Stickman Weekly, August 4, 2024

 

 

Mystery Photo

Last week’s photo was taken from the Ploenchit BTS station platform looking south towards the Athenee Hotel. This week’s photo is in a neighbourhood most Thais would probably consider central Bangkok, but it’s not quite in the heart of the city and what I often refer to as “downtown”. Still, it’s an area popular with we farangs.

Stick’s Inbox – The Best Emails From The Past Week

Another Soi Delhi.

The “single glass and six straws” thing is of course an exaggeration, but not completely off the mark. I spoke to a girl in a bar on Sukhumvit Soi 22 this week who I have known for some years, and she said that she does not want to wash three glasses for one beer. When Indians request that, she doubles the price, and rather than buying a beer each, they leave. She referred to Soi 22 as Soi Delhi, and pointed out the number of Indian restaurants. In just the first few hundred meters of the soi, there are 5 or 6 of them, and I saw them coming in busloads. The name is quite fitting.

Entertainment areas at home.

What boggles my mind is that Indians have flocked to Pattaya to create Indian businesses targeting Indians. Surely with the money spent, they could create a “Walking Street” or “Soi Cowboy” or “Nana Plaza” in India in many cities, and not only target Indians, but customers from all over the world? Get some of those Indian girls out of dingy brothels and into a more respectable and perhaps more profitable work environment, albeit doing the same work. Indians are smart, so surely with the right formula they could outsmart Thailand. That chicken and the egg scenario? I am sure they could procure plenty of chickens in their home country.

Where is the bar scene going?

There are many Indian customers who don’t indulge in this infuriating freeloading, probably the majority. That’s why so many Indian-centric businesses survive and thrive. But to say that such behaviour is not more common among Indian customers than, say, Japanese customers is either dishonest or wilful blindness. My prediction on how this will eventually play out is that bars will develop a ‘members only’ policy restricting entry to white customers. Many whites are uncomfortable with that as it has echoes of apartheid, Jim Crow America etc. But as whites become a shrinking minority, not only in Thai tourism but in their own historically white countries, the white guilt instinct will ebb away and be replaced with a protective self-interest. I imagine it will be the ‘gentleman’s clubs’ in Pattaya which pioneer this as many if not all are run by expats, rather than Thais. The Japanese customers have long had their own bar area in Soi Thaniya, and Indians have their own restrictive clubs, so would it really be so confronting to have whites do the same?

Thumbs up for Indians.

I wonder how many who resent Indians actually know any. There is deep-rooted and irrational prejudice everywhere, and anyone of colour has been an easy target for many decades. Like you, I have found Indians I have met to be engaging. One such chap was a seller of fake watches who approached me on Soi Nana. I jokingly asked him if he had a work permit and, to my surprise, he produced one. Of course, that might have been fake too, but we got talking and he explained that his father back home had died and he was trying to earn money to support his family. And, being from the UK, I have known many Indians in my long life, even holidaying overseas with one I called Turbie. I shared a house with an Indian family, with them downstairs and me upstairs. I was invited to dinner by my Indian lady boss. All were fine people and good company. I’d rather know them than some of the white trash that lands at Thailand’s airports.

More Readers’ Emails

Not missing Walking Street.

Regarding this week’s column, I wonder how many farang actually miss Walking Street? I’ve been avoiding it for years. It’s pure chaos, an assault on the ears, and filled with shady characters. I only use it as a route to the A Go-Gos in Soi Diamond and Soi 15. Thankfully, there’s still Soi Buakhao and the surrounding area.

Postcard from Pattaya.

I’m back in Pattaya and it’s business as usual here. Quite lively, but the bars are still quiet. Last night I walked from North Pattaya to Bali Hai Pier. Beach Road had plenty of mainstream visitors walking around. Thais were camping (as usual) in decent numbers at the beach, but the bars on the other side of the street, even the normally busy beer bars on the corners of sois 7 and 8, were very quiet. Passed them between 7:30 and 9:00 PM and despite the fact that’s usually prime time, and it was a Friday, it was remarkably quiet. The same could be said about the beer bars in Walking Street that I passed.

Unimpressed by Angeles.

I just arrived in Angeles City. I think prostitution makes Pattaya, or at least parts of Pattaya, appear quite seedy. Walking Street in Angeles City is beyond seedy! It makes Phnom Penh’s bar areas look first-world. I kid you not! I will not walk up that end of the street again, and will move on to another destination ASAP. The bit that stuns me is that there is a good portion of quite respectable-looking Koreans around the Walking Street area. It seems they own bars here too. God only knows why they would open a bar here?

Try the Philippines!

Have you considered getting a return flight from New Zealand to the Philippines, and then getting a return flight from the Philippines to Bangkok? <In a word, “never!” – Stick> It’s not something I would have considered, but then I didn’t know how ridiculously cheap flights from the Philippines to Thailand were and maybe coming from New Zealand, it would be an option. I actually think you would love the Philippines. I think you would probably hate Angeles City, but Angeles City is no more representative of the Philippines than Soi 6 in Pattaya is representative of Thailand. I know you have said previously that you were concerned about crime in the Philippines, but I’ve honestly never found that an issue. Of course, if you walked along a badly lit alleyway at 3 AM with thousands of dollars of camera gear over your shoulder then you might get mugged. But that’s something you would be too intelligent to ever do, I’m sure. I’m enjoying my time here in Angeles City, as I always do, but I’m also looking forward to getting to Bangkok.

Remembering Elysée Bar.

Who remembers the Elysée Bar? It was tucked in the corner of a sort of “dog-leg” soi off Sukhumvit 11 or 13 (I can’t remember which) around the turn of the millennium, and probably was there for a number of years before that. I discovered it in 2000. The dog-leg soi had an outdoor drinking bar which was decorated with several large wooden carvings representing the culture of American Indians – totems, heads etc – and the Elysée Bar was opposite that. I went looking for that soi recently, and I think the soi has been demolished and built over. That bar was a pretty good “entertainment” bar. All the hostesses wore little black party dresses and the house rule was that no underwear was to be worn – that is to say, worn by them. I had enjoyable evenings there. The bar was closed by the summer of 2002.

 

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This Week’s News, Views & Gossip

Bar owners across Bangkok’s major bar areas are happy to see the calendar turn to August after what, on the whole, wasn’t a great July. It may not have seemed so slow, based on foot traffic, but word from a few bar bosses is that big spenders were largely absent. Many punters who buy a drink or two but don’t consider buying any lady drinks do very little for a bar’s bottom line.

Has Nana Plaza been added to the itinerary of tour groups in the same way that Soi Cowboy was after The Hangover movie? Walking the middle tier of the plaza on Thursday night were no fewer than a dozen Chinese and Indian couples, slow-walking, hand-in-hand, gawking, pointing, laughing, but not dreaming of entering any bars, nor spending a single baht. Throw in small groups of Indian men, poking their heads inside the bars, then ducking back out and I can imagine bar bosses and door staff alike found all of these lookyloos somewhat annoying. And then there are those guys who are new to it all, standing around, trying to figure out where to go and further clogging things up, making parts of the plaza feel like rush hour.

Chinese. Indians. Asians. What’s missing? Caucasians! The dearth of white faces in the bar areas in July has not gone unnoticed and some have asked the question whether this was a low season thing, or a sign of things to come. Continuing the theme from recent columns, white men in the bar areas are not exactly at risk of becoming extinct, but their numbers are nothing like they used to be. Bar owners are aware of this and I think it’s fair to say most don’t know what to make of it.

While there may be a change in the mix of visitors to downtown Bangkok, don’t take that to mean it’s been quiet because it certainly hasn’t. Two of the better hotels in the zone were fully booked earlier this week. Neither love nor money would have got you a room at the Landmark or the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit.

A good crowd is expected this coming Wednesday when Tycoon A Gogo in Nana Plaza celebrates its 2nd anniversary. The ladies will be dollied up in Italian Carnival-style and Lace Lounge will be open to host those keen to spend quality time with their favorite dancer(s). If you haven’t seen Lace Lounge yet, this is a great chance to check out what some people now call their favorite hang-out spot in the Plaza.

In Soi Cowboy, Dollhouse’s Monday all-night-long happy hour will continue through August. All customer drinks are discounted, all night long – everything from beers to cocktails and everything in between. What exactly does discounted mean? Drinks are 100 – 120 baht, essentially turning back the clock 20 years. That’s a fantastic deal.

As mentioned in a previous column, Dollhouse’s pole dancing shows are up and running. On Thursday through to Sunday, show time is at 10:00 PM, 11:00 PM and midnight and features a 7 foot tall professional pole dancer doing her thing. Ok, so she’s not really 7 foot tall but when you look at the photo provided by the bar, that’s the first impression you get.

 

 

Bangkok is not the only place feeling the summertime blues. Earlier this week, foot traffic on Walking Street was noticeably light and this was reflected inside the bars where there were fewer bums on seats than you’d expect. And the faces on the soi were, as has frequently been mentioned recently, overwhelmingly Indian. And there were enough Japanese in Sin City to make you wonder if it was a holiday in the land of the rising sun. Just like in Bangkok, you had to look hard to find Aussies, Brits and Americans.

But Soi LK Metro is where the white guys go in Pattaya, I hear you cry. That may be the case, but even there the demographics are shifting with the number of Japanese venturing to central Pattaya raising punters’ eyebrows, and also raising the girls’ expectations of a big pay day. Soi LK Metro is now very much on the map for Japanese guys in Pattaya.

If you are giving away beer for 55 baht a glass and house spirits for 100 baht all night and still can’t fill your gogo bar, what’s going on? Such is the case at Top Gun on Soi LK Metro. It has by far the cheapest grog of any Pattaya gogo bar, but those prices still aren’t enough to pack in the Pattaya punters – which came as a surprise to me given Pattaya locals are generally more price-sensitive than their counterparts in Bangkok. Of course, it should be noted the cheap spirits are local drops – Thai whiskies like Regency and Sangsom. The bar – which was described here when it opened as feeling warehouse-like – has made improvements to the interior and atmosphere. There were about 20 girls clutching the poles this week.

How many times do the girls at the Fever Beer Bar on Soi LK get asked, “Wasn’t this a gogo bar?” They then point down the road to where the gogo of the same name is located. Same owner? Even if so, it’s weird to have two bars on the same street with the same name. The gogo bar may be one of the best-looking gogo bars in Pattaya with its impressive LED lighting along walls, pillars and the ceiling. The lineup is said to feature a few hotties, but beware the two-tier lady drink pricing. If you’re price-sensitive, be sure to ask for the menu before ordering.

The Cheetahs gogo bar on Soi LK Metro, in the spot that was the Bachelor Club, is now open. It has been described as a basic, low-budget gogo bar with a stage in the centre, a single row of stadium seating and currently has about 15 girls. There’s also a small stage by the door that wasn’t being used this past week. There’s nothing wrong with Cheetahs. Customer and lady drinks are reasonably-priced. The sound system is average and the lighting on the cheap side, with no programmable LED. In a throwback to the 2000s, coloured neon tube lights are used. The dancers are all 10-day contract hires in search of drinks but were described by a friend as fun and not overly pushy.

Pandora’s, the bar opened and then sold by long-time bar manager Ricky, has changed formats and has become Soi LK Metro’s first ladyboy bar.

The Coke A Gogo on Soi Diamond has gone flat. All the signage, save for a “KE“ on the Soi 15 side is gone. Did the world‘s largest beverage company finally take notice?

Besides the debauchery, the Windmill gogo bars have long been known as places catering to locals on a budget, with daily happy hours until 9 PM when most standard drinks are 99 baht. Where Windmill makes its money is on lady drinks, charging 230 baht for a shot of Tequila. Does it all average out? Not really, as if you don’t offer her another within a few minutes, she’ll be off to hunt for the next victim guy.

Off the beaten track on Soi Land Office, the 3 Ways gentlemen’s club, now under the management of the GentsClubs.com group, on Tuesday will introduce an all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet. It will run every Tuesday from 4 – 8 PM. If you spend 699 baht or more on drinks, the buffet is free. If not, it’s still a very reasonable 249 baht. The menu is above and you can find out about all the new promotions at the GentsClubs.com Pattaya bars in this month’s newsletter. Pattaya gentlemen’s clubs have a long history of offering free food of some sort. I can remember Winchester Club over in Jomtien back in the day being packed out on Sunday when there was a free buffet.

A bar news bulletin from Pattaya would not be complete without some notes from the soi which used to be the domain of punters in the know, but which is now firmly in the mainstream, Soi 6. The upstairs rooms are open again on Soi 6 after some bad press prompted police to close them last month. The shutdown lasted all of…3 days.

How do you keep Soi 6 girls from bringing traffic to a crawl by tackling guys in the middle of the street? Leave it to mother nature! Rain this past Sunday, and then again on Wednesday, saw a steady drizzle all night. That kept girls on the sidelines as apparently umbrellas are like knickers on Soi 6 and the girls have neither.

Soi 6 has always had a mixed reputation. It’s a place to go for a fiddle, but perhaps not an area where you take photos for keepsakes of ladies who stole your heart. I guess most punters generally believe, rightly or wrongly, that Soi 6 is not where you find the most attractive ladies in Pattaya. I’d take it further and say it’s a lane where bars hire ladies who could make up a rugby team. If you’re not familiar with the great sport of rugby, you may not be aware that irrespective of your body shape and size, there is a place on the rugby field for you. Tall and lanky, you can play lock. Small and wily, you can be a halfback. Shot, squat and can’t run 50 metres in less than a minute, you can be a front-rower. There really is a position for every body shape. Over the years, Soi 6 bars have hired all sorts from midgets to giants, the skinny to the obese, ladies to ladyboys, almost like the soi was a buffet with something for everyone. Despite its reputation as a place where anything can be found, a friend who spent time on Soi 6 this week insists there are plenty of slim, attractive ladies about. But good luck attracting their attention if you’re not from South Korea or Japan. Several girls outright told said friend, “Sorry, I only want Korea”. Like we have been reporting since the end of Covid (yes, disbelievers, Covid really is over), it’s a sign of the times!

The Las Vegas Beer Garden is very much back in the groove after being forced to close early a few weeks back. This week it was described by a friend as pumping. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s a new bar area, it’s covered, it is air-conditioned and the drinks prices are ridiculously cheap. Just how cheap? Try 70 baht bottled beers except for San Miguel Light which is 85 baht. Even wine, which is expensive in Thailand, is still only 140 baht a glass – although don’t expect a fine drop at that price. One does wonder how long they can keep prices so low.

 

 

So just like the bar areas of Bangkok, Pattaya’s bar areas are going through change. What about the areas of Pattaya popular with Russians? They’re said to be quiet at this time. No great surprise, this is hardly the time of year when Ivan is keen to escape his homeland….unless he’s of draft age, of course.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the new Destination Thailand Visa became available. You were not dreaming! It’s real and it truly is a game changer. It marks a huge change in direction by Thailand which has always made anyone who wanted to stay longer than a tourist visa allows to jump through hoops. The Destination Thailand visa is a multiple-entry visa which allows 5 years of, essentially, unlimited entries – for the equivalent of 10,000 baht, or thereabouts. Arrive in Thailand, and you are stamped in for 180 days. Before the 180 days is up, you can go to Immigration where for 1,900 baht you can extend for another 180 days. When time is almost up, you simply exit the country, return, will get another 180 days and the cycle starts again. Of course, at some point, you might be questioned as to why you’re spending so long in Thailand and just what you’re doing, but even so, this visa is going to be huge for so many people. It represents a very welcome change in direction for Thailand’s visa policy.

What’s the catch? It must be difficult to get this visa, right? Wrong! It’s super easy. So long as you have a legitimate reason to go to Thailand – it could be something as simple as a confirmed doctor’s appointment – that is sufficient documentation for the visa to be issued (along with providing proof that you meet the financial criteria).

 

 

A fellow countryman of mine on tour in Isaan spotted a farang driving a tuktuk in downtown Udon Thani. Was this farang working as a tuktuk driver? Or was this contraption his family transport? Enquiring minds want to know! Say what you like about expats in Bangkok, I have never seen one driving a tuktuk!

On this note, do you drive or do you ride a tuktuk? The tuktuks you see in Bangkok I’d say are driven. I say this because they are 3-wheeled vehicles. The sky-lab style tuktuks (as in the photo above) you see in some of the far-flung provinces of Isaan like Udon Thani and Nongkhai are essentially a motorbike with a carriage attached, and the word ride, as in to ride a motorbike, seems more fitting.

Speaking of transport, I see that electric taxis are now very much a thing in Bangkok. They are particularly popular with Grab drivers. It used to be that gas (as opposed to petrol) was the preferred means of powering a cab as it was cheap. But with the price of gas increasing and the horrendous queues at many gas situations (there just aren’t that many places to fill up), gas is going out of favour. Petrol is somewhat pricey – so that leaves electric. I was surprised to see an electric taxi pass me by and “see” is the word because I barely heard it. I remain somewhat dubious about electric cars in general, but they are popular with drivers. It all comes back to the lower cost of powering the vehicle. I do wonder, however, how long the car battery will last. Bangkok taxis clock up serious mileage in a short space of time. That would require very frequent recharging, meaning a lot of charge cycles. I wonder how the economics will work out long-term, given that electric cars are priced at a premium and fitting a replacement battery can be obscenely expensive. It’s not only electric cars, there are plenty of electric motorbikes in Bangkok now too, with plenty of Grab and win motorcycle riders favouring electric.

Expats in Thailand love to talk about expats in other parts of the country – and it’s not always in a positive way. When I was living in Bangkok, I would often hear stories of expats living in Isaan, like it was the end of the line and they’d run out of options. And from what I saw with my own eyes touring around Isaan back then, there was some truth to it. I’ll never forget bumping in to a fellow New Zealander in Buriram some 20+ years ago who scoffed at me staying in a hotel downtown which he described as pang mark. He suggested I request a refund and he would host us at his wife’s home where we could sleep on the floor. Said homestead was half an hour’s drive away, and we were welcome to stay the night under the condition we gave him a lift back there as he was all out of money and wasn’t sure how he was going to get home. 100% true story.

The biggest mistake I made when living as an expat in Bangkok was going 6 years without visiting home. It’s not just about visiting family, a couple of weeks away is like a Thailand detox. If you feel like Thailand is getting the better of you – and I maintain that at some point in time, most expats will feel this – trips away give you some perspective and can help you rediscover your love of the place.

Walking Street in Pattaya and Walking Street in Angeles City would appear to share something in common – they are both frequently being worked on and can be a real mess. The photo below was taken by a friend visiting Angeles City this week. The construction mess is all along the street. In his words, “I had heard bad things about Angeles and it seems to be even worse than I thought it would be.”

 

 

Thailand-Related News Articles

The Bangkok Post features an editorial about the proposal to amend the law and legalise the adult entertainment industry.

Another Russian woman is arrested for trying to pass off fake US banknotes in Phuket.

A Scottish ex-footballer is jailed for committing the most heinous of crimes in Thailand, kiddy fiddling.

Apple apologises for and pulls an ad featuring Thailand that caused some controversy.

Help is sought to find a 27-year-old Brit missing in Bangkok.

Closing Comments

It’s a funny old column this week. I thought it was going to be very light but then there was a flurry of bits and pieces which came in late. It’s still a relatively quiet time of year which seems to be reflected in the column. That said, the changes in customer demographics makes for interesting times. There is much speculation about the direction of things going forward. Let me know what you think of where things are going. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts.

Your Bangkok commentator,

Stick

 

Stick can be contacted at : stickmanbangkok@gmail.com