Pardon, e’scuze me, lo siento, mea culpa, etc., etc., etc.. One of the basic rules of blogging is you must post a blogroll, a list of all the other blogger’s homes on the net that you regularly visit, enjoy, or at least possibly have heard of. It’s a blogging chore I’ve just never gotten around to doing. Partially because I’m lazy. And partially because I’m lazy.

The actual doing so is not that difficult or time consuming. But then instead of taking the easy way out – which is to treat your blog links like friend requests on Facebook and just list everyone and anyone in a ‘you rub my back I’ll rub yours’ chase of numbers – I wanted any list of blogs I posted to be those that would at least possibly be of interest to readers of this one. And I’m greedy besides. There’s no good reason to provide a long list of links for visitors to use to escape from my blog when I’d just as soon they stick around and read stuff here. Except that I’m supposed to.

Blogging For Dummies says one of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog is through reciprocal blogroll links; post a link to my blog on yours and I’ll do the same for you. There’s a reason why that book singles out dummies as its readership. If those links are not applicable in subject matter, they are worthless. And a list of worthless blog links is not the way to go. So there’s that too.

Dead links suck. I hate clicking on a link only to find the site no longer exists. So any links you do include in a blogroll have to be checked frequently to make sure you don’t have a long list of worthless links to piss off your readers with. Besides, I prefer to piss off readers actively rather than passively. That means either a very short list, or one that actually is of blogs I visit with some regularity. See? There’s good reason I’ve held off doing this so far.

And lastly, considering the basic subject matter, though it certainly would be easy to provide a link to every blog or site that has to do with Thailand and its bars or its fans, there are several out there that I can’t in good conscious recommend. Besides that snippy boring queen’s blog that reads like the obituaries. A blogroll is a list of recommended sites, whether that was your intent or not. I enjoy reading about other’s experiences in Thailand, and enjoy the passion for the country that so many have. And I obviously have no problem with nudity or posts of a mature nature. But there are too many sites out there whose mature nature isn’t very mature. Kiddie porn, even the G-rated variety, doesn’t do it for me. You’ll have to start up an email correspondence with Jerry Sandusky at his new home if you want those kind of links.

Having said all of that, let me tell you what you will find on my new blogroll. There are blogs and sites listed here that I enjoy visiting and do so if not daily then at least several times a month. There are some who have been kind enough to list my blog in their blogroll, so I’m returning the favor – but only because I feel they post content that is of interest. Some you may be familiar with, some may be new to you, I do not guarantee that any will necessarily be of interest to you specifically. But ya never know. So take a look. And if they have a link to my blog posted, feel free to use it.

In no specific order, here are my surfing recommendations with a note on why they made it to my blogroll:

Dreaded Ned’s: This has got to be the longest running gay Thailand travel tip site on the internet. It’s a good basic site for links to the bars, hotels, and restaurants that gay men frequent in the Land of Smiles. I’ve used “the website with a bucket on it’s head’ for decades so it’s on my blogroll as a thanks for that. And they listed my blog in their link section, noting it (I) am “pleased with itself .” I don’t think that was meant as a compliment. But it gave me a laugh.

Gay Chiang Mai Guide & News. Bon Tong wrote an real nice article about my blog recently, which was a nice gesture. But I’d list this site here anyway. It is The on-line source for the gay scene in Chiang Mai. There are well-written articles about the city, a far more extensive list of blogs and sites than what you’ll find here, and frequent news articles that cover Northern Thailand. I’ve discovered new places to visit and things to do from reading the site and it’s an invaluable tool for visitors to Thailand’s second biggest city. On a scale of 1 to 5, this site rates an 8. Check it out.

Nicky’s Gay Pattaya. I doubt Nicky’s really needs a link on my blog and I’m not much of a fan of Pattaya. But if you landed here looking for info on Thailand’s version of Sin City, this link will provide you a good escape route. Nicky’s site is a bit chaotic. But it lists tons of events and happenings going on in Pattaya and they have stringers in the other major gay-interest cities who tend to keep you up to date on what’s happening there too.

Nicky’s has the most up-to-date listings for gay bars and gay establishments, and regularly reports on new openings and closings within the bar world. I’m amazed at the amount of info and detail Nicky’s site contains. Lots of pix too – there’s always a good chance the boy you spent your last holiday with will show up on Nicky’s site. Good memories. Or good plans for your next visit.

Gutter Snipe Das. I posted an article about Guttersnipe’s blog almost a year ago and still consider it to be one of the jewels I’ve stumbled upon while surfing the ‘net. Dude’s writing is awesome. And he makes me laugh. Last time I checked in he’d just finished up posting about an extended stay in Chile.

Most of his Bangkok articles are from a while ago (look for the index heading Three-Coin Prose); they are a joy to read. He just posted a new one about Bangkok too, Why Must You Write About Such Shameful Things? Here’s an excerpt that might warn you away!

Thousands of horny guys have flown thousands of miles, and spent thousands of dollars, to come have sex. If they don’t succeed at least six times a day – note the pharmacies on every corner – they are going to feel cheated, deprived, and upset. Every hotel in Bangkok is full of these sour-faced queens – fussy because they only got fucked twice today.

Note this is not a gay Thailand site, though it does have some gay Thailand content. I’m addicted to his blog and it’s easy to find you’ve just spent several hours delving through the content there.

Xiandarkthorne. XD is a frequent commenter on most of the gay Thailand message boards and frequently drops in here to offer up a few well-chosen words too. A young-acting not-quite senior citizen from Penang, for being such a fucked-up individual XD is one of the more well-rounded members of the forum community. His blog has a nice little section about the gay scene in Hatyai, the rest is an intensely personal blog that documents his progress in not growing old gracefully.

I have a feeling XD’s blog is more for himself than anyone else, but it’s a fascinating glimpse into a complete stranger’s life and his honesty is to be commended. I don’t drop by his blog daily or even weekly, but when I do it’s like visiting an old friend: you kinda wonder why you bothered but are glad you did at the same time.

Gorq’s Blog. I found Gorq’s, ‘A grumpy old rice queen’s Blog’, thanks to a link he posted to my blog. It’s no longer there. Bastard. But I’m kinda glad too ‘cuz then I can recommend his without it looking like I’m doing so just because of the returned favor. Gorq is an expat and his blog is political, covers the economy and business-world, and often veers off into the world of gogo bars. It’s one of those blogs that you never know what you’ll find when you click over to it. He tends to rant about whatever comes to mind. And I like that. That I tend to often agree with what he has to say doesn’t hurt either. Updates are haphazard, sometimes there are several new posts in a week, sometimes a month or more goes by without new content; this is one of those blogs I forget about and then happily rediscover again. Maybe I’ll visit it more often now that I have an easy link to find it again.

TOQs Life In Thailand. When I originally posted this article TOQ’s blog was on hiatus, John hadn’t posted anything for ages. I’d like to think it was the strong hint I gave him that it was about time he started blogging again that brought his blog back to life, but I have a feeling it was more out of spite since I opened this post bitching about what a pain in the ass maintaining and keeping up to date a blogroll can be. Bastard. But since I now have another place to drop by and enjoy some tales of Thailand, I won’t take a hit out on him (which is surprisingly cheap to do in Thailand).

There is about five years worth of posts to read through on his blog, and it’s an interesting journey: an expat’s tale of his life in Thailand, from a start of being totally uninterested in even visiting the country to his move there and the new life he created for himself. His posts are humorous and provide little glimpses into the daily life of an expat. Anyone considering retiring to The Land of Smiles should read TOQ’s blog for a small hint of what they can expect. Anyone who loves Thailand for all of it idiosyncrasies should stop by for a giggle too.

Richard Barrow. Barrow’s site’s tag line: “Full time independent travel blogger based in Thailand. Tweeting anything to do with Travel, Food & Festivals, and translating Breaking News from the Thai media.” pretty well sums it up. There’s news, reviews, listings of events, and a great section of travel blog entries that covers both the familiar and lesser-seen sights in Thailand. It’s a great resource for travel in Thailand, but don’t expect much in the way of gay content. Um, ya know ya can’t spend your entire holiday in a bar . . .

Bangkok Of The Mind. This is a defunct blog that thankfully the blogger has left up. It’s his original site, he moved web addresses and started blogging at a different one but has since stopped and that one is no longer available.

The blogger covered his relationship with a Thai boyfriend and the SE Asian entertainment industry (that’d be cute boys who either sang, danced, or looked pretty). His detailed friendship with a local lad he was infatuated with made for riveting reading. He posted an entry once about picking the scabs off of his friend’s leg that was both inexcusable and fascinating. I’m not sure if that one is on this, his old site, or not. There was also one about stopping in a vacant field on his way home to share a pee with his friend one night . . . his entries weren’t sexual so much as they were intimate, and some times too familiar.

In any case, whatever is left is worth taking a look at. (But ignore the link to his new blog’s home, it takes you to a Blogger sign-in page.)

Bangkok Day Trips. Huh. Who knew writing a blogroll could be edumacational. There was a site that had a great list of daytrips from Bangkok that I can’t find now. Instead I found a separate site from Richard Barrow that does almost as good of a job. This is a great touri resource covering the known and not-so-well known places in and around Thailand’s capital city. Richard includes an extensive list of transpo options for the places he lists too, so it’s a great site to use to plan your day-time activities.

Stickman Weekly. Not only not gay but unabashedly straight, The Stick has been commenting on the nightlife scene in Bangkok for longer than I can remember. His weekly column includes a long section about the girl gogo bar scene, which probably won’t interest you. But he also has frequent updates about the city, his photography kills, and if you take the time to read his stories and commentator’s input about farang/Thai bar girls relationships you’ll feel right at home. Well, except for that pussy thing. Did I mention the excellent photography?

Bi Like Me. When I decided to start this blog I went back through those I enjoyed visiting, looking for what I thought was good, bad, helpful, and annoying. My intention was to go with the good, though you may feel I singled out the annoying instead. Bi Like Me was a good lesson in all of the above. Liked the layout, hated all the ads, liked the hunky guys, and loved the attitude.

His blog gets tons of traffic (lots of confused boys out there who mistake being terribly afraid they are gay with being bi-sexual); the written content is one man’s story of his journey of discovery into being a dude who likes dudes. And he has lots of sex along the way. By now he really needs to rename the blog Gay Like Me, but that’d probably kill off a lot of his readership who have no problem thinking they might possibly be bi but would wet their pants at the idea they are gay.

Bi Like Me has nothing to do with Thailand. But has lots of real hunky guy’s photos. Those of you who have never realized mine is not a pictorial blog will enjoy Bi Like Me just as much.

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