mauRICE

I'm not at all surprised to hear that @jimmie50 is a nice guy. From his earliest appearance on this forum introducing himself as a former special ed teacher and telling us about his arrangement with his sister to care for each other in their golden years, I've had good vibes from him. But it has also made me very concerned about him because in my over 20-year association with Thailand I've seen too many nice guys finish last. Hence, occasionally, I've put him in the dock with my leading/looping questions when I felt he needed a little jolt. I do it purely out of a sense of protectiveness.

Have you got a link to the channel of the influencer that convinced you to go to Samui? How old was he and where was he from? I think perspectives matter. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that you seem disappointed that Kok Samui was full of farang. Didn't your Youtube influencer say loads of Americans and Canadians had moved there and you were drawn by this fact? I don't think it's one of the islands that's popular with Thais and it's not as if you were mingling with the locals in Bangkok anyway. You stayed close to the red light district, ate at Foodland and most (all?) your acquaintances were foreign. Nothing wrong with all that but did you make one Thai friend, even a Thai prostitute friend? How many Thai places of interest did you visit? Pride Bar is just a bar. We were there last December during the high season and found it packed and quite fun. We played Jenga with a couple from Australia and my partner beat a Belgian guy at chess and we played a round of pool. Drink prices were typical of island resorts. We didn't see any mincing working boys to entertain the customers and those spoilt by Pattaya and Patpong or with rusty social skills might find the concept of saying hello and making friends with fellow travellers in a bar a bit jarring. I'm reminded by what dear Olddaddy said about miserable-looking farang sitting by themselves in Jomtien Complex. 😅 [Speaking of the devil, where is @Olddaddy ? Is he still detoxing from his recent Thailand trip?🤔] There's also a cabaret showbar, Blue something, with quite an entertaining show. Dunno whether it's still open or only opens during the high season. Bear in mind that Kok Samui is an island, a bit over-rated and it wouldn't be fair or make any sense to compare it to the Big Smoke. My Thai partner had rented a motorcycle and we were able to see much of the island that way. I found it to be a relaxing getaway and even enjoyed our brief trip to Phuket last June which most gay sex tourists have written off! What can I say, I'm easily pleased and view every travel opportunity a privilege. 😁9

Duh. Silly title. Of course they wouldn't know it if they had dementia especially among certain nationalities that generally lack self-awareness. I recall reading somewhere that dementia is quite prevalent among older foreign residents in Thailand due to loneliness. They aren't alone because they have people around them but they're (emotionally) lonely. I don't know whether this finding was anecdotal or based on scientific research but going around places like Chiang Mai and Pattaya where there are a lot of older farang one gets the vibe that quite a few of them aren't "all there" (which may not necessarily be clinical dementia but some form of personality disorder or social dysfunctionality ). https://www.newsweek.com/older-americans-have-dementia-without-knowing-experts-reveal-signs-to-watch-12414002

I think I know the videographer. Small world, isn't it? ☺️ Pattaya can get really busy during the high season. I think I like it better like this. Clear skies, fresh air although the Supertown boys tell me it rains quite often (which helps to clean the air). If you've been to KL in the last week or so, you'll understand why fresh, clean air has become such a valuable commodity.

I didn't know Lucky but it sounds like he had an interesting life and an amazing and fruitful career. His advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights is particularly admirable. If Lucky had survived his dogs, I hope that there's somebody taking care of them now that he's gone. I'm very sorry for your loss, Rob. The fact that you kept in contact with Lucky for 20 years and noticed that something was amiss when he didn't reply also says a lot about you. 🫶🕊

Thanks for the pics, @aaroninatl . Some of the guys are looking quite buff and I take back and have deleted my Marlon Brando comment from my previous post. I agree that associating muay thai with HIV is not only tenuous but betrays a total lack of understanding of how HIV is transmitted and, coming from a guy who proudly bragged about taking advantage of a young man whom he himself said was high on drugs, is just plain hypocritical.

Hi Aaron. Has it been raining in the evenings? I didn't realise you had a ranking of the bars. Did you get a chance to chat with the guys and find out what their thoughts on world peace and global warming were? There's an entire devoted thread devoted to Moonlight on this forum somewhere. My favourite, Joey, has left for greener pastures. My other favourite, Babe, is still there on and off. (Babe is the shorter guy in your duo pic above. He may be short but, trust me, he's packing it.)

There is an unseen heirarchy of working boys (and girls) - a social pyramid of prostitutes, if you like - which those not in the industry may not be aware of which could explain the reluctance of Patpong boys to go to Fake. Those who aren't Thai speakers aren't very high on the totem pole. There's also something about not peeing on another man's turf. They may be more amenable to going if they've got a friend working there. Another exception is if they're exceptionally goodlooking in which case they'd be welcome anywhere. Note that venues like Fake, Asgard and other host bars are primarily drinking bars and if you don't drink and/or are put off by excessive drinking, you'd feel out of place. I've only been at the invitation of Thai friends and barely lasted an hour at these places as I don't drink and am totally put off by any form of excess, especially alcohol. Seeing youngsters ruining their health like that day in and day out upsets me and drink-driving related fatalities happen almost daily with this lot, in a country where drink-driving related accidents hardly raises eye-brows anymore. Only yesterday, I saw the funeral of a karaoke hostess in Chiang Mai on social media. She was driving home drunk at 6 in the morning, had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into a lamppost and died on the spot. She was a single mum and it totally broke my heart seeing her 12-year-old son leading the cortege to the crematorium. He had specially ordained as a monk for the occasion. For some of these venues, inviting a host to your table and buying him drinks is compulsory and at Asgard and Fake the minimum number of drinks that you need to buy a host depends on his popularity. Most of the stars will expect a 100-drink minimum on any given night, which will allow a customer to "mao" (เหมา) or "charter" him until closing time. Otherwise he gets back on stage at the end of the hour and is available for bidding by other customers. Boyz Boyz Boyz in Pattaya is unique in that the boys are rotated every 20 minutes! Host drink prices range from 350 to 500 Baht depending on the venue, from which the venue takes a 50 to 150 Baht cut per drink. If you plan to go to Fake to see the shows, bear in mind that is a very large venue reminiscent of an evangelical tabernacle and the best seats are nearest the stage and are usually reserved for VIP customers. It's fine if you're contented sitting in the galleries and watching the shows on the big screen TVs. The majority of Fake's patrons are East Asian. Security is very tight, especially around the stage area as some female customers have been known to go crazy watching the highly erotic performances. Most of the performers are straight but their lead dancer, now 38 but physically very fit, is gay. He goes everywhere in Asia to perform at various clubs but is especially popular in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Yes! Aussies like you and Olddaddy are doing a great job. Keep it up!

In other words, somebody with class. 😉

Sri Lanka is beautiful and the people are extremely hospitable. Gorgeous beaches with crystal blue waters. Excellent food if you can handle South Asian cuisine and an amazing array of teas. Visit Jaffna if you've got the time and learn about the civil war and genocide perpetrated by the Buddhist Singhalese on the Tamils. I must warn you the stories are harrowing and quite shocking. Don't know about gay life as I was there to attend a wedding and take in a short holiday two years ago.

AA privilege? I hear Pattaya is home to the world's biggest chapter. Who's Jamie?

With due respect not repetitive, but perhaps outdated or behind the times. 2005 was a generation ago and the guys from that "class" as you say could be parents of adult children themselves now who in turn could be your grandchildren. Times change, values change, people change. Besides, you seem to have missed the point; your example of moneyboys hooking farangs long term is precisely what Olddaddy is arguing against in his original post.

What say you?

He's been at Jupiter since Chinese New Year at least, which was seven months ago and is actually a lot smaller when off stage. I forget his name but I think he's from the north, possibly Tai-Yai. Few of the Jupiter guys are completely new; many have worked the circuit all over Thailand as masseurs, hosts at Thai venues, captains/bouncers at karaoke joints, pubs and discotheques. I know at least two who've been on the scene for longer than 10 years. These days, if they're new, goodlooking, Thai-speaking and can hold their drink, they'd hit the Thai host bars where the real money is and where they're aren't obliged to sleep with anybody. The ones who can also speak Chinese (usually from Chinese-minority communities in the north) tend to do especially well.

They're both foreign; might they be looking for a green card? Is it even possible under the current administration?

The only way to know for certain is to get her assessed but I understand it is not easy to get some older people to hospital especially if they are functional in other respects. A close family friend was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. The initial symptoms were the usual forgetfulness attributed to aging for eg misplacing her keys, forgetting where she was and the names of her loved ones, calling another man's name while making love which then became progressively worse to putting her bra on backwards and forgetting to twist it around, wearing her bra over her clothes, answering the door naked and inviting the Grab delivery man in, making dangerous mistakes while driving and losing her way, trying to slaughter and cook the family cat, etc. And funnily enough, she became obsessed with details, as if to convince herself that she was alright. Thankfully, her husband and kids were able to convince her to go for a check up and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's as suspected and is now on medication that apparently helps to slow the progression of the disease. She's only 65.

My apologies. I should have written the above as: I'm afraid Olddaddy may have stirred up a hornet's here... "...it does give me a new perspective when reading your posts." It should have been: ...it does put your posts in a new perspective.

Paid companion. Long-term escort. Needy people. Live-in hoe. Olddaddy has opened up a hornet's nest here which will get a lot of old farangs' panties in a knot for sure. Welcome back, Olddaddy! You're in top form. @bkkmfj2648 It's very brave of you to share with us about your medical condition. It's nothing to be ashamed of and it does give me a new perspective when reading your posts. I shall keep your useful chart in mind (which I've already saved) when responding to them from now on. Again, thanks for sharing. 🙏🏻🫶✌️💪

Oh hell no. I occasionally share articles that I think may be of interest to forum members and sometimes add my own very brief comments to them. To take over PeterRS's mantle I'd have to be first and foremost terribly needy, write a six-page commentary to every article, create hydras to give me likes to my posts and use the likes as a defence (or downvotes as a weapon) each time I pick a fight with a forum member, which is all the time. I think somebody else may be slowly but surely taking over PeterRS's mantle and ironically it's his arch nemesis. Time will tell.

He could enjoy it if he's one of the less than 0.015% of the population who's a true gerontophile. You're such a skeptic! 😏

And bullets!

...after a few drinks.

Really? How can anyone miss it? I liked Just Specialty Coffee and always support the independents. Their capuccino was decent and I enjoyed their banana pancakes. I didn't get to try their mini scones though. Vibe was warmer than O'Delices across the street which has had mixed reviews but to be fair, the somewhat combative French owner was very nice to me.

I enjoyed my visit to Boyztown when I was in Pattaya recently but then I'm easy to please and comfortable with change. More importantly, I don't take it personally when entertainers and/or entertainment venues fall short of my expectations. There's always another day, another bar, another guy...