macaroni21

Ever since I stopped saying in the Boyztown area (noise!) and preferred Jomtien, getting from the gogo bars of Boyztown back to hotel has never been a problem. More often than not, the gogo boy himself has a motorbike, so I ride off with him. If he does not have his own transport, we use motorbike taxis. Since I don't fancy the idea of 2 pillion riders behind the driver, so we'd hail 2 Motos. The songtaews outside the school run well past midnight - or used to, anyway, when bars stayed open till late - but they take too long to fill up and move out, the later the hour. Several times when the gogo boy had his own bike, he didn't have a spare helmet. If caught by traffic police, I might have had a problem, but so far so good. As one boy cheerfully said to me once: "no problem. Late already. Now police no have, all sleeping."

Like others have advised, you should be tipping them for the opportunity even if they are agreeable to being groped. I would also wonder if, these being karaoke type bars rather than gogo bars, there is more resistance to being seen by their mates as the one being groped. Many of them may be straight, and even in such environments, have all sorts of macho hang-ups. Perhaps the best thing to do is to off the chosen guy anyway and then in the comfort and privacy of your room satisfy your hands. Nothing says that offing must necessarily lead to full blown sex. Naturally, the boy should be compensated with a rate similar to any other off.

It's going to be tricky drawing conclusions from experiences of members flying long haul routes from Europe or North America to Asia, when one is planning a Canada to Texas trip. There are innumerable factors that can impact pricing of Asia routes that may not apply to intra-North America routes. One that I can immediately think of is the re-routing many airlines have had to make to avoid Russian airspace. Another is the fact that travel into and around Asia only resumed quite recently, whereas in the US, it never really plunged to the same degree. The weak passenger demand of late 2021 would have meant depressed prices, and consequently today's prices may look high simply because one is comparing against a low base. By sheer chance, I took a number of intra-US flights in April and May. I may be able to give you a different perspective. I pulled up data on what I had paid, then checked for prices of the same flights for July period, taking care to match day of week and avoid holidays. The July prices varied considerably from the prices I had paid, but on average, they are 20 to 25 percent more. That having been said, there are all sorts of deals available, and if one shops around on Expedia, etc, one can even get lower prices today compared to what I had paid. Most, though, would involve flights at unpopular hours.

I found the opening post inadvertently funny. I'm sure it was unintended. Photos of cross-dressers in a show immediately following the thread title "Long pants are officially off ..." only made me think: Yeah, the pants are off, to be replaced by skirts. 😂

What is it about their rooms that disappointed you?

I can recall at least two occasions when getting assurances from hotels in advance didn't work. Both instances were several years ago. In those times, hotels had smoking floors and non-smoking floors, and I specifically asked for a non-smoking floor. There was even an acknowledgement of my request. But when I checked in, I could detect stale tobacco and when I asked, I was told by reception that it couldn't be helped since it was a room on the smoking floor. I don't remember the details now but it took much effort on my part to make them acknowledge that I had firstly made a specific request and secondly, that they had replied in the affirmative. The other occasion was with a hotel where I was quite a regular visitor, so I knew that their rooms facing the pool tended to be a bit noisy -- children squealing in the day and poolside barbecues (with entertainment) in the evenings. It's a low-rise hotel so there were no rooms high enough to escape the noise. I asked in advance to be reserved a room on the other side. Of course they didn't assign me such a room, nor did the check-iin clerk have any access to the email exchange -- "I cannot access my manager's email, sir". The hotel was full too which made an immediate solution difficult however apologetic they were, but fortunately, a top-floor suite became available the next day, the manager returned from leave (thankfully) and I was given an upgrade. It's good to try getting assurances, as reader suggested, but I remain a little skeptical, scarred by experience.

Indeed, customers would consider windowless rooms to be a different category from rooms with windows even if the size is the same and they are fitted out in the same way. So, by that measure, hotels should display windowless rooms as a class by itself -- and say so plainly.

Thanks, all. The combined knowledge and experiences are really helpful. That's the asset of this board. The one concerning thing that's emerged is that some Raya rooms have no windows. Clearly, to avoid this, one has to choose a better grade of rooms.

Oh, the stuff of nightmares!

I am resurrecting this topic because the Raya is one of the two hotels I have never stayed in and would like to give it a try. The other is Quarter Silom. Both have received pretty good reviews, but I would be grateful if anyone who has stayed at both could offer a comparison and perhaps updated information. (As can be seen above, this thread is from 2016). 1. It's been mentioned in some other posts that Raya's rooms are bigger and better appointed than Quarter's. From the photos on their website, Quarter's aren't too small and quite habitable, but would these pictures be inaccurate or misleading? 2. They both seem to have a glass window from the room into the bathroom. Is this the case in all the rooms you've stayed in in either of the hotels? Or do only some rooms have this feature? 3. Wifi in Raya has been reported to be excellent. What about the wifi in Quarter? 4. Has anyone ever noticed package tourists in either of these two hotels? 5. With its new facade, I wonder if Raya's rooms get daylight. Do their windows let in light? I don't expect much of a view, but would not want to admire a blank wall one metre from the window sill. Vinapu reported sometime back that he didn't get a blank wall, but what about others who might have stayed in different rooms? I am assuming (from its location) that Quarter's rooms have decent light. 6. I am a little perplexed by reports that after hours, entry into Raya is not by the main entrance but via a service elevator in the car park at the back. What time do they close the main entrance? Does this mean that check-in reception is also closed after a certain hour, creating a problem for late-nght flight arrivals? 7. Members have reported no issues bringing boys back to rooms in Quarter. However, I am conscious that policies change and wonder if anyone who has staye there recently can confirm this? Do they take or check the boys' IDs -- not that this bothers me, but just wondering whether the practice is to register them or simply to pretend they never saw the boy? At Raya, reports here are that the security guard at the service elevator has no issues with boys being brought in. Are the boys registered or ignored? 8. Reports here have spoken about Raya's 5th floor rooms. Whilst the service elevator can go straight to rooms are higher levels, if one is given a room on the 5th floor -- the same floor as reception -- then one will have to walk the boy past reception nonetheless even though ascent was via the service elevator. Has anyone ever had issues with reception regarding bringing back a boy? 9. Has anyone experienced issues with cleanliness or the state of repair at either of these two hotels, e.g. low water pressure, choked drainage, noisy airconditioning, un-adjustable airconitioning, etc? 10. Raya has discontinued its breakfast and I don't see any breakfast option in the booking form. What's the situation in Quarter from your experience? It offers breakfast deals but from your experience, is it a basic breakfast with, say limited options, or a reasoable buffet? Thanks for any information you can help with.

I believe this is the video you're referring to? https://www.facebook.com/Jupiter2018/videos/1403856163422852/ Yes, the briefs are a welcome improvement, but more than half the boys are so disfigured by massive tattoos, it's such a waste!

@Jimbillp How full were the flights in each direction?

I would wait at least 2 weeks into June for reports to filter out as to whether what is intended as 'immediate' is in fact immediate. Or would they need to find a Finnish translator to read the Finnish text of the insurance policy to check that it is XXX euros, equivalent to 10,000 $, and that it covers COVID. If so, that is going to take time 😳

Hope Indonesia's latest move to drop requirement for pre departure tests effective today will push Thailand to stop dragging its feet. I put the link to the Reuters story about Indonesia's move inside the Gay Bali forum.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-drop-outdoor-mask-mandate-covid-19-infections-drop-2022-05-17/ Quote: Indonesia will drop requirements ... for vaccinated travellers to show negative pre-departure tests... The new relaxed rule comes into effect today, May 18.

My guess is that this bar is not on Soi 6 , but on Anuman Ratchathon Lane.

The cat wanted to pose prettily for your camera

Vinapu's report leaves me in no doubt that he's in heaven.

Good article, If I may say so: After reopening, Thailand’s battered tourism struggles to rebuild https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/16/after-reopening-thailands-battered-tourism-struggles-to-rebuild QUOTE: “Tourists are going to go to other countries that have clearer COVID measures,” he said, condemning Thailand’s months-long debate over ending quarantine on entry. “Everyone knows that if the Thai authorities announce one thing in the morning they will change it by the evening. I think it’ll be a while before tourists feel more confident to return.” ANOTHER QUOTE: Despite the banner headlines about reopening, tourism is still far below pre-pandemic levels, when it attracted nearly 40 million people and generated more than $60bn of revenue, accounting for up to a fifth of the kingdom’s gross domestic product. Last month, forward bookings for 2022 showed Thailand had reached 25 percent of normal levels, compared with 72 per cent and 65 percent each for Singapore and the Philippines, respectively.

They still require a pre-departure PCR test before flying there. And this page which is supposed to explain entry requirements is as clear as mud: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/sg-en/brd/m_2444/view.do?seq=761454&page=1 It's also somewhat macabre in that of all the various possible scenarios for going to Korea, the list begins with entry requirements for the scenario "Quarantine Exemption Application for Funeral Purpose" Might one think that is the biggest reason why people go to Korea?

End of July? Wasn't there some sort of master plan announced a couple of months ago aiming for 1st of July for full opening, i.e. abolishing the Thai Pass, etc?

I kinda agree. The gloomy Loi Kroh, Thapae and night market areas in the video mostly depended on tourists, and given the Thai governments hesitancy in reopening the country to tourism, it should hardly be surprising that these parts look the way they do. My recollection is that local Chiang Mai folks gravitate to the Nimmanhaemin area, to the northwest of the moated old city, on the road to the zoo and university. That's where the shopping malls and entertainment outlets for locals tend to be. If the video had included scenes from Nimmanhaemin, the overall impression may be less sad.

Here's a video that is probably quite recent, showing what Chiang Mai looks like to tourists. Depressing. The Kampaeng Ngam Hotel looks nice though, and just 550 baht per night (without breakfast). From Google Maps, I see it's in a relatively quiet side street.

For citizens of poorer countries, foreign travel is a big deal. It's a symbol of status, simply because such "luxury" is very costly compared to their cost/standard of living back home. I've seen many people dress up for this status event, in the same way we dress up to attend the opera even if, in truth, there's no one there whom we need to impress. We just feel that dressing up would be the appropriate thing to do in such a situation. The foregoing is my theory whenever I see unusually well-dressed tourists at bazaars and food courts of foreign countries. There's also a rather comical scene I recall -- from Buenos Aires airport around 20 years ago. This woman was all dressed up to board a flight. Unfortunately, she had too much metal jewelry on her. Obviously, there was no way she could make it through the metal detector. First she had to remove her earrings, brooches , bracelets and necklaces in full public view, but even then the metal detector went hysterical and it turned out that she had all sorts of metallic sequins sewn onto her glittering dress, so she was led away for a strip search. She sort of made a scene too about the risk of her jewelry being stolen while they went into the Xray machine in a tray, and how she would be separated from that tray when she was led away for the strip search. Officers eventually carried the tray with them into the strip room. I had a hard time controlling my laughter. What's the point of dressing up for the flight when you have to undress for the public in a busy airport?

I think mnay countries have a similar requirement for entry -- to be able to demonstrate that one has a ticket for departure before visa-expiry date. Alternatively, to be able to demonstrate that you have the financial resources to purchase such a ticket if you do not yet have one. Enforcement however is patchy, or it comes in waves, such as when overstayers hit the news and the government has to be seen to be doing something. Another possibility is that those of us holding Western (or richer Asian) passports tend not to be asked to show departure tickets (so, we forget the rule may exist) whereas visitors originating from poorer countries are more likely to be asked this question. Such "racial profiling" (if you wish to call it that) happens just as often at Western airports (maybe even more often) than Bangkok or Asian cities. Some years ago, I saw a long slow-moving immigration queue at Heathrow comprising passengers just off a New Delhi flight and, as I was in a parallel (fortunately, faster-moving) queue, I overheard the mostly-Indian passengers passing a message down their line saying, "take out your departure ticket to show the officer when you get to the counter".