Londoner

Fair enough. I shouldn't have commented like that. Thailand is fascinating in many ways and I've spent much of my time over the past two decades exploring areas where there is no commercial sex scene....Krabi and Chiang Rai to name just two.

I was always ambivalent about BKK; we never stated more than couple of days before moving on. However, the buzz of arrival in Thailand, the noise, the smells, the heat....and then the taxi to Surawong observing the skyline.Aand that first night walking through Patpong to Soi Twilight (of blessed memory). I don't think I ever spent a baht there but the bustle, the crowds... magical.

Don't get me started!

A number of Blue Elephants in London. My favourite is two hundred yards from Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC. The taste is always better after we win!

".....bliss was it in that dawn to be alive But to be young was very heaven." I appreciate that Wordsworth wasn't thinking of saunas , or even sex, but he was right. Like Richard256, I now have to live on my memories.

Yes....that is certainly the case. I suppose what I really meant was, were I in BKK now, it would be the handsome young men who would be dominating my thoughts.

I wear a fabric- pocket belt with a zip under my shirt.

I'd be fascinated to hear why you like Bangkok. Yes, the temples are interesting, the shopping good and the food excellent....but this wouldn't be enough for me. What have I been missing?

The Ambiance penthouse rooms were always our favourites. They were redecorated and refurnished about three years ago. They all had nice sofas, decent bathrooms and were very spacious. No problem with visitors, naturally. The top floor of Copa was similar. I preferred Ambiance because it maintained a 24 hour reception; Copa was more like an apartment block. I stayed at Ambiance about sixty times over twenty years making friends with many of the staff....who were charming. We only moved to Jomtien because the new(ish) bars were too noisy for us during the night and early morning. We were sad to go.

Yes; I'm pleased for you...and for me, since my application will be made soon.

BBB dancers always reflected its owners' tastes, though I do recall offing a charming twink back in the 90s. And he wasn't the only one there, though the equally popular Cockpit directly opposite was more to my taste in this respect.

I'm years out of date on this topic but as I understand it, BBB has always thought of itself a cut above the other Boyztown bars when it comes to pricing.

That's true.....the popular malls are outside the Old City and Night Market areas.

I'd miss the chats with the drivers...nearly always Isaan people. And Red shirts to a man...for a Leftist like me, fascinating. P once spent the entire BKK-Pattaya trip talking politics with one driver. I didn't understand a word, of course. Just as I don't when he talks about his beloved DMC (the Buddhist movement), another favourite topic amongst drivers. Look at the photos above the visor. Some BBK drivers struggle to make a living, you know. You may be surprised to learn that some sleep in their cars. By the way, I wouldn't dream of using the bus. My last trip in one ended a few miles before Chonburi when it broke down and we were left stranded. As far as safety is concerned, check the tyres! I couldn't believe what I saw at Ekamai. But that was along time ago.

Perhaps a new thread should be started...."the worst toilets in Thailand". For me, the old K-Boys (predecessor of Nice). And in the world? a public toilet in rural West Africa. I don't thank you for reminding me of that experience.

Gay Chiang Mai has never, in my estimation, had the buzz of the old Soi Twilight or Boyztown. Even when Adam's Apple was drawing ahundred or so punters and there was standing-room only, the surrounding area was quiet. It was, after all, a residential centre. The other local bars mere three hundred meters away, were also isolated and situated in rather dark sois. When I was a single visitor, I liked the fact that CM offered an experience very different to those of Pattaya and Bangkok. The Night Market was bustling but even the group of small (and notorious) gay bars there were secluded.

I've been struggling to recall the sleaziest scenes I've seen in Thailand. Here are a couple. 1) X boys in Soi Twlight bar; a young falang (a rarity in those parts!) dragged very willingly onto the podium, stripped naked and serviced by a group of performers. This was the bar which had a small cage in which three dancers in tattered denim shorts slowly and provocatively pushed them down until they were naked. To me, far more erotic than the falang performance But not as sleazy I must admit. 2) Happy Boys in Pattaya's Soi Yensabi. On the ground floor, go go performed on individual podia by guys in little skirts like the ones Athenian ephebes may have worn....very tasteful....but on the darkened second floor, no restrictions. I visited once with one of the guys and our discussions on Greek philosphy were interrupted by prolonged groaning and even of the application of, ahem, discipline.

I know all about those....but I'm referring something rather beyond the activities at Nice and so on. But you're right; twenty-seven months and counting since I was in Pattaya! Nil desperandum though; only ten weeks before I'm back!

Mine has been checked only once in eighty visits. I think macaroni is correct....and about UK Immigration too. Much the same at Customs. I've never been checked in Thailand and only once in the UK.

I clearly recall the sleazy Bangkok gay bars of the late nineties, particularly Screw Boys and (as discussed elsewhere) Super A. But from what I have read, you have to go back to the eighties and the original Soi 4 (which pre-dated Soi Twilight) to find that sort of goings-on. Sadly, the participants who could have enlightened us have now mainly passed-on.

It is undoubtedly true that the Gold Old Days were very much for us- that is European/American/Australian gay men. Usually in our fifties and beyond. The entertainment we enjoyed was geared to our tastes. However, this couldn't go on; slowly and inexorably we were dying out and younger gay compatriots weren't interested in our scene. I regret the passing of that time but without the new arrivals, there'd be no Pattaya , and probably not even the remnants of a gay scene which we survivors can still enjoy. Go to Terminus 21 and observe the sky-line. Where are you? not in the Old Pattaya with its girlie bars and ramshackle shops but in a modern Asian city with high rise hotels and condos. They are there for the tourists who have replaced us. Best to enjoy what's left of the old gay scene while it's still there. As I shall do in my quest to grow old as disgracefully as possible.

There was another bar opposite, or at least nearby, that was reckoned by Michael Notcutt in this estimable Thai Scene (my well-thumbed handbook back then) to be a Super A plus. In other words, however sordid Super A was, this neighbour could out-sleaze it. A visit to BKK back then was indeed A Walk on the Wild Side. owned by

Forgive an old man reminiscing....but I went to the original upstairs Super A on my first trip to BKK in 1996. The mamasan gave a signal, the briefs were lowered and the guys started masturbating. All of them. I was the only customer and something of a newbie to the Thai sex scene; embarrassed, I made my excuses and left.

Babylon was welcoming to older guys and there were usually younger (that is under forties rather than twenty-year olds) who were interested in meeting them . Those Thais who weren't went elsewhere, though the fact that it was open early in the afternoon and had a pool was an attraction. It was also expensive for Thais. I recall a few years ago its pool was being renovated and it offered half-price admission. This resulted in many more younger guys going there. It became more than a venue for casual sex. Many older falangs would use the pool for the afternoon and eat in its two restaurants. I suspect that some never ventured into the cruising areas. It also had its own hotel. Its demise has led me to stop spending a couple of days in Bangkok on arrival in Thailand. It was that good.

At your age , you are in with a chance. Good luck. Carpe diem.