Gaybutton

The PATTAYA MAIL, in their May 30 edition, has released details involving the recent pedophile arrests. See: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd9 and http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd10

It is my understanding that this is no longer an option unless there are at least 5 Thai shareholders, all of whom can prove they have sufficient funds to purchase their shares. It is also my understanding that Thailand now checks these corporations to make sure they are legitimate corporations and not merely front corporations so that a farang can buy a house. I remember about a year or two ago there was a major upset about this because many farang who had bought that way were afraid they were going to lose their homes. What I recall is Thailand agreed not to do anything to existing corporations, despite the fact they were technically illegal, but would enforce the regulations with new corporations. I could be wrong, of course, but that's the way I remember it. I would certainly advise anyone who wishes to buy that way to first check with a reputable Thai attorney.

The two best I have found so far are: http://www.thai2english.com and http://www.thai-language.com

My friends, those pinned messages at the top of the posted messages are there for a reason. Please read them. Despite the pinned message, today I received three notifications of a PM. I can't read them. As I said above, when I try to read them, all I get is the screen on which I can send out a message. Please do NOT send PMs to me, unless you want to write a message that I'll never see. Instead, please send your messages to my Email: gaybutton@gmail.com . If you're one of the people who sent a message today, you'll have to send the message to my Email. I'm sorry, but obviously there is some sort of glitch in the system.

You don't pay any less. The price of the house is the same no matter who is paying for it. You not only don't get full ownership; you don't get any ownership. I have no idea. You'll have to ask a Thai attorney that question. That's between you and your Thai friend. How much you pay and how much he pays is a private matter between individuals. For my house, there was a one-time tax, which I assume was a property tax, payable at the time the final payment on the house gets paid. It wasn't much, about the equivalent of US $300, or some figure close to that. I really don't remember. There have been no property taxes since then.

That is precisely what I did, but I didn't leave it at that. I also, at the time of final payment on the house and with the help of a Thai attorney, took out a pre-paid thirty-year lease on the house. That lease is in my name and registered in the Land Office. That makes the house, for all intents and purposes, mine for the next thirty years. The lease also includes subleasing rights. When I took out the lease, thirty years was the maximum Thailand allows on such a lease. From what I understand, Thailand is now considering allowing leases up to sixty years, but I don't think a decision has yet been made. You might want to check into that with a Thai attorney. Whatever you do, no matter how close you are with your boyfriend, don't put the house in his name without doing something to protect yourself, such as the lease. Please don't make the mistake of simply trusting that all will go well with him 'till death do you part. That's how many farang have lost their home. If something ever goes wrong with your relationship, without any protection he can put you out the door and there won't be a thing you can do about it. Make sure you are the one who retains control, especially since it's your money buying the house in the first place.

Someone told me the same thing one time. I went to visit. It turned out the place to stay was a Holiday Inn . . .

This evening I enjoyed one of the finest and most memorable dinners I've experienced in quite some time. A Thai friend and I had the Summer Promotion Steak & Wine special at the Poseidon restaurant, in Jomtien Complex. I have attached a copy of the menu to this post. As many of you know, Hugh Millar recently closed the Symphony Brasserie restaurant and joined forces with Pascal at the Poseidon. Two of the finest restaurateurs you will find anywhere have teamed up and the result is just marvelous. If you have not yet experienced a dinner at the Poseidon, then you're missing a treat that I doubt you can experience anywhere else. Hugh is the perfect host and the atmosphere at the Poseidon is perfect for fine dining. There is a choice of both indoor and outdoor seating and, of course, smoking is not permitted indoors. Your choice of wine is served immediately, along with an appetizer that is not on the menu. Fresh, hot breads are served along with butter and an absolutely delicious smoked salmon spread. We each started with the lobster bisque, which we both thought was wonderful, chock full of delicious lobster chunks. I had the Caesar salad and my friend had the appetizer plate. That appetizer plate is incredible. It's a meal in itself. For the main course, my friend had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, which I don't need to tell you was done perfectly. I had the Lobster Thermidor. Superb! You get two stuffed lobster tails, already chunked so you don't have to 'work' to eat it, with the potatoes and vegetables set out in the shape of a lobster's antennae. It was truly remarkable. Meanwhile, the wine was flowing steadily. As soon as your glass is becoming empty, a waiter is right there to give you a refill. Then came the dessert. My friend had the fresh fruit salad, consisting of a generous scoop of ice cream, with sauce, and fresh slices of pineapple, watermelon, and rambutan. He couldn't finish it all. Half of it went home with him. I had the mixed berries. That Mascarpone cream is to die for! That's the dessert I would recommend trying. I highly recommend placing the Poseidon on your "absolutely must" list when in Pattaya. Don't forget about Pascal's other fine restaurant, Casa Pascal. These are both fabulous restaurants and considering the unlimited wine, the quality of the food, and the ambiance, the price is quite reasonable. You can visit their web site at http://www.restaurant-pattaya.com . At the top of the web site you can click on either logo to get to each restaurant's area of the web site.

I have not read the referred-to thread on Sawatdee, so my response is based solely on the post above. I have been living as a retiree in Pattaya for four years. Prior to that I was in Thailand for several months each year. There is, of course, a major difference between living permanently here and being here only as a holiday maker. I believe life in Pattaya and Thailand is a combination of experiences most of us share and experiences you only have as an individual. In my own case, I have met many wonderful people, a few people who I thought were wonderful and it turned out they weren't (and I'm sure the feeling is mutual), and a few people I wish I had never encountered. I have been treated with complete honesty and kindness by most Thais I've met and used and abused by a few others. I have had fabulous boyfriend experiences and have survived two terrible horror stories. Pattaya itself has plenty of frustrating problems, but also offers very much of what I want out of life that I have never found anywhere else. When I step back and look at all the wonderful things that have happened to me here, along with the terrible things that have happened to me here, and also compare my life here to the life I was living before residing permanently here, for me the positive aspects of living here vastly outweigh the negatives. When I step back and consider the people, both Thai and farang, who I have met and with whom I have formed friendships, I realize the friends I have here are the best friends I've ever had in my life. Within my circle of friends there are people for whom I would do anything and I can honestly say I love. I can't recall feeling that way about anyone from "back home." There are very few people from "back home" who I miss at all. I am happier here than I have ever been in my life, and I'm grateful this is happening to me during what is probably the final third of my life. I am continually getting much more out of life here than I ever had before. I'm happy I'm finally getting what I've always wanted out of life now rather than feeling I'm losing anything I had before. In keeping with the idea that you can't appreciate the sweet without experiencing some of the bitter, I'm glad that I've gone through only enough bitter to be able to greatly appreciate the sweet. Like you, I too consider myself very fortunate to be able to live here and I cannot think of anywhere on Earth I would rather be than where I am right now.

I must say I admire your generosity. To my knowledge, very few bars fire boys who never get offs. They just pay them less. The bar has nothing to lose by letting the boy work there unless he is doing something that is causing them to lose customers. What usually ends up happening is the boys themselves decide to look for greener pastures. I went to the Happy Bar party last night for about an hour, right when the bar first opened. There were only a few boys still working there who I recognized from the last time I was there. Did you go last night? I left about 9:15. I did not stay for the show. By the time I left there were about a dozen farang customers there, and that was about it. I wonder if more people came later, after I had gone.

I disagree. If it gets more people into the bars, that helps the boys. Also, if the intent is to share some of he tips to help the rest of the boys, I see nothing negative about that. Most bars do little or nothing for the boys, other than pay their monthly salary. Some bars have been known to cheat the boys out of even that. So, if even a little something is being done, I'm all for it. Pattayamale has a point too. Maybe the reason more bars don't do promotions is because they figure the promotion will cost more than they can recoup. Maybe they feel that even if a promotion does attract more customers, there's not enough customers to attract during low season to make the effort worthwhile.

As you can see, there hasn't been any significant changes over the past several days. The above post will be the last on this thread. I will, of course, keep monitoring. If any significant movement occurs, that's when I'll start a new thread.

Ok, that makes more sense to me. It also seems fair. Although mama-sans, waiters, bartenders, doormen, etc. are usually not taken off (although at most bars they can be) apparently the owner is trying to see that some sort of pool is collected to be distributed among the employees who don't get taken off. After all, even some of the go-go boys won't be taken off anyway, so some of them will get nothing out of the promotion unless a pool is started. Apparently the bar owner is also going to rely on the honesty of the boys who do get taken off. I suppose there might be better ways to do it, but based on what Travelerjim is saying, it does seem to me that the bar owner really is trying to do something to help these boys and is in no way trying to use the promotion to line his own pockets. It seems to me he's trying to see that all the boys at least get a little something. If that is correct, then I applaud him for it. It also demonstrates something else: Don't jump to negative conclusions.

Wednesday, May 28: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.06 Euro: 50.24 British Pound: 63.23 Australian Dollar: 30.6325 Canadian Dollar: 32.1525 _____ Closing rates: US Dollar: 32.05 Euro: 50.335 British Pound: 63.385 Australian Dollar: 30.695 Canadian Dollar: 32.145

Say "karakadakhom" five times, real fast . . .

I don't see any reason why Jim should feel bad. First, so far there has been no confirmation of the accusation other than what a boy told ReneThai. Second, he reported information given to him on a flier. It is entirely possible the boy's information is wrong or he had some reason to lie about it to potentially get more of a tip if he is taken off. It is a very common practice for bars to put out fliers. What were people expecting Jim to do? He had no reason to doubt the veracity of the flier or suspect some sort of a rip-off by the bar's owner. When a flier is given out, are people really expecting Jim, or anyone else, to also have to go to the involved bar and have a little chat with the owner before giving the rest of us the information on the flier?

The results for the popular vote in Burma, the vote that assures military rule virtually forever, are in. Somehow, the results remind me of the results Saddam Hussein used to get in Iraq. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Unbelievably Popular Rangoon - The Burmese junta claimed on Monday that an extraordinary 92.94 per cent of the survivors of Cyclone Nargis supposedly voted "yes" for a new constitution to perpetuate military rule in the country. State media - there is no other kind in Burma, "reported" that postponed polling in a national referendum was held last Saturday in 47 townships hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, which slammed into the central coast and biggest city on May 2-3. The cyclone left at least 133,000 dead or missing and about 2.4 million in need of the food, water, shelter and medicines. But they turned out en masse to vote for the junta. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the people living in the cyclone devastated areas have little reason to support the government, which has been blamed for hampering an international disaster relief effort for the storm victims. Since the voting and vote-counting were totally controlled by the military, the polling results are deemed suspicious, if not downright fictitious. The government decision to go ahead with its referendum on May 10, in the wake of the destruction wrought by the cyclone, was one of many complaints the international community voiced against the ruling junta's mismanagement of the disaster relief effort. The vote was delayed in 47 townships hardest hit by the storm, that has affected up to 2.4 million people, especially those living in the former capital of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta. According to the government's count, some 92.4 per cent of the populace voted in favour of the charter on May 10. The lead-up to the referendum was marred by a nationwide "vote yes" propaganda campaign by the government, accompanied by intimidation and arrests of opponents to the charter. In February the ruling junta passed a law making it illegal to publicly criticize the new constitution, which will essentially grant the military control over the upper and lower houses in an elected government. The regime has promised to hold an election by 2010. The results of that vote, if it is held, will also support the military junta by a huge percentage. The charter has barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding office as she was married to a foreign national, the late Michael Aris, an Oxford professor. Authorities on Friday allowed Suu Kyi to cast an "advance vote" at her home, where she has been under house arrest for the past five years. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been under house arrest since May 30, 2003, after authorities charged her with threatening national security after pro-government thugs attacked her and her followers in Depayin, northern Burma, killing 70 Suu Kyi supporters. Suu Kyi is kept incommunicado in her family home and has been unable to comment publicly on the cyclone devastation or the junta's response to it. According to Burmese law, the government cannot keep prisoners charged with undermining national security under detention for more than five years. Although Suu Kyi's detention period will reach five years on Tuesday, it is widely anticipated that the ruling junta will find an excuse for extending it further. The government has come under harsh international criticism for impeding an international disaster relief effort for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, and for going ahead with the self-serving referendum despite the catastrophe. (dpa)

After a drink or two, I can already see I'm going to have a big problem with the abbreviations for January and March . . . Anyway, thank you very much Fountainhall and Bob. That chart gets printed out and a definite place in both my wallet and on a laminated card that's going to be with me constantly.

Tuesday, May 27: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.10 Euro: 50.61 British Pound: 63.535 Australian Dollar: 30.735 Canadian Dollar: 32.2925 _____ Closing rates: US Dollar: 32.12 Euro: 50.53 British Pound: 63.455 Australian Dollar: 30.66 Canadian Dollar: 32.2275

Many people feel the same as you do. Personally, I love when that happens. I have yet to ever feel uncomfortable about it. Of course, these past couple of years several of the bars have been like that even during high season. It's been rough on the bars and even rougher on the boys.

This season is about the lowest I've ever seen it. That's to your advantage, though. You won't have much competition when it comes to availability of the boys you like.

Well, maybe I should have written BM problems. Without a bowl of prunes, at my age that's bound to happen too . . .

I think these sorts of promotions are excellent ideas and do a good job of bringing in more customers, at least temporarily. Those of you who have been around long enough may remember the old Moonlight Bar on Second Road. Quite often they would hold raffles and the winner would get a free off. If I remember correctly, the raffle tickets sold for 20 baht apiece and you could buy as many of them as you pleased. The boys are suffering from this very low season even more than usual. More and more are showing up at the beach, hoping to hook up with a farang, showing up on the gay Thai hookup web sites, and lately I've been getting three to five calls a day from boys I know, hoping I'll be "available" that day. Believe it or not I just now got a call, right in the middle of writing this. The more the bar owners take an interest in doing something that can help out their boys, along with helping themselves, the better I like it and the better it is for all concerned.

That's very good to know and I certainly appreciate the information. Assuming it can be done in my area, that's just what I'm going to do. Once I get around to setting it up, I'll post about it.

Which bank does that? Have you ever had a problem with them taking out the wrong amount? If yes, how much was taken in error and how was the problem resolved? That's something, at least, but I'd rather have a system by which I'm in control. I'd at least like to know how much the bill is before funds are drawn from my account.