Weekly report from Pattaya, Dec. 12 1999

Dr. Allen R. Briggs


 

pattayagay-com-logo

WEEKLY REPORT FROM PATTAYA FOR DEC. 12, 1999

CRAZY PUB‘S MACHO HANDSOME BOY CONTEST SAT. DEC. 18 Peter of Crazy Pub wants everyone to know about their Macho Handsome Boy Contest to be held next Saturday, Dec. 18. He wrote: “I want to inform you that the Crazy Pub will arrange on Saturday 18th Dec a Macho Handsome Boy Contest.”

“CRAZY PUB” WILL ARRANGE A “MACHO HANDSOME BOY CONTEST” ON SATURDAY 18TH DECEMBER 1999. WE WELCOME YOUR SPONSORING OF CONTESTANTS. PRIZES OVER 40,000 BAHT

1 PRIZE FOR “THE MACHO” 8.000,- BAHT

1 PRIZE FOR THE POPULAR 6.000,- BAHT

THE CONTEST WILL START 30 MINUTES AFTER MIDNIGHT. TICKET INCLUDING. 2 DRINKS PER PERSON 200,- BAHT. RULES FOR THE CONTESTANTSó-NO MAKE UP! NO SUITS!. CONTESTANTS HAVE TO LOOK MACHO AND HANDSOME AND HAVE TO BE BETWEEN 16-25 YEARS OLD!!!!! CRAZY PUB, 273/66-68 MOO 10, SOI YENSABAI, SOUTH-PATTAYA, SUNEE PLAZA, TEL.038-713190, HOMEPAGE http://www.khsnet.com/crazypub

See “Pattayagay’s” map of Sunee Plaza, www.pattayagay.com/ , click on Maps, go to Maps of Pattaya, and then select “Sunee Plaza District” under Site maps. Alternatively, you can go directly to the maps, by selecting www.serv.net/~idaho/maps.htm That master map page gives you a direct link also to www.pattayagay.com

MAPS OF VENUES MENTIONED TODAY:

All Pattaya area sites mentioned in this week’s Weekly Report have a referral to their map site coordinate. Such maps can be located en masse by going to the home page of www.pattayagay.com and there click on “MAPS” The next page gives you the chance to click on “Go” to go to the site maintained by our map expert, which he updates frequently. There you have a choice of “Site Maps” (primarily bars and nightclubs), “Street Maps” showing the location and layout of each of the major streets that comprise the Pattaya area, and “Hotels, Restaurants and other sites.” The latter is broken down into three sub-categories, North Pattaya (which includes most of the Central Pattaya area), Pattayaland (which includes all of the areas in and around Pattayaland Sois 1, 2, and 3), and South Pattaya, with emphasis primarily on the parts of South Pattaya not included in the Pattayaland District. The maps can be accessed directly by going to www.serv.net/~idaho/maps.htm

BOYS STUDIO GROUP HAS NEW WEBSITE: WWW.GAYPATTAYA.COM

The management of the Boy’s Studio Group has written: “I visit your site, I see you give a wrong information about our site : It’s : WWW.GAYPATTAYA.COM and not boystudio !!! Please try to change as soon as possible. If you visit our site, over 7,500 visitors in only two months, you can have some advertising and links. Please contact us for more information. Thanks for all. Micros.”

Everyone should note this new address for the Studio Group website, www.gaypattaya.com/ and check it out. Pattayagay’s map of the Day-Night Sois 1-3 District can be found at www.pattayagay.com, select maps, click on “Go” to maps of Pattaya, and then select “Day-Night Sois 1-3 District” from the Site maps listed. Alternatively, you may go direct to www.serv.net/~idaho/maps.htm and there select the Sunee Plaza District map.

The website indicates that Studio Suites are now available in the Jolly Boys Building. “Studio Suites: The Studio Suites is a small hotel in the heart of Pattaya. Itís a very comfortable hotel, luxurious rooms with large full equipped bathroom. Air conditioning with remote control, large screen television with remote control and 36 channels, large refrigerator with lots of merchandise at very attractive prices ! (Coke : 20 baht / $ 0.60, Carlsberg Bier : 60 baht / $ 1.60 ). The hotel is close to some big shopping centers and at 200 meters away the Day and Night department Store. Nice decoration, wall paper, tiles and comfortable furnitureís. Personal safe at your disposition, 24 hours accessible ! At this times, we have 4 Deluxe Rooms / 1 Standard Room. Soon we will open some Suites Super Deluxe and some more Deluxe rooms. You can stay with us, for a short rest 2 hours, a full day, a week, a month or more and we agree to offer you a very good discount for long stay. All rooms have a large double bed, and we can add a single bed if you need. Itís a nice comfortable hotel with nice staff ! All gay people are welcome! Room Rates start at : Single dayís stay: 750 baht / $20.00; 2 to 5 dayís stay: 600 baht / $ 16.20; 6 to 14 dayís stay: 550 baht / $14.80; 15 to 21 dayís stay: 500 baht / $ 13.50; Full months stay: 12.500 baht / $ 338. Standard Room is: 20 % discount of the above prices.”

The website also offers photos of some rooms, plus some photos of the boys in the various bars. The photos include at the present time six photos of the young men “boys” working for the Studio Group, plus six “movie clips”. More are to be added in the future. www.gaypattaya.com It should be noted that neither “Gay Pattayan” nor www.pattayagay.com has any connection with this site, nor any financial or other interest in it.

THAI INGREDIENTS BY INTERNET NOW AVAILABLE IN US

Bernard Trink’s “Nite Owl” column in Friday’s Bangkok Post, December 10, 1999, www.bangkokpost.net , includes an announcement as follows:

JERRY GOOD and his wife have an online Thai grocery store, (at) www.importfood.com . They sell a wide range of Thai ingredients that they ship via UPS to anywhere in the USA. Convenient for folks who don’t have a local Thai supermarket in their town, as well as people who want to learn about Thai food. (The Goods have dozens of recipes.) Check it out.”

MELISSA VIRUS CREATOR GUILTY, TO BE SENTENCED

The Bangkok Post reports in a wire story from Newark, New Jersey, that the computer programmer who created the Melissa Virus that wreaked havoc in many businesses in the US and world wide, has been convicted by his plea of guilty to both state and federal charges in New Jersey. The report says that David L. Smith pleaded guilty to a state charge of computer theft, and later to a federal charge of sending a damaging computer program. The federal charge to which he pled guilty claimed, and which the defendant admitted, specified that the damage from the computer program was greater than eighty million dollars ($80,000,000).

DRAGONCASTLE WEBSITE REPORTS ON GUY CHARGED IN PATTAYA: UK TEACHER FIRED OVER BOY SEX CHARGE

The following report is from Dragoncastle-Asia News, www.dragoncastle.net

“A British teacher cleared of a child sex charge in Thailand has been sacked by his school in England. Philip Howarth, 39, was arrested with two Dutch men in July when police raided a hotel in the resort town of Pattaya. Police said that all three had boys under the age of 15 with them in their hotel rooms. However, Howarth was acquitted of child sex charges when a judge in Bangkok ruled there was no evidence that a criminal act had taken place. Judge Pornchai Wongmesanukror said: “He had not yet performed a sexual act with the child when arrested. The child was taking a shower and everything was in only the preparatory stage.” The teacher said the child was there to help him learn the Thai language. But the school which employed him said he had been dismissed because of the serious allegations made against him. The Royal Wolverhampton School in the English West Midlands district said the allegations had led to a “breakdown in trust and confidence in the teacher making a further working relationship no longer possible”. (End of report from Dragoncastle-Asia.)

DRAGONCASTLE LISTS TUI’S PLACE AT JOMTIEN AS GAY FRIENDLY; ONE SITE WE HAVE NOT YET INCLUDED IN MAPS

Dragoncastle-Asia (www.dragoncastle.net) continues to list the following location in the area of the gay beach at Jomtien as a “gay friendly” place. I have all the respect in the world for the people at Dragoncastle, and don’t know why I have not previously included Tui’s (see below) in my listings or asked that it be included earlier on our Jomtien District map. Dragoncastle lists Tui’s as follows:

TUI’S PLACE (gay friendly) – 318/77 Moo 12, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi – 038 251432; Fax 038 370136; Email: tui_69@hotmail.com – Guesthouse, bar & restaurant right on Jomtien gay beach”

Tui’s Place is in the three building complex located immediately in the middle of the gay area of the Jomtien Beach. With our map expert having caused me to “open my mind”, I think the time has come to recognize Tui’s Place as a “gay friendly” bar. The map expert has indicated he will soon show it on the Jomtien District area map. The place should also be included (eventually, at least) in the restaurant and hotels write-ups, but only after a little personal checking. I openly acknowledge that restaurant references, particularly, are based on my own personal preferences … so I will check out Tui’s Place’s food sometime soon!

DRAGONCASTLE REPORTS ON BOYZ BOYZ BOYZ PARTY

“Pattaya – Dec 6 – Pattaya’s famous Boys Boys Boys Go-Go bar celebrated its 11th Birthday with a wild bash on Monday. Featured in this photo is special visitor Madame Butterfly. .

Article and photo taken from Dragoncastle site, www.dragoncastle.net

Below is the photo of “Madame Butterfly” as “she” appeared at Boyz Boyz Boyz for its 12th Anniversary Party.

Photo courtesy web site www.dragoncastle.net

DREADED NED’S SITE IDENTIFIES INCREASING COMPETITION BETWEEN DOWNTOWN AND OTHER AREA BUSINESS AREAS

Dreaded Ned’s website (www.dreadedned.com) includes the following comments about the competition engaged in between the Pattayaland area bars and the bars located in Sunee Plaza District, the Day-Night Sois 1 – 3 area, and the other “outlying areas”, including (unmentioned, but obviously referred to) Icon the Club, Icon Boutique Hotel, Octopus Club and those bars near Jomtien Beach. Dreaded Ned also raises a warning about the number of underage young people in the Pattaya sex scene, freelancers and in some cases guys in the bars, too. The site comments about Pattaya in its presently posted pages are as follows:

“The main concentration of gay places is around the Boyztown area, Pattayaland Soi 3 officially, but I also include the nearby Pattayaland Soi 1 and 2 and the area on Pattaya 2 Rd near these sois), where you will find many interesting bars, restaurants, and other venues. There are also an increasing number of venues in other areas, including Sunee Plaza, Day and Night Plaza, off the strip in South Pattaya and one or two in North Pattaya. Some of the new venues in the other areas are getting very popular and really giving the Boyztown venues a run for their money!! But the Boyztown venues are fighting back, so the competition is good for the customers! Definitely worth checking it out!

“There are regular reports of underage guys in bars and working the streets in Pattaya and South Pattaya, and there are also regular reports of foreigners being arrested for sex with people under the legal age. The only sensible advice is do not do anything with anyone under 18 at a bar or elsewhere – always check ID or just walk away! ”

LE CAFE ROYALE BOAT TRIP DEC. 27 MAY BRING FRIENDS IN FROM BANGKOK. TRIP TO KOH LARN USUALLY PLEASANT!

Some of our American friends living in Bangkok, and their Thai friends, are considering coming to Pattaya for the annual Le Cafe Royale sponsored boat trip to Koh Larn, off the coast of Pattaya. The boat trip, on a hired large boat with comfortable seating and lots of room to move around, is customarily accompanied by sandwiches and liquid refreshments, followed by an afternoon on the beach, usually with a nice meal prepared and brought to the site by the Cafe Royale staff people. With almost the entire crew of “boys” from Le Cafe Royale accompanying the guests, the trips have been a source of good clean fun and excitement, and excellent food and drinks in the past, and one has to consider that this year’s will almost certainly be every bit as good, if not better! Unless an American friend from Reno, Nevada, frees himself up from some of his pressing business operations, it looks like we will have no visitors from our little group this year from outside Thailand, but perhaps a couple of our American friends here may join me in taking the trip. A very pleasant way to spend most of the day on the Monday after Christmas. The guys of the Le Cafe Royale staff are always so helpful and friendly, in every day service, but on these trips are even more so. And they seem to have a good time, too. Next week, we will try to have further details including the cost of the adventure, and how far in advance reservations need be made.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR TOURISTS ..

THE LOY KRATHONG FESTIVAL

The following was prepared by our friend, Mike Williams, author of several websites on Thailand, including one led by a page for Khun Sweet Cigar, a guy’s bar in the Patpong area. Mike has included this special report on the Loy Kratong Festival, including some insights on the special event held at Icon Boutique Hotel, on Nov. 22, 1999, in his web site, and has authorized me to reproduce his article here. Many thanks to Mike Williams!

Loy Krathong–Festival of Lights

(By Mike Williams)

Sanuk, that great Thai word for fun, enjoyment. When in Thailand, it seems that every week brings one festival or another in the North, the South, the Korat area of the Northeast, or all over the country. The Thai people love to have fun, and we’re glad they do!

One festival celebrated all over the country is Loy Krathong–Festival of Lights. It is held during the full moon each November. This year, the event fell on November 22nd. Loy means “to float” and krathong means “leaf cup.” Throughout the Kingdom, millions of people fill rivers, streams, canals and lakes with small lotus-shaped floats, often made of banana leaves. These little vessels carry candles, incense and a small coin on their watery journeys.

Icon Boutique Hotel owners William and David release hotel’s krathong into the waters. Custom suggests that no one will bother your little boat, although a small child will be allowed to liberate the coin and put it to more pragmatic use.

While the celebration had its origins in Sukhothai, Siam’s first capital, about 800 years ago, the original meaning is unclear and subject of debate. Rural villagers feel the festival honors the River Goddess, as their lives depend so much on river water for drinking, washing and generally making a living. Some Buddhists commemorate Lord Buddha leaving his footprints on the banks of the Nammatha River during the full moon of the 12th month; thus they float lanterns in the water. Others believe the significance lies in the Brahmin tradition of floating away evil. Whatever, the event is beautiful and good fun. In Pattaya, William and David, the owners of ICON Boutique Hotel, held a wonderful festival on November 22nd, poolside at the hostelry. While the pictures here, courtesy of William, show the krathong being placed in a swimming pool and not a river or canal, they do illustrate the beauty of the whole ceremony. Guests were treated to an elaborate Thai buffet while popular singer, Chris, entertained. Later the Icon dance troupe performed a special number. The owners consider their staff “family” and everyone participated in the floating of a special flower-bedecked krathong — from cooks to dancers.

Loy Kratong in Icon hotel, Pattaya, 1999

Icon Staff Members release the Staff’s own krathong into the waters of the Icon Boutique Hotel’s pool. Later, each guest was given their own krathong so they could participate as well. Guests join in placing their own individual krathongs in the waters of the Hotel’s pool, to join the Hotel’s krathong and the Staff’s krathong, with good wishes being carried for the coming year.

All the guidebooks state that this unique festival is best experienced in the north, around Chiang Mai. That may be so, but the ICON Hotel experience wasn’t chopped liver. (Special thanks to Pattayagay.com and the ICON Hotel for help and images for this page).

One added note: The Pattaya area celebration this year also found numerous “krathongs” floating in the air, suspended by balloons with a candle-like fuel cell like a “sterno can” burning in place of the candle. The krathongs were floated primarily from the North Pattaya area, but were visible from great distances. Pattayans in the upper levels of one major condo said the large number of krathongs floating in the air with a burning “candle” was highly impressive, perhaps like the floating-on-air krathongs for which the Chiang Mai area is famous.

That’s it for this week, guys.

“Gay Pattayan” December 12, 1999

e-mail: gaypattayan@pattayagay.com

You may also like...