My Bangkok Trip January / February 2022

I left Thailand about 2 weeks ago, so this report is a tad dated. I arrived just be Christmas. The Soi 7 bar complex was going full throttle at that time, as far as amount of girls goes and bars open. Nana & Cowboy were completely shut down. Many high-end girls were there and quite eager for business. Was not even a barfine at the time. However, for me, a lot of very small tightly packed together micro-bars, and just enough space to walk between them, and the shared bathroom concept, does not really appeal. Random Bar which in directly on Soi 7, is much better, although like anywhere else in Thailand, the band is just way too loud.

Sometime early January, some of the Nana bars opened on the 1st floor – Lollipop, Twister, Beer Garden to name a few. Rumours of girls being at different bars is definitely true. I know several girls from past visits. Once Nana opened, many of them migrated from Soi 7 and elsewhere back to Nana. There were so many girls at Twisters, they overflowed to neighbouring tables from other bars quite often.

Some weeks later, sitting at Big Dogs, and other times at Twisters, I noticed a few people wandering up to 2nd floor. Some of the girls commented on this as well. A few days later, I wandered up and found that Straps, and Rainbow 5 were both open, however with not many girls. Both places had girls sitting on bar stools on stage.

Towards the end of January / start of February, Billboard on the 3rd floor opened; at the time they had a few girls on stage in street clothes, but that didn’t last long. One night rather early, one RTP walked in, just wearing street clothes, and he shut it down for the night. I was there at the time and it was all rather exciting, but not in a good way. After that they tried the bar stool trick, then the stage was taped off. Still the busiest bar going for girls and customers.

Always seeing comments that only open air bars were allowed, but that idea went away later summer/early fall. The requirement was restaurant license, and menus. All the bars have these, most using the Grab app *if* someone wants to order food. Regulation was & *still is* that you order food, then you can get a drink, however everyone knows how these things go in Thailand….!

One thing I’ve not seen mentioned here, or anywhere else, until fully reopened “i.e. gogo dancing, etc” Soi 8, and to a lesser extend Soi 7/1 as also good places to go. Many girls, there now, you would not normally see in these areas. Until Nana and Cowboy comes back in full force, I expect it to remain the same. Random now has 3 bars; original one Soi 7, and the best bar possibly on that soi. Random Bar Soi 8, and then the 3rd in Nana, where Rainbow 3 used to be.

Another thing is that the bars in Nana currently open only 5 days a week, but they stagger closing days, so there are always bars open. I know a few girls that work Soi 8, for example, when their main bar is closed; something I don’t think happened in the past. They also don’t have the requirements they used to work under so they are not fined if they don’t work enough days, choose when they want to work, etc. It’s definitely a different place now.

Interestingly enough, the rate for the girls is still the same as it was 2 years ago. Whiskey bar, is indeed setup as more of a lounge, which at this particular time, is all there is going. I found it quite comfortable. The first week or so, very slow, until they hired enough girls to compete with Billboard, Twister, Lollipop, Random, etc. The last night I was there it was quite busy.

Many of the bars along Soi 4 are open now, and doing very good business. Today@Soi8 Bar is another small bar, which has a lot of very good looking girls.

Thermae was closed the entire 2 months I was there. However more than the normal amount of girls/+other, in that area on the street, personally never went that route. Even walking past the bus stops, so many of the girls will challenge you with the typical “Where you go?”

As for Covid, it’s definitely a real risk, almost like the lottery. Fully vaccinated, you’re not going to really get sick or worse. However there is always the chance of having a positive result, and getting tossed into a “hospital”, at YOUR cost! Even on your way out of the country. Until that changes, there is a definite risk you have to consider. Seems like every day they talk about “living with Covid, and going back to normal”. Then in the same breath, they panic about the “mostly” asymptomatic case numbers, and cry lock-down. Hopefully this does not go on much longer. Tourist gets positive Covid test results in expensive 10 day “hospital” stay, very expensive bill, probably not very good meals, and unless you can prove you’re married, you cannot have anyone else in the room with you. Local gets Covid, government pays for hotel, food, and they get something like 20k baht compensation; The one thing I was unaware of, until after almost all the girls I know tested positive at some point in time, they will toss up to 4 girls all in the same room… different rules for different people “also governments paying for it”.

Was talking with a few of the girls one night. One asked me how much my Covid insurance was. 100K baht. They asked if you get covid, do you get a check for 100k? They were quite excited until I explained the difference between tourist Covid insurance, and Thai citizen insurance.

Wood Bar, one of the girls told me they’ve been open a long time. Lolita’s and Kasalong looked closed, but many times the door was only partially shut, and business going on as normal. Some sites puts Lolita’s off Soi 8, and Kasalong Soi 6, however if one walks a few feet past Lolita’s you can see around the corner is where Kasalong is, or if you really want can walk the long way around Soi 6.

Just inside Soi 7, two new bars opened in February, not inside the complex, but right on the street, just before you get to Random. Seemed busy, but never had time to stop. Soi 7/1 four bars on the left side, depending on what night I went past, several girls there, some really decent picks. Very quiet, seems not that well known.

Massage places all up and running very similar to past years.

Spent one week over New Year’s, in Pattaya. Of any time to have been there, that’s possibly the worst time imaginable. Lot of Covid Omicron cases, at the time. Mandatory testing at many bars, and restaurants, 9 PM closing, just tragic! Picked a discounted room off a popular website, with a few decent reviews, no name, or address “owner said for privacy”. Stated close to beach, and Walking Street; 45 minute brisk walk is considered to some as “close”, didn’t do much to enhance the trip. Of course I had forgotten how much trouble a person could get into for posting a negative review in Thailand. Lesson learned.

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