Londoner

Correct; beachlovers wanting reliable weather in June to October should stay in Koh Samui rather than (for instance) Phuket or Pattaya. As far as Chiang Rai is concerned, I visit with my boyfriend and enjoy the surrounding countryside, particularly Mai Sai and Chaeng Saen. The city has my favourite night market in Thailand which is particularly good for hill-tribe produce. The Black House, as traveller123 suggests, is interesting....and bizarre! Gay travellers seeking a commercial scene will be disappointed.

Can the hosts be taken-off?

I've spent every June in Thailand this century , staying throughout the country from Krabi in the south to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north. The weather will not affect your enjoyment though it may curtail some time spent on the beach, if that is important to you. The guys will be there, eager to meet due to the relatively low numbers of falangs. And, if you are a sauna-enthusiast, you are in luck; Babylon will provide a more productive afternoon than in the high season. for the same reason. Bring an umbrella; short, intense showers are a possibility. In Pattaya, there is a possibility of localised short-term flooding- I once saw a Thai catching two fish outside Ambiance. Two hours later, the soi was merely damp. I'll be in Bangkok, Krabi and Pattaya this June. And I can't wait. As for other places to visit, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are my favourite cities, Krabi has my favourite beaches and, for the gay scene, Pattaya and Jomtien are by far the best.

I must recommend a short course in Mindfulness to Abidismali. Worrying about what may or may not happen after our deaths and what mysterious secrets may or may not be revealed about our lives seems to me to be a little unbalanced. Mindfulness teaches us to live the moment and avoid "catastrophisation", of which Abidsmali's fears are a superb example.

Isaan, and the north generally, including Chiang Mai, is Thaksin's power-base. I've yet to meet a guy on the Pattaya scene whos isn't a Thaksin man. Nor a Bangkok taxi driver.

Yes; the smaller bars were much more fun than the glitzy ones. Remember Khun Bar?

No; it was the Democrats and the Yellow- shirts who closed down Bangkok, undoubtedly at the behest of the generals so they could seize power. One of the few good things that came out of the election farce was the demise of the Democrats. When working-class people demonstrated, they were mown-down by the Army; when the bourgeoisie did so, they were indulged

Is the Hotmale host-bar reopening as well?

The longer the ballot boxes are in the hands of the military establishment, the easier it is to maintain the status quo. Had the stolen "election" result been announced quickly, the long-suffering Thai people may well have done something naughty- such as protesting- but the a month or so will help to keep anger underground. A pity; what the generals deserve is millions of angry Thais on the streets.

Solid was my favourite go go bar for a number of reason....the dancers were all twinks, the music level was tolerable, it was just round the corner from Tantawan, the atmosphere was cosy and the prices were lower. I met some nice guys there. The mamasan amazed me... he recognized me on each of my infrequent (and short) visits to Soi Twilight ten years (or was it longer) after Solid's closure.

I did....once. There were about six or seven guys dancing. More than a couple interested me. A falang entered, sat down and lit-up what was to to be the first of many cigarettes. Then he called over to his table four of the guys, including all the ones I had had my eye on and began a long monologue at them. They just sat there. The remaining three carried on dancing. I left. It was only via a post on Sawatdee that I learnt that he was the owner.

Any info on the host bars? I suspect that the Soi4 Banana will not be offering the same menu as the one in Twilight. And what about Hotmale and Scorpion?

Good luck with that...LCR is very noisy even for other businesses in Boyztown.

As I understand it, Pheu Thai expected to work with Thai Raksa and an agreement was made not to compete for the same seats. When Thai Raksa was banned it was too late for Pheu Thai to submit their own candidates. The last poll that I saw-two weeks ago- suggested that the popular vote will go against the junta but, as you say, to what extent that will be reflected in the balance of power is uncertain. I tend towards the cynical view; how many military dictatorships across the world have ever willingly given-up power? f they did, who would pay for their collections of Rolexes?

The question is, how many parties have been allowed to stand?

The Myanmar model? an election to keep the UN et al of its collective back, the appointment of a useful idiot who will toe the line (even if she has won the Nobel Prize) and the same policies as before, ensuring the continued dominance of the ruling-class. The only thing that hasn't been tried yet is Buddhist Nationalism - seen to great effect in the massacres of the Rohingya and Tamils. Let's hope it stays that way, though we should expect more repression of the Red Shirts who probably represent a majority of Thais in poorer areas.

I'm more worried as to what may happen when the generals lose the vote....tanks on the streets? They won't go quietly, that's for certain.

I'd always wanted to visit Brazil since I first saw "Black Orpheus" fifty years ago....but now? With a homophobic, racist government supported by palpably insane evangelicals, death squads and wealthy mafiosi? not likely. .

It was my observation that there were fewer Chinese visitors around this past fortnight. Perhaps there will be more during the Chinese New Year. The only place they constituted a majority (or nearly) was the new mall , Terminal 21. Central has certainly lost some of its allure. In Boyztown, I was expecting to see more Chinese customers in Ambiance; it was more or less full last week and its expensive refurbishment ( a huge Chinese investment) makes it good value. Across the soi, more Chinese money didn't seem to have encouraged an influx of Chinese visitors, unless large number turned-up late after BBB closed.

Agreed. Those of us who are in LTRs are interested in the subject and the interesting discussion that followed because the points raised directly concern us. Whether the sums mentioned are accurate or not is irrelevant. Some of the posts on the gay forums, particularly those which relate events on the gay scene in Thailand, are exaggerated and a few quite probably fantasies. Does it matter?

I remember it....didn't the go-go dancers wear mini-skirts rather than briefs? or is that the fantasy of an old man? Round the corner was Khun Bar, sometimes called Khun Cigar. Bill Clinton may have enjoyed that bar. The many bars in Bangkok seemed to have more individuality in those days.

In 1995 I wanted to purchase a gay guide to Thailand to assist me with my first trip to Pattaya. I looked at two- The Men of Thailand and a guide written by a guy called (I think) Michael Notcutt. I chose the later because it seemed more user--friendly and it had the picture of a delightful young Thai on its cover with a temple in the background. He was just the sort of guy I hoped to meet! A fair number of the recommended venues, I soon discovered, no longer existed by the time I arrived while others (remember that this was the Good Old Days) had opened and weren't included. The guide was helpful in other ways, though. It explained "offing" succinctly and-as it turned-out- accurately and it included simple rules of etiquette such as not touching Thais' head and being respectful of the Thai monarchy. The only other guide of which I was aware consisted of a few pages in Spartacus. I owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Notcutt.

Any reports ? is it a host bar? is it associated with the Banana bar on Soi Twilight?

Thanks for that, hank75. "Taking-care" is a very important aspect of the Thai bar-worker culture. Like you, I found it rather touching in my early visits to Thailand. And even now, my partner of fifteen years whom I met in a Pattaya bar, lives by it whenever I'm with him. Sadly, it now includes ensuring that I cross Second Road safely by holding my arm. Completely unnecessary- I cross more dangerous roads in London every day and I'm very fit- but I accept it with a smile for his sake.

I've never worried about queuing....the movement onto the buses is more-or-less continuous. The time it's sometimes slow is in low season when the driver is waiting for the bus to fill. I don't care....I'm on holiday!