macaroni21

Didn't this site use to have the feature of putting up a multiple choice poll? What's happened to the feature?

Hunting for information is as much fun as hunting for boys? 🤪

Ok, before your Filipino story goes back to Cebu, a few more questions about Boracay. I am not interested in retiring to Cebu, but I may be interested in visiting Boracay. 1. Did you see any money changers or ATMs of international banks? 2. What was the ratio of domestic to foreign tourists? Were packaged visitors (e.g. from China or Italy) numerous? 3. (You may not want to answer this question, I will understand). Did you and Mr B share a room, and if so was it twin beds or a double bed and was there any reaction from hotel reception? 4. I see from Google maps that Boracay doesn't really face any big expanse of water. Certainly it doesn't face the Pacific ocean, not even the south china sea, but it is sort of behind some other islands. How much wave action was there? Like Jomtien or less than that? Calm seas may account for the algae bloom. 5. Any idea when is low season?

Well, at least you seem to have the discipline of taking notes each day, so even if the forum goes into freeze mode for a few days, the information is still with you. (I am assuming you've got notes seeing how you're able to write trip reports several days after the actual date). I try to take notes myself when I am travelling, but I'm not always consistent about it. I remember a few years back, I tried to write a trip report directly into this forum about M-star massage in Silom soi 6. The first gremlin was my referring to the place as M-sense. Fortunately I realised my mistake before I clicked SEND. While I was editing the post, I saw more mistakes, including referring to Soi 6 as Soi 8. And then I was mortified to realise that my description of the M-star visit was heavily confused with a separate visit I made to 9-teen massage across the soi. In trying to clean up the post, I got the 2 visits more and more confused, and without any notes in hand, it became impossible to disentangle the facts. The only thing I could do was to delete the whole thing 😭

I beg to differ. I don't think it's a good idea to pin threads. Firstly, a thread is seldom of value to all readers. For example, those of us who are frequent visitors to Thailand see no new information in such a list of massage places in the Sukhumvit area, we already know about them and have visited. Secondly, conversations in threads evolve. Sometimes they go off topic entirely. Thirdly, the information in the opening post may change from correct to obsolete quite quickly. Pinning gives the impression of permanent information, when this is not the case. Fourthly, if different people with different interests ask for posts and threads catering to their interests to be pinned, there will soon be a long list of pinned threads to scroll past before we reach active threads. It's a bloody nuisance. If any post contains information that one person finds useful, then it is better for that one person to save the information on his private computer. Please don't inflict a pinning on everybody else.

Typos and confusion are one of the main reasons why I prefer to blog over at Shamelessmack than put trip reports here. I need the luxury of time to proof read and make corrections. Like so many others, an instant post here on this forum will usually contain multiple typos and mistakes. Just look at my post about scam centres on Myanmar border. Embarrassingly full of mistakes. For example, I typed "reploying" instead of "redeploying".

I asked them on Line whether their Sukhumvit branch is open again, and they confirmed it is. So, the December notification about closure seems to have been reversed. I don't know the reason why they reversed their decision but maybe their business fell off sharply when they expected customers to travel all the way to their other shop in Lat Phrao.

First of all, let's not imagine that Myanmar has anything even resembling a functioning government whose remit runs to all corners of the county (as coloured on a map). Some reports suggest that the Naypyidaw government controls little more than 60% of the map-coloured area. Big patches of the territory, particularly the border areas whether minrotiy ethnic groups live are controlled by rebel militia. These militia are always desperate for money to buy arms. So if a Chinese scam entrepreneur offers to set up a business in their territory, and offers a cut of the takings to the militia, he will likely be welcomed with open arms. One can imagine the militia reploying ts forces to help the scam centre maintain "security". The recent threat of the Thai government to cut off power and internet access seems to be working. One might say it should have been done a long time ago, but I can understand that the Thai government did not want to trigger more waves of refugees of the civilian population fleeing into Thailand due to power cut-off. The difference this time is that bad rep was hurting Thailand's tourism ambitions, and so Thailand had to act at last. There are different rebel militia groups along different parts of the border. The above video is only about one part. I don't know if there are similar agreements reached with other rebel groups in other stretches of the border to shut down their scam centres. Even now, I wonder how long this positive "solution" will last. Maybe as soon as things quieten down, the scam centres will be up and running again? After all, the militia groups' need for cash remains unchanged.

You originally refered to the pier as Pontoon Pier, but lately, you're calling it the Platoon Pier. Auto-correct somewhere?

I'm not doubting you because this sounds like a first-hand observation, but it may seem curious since only a month earlier, @Gottago reported that Aurora had sent out a Line message saying that this branch (Sukhumvit Soi 4, a.k.a. Soi Nana) is closed. I had received the same notification. Is it possible that the shop had been sold and, while open for business, is now trading under a different name?

Watermelon Spa. Oh my, read the Google reviews (the one-star ones are always fun to read): 2 months ago The place is filthy. The masseuse are busy with their cellphone while you fall asleep. The beddings are old and re use over and over again. The smell of the whole place is like a urine. The small towels smelled-pretty bad. This place is disgusting. I am very disappointed. 2 years ago ❌ Super Dark Rooms and barely lit Common Areas ❌ Smelly beds both in faux Turkish bath area and massage rooms ❌ insistent therapist offering EXTRA SERVICE ❌ beware of PICKPOCKETS as they don’t have lockers to keep your belongings safely in their very dark vicinity ❌ Government agencies must look into their sanitary permit. I don’t think they passed in accordance to spa standards. 2 months ago Horrible. She used her phone the whole time, I’m shocked worst I ever had. I should have checked reviews. Deeply regret I feel vilolated after 8 months ago Woke up with even more pain in the shoulders. I booked an massage for 1,5 hour but it was not even an hour. The whole massage the therapists where talking to eachother and of when they were not talking to eachother they were at their phone during the massage, very unproffesional. The salon was very very dark and to cold. I understand why you had to pay directly when stepping in to the salon. Wouldn’t recommend. 2 years ago Disgusting unchanged sheets / was asked to wait for more than 5 mins after I changed and when we went to the spa there was more of like caressing that happened instead of actual massage. My company and were placed together with half curtain opened and the towel that was used by my company was just folded and placed back in the bed. VERY UNHYGIENIC. Worst massage ever. With all the caressing that happened made me wonder if their specialty is offering ES? 2 months ago Use your mobile phone while having a massage? Why are foreigners so casual? It was the first time I had such a casual massage. Even though I wanted to be very gentle, I didn't feel like he was doing a massage at all. He just kept applying oil to my feet and just kept doing the same steps. I've been gone for so long and I don't know what I'm doing. I really don’t want to come here. Fortunately, I only used my feet. Remember to read the comments again in the future Note by macaroni: The above was translated from Chinese. In Chinese, the 3rd person pronoun is not gendered, so the "he" used in the comment could well have been a she. 6 years ago Worst massage I've ever had. Wish you could do -5. Music was definitely not relaxing and was too loud. Shouldnt call them therapists at all. The people kept talking to each other whilst performing something they call a "massage". I booked an aromatherapy oil massage. Which is meant to be relaxing. She used her elbow for most of it. Booked 90 minutes and was only given 60 minutes. Luckily the owner was there so we only paid for 60. Come to think about it luckily they did 60 minutes as I would have had to throw away more money and I'd definitely be in more pain. The person seemed inexperienced, incompetent, in everything apart from a maseuse. Slapped and elbowed more than massaged. Would have preferred to be elbowed by The Rock. I feel more stressed than relaxed. I have no idea why they call themselves a massage place or even a therapist. I need sessions from a therapist to help with the mental trauma!!! Note by macaroni: But hey, this place has been in business for six years, so they must be doing something right.

Alrighty, I did a quick Google search of the thre new venues you mentioned. I don't know about you @bkkmfj2648, but I don't see myself checking them out. Barrio bar has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BarrioCebu?mibextid=LQQJ4d. Page has lots of young women dressed and looking alike, like clones. Takes some scrolling to see a handful of malse in the photos, but they all have their arms around females. Also, this video clip https://www.facebook.com/BarrioCebu/videos/1180599116955650 - all standing room, ear-splitting music, flashing lights, nearly everyone less than half my age (maybe one-third). Cartel Studio https://www.facebook.com/cartelstudiocebu/. Scrolled its Facebook page for exactly two seconds when my eyes got assaulted by these boobs. Shocking violation of my sense of aesthetics. Closed page almost immediately before I was further traumatised. Finally, there's Uptown. It has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/uptowncebu, in which there are a few video clips that will give you a flavour of the place, such as this clip: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=601380819268405 While there are more males than females in the crowd, it looks more like one of those late-night venues for young Thais around Third Road in Pattaya. Also, all standing room, no seats, ear-splitting music, flashing lights. Probably only gets going after 1 a.m. In short, the kind of place I flee from rather than gravitate to. All three venues: Not my scene, 🤩

Yup, not even Green Massage put their staff in green shirts 😂 But won't be easy for the shop to stand out when hidden behind the stalls of Patpong 1.

What the hell is an LGBTQ+ student?

I don't know.... but I have a feeling those are very old pictures on their website. The boys depicted may not be working there anymore. Of course I haven't kept a diary, but my sense is that I have seen the same pictures for a long time.

+1 I have had opportunities to talk to Myanmar workers and refugees working illegally in Thailand, The situation they are in, plus worries for their families left behind, are very moving. The civil war there is not something we should make light of. And I hope @PeterRS resumes participation in the forum. I'm sure I speak for others too when I say he was missed.

On China Central Television, and inspired by the Tai minority in southern Yunnan province (yes, related to the Thai people) and their love affair with elephants, an all-male dance performance for Chinese New Year: The Tai/Thai ethnic group originated in Yunnan. Those that migrated south into the Chao Phraya floodplain became today's Thais. Lots more stayed behind in Yunnan. What I'd be curious about is whether the language has stayed similar or have they diverged to be mutual incomperehensible.

Of course if they have cute dancers (cuter than these two please) it might help it go down a little better:

Or go mad to this one:

Did you use one of their short-time rooms? What was it like?

Oh, one more first-hand incident: I was in a Type 2 place in Pattaya some years ago getting a foot massage. In came a 40- or 50-ish woman who looked Indian but who spoke with some element of a British accent, and asked for an oil massage. When the receptionist asked her, "Man or Lady", she said "Man". A boy was called out from the interior. She smiled broadly at him, I think she liked what she saw. She then began to ask him - in the front parlour with the three or four foot massage customers hearing every word - whether he will do "more than massage". She said something about "a boyfriend experience". The boy almost died. He actually staggered backwards. The really funny thing was that my gaydar was pinging loudly. He was good-looking, no doubt, nearly as pretty in an effete way like an actor in some Boy Love movie. What I don't know is which was the real shocker: that she was opening asking for sex in a public room or that he was expected to do it with a woman???? This woman must have been watching too many Boy Love movies and thus acquired a taste for this kind of look.

I think you are both right. "Kids" seems to be an umbrella ogranisation with branches or franchisees in many cities; conceivably there could be two or more operating within Tokyo itself. And since each branch or franchisee operates on a "call the boy in when there is a booking" model, it may be possible for a boy to be listed at more than one branch.

Isn't that what we all aspire to be? 🤣

The bathroom window is frosted. Is the bedroom window - your reply to keithambrose suggests that there is another window -- also frosted? Very much like a modern 3- star Japanese hotel.