KAL..the problem...any solutions?

I am flying into BKK with Korean Airlines

the problem is that I will arrive at 11:45 PM

Any suggestions as to what to do the first night? Will anything still be open by the time I get luggage, go through customs and get a taxi?

Should I just get a room near the airport and give up the first night as a loss?

Would it make sense to go ahead and head over to Pattaya for a few days and recover from the flight on the beach?

I am not even sure what time my body will be on at that point.

Any personal experiences would be appreciated

Is your destination Bangkok or Pattaya?

I always arrive at that time. Fastest time through customs and baggage claim was about 20 minutes. However, 30 to 40 minutes appears to be more typical.

I always have a car and driver waiting and go straight to Pattaya. By the time I get to the hotel things are usually closed. This is not a problem since my priority is a nice hot shower and then to bed and to sleep. I find that this recharges a worn out body and allows me a quick reset of my internal clock.

[Mi Cow Chai-old]

I agree with Joe M. My bf meets me at the airport with car and driver. We catch up on the way to Pattaya. When we get to the hotel 2+ hrs later we unpack shower and get a good nights sleep. I am ready to go in the morning.

[lonelywombat]

There are a lot of posts re saunas that are open late at least one till 6am

If you are going to be in BKK then that is your best option

However I get the impression that there might be some relaxing of closing times.

If DJ is open till 2AM then you should be able to catch the last hour, then go to saunas if still frisky. With a bit of luck your plane might arrive early, that happens about half the flights I get.

I hope this link works
http://web.cruisingforsex.com/bb/forumd ... forumid=82 (http://web.cruisingforsex.com/bb/forumdisplay.php?s=642f108ba6ed4a43011ffe562d7ce72 9&forumid=82)

You can sleep all the next day, but one night missed out on is one never caught up with.

Is your destination Bangkok or Pattaya?

Both of them at some point in the trip - it is my first visit, so I obviously have to see BKK - but I definitely want to visit Pattaya - I've even been practicing my chickenwalk

[paulg]

- I've even been practicing my chickenwalk[/quote]

What tune have you been practicing to??

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini ?

[Smiles]

I am flying into BKK with Korean Airlines
the problem is that I will arrive at 11:45 PM
Any suggestions as to what to do the first night?
An Old Man speaking: ClawDaddy, get yourself some sleep!

If your plane touches down at 11:45pm chances are you won't even be ready to hail a cab until ~ at best ~ an hour later. If there's a couple of other jumbo jets deplaning at around the same time, probably more.

Get thee into the Pinnacle or Malaysia, or Tarntawan Hotels (or some place like that ~ bookings all to be had on the Google Net) and have a good rest . . . all the bars have closing hours of at the very latest 1:00am (this "closing hour" thing changes like the wind (and whim) these days and it's difficult to keep track, but I do believe 2:00am+ closings are pretty well a thing of the past now).
After a good night's sleep . . . don't think of it as 'wasted time', think 'recuperation' ~ for the next night. Trust me, the boys will still be there!

Cheers ...

clawdaddy I would go straight to your hotel and try and go to sleep. If this is your first visit you are going to need your sleep, there is so much to see and do in Bangkok. You might not even get to see a Sauna. I only went to the Babylon on my sixth visite. As for the beach Its probably beter to do that later to get over the pollution and hectic scramble of bangkok.
The beach or sea at Pattaya is not bad I am told, but when I was there it was flat and shallow and very warm and slightly muddy, not that refreshing, I prefer waves and clear blue waters and thrashing bodies, depends on the season I believe.

Since this is your first trip to Thailand ( welcome to The Land of Smiles! ), I too recommend you stay in Bangkok first. At the airport, after you leave the Customs turn left and go to a taxi desk located outside the arrival hall that organises taxi with metre for you ( you pay metre fare plus additional 50 baht fee to the driver ). There will be some touts approaching you to offer you a taxi ride, just say "No, Thankyou" and walk on. At night, travelling from airport to downtown takes just about 25 minutes. Tell your taxi driver to use the Toll way and the Express Way ( you will have to pay 20 baht toll fee for using the Toll Way and 40 baht for using the Express Way ). It's good for you to arrive at night. Just go straight to bed, and have a good sleep. When you get up in the morning, you will find your bodyclock adjust to the local time better. Whether you book your hotel directly with the hotel or through a travel agent, it is a good idea to e-mail to the hotel directly to inform them that you will arrive at late night, so that they will keep your room for you. Some hotels can be full and they do bump your reservation off the list if you do not arrive in normal hour and do not recomfirm your reservation. They may offer to take you to another hotel, but after a 20 hours flight surely all you need is go straight to bed.

In my opinion, Bangkok is a good place to start for beginners. There are several sightseeings for tourists and best restaurants. You can travel on foot, by boat, taxi, subway and skytrain. There are also places where you can meet decent professional guys for a chat and for something a bit more intimate. Bangkok also has pleanty of go-go bars, host bars and massage parlors.

If you don't want to do much for the first few days, just pop into Babylon bathhouse ( open from noon ) where you can lounge by the pool, swim, workout in the gym, enjoy steamrooms, talk to local and foreign gay men, sample some good food, and have an intimate time with someone in a cool private cubicle.

After your bodyclock has settled, you can then head to Pattaya to enjoy the beach, listen to sobbing stories, watch dramas on the beach, and enjoy go-go scenes.

I am always wound up and too excited to be back in thailnad to go to sleep. I usually get a room near patpong and after a quick shower am out walking around the area. There are always people about and easy to make contacts if your in the mood. I like spending a nite or two in Bkk before heading for pattaya,

Is what I am practicing my chickenwalk to

THanks for all the suggestions! Since I am still six months away...oh wait, it is March now...five months away...I undoubtedly will change my mind 400 times.

One additional thought is that, after all that time on planes, if I haven't collapsed from Deep Vein Thrombosis, it would be nice to have massage (no sex, though amenable to a happy ending). If I go to Pattaya first I realize that it would be *way* too late - but if I stayed in Bangkok, at a gay/friendly hotel, could the hotel help in arranging someone? As far as sleeping - that is all I want to do after a massage.

[Smiles]

" ... if I stayed in Bangkok, at a gay/friendly hotel, could the hotel help in arranging someone? As far as sleeping - that is all I want to do after a massage ... "
If you book a room at the Malaysia Hotel (clean, spartan, reasonable hotel, very gay friendly. Try this booking site, http://www.hotelthailand.com/bangkok/malaysia/ but do a Google search and you'll find lots of booking URL's) it's rather like Alice's Restaurant in the 24-hr coffee shop: " ... you can get anything you want, in the Malaysia Restaurant ... "

Happy hunting & cheers ...

[manfarang-old]

Many tourists coming from America and Japan arrive around the midnight hour - the airport terminal will be quite busy. For the first time visitor especially, I'm inclined to agree with those suggesting that you first get a good night's sleep. You will have been traveling for over 24 hours and arriving into a time difference of about 11 hours (from Indiana). In addition, when you first step into the Bangkok heat, you may find it a bit enervating and disorienting. Better to check into your hotel and take a shower, walk around the neighborhood a bit to orient yourself if you are still wired, then go back to your room, pop an Ambien and get a solid night's sleep. I think that, in long run, adjusting to the time difference early on rather than running the streets or working the sheets until 6am on the first night will work out better for your long-term stamina and enjoyment of your trip.

I was just doing some surfing and came across the Aquarius guesthouse (Bangkok) website - complete with pics of their in-house hosts.

I searched this site and the gaypattaya archives and only found first-hand comments from Smiles (which didn't come across as negative towards the property itself - but dealt mainly with the bizarre raid and arrest of a Canadian.)

Now that the raid referred to in the earlier posts is (somewhat) history - does anyone have recent experience of this place?

Hmm yes I have wondered about the Aquarius guest house. I think I have walked passed it quite often. Thought it would be nice but then changed my mind. I like boutique style with garden whatever but it might be a bit close there. Its like the Babylon hotel bit, stuck onto the Sauna just a bit too concentrated for my tastes.

Most good hotels wont be able to organise a massage much after 11pm. I always have a massage after a flight but wait until the following day. Take a nice slow breakfast acclimatise next to the pool go for a mini excursion, then have a laxing massage, in the afternoon. Getting to your massage will be a trip in itself, unless your hotel has a good service but quite often they are not so good.

Just for interest I read about massage at the Ambassador Hotel and tried but I cannot recommend. The place is the pits, lockers are unsafe showers dirty and the massage so very so. Not if you know what a proper Thai massage is all about, the therapists are also a bit tired. Sadly it also doubles as an informal sex massage joint just dont ask me why, they should be the ones paying.