Stranger than Fiction
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Starting in 1999, I came to Southeast Asia two or three times a year for a month or two at a time. I was living in New York City, had an art gallery in Manhattan’s SoHo with a really good manager, and had a professional assistant who helped me with my schedules. My travel itineraries were all basically the same but the timing was the result of long sessions on Gaydar and Fridae.com.
I would fly from Newark to Taipei, and spend a few nights at the YMCA in room 911 (!) that had a large terrace. I unscrewed the light bulb over the terrace and moved the mattress outside! Taipei may not have many gay spots except for a couple of clubs and the most amazing park in the world, but the guys are the best brought-up in the region—so polite, English-speaking, and…good looking!
I’d then fly to BKK, move into room 525 in what is now the Four Seasons Bangkok, and work on my tan line at the pool for a week or so. I only left the hotel to meet friends at Telephone; my life was otherwise full with new-found friends from Gaydar!
Singapore would be my next port of call—isn’t Wi-Fi great! Then on to Bali, up to Hong Kong, and home again via the Taipei YMCA (light bulb still unscrewed).
Patrick, my assistant, would keep me posted with a daily email; and, for fun, he always attached a photo of a sexy guy he found on the Internet; a different one every day.
Spring, 1999: While planning this trip, I had been invited to stay at the fabulous, brand-new Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan near Ubud. I scoured Gaydar and Fridae, but the pickings on Bali didn’t strike my fancy. Going farther afield, I found a really stunning guy who lived in Jakarta. He accepted my invitation to join me in Bali, and I got him a ticket through the Internet.
June 9th – the car from the Four Seasons meets me at Denpasar and we climb up to Ubud from the sea. Sayan is incredible – Google it – but I was more excited about my date coming from Jakarta tomorrow. The usual email arrived from Patrick; this one had a skinny red-head attached…Patrick’s idea of a joke; he knows I like almond-eyed, athletic guys.
My duplex suite—one enters down through the lotus pond that covers the roof—was perched at the edge of a falling river: sexy bedroom, exotic bath, and a plunge pool; all festooned with clinging vines, swaying palms, and impenetrable jungle.
June 10th – the driver takes me to Denpasar to meet the flight from Jakarta. I can hardly believe my eyes—Ewie is almond-eyed, six-foot tall, and bulging in all the right places; the Internet pix could never have done him justice! I am caught up in a swirl of clinging arms, sweaty palms, and visions of jungle penetrations.
We arrive back at Sayan, and as Ewie takes a shower, I check Patrick’s daily email…you will never believe this but I swear it is true: incredibly, …attached to Patrick’s email is a photo of Ewie…….as it came up on the screen!!!
“Where did you get that picture? It was from a photo-shoot I did a few months ago for a magazine, but they never gave any of the shots to me!”
Amazed and laughing, we scamper the sexy bedroom, bathe exotically, and plunge, plunge, plunge!