Londoner

Here's the best way......suraksa.p@theagatepattaya.com

We are eating breakfast at Zing. Limited menu but charming service. Unusually good coffee, by the way....and you won't hear me saying that about many places in Thailand. I'd be surprised if any hotel is serving buffet breakfasts when occupancy rates are so low. It's just not profitable to do so. We are booked in Chiang Mai's Amora for November and I was even unable to choose a breakfast option there.

I think you may be right. I remember guys I met in host-bars saying exactly that.

Agate has been our home for recent visits. Rooms in November cost only 1200 bht pn. Gay-friendly with many single gay men enjoying local opportunities. Two swimming-pools, blessedly child-free. East suites are well-appointed but I would suspect that, unlike Agate, subject to noise -pollution from the bars.

I accept that. But in general terms- and of course, I'm writing as someone who has spent much of his life among people of different ethnic backgrounds- I can only note the difference in terms of the level of outrage and compassion expressed in the West when the victims are white. And the national culture is Christian.

I still contribute to Sawatdee. I suppose that the fact that my country has invaded and bombed- or helped to bomb- a number of countries over the past few years makes me wary of casting the first stone at citizens of other countries.

My enjoyment of this current trip started within twenty minutes of landing at BKK.....the many cute young guys who work there immediately reminded me just how different -and better-Thailand is for such as I. And then my rather long wait at the luggage carousel was made bearable by the presence of two handsome young airline reps, my mask hiding an admiring smile. My holiday was off to a flying start.

I can only speak for Pattaya today, though I suspect that BKK is much the same.. It's a mistake to expect more than a semblance of the old glories of the past. Too early for anything other than the green shoots of a recovery. But don't be discouraged; there's plenty here to keep you happy. And that means a lot more than other places can offer. Anyway, we're overjoyed to be here.

LHR cancellations have tended to be of short-haul flights and mostly from T3. Predominantly BA. But this is not say that all was well at T2 on Tuesday. The EVA flight was on time and ready to leave when " operational issues" induced a full stop. And a two hour wait on the apron leading to the runway. I've never encountered anything like that before.

I checked-in at Heathrow for EVA's BKK flight on Tuesday. I was asked for my Covid certificate. I was surprised but, ever the pessimist, prepared. At BKK, immigration procedures were back to what they were pre-Covid.

Sawatdee is more Pattaya-centred. Many posters here contribute to the forum there.

I'm a bit of a bore about the north but the journey from Chiang Rai to Mae Salang, a Chinese town inhabited by the descendants of the defeated Nationalist army is, for me, the most fascinating in Thailand. Better than Doi Inthanon. Some of the roads aren't for the faint-hearted- narrow and mountainous-but what views!

I am led to believe that the guys on the scene prefer Asian customers because they pay better; particularly the Japanese. I'm disappointed to read the comments about falangs. One of the things that impressed me on my first visit in the late 90s was that, as far I could see, the punters (who in those days were overwhelmingly European and American) seemed to treat the guys well. And this was confirmed by Thais when I got to know them better on later visits. What a pity if things have changed. I wonder if the fact that many of us had lived our younger days in an atmosphere of repression back home made us more appreciative of our new Thai friends? Perhaps later visitors took them and the opportunities they offered for granted.

Not yet. Tuesdays only... and that's from the horse's mouth! Three times a week was indeed the plan a few weeks ago , starting in July. I booked for Monday11th and within a few days, EVA called me, said that it would be one a week- Tuesdays only- and transferred me. But more flights soon, apparently.

Double posting; sorry.

Good news for UK travellers. The EVA LHR-BKK flight, suspended for heaven knows how long and now scheduled to fly just once a week for a few weeks, is actually in the air as I post. Delayed.... but who cares? I must admit that I feared another cancellation after two disappointments and an enforced change of date.

Yes, I noticed that, although I think pressure is on all classes. Here are some possibilities. Many of us missed out on trips- in my case six- and promised ourselves that the Great Return would be special with so much money saved. For me, that meant Business Class instead of Premium Economy. EVA's Business Class prices (£3000 now and £2500 in November) are good value; consumer surveys rate it very highly. I've experienced it on up-grades and can vouch for its comfort.. And I was also aware extra space in EVA's Business Class with each seat protected by a sort of retractable barrier for privacy....I considered this an extra anti-Covid precaution. By the way, I think EVA's Business Class has been expanded....but this is only an impression. Other airlines may have made similar changes. .

I don't wish to be melancholic- particularly with my return only a week away- but when we are too old for this game, what will stay in our memories won't be a 3000bht here and there, but the pleasures such encounters gave. And still do in retrospect.

What about the numerous massage places in the Jomtien Complex? The guys seem to be visible, some in uniform, some not.

I was fascinated by vinapu's story. Some falangs develop a sense of ownership which is overpowering, and in the case of long-distance relationships, completely counter-productive...and ultimately destructive.

If you take a masseur to your hotel room, you pay a bar fine, just as you would when you off someone from a bar. This bar fine is the same as the basic fee you pay in the massage shop. So I suspect reader is correct. I was once brave, or foolhardy enough, to have massage on a recalcitrant shoulder in the Blind Masseur place in the JC. It was excruciating but, having paid the fee to the manager, I didn't think twice about paying the masseur a tip.

Yes, most of us - I know there are exceptions- seem absurdly wealthy to the guys we meet. It is sometimes hard to persuade them that money worries do affect us. Not however, hunger. Nearly all who travel to Thailand can afford a 100bht note that can mean two days of food to guys on the scene. I know some who have gone hungry and rely on the kindness of friends to eat. Accordingly, annoying though it can be , not to mention embarrassing to be taken for a fool , l refuse to make a stand and say no. Sometimes we understand very little of what's going on in the lives of the guys, not to mention the lives of their parents- something that is almost as important. By the way, the cost of living in rural areas has rocketed in the past few months- electricity, gas and , yes, even basic food -stuffs. And it's in rural areas that much of the money we give ends-up.

A good start; I'm happy for you! It's good to see that I'm not the only one who panics when confronted by a phones. Fortunately, I have my personal Technology Advisor who, among other attributes, is able to transform tablet, phone and computer with a couple of touches. And a twinkle in his eye which some would interpret as pity. If I were still in the game, I'd go to Winners; sounds my type of place. And reminiscent of the bars that drove to me to early retirement in 1998. As for the disappointing performance; mai pen rai....it's an occupational hazard. The next ones will be better. Though I do recall that a communication failure can lead to other failures in the bedroom.

I was checking prices of flights from LHR to BKK in the next few weeks a couple of days ago and found that the costs have doubled in a period of about two months. Emirates and Thai were offering Business Class flights for about 130,000bht in April; now, you will pay around 250,000. Economy lights have also been affected. Not only this; the number of tickets available for the next few weeks, certainly on direct flights, is limited. The EVA flights are full while Thai Air has but a handful of seats left. Will this be what we can expect? or is it a temporary response to the surge in demand from those of us cruelly separated for two plus years? On the plus side, EVA's Business class in November costs less than 100,000 bht.......at the moment.

I've just booked a room at Tarntawan for under 1000pn (breakfast not included.) I recall that the price never went below 2000 plus pre-Covid. In fact, hotel prices for my two up-coming trips (July and November) have been reassuring. BKK, Chiang Mai and Jomtien. Beware, however, of rapidly rising costs of flights....perhaps worth a discussion on another thread.