Rogie

It is commonly rumoured such 'activities' occur in the dead of night. Number of views is pretty meaningless IMO. Yes, indeed, a quiz is likely to crank up the views for the reason Koko mentions. Maybe a better yardstick is views plus replies. Quantity + quality = likely an interesting topic that appeals to readers and perhaps prompts them to join in the discussion

Vancouver today, Thailand tomorrow - soon be taking orders for Songkran . . .

To me, a more interesting statistic is the number of replies a thread has. Looking in the Gay Thailand forum, one of the current topics, the Champagne Christmas Quiz 2012 (started by Fountainhall), is currently in joint sixth position with 110 replies. In the Beer Bar, the thread with the most replies is Today's Quiz (started by Kokopelli) - this had 96.

I congratulate Thaiworthy and admit I am more than a little envious of his prize. I remember many years ago, in the mid-seventies when I joined a wine appreciation class held in the evening once a week. We were the usual mixed bunch of people, all amateur wine-lovers, some with more experience than others, and in my case any knowledge I possessed was pretty superficial. I would say the seventies were when people in Britain woke up one morning, looked around and realised there was life outside the ivory tower whose ramparts were the white cliffs of Dover. An age of discovery, the broadening of horizons and the decline of the Little Englander. One of the most profound changes was in the travel industry. Once people saw their friends and neighbours flying off to Spain's Costas, places in the Med such as Majorca, the incredible Greek islands, the sophisticated south of France, Italy and places in north Africa such as Tunisia, they all wanted in. The same went for wine: us Brits discovered it. I digressed somewhat. Back to the wine appreciation class. At the end of the evening, the tutor always announced the subject for the following week's class. When he said next week was sparking wine, including champagne, there was a buzz of excitement. The tutor decided which wines to buy and bring along for tasting, and he obviously had good taste. I don't think i knew there was such a thing as vintage champagne, I just viewed it as posh sparking wine. The tutor seemed a bit more animated than usual that evening and when he brought out the champagne l wondered why it was in such a strange bottle. The closer I looked, the more I thought how beautiful it looked. I wasn't so ignorant I hadn't heard of Dom Perignon, I had, but it was just a name to me along with all the other Champagne houses. It was lovely, and I decided I wanted more of this nectar. Did I fulfil my wish? Unfortunately not. The tutor popped my bubble when he told us how much it had cost. So to this very day, not one further drop of Dom Perignon has passed my lips.

I've been to a few of the beer bars over the years, but after my first visit there I tended to always go to the same one. The reason I chose to do that was not ideal. The reason was simple, it was the one my Thai friend preferred. Looking back it would have been nice to have got around a bit more because it seems to me each bar has its own feel to it, atmosphere or whatever. Yes they all serve drinks, and all allow you to people watch, but a good bar should offer a lot more than that. I would guess ex-pats who frequent Sunee fall into two categories: those who try a different place from time to time and those who gravitate to a particular one and either out of loyalty or preference stick with it.

Here's to many more Pattaya Players seasons in the sun. . I wonder if you are unique in Thailand, or if there are any other ex-pat groups of 'professional amateurs' performing in English. Chiang Mai maybe? Bangkok?

Good to hear about somewhere a bit different. New Star looks ok. I could be wrong but I would imagine all the usual places we hear about are full coming up to Christmas and New Year. Is it noisy around there? Lots happening, that's what I mean. I prefer to stay in Jomtien. Last place I stayed I walked out of the guest house, turned left for about 15 yards, crossed the road and in few more yards i was on the beach with a choice of deck chair concessions - I plopped myself down on one no more than a few feet away from the sea. Being a cheap charlie I took my own water so for 30 baht I had a few hours relaxing. Watch out for the sun, btw, even though I was under (or thought I was) an umbrella my feet, legs and chest were redder than I would have liked by the time I got back to my hotel room. Assuming you aren't averse to the beach, see how much you spend on a day there khun Devint. Maybe you will decide to opt for a massage or one of the other services offered.

I doubt you will be. Those that know what you are referring to have probably long since formed their own opinion. Those that have no inkling will just scratch their heads for a few seconds and move on to the next post.

You needed a wash on the 15th and it's now the 17th, and Bangkok's quite a 'dirty' city . . . hope you've got your wish / wash by now. Would it be impertinent to enquire as to the scale of charges?

Been down so long it looks like Up to Me, but I could be wrong. Up to me, up to you, who cares?

If I was living in Thailand, and had my own place, I would like to think I would extend the same invitation to you khun Abang. The best I could do is to extend a warm welcome if you are ever in the UK, more specifically Manchester. I wish you a joyful Christmas season.

New York, a graveyard for languages http://www.bbc.co.uk...gazine-20716344

* I became a product of the old Hollywood studio system. * I have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was featured on a US postage stamp. * I ate healthy food and frequently used a medical term. * I once showed my rhapsodic skills on the piano. * My singing was not bad either, and I attempted both Rossini and Wagner operas. The problem is none of the usual suspects from the Hollywood studio system era came anywhere close to fitting all the criteria. In addition to the four directors I mentioned before, I checked up on all the actors and actresses that had featured on US stamps. As a scientist I put my systematic mind to work, but it failed me.

Well done to the three of you progressing to the next round! As for me. . . to slightly abridge the well-known words of Ben Franklin, alas for me . . . I must quit the scene. I'm just amazed anybody did. The guy who got it must be a tad Looney! That Q was the one I spent most time on and in the end gave up and just guessed. I even tried the four film directors who'd been on stamps - Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston and Billy Wilder - could any of them sing? didn't look like it, or play the piano? - that neither. On a health kick? No sirree! Persistence! That's what, plus a bit of uncanny luck. Googling Bong House P. Ltd. gave the answer. Whoever would've thought? Good luck to Thaiworthy, Koko and Abang, and many thanks to Fountainhall for the chance to exercise my dwindling array of little grey cells . . . they've taken a beating, but after a consolatory beer those that are left will soldier on, my golly - if they're not focussing on next year's quiz already.

A: 5 B: 1 C: 2 D: 5 E: 5 F: Florian G: 42nd Street H: 4 I: Audrey Hepburn J: 5 K: 3 L: Scientology M: 4 N: 4 O: 1 P: Elvis Presley Q: Hyatt R: 2 S: And the Band Played On T: 4

Another interesting feature that I had never thought about: (taken from the same link as in my previous post) Fragile languages find footing online If I understand that correctly, it means languages without an alphabet are making themselves understood in non-verbal fashion for the first time in their history. Seems incredible to me. How is it done? How do you transcribe sounds into text message? Who does that and who decides how to do it?

Learn English online: How the internet is changing language Anybody heard of Hinglish? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20332763

Deli-zza was closed on my recent brief visit to Pattaya. The Thai landlady of the guest house next door seemed to think there'd been a disagreement amongst the restaurant's partners. I wasn't able to confirm that. Instead I ate somewhere close by: Rich Man Poor Man on Soi 9 which serves up very good American-style cooking in a nice friendly atmosphere, although if you don't play golf or have a British accent you're definitely in the minority! Main courses are around 250 - 350 baht.

I didn't know this gentleman, so I have no idea, but there was a post by GB on Gaybutton Thai timed at 6.59pm on the 9th December that said the newspaper account was incorrect. See: http://www.gaybutton...start=20#p51323 If GB sees this perhaps he can confirm, although I would be very surprised if he'd got it wrong.

Good question Mysteryman! Maybe if there is a tie in the Christmas Quiz we can use that as the tie-breaker. On second thoughts, have you considered a private dick?

Can't believe I missed out Malaysia and Singapore as easily-reached overland destinations (provided you aren't in a rush). I haven't done the whole shebang travelling by train between Singapore and Bangkok - just the Bangkok / Penang, and the KL /Penang sections, but that's a great alternative to coach or air travel. For more info check out: http://www.seat61.co...tm#.UMtrJqyKiNc By train? Travelling by train in China... http://www.seat61.co...tm#.UMtuFqyKiNc Sorry, I haven't done any research on rail travel in China, just spotted it on The Man in seat 61 website, the same place I got the Singapore - Bkk train journey info. Travel in this way in China may be completely impractical, so I'm just throwing the idea into the ring to get some feedback.

(Speaking in general here to noone in particular) - if you like a place then why restrict your visit to one time only? Making return visits is a great way to get to really know a place, including its inhabitants! After all, many of us have to limit the amount of time available in our visits to new destinations, for a variety of reasons: 1. Not having been before, it's always a good idea to dip your toe in the water first. 2. Time restrictions on kinds of visas available, eg. 15 days, 30 days etc. 3. Cost 'on the ground' may be high. For example I'd like to visit Rio but the cost of accommodation alone would mean I'd be restricted to a short visit only - faced with that kind of problem it might be concluded best not to go at all. 4. Cost of getting there: a high cost destination makes good sense to go for longer as you may not be able to afford much in the way of repeat visits in the future. Cheap and affordable destinations, once they've caught your imagination, can be visited on subsequent occasions without breaking the bank. So, . . . . . . that's another great reason for visiting Thailand - those of us not living there can use it as a base with which to explore many of the neighbouring and slightly farther afield countries. Overland Cambodia, Laos, Burma. Inexpensive flight Burma, Vietnam, Taiwan, China (incl Hong Kong), Philippines, Indonesia (incl Bali), S.Korea, Japan. Our more well-travelled members may have some more suggestions for places to visit, and I may have under-estimated the costs of getting to some countries. In addition, cheap or affordable travel to a country may have to be balanced by high costs once you've arrived!

In an ideal world I would lead a peaceful life as close to terrra firma as possible, but those towers-in-the-sky are the only way a person with an average income is going to be able to afford to live in many of Thailands's most popular towns and cities. If you want to live in a nice house (rent it, or own via a Thai national) and have just an average income or savings, that can be done in many places but as inevitably they are less in demand and a bit out-of-the-way the local infrastructure such as shops, banks, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc will be poor - you won't find many or maybe not even any on your doorstep. Contrast with Pattaya and Bangkok where you are spoiled for choice. Yes, that does seem to be the motivating factor in many premature deaths (sometimes genuine suicides, sometimes not) but not in Rhodo's case (as far as we can ever know, and none of our business really - although to be fair, it is important ex-pats are aware of the kind of things that can and do happen in Thailand so as hopefully to be better prepared for any eventuality). In the case of the bf of the owner of Funny Boys bar, a man I did not know, the bf in question was believed by some people to have had gambling debts. This raises an interesting and IMO valid point: we have discussed in the past what action, if any, to take over guys who misrepresent themselves on Gay Romeo (just to take one example) or who, having met a farang, then proceed to con him in some way . . . should they be named and shamed, as a kind of 'service' to others in the gay ex-pat community and to gay/bi-sexual farang visitors?

Oh, I'm sooo bored this morning I was even resorting to counting smileys. We are now the proud possessor of 92 of 'em. (I'm back in Manchester . . . !)

Khun Jovianmoon raises a few fair points. A man we now know (but see my comment below) to have been the poster known as Rhodochrosite leapt to his death on the 21st November and an article appeared in the Pattaya Daily News the following day. That was quickly followed by speculation on at least one gay board that this man was Rhodo, but as far as I was aware at the time this was neither publicly confirmed or disproven. Once it became apparent it was the poster known as Rhodochrosite, although I do not know how or by whom the connection was confirmed, then it might well have been appropriate for someone to post a fresh topic along the lines Jovianmoon mentions. Having said that, I do not think such a topic was necessarily appropriate on this Message Board, Gay Thailand, because Rhodo was a very infrequent poster here and, to be brutally frank, was, at least IMO, rather idiosyncratic - nothing wrong in that in itself of course, but it made it somewhat difficult to warm to him, but even so, it would be nice if someone who did know him in real life was able to give us an insight into the man by which he could be remembered.