Nikom

I think also that sexuality in Thailand is a little more fluid. 

I couldn't quite figure out where to put this... But I've been out in Kanchanaburi for the last few days. Yesterday we visited Huay Mae Kamin waterfall. It's about 45km past Erawan Falls which are currently closed due to storm damage a couple of weeks ago. It is spectacular and magical. It's quite reminiscent of Kuang Si in Luang Prabang with several levels and beautiful green waters. Also quite easy to get to with parking right near the most beautiful parts of the falls. But take the walk to tier 6 and you're rewarded by an enormous abundance of butterflies. I've never seen anything like it. Well worth the 300 baht entry for foreigners
Lots of long drives and winding roads out in that part of the country.
 

On one side the tourists complain about how boring JC is as there is nothing to do but sit, drink and watch the boys play their mobiles
On the other side the expats complain when there is entertainment in a bar that it is impinging on their rights to sit, drink and watch the boys play play their mobiles.
Who would want to be a bar owner!

During low season often if you take off a guy he will later suggest that you take off his room mate so they can pay the rent!
 

Seen am argument between a bar owner and two Indian males.  They wanted to take one boy off to share between them!
 

Seen am argument between a bar owner and two Indian males.  They wanted to take one boy off to share between them!
 

Seen am argument between a bar owner and two Indian males.  They wanted to take one boy off to share between them!
 

Seen am argument between a bar owner and two Indian males.  They wanted to take one boy off to share between them!
 

During low season often if you take off a guy he will later suggest that you take off his room mate so they can pay the rent!
 

During low season often if you take off a guy he will later suggest that you take off his room mate so they can pay the rent!
 

What you read is the way it was in Pattaya pre-Covid.  Not anymore.  Boyztown has go-go bars, but they are comparatively expensive and don't appeal to everybody.  Sunee Plaza is down to just a couple go-go bars.  They too don't appeal to everybody, but are much less expensive.  Walking through Sunee Plaza these days is like walking through a darkened dead zone.  Loads of bars - most of them closed
The women in go-go bars were almost all Chinese.  Now there are none.
Also, not everybody needs or is all that interested in go-go bars in the first place.  I think Jomtien Complex is so much more popular now because there are many more boys working there than Boyztown and Sunee Plaza.  Also Jomtien Complex is alive with activity, beer bars, restaurants, close proximity to shops, close proximity to the beach.  It simply is much more fun there.
While it is true no go-go bars are permitted there (and in all my years here I have never seen a regulation that actually prohibits them), I know of no regulation that says the boys can't take off their shirts if they want to and occasionally some do. 
People have to accept that much of the Pattaya gay scene paradigm has changed.  How much of it and how soon it might change back is another question and remains to be seen.  Don't expect much to change any time soon.
Anybody besides me remember that crazy nut case, Bad Boy Billy?  He swore he was going to buy up all the vacant bars and turn them into go-go sleaze bars.  He's another one who disappeared from the scene and the boards.  A few years ago he tried to get back on my board, but mean old Gaybutton wouldn't let him.  Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake by that.  Oh well - I hope my curmudgeonliness didn't cost Pattaya a bunch of gay sleaze go-go bars that might have put Eros to shame.
I also believe that if enough pressure is applied and enough money finds its way into the right hands, the day will come when Jomtien Complex finally does permit go-go bars.
The best way for you to research is to check out all three areas for yourself and decide which works best for you.
 

Viagra gives me headaches too, but Cialis does not!
 
 

Others may disagree with me, but I've learned not to even try to buy gifts for the boys.  Instead I give money and let them buy what they want.  Most times when farang buy gifts for the boys, the boy will react very happy about it.  Later he will either throw it away or give it to somebody else.
Giving money may seem tacky to us, but believe me, unless the boy specifically asked for something, he'll appreciate money much more than a gift you pick out for him.  And to the boys a gift of money is not tacky at all.

Im pretty sure flowers or any gesture really for a gay boy, feminine or not, coming from someone he loves or respect, will be appreciated. I totally support that gifts should be something useful and thoughtful. But nothing stops us to give them both, flowers and food for example lol

Before Covid there was a small pharmacy near Tartawan Hotel across the soi from Tawan that sold Cialis.  Tawan has now moved but hoping the pharmacy is still there.  Any info?
 

Oh dear, I fear my opening post might have been made into something it was not intended to be. In any case, as with many things in life, the flux of life (and economics) is seldom amenable to being reduced to a simple dichotomy: good and bad. 
I didn't mean to give the impression that it's all doom and gloom. 
In fact, if you read my opening paragraph, you'll see me saying let's get the bad news out of the way. Also, I stressed that we're only 2 weeks out of the Thailand Pass.
Am I enjoying myself? Yes, yes and yes. Choices may be more limited than before due to the closures, which may well be compensated for by new openings in due course, but for a short holiday, how many choices do I need? I have only so many days.
But I hope in my opening post to have described a baseline post-covid. Perhaps a year later in July 2023, someone will describe the scene then and we (fingers crossed) will have a measure of the improvement and be glad we are here to witness the recovery. And be thankful Thailand offers what we don't get in our home cities.
 
 
 
 

As many of us would know, Super Rich offered some of the best exchange rates when changing cash. A particularly convenient branch was located on level 3 of Silom Center. It's no more. The next one that I knew of was located at the front of Silom Plaza (what we generally know as the Arena Massage building). So I went there. It too was closed.

 
Fortunately, a tiny currency exchange shop was nearby so I didn't have to go hunting some more. It offered very good rates too. It faces Narathiwat Raja Naga Indra Road, round the corner from Silom Plaza. 
Still on Narathiwat Road, I remember the old Om Yim hotel. I had good stays there, and loved the fact that it was literally 25 metres from the entrance to Chong Nonsi station. It's long gone, but the unit is still vacant.

Closer to our time, Glitz Hotel (at the mouth of Soi Tarntaran) is also gone.
As others have reported, Tawan has moved to smaller premises across the street.
Meanwhile New Twilight has opened in the dark alley that is called Soi Anuman Ratchathon, directly opposite the infamous dive bar Nature Boy (which I think is now the replacement location for Golden Cock, based on new signage that I saw)... but the way it's going, I think we will be writing an obituary for New Twilight before long. That's for another post though.

Regardless of the good features of Raya it is now ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE STREET!

Yes. Like you I think I have a better understanding of the probabilities than when I first visited in the 1990s, but there is still a slight possibility of having an ill-chosen visitor.
We all three (hotel, me, visitor) know perfectly well why the visitor is visiting, but since in Thai culture actually mentioning it would cause loss of face to all of us, that won't happen. SInce having the hotel check ID might prevent some unpleasantness (even if it's unlikely), and there is no downside, I think it's a good thing.
 

I love just walking the streets. I'm pretty sure it won't be close to normal, but after a couple of years cooped up, I just need to go somewhere for my mental health. The few years in the US have been very depressing. Covid and fascists.

If i were to go to thailand for a week or less, i wont waste my time on the app. I would casually check it once in a while in case there is someone worth the trouble, but would not depend on it. The apps while convenient and cut the middleman, is littered with customers and boys alike, as well as those who are just looking for a free hookup, free dinner, free transport, or just free money without committing to anything. And if they dont deliver, they can just create a diff profile, or block u, and u cant really do anything about it. 
While boys at bars are not 100% perform as you wish, most of the boys on offer are available for hire, so no guessing games, no fake picture, no lenghty conversation getting nowhere. And we can always complaint to mamasan, or just review here and bitch about the bars hehe. If there is a choice, like the case in thailand, id choose bars, then massage, then only app.

All the relish you need is some hot Thai boys to join you for the picnic......and of course some Isaan big sausages for those hot dog buns

Thai boys also comes with a set of delicious hot buns lol.

As an aside, I'm surprised - and I hinted at this in an earlier post- that most of the recommended restaurants aren't Thai.  Is this a fair reflection of falang taste? For me, the prospect of Thai food- both the sophisticated  and that on offer at basic restaurants- is one of the things I look forward to most. And miss now!

An interesting article about the background to the current state of affairs in Myanmar:
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/world/asia/myanmar-coup-aung-san-suu-kyi.html?smid=em-share