Londoner

With my departure for BKK only a few hours away, my packing complete and time to waste before my taxi arrives, I feel the need to be controversial, adding my own reactions to these shows. Or to the shows as they were a couple of decades back. I'm not decrying other members' preferences, merely announcing mine. What I used to hate most was the parade around the spectators by two participants, conjoined and still active, spread-eagled across laps, expecting a tip. Not that I resented the tip, only that I found it acutely embarrassing and used to make a quick exit once it all started. And the big cocks shows? Well, to be honest, they left me cold, figuratively speaking. I used to think that my lack of interest suggested some sort of psycho-sexual hang-up but then I saw, first at Adam's Apple and then later at Pattaya's X Boys, that there were other men in the audience who were also as visibly disinterested as me, or perhaps embarrassed. But guys, go for it! If you like it, enjoy! The best raunchy show I ever saw was at BKK's X Boys. A small cage was suspended above us and three very cute and very naughty guys danced to the go go music while slowly removing their jeans and T-shirts- very slowly indeed- until they were naked. A couple of visits later, they'd gone, never to reappear. Cage and all.

In 2004, I made a promise to a Palestinian lawyer; what I write now is part of my attempt to keep it. I met him in his office in Bethlehem. He wanted me to meet six boys, aged between twelve and fifteen, who had just been released from Israeli custody. They had a story to tell. They had been sexually abused by their captors whom I took to be Shin Bet' operatives. One had also been water-boarded. "I want you to meet them," he said, "so that they can tell their stories themselves." I said no. What could I say to them? what could I do to help them? and anyway, I wasn't qualified to talk to survivors of sexual abuse. These were my words but , in reality I was too frightened of what my reactions would be were I to meet them. "Ok," the solicitor said, "but I want you to promise me that when you arrive home you will everyone what is being done to our children." At that time I knew from my professional work, a member of Tony Blair's Government. I wrote to her . She raised the issue of Israeli sexual abuse at Cabinet and soon I received a letter from the Foreign Office. Yes. They knew all about it, in particular the torture and rape of a fifteen year -old boy in the Occupied Jerusalem Police HQ. HM Government, the letter said, "had made representations " to the Israel Government. Nothing has changed. The abuse has continued. No; it has become more prevalent under the present government. And the up-coming elections will change nothing.

Misbehaviour in Thailand by foreign visitors always angers us; our hosts are so generous and warm. Granted that it is a business relationship but seasoned travellers will agree, I'm sure , that there is something particularly welcoming about our reception in Thailand..... as long as we respect the culture and , in particular, the religion. As far as the Israeli tourists are concerned, we must try to understand why they act like this. There is universal conscription in Israel with very few exceptions apart from Haredim. Most, nearly all, including many women, are either ex or serving soldiers, people who only recently have been engaged in a genocide. engaging in acts of extreme violence and overwhelming , uncontrollable anger directed at an ethnic group. Many ex soldiers are now under therapy, suffering from PSD, traumatised by what they have seen and done. Such visitors are likely to act offensively. The lack of legal and political consequence engenders a sense of entitlement and so they expect to be granted carte blanche. When they aren't, the anger is palpable. And not just anger; astonishment. Accordingly, Thais are paying the price for the impunity governments like mine have granted Israel for eighty years. "Be not deceived; for as ye sow, so shall ye reap."

No; just ordinary, young UK tourists. They were accused of damaging the jet-ski and had to pay....or perhaps refused to! I can't remember. The advice was always to inspect before use. You don't see so many in Pattaya and Jomtien nowadays.

Yes indeed; the degree of passion engendered by this story on another gay forum was quite extraordinary and predated the TV show by some months. Another episode dealt with jet-ski scams in Phuket.

Israeli tourists behave like Israeli tourists- colonists more accurately- in Palestine....apart from not yet emulating their ferocious brutality. Entitled, self-righteous and bigoted, but at least they aren't armed . I hope. And, as far as I am aware only one Thai hospital has been attacked; it was in Pai. And why wouldn't they behave as they are taught to in schools, in the media, in political discourse? Particularly when Thais are not only only dark-skinned but of a different religion. My low opinion doesn't extend to all Israelis. The ones I met in Palestine were far braver than me when confronting settlers and soldiers. However, an array of recent OPs show that the overwhelming majority wish to see the indigenous people of the region ethnically cleansed or even exterminated. Western media prefer to keep silent. Cyprus is already struggling with an influx, much to the dismay of the locals. The Thai government should continue to watch this situation very carefully.

My partner in the north was telling me today that recent heavy rains, at least in that region, have been at night; ideal for farmers. Of course, all decent people are asleep in bed at that time so nothing to worry about for anyone on this board!

In my ninety-plus visits to Thailand, I've had morning activities spoilt, afternoon ones and evening ones....but never a whole day. Even in Krabi. Don't worry.

I recall seeing fisherman in Boyztown one September; they caught two fish outside Funny Boys. Meanwhile, in Pattaya Tai, the market vendors were standing up to their knees in muddy water; nothing will stop a Pattaya tradesman/woman. When I arrived back in the hotel with tiny bite-marks covering my legs. Take care!

So the Priority Lane will remain open?

Thinking of the gay Asian scene in Canadian cities, has anyone read "The Rice Queen Diaries" by David Gawthrop? Impressions?

I suspect that US citizens may be included when a certain gentleman is transferred from the WH to one of his many golf-courses. Or even better, somewhere less appealing.

It would be an uninteresting world were we all to fancy the same sort of guys. And the competition would be something of an issue, particularly for some of us who are a little on the mature side. Best of all, of course, are gerontophiles. They are more common in Asian cultures than European ones. And before anyone starts sneering, I can think of at least four whom I met in my early visits to Pattaya. They admitted to their taste in customers. Although our money could well have been something of an issue on the MB scene, I also encountered a number "for free" in Babylon. And a couple in London saunas, too.

My Thai partner continues to use the word "gay" to describe a bottom. And the word "man" a top.

Another of my jokes falls flat! I should know by now to leave comedy to the professionals..., you know, comedians of the standard of Donald J. Trump.

Which one? I have developed "a thing" about guys with glasses.... and no, I don't think that it's because my partner wears them!

The other place for older women and young guys was Haiti. I suspect that the level of violence there means that there is very little sex tourism now. The common factor in all these places is, of course, grinding poverty. And perhaps nice beaches. By the way, why are African mbs in Thailand from Madagascar? I've met guys in Senegal and Kenya but I don't recall hearing of them in Thailand. Obviously, the cost of travel would make their appearance in BKK almost impossible...in which case how do guys from Madagascar afford it?

I cannot recall Hebron without tears in my eyes. I visited many times between 2004 and 2017 and was always warmly received by shopkeepers whose premises had been sealed by soldiers, and by the market sellers who experienced daily violence, threats and abuse from the settlers- most of whom were US and Canadian immigrants- and were protected by a net that had been erected to stop the the bricks and rubbish that was rained down on them. I have so many memories of those courageous, kind and generous people; the father of two infant children killed by settlers, whose house had an Israeli army machine-gun stationed on its roof, keeping the inhabitants in its sites 24/7; of a brave Israeli Jewish woman who lived there and worked with the mothers and knew , or seemed to know, everyone in the market by name. She was adored. And the little boy of about ten who approached me, beneath that net and said haltingly in carefully- rehearsed English, obviously practised in school , "You are very welcome in Palestine." A privilege.

It's interesting to see that tourists from two very different countries are in the news. Russia and Israel. Both invaders. The latter are allegedly causing serious concern and there was a demonstration by offended Thais outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok this week. Apparently, a sense of entitlement, cultural insensitivity and superiority, something I experienced at first hand from soldiers, policemen and armed settlers between 2004 and 2017 when I was visiting Palestine has resulted in shaming clips on Youtube and protests from local communities.

Yes. The proprietor's determination to please his customer is almost embarrassing. He spent twenty minutes adjusting my bought- in- the - UK spectacles and then adamantly refused to take any payment. He tested my partner and supplied a new pair . Much cheaper than the usual places.

I know Gambia rather well and saw its sex scene at first hand back in the nineties. The beach was a cruising ground for young men, referred to as "bumsters", and they cruised both sexes. "Bum" in the US sense, of course. I used to talk with one of my hotel's security guards who told me about his relationship with a married middle-aged Irish woman. He even showed me a lovey-dovey letter he'd received from her. It hadn't lasted. There was an interesting documentary on the BBC twenty or so years ago where both the women and their guys were interviewed. Predictably, relationships tended to crash once the parties separated at the end of a holiday. The guys were looking for money, of course- Gambia back then was desperately poor with huge numbers of unemployed young men. One women interviewed had actually married her beau, who'd come to live in the UK (pre- Farage days of course). I remember it well, because the woman told us that the marriage wasn't a real one because "it hadn't been constipated." In fact, from what she said "constipated" was an apposite image. Well, mauRICE, although my visits to Thailand have been devoted to one activity- though with excursions and expeditions tacked-on- my travelling in the 90s. when I had a secondment from work, was genuinely cultural. It included included Zanzibar, Senegal, Tanzania and Kenya. And North Africa and the Middle -East. I hope you find this re-assuring! It explains why I found Thailand so enticing....it was the only place where I could see a guy I fancied and bring him back to the hotel without anyone batting an eye-lid. Thank you Thailand.

Don't be mislead by the guys who come here; they are money-boys, with the accent on "money." I'm not criticising them for that....I hope they do well.....and you are right; they are certainly good-looking. But I wouldn't suggest your visiting Madagascar or Zanzibar for sex. Beautiful with a unique wild -life? Yes. Exceptional history and culture? Certainly. Read about the nineteen century Queen Ranavola and her interesting tastes and activities. But in places like this, beware the police; in Zanzibar they are underpaid- as I suspect they are in Madagascar- and my ability to rent a car marked me as a wealthy foreigner waiting to be fleeced. It made me nervous. Most importantly, I wouldn't recommend offending any local cultural and legal norms, particularly those relating to sex; if you were lucky, it would merely be very expensive. More likely you'd be prosecuted.

Thai guys keep their looks far better than we do. Or at least better than me.

I'm still in communication with the best masseur I ever met; Copa, circa 2003. We reminiscence about those times- he loved his years in Boyztown. He was cute, affectionate, technically proficient and so he made a decent living. He's forty-three now and, sadly, has a rather humdrum job in Chonburi. One of the good things about masseurs back then, pre SM days, was that you could have a good time in the afternoons: go go bars opened at 2100.

Perhaps we could now consider how a Thai guy on the scene finds a real falang boy friend? And at the risk of being repetitive, I note again that the Class of 2005 at Pattaya Dreamboys produced many successes, four of whom I've met.