FunFifties

Having read a lot of interesting trip reports and learned a lot from these as well as from interesting questions and answers, I thought I might try my hand at a (not very detailed ‘cause its a year ago almost) trip report from Malaysia. I was there in November of 2023, entered the Country by train from Singapore, stayed one night in Johor Bahru, two nights in KL and four nights in Georgetown. From there I traveled overland to Chumphon, Thailand, and got on a boat to Koh Tao, but that’s a different story… Johor Baru was an interesting, but unnecessary stop. I booked a night there because I wasn't sure how regular I could expect the border trains from Singapore to be or how smooth the border crossing would be. Very regular, very smooth turned out to be the case, so that left me a good half day, an evening, and a night to enjoy Johor Bahru before catching a train to KL the next day. JB is not exactly a picturesque city and not very walkable, but you are probably not here for the family friendly version of my trip with sightseeing and good food, so I will leave those details for Instagram and go on to the topics of interest to this community; boys and men. Malaysia has three very distinct population groups, Malay, Chinese and Indian, so both food- and hook-up wise there are a lot of flavors to sample. I don’t have a specific type and like guys in their 20s, 30s and sometimes 40s (so many men, so little time!). I must say however, that I found Malay Malaysian exceptionally beautiful. High cheek bones, almond shaped eyes, cute little noses, pretty lips and regular white teeth in just the right proportions seem to adorn the faces of many Malay men and women. Grindr is my hook-up app of choice, and I got a decent amount of attention. One message was from a guest from the local sauna “the Maze” (or it might have been direct marketing from the sauna itself). I decided a trip to the sauna would be a perfect way to sample different types so I went. As far as I recall the place had a bar, a gym and a fairly big maze where the sampling took place. It was a fairly mixed crowd of mostly Chinese and Indian descent in their 30s, 40s and 50s, so there were samples to be had. Sadly it was mostly sampling because the maze was haunted by a little old man and his flashlight. I don’t know if his job was to clean or to make sure the hanky panky didnt get out of hand, but he did a great job at both. After a couple of hours of a lot of close close encounters interrupted by the infinite loop of flashlight man, I decided I had had enough appetizers and went back to the city center for dinner and another look at Grindr. Among others I chatted with an early 20s Malay man, we met for a drink and a chat and went to my hotel where we had a really good time. I stayed at the Bello Hotel JB Central and there was no issue bringing my date to my room. Maybe because I had booked for two, or they didn’t care, or my assumption that the receptionist played on our team was correct. I hope my sample of Malaysia is of interest to the forums and plan to make a report on KL and Georgetown in the near future.

That's great news. November last year I looked into going from Butterworth to Chumphon (to catch a boat to Koh Tao) by train, but was only possible to go to Padang Besar and then I would have had to take bus or taxi to Hat Yai to reconnect to rail. I Ended up booking a seat on a shuttle bus that took me directly from my hotel in Georgetown to Hat Yai where I got on the train.

Just once Most times I pay, but my date takes me to the restaurant by car or bike sometimes.

Hi, new to these forums, but have been eavesdropping for a while Interesting topic. I love travelling alone and have been fortunate enough to do a couple of two-month trips in recent years. I wouldn't say I get lonely but sometimes I miss company at meals or to have someone to share interesting experiences with. I basically have three methods to fix this. Number one is booking a seat on guided tours in small tour groups. In small groups people quickly get introduced and you find out if anyone else is travelling solo. You ask people if they have plans/suggestions for lunch or dinner and there is a good chance you will have company for your next meal. One time this approach actually led to a nice holiday fling with a cute young fellow tourist. Cooking classes, diving courses etc. will also do the trick. Number two is staying in hostels. Many hostels offer private accomodation for solo travellers and you can use the communal facilities like bar, lounge, and kitchen where people are often eager to share stories and tips about travelling. Number three, my favourite method, is dating the locals. Get on the apps but don't get straight to business. Take a guy out or let yourself get taken out for dinner, drinks etc before the naked business. I had great times with locals in and out of bed when I visited Australia and SE Asia for two months last year, and I hope to reconnect with some of these guys when I visit again for a month early next year.