Gaybutton

Ok, that works for me . . .

Somebody I know owes me a dinner at Manhattans. Do you want me to dress in drag?

Thank you for that report, Maple. I was in Sunee Plaza last night for about an hour. I went home about 10:00 PM, so I missed the raid. Did they take the under-age boys away too or were drugs their sole interest? Does anyone know if the Pattayaland bars were also raided? If not, once again they always seem to go after only Sunee Plaza. I wonder why. Again, I only visited two bars. I did not observe anyone smoking. I was also going to visit the Siam Boys bar on Soi Day-Night, but it appeared to be closed. Nobody was there, inside or outside. I don't know what the story is with that bar yet.

Yes, it's the same general area. Once you are on Pratamnak Road, you go down Soi 4 to get to both Cabbages and Condoms and the Elephant Pub (which I reviewed in an earlier thread). They're both right next door to each other. You go down Soi 6 to get to Romanasia (two sois before you get as far as Soi 4, if you're coming from Tapphraya Road from town), then turn right on Soi 9. There is a sign at Soi 9 and in smaller print on the same sign it says Romanasia. If you get as far as Soi 6, then you shouldn't have any problem finding Romanasia.

Unless you have your own transportation, getting to and from there is going to have to be by motorcycle taxi. There are always motorcycle taxis available. From the city, you could hire a baht bus, probably for 100 baht or so, to take you there, but you're quite a distance from any baht bus routes if you're starting from Romanasia. I think if you call their number and ask to speak with Derek, he can tell you much better than I can about transportation to and from.

Last night a couple friends and I tried Romanasia, a fairly new restaurant that has been open only for six months. I had read about it on a few restaurant reviews and we decided to give it a try. This is a restaurant you'll have to experience to believe. When you walk in, you cross a small footbridge over a pool and walk into an ambiance such as I have never seen. You're going to either think it's magnificent or you're going to think it's kitschy. We thought it was magnificent. There is seating for only 32 customers, so make sure you have reservations. When we arrived, there was a 'reserved' sign on every table. We were cordially greeted by the staff and led to our table. There is a full bar and very selection of wines. The menu is not extensive, but has something for everyone, including Thai dishes. The food is absolutely superb and beautifully presented, as you would find in restaurants such as Casa Pascal and Cherry's. One of my friends prefers Thai food and he was delighted with his. My other friend and I started with their spinach and cashew cream soup. It was wonderful. I had a pork steak topped with a cheese crust that was out of this world and one of the most delicious sauces I've had in years. My other friend had a chicken dish that he thought was incredible. For dessert, we had their strawberry brulee, which was just gorgeous and to die for! The prices are also quite reasonable. The most expensive menu item is 195 baht. The soup was 90 baht. My entree was 180 baht. The dessert was 85 baht. Bottled water is 20 baht. Sue, the owner, runs the kitchen, so we never got to meet her. However, her husband and restaurant manager, Derek, from Portsmouth, England, comes around to each table, chats amiably for a few moments, makes sure you are enjoying the meal and are satisfied. Also, everyone is served at the same time, something rare in Thai-owned restaurants. As far as we were concerned, there were only a couple negatives. The first is the portions. Two of us thought the portions were too small and we left the restaurant still hungry. I would say this is not the restaurant to go to if you are really hungry. In my opinion, it's the place to go if you are more interested in relaxed conversation with friends, in beautiful surroundings, with some fantastically delicious food. We also thought the service was slow. We felt that too much time went by between courses and it took close to fifteen minutes to get our bill. One crass customer lit up a cigar, despite the fact that outside the door there are tables and chairs set up for smokers. Instead of being asked to step outside or put out his cigar, he was given an ashtray and the staff said nothing to him. Other than that, we thought this restaurant is a wonderful find and we certainly will return. I highly recommend giving it a try. The restaurant also serves breakfast. They are closed on Sundays. We had a good laugh when we pointed out to Derek that their web site mentions a Sunday roast lamb special, and right underneath that it says 'closed on Sunday.' Derek laughed and thanked us for pointing that out. He said he meant to change that on the web site and had forgotten all about it. The restaurant is located in the Pratamnak Hill area (see their web site for directions) and quite easy to find. If you have ever been to Au Bon Coin, it's very close on the same soi. The telephone number for reservations is: 087-135-8357 Romanasia's web site is http://www.romanasia.com

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Strict Smoking Bans in Force All Bars, Pubs, Discos, Clubs - and Markets SURASAK GLAHAN AND AFP A total ban on smoking in pubs and clubs throughout the country takes effect today, to the delight of non-smokers and the chagrin of smokers. The ban covers all air-conditioned bars, pubs, discos and clubs. In addition, the owners of outdoor restaurants and markets are required to designate smoking and non-smoking zones. "They will have to cross the street to smoke over there," said Than Leebamrung, the 36-year-old owner of the Sapha Kafe (Coffee Council) bar, when asked what arrangements he had made to help his customers. Other bars and clubs may simply ask customers to smoke outside in the doorways, but Mr Than was not sure if the same could be applied to his bar, which is in the Din Daeng area. This is because it is situated in a commercial building, where smoking is not allowed. Like Mr Than, most bar owners see the law as impinging on people's civil liberties. "People going to these entertainment places find it acceptable to be exposed to cigarette smoke. I have never received any complaints from non-smokers," he said. The owner of a bar on Khao San road, who asked not to be named, frowned on the ban, saying it would certainly affect his business. "Lawmakers should instead allow operators to set up both smoking and non-smoking areas to be fair," he said. The law previously exempted nightclubs and bars from a smoking ban which was introduced in 2002. The original ban covered indoor public places, including air-conditioned restaurants. The ban's extension is being hailed by health advocates who say it is another milestone for tobacco control. "By banning smoking in pubs and nightclubs, Thailand has once again shown its leadership in tobacco control in the international community, following the examples of Ireland, Uruguay, the UK, France and others," said Bungon Ritthiphakdee, director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. "Hopefully, in the near future, all open-air restaurants in Thailand will be 100% smoke free," she added. Health advocates said the new law would protect both patrons and workers in bars and clubs from the effects of second-hand smoke, which studies have shown can cause asthma, strokes and even heart attacks. They said it would also help smokers quit the habit more easily. Chonticha Putharak, a 21-year-old non-smoker who used to work in a bar, said she developed breathing difficulties and her eyes would also hurt when she was there. "The law sounds good to me because I have an allergy," she said. Chai Jeam-mornrat, a 33-year-old fashion designer who smokes almost a packet of cigarettes a night when visiting his favourite bars at weekends, said the new law is good as it would discourage him from smoking. "I like to smoke when drinking alcohol. Being forced to go out of a club just to smoke outside could make me choose to not smoke to avoid the inconvenience," he said. However, many are still doubtful about whether the law will be effectively enforced. One bar worker said that bar owners may ignore the law and bribe police into turning a blind eye so that things could continue as before. Karn Yaempetch, 33, who once co-owned the Original Sin club in the Chatuchak area agreed that it could be a problem. "Now it all depends on how effective the law enforcement will be," he said. "Law enforcement in this country rarely works. "I think a voluntary measure with proper education on tobacco's impact on health would be more effective than the smoking ban." The health ministry said bar and restaurant owners can relax, at least for now, because authorities won't begin fining the law breakers until June. "Although the ban takes effect on Feb 11, we will focus more on educating people and issuing warnings rather than fining wrongdoers until May 31," said Seri Hongyok, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Office. The ministry is prepared to advise businesses on how to comply with the new rules, and will distribute copies of the regulations by the end of February, Mr Seri said. "If there is any breach of the law, our authorities will consider them on a case-by-case basis to ensure fair treatment," he said.

I was also in Sunee, but I didn't notice any signs. I think I know which bar you are referring to, but I didn't pass that one. Good. That means at least some of the bars are complying and are aware of the new rules. Maybe the rest will quickly follow suit. We'll see what happens. Did anyone else visit bars last night? I only went to two. I'd like to know what was going on and how many bars were in compliance.

This evening I visited two bars in Pattaya. There were no "farang" smoking (including me), but several of the boys were smoking. I mentioned it to a couple of the bar staff. They, of course, acted surprised and as if they knew nothing about a smoking ban. The letters BS come to mind. Ashtrays were still all over the place and I didn't see any bars sporting a "No Smoking" sign, at least not outside. I also saw absolutely no police presence whatsoever in an attempt to start enforcing the regulation immediately. In other words, while I only visited two bars, so far I've seen no evidence that the ban exists anywhere but on a piece of paper. Well, it's only the first day. We'll see what happens.

That is precisely my intent.

As you wish, but I don't understand why you would refuse to go to the bars because of the rule. After all, the bars didn't ask for this rule. It was imposed on them. Why blame the bars? They don't have much choice about it.

Some of your suggestions will certainly be taken up and all of them will be carefully considered. I have great respect for your opinions, as I am sure the other moderators do. We also have some opinions and procedures of our own, so please do not feel slighted. As far as the name calling directed at me, after all these years dealing with message boards I'm used to it and quite frankly couldn't care less, especially when I take a look at who it is that does the name calling. By the way, before the accusations start up again, I am not the moderator who removed the latest MSBUCKET post. It had already been removed by the time I checked in.

Maybe the fact that he is saying he will not comply has something to do with why the bar has a slight lack of customers. Again, being a smoker myself, I can't see anything wrong with stepping outside to smoke. What's so terrible about that? Sure, I'd rather be able to smoke inside the bars, but less than three hours from the time I'm writing this post that will no longer be legally possible. So, I'll step outside to smoke. I hope, for everyone's sake, both bars and customers will comply without any problems. I can't see the logic behind the bar owner's attitude, if he meant what he told you. He doesn't want to alienate his customers? I would think the vast majority of his customers are non-smokers. Wouldn't a refusal to comply alienate the majority of the customers he can get?

I have been trying to decide whether to respond to your post. I think I will. In my opinion, the removal of your post is not censorship of the truth. It is merely removal of a post that violates this forum's posting rules. What you wrote may or may not be true, but it was clearly an accusation with no proof or evidence of any kind other than your word for it. Nobody even knows who you are, so just taking your word for it would be out of the question under any circumstances. This is a message board. It's not an attorney's office in which you are testifying under oath during a deposition. Even if what you wrote is absolutely true, the posting rules clearly state this forum is not here for people to settle their personal disputes or post accusations. If we had no such rule, then the deletion of your post would be censorship. However, since the rules are clearly stated, your post was in violation of the rules and resulted in deletion. I suggested that you personally contact the person with whom you have a dispute. That is the appropriate method for settling the matter. Posting personal accusations on this forum is inappropriate and not permitted even if you have iron-clad proof that the accusation is true.

That has been canceled. They decided instead to use me as the feature contestant in the Sumo wrestling match.

Why not get confused early and avoid the Christmas rush? According to the February 8 edition of the PATTAYA MAIL, enforcement of the regulation begins in Pattaya on February 11 (see http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd14 ). As far as I can tell, the ban begins in Pattaya on February 11. Everywhere else in Thailand, it begins on February 17. For some reason, Pattaya often does things on dates different from other areas of Thailand. Songkran comes to mind. Apparently, tonight and tomorrow night are the last nights smokers can smoke in Pattaya's bars. It will be interesting to see if "No Smoking" signs are posted in the bars beginning Monday.

You can count on it. I believe the concessionaires along the gay beach area are there legitimately. Most of them have been there for years and nothing seems to be encroached. I have no idea how the regulation will affect the gay beach area, but if I see anything different from usual, I'll certainly post about it. One of the things I'm wondering about is where they expect people to sit if the concessionaires are not allowed to put out their chairs in certain areas. Sure, you might be able to sit out in the sun, but on what? What are you going to do, bring your own chair back and forth to the beach? If you're here on a week or two holiday, what becomes of the chair you ended up buying once it's time for you to go home? I suppose the concessionaires might be be able to rent you a deck chair and umbrella, which could easily mean there will be just as many seats and umbrellas as always. You may also lose the services such as the beach waiters. You may not be able to order something to drink or order any food if the concessionaires not only lose their chairs, but also lose being able to wait on people who are not in the seats owned by the concession. Also, if the concessionaires lose a significant number of their chairs, then they might all be forced to raise their prices. Personally, I prefer the umbrellas. I burn easily. Also, without the umbrellas there may be a lot less eye candy at the beach. Many of the Thai boys won't go to the beach at all. That's because a dark tan is considered low class in Thailand, so they all want to be "color white." A lot of skin whitening cream is sold in Thailand, even the dangerous kind. Workers who have to work out in the sun are usually seen working in long pants, long sleeve shirts, hats, gloves, and even ski masks to keep their skin from coloring. It can be a day with temperatures hot enough to make a sauna seem like air conditioning, but they'll be out there looking as if they're dressed to follow Robert Peary to the North Pole. That's why I think a lack of umbrellas could mean less boys to ogle at the beach. Many like the beach and a great many of them are there on their daily "farang hunt," but I can't help but wonder if many will stop coming if, by the time they get there, the seats covered by umbrellas are all taken. It's usually somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00 PM by the time the boys wake up and get to the beach. To my mind this idea is one of those typical ideas that hasn't been thought through and the whole thing is ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, this makes it right to the "If It Ain't Broke, Break It" list. The number of deck chairs and umbrellas hasn't been a problem and I never hear anyone saying, "Gee, I sure wish there were a lot less of them. I want to be able to sit down out in the sun for free." I'd much rather see the city make the illegal concessionaires pay for the areas upon which they encroached instead of forcing them to start removing chairs. I think it ought to be "pay up or get out completely." In any case, I'll be sure to post if and when I see any significant changes.

Please see the article in today's PATTAYA MAIL for details: http://www.pattayamail.com/current/news.shtml#hd1

Personally, I don't care which market they are seeking, if indeed they really are seeking a straighter market, as long as the quality of the food and ambiance doesn't diminish. Of course, if the prices diminish, they'll get no argument from me . . . The part that's on my "I Don't Get It" list is the firing of the manager, if indeed that actually occurred. Why would they do that instead of simply telling him they want to go another direction and let him handle it? The only reason I can come with would be if he refused to comply with their wishes, but I can't picture him making such a refusal. He is a fabulous person and put his heart and soul into making that restaurant a masterpiece. If he has been fired, I hope he will be ok and I hope he'll open a restaurant of his own and remain in Pattaya. That's exactly what happened when Eric left Clubber's for whatever reason. Now the Clubber's restaurant is closed and Eric opened Sammy's right down the street. He has done a marvelous job with it and I think it's even better than Clubber's was. If they have really done this to him and if they are really 'changing direction,' then that's right up there with, "If it ain't broke, break it."

Thank you atri1666. I wasn't aware of that web site and thanks to you now everyone can see the schedules and fares.

Yesterday I was at Pattaya's main bus terminal on North Road. While I was there I got the schedule for the buses that run from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport. The buses run at the following times: 6:00 AM 9:00 AM 11:00 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 10:00 PM The fare is 150 baht. At some point I'll try to get the schedules from the airport to Pattaya. I have no idea why they don't include schedules conducive to so many international departures and arrivals that occur between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM, but there it is. If the schedule won't help you, then you'll have to go by taxi (800 baht, including tolls to the airport. From the airport runs 1400 baht on up), limo, hotel car, or whatever. There is also an airport bus that runs from Soi Chaiyapruk (very far south on Jomtien Beach Road). It is located on Soi Chaiyapruk, about half a block from Jomtien Beach Road. I came to Pattaya from the airport on that bus and the fare is 106 baht. I imagine it is the same price to go to the airport from Pattaya, but I'm not sure. That bus also stops at the secondary bus terminal on Sukhumvit Highway, just south of Central Road (Pattaya Klang). Sorry, I don't have the schedule for that bus. I'll try to get it.

I have deleted a thread that began with "That's what I wrote to a guy I naively thought he was a friend of mine" Before another brouhaha starts with regard to me and the other moderators of this board being trigger happy about deleting threads, this particular post was in flagrant violation of the posting rules. I understand this person posted the same message on other boards and the thread has been deleted on at least one other board. My apologies to those who had posted responses, but the board software provides no means of deleting the first post without deleting the responses along with it. Once again, this board is not the place for people to fight their personal battles. I suggest to the person who wrote the original post, since you are obviously well acquainted with the person with whom you have a dispute, take it up with him personally or contact him via email or PM.

According to the article, these umbrellas will be going to Jomtien Beach. Technically, the gay beach area is in Dongtan Beach, so it remains to be seen whether the concessions in the gay beach area will receive any of them, but here's the article from PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ 540 Beach Umbrellas Presented to City Hall by Group of Local Business Operators On Tuesday Morning at Pattaya City Hall, Khun Wootipon, the Director of the Permanent Secretary’s Office welcomed a group of local business owners from the Alcazar Show Theatre, the Bali Hai Plaza, Nordic Hill Village, SP Village and the Permsub Taweegas Service Station who presented 540 Beach Umbrellas which are to be used on Jomtien Beach. The Umbrellas feature the telephone number 1337 which is the four digit number for the Pattaya City Call Center. The donation was gratefully received and the Umbrellas will now be passed on to 22 Deckchair operators on the Beach.

I have been unable to personally verify this information, but today I received a message from a highly reliable source, who prefers to remain anonymous. He has provided much information over the years and thus far has never been incorrect. So, for what it's worth, here's the message: _____ The manager of Manhattans restaurant has been fired. The owners want to take the restaurant in another direction which doesn't include (name of manager), but may include more female staff and aiming their product at a lower class, straighter market.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Americans in Bangkok Hold Little Super Tuesday Americans eager to select candidates for their next president trooped to the polls on Tuesday morning - in Thailand. About 1,500 US expats were likely to vote at early primary polls in Thailand today. Because of the time difference, they will be voting 12 hours or more ahead of their compatriots in the United States. In Bangkok, the Democrat Party poll was set up at a Starbucks outlet. There are other polls in Chiang Mai, Nong Khai and Udon Thani for members of the Democrat Party, most of whom will be choosing between Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as their party's next candidate. In the United States, Super Tuesday is the primary - or selection - poll in 22 states simultaneously. It is possible that by Wednesday evening Thailand time, the final candidates for the November 4 presidential election will be known. Registered Republicans in Thailand also will vote, but not at semi-official polls and on the Internet like elections sponsored by Democrats Abroad. Because Republicans Abroad is not an official part of the US party, Republicans will have to vote by mail - a choice also open to Democrats. Overseas voters will be represented at the official, rubber-stamp Democrat Party convention in August, where the presidential candidate will be annointed. Expatriates will have 22 delegates at the convention. The first Americans to vote in Super Tuesday are those in Jakarta. Democrats opened the polls at midnight last night, enthused by the idea that one of the leading candidates, Barack Obama, lived in Jakarta from the age of 6 to 10. "There is a bit of rooting for the hometown boy," said Tristram Perry, the public diplomacy officer at the US Embassy in Jakarta, as more than 100 voters began gathering at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in the bustling capital. "It is the first time someone who grew up in Indonesia is running for president," he said. An early tally at the hotel gave Obama a resounding 75 per cent of the votes to 25 per cent for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.