ChristianPFC

In Germany, there is law that requires shops to have certified balances that are regularly checked by government insitutions. I don't know how the situation is in Thailand. What kind of balance did you buy? Weight range and resolution, price? Did it occur to you that your balance might not be accurate?

I would rather venture forth to new places than write trip reports. In general, I like real life more than sitting in front of a computer.

Thank you for sharing, I will put that on my list.

There is a window with the size of one tile in the bathroom.

I would not want to be with someone who made it clear that he doesn't want to be with me. But there was no indication, the boy smiled at me and waved me in when I walked past. Apart from the language problems, our interaction was normal. I am aware of that, but basically it boils down to this when you go in a bar. I have no problem if a boy doesn't want to go with me. My problem is that a bar employs boys who are not offable (the boy's choice or the bar's choice?). That might be just the tip of the iceberg, and there are more bars and boys that I just don't know of? It deeply disturbs my belief in the bar industry. It violates my unwritten rule that everyone on stage (for gogo bar) is for sale. Last year in September I was in X-Boys Bangkok, and there was a cute boy on stage who didn't pay any attention to any customer. After serious pondering I invited him for a drink, offed him and had a pleasant surprise (I entered the off with very low expectations). Another ChristianPFC moment: I want this boy again, but he left the bar! Out of all boys in Soi Twilight, there is one I want to take again, and this one is gone.

That boy (Solid, 16 years old) worked as a waiter. That's fine for me. I am talking about boys on the stage (gogo) or boys roaming the bar (host). I assume you have to be Catholic if you want to work for the Vatikan (I don't know, just an example). And if you want to work as a gogo or host boy, you have to go with customers. It's not written anywhere, but I think it should be an unwritten law. It's not written anywhere that you have to tip the boy, it is assumed that the customer knows it. In the same way, I assume that all boys can off.

Trip report 22.09.-24.09.2012 Bang Kachao To avoid confusion with current activities and friends: This report is from September 2012. Why do I post it now? Because I had it 90% complete in October, but couldn’t finish it until now. 22.09.2012 Saturday Pattaya J and I get up together, J goes to his room and continues sleeping there (at least that’s what I understand after some calls if he wants to join me for the day). I have a stroll with some detours to Big C / Homeworks South Pattaya, only to find the AEON ATM out of order. That means I will have to watch my spendings or withdraw money elsewhere with a fee. [update: There is another AEON ATM and branch in Tesco Central Pattaya.] In the afternoon a trip to Saensuk Sauna, this time no hook-up. At night I go to Funny Boys (second time this holiday, which is very rare, I usually visit bars only once, but they have an underwear fashion show on Saturday). Another customer invites me for a drink, it turns out he speaks German as a foreign language and he cites poems by Eduard Mörike (lesser known German poet 1804-1875, I have bad memories of all poetry we treated in school – i.e. I remember it, but it evokes bad feelings). We converse about German literature, Paris architecture, Thai boys and other subjects in a mix of German, English and French. This shows: you never know whom you will meet! I go home alone. 23.09.2012 Sunday Pattaya to Bangkok Check out of my room and join another customer and his Thai boyfriend on a ride to the bus station (free!). Bus to Ekkamai (price increase to 124 Baht). On strolls through Sathorn I came across Charlie House Sathorn (they have another guesthouse in Pinklao), which is not listed on agoda, but they have a website: http://www.charliehousethailand.com The prices are very competitive: 450 Baht for single occupancy and 540 Baht for double occupancy. They show me two rooms, one has a window, but two single beds, the other has no window but a double bed. For obvious reasons, a double bed is more important than a window. For the benefit of my readers, here a short report: View from the bathroom to the bed (contrary to other’s [1] hotel reports, my pictures have my stuff in them): View from the bed to the bathroom: And that’s all! But I don’t need any more. The floor has a carpet, which I consider unsuitable for hotels as it is difficult to clean. The room was small, but sufficient for me. When I came back late at night, the main door was closed and I had to ring for the receptionist (to get up from sleep) to open a side door to let me in. A joiner fee of 200 Baht is charged (so it would be cheaper to check in single but with double occupancy). The location (Soi Saphan Khu) is very close to the bus stop on Rama 4 road near Lumpini Tower. Their advertisement „The five-star guesthouse in Bangkok“ is far fetched, to put it mildly. I spend the evening in Sathorn getting an oil massage (real massage) and a happy ending with a masseur I spotted earlier and tested with a foot massage. At night, I am not sure what to do, so I walk to Langsuan (north of Lumpini park), there are some Thai for Thai gay venues supposed to be there, but I cannot detect much activitiy. On my walk back to Silom I notice available ladies north and west of Lumpini Park [update: east as well on a different night]. Now it’s past midnight, so it’s safe to enter DJ station (show is over). On my first walk through the disco I notice a cute boy, so I sit down and look back to him, after a few minutes he sits down next to me. Fastest hook up (less than 5 minutes from entering). We (he, I and a friend of him) stay together for the rest of the night. He gets drunk. Such a situation can be treacherous: he could get completely drunk (unconscious) or his friends could take him home or he could decide to go home alone, but here everything goes alright and we go back to my room (and I almost have to carry him up the stairs to my room, where he immediately falls asleep). 24.09.2012 Monday Bangkok We wake up, my friend is fine and we have some horitzontal dancing. After showering and dressing, he gets a phone call which requires all his attention, which I find a bit rude. I follow him onto the street and up to Rama 4 road, where I just manage to get his phone number before he takes a taxi, still talking on the phone. I called him several times on the following days, but we did not meet again. I wonder if my room was below his standards or I am not his type or he just wanted sex. So I am suddenly left on my own. On check-out, I am charged 200 Baht joiner fee (I knew about the fee before, so no complaint here, this is the only time I paid a joiner fee). On a friend’s facebook I read a reference to Bang Krachao (บางกระเจ้า), which is a peninsula with forest (or now a real insula because it has canal at the smallest point with a bridge to the main land) in the Chao Phraya east of Sathorn district and belonging to Samut Prakan Province. Further research on the internet has shown that it is amazingly close to central Bangkok and easy to reach. http://frogmom.com/2009/04/bang-krachao-biking-through-bangkoks-green-lungs/ http://traveltobangkok.blogspot.de/2008/03/phra-pradaeng-lungs-of-bangkok.html http://suite101.com/article/bangkok---exploring-the-jungle-within-a401861 I walk along Soi Si Bam Phen (then somewhere along Na Ranong Road and Sunthon Kosa Road) to Kasemrat Road which leads to Khlong Toei Port. I come across Wat Klong Toei Nai, which has some interesting lamps. When you are at the entrance of Khlong Toei Port, turn right towards the wat and then walk along the wall until you reach the small port for cross river ferry. The port is labelled „S7“ (it looks like a southern extension of river boat, but there seems to be only service across the river, and not along the river). View to Sathorn: View to Klong Toei Port: Pier on the other side: On the other side, you can rent a bicycle (50 Baht for 1 hour, 100 Baht for one day), no passport or deposit is required. Not far from the pier is a public park, Srinakhon Khuean Kan Park (ศรีนครเขื่อนขันธ์). I remember this park from my very first visit to Bangkok, during which I went there on an organised bicycle tour. After driving around for about an hour I return before it gets dark and the hour I paid for is over. Elevated ways in the swamp: I did not manage to reach Bhumibol bridge (สะพานภูมิพล, also called Mega bridge), so I will be back for a full day. [update: Daytrip with Jellybean in April 2013, by bike to floating market and to Bhumibol bridge.] Panorama picture from internet: In the evening, I meet a farang friend in Soi 4 and at night I don’t want to go to bars again, so I visit a Thai friend at his place and stay there over night. To be continued. [1] If you don’t know whom I’m alluding to, his name starts with „beach“ and ends with „lover“.

I don't think so. Look around: Birma has a civil war going on for about 60 years, and decades of isolation. Laos and Vietnam were heavily bombed and destroyed during the Vietnam war. Cambodia had the Red Khmer. Only Malaysia is more stable and has comparable infrastructure. In fact, Thailand played the Vietnam war very well. They got several airports and highways built by the US and Pattaya started as a R&R camp. Other countries (Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - Red Khmer can be linked to Vietnam war) were heavily destroyed and their development retarded by decades.

(The under-age is your interpretation. I have no idea about the Vietnamese boy's age.) Painting already sold (and marked accordingly) = not available for purchase boy not offable (but undistinguishable from other boys) = not available for off It's about labelling. The was amongst the other boys. If he had been waiter or DJ, no problem. When I go to a gogo or host bar, I expect everyone who works there as boy to be offable. If a boy can't go with customers, what does he do in a brothel? It defies the purpose. He is in the wrong place. If you don't want to go with customers, go somewhere else! I go to bars to off boys. Just imagine you go to 7-11 and at the till they tell you that you can't but that article. How would you feel? (There is a not saying selling of alcohol is prohibited at certain times, but the Vietnamese boy was mixing with the others, so there was no way to know he isn't offable.) The case of a Farang who offed a boy in advance, but let him in the bar on stage for hours until he came to pick him up, was discussed long time ago. That behavior is not ok by my standards (this time the Farang's fault).

That was no pun, so I have to ask: "What's so funny?". What I wanted to say: I will not get the boy into my room (into bed, my hands into his pants, ...) (=happy end), I will simply forget him with time (=peter out).

I went there twice, trip reports pending. You can get there by ferry from pier at the wat next to Klong Toei port. On the Bang Krachao side, you can rent bicycles for 100 Baht per day (or 50 Baht per hour). Well worth visiting! It was a peninsula, but on the smallest part they dug a canal, so now it's an insula with one bridge to the mainland. It belongs to Samut Prakarn Province.

Update from my last visit in Soi Twilight (Monday 03.06.2013), with a Thai friend (who worked in Sunee as a waiter for years, but now changed profession to chef in Bangkok, because Sunee became boring!). We had a drink in Scorpion bar from 00:00 to 1:30. Vietnamese boy still working there, with new haircut less attractive (anyway, if there are any difficulties, I quickly lose interest, it's a miracle that this infatuation lasted that long). There will be no happy end, it will just peter out. I saw him massaging and touching and chatting with another customer (should have asked the customer in which language they talked!), later I saw him washing glasses in the sink. When we left, I asked the bartender if all boys are Thai. He confirmed (either a lie or bad memory). I then asked if all boys can go with customer. "Most boys can off, some cannot off, this one cannot" (pointing to the Vietnamese boy who was standing next to us). But there is blonde boy in Scorpion who appears more and more attractive to me. Regarding the underage. That has never been a problem in my limited experience. I had mamasans pointing out to me "Do you want him? He 17!". I have been googling in vain for a picture of a sale of paintings to illustrate my point. There is a corridor with paintings, people stay in front of the and look and discuss, and one painting has a big red ribbon with white script "SOLD". All other paintings are still for sale, this one has been sold and the buyer just didn't take is with him immediately. You see this picture, find it nice, but you are too late. Now without this ribbon, you stand in front, find the price ok, marvel at how it will look in your room, aks to buy and someone tells you "sorry, sold already". During the hours when sale of alcohol is prohibited in Thailand, staff at 7-11 lock the places where alcohol is kept, and there is a note. You don't have to put it in your shopping basket and go to the till to be told "sorry, cannot".

Can you give us some numbers, please? As far as I know, 1500 is the expected short time tip.

The Thai script on the T-Shirt says "May I get the Thai price, please?" I don't like tipping, if in doubt, I don't tip. When I tip (rarely), only because I think it's expected. Tipping is like right- and left-hand traffic: it doesn't add any value, it just makes things more complicated and opens the door to confusion, bewilderment, under- and overtipping and cheap charlies. (I wrote extensively about tipping on SGT a while ago, but don't remember where exactly so I can't copy or link to there.)

Just followed the link to Zanottis, and read this: Does this mean they allow smoking? (If yes: Disgusting!)

Whoever tries to get F1 to Thailand, I wish them failure! (A very rare sentiment of mine, but here it is appropriate.)

I had this in another bar. But now that you mention it, there was a mamasan in Classic who asked me how much I would tip the boy. I couldn't think of a polite way to say "Fuck you, that's not your business", so I said "1500 Baht" instead. But I have to look for a reply should this happen again.

I like pizza, and I have been to "Mama Dolores" on Soi Yen Akat (Sathorn, about 1 km from Malaysia Hotel) several times. It's a pizzeria (i.e. all they have on the menue is pizza) and it's completely open, no walls, just a roof, so you can see how they prepare your pizza.

I have no plans what to do with my body after death (apart from registering for organ donation when I studied in England three years ago). I prefer burial to cremation, place of burial (i.e. country) is not important to me. I want my body to be buried in a forest, in a bag, no coffin and and gravestone.

Weekend in Chanthaburi province Last year, I met two boys from Chanthaburi on Camfrog, we then proceeded to chat on facebook. One of them had plenty of excuses every time I wanted to go to Chanthaburi (“we cannot meet because I might get a lot of home work and I might be very busy the weekend”) which is an indication that he isn’t really interested. But the other one really wanted to meet me. I have never been to Chanthaburi, but last year BaoBao posted about Wat Kao Sukim (วัดเขาสุกิม) and Nam Tok Pliu National Park (น้ำตกพลิ้ว) which I kept in mind: http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2012/09/trip-report-pt-24-wat-khao-sukim.html http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2012/09/trip-report-pt-24a-wat-khao-sukim-2.html http://khunbaobao.blogspot.com/2012/04/nam-tok-phliu-national-park-getting.html My friend lives near the bus station in central Chanthaburi and said I could stay with him, which is a good start! Friday 07.06.2013 Bangkok to Chanthaburi I finish work early and take bus and BTS to Ekkamai bus station (arrive about 17:03). I go to the first counter with “Chanthaburi” and am in the process of purchasing a ticket, but then the lady mentions “small bus” and in addition, I ask about time of departure (18:00), so I back-pedal and take a look at the buses first. I do not want to wait an hour and then spend 4 or 5 hours crammed in a minibus. There is a big bus, I ask for time of departure (17:30) and name of operator (Chedchai เชิดชัย) and get a ticket at their booth (205 Baht). Now I finally understand the system used at Ekkamai bus station: several operators have their own booths, even if they have buses to the same destination. I used to go to the first booth that caught my eye, now I know that the person who sells tickets there will not tell you that there is a more comfortable (big bus versus minibus/van, my opinion) bus that leaves earlier (17:30 compared to 18:00) from a different operator. They all seem to have the same price. The bus leaves 17:30 in Ekkamai, a bottle of water and a custard cake are distributed for free to all passengers. We arrive in Chanthaburi bus station at 22:09. I call my friend, he comes to pick me up on his motorbike. Judging on his pictures on facebook, I was not sure if he is my type. Now in real life, I think he is rather not my type. We have dinner on the way back to his place (not that close to the bus station). His room is minuscule (about 10 sqm), but he pays 3000 Baht per month rent and even a joiner fee (He asked me for 200 Baht for staying with him over night). A very basic bathroom (no wash basin) is shared with others. The mattress in his room is small, but we manage to fit on it. I try to sleep, but my friend initiates hanky-panky, followed by rumpy-pumpy. I manage to fall asleep on that small, hard mattress after some adjustments (change the direction of the fan that I am not in the air flow). Saturday 08.06.2013 Wat Kao Sukim, fruit garden, Nam Tok Pliu waterfall About 7am, my friend wakes me up. His teacher is coming and I have to get out of his room and check into a hotel. He takes me there on his motorbike. The hotel’s name is Kiatkachorn Hotel (โรงแรมเกียรติขจร) on Ta Luang road, close to Bangkok Hospital. The cheapest rooms are all booked out, I get a room with aircon and hot water for 350 Baht per night. Excellent value for money! Large and clean room and bathroom in central location. The only disadvantages are a hard mattress and a window above the door to the floor, so there is light from the floor all night (I cannot sleep well with light). Pictures of my room (contrary to other’s hotel reports, my stuff is in the picture): Bathroom has the sink built in kind of tiled table. So I have enough horizontal space in table high to put my stuff on (contrary to Thai friends’ bathrooms, the sink has only bend surfaces so you can’t put anything there, the tray below the mirror is usually full, as is the cover of the toilet water reservoir, I have to put my stuff on the floor, where it gets wet and I have to bend down). I sleep some more hours and get up around 10am. I call my friend to join me for a daytrip to Wat Kao Sukim. On the internet, I found information about a minibus that drives past the Wat. http://www.kookgiggstour.com/wat-khao-sukim.html I ask my friend to take me to the market (Nam Pu) to inquire about minibuses, but there are no buses in that direction (he asked a driver, I asked a passenger). My friend takes me to another place where he had organized a driver (that was his original suggestion, but I had to check if there are public buses) for 450 Baht. My friend will be busy studying all the day, so I have to go alone. I thought he would be free for the weekend and join me, but I am prepared for sudden changes in plan and as he is not so much my type, I don’t mind travelling alone. Now that I can make myself understood in Thai, it even has some advantages. It takes 30 minutes (10:45 to 11:15) to drive to the wat. I stay there until 13:05 and have lunch at the market around the car park while my driver is waiting at the car park. Entrance area Main stairway to the wat (314 steps, you can take the train instead) View from a nearby pavilion onto the existent wat (right top, covered by trees) and the construction site of the new building (left top) This is what it will look like when complete (from the wat’s website): http://www.watkhaosukim.com/sara/images/p1.jpg[/img] (according to a poster I got there: Burapha Thitha Wiriya Pracha Samakkee pagoda 99 meters wide, 99 meters long, 119 meters high) There were no opportunities for me to get a picture of the wat area I visited. That’s the problem with travelling by car: we should have stopped 100 m back so I can take a picture, but now it’s too late. But they have several halls that are filled with handcrafts and other stuff: After the wat, we drive to Suan Sadetyat (สวนสะเด็ดยาด) a fruit plantation that is open to visitors from April to June. It is five minutes drive (13:35-13:40) from the wat, entry is 100 Baht all you can eat (and in my case: all you can carry, as I filled a bag with some mangosteen and rambutan and asked if it’s ok to take them with me). I learned about the plantation here: http://www.laemsing.com/14_wat_khao_sukim_laemsing.html The rambutan are spectacular, the branches bend under the weight of the fruit. This confirms a long-hold suspicion: these fruit simply grow on trees, just like apples back in Europe! Mangosteen is less spectacular (tree in front, no fruit visible on the picture). Tip: pick the fruit from the ground, they fell down because they are ripe. We leave 14:20. Too early to go to back to Chanthaburi, so I ask my driver if there is anything of touristic interest along the way back. We end with Nam Tok Pliu, which is not on the way, but I read about it before. We arrive there 15:15. My driver waits at the car park. Entry is 200 Baht for adult foreigner. There is a Nature Trail, which leads you around the and above the waterfall. After a few minutes, I am alone on the Nature Trail (which is the longer way and requires good condition). There were many shirtless boys, some of them even my type. If I had thought of the waterfall, I would have brought swimwear and a towel (which leaves the question: where to store my valuables?) and joined in. There are many fish, you can feed them beans. The waterfall is on top of my list of places to visit if I go again. Back to my hotel (17:15-17:45). The deal was just Wat Kao Sukim, which I then extended to the fruit plantation and the waterfall. So I ask the driver how much it is for all together: 900 Baht. That’s a price I am happy to pay. I even consider to do this again (hire a driver, in this case for 7 hours and about 100 km drive) elsewhere when no public transport is available. I have a shower and change clothes and call my friend to join me for dinner at the Fruit Fun Festival with night market. He is still busy, but will call me when he is at the festival/market. After two hours, I mentally switch from (“I am here waiting for a friend” to “I am here alone and we can go to my hotel room if you want” for the case I should meet a cute boy who is interested in me – I didn’t, but at least I had a plan). My friend calls about 11pm, I am preparing to go home, so no meeting tonight. On my way back, I discover a bus station diagonally opposite my hotel. (http://pornnipatour.com/ in Thai: พรนิภาทัวร) They have buses to Ekkamai and Mor Chit, this will save me 10 minutes’ walk to the main bus station. Sunday 09.06.2013 Chanthaburi town, back to Bangkok I get up and check out (instead of paying 50 Baht per hour for late check out after 12 pm) and leave my luggage at the reception. For economic use of time, I spend most of the day walking through Chanthaburi (without paying for another night). Fruit play an important part in the province, they have statues and fountains dedicated to them: King Taksin monument in the center of a peninsular in a lake in the center of Chanthaburi. Finally I reach the cathedral (the largest in Thailand, the spires were removed during WWII and were replaced in 2009 http://www.thai-blogs.com/2009/07/12/cathedral-in-chanthaburi/): Return by bus uneventful, leave Chanthaburi 16:33, arrive in Mor Chit 21:18. Cost for the entire trip (from my room back to my room): 2694 Baht. The weather was good, I didn’t get into rain, there were clouds on the sky, nonetheless I got a very weak sunburn (can’t feel it, but skin looks a bit reddish on arms and if I press my skin, I get a light spot). My friend is another addition to my long list of Thai who are just not my type. Apart from that, no complaints: fluent in written and spoken English, good manners, efficient communication (apart from not being free on the weekend), on time, in the course of getting an education.

Why is everyone thinking about ashes? I am decades away from death (at least I hope so), but if I die, I want to be buried in a forest. No grave, no flowers, no raking of the sand around my grave.

No joke. The sentence before was "motorsport", so I mean (motor)boat race. My concern is about noise and pollution (oil, exhaust fumes), so if you can contruct a motor that makes no noise and needs no oil or fuel, go on, you have my support! Sailing, on the other hand, is a laudable activity.

What kind of drink did you have in X-Boys and Classic? I am pretty sure the drinks were 300 when I was there not long ago. I had orange juice, as far as I remember.

(I have read only part of the thread, but still want to add my opionion.) I think all motorsport is utter nonsense and would immediately abolish it if I had the power. That includes F1, motorcycle race, boat race. Pollution and noise! Around the Grand Palace? Then I won't be able to go there to look for street hookers any more!

I think I could eat everything that looks and smells acceptable (including dogs, cats, snakes), as long as it is raised and killed by animal right standards and if someone else eats it.