daydreamer

@vinapu, do you travel from the Zing on Thappraya Road to either Pattaya or Jomtien by songtaew? That would be easy during the slower season, however, during high season, many songtaews are packed full, with no room. You might watch more than a dozen trucks pass by before there is one with open space. About twenty years ago, I stayed at Mr Mac's Hotel, and songtaew travel was a daily issue. I know that now we have Bolt and Grab, but that seems too much trouble for every time you step out of the hotel.

That list entitled "Biggest Spending Tourists in Thailand" looks questionable. At $260 a day (8,320 baht), that seems kind of low for the average of the biggest spenders by country. I guess they didn't look at either gay or straight tourists who frequent the nightlife, and partake in offing boys (or bar fining bar girls), or indulging in happy ending massages. I know I certainly spend more that amount per day when I'm in Bangkok. Just my non-luxury Bangkok hotel room alone would be at least one third of that $260, if not more. I suspect there are quite a few board members that exceed that daily spend budget when visiting Bangkok as a tourist. After the cost of a hotel room, meals, drinks in bars, off fees or massage parlor fees, tips, shopping, transportation, etc, I would have to cut back to spend only $260 per day in total. Given that those high rollers on that list (except Hong Kong and Brunei) are from Middle Eastern countries, I don't believe they are imbibing in alcohol, and buying 500 baht drinks in boy bars. It looks like Thai Alpha, the maker of this list is using some skewed data. Perhaps they meant to say how much tourists from those countries spend per day in Siam Paragon Mall. We talk about how expensive it is to off certain boys such as models. Our straight brothers in most cases are paying much higher prices to "bar fine" women from bars than we pay to "off" boys. According to an internet search, for straight bars: A "bar fine" is the fee paid directly to the venue to compensate the establishment for allowing a hostess, dancer, or model to leave her shift early. It does not include the separate tips or fees negotiated independently with the companion. Standard Beer Bars / Patpong: Fines generally stay on the lower end, hovering between 700 THB and 1,200 THB. Soi Cowboy & Nana Plaza: Average Go-Go bar fines sit firmly between 1,000 THB and 2,500 THB. Top-tier, highly popular clubs frequently charge premium rates of 3,000 THB to 4,000 THB, especially earlier in the evening.

Since we know @alexa800 is not a real person, but is a robot, I asked the questions to see what her responses would be. The same as before in other threads, she does not respond to questions.

Alexa, that must have been thrilling for you. Did you operate the Cessna under VFR or IFR? Since you are located within the 60 nautical mile radius of Washington DC, did you complete the mandatory FAA Special Awareness Training before your flight?

Agreed. It seems your recent post above made it okay, so there was likely an issue that caused your previous post from one month ago to not show up on the board. You can ask @TotallyOz, he is the site admin. You can send him a PM. Just go to Messages (envelope icon) at the top of every page after you log in, and ask him.

Tim is a woman's name in Thailand, not used by men. Tim's is located just north of The Avenue Mall on Second Road.

Right, Up2 bar was on Rama IV, not far from the Rama IV end of Soi Twilight. It was a fairly large bar, but unfortunately, I believe the out of the way location caused its demise.

Yes, I remember that thread. @abidismaili and I identified @vinapu's first bar visited, named Up2. I believe Twilight was the only bar in that location in 1991, at the beginning of the soi. just across Surawong from Barbiery Bar. I remember being in Barbiery, and seeing a prolific poster on one of the Thailand gay forums that some may remember named David in Pattaya. He was taking photos of the beautifully body painted dancers in Barbiery to post on a gay Thailand forum, as he often did with his photos. I don't recall which forum David posted on. The camera David was using was one of the first Sony digital cameras, one that used a 3.5 inch floppy disk, before Sony developed a memory stick. The camera was a Sony Mavica. Hey, don't we have a forum member named @Mavica ?

Ladyboy lip-syncing competition?

Thanks for your post, @floridarob (I've run out of "likes" for a 24 hour period). I believe Google AI is assuming incorrect in that they are using a 5 day workweek (22-day working month) to establish the wages. In many countries such as Thailand, workers in many lower paid jobs have only one day off per week.

Yes, another gem used in such situations is "He's (or she's) in a better place". Really? I'd sure as hell rather be alive than stuffed in a box and be put on public view. I can't think of many worse places to be than inside a casket.

And don't get me started about the very common and distasteful reply of "No problem" used so frequently in the US today in response to "Thank you".

You are correct. The term "how are you?" used nowadays is basically equivalent to "hello", unless asked of someone close to you (family, spouse, lover, etc). Then a more meaningful and genuine reply would be expected. People are indifferent to the term, they ask the question, but then don't expect or want to hear an honest answer. "Good thanks" or "I'm okay" is the more common reply. "Fine, thank you" would be a very polite reply today in the US.

It's actually more dismal than that. The average 7-Eleven worker in Thailand works 10 hour shifts, 6 days a week for that small daily wage. Amazing that they can put up with what must be a stressful job for 60 hours per week. I cringe when I see a tourist being rude to the cashiers in 7-Eleven.

Thanks, that explains it. I had suspected it might have been a comprehension deficit issue.

Thanks. You're fortunate that he is actually concerned about your health. He is a definite keeper.

From most current reports of the low season, I'm leaning toward starving, and trying to maximize his tips.

I agree with both sides. However, if I were offered a sure tip and a meal and drinks all paid for, I think I would grab the sure thing instead of holding out for a larger tip that may never come. Since Rich Asian guy offs many boys together, they get to enjoy the company of other boys, not just the one customer.

@jason1975, question for you - You said somewhere in your posts that you smoke Vietnamese cigarettes when in Thailand. Since your guy doesn't smoke, has he ever mentioned your smoking, or do you not smoke cigarettes when with him? Just curious, because many people have very strong opinions about smoking, and being around smokers. You may have mentioned this in one of your posts, and I missed it. I hope I'm not prying, I mean no offense, just following the posts about smoking, as many boys do smoke cigarettes.

Thank you for your critique of my post, however nowhere did I say the two were the same. I said "another page from the same playbook". I was merely pointing to the similarities of companies soliciting customer donations, and then turning around and presenting the accumulated donations to the organizations in their own name. I think most readers were able to distinguish the difference.

1,000 baht, is it fair to the boy? It deprives him of an off with the potential for a larger tip for short or long time with another customer. But it's anyone's guess if the boy would have been offed, if Rich Asian guy hadn't included him in the entourage. Take the 1k and go to dinner and drinking, or hold out for a possible larger tip??

I totally agree. It's another page from the same playbook that some stores in the US use. It is frustrating with cashiers in the US constantly asking if you would like to donate to one cause or other while you are paying for your purchases. After I told a store cashier "no" to her request the other day, she then went on to beg for a donation to a second cause. Come on, enough already!!. These businesses pester their customers, collect all the donations, and then present a six foot-long giant sized check for the total amount to the charity or organization during a publicity session, as if the funds were coming from them, instead of the actual donors. Is this done so the business can claim the large "donation" as a tax deduction?........

Surawong Restaurant is reasonably priced, and it's open until 4:00 AM daily. That makes it another option to Took Lae Dee Restaurant in Foodland for a late night meal and drink. It is directly across Surawong Road from the Amara Hotel.

The TMOT series was popular in its day, evident in the fact that seven editions were published and sold. No doubt the vast majority of gay tourists in the 1990's did not venture further than Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Phuket, however those locations were thoroughly detailed in the applicable sections, so TMOT did benefit gay businesses in those areas. The maps were excellent, and the city listings also included recommended hotels in each area. Certainly the planning of many trips to Thailand was assisted by the coverage provided in this book, useful both before gay tourists landed at Don Mueang Airport, and small enough to be carried while in Thailand. In the days before the Thailand gay websites began on the internet, TMOT was the most complete and detailed resource available.

The listings were extensive, however unlike the yellow pages, they were an integral part of the book, not paid ads. There were a very few paid ads in the book, but less than 20. This provided fair and unbiased coverage to every business. Along with the business name and address in Thai script, phone numbers, operating hours, and a short description, it was a valuable resource for many people. Maybe TMOT didn't entice visitors to other cities, but it was a very useful tool for those who do travel to areas of Thailand outside of Bangkok and Pattaya. I certainly used the listings in TMOT to locate businesses in Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen, etc.