jimmie50

Well, I was here back in October where I ventured to Northern Thailand as part of a tour group. Been to Pattaya and Phuket with my straight friends a few times. Planning to spend a few days in Pattaya, and as yet an undermined location for a two or three day trip with my Paradise guy. He is deciding where, so still waiting for some sort of decision from him. lol. It's a process. Was actually forced to lay low a couple of days due to something I ate from a food cart that disagreed with my stomach. That has slowed things down just a bit.

Yes, it would seem from recent news reports his advisers are encouraging him to declare a national emergency in order to take control of the midterm elections. To be honest, I never knew such a law existed that would allow a president to declare such an emergency, but has already been stated here, he doesn't think the laws apply to him anyway. He just makes things up as he goes along and nobody seems to be willing to stand up to him and stop him. As much as I hope the midterm elections will produce a change in at least one house of congress, I am beginning to have my doubts it will become a reality given the current political climate. I was just reading a report this morning that said this was the first time since the Great Depression that the US has experienced a net loss in population due to citizens immigrating to other countries. Something like 150,000 leaving the country permanently. People are giving up hope. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/more-george-clooney-moving-france-080000139.html

…continued, Installment 2: ok, famous last words! lol. Trying to pace myself. So much for that. When not spending time with my Paradise guy, which seems to be almost daily, Grinder has been blowing up on my phone. Also visited a couple of shops in Silom to satisfy my curiosity. Regarding my Paradise guy, he will text and ask me if I am coming by today. If I say yes, then we agree on a time and this usually means getting a massage at the shop, which includes plenty of play time, followed by dinner. If I say no, not today, then he wants to come and see me. He hasn’t asked and we don’t discuss what either one of us does with the time we are not together, and I prefer to keep it that way. I don’t get the impression he would be possessive or upset that I explore other places and people, but you just never know. Decided to connect with two different guys on Grinder. One was a regular guy just looking for some casual fun and nothing more. The second one turned out to be a money boy…sort of. He is a massage therapist at a spa located in the Marriott off Surawong and was looking to pick up extra money on the side. He was nearby and it was convenient having him come to me. Plus, I am sure the ‘full’ service he provided me was far more than what clients get at the Marriott! Name was Kenny, and definitely would consider another late night visit from him. Having read reports on the forum as well as ShamelessMack2, I was curious about what goes on behind the scenes, so to speak, at some of the shops along Silom. On my last trip, I was somewhat lucky at Avarin on Surawong next to Green Massage and Tarntawan. As you come down the steps from Saladaeng BTS onto Silom there is a shop called Wisdom. There was one lonely guy sitting out front. They probably had not been open very long, and the guy must have been like the supervisor/manager on duty. He was actually quite adorable, so I stopped to check out their sign and asked a few questions trying to get a feel for him and the place. Claims he never massages…only supervises. But, I let him talk me into getting a foot massage. Wisdom is part of the Olivia group of shops. Since he was the only one at the Wisdom location at that moment, he called to one of the other nearby shops and had them send someone over. Therefore, I had no opportunity to make a choice. No idea if I could have made a choice or would have been arbitrarily assigned next up from the stable. Therapist was a little older than I normally go for (mid-30’s perhaps) and also more muscular than I would select. Much more of a twink guy here. lol. Anyway, since there was nobody else in the shop, he ventured a little further up the leg of my walking shorts than is normal and was trying to convince me to add oil massage as well. Eventually, I acquiesced and we retreated up two flights of stairs to a rather large room with nice sized table and ensuite shower. Knowing from the outset that his was more a S or Type 2 shop, I wasn’t expecting much, but figure I might as well give it a try. Well, let me just say we went well beyond S. This guy did everything, including penetration. Certainly shocked the heck out of me. Seems the Olivia/Wisdom therapists have name badges with numbers, not names. He was #66, if anyone is interested. Not sure which Olivia shop he came from before Wisdom. Disclaimer…this is probably a one off experience. As is the case with all of the shops, it depends upon the therapist and what they are willing to do or not do. Perfect example…I returned to this same shop two days later, but early evening. It was very busy this time, but many more therapists available. The same adorable supervisor was out front, and he remembered me. I tried flirting with him to see if I could persuade him to do the massage, but no such luck. An older lady was running the desk inside and was determined to assign a lady therapist to me. I flatly said male or I am leaving and going elsewhere. Didn’t care for her at all, and if she was working the desk I probably would not return. Extremely rude individual. Lacked customer service skills. That said, I didn’t want to start with the foot massage this time but went directly to a 60 minute oil massage. Assigned therapist was just what I like…slim, smooth twink in his early 20’s. This experience was totally the opposite from my previous visit. The cute guy wouldn’t remove any clothing and would only go as far as to do hand job. Sweetening the pot made no difference. He had his limits and stuck to them. He was #156. I had never really walked around Silom during the daytime to explore what the different venues look like without all of the glam and glitter in the nighttime. Checked out G’s, which was actually closed. No signs of life and no sign on the door. Don’t know if it was an off day where they are normally closed, but this was the lunch hour so I was surprised by this. Perhaps they are in Pattaya preparing for the opening of their new location. Or, perhaps they are taking a short vacation. In any event, I shall try again some other day. Didn’t expect any of the clubs to be open. Three guys sitting outside Adam massage, but none that really peaked my interest. All were too busy with their heads buried in their phones to pay me any attention. That is always a deterrent for me. Also located Madrid, which many have talked about on the forum as a great place for pizza. Unfortunately, it was closed as well. Did not see any sign on the door as to why or when it might reopen.

I honestly believe that trump has lied so much for such a long time that he actually believes his lies. They are his own reality. Weird.

Next installment: Showed up at Paradise at the scheduled time. I think everyone there knows me by now. lol. None of the other guys even try to get my attention or persuade me to give them a try. They all know who I am there to see. He was waiting for me inside. This time I was actually there to get a massage. I was still feeling a little travel weary after the long flight and thought it would relieve some of the stress and stiffness. Wanting to spend as much time with ‘my guy’ as possible, I requested 120 minutes in the VIP room. Hopefully that would be a real treat for both of us. He is really quite good at massage and helped my aching body a lot. The extras are becoming much more intense and with feelings…if that makes any sense. He isn’t just going through the motions and it is certainly not mechanical by any stretch of the imagination. Far more intimate and connected. Needing to be very careful with my emotions with this one. I am easily becoming smitten. As we were getting dressed and preparing to go for dinner, I casually said to him that ‘I enjoy spending the time together and really like you’. I tried to choose my words very carefully. To that his reply was ‘I love you’. Wasn’t expecting that, so needed to spend some time processing everything once back in the condo. Did not respond in kind but gave him a kiss when he said it. Thoughts or comments? We went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. I have never had Lebanese food before, so I don’t know how authentic it really is, but the place was very busy and for me the food was quite good. It is located on Silom in Silom 64 building directly behind the McDonald’s. Name is Beirut Restaurant. They have a very small sign that does not light up directly below the golden arches. I would certainly go again. We had Chicken Shawarma, Lamb and Beef kabobs, Crunchy Fried Shrimp, served with lemon rice, naan, sliced tomato & cucumber and three different dipping sauces. After dinner, I headed back to the condo. It was still early and he needed to return to work. The original plan was for him to join me at the condo after the shop closed at midnight. However, as often happens in Thailand, plans changed. It seems Paradise is actually owned by a Chinese gentleman. Not sure if he is from Mainland China or from Taiwan. Towards the end of the working day, the owner had lots of food and drink delivered to the shop for the employees to celebrate Chinese New Year. Needless to say, my guy wanted to stay and party. That was fine with me. I knew he would be drinking way too much beer and in no condition to do anything other than pass out if he did join me, so we just agreed to chat the next day. To be honest, it is probably a good thing. I need to be careful about spending too much time with him. We have already talked about possibly taking a short 2 or 3 day trip outside the city next week. I also have other shops I want to explore this trip, as well as some of the clubs in the evening. Treated myself to a little pampering yesterday by getting a manicure and pedicure. Never had a pedicure before, but decided to give it a try. Was a very relaxing experience. There is a shop near the condo I have walked past hundreds of times but never stopped. There was only one other customer inside today when I was walking by, so on a whim just decided to treat myself. I thought it was very reasonable at 1000 Baht for both. That is around 30 USD. In the states, I would pay 45 USD for just a manicure. No idea how much the cost of adding a pedicure would be, but my guess would be at least an additional 30 USD. Trying to pace myself this trip since I have seven weeks. Think I will venture out today and try a different shop. Want to avoid Soi 6 shops as I don’t want anyone at Paradise to see me and report to a certain someone. lol. Thinking about Senso, Prince, or possibly Arena. Curious about Titan, but not willing to pay that high price if simply an S shop. Any recent updates on this place? To be continued...

When I lived in California, I had many more choices for US carriers. I have probably tried them all at some point in time. Denver is more limited. The primary carriers are United and Southwest. If I choose to fly any other US carrier, I am forced to fly from Denver to one of their hubs and then transfer to my ultimate destination. Not nearly as convenient. United has been ok, and also Delta. When I was teaching, the school district used Southwest or United. Southwest was much better domestically when dealing with a group of students. Very accommodating. Had to use United, though, when traveling international with a group. That was sometimes a bit challenging. To be honest, I have many horror stories over the years of traveling with American and have reached a point where I will no longer even consider that airline. If that is my only option, I drive or simply don't go there.

The Sukhumvit branch was previously known as The Cloud. Some of you may have been there before. While they advertise it is 'near' the Onnut BTS, their idea of near and mine are very different. It is not a quick and easy walk. Really requires taking a moto taxi from BTS station to the shop. Because of that, if I wanted to visit this location again I would just opt to take a Grab, Bolt or taxi directly from my lodging to the massage shop and forget about BTS altogether. Just my personal opinion... Facilities are decent, but no elevator and as is the case with most of these massage shops, rooms are on the upper floors with lots of steps to climb. This may be a deterrent to some people. No ensuite facilities, either. Some of the Prestige therapists are available at either shop. Some only work at Sathorn, while some only work at Sukhumvit. You will need to clarify with administration when making a reservation who you are requesting and which location they work from. The reason I ultimately decided to go to the Sukhumvit location is my interest in one particular therapist who only works at this location. For that reason, and only that reason...he was good enough that I would return!

Greetings from the Land of Smiles! I am now in Bangkok after spending five days in San Francisco visiting old friends and colleagues. I do not plan to report as detailed as I did back in October/November, but will share some tidbits along the way. Since I will be here for seven weeks, a detailed ‘blow by blow’ (pardon the pun) feels like it will be boring and tiresome to read. Although it was cold and wet in SF, I did enjoy getting to spend time with my friends, eating at some of my favorite restaurants, and even managed to take in a play. I was shocked by the overall condition of San Francisco these days. So many businesses have closed. Entire blocks filled with empty store fronts. Even the entire Westfield mall in downtown was completely shuttered. Market Street was more like a ghost town than a bustling hub of excitement and energy. To be honest, it was quite depressing to see. Flight on Singapore Airlines was great, although we did experience a fair amount of turbulence the first couple of hours due to that severe weather system hitting California. The cabin was very comfortable and service exceptional. I believe I said this on my previous trip as well, but the customer service of Asian carriers is superior to anything you find on US carriers…even in first class. The long 17+ hour flight went far quicker than I thought, and we actually arrived in Singapore about 30 minutes early. My connecting gate for Bangkok was in the same terminal and an easy 7 or 8 minute walk. Could have easily made the short connection, but after being confined for 17 hours it was good to move around and explore the airport. So much to see and experience. Flight to Bangkok was a short 90 minutes, although what seems to be more the norm at Suvarnabhumi these days, air traffic control had us circling for a good 15 minutes before the actual landing. Immigration was packed and seemed to be short on staff. I opted for the seniors priority lane which only took around 20 minutes. No problems, and got my stamp for 60 days. Had to wait less than ten minutes for my luggage to appear, then off to the limo service, S & P, recommended by a forum member. I used them in October and it was a great experience, so opted to use them again. Aside from the usual Bangkok traffic, I arrived at the condo and was ready to get settled in. For the short stay in SF I was living out of my luggage, which I hate. In the condo I was actually able to unpack, put things away, and get myself organized. Since my flight arrived at 11am, I was determined to stay awake all day so I would sleep well that first night and my body clock would adjust quicker. I discovered that trick back in October and it worked well. You all might remember that I made quite the connection with a therapist from Paradise in October. We have stayed in touch since then on a somewhat regular basis. He will usually text once a week. Most of the time he has initiated the ongoing conversation. Not once has he asked for anything. So, it will come as no surprise to any of you that my first visit on Friday was to Paradise. He knew my itinerary and was expecting me. I didn’t really go to the shop for a massage. The plan was to meet him there, then we went to dinner, followed by a visit to the condo for some male bonding and reconnecting time. lol. Was a glorious evening for sure. Just as good as I remembered…if not better. He wanted to meet again on Saturday, but my friends who have the condo I am using made plans for us to do some fun stuff around Bangkok for the day. I didn’t get back to the condo until late and was too tired to venture back out for any entertainment. I will meet up with him sometime later today or this evening. May see what other mischief I can cook up this afternoon before meeting him. Thinking about checking out the new Prestige Sukhumvit location.

First thing I thought of when I saw the pink ribbons was the old 1986 film 'Pretty in Pink'. Certainly is pretty, and I would also be happy to help untie those ribbons!

Beginning the first leg of my journey in approximately 3 hours. Flying from Denver to San Francisco where I will spend several days visiting friends and former colleagues. Haven't really been back to California since I retired and moved to Denver, so looking forward to reconnecting with folks in person. Much better than texting, FaceTime or Zoom. Hope to visit some of my favorite restaurants as well. Leave Wednesday evening for the second leg to Bangkok, to arrive mid-day on Friday, 2/20. Looking forward to new adventures.

lol. Thank you, @vinapu, for your sage advice. 🤣 I do know to check the stamp date. I was just trying to prepare myself in advance in case I needed to go apply for an extension...hence my question regarding the start date. lol.

When is this supposed to take effect? I didn't see any specific start date mentioned in the article. I arrive 2/20 and am planning to stay 7 weeks. Will my arrival next Friday still be under the 60-day rule, or the new 30-day rule?

Same here. Doesn't sound all that interesting to me, but want to show my support so will plan to visit when there in late February and March.

Like @caeron, I am very skeptical about the accuracy of those websites that offer personal information on famous people (relationship status, children, income, net worth, etc.). For every individual you 'google', you get a host of sites and they all contain different information. Depending upon how you phrase the question, even AI will provide a different answer each time asked. I think it is one of those things that you take with a grain of salt, so to speak. Also, he was very young when doing Dawson's Creek and not very knowledgeable or business minded. He was not receiving residuals in huge amounts like many believe. Like many parents in their 30's and 40's with young families, not much thought is given to life insurance. If the family did not already have life insurance, I doubt he would have been able to purchase it once the cancer was discovered. My father passed away from lung cancer...mesothelioma to be exact...so I know first-hand the high cost of medical care associated with treatment of any type of cancer. Regardless of health insurance, there are many expenses not covered for which the family becomes responsible. For those U.S. forum members, we all know how astronomical the cost of medical care is in general, even with insurance, and it only continues to get worse. I don't know how that compares to other countries, but I know that one major illness such as cancer in the U.S. can be financially catastrophic to a family. Couple this with the fact he has six children, all under the age of 16, and costs involved in raising a large family as a single mother now...so I definitely think their situation is dire and a GoFundMe acceptable as well.

Thanks for sharing this. I found it fascinating to read. I vaguely remember Sal Mineo but was not familiar with his story.

I believe he is from China. I think he is somewhat of a 'special event' as I have seen him advertised previously for short periods of time. The last time I saw them advertise his services he was in Bangkok for approximately one month. Some of the advertising via daily Line feed even indicated he was Chinese, but that wasn't always indicated. Of course, it doesn't really matter where he is from, as many of the therapists in all of the various shops are usually from someplace other than Bangkok or Thailand.

I will be in Bangkok during those dates and am definitely interested in meeting up with some forum members.

@durian, Sorry that your fell ill during the first part of your trip, and also that your accommodations at Quarter Saladaeng were not what you expected. It does sound like you were able to enjoy some parts of Bangkok. Hopefully, as time and distance passes by the experience will be remembered fondly. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I was surprised to learn about the cruising at Silom Complex. Been in that mall a number of times on my recent trip in October as they had a couple of restaurants I really liked. I was totally oblivious to this, and had not seen any mention of it on the forum until now. I will be there in a couple of weeks and need to keep my eye out for it. lol. Enjoy your time in Pattaya.

Not aware of Mandel. Where is it located? Might be worth checking out for the experience even if only an S place.

I wonder if he had waited for a period of time if it could actually be reversed, or if he was just lucky enough to undo it the very next day. Had no idea such a thing existed...guess I have lived a very sheltered life. lol. Not something I would ever consider, and sounds very sketchy from the info @PeterRS shared from Mayo Clinic.

I have not actually met anyone when in Thailand who has had this done, but I recall reading about it on this forum before. Not sure how I would react if I were to take someone home with me and discover that. Personally, not something I would ever consider doing. Think it would be unsightly, uncomfortable, and extremely unsafe.

Also, curious to know if the therapist actually joins you in the tub. lol. Even more fun.

Here is a video from today's Line update for a shop called STARS.BKK. I think this used to be G-Beats, but not 100% certain of that. Anyway, as you can see in the video, the therapist is inviting us into a room with a nice, large tub that is filled with bubble bath. This is where I got the idea from...something I would enjoy...but it isn't specifically mentioned in list of services. STARS.BKK video.mp4

Did anyone else see the article in the Toronto Sun about a billionaire who died in France while getting penis enlargement surgery? https://torontosun.com/news/world/doctors-banned-billionaire-dies-during-penis-enlargement-surgery I didn't know such a thing was possible. I cannot begin to imagine how painful getting injections in your penis would be. And beyond the injections, what else would the surgery entail?

I'm sorry...according to the walesonline article, he said he tripped and fell on it?!? Does anyone really believe that??? LOL.