June 5th, 2006, 08:29
Some random thoughts on my recent trip to Thailand.
1. Pinnacle Hotel. I think that was the last time I will stay there. Rooms OK but overall the atmosphere is sterile, just doesnтАЩt rub me right, feels unfriendly. But most of all, I am tired - so totally tired - of asking for a meter taxi to the airport and getting instead the bumpkin who sits outside in his dilapidated piece of shit taxi because he pays the guards/bellboys/hotel/whoever for the franchise to be the on-call ripoff taxi to the airport. тАЬMeter brokenтАЭ/ тАЬyou pay 400 baht, I pay toll, same-same meterтАЭ. If you want a meter taxi, donтАЩt bother asking the front desk to have the bellboys or guard call one; youтАЩll end up with the rip-off taxi. You need to walk out to the street and hail a decent cab yourself. In my opinion, thatтАЩs just unsat; even the Malaysia Hotel will hail you a meter taxi if you expressly ask! (The straw that breaks the camelтАЩs back is that the taxi, mechanically, is just an awful P.O.S. that isnтАЩt worth riding in even the short distance to Silom, much less to the airport.)
2. Aspara massage, on Silom. Older guy named Sompong. Best traditional Thai massage I have ever had. The 2-hour Thai massage was 400 baht, and I severely over-tipped him at 400 baht. But he deserved it, believe me. IтАЩve been a client off-and-on for years now, and heтАЩs a true professional devoted to the art.
3. Babylon massage. Still good but some problems I never noted before, hopefully quality is not on a downturn. Massage coordinator makes a strong pitch for the Babylon blend massage, tries very hard to steer you away from the Thai massage. Blend massage is about 1,000 baht more expensive, and half an hour shorter. I have had both many times in the past, and each has its advantages; in fact the blend massage is very good, but sometimes IтАЩm not in the mood for oil and when I ask for the Thai massage, I just want the Thai massage, I donтАЩt want a condescending lecture / hard-core sales pitch on how much better I will enjoy the blend massage. Finally I had to say, тАЬWhat exactly is it about тАШI want a 2-hour traditional Thai massageтАЩ that you donтАЩt understand?тАЭ Complaints aside, out of 4 massages at Babylon, 2 were stellar, one was very good, and one was borderline awful. The awful massage was from a boy who was obsessed with his ipod music player and would stop the massage frequently to search for music тАУ or, worse, heтАЩd rub me repetitiously and meaninglessly in one spot with one hand while adjusting the music player with his other hand. I came very close to aborting the massage but he was so young and cute I decided just to let it go. Turns out, he really is sweet, just oblivious to the concept of professionalism.)
4. Janpa Massage, Sukhumvit 41. Went looking for Mr. Weira, based on some comments made by wowpow (I think) about Mr. Weira being the best masseur heтАЩs ever experienced. I should have called ahead, because he was booked when I arrived. Ended up with someone else, a Mr. Yut. Not bad, nice massage, nice house, but overall I think itтАЩs expensive for what you get (compared to other places.) Next time I'll call ahead for Mr. Weira.
5. I went to Tsukuba Kenkou center for a massage. ThatтАЩs the place on Suriwong that used to be Marble House. Before leaving for Thailand I read a posting here by homintern that piqued my interest. LetтАЩs just say that everything homi implied was true, and letтАЩs leave it at that. Recommended.
6. I didnтАЩt go to any go-go bars, so I cannot comment on how theyтАЩre doing.
7. Although IтАЩve been to Bangkok at least 12 times now, I had never gone to Jim Thompson House until this trip. Beautiful and really worthwhile, glad I went, and highly recommend it.
8. I went to Chiang Mai and Phuket with non-gay friends, so I didnтАЩt see any of the gay nightlife there. But in Phuket we stayed at a place called the Deevana Patong Resort and Spa. ItтАЩs a beautiful place off of Raj-u-thid Road, about 5 blocks from Paradise complex. About 2,300/night for a poolside room, very nice, fabulous room. Beautiful pool (actually, they have 2 pools). Highly recommended. No elevator, however.
9. Back in Bangkok, the Central Complex on Silom (Saladang) continues to be one of the cruisiest and successful venues for connecting with local guys. Lots of moneyboys, too, but they are not all moneyboys. I met two guys that were memorable тАУ for different reasons. One was nice / great sex / didnтАЩt ask for money (initially). The next day I went to Babylon and left my phone in my hotel room safe; upon returning, the phone showed that he had called 18 times that day (Yikes!). I found that somewhat scary and am really turned-off by phone-obsessed people, so I freaked and didnтАЩt see him again. After I got home I received the not-so-surprising SMS request for money. At first I tried to draft a response: тАЬWell, you know I didnтАЩt even want to see you again while I was there so why do you think I want / should send you money now that IтАЩm home?тАЭ but of course I knew better than to prolong the contact and so just ignored the request. The other guy I met at Central was, frankly, the find of a lifetime; a young, cute, employed professional; unfortunately, heтАЩs already in a relationship, so I wonтАЩt say how old or what his profession is, lest his BF be lurking on this board. I was just an afternoon cheat for him (an agreeable role for which I am well-suited). Actually we ended up seeing each other many times over the course of my last 2 weeks in BKK. Of course the sex was just icing on the cake, since he was so well-educated, charming and personable, and wonderful to be with. I'm afraid that тАЬ...I left my heart in BangkokтАЭ. One of you guys has a real тАЬgemтАЭ of a boyfriend! And, itтАЩs hard for me to believe that, at age 50, I can still have such luck. :cheers: Gosh, I love Thailand!
10. I ate dinner three or four times at O..Ho.. restaurant, which Surfcrest and others commented on some time ago. It's close to the Malaysia Hotel, a few doors down from the 7/11. I found the place to be really excellent and was impressed by the skills of the chef. I did not try the Western food, however, only the Thai food. But it was delicious, and the price was amazingly cheap. All meals at O..Ho.. were better than the 2 meals I had at Mali, which didn't seem to be as good as in the past.
Cheers!
1. Pinnacle Hotel. I think that was the last time I will stay there. Rooms OK but overall the atmosphere is sterile, just doesnтАЩt rub me right, feels unfriendly. But most of all, I am tired - so totally tired - of asking for a meter taxi to the airport and getting instead the bumpkin who sits outside in his dilapidated piece of shit taxi because he pays the guards/bellboys/hotel/whoever for the franchise to be the on-call ripoff taxi to the airport. тАЬMeter brokenтАЭ/ тАЬyou pay 400 baht, I pay toll, same-same meterтАЭ. If you want a meter taxi, donтАЩt bother asking the front desk to have the bellboys or guard call one; youтАЩll end up with the rip-off taxi. You need to walk out to the street and hail a decent cab yourself. In my opinion, thatтАЩs just unsat; even the Malaysia Hotel will hail you a meter taxi if you expressly ask! (The straw that breaks the camelтАЩs back is that the taxi, mechanically, is just an awful P.O.S. that isnтАЩt worth riding in even the short distance to Silom, much less to the airport.)
2. Aspara massage, on Silom. Older guy named Sompong. Best traditional Thai massage I have ever had. The 2-hour Thai massage was 400 baht, and I severely over-tipped him at 400 baht. But he deserved it, believe me. IтАЩve been a client off-and-on for years now, and heтАЩs a true professional devoted to the art.
3. Babylon massage. Still good but some problems I never noted before, hopefully quality is not on a downturn. Massage coordinator makes a strong pitch for the Babylon blend massage, tries very hard to steer you away from the Thai massage. Blend massage is about 1,000 baht more expensive, and half an hour shorter. I have had both many times in the past, and each has its advantages; in fact the blend massage is very good, but sometimes IтАЩm not in the mood for oil and when I ask for the Thai massage, I just want the Thai massage, I donтАЩt want a condescending lecture / hard-core sales pitch on how much better I will enjoy the blend massage. Finally I had to say, тАЬWhat exactly is it about тАШI want a 2-hour traditional Thai massageтАЩ that you donтАЩt understand?тАЭ Complaints aside, out of 4 massages at Babylon, 2 were stellar, one was very good, and one was borderline awful. The awful massage was from a boy who was obsessed with his ipod music player and would stop the massage frequently to search for music тАУ or, worse, heтАЩd rub me repetitiously and meaninglessly in one spot with one hand while adjusting the music player with his other hand. I came very close to aborting the massage but he was so young and cute I decided just to let it go. Turns out, he really is sweet, just oblivious to the concept of professionalism.)
4. Janpa Massage, Sukhumvit 41. Went looking for Mr. Weira, based on some comments made by wowpow (I think) about Mr. Weira being the best masseur heтАЩs ever experienced. I should have called ahead, because he was booked when I arrived. Ended up with someone else, a Mr. Yut. Not bad, nice massage, nice house, but overall I think itтАЩs expensive for what you get (compared to other places.) Next time I'll call ahead for Mr. Weira.
5. I went to Tsukuba Kenkou center for a massage. ThatтАЩs the place on Suriwong that used to be Marble House. Before leaving for Thailand I read a posting here by homintern that piqued my interest. LetтАЩs just say that everything homi implied was true, and letтАЩs leave it at that. Recommended.
6. I didnтАЩt go to any go-go bars, so I cannot comment on how theyтАЩre doing.
7. Although IтАЩve been to Bangkok at least 12 times now, I had never gone to Jim Thompson House until this trip. Beautiful and really worthwhile, glad I went, and highly recommend it.
8. I went to Chiang Mai and Phuket with non-gay friends, so I didnтАЩt see any of the gay nightlife there. But in Phuket we stayed at a place called the Deevana Patong Resort and Spa. ItтАЩs a beautiful place off of Raj-u-thid Road, about 5 blocks from Paradise complex. About 2,300/night for a poolside room, very nice, fabulous room. Beautiful pool (actually, they have 2 pools). Highly recommended. No elevator, however.
9. Back in Bangkok, the Central Complex on Silom (Saladang) continues to be one of the cruisiest and successful venues for connecting with local guys. Lots of moneyboys, too, but they are not all moneyboys. I met two guys that were memorable тАУ for different reasons. One was nice / great sex / didnтАЩt ask for money (initially). The next day I went to Babylon and left my phone in my hotel room safe; upon returning, the phone showed that he had called 18 times that day (Yikes!). I found that somewhat scary and am really turned-off by phone-obsessed people, so I freaked and didnтАЩt see him again. After I got home I received the not-so-surprising SMS request for money. At first I tried to draft a response: тАЬWell, you know I didnтАЩt even want to see you again while I was there so why do you think I want / should send you money now that IтАЩm home?тАЭ but of course I knew better than to prolong the contact and so just ignored the request. The other guy I met at Central was, frankly, the find of a lifetime; a young, cute, employed professional; unfortunately, heтАЩs already in a relationship, so I wonтАЩt say how old or what his profession is, lest his BF be lurking on this board. I was just an afternoon cheat for him (an agreeable role for which I am well-suited). Actually we ended up seeing each other many times over the course of my last 2 weeks in BKK. Of course the sex was just icing on the cake, since he was so well-educated, charming and personable, and wonderful to be with. I'm afraid that тАЬ...I left my heart in BangkokтАЭ. One of you guys has a real тАЬgemтАЭ of a boyfriend! And, itтАЩs hard for me to believe that, at age 50, I can still have such luck. :cheers: Gosh, I love Thailand!
10. I ate dinner three or four times at O..Ho.. restaurant, which Surfcrest and others commented on some time ago. It's close to the Malaysia Hotel, a few doors down from the 7/11. I found the place to be really excellent and was impressed by the skills of the chef. I did not try the Western food, however, only the Thai food. But it was delicious, and the price was amazingly cheap. All meals at O..Ho.. were better than the 2 meals I had at Mali, which didn't seem to be as good as in the past.
Cheers!