2 bar through the end of the East Lounge bar. The rest of Supertown was very quiet, as all of the excitement and action was in this area. Since I had never seen or participated in a POK Model Contest before I did not know what to expect. It is very important to understand what "POK" means in a Thai context = “POK” (or โปก / หัวโปก) refers to short-haired contestants, typically gay men or transgender women (kathoey/sao kham phet) with a boyish/masculine short haircut, often without wigs, and frequently pre-op (no breast surgery yet) or not fully feminized. I found it very entertaining and interesting from a Thai cultural point of view, because: - The most shocking thing to see is a very manly-ish contestant looking very drag/kathoey looking and then to see him later at the end of the show back into his street clothes as a truly stunning manly heterosexual looking man. Some of the contestants returned to either their gay partners, friends, or wives - I was like WOW - Thailand is truly much more diverse than I had perceived prior to last night. - I was seated with a large group of my ex or not ex Thai BF's friends - our status is hard to understand - but I enjoy his company and friendship. His friends were rooting for a specific contestant and the most tense moment of the 5 hour show was the Popular Vote competition where us as spectators can buy individual garlands at 100 baht each for the contestant that we want to see win the Popular Vote. Well, many guys at our table and surrounding tables spent well over 35,000 baht on garlands to see their "star" win. Unfortunately, the judges chose someone else who I believe works at the M2M bar. By the way, the Supertown sponsors for this year's event were; M2M Cabaret Showbar, My Favortite Diner, and Buenos Mexican Cuisine - who I believe are all owned by the same farang conglomerate. Well, things got VERY tense with shouting at the judges when the said 35k garland receiver did not win. The situation had to be diffused with lots of back and forth between those protesting versus those making the Popular Vote decision. Me being a farang and not understanding Thai I could not truly understand the exact details - but after witnessing last month the Popular Vote for the Mr. Jomtien Complex Sexy Boy contest I know that things can become very competitive between the Thais. - The variety of what was asked of the (I believe 38 contestants) was impressive - first rounds were of them in their competitive and artistic outfits, other rounds were where they were given a white sheet of fabric and to use it with a pair of scissors to accessorize their existing outfits and/or shed their existing outfits and to use this white fabric after it had been cut up by their "costume team" into something original and on the spot. This challenged them to transform themselves into something unique within a very limited amount of time. During this transition period - some of the sexy male muscular "helpers" entered onto the runway only in sexy white underwear and sneakers and some of them were sporting juicy big 🍆 erections 🍆 - all of course to help with this white sheet transition..... - Some of the costumes were very original: - one sent out a smoke screen whenever the contestant would twirl and/or raise her/his arms, - one had a high beam headlight attached to her body, - one had on each shoulder/upper arm - a bubble producing machine - that was hilarious as the bubbles were shooting onto her/his competition, - one had a costume made out of newspapers in a fashion bow like manner, - one had a toilet attached to her head (made out of styrofoam). And then there were the sad events when a contestant would either stumble (her/his ankles gave out) and/or when their costume would become entangled into their walking step during their runway showoff walk - those moments were embarrassing and very sad for the impacted contestants - as the judges deducted points from their score as a consequence. Back to the issue of Pangina "Pan Pan" Heals - many of the Thai people that I spoke with about this at the event: knew who Pan Pan is, were not aware that; 1.) The Pattaya International Film Festival is occurring this week, 2.) that Pan Pan's biography film, HEALS is being debuted at the Pattaya International Film Festival, did not feel the need to give Pan Pan much attention as she was not from Pattaya or she did not find her success in the Pattaya drag + kathoey entertainment industry venues; like Tiffany's, Colosseum, Alcazar, etc, Pan Pan's success is "foreign made" [ Las Vegas, USA, UK, Bangkok ] and not Pattaya grass-roots made. And I have to agree with some farangs that I spoke with about this issue that there is an unspoken sense of jealousy - this made me sad because it would be so much better to put this jealousy aside - as Thailand is at that critical moment to win the rights to host the World Pride 2030 over Barcelona with the next political marketing events to be held in Phuket in October and I believe the official country winner to be announced in January 2027. I wish the Thai drag + kathoey community could rally around Pan Pan to show the decision makers that Thailand has something that Barcelona does not and to award the World Pride 2030 event to Thailand. Nut TY facebook feed (4 hours and 44 minutes) from the 24 August 2026 POK Model contest held in the Jomtien Complex, Supertown: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/184wHneif8/ SWING just released their composite of the POK Model contest on their facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CNQ9m7FMg/ Rob - owner from the CockA2 bar posted this: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18G7thpsnv/ Next up - to go and see the HEALS documentary screening on Thursday 27 August 2026 over at the Central Marina cinema. https://www.ptyiff.com/copy-of-our-team

Perhaps you now prefer the Space Bar experience, as the approach, and if lucky, the closing of the deal is more exciting at Space Bar than the predictability of its Thailand equivalent. Perhaps, it feels as if the Space Bar experience is more genuine and authentic? 🤔

Thanks for your usual great trip report and it was great to see you again in your 44th visit to Thailand. I was hoping that you would divulge what you were feeling/thinking when you assigned the title to this trip report = I fear that it might be sad or bad news - based on what you wrote above. Do the words, "losing it slowly..." imply that you are becoming tired with Thailand?

https://www.ptyiff.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Pattayainternationalfilmfestival https://www.instagram.com/ptyiff/ The film (HEALS) that I am looking forward to see will be shown on Thursday 27 August 2026 at 8pm. My understanding is that tickets cannot be pre-purchased - as seating to these screenings is free - so first come - first served. However, within the PTYIFF facebook page there is a QR code that leads to a Google Form where you can supposedly book that you are interested in attending a specific film screening - which I did - but T.i.T. and there was no reply. Here is the related QR code = https://www.instagram.com/p/Da4DK-VooKD/ HEALS is a 2026 documentary that was directed by Emmy-winning Thai-American filmmaker, Pailin Wedel. It is the story of the Thai drag performer, Pangina Heals who became very successful in Las Vegas when she was discovered by RuPaul's Drag Race Live! It also shares the story of Pangina's coming out and the associated difficulties that this raised in a conservative Thai-Chinese household. https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWBsx1tCchU/ I am still timidly pursuing within the local drag/ladyboy community here in Pattaya to go and see the film together but I have encountered some lackluster enthusiasm - which confuses me as I had thought that the local ladyboy/drag community would want to celebrate this global moment of success. Even after 4 years of living here - it is still difficult to understand what motivate and does not motivate the local community. I will try again this Monday, 24 August 2026, when the Pok Model Pattaya 2026 modeling contest will take place in the Jomtien Complex, aka Supertown. I believe that the event will start at 7pm but where the physical event will take place within the complex I have not yet discovered. Last year's POK event took place on a big stage that was constructed in front of The Venue. I used Google Lens translate to present the above image (original was in Thai)

Yes Vinapu!! During your next visit let us descend together from the Pattaya Park Tower in a fun way 🪂🪂🪂

With my own eyes I could see why that sexy masculine Cambodian was soo appealing to you = he was a: Hug-a-Holic He had a huge amount of hugs for you 🫂😍

I would suggest that you visit and explore many towns/cities throughout Thailand to see where you might want to relocate to. I would also suggest that you visit Chiang Mai during the smokey season to see and learn if you can tolerate it and to learn how your respiratory system responds. If you want places to live without a lot of smog then I can suggest many of the seaside areas (the breezes of the seaside tend to blow away the smog), such as: Krabi, Phuket, Koh Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya (Jomtien).

YES - Very good for us retirees who live here on a fixed pension budget 🤑

I truly enjoyed the look on both of your faces @vinapu and @Olddaddy as you sized each other up - and I was surprised to learn that you had never met previously - even though many of your previous trips overlapped. Vinapu, if Olddaddy is your #42 forum member that you met - do you remember what number I am ? And I was very happy to learn later on that you were able to continue your sexy Cambodian encounter streak 🤪🍆🍆💦 wow - I can only imagine 🍆🍆🍆

and hopefully the principle of non-refoulement will protect them from being forced into military conscription by the Myanmar junta. https://www.refworld.org/policy/legalguidance/unhcr/1997/36258

is he sexy?

wow Olddaddy - If I found the correct web sites they look to be very interesting.... I look forward to reading about your houseboys adventure(s).... https://www.instagram.com/p/DMinHNrMKg5/ https://holidayhouseboys.com/ https://www.facebook.com/holidayhouseboys/ https://x.com/HHouseboys

I know that some readers may get irritated if we introduce AI into these threads - but this entire conversation about "off fee" versus "bar fine" intrigued me so much that I asked the Grok AI module to explain the history of these terms that we use - but perhaps never understood their origins. While Grok was processing the question that I presented - Grok displays very quickly the sites that it is referencing to find the answer to your query - and on many instances our gayguides.com is referenced by the AI as a potential source. I found that to be flattering that what we write in our forum may be considered and used to give answers to the world. Both terms refer to the same practical fee: payment to the bar (not the worker) for permission to take a staff member off the premises during their shift. This compensates the venue for lost potential revenue (mainly from “lady/boy drinks” or the worker’s presence generating sales). Any subsequent personal arrangement or tip for the worker’s time/company is negotiated and paid separately and directly to them. Functional equivalence “Bar fine” (common in heterosexual/go-go/beer bars catering primarily to straight male customers): Explicitly framed as a fine or fee paid to the bar. In Thai it is often “kâa baa” (ค่าบาร์). It releases the woman (dancer, hostess, etc.) so the customer can leave with her. It does not cover her personal fee, drinks already bought, transport, hotel, or any private agreement. “Off fee” / “off-fee” / “khaa off” (standard terminology in Thai gay bars with male workers, often called dek bar, dek off, or “bar boys”): Derived from the English “off,” as in taking the worker off the premises (“off laew,” “go off with a customer”). Academic and community sources note that this is sometimes also called a “bar fine.” It functions identically—payment to the bar for release—plus a separate tip/payment to the worker. In both scenes the system is long-standing, widely understood by regulars, and operates in a legal gray area around adult nightlife (the fee itself is a business charge; what adults agree to afterward is treated as private). Historical and scene-specific nomenclature Thai commercial sex-oriented nightlife expanded significantly during and after the Vietnam War era (late 1960s–1970s), with go-go-style venues appearing for both hetero and male-male markets. Heterosexual go-go and beer bars developed prominently in areas such as Patpong, Nana, and later Pattaya/Phuket, using “bar fine” language that became the dominant English term among farang (Western) customers. Male go-go/bar-boy venues became more visible from the mid-1970s onward (examples include early bars in the Silom/Sukhumvit axis and later concentrations such as Soi Twilight/Pratu Chai). In that vernacular the English loanword “off” took root for the act of leaving with a customer and for the associated fee (khaa off). Community usage and ethnographic accounts continue to prefer “off” / “off fee” in gay contexts, while “bar fine” remains the default in heterosexual ones—even though sources explicitly equate the two. There is no substantive historical difference in the economic purpose or mechanics; the variation is mainly lexical and scene-specific. “Off” emphasizes the physical act of removal from the bar; “bar fine” frames it as compensation or a release charge to the establishment. Both systems co-evolved within Thailand’s broader bar-based commercial sex economy and remain parallel today, with prices varying by city, venue type, time of night, and demand (typically a few hundred to around 1,000+ baht in recent reports, higher in some premium spots). In short, from a historical and practical standpoint the two labels describe the same institution under different preferred terminology shaped by the respective customer and worker communities.