I'm looking at my map, and it looks like anything between Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho would be within the Palace walls. I don't see any small soi between them. But I do see the main north-south road (Thanon Sanam Chai).

I do remember a lot of buses lined up on the small north-south road on the west side of the canal, though.

Am I missing some totally different cruising area there? I just cruised going around the block starting south at the little park, right on Thanon Sanam Chai across from the Grand Palace wall, north, then right on a soi near the Ministry of Defense, then south along either side of the canal.

I remember six months ago connecting with a really hot guy at that bus stop by the south entrance to the park.

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I forgot to say, someone earlier posted that if you say "hot loom" (apparently the Thai term for short-stay-hotel), all the Thai guys who speak no English will know that you're talking about short-stay-hotel. Well, I tried that, and NOBODY had any clue what I was talking about.

By the way, the short-stay-hotel I went to (next to Palace Hotel) the two times was 100 baht for one hour. Somone posted earlier that Palace Hotel is likewise 100 baht.

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-- Today, (06th.), forenoon I dropped-in to the SURIWONGSE HOTEL - Tnn. Suriwong - wch. is well-known for its short time rooms and asked the Thai Bell-Capt. what the Thais would say for the English: 'Short time room.'?
- He wrote-down for me and carefully enunciated several times: 'Chuak', (or possibly Chooak - but the former, [outside the bkts.], sounded preferable.), 'how.'. Transliteration has its own problems, of course.
- But possibly our speakers of fluent Thai might care to offer their own phrases?

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I have never met a Thai who did not know the English "short-time room". Everyone in Thailand knows it!

I speak Thai rather well and I am not aware of any phrase in Thai. All the Thais say "short time".

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ชั่วคราว (chuakrao) means short-time or temporary in Thai.

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-- Khun Luvasians,
- Comparing what you've written above in Thai with what the S'wongse. Htl's. Bell-Capt. wrote I see that my pronunciation should have been: 'Chuakrau.'; tku. for yr. corr'n..
- As a matter of interest my Robertson's Practical Thai Dictionary. gives the meaning & pronunciation as: temporary, temporarily ... [f] choo-uh krao.

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Well I'll tell you that the guys hanging around that whole region across from from the Grand Palace didn't know. I speak clearly and with a smile try all different pronunciations. These guys had no idea what I was talking about: room, hotel, short-stay, or other simple things. I was trying to ask if they knew a place to go. Unbelievably, some didn't even know "sex."

When I went with the second guy, I kept saying "Palace Hotel" and he had no idea what I was talking about. We got into a taxi, and the driver had no idea. Luckily, I had picked up a card for the hotel a few hours earlier. Then, I heard, "aaaaahhhhhhh . . . Palace Hotel!".

That whole cruising experience was bizarre. It was like they never saw a farang in that area before, and their whole mentality was getting picked up by a Thai in a car, and they never saw a farang there before (like what was I doing there?).

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LOL Have experienced this type of situation many many times. Can be very frustrating. The trick is not to show even the slightest vexation. An enigmatic half smile is all you are allowed.

Inside of course you are saying OUT LOUD Fucccck!

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-- It's been several months since I cruised last in the gen'l. area of WAT PO, MIN. OF DEFENCE, SARAN ROM PK. etc., so matters might have changed?
-- Apart from any obvious mil'y. types there whose English, (hailing, as many of them do, from country districts.), might be ltd., many of the other cruisers are from THAMMASAT UNI., who manage to have enough English for the business in hand.

-- Agreed, most of the young cruisers in that area were on the look-out for automobiles' drivers, (M-Benz. with tinted windows, for preference.), who were kerb-crawling, (but others, being driven in humble taxis. have reported successes in picking-up the young cruisers, as mentioned earlier in this thread.),. Other & pedestrian cruisers were v. much a final resort for these young cruisers in lieu of anything better.

-- Yes, other farangs are few and far between there.

-- A suggested and possibly helpful book for those whose grasp of the Thai language is ltd. might be:
THAI for gay tourists;
- author: Khun Saksit Pakdeesiam;
- Pub'r.: Paiboon Publishing,
-- web.: http://www.thailao.com;
- price: 325.Bh.;
- ISBN.: 1-887521-11-9

-- E&OE.. -- Usual disclaimer. --

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Is that area across from Grand Palace mainly a nighttime cruising spot, or should I check it out in daytime, too? And is noon too early? I would guess that the little park has guys all day and evening. I think when I cruised there 6 months ago, it was maybe 1 a.m. and I got a hot one outside the park by the bus shelter. This last trip, I started at maybe 7 p.m. and ended at maybe 10:30 p.m.

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-- I am unable to write-abut daytime cruising in the a/m. gen'l. area as I used to start my cruising when it began to become dusk.
- But cruising is cruising and possibly any time would be as good as anyother time?

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-- Today, (07th.), I cruised-around INTERNATIONAL WORLD MALL. OUT in SAM RONG.
- ETA.: 12.nn.;
- All hawng nahms were all too quiet; so I left to go to the nearby STATE CINEMA, (qv.),.
- I ret'd. around 15.hrs. on the off chance that the a'noon. might have brought forth some other cruisers - but alas no.
- In the b'ment. HN., in the gen'l. area of the Ch. earthenware's & pottery's displays, there are still small spy-holes between cubicles #2. & 3. and #4. & 5..

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-- Y'day., (07th.), either side of my visit out to farthest SAM RONG I dropped-in for a look-see at TESCO-LOTUS ON NUT, (BTS. E9.),.
-- 1st. ETA. about 11.hrs. - both hawng nahms were quiet.
-- 2nd. ETA. late a'noon.. At first little if any cruising seen; but from around 17.30.hrs. prospects brightened-up considerably.
- To cut short a long story I met a small, close-cropped beard & stdnt. type who spoke fair English - we admired eachother looking-over the tops of adjoining cubicles' partitions. He's quite well-endowed and happy to shew-off his assets.
- Deeming TL. possibly unsafe, (at least for a farang.), we went to AMWAY. As he spoke English I was able to advise him that we'd take separate stairs UP to the UPPER fl. HN., (to obviate suspicion from any watchful Sec. Gds. and/or janitrices.),.

-- Later-on I saw him emerge from TL's. GF. HN. #8., (a popular one & thus often occupied!), followed a few mins. later by another young Thai.; indeed a busy, and possibly popular, young man who gets-around.

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-- Today, (12th.], around 18.hrs., in SILOM COMPLEX SHOPPING PLAZA - BTS. Sala Daeng, [S2.], - just as I was by the 'phones. nr. to the 2fl. hawng nahm I saw a determined looking & IN-house Sec. Gd. come-out of the HN. firmly grasping some downcast looking Thai boi by one of his wrists.
-- Tsk, tsk..

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-- Today, (13th.), being out in the Bang Khae area I looked-in twice at TESCO-LOTUS:
- addr.: 266, Tnn. Petch Kasem,
Kwang Bang khea nua, Khet Bang khae,
BKK., 10160.;
- Garmin co-ords.:100-25-07.50E.x13-42-43.14N..
-- 'bus./from/fare/time: #547./opposite BKK. XTN. HOSP., (going twds. Charoen Krung.)/17.Bh./45mins..
- I debussed just short of TL., (3 storey bldg. wch. will be on one's RHS.);
- The foot-bridge there is CLOSED for repairs, so I dashed across the dual carriageway.
- ETA.1.: approx. 13.15.hrs.;
- For most of the time that I stayed in the hawng nahm on the middle fl. I was the only one there.
- ETA.2.: approx. 16.5.hrs.;
- Pretty much a repeat.
-- My 1st. visit of some days previously,(posting #339.), was much MORE successful - but applying Billinbk's. 'Three strikes' rule.' I'll give it one MORE try. Although the main store was quite busy it's possible that wednesdays aren't popular days for visiting?

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