Posted on an other weblog of mine, but forgotten to post on the J&B Weblog and still interesting reading ... Feel free to comment!!

Below you'll find a link to an article in the Nation, and English Thai Newspaper. This article gives another view about gay life here in Thailand. I have to admit that most of it is a true and honest observation, which we foreigners, or farang as we are called here, are not aware off, specially when here on holiday!

But while living here in Thailand, I sofar haven't witnessed much in this area, no experiences to share with you which confirms to content of this atricle. Nonetheless, the stories I hear from Thai gay men, the articles I read in the English Thai newspapers, what I can hear on Thai television, as long as it is in English, all confirm in general what is being said in it.
But most of al, its content runs paralell to several books Kik made me read here, like Ladyboys, the secret world of Thailand's third gender, published by Maverick House, which is a collection of 9 life stories of ladyboys. ALso the book Bangkok Boy, by Chai Pinit, the story of a stolen childhood, also by Maverick House. This is also a book which gives you a pretty honest look in a certain part of Thai life. Those two books are really food for thought, as the saying goes, if not mistaken.
And I don't know if I wrote allready pieces about it, but it also fits the bill as farang seen as mr ATM's, or as dutch would say Mr Flappentap, as an extension to how Thai gay people are being regarded, namely "same same but different".
IN other words, we farang often complain about being seen just as mobile ATM machines, never forget that most gay thai men and ladyboys, or the third gender, are regarded by their families as the same thing, only in general they can spill out less amounts of money then the farang can and run dry earlier as well.

This though is not allways done deliberatly I also have to admit, its simple a consequence of the picking order in a family. And this article gives a wonderfull little insight in just that.
It's a battle EVERY farang has to go trough when going into a relationship with a Thai gay guy. Also yours truly. But then again, don't complain about it, they can not help it, and you cannot help it when you make your first mistakes with it. But one has to learn quickly how to deal with it and how to 'control' a situation like that, not only for your own protection, but also for your partner's!!!

Well, enjoy reading this article, and feel free to comment after having read it. If not too undecent, all comments will be placed ;-)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/30099543/Without-equality,-tolerance-for-gays-is-just-a-myth

Queensnight or The End of High Season Part at J&B's!!

Picture Right: We do not expect as many people on our Queensnight as on our Orange party, simply because at the moment there are way less tourists here with us in Patong Beach, hence we also call it The End of the High Season Party. BUT we do hope we will again enjoy a very pleasent and special evening as our 'regular' customers have come to expect of us ;-)
By the way: Queensnight is celebrated in Holland on the evening/night before the Dutch celebrate the official birthday of the head of state of The Netherlands, Queen Beatrix. Queensnight in Holland is most famous in and around the city of The Hague where hundred of thousand people come together to celebrate and party.
Yours truly comes from the area of The Hague, hence our idear to create a very small version of Queensnight here at J&B's!

So, hereby the invitation of our last party of the high season 2008/2009. We do hope that those in/near or around Patong Beach Phuket will join us this night to say farewell to the high season 2008/2009, saying "hello" to the low season 2009 and the break it gives us all to prepare for the new high season 2009/2010:

J&B Bar,
The place to unwind and relax. To meet new people and make new friends!!
Invites you
for
Queensnight
or
The end of the High Season Celebration
on
Wensday the 29th of April

17.00 – 19.00 :
Happy Hour: buy 1 get 1 free !

19.00 – 21.00:
Coffee & Tea Party
All our regular coffee 60 Baht, all our special or naughty coffee 180 Baht!
With free extra’s

23.00 – 02.00:
Queensnight party
With on midnight a special toast on
Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands,
with free BBQ and some typical Dutch snacks as well as special entertainment.

We invite everybody to join us and to wear something green and/or orange

Location:
Behind the Blue Dolphin in the centre of Paradise Complex in front of The Royal Paradise Hotel!

More information: www.jbbarphuket.tk
Phone: Rob 080 14 18 180 (Dutch, English, German)
Kik 084 690 8197 (Thai & Japanese)

Writersblock?!

These last weeks when driving home from/to the bar or other places I often think of my weblogs and subjects to write about. I also formulate whole little stories to tell about what is happening here, or with me and/or Kik etc..... but then when back home distraction hits from all corners and before I know it I simply forgot what I wanted to write or report about. From funny things, to the more serious, including frustrations as a "farang" (= foreigner) in for me a strange country, culture etc. ....
Stupid in a way because it is hard to follow and make reading my weblogs decent on once list of things one likes to do!

I hereby apologise to all who tok the trouble to look regular into one of my 3 weblogs and not finding new entries in them, time and time again.
But I simply do not like to give up, not on you who read them, and not on myself wanting to report my troubles and tribulations, as me, as in my marriage as well as with the bar and all that goes with it.
So again I made a whole list of subjects I should tackle and write about... sofar 27 in total.
Now you would say: good show, finally.... well I can only say, making that list is easier then executing writing about all these subjects.
Well, those who know me now I can be a stuborn guy........ so lets how that that stuborness will come to something in this case of reporting more regular.
Receiving feedback, questions, etc. wil be very much appreciated ofcourse!!

IMPORTANT: If you like to know when a new entry is published, you can become a follower of the weblog you like to follow. May it be this blog or one or both other blogs as well.....it seems to be very easy to do and one doesn't need to go to my weblogs everytime to see if a new entry has been posted. Very easy and handy for those interested!!
My other weblogs are:
www.thaidutchmarriage.blogspot.com
www.mpgsadventures.blogspot.com

Also, a few people have been entered by me so they get an e-mail of every new entry in one of my weblogs. Please, if you do not like this, feel free to let me know and I'll remove your e-mail from this exclusive little list, I won't hold it against you ;-)

Greetings and please keep me focussed when I stay silent to long!!

Rob

The 'farewell' performers on Dea's last night at Temple

Here the group who all performed show numbers of Simon in the Temple for Dea.
You can find Kik on the right, front of the picture. I thought it very brave of him to do the funny number which is part of every cabaretshow here in Thailand, even when given in Temple only for their friend Dea and her mother and uncle.
I had to get used to making pictures of collegues and friends in front of the coffin, something we in the west not easily do or want, for that matter.
In the midle you see the lady in red, (s)he goes by the name of Katherine and she impressed me the most of all with her performace, which was not only perfect, but also full with emotion, expression and involvement!!
Afterwards when giving her my compliments on what she had just done, she simple collapsed in tears, (s)he had lost her sister/brother she said and this was the last thing she could do for her. Wel, I can assure you all, if you would have been there, you would all have felt the emotion in her performance, even more extraordinary if you know it was all lipsing....

A Friend of Kiks passed away too early....

The last week(s) of February, and the first half of march the staff of J&B who also works at Simon Cabaret, where very pre occupied with the (sudden) illniss and the dying of their 25 year old friend Dea. Between the 10th and 15th of march they were all consumed by giving Dea the best farewell they could manage to give. And ofcourse as J&B and yours truly Rob, we did our best to help them do just that.
And am grateful they didn't had to do it all alone, Simon as an organisation grasped the seriousness and they did also everything possible to accomodate as good a farewell as was possible.
IN this picture here you see not only the coffin but also a group picture in front of it, taken after a private show, given by Simon for Dea, her mother. Here you see most of the ladyboys of Simon with the mother and uncle of Dea in the middle.
I was honoured being asked to be pressent as well. And also Kik performed a (funny) number in Dea's honour!