Phuchai

After five days in Chiang Mai, it was time to come back to Bangkok … and this time I was not alone as Tam was to stay with me until the end of my trip. Curiously enough, I was not feeling incomfortable with this despite the little restrictions it would bring to my cherished freedom : not being alone has its advantages too especially when your companion is a delightful mature boy who loves life, accepts your infedilities, and has the brightest smile in Thailand.

Air Asia was as efficient as usual for bringing us to Sawanaphum and the first evening was reserved for what Tam likes most : having a good meal. This boys always amazes me for his wide knowing about thai food, especially seafood which is his little weakness. Saphan Khwai is an ideal place if you like a good meal : besides the many street stalls which are overrun every evening by a crowd of locals, one of the best choices is the Rakhang Thong Restaurant in front of Pradiphat Hotel : this is a semi open-air place where the food is constantly good and cheap, the service efficient, and the beer plentiful and I am always happy to go there with Tam, as I would not sit alone in this kind of place.

After a fantastic tom yam kung and some grilled fish with a delicious phanaeng sauce, we agreed to go to Sanam Luang : the market at night is a good attraction, although I prefer strolling around the magical square where the boys are. So while Tam was wandering around the night market, I walked two rounds along the Saranrom park, and then along Khlong Lot before coming back to the Defence Ministry. At 10 in the evening, a lot of boys were standing there among the usual cars slowly driving around them and stopping from time to time for further enquiries. I did not feel intimidated at all and if some boys completely ignored me (there are more thai drivers than farang pedestrians in these areas …), other tried to strike up a conversation, the first question usually being "do you speak thai ?". I could have taken more than one and almost fell for a 18 or 19 y/o dark-skinned lad standing near the bridge on Charoen Krung Road. He looked like a little rascal and finally I thought it was not a good idea to go with a boy on the first night with Tam in Bangkok – I have to be a good boy from time to time …












Where the action is at night : near Defence Ministry


So we got together again with Tam (how have we been able to live without mobile phones for so long ?) and ended the night in the Saphan Kwai karaokes : Street Boy (almost deserted this time), Waterloo (great decoration and many groups of thai revellers including many girls) and finally Heaven.

On the second day, we did some shopping and I quickly understood that Tam would be very happy with a new digital camera. I bought it for him in Big C Saphan Kwai : not the most expensive one, as Tam has now understood that his farang's pockets are not so deep and he knows exactly what I am ready to pay for him and what I will refuse. We then paid a visit to Soi Twilight where Tam loves seeing at least one show in a bar … this time we went to X Boys and it was not too bad, and the quality of the boys there appeared quite good for me.

After the good deed I had done in the afternoon, I had less qualms about going out alone… and I went back to Sanam Luang : it was 11 pm and there were as many boys as the day before. I met Mike near the bridge on Kanlayanamaitri Road – a 19 y/o boy from Bangkok, with the looks of a soldier and the beautiful face of a half isan half southern guy. We had a short chat and I walked on along the khlong and then along the Park : many proposals were made by boys, some gorgeous but too young, some less attractive but all very polite and respectful. Finally Mike was still there when I came back at his location : we quickly agreed on the price – the usual 500 bahts - and he told me he did not want to bottom … OK for me and up we went into a taxi which brought us to a short-time hotel beyond Khao San Road : 200 THB for two hours, clean, TV with sex DVDs. The sex was good although the boy did not like French kiss.

I finally came back to the hotel at the same time as Tam. He had spent the evening with the owner of Threezone Bar (in Pattaya), who happened to enter Soi Pratuchai just when Tam and I were there sitting at Maxxis Café and talking about him …

All in all another great night in Bangkok before the last stretch of my trip in Pattaya.

Posted by LLZ at 18:06 | Permalink | Comments

On the footbridge near Warorot Market

























Boys near Chang Phuak Bus Station

Posted by LLZ at 19:50 | Permalink | Comments

Five days were not enough to taste all what Chiang Mai had to offer ... and first of all there was the absolute cuteness of most of the boys met everywhere - the bars being no exception. I staid in the former Novotel Hotel (now branded as Mercure Hotel) which has a location that cannot be beaten for those who want to be close to the main gay area. Besides this you will be in a mostly thai area with the usual markets and street restaurants - by the way the one facing the entrance to Sri Pattana Market across Chang Phuak Road is a good one.

My first visit was for the row of sleazy bars near Night Bazaar ... someone had written that they were doomed to disparition but from what I saw they are quite active with sometimes more customers than boys ... how many bars can tell this in Thailand now ? Sure the guys seemed to be on the younger side, and also not really thai as far as their ID is concerned ... But the main problem is one I had already faced two years ago : these guys do not seem eager to mingle with newcomers : they stick to the regulars - who are quite a fair number. So you will have to be extremely insistent - or be content with the free eye-candy (some here are real stunners).

Still better, go to the Chang Phuak bars where the gay life is, and you will have the choice with the new Power Boys (part of the new Lavender Hotel}, the recently reopened Adam's Apple or three older bars which are New My Way, Freeguys and Circle. However these bars are not within walking distance and rather difficult to find - especially the New My Way.










. . . Chang Phuak (white elephant) Monument

Frankly my preference went clearly for the New My Way and Freeguys : both have a 100 % male staff and I found many guys I could have liked to take, had I the opportunity to stay longer. Besides this the shows are not too long, imaginative and with a lot of nudity although not really sex-oriented. The other places looked more ordinary for me although the show in Adam's Apple is on par with its neighbours.

If the boys here have the looks and the hormones, their skills or their will to please are more limited ; the both I "offed" (a small burmese guy in Freeguys and a 19 y/o thai yai cutie in New My Way) could not stay the whole night, and still more they refused any kind of French kiss ... They are obviously maen in these areas and they do not forget to boast about it.

Tam joined me for the Songkran Festival where a lot of farangs attended too ... and our reunion was duly clebrated with a fine meal near the Night Bazaar. Loy Krathong is absolutely wonderful in Chiang Mai with the lighted balloons everywhere in the sky, fireworks, joy and satisfaction in every eye, and of course the always touching ceremony of letting one's krathong float down the river. The only downside was the absolute lack of awareness by some thais, making the trip rather dangerous.

Back to Bangkok now for a short stay before the finals in Pattaya ; Tam will be with me from now so I guess I will have to be a good man ...

Posted by LLZ at 11:52 | Permalink | Comments

Would you believe it ? The theme of my trip to the north was following the Emerald Buddha's footsteps ... this highly revered figure was discovered in Chiang Rai in 1434 ; it then stayed in Lampang and Chiang Mai until 1552 when it was taken to Luang Prabang. It is now in Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok where it was brought in 1784.

Well I began my stay in Chiang Rai and visited of course the local Wat Phra Kaew as well as the countryside on a rented bicycle (the Merinda shop where Phahonyothin Road turns left to the south is a good place).

My hotel was the North Hotel in the Night Bazaar area ; 15 rooms and a guesthouse atmosphere, with really very small rooms but OK for two nights. This hotel has also a more or less advertised massage service with boys ; about 3 to 5 of them come at dusk and are available to offer their skills and more if needed.

This could provide a nice alternative should you not be able to find anyone to your taste in one of the two bars in town : Lobo Boys and Regency. Both are located in the immediate vicinity of the Wangcome Hotel and are very quiet, Lobo Boys also having a "for sale" sign in front. However the quality offered is quite decent in my opinion ; I took a guy in Lobo on the first night and he proposed a very satisfying massage in my room (for which you will have to pay the massage fee to the hotel) and could as well have taken another on the following night - but I had already used the in-home service.


North Hotel, Chiang Rai


I spent then one night in Lampang, a wide and green town also known for its horse carriages. Despite its not convenient location in the countryside, a visit to the Phra That Lampang Luang is a must : you should not miss an opportunity to visit this wooden wat which is said to be the oldest construction in northern Thailand. Besides this, the place (amphoe Ko Kha) where it is located is pleasant and the local population very welcoming. By the way the Emerald Buddha was not kept in this wat but in another Wat Phra Kaew in downtown Lampang.

I had very accurate information for finding a house which had boys for rent, after having read about on a thai website. I could find the house - close to the Clock Tower in a small soi leading to the School number 4, and sure it was this house as it matched all the details except one : the house had been done up a little, whereas the information I had (dated July 2009) told about a rather old place. No boy was to be seen except the normal life of a thai family, so I guess I had arrived too late : the house had probably been sold and the owner (described as an already old man) had retired from the business.

Speaking frankly I do not know if I would have dared to enter the place ; the website told about 4 or 5 boys, all of them aged 16 except one aged 19, and no room on the premises.... sounds a little bit hazardous for a lonely farang doesn't it ? Anyway this shows that Thailand has a scene that we do not know, with thai rules and thai prices (100 THB for the owner, 500 THB for the boy), and access to this information seems to be very sparse.

My hotel was the Kim City Hotel where for 600 THB you will get a huge room - simple but clean, As a premium you will have the privilege to look at the waiter in the restaurant downstairs, who is probably the most charming guy in town : a dark-skinned well-built boy - about 19 y/o - with the innocent smile of someone who has still to realise how cute he is.

Next stop in Chiang Mai which seems to have a lot to offer these times... beginning with the Loy Krathong festival.

Posted by LLZ at 12:17 | Permalink | Comments

Coming back to Bangkok I continued my exploration of Saphan Khwai and thought it would be of interest for those who like to escape the crowds.

All the bars are still there except for Eagle Bar (the one facing Karmanee Hotel) which closed aboy ten months ago. Not a lot of boys in the bars but the general quality has improved.


Big change of pace ahaead as I am booked to Chiang Rai, Lampang and Chiang Mai ... cannot wait to look again at these beautiful northern boys.

Posted by LLZ at 12:24 | Permalink | Comments

I have just spent two days in Pattaya and like everyone, I was impressed how easier it is now to cross Secomd Road than before ... Less tourists for sure, to the point that Sunee Plaza would be probably a deadzone without the all-year-long residents.

I spent my first evening in Sunee in my old favourite Threezone Bar ; this is a place which does not get a lot of advertising and this is probably better. The thai owner is an absolute delight and he is loved by all the boys who have come one day in his bar ; money does not come in the first place for him, he just likes his job of welcoming boys and customers and providing a nice atmosphere for those who like to chat with other farangs, those who look for company, or those who just want to see the world go by.

I met Tam here, I also met the lao boy I almost fell in love two years ago, and some others too. I had the chance to be able to meet the lao boy again and spent the night with him : an easy-going guy with a great face and body if you like them slim and masculine.

However I did not forget to visit some other places, and especially the new Mic My Boy gogobar where a boy I offed some years ago is now the mamasan ... I have to confess I liked the atmosphere there even if would not have taken a lot of the guys on scene mostly as a precaution. Next door Nice Boys is almost its clone but with a wider range of guys.

I spent one afternoon in Jomtien and dared to go a little bit further than the yellow chairs I usually patronize ; imagine more space than in Phuket Gay Beach, prices so low that you think there has to be a mistake, and mostly quietness. No loud-speaking farang, no screaming ladyboy, and no heavy smoker to be heard or smelt, only a former beach attendant which is now a massage boy and who took care of me for a very long time. I guess I will go back, it is worth every additional step needed to go there.

My only disappointment was with the Gayromeo boys I had carefully listed for a meeting. I am still waiting for answers as all of them seem to connect now very occasionally, while they seemed to sleep with their keyboard when I was in my country ...

Posted by LLZ at 14:06 | Permalink | Comments

I am now slowly recovering from the flight and am already completely immersed in what will be my new life ... unfortunately for only four weeks.

I have been busy for the whole of my second day with many things to settle and action to take regarding personal and uninteresting things. It appears that I will have to be in Bangkok on Friday morning so I am already in Pattaya now, one day sooner than expected.

Yesterday in Bangkok I had not lost any hope to find Art - the sexy boy from last year - so I went again to Silom and to Super A (undisputed sleaziest bar in Bangkok). Art was not there but I found Tom whom I had "offed" two years ago - as horny as ever. He told me he had "no money because no cutomers" but that was not enough for me : I love to change ....

I wanted to have a look to the street hustlers near Sanam Luang and went there with a taxi ; we spent some time driving through Chinatown where there is currently a big fair going on. There were not a lot of boys around Saranrom park, and I chatted with one of them who said me to be very careful of robbers - especially robbers on motorbikes. After this and due to rain, I decided for a last drink in the bars near my hotel in Saphan Kwai.

There were only two boys in my old favorite Street Boys and not to my sapecs at all so I left very quickly, only to be hailed into another nearby place. The captain of this bar is the former mamasan of another Saphan Kwai bar and we heve been knowing each other for a long time. When entering he pushed a boy to my table and I was happy to know better a young cutie coming from Udon Thani : about 18 y/o I was told, with a short but very strong body and a face to die for ... or to be jailed for. Checking the ID card of this delight, I saw that he was still 15 two weeks ago .... so I chose to leave him in the bar after offering a good tip for his time and the great songs he sang for me. There would probably have been no problem in my hotel which usually has a everything-goes attitude, but any other customer could have thrown me into a big shit.

So it was a second night alone - not really alone as I was already thinking of a Gayromeo boy that I will contact before my next stay in Bangkok.




..... Gayromeo boy in Bangkok ...

Posted by LLZ at 09:20 | Permalink | Comments

Finally I am here ... Despite the joy to come back being blurred by the rigours of the journey, I finally realise that the time has come for a new stay in the country I love.

The flight in itself was an ordinay one ; I saw my thai friend in Geneva when waiting for the plane and he asked me to settle some problems for him in Thailand, and I will happily oblige. And in Zurich I did not go to downtown because Zurich airport although nice is a little bit complicated for a newcomer, so I did not want to have to rush for my plane. I also was thinking about the dubious atmosphere in Zurich Railway Station at night and my holiday would have been completely destroyed should have I been robbed of my bag, so I did not want to take any risk.

In Suwanaphum I was a little worried to be noticed by the H1N1 squad, as I was not feeling very good and a little bit feverish due to a cold I had caught in France, but they did not spot anything. And going through Immigration was a breeze with only three indian people in front of me who were quickly turned back because they had not filled in the immigration form. Waiting for the luggage took another 15 minutes and I was down very quickly to the new taxi stand. Tam was the first and only thai I phoned.

However I did not realise I was in Thailand again until going out from my hotel for the first time. This has to be the best time of the holiday, when you feel free from all constraints and you are a little bit dizzy about this new freedom. I discovered the soi life again with great pleasure ... the boys were arriving for work in the local gay bars, the laundry had opened a new shop where a girl bar was located before, as well as a new restaurant right in the middle of the bars. And I will then discover that the very cute boy who used to sell coffee in front of my usual internet cafe was no more there .. he had opened a restaurant on his own, the owner told me. Eleven momths had gone by.

How about my first night in Bangkok ... due to a short downpour at 7 pm I feared that not a lot of boys would turn up in the Saphan Khwai bars so I decided for a trip to Silom instead. I drank a coke at Dick's Cafe where I had never seen so many people before. And in spite of repeated glances with a cute massage boy from neighbouring Bonny Massage, I chose to go to the sleazy places in Soi Anuman Ratchathon. I hoped to meet again Art whom I met last year in the now closed Golden Flower Bar but he was not in Solid Bar - where they were a lot of guys up to my taste.

Not willing to indulge in a night long relationship, I finally chose the easy option and entered the Twinks Massage Place - which had received some good and bad advertising recently on the Sawatdee Forums. What I can say is that there are a lot of cute boys on supply here, mostly in the 18-20 range and mostly with nice tanned faces. The welcoming ladyboy was not so bad although a little bit insistent ... He announced that the 500 THB you have to pay to the place was not a massage fee but the price for the room ... that says all. I chose a 18 y/o Roi Et guy with a very cute and smiling face but obviously lacking experience.

Finally I had arrived in Thailand and well ...

Posted by LLZ at 09:36 | Permalink | Comments

At the beginning it was eleven months … you could as well have said forever …

And the time elapsed slowly, punctuated by daily and weekly virtual trips through the net … and then it became six months to go, and then one month … and to-day it is one week ; one week left before I land in Suwanaphum.

I checked that the same Swiss flight to-day arrived on time, and it did. I checked my bags and they are still there … although far from being ready. I checked my international driving license and had to rush off to extend it in case Tam would like to drive out of Chiang Mai. And where is this thread with the directions to this gay karaoke in Laksi which I promise to visit since at least ten years ?

I got some news and they are now no more virtual : there was a terrible downpour in Pattaya to-day, and the 'reds' will stage a protest in Pattaya on the 24th, just on the day I will come back from Pattaya to Bangkok. And the guys on Gayromeo are less and less virtual too, and more and more like the promise of a nice evening … or more.

Once again the time has come back when there is nothing really important in life except my family and THE next trip. It looks like this last week is going to be soooooo… long.

See you in Bangkok !

Posted by LLZ at 22:06 | Permalink | Comments

According to their newsletter that they just have sent me, Adam's Apple would already be open - contrary to what I wrote below. However it would be only a soft opening before the Grand Opening Party on October 9th (private party from what I read on Thaivisa.com), and probably a full closure on election days in Chiang Mai (October 4th).

For me the opening will be at the end of next October and I cannot wait to go and see their show ...

Posted by LLZ at 12:58 | Permalink | Comments

The in-trend destination for gay sex tourists this year will obviously be Chiang Mai – and you know what ? In about five weeks I will be there too - although I usually carefully shun everything "in-trend".

First there is this Lavender Lanna Hotel / Power Boys gogo bar and other businesses, which are due to open in October among growing controversy. Some tell that this will be a great improvement for the town, others including gay activist Nathee Thirarotjanapong fear that the complex will be located in a too visible location and will bring a bad light on Northern culture, especially because of the wide advertising all over the world. What do I think of this ? Well, erased threads, heavy insinuations, banned posters and conflicting viewpoints do not allow to have any opinion on this when you are 9000 km far from the spot, except that many businesses are probably feeling that their interests are seriously threatened by the new venue. There is likely still more to this, as I understand that Chiang Mai is currently preparing local elections. What I know is I did not choose to come to Chiang Mai for this place and I am not even sure I will have the time to visit.

What is more interesting is the opening of Adam's Apple which is scheduled on Octobre the 9 th after a dress rehearsal yesterday. I have great memories from this bar and can only hope the format will not be too different. In the same Chang Phuak area, another sleazy place is said to open soon near Viang Bua Mansion (Happy Dicks is the more recent name); and there is also the older bars like Freeguys where I already know I will "off" someone because these Thai Yai boys are really my style.

What worries me is the fate of some other bars. Those in the small alley near Night Bazaar seem to be still there : they will remind me the sudden surge of adrenalin I felt three years ago when facing unexpectedly a young Tai Yai boy in the common toilets. A similar bar is Yum Boi Boi which had just opened in Santitham Plaza – also north of town. It seems they had available hosts, unlike other gay bars in the area which are more thai-oriented. However I just had the news that they have closed until early October ; hopefully this will not be a permanent closure, as they are said to have promising young lads.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yummy guys in Chiang Mai (thai-eyes website)

What is also new about Chiang Mai these days is the great updated information you can get on the net through nice websites such as the already well-known ratchada.com, and also asiancoop.com, chiangmaichimes.com (Nightlife section), thai-eyes.com and the gay section on Thaivisa.

Housework is so easier when you have good updated information . . .

Posted by LLZ at 17:01 | Permalink | Comments

This morning I spent at least three hours choosing a hotel in Lampang where I will stay only for one night … and here I was once again roaming the streets of the small town, trying to locate the house of boys and another bar where there could be boys for rent … The hotel also had to be not too far from the bus station as I will use a bus for coming from Chiang Rai and for going on to Chiang Mai as well. And close to the song thaew which will bring me to the Wat Phra That Lampang Luang which will be the highlight of my short visit. Finally I will stay at the Phin Hotel which gets rather good reviews everywhere and is conveniently located in downtown Lampang.

So I am gradually working out the schedule of the trip, at least regarding transportation and lodging. The rest will be left to instant decision making depending on the boys I will meet, the rain, and a famous virus which hopefully will not destroy my so long awaited stay.

However this is the list of things to do for this trip …
- helping Tam to overcome his sadness after his mother passed away … he should like Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai
- using the stopover time I will have in Zurich for a short jaunt to Carousel Bar in the City where finding some thai boys 13 years ago, I decided that I HAD TO go to Thailand
- climbing the Samoeng Pass near Chiang Mai on a bike (already on the list two years ago and left undone)
- recovering from my trip in one of the Suriwong massage places, preferably Twinks Massage on Soi Anuman Ratchathon
- exploring Pradiphat Soi 21 where a little advertised boys bar is said to have opened recently
- expanding the list of the provinces where I have already already spent at least one night … 20 so far and counting… good excuse to go to Potharam in Ratchaburi province …
- finding the gorgeous boy met on Romeo … 19 y/o and a body to die for, not working in a bar but in the @~~##88$` Restaurant in Pattaya - and trying to off him (he is not the guy on the picture above).

So many things to do and so little time ..

Posted by LLZ at 21:05 | Permalink | Comments

I do not like to post links to songs I like because there would be too many of them and it is generally very boring for the readers.

This post will be an exception for a thai song that deeply moves me everytime I hear it. I first heard it when it was the the theme tune of a Thai TV programm about schools in the poorer areas of Thailand. And I burst into tears when my thai-swiss friend sang it in a karaoke in Saphan Kwai many years ago. This "rongrian khong noo" is simply one of the best songs I have ever heard.

It tells the life of schools in the mountains, far from anything and without too much money, where a lonely teacher dedicates himself body and soul to the education of the mountain children. It tells the will of the thai state to bring education into the remotest parts of the country, it tells the sadness of traditional life and culture being forgotten and in the same time the hope for a better life for these poor children.

It tells the feelings of my father and mother seventy years ago in the Alps ...

The lyrics are simple and incredibly touching, and the tune is also fantastic especially in the version linked below with an amazing flute player. May I say that tears still come into my eyes because of such a beautiful melody ...



My School by Phongsit Khamphee
โรงเรียนของหนู (พงษ์สิทธิ์ คำภีร์)

Posted by LLZ at 21:45 | Permalink | Comments

Eleven months is really too long when this is the time you have to wait between two trips to Thailand.

Should I believe what is written on the boards, I should be cheated or assaulted at every street corner, laid up in bed by whatever virus, and stuck in an airport. Being a hardcore Thailand fan (should I write : sex tourist), it would take much more to give up a long-awaited trip.

What I fear much more is closed bars and too few boys – so just in case I opened a Gayromeo account ; I have to say I am favourably impressed by what I can see … no date for the moment (too early …) but a nice collection of boys who meet exactly my sapecs (specifications). And also some nice chats – some in thai, some in English with above average cute lads who are obviously looking for customers.

The schedule is now ready and flights are already booked … Air Asia had a promotion for flights priced at 700 THB including taxes … who could resist to that ? So it will be two days in Chiang Rai (I am booked at the North Hotel who is gay-friendly, ideally located and not expensive), one in Lampang just to find the house of boys I read about in the TMM webboard and five in Chiang Mai where I will stay in Mercure (former Novotel) : I had to weigh up the pros and cons of this hotel against the Viang Bua Mansion for a long time, but Mercure – although more expansive – has a pool and is closer to the main street, which could be convenient at night. They also have a shuttle bus to the Night Bazar at night ; I just hope that the sleazy joints overthere will hold out till next October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meeting my sapecs

The remaining weeks will be spent between Bangkok and Pattaya – I am already dreaming about my next visits to the Saranrom street hustlers (no way I will be deterred to go there by some unverified reports), to some massage places near Silom and some promising bars in Sunee Plaza.

Sorry not to give any report for the time being ; be sure I keep in touch with everything going on in Thailand so that I can waste as little time as possible once I am there.

Posted by LLZ at 22:03 | Permalink | Comments

Tam's mother has passed away … I had a phone call on a morning when going to work and I did not realise immediately, but had the confirmation when I phoned back four hours later. She was a heavy smoker and it was no surprise that she died of lung cancer despite being still young at 58 y/o.

She was a tiny and feeble woman that I had met her twice when going visiting Tam's house in Phrae province. She had probably some worries with her only son when he was a teenager ; they were living in the same house and they seemed to go along very well again.

Tam seemed to be very greatly affected by this death ; I am too because this woman was a shy but very nice and thoughtful mother. And her death made me realise how lucky I am to still have my own mother who despite being 82 y.o is as healthy as ever.

Tam had got his good looks and his strength from his father but she had given him her sweetness and her honesty. I hope that he will overcome this event with the help of his friends and his family ; what I hope too is that he will not sink into discouragement, especially as the bad economic situation does not allow him to find a job which would have helped him to forget.

He did not ask me for money but I sent some for helping him with the ceremony. We will meet again in Chiang Mai for the Loy Krathong festival, and though I still want to have some free time on my own, I think I will spend more time with him than last year.

Posted by LLZ at 22:03 | Permalink | Comments

More than five months since I did not update the blog … I heve been really overloaded with work this year and did not have time to think of new subjects. In fact my only contacts with Thailand were through the news and through the webboards. I also had some phone calls with Tam who is going well despite a broken arm, and also with the two boys from my last stay in Pattaya : the beach seller and the youg looking freelancer ; both are now back home because of the poor number of tourists in Pattaya.

Things are going to improve for me and I should now have some more free time. Unfortunately I will go to Thailand only once this year, because of too short holidays. And I have now begun the process of planning and booking – the best part of the trip they say, but surely the most important when you do not want to waste your time. In fact I am already booked on a Swiss flight, a company I have never tried before and I am thrilled to test it for the first time (especially as I could have time enough for a drink in my favourite bar during waiting time in Zurich).

What stays in my memory after a Thailand trip is mostly the visits I make in the provinces, more than my stays in Pattaya. This year it should be up to the north once again ... In fact I cannot forget the wonderful Shan boys since my stay in 2007, and I also want to ride a bike in the mountains.

So my intention is to visit Chiang Rai for two nights, and Chiang Mai for four nights. Accomodation is not booked yet but I have read good reviews about The North Hotel in downtown Chiang Rai (they have a roof terrace too ..) and Wiang Bua Mansion in the northern part of Chiang Mai … close to Adams Apple which should have reopened.

I also will make a short stay in Lampang, for the horses and for the wat … and also to try a house of boys which was mentioned on a thai webboard … just for my own general knowledge of course.

I have yet to think about how Tam will fit into the schedule … I would like him to be with me for the Loy Krathong Festival and will get out of my way to be in any other place than Pattaya on that day. Loy Krathong is so romantic in any place in Thailand except Pattaya where it has turned into a commercial fair that I want to avoid at all costs.

Now four months and a half and counting ...

Posted by LLZ at 21:20 | Permalink | Comments

.


I just read on the boards that the new Central Department Store has just opened in Pattaya ... a good news for me as the place where I generally stay in Pattaya is very close to it. This said I wonder whether the sales attendants will be as cute as the construction workers who were there last November (especially the two yellow-clad ones in the middle ... ).




BTW I have just introduced some minor changes to the blog layout ; I especially hope that it will be more Firefox-friendly than before.

Posted by LLZ at 18:04 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by LLZ at 20:48 | Permalink | Comments

I am back in Farangland since six weeks but it seems like an eternity. It is very cold here and we had a lot of snow, which should be good for business but not for heat lovers.

Of course everyone including my boss was delighted that I could escape Thailand one week before the airport closure … I would not frankly agree on this, because being stranded in Thailand is exactly what I secretly hope on the day when I leave. This being said, I had to suffer a three hours delay at the departure from Bangkok and did not really like it so I guess things are not so simple (and I would have been in a f… sh… had I arrived two weeks late at work …)

The airport closure was a torment for my mind, because of the bad image it gave to the country that I love (and which made one of my fellow worker cancel a four-people trip planned for Januray). And also because I was thinking of all the boys in Pattaya – and all Thailand workers - who were deprived of good business due to these well-to-do thugs blocking the airport only to maintain their egoistic privilege. I got another stab in the heart when I read the news that H M the King would cancel His adress to the nation, as I was really looking forward to hear His kind ans wise words.

Since then, I regularly get in touch with Tam, and much more often than before. To-day is his birthday – he is now 28 y/o but he still has the spontaneousness and the enthusiasm of a young guy. I guess our story is still far from the end and I am very happy with it. And I thought I was interested only in twinkies …

I have also kept in touch with the Threezone freelancer as well as with the beach seller. This one had to go back home for a while because of a lack of business. He has comme back to Pattaya now and I hope that he can sell his stuff without being too spoilt by his customers – call it jealousy ? I get a thrill everytime I hear his fresh voice and I really hope to see him again, even if I have to go to his place – it would be good as he lives in one of the provinces that I have still to visit.

What helps me a lot now is reading the reports of a cycling tour that a member of the Gay Thailand webboard is currently riding. Travelling with a bike is my other lifelong passion along with travelling in Thailand so you can imagine how this ride from Chiang Mai to Phuket is a fascinating story to this farang – even if I would rather travel alone to have a better contact with the locals. But of course this is now only a dream at least for the five years left before I can hopingly retire …

Posted by LLZ at 14:08 | Permalink | Comments

Sunday 16th was my last day in Pattaya before … not too long, this is at least what I hope. The beach seller had absolutely wanted to see me in the hotel for my leaving and I had to promise to see him again … I think I will because this boy really turned me on despite (or because of) his shiness. I almost felt some tears in my eyes when the boy walked away.

Back to Bangkok, Tam and me went to Sanam Luang to see the Monument erected for the Royal Cremation, but we both had forgotten to wear black clothes and besides this it was raining again. At night, I could not help going a last time to the Silom area where most bars were open despite the mourning. We went to the bar where I had offed Art ; I did not invite him but slipped him a small tip when leaving, which sparked off some whispering among the other boys.

The last day was the usual race to enjoy the slightest minute left, with a lump in the throat especially this time as it could be – who knows ? - my last time in Thailand … We visited Sanam Luang again, duly dressed in black and admiring the place among hundreds of thais. Back in the hotel, we made the usual last day chores, and then had a last drink in Dick's Cafe. I prefer not to remember the trip to the airport, and the time came for us to part.

After a last Singha beer, Tam went back alone to the hotel ; it made me feel as if I had one night more with him. And I passed the immigration, only to discover that the flight would be late and that I would miss the connection to Geneva. The hassle was beginning again ….

Posted by LLZ at 13:08 | Permalink | Comments