TotallyOz

There was a recent article in the Thai newspaper that talked about the Sunee Plaza sex shows. It mentioned the bars that have the jack off shows at 10PM as well as the places that have the special shows. All of these bars were on the same Soi. The shows are light in comparison to the shows in Bangkok and I am not sure why they singled out these bars by name. However, all the Thai guys that were reading the paper said that they would expect a raid based on the paper article as it upset many people.

i know how much I pay for the boyfriend to take care of him year round so that he doesn't have to work. Just curious about another number. I have a guy I like but I do not want to take care of him year round and want him to work when I am not here and also to make sure that he has enough money to buy food and pay rent. What kind of a number would this be? 200 baht a day? More? Less?

There are hot guys all over Pattaya and weekends brings in those that don't live here. This weekend they had an arm wrestling contest. The guys were hot and sexy. Here are a few pics from the day. I hope you enjoy.

Not sure how big it is but one of the sweetest mamasans in Pattaya and one of the ones who really look after and care for her guys is having a Happy Birthday party.

I went into 5 bars last night and they all had customers and seemed busy. Jim Jimmy James was so packed 2 times that I didn't get a seat either time. Look bar has many customers there and we had to squeeze into the bar. Happy Boyz was full and had a great number of customer and boys. Sundance had its bar with many there and Villa Rouge had people coming and going when I was there. It seems that a Saturday night is a busy night for all. The roads were jammed yesterday with all the weekend traffic and the bars were busy. At the end of the night we wanted to play a few games of snooker and we always go to where the Thai guys I am with enjoy playing. We went to 3 different places that were all packed until we finally found a place that had 2 open tables. Heading back to the hotel at the end of the night, around 1am, we saw 3 motorcycle and car accidents. The roads were still busy. How long does high season last?

Eric who once ran Clubber restaurant is now down the same Soi and cooking and managing the Sammy's restaurant. My friends and I had a stop over last night and the food was excellent. I had the Saturday special which was meat-loaf and veggies and potatoes and one friend had a German dish and 2 had the Spaghetti. I tried a bit of all and it was all very good. The price for 4 with drinks was 975 baht with a salad bar. The food was tasty and the owner was as charming as always.

Last night, I saw a guy I have offed a few times from a bar. I enjoy his company and spoke to him. He said he had a free day that day and was not working. I took him to a few bars with me and the boyfriend. We had a good time. When I asked if he wanted to go to his bar for a few drinks or open a whiskey, he said no that he would get in trouble. I tried to find out why and he said said that the mamasan would get angry with him. I am not sure if that is because he actually just skipped work or if he was with a Farang that didn't pay an off or there was some other issue. I found the whole thing a bit odd as I would have happily paid his off if he were working but I didn't see him until after 2 hours after he was suppose to work. I also didn't mind if he had already been offed and seen another customer. I just didn't understand why he would get in trouble. Any other reasons than the ones I thought of? Am I missing something big here?

I walked into a bar last night and turned around and walked right back out. There was a guy laying on top of a boy making out with him with a few of the other boys watching and rolling their eyes back. The only seat left in the place was next to this man. I turned around and walked out. I have seen many times when customers play with the boys and jack off them. I guess that is also something I have never done. I hope that a large tip is given when such things happen. But, when is too much actually too much to take place in the middle of a bar? What is the line or is there one? BTW: We were not on a second floor or even in a dark room. This was a well-known bar and around 10PM at night and many other customers were in the place.

I have never really understood the way the dollar moves up and down. I do feel the strain. When in Thailand on this trip, I am now getting about 29-30 baht per dollar. A few years back it was over 42. When in Brazil it is now about 1.7 and use to be 3.5. I had even considered moving to Montreal at one point when they loved the dollar now it is of less value that the Canadian money. On a recent visa run to Burma, they have always given the option to pay in USD or Thai Baht. Now, the signs still say USD but they refuse to take it as they say it is no good and prefer the Baht. I tried in 2 different places to pay with the USD which the signs posted said was fine but the agents were smarter and knew the value of that was less than the required baht so they found issues with each bill I presented. What will it take for us to get out of this mess? I really don't ask this just to talk. I really don't understand and would love to know where we are headed and if we are going to recover in the near future.

For those of you wanting to open a new bar or pub or office in Pattaya, may I suggest you use Google's decorator to help you? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7290322.stm

I went by Clubber tonight and they were calling people inside. The lights outside were off but the inside was open for gogo. Are they back permanent?

Tonight's dinner was great. The food was excellent and the MC was the divine Jim. A good time was had by all but the great news is that the event raised 468,000 baht.

If you have been reading the news about the New York Governor's statement yesterday, he apologized to his family. Apparently, he was caught in a prostitution ring and he was paying between 1k-5k an hour. Just made me think, damm, with the USD as low as it is, is that about the same that is paid in the high end bars in Pattaya? http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/11/spitzer/index.html

The family's ardent love for Burma lives on Despite being born in New York in the 1960s, Thant Myint-U's memories are of a childhood steeped in Burmese culture. Life in his maternal grandfather U-Thant's house in Riverdale, just outside of Manhattan, was a stark contrast to the icy, snowy winters and bright lights surrounding him. It was a home where people wore longyis, spoke Burmese and ate tea-leaf curry. The distinct feeling of being an outsider was never far away for Thant as he grew up in the US and studied at the Riverdale Country Day School. ''I only spoke Burmese until I went to school, and didn't speak English until I was five,'' he said. ''I was very conscious of being Burmese.'' Sitting in the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, Thant spoke about his first journey from his privileged home in New York to a Burma marred by violence. He described his teenage years in Bangkok and how a fascination with history led him through the halls of Harvard and Cambridge universities, to a diplomatic career in the UN and the International Peace Academy. And how frustration with his homeland's tragic situation culminated in the writing of his book The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma, which was published in paperback last month. He explained why he thinks the current view of Burma prevents real progress towards building a just and lasting peace. Controversially, he argues that sanctions only deepen Burma's isolation from the rest of the world, further entrenching and strengthening the military junta's grip on the country, while accelerating China's economic and political hold over mainland Southeast Asia's largest country. By the time of Thant's first visit to the country in 1974, at the age of eight, Burma's language, food and culture were second nature to him. However, the complex realities of everyday life under a military dictatorship were a different matter. ''My introduction to Burma as a country was Burma in crisis,'' he said, reflecting on what transpired when his family returned with U-Thant's body that December after his death from lung cancer. U-Thant was a consummate diplomat and probably the country's most respected figure in the global political arena. He gained international recognition through his service in U Nu's democratic government (which was ousted by General Ne Win's 1962 putsch), as Burmese ambassador to the UN, and with his two stints as UN secretary-general. It was this recognition that led an increasingly paranoid and jealous Ne Win to deny U-Thant the honour of a state funeral. Nevertheless, despite Rangoon airport being cleared of civilians the day the funeral party arrived, the streets into Rangoon were lined with people. Thousands more came to pay their respects at his coffin, which was on display in an unceremonious tent at the Rangoon Turf Club. It was here that a group of students took his body to the Rangoon University Students' Union building, demanding a proper state funeral. Over the following days, talks between the junta and the students broke down. When the army's patience finally ran out on December 11, troops stormed the campus, seized the body and started shooting at students. ''All I remember of that day was that we were at the Inya Lake Hotel and we were woken up very early in the morning. The government took my father and my grandfather's brothers to see the coffin they had just seized, to open the coffin to prove to them that they had the body. ''They buried it, then poured concrete over it at the site near the Shwedagon Pagoda, where he rests today, so there would be no question as to where the body was.'' Rioting broke out in response to the shootings, and the government declared martial law in Rangoon. ''Nobody knows how many people were killed,'' he added. He noted, not without irony, another contrast. That while the US continued to fund, arm and train Burma's military, communist China stood alone in its condemnation of the atrocities. It would take another 14 years for the rest of the world to sit up and take notice. ''For most people, Burma only came into view with the crackdown in 1998 and the elections in 1990. It became this contest between the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government,'' he says. ''From that point of view, it is very easy to take sides. But for 20 years we have been stuck in that viewpoint. The good faith initiatives haven't got very far, and one could argue that the government has got stronger and is more entrenched than it ever has been.'' The obvious fight between the country's Orwellian ruling State Peace and Development Council and the democracy movement is clear, but numerous complex ethnic tensions _ in a country with numerous ethnic groups _ are too often overlooked. ''We have to remember though that there are not just two sides _ there are over two dozen armed groups in the country, with well over 30,000 troops combined, most with ceasefire arrangements with the Burmese army, all this as well as Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and other political parties.'' Burma's history and multi-ethnicity make it exceptional. But it is exceptional too in the treatment it has received from the international community. While Thant said the UN and other NGOs engaged in humanitarian work, there are ''unsung heroes of the last 10 years'', and he is critical of the failed diplomatic efforts. ''If you look at successive UN general assembly resolutions from 1991 onwards, they are all about the democratic transition. It is the only country in the world where there is a civil war [and yet] where the UN's focus is not on the war. We would never go to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Sierra Leone and say the only focus of the UN should be the democratic transition. ''The UN should have been more focused on the closing chapter in Burma's civil war in the early '90s. The issues of just peace, disarmament, demobilisation, ethnic grievances and also the army's own concerns of sovereignty. Not to do so was a massive failure.'' Thant looked back to the time after the 1988 crackdown, when, as a recent Harvard graduate, he spent months on the Thai-Burma border with students who had fled the violence. In Bangkok, where he lived in the 1970s, he raised funds for food and medicine for them, helping others to gain refugee status or secure safe passage to the US. Armed insurgency was never the answer for him, but he did believe that sanctions were. In the US, through his work with Human Rights Watch, he was instrumental in setting up the first ''round table'' on Burma in Washington in 1989, and lobbied for US senators to implement sanctions. ''At first, I thought a really tough position by the US would make all the difference. I started doubting that by 1992,'' he said. He joined the UN Secretariat in 1992, where he became an expert on humanitarian affairs and threat assessment, leaving in 1996 after receiving his PhD in history from Cambridge University. Most recently, he has been a visiting fellow at both Harvard University and the International Peace Academy in New York. However, he considers his best contribution to understanding Burma is his book, The River of Lost Footsteps, named after the poem by Rudyard Kipling, who visited Burma in the late 1880s while the UK was fighting a protracted anti-guerrilla campaign after its annexation of the kingdom. Kipling listened to stories of how British soldiers had gone upriver and died in the fighting. ''He described the Irrawaddy River as the river of lost footsteps because a lot of English people went up and never came down,'' said Thant. ''I thought it was a nice way to talk about Burma's lost history, in general.'' In it, he traces its history back 3,500 years, to a time preceding the kingdom of Taguan. He presents the country as a cultural melting pot, a crossroads between the East and West where Buddhist kings would wear Mughal robes and stamp Islamic inscriptions on their coins. ''Burma was once a very cosmopolitan place. Contrary to nationalist views, it was never this pure country of just Burmese Buddhist people surrounded by different minority groups.'' Historically, he puts the UK's 1885 annexation of Burma, when King Thibaw was toppled and the whole administrative apparatus dismantled, as a watershed event. He said if the country had entered the 20th century with the monarchy disempowered but intact, it may have coped better with other transitions. Independence in 1946 was the second major transition. He cites the inability of successive governments, military or otherwise, to build a multi-ethnic, multicultural concept of Burmese identity as ''the single biggest failure of successive Burmese elites since independence''. In the face of such complexity, the international community needs a complex policy to deal with Burma. Total focus on democratic transition without looking at the deeper issues is unlikely to succeed, said Thant, pointing out that last September's massive protests were triggered by monks demonstrating against severe economic conditions. ''As a military government, the junta sees itself as the protector of national security. It is not particularly concerned with the outside world and all of its systems are designed to cope with isolation. So, the international community needs to do some creative thinking on this. ''The other thing that has changed significantly is the increasing influence of China in Burma, especially economically. Even if you took away the other arguments against sanctions, you would still have the strongest argument, which is that sanctions only really means Western sanctions and for every company that withdraws or Western government that refuses to trade, China will fill the hiatus. I cannot see how that in any way supports the cause of democracy in the country.'' Following in his grandfather's footsteps, Thant Myint-U is determined that unlike its past, Burma's future will not be lost in time. http://www.bangkokpost.com/Outlook/11Mar2008_out46.php

For years, I have taken to the sky and to the trains for adventure and enjoyment. Last year, I decided I would try to settle down in NYC. It was a lovely idea but one that was not well thought out or planned. I had forgotten how much I hated cold weather and walking outside and my eyes tearing up from the cold. I took an amazing apartment, which I loved. The place was 10 times the size of the last place I had in NYC. I had a balcony that was about 1200 square feet big on the back and another large one on the front. There were 2 huge bedrooms and 2 nice bathrooms. It was everything I wanted in a place. I set out to furnish it and I had fun with that. I picked my furniture, appliances and fabrics just the way I wanted them. I had a nice purple Nicole Miller bedspread with matching drapes, a gay welcome mat, a set of Henkle knives cook food with and more things I never dream I would be purchasing to furnish an apartment. But, just as quick as I furnished it, I knew that it would not be my home. I don’t think I’ll ever have a home. I have lived in hotels for a few years and from one place to the next like a gypsy or a nomad. I seem to enjoy the ebb and flow of not knowing what the next day will be like or where I will end up. Being bogged down by a place was just not what I thought it was be. I had dreams of settling down and finding the peace I had longed for. An apartment will never give me that harmony. I think it will only come with growing old and accepting the past as the past and looking toward the future. I will say that I have lived a very happy life although it has been filled with jumping from one country to the next and one affair to the other. At some point, one wonders what it will take for him to settle down. Most of you may know that answer but I do not. I don’t know when or where or even if. I do know that NYC was not the place for me. So, once again, I am off. Off on another adventure. I had all my paintings and antiques I had collected over the years put into storage. The rest, I gave to friends and neighbors, as I know that I’ll not need it in the USA for many years. I booked a last minute flight and rushed to the airport. I certainly want to keep playing and traveling and exploring. A great astrologer told me many years ago that I was born on a date that the stars had destined me to be a wanderer with no home and no place to put my head at night for a long period of time. I think maybe she was right. She also told me what I had a great capacity to change and adapt much like a chameleon. That, I don’t think she was right on. I am an obvious tourist and not a native of anywhere. Even in NYC, which I counted as home for many years before and after law school, it does not seem like home for me. It hasn’t since the day I took to the air and met my friend in Brazil for my first adventure. I now travel without him and without someone that can just jump on a plane and meet me at some hotel on another continent. That saddens me. But, the thought of just waking up and watching the sunrise and saying, humm, I think I need to fly away today, exhilarates me. Finally, I think my home has been given to me. It is not one place but a multitude of places and people. Adventures are to be had. Lessons to be learned. Dreams to be shared. Guys to meet. Hearts to be broken. Love to be shared. Fortunes to be wasted. Drinks that call my name. If the old adage is true, your home is where your heart is, well I am there. My heart belongs to so many places and so many people. We shall see if the next place is going to allow me to call it home or not but I guarantee you, it will be an adventure! And, for those willing to listen to my boring stories, there will be many to be shared here on the forums. I know many have complained about my boring writings and how pompous I sound. Haha You don’t really know me if you think I am pompous. I am down to earth, humble and gentle. I just come without a leash attached to me. I ate my last bagel in NYC at my favorite bagel shop. The guys there have seen me daily for months. I walk in and they know what I want. Whole Wheat bagel, toasted, low fat cream cheese and a piece of grilled chicken. I said my goodbyes to my best friends in the city. Unlike last time I left, I just jumped on a plane and called them from Sao Paulo, this time, I gave them a few hours notice. I was able to have a last meal with my best friend on earth at my favorite dive. No place anyone would have heard of or visited but it felt like the place to eat my last supper. Saying goodbye to the apartment was easier than I thought. It didn’t speak back. I thought I heard an echo from a voice of years gone by saying, “Carpe Diem.” But, that is a voice not heard in a few years. Still, I could swear it was there. For now, while I have recovered from the plane and the drama of paying for 4 extra pieces of luggage, I’m sure I’ll reporting again soon from a tropical location where cute guys are galore and life is sweet and the weather is warm. Thailand is amazing but with only 2 weeks left here, I look forward to each day and night and to my next adventure in another country. I always say that I am very envious of those that live here year round. I am. I think those of you that have retired here have really found paradise. It is simply an amazing place and the most incredible people on earth. I am lucky enough to spend some time here every year or two. I hope that those of you that live here don’t get taken away by the daily routines and get out of bed each day to find new adventures and add an amazing chapter to your life. Waking up from a great night with friends last night and going to a few bars in Boyztown and ending up talking to a few Farang friends in Sunee Plaza, I really do know that the few of you that are able to call this your home are some of the luckiest people on earth. I hope all of you know this and that there are those of us out there in other places that enjoy walking in your shoes for a month or two every year!

First, this area has two of my favorite restaurants in it (or just around the corner). Amore is great and so is New Orleans. Tonight, we ate at New Orleans. It is a steak and ribs bar on the corner of the area. I have eaten here many times before and always enjoyed the food. It is a bit pricey but the taste is great. I had 3 Thai friends with me and we had 2 appetizers to share, 4 drinks and 4 main courses. I had a full rack of ribs and each of the boys had a combination plate of ribs and steak or shrimp or chicken. We were all stuffed by the end of the meal and I think I have not been so full my entire trip. I was so full that I wasn't sure I would fit thought the door to leave but luckily I was able to get out. The bathrooms in this place are very clean. They are on the second floor so you have to walk up one flight of stairs. The crowd was very mixed with a gay table or two and several straight couples there. We sat at a table where we could see the Wild West Boys doormen wrangling up customers and watch the crowd go by in the street. The area is busy and the street life is a lot of fun to watch. The food here tasted excellent and we all really enjoyed our meal. The cost for 4 was 2800 baht and that included a 10 percent gratuity. BoyzBoyzBoyz has been an icon on this Soi for years as well it should be. This place has some of the sexiest muscle boys around. I don't think any other bar in Pattaya has quite the same atmosphere. The bar is large and well designed. The seating is comfortable and the place is easy to sit and relax without someone coming over and trying to pressure you to take off the boys. The majority of the guys here are bigger guys with muscles and hard bodies. Their age ranges from 18 to the upper levels with some of the guys looking to be in late 30's or beyond but the bodies are amazing. The bathrooms are very clean and the drinks has a nice amount of booze in them. I did not stay for the show but I will go back and see it before I finish up working on this area. I also understand they have a dance club there and I have yet to try that as well. My first visit here was just a chance to see the boys and have a nice drink. Since I was here a year or so ago, they have moved the bar over to one side and the seats now face that area as opposed to the way it was organized before. There is ample room to move around to the bar area and chat to some of the guys working here. Many of the boys seem to sit out in the seats and are easily approachable. FunnyBoyz This has to be one of the best run bars in Pattaya. I have never been there and been uncomfortable. The seats are nice, the music is not too loud. The mamasans are not pushy. The drinks are good. The bathrooms are clean. The boys are sexy and nice. There is a great variety of boys to choose from. There is just little that can be said bad about this place. I have been there about 100 times over the past 5 years and never had a bad experience. It is very relaxing to sit and enjoy without pressure. We didn't write down drink prices but I'll go back and put more detail here a bit later. I had wandered over the this area because I met a guy on the baht bus today that said he worked at the beer bar beside Panarama. I was very attracted to him and went by to find it. After we ate dinner, we walked by but he was not there. We went back to the area after going to each bar but he was not there. Perhaps he had already been taken off for the night. I will be going back to find him. I'll also finish the updates on all these bars this week.

I have been impressed on this trip with the renovations of several bars in Pattaya that I had been to in the past. BoyzBoyzBoyz has redone their area and the stage is now on one side and seating is easier to see the guys. I liked the new arrangements a great deal. Wild West boys moved to a new location and it is much larger than when i was here last. They seem to be able to fit a great deal more people there and the night we went, it was packed and we had to sit in the front row. Jimm Jimmy James did an outstanding job on his renovation. Great new seating area and TV's that are large and fun to watch. The stage is larger and you can see the boys much better. The bar stools are very comfortable and enjoyable. All three of these bars had several customers on the nights I visited. I have been to many other bars and was the only customer. I do wonder if the newness of the places and the constant monty put into making things new and beautiful has a direct result in generating revenue? I have not been to the Birdcage yet but look forward to my trip there to see what they have done. To me, still the most unique bar in Pattaya is Crazy Dragon. It is simply a great new idea and no one had done it before. I love the table dances and the way it is set up. The 2 nights I have been there on this trip they had many customers but the place was not full. Being that it is the largest bar in Sunee, I guess it is hard to fill every night but it did seem busy. I hope they are able to sustain the place as I do find it very enjoyable.

Not sure why but I love to spend time with the guys I have known over the years. New gogo boys really do very little for me when I have some that I have a history with. I have seen very few (only one) new boy in Pattaya. The rest are guys that I have known for several years. Perhaps it is the connection to history or the fuzzy feeling I get when I am with them. Perhaps they have been with me in the past and know which buttons to push to keep me interested. I am not sure. I just know that for me, this trip has most defiantly been about reconnecting with the past and little about anything new. The same thing with Farang friends. I have reconnected with those that were important to me and totally distanced myself from those that are not. Time is of great value to me and I decided way before this trip started that I was not going to waste time with anyone who had a negative attitude or nasty personality. I made the huge mistake before of being friendly with a group of men that turned out to be a bit loony. Bad judgement on my part and no one to blame but me. I am much more careful now and try to distance myself at the first sign of craziness. I am not going to waste time explaining to street boys that I am not going to give them money each night for food or massage boys that I have a booking and only need one massage per day. In past times, I would spend 10 minutes with the massage guy telling them perhaps another day but I didn't need anything today. Their constant attempts to change my mind keep going and I would keep to the same mantra, "cannot." This time, I say it once and then just move on with another conversation. I do say it politely and am kind and say no think you and not today but I will not argue over it anymore. I will help some of the guys out who ask for money to eat but not the large numbers I did before. Perhaps, the short time of my visit (one month) in Pattaya has to do with my lack of interest in developing any new friendships or ties with guys. I do know that last night I spent an amazing night with my second boyfriend I ever had in Thailand and it was amazing. The sex was just OK but the warm fuzzies were to die for! He is still asleep in my bed and just having him next to me all night was wonderful. (I am not one to allow someone to sleep over and normally pay and send them on their way) With someone I have history with, I do enjoy the sleep and I slept very sound last night with his hands on my back or his legs gently touching mine. Pattaya is without a doubt Heaven on earth. There is no place you will find more beautiful boys and so willing to go with you at the drop of a smile. I envy those of you that are able to live here year round and I really do believe that you have found a touch of paradise. For me, it is an amazing city to visit but not some place I could live year round. Too much party and too much energy is needed for me here on a daily basis. I think I could easily live in Chiang Mai and be quite content. But, no place has the lights and the luster that Pattaya has. Having been gone for a year, I am amazed at how much the city has grown and how fast things have changed. New buildings galore, tons of more traffic and the boys by the bus loads. For those of you lucky enough to call this your home, I hope you wake up every day realizing how wonderfully lucky you are to have such a sinful sexy place to wet your desires and quench your thirst for life.

First, Gentleman's Club is now closed. There is a sign on the door for Rent or Sale. It was always a nice clean place for a drink. Dream boys had about 35 guys last night. They had a nice mix of both gay boys, ladyboys and manly men. I was particularly attracted to one gun in his mid 20's with a bit of a punk look to him with a nice firm six pack. Drinks were: Diet Coke - 110 baht Beer - 140 baht Whiskey - 150 baht Off fee was 300 bath The bathroom was clean and we didn't have any pushy waiters or mamasans trying to get to to take a boy off or buy drinks. Overall a good experience with some sexy guys. Dynamite was a lot of fun as well. I had 3 or 4 sexy guys that I really found attractive and will go back for another visit. They had a great mix of guys and I found this the best of the 10 bars I visited since arriving in Pattaya but to each his own taste and what I like may not be what others enjoy. Diet Coke - 130 baht Beer - 140 baht Whiskey - 140 baht The bathroom was clean and the place had ample room to sit and watch the boys. The mamasan was nice and helpful. I was about to take one boy off when an old favorite of mine walked in as a customer. He is not working in the bars but was there showing his uncle the places. I made arrangements to see him later. I will go back to Dynamite to see the other boys I liked. The mamasan I have known for a while and he was very familiar with the boys and what they will or will not do with customers. Overall, I found this place a great deal of fun. I spent time in the other Soi's in this area but will try to make it to the rest of the bars in this area and update this week.

Glad things are getting better for you KY! I think this goes to show how well liked you are with members here as many were worried about you. I think heading to Rio is a great way to recoup. A man after my own heart. I'll be there in April for the whole month and part of May. FYI: I spent a month in Chiang Mai. I found it fascination and know that you love Thailand as much as I do, so I will post a long detailed report on the Asia Forum. Wow. The boys there were amazing! I hope you continue to get better and back to your normal, horny, active self! Oz

We don't want reviews to appear as National Enquirer articles. Honestly, that is not the case. Some of mine perhaps appear that way but that is because I much prefer the Enquirer to the Wall Street Journal. I tend to read what I can understand and have never really been able to comprehend the WSJ. I do hope that you continue to use the forums and actively participate here. I also hope that you give writing reviews more of a chance. It was nothing personal I assure you. TY does not operate that way. You contributions are valuable and I hope that one day you will realize that we did not mean to insult you or alienate you. On the contrary, we just wanted more detail in the review. That detail did not have to be sensationalized for the readers sake. It was that more detail was needed to make a better judgement for all that read the review.

I am passionate about very few things. I love sexy escorts and that has always been a passion. I also adore Hillary and hope that she pulls out a victory. I have not voted Republican since I was 18 years old and back then I didn't know why I voted the way I did. Now, at least I am able to make intelligent decisions when I cast a ballot. I will cast for Hillary if she gets the nomination. If not her, I can't say who I'll vote for. I detest Obama. I like McCain but can't see pulling the lever for him. So, does that only leave me with Nader? Goodness, I hope not. I still think Hillary will be the come back kid and get the nomination. But, the road to hell is paved with high hopes and good intentions.

Chiang Mai has several options for shopping. They have several malls and shopping areas. Two of them I went to on several occassions. Both are called Central Shopping. One of them is very close to PJ's Guest House and within walking distance of the hotel and the other area is close to the airport. Both have movies and many stores. They also had metered taxies outside and was very easy to take a taxi or to get a Tuk Tuk. The night bazar is close to the D2 bars. It is nightly and has tons of discounted merchandise from clothes to trinkets to Thailand souvenirs. It is a favorite of tourists. I bought several things here and all were discounted for me from the regular sell price. It is no problem to find a Tuk Tuk from this area. They are in abundant and easy to find. There is a Sunday night market which is lots of fun and a large area of shopping. I noticed that Sundays were very slow in the bars and many told me it was because of the Sunday night market. Not sure if that is the real reason but I was told many Thai boys love to go there. There is an entire area for flowers and I love flowers. I went there a few times and got an arrangemnt for my room and it was very inexpensive and beautifully decorated. If antiques are your thing, there are several really nice places for antiques but you need to find them and ask someone who knows. I have a few places I shop for ancient Buddhas and have always been happy with the service I get from Chiang Mai area shops. If you are looking for wood crafts and homemade tapestries and other things that are made by hand, there are areas for all those things. There are a few silver factories that will custom make anything you want. You should ask your tour guide to take you to the place where they actually sell straight from the craftsmen and not to a store that buys and then resells. The cost for savings is large and it is wonderful to see the work in progress. All in all, I really loved shopping in Chiang Mai. It is cheaper than other cites as far as I could tell and it has a wide diversity of shopping experiences.

My first bowling experience in Pattaya was at the new bowling complex down 2nd Road and across from the Royal Garden. There was ample parking for motorcycles and there is a back entrance to get out to Soi Bukow for easy access to Day/Night. The bowling center has loud music and a feel of elegance. The blue lights were all over the place and they have VIP rooms for Karaoke and parties. The bathrooms were very clean and enjoyable to use. The shoe are all new and the balls were nice with a huge selection. The lanes worked well and we had no problems at all with the pins or lanes. The food was tasty and our group ate dinner there. I had one friend who celebrated his birthday last night and this was where he wanted to start his evening. I thought it was an excellent selection for bowling and much b better than Tops bowling or the other places in Pattaya. The food tasted good and they had someone filling our beer mugs before they ran out. We had a total of 6 guys for the birthday celebration and the cost for each game was 90 baht. We played 4 games total and all had food. The cost for the night was slightly over 5,000 baht. Having just came from Chiang Mai where the exact same evening cost only 1800 bath, I was a bit floored to see the bill. But, it was all there written down correctly. The place is beautifully decorated and they had a DJ that kept the beat going all night. If you are looking for a place to have a conversation while you bowl, this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a upbeat place to enjoy a night out with some younger guys who love the loud music, this place will be a delight. This night was a party for my ex boyfriend for many years ago and I let him pick and choose what we did. He wanted to go bowling and eat there, go to a lady bar (which we did in Pattayaland), go to Kaos to have drinks with a friend of his, and then go to Body Language. The night was fun for him and for me. I assume the DJ is nightly but I didn't ask. Have others been there and had a similar experience?

I was with him only hours before his death. It is not an easy day for me to forget. His lover Foxy works with us on MER and has for some time. Foxy sent me a moving e-mail to remind me of the day as well. His memory of Hooboy was perhaps the most important of any who visits these sites as he was with him on a daily basis for long periods of time. It is for this reason that I try to tell all gay men who have lovers to make sure they are taken care of after their death. It is not something many of us want to do but it is important. I have a Thai boyfriend who my family knows about and knows my intentions to take care of him and his family for an extended period of time. For those that knew Hooboy, they knew he was without a doubt one of the funniest men on earth. I still remember one day with him and he dropped his brand new cell phone in the ocean. It was a stunt to make us all laugh and it worked. Unfortunately, his cell phone didn't appreciate it.