aaroninatl

Good Thursday morning from Chiang Mai. Or is it Shanghai. I swear every time I use dictation I have to manually switch it. Siri has no love for Chiang Mai. Hanging today with the local Grindr guy. I don’t know when the kid got any sleep. He’s already messaged me this morning. We parted ways around 9 so he could be to work by 10 last night. The plan is to get together at 8 this morning, which is 30 minutes from now and I’m still in bed. How he is awake is beyond my comprehension. Still can’t believe this one’s into me. The whole time we were hanging out yesterday he was being friendly, but not really flirtatious. He joined me for my little walk around Nimman as I scoped out some apartment buildings. There were moments where it seemed like he might be interested, but I didn’t know if I was just imagining it. But then just like the Japanese Grindr guy from Bangkok, as soon as the door is closed, Wham! I tend to forget that Asians aren’t into PDA. I guess it’s generally not accepted or appreciated. I’m the type that likes to hold hands or play with someone’s hair that kind of thing. Especially if it’s in a gay friendly neighborhood like Nimman. And when there’s any sign that that’s not OK my natural assumption is they’re not interested. So yeah when we get back to my place last night at the door closed, holy hell did he 180. His body is so my type it’s ridiculous. Probably about 120 or 130 pounds gymnast body. He must exercise maybe even lift weights, but not too much. When his shirt came off JFC. It was like that line from that Ryan Gosling movie when he took his shirt off and the chick goes “Seriously? It’s like you’re Photoshopped.” I guess the line in 2026 would be seriously? It’s like you’re AI. So yeah, here we go with the juggling act I’ve got today and tomorrow with the local guy. My Japanese teacher arrives Saturday night and leaves Monday afternoon. I already told the local that I have a tour planned all day Sunday, which is kind of true. 😆 but yeah I haven’t juggled guys in like 20 years. Most of the past 10 years I didn’t have one guy in my life. So this is definitely taking me back to my hotter era… and trust me that was a long time ago. Looking unlikely there will be much time for any bar or massage visitsfor the rest of the CM part of this trip. Maybe tonight because I think he has to work again. We’ll see. The era has also passed of me going 2 or 3 rounds in one day. 😜 I’ll leave you with one of my favorite moments yesterday while we were grabbing dinner of him trying to figure out how to eat pizza. With his body, it didn’t surprise me that it’s not a staple of his diet, but he enjoyed it. If you’re ever in CM Pizza my heart is incredibly good.

Thanks guys. Chiang Mai deserves the love. It's a great city. The scene here is obviously not on the Bangkok level. But how could it be? It's in the shadow so there's naturally the comparison. But it's cool that there are some fun spots when you've got that itch! But man the quality of life here is great. The mountains are gorgeous. The people are so kind. I've yet to have a bad meal here... Asian or Western. Grab is my BFF. I love that it's a walkable city. Love the idea of living a car-less life. Burning season is def a concern. Been talking with a lot of locals about it to get an idea of how well I'd handle it. Daytime heat is more of a challenge than I thought it'd be given the elevation difference. But the nights here feel fantastic. And I miss being a night person.

😆 Are you trying to kill me? That guy who questioned the value of this thread has a valid point lol. I’m gonna pass on the bars tonight. I’m obvi not horned up now. My Ko Samui thread should’ve been called “lack of adventures…” and sorry I’m not providing much on the scene in this thread either. I planned to!

So what’s the dumbest thing I could do with a guy flying up here Saturday? Here’s a hint: make the same mistake I made in Bangkok. Yep. Started chatting with a guy on Grindr. Just tapped him and didn’t even message. Figured he’d be way out of my league. 23 super cute. Amazing body. Within a couple minutes, he messages me. Spoke great English, so I assumed he was using Google translate. Come to find out it’s part of his job as he works in hospitality. He joined me as I checked out apartments in Nimman. Had dinner. Go back to my place. And yeah. Here I go again. I could juggle guys back in my 20s. But that was decades ago. He seriously has the kind of body I always tried to find when I was dating in my 20s. But guys like that were out of my league then. here I am at this age. This is ridiculous. I feel like Ashton Kutcher is gonna pop out at any minute and tell me I’ve been Punk’d.

Yeah many countries now have a Trump'y movement happening. Thing is Trump isn't the problem. He's a symptom of the problem. Many are eager to see some big changes in November in the U.S., but here's the thing. Even when the orange blob is gone (hopefully) in 2 years, the underlying problem is the cretin following he's inspired. They rarely voted before he came along. They'll find some new figurehead that'll justify their racism by calling it national pride. But the thing I tell people I meet here is not to judge the entire country by the MAGA movement. They're a cult. But not a majority. A problem is MAGA and more normal conservatives (I know, probably a contradiction in terms for many) are going to vote the same way. So it's almost 2 on 1 for a dem right now. I'm sure politics are frowned upon on boards like this... and they should be. But it's relevant in that where the country is right now is a big motivator for me to go back and vote in November, then get out and explore the world starting next year. I have been wanting to do this for years but wanted to be here for my folks while they were still around. Both of my parents have now passed so this is why plans are in motion. I still have family and friends I'll want to come back to the US and visit. But there's no better time than now for me to do a reset and live in and explore other countries. I've been to a couple dozen countries and none have made me feel like Thailand does. I've watched far too many YouTube videos, read countless blogs and stories from expats, done the research on visas, healthcare and so forth. Everything pointed to this part of the world. But I wasn't going to make a big decision like this without being here for a couple months. Not seeing and hearing the orange blob on a daily basis has been wonderful… until I fire up my laptop. 😆

Yeah it's all over now. Pizza takeout spots, coffee shops, it's spread like wildfire over the past couple years in the US. You really have to be one of my favorite places to get me to come back if you do that whole tip in advance routine. There's a sub shop in Philly I love and the staff's always great. In that case I don't mind "pre-tipping." But yeah, unless you're going to give me a crystal ball when I order, I'm not good at guessing how your service is going to be. The real kick in the balls is when you do pretip well and get lousy service or product.

@musgrave - Did a little Googling... the cafe you mentioned, did you meal Elely? Has a bunch of dogs and a couple elephants on a spread out nature view? If so that looks awesome. It is a bit far out north... thinking that might be a good plan for Sunday when my guy is here. I'm sure I can get a Grab to take us there but would it be difficult to get one back? (Seems remote.)

@Keithambrose yeah w/ the sandwich thing, that's what I was referring to when I was saying "pre-tipping." Drives me nuts too... especially when there's little to no service given.

Totally open to suggestions. I have only done Aqua and Gentle (I think I reported on both earlier). Had the good legit massage at Gentle so I'm probably ready for something a little spicier tonight. I love that adjective they use here. Twinks and twunks are usually my thing. Straight is a-ok as I'm not looking for sex. At the same time I don't want to leave hornier than when I walked in. 😉

My first embarrassed-to-be-an-American moment was in Paris. Valentines Day... the Eiffel Tower. It's night time. The tower lights are sparkling. As I'm walking towards it for the first time in awe, an American couple is walking away from the beautiful structure. When they got closer, I heard the disappointed girlfriend whine: "I thought the gift shop would be bigger." I can still feel the cringe 20 years later. She probably would have been happier if there was a Walmart on the second level. But yeah, for the most part I agree @a-447, Americans who are traveling abroad are generally the more well-educated, open-minded and socially-conscious type. The trust fund college kids who travel abroad to find the best beer get annoying (unless they're hot 😜) but fortunately those Eiffel Tower girlfriend moments are rare. The frustrating part of being an American abroad these days is something I've experienced twice this week. In conversations, when they ID me as being from the United States, they gingerly step around politics and assume I'm a Trumper. The orange man somehow has convinced the world he has the entire country's undying loyalty. I politely let them in on his approval rating. Anyway, back to Chiang Mai. No big plans today. Going to roam around Nimman a bit more and see if I can view a few apartments. Maybe a bar or massage tonight, perhaps that little local bar you mentioned @daydreamer. I did book a minivan to see Mae Kampong Friday. It's not a tour or personal driver, but I'll have a few hours to wander around. Another "seriously that's it?" moment... $14 roundtrip.

When it comes to tipping, one thing I’m very glad that hasn’t caught on here in Asia is the culture of pre-tipping as I call it. I can’t tell you how many places in the US I just don’t go to anymore because of it. Tips for me are reward and gratitude for great service. So many places in the US now, you have to tip when you place your order. Of course it’s voluntary but you feel like a crumb if you don’t. Drives me insane. If your employees are underpaid, just charge me more for my coffee. I’ll pay it.

For sure, especially when they have a great attitude. As much as I criticize people from my country, that’s one thing I have noticed when I do tours outside the US. Americans generally tip on these tours pretty well… at least in my experience.

I made up for that for sure at least on my tour.

No, I love that. The one I went to this week was pretty bare bones. The high-tech stadium in Bangkok was fun, but it felt more like a WWE event.

Good Wednesday morning from Chiang Mai. Again, not much really to report in terms of what the message board is about. Maybe tonight I’ll hit one of the bars or get a massage. Yesterday was spent on an incredible tour of the mountains southwest of chaing mai. I thought it would be kind of cheesy and touristy (but hey I’m a tourist). The elephant experience really was incredible though. Plus, it was great to see surrounding areas of the city. The drive took about an hour and a half. Arrived at a sanctuary and had a quick lunch watching workers tend to the elephants. We put on our uniforms that cracked everyone up back home when I posted pictures on social media. Had a cooking class to create elephant vitamins. Then it was time to feed and then bathe with the elephants. An incredible experience that I really underrated when I signed up for the tour. After we went to a waterfall. Beautiful. Normally, I check in with you guys during my rides. But the van that we were in didn’t seem to have shocks. I was in the back row, bouncing up and down like a basketball. The tour was about 50 bucks. Everything is cheap here, but it blows my mind how they can do tours like this at that price.

I don’t think I knew about that one thanks. It’s a strange combat sport, but I dig it. I really only thought I’d go to one event just to check it off the tourist list. But it’s so unique. The pre-match dance ritual. The respect between the fighters. The live band coordinating music to the fight. And I’ll be honest most of the guys are hot. Not gonna deny that that’s a factor too. 😆

The Bangkok vs Chiang Mai decision is really getting harder. I don't think there is a wrong choice. Both have their perks. Neither has many downsides. Before landing in Thailand I was already convinced Chiang Mai would be the spot. Then Bangkok overwhelmed. Samui was a nice escape but it just made me miss Bangkok. No big surprises here in Chiang Mai... I guess with the exception of the daytime heat. It feels like Bangkok. At night though, there's a marked difference between the two. I think I like the pace here in CM better. But the conveniences and energy of Bangkok are undeniable. The escapes outside Chiang Mai all sound great. Mae Kampong is on my to do list this week... might save it for the weekend when he's here. Really looking forward to the Airbnb experience today. I love elephants but I'm probably more excited to see life outside the city. I know there's a waterfall on the itinerary. Forget which one. But it'll be nice to get out and see life outside CM along the way.

Love it @daydreamer thx. I haven’t really started looking at things to do once he gets here. That sounds like a win. I’ve been to a couple temples but other than that, not much touristy stuff. Just neighborhood visits. If it ends up being Chiang Mai, it’s going to be Nimman for sure. So I’m gonna have a little fun now. Today I’m doing the super touristy elephant sanctuary visit.

Evening fellas... not much to share tonight. Roamed around the old city today, spent sunset at the pool talking fun stuff like visas and healthcare with an expat. Then ended up taking I think Jason's advice and hit up a blues/rock club with the expat and his girlfriend. Good times. Parted ways with them and went to another Muay Thai event next door at the Night Bazaar that was just starting. There was this one boxer who was so my type. Shaggy blond haired guy from I think Austria. Probably not available to be off'd though. Unfortunately there were no mamasans to consult.

Yes that is annoying. Noticed that a lot in CM.

Uh oh. Why’s that? I still have a curiosity about Vietnam. After I booked most of this trip back this spring I second guessed not including it. It’s just hard to imagine that I would like it as much as I do Thailand though. This is my view right now from the top of my Airbnb. There’s a nice cool breeze. So peaceful. Just had about an hour long conversation with an expat who moved here a year ago. Spends most of his time in Bangkok. Just the same thing I hear from everyone who makes the move: No regrets.

Just makes it so you don’t see anything that whoever you mute posts. I don’t really care if anyone says something bad about me on here. I know I’m a good dude. My real world family and friends know that. It’s an internet message board. I wish nothing bad on the 2 I muted. Ignoring/muting just skips their posts. I just wish I wasn’t so darn interesting so they would mute me too. 😉

Could very well be my hearing is going. Haha. Too many concerts. I just didn’t notice until yesterday how little I’ve heard sirens on this trip when in the big cities. Seems constant in the US and cities I visited around the world.

Nimman really did impress. I did like Ari a lot. The BTS announcement is so peaceful “Ah-reeeeeee”. Will be sure to visit Thong Lor. Thanks!

This very well might be my favorite subject line I’ve ever seen on this forum. 😆 I spent a lot of time on that stretch on this trip but can't say I recall him. But best believe when I get back to Bangkok, if I'm walking by, my eyes will wander.