hank75

The boy with the ‘swastika’ tattoo (not actually a swastika- just the closest description I could think of) has worn the number 9 and 17 tags, if this rings any bells.

I have not had the pleasure of seeing the hula hoop show. Each time I have been to Jupiter, most of these very popular boys were already booked by customers, majority female. So I admired from a distance, not by choice.

I would not be surprised but since I am not a threat to his life - only to his income - I doubt he would pull a gun on me, on airport premises no less. The other incidents I have encountered, I was out of my comfort zone and thought it best to comply. Being driven miles out into the suburbs and being confronted for a huge amount of petrol money is one of them.

Thai taxi drivers are the bane of my life. On my trip last week being in a hurry I decided to get a taxi but forgot to check if the meter was running. Sure enough as he pulled out from taxi rank he started to insist on 500 baht (ridiculous! I knew where I was going cost no more than 350). Luckily we were close enough to the airport that I threatened to alight and get a new taxi, stranding him with no passenger and having to queue again in the rank. He switched on the meter and we proceeded. And even though I had raised my voice at him, being tired, impatient and too used to taxi driver shenanigans, within minutes he was smiling and chattering cheerfully on the phone. Which brings me to the conclusion they expect some haggling and arguing, and don’t take offence if they don’t come out on the winning side- no need to fear for your life, just be firm, it is par for the course. Could I have paid the extra 150? Absolutely. Each time I take a short taxi ride (say from Siam to Silom) the driver always hopefully asks for 100 baht and I usually agree to save fuss, and because I actually have a choice to walk away. But for airport taxis, this is a monitored system, drivers know this, and you need to stand firm otherwise more helpless tourists will be bullied. Apart from this I have numerous other horror stories, some of which will raise the hair on your head.

I don’t know names / numbers, which one is Boom? The lad in your photo or the one I mentioned?

I refer to the most sought after Jupiter boys who don’t advertise - or have to - themselves on apps even in Bangkok. But yes you are right there seem to be travelling Thai money boys all over Asia.

I have seen this boy before, indeed handsome. But the boy who attracts me more is the popular one with a swastika looking tattoo on his left pec. He is jaw droppingly gorgeous. Either he has also worked in China or is popular with the Chinese, I forget which. When these boys go to work abroad, is this usually for a single customer or is this some sort of bar network? I was told of boys also going to work in Japan and other countries.

Guess you didn’t have to tip the pizza though? LOL

Very nice to revisit this thread. I was thinking I had ignored Jupiter recently in favour of Moonlight and it was time to return on my next trip to see what has changed. Did we ever find out why this boy is not a popular off? He looks extremely attractive to me even with starry eyes, I would be keen to see him in the flesh.

Moonlight is still a new bar in comparison and even on Friday, Saturday they are never as full as Jupiter and Dreamboys. It would be foolish to start raising prices so soon, they should wait to benefit from Jupiter’s increased prices instead. The off fees don’t exactly vary by boy, just that the models command a very high off fee but the fees are set in advance so you won’t have a nasty surprise.

On a slightly different note...if you are trying to go into Bangkok proper from the airport, do not take a Pattaya taxi. Some of them queue up with Bangkok taxis for additional business before going back to Pattaya, and they are often woefully unfamiliar with Bangkok roads and shortcuts. If you are assigned a Pattaya taxi, go back to the machine and get a new queue number.

Apparently, the last day of Buddhist Lent. Not a non-working day so it doesn’t show up in holiday listings.

Excellent advice and thank you also for the AirBnB warning, all taken into account.

I was just offered a unit in a new and very nice freehold development, walking distance from Thonglor BTS and starting from 1.79 million baht. Around 25.5 sqm for a studio so a one bedroom would be around US$70-80K I assume. If PeterRS’ statistics a correct this is a very good deal indeed and I can see why the agent says local investors are snapping it up. Would be keen to hear more advice on the topic - perhaps I should look into this more seriously while there are still good freeholds to be had.

I am not so close to retirement age yet (though definitely making mental plans already) and all told, am slowly scaling up to the possibility of maybe spending more time in Thailand. I like my creature comforts and probably spend more on hotels than I probably should. So an apartment I have furnished myself makes sense and permits longer stays without worrying about hotel bills. I understand that for around US$40-50K I can acquire a central Bangkok apartment. My question is what do I do with the apartment for the remaining 9 months of the year? Hire a property manager to let it for short periods/AirBNB? Seems a waste to leave it empty. Also does anyone know if foreigners can have mortgages or get financing? My other alternative is to buy now with up to 70-80% on mortgage, rent it for several years and have it close to being fully paid for by retirement. This will free up my funds for other expenses and investments.

Now I am aware of this, I may avail of its services next time. But as I had less than an hour of my own allotted time, the high cost of models and my top choice (Sunny) was not available...I rather wait for next trip than off in haste and repent at leisure.

When the models came out, I sat up straight with my eyes peeled as this was the subject of our extended conversations. Sure enough they didn’t disappoint yet again. This was the first time I was seeing Babe in the flesh. He is cute, very cute in fact. Unlike the other models who look better in person, Babe is just as appealing on and off camera...which likely accounts for his modelling success. He definitely had the girls in the front row gasping each time he flashed them a grin. There are two new models added (you can see them in most recent FB videos), neither of whom I find attractive nor to the standard of the others. Also somewhat lacking in personality and stage presence. As vinapu has noted, there are other boys in the rotation who are more worthy of being ‘upgraded’ to model status. I wondered if they were permanent or brought on for the night to make up for some absences. According to mamamsan , Nicky has been on extended vacation for some days. I smiled to myself when I heard that, thinking his relaxing time off may have been partially enabled by the good heart of our Vinapu! Tam was present but almost incognito in street clothes seated in the audience. When the models paraded down to wai the customers, a few paused to give him multiple exaggerated wais with great sarcasm. He returned the favour by heckling loudly from the audience when the models had to present themselves again, leading to Fluke and Tae cracking their icy demeanour with beautiful grins on stage. Very good to see this camaraderie among the models and Fluke in particular has a smile which can rivals Babe’s, it totally transforms his stern looks. As always, Sunny awed with his dancing and also did a competent solo of Careless Whisper. Babe is probably the next best dancer, a natural mover with great charisma. I was not planning to off due to limited time and no hotel, but was hopeful of inviting Sunny for a drink to coax a smile, conversation and finally solving the mystery of whether he could be offed by customers. Sadly for me, he was once again seated with a solo Chinese lady as soon as he left the stage and didn’t go near other customers. After finishing my post-show drink, I went for a walk to reacquaint with Twilight which was surprisingly quiet. Peeked into a couple of other bars but nothing of great interest. Then home for a quick nap and transferred onwards to the airport again. A very enjoyable and unlooked for night in the middle of a busy work schedule.

Bravo bravo vinapu what an epic trip! I confess I was waiting for your final chapter before finishing my own write up of recent hour-long Moonlight visit, which seems very humble in comparison to your weeklong adventures.

A driver’s license should be sufficient?

Thanks to an unforeseen stroke of luck last week, a business trip created the opportunity for a short overnight transit in Bangkok. My friend offered his place as a base so I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of getting a hotel between 6 pm - 4 am just to park hand luggage. Arrived, rested for a while, had a nice dinner with my friend and off to catch the first show at Moonlight. I have to admit, I was doubly curious to revisit after all the exchanges we’ve had here. First impression is that the bar continues to improve. The show seems more full with new acts including a S&M whipping and f*cking number. Quite a number of new boys, some have moved from other bars. At least 2 were poached from Jupiter and I thought I recognised 1-2 more from Dreamboys. Though as previously mentioned I haven’t spent as much time at DB, though they had the DB “look” to them. I wonder what Moonlight are paying or tempting these boys with to get them to move? As far as I am aware Jupiter and DB still have the lion’s share of customers including the Chinese business. Regrettably it didn’t mean the attractiveness quotient was upped as a whole, I didn’t think all the new boys were as good looking as the original crop. But it certainly projects the impression of a successful bar to have lots of boys on stage particularly when some of the more choice specimens were called off stage early to sit with customers. Some are also performers, the “backing dancers” to Sunny so it makes the numbers very lively. More to come.

I am writing this very quickly off my phone Kempinski- great location and of course well placed in Siam area but I find it stiff and not particularly child friendly, plus you have to trek a long way through Paragon mall to get to hotel exit. If your priority is fastest possible access to shops and restaurants maybe this is for you, and there is Sea World in Paragon to bring your child to. I’d avoid anything in Sathorn area, limited BTS and always terrible non moving traffic so taxi drivers may sometimes refuse to take you. Would recommend Le Meridien or Bangkok Marriott Suriwongse as that is right at the gay area, convenient transport links（for Le Meridien that is but I did a quick search and see there may not be an immediately close BTS at Marriott) etc. Friends have praised both hotels and I believe Marriott is very new so offering excellent value for money. Grande Centre Point Ratchadamri is a good property and well located but recently always full of loud Chinese and other tourists, nice kid friendly pool but whether you will be able to use it without crowds. Restaurant is poor as is room service. Price has been steadily going up so not worth it as not on par with other five star properties you mentioned. I would still stay here when price is at a good level which to me is ~US$100-120 for regular room. Sofitel So is overpriced at that rate .

Still following and enjoying this detailed trip report, thank you to vinapu for writing it up for us.

Bravo vinapu, what a start to the trip!

I am also wondering if the frequency of their on stage appearance directly relates to need for money. If Sunny is at an expensive school it explains why he is on stage every single night without fail based on FB videos. Also Nicky and tattooed boy Tae are usually there. Babe and Tam’s presence seem to be less certain though they are around 3/4 of time. Then again, like Vinapu speculates, maybe Sunny does not take offs so he relies on show fees.

I was just doing the maths...sure enough, adding on tips of 4-5,000 (and assuming multiple offs per week), plus on stage tips, drink tips, these boys are making in excess of what I did at their age! And I was earning in pounds...