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Nice to hear Classic has turned over a new leaf. The mamasan that used to be there was such an objectionable person that I swore the place off a couple of years ago.

Well, with the growing Chinese middle class looking to travel I think it is not a surprise that a city in Asia would have this distinction. London is too expensive for a lot of people. Add in the UK's onerous taxes on flights and It think London has some high hurdles.

Does the climate there lend itself to bike riding? Bike share has been very popular here in Washington. And I know the program in Montreal has been quite successful too. But it's only 100 degrees here a few days out of the year. But given Bangkok's traffic and weather conditions I can't imagine this project has much chance to succeed.

Maybe he makes money by bringing in unsuspecting guys who like cute Vietnamese boys? Perhaps his job is to lure you in so you'll buy drinks for him or others. The boys usually get a cut of the drinks you buy for them. I agree I don't see where the deception is. You asked if he could go off and were told no multiple times. If he's Vietnamese it's likely that he isn't allowed to work. So maybe they can keep him in the bar but its too risky to them to let him go off.

"After frolicking with Bangkok’s people, Bryan got a taste of this city’s notorious architecture and history at the local temple and grand palace." Notorious architecture and history? The writing is pretty horrific even if you overlook the factual inaccuracies.

I love that in China 1.5 million people is considered a "small" city! I have an expat friend who has been living for 7+ years in Taipei. He really likes it there and I can see why. I think it might be tempting to a degree as there are so many things I enjoyed about the place in my short visit last year. Headed back for a longer time this year. Not sure I could ever live there or anywhere else in Asia though for a variety of reason.

Wow, those problems would certainly put me off going back! While I am sure it costs more, I booked my trip through Purple Dragon and had no problems...other than some really crappy weather in Hoi An which was no one's fault of course. I did meet a guy in Hanoi at the lake who seemed to be obviously trying to angle me for a scam but I had my defenses up. I tried to be pleasant but wasn't about to give in to anything. The trip on Halong Bay I had a whole boat to myself. I just went for a day trip though and didn't stay overnight on a boat. I understand the new road from Hanoi to Halong Bay has dramatically reduced the time it takes to get there. Having a private car and guide is very helpful and for me it is the best way to travel around Asia.

According to a poster over on Flyertalk.com the truth seems to be that the FO left the cockpit to use the lavatory and one of the cabin crew sat in his seat at that time. Somehow another flight attendant entered the cockpit and the captain let her sit in his seat. The captain never left the cockpit. When the FO returned the person in his seat got up and may have disengaged the autopilot. Apparently it may have been the FO who reported the incident to the company. That is a lot more believable to me.

I wonder how much of this story is true though. As I said in other forum, whoever was in charge would have been required to be in contact with air traffic control. It's not likely the flight attendants would have known how to do that correctly. Could be that the person who reported this "incident" is lying or has some grudge or score to settle.

I really liked Hue a lot. The sites there are very interesting and a bit different, especially the Emperors' tombs. I didn't love Hoi An but it's worth a visit. There's an interesting museum of Cham culture in Danang that is worth a visit. I really wish I had taken the time to visit some Cham empire sites. But I like all of those old ruins. If you're not into that it's probably not that interesting. If you're driving from Hue to Hoi An take the scenic mountain route rather than the tunnel. There are some really dramatic views of the ocean. In Hue I stayed at La Residence. It's one of the more upscale choices in town. It's got a lot of Art Deco touches which I liked. There's a big pool table on the lobby level that I enjoyed along with my guide. The only thing I didn't like was the crazy-inflated prices for bottled water. But there's a little shop right outside the hotel's gate which had water for a fraction of the price. I don't remember touts being an issue but I was with a guide/driver most of the time.

Here's an interesting map that was linked on a favorite blog last week http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=4923 IQ vs penis size

I posted my horrible experience at Adam's Apple on another message board back in December. Too loud. Weird "meeting" before the show with patrons in the bar which was incredibly unprofessional. Strobe lights that gay me a terrible headache. Some very cute boys but too many negatives for me to have any interest in going back.

There was another survey the other day that said BKK is the best airport in the world http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/344738/travel-firm-cites-suvarnabhumi-as-world-best-airport Not sure how PEK rates so high. I absolutely hate it. Transferring through is a total pain in the butt. The two times I have traveled through there the place has seemed virtually empty.

The hotel thing is definitely an issue. It will take some time to get the supply to meet the demand. Those longyi are definitely a good reason to visit. They really show off their butts well. And it is indeed true that no one wears underwear in the country. I remember that one of my boat drivers gave me quite a show when he pulled up his longyi hopping off the boat.

There is a balloon operation in Thailand. http://www.balloonadventurethailand.com/index/ I thought about getting more info about them before I spent some time in CM last December. But ultimately had enough other things going on. Balloons Over Bagan operates for several months out of the year during high season. So it's not a "festival" per se. Interestingly according to our captain they pay the local employees year round and jobs with the company are high sought after in the community as a result. So they get their pick of people to hire. He also mentioned that the Myanmar guys are very strong for their size but because they tend to be fairly small they need more of them compared to the operation he works for in Turkey.

I did. It is spectacular. Worth every penny to me. You can see photos I took in this trip report http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1444298-myanmar-burma-couple-weeks.html The balloon pics start in post #7

The Love of Siam is my favorite movie ever. Find the Director's Cut if you can. It adds about 20 minutes but makes the story make a whole lot more sense. I didn't love Bangkok Love Story, but I did enjoy seeing a grittier side of the city in it. I saw a very good Thai film on my flight home last year called SuckSeed. It's not a gay movie exactly but it's very much a coming of age film with the relationship between two high school boys at its center. While they are both chasing the same girl (I'm not giving too much away there), the film is really about their friendship. I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to. I thought it was going to be just another dumb Thai teen rom-com but it had a much deeper level to it.

Nice report. Pakse and that part of Laos has been on my list for a while now. Maybe next year. I have seen some interesting trip options that include a cruise on a nicely restored old boat. I really loved Luang Prabang. I know some people think it's too touristy, but I am a tourist after all. I thought Vientianne was a bit of a letdown after LP.

I was actually kind of disappointed by HK. Might have been the crappy weather, but people there looked unhappy. And so much smoking! Just walking down the street I felt like I was getting lung cancer. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe people are under too much stress there or something. I did like the HK History museum and the science museum next door which were good rainy day places to see. I enjoyed Taiwan more. I have also seen the same gayhk.com website. I think all of the questionable places advertising there are in Shenzhen. The massage places in HKG seem to all be more above board. I had a nice massage at a place in HKG. The escorts listed on that website are pretty much all only in Chinese. Lots of gorgeous guys though. My massage experience in Taipei was much less interactive. Which was a bit disappointing.

Have they cleaned up the mold in the showers? I visited on my first trip several years ago. Lots of cute boys then. But I am sensitive to mold so the dirty shower was a problem for me. My boy also used way too much pressure so I was in pain for a couple of days. We weren't able to communicate well enough for him to understand that he was killing my calves. The happy ending part was pretty good though from what I remember.

They seem to put a lot of make up on those boys too. But honestly how "macho" can those pretty boys really be? My FiOS TV recently added a new channel called M-Net which is all Korean stuff all the time. Mostly K-pop videos and shows plus some anime and soap operas. They seem to focus too much on the girl groups though.

I will certainly be there with my camera. :-) I was there last year for a week in mid- to late- Nov and it was rain almost constantly. A little rain might actually make it more fun...

Just booked my ticket to Taiwan for 2013 pride...as long as it happens the last weekend of October as usual. Hopefully the weather will be improved over my trip last Nov.

For sure the infrastructure is an issue. Apparently weather and likely pilot error were to blame for the Burma crash, but we'll see what the report and data recorders tell us. I flew one of those F100's on that same route W9 flight 011 from Mandalay to Heho last year...or I guess 2011 isn't last year any more. After having been on their turboprops for all of my other flights it was novel to be on a jet. I never felt unsafe on any of my flights. Although the one from Sittwe to Yangon via Thandwe didn't have functioning air conditioning so it was very hot. Is it as safe as the West or the bigger countries in Asia, clearly not. Is it "unsafe"? I don't know about that. You're probably in more danger trying to cross the street in most big Asian cities than you are on a Burmese airplane.

I posted my bar reports on other boards, but I can summarize them here... I just got home after spending about 2 weeks in Thailand. In Bangkok I only went in X Size and Fresh (Beach?) Boys. X Size was fairly pushy. Lots of boys (maybe 15-20) with a few customers. Several more would reach the top of the stairs and turn right back around. One of the people running the place was smoking which was not pleasant. I had one cute boy sit with me for a little while. First visit to Fresh Boys was fairly quiet. Only about 5 boys. A few other customers. Show was not great, I left during the second act. I allowed myself to be ushered in there for a second time the other night. Many more customers, it was basically packed at show time. A few more boys on stage. The show was OK but went on a bit long. When they allowed another customer to start smoking I left. In Chaing Mai I went to New My Way and Adam's Apple. I started a thread that got a lot of traffic on my experience elsewhere. Things in CM get started late. After 10 at the earliest. NMW was a bunch of boys staring at their phones. The show was nothing special with the usual lip syncing lady boys and a few not so attractive guys showing off a bit more. The regular boys would go on stage shirtless looking very uncomfortable from time to time. A few of those guys did a little "dance" in their underwear at one point. More like the shuffle you see in a gogo bar. Did not stay to the end of the show. A group of 4 women came in shortly after the show had started which perked up all of the boys a bit. Adam's Apple was a disaster. Constant strobe lights gave me a headache. Some cute boys though, more on the teens to early 20s side of things. Lots of customers though. In Pattaya I spent time in a few places. Really enjoyed X Boys Land. The boys have a good time. Show time was generally a good crowd for the early show. The one night I stayed for the late show there were only a couple of customers. That was my favorite bar on this trip. I spent a little time in Sunee as well. Magic Boys had about a dozen guys on stage. More on the girly side. Two or three other customers. Pushy mamasan. Didn't stay long. Mic My has a small collection of boys. Several very girly "gay" boys. Big crowd. First visit was not too pushy. Second visit the owner literally would not leave me alone. She plunked herself right down next to me and kept coming back even though I thought my body language and short answers to her questions made it obvious that I didn't care to have her sitting there. Probably would not go back here. Nice Boys had a big collection of guys on stage. Lots of customers. Not much interaction between the boys and the customers. There were several boys in jeans at the back of the stage were really dancing which I enjoyed. Something about the vibe there just seemed a bit off to me. Stopped in Krazy Dragon briefly. Only a few boys none of whom I found attractive. A couple of other customers. A couple of the boys tried hard to get me to agree to have them sit with me but I wasn't interested. I also went up the stairs to Jet Set Boys to take a look but turned right back around. About 5 or 6 guys on stage. None really attractive to me so there was no point in staying. The door guys were not happy at all that I left so quickly.