Costume advice needed

Tomorrow DV and DAA are throwing a party. The theme is "religion" and the invitation says: "so get yourself dressed as a suicide bomber, Jesus or a Hare Krishna or whatever you can think of."
What shall I do? I think suicide bomber is easiest given the size of my waistline. I could also use the Thai monk robe from RO's party again, but half of the guests would think I am very cheap.

"All gays are paedophiles"

Our company is working with an American guy who is often visiting us. I knew that he is a rather conservative Republican, but yesterday I heard a story that showed that he is also a right-wing Christian nutcase.
One of my female colleagues had dinner with the guy a few weeks ago and she told me he drank a little bit too much that evening and started revealing his true personality: divorce is a "sin", abortion is "murder" and the icing on the cake: "all homosexuals are paedophiles".
My bosses are trying to do more business with the guy and are clearly unhappy with this story. As for myself, I am wondering if I can still shake hands with such an evil person next time he visits us. His ideas may be rather mainstream in the USA heartlands, but he should know that they are unwelcome here. Or perhaps I will just spill a large cup of hot coffee on his shirt and pants.

Consoled by a Singapore boy

I fell asleep before leaving Singapore airspace yesterday and woke up some 7 hours later above Afghanistan. RO had been telling us during the holiday that he watched Mamma Mia 4 times so I didn't feel bad seeing it for a 2nd time. And then, listening to the lyrics of SOS, not a little tear appeared, but a whole bucket (borrowing a word I had read earlier that night) left my eyes. One of the SQ boys must have seen me as he walked over and asked "Are you OK, Sir?" A few hours later while serving me breakfast he made sure my tray was neatly arranged and in the process gently touched my crotch. It was a memorable flight.
Fortunately, it was a sunny day in Amsterdam and I took a deep breath of fresh air when biking to work later. Is it me or is there more oxygen in the air in cooler climates?

Holiday over

I am at Changi Airport where my flight to Amsterdam should board in 20 minutes. Am tired and drained after not sleeping for some 40 hours and going through a lot of emotions today. All in all a very good day here in Singapore.
I think tonight on the plane, before (hopefully) falling asleep, I will have a smile on my face, and will also plonk a little tear.
Whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see.

A natural shower and Singapore muscle boys

I have never seen it so busy at Callego beach. The waves were fantastic and we spent a lot of the time in the water body-surfing. Around 5pm there was a heavy downpour and GI, MA and I enjoyed a natural shower while the rest of the gays were more worried about their make-up and stayed under the roof.
We keep on running into a group (8 of them) of very cute, muscular Chinese men. They were in the bar on Saturday night, we saw them in the restaurant on Sunday, and then again in Mixwell bar on Sunday night. They are very sticky-group, which means I didn't see them interact at all with either the Indonesians, the bulehs, nor with other Asian tourists. Finally yesterday while queuing for the toilet I got a chance to ask where they were from and I got a very curt answer: Singapore. I never saw them before so I wonder where they normally hang out in Singapore.
I am developing some serious shortage of sleep with all the partying we have been doing, combined with RO's organizational talents which means we are constantly doing something. In an hour we go to a famous, non hanky-panky massage, followed by a quick trip to the beach for a dive, a seafood dinner at Jimbaran bay, and more partying tonight.

Humid Bali

Hello from humid and hot Bali where MA, GI and I arrived last night after a long flight from Chiang Mai via Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia. Our flight from Chiang Mai to KL was delayed so we had to run at KL Airport to make the connection.
The last day in Chiang Mai was nice: we drove to the Doi Inthanon National park where we did a short trek around the Mae Klang waterfall. Unfortunately it was raining and the drive took longer than expected so we didn't make it all the way to the summit of Thailand's highest mountain. Next time!
In the evening we had another massage and were ready to retire early after a quick drink in the bars when we met TR. WI's local friend Sak (pronounce "Suck") from two nights before was in the bar and he introduced us to his friend TR which whom he had just returned from a two-day gambling trip to Myanmar. TR turned out to be very witty, funny and nice, fluent in English and we were all having a great time with him and Sak. They convinced us to join them to Mandalay disco. This is what a website has to say:
"Just inside the old-city limits, this hangar-sized space south of Thapae Gate is your entry into kitsch-tastic Thai nightlife. Bring a sense of humor to this contemporary warehouse space with its towering ceilings, limited seating, and a sound system with amplifiers that go to 11. Forget about striking up a conversation; the thunderous volume of the live music swallows everything but text messages. The house band cranks out an endless stream of cheesy covers while the rotating Thai vocalists try their hand at everything from Shakira to hip hop to power ballads. Be forewarned, foreigners must pay inflated cover charges, usually nearly triple what locals are charged. Take care in the restrooms, where overzealous attendants descend to massage your back and calves—and to flush your urinal. Awkward."
While the comment about the restrooms is correct, we found Mandalay to be an excellent place with good music, a nice crowd, many gays and no money-boys. We talked and danced until 5am at which time we were all sad to say good-bye to TR and Sak. MA and I had to wake up at 8am for our flight while WI spent Saturday in Chiang Mai before flying back to Amsterdam.
So not surprisingly I was very tired last night here in Bali. It didn't help that it is very hot and humid and the bars have insufficient air conditioning. I saw JA again, a very good-looking muscular guy I had met on my previous trip in March this year, and we had the following conversation:
JA: Hey, you came back to Bali? When did you arrive?
Me: Three hours ago.
JA: Welcome back. Where are you staying this time?
Me: Down the road in a villa.
JA: I see. I will drive you back later.
Me: Maybe not.
I will regret refusing the hottest guy in Bali for the next couple of years......hehe

The worst bar in the world

We were comparing notes on Bangkok vs. Chiang Mai and agreed that Chiang Mai is so much nicer as there is much more to do in and around the city. The rafting yesterday was fantastic - we all got very wet during the exciting ride. Today we will use our car to go to a national park for some more jungle trekking. RO left for Bali this morning, BI is back to Bangkok so there are only 3 of us left here in Chiang Mai.
After the rafting yesterday we made our way to the local sauna House Of Male. MA is a real sauna man and he disappeared as soon as we arrived re-appearing two hours and fifteen minutes later with a huge smile on his face. RO and BI had their fun together and WI and I just stayed at the pool as we both don't like sauna sex - we actually like to talk to our men first. After the sauna we had a massage at Classic House. They have gorgeous masseurs and mine was just fantastic and his activities included some that are not normally expected when having a massage.
The bar scene in Chiang Mai is very disappointing. There are two rows of gay bars where the minimum age is 21 (fine with me) but the maximum age for locals seems to be 21 as well. (not fine with me). All the boys are too small and too young. I talked to the owner of one of the bars (a cute guy maybe 40 years old who kept on saying he is old and ugly) and asked him where the more mature guys are. He directed us to Spicy which turned out to be easily the worst bar I have ever been to. The smell was almost unbearable (WI said it reminded him of the smell in a zoo), the place was full with the lowest class female hookers and men who were just wrong, and I was glad to leave after two drinks.
If Chiang Mai added a DJStation and a G.O.D. there would not be a reason to go back to Bangkok anymore.

Thursday morning in Chiang Mai

I don't know why, but this holiday I am an early riser and I am ready most mornings before the rest of the gang have had enough sleep. We agreed to meet for breakfast at 945am, I was there at 930 and by 10 I had finished and the others are nowhere in sight. Gives me a chance to sit down behind a computer for a while. At 11 we will all be picked up for white water rafting which should be exciting after yesterday's downpour.
The road trip is fantastic so far! We went to a Bird park between Bangkok and Sukothai which was surprisingly good, we toured the monuments at Sukothai, the highlight was the trek we did in the Taksin Maharat National Park where we almost got lost and were back to the car just before total darkness. RO surprised us all that with this 108kgs he was the fastest climber uphill! Well, he is 7 years younger than I am so that must be the difference.
The last night in Bangkok I met a cute, tall Thai guy and we had some fun. The next morning he turned out to be a total drama queen so I quickly said goodbye to him - and was complimented by GI for doing so. And yesterday it was very quiet in the bars here in Chiang Mai (it was raining heavily all evening). RO had paid for a plane ticket for his Bangkok sweetie BI to fly to Chiang Mai, and BI brought a local friend who was very weird. When we left the bars around 3am, he asked me if he could sleep in my room as his house is far away and he is on a motorbike and it was still raining. I said "OK, sleep only" (yes, I know a bit naive), when he got to my room he wanted to suck me but I was so tired I said please no, let's sleep and he suddenly panicked, remembered a work appointment early in the morning and quickly left. So nice to sleep alone in the big bed. WI put a lot of effort in a very cute young man but in the end he didn't want to come, and MA already regretted his choice when we got back to the hotel - will be interesting to hear his night-time stories later. So you all see we are behaving very well.

Feeling strange in Bangkok

I am in an Internet cafe in the heart of Patpong (having made my way through herdes of girls offering me massage and "sek") killing some time before dinner with the gang at 9pm. This "morning" I was the first to wake up at 2pm - I had been tired after a good meal at Vertigo, drinks at Balcony and dancing at DJ Station. I didn't meet anyone nice, and was not in the mood to pick up a random Thai money boy, so I slept alone.
Today was just as relaxing as the night before. The gang went to Babylon but I decided to stay at the (new) pool at the hotel with my book. I was supposed to meet CH but he cancelled which was fine with me. I only went out at 630pm for a massage which came with a rather good happy ending. I am feeling quite refreshed now - let's see what the night will bring. Anyway, can't stay out too late as tomorrow morning we will be renting our car and start driving North.

Red as a lobster

I am at Kuala Lumpur Airport's Low Cost Terminal waiting for our Air Asia flight to Bangkok. We had a great time at Redang, which is a beautiful little place far away from it all. No Internet and e-mail for 3 full days - now that is what I call relaxing! I tried to stay in the shadow but to no avail: red skin allover. Must be careful with those massages in Bangkok now!

A very good time in my 2nd hometown

I am at Changi Airport waiting for my flight to Kuala Lumpur. Singapore Airlines was overbooked so they put me on a later Malaysian Airlines flight and gave me SGD 150 for the inconvenience!
I had a great time in Singapore mainly thanks to ER. We spent a lot of time together and I enjoyed every minute of it. Had breakfasts, lunches and dinners and a lot of other fun, too! It was also nice to see AN and the gang and it was a pity that it was raining cats and dogs at the time we were supposed to play tennis. I will be back in Singapore in two weeks time for exactly 10 hours. In the mean time, I am looking forward to the relaxing beach and snorkeling at Redang island.

It is hot in Singapore

The sun is shining without mercy this morning. Walking the short distance from my hotel in Bencoolen Street to the Internet shop I could feel my skin turn red.
The flight over was full but good: I watched three movies: When did you last see your father? with Colin Firth which was good, Baby Mama with Tina Fey which was a waste of time, and Fuera de Carta ("Outside the menu") with Javier Cámara which all you gay guys must see. It is hilarious. "He didn't come out of the closet, he was kicked out of the closet."
Fortunately my room was already ready when I arrived at the hotel at 7am on Saturday, I texted ER as agreed to meet for breakfast which we eventually had. After ER left for work I managed to sleep some 5 hours and get rid of the jet lag. We had a late dinner at a chicken rice place in Novena before joining AN, JO, JE and RU at Tantric where they all had heavy spirits (with quite disastrous consequences for RU) while I was sane and only drank beer and fruit punch. It felt as if I had never been away. Good to see the gang from my days here in Sngapore in 2005-6. Around 2am AN suggested we all go to Maxwell for food but as I need to keep my good shape and late night eating is the worst, I declined and went back to the hotel for a hot and sweaty night.
I will now go to the heartlands (Toa Payoh) to meet CO for lunch.

Time for a trip

Tomorrow morning I'll leave my work, the financial crisis and my laptop behind and will board a flight to Singapore. Other destinations on this trip will be Malaysia (Redang Island), Thailand (by car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai) and Bali. I think I'll bring a lot of cash just in case the financial system stops functioning and my credit cards and debit cards are useless......

No comment

I need help......

.....with the following problem:
1. 18 day trip;
2. need to bring suit, shirts, tie, business shoes for a few meetings with potential clients;
3. will be constantly on the road so little time for laundry;
4. most of the trip is leisure so need to bring vacation clothes;
5. need to bring sneakers for tennis game;
6. luggage needs to fit in car (together with 3 other guys and their luggage);
7. I am getting older and much less wild so I want to bring laptop computer and books for quiet evenings;
8. it is cold here so need warm clothes for trips to and from the airport in Amsterdam;
9. Air Asia limit is 15kg.

So the question is: how to pack?

P.S. Don't expect any gifts - I am sorry but no space in suitcase. I'll buy you a meal/drinks.

Tonight in the disco

Me: "Hey, how are you? Long time no see".
He: "I am fine, I don't go out much."
Me: "I see. How long have you been here now?"
He: "Two years."
Me: "Do you like it here? Are we Dutch treating you well?"
He: "It is OK, just that everybody tries to get me in bed."
Me: "Really? Well, I didn't try...."
He: "True"
Me: "Is that positive or negative?"
He: "Positive."
Me: "................"

What if Sarah Palin worked in our office

Me: "Good morning, Sarah. Can you please get me a coffee?"
.......
Sarah: "Here's your tea, Sir."

Me: "Sarah, listen, Pete and I will be having lunch with our clients. We don't have much time, please book a table for 4 at the Chinese Dim Sum place around the corner."
.......
Sarah: "I got you a table at the TexMex place at the other end of town, Sir."

Me: "Sarah, please get me a copy of our latest annual report."
.......
Sarah: "Here is the resume that you didn't ask for Sir."