March 2026 trip Thailand & Cambodia

[emiel1981]

Never had such a stressful start to a holiday... While I was on the train to the airport (the travel time from my home to the airport is over two hours), I saw that the plane that was supposed to fly me from Amsterdam to Doha was still in Doha. According to Qatar Airways, the delay would be about five hours. With a three-hour layover in Doha for my flight to Bangkok, I was already getting a bit grumpy. I wouldn't make that connection. But the closer I got to the airport, the more negative the news became. Missile attacks in Doha and the surrounding region. Check-in wasn't open yet at the scheduled time. I had to come back in an hour because there was still no news about whether the flight would even go ahead. And the delay had now increased to eight hours. Just before the hour was up, I received an email from Qatar Airways. My flight had indeed been canceled. My gut feeling told me I had to act quickly and find an alternative flight. Because many people will do that. I managed to book the last seat on a direct KLM flight at a reasonable price. Departure in about three hours. Perfect.  Go straight to check in.

In the past, I always avoided direct flights from Europe to Bangkok. Sitting on a plane for twelve hours straight seemed like a real nightmare. And indeed, it was twelve long hours. Economy class. There was plenty of legroom, and the food tasted good. But still. Eventually, I couldn't quite figure out how to sit anymore. I started to get a bit of back pain. One advantage: despite the departure time being later than my original flight with Qatar, I arrived in Bangkok hours earlier because it was a direct flight.

Arrival in Bangkok went very smoothly. There were no lines at all at immigration. I was able to walk straight through. And by the time I'd gotten money from the ATM and purchased a SIM card, my suitcase was already on the conveyor belt. I reached Silom by taxi (fixed 600baht including toll) without any traffic jams. And when I tried to check in at Le Méridien around noon, they already had a room available for me. Wonderful. A bit of positivity after a stressful start to the day.

A short nap turned into a few hours' sleep. And even after that, I felt tired. Of course, I'd turned on Grindr in the meantime. Among others, a muscular freelance masseur showed up. After work as a personal trainer, he'd be able to come by at 10:30 p.m. But whether I'd still be up for it, as tired as I felt...

To Sarica restaurant on Surawong Road for the cashew chicken famous on this forum. Always a good start to a stay in Thailand. Tasted delicious again. As always. By now it was around 9 p.m., and I decided to stroll around the Patpong night market and Soi 2. I was struck by how quiet the streets were there. The touts, of course, tried to get me into the various boy bars. But I wasn't in the mood tonight. Still tired. After a stop at 7-Eleven, I went back to my hotel room. Where I did feel a certain lust. So I decided to call in that freelance masseur after all. Of course, I couldn't risk some forum members making comments like "How can you waste your first night like that?" if I didn't invite a boy. Haha.

Well... my first evening ended up being anything but a waste. The guy spoke good English, so we had a nice conversation. The massage was good. And then the extras... Wow. He was a great blowjob guy and a willing bottom. It's always wonderful when you see someone going all out and (seems to?) enjoying it too. An active bottom whose movements stimulate your arousal, rather than one who just lies still. A nice welcome back to Bangkok for me! And for your reference, below is a picture of his body.

[jason1975]

I am sure he enjoyed your room at Le Meridien! Welcome back to Bangkok! Quick thinking of your part to get on another flight!

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

I am sure he enjoyed your room at Le Meridien! Welcome back to Bangkok! Quick thinking of your part to get on another flight!

Very quick indeed! As we know, Qatar Airlines are no good at dealing with crises, etc.

[hank75]

Congratulations on finding a fast alternative to your flight, and all the pieces of good luck that followed: room ready, great freelancer. May the rest of your trip continue on this note. I can imagine your relief and exhilaration on arriving smoothly with no further interruptions.

I flew out of Suvarnabhumi on Sunday and there was a sad line up of lonely planes stranded in the middle of the air field: Qatar and Etihad being the most numerous, followed by Gulf Air, El Al Israel and AirArabia. 

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, emiel1981 said:

I couldn't risk some forum members making comments like "How can you waste your first night like that?" if I didn't invite a boy. Haha.

 

of course , I'd be first, in fact reading your text I was already mentally preparing such comment  but next sentence proved it obsolete to my great relief.

Welcome to paradise !

for me first day  there brings such adrenaline boost that no matter how tired I'm and believe me , your 12 hours is just walk in the park,  I'm looking for an action right away. Of course price for that is jet lag tormenting me for days on

[Foolish]

Wow the freelancer has a great body! It's worth all the stress you had to get to Bkk lol. Have a great trip!

[floridarob]

10 hours ago, vinapu said:

of course , I'd be first, in fact reading your text I was already mentally preparing such comment 

EVERY single person on this message board, including the lurkers, knew this, as soon as we read that sentence, who he was talking about 😝

[emiel1981]

16 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Qatar Airlines are no good at dealing with crises, etc.

Looks like it. I completely understand that in these circumstances, it's impossible to predict what will happen. When flights will resume. Cancellations will occur. But if they say you can cancel for free, make sure it's possible. Through Manage Booking, you'll simply be charged a cancellation fee instead of a full refund. I'll wait patiently and contact them later. Hopefully, when their customer service has calmed down a bit.

12 hours ago, vinapu said:

in fact reading your text I was already mentally preparing such comment 

Off course you did. Sometimes when I write something I can predict your reaction to it. 

[emiel1981]

On my second day, the afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool at Le Méridien Hotel. It was a wonderful place. The water was just the right temperature for me. It cools you down a bit when you step in, but it doesn't feel cold.

I had dinner at Pepper Lunch. They have several locations in Bangkok, including the Silom Complex. I don't think I've ever read about it on the forum. It's simple but delicious food, in my opinion. Some might consider it a fast-food restaurant, but I really like the beef pepper rice. Especially in terms of value for money. For less than 10 euros, I had the jumbo (large) beef pepper rice with an iced tea.

Meanwhile, a British guy had contacted me on Grindr. He was very tired, stayed in his hotel room, and was looking for someone to suck off. It would be rude not to come over, right? And he kept his word. He sucked really well. And was very good kisser. He also looked quiet good. See pic below. He was staying at the Amara Hotel, which immediately gave me the opportunity to check out their rooms. I'd considered booking a room there, and after seeing their room, I definitely would. My date had a room with a bath. The bath is in front of a large window, giving you a beautiful view of the city while soaking in it.

Satisfied, I then strolled around Silom. Soi 2 was just as quiet as yesterday. I was worried there would be hardly anyone in the bars. But when I went into Freshboy, it was about 75% full, and more people came in after me. By the time the second round of shows started, it was almost completely full. The show consisted of five parts (including two ladyboy lip-syncs, a shower show, an erotic dance, and, of course, a big dick show—banging their poles against an iron pole). Because of the show was not too long, it didn't much time for the guys with their number tags to reappear on stage. Nice. A good selection of guys were there that night. What I did find strange was that when I ordered a drink, I didn't get the bill in a jar; I had to pay immediately. That was new to me. I noticed that for some customers, bills were put together in a jar, but for others, like me, they weren't. I have no idea why they made that distinction. And I found it rather unpleasant. I only ordered one drink this time, but if you order multiple drinks or boy drinks, are you expected to tip every time? Is this a new way to extort extra tips?

When the customer next to me decided to take a boy back to his hotel, I noticed that the boy discreetly slipped a small piece of paper to the ladyboy/mamasan. The ladyboy who's always there and hosts the bar. I thought, maybe that's the receipt the boys get when a customer orders a drink for them, and with that receipt, the boy can get his tip for that drink from the bar? And because mamasan arranged the customer for this boy, does mamasan get this drink tip from the boy?

I also popped into Goodboy where a show was happening. Not many customers. Mamasan also said it was a quiet evening and kept begging for a drink a bit too long, which I didn't give. I did give her a tip at the end, though, as I almost always do. One of the show numbers was a kinky performance by two guys hitting each other with a whip. They came through the audience at the end and lingered near me. One was good-looking and gave me a good vibe and attention. I decided to buy him a drink. There was a lot of touching and kissing. His English was also good, so we could chat a bit. He's from Laos. During the show, I thought there weren't many customers, but there weren't many guys either. But when the show was over, the guys suddenly appeared from somewhere (I have no idea where, because they weren't outside when I went in), and the stage was full. Just like the upstairs neighbors of Freshboy, there was a good selection of guys. What I did find a bit disappointing was that two customers were smoking in the bar. Ugh.

What struck me during my previous visits to Goodboy, and again now, is how engaging the guys are. They genuinely flirt with you and don't shy away from eye contact and "other kinds of interaction" in the bar.

It was a fun evening!

[ichigo]

5 hours ago, emiel1981 said:

I had dinner at Pepper Lunch. They have several locations in Bangkok, including the Silom Complex. I don't think I've ever read about it on the forum. It's simple but delicious food, in my opinion. Some might consider it a fast-food restaurant, but I really like the beef pepper rice. Especially in terms of value for money. For less than 10 euros, I had the jumbo (large) beef pepper rice with an iced tea.

I also have had Pepper Lunch at Silom Complex  

[thaiophilus]

On 3/3/2026 at 12:01 PM, Keithambrose said:

Very quick indeed! As we know, Qatar Airlines are no good at dealing with crises, etc.

To be fair, most airline "crises" don't involve ballistic missiles.

[emiel1981]

2 hours ago, thaiophilus said:

To be fair, most airline "crises" don't involve ballistic missiles.

Agree. So I don't complain about cancelled flights or uncertainty. But when you cancel a flight, make it easy to request a full refund. Still now, if I try to cancel the booking it's charging me a cancelation fee! While the flight is officially cancelled also in the systeem. So something goes wrong. And I read online everybody is having this problem. Qatar Airways should have this cleared by now somehow with IT. 

[emiel1981]

Makha Bucha Day (sorry I'm a bit behind with trip report). As always, there's a 24-hour alcohol ban. So the bars are closed. It's strange to walk down the boy bar street with all the lights off. The lady bars on the night market street were open, by the way. Why are the ping-pong shows allowed to open but the boy bars aren't? It probably has something to do with a different type of license (tourist entertainment instead of a bar) or the contents of brown envelopes... Silom Soi 4 was also mostly dark. Only G's restaurant was open, and it looked like Banana Bar was too? I didn't check further, but from a distance the outdoor lights appeared to be on, including the show times.

Since the bars are closed today, I thought this would be the perfect day to meet up with my regular. However, an unplanned meeting on his part ruined those plans. Tomorrow's a second chance. Should I just look for someone else on the apps today? Oh well. I could easily go a day without a guy. I know. I should be ashamed of it. Haha

I noticed I was feeling a bit anxious about my return trip in just under three weeks. What would the situation in the Middle East be like then? A lot can happen in three weeks. Chances are flights will be back up and running then. But you don't want to be stranded in Doha while unrest breaks out again. My return flight has a long layover, including an overnight stay at the airport hotel. I saw that alternative (direct) flights on my planned departure date were already costing over €2,000 one-way. That made me even more anxious. I found a flight from Bangkok to London with Eva Air for around €700. It can be canceled for a €150 fee. To get through the rest of my holiday relaxed, knowing I have an alternative travel plan via London, I booked this ticket. If I don't need it after all, it will have cost me €150. And that's worth the peace of mind.

And is was good I did book that flight as a precaution. As for more destinations in meantime ticketprices went up. 

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, emiel1981 said:

...I was feeling about my return trip in just under three weeks. What would the situation in the Middle East be like then? A lot can happen in three weeks. Chances are flights will be back up and running then.

It's hard to say...the news and predictions we've been getting are very different from what the US mainstream talking heads have been feeding Middle America, mainly that this will be a swift victory for the Americans and their Israeli masters and that their troops have been welcomed and have successfully "liberated" the Iranians. Even Trump has admitted that this could be a drawn out war. Iran is not Venezuela. What Trump and Bebe have been successful at is sowing the seeds of vengeance in yet another generation of Iranians who will seek to avenge the death of their child, father, mother, lover or friend. 

I've already started preparing aid packages for the Iranians with our aid missions here - we've already had a lot of practice with the Palestinians in the last two-and-a-half years. Our main worry is that the US and Israel will again use starvation as a weapon of war and block aid from coming in. Meanwhile we do what we can.

Apologies for going out of topic. Enjoy the rest of your holiday in Thailand and let us know what you think of Melaka. Remember to have a bowl cendol when you're there - it's a great thirst quencher in this hot and humid weather. I've attached a pic for you. It's a lot tastier than it looks - I promise! Keep safe. ✌️