Lumphini Park

It seems that the cruising in lumphini park in bangkok is not what it used to be based on visits over a 10 yr period. Each holi8day, i visited lumphini at least twice
1st visit: full of gays at every corner , not very discreet
2nd visit: some gays , cuising alot mor ediscreet and less obvious
3rd visit: lots of aerobics o music, community activities, very ungay, family orientated

Maybe it's changed again?

It seems that the cruising in lumphini park in bangkok is not what it used to be based on visits over a 10 yr period. Each holi8day, i visited lumphini at least twice
1st visit: full of gays at every corner , not very discreet
2nd visit: some gays , cuising alot mor ediscreet and less obvious
3rd visit: lots of aerobics o music, community activities, very ungay, family orientated

Maybe it's changed again?

No. It is still the same as on your third visit. Which for us residents of Bangkok is just how it should be. Thankfully added security guards in the last twelve months has diminished even further the nefarious activities of cruising farangs, many whom bore an uncanny reptillian resemblance to some of the inhabitants of Lumpini Park's lakes.

It was built as a leisure and recreational area for the residents of Bangkok and not as a pick-up joint for sex tourists.

[TrongpaiExpat]

So, if your looking for a pick-up joint/park go over to the park next to Wat Po late at night. Dig up a report by Gaythailand some time ago that detailed all the particulars.

It was built as a leisure and recreational area for the residents of Bangkok and not as a pick-up joint for sex tourists.A somewhat jaundiced view - it has lots of Thais picking up other Thais; the number of Westerners - tourists or otherwise - is miniscule by comparison

[sydneyboy]

What about the open air gym? That was great for admirers of muscle bodies and a chat with those who were bar boys.

I find it interesting that farangs (ie naughty but nice) who see cruising in public places and possibly sex tourism as 'bad' choose to reside in Bangkok. Surely there are other cities in the world that have security guards that are more passionate about preventing cruising in public places. This reminds me of Edith Clampton.

I find it interesting that farangs (ie naughty but nice) who see cruising in public places and possibly sex tourism as 'bad' choose to reside in Bangkok. Surely there are other cities in the world that have security guards that are more passionate about preventing cruising in public places. This reminds me of Edith Clampton.

As I said in another thread.

'I was born in Thailand and apart from a few years in the UK as a child I have lived in Thailand ever since. I have dual Thai/British nationality and have been in Bangkok since the 70's.

What keeps me here rather than brings me here is that I have a business and home in Bangkok, friends, a great social and personal life and no need or desire to crawl around the bars and clubs seeking out company'.

My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.

As for Lumpini Park it has been cleaned up a lot in recent years by the added security which was brought about in no small measure because of cruising farangs annoying locals and some making unwelcome approaches to children. Following a number of arrests of farangs in the park 3 years ago there were discussions about installing CCTV within the park boundaries but this was put on hold in favour of extra security staff patrolling the park which does appear to have cut down the cruisers considerably.

[TrongpaiExpat]

cruising farangs annoying locals and some making unwelcome approaches to children

Children? The poster teachertravel did not say anything about molesting children and does not deserve a moral lecture from anyone on this board.

Funny, it's always some guy who tells everyone how nice he is and making the most noise about morals that gets caught with his hands in the naughty red handed.

[allieb]

Naughty But Nice has the right to his opinion but I think he is living in a dream world. He has been in Thailand since 1972 and doesn't seem to come to grips with what Thailand is all about or at least what is being said and promoted outside Thailand

It always was and still is a major if not the biggest sex tourist destination in the world. Just as everyone knows that France has its fine wines, Italy had its wonderful food and culture, And New Zealand has its sheep shaggers ( sorry Aunty) Thailand has its sex workers and they are everywhere.

I think it would be easier to get a fuck at 3' o clock in the morning in Thailand than a bottle of wine in France.

[Aunty]

, And New Zealand has its sheep shaggers ( sorry Aunty)

New Zealand doesn't have 'sheep shaggers', sorry sweety. If you want to see a lot of sheep you should go to Australia, they have more than we do. Stereotypes about countries make those who utter them look lazy and uneducated. Thailand is not about sex tourism, and I entirely agree with Naughty but Nice. It is up to the Thai to set their own rules for public morality and to expect that their public facilities will be used for their intended purpose - not by a bunch of sleazy foreigners set on making a public nuisance of themselves, who, in most instances, would be arrested on the spot if they tried such degenerate bullshit in their home country. The only double standards here are among the farang.

My niece Tourette's multiple arrests at age 17 for hanging around the public lavatories of Auckland are something we don't (much) talk about in the family these days

You'll notice that Aunty Tourette hasn't bothered denying youthful activities but is all po-faced about banning similar activities in Lumpini Park. That, my dear wowpow, is what's known as an "inconsistency" - rather than the efforts of some clapped out old queen not bothering to post the latest cut'n'paste triumph in the correct Forum and then claiming it's all down to "inconsistencies"

...My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.

I proudly declare myself as one of the sex tourist. Sometime I get free sex, and sometimes I pay to play. Yes, I come to Thailand mainly for the purpose of sexual enjoyment. I can not think of any other reason for me to fly 10+ hours to get there (cost of time and flight).
For the weather? -- hot and humid, winter is better tho, but many other tourist places have nice weather too.
For the food?-- well, if you are vegeterian, thailand is wonderful place. Padthai or those noodle soup are cheap, but where is the meat? In additon, I can not justify myself flying 10+ hours to eat at a street food stall.
For the beach?-- good luck with your swimming excercise in PTY or even Phuket. I hope your body is healthy enough to fight off whatever is in the water.
Ask myself (or yourself), if sex is not readily available in Thailand, would I (or you) still come to Thailand? No, I would not!!
Thailand is for sex and that is about all there is to this place.

[thaiworthy-old]

...My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.

I proudly declare myself as one of the sex tourist. Sometime I get free sex, and sometimes I pay to play. Yes, I come to Thailand mainly for the purpose of sexual enjoyment. I can not think of any other reason for me to fly 10+ hours to get there (cost of time and flight).
For the weather? -- hot and humid, winter is better tho, but many other tourist places have nice weather too.
For the food?-- well, if you are vegeterian, thailand is wonderful place. Padthai or those noodle soup are cheap, but where is the meat? In additon, I can not justify myself flying 10+ hours to eat at a street food stall.
For the beach?-- good luck with your swimming excercise in PTY or even Phuket. I hope your body is healthy enough to fight off whatever is in the water.
Ask myself (or yourself), if sex is not readily available in Thailand, would I (or you) still come to Thailand? No, I would not!!
Thailand is for sex and that is about all there is to this place.

While Thailand is your playground, is also Naughty's home and I think we should respect that. It really isn't necessary to brag about using the (sexual) resources of one's country for your own exploitation. While it is true that many of us enjoy the sexual aspect, I wouldn't so eagerly express those feelings to-- say a Monk, for example, so why then be so blatant here? I do not live in Thailand, but I can think of many things I would like to do if I did live here. I have taken courses in the Thai language because I want to communicate with its people. I want to learn how to cook Thai food at home because it is good for my diabetic diet. I want to know about Buddhism because it is extremely interesting to me after many years of growing up Catholic. If all Thailand is to you is some sexual justification for spending 10+ plus hours on a plane, then I doubt you would find anyplace on Earth worth visiting. I feel so sorry for you. Your post just reeks of selfishness and morbid self-gratification. I am not the wisest man on the earth, but this is more than obvious to anyone who can read. A visit to another country is a cultural exchange. What have you given Thailand except your spent bodily fluids? IMHO, you desperately need to re-think this philosophy before it destroys what little humanity you have left.

[fedssocr]

For the food?-- well, if you are vegeterian, thailand is wonderful place. Padthai or those noodle soup are cheap, but where is the meat? In additon, I can not justify myself flying 10+ hours to eat at a street food stall.


I don't know where you are eating, but I have always had meat in my Thai food. In fact, I would ask, where are the vegetables? It's all about the meat in pretty much every Thai dish I have ever eaten. Take your pick: chicken, pork, or beef? The food is one of the top attractions to me.

While Thailand is your playground, is also Naughty's home and I think we should respect that. It really isn't necessary to brag about using the (sexual) resources of one's country for your own exploitation. While it is true that many of us enjoy the sexual aspect, I wouldn't so eagerly express those feelings to-- say a Monk, for example, so why then be so blatant here? .


New Zealand doesn't have 'sheep shaggers', sorry sweety. If you want to see a lot of sheep you should go to Australia, they have more than we do. Stereotypes about countries make those who utter them look lazy and uneducated. Thailand is not about sex tourism, and I entirely agree with Naughty but Nice. It is up to the Thai to set their own rules for public morality and to expect that their public facilities will be used for their intended purpose - not by a bunch of sleazy foreigners set on making a public nuisance of themselves, who, in most instances, would be arrested on the spot if they tried such degenerate bullshit in their home country. The only double standards here are among the farang.

thaiworth and aunty you both appear to be a welcome voices in the wilderness.

For the record I have no problem with anyone visiting Thailand as a sex tourist, each to his own. My problem is with those who see are unable to see that Thailand has far has more to offer than the bars and the clubs and expect every Thai that they see to be readily available for sex.

The Lumpini Park debate could be applied to many of the other parks and recreational areas in Bangkok, these were intended for a huge percentage of the local residents to have a refuge to escape to from their own poor living conditions and for many these parks are the only place that they can experience open spaces and relatively clean air. It is surely not to much to ask that if farangs also want to enjoy these areas then they do so without using them as cruising areas and enjoy them for the purpose they are intended.

thaiworthy, if on your next visit to Thailand you are able to find a free week to travel north then I can recommend from the experience of friends that some of the cooking 'schools' held up in Chiang Mai are an excellent introduction to Thai cooking. Whilst these courses are not intended to bring you to Master Chef status they are fun and generally in small groups of 6-10 people. In addition accomodation can often should you so wish be arranged in a local Wat which providing you are happy to accept the most basic way of living for the duration of the course would also give you a further insight into your interest in Buddhism


Children? The poster teachertravel did not say anything about molesting children and does not deserve a moral lecture from anyone on this board.

Funny, it's always some guy who tells everyone how nice he is and making the most noise about morals that gets caught with his hands in the naughty red handed .
Tronpai, I was not givnig a moral lecture, I was explaining to the poster as to why according to his observations that Lumpini Park was not such an active cruising area as on his previous visits.

As for your last paragraph you should not assume that others sink to your own moral standards.

[Brad the Impala]

While Thailand is your playground, is also Naughty's home and I think we should respect that. It really isn't necessary to brag about using the (sexual) resources of one's country for your own exploitation. While it is true that many of us enjoy the sexual aspect, I wouldn't so eagerly express those feelings to-- say a Monk, for example, so why then be so blatant here? I do not live in Thailand, but I can think of many things I would like to do if I did live here. I have taken courses in the Thai language because I want to communicate with its people. I want to learn how to cook Thai food at home because it is good for my diabetic diet. I want to know about Buddhism because it is extremely interesting to me after many years of growing up Catholic. If all Thailand is to you is some sexual justification for spending 10+ plus hours on a plane, then I doubt you would find anyplace on Earth worth visiting. I feel so sorry for you. Your post just reeks of selfishness and morbid self-gratification. I am not the wisest man on the earth, but this is more than obvious to anyone who can read. A visit to another country is a cultural exchange. What have you given Thailand except your spent bodily fluids? IMHO, you desperately need to re-think this philosophy before it destroys what little humanity you have left.

Nicely put Thaiworthy, I am sure that you live up to your handle.

Gay men cruise in parks and places for "public leisure" all over the world from London to Taipei to Marrakesh. Lumpini is no different. It is not a special issue. It was used for gay cruising before the arrival of sex tours, and will continue as long as the park exists.

I screwed in the park one night in 1972 or was it 1973. There was no financial transaction. Just one horny gay guy with another.

As for the "unwelcome approaches to children" comment, is this based on any fact, or is this just being used in the way that the homphobes use it to put a slur on gay men?

My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.


Sex tourism is about as "real Thailand" as the food that has been put on the table by millions of bar-boys and bar-girls over the years to feed their families.

[Nicely put Thaiworthy, I am sure that you live up to your handle.

Gay men cruise in parks and places for "public leisure" all over the world from London to Taipei to Marrakesh. Lumpini is no different. It is not a special issue. It was used for gay cruising before the arrival of sex tours, and will continue as long as the park exists.

I screwed in the park one night in 1972 or was it 1973. There was no financial transaction. Just one horny gay guy with another.

As for the "unwelcome approaches to children" comment, is this based on any fact, or is this just being used in the way that the homphobes use it to put a slur on gay men?

The comment about children is based on facts. It was not aimed at gay men but was to point out that one of the reasons for the added security at Lumpini is due to the fact that apart from the public nuisance of gay crusing a park where many families gather children have been approached by men cruising, quite possibly those men could have been of either sexual preference but the problem of children being approached combined with gay cruising brought about added patrols. Over the past few years a number of arrests were made of men who were persistently approaching children in the childrens' play area, the library and hanging around outside of the swimming pool.

When the youth/sports centre at the park was first opened it was able to be used by anyone going into the park and in fact many adult farang/Thai youth games of football & basketball took place there with farangs who worked in Bangkok meeting there during their lunch hours. Then after a series of incidents and complaints that men were approaching youngsters (male & female) the decision to exclude farangs from that small compound was taken. That was just another example of farangs thinking that anywhere youngsters gather is fair game as a pick-up point.

On National Childrens' Day last January my housekeeper took her two children a boy & girl aged 14 & 11 respectively to the Lumpini Park childrens events and were followed around by a farang who persistently tried to speak to the kids even going so far as to show the mother some money and point to the girl. This also happened to a couple of other parents and the BIB were called by the park patrols and removed the offender. The boy as have some of his friends (m&f) has also been blatantly approached in the roads around where we live (Silom) on their was home from school early in the eveningand asked if they would like to go for a burger/a movie. They have now be told that if they are approached they immediately inform a BIB.

[quote="Naughty But Nice":164awdrh]My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.


Sex tourism is about as "real Thailand" as the food that has been put on the table by millions of bar-boys and bar-girls over the years to feed their families.[/quote:164awdrh]

And of course there are even more millions of Thais who survive *without* entering the sex trade.

[allieb]

Naughty but nice

This argument could go on forever.
Lumphini park is a cruising ground as is many public parks around the world. Thais on Thais and Farangs on Thais. I somehow think that Farang don't go there for Farang so it isn't the fault of wizened old farangs as you mention,Thais started this cruising ground.

The hard gay activities as in most parks starts at night when its dark, Families would have already left by then. I personally do not do outside cruising and when looking for sex I stick to the bars and clubs so called designated areas. My favorite being Silom. Farangs following kids around in broad daylight is unforgivable and the stories you tell make my flesh creep no mercy on these people. It isn't just Lumhini park that has this problem these criminals will try it anywhere. Agreed this should be addressed

My own opinion about outside cruising in Thailand is its for queens who want to get free sex and then feel good about how they got laid for free. For me a dick up my asshole in Thailand are many meals on someones table. This brings me to the next point

Sex puts food on millions of table , and your remarks "And even more millions survive without entering the sex trade" True but compare These numbers with other countries Thailand does depend on the sex trade very much. Work back.
From the deed in bed which supports a boy with a family of many.
The staff in the bar where money was spent with the boy
The restaurant he may have been taken to
Cloths and gifts you may have bought him
The hundreds of flights into Bangkok every day (I would guess that 20 % were sex tourists )
It is a major source of income and if declined would make a big dent in the budget and a lot of job losses in the non sex sector,

Everybody goes to Thailand for his own reasons and the Thais and its residents like you should be thankful of the income for the people. You have lived there since 1972 as you say. At that point in time it was even worse with Thailand being the favored place for the American military to get what they called R&R from Vietnam

A famous supermarket in Canada which was near to a Military base said it didn't depend on the base's custom. One month the Army paid all its workers in 2 dollar bills. Result the supermarket had a serious shortage on other denominations.

Naughty but nice

1.This argument could go on forever.

2. Farangs following kids around in broad daylight is unforgivable and the stories you tell make my flesh creep no mercy on these people. It isn't just Lumhini park that has this problem these criminals will try it anywhere. Agreed this should be addressed

The hundreds of flights into Bangkok every day (I would guess that 20 % were sex tourists )
It is a major source of income and if declined would make a big dent in the budget and a lot of job losses in the non sex sector,

.

At least we agree on a couple of things 1 & 2 above.

A few months ago I read a report from the financial sector that gave estimations by a couple of leading institutions of the ratio of sex tourists to non sex tourists and whilst it was fairly high I do not recall it being near the figure you mention.

If I can locate the source of the report again I will come back to you with what the estimates were.

[Brad the Impala]

The comment about children is based on facts. It was not aimed at gay men but was to point out that one of the reasons for the added security at Lumpini is due to the fact that apart from the public nuisance of gay crusing a park where many families gather children have been approached by men cruising, quite possibly those men could have been of either sexual preference but the problem of children being approached combined with gay cruising brought about added patrols. Over the past few years a number of arrests were made of men who were persistently approaching children in the childrens' play area, the library and hanging around outside of the swimming pool.

When the youth/sports centre at the park was first opened it was able to be used by anyone going into the park and in fact many adult farang/Thai youth games of football & basketball took place there with farangs who worked in Bangkok meeting there during their lunch hours. Then after a series of incidents and complaints that men were approaching youngsters (male & female) the decision to exclude farangs from that small compound was taken. That was just another example of farangs thinking that anywhere youngsters gather is fair game as a pick-up point.

On National Childrens' Day last January my housekeeper took her two children a boy & girl aged 14 & 11 respectively to the Lumpini Park childrens events and were followed around by a farang who persistently tried to speak to the kids even going so far as to show the mother some money and point to the girl. This also happened to a couple of other parents and the BIB were called by the park patrols and removed the offender. The boy as have some of his friends (m&f) has also been blatantly approached in the roads around where we live (Silom) on their was home from school early in the eveningand asked if they would like to go for a burger/a movie. They have now be told that if they are approached they immediately inform a BIB.

Thanks for clarifying.

How absolutely appalling. I would support the sensible steps to discourage this from happening. I can say that I am also pleased that Thailand has recently taken some steps, via it's limitations on visitors endless tourist visas, to discourage some of the dreadful long stay visitors to the country.

[Brad the Impala]

Naughty but nice


Everybody goes to Thailand for his own reasons and the Thais and its residents like you should be thankful of the income for the people. You have lived there since 1972 as you say. At that point in time it was even worse with Thailand being the favored place for the American military to get what they called R&R from Vietnam



You are saying that Thailand should welcome all visitors, no matter however badly they behave when in the country!! Are you sure that you mean this?

Incidentally the sex industry servicing foreign tourists has expanded enormously since the days of R&R.

While many Thais are honest and helpful to foreigners (tourists or expacts), there are also a lot of Thais who do not.
Don't forget the double pricing systems in Thailand. When you open your month speaking English, they know you are supposed to pay a higher price no matther what..it is given.
Now...some people go shopping with their Thai friends/boy friends, so that your Thai friends can get the lower price for you. But hey, guess what, you are supposed to pay for the meals and any expense when go shopping with Thai friends. So, in a way, they help you get the lower price, and they want you spend that savings on them. I guess you should thank them for this too....lol.

[TrongpaiExpat]

Lost you on this one Scott. What does double pricing have to do with cruising in Lumpini Park?

Oh well, I'll have what ever Scott is drinking, are you buying?

By the way, don't order a vodka martini at Bondi. You get a martini made with gin and a glass of Vodka and a strange look.

Sawatdee pee mai

[Brad the Impala]

While many Thais are honest and helpful to foreigners (tourists or expacts), there are also a lot of Thais who do not.
Don't forget the double pricing systems in Thailand. When you open your month speaking English, they know you are supposed to pay a higher price no matther what..it is given.


Then I guess that you get a discount, rather than the price based on the ability to use your month to speak English? Of course if you were an expact you might get a reduction, but that's another matther!

[allieb]

Naughty but nice


Everybody goes to Thailand for his own reasons and the Thais and its residents like you should be thankful of the income for the people. You have lived there since 1972 as you say. At that point in time it was even worse with Thailand being the favored place for the American military to get what they called R&R from Vietnam



You are saying that Thailand should welcome all visitors, no matter however badly they behave when in the country!! Are you sure that you mean this?

Incidentally the sex industry servicing foreign tourists has expanded enormously since the days of R&R.

No I'm not saying that Thailand should tolerate badly behaved visitors. What I'm saying is Don't knock sex tourism, its a good part of the economy. Nobody can accurately assess exactly how much but it's there and from my few trips ( about a dozen in all) I have seen it in abundance.

While many Thais are honest and helpful to foreigners (tourists or expacts), there are also a lot of Thais who do not.
Don't forget the double pricing systems in Thailand. When you open your month speaking English, they know you are supposed to pay a higher price no matther what..it is given.
Now...some people go shopping with their Thai friends/boy friends, so that your Thai friends can get the lower price for you. But hey, guess what, you are supposed to pay for the meals and any expense when go shopping with Thai friends. So, in a way, they help you get the lower price, and they want you spend that savings on them. I guess you should thank them for this too....lol.

correction: open your month=> open your mouth

I post whatever comes to my mind whenever I read. My post probably is not directly related to cruising in Lumpini park.

[thaiguest]

[quote="Brad the Impala":16y1tm81][Nicely put Thaiworthy, I am sure that you live up to your handle.

Gay men cruise in parks and places for "public leisure" all over the world from London to Taipei to Marrakesh. Lumpini is no different. It is not a special issue. It was used for gay cruising before the arrival of sex tours, and will continue as long as the park exists.

I screwed in the park one night in 1972 or was it 1973. There was no financial transaction. Just one horny gay guy with another.

As for the "unwelcome approaches to children" comment, is this based on any fact, or is this just being used in the way that the homphobes use it to put a slur on gay men?

The comment about children is based on facts. It was not aimed at gay men but was to point out that one of the reasons for the added security at Lumpini is due to the fact that apart from the public nuisance of gay crusing a park where many families gather children have been approached by men cruising, quite possibly those men could have been of either sexual preference but the problem of children being approached combined with gay cruising brought about added patrols. Over the past few years a number of arrests were made of men who were persistently approaching children in the childrens' play area, the library and hanging around outside of the swimming pool.

When the youth/sports centre at the park was first opened it was able to be used by anyone going into the park and in fact many adult farang/Thai youth games of football & basketball took place there with farangs who worked in Bangkok meeting there during their lunch hours. Then after a series of incidents and complaints that men were approaching youngsters (male & female) the decision to exclude farangs from that small compound was taken. That was just another example of farangs thinking that anywhere youngsters gather is fair game as a pick-up point.

On National Childrens' Day last January my housekeeper took her two children a boy & girl aged 14 & 11 respectively to the Lumpini Park childrens events and were followed around by a farang who persistently tried to speak to the kids even going so far as to show the mother some money and point to the girl. This also happened to a couple of other parents and the BIB were called by the park patrols and removed the offender. The boy as have some of his friends (m&f) has also been blatantly approached in the roads around where we live (Silom) on their was home from school early in the eveningand asked if they would like to go for a burger/a movie. They have now be told that if they are approached they immediately inform a BIB.[/quote:16y1tm81]

This post may be late and You may be a Bangkok resident since years back and I'm certainly in favour of the protection of children but I don't believe a word of this. Sounds too much like regurgitated American bullshite.

[quote="FILTHy Love":2o3pfe61][quote="Naughty But Nice":2o3pfe61]My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.


Sex tourism is about as "real Thailand" as the food that has been put on the table by millions of bar-boys and bar-girls over the years to feed their families.[/quote:2o3pfe61]

And of course there are even more millions of Thais who survive *without* entering the sex trade.[/quote:2o3pfe61]

sure....these thais may not sell sex, but they are still in the food chain. Bottom level Thais sell sex and buy food and cloth. Food/cloth sellers earn the money to buy imported computers and cars (I never heard of high tech equipment and cars made in Thailand).
In summary, Thais as a whole made money from selling sex to buy foreign made products. No wonder Thailand is a third world country forever...lol.

I suppose some will argue that Thais export artcrafts, agricultural products, and even human labors to make money from other countries...blah blah blah....but it does not change my point that Thailand will be a third world country forever. And all these contribute to why things are cheaper in Thailand....yep, sex is cheaper too.

sure....these thais may not sell sex, but they are still in the food chain. Bottom level Thais sell sex and buy food and cloth. Food/cloth sellers earn the money to buy imported computers and cars (I never heard of high tech equipment and cars made in Thailand).

never heard of cars made in Thailand? Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, BMW (and probably others if I looked further) all manufacture in Thailand, part of the reason that Thailand has a trade surplus. Thailand is a lot more than a brothel, restaurant and clothes shop.
http://www.business-in-asia.com/automotive_main.html has more info if you want facts rather than baseless speculation.
On the high tech front:
"Currently, Thailand ranks as the worldтАЩs second largest producer of hard Disk Drives with only Singapore exceeding it in terms of output. Four out of five of the worldтАЩs largest manufacturers of Hard Disk Drives produce and export from their Thailand operations. The introduction of additional incentive packages is expected to yield significant growth for the HDD industry in Thailand over the next several years" http://www.business-in-asia.com/harddis ... ustry.html (http://www.business-in-asia.com/harddiskdrive_industry.html)
Once again just an example, I am sure there more if you choose to look.

[sydneyboy]

Could I ask again the question I asked before, what's the open air gym like these days?

[quote="FILTHy Love":txfyyfug][quote="Naughty But Nice":txfyyfug]My only argument with sex tourists, (or at least many of the ones that post here), is that they only see Thailand as a sex tourism destination and are blinkered to anything else and so fail to see the real Thailand.


Sex tourism is about as "real Thailand" as the food that has been put on the table by millions of bar-boys and bar-girls over the years to feed their families.[/quote:txfyyfug]

And of course there are even more millions of Thais who survive *without* entering the sex trade.[/quote:txfyyfug]

Trite. But just because you don't want to see it, it doesn't mean that the lives of the millions who do depend on the sex trade to survive are any less real. Prostitution is very much a part of "real Thailand" as any other facet of Thai society.

[danny99]

So, if your looking for a pick-up joint/park go over to the park next to Wat Po late at night. Dig up a report by Gaythailand some time ago that detailed all the particulars.

The wildest park scenes I have ever seen were in Germany, all night every night. It almost seems as if it is compulsory design to have a wooded section at the secluded end of all public parks. They even say that young policemen patrol these late night areas to prevent any gay bashings, but I could never be quite sure that the uniformed blonde was a real policeman or just another German with a penchant for uniforms and leather. Vondel Park in Amsterdam was all go and the old Golf Course in Central Manilla was also very active but I believe that is no more.

A bit puzzled why anyone would come to Thailand looking for a park scene when all you have to do is smile and wink at anything cute who walks by on the street?