Hello, Fellow Travelers!

Yes, I know—it’s been a while since I last posted on the blog. Please forgive my absence, but I certainly haven’t been sitting around doing nothing. Make yourselves comfortable, and let me bring you up to speed!

After my latest short trip to Thailand at the end of January, I updated the review pages for several venues in Bangkok and added Peach Massage, THE333 Nuru Massage, and Magic Table—a bar, BJ bar, and brothel—which I had also mentioned previously in the article “BJ Bars and Where to Find Them”

Besides that, following yet another endless discussion in a Thailand-focused chat, I decided to put together a sort of “guide” for newcomers to the Land of Smiles: “Thailand Holiday: The Basics.” As the title suggests, it is simply a collection of basic tips to help you avoid the usual rookie mistakes and unnecessary problems when arriving in Bangkok—and often Pattaya too—for the first time.
I then turned it into a comic-book version, which you can download here directly and completely free of charge in .epub format. And if you do not trust it, that is your problem—I still love you anyway. ^^
EPUB is a commonly used ebook format. You can open it with any dedicated reading app, and you probably already have one installed on your phone or tablet.

In April, I went to visit Club Zeus in Switzerland. I needed a couple more flights to maintain my Lufthansa Frequent Traveller status, so when I found a reasonably priced flight to Zurich, I took advantage of it.
Prices in Switzerland are always a little high, but the place is pretty good. For anyone living in or around Milan, getting there by car is relatively easy and manageable. For everyone else, if the drive takes more than three and a half hours, flying is the better option.

During the second week of June, I returned to Frankfurt for a weekend. I had originally planned to take advantage of the June 2 public holiday, but flights were too expensive, so I postponed the trip until the following weekend and visited a couple of venues: Atlanta Club and Bahama Club.
I had been to the first one about ten years ago, during the summer, and honestly, I remembered it being better—especially when it came to the ladies there.
Bahama is a smaller, more down-to-earth sauna club, although much of it is housed in a sheet-metal warehouse in the middle of an industrial area. However, it is only ten minutes from the other club and around a thirty-minute drive from central Frankfurt am Main, so it may be worth a quick visit for a few hours if, like me, you have an evening flight home.
As always, you can find all the updated venue pages in the dedicated Venue Reviews section.

Just so you know, I have made a small change to the website. The Destinations section has been streamlined—or rather, I removed the destinations that no longer made much sense, such as Cuba and Brazil, which I am not currently interested in, as well as Italy, where I used to group articles related to the Bel Paese, but which was ultimately rather pointless.
There is now an “Other Countries” category, where you can find everything that does not relate to the destinations listed in the menu.
The Philippines may also end up there in the future—I only kept them because it felt a bit harsh to remove them from the list—as may Slovenia, which is not particularly interesting at the moment unless a genuinely good venue turns up, like the former Marina Club in Nova Gorica.
Basically, you will find more or less the same content as before, but it is now less scattered and easier to navigate.

As for Japan, I found—or rather, reconnected with—the good old “Onizuka” (yes, like the main character from GTO), a longtime acquaintance who lives in Tokyo on and off. I originally met him indirectly through Yuki—the real one, not the avatar inspired by her—but that is another story, and perhaps I will talk about it in my next book. ^^
So far, he has produced an excellent article about Kabukicho, Tokyo’s “red-light district,” and, whenever possible, he will provide new material for the dedicated section.
Japan is certainly not the easiest country for travelers looking for “easy adventures,” but I am very fond of the Land of the Rising Sun. For those who appreciate its culture and traditions, finding a certain kind of company is not entirely impossible, although it is neither as easy nor as straightforward as it is in other places.

And then there is the main reason why I have been relatively inactive and absent from here in my usual role as editor.

As you can probably tell, writing is one of my passions. I certainly do not consider myself a “serious” writer, but I had already published a couple of little books, and I have so many unfinished manuscripts tucked away in a drawer that, if I ever manage to stop “working for a living,” I will probably start churning out one a month. ^^
In the meantime, however, I changed the pen name I had used for years—anyone who happened to read Life Is a Trombodrome, which is no longer available, will know what I mean—and decided to finish the sequel to
“L’Amore Innocente“: “L’Amore Peccatore“.

I do not want to bore those who are not interested in reading, but for anyone who is curious, the first is a light little book set during my early youth, originally published about ten years ago.
The second, Sinful Love, is a hefty 400-page tome that picks up where the first book left off and tells the story of the following years, from the late 1990s to the beginning of the new millennium. I had actually intended to publish it just one year later, but for reasons you will discover in the book itself, I kept postponing it until July of this year.
Naturally, both books are about women, and both are autobiographical. I am the narrator, recounting the events from my own first-person perspective, although the real protagonists are the women to whom each chapter is dedicated.
The eBook/Kindle edition, which is convenient to take on flights and holidays without adding any bulk to your luggage, is available HERE on Amazon. (English version coming soon)

Anyway, it was something I had left unfinished for far too long, and I needed to see it through. If you decide to read it, you will understand why.

In less than a month, I will be heading back to Thailand for a month, staying until September. I booked the flight four months ago and, as usual, chose the Lufthansa Group, which is an excellent option when departing from Florence: outbound in Business Class with Austrian Airlines via Vienna, and return in Economy Class—for now—with Swiss via Zurich.
The whole trip cost me around €1,300. Not cheap, but not excessively expensive either, considering that the lowest average return fare in Economy on the Florence–Bangkok route is around €1,000 for those dates, from early August to early September.
And honestly, after trying Business Class once, I realized something: yes, you still get there in Economy, but flying in a higher class turns the journey from a “necessary evil” into an “enjoyable experience.” For just a few hundred euros more, I would say it is worth treating yourself every now and then.

I rented my usual excellent apartment at Hyde 13 for a month. I really like the place: it is convenient, quiet, just a short walk from the BTS, and practically on the border between Nana and Asok. The condo pool is nicer and less crowded than those at many hotels, I have my own little balcony where I can smoke while writing, ^^ and, all things considered, especially given the time of year, it costs me considerably less than a room in a hotel of the same or even a lower standard.
So even if I spend a few days elsewhere, the cost of leaving the apartment empty will be easily offset, while giving me much more freedom. I might return to Hua Hin for some complete relaxation, spend a few days in Koh Samui, or, since I am not particularly interested in the sea or beach life, simply make a quick trip to Pattaya.
There are also other advantages over staying in a hotel, at least for the kind of lifestyle I have when I am on holiday. However, I am planning to write a sort of Hotel vs. Apartment comparison for Bangkok, so I will go into the subject in more detail in a dedicated article as soon as I find the time and inspiration.

I do not know whether I will get the chance to do anything worthwhile or interesting here in the Old Continent before August, but I will definitely check in before I leave. After that, I will keep you updated with the usual summer travel diary, posted almost in real time.^^

And for now, I would say that is all from your Editor. I cannot wait to return “home” to Bangkok.

Bye-bye Fellow Travelers!