My Thai Fascination

"Going to the Grand Palace"

1 trip

"Riding a elephant"

1 trip

"Jet-skiing at Pattaya"

1 trip

"Countless cute Thai Bois"

many many trips

The above sums up my fascination with Thailand and perhaps the Thailand Tourism Authority should try to capitalise on the competitive advantage they enjoy over their fellow competitor cities in the region. I personally feel that tourists that are making numerous return trips to bangkok are largely drawn to bangkok because of the cute and hospitable thai bois/girls in more ways than we can imagine. Quite frankly, if not for the boiz that are so aplenty and always keen, will I be visiting Bangkok as often as I do? I don't think so and i think many asian tourists in the region share the same point of view. At the end of the day, we only need to see the wats and grand palace once and then there isn't much more compelling reason to keep us coming back for more, if not for the bois.... and the shopping of coz. With the explosive growth of budget flights in the region, the number of sg gay bois flying to bangkok for a weekend of fun, sex and shopping has grown and the Thai Tourism Authority could do well to foster the growth of this segment of their tourism arrivals instead of trying to pretend it doesn't exist. At the end of the day, without the bois, there is nothing stopping us from going to HK for shopping instead or to explore some of the other regional cities. But the bois ahd the vibracy of the gay scene in bangkok keep us coming back for more. The Thai authorities should implement policies that will further boost the appeal such as increasing the closing times of the night spot venues or setting up a consumer tribunal to regulate the pricing practices at the gogo-venues so that it will feel less like a price-grab at the expense of the tourists visiting such venues.

I haven't always held a fascination with Thailand. I have visited Bangkok several times since young with family, school and bf. However, it was always to shop, visit wats and eat. I never saw the fun sleazy side of gay bangkok until my last trip to bangkok as all my previous travelling companions limit my ability to go out and explore such sites, either that or I was still too young to go in anywhere.... As explained in my previous blog entry, I was also wary of Thai guys after knowing of several instances in Sydney where friends or friends of friends were hurt very deeply by thai bois, some of which they actually brought over to Sydney. It made me wonder how anyone can be so hurtful and selfish in the manner in which they treat people just to achieve their own objective of getting out of the country. It made me deeply apprehensive about Thai people as I started to question the sincerity behind all that smiles and wai-ing. I know it is wrong to categorically sterotype a whole nation of people because of a few bad incidents, but when things so bad happen to someone dear to you, it is only natural for it to impact upon your personal perception on things. A case of a few bad apples i guess.

My current fascination about Thailand actually began after I broke up with my last bf in June and moved on with my life. I watched a great thai movie called "Love of Siam" when it began its' run at GV Vivocity in July and it left a deep impression upon me. It changed my perception of Thai people and I began to realise that my original perception of the people was unfairly judgemental. The movie allowed me to see Thai bois as any ordinary gay person around the world, trying to cope with their own sexuality and the shit life throws at them, capable of innocent puppy love. The movie was the first Thai movie I ever saw and I know it began its' run really late in Sg as it was released in 2007 but nonetheless it was a powerful movie for me, not in a high-strung drama sorta way but in the subtle messages it was conveying to me as a gay person. I saw the movie 7 times in the cinema... I know! that was how mesmerized I was by the movie. Mew was sooo adoringly cute!... I remember vividly my first time watching it as there was this poor chap that kept sobbing halfway through the movie..... I mean I felt it was an evotive movie and sad in certain aspects..... but I'm not sure if it was that tear-provoking to keep crying for more than an hour .... the cinema was near full and that poor chap got heckled by some in the crowd for his incessant sobbing after which he moved himself to the 1st row and continued sobbing there... actually it got annoying after awhile... initially i thought "aww how sweet, he is moved to tears".... then it became "oh gawd, get a grip on your emotions... it is NOT THAT SAD!" ..... to "Shut the fuck up with your sobbing, I'm trying to watch the freakin' movie"...... that poor chap ran out of the hall when the credits started to roll. I think he is afraid of other people seeing who he is ......

So yea, "Love of Siam" sparked off my current fascination with all things Thai, especially the bois. I started researching about the gay scene in Bangkok and following a few gay bangkok blogs. I booked myself on a trip to Bangkok for end Aug/Sept and off I went to gay bangkok for 2 weeks. Isn't it amazing what a good movie can do to a person.