TotallyOz

Hoover, take the trip to EU and relax a few days and then do the EU to Bangkok leg. It is not so bad that way. I know many from the East Coast that are now using the Arab airlines. The rates are low and the services is excellent and the flight time is manageable. Honestly, I am really tired after this flight but it is so worth it. The guys that are available in Thailand are 10 times that you find anywhere else on earth. (10 times is a modest estimate)

I have stayed at this hotel well over 200 nights over the past 10 years and I never hesitate to stay there when I am in Thailand. The staff is simply incredible. From the time you walk onto their property you are treated like you are respected and appreciated. The staff goes out of its way to make customers welcome and to make sure they have a fabulous experience. I am a Platinum member with Marriott and the VIP staff always welcomes me and takes great care to be sure I have a good room and everything I need to have a successful stay. The swimming pool is the best that Pattaya has to offer and would give most hotels in Asia a run for their money. The pool bar has happy hour every day at 4PM and it is always fun to hear the drums and the gongs to let everyone know it is happy hour and 1/2 price drinks. The gardens are a delight. The rooms are nothing special but they are very well maintained and always cleaned to perfection. The Internet is high speed and when there is a problem with anything, they do whatever they can to make it right fast. My stay on this trip was for 2 1/2 weeks. Every day I stayed there, I was treated like an A-list celebrity and I knew I would wake up the next day to another wonderful day. Breakfast every morning is amazing and they have a large variety of offerings. The GM walks the hotel constantly to make sure everything is going great with all guests. Most who see this man do not know he is the Manager but as I have been staying at this hotel for over 10 years, I have met him and always enjoy talking to him. But, more importantly, a day does not go by that I don't see him walking and inspecting the hotel at least 3-4 times. That is not something I ever seen anyone do at other hotels and it is in my opinion why this hotel keeps in the terrific shape it is in. I know many are interested in whether or not you can bring guests into the hotel and I have never had a problem with this. It is not going to be an issue for them as long as your guest is over 18 and has an ID card. They leave that with security when they get to the hotel and they pick it up on exit. I have no problem with doing this. However, my long term boys stayed with me the entire trip and I just checked them into my room so they had a hotel key and could come and go as they wanted. This also means they could charge anything they want to the bill. As we all had happy hour every day at the hotel pool bar, I was not surprised to see my bill on exit was 50 percent food and beverage as the boys would have friends over for swimming and even with discounts, it adds up quick! I had food poisoning before I got to the hotel and was a bit under the weather for the entire trip and ended up only going out of the hotel 2-3 times over the entire trip. So, I spent the vast majority of the trip inside the hotel grounds and I could not have asked for a nicer experience. If you are going to be in Thailand and want a fabulous place to stay, you can't go wrong with this hotel. They will treat you well and you will understand what makes Thailand so amazing!

I have stayed at this hotel well over 200 nights over the past 10 years and I never hesitate to stay there when I am in Thailand. The staff is simply incredible. From the time you walk onto their property you are treated like you are respected and appreciated. The staff goes out of its way to make customers welcome and to make sure they have a fabulous experience. I am a Platinum member with Marriott and the VIP staff always welcomes me and takes great care to be sure I have a good room and everything I need to have a successful stay. The swimming pool is the best that Pattaya has to offer and would give most hotels in Asia a run for their money. The pool bar has happy hour every day at 4PM and it is always fun to hear the drums and the gongs to let everyone know it is happy hour and 1/2 price drinks. The gardens are a delight. The rooms are nothing special but they are very well maintained and always cleaned to perfection. The Internet is high speed and when there is a problem with anything, they do whatever they can to make it right fast. My stay on this trip was for 2 1/2 weeks. Every day I stayed there, I was treated like an A-list celebrity and I knew I would wake up the next day to another wonderful day. Breakfast every morning is amazing and they have a large variety of offerings. The GM walks the hotel constantly to make sure everything is going great with all guests. Most who see this man do not know he is the Manager but as I have been staying at this hotel for over 10 years, I have met him and always enjoy talking to him. But, more importantly, a day does not go by that I don't see him walking and inspecting the hotel at least 3-4 times. That is not something I ever seen anyone do at other hotels and it is in my opinion why this hotel keeps in the terrific shape it is in. I know many are interested in whether or not you can bring guests into the hotel and I have never had a problem with this. It is not going to be an issue for them as long as your guest is over 18 and has an ID card. They leave that with security when they get to the hotel and they pick it up on exit. I have no problem with doing this. However, my long term boys stayed with me the entire trip and I just checked them into my room so they had a hotel key and could come and go as they wanted. This also means they could charge anything they want to the bill. As we all had happy hour every day at the hotel pool bar, I was not surprised to see my bill on exit was 50 percent food and beverage as the boys would have friends over for swimming and even with discounts, it adds up quick! I had food poisoning before I got to the hotel and was a bit under the weather for the entire trip and ended up only going out of the hotel 2-3 times over the entire trip. So, I spent the vast majority of the trip inside the hotel grounds and I could not have asked for a nicer experience. If you are going to be in Thailand and want a fabulous place to stay, you can't go wrong with this hotel. They will treat you well and you will understand what makes Thailand so amazing!

I am not sure how they can push anything onto a toolbar. Can you show me a screen shot?

I have a friend who is sending her daughter to McGill this fall as a college freshman. She has me about the city and I told her my experience. I found the city to be very safe and easy to get around. I think others would agree. However, how safe it is for a young lady? How is the crime rates there compared to USA cities? I would think much better but would love some input.

I have been in Asia for about 7 weeks now and I am having a great trip. I have stayed in about 9 hotels on this trip. The old hotels have normal bathrooms. But, just about EVERY new hotel I stay in has either a glass bathroom or sliding doors to open up to the room. Now, I admin, I would love it if all I wanted to do was to take a jacuzzi while watch TV. But, for me, I use the bathroom for other things and I like them private. I don't want others watching my shit. And, I would have bee terrified when I was younger and staying in the room with my parents if this were the case. Yes, I know the rooms have blinds. But, not are 100 percent blind. I just would not like this if I were with a family. Why is this the trend?

R&B singer and hip-hop artist Frank Ocean is the latest celebrity to open up about his sexuality, revealing to fans in a post on his Tumblr that his first love was a man. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/04/frank-ocean-opens-up-on-sexuality-in-new-album/?hpt=hp_t2 I am still in Asia and I was chatting with a guy at the pool yesterday about Anderson Cooper coming out and I said the major barrier that has yet been burned down for gays is Hip Hop and Professional Athletes. I know some are out but as more come out, it makes live easier on all. Loving that Ocean came out!

The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud. http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/anderson-cooper-the-fact-is-im-gay.html

The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud. http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/anderson-cooper-the-fact-is-im-gay.html

I am so sorry for your loss. I remember this young man and he was always smiling and sweet. My most sincere condolences.

Sure. It was the one in Jomtien near the Immigration Office. It is right across from the beach. They were very quick and easy to work with.

I am not surprised at this as I use K bank and I was turned down by several branches and I finally found one in Pattaya that said yes and no problem. It depends on the branch you go to. You do need a visa that is longer than 30 days or at least that is what they told me. Even with my 1 year, many K banks said no but a few said yes and I had to open a new account not try to add Internet Banking to an old account.

I use K Bank mostly because all the guys I know used it. I also transfer money to Thai BF's accounts often. I have no problem doing this with K Bank. I set up weekly deposits to the BF and it goes very easy. I can set that up for one year in advance. If I want to do an additional one, I turn on my Thai cell phone and when they send the code, I simply punch it in. Also, I love I can set up Mobile phone payments for all my "special guys." I just click on their number I have saved and it sends them 500 baht (or any amount you choose). I find it very easy to do all this from USA. But, I have a Thai cell phone that I keep active.

Me. In a heart beat I'd trade.

Not sure if this link has been posted here before or not but I thought you might like it. http://www.braziltour360.com/

I have a few friends that are part of the higher ups with the Yellow Shirts. I have known them for over 20 years and back to my undergrad days. I had dinner with them recently and they predicted that there would be more fighting in the next 1-2 months. According to them, the government is going to try to find a way for Thaskin to get his money back if if that happens, all bets are off with regard to how big the hatred will get. Being state side for a long time, I had not heard much about this recently and I guess I thought it was a thing of the past. I thought when the new Prime Minister was elected that the people knew she would try to get the money back for her brother. Am I wrong? Also, for those that know this country and politics more than I do, can you envision more fighting in the coming months?

Divorced? I am shocked. Shocked I tell you! I wonder who his church will arrange for him next?

Bill Maher did a great shtick this week and offered up all the possible running mates and concluded he should be Mitt's VP nominee. At least with Bill, we might get legalization of weed passed.

IMPOSSIBLE MsGuy! We all know the mother to that child is Angela Channing from Falcon Crest.

LOL I like the idea of a contest. I'm always a sucker for things like this. But, the tea cups in that photo make me even more dizzy than I was after a bottle of gin!

The Aloft is a nice hotel on Soi 11 near the Bed Supper Club. I have friends that stayed there and really liked it.

I went into the old Jim Jimmy James last night and it was a lot of fun for me. The new Thai owner who said they had owned it and opened for less than a week was there and spoke to us. He has a very nice command of the English language. The mamasan is the one that Jimm had many years ago. The place looks great and still as clean as ever. The TV's are gone but the rest looks nice. They had about 15 boys that I counted last night. Most were gay boys and a few ladyboys but there were also a few man boys. We had one man boy named Bird over for a drink and had a great conversation. He has been in town for 2 days but use to work at Euroboys. I had a really nice time at this bar and I hope it does well and succeeds.

James, I am in Thailand at the moment and I had a chance to see your magazine in a restaurant. It was really beautiful and well done! Keep up the great work!

BKKGUY, thanks for the detailed report on this. Much appreciated. May I ask why you don't like the IPad? Great. Thanks. Please let me know after you have played with it for a while. I'd be most curious to see what you think after you have had it for a bit.