Planning on my first visit in May. First day in, my current plan is to hit up PULSE and ask for an initial STD test, Cialis or generic equivalent, PREP (which I'll take for a week before raw-dogging anything), and as many condoms as I can get my hands on for at least until then. Anything else you'd recommend? Anything about this plan that doesn't sound reliable? Any alternatives that you'd recommend? (ie: skip the cialis and buy x generic from some random street vendor, upgrade to the whatever STD test package, PREP takes longer to be effective dumbass, you need to lie and say that you're a homeless sexworking migrant to get access to whatever, etc.)

My intention and budget is to have an all-out hedonistic vacation that adds dozens of ladies to my body count, and I'd like to be as safe as possible about it.

Pulse is very expensive. There are much cheaper options available.

Get generic Cialis from street vendors.

For PrEP, you don't need to start one week in advance. You can start with a double dose, and you're good to go two hours later. Also take 100mg Doxy daily if you're planning on going raw, but it only offers limited protection against some bacterial STIs.

I’d also bring condoms from home, get the brand, style and size you like.   

Can't you get the STD check done at home? Pulse is good, but expensive.

Agree with condoms from home to be the better option

Curious why OP feels he needs an STD test at the start of his trip … it’s usually better after the trip, or at the first sign of symptoms. 

15 hours ago, sia598568 said:

Pulse is very expensive. There are much cheaper options available.

Get generic Cialis from street vendors.

For PrEP, you don't need to start one week in advance. You can start with a double dose, and you're good to go two hours later. Also take 100mg Doxy daily if you're planning on going raw, but it only offers limited protection against some bacterial STIs.

I fully agree and endorse the post above.

FWIW, I personally use PULSE for PrEP, and their default consult already includes HIV, Hep, and kidney function screening.

I also DoxyPEP and grab my ED meds from the pharmacy across from Areca Lodge in LK Metro, so I’m with you on not overpaying for the basics.

While you don’t need to start PrEP a week ahead. The 2-1-1 method works fine from an HIV standpoint. The only reason some guys start daily dosing a week before is because a few people (myself included) get mild gastro side effects for the first couple days starting on PrEP, and those settle quickly—so starting earlier avoids dealing with that during the trip. Just something to consider.

Since you’re in the space, one other update: Pulse now offers Bexsero (MenB vaccine), which shows decent partial efficacy against gonorrhea. I haven’t tried it yet since it’s not offered at the Pulse branch in the Philippines where I am, but I’m planning to get it when I’m in Pattaya next month.

Keep us posted—and enjoy the hedonism!

16 hours ago, sia598568 said:

Pulse is very expensive. There are much cheaper options available.

Get generic Cialis from street vendors.

For PrEP, you don't need to start one week in advance. You can start with a double dose, and you're good to go two hours later. Also take 100mg Doxy daily if you're planning on going raw, but it only offers limited protection against some bacterial STIs.

Pretty sure you aren’t meant to take antibiotics as precaution. Only as treatment?

51 minutes ago, Herbby said:

Pretty sure you aren’t meant to take antibiotics as precaution. Only as treatment?

https://www.eatg.org/hiv-news/daily-doxyprep-may-be-another-option-for-sti-prevention/

12 minutes ago, sia598568 said:

https://www.eatg.org/hiv-news/daily-doxyprep-may-be-another-option-for-sti-prevention/

Yeah, but that article also mentions the potential problem with it too. Mainly antibacterial resistance. That’s the main widespread issue with taking antibiotics without necessity.

10 minutes ago, Herbby said:

Yeah, but that article also mentions the potential problem with it too. Mainly antibacterial resistance. That’s the main widespread issue with taking antibiotics without necessity.

"The main concern about using doxycycline prophylaxis is in relation to antimicrobial resistance  
(AMR) in sexually and non-sexually transmitted infections. Every effort should be taken to ensure  
the optimal use of antibiotics.  
Tetracycline resistance in Treponema pallidum (subsp. pallidum), the bacterium that causes syphilis, 
has not been demonstrated. There is no definitive evidence for stable tetracycline resistance in  
Chlamydia trachomatis. Small studies have reported detection of AMR determinants but correlation  
between in vitro doxycycline minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and treatment failure is  
poor (9). However, stable and transmitted resistance has been seen in non-human chlamydia species  
such as Chlamydia suis (in pigs) due to antibiotic use in farming (10).  
Selection pressure on other STIs may not be clinically significant; high rates of tetracycline  
(doxycycline) resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae already preclude treatment of gonorrhoea with  
doxycycline.

https://www.bashh.org/_userfiles/pages/files/resources/position_statement_refresh_2021_v11.pdf

Daily Doxy is also a well established prophylaxis for Malaria.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3062442/

TL/DR: No real evidence of resistance.

Taking 100mg of Doxy daily is a no-brainer if you're doing a few 2-3 week trips a year. 

 

2 hours ago, Herbby said:

Pretty sure you aren’t meant to take antibiotics as precaution. Only as treatment?

Typically true, and especially for those taking stronger antibiotics prophylactically, which current recommendations don’t support. The exception here is Doxy-PEP, which is a CDC-endorsed post-exposure approach for high-risk groups. FWIW, my local STD clinic in the USA recommended it to me based on their assessment. As always, talk to your doctor and make the call for yourself.

On 21/11/2025 at 17:38, direct_voyage said:

I fully agree and endorse the post above.

FWIW, I personally use PULSE for PrEP, and their default consult already includes HIV, Hep, and kidney function screening.

I also DoxyPEP and grab my ED meds from the pharmacy across from Areca Lodge in LK Metro, so I’m with you on not overpaying for the basics.

While you don’t need to start PrEP a week ahead. The 2-1-1 method works fine from an HIV standpoint. The only reason some guys start daily dosing a week before is because a few people (myself included) get mild gastro side effects for the first couple days starting on PrEP, and those settle quickly—so starting earlier avoids dealing with that during the trip. Just something to consider.

Since you’re in the space, one other update: Pulse now offers Bexsero (MenB vaccine), which shows decent partial efficacy against gonorrhea. I haven’t tried it yet since it’s not offered at the Pulse branch in the Philippines where I am, but I’m planning to get it when I’m in Pattaya next month.

Keep us posted—and enjoy the hedonism!

Any chance you remember the name of the pharmacy? I hear there are a lot of them there and I'll be at Areca for my first trip in late October...hoping to be as safe as possible .

21 hours ago, penumbra1234 said:

Any chance you remember the name of the pharmacy? I hear there are a lot of them there and I'll be at Areca for my first trip in late October...hoping to be as safe as possible .

It's the Guardian Pharmacy, directly across from Areca.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/seSFVcuoVazwVdub8

6 hours ago, direct_voyage said:

It's the Guardian Pharmacy, directly across from Areca.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/seSFVcuoVazwVdub8

You're the man, ty!

On 22/11/2025 at 00:38, direct_voyage said:

I fully agree and endorse the post above.

FWIW, I personally use PULSE for PrEP, and their default consult already includes HIV, Hep, and kidney function screening.

I also DoxyPEP and grab my ED meds from the pharmacy across from Areca Lodge in LK Metro, so I’m with you on not overpaying for the basics.

While you don’t need to start PrEP a week ahead. The 2-1-1 method works fine from an HIV standpoint. The only reason some guys start daily dosing a week before is because a few people (myself included) get mild gastro side effects for the first couple days starting on PrEP, and those settle quickly—so starting earlier avoids dealing with that during the trip. Just something to consider.

Since you’re in the space, one other update: Pulse now offers Bexsero (MenB vaccine), which shows decent partial efficacy against gonorrhea. I haven’t tried it yet since it’s not offered at the Pulse branch in the Philippines where I am, but I’m planning to get it when I’m in Pattaya next month.

Keep us posted—and enjoy the hedonism!

Hi mate. Did you get Bexsero in Pat?

On 21/11/2025 at 15:05, momo5 said:

Curious why OP feels he needs an STD test at the start of his trip … it’s usually better after the trip, or at the first sign of symptoms. 

Because you can't start PrEP without a negative HIV test.

I usually buy a cheap little tube of herpes ant-viral cream. 

I put it on my lips after sex, if it has been a very oral session or if I think that I have been exposed.

I always bag up, wash off immediately after sex and pee, gargle with Listerine. I also have a bottle of alcohol that i pour on me cock if I am particularly worried. Just don't get rubbing alcohol on your balls - Oach! the burn!

Not sure if it works or not. But I have never caught herpes. And don't want to.

When I was in the military, I had a mate that took a nasty street walker. A week later, his lips broke out with canker sores. I have been rattled by this and that is why I go through these clean up procedures after sex.

 

On 01/05/2026 at 12:21, mango said:

Hi mate. Did you get Bexsero in Pat?

Yes sir, from Pulse Clinic

18 hours ago, direct_voyage said:

Yes sir, from Pulse Clinic

How much did you pay?

53 minutes ago, lovermand66 said:

How much did you pay?

Just checked the invoice, 3,700 THB I paid this past December.

On 14/04/2026 at 02:37, direct_voyage said:

It's the Guardian Pharmacy, directly across from Areca.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/seSFVcuoVazwVdub8

Do they have prep available also?

I did a full med und std check up at home and only need the medication.

2 hours ago, mango said:

Do they have prep available also?

I did a full med und std check up at home and only need the medication.

I’m not sure because I got my PrEP from Pulse, but when they don’t have something in stock, they’ve been able to order meds for me. So it’s worth checking w. them.