fedssocr

I always have too much luggage to want to bother with the ARL. Taxi is the way to go unless you are arriving during morning rush hour. Tell the driver to use the meter. And you'll have to pay the highway tolls in addition. I typically just arrange a car transfer in advance. Costs a couple hundred more baht but the cars are more comfortable and drivers a bit more cautious. 4 days isn't a huge amount of time. For sure the Grand Palace/Wat Po complex is a must-see. You can take a taxi or as noted you can take BTS to Saphan Taksin and then take one of the river buses. Beyond that it kind of depends on the sorts of things you like to do. There's a temple about every 10 feet if you are into visiting them there are many to choose from. Le Meridien is a great choice for the gogo bars. And it's a relatively short walk to the BTS. And it's just a very nice hotel in general. For that area it is the top choice IMHO.

46...47 soon-ish

Yeah, the taxis that wait around Surawong always ask for 100. I usually just walk up the road a bit (towards Tawan) and typically find a moving taxi fairly quickly. The guys out driving (i.e. not parked and waiting for customers) have never not used the meter in my experience.

I really enjoyed my time in Singapore last November...so much so that I am headed back there for several days on the way to Indonesia in October. Hoping to see more of the gay scene this time around. I really liked Gardens by the Bay. The night time light show was very cool. Certainly home to some of the best looking men anywhere. Too bad about the humidity though! I post some pics from the dragon boats races last year. So many hot uni boys! http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/9307-singapore-dragon-boat-racing/

I would certainly monitor things closely, but I'd be shocked if the curfew lasts more than a week or two. Too much business at stake. The whole point of the coup was to introduce some stability to a deteriorating situation. The 2006 coup (during my first visit to Thailand!) shut things down for a couple of days and then things were back to business as usual fairly quickly.

I think most Chase cards have been moving to no fees. I believe it's also possible that your credit card issuer could charge you a foreign transaction fee even if it is billed in USD if it is done in a foreign country (presuming that your card has foreign transaction fees).

I think Thailand is beyond the point where a military take over would be accepted by most people. [but make no mistake, the military is still pretty firmly in control in Myanmar, however] Neither side has a monopoly on corruption. And both sides are so entrenched in their beliefs that they are right and the other side is wrong that it's impossible to see any solution to the current situation. I don't think there are enough neutral parties at this point to implement any sort of workable solution. My guess is that things will continue to bounce along as they have been for a while.

I agree with that. I think the OP is looking for some one who will be very difficult to find. In addition he wants this person to teach him Thai as well. That will be no mean feat. Good luck!

Keeping within mainland SE Asia will minimize travel for sure. So I would suggest Laos rather than the Philippines with the only caveat being that the culture in Laos will be similar to Thailand and Cambodia while I believe the Philippines is a very different sort of place (I have not been there). Personally I really enjoyed Taiwan. Taipei doesn't have to be expensive. Last year when I was there I rented an apartment for a week via travelmob.com for about $100/night. It was in a little neighborhood about 2 minutes walk from MRT. There is a good bit of stuff to see and do in Taipei. Public transport is very good and very cheap. The east coast of Taiwan has lots of great nature spots like Taroko Gorge. I really like Singapore too. The humidity about killed me, but otherwise I thought it was great. There is more to see and do than most people think. And the young men are gorgeous. I spent several days there in November and am headed back for several more this year before I head to Indonesia for a couple of weeks. But I think if you are going all the way to SE Asia then seeing the sights like Angkor and Luang Prabang are certainly more than worthwhile. Spending time in the slower paced places gives you a better feel for the culture. If you haven't been up to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and the north of Thailand they are also worth a visit. As is Sukhothai and even places in Isaan. Of course August/Sept are rainy season so you might run into some floods here and there throughout the region that time of year. I love cities too. But big Asian metropolises are a lot like big metropolises everywhere. Same international brands everywhere. Lots of traffic. I would definitely suggest doing time in quieter places. Given 6+ weeks you have lots of time, but you know the weather can really slow you down so don't try to pack in too much.

I visited GC only one time a few years ago. I think I must have just been there at an odd time, probably too early in the evening. It was empty and quiet. It seemed clean enough to me. I sat at the bar to have a drink and was eventually surrounded by a couple of boys I wasn't interested in but who wouldn't take no for an answer. Chatted with the bartender a bit. Didn't stay long. Just not my scene I guess.

The frequent flyer game has definitely changed for the worse the last year or so. It was fun while it lasted.

I'd guess this probably goes along with the note above about not really knowing the answer to your question but not being able to admit that. Maybe ask them to take you there? Most likely they knew it wasn't close by so it must be "over there" somewhere. So you could start your search and ask some one else... I also agree with the sentiment above that most American kids couldn't read a map these days either. It's definitely a lost skill since everyone figures Google maps can just take them wherever they want to go. I find that sad as a geography/map geek.

You might want to try Grindr or Jackd. But, not to be facetious, Thailand is full of handsome guys everywhere. So I think meeting them is not so difficult. Now, finding gay ones might be slightly more challenging. :-) Be friendly. Smile a lot. Learn some Thai as the language barrier is likely to be your biggest obstacle. Do things you enjoy and meet people doing the same. It's really no different from anywhere else in the world.

I was actually the one concerned we were going over time last visit. He was very determined to cum though, but it took him a while.

Thanks for that. I always kind of wondered what Dickman was really like. And telling a guide the sorts of things I want to do and having him provide suggestions is the kind of trip I like to take. I have enjoyed having private guides all over Asia and think it's the best way to travel.

Definitely a place on my list as well. One of these days... I've always liked South Asian young men. :-)

There can be little denying that Thais (like many Asians) associate darker skin with being lower class (i.e. farmers who spend all day in the sun). And class structures are very much in place. Hence the prevalence of skin whitening creams among other things. The Thai standard of beauty is basically as white skin as possible (and Chinese features). And you hear stories all the time of Indians being barred from various establishments in Pattaya for example. This is not one isolated thing.

Yes, the Thais are racist. http://50shadygays.wordpress.com/tag/gay-travel-in-thailand/ They also basically look down on anyone with darker skin.

Yep. I like eating at Maxis to watch the boys across the soi at Bangkok Massage and the gogo next door. Also eating or having a drink at Dick's is good for flirting with the boys next door at Bonny Massage and the boys across the street at the massage place/pool hall.

I honestly don't remember. It was a few years ago.

I think it very difficult to judge just by looking at a guy who will give a good massage. One of the first massages I had in Thailand was at Adonis several years ago. Skinny young guy who damn near killed me because his pressure was soooo hard. My calves were sore for days. One of the best massages I ever had was an older guy at Fan Club. Handsome enough. Looked mid 30s so he was probably 50. (Just kidding) Very strong arms but lean waist. Fantastic technique. Not my usual type at all but tons of fun. I even tipped him extra because I enjoyed it so much.

Yeah, Canada has given me a hard time over the years as well. It's like they don't believe anyone would want to visit their country on holiday.

I read some analysis in either the Bangkok Post or The Nation the other day that indicated the banking expert interviewed suggested 33 or 34 were likely to be hit within the next few months.

A lot of Thai music videos come with a karaoke track that is Romanized. Some of them also have an annoying melody track added in though too. You might want to just poke around YouTube searching for Thai MV. I noticed a link to a playlist some one set up called country MV 2013 that you might want to take a look through. My own taste runs more to Thai indie/rock bands (moderndog, etc) so most likely not what you are looking for. I spend a couple of hours when I am at work each day listening to Thai radio online. I use an app called TuneIn radio but there are many others out there. You can search for stations in a number of ways including by country. I usually listen to Fat Radio (104.5) but there are others when their stream is not working well.

Actually US economic growth has been revised upward for much of the year, meaning stronger growth than originally thought. Now that people are finally starting to focus on the gigantic gap between the top and everyone else it will be interesting to see if anything gets done about it. But apparently the Fed's announcement during the week that they would consider slowing down QE helped boost the USD. All of the emerging market currencies took a hit. I have a fair bit invested in SE Asian market indexes (and some other emereging market funds) and they have all really been slumping. But they are long-term investments so hopefully 20 years from now they will be booming.