Bangkok...Saunas web sites..

[ohgwm226]

I tried to access Babylon web site. It appears to be unaccessable now. I tried another site: Ban Thai. It was also off line. Is this co-incident? Or is it part of the "crackdown"? Are both these venues still open and doing business? Or should I cancel my planned trip to Bangkok in late November? Do people who live in Bangkok know or feel that things would go back to "normal" when the high profile guests of your town are gone?

Most TV networks in USA reported, some with amazement/amusement, about the massive effort by the Thai government to hide unpleasant things in Bangkok, and keep them off view when so many world leaders are there.

I would appreciate any insite from Thais, or their guests in Bangkok.

 

 

OHGWM226

[Guest pshaw]

I'm not currently in Thailand, but from what I've heard, most of the saunas are still in operation but at a lower-key level. One day the doors will be off at Babylon, next day doors are back on but the maze is closed. The best website for current information is the Cruising for Sex Message Board (Asia:Thailand). Government pressure SHOULD ease up now that the APEC is over, but in Thailand you never know. I certainly wouldn't cancel a trip because of it, but that's your decision.

 

Hopefully the direct link below will work, but if it doesn't, just go to http://www.cruisingforsex.com and work your way to the Thailand message board:

 

http://web.cruisingforsex.com/bb/forumdisplay.php?s=03ad3e28546ad5a97887577b0c682521&forumid=82

[ohgwm226]

Thank you for the reply, and the link to Cruising-for-sex site. However a comparable question to mine here, had been posted by a none-Thai person there few days ago with no one from Bangkok volunteering to either refute or confirm that these saunas (Babylon etc..) are still open and in business. As of today the web sites are still inaccessible.

Well, I am still planning on going to Bangkok in early December. Even if the saunas are closed, it would be enough fun to meet the guys I already know in Bangkok...Surely, Bangkok would be much more fun if Babylon is open and operating as "normal". It is perplexing to me that no one from Bangkok would just write and post few words on this board to let us know, whta the status of the saunas now is..Maybe some one would do soon..

[Guest pshaw]

From everything I have read, Babylon and most of the other saunas are still open, but under the shifting operating conditions that I described. As for the sauna websites, I read somewhere that the government/police may have taken action to block access to them - whether it was because of the conference or some other reason, I don't know. Since I doubt that there are many participants on this board who are also residents of Bangkok, I don't find it at all surprising that there wasn't an answer if the question was asked earlier (I missed it). Icon513, a participant on this board and CFS:Thailand, does live in Bangkok, but if you looked at the CFS site you will have noticed that he mentions that he is currently visiting in the USA and may not be looking at this website right now.

 

The reason I suggested the CFS:Thailand message board in the first place is because many of the participants do live in Thailand and in Bangkok in particular. When I want find the most up-to-date information about gay action in Bangkok, that is the first place I check.

[ohgwm226]

Babylon web site is back online..But appears to be different from previuos version. Much more limited, and difficult to navigate... I liked the older version much more..

[Guest icon513]

The new Babylon website is:

 

http://www.babylonbangkok.com

 

All the saunas are open as usual. It's amazing how these rumors get started.

[fedssocr1]

Book me th Barronness Suite. Sounds like fun!

[buckguy]

RE: Bangkok...Saunas

 

The sex venues, gay & straight, as well as non-sex venues with large gay clientele have gone through a lot over the past year and a half. Faros (a sauna/karaoke place with a Thai clientele) was closed for awhile (about a year ago) and, during the same period, some of the massage parlor type places, like V-Club were sending their clients off premises to go with their guys in the evenings. V Club's clientele include Thais and Asian visitors with clout (high govt officials, entertainment figures), so it's significant that even they took steps like these, although they later went back to normal operations. The closure of Faros came after many complaints from neighbors and was accompanied by closures ("voluntary" and otherwise) of some other gay venues.

 

In Sept of this year, the gogo boy places had their guys covered up--no nude shows, no walking around shirtless, which was something I'd never seen before. Over the past year or so, there have been many random crackdowns on discos and ordinary bars with significant gay cleintele. These have been targeted as part of the drug crackdown. People are often asked to give urines on the spot and get tested. Others are rounded up and taken to police stations. I know people who got caught in these raids (usually in the wee hours of the am).

 

The drug problem was supposed to be "solved" for the King's birthday (which was last week). The King issued a statement which, in Thai terms, was a stinging rebuke to the tactics used in the anti-drug campaign (human rights folks estimate at least 3600 people were killed by police in the past year as part of this campaign). In deference to the King and the Prime Minister's claims that the crackdown has been successful, things may settle down, at least for awhile.

 

Besides drugs, there has been a general "morals" campaign and an effort to enforce closing times in areas like Patpong. With the recent finding that gyoung gay Bangkokians have HIV prevalence in a range of about 20%, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

[Guest msclonly]

Bangkok - Tawan Bar

 

What is the current situation there?

 

Am booked for flight on Dec 11, but am ambivalent!

 

Is my gut telling me something, that I should know?

 

Any information would be helpful.

I thought this place was overseen by generals or similiar?

 

If the situation is not good, I have time to postpone or cancel the flight.

[+ Lucky]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

I think it would be a real mistake to cancel a trip to thailand because of one poster's information.

First of all, Thailand is a wonderful place to visit. The people, the culture, the mores, are all different. When you are in Thailand, you definitely know that you have gone somewhere and are not just in Hawaii!

There is so much to see, from temples to crocodiles, beaches to jungles, boys and ladyboys. The weather is the best at this time of year as well.

Thai guys like sex. Thai Buddhism does not take a dim view of it. After all, life is suffering so you should get all the sanook you can while you can!

Thai smiles alone are enough to keep you happy all daay long. But, really, it doesn't stop there.

So go have a good time and let us know all about it!

[firecat]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Definitely go. The country is wonderful and stable.

 

The people are warm and the boys are beyond belief.

 

I leave Dec15

[Guest icon513]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Come, absolutely. All saunas, massage parlors, and go-go bars are open and heaving. The only thing recently is that sex shows in the bars have been toned down, and there is less nudity in the bars.

[ohgwm226]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

I just returned few days ago from Bangkok. I did not visit any sauna while there, so I can not comment on that. As Icon mentioned the sex shows in bars are toned down or absent, the boys are not going around with exposed chest any more. BUT, Thailand remains a great country to visit, Bangkok is irresistable, the Thai people are sooooo charming, the Thai men are soooooo sexy, and willing. You smell sexuality and sensuality on the streets and in the air, like no other place (Maybe except for Rio). By all means go to Thailand. Even if the saunas were not functioning as usual or closed, you'll have a great time, and a vacation that you would never forget, or want to forget. I wish I am still in Bangkok now. I am saying this, though I am typically a fan of Rio De Janeiro, and the unbelievably sexy looking Brazilian. Thai men may not look as sexy as the Brazilian but can surpass them in bed. Go to Bangkok and enjoy the sexy smiles. It is truly the land of smiling faces.

[Guest msclonly]

Bangkok Thailand

 

Thanks for all the recent updates and reasurance.

I have gone every year for about 10 years.

If the bar and shows are toned down, I will have a better time.

As long, as there are some hunks at Tawan, I usually get the best of the bunch without difficulty.

 

I agree, Thailand is wonderful place to visit for sights, food, and tings to do and see. Even shopping is interesting. The melons and fruit is the BEST, that I have ever tasted anywhere. Farm fresh at the peak. Pineapples are the best. Sweet and 'tender'!

 

Have rediscovered Rio for similiar R&R! '

 

Will be boarding in 24 hours for the Super Deluxe Flight on CX in FC. :+ :9

[Guest msclonly]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Just returned yesterday, and it was the best time in BKK, ever!

 

Life goes on as usual in BKK and there are NO major changes to the way things over the last few years except for the decrease in tourists, which means less competition!

[+ Lucky]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Thanks for the tease! Now, what good stuff did you see???

[Guest msclonly]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Forgot to mention, that the only Police I saw were at the Police Station!

 

:9 :+

[+ Axiom2001]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

"...but can surpass them in bed...!" This is rather debatable! I've been to Thailand once-- BKK, Pattaya, Chaing Mai and Rai and to Brasil three times and am working on my fourth. I liked the Thai people and the men when I enjoyed them socially and sexually, but between the men of the two distinct cultures, I'll take that sexy, hunky Brasilian any day and/or night!!:-)

[Guest msclonly]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Interesting, that it is easier to get around Thailand speaking English, then Rio! Especially the bars.

 

:+

[ohgwm226]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

msclonly observation is absolutely right. In my experience, most boys in Bangkok speak, or at least understand English, even when only in very rudementary way. At least you can communicate with them. In Brazil, very few understand or speak any English. Hence I am learning Portuguese now. Bangkok is very different from Rio, and Thai men are not like the Brazilians. Brazilians are in my eyes more hunky, and better built. They are the most attractive men I ever saw. But Thai men are some of the most passionate and unihibited men in bed. I love both cities, and alternate travelling to both. I wish either one was much closer to USA.

 

OHGWM226

[Guest msclonly]

Bangkok or Rio

 

I think the distance from the disUnited States is what keeps them safe from the western judeo-christian aggressive guilt riden ways of life!

 

LQQK what the missionaries have done to so many countries!

 

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[+ Lucky]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Why do we have to choose which one is better? I've had both Thai and Brasilian men in Rio and I like both! Thai men offer something different than Rio men but you can enjoy each for what they are!

[ohgwm226]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Lucky, you are absolutely right. We do not have to choose between Thai and Brazilian men. We can enjoy the company of both at different times. That is what I have been doing. Brazilian and Thai men are different, but both can easily make you feel as in heaven...Both are heavenly...Yumm......

 

OHGWM226

[buckguy]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

Re: upthread

 

I've worked in Thailand for many years, including several in residence. I've also read a good deal about Theravada Buddhism, particularly as it relates to sexuality. Buddhism is hardly sex positive and it is quite ambivalent about homosexuality, at best. I've also kept up on the scientific literature on HIV there. The 20% prevalence of HIV----it's real and the research will soon be published in an international journal.

[Guest msclonly]

RE: Bangkok Thailand

 

I understand, that the straight and married guys who go to see their weekly visit with a 'girlfriend', and who refuse to use protection are the biggest source of infections.

 

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