Depending on the apartment you rent, it may not come with hot water. This is something I discovered when I went to take my first shower, in my new apartment. It’s not the kind of thing you think about when renting. I just assumed it was included. Come to find out, in some places you have to buy your own water heater if you want hot showers.

These are not the type of water heaters that heat and store the water in a big tank. They are small devices that mount on the wall and heat the water as it passes through. For as little as 2900 Baht (approx $80 US), you can pick one up at any place that sells small appliances. For another 700 Baht (approx. $20 US) you can have it installed by the apartment’s maintenance crew. So, for around 100 dollars I could have hot showers.

I went to the store, purchased the least expensive water heater, and had it installed. What I didn’t know was some of these heaters, apparently the cheaper ones, must be turned off when water is not flowing through them. Without the water turned on, the heater will burn up in a matter of seconds, and that’s exactly what happened to me. I finished my hot shower, turned off the water, but left the heater on. The next day, I went to take a shower and the heater wasn’t working.

Maintenance thought it was a defective unit, and instructed me to take it back for an exchange. The store was happy to exchange the unit, but interestingly enough put the defective one back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

This time maintenance instructed me to turn the heater off when not in use. I had no problem with that, and everything was fine. Until I had a Thai Boy over for the evening, that is. As usual, the boy wanted us to take showers, and he went first. After he was done I went in to take my shower and noticed he had left the heater on. Of course, it was broken. I told the boy he forgot to turn the heater off. He responded politely that he had left it on for me.

Photo Courtesy of Gay Asian Amateurs

Cold showers aren’t so bad - once you get used to them.

The other night some friends invited me to go watch an underwear contest at one of the local Thai for Thai clubs. A Thai for Thai club attracts patrons that are not interested in meeting Farang. I’m not saying you won’t pick up a Thai boy in one of these clubs, but the odds are not favorable. I’ve been told if you do meet someone, it will most likely be an exchange of phone numbers for a future date.

One of the guys has a car, so we all piled in, and headed out for the club. I can’t give you a specific address, but I know the club was near Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district. There are concentrations of Thai for Thai clubs in the Sapan Kwai and Kao San Road areas of the city, so I suspect it was in one of those locations, but I’m really just guessing. I wasn’t paying close attention, so I don’t recall the exact name of the club. All I can remember is it started with “Star.”

This is a dance club that attracts collage students, so the place was packed with mouth watering Asian eye candy. There were more cute Thai boys in one place than I had ever seen before. It was all I could do to behave myself.

When it comes to drinks, the Thai clubs do things a little different. You select a table with a number on it. Then you order a bottle of whisky, whatever mixers you like, and a bucket of ice. Complementary popcorn is served with your order. Everyone stands around the table and makes their own drink. Attendants will come by regularly to restock mixes and ice. They will also mix drinks while servicing your table.

We got there early enough to grab a table right in front of the stage. It was actually a little too close for watching the show, but ideal for taking pictures. I brought my camera with the intent of photographing the festivities, but at the last minute we decided it was probably best if one of the Thais in our group took on that responsibility. This was a Thai for Thai bar, and it might offend some of the locals if a Farang was in there acting like a tourist.

While the quality of photos were not that great, I don’t fault my Thai friend’s photography skills. Between the club’s smoke machine, cigarettes, and the lighting of fires on stage, conditions were not even close to ideal.

They called this an underwear contest, but it was really a best looking guy competition. All of the contestants wore revealing outfits, consisting mostly of elaborate costumes. The liberal application of body glitter was also used by several of the guys, particularly those that had not invested heavily in a costume.

A panel of judges scored the contestants, but I think the audience had some say based on the number of roses each received. Before and during the contest, attendees would sell bunches of roses to members of the audience. Those that had purchased roses could then give one or more to the contestants they favored. Best I can tell, the guys with the most roses factored into the scoring process. In any case, it gave you a good idea of who the leading contenders were.

The evening opened with several stage performances. I won’t call it a drag show, because these performances, at any club, are a mix of guys in and out of drag. The local description for it is cabaret. In fact, they have quite a few establishments here dedicated to cabaret shows, attracting a notable percentage of straight tourists.

The guys that perform cabaret really go all out. It’s still a bit amateur, but you can tell they have put their hear and soul into it. Later in the evening, while the judges were totaling their scores, they had another series of cabaret performances. One included the use of fire that almost got out of control. No one seemed to mind that the place filled up with black smoke so bad you could hardly see.

Of course, the focus of the evening was on the hot guys parading before their audience. Each was introduced by a couple of “rather large” MCs, followed by a walk down a short runway that paralleled the panel of judges. After completing their runway saunter, each would receive any last minute rose offerings from the spectators before taking his position at stage rear.

Once all of the contestants had been properly introduced, a rather lengthy period of time was devoted to giving more roses. The time dedicated to this segment of the evening seemed to be driven mostly by the willingness of the audience to purchase more roses. Once the MC’s determined there was no more money to be made on roses, the contestants were paraded off stage, and the scoring process began.

As I mentioned earlier, another series of stage performances took the spotlight. The last performance, their grand finally, was somewhat tribal, or paganistic in nature. Their use of fire was not, in my opinion, very safe. Had I not been so intrigued by it all, my attention would have been focused on locating the nearest emergency exit.

Before the smoke had cleared, they began the awards ceremony. From the very beginning it was obvious whom the audience favored, so I was not surprised when he took first place. Contestant number 2 wasn’t my choice, but I was pleased to see my favorites pick up second, third and fourth place trophies. I guess good taste takes second seat to popularity. I’m beginning to think this is a reality that holds true in all cultures.

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY

Now that I had secured an apartment, it was time to start furnishing my new space. I was starting from scratch, so this was much more than just buying some pieces of furniture. The number of items I needed seemed endless - dishes, silver wear, cooking utensils, bathroom items, bedding, lamps - the list kept growing.

Without a car, each trip to the store had to be carefully panned, as I could only buy what I could carry. Anything too large to put in a shopping bag had to be purchased from stores that would deliver, and getting things delivered is a lot easier said than done. Imagine trying to give directions when you can’t speak Thai. Fortunately my friend Tommy came to the rescue. I gave the stores his phone number, and they called him for directions.

I quickly learned that prearranged delivery times are more like wishful thinking. One store delivered a day early, and the others arrived at entirely different times than had been agreed on. Fortunately Tommy was there to watch over things, or I’m not sure what would have happened. One store just dropped everything, including a TV and DVD player, outside my door and left. Tommy stood guard on things until I could get there.

Big C and Tesco are the places I relied on most for outfitting my apartment. Both are similar to Wal-Mart. You can get most anything from them, except large furniture items. I got my furniture from Index, a store that specializes in home furnishings. If I were doing it again, I’d go to the MBK Mall. They have an entire floor dedicated to furniture. Unfortunately I hadn’t discovered this until much later.

Another good place for shopping is the Chatuchak Weekend Market. If you can stand the heat, and crowds of people, it’s a great place to get some good deals on things. I picked up all my dishes and window coverings at Chatuchak. Ideal is to go early, before it gets too hot and crowded.

It took two weeks, and countless trips to Big C to get there, but I’ve finally got my new apartment livable. As you can see from the pictures, there’s a lot more to do. For now, I’m just happy to have a place I can move into.

I’d heard that sex massages were definitely worth experiencing, so the other night I decided to try one.

They tell me your experience can vary, depending on the place you go, and the boy you select. Some establishments place a higher priority on sex, while others give more emphasis to the massage. With the boy, it’s apparently driven by how good he is at giving a massage. If he’s not very good at giving a massage, he’ll often compensate with sex. I suspect it also depends on how attracted the boy is to you.

While I’m sure there are plenty of good places to go in Bangkok. I choose Adonis Massage, because it has a reputation for being one of the better establishments. They are also conveniently located in Sala Daeng. Word has it Adonis places more emphasis on the massage, and then its luck of the draw with how playful the boy will be. I should also mention that straight boys work in these places, and obviously won’t be the best choice for the sex part of the massage. Thus, it’s a good idea to select a boy that is obviously gay.

From the Sky Stain station, in Sala Daeng, I took a short taxi ride to Adonis. You enter through a garden filled with plants and running water that leads to a building with a relaxing Asian décor.

I was greeted by the manager, and politely offered a comfortable seat in an area that looks much like a nicely furnished living room. Someone brought me a glass of cold water while the manager went over their options and pricing. I selected the two hour blended oil with scrub, for 900 Baht (approx. $24.60). The boy gets another 1000 Baht, bringing the total to around $52.

Once I made my selection a parade of fifteen to twenty boys, dressed in street clothes, lined up in front of me. The manager invited me to select the boy that would be delivering my two hours of pleasure. Most of the boys were young looking and very thin. A few were more mature and/or muscular. As I looked at each boy, he would do his best to impress me with his smile. The muscular guys would also flex to demonstrate their nice build.

I’m not into the muscular look, but it was still a difficult choice, as there were so many cute boys. After looking them over for a few minutes, I made my selection, and all the boys left the room. The boy I picked went to prepare his tray while I finished my glass of water. In a couple of minutes, he returned with his tray and invited me to follow him upstairs.

He took me to a dimly lit private room with a massage table and small glassed in shower. I was asked to undress and take a shower. While I showered, the boy undressed and put on a towel. When I was done with my shower, he asked me to lie on the table and relax while he took a shower. It is my understanding that some boys will shower with you, but for whatever reason this one did not. After showering, the boy turned on some relaxing music, and began to work his magic.

My mind and body were taken to another place. A place I’ve never been before. If there is a heaven, and it its anything like what I was experiencing, I can’t wait to die. I was only brought back to reality briefly, when asked to shower between the scrub and oil massage.

What about the sex?

I’m sure everyone’s experience is different. Depending on the establishment, and the boy, one might end up fucking. I’ve spoken to several that have. Not that it was offered, but I had no interest in doing anything requiring exertion. I was in a total state of relaxation, and at the mercy of this boy’s capable hands.

The transition from body massage to hand job was done with such fineness, I didn’t even notice. All I remember was this feeling of total ecstasy as I shot my load. Then the boy climbed off the table, gently cleaned me off, and offered me one final shower, before getting dressed.

I was in such a daze it was difficult to stand and walk the few steps to the shower. Some how I managed, and that final rinse off did help bring me back to a conscious state. At least enough so I could get dressed. The boy had changed into his clothes while I was showering, so I handed him a 1000 and we walked back down stairs.

I was invited to sit and relax for a while, before leaving. They brought me a glass of water and an ashtray. I sat and smoked a cigarette, gave my thanks, and walked out the door. Actually it was more like floated out the door.

I don’t know if you can call this euphoria, but I have never felt so relaxed in all my life. I’ll definitely be doing this again.

Within the first few days of arriving in Bangkok I purchased a cell phone, and opened a bank account. Next was to try and find an inexpensive apartment. I wanted a place near the Sky Train, making my quest more difficult. Apartments near a Sky Train station are typically more expensive. They are in high demand, so finding a vacancy can be difficult. I was told it could take up to a month to find one.

This is one of those cases when it pays to know someone. As it turns out my American friend introduced me to Tommy, one of his Thai friends. Tommy, and his roommate Sun, live in a near by apartment building - very close to the Sky Train. Two bedroom apartments, where Tommy lives, rent for 8,500 Baht a month, or approximately $230 US.

Tommy invited me to come look at his apartment and see if it was something I’d be interested in. I liked his place, so Tommy offered to let us know when a unit was going to be available.

As an added bonus, Tommy told me half the guys living in his apartment building are gay. That could certainly make things interesting. The place also has a nice rooftop pool, something I planned to take full advantage of, if I was lucky enough to get an apartment here.

Less than a week went by when we got a call from Tommy. He told us to be at his apartment building within thirty minutes, with a deposit, or the new vacancy would go to the next person on the waiting list. We were at a restaurant getting ready to order some lunch when he called. I guess the waiter was a bit confused when we suddenly handed back the menus, and told him we needed to go.We hopped in a tuk tuk, dashed over to the apartment building, and put down a deposit on a unit I had never seen. I was reasonably confident the apartment would be fine, but it would be another week before I could actually get a look.

A week later I got a call to come look at my apartment. For my needs, the floor plan was much better than Tommy’s apartment. It also had a fairly good sized balcony, an important consideration if you need a place to air dry your laundry - a common practice in Thailand.A lot of apartments in Bangkok are fully furnished, but mine is not. The master bedroom is furnished, and the living room has a small dinning table, two folding chairs, and a small entertainment system. The rest, including window coverings, would by my responsibility.

Later I discovered the apartment manager relies heavily on Tommy as a translator. None of the management speaks any English, making it impossible to communicate with the large number of Farang living there. It was never said, but I’m reasonably certain Tommy was able to go around the waiting list and get me the next place that came available.

It pays to have friends in Thailand.

As I mention in my first post, I’m staying with a friend until I can find my own apartment. He, and his boyfriend, have a very nice condo in northern Bangkok. The place is well appointed, with all the modern conveniences you would expect in an upscale space. Hell, it even has maid’s quarters. The guest bedroom is huge, and has its own private balcony - one of six.

The balcony was convenient for me, as my hosts preferred I not smoke indoors. Thus, I spent a lot of time out there enjoying the Bangkok skyline. It also has a bird’s eye view of a rather unique hotel. It’s difficult to put into words, but I could tell this was not your typical lodge.

After observing it for a couple of days, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked my friend what the story was on this place. He told me it is the world famous Reflections Hotel, featured in dozens of magazines. Each room is uniquely different, and the entire place is a work of art deco.

I won’t bother trying to explain this place any further. Best is to pop over to their web site and see for yourself. Make sure to click on all the room doors, for a peek at what each looks like. For more details, read all of the magazine reviews.

I have had the pleasure of eating at the Reflections restaurant several times. The food is great, and the casual art deco environment makes for a distinctive dinning experience.

The hotel is in a great location. Its only a short walk to the Sky Train (Ari Station), that will take you to most places one might want to visit while in Bangkok, including the famous gay club district in Sala Daeng. Also within walking distance is a gay sauna (bath house) and sex massage parlor. I don’t have any details on them, but I’ve gotten mixed reviews. Guess I’ll just have to check them out myself, and report back.

If you are planning a short stay in Bangkok, the Reflections should be high on your list of potential hotels. Girls…it’s SO GAY!

This is my story. The story of a 51 year old gay American, that suddenly decided to pick up and move to a country half way around the world. It is my diary of experiences, adventures, and lessons learned, as I try to make a new life in The Land of Smiles.

This is for everyone that has dreamed of visiting, or living, in Thailand. I invite you to experience it vicariously, through my writings and photos. Who knows? Maybe you will pick up a few useful pieces of information. Information you can use, when its your turn to live that dream.

It’s only fitting to begin this story with my arrival in Bangkok.

After a grueling 20 hour flight, I finally arrived in Bangkok at 1:30 on a Monday morning. I had one stop over, in route, but it was just long enough to change planes, so the first thing I wanted was a cigarette. At this time they were still using the old airport. Unlike the new airport, it had designated glassed in rooms for smoking. I almost wished I’d waited until I was outside, as the rooms were not ventilated and there was no air conditioning.

After a quick smoke, I made my way through immigration. The hard part was figuring out what line to get in. Once I got that sorted out, it was a quick process getting my passport stamped. American tourists are automatically granted 30 days, with no visa.

Next I went to pick up my checked luggage. I waited and watched for my two bags, but they never came out. I was beginning to think they had been lost, when I noticed a stack of luggage off to the side, up against a wall. To my delight, the bags were there.

Next stop was customs. I’m moving here, so there were a lot of items in my bags a typical tourist would not travel with. Consequently, I was expecting some scrutiny by customs officials. I walked up to a guy sitting in the customs area and asked what I should do. He pointed to a doorway, and I took his direction. I expected some big room on the other side with all these people getting their luggage searched. Instead, it took me outside of customs. That was it! Nothing!

Next I needed to locate my American friend I’d be staying with until I could get my own place. I had met him on the Internet, so I didn’t have a real good idea of what he looked like, and he had never seen a picture of me.

He and his Thai boy friend were meeting me at the airport, so I thought it would be smart to wear something that stands out in a crowd. I decided to wear a bright yellow shirt and black jeans. After all, how can you miss a combination like that in a crowded airport? Well, I had no idea every Monday the entire country wears a yellow shirt in honor of the King, and for good luck. And most complement it with black pants. So half the people in the airport were wearing yellow shirts and black pants.

We did manage to connect, as I was most likely the only white guy in the entire airport dressed in yellow and black. But it was my first lesson in Thai culture, with many more to follow.

After two months of planning and preparation, I was finally in the sultry heat of Bangkok Thailand. My life changing adventure had begun.