Is there any nice town (with any possibility of picking up) to visit for a day or 2 instead of the horrible Pattaya ?

Most of the towns are nice, but for picking up people for sex you may have to go to the 'horrible' part of town.

What towns?

And how horrible are those parts?

You can pick up in most medium-sized towns in the Malls or in the Restrooms. Sometimes just in Tesco. Places with a night market can also be OK. Some towns have "known" spots like parks and lakes.

There is even some low-level cruising at the Chang Rai bus station. Chiang Mai has a lot of go-go bars but does have one or two "normal" gay bars. There used to be a small sauna in Khon Kaen, but it was 5km from town.

Or just install Grindr on your phone. A friend in the far north near Myanmar has noted about seven people on the app. up there. Romeo also has a GPS function to note proximity!

In the end, it depends on what you want and the risk you take. Some malls have obvious Ladyboys and Spivvy male MBs. If you take anyone back to your hotel, you will have already put your Rolex in the room safe (I hope) along with your wallet and cards, keeping 500b in loose notes in your pocket.

Commercial places like Krabi beach have 1 or 2 bars, although the last place I went to in Krabi was dire. Hua Hin has one or two bars, although I never did well in those.

It's horses for courses. I have been trying to find the holy grail of unspoilt guys in small towns for a few years now, with not much luck. I don't like to pay, as it cheapens the experience, but some people love to pay.

Horses and courses. You won't find anywhere like Babylon and DJ away from the Mango. Sometimes a change is good--get into a hotel in Bukit Bintang (central Kuala Lumpur) and work the phone apps. If you are new (and especially caucasian) in town, you can be mobbed with offers within 5 minutes. Or even cruise the Starbucks and Old Town Coffee next to Pavilion Mall in KL, or the Thermos sauna. KL knocks the socks off of BKK.

Eddy

Thank you.

Taibei , Taiwan in the 1980's and early 90's was a paradise. For over a decade I picked up every night. And never a mention of money. They Have money already.

But nobody goes to the park anymore. They would rather stare at computer screens, apparently.

The park here in Bangkok used to be o.k. too when I was here in 2005. But it's all over now. They would also rather stare at computer screens now. Pretty sick.

P.S., if you really look like that, you sure have been lucky!