traveller123

I had a disaster taking a boy from Pattaya to Chiang Mai and then to Hua Hin.
We just didn't get along and ended by mutual agreement with him going back alone early to Pattaya.
Two days later while I was still in Hua Hin I met a guy and after a couple of days together he agreed to come with me for the remaining four days of my holiday to Pattaya.
This was the complete opposite it was just so easy and enjoyable but the unexpected happened I really fell for the guy and ----8 years later we are still together and he makes me happy every single day.
So Spoon just be aware that spending a long time together could have unplanned consequences!

Yes, but I almost abandoned Italy in the 8th month - as I was living in the Rome Trastevere neighborhood, with all of the foreign students, where all we did was speak English 24/7 and we did not integrate into the larger Italian society.
So, around this time I put an advertisement in some of the local gay publications, that I was looking for an Italian roommate who did not speak much English (as I wanted to force myself to integrate and to learn Italian).  I interviewed around 30 Italian guys and only 1 satisfied my requirements.  Why?  The other 29 were looking to find freedom from living at home with their mothers - BUT - where the expectation was that I would fulfill the roll of their mother - that is; do their laundry, cook for them, do the shopping, and clean the apartment - as they were ALL what the Italians call:  Mammoni.  Many of them were well into their 40s and their mother's were still taking care of them.

The 30th guy, was great - as he was against the concept of "Mammoni", as he was from Sardinia (where his mother was) and wanted to live independently and have a chance to learn some English.  I met him in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings to see if we liked each other in all hours of the day. Then the BIG day came to decide if we would be roommates and he took me to Villa Pamphili, where he did his sport training and jogging.  He sat me down on one of the lovely park benches and told me that his decision was = NO.  I was shocked - we had been hanging out for about 2 weeks to decide if we could be roommates and he was perfect for me.  After interviewing 30 guys over this 2 month period I was devastated and I started crying.  He said to me, ti prego, smettila! - please stop it.
I asked him why he rejected me.  He said that I was too American.  Now this was early year 2000 and I had sold my house back in Colorado and invested it all into the crazy NASDAQ - Dot-Com bubble, so I was kind of cocky, as I could easily fart money in those years.  I was obnoxious.  And yes, I was too American.
So, I promised him to be less American (that was my goal after all) and I had some help from the universe when the Dot-Com bubble popped in March 2000 - when I lost 90% of my invested assets - which greatly humbled me.  Thank GOD that I had found this guy.  We lived happily together for 6 years - which were some of the BEST years of my life when I successfully learned to speak Italian, make jokes in Italian, go to cinema and see Italian movies, and dream in Italian.  
Learning their language gave me additional culture - because I started to use verbs for which we don't have direct equivalents in English - and when you find a verb that helps give words to a feeling that we don't have an easy equivalent in English - it is truly an amazing experience, because it feels that you are now growing with the ability to have feelings that you could not fully have prior.
--> I am not good at expressing this experience - but I am sure that many of you who are multi-lingual can understand this <--
 

Good advice. I am in the process of deciding whether to go ahead with my proposed relocation. I'd hoped that my last few weeks in Jomtien would have given me an answer; but no, they didn't, serving only to raise more issues..
And unlike the poster, I have thirty years of visits and a LTR of twenty years to help me make a decision, not forgetting the massive financial benefits I'd reap by selling my London house. For a UK citizen of my age, the decision to relocate would be the most significant by far since I retired; and if I were to go ahead, there'd be no returning home if things went pear-shaped for financial reasons. Medical issues? even more vIsa changes? banking? another coup and nationalist government in Thailand unfriendly to foreigners? Yes, unlikely but possible. The fact is that if I move to Thailand, I die in Thailand.
What became clear a few weeks ago,  is that location is one of the most important issues.  Jomtien is our preferred location but not anywhere in the vicinity. There are areas that would not be suitable, too far from the sea, isolated in terms of transport, or too "new" and undergoing construction to be to attractive us.
So my advice is to do what I am doing; take your time and, for heaven's sake, make a trial run for few months. Not as a tourist but as a resident. Not in a hotel but in a rented condo where you have to look after yourself and sort out your own problems. 

I woke up in a mild panic, thinking I’d slept through my alarm—but nope, it was only 8:45 p.m. Crisis averted. Still plenty of time to get ready before heading out to Surawong.
First order of business: a well-deserved foot massage. A little treat to get me in the right mood for the night.It’s one of those simple pleasures that just never gets old. Relaxing, quiet, cheap. Bangkok doing what Bangkok does best.
After that, I made my way to Dragon and Koi. It was already past ten, and from the outside, the place looked pretty dead—just a couple of customers inside. Still, I figured why not? Let’s check it out anyway.
As soon as I sat down and ordered, one of the hosts came over like clockwork. You know the drill—“Where you from?”, “How long are you in Bangkok?”—the usual icebreakers. But this guy was different. His name was Pi, and he could actually hold a conversation. I was genuinely enjoying our chat, so I offered to buy him drinks.
Turns out, Pi is from Myanmar. He used to be a science and math teacher back home and has a Physics degree (which, honestly, blew my mind a little). But because of everything going on politically, he left the country. He doesn’t want to be part of the current regime and ended up in Bangkok, trying to start over. He’s learning Thai and hoping to teach again—either here or when things get better back home. It was a heavy story, but he carried himself with such positivity. I really admired that. We ended up talking about all sorts of things—he showed me pictures from Myanmar’s version of Songkran, and I could see how proud he was. I actually had a great time, and when I left, I made a mental note: I’m coming back here for sure.
On the way back, I passed by Atlas around midnight, but it looked kind of dead. So I pulled a U-turn and headed to Hotmale instead. Few customers, which was a relief—I never love being the only one with 10 boys on stage staring you down like you're the last chicken wing at a party.
Hotmale had definitely changed since last year. New faces, new performances, and even a couple of drag lip-sync acts thrown in. The red jogging pants were gone (RIP), replaced by white shorts, and in one act, black underwear. No complaints here.
I didn’t waste time and invited someone from the stage—James. And guess what? He’s also from Myanmar. I swear I don’t plan this, but I always end up with Burmese guys without realizing it. They’re just… really good-looking, okay?
When I asked about long time, James kind of danced around the answer, giving me some vague excuse. I was this close to sending him back, but then I looked at his face again and thought—eh, maybe a short quiet night in with good company isn’t such a bad idea. I already had two consecutive long time offs during this trip so maybe time for a break.
So  a few minutes later we were in a Grab taxi heading back to my hotel.

Just to add to this point, Chengdu has 14 official universities and a further 7 official colleges of some other disciplines. In other words, a huge number of students. Even though I was living closer to the outskirts of the city than the centre, not one of the guys I had the joy of meeting would accept any money for transport. I did enjoy dinner in the hotel with one which naturally I paid for. I wished I could have stayed for a few more days.
Chengdu is also a great cultural centre. This is where the wonderful Panda Breeding Center is located where you can see 50 or so of these wonderful creatures, including the rare brown pandas. 90 minutes away is the famous Giant Buddha at Leshan, often cited as one of the wonders of China. Further away and accessible by bus or a short flight is the stunning Jiuzhaigou National Park. If you arrive by air, make sure you have your camera on your lap because the views in the minutes before you arrive at the airport are breathtaking. Sadly mine was in my backpack n the luggage locker. The runway itself is carved out of the top of a mountain and is in itself amazing.
The National Park covers two valleys. Go early in the mornng. From the entrance, minibuses drop you off at the main valley at a level of around 4,000 meters after which it is easy to slowly amble down taking in some gorgeous natural wonders. If you are peckish, the cruising minibuses will take you down to the entrance where there are large restaurants and then back up afterwards. The Park suffered major damage in the 2017 earthquake. It was partially reopened the following year and has now been restored to its former glory. The Park is also home to 7 Tibetan villages. But do not attempt to go during or close to one of the country's national holidays when everywhere in the Park is crammed with Chinese!

Thank you.  Yes, that's what I've found elsewhere.  Though, when I lived in Mexico City I'd get middle of the night calls after bars closed from former tricks looking for a place to crash for the night, or a day or two ... and how they would perform in bed!  I turn my cell off at night now, wherever I travel (and at home).
My situation is a bit different than most others here.  In addition to being 75 y.o. (of which I'm only one of that group here), I've dealt with prostate cancer surgery - and the aftermath. I've gone from a sometimes-versatile anal top to engaging, primarily, giving oral (which I do enjoy). My field of play is narrower, though.  My sex drive is less than before.  Not to fret though. Some physical/body contact ... sucking some cock ... a bit of kissing ... I'm okay with it. Adapting to my environment.  I'm also focused on exploring the culture of the countries I visit, not just the sex opportunities (perish the thought!).  Therefore, a tryst before bedtime is satisfying. I enjoyed decades of a very active sex life, wonderful times; literally hundreds of sex partners ... all the while escaping HIV/AIDS during my most prolific years.  😁

Thank you for another great trip reports!! Lots of efforts put to create this report and i really appreciate it!
Cant wait for your next adventure hehe.

Day 23 and 24  
Longed for and coveted day for my readers finally arrived and this long reports comes to an end but not before enduring one more day.
 After breakfast S went to his room and I returned to my hotel supplied condo to do finances. While whole trip was within budget it turned out I’m short of cash for my last day , not really intended to be celibate.
But since XOne now is opened on Sundays I marched there to get some much needed baht.
 When I was in GoodBoys I got a Line of guy who was sitting with me, he made sure to remind me about his desire to make my days even more pleasant than they are , sending me “ when”? messages daily, To this morning message my answer was “ 3pm’ today. I gave him location and at appointed time welcomed him in front of condo building where expressed desire to see how it looks inside so off we went.
In fact it did not start well as he asked to smoke on outside patio and did not seem to be in rush to return to the room with impatient me inside, only firm ‘ hey you “ made him thinking I may become serious and it needs to be said all went very well from this point on.  I like good looking,  muscled guys who are bit talkative and are endowed properly and he possessed all those attributes.
I think we had a bit of chemistry and at end of session I was pleasantly surprised how well it went with my initial reservations gone and forgotten. Having arrived on motorbike he did not ask for extra taxi money  but being business oriented he ask for a little bit of gas money. I told him I don’t like it, he smiled , I have him 100 baht and got kiss as repayment. I thought silently “ what a fucking charmer he is” . Money and time well spent.
 Right after he left I went to Madrid Café in Charoen Krung soi 49 as today was my last chance to sample their pizza – they were closed when I went with my friend in the beginning of this trip . Hurrah, it was opened and I like small ritual  we have with Jennie, the owner. She asked ‘usual” and soon Chang landed on my table and while after cherry tomato and shallots pizza as well.  Mission accomplished, even typing this I miss the place and the pizza. It’s great  loss to humanity they are no longer in Patpong.
In the evening I went to Banana where again reader , Raposa , 10tazione and me had a drink outside watching the world to go by , then Will went his way and our trio went inside as show started. We got quite a prominent seats in front. #31 I offed in November was looking hopefully at me but I had other solution in mind for my last night.
After watching show for about 1 hr,   we decided to change scenery  and walked to Moonlight where I had designs on M, guy I offed in beginning of this trip already. He was on the stage, smile at me and I wasted no time to point at seat beside me. Seconds later he was there. Even mamasan was surprised with my speed while disappointed that such self service  deprived him his tip.
 Mindful that my night is short I left my friends in the bar hugging them good bye and soon world saw me sitting in the back of new shiny M’s motorbike. Second time with him was even better than first although at one point he was getting itchy to go . That granted me 1 hr. of sleep alone.
 At 3.30 fast shower , gathering last few unpacked things and at 4  I went out. No taxi in sight in the soi but as soon as I hit Silom one stopped. Seeing senior citizen with luggage he asked  first  :‘ airport ?’.
We agreed on 500 , tolls on him , and we sped toward Swampy.
 Few hours later I left Thailand for 40Th time taking with me precious memories as well as 5 bars of soap and 6 bags of  3 in1 Khao Son coffee.
 Having just 1 hr. of sleep actually helped as I slept through most of my first 7 hrs. leg .
31 hrs and 50 minutes after I closed my condo in soi 3 , I opened door to my home. It was almost midnight so good arrival time to bit jet lag and indeed it worked. I had  very little of it and it went away after 2-3 days .
Did I get withdrawal syndrome after having 11 out  of 24 nights celibate, 2 times as much as in all previous trips combined ? Answer is no.
 I knew it’s coming and reason was , exactly that , reason. I knew that this time finances are limited and I need to stick to limitation. Being always good with that helped.
 I had great 3 side trips , all in regions I did not visit before and having S with me in Chaing Rai was excellent idea as he is exemplary travel companion, asking for nothing, never complaining and if he was bored, never showed that to me.
 Glad I finally nailed longed for and coveted Jupiter guy, even if at some cost, but sense of achievement is worth it.
 Two new finds , M and Good Boys guy proved excellent and promising material for a future as well.
 Meeting so many members was true highlight of this trip  and thank you all for scarifying your precious vacation  time to meet .
Now counting days to January 2027, my next trip

I want to thank Macaroni21, a-447 and those who agreed with them for their kind suggestion that I return to posting. I had decided about 16 months ago to cease posting (other than one recent post about Myanmar about which I am writing a book). For those who remember some of my posts, you will know that I had a tendency to write at length. This explanation/exploration will be similarly long - very long, and therefore in several parts. So if you are no fan of length, please stop here. I must add that I have written part of what follows in several earlier posts. To those who have read them before, my apologies in advance.
I have just returned from a long weekend in one of my regular haunts, Taipei. On the flights I read Edmund White’s recently published latest book, The Loves of My Life; what he calls his final autobiography - after all, this icon of gay literature is now over 80. It is particularly very graphic in the description of his vast number of sexual encounters starting in his early teens. At one point he writes about a friend’s comment that he must have had sex with about 3,000 other men. To which he replies, “Why so few?”
As I was reading I was reminded of the number of posts I must have made on this Board. After lurking for a year, I summoned up the courage to start posting (although then under a different name). That must have been around 2004 or 2005. When I left, it was nearly the end of 2023. I have zero no idea of the number of posts I have made. I enjoy writing and trying to convey to readers my travel enthusiasms. Another hobby that has turned slightly to longer writing is history. I love the vast history of Asia – of what we know and the great deal we know absolutely nothing about. One blog series I posted here was a history of Gay Sex in Asia. This covered Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and ending with the gay-bashing Brunei. I cannot find it using the search engine but it is on my computer. I cannot even recall when it was written, but judging by the content I think around 2015. Should anyone wish to read it, I will be happy to repost. I have also enjoyed photography and always found that, as in the recent excellent series of posts about the Philippines by @bkkmfj2648, photos can say much more than words. It would not surprise me if in terms of posts I have got quite close to Edmund White’s 3,000+!
Which of course means nothing. A post can be one line - as many now seem to be, a jocular response to an earlier post, perhaps. Or it can be of considerable length. I tended towards the latter.  Actually I also enjoy sex as much though in my latter years of posting, visiting sex venues in Thailand was no longer my thing, despite having lived much of the last 24 years in Bangkok. Domesticity, work and a committed and wonderful relationship do tend to reduce such desires for external stimulation.
But I suppose the point of this post (perhaps I should really say "essay") is to fall back on my memory for, after my first visit to Bangkok when I had moved to first Hong Kong and then Tokyo to work, I became what can only be termed a slut of the first order.
Not that I was a total ingenue on arrival in Asia. My previous employment in the UK had introduced me to the temptations of the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, the saunas in Amsterdam where I had my first encounter with a lithe ever-so-willing young Indonesian and the vast Le Continental sauna in Paris peopled by so many young Vietnamese. With one I had the most fabulous time. I said I hoped we could also meet up the following evening, my last before returning to London. After a little kissing and hugging on my 5-star hotel bed (paid for thankfully by the French government), he suggested I spend the night at his place after dinner. Assuming this might be a cheap dive somewhere, the thought of a night with him overruled any idea of grottiness. Imagine then my surprise when the taxi dropped us off at a single house just round the corner from the Place des Voges, one of the most exclusive and expensive addresses in the city. He lived in this utterly gorgeous house with his French lover, conveniently away for 3 weeks in the USA! As with so many such wonderful one-night stands, we were never to meet again. But what a glorious memory remains!
Part of the reason for this series of posts is not merely vanity. This Board has lots of new members. While much of my posting is out of date, some perhaps give an inkling of what a city or place or event is like, with a rough idea of gay life and gay venues. That at least is my hope. And that is why at the end of the series, I will add in several photo-illustrated posts from older years of Gay Guides.

Thanks, Peter, for coming back to the forum.
Your knowledge, expertise and experience in all things Asian has been sorely missed.
I look forward to reading about your reminisces of your life in Asia, as well as any future escapades.
"So if you are no fan of length.."
Actually, I am!
 
 

In those pre-internet days, almost the only gay information for those visiting Thailand was to be found in the thick Spartacus Guide, filled with AYOR against many venues it listed. On a one night stopover from Europe in my first year living in Asia, I had stupidly booked a hotel far from Suriwong. In those days the only way to the city was either a taxi or a THAI minibus. The latter were filled on a first-come-first-served basis And they stopped at the nearest hotel first. As luck would have it, I was the last. And the hotel was prepaid! Thankfully there was a tout outside. Normally I do not go near them, but I just had one night and had no clue where I was! For little more than Bt. 400 total I had a long tuktuk ride to the grotty Stockholm bar at the Lumphini Park end of what is now very upscale Langsuan, a drink, the services of 2 boys upstairs and their drinks. I was staggered both at what I was doing and at the cheap price.
Before I returned the following Easter, I had discovered Manila. Coco Bananas was the place to be and I met a delightful Filipino, Armando, whom I was to meet again several times. The true sleaze bar then was 690 Retiro Strip, a barn-like place with catwalks and what usually seemed like 150 boys. When getting a taxi, all you needed to say was “690” and the driver knew exactly where to take you. The lovely Philippine Plaza hotel on the bay was where all manner of gays stayed. Breakfast would be heaving with them accompanied by their boys du jour - or that should probably be boys de la nuit!
But it was my Easter that filled all my fantasies of Bangkok. I stayed in the then ultra-cheap Rose hotel in a room accompanied by around 50 cockroaches. Thanks to a quick exit and a can of something, they all met their maker and I was blissfully alone. Armed with my Guide, on my first night I found one of what I always felt to be one the city’s finest gogo bars, Apollo. A small bar with a catwalk located at the right end of Soi 4 on the first level above where the restaurant Sphinx used to be, I absolutely loved it. That was the first of what must have been at least 50+ visits. There were not many boys - if memory is not playing tricks, not more than about 15 or so - but every single one of them seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and forever smiling at the punters. Like many it had a room or two upstairs where I was a regular with most of the boys, often more than once - although always solo. I have never been into the group thing.
Whilst I spent almost every evening in the Apollo, I also ventured out occasionally. But all I can recall is one host bar on the upstairs level of Patpong 2 and another opposite an entrance to the Ambassador Hotel. No recollection of either name.
As my long weekends in Bangkok continued, I discovered Twilight in the Soi we called by the same name. Utterly different from Apollo, it was sleaze. It was managed by two ageing ladyboys who, I thought, rather strictly controlled their 100 or so young charges. The long bar was to the left as you entered upstairs, with on the right just behind it a tiny stage where four boys would strut their stuff. I always preferred sitting at the left end of the bar. At around 9:30ish, an order would be barked whereupon pants would disappear and dancing would be in the nude. Mind you, that had been true at Apollo as well - the nudity I mean, there was no need for any barking as the boys knew their timetable.
Sitting as I did on the left of the bar in Twilight, I could still see the boys on stage, many of whom seemed somewhat shy and covered their assets with their briefs. But crouched behind the bar right in front of me were the next four boys due to hit the stage, and in their nakedness were always doing their best to get a bit of life into their reluctant dicks. After a few minutes on stage, the four boys would parade through the onlookers and take up positions merely standing on a mirrored pillar. The four in front of me would then move to the stage. Not much hanky-panky seemed to be going on within the bar itself, unless you visited the rest room or sat on one of the darkened banquettes around two of the sides. 
At the weekend there would be fucking shows. These required some agility from the boys who would start onstage, clamber over on to the top of the bar and then wend their way along it. Another reason for sitting at the bar! There would rarely be many customers during the week. At the weekends it was packed. As more punters arrived, a small rather wizened man would be filling the empty floor space with yet more folding chairs.
I do not recall when Apollo died, but I expect it was soon after Barbiery opened across Suriwong from Twilight. With 100 boys mostly of the twink variety, as in Apollo but much less so in Twilight, they almost all seemed to be having a great deal of fun. And they were fun to watch, especially in the variety of their show items. Naked boys covered in soap suds, acrobatic displays, ultra violet displays of painting on nude bodies - and more including the de rigeur fucking shows with the coupled moving around the audience. The bar had seating on three sides with as many other seats as possible added at weekends for punters who by and large were Thais. I doubt if anyone left that bar without a smile on their faces. And the boys I offed were all both fun and by and large gave the impression of being experienced.

Day 2 (30 December 2024)
I broke the frame of my glasses on the night before my departure for Cebu, consequently, there was no time to get them repaired so I had to wear a very old pair for my flight to Cebu. Therefore, I used this day to find a good eyeglass solution, which I found at the Japanese OwnDays franchise shop in the CBP Ayala mall.  I was very impressed as I had an almost immediate eye exam, which was performed by the in-house optometrist.  I then chose my frames and then they told me to return in 20 minutes.  I thought that they must be crazy.  So, I went to have a nice lunch and returned in 1 hour and my new glasses were ready and the nose fitting had to be adjusted, which took 5 more minutes and then I paid and I was out of the shop.  Cost was 10,990 pesos (~ $188 USD), which I found as extremely good value for money, because my previous glasses that I bought back in Central Festival in Pattaya cost me around 28,000 Thai baht  (~ $822 USD) with imported metal frames from Germany.  So, I saved around 440% - so I was quite pleased as this will be one less task that I would need to do back in Pattaya with more money in the bank.
Casual non-eventful day exploring my local CBD neighborhood and starting to create my daily routine – as part of the purpose of this trip is to simulate retirement life in Cebu and if I would be pleased with it.
Later in the evening back on the apps, this time on Heesay a massage guy wrote me and I agreed to let him meet me in my room.  He was not your typical guy, in the sense he was a bit tense.  Massage went well and when we moved to the afters, he still had his underwear on and I asked him to remove them, and I started to fondle with his cock but it never got erect.  He gave me a nice edging and then when it was time to pay him, 2.500 pesos, he became aggressive and started yelling at me that I need to pay him 5.000 pesos because I touched his cock and tried to put it in my mouth.  He argued that I did not put all of these minute details in my Heesay request and therefore I needed to pay him extra.  He was definitely hardup for money because during the massage he told me his poverty story and his need to feed his 2 children and him being abandoned by his wife.  I told him that I would NOT be paying him this exorbitant amount and he refused to leave my room and I opened the door and got near him to assertively ask him to exit my room.  He saw my Armani watch on the table that my ex-Thai boyfriend gave me, and he grabbed it and said that the 2,500 pesos plus the watch would suffice.  I aggressively grabbed the watch back from him – tearing the leather band from its metal hinge and pushed him out the door and slammed it closed.  That was tense and not a fun experience.  I did not want to go downstairs and complain to the security team because this was only my day 2 of my 62 day trip and I still wanted to have the right to have additional visitors.
Day 2 (30 December 2024) concluded.
 
Day 3 (New Year’s Eve - 31 December 2024)
Routine day with my time hanging out in the CBP Ayala mall – it is becoming addictive – this Filippino way of life.  Also, got overloaded with the gazillion of app requests for action, meetings, tours, etc.
Arranged a massage with a guy from Heesay who works in the BPO building in front of my condo.  I paid 3.000 pesos (~ $51 USD) for his massage. He is a great masseur and after the massage we agreed to go and have dinner together as his partner of 8 years is busy with family NYE stuff and they supposedly don’t know that my massage guy is the partner.  We run over to the CEBU famous, “House of Lechon” restaurant to get some dinner but it was completely full and furthermore, they were completely sold out of their house specialty, Roasted Pig = Lechon.  By the way, this restaurant is the MOST famous for Lechon in ALL of CEBU and it was only 2 streets away from my condo.   https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfLechonCebu/

So, we ended up eating in a Chinese restaurant outside of the Ayala mall complex and we were the last customers allowed in.
This massage guy, let us call him Mr. R, shared many interesting stories about life in Cebu, such as:
The primary occupation for many young gays in Cebu is to work in one of the many BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) centers spread out all over Cebu with a high density of them in CBP and also over in IT Park.  The starting salary is between 12,000 to 14,000 pesos per month ( ~ from $206 to $240 USD per month ).  He told me this is why many of the gays working in these BPOs are also selling their services “for hire” on the apps, to supplement this dismal salary.  But, he told me that his partner of 8 years, holds a more senior position in one of these BPOs and earns 30,000 pesos per month ( ~  $514 USD per month ). He told me that the minimum daily wage in Cebu is 501 pesos ( ~ $8.60 per day), versus the minimum daily wage in Pattaya, which is 400 baht ( ~ $11.80 per day).  Consequently, Thai workers command a 37% premium over their Filippino neighbors.  This will become evident throughout this trip as we will see that the daily cost of living for a retiree in the Philippines versus Thailand is cheaper. He told me that the gay life in Cebu is mostly underground and/or hidden, as a consequence of the very conservative values found in the Filipino culture and Catholic religion.  I pushed back when he told me this, as I told him that I lived in Italy for 12 years and they are the hosts of the Vatican and even Italy has progressed forward with gay rights, even though the Vatican is in their backyard.  I further told him that Spain, a very Catholic country, has leapfrogged forward with gay rights.  I told him that I was quite surprised to learn this as I had thought that with the Philippines being so far away from the Vatican that it would be more free to move forward – but instead the opposite is true. He told me that in Cebu there are a couple of gay bars, 1 to 2 go-go boy bars, some cruising parks, 3 massage saunas, and 1 to 2 mixed disco clubs.  He said that the primary way gays meetup nowadays is via the apps that I already listed above. So, I learned a lot from him during our pre-NYE dinner.  We said our goodbyes and I headed back to my room so that I could sit outside on my 32nd floor balcony to watch the fireworks over the sea and I was able to celebrate NYE twice, at 12 midnight in Cebu and again at 1am in Cebu with my Thai boyfriend via a LINE video call where it was 12 midnight back in Jomtien.  After the countdown completed, I told my PMB (Primary Money Boy) the magical words that I rarely express in my life = “I love you”.  We have been seeing each other for more than 6 months now and for the last 2 to 3 months he has been constantly telling me that he loved me.  I just was not ready to say those words until now because:
I wanted to allow for the completion of the jinx that I received 1 year prior when my previous Thai boyfriend denied me my first NYE kiss and I had to vacate Pattaya in distress – so I surprised him by appearing in his birth town down in Southern Thailand and I instead kissed the iconic seaside mermaid.  With this current NYE countdown of 2024/2025 I was able to allow that jinx superstition to expire – so I felt safe to give my heart to my PMB, I wanted him to hear these words from me in the actual new year 2025. I have to say that I was also influenced by the love stories shared here in this forum by fellow forum members; @jason1975 and @Min, as they both shared their love for their PMBs – and it gave me inspiration that love can be found with PMBs, when I had previously believed that it is a HUGE mistake to give your heart to a PMB.  If I have in fact made a HUGE mistake, at least I am in good company with Jason and Min. Day 3 (31 December 2024) concluded.
 
Day 4 (New Year’s day 1 January 2025)
Since the Philippines is a super religious country, today EVERYTHING (other than 7-Eleven) is closed.  So, it was a boring day eating 7-Eleven food in my room.  I took the time to find my next AirBnB condo room, which will be in the CEBU IT Park.  Unfortunately, I failed at finding a room with a balcony.
The remainder of the day I chatted on the various apps and I found someone who will become my primary, go-to Filipino guy to help me out (in a non sexual way) with tours and miscellaneous things as they arrive.  He is still in the closet, and is a young 25 year old who works in the hotel industry.  He is a true gem and a rare find.  For me, his character is truly adorable and when I pass time with him I feel really good.  For purposes of this trip report let us call him, Mr. B.
Some background.  I transformed all of my existing 5 app profile text to read as follows:

In some of the apps, certain words are considered as non compliant with the T&C, so you can use alternative substitutes to get your message across.  Some of the local tagalog + Cebuano words to use are:  masahe, masahista, maxsage, masaj, hilot à which I noticed that the app AI compliance checkers were not checking for any prohibited words that are in any of the local dialects.
This is how I found both Mr. B and Mr. R discussed previously.
This was a non-massage day, so prior to the commencement of the NYE activities, I watched the wonderful Thai movie = “How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies”.  I HIGHLY recommend this heart warming very original Thai film. Title of this film in Thai is, "Lahn Mah" หลานม่า which literally means "Grandma's Grandchild". I found the film culturally enriching as it gives the perspective of death in Thailand from the Chinese-Thai point of view.  Film is available on in Netflix, as well as in Google movies.

It has been nominated for the Oscars international shortlist.  Read more about it here:
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/how-to-make-millions-before-grandma-dies-oscar-shortlist-thailand-1236256031/
On 2 March 2025, we will be told if it has won the actual Oscar award.
Day 4 (1 January 2025) concluded.
 
 
 

Most threads in this forum, more or less, center around boys and boy payments  When it comes to relationship with money boys, I guess, many still have big problems with "How come you claim it's love and still pay???"

If you come to the commercial scene of Thailand and expect to find love, you are more likely to be in for a great disappointment because the premise is false in the first place. You come here, you should expect to find sex, plenty of it. And when you do, you have nothing to complain about.
Then, if you are lucky (or unlucky, depending on perspective), feeling, care, love and/or relationship may tag along as unexpected but oft appreciated by-products. When that happens, the boy moves from being part of your night to being part of your life. Too bad you can't claim him as a dependent on your tax return though.
To be honest, I myself never saw it coming for me. No doubt, I had seen such relationships in my countless real-life encounters with boys and fellow customers (and in this forum also), but "I'm too cool to fall in love here. Thailand is just all fun for me, no strings attached."
Then all of a sudden, I got smitten. I got hit big time. Of course, I've spent a lot more to "take care" of my guy, I know it, but I can afford it and more importantly I feel much more gratified than those years spending each night with a different boy. I guess you must be in it to feel it and develop empathy for "the poor folks who were hopelessly in love with those mercenary bar boys". 
There is something else I want to share now.
A few weeks after the trip during which I first met J. (I hadn't gotten a chance to come back due to the upcoming Chinese New Year), I got a message from J., saying that he was seriously sick and running out of money, asking if I can give him some money to go home. My first thought was "Already? That soon?"
Naturally, I treated such a request with caution, having heard tons of stories about how the customers still got "milked" by bar boys after they went home. No matter how much I liked J., we barely knew each other at that point. I myself always said no to those requests from other boys. Well, it's not easy for me to help anyway even if I want to. Because as a tourist, I don't have a local Thai bank account and to send money abroad from Vietnam, you need a legit reason, e.g., a medical bill, tour voucher, tuition invoice, etc., to justify the payment, not "the boy I slept with asks for more money".
So I told J. I can't help right then, explaining my tourist status, so he might want to wait until I'm back. When I was finally back to Pattaya post Chinese New Year, he already went home. Talking to people in his bar, I found out he got dengue fever from mosquito bite and had to be hospitalized. I wrote to J. to see how he's doing and promised if he was unable to come back to Thailand, I would go to Laos to see him. However, in my next trip to Thailand the following month, we actually arrived in Pattaya on the same day by coincidence, and from then on, he was the only boy I offed whenever I'm in Pattaya.
Several months later, when we were much closer, I asked him again about that time when he got sick. His hospital stay cost him more than 20K baht. Having no medical insurance, he used up his savings (before Pattaya, J. worked for a Korean company based in Bangkok for some time, with a monthly salary of about 8K) for treatment and had barely enough left to pay for the bus home. Since he was too weak to work post treatment and the doctor advised him to go home to recover, he couldn't wait until I come back. 

I asked J. if he sought help from other customers too and his answer was "No, you are the only one to whom I wrote for help." There was one poignant note in his story. "I didn't even have my birthday party because I was lying exhausted on the bus home that very day." (partly why I tried to make up for him on his birthday this year).

Also, from now on, when I come home, I trust Ko, the bartender, with an emergency fund in case something similar happens again.

What a miserable Pom you are ,whilst I sit here in sweltering Sydney ,you complaining about the weather !! 
Nothing worse than a whinging pom as Aussies say, FFS look on the bright side 
It's either immigration and immigrants you people are whinging about or  your cold weather, be grateful that you are not sweltering in 40 degrees heat

It may be because I've just returned from Thailand and am, bluntly, fed-up....that I can sympathise with visitors who have disappointments there; we all do, whether it be an unsuccessful "off" or, in my case, a poor meal. Very few of those, by the way!
However, for someone contemplating a grey, chilly day in London, thousands of miles away from his loved-one  I must encourage adopting the Buddhist principle of (as P tells me, ad nauseam) "thinking good." It is true that, the older I get, the harder it is to look on the bright side but, for heaven's sake, the vast majority of guys on the scene whom we meet are friendly, reasonable in their demands. And fun. That was my experience, anyway.
For me, just to wander through the JC before bedtime (embarrassingly early in my case) enjoying the cheerful smiles, the enticing offers- cheerful and not persistent when refused- and the sheer joyfulness (at their best) of the guys is something I treasure. And even more so in retrospect. I just like being smiled at!
Is there anywhere else in the world where such pleasures are available so cheaply and so safely? and when the assignation isn't so good, it is so easy to say, "Mai pen rai; tomorrow's will be better". And it will be.  
 

My Hubby and I will be in Patong from dec 19 to Jan 6
If any like minded folk happened to want to meet for a coffe or beer, to pass the time of day and put the world right, feel free to let me know.
We are not looking for any sexual encounters but we are open to such activitives if we all like what we see.
We only ever entertain together but that's not what we are looking for, just mention it so you know. 
I am 65yo gwm retired from the UK and hubby is 50yo chinese. We're together 18 years now. 
We left the UK to live out here, his family live in penang, he is from penang, we live in a family owned flat in penang, coming up to Phuket for christmas  as my 90 days are up and I need to move for a few weeks before returning to penang.
 
We are friendly, we both smoke, he doesn't drink alcohol, I like beer.
We don't mind the gay bars but not essential.
We don't care for woke pronouns and don't have any agenda other than having an easy day
We are polite, kind and not in to any drama.  Easy life for us. We like cats.
Cheers for now. 

@Moses I want to say that I appreciate ALL the help that you have done over the many years that I have known you (almost 12 years), including (apologies if I forget anything in the below list😞
you helped my friend Woody, a Shan State refugee get on his feet (he always feared to be deported) by trusting my recommendation to give him a chance to be a tour guide for Siam Roads.  I am so PROUD of Woody, as he now has legal papers to reside in Thailand, he eventually bought the massage shop where I met him, Classic House Massage Shop - in Chiang Mai, he built a home for his mom back in Shan state in troubled Myanmar, he bought a new car which he uses for his tours, he created a wonderful tour business --> which I used his tour services a couple of times with his partner, Non.  Moses - your trust in me (and also Woody) - allowed Woody to find the right path to success and I will always be grateful to you.  Thank you Moses. Moses - you gave a chance to many of the other guys on Siam Roads that we happily employ to bring us wonderful tours. Back when Michael (SurferCrest) was the owner of the Sawatdee chat forum group - you were ALWAYS there to help and support the success of that forum - which I believe that you eventually took over from Michael. You were ALWAYS available for free to help with the network and IT issues for Gaybutton's forum. You have helped with technical issues over the years for ALL 3 Thailand forums - Sawatdee, Gaybutton, and this one, GayGuides - this is truly appreciated Moses. It just PISSES me off that so many of our forum members just constantly dump shit on you when you have a kind heart and thanks to you we all have a forum that we can use to find wonderful sexual encounters and have great vacations.
I just needed to get this off of my chest.  Enough is ENOUGH!!!!!!
I know that many people do not agree with the political side of things - but do we really need to stay so political in these forums????
This forum, gayguides.com has become so political --> especially after the fall of the former "Company of Men" forum when many of those forum members migrated over to this forum = gayguides.com
Can't we all agree to get back to why this forum was created in the first place?
To have fun, to plan our vacations, to share our adventures with each other, to create lasting friendships?
Or is it more important for us to tear each other apart ??
If so, what will be left of this forum????
 

Let's make one thing clear: I'm not trying to romanticize anything. I'm trying to tell things as it is. I don't even let myself be dragged into pretty pointless (to me) arguments, such as "what is real love" or "Transaction-based relationships are not real" blah blah. I never deny that money is important in JC "love stories". Please, those working boys come from poor family, of course, money always matters! To many of them, money is not just a means to achieve goals, money is the goal itself.

I always look at it this way, to quote my favorite character from my favorite show (The Big Bang Theory)

Bert: You guys are nice, but I'm just gonna buy Rebecca a Jet Ski and see if that gets her back.
Raj: (once Bert left) I feel bad for Bert.
Sheldon: So he's using his money to attract a mate. Is that any different than me using my intelligence to attract Amy? Or Leonard using his power of groveling to get Penny?
Raj: Sheldon, what did Amy have that attracted you?
Sheldon: Oh, so many things. Her mind, her kindness, and especially her body.
Raj: Really?
Amy: Relax. We're the same blood type. He knew he could harvest an organ.

Ask yourself this: why the boy chose me among paying fellow customers? Because of my good look? my personality? the way I care? I give him more money? Or because nobody else was interested? Or a little bit of everything?

Whatever the reason, you obviously have something to offer that others don't, at least, at that moment in time and place. So what if you entice the boy, first and foremost, with your money? At least, you have money. And later on, if he finds out about your other endearing qualities and grows more attached to you, doesn't it make it even better?

I once half-jokingly asked J. what else, apart from my money, made he fall in love with me. His answer is brief and, as clichéd as it may sound, still moves me "because of what I feel when I'm with you."

About two months ago (we were in a hotel in Vientiane at the time), in the middle of the night, J. suddenly turned to me and hugged me so tight, his whole body shaking, he woke me up (he was never a clingy type when he sleeps). Then he stopped and I went back to sleep. The next morning, I asked him about what happened. "I had a terrifying nightmare. That's why I hugged you. I now don't remember much about what I saw in my dream, but as soon as I hugged you, I feel safe again." Should I ask for more?  

Our holiday is over and we return to our homes tomorrow. 
We've been discussing our impressions of the JC, the changes, the good and less good, and comparing what we found this time with the nine or ten previous stays.
Firstly, the bar scene. Our knowledge is  very limited because we usually have a walk through the soi quite early....20.00 to 21.00.  We  are therefore merely visitors.
There have been occasions when there has been a vibrant atmosphere with many cheerful (and attractive) guys greeting us and inviting us  to come in for a drink. And on others, with few punters and many guys, the atmosphere has been less pleasing. Guys transfixed to their phones, sometimes rather forlornly due to the small number of punters.  They deserve better; I hope that, on our next visit in March, the good nights will outnumber the bad ones. 
But there was one impression at which we arrived independently; there were noticeably more visible falang/Thai partnerships, both around the Complex and in the beach area. I don't refer to self-evident  LTRs like ours, but older falang visitors accompanied by younger guys. I can't recall seeing so many before  and have no explanation why this is the case.
Another positive is the evening scene on the beachfront. Families and holiday makers enjoying the cool of the evening with some good restaurants available and many food stalls for those wanting a cheaper option, including one offering fried insects, which only one of us bought. We enjoy  watching the dance/ exercise groups even if their members are overwhelmingly female!
Loy Kratong was , once again, a delight. It was the second time we'd enjoyed it at Jomtien. Much more relaxed and family-orientated than Songkran.
Another word of praise for the Agate Hotel. I suspect that it had more gay guests this time which was pleasing. Such friendly staff; so close to the action and yet so quiet. 
Needless to say, we are looking forward to our return.

On merit of OP question I must confess that number of people  I tell about mu Thai and other exotic trips is very limited and sometimes even my close friends and even closer family members dont know where I actually am.
Upon leaving home I always leave in my desk sealed envelope with note " open if I don't return by ( date usually 2 days after my expected arrival)". There are all details of my flights and accommodation
( but nothing about offs I'm dreaming about). 
Reasons for such discretion are two, lesser being that is nobody's business where I go and what I do there, which by the way is disease those days, as we are swamped by reports on media  what people were doing whole days. 
Main reason for discretion has nothing to do with sinister side of vacation and I owe it to my classmate who told me that many people who for this or that reason can't or don't want to travel my consider it hurtful boasting about somebody's luck in life so I better keep quiet and I got thet argument. 
Back in 2001 I lost my job right after returning from Cambodia and to this day some people I worked then with claim that it was out of jealousy. Considering fact that parting terms were rapidly settled as  dismissal without the cause with substantial  financial benefits to me adds to credibility of such suspicion. 

No I was not being serious in the sense when i made the post it was clear to me  who was going to win so I headed the post sarcastically
'Well done USA electors!"
(note the exclamation mark... I really meant the opposite)
-then I increased the sarcasm by saying Make American Gay Again.
Being from a British background sarcasm is part of our culture.... 
I am truly sorry to learn of your nephew's anxiety. Stay safe.
And remember the UK also has a lot of idiots when it comes to voting...look what happened when they were asked to vote for Brexit...
 
.....Take Care.
 

I was brought up in Scotland as a Presbyterian, the Minister arrived at our house when I was 12 to say that as I had not been baptised I could not attend Bible Study classes until I was baptised, all news to me. I started visiting other religious groups, with the help of my Religious studies teacher and chose to become a Roman Catholic at the age of fifteen. When I left school I entered an enclosed, silent Benedictine monastery in a semi-ruined building built in the year 1230, Latin Office and Latin Mass sung in Gregorian Chant, seven times a day in the church, no school or parish. I was so happy there, a good community who respected each other, but kept silence and we had separate cells (rooms). After seven years I chose to leave and start a new life and trained as a nurse. I am convinced that though it was never mentioned the community knew I was gay but no one ever spoke of it, I simply felt accepted. As a teenager I tried to commit suicide three times because I could not cope with being gay, and I feel that the community of monks who accepted me gave me the courage to leave and live my life openly and freely. 

This is an update to this 2022 trip report to Koh Larn from the Pattaya Bali Hai pier - because the Pattaya City (mayor) decided to implement a new speedboat departure system, which I experienced today, 26 Oct 2024.
https://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya-mayor-vows-to-end-aggressive-practices-at-bali-hai-pier-472979
Prior to now, you went to individual speedboat vendor booths to buy your ticket to Koh Larn - to the left of the pier (when facing the sea harbor) as shown in the below photo:

Contrary to what was reported by the Pattaya mayor, I NEVER found this system to be aggressive.  I knew which speedboat company I preferred and I walked up to that individual ticket booth and bought my ticket from my favorite ladyboy ticket seller at the AM booth.  Simple and easy.  One of their guides would walk us onto the Bali Hai pier where their designated speedboat was departing from.
Now the Pattaya City had this not so great idea to terminate all of these individual speedboat ticket booths to just 2 ticket booths that are situated at the beginning of the Bali Hai pier - see below photo that I took today:

What the city has done is to divide Koh Larn into 2 sectors - Tawaen beach (side opposite of Pattaya city) and Na Baan (side facing Pattaya city).
In the past, I always bought my ticket from the AM speedboat ticket booth for the Tawaen destination and I paid 150 baht each way or 300 baht if I wanted to return from Tawaen - often I returned from Na Baan - as the return times back to Pattaya city are more flexible.
Well, this morning I got in the queue and I asked for a ticket to Tawaen and I was told that due to the choppy sea that they can only bring me to Nual Beach (aka Monkey Beach) for 500 baht.  I don't like Nual Beach as it is not nice in my opinion.
I asked why is it so expensive and the girl at the ticket booth told me that it is always 500 baht.  I told her that I live in Pattaya now since 2 years and I have NEVER paid 500 baht to go to the non-Pattaya city facing side of the island.  She replied to me, well my father is the boat captain - do you want to speak to him.  I said NO - and I then asked her what are my other options to get onto Koh Larn?  By now I was angry, as the Pattaya City has made a mess by demanding the demolition of the former decentralized ticketing system to this now centralized ticketing system.  The girl told me that i can take the normal slow ferry to Na Baan OR she pointed to another ticket booth where they were selling speedboat tickets to Na Baan - the main village on Koh Larn.

So, I bought a 150 baht speedboat ticket for Na Baan and we were then led by our assigned guide onto the Bali Hai pier floating launch that was super packed as there were other tour groups already on the floating pier - total chaos, confusion, and people being jostled by the up and down of the waves.  When the system was decentralized, the individual boat company took care to obtain their own unique launch pier to avoid the chaos that comes when you put too many groups onto the same floating launch pier - a consequence of this badly implemented centralized system.  In my opinion, it is just a mater of time before a tourist is hurt by this chaos and then to protect the sacred image of pristine Pattaya - they will order the centralized ticketing system to be demolished and we go back to the safer decentralized individual boat companies that saw to take care of you the customer.
When I arrived into the main Na Baan village, I rented a motorbike so that I could cross over the island onto my favorite side.  My first stop was for my favorite banana creme cake with an iced cappuccino at the wonderful Cher Aim Cafe & Resort situated on Tawaen beach.
 
I will admit, the ride over on the speedboat was very choppy and 90% of the passengers were Asians and some of them opened their umbrellas inside the speedboat to try to avoid some of the splashes that were entering into the boat from the waves.  All was good - as I am almost always impressed how the Thai boat drivers magically navigate their boats in any kind of weather.
Then after by banana creme cake (don't tell my gym trainer - I can already hear her yelling - I cannot control what you put into your mouth - if she only knew - hahahha) I then drove the motorbike over the most difficult but exhilarating hill on Koh Larn down into my MOST favorite beach = Tien beach.

Life is good on Tien Beach --> note that back in Pattaya there has been trash found on the local city beaches due to all of the recent storms - but over here on Koh Larn - no trash - just beautiful clean transparent turquoise water with fluffy white powder sand.

The ride back to Pattaya City from Na Baan was uneventful because by now the morning choppiness had disappeared and the 8 km of sea between Koh Larn and Pattaya City was tranquil = all was good.
 
 

After a successful venture at Arena, I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening recharging with a good snooze and a glass of wine. However, when the temptation to get out and about became unbearable, I marched towards Surawong for a foot massage and to indulge in my favorite sport—people-watching.
Around half past nine, I made my way to Good Boy. Perfect timing, as a few customers were already inside, sparing me the awkwardness of having everyone on stage vying for my attention. Scanning the room, I noticed that both 7 and 42 were present tonight. Now, it was just a matter of making the right choice between the two.
As soon as the Papasan saw me, he promptly sat next to me, and we engaged in our usual chitchat. Interestingly, this is the only bar where I’ve ever been asked if I’ve had dinner! While still wavering between 7 and 42, 7 caught my eye and grinned mischievously, making my heart flutter just enough to summon him to sit beside me.
7 is from Laos, and his English isn’t the best, considering he only started working in bars this past April. But there's something so engaging about his persona that the language barrier hardly mattered. Either that, or he’s so good-looking that I was just giddy having him next to me.
As the show began, we continued our conversation using a translator app. Oddly, the app kept translating "Top" as "complainer," which we both found amusing. I shrugged it off, and we agreed to let him “complain” on me tonight—and maybe tomorrow morning too. After 7 went to get dressed, I watched the show, eagerly awaiting Mai's performance. He’s such a handsome lad, and I would’ve "offed" him if given the chance. Unfortunately, I was told he’s not offable, as his partner works at the bar manning the counter.
After Mai's performance, 7 and I headed out to the street. I asked where he wanted to eat, and he gave the standard "up to you." We took a taxi back to the hotel, and once in the room, I handed him my phone and asked him to order food for both of us. We showered together, and just as we finished, our food arrived—perfect timing.
After dinner, I handed him the TV remote, offering him the chance to watch something. We cuddled up for a good half-hour before he shyly suggested going to bed—a suggestion I didn’t resist.
In bed, he turned out to be a surprisingly passionate kisser. He took his time before "complaining" on me, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After we cleaned up, we stayed up chatting, watching silly videos on his phone, laughing together, and looking at photos of his family. We fell asleep cuddling, with me wearing a huge grin.
Lucky 7, indeed!

So, we safely returned from Koh Tao yesterday evening, 29 June 2024.
There was no sex on this trip so if that is what you are looking for in this trip report then you can skip this article.
We took a limo car service from Jomtien to the Suvarnabhumi airport hotel = Novotel, which is located within the airport, on Monday 24 June, as our flight was very early on Tuesday.  Also, it was an excuse for me to meet my Thai volleyball friend's mother and sister, as they took a taxi down from the nearby province to eat dinner and hang out with us at the Novotel.  I always enjoy meeting the family members of my friends as it helps me to understand better their nuances - as an important human trait is to be indoctrinated by our family.
Next morning we were up early and took the Novotel shuttle over to the Bangkok Airways check - in counter.  All went well.  On our way to go through the domestic security, I was emptying out all of my pockets of metallic items into my backpack when I realized that my small bag was missing, which had my documents and cash for our trip.  So, panic ensued and my friend and I ran out of the airport (our luggage already checked in) and took a VIP urgent taxi back to the Novotel to open my room safety lockbox to retrieve the missing bag and the same VIP taxi took us back to the airport.  We had a good laugh after we got through security and still had 30 minutes to spare before boarding for our flight to Koh Samui commenced.

Travel modalities - plane, taxi, & ferry
Flight was good and non-eventual and we landed just 10 minutes late at the Koh Samui airport - which if you have never been there is an outdoor open-air airport complex.  The only other airport that I have seen that is similar is in Hawaii.

The airport was all decked out for their Pride Nation celebration, to be celebrated on 29 September 2024 --> which will become important at the end of this trip report.
      
Then we took a short 20 minute taxi ride over to the Pralan Pier to catch our Lomprayah ferry. https://lomprayah.com/timetable
We were very surprised to find out that this catamaran type of fast ferry service offered by Lomprayah, can also originate from Bangkok (near the famous Khao San backpack haven road) for a total transit time of 10 hours by bus + ferry (1 stop from the Chumphon Pier to Koh Tao) - which explains why we saw a plethora of backpackers on Koh Tao.
Our catamaran high speed ferry took 2 hours from Koh Samui to Koh Tao - which consists of 2 stops:
Koh Pha Ngan - which was about a 30 minute ride - but as the ferry was super packed we probably had a layover of 20 minutes - as this is the famous "Full Moon" party island, there were a gazillion young and sexy backpackers exiting and then entering onto the ferry.  What slows everything down is the moving of luggage from the ferry up onto the pier BEFORE they let the passengers off of the ferry. Koh Tao - which took up the remainder of the travel time. Upon entering at Koh Tao - one has the mental vision of a cramped pier town - somewhat dated back in time - that has a feel of like a pirate's or hippies town.  The attraction of this island is the numerous diving centers, diving schools, and diving trips.  The main port definitely needs an overhaul - because the wooden/cement passageways are just too narrow for the throngs of people that need to move about with their luggage in tow. Our resort transportation was waiting for us at the pier but we could not leave until all of the passengers were off of the catamaran with their luggage.
My Thai friend is 30 years old and I am close to 63 - and I could feel that I was one of the oldest persons here on Koh Tao.  Back in Pattaya, in the Jomtien Supertown Complex, I tend to be on the younger side of the local inhabitants.  So, if you want to be surrounded by energetic youth - then Koh Tao and Koh Pha Ngan are for you.  In addition, the majority of the workers on the island are almost ALL from Burma / Myanmar.  My Thai friend was quite shocked to feel as a "foreigner" in his own country - because often when he spoke Thai - nobody understood him and replied in English.
Our destination was the Jamahkiri Resort & Spa https://www.jamahkiri.com/ which is located at the southern tip of Koh Tao on the famous and beautiful "Shark Bay".
We had 2 accommodations with stunning breathtaking views of Shark Bay. (overhead shot of our resort - note the numerous steps up and down - good to stay in shape)

Photo of one of our 2 accommodations. 

Day one - as we arrived around 3pm and being very tired, we just hung out at the enormous resort and explored the grounds, rented motorbikes for 4 days, and went to 7-Eleven to stock up our room refrigerator.  While driving around on the main road - we could not find what is known as the party zone - as we were not looking in the right place.
 
Day two - determined to find the party zone - we realized that there was a parallel beach road - to the primary big road.  This beach road was more like a side walk that meandered through all of the various bars and restaurants, and hotels on Sairee Beach.  We parked our motorbikes and walked on this pedestrian walkway and eventually by accident we ran into the famous "Big Rock", where those awful murders of the 2 Brits took place.  The hairs on my arm stood up and I told my Thai friend, when we return here in the night time let us stay away from this area - I just had a bad feeling - but probably just paranoia.
While walking around there were signs everywhere for the local Pride celebration festivities at the Lotus bar https://www.facebook.com/Lotusbeachbarkohtao/
and so, we returned later that night to see what it was all about. Well, it was so packed, as they were having a Koh Tao bar crawl - so the bar was full of young university farangs who were there to party and celebrate.  They had the traditional fire shows - but so many young farangs were so drunk it is amazing that none of them ran into the swinging fire balls.  Lot's of eye candy to look at - but I was the oldest person there and I just enjoyed the view and energy.

1719757309817[1].mp4 During the day we rode our motorbikes across the island to the opposite coast to snorkel and swim at Ao Hin Wong - Freedom Bar beach https://www.islandtravelkohtao.com/koh-tao-beaches/hin-wong-bay
This was a real hippie beach as you could smell whiffs of weed everywhere, relax on a blanket or beach chair, swim in the water that was FULL of coral with amazing colorful fish to look at.  It was truly a great experience here.
Afterwards, we drove up the steep mountain on dirt rugged rutted roads.  This really tested my motorbike skills - as my heart was racing and I was so tense - but I was with my Thai friend who was also my motorbike instructor to prepare me for my trip to Da Nang, Vietnam back in April - so I wanted to make him proud.  But, at a certain point, the dirt road just became too steep for me to feel comfortable, that I just parked my motorbike and walked the rest of the way which was only like 100 meters more - until we arrived at the Jim View Bar overlook and Mango viewpoint - https://www.islandtravelkohtao.com/viewpoints/jim-view-bar
Day three - Late morning wake-up after the previous night watching the youngsters party.  Just rode our motorbikes back to the main Sairee Beach pedestrian road, as we wanted to get our souvenir shopping out of the way, eat a nice lunch at one of the beach restaurants, and to get a massage (professional clean one for my Thai friend). Back to our resort to relax and enjoy the resort.
Day four - Today I was determined for us to rent a kayak and to kayak over to the Shark Beach area - which is within view from our resort and was very enticing.  You could see that this is where the really rich people enjoyed the nature.  While laying on the pristine white sand beach, a Thai family was near us and they had a professional private  photographer who was photographing their family of 3 adorable children and the husband and wife.  The husband would speak to the 3 children both in English and Thai.
   
Just like at the other beaches - when you walk out in between the coral structures you could see amazing fish and marine life in full amazing colors - hence the reason why Koh Tao has its tourist allure for nature and diving.
Back to the Sairee Beach pedestrian road to eat, buy last minute items, as we depart tomorrow morning.  My Thai friend decided to get a massage and I decided to return to the resort by myself on my motorbike - hahahahaha - and guess what, I fall down on the turn from the main road for the road that goes to our resort.  Thank God nothing was hurt - me or the motorbike.  I got up and was ready to go - but my pride was hurt - as a very sexy young farang ran over to me and said, Mister, are you ok ? do you need me to help you up.  I replied, no I am ok (but inside my ego was hurting).  I was too embarrassed to tell my Thai friend what happened later that evening - until AFTER the motorbike company came to pick up their motorbikes - and I could breath a sigh of relief as they did not find any damages - and then in that moment I told my Thai friend what happened.  
Went to bed early as we had to already be packed with our luggage at the front desk by 8:30am and already had breakfast. 
Day five - Check out was a breeze, and then the resort took us back to the main Koh Tao pier (Mae Haad) so that we could check-in and then wait for us to be allowed onto the 9:30am catamaran ferry boat for Koh Samui.  Again, it took 2 hours with the longest part from Koh Tao to Koh Pha Ngan and then 30 minutes more to Koh Samui.
As mentioned on Day one of this trip - we did not know the significance of today, 29 June 2024.  It was Koh Samui's Pride Nation festival and when our ferry arrived into the Pralarn Pier we were greeted with large festive Gay Pride decorations.  @reader, we somehow missed this news broadcast with all of the other Thai Pride announcements.

It was now 11:30am and our flight for Bangkok wasn't until 5:25pm, so I convinced my Thai friend for us to go to Chaweng Beach, where all of the Pride Nation festivities were being prepared.  The gay parade would not start until 4pm, and we would already need to be at the airport, we were able to catch some of the gay festivities.  Had I known prior to making all of these bookings for this trip, I would have had us stay the night, 29 June, so that we could have participated in the Pride Nation festivities.
As was the case in Pattaya, Pattana who owns the various Central shopping centers in Thailand was the main driving force behind the Pride Nation celebrations in Koh Samui.
    
Here is a Youtube video of what we missed because we had to depart on Pride Nation day.
and the party info:  https://www.pridenationsamuifestival.com/
Summary
Would I return to Koh Tao?  Yes, it was a unique fantastic place.  But I would combine it with a longer trip to nearby Koh Pha Ngan - to see the Full Moon Party and to spend more time on Koh Samui - as I see that their gay center in Chaweng beach is much bigger than when I was last there back in 2014.
Would you change anything if you returned to Koh Tao?  Yes, I might change the travel modality to fly from Bangkok to Chumphon airport - because then the ferry ride only requires 1 stop - Chumphon then Koh Tao.
Did I ever feel to be in danger?  Not really, but we made sure to stay away from those mafia bars where the prior incidents occurred, and I had a Thai person with me to watch over me - as I believe that all of the 24 murders to date on Koh Tao were to non-Thais.
A funny story.  A guy on Hornet wrote to me who works on Koh Tao and he was really pushing for a hookup.  I was not interested and he was insistent.  On one of his messages he wrote to me, I see you with your Thai friend - I know where you are.  That gave me the creeps.  But, I compared his photo to the photos of the alleged Thai mafia killers and they are not similar at all - so I think that this was just a random weirdness situation.
Gay activities - there was only the party at the Lotus Bar.  In Grindr, Hornet, and Heesay, there were perhaps around 10 to 15 possible gays online on Koh Tao. However, the number greatly increased when looking on nearby Koh Pha Ngan (30 guys) and on Koh Samui (100 guys).