19 minutes ago, jimmie50 said:

Be aware when you talk about football anywhere outside of the US the rest of the world is talking about soccer. Even in sports bars you will need to be specific and ask for 'American football' or they will put on a soccer game or refer you to a soccer game. lol. Cam goes to play sports with friends in the evenings. He is always playing volleyball or, in his words, 'football'. In American English he is talking soccer. I am constantly being corrected by him when I say...oh, you mean soccer. He replies, no...football. LOL.

LOL yeah well aware. Yes this is my first Thailand visit. But I've been to over 20 countries. :) I think the US is the only country that calls our version of football... football.

When I'm in Colombia, I always go to at least one game. There's nothing anywhere in the world like a soccer game's energy in countries like that. In the US, a fan chant might pick up for 30 seconds. In games there, they'll start singing before the game begins and it doesn't stop until after the final whistle. It's wild. I imagine most here aren't into sports but even still, you should go to a game if you ever travel to a spot where soccer/football is big. You can't match that energy in any sport in the US college or pro. Plus the guys in attendance are hot... I figure that'll probably be a bigger selling point on this board. :-)

19 hours ago, jimmie50 said:

He enjoys playing sports with his friends when not working...but it is always after 5pm when they play. Never in the heat of the day.

I'd have thought the more obvious explanation would be them keeping to their workday circadian rhythm even on non-workdays. The working boys don't normally get home till morning after spending time with their clients and hanging out with their friends, then go to bed and don't get up till the late afternoon. And you tend to sleep in more when you've been drinking, no? Moreover, I can't imagine it'd be easy to keep adjusting your circadian rhythm when you've only got one or two off days a week.

23 minutes ago, mauRICE said:

They don't normally get home till morning after spending time with their clients and hanging out with their friends after, go to bed and get up till the late afternoon.

That was life in Bangkok, and he did not have a group of friends there who would play sports. I was referring to life now in Cambodia...and the work I meant was the construction work they are doing at the family home. His schedule at home is totally different from what it was in Bangkok working at the club. At home he is up around 6:30am and they usually are starting to work by 7am. They will take breaks throughout the day, but in general they finish working for the day around 4pm. He will shower and then meet his friends at a nearby field where they play sports. They maybe play for around 90 minutes. Sometimes they will sit around after the game talking and drink a beer, but he is almost always home by 7pm. So very different from what his life was like in Bangkok. And there is always family around visiting. He loves having fun with the nieces and nephews. His friends are actual friends he has known and grown up with and people he says he can genuinely count on if he ever needed anything. Just like he is helping his friend out by paying him to help with the fence project at the moment. While the Cambodian group of guys back in Bangkok do refer to each other as 'friends', Cam says they are not true friends but merely acquaintances.

It is interesting to me the influence the environment and his peers have on him and the difference between his life in Bangkok and his life back home in Cambodia. I refer to it as the nature of the beast, so to speak. Working at the club, drinking with customers, and hanging out with his Cambodian buddies...they were always drinking and quite heavily...not just beer, but lots of hard liquor nightly. He would also smoke (vape) in Bangkok. Back at home, when he is hanging out with his lifelong friends they may have one or two beers but it is not an every day occurrence and never any late nights. Even when family comes to visit, they only drink beer and then it is only one or two at the most. He has not smoked since he has been back home. I suppose it is a perfect example of how peer pressure or our environment influences what we do.

Ohh I see, fair enough. Thanks for the clarification.

9 minutes ago, jimmie50 said:

That was life in Bangkok, and he did not have a group of friends there who would play sports. I was referring to life now in Cambodia...

While the Cambodian group of guys back in Bangkok do refer to each other as 'friends', Cam says they are not true friends but merely acquaintances.

Of course. And besides yourself, who will he be playing with when he moves to Battambang? Friends, acquaintances or...?

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Adapting and appreciating the island vibes a bit more tonight.

copy_FDF633A2-A38A-4AE6-9D78-285387853308.mov

Nice! I always appreciate such skill and showmanship. Does this happen at the beach every night?

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

LOL yeah well aware. Yes this is my first Thailand visit. But I've been to over 20 countries. :) I think the US is the only country that calls our version of football... football.

When I'm in Colombia, I always go to at least one game. There's nothing anywhere in the world like a soccer game's energy in countries like that. In the US, a fan chant might pick up for 30 seconds. In games there, they'll start singing before the game begins and it doesn't stop until after the final whistle. It's wild. I imagine most here aren't into sports but even still, you should go to a game if you ever travel to a spot where soccer/football is big. You can't match that energy in any sport in the US college or pro. Plus the guys in attendance are hot... I figure that'll probably be a bigger selling point on this board. :-)

Among the ASEAN countries, the fans most passionate about football are the Vietnamese and Indonesians.

In the recent ASEAN Cup final first match between Thailand and Vietnam held in Bangkok, the noise made by the minority Vietnam fans was louder than the Thais in their own stadium.

Most of the Vietnam fans are currently working in Bangkok plus a small group of Ultras from Vietnam who travel with the Vietnam football team for away matches.

In the bars, if there is a football match where Vietnam is playing, the guys will watch the match on their handphones during their break time when they stepped down from the stage.

1 hour ago, jimmie50 said:

His schedule at home is totally different from what it was in Bangkok working at the club. At home he is up around 6:30am and they usually are starting to work by 7am. They will take breaks throughout the day, but in general they finish working for the day around 4pm. He will shower and then meet his friends at a nearby field where they play sports. They maybe play for around 90 minutes. Sometimes they will sit around after the game talking and drink a beer, but he is almost always home by 7pm. So very different from what his life was like in Bangkok. And there is always family around visiting. He loves having fun with the nieces and nephews. His friends are actual friends he has known and grown up with and people he says he can genuinely count on if he ever needed anything. Just like he is helping his friend out by paying him to help with the fence project at the moment.

This same lifestyle of hard work, sports, true friends and close family that Cam so loves and adores will soon be your priorities as well, correct?

2 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Of course. And besides yourself, who will he be playing with when he moves to Battambang? Friends, acquaintances or...?

Good question...not a clue, although he does have family there and also some friends. There are a couple of cousins his age he is close to...perhaps some of them?!? Not sure what either of us will be doing once there in regards to staying busy and interacting with others. Definitely will be a learning experience.

1 hour ago, ToTheCore said:

This same lifestyle of hard work, sports, true friends and close family that Cam so loves and adores will soon be your priorities as well, correct?

Correct. It will be interesting for sure...as well as a challenge. Am I up for it...only time will tell.

I haven't been to Koh Samui in years. When I went, I took a boy from Saphan Kwai, from one of the small bars off Pradipat Road. I researched Koh Samui before my trip, and it looked like slim pickings for boys on the island, so I traveled with a Bangkok boy.

If I'm going anywhere outside of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or Pattaya, I usually find a boy to travel with me. I don't fly all the way to Thailand to sit on the beach alone, I can do that at home.

If you can make it to Chaweng, there's a large club called the Green Mango. I just looked it up, Green Mango is still open, it's been there for more than 25 years. It has a capacity of 1,000 persons, so maybe you can find someone there to hook up with, and travel to pig island with.

On the same side soi, on the right side, before the Green Mango there used to be a small gay bar, I don't know if it's still open. If it is, you can't miss the rainbow flag on the soi. Another option may be to off a boy long time from a massage place in Chaweng on a 24 hour basis. Certainly there has to be a few boys in all those massage shops? I've done that several times. The massage boys like the steady income, and the time off from the shop. All the boys have motorbikes, so that would also solve your transportation issue on the island. Good luck. I'm sure you'll find some company to enjoy the island life with.

BTW, what part of Chiang Mai will you be staying in? It's easy to get around in CM, the red songtaews travel all over the city, and there's Grab and Bolt.

I hear farang complain about the songtaews in CM charging 30 baht, but unlike the blue ones in Pattaya that run on fixed routes, the trucks in CM act as shared taxis, there are no fixed routes, you just tell the driver where you're going, and jump on, flat fee of 30 baht, to your exact destination. Try that in Pattaya or Jomtien, and it will be 100+ baht if you declare your destination to the driver.

https://www.greenmangoclub.com/

On 9/9/2026 at 6:39 PM, jimmie50 said:

Westerners would be out there in the heat of the day playing volleyball with shirts off and wearing shorts...minimal clothing to enjoy the sun and get the tan.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

3 hours ago, daydreamer said:

If you can make it to Chaweng, there's a large club called the Green Mango. I just looked it up, Green Mango is still open, it's been there for more than 25 years. It has a capacity of 1,000 persons, so maybe you can find someone there to hook up with, and travel to pig island with.

...BTW, what part of Chiang Mai will you be staying in? It's easy to get around in CM, the red songtaews travel all over the city, and there's Grab and Bolt.

Going to head up to Chaweng this afternoon and might stay the night instead of coming back to Lamai. I do like the area I picked... it's definitely nicer from what I've read. But after a couple days of Lamai peace and beach life, I'm ready to liven things up again a bit. Not in need of bedroom fun, but if I find it, splendid. :) I think I'm still a little worn out in that department from the Bangkok leg of the trip. This has turned into a nice reset. It was dull to me at first, but I think that night on the beach with the fire show while the waves crashed against the shore chilled me out.

In Chiang Mai, I found an Airbnb with great reviews near "The Grumpy Old Men : My Beer Friend Taproom." Sounds like my kinda place. I originally booked a place in the northwest part of CM that's known as the digital nomad neighborhood. Looks like the gay life is on the north central side. But yeah like I've said in previous posts, being near the gay stuff isn't all that crucial to me. If I want to have some fun up there, Grab has worked great. When I get to Chiang Mai, the mission is more to see what daily life is like. I'll probably do a few touristy things... the elephant sanctuaries and a temple or two... but primarily, I'm going to wander around the various neighborhoods and take a few apartment tours.

Oh and someone asked (snark-ily) who the YouTuber who moved to Samui was. He came up in my feed this morning... Chris from "Retired Working For You." He's been doing travel vlogs for years, mostly in Bangkok. His content is specifically geared to guys my age (50ish) who are looking to retire now vs waiting until their 70s... how to budget, acquire the right visa, choose medical coverage, etc. He does do travel stuff too like good restaurants and so forth. But the content about semi-retiring and making the move now is what kept me hooked back in March when I booked all this. He lived in Bangkok for years and eventually moved to Koh Samui with his family.

The other YouTuber I watch frequently is Sam Tyler. Lots of Bangkok specific content... spas, food, shopping. But tbh 90% of time I watch his stuff because he's a cuter, younger Jesse McCartney... with a British accent.

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Not in need of bedroom fun

Use it or lose it..... keep this in mind, you're not a kid anymore, lol

Large, reputable medical studies—including a landmark 18-year study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health—have found a link between frequent ejaculation and a lower risk of prostate cancer. [1]

• The research showed that men who ejaculated 21 or more times per month had about a 20% lower risk of developing prostate cancer compared to men who ejaculated only 4 to 7 times a month. [1, 2]

• The "Pipe-Clearing" Theory: Scientists believe that regular ejaculation helps by flushing out potentially harmful toxins or carcinogens that might otherwise build up in the prostate tissue over time. [1, 2]

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

The other YouTuber I watch frequently is Sam Tyler. Lots of Bangkok specific content... spas, food, shopping. But tbh 90% of time I watch his stuff because he's a cuter, younger Jesse McCartney... with a British accent.

I give him the odd 30 seconds here and there because of how earnest he is but I don’t find his content great…too many sponsored reviews and his “the best in Bangkok” are not the best, neither are his “hidden gems” hidden nor gems but the usual places covered by foreign influencers.

Yeah if I could get Chris' content with Sam's delivery... perfect YouTube channel.

Sure, Bangkok might have the go-go bars and massage parlors. But they don’t have this. This truck is without a doubt, my favorite thing in Koh Samui. Every time it goes by my day gets 10x better.

Got to Chaweng today. Had a great grilled chicken and pasta lunch at Nonna. Relaxed a bit by the pool at Ark. I popped by Pride but it was early so it was still quiet.

Chaweng was nice to visit, but no regrets on my location where I’m staying. Chaweng is definitely tourist central. It'd be nice for a night or two. Thought about staying tonight but nah. And btw... the Grindr options were no better lol. So toss that theory. :)

Didn't go to the Muay Thai matches after all. Wasn't feeling it. They seem to have events every other night here so might do one of those.

Almost went with a songthaew ride, but they were charging 200 baht and Grab was only 380. I figured 200 was the price because of my pasty complexion. But then one songthaew after another quoted the same price. I'm a fan of quick rides and air conditioning so 180 baht more was more than worth it. A Grab moto costs about 150 baht. If it was guaranteed the driver would be hot, maybe. :-P

Random thoughts for today...
- It's weird that even good looking people wear Crocs here. If you wear them in public in the US, you've clearly given up.
- I love that Coke Zero is available everywhere. Diet Coke sucks.
- There was a Kodak Express store open today. Convenient for those on short trips and need film developed before you fly home to 1989.

10 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

I originally booked a place in the northwest part of CM that's known as the digital nomad neighborhood.

The northwest part of Chiang Mai is where CMU (university ) is located, loads of cute university students in that area, good location.

10 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

The other YouTuber I watch frequently is Sam Tyler.

I'm also a fan of Sam Tyler.

1 hour ago, aaroninatl said:

There was a Kodak Express store open today. Convenient for those on short trips and need film developed before you fly home to 1989.

I usually go to a Kodak Express store shortly after arrival in Thailand each trip. They will photocopy your passport info page and visa stamp page - (if any visa stamp, now that some countries use e-gates at immigration). They will shrink the passport copy to credit card size, and if two pages, put them back-to-back, and laminate.

Easy to carry in wallet, and Thai police approved. Thai law requires a passport or passport copy for visitors if stopped by police, or in case of a police raid on a club, bar, or massage parlor. Less hassle than a trip to the monkey house until you can produce your passport.

11 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Coke Zero is available everywhere. Diet Coke sucks.

Both do

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

Both do

I used to like you! 😆 I'm a Zero addict. I like it almost as much as regular Coke. Blows my mind Diet Coke still exists. Friend of mine who works for the company says older folks set in their ways still buy it. Here in Thailand, I don't know if I've seen Diet Coke. Zero is on store shelves and in restaurants on almost every table. Was surprising.

11 hours ago, daydreamer said:

Thai law requires a passport or passport copy for visitors if stopped by police, or in case of a police raid on a club, bar, or massage parlor. Less hassle than a trip to the monkey house until you can produce your passport.

That this is the law has been mentioned in this forum in the past, but I have never felt a need to carry a copy of my passport (and my passport would be in the hotel room safe). Has anyone been caught up in a police raid on a bar or massage parlour?

43 minutes ago, aaroninatl said:

I used to like you! 😆 I'm a Zero addict. I like it almost as much as regular Coke. Blows my mind Diet Coke still exists. Friend of mine who works for the company says older folks set in their ways still buy it. Here in Thailand, I don't know if I've seen Diet Coke. Zero is on store shelves and in restaurants on almost every table. Was surprising.

just to be clear , when I commented to your post I meant " both do suck". I hate both but my favorite cold drink is hot tea which may explain why