If it weren’t for a killer urban legend, Tina and I would celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th
Honestly, I was enjoying a bit of human company after several hours of driving alone, four years ago. Correction. I was trying to enjoy human company. I couldn't identify what was out of sync about Ernestburgh and its inhabitants so I wrote it off to me being picky. I am picky. That's why I was looking this far away from home for the location of my much needed warehouse. I wasn't about to spend the money demanded for run down buildings in my hometown. My odometer assured me I was 114 miles from home. In Ernestburgh. Which isn't in my GPS or on any online map I called up.
Cindy the gas station cashier dropped the cash into my hand and wished me a happy day. Then, haltingly, as if going off script and unsure about doing so, she asked, "What brought you here?"
"Good question," I said, jamming the change into my jacket's inside pocket, "I'm in the market for a warehouse, around 1,000 square feet. Anything like that in town?"
"Let the young lady be on her way," a deep voice boomed behind me. My stomach jumped, although I think I remained calm on the outside as I turned around. A tall, muscular man was nodding at Cindy and me. "Don't mind her, Miss, sometimes we forget our manners here, being we all know each other. You know how that is." He chuckled, although his eyes never smiled. To me, he looked smug. I didn't appreciate that.
"Where are my manners?" I laughed, sticking my hand out to start a handshake. "I'm Lydia from the next town over. And you are?"
He stared at my hand for several seconds before taking it in a quick handshake. "Name's Hopper, Miss Lydia, good to meet you. My wife Cora tells me I need to socialize more and work less, but, you know how it is, I'm sure." He released my hand.
He sounded like he looked, smug. Part of me wanted to egg him on. But I took a breath before speaking and told him I was looking for a motel room for the night. His demeanor softened. "The Deu Lake Inn just reopened after renovations. Go right from our parking lot, left at the second stop sign. Ask for Room Number 103. It overlooks the Lake. Hope you're an early riser. Sunrise over the Lake is unforgettable this time of year!"
Ernestburgh didn't have street lights so the stop signs were a little hard to see but I managed to find the dirt road that ended at Deu Lake Inn's parking lot. That clicked for me. If I landed MoonDoor's warehouse here, the Inn and the entire old school vibe of Ernestburgh would be an easy sell to increase tourism. Especially to boomers.
Annie McIntosh greeted me at the front desk and offered me 10 % off on my stay, which I gratefully accepted. Annie called in Enzio Morton to take my 'overnight bag' to my room and make sure the air conditioning was working. I said I wasn't worried, since it was February 9 and I would rather the room was heated. Annie's response was the a/c was just installed and it being such new technology, staff needed to make sure it worked. I chuckled a little then noticed she probably wasn't joking so I stopped, rather awkwardly.
Annie busied herself with paperwork and actively avoided talking to me after that. Knowing that someone named Enzio had to accompany me to my room, I checked out the only photo on the wall. It was a black and white photo of a man who looked eerily familiar. He wore an odd white bucket hat with the brim pushed away from his face. He had dark hair with full, choppy bangs, eyebrows raised over large eyes opened wide, a nondescript nose and mouth open as if he was either talking or gawking.
It hit me: That was Bob Denver, when he was Gilligan from Gilligan's Island, a 1960s sitcom.
A document attached to the photo frame was titled "Official History and Lore of Our Founding Father". It explained 'Captain' Johnny Ernest spent his entire life in Ernestburgh. His parents raised him on their local farm, before the town existed. Deu Lake Inn was built over his family's farm property. He was orphaned at the age of 11 and lived alone for the rest of his life. He spent 25 years building the earliest homes, post office and stage coach station for what became known as Ernestburgh. Since his death, he returns every year to eat the living being he names. The town would not and could not exist without him, according to the document.
What the hell.
"Miss Annie," I asked, unwilling to be taken in by a local prank, "is that all there is to this story?"
Annie lifted her head, smiling widely. "Yes," she said brightly, "that's our Founding Father, Captain Ernest. Once a year he returns, eats whatever living being he names, then he returns to his beloved lake until the next February 10th."
'Eats whatever living being he names.' I felt fear without knowing its origin, something I don't often experience. I turned to face the Inn's entrance so I could avoid both Annie and Captain Ernest. Enzio appeared soon after. He got me to Room 103, confirmed the a/c was good, and I was left on my own for the night.
I opened the sports bag of spare essentials I always left in my vehicle. It stems from having to be prepared to run for my life when I was younger. Some habits are hard to break. It allowed me to change into a t shirt for that night. I grabbed the remote and jumped into bed.
Covers up to my neck, horror movie marathon playing quietly in the background, I was ready to relax. That's when I remembered my odometer. Part of my being picky is me recording my mileage at the end of every journey. My odometer registered exactly 114 miles from home to Ernestbugh. Based on memory, I'd travelled mostly westbound from home. And online maps clearly showed a large, well-known city 40 miles west of my place. Seems likely I would have noticed that city, had it been in my way during my travels.
Also, traveling no more than 50 miles per hour, my trip should have taken two and a half hours, three tops if I slowed down, got stuck in traffic jams or stopped a lot. That wasn't how my drive went at all. I left home at 10 a.m. and drove non-stop until I arrived at Ernestburgh nine hours later, just before 7 p.m.
Once again, what the hell.
I called up my dashcam footage and fast forwarded through the day's journey. There was scenery I recognized, close to home, then about five hours of static, then scenery that I recalled driving into Ernestburgh. The first time I watched it, I didn't believe it. Had to be a technical glitch. The third time I watched it, my muscles tightened for fight or flight. As much as I wanted to leave immediately, I realized I'd do better to wait until morning. I set my phone alarm for 6:45 a.m. and plugged in my phone to recharge, then spent a long time staring at the ceiling.
My alarm rang a bit too early for my liking and I didn't remember setting the ring tone to 'growls and groans'. The time on my phone was 5:45 a.m. so it wasn't my alarm. For a second I attributed the noise to the horror movie marathon I'd selected for the room's TV. Nope. TV must have shut itself off while I was asleep.
I heard it again. A growl, thunderous and a bit muffled, coming from the back of the Inn where my window faced. Expecting an incoming thunderstorm, I opened the curtains a bit and stared for a second or two at a huge bubble sitting on the lake. A face smiled at me from inside the bubble. A face. In a bubble. On a lake. Smiling at me. So much wrong.
After the fastest shower ever, I shoved all my gear into my sports bag and threw on my coat. I ran to the back of the Inn with all my gear and my phone (charge cord still attached, alarm shut off) at the ready. The beach, such as it was, was about a two minute jog from the back of the Inn and extended for quite a bit before meeting the water. There was a large bubble sitting on the water's surface, a significant distance from the shore. This was the same bubble I'd seen out the window. It kept getting larger, as did the face in it.
I was trying to focus my phone's camera when I heard someone speaking behind me. Annie, the front desk clerk, asked if I was ready to check out.
"Um, Annie, do you see that?" I said as gently as I could, pointing at the bubble. As soon as I looked at it, I couldn't look away. Annie didn't answer my question but she did keep talking. She said check out prior to 11:25 a.m. was fine but I had to pay now. I asked her how much and she didn't answer, which prompted me to look directly at her.
The growling started again. Of course it was much louder than I'd heard in my room. Annie frowned but stood firm, hand out, palm up. I looked back at the lake and the bubble had moved much closer to shore, almost touching dry land. It was huge, and the face now had a full body with arms and legs. Still smiling, it pointed at me with its left arm.
My blood ran cold. I heard Annie's voice but couldn't understand the words. The bubble drew ever closer. The growls were so loud, I clamped my hands over my ears but still couldn't stop staring at the face. It seemed so familiar.
Annie might have stopped talking, I don't know. All I could hear with my hands on my ears was muffled growling. I knew she was still there because she had grabbed my right arm with both hands and pulled fiercely. Even so, I kept staring at the bubble that had stopped rolling when it made land.
The growling continued.
Annie tugged until my right hand fell away from my ear. She screamed it wasn't her time as she released my arm. At that time I didn't know if she stayed or left because I was still watching the bubble.
A crack formed, splitting the bubble in half vertically. Within a blink or two, the bubble split open and the growling changed to a low, gravelly human voice. "Annie! Annie McIntosh!" the being said. Its finger no longer pointed at me, but to my right. I felt compelled to glance beside me and sure enough, there was Annie. Her hands were balled up into fists, pushing on her temples. She was crying and shaking, and I felt genuine terror just looking at her.
"Annie McIntosh, it is your time!" the being announced as it took two steps towards her. I'm ashamed to say I felt a brief moment of relief that the being wasn't aiming at me before I realized it appeared to be hellbent on getting Annie. She was now screaming wordlessly, seemingly unable or unwilling to run.
In that moment, two things occurred to me. The being was an exact replica of the black and white photo of the town's founding father. And if the urban legend was correct, 'Captain' Johnny Ernest can only eat one person per year. He names that person before eating them. Since he'd already named Annie, I figured I was safe at least for that year, and tried to distract him. Maybe Annie could escape and live another year.
I screamed at him, "Captain, you're dead, you don't need to eat anymore!" It was the best I could think of at the time. I put my hands on Annie's left arm and tried to drag her away with me. No luck, she felt like she was cemented to the spot.
Meanwhile, Captain Ernest continued to take huge steps towards us. I'm used to living with and around weird things, but this went beyond weird. Gilligan wanted to eat someone and he seemed focused on Annie.
Something in me broke. I screamed I was sorry to Annie and took off at a full run. I didn't stop running until I got to the back of the Inn. Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was morbid curiosity, but I had to take one last look back.
Captain Ernest was still at least two of his steps away from her when he grabbed her.
She was still screaming when he dropped her into his mouth.
I folded two ten dollar bills under the phone on the Inn's front desk then jumped into my car and peeled out. When I got to Ernestburgh's main street I turned left. A right turn would have taken me back to Ernestburgh and that was a huge nope for me. As soon as I saw something resembling a freeway, I took the eastbound route and didn't stop until I was home.
The trip home took two hours and added 114 miles to the odometer. My dashcam worked just fine that whole time. The previous day's footage came up as 'corrupted' when I tried to access it. I spent the next four days in bed, waiting for Tina to return from her mother’s.
Tina's mother recovered quickly and Tina came home on day five. She asked me to retrace my steps with her in the car. No matter what we did, we couldn't find Ernestburgh. I searched for obituary notices about Annie McIntosh until Tina said I might be reaching unhealthy levels of 'need to know' when, in fact, I don't need to know. And she was right.
But every February 9th and 10th since then, she and I spend those days together, at home, without guests. We stay in bed, watch our fav horror movies and eat whatever we want. It's our customized version of Valentine's Day.
Author's note: Find me at LG Writes, Odd Directions and Write_Right

Obligatory “On Mobile” warning! Now that that’s out of the way…
This just happened last night and it’s not that long of a story, but I figured I’d share anyways since the interaction put a smile on my face. Here’s hoping it does the same for you guys.
I currently work nights at a gas station/convenience store in the US. Thankfully this one isn’t open 24/7 and is open from 5:30am to 11:00pm. By the time 11:00 rolled around, I was just finishing up with the few remaining customers.
As the last customer is walking out the door, I head there to close up for tonight. Before I could do so, in walks a middle-aged man asking if he can buy cigarettes. I should note that this same guy was in here earlier, buying a lighter about 5 minutes before we closed. He seemed a tiny bit abrasive when picking out which lighter he wanted, but I just chalked it up to him having a bad day and wanting a smoke but finding himself with no lighter.
After he walks in asking if he can buy a pack of smokes, I told him that we’re closed for tonight. He’s insisting, saying “c’mon, it’ll be real quick.” Now, keep in mind, if he had come in even just a minute before closing time, I still would’ve likely helped him. However, it was already around 10 minutes after closing, I’ve got a store to clean for next morning, and I was already pushing it serving the last few customers past 11, anymore after them would get me in trouble with management.
I again tell him that we’re closed and just as I’m about to apologize for the inconvenience, he gets this pissed off look on his face and says “Oh you’re a fucking dickhead.”
It was too perfect, I was waiting for the right opportunity to bust out this retort. With my best ‘matter of fact’ tone, I said “Yup, I’m a real bastard. You’re not getting your cigs though.” After that, he walked out saying something else, but I couldn’t hear him over me saying “Have a nice night!” and locking the doors behind him.
I can neither confirm nor deny that I was smirking to myself in the end.

He didn't seem to speak English very well but seem to want gas. I got out my phone to do translation for us so language was no longer a barrier. He spoke Romanian.
After about 10 minutes at the stop I got the story straight. He wanted me to follow him to the gas station and by him gas because he was driving several hundred miles and didn't have gas money.
There was a gas station ahead about 3 mi, and he knew he could get there from where we were.
It seemed that he and his car were just on the side of the road and he was stopping people and asking them to buy him gas.
This look like a scam to me and I didn't follow him to the gas station to buy him gas. I viewed this as a minimum at as obfuscated panhandling.
Was there more to this scam than just following him to the gas station to buy gas? Was I on reasonable before leaving him behind? (I don't think so).

There's been much talk about BL's potential as a driver of tourism. And it's evident, as some of you have shared your stories here in this sub, while others have asked for help planning upcoming trips. But there still appears to be a lack of easily accessible information for people visiting Thailand for the BL. Here's an attempt to remedy that, with this guide to visiting Thailand for BL fans. I've taken the liberty to incorporate suggestions from several previous threads here, as well as various other sources, so thank you to everyone who's contributed to the discussion.

First things first

This will only touch on things specifically of interest to BL fans. For the other aspects of your trip, including most basic planning stuff, please consult the usual travel resources.
That said, firstly you'll want to consider the purpose of your trip, and how much of it you want to dedicate to BL stuff. Do you just want a regular vacation, with a side stop for some merch, or are you here to relive the all the scenes from your favourite BLs? It's very possible to come up with a weeks-long itinerary of nothing but BL locations, and you could spend as much time mall-hopping to catch artist appearances, but Thailand also has a lot of other things to experience, whether you want to stick to the major attractions or go off the beaten track. It's all up to you.
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you want to attend a specific event, be sure to plan around it and make travel arrangements accordingly. Concerts and fan meetings usually have tickets go on sale a couple of months in advance at most, so you'll want to have flexible options if you book your travel and accommodation before then.

Destinations

Most of the BL-related things you can do will be concentrated in Bangkok, so it's where this guide will be mainly focused, but there are also several provincial locations that have featured in BL, especially Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north and Phuket in the south, all of which are major tourist destinations in their own right. Series have also spent time at plenty of beaches and resorts (particularly around Hua Hin and several towns in Chonburi province) as well as other popular excursions, most of which are short trips from Bangkok. Further out are the island resorts of Koh Samet, Koh Tao and Koh Lanta. The north-east Isan locations are rather off the tourist trail, but could well be worth the experience if that's your style of travel.

Getting immersed

Arriving in Bangkok, one of the first things you'll notice as a fan of Thai BL (or Thai dramas in general) is that you're surrounded by familiar faces everywhere, on banners and billboards and the back of tuk-tuks. Although BL actors aren't that well known among the general public (a surprise to some), the better known ones have a ton of brand endorsements and appear in ads for all sorts of products. Even if you're not planning your trip around BL, spotting actors you know in ads and fan projects can be an entertaining pastime.
Head into a 7-Eleven and you're pretty much guaranteed to see faces you recognize, perhaps on products you're already familiar with from all those series sponsorships and product placements. If the advertising worked and you're dying to know what that bottled green tea or that seaweed snack tastes like, this is your chance to give them a try.
Speaking of tasting, you'll probably be sampling plenty of Thai food while here, so why not include some of the food and drink items from the series you remember, be it som tam from What Zabb Man, the traditional desserts from UWMA, or the famous pink milk, known here as nom yen?
Meanwhile, if taking public transport, spend some time watching the people and see how BL imitates real life. Do you recognize the colours of the school uniforms? Or the university students in their white shirts and black slacks? You might even come across some engineering students in their workshop overshirts.
If you miss hearing the Raikantopeni disclaimer at the beginning of shows, be sure to turn on the TV to catch it as they air live. Be aware though that following shows in Thailand will be more difficult than at home, as they won't have subtitles on TV or on most local streaming services, so you'll likely need a VPN.

Merch stores & fan hangouts

This might be a bit of a letdown, but apart from GMMTV's, there aren't really any physical stores for official merchandise. But since you'll be in the country, you could check with your accommodation to see if they can arrange to accept local package deliveries for you, so you can place some online orders and avoid the international shipping fees. Be sure to check the processing and delivery times - this might be tricky (and won't work with pre-orders, only in-stock items).
GMMTV's shop is not a traditional giftshop as one might assume, but more like a kiosk at their office on the 30th floor of the GMM Grammy Place building - there's just a small product display and a cashier window. Apart from buying products, there's a good chance of running into some actors when visiting, though you're not allowed to linger and there's nowhere to hang out apart from some cafés on the ground floor. You will likely spot some fan-project displays (as mentioned above) outside and in the building, and the cafés will often have cup-sleeve giveaways by fans. Here's a very helpful guide by u/snuffles005: How to visit the GMMTV building and shop
Elsewhere, there's Wab Cafe' and Friends, by the Studio Wabi Sabi people. It's a café, so you'll be buying drinks there rather than merch, but it's very much a space created for fans, and there will often be something going on like fan projects and giveaways, or maybe mini-events with actors making an appearance. It's in RCA, Bangkok's main clubbing neighbourhood (and home to studios where many productions hold their workshops), which takes a bit of an effort to get to, but it's also probably the most dedicated hangout space for BL fans there is.
From Star Hunter, there's Hunter Village, a studio space (mostly used for dance classes) in MBK Center, one of Bangkok's most popular malls. It's a mostly open space, so you'll be able to see if there's someone coming in or something going on, but I'm not sure if it's really somewhere you can hang out at.
Other than that, quite a few actors have their own cafés or some other business, which you might want to visit to support them directly. Clothing and fashion items (perhaps from brands with your faves as presenters) may also be something you'd want to go shopping for.
For manga and anime (including BL/yaoi) there's an Animate store (the specialty chain from Japan), also at MBK Center. In addition to imported works, they also have an extensive Thai section, with both translated and original works.
If you want to observe the Thai novel scene, just walk into any major Thai book store, where you'll likely find rows, maybe entire shelves, of BL novels, prominently displayed - BL has very much gone mainstream in the Thai publishing industry. You'll also find glossy magazines featuring actor photoshoots here. You'll have less luck finding English translations, though, as most translated works are e-book only. For English-language (and Japanese) books in general, your best bet is Books Kinokuniya. They do have Japanese and Chinese translations of some Thai BL novels, as well as the English manga versions of SOTUS and Manner of Death, at international prices.

Catching events

Seeing actors up close (or at a distance) in real life will probably be the BL highlight of your trip for many of you. And unless you're ultra specific as to whom you want to see, there are ample opportunities to catch these actor appearances.
The biggest experiences will of course be the major events - concerts, fan meetings, and the like - that you'll have to buy tickets for. As mentioned above, you'll have to plan around them if you want to attend (which also limits how long you can plan in advance), and make sure to actually get those tickets. They're usually announced very publicly, so it's hard to miss them if you follow the usual news update channels. If you're around when one takes place but can't attend, it can still be worth dropping by if you want to get hold of the merch or just check out the crowds.
For more casual fans, you'll still have plenty of chance to see actors at smaller events, as there's pretty much always something happening somewhere, though there might not be much choice on who you get to see. These events vary a lot in scale, and can be anything from product launches to movie premieres. Most artist's agencies will announce them on their social media channels, usually on a weekly basis, and fan accounts may help share and/or translate them. You'll have to follow them to keep updated.
Most of these events will be held in Bangkok's plethora of malls. The biggest ones are mostly lined along the BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit Line, so if you plan to do a lot of mall-hopping, whether for events or just shopping, consider getting accommodation with easy access to the BTS for convenience. Here's a great post by u/BumblingWombat that describes the experience in detail: What it's like to go to BL events in Thailand (Oh yeah, there are also top-spender events, which I won't go into, as I don't know anything about them. Those who're aiming for them probably won't need this guide anyway.)
Aside from these specific events, there are also annual book fairs that are partially or directly BL-related, where actors from various agencies may make appearances. The mainstream National Book Fair and Book Expo are usually held at the beginning of April and some time in October. Since last year, BL novels and publishers have had a large presence there, and GMMTV actors made daily appearances with fan gatherings in the car park. There are also smaller book fairs directly focusing on BL: Y Book Fair in July, and International Novel Festival at the end of November. They also feature actor appearances, but can also be worth seeing just for the atmosphere if you're interested in experiencing the literary BL scene here.
On the other hand, to experience more of the community side of the fandom, you might want to check out some fan-held events, such as the birthday projects that fan clubs often do, which may be in the form of café galleries or mini-gatherings. Info will mostly be on Twitter, though it may not be readily translated.

Visiting filming locations

If BL inspired you to make the trip to Thailand, no doubt you'd be interested in visiting some of the filming locations yourself. But while some of them are traditional tourist attractions in their own right, most aren't normally on the radar for general visitors, so it'll take a bit of investment (in time and travel) to include them in your trip.
If there's a single most iconic location to recommend, it must be the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River, which shows up in more BLs than anywhere else. So far, it's been seen in SOTUS, SOTUS S, Gen Y, Tonhon Chonlatee, I Promised You the Moon, My Ride, Enchanté, Cutie Pie, KinnPorsche, Even Sun, 2 Moons: The Ambassador, and Boyband. It's not really a tourist attraction, but it's a major landmark of modern Bangkok that everyone knows, and isn't too hard to get to. It's a bit of a walk (some 15 minutes, or just take a tuk-tuk) from either the Phra Athit or Thewet Pier if you're coming from the main riverside attractions and use the Chao Phraya Express (or Tourist) Boat. If you're into financial history, the Bank of Thailand Learning Center and museum is right next to the bridge. Otherwise, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park by its base is also nice, and also a filming location. The bridge itself is most photogenic at night, but make sure you have transport back if you stay late. Consider one of those dinner cruises if you want to experience it from the same angles as KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie.
For other locations, you'll need to do some research. If there's a specific series you want to follow, try searching to see if someone has already compiled a list of locations, which is likely the case for the more popular series. Most info will be on Tumblr or Twitter.
Filming locations may be public places, shops and businesses, private establishments, or purpose-built or converted studios, so remember to think of their ability to welcome visitors. Dress appropriately for the venue, take care to respect their regular functions, and be considerate to other people. Some of the most familiar locations are university campuses, and the grounds will generally be open to the public, but they're not usually equipped to deal with large numbers of visitors. So if you do visit, have fun reliving those memorable scenes but make sure not to disturb the real students who are there for class. Meanwhile, cafés, bars and restaurants would surely welcome your patronage, but please do not snoop around private offices or people's homes. It all boils down to following common sense, really.
A lot of the locations will be quite spread out and some distance away from downtown, so you'll have to plan carefully if you want to hit more than a few. You might want to hire transport for the day, but also take the traffic into consideration.
If you've always wanted to sleep in the same room that your favourite characters lived in (or at least an identical one), you might be in luck. Some of the apartment locations may have rooms available for daily renting, so check with them. As above, though, their location can be rather inconvenient transport-wise. On the other hand, you might want to opt for the hotels and resorts that featured as locations, which will be better equipped with tourist facilities.
For houses specifically, I have a post on The houses of Thai BL. Most of them are private property rented out as studios, but some will be happy to accept visitors (for a fee) on their off days. Contact their management to see if a something can be arranged. Or if you're serious about it and ready to pay, just rent the place at full price for your own personal photoshoot. If you try it either way, do let us know how it turns out. On the other hand, Wawa House (To Sir, With Love) has a café for visitors, Slōlē (Golden Blood, Bite Me, Enchanté, The Tuxedo, The Eclipse) is a real-life café when not filming, and Red Brick Kitchen (Not Me, KinnPorsche, War of Y) features a chef's table dining experience (reservations only, 4 persons minimum).
If you're just looking for some usual attractions that happen to have BL appearances as a bonus, here are a few (very non-exhaustive) suggestions for Bangkok:

• Temples & shrines
  • Wat Arun (KinnPorsche)
  • Wat Kanlayanamit (KinnPorsche)
  • Rong Kueak Shrine (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao, Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go)
• Museums & art galleries
  • Warehouse 30 (Theory of Love)
  • Bangkok Sculpture Center (Vice Versa)
• Historic buildings
  • Hua Lamphong Railway Station (Theory of Love)
  • So Heng Tai Mansion (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao)
  • Neilson Hays Library (Enchanté)
  • The House on Sathorn (functions as a restaurant) (KinnPorsche)
• Zoos, aquariums & other activities
  • Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (UWMA, IPYTM)
  • Flick Skate Park (Cutie Pie)
• Themed markets
  • Asiatique The Riverfront (Why R U?)
  • Kwan-Riam Floating Market (My Engineer)
  • ChangChui Creative Park & Plane Night Market (Vice Versa)
• Bridges & Parks
  • Rama VIII Bridge & Park (see above)
  • Memorial Bridge (& Chao Phraya Sky Park) ('Cause You're My Boy)
  • Bhumibol Bridge (& Lat Pho Park) (Not Me, KinnPorsche, LITA)
  • Chong Nonsi Skywalk & Canal Park (Chains of Heart, Bed Friend, The Promise)
  • Queen Sirikit & Wachirabenchathat (Rotfai) Park (Cutie Pie, My School President)
  • Benjakitti Forest Park (Vice Versa)
  • Suan Luang Rama IX Park (Vice Versa)
  • Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (Vice Versa)

While Bangkok's malls are very much major attractions by themselves, I didn't include them as their appearances are quite too numerous to list.
Outside of Bangkok, each series will mostly feature locations relatively near each other (except Cupid's Last Wish, which went all over the country), so I'll just list the series by destination without going into each location's detail.

• Chiang Mai: Manner of Death, Triage, Dew, Grey Rainbow, Sky in Your Heart, On Cloud Nine, 180 Degree Longitude, A Tale of Thousand Stars, everything by Wayufilm
• Chiang Rai: A Tale of Thousand Stars, The Love of Winter
• Lampang: Bed Friend
• Khon Kaen: Love Mechanics 2022
• Chachoengsao: Remember Me
• Chonburi: KinnPorsche, Star in My Mind, Never Let Me Go, Moonlight Chicken, Cutie Pie (Bira Circuit), My School President (Institute of Marine Science)
• Koh Samet (Rayong): Hard Love Mission
• Amphawa (Samut Songkhram): Together With Me
• Kanchanaburi: UWMA
• Hua Hin & nearby (Prachuap Khiri Khan): Bad Buddy, My School President
• Koh Tao (Surat Thani): Even Sun
• Phuket: ITSAY
• Koh Lanta (Krabi): Why R U, Why You... Y Me?

Further resources & suggestions

The Let's Talk BL podcast hosts talked about their experience in Thailand last year, covering a lot of the above points over several episodes at the beginning of season 3. Be sure to check them out if you want all the details, especially S3 EP3: Tips & Tricks for the perfect BL experience in Bangkok. Some of their main tips that I didn't mention above are not to overstretch yourself trying to go to everything, and to use a map to plan your days.
Colourme-feral on Tumblr has an incredible Google Map that plots locations from several series, and more in their blog, which a lot of the above is sourced from. For Bad Buddy specifically, Telomeke-bbs on Tumblr has a series of posts that analyse the locations at an insane level of detail.
I'm sure I haven't covered nearly everything in this post, so please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. (I'll try to expand the locations list as I get around to digging for more series.) If you have questions or need help identifying a specific location, feel free to ask! (Though no guarantees there.)
For full disclosure, I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this. Any biases or omissions are purely unintentional.

I’d booked a stay in the mountains for just me and my young kids for the long weekend. We live in an urban area, and I decided to make the 4-hour drive to a small town, where most people camp. I got us a family-friendly air conditioned home with a hot tub and barbecue and big backyard to run around in. Kids are pumped.
We get there and immediately notice the house is nothing like the listing. My daughter excitedly shows me 2 large dead bugs in her fists that she grabbed from the dining room table. There is a strong musty/moldy odor. The lawn is over a foot long, mosquitoes everywhere. Not clean. I decide to look past it for the kids. But after being there for an hour, it was hot, like really, unbearably hot. I go to the air conditioner thermostat and it says it’s on, but it’s not on.
At this point I message the host. He tries to control it remotely, asks me to check the unit outside etc. There’s some back and forth and after another 45 minutes, I decide we cannot stay here. My preschool aged kids are fanning themselves in the living room, the bedrooms are stagnant-hot. Thermostat is actually going up, at 85 when I decide it’s time to go.
I loop in support. Luckily the host was cool, had no issue refunding me, apologized etc. as I was only there for 2 hours. All good there.
Support says, before we actually cancel you, we want to help you find another place to stay and will cover the difference. Wonderful. I’d been at work all day, packed, unpacked, re-packed, driven 4 hours. The kids are cranky and tired. It’s late. The man asks me to find him 3 comparable listings, and because I’m on a remote mountain top with my kids in the backseat, and it’s 9pm, he will call and message the hosts directly. Sweet. I’m sitting in a dimly lit gas station parking lot with a dwindling battery. He calls all three. One answers and says no, the other two don’t pick up. Support guy says it’s the end of his shift and he’s got to go, but no worries, another person has been filled in on the situation and will be jumping right in.
I stay in the parking lot 20 mins. I call in again as I haven’t heard anything. They promise to call back. They don’t. I speak to 2 different people, both of whom say “don’t worry, we can approve the refund!” I explain- “no you’re misunderstanding the issue… please help me find a place to stay. I’m on a remote mountaintop and my options are very limited.”
Support girl is assigned to me and tells me to send her some options. I send her 5, and these are reaches. Most an hour away. She tells me I need to be messaging hosts and calling them, and even if it is an “instant book” she needs me to get written confirmation of availability and calculate the price difference “and daily breakdown” for her on each option. I FINALLY get one host to answer me, he says the house is ready right now. To set the scene: i take a medication that makes me sleepy and I’m doing the best I can to stay awake. It’s past 10, one kid is loudly crying, the other is sleeping. I’ve got a little pencil and paper and am using my dome light. I tell support girl about the house available now, she says she will check in on all these and get right back to me. She warns me not to book, because they will give me a “coupon” and not a refund. I tell her the situation I’m in, she understands and will push this to the front of the line. “PLEASE help me, I don’t want to sleep in my car with my kids, but there is literally nowhere to go.”
Guys, I waited an hour, called back (and couldn’t get an answer), then slept on the side of the highway with my kids.
When I got up a few hours later. I had no missed messages or calls from Air BnB. I started driving and called them and demanded an answer on the property that could take me right now. I told them I could not get off the phone until I had an answer. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and there was none available. I was exasperated and told them I was going to book the property and just hope they could refund me the difference. My house had costed $1200 for three nights. The only place that was available and could affirmatively take me and my kids was $1600 for two nights. At this point, my frustration was more about how I was being discarded by the company rather than how much money I was out.
I attempt to book the house I told AirBnB I was going to book. There is now an “error” that prevents me from booking, I am blocked from making a booking on the website. I’ve had my account for 5 years and never had a problem. The host says I can book outside of AirBnB, and I do so. (Silver lining: The house was lovely and the host was so accommodating and kind, and I salvaged the weekend with my kids!)
At around noon that day, after being at the house for 6 or so hours, I finally get a response back from Air BnB, saying they fixed the booking error with their website. Also, that they could not accommodate me in any of the places I’d listed out, because the nightly rates from where id originally booked were too far apart. (Strangely, support guy #1 had actually proposed and called a listing for me that was $2100 for two nights. I digress)
They offer me 3 options, all 2.5 hours away from where I’d originally booked. Two were top-floor apartments, and one was a studio cabin with no air conditioning.
They apologized and gave me a coupon for $33 towards my next booking 😭 Top-notch customer service.

Hey everyone! I'm excited to share that I'm planning a road trip in Thailand during the month of July with two of my friends. I recently discovered that renting electric cars is a really cheap option there, especially the Atto 3 from BYD, which boasts a 400km range. Not only that, but the tolls also seem to be affordable and there are charging stations for electric cars almost everywhere in Thailand, making it a convenient and eco-friendly choice for our trip.
Although I've been to Thailand five times before, I have always traveled by bus or plane. This time, we are looking forward to exploring the country by road and taking in all the beautiful sights along the way. We haven't yet decided where to start our trip from, either Phuket or Suvarnabhumi airport, but we are open to suggestions.
Our current plan is to start our journey from Phuket and make our way to Krabi, a charming coastal town with stunning beaches and crystal-clear waters. From there, we plan to head towards Pattaya, an exciting city that's famous for its lively nightlife and stunning temples. After exploring Pattaya, we want to make our way to Chiang Mai, the cultural capital of Thailand, via Bangkok. We are excited to see the beautiful temples and landmarks in these cities and indulge in the local cuisine and culture.
However, we are also open to suggestions for a good road trip option that starts from either Suvarnabhumi or Phuket airport and ends at the same airport where we started. We are looking forward to hearing your ideas and recommendations!

Hey everyone! I'm excited to share that I'm planning a road trip in Thailand during the month of July with two of my friends. I recently discovered that renting electric cars is a really cheap option there, especially the Atto 3 from BYD, which boasts a 400km range. Not only that, but the tolls also seem to be affordable and there are charging stations for electric cars almost everywhere in Thailand, making it a convenient and eco-friendly choice for our trip.
Although I've been to Thailand five times before, I have always traveled by bus or plane. This time, we are looking forward to exploring the country by road and taking in all the beautiful sights along the way. We haven't yet decided where to start our trip from, either Phuket or Suvarnabhumi airport, but we are open to suggestions.
Our current plan is to start our journey from Phuket and make our way to Krabi, a charming coastal town with stunning beaches and crystal-clear waters. From there, we plan to head towards Pattaya. After exploring Pattaya, we want to make our way to Chiang Mai, the cultural capital of Thailand, via Bangkok.
However, we are also open to suggestions for a good road trip option that starts from either Suvarnabhumi or Phuket airport and ends at the same airport where we started. We are looking forward to hearing your ideas and recommendations!

African American male. I’ve been driving a little under 2 years now. It’s been really slow in the Phx/ Scottsdale area the past couple of days. Another slow night, barely any cars on the road. I pick up a pax (a young hispanic lady) from a motel around 1 am in old town. Turning out of the motel I get pulled over immediately, so I turn into the nearest gas station. The cop walks to my car and aggressively says to me “any weapons or drugs in the car”. I say “wtf no, I’m an Uber driver”. He then ask for my license. I give it to him. He looks at my pax and then ask for her license. She freaks out for a second but then proceeds to give him the license. Then I ask him what the hell am I being pulled over for? He tells me that I made a wide turn leaving the motel. Then he walks off to run our id’s. Are you serious!!? 🧐 I’m talking with my passenger and she’s freaking out. Saying things like “he pulled you over because you’re black” etc. He comes back after about 5 mins. Gives us back our id’s. And tells me that the reason he pulled me over was because I didn’t come to a full stop when turning onto a busy rode because there wasn’t a stop sign there? And that I made a wide turn. Saying that they were having a lot of accidents on Scottsdale road. All while refusing to look me in the face. He let me go with a warning. I was so pissed and embarrassed that I made this post lol 😂 My pax ended up tipping me $20. I think he either thought my pax was a prostitute or that I was buying drugs or something idk

Hi, all
My friend and I got two 125 pounds fines for “not being able to provide a valid ticket for our journey” from Merseyrail. I admit that we made a mistake, but I think it is too harsh. I've talked to Merseyrail, and they refused to cancel the fine. I am considering to take it to court, but I have several questions:

1. I am currently here on a visa, if I go to court and lost, would it count as a criminal record?
2. What are my chances to win?
3. Mersyrail charges 150 extra for going to the court. I assume if I win, I don't need to pay the 150. If I lose, I need to pay 125+150 = 275. Financially, should I take it to the court?

Here is what happened:
My friend and I bought the tickets on Trainline, was instructed to collect the physical tickets, but we didn't. After the journey, we were told by the staff at the gate to collect physical tickets from a nearby shop, but we did not manage to do so, and then we were stopped by officers and penalized.
I admit failed to collect the tickets were my mistakes, but here are our reasons:
We didn't collect the paper tickets in the first place, as we were travelling to Liverpool from Manchester, we initially planned to cycle to a beach from Liverpool city center. However, one of our bikes broke down halfway and we had to take the train instead. In the midst of managing our bicycles, navigating an unfamiliar city, changing travel plans, and seeking confirmation of whether bikes were allowed on the train, we overlooked the instruction to collect our tickets. We were non-locals and not very familiar with the paper tickets system, we naively thought as long as we have paid for the trip, it was okay.
We didn't follow the staff's suggestion to collect the tickets because I made the mistake of assuming that our journey had been effectively completed since we were allowed to exit the train station after presenting the Trainline code. With two bicycles to manage and a train to Manchester to catch, the thought of backtracking to collect tickets for a trip we considered finished seemed counterintuitive and inconvenient.
We rectified our error by collecting the tickets post-factum to validate our journey.
Again, I admit that it is our fault for not collecting the tickets, but still, we paid for our tickets before the trip, and we had no intention of not paying. I feel two £125 fines are rather harsh. Should I take it to the court?