Gaybutton

Are you under the impression that the under-age boys working in Sunee Plaza is a thing of the past? To put it mildly, I would still encourage people to make sure to check IDs before taking some of the boys off from some of the bars. As for the pedophiles having fled, I hope so, but the fact that no names have surfaced - yet - doesn't really mean that much at this point. It could be that the police are not releasing any names until they can start making arrests. It could also be that the media simply isn't reporting names. It often seems that what the English language media publishes and what it ignores could very well qualify for my "I Don't Get It" list. A perfect example is the death of the guy from the La Dolce Vita bar and the fact that a Thai boy has been arrested in connection with it. There still hasn't been one word about it in any of the English language media that I've seen. I have no idea why they're not reporting it, especially in light of the fact that the Thai language media is reporting it, but there it is. In any case, I hope this puts a stop to a lot of the pedophiles. The trouble is, no matter what happens they always seem to manage to find another way to do what they do.

I'm not so sure they would ship him home at embassy expense and I'm not so sure there would be no perjury charges once he got there. I do know who you mean, but I don't want to gossip about one particular person. But whether it's that person or someone else, I don't think I would want to live with the stress of that kind of uncertainty. Under those circumstances, a person is living here never knowing from day to day if this is the day he'll somehow be caught. Under those circumstances a person has to flat out lie to both the embassy and Immigration annually. Under those circumstances he has to be concerned that the day will come when the embassy changes its policy and starts requiring substantiation before they'll issue the proof-of-income statement. Under those circumstances a person is unable to do little more than merely survive, but can't have much of a life, at least the kind of life that attracts most farang to Thailand. Under those circumstances a person may feel that you might very well be correct in your opinion about what would actually happen if he is ever caught, but he has no way of knowing what the outcome would be. If a person chooses to live that way, that's his decision, but I doubt that very many farang would really want to live like that. Another thing the embassy might do is simply confiscate his passport and leave him on his own. I actually witnessed something like that. A couple years ago I was at the USA embassy obtaining my proof-of-income statement. While I was there I heard an argument break out between a man and an embassy representative. Apparently he too was there trying to get a proof-of-income statement. When you do that, you have to hand over your passport and wait for them to call you to the service window to get the statement. When they called this man over, I could overhear the embassy official tell him a check of his records showed he is a deadbeat father who had not been paying child support. They refused not only to give him the proof-of-income statement, but they also informed him they were confiscating his passport until he could show proof that he is current on his child support payments. The man threw a fit, but the embassy wouldn't budge. So, now there he was, without a passport and apparently without the kind of money it would take to pay up on the child support. Your guess is as good as mine as to what ended up becoming of him.

They better be if they want out of this one. This case is too high profile for just paying off the police and now the problems go away. I also think a lot of Thai parents will be out there raising hell if they find out their own children were lured into this kind of prostitution. And it appears quite a large number of boys were lured this way. I hope, if nothing else, this will scare a lot of pedophiles into getting out of Thailand very quickly, before the knock comes on their doors. Damn! I wonder just how many farang pedophiles are actually in Thailand. I suppose I am naive, but I also wonder how the pedophiles manage to find these kinds of operations in the first place.

I agree with z909. Let me ask you something, is there a Gay Romeo boy you haven't met? I think, if you made mistakes beyond what z909 outlined, you were giving far too much money to boys who were not living up to what they were supposed to be doing. They seem to have perceived you as an easy mark. I also think, based on my interpretation of your very comprehensive diary, you were here focused almost exclusively on boys and bars. Not that it's a bad thing, but I think you may have simply been trying too hard and not getting all the results you wanted. I also think you spent too much time with individual boys. If you were here trying to have essentially a sex holiday, you might have been better off taking them for short time, giving them their tip, and see you later. Then move on to the next boy. But I don't understand why you wrote that you may not come back to Thailand again. Aside from a few minor incidents, it seems to me that you had a great time. Also, now that you experienced a number of the negatives, next time you'll be prepared for it, know what to expect, and much better equipped to deal with these things when they occur. I really don't think it's reasonable of you to blame Thailand for the problems you encountered. What I see as where to place any blame would be on your own approach to awkward situations.

A great many of these people already have homes that have been in their families for many years. Not exactly luxury accommodations, but they have a place to live. As for food, many grow much of their own, raise poultry, etc. There are all kinds of things native Thais can do that would be difficult or simply not available to farang trying to live in Thailand under similar circumstances. Also, there is one more little caveat. In order for a farang to be able to get a retirement visa he has to have a minimum monthly income. I forgot how much, but I think it's in the neighborhood of 70,000 baht per month. It is possible to simply lie about it, at least to the USA embassy, but if it is ever checked, now you have a problem. If you become indigent, you can't go to the embassy about it. You swore under oath as to what your income level is. Go to the embassy and they find out you lied under oath, welcome to perjury charges.

Apparently the pedophiles had a friend in a Thai "gentleman" running a pedophile ring and luring young boys via his Internet gaming shop and also apparently several internet shops are involved. Lord only knows just how widespread this might be. This is one of the more sickening stories yet. _____ Paedophilic Internet Café Scam Investigated in Pattaya Following the high profile arrest of Mr. Mikhail Pletnev, the internationally renowned Russian musician, Pattaya Children & Woman Protection Center revealed the discovery of an intricate network of paedophiles operating in Pattaya. Pattaya, the 9th of July 2010 [PDN]: At approximately 1:00pm on Friday, Mr. Supphakorn Noja (Pattaya Welfare Protection & Child Development Center Director) revealed the successful discovery of a network of paedophiles operating through various “front” internet café businesses. Investigators have since obtained a statement from a victim of the alleged scam, who revealed that the operation involved largely foreign clients with Thai men acting as intermediaries. Mr. Noja explained that the Children & Woman Protection Center investigating the cases of Mr. Traiphop Bunphasong and Mr. Mikhail Pletnev, uncovered a network of paedophiles that had been deceiving young children into committing indecent acts having innocently used various internet cafés for gaming purposes. Photos and the rest of the story: Paedophilic Internet Café Scam

What I meant was disappearing from Thailand. He's back in Russia. The Russian embassy apparently believes his story or at least that seems to be the indication, so I imagine the Russian powers-that-be will not extradite him if they are requested to do so. I think they would be far less likely to extradite him if they do believe the allegations. From the Russian point of view I would think they would prefer to let the situation remain status quo rather than deal with the embarrassment that would be caused if one of their most famous musicians ends up convicted on pedophile charges. I would guess they would figure, and rightly so, that within a few months the incident will belong forgotten. I'm wondering if any of this even saw the light of day at all in the Russian media. Unless Pletnev can prove his story, I doubt he would voluntarily return to Thailand to stand trial.

How else can he transport all of his evening gowns? And speaking of bags: "I knew a girl so ugly - how ugly was she? - We used to call her a 'two-bagger'. You put a bag over your face in case the one over hers breaks." - Rodney Dangerfield Must have been Imelda Marcos's nephew . . .

Sometimes they give bonuses to frequent users, customers in general, in response to complaints, etc. Usually you would receive a text message from them to that effect. It probably was in Thai, so you didn't realize what you received, assuming they sent a message to you at all. As for why you would be credited for less than the amount on the phone card, I have no idea about that one. I would suggest calling their customer service number and ask. They do have English speaking customer service personnel.

That's over 1000 baht more than the US embassy charges. Their fee is 1200 baht. Even if the price hikes change the 1200 baht fee by 35%, which would mean 1620 baht for USA citizens to obtain the proof-of-income statement, UK citizens still end up paying 695 more than USA citizens.

I've been to Wat Po several times. I don't even have any long sleeve shirts. I was not stopped or questioned by anyone. I think what happened in your case was not whether you were wearing a long or short sleeve shirt. I think they didn't like the rolled up sleeves. Yes, that's absolutely right. I'm embarrassed we overlooked that one until now because that's one of the most important of all. Even on airplanes I've noticed that when food is being served, if a male cabin steward is not present on the flight, but a monk is, then the female cabin stewards always ask a male passenger to give the monk his food. I didn't spot how it works when it's time to take the food tray from the monk, but I imagine a male passenger would again be recruited. And there is no way a monk will be seated next to a female passenger. They pre-board monks and they try to seat them alone, without any other passengers occupying the adjacent seats. I've also seen that in the mornings, when the monks are going about seeking food for their begging bowls and other offerings, if a female wishes to give something to the monk, but a male is not present, she will put whatever she is offering into some sort of container. The monk will take it from the container, but never directly from her.

Is anyone going to answer? How much do UK citizens have to pay for a proof-of-income statement from their embassy?

Oh, don't worry. I'll find one. Besides, I don't see anything that prohibits the moderators from entering, so you never know. I just might enter, doctor up the results if I have to, and go home with a bottle of whiskey. Well, on second thought, no I won't do that. I don't drink whiskey anyhow. Now, if GT gets some boys to draw the winning name out of a hat, maybe after all you'll take the whiskey home. I'll take the boys . . .

Yes, they could have been. That's a risk I don't think I want to take. I suggest buying pharmaceutical products only from reputable sources such as hospitals and pharmacies known to be fully legitimate, such as Fascino.

Maybe, but since he left Thailand, chances are he won't even be found . . .

At least it looks like a good beginning. I have a feeling this one might head right up the ladder to the Supreme Court.

Part of that problem is due to the fact that other than private lessons, there is no kind of driver education in Thailand at all unless, of course, you consider cops stopping motorcycles a form of driver education. No surprise to me, each province seems to have its own set of regulations as to what a driver's license applicant has to do in order to obtain a license. In many cases, even if the applicant fails whatever tests are given, a few hundred baht later all of a sudden he's passed the tests after all. The licensing office for Pattaya at least does not accept bribes that I'm aware of, but new Thai applicants have to sit through a two hour driving education movie and pass a written test in order to obtain the license. That's it. That's the driver's education in Pattaya. A two hour movie. And people wonder why so many drivers in Thailand give a whole new meaning to the word "incompetent."

Judge Topples U.S. Rejection of Gay Unions By ABBY GOODNOUGH and JOHN SCHWARTZ Published: July 8, 2010 BOSTON

I've tried many times to explain that I had more to say, but ended up talking to myself. Sometimes that works.

Are these two contests going to be a "Suppose they gave a contest and nobody came" type of thing? Nobody is going to enter?

Pharmacy Raid Uncovers Mass Haul of Fake Viagra A successful sting operation on a Pattaya Pharmacy led to the discovery of a large haul of illegal and controlled medication on Tuesday. Pattaya 6th July 2010 [PDN] After receiving a report from a Pattaya Clinic Associate, a sting operation led by Police Colonel Akkhaeadet Phimonsri (Suppression Police Department Commissioner 2) and his team revealed illegal and controlled medication from the Viagra Group (kamka pills and gel) and a muscle building substance that was being sold at Top Pharmacy, 115/22, Moo 10, Pratamnuk, Banglamung. The medication was found to have been illegally smuggled into the country. Fake Viagra

Final Preparation meeting for the 2nd Pattaya International Fireworks Contest Preparations for the 2nd Pattaya International Fireworks Competition, which is due to take place on 14th August, are well underway and on Thursday Morning at Pattaya City Hall, a final preparation meeting, chaired by Khun Watanna, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, took place. This meeting discussed the security arrangements for the contest which will feature entrants from 10 countries, including Japan, USA, China, Germany and Thailand. A stage will be erected on Pattaya Beach in front of Soi 4 and the fireworks will be detonated from floating platforms on the water. The event will include a Royal Fireworks Display in honor of His Majesty The King and for more information please call the Pattaya City Call Center on 1337. International Fireworks Contest

I just thought of something else. I don't know why, but you cannot upload PDF files to this board. Unless there is a reason for that, maybe the programmers can fix that.

Where are you even finding toilet paper? I never see any other than in hotels, some shopping malls here and there, and on dining tables used as napkins.

Are you kidding? I'm lucky if I can remember this morning, let alone months ago . . .