Londoner

I've just been on the phone to my boyfriend...10000 for the the monks/temple and 40000 for the party. This was in 2001. Kamphaeng Phaet.

The airport is definitely not the place to change your currency. Turn right as you leave Tarntawan and you'll arrive at a booth which will give much better rates. Beyond that, there's another which offers much the same. Remember that they tend to open late in the morning. In twenty years, the only time I've been cheated was in a bank- TMB- and I immediately confronted the cashier who made good the error (sic). If you use a bank, you'll probably have to queue.

What falangs do to themselves is their own business; however, I hope none of them expect or encourage young Thai guys (some of whom are not well-educated in matters of sexual health) to engage in unsafe practices. And swallowing semen definitely comes into that category.

They don't live their lives as monks but in the vast majority of cases do a short term....a bit like National Service in the UK in the 1950s, but much shorter. It is believed that all Thai males should serve at least once in their lifetimes and this is why a poor family, like my boyfriend's, do their utmost to raise the money.. Even the King was a monk for a short period. My boyfriend was a a monk for one month. His best mate did a few days-less than a week- a couple of months ago and he's thirty-four. I often see guys on the scene who have recently been monks- their hair takes weeks to grow back and their eyebrows even longer!e Steveboy may be right in this case but I suspect a degree of undue cynicism which my twenty years of visits (and twelve with my one-and-only boyfriend) doesn't support. You have try to to understand the motivations of Buddhism and the issue of monkhood is very different to the traditions which we in the west have developed.

My boyfriend was ordained in a poor and remote area of the north ... costs for food, music, parties etc may well be less there than in other places. Significantly, the abbot of the monastery was a relative who may have helped. All I am saying is that the issue is not as clear-cut as some posters suggest.

I'm not so sure. My boyfriend was ordained fourteen years ago, two years before I met him. He told me that it had cost his parents 70,000 bht. Inflation would account for the 100% rise. Precipitous action against this guy on the basis of what I've seen in the above posts would be unforgivable.

Mouthwash with alcohol should avoided for other medical reasons as well. Don't forget that pre-cum can also carry the virus. BJs are not risk-free. It's up to the individual whether he takes that risk; but he should not expect or encourage his partner to do so, particularly if younger, less experienced and less well-educated in matters of sexual health.

A useful reminder, thanks. I've always found Bali currency problematical - I hate the huge piles of grubby notes- but avoid using cards . We use the services of a gay travel company-Bali Friendly- and on our last visit two years ago our driver was able to find me a trustworthy place to change up my money. On previous visits- admittedly a decade plus ago- I was vulnerable to local money-changers in Seminyak.

If you wish to take a chance and receive a BJ, fair enough but it is inappropriate to expect or require one from a money-boy.

Sorry, not true. There is a small risk due to the tiny cuts we have in the mouths when we clean our teeth too rigorously. I'd never take the chance.

The Tarntawan buffet (and its a la carte breakfast) are included in the room price....as is breakfast for your partner. I've never been a fan of cooked breakfast and find the buffet a huge improvement.

I certainly do. Every evening I'd have a drink while awaiting the opening of the go- go bars at 2100. In those days (the 90s), there were plenty of punters and many of the dancers on their way to work would walk past. Eye-candy. The waiters were cute, too. Panorama replaced it and was much the same but by then the buzz of Boyztown was much diminished. Nevertheless, it's still the place to be in the early evening.

Steveboy...the bar you visited was Throb. Very different to Copa. It had a large number of go go dancers and a show with comedy, cute guys and no khatoeys. My boyfriend and I went on many occasions. Copa was very different; few go go dancers and a show dominated by khatoeys.,

Something to do with inside-leg measurements?

Of course, our money-boy friends may like to consider prosecuting some falangs for failure to perform adequately, paying less than agreed, making promises that were not kept, passing on an STD, over-vigorous and painful intercourse (not an uncommon complaint, by the way), publicly abusive behaviour on message boards... Seriously, generally we get a good deal...our sanuk is cheap and safe in terms of harassment from the authorities and the vast majority of the guys we meet are polite and charming. Those of us who enter into a LTR have no excuse not to do so with eyes wide open; we are invariably the older. wealthier and usually the more experienced of the two. It is after all we falangs who have chosen to go to their country for our amusement.

I'd enjoy representing that money-boy in court. I can see the report in the press now; "Rich falang exploits young man's poverty , encouraging an innocent , immature country boy into prostitution- itself a crime- and then resents being expected to pay." I'd have even more fun were there any doubt about the guy's age. I'm sure that someone from back home could be found to intimate that, perhaps, he was only seventeen when he was seduced...assuming the congress was consensual. Remember what happened when Ocsar Wilde took the Marquis of Queensbury to court? A few hours after losing the case, he was arrested.

The three "open" show bars all suffered from their performances being visible from the soi. Anyone walking past could see the absence of punters. And who wants to be at a show where the performers outnumber the audience? I remember X-treme in Soi Twilight. I thought that the show rather good but was embarrassed to be there when the audience was so small.

The Copa guys are self-employed; they decide when and how long they work and receive nothing from management....or that was the case a few years ago.

The punters have voted with their feet...that's why Copa had a handful customers (except for a few weeks in the high season) while Throb, khatoey-free, was full to bursting.

That particular guy got a couple of hundred, maybe less. The two who were paid 1000 each were from Gay Romeo.

Yet another khatoey -show? for heaven's sake......

I'm not sure that the issue is about being seen with a falang. My boyfriend's best mate from up north sometimes stays with us in BT. He's quite happy to walk with us when we go to have dinner together but if he wants to go out to the 711 or whatever in the evening, he wants my bf to accompany him past Toyboys, Funny boys and the massage joint...he says he's "shy". I should add that he's in his 30s, gay but non-scene and has a well- paid job. He lived in Pattaya years ago but never visited BT until my bf and I stayed there.Too shy? Once we went together to Phuket...he wouldn't even walk through the Paradise Complex. I questioned my bf at length about this...all he could say is that "he's shy." He's more than happy to travel with us and stay at hotels in other Thai towns. This is one of the many issues that remind me that, the more experience I have of Thailand and its gay life from decades of visits, the less I understand.

No...when he arrived, I thought he was twenty and his ID had been "passed" by reception. Sanuk was on the cards.

Yes, Tresure has been on PR for a long time using different names. The accuracy of a guy's age is always a source of concern for me since I am, by nature, a worrier. On two occasions guys have turned-up at my room, IDs having been accepted by Reception, and I've turned them away because I felt uneasy. Of course, they both left with 1000 bht. I had a long talk with the receptionist about this and was told that, as far as the hotel was concerned, the guy was of legal age.... in these cases, twenty and twenty-one (I never contact under twenties).. But It was also explained that (obviously) all hotels have to go on is the ID card.And we know that they can be borrowed or forged. Going back a decade or so, a guy arrived at my room and told me , before anything happened that he was using his brother's card and that he was sixteen. He looked, acted and spoke excellent English with such maturity that I was amazed....but I turned him away. I've always wondered why he told me before rather than after. But I was grateful.

I did the journey from Krabi; it took about two hours from there- I don't know about the time from Phuket. But I can say that the trip was not "bumpy" and I'm a good judge because I can be sea-sick at the sight of the first wave. I should add that it was in January and the trips don't take place unless the weather is calm. What was very disappointing to both my boyfriend and me was the visibility for snorkelling. Not only that; the reef around the islands has been degraded to such an extent that there is little marine life to see. If this isn't a consideration and you are content with just swimming and sight-seeing, Phi Phi is fine.