Gaybutton

That is a very good point that I didn't think to mention. With the apps you can find willing young gents whenever you feel like it, day or night. For me, another reason I dislike taking boys off from a bar is because most of the time, if I return to the bar, now the boy I took off assumes I'm there for him again. Maybe I am and maybe I'm not, but it can be quite awkward when I am not. Also, if you have particular likes, dislikes, fetishes, or whatever, I think it's much easier to find boys compatible with your desires with the apps than it is by going to the bars. Again, I'm speaking only for myself. I'm not trying to recommend the apps over the bars and I fully understand why many prefer the bars to the apps. But whether there are as many boys working in the bars as there used to be or not, isn't it nice to have alternatives so that you don't have to depend on the bars?

There is also Jack'd I rarely use it, but there is also Camfrog ( https://www.camfrog.com/en/ ), where you can find live chat rooms. I don't have any particular reason why I don't use it, but it's a good place to "shop around" too.

I feel the same way. I very rarely go to the go-go bars anymore and almost as rarely the beer bars. First, I'm not much of a drinker in the first place and speaking only for myself, I have no reason to be paying for drinks I don't even want, paying for "drink for boy," and paying off fees. I find all the "my type" boys I want on the gay hook-up apps and I have never been disappointed. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to meet boys who are not even money boys and refuse to accept any money. My only disagreement with you is limiting to Hornet. I like Hornet too, but I like the other hook-up apps as well. I check out all of them.

I didn't know that happened. I'm very sorry. Actually you were not banned. Your membership got deleted. That is a big difference Every so often I prune out, with one click of the icon, members who have not logged in at least once for a year or longer. I figure if they've let that length of time go by without logging in, maybe they had a problem with me, another board member, maybe the guy died - whatever. I don't think it's asking too much for board members who wish to retain their membership to log in, even if it's just once, in a year. And I usually wait much longer than that before I do the pruning out. If someone finds his membership deleted for no apparent reason, that's most likely the reason. Anyone in that category who wishes to re-register is welcome to do so if they wish. And if anyone reading this is a current member of my board, but it's been a very long time since you last logged in, I suggest logging in, whether you're going to post anything or not. Michael's post reminds me - I'm wayyyy overdue to do a pruning . . .

Within the posts on my board about it, the ones I would pay most attention to are the posts from Trongpai. He lives in Bangkok and he is excellent at finding out what's going on. For those of you who are "Soi Twilight-o-philes," don't despair just yet. Who knows - maybe something even better than Soi Twilight ever was will be the eventual outcome. I really can't picture all the bar owners closing down their businesses forever without trying to relocate somewhere.

I apologize for touting my board here, but I believe you'll find the information you seek at this link: http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8885

Yes. Eros has reopened. The Ting Tong Red bar has also reopened.

Take a look at the Eros bar. Pattaya, Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1570530689894240/photos/ It's a closed group, so you might have to join to be able to view the photos. Scroll down and look at the photos. One of the boys, heavily tattooed and blonde hair, is named Lay. I know the odds are poor, but you never know. Maybe you'll be lucky. Is that him?

June is one of the hottest months. Some years June is very rainy and sometimes not. June is low season, so expect it to be quiet. Right now is high season and quite frankly this year so far I see very little difference between low season and now. These days it's difficult to predict how many boys will be around, but there is usually a good assortment. And with fewer farang coming to Thailand, especially in June, you'll very likely have your choice, with little or no competition for your favorite boys.

My question is not whether the punishment fits the crime. My question is why would anyone want to do that in the first place? And why at a temple? There are plenty of other places where they can get their thrill by baring their hind ends. I have a suggestion for them. Next time, try it in front of a police station . . .

I don't know what kind of maps some of you are looking at, but from the Malaysia Hotel, the Babylon Sauna is about a 10 minute walk. Silom is much further and not my idea of walking distance at all.

That is partially correct. I stay at the Malaysia regularly - at least once every other month and sometimes more often than that. BIB are in the restaurant quite often, usually several of them sitting together. I don't know why. Maybe they get to eat free or at a discount or they simply like the food, but they still frequent the restaurant. The restaurant, by the way, is open 24 hours, so you can get a meal, snack, or a drink whenever you want it. As for boys hanging out, hoping for farang customers, there used to be several, some in the outdoor part of the restaurant and some in the gazebo. Now that the gazebo is gone and a security guard in the parking lot I never see them in the restaurant anymore, but there are usually one or two sitting on the end of the parking lot entrance walkway. That doesn't mean there is a shortage of available boys. Quite the contrary. Some hang out just outside, by the motorbike taxi stand or I'm always approached if I'm walking up Soi Si Bamphen - toward the Lido Italian restaurant. And there are the gay hookup apps, such as Planet Romeo, Grindr, or whatever and plenty of boys within very close proximity to the Malaysia Hotel. The Malaysia Hotel is quite gay friendly. The front desk will hold the boy's ID card while the boy is in your room and he doesn't get it back until they have the "all clear" from you. They do examine the ID card to make sure it is actually his. If a basic room is acceptable, the Malaysia Hotel is an excellent bargain. The high season price, now in effect, is 950 baht per night. With the room you get a 50 baht discount slip for the restaurant. WiFi is on offer too - sometimes free, sometimes not. There are better quality rooms available for about 1200 baht, but I tried one of those rooms only once. I didn't see much of a difference between those rooms and the basic rooms. Aside from the coffee and tea with water heater and a more fully stocked room refrigerator, there was little difference. If I want coffee, I'll get it at the restaurant. If I want any of the same things stocked in the refrigerator, I can get them at the 7-Eleven. The room is air conditioned, tile floor, closet, shower (no bathtub), small refrigerator, basic furniture, and flat screen TV. That's about it. For me, that's all I need. I have about zero interest in spending thousands of baht per night for luxury accommodations. My only complaint is I can never get hot water in the shower. The best I ever get is lukewarm. The maid staff is attentive, friendly, competent, and honest. They're not going to steal anything from you. There are only two or three electric outlets in the rooms. If you need more than that, the 7-Eleven right across the street sells extension cords. There is no room safe. If you need a safe, the front desk has safes right there. To my mind, that's better than room safes. The front desk staff is honest. I've never heard anyone accuse the front desk staff of stealing from the safes and nobody but the front desk staff can get to the safe. What I do is take the amount I intend to tip the boy, pocket it, and have the front desk put my wallet in the safe. Now I don't even have to think about the possibility of the boy making off with my wallet or cash. I also like the location. Good restaurants within easy walking distance. About a three block walk to the MRT station (or a 10 or 20 baht motorbike taxi ride). Taxis and motorbike taxis readily available. About a 10 minute ride to the Silom go-go bars. Easy walking distance to the Babylon sauna. If you drive, it's very close proximity to the expressway.

We've been hearing about high speed rail links for years. So far, all talk and no action. For me, it's another one of those "I'll believe it when I see it" kinds of things. Dalewood said, "I bet the train station will be a pain in the ass to get to." If the rail link is actually built that may very well happen. But even so, it might be worth the trouble. I drive to and from Bangkok fairly often. The expressway is unpredictable. You never know when there will be traffic jams, except of course during holidays when you can count on them. Just yesterday I drove to Bangkok on the expressway, Rte. 7. There was a traffic jam going toward Pattaya from Bangkok that was a good 6km long. If you're going into Bangkok, not long after passing the airport you can almost always expect a 15 to 30 minute traffic jam at a toll station for a lousy 25 baht. I returned to Pattaya today. No problem at all on the expressway going to Pattaya. But there was a huge traffic jam going toward Bangkok. And then, once you're in Bangkok, the traffic is a nightmare. So even if the train station is a pain to get to, I'd rather endure that pain than the traffic jams. I would take the rail link to Suvarnabhumi and then the train into town from there.

I don't know. You would have to check with Thai police. You might also want to check, if you are using a Malaysian driving license, whether Thailand would still require an International Driving Permit. If you drive a car in Thailand, no matter what kind of car you drive, and whether it's your own or a rental, you definitely want to check if your insurance will cover you in case of an accident.

Logic? In Thailand? Surely you jest. I don't know what happens if you lose your departure card. Maybe they don't let you leave . . .

There have been no reports in the media about jet ski scams lately. However, even if the problem has been solved, I would still advise you to avoid jet skis or even swimming in the sea in Pattaya. The water is incredibly polluted. Just a couple days ago a lot of trash and dead fish washed up on the beach. If you want to swim in the sea or rent jet skis, I would suggest doing that far from Pattaya - VERY far from Pattaya - at least until the local powers-that-be get the pollution cleaned up (don't hold your breath for that).

Your "trial by fire" was quite common for gay farang new to Thailand. What you went through was difficult for you, but thankfully not devastating. Now you know what so many of us, including me, learned the hard way. Many farang ended up not only heartbroken, but financially devastated too. Reading your posts I believe you are a very nice person. I'm glad you found your way out of the trap and I'm glad you did not let that boy ruin your holiday. I think it's appropriate for me to repeat what I have posted so many times before - what I call "The Richard Burk Philosophy." I think now you will far better understand why he said it: "If you want love in Thailand, rent it."

That's not always true. When I was a child I had an imaginary friend. He didn't like me . . .

"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." - Groucho Marx

Thank you for that, and you are correct. Several of us do know each other quite well and are always happy to make new friends and help people new to Pattaya.. If you are interested, every Thursday a group, usually 12 to 18 people, meet for dinner at 7:00pm at Sunee Plaza's Ting Tong Red bar. The owner, Mario, serves a meatloaf dinner. If you are interested, let me know and I'll be happy to put you in touch with the gent who makes all the arrangements. Also, nearly every night, right next door to Ting Tong Red, is the Elephant bar. A small group can almost always be found there at "The Round Table" from about 8:30pm-10:00pm. You would be most welcome. Most of these people have lived in Pattaya for many years and are just the right people to meet if you are new to Pattaya and don't have man farang friends just yet. You'll know all the ins and outs of Pattaya in no time. If you are not familiar with my board, it's: http://www.gaybuttonthai.com

No apology necessary. I can't speak for Fountainhall, but I certainly don't mind at all. You're welcome to use anything at all, any time you want, that you find on my board if you would also like to have it on your board.

Why am I not surprised?

Thais interested in bondage - that must be "The Thai that Binds" . . . Don't feel badly that the BDSM club closed. I often see local people, both Thai and farang, interested in BDSM advertising themselves on Planet Romeo.

You're going to have to do better than that. Out of curiosity I looked for the pic. I can't find it. You need to either attach the pic to your post or give us the exact URL for the pic so that all anyone needs to do is click on the URL and the pic comes up.

Thank you. That explanation makes sense out of it, although it does bother me that here we are in 2017 and there is still such a stigma attached not only to being gay, but the word gay itself. I'd like to live long enough to see the day when there is no longer any kind of stigma attached to gay at all. I believe that day will come. I also believe the day will come when indisputable proof of life on other planets is finally discovered. My only question is which day will come first. I hope I live long enough to see both, but somehow I doubt I'll live long enough to see either. Oh well, at least I now, thanks to Alexx, have an explanation about the name change.