Stickman Weekly, December 1, 2024

Mystery Photo

Where is it?

Last week’s photo featured the new Dior Concept Mall that opened next to Central Chidlom in what was previously a car park. It is not a “Dubai warehouse” as one clever fellow amusingly described it. This week I have featured what I think should be an easy photo, a location that is no doubt frequented by many readers.

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

Soi Nana Indian invasion.

Bangkok is buzzing! The pavements of Soi Nana are packed with people trying to move through with food carts lining the road outside Morning Night and Stumble Inn. The place is full of Indians and they’re all along soi 4. There are quite a few Indian restaurants and clubs operating around the Nana Hotel area so that may be why there are so many in the area. They are also becoming a little more cocksure and hang around, not moving or getting out of the way of people walking by. I was walking with my son and his friend from the Marriott to Soi Nana when one Indian guy walking towards me patted my stomach and said something to me. I’m not sure what he said but I told him to piss off. Another Indian walking 5 metres behind him then shouted something at me. Crikey, I was only going about my business. It could have escalated had I decided to make a fuss.

More baht than brains.

Mamasans inserting themselves into negotiations for profit, well, why not? He’s got more baht than brains, help relieve the pressure!

Dodgy bill explained.

The simple answer to your question of why hand-write a bill on the back of someone else’s printed bill? The printed bill presented is for a higher amount than the hand-written bill which is on the back. The customer hopefully just pays the amount printed with no question. If the customer happily pays that sum….great! The staff have a surplus after paying off the correct bill amount for that customer at the till. If the customer, as in this case, queries it, they flip the bill over and say our printer is broken and your bill is the hand-written version on the back.

A sign of the times.

Your comment about the success of non-gogo bars on Soi Cowboy is perhaps a reflection of economic times and a reluctance to spend as much as before on high drink prices, take-out fees and asking prices from the girls. Two-week millionaires might not blink at the prices, but perhaps some expats have had enough of the constant price hikes, some relating to the mamasan tactics you often mention, and decided that there is no longer the value for money that there once was.

Stickman accused of misleading readers.

You used to always promote happy hours and highlight bars where the prices were low. Nowadays it feels like you are trying to encourage people to spend more with recent comments that we may need to spend more money to have a good time. WTF? Until recently I was paying 70 baht for beers in Nana Plaza gogos. Current pricing is too high and your commentary of 200 baht beers is doing my head in. <I moved to Bangkok in April, 1998. Back then, bottled beer in most Nana Plaza bars was 75 – 80 baht. The price crept up to 90 baht until 2001 when the Crown Group called a meeting of all the bar operators in the plaza to announce they would be increasing the price of a standard bottle of beer to 110 baht and suggested everyone else do the same. Most followed. So, in 2001, a beer in most Nana Plaza gogo bars was 110 baht. I have no idea when you were paying 70 baht but unless it was a special deal, that has not been the norm for a very, very long time! Let’s compare prices for a beer in Nana Plaza in 2001, with prices for a beer in Nana Plaza in 2024. Below is a page from the drinks price-list at Billboard in Nana Plaza, widely regarded as the VERY BEST gogo bar in all of Thailand. Standard beers are 170 baht. That means that the price of a bottle of beer in Nana Plaza has gone up by just 60 baht over 23 years. That’s an annual inflation rate of about 2%. That’s very reasonable and you can hardly complain and say drinks prices are expensive now compared with the past. When you consider the entertainment on offer, I think you’re being completely unrealistic suggesting drinks are expensive. If 170 baht for a beer is more than you’re willing to pay, there are other options. But don’t expect the same level of service, comfort and entertainment – Stick>

More Readers’ Emails

Head to Pattaya, young men!

The farang who are struggling to hook up with a Thai bird should head to Pattaya as the beer bars in Soi 7, Soi 8 and around Soi Buakhao have plenty of middle-aged lovelies who would happily take their money and service their needs.

Walking Street’s world-class neon.

The LED war in Walking Street is moving at an incredible pace. Boss Club is fully operational now and there is more signage to be added. The recently opened Sun’s Club has installed a large LED screen above the entrance with really impressive graphics, almost 3D-like. And with the recent opening of some new gogo bars, there’s a long, uninterrupted stretch of massive LED including Bliss, Okeanos, Kaboom, Opium, Chick, XS and Fahrenheit that looks very impressive. Combined with the increasing number of Indian dance clubs, the likes of Nana Plaza and even Soi Cowboy are way behind Walking Street right now when it comes to impressive lighting. And it’s ongoing. If you compare how things are now with how they were just 6 months ago, it’s quite a step up as the last empty spots are filled by flashy places, and existing bars pimp their frontage.

High season in Phuket.

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Las Vegas Nana. Coming very soon to Nana.

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This Week’s News, Views & Gossip

Las Vegas Nana is the revised name for the soon-to-open gogo bar on Soi Nana which has industry insiders talking. Initially, the bar was called Rainbow and featured signage with that name. The name has since been changed to Las Vegas Nana. It has been speculated that the name change is to distance itself from the Rainbow Group. Why would they want to do that? Remember, the rumour mill has it that this is a gogo bar with rooms on the premises. A new gogo bar would not be well-received by gogo bar owners in Nana Plaza who pay a premium in rent, knowing that there are a finite number of gogo bars in the soi as new licences cannot be issued. It’s all rather messy when you consider the gentleman behind Las Vegas Nana operates bars inside the plaza.

Excitement is building in anticipation of the new gogo bar on the top floor of Nana Plaza. This is the new venture from the owners of Billboard and Butterflies who have successfully not just kept details about the soon-to-open bar quiet, no-one even knows its name (or if they are, they aren’t talking).

Some Bangkok gogo bar owners are saying that November was one of their best months ever, with High Season 2024 / 2025 looking like it’s going to be a record-breaker. A partner in two Nana Plaza bars that have been operating for nearly 25 years said November was the best month ever for the group. In Nana Plaza, there’s currently no such thing as a slow night. This past Tuesday was the busiest Tuesday ever in Tycoon A Gogo, its management said, echoing what others in the Plaza say. It doesn’t matter if it’s Monday, Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, it’s bedlam. In a good way, of course.

High season is also blowing the doors off Soi Cowboy, although not quite to the typhoon-like proportions at Nana. Monday looked like Friday at Long Gun and Bad Beach, but there were signs of reality – it was Monday, after all – at Crazy House where only one floor was open.

December is party month, with Christmas, New Year’s and a Full Moon Party to boot, but December 5 also will see the 3-bar “Angels & Devils” birthday party for Philippe, the managing partner of Mandarin and Red Dragon in Nana, and Shark Gogo Club on Soi Cowboy. DJ Fifa, straight from Rolling Loud last week in Pattaya, will spin at all three bars throughout the night while The Q Show act from Thailand’s Got Talent will perform a feature show. There’s always great food at these parties, including a chef rolling fresh sushi on the premises. A Sexy Model Show will cap off the festivities.

On a busy night, recently opened Bad Beach in Soi Cowboy has over 40 dancing girls, amongst them some recruited from other Soi Cowboy bars like Suzie Wong. Once the bar hits 60 girls, the upstairs floor will open.

Bad Beach has had a positive influence on sister bar Crazy House. That bar once had the worst lighting on the Neon Alley but, in 2023, finally replaced the harsh bulbs with standard, round LED programmable stage lights. Those have since been ripped out and replaced with the same multi-coloured, flat-panel LEDs used to illuminate the Bad Beach stage. The flat panels aren’t as bright as the round ones, but are easier on the eyes.

The new Shark Gogo Club signage on Soi Cowboy is now fully operational.

Not even a stone’s throw from Crazy House, the new Shark Gogo Club façade dominates the Soi 23 end of Soi Cowboy with its huge LED sign. Shark Bangkok is smaller than Shark Pattaya, so the frontage is also a third smaller. But then Soi Cowboy is narrower than Walking Street, so it’s all proportional.

Two lovely ladies used giant wings to sail to the top two places in the Butterflies Babe of the Year pageant last weekend. Ta, # 203, had a body-sized pair of black, feathered wings to top out her elaborate costume while Su, # 223, had crafted a fluffier, white version to capture 1^st Runner-Up. But proving you don’t need over-the-top costumes to win, the long-time Butterfly Gina, #29, took 3rd place with nothing but great makeup, beautiful hair and a sexy lingerie set.

Total prizes totalled 50,000 baht, so the investment in getups proved more than worth it. The Babe Of The Year contest capped another mammoth night for Butterflies, with mountains of free pizza, 100 free drink tumblers and countless 20-baht notes flying around the top-floor Nana Plaza gogo late into the night.

Plenty of you have commented on the sheer numbers of male Indian visitors hanging around the bar areas. In Bangkok, Soi Nana seems to be their favourite bar area. I note there’s concern that so many Indians visitors in one area might change the dynamic and the atmosphere in that area. If this is a concern for you, prepare yourself because 2025 will see a further – and significant – increase in the number of Indian men in the bars. Indian airlines are expanding rapidly, and many Thailand-based airlines are increasing the number of flights to India. Along with the geographical proximity of India to Thailand and a whole host of other reasons, expect the number of Indian visitors to Thailand to soar over the coming years. Don’t be surprised to see Indians vastly outnumber Caucasians in the bar areas within a few short years. (A link to an article in the Hindustan Times in this week’s news article section outlines how there are 110 more flights / week between Thailand and India now than there were just one year ago.)

In Bangkok, Soi Nana is the preferred bar area for Indians but it should be noted that not every bar welcomes them. At least one gogo bar, which just so happens to be a favourite amongst Stickman readers – particularly old-hands – does not welcome Indians. The ageing lady who runs this small bar says she doesn’t want Indians in her bar as many try to negotiate drinks prices. As such, Indians aren’t allowed inside.

And in another long-running bar on Soi Nana which I shall not name, but simply describe as being popular with Brits, the owner has specific rules for Indian visitors. If it’s an Indian couple, such as husband and wife, they are welcome. Single Indian men, however, are not welcome at all.

A bar’s logo is projected on to Nana Plaza’s roof.

Ever since Nana Plaza’s white roof was installed in early 2018, bar owners – and some visitors – have talked about what a great canvas it would make for projected images. Nana management toyed with the idea of doing a light show on the roof, but it never materialised. Twister BKK occasionally did some lights during parties, but generally the big roof was ignored. Until this week. Nana Beer Garden was first out of the gate with a new, high-powered projector to place its logo directly above the ground-floor courtyard bar. A day later, Angelwitch, Lollipop, B-52 and Obsession all projected their logos on to the ceiling. Those, however, lasted only a day. Once they got a look at the jumble of logos on the ceiling, that group’s bosses thought it looked stupid and pointed the projector at the walkway outside each bar.

Down in Pattaya, reports are consistent that while things have picked up, most bars are not that busy. On the other hand, the tourism industry in general is awfully busy which all suggests that Pattaya’s slow movement away from the nightlife continues.

The new Soi Pattayaland 2 gogo bar Penthouse X has hit the ground running. For a new bar, there is a decent lineup of girls, numbering around 40, in various states of undress. There’s a Jacuzzi and the ladies bathing in it are appropriately (un)dressed. There is, however, one aspect of the new bar which stands out – and not in a positive way. Zealous security staff physically pat down everyone who wishes to enter. I’m all in favour of bars having visible security staff, but having to submit to a search of my person to enter a gogo bar? It ain’t happening! I’d decline and venture elsewhere. I gather this is a thing in some nightclubs, but in gogo bars, this is new to me. One wonders whether this will last as I imagine plenty will object.

Comments about the mix of nationalities of the ladies on Soi Nana is nothing new, with comments about African ladies featuring in this column over the past year or two. Word from a number of readers is that it’s at another level on Beach Road in Pattaya after dark where ladies of all manner of nationalities line up in their sexy wear and smile seductively at anyone who looks their way.

Plenty of bar owners keep an eye on this column for mention of their bar, especially those based in Bangkok. As a friend said recently, sometimes this column almost feels like an industry journal. I’m including an excerpt from an email here specifically for bar owners to take note of. It’s something bar owners might like to consider when pricing lady drinks. The message is as clear as it is consistent: this double lady drink nonsense is not going down well with many punters, especially long-timers, and is driving some customers away. Of course, it’s your business and I understand that pricing is one part of shaping your customer base. Brief excerpts from a reader’s email follows:

Twister is now 1,200THB for a bar fine which is a ripoff. A lady drink was 450THB (tall glass, listed as two). I argued that it was one drink, but they said no, it’s two because tall glass. Never stepping foot in that bar again.

I kind of expect this nonsense in Thai-run bars, so it’s a shame when it also happens in bars owned by foreigners, and especially in bars with a foreign manager who you’d expect to have his finger on the pulse. Foreign bar owners ought to have a good idea of what their fellow foreigners expect – and one lady drink being charged as two does not go down well.

Each of Bangkok’s bar areas has its own personality. Patpong is diverse with gay bars, straight bars, mixed bars, beer bars, gogo bars, discos, BJ bars, British pubs and more – all often right next door to each other. There’s a variety of places to eat, and shops selling all manner of things. There are new bars, some really old bars and a sense of history. Soi Cowboy doesn’t have the same diversity but it does have a handful of places to eat and a few weed shops. Nana Plaza has the most popular bars with, arguably, the most attractive ladies and it has a roof so you needn’t worry about the rain. It has its own security team which means it’s not just safer, it doesn’t have pesky vendors roaming around, offering flowers, nuts and knock-off Rolexes. And then there are the second-tier bar areas like Soi 7, soi 7/1, soi 22 etc. Whatever you’re looking for, you should be able to find it in Bangkok.

How about Plain Jane A Gogo as a name for a gogo bar?

It’s high season and the bars are booming. If it’s anything like last year, bars could be packed most of the way through until Songkran. But not everyone likes high season. The girls aren’t as hungry and punters might find they don’t get the same level of attention. It begs the question: For naughty boys, when is the best time to visit? From now through until February has the best weather, but the bars are packed. What about May (which is hot but quiet)? Or September (which is wet, and quiet)? For those who don’t like the idea of having to fight for a lady’s attention, remember you only need to find one lady. There might be less choice, but you can pretty much always find someone.

A friend observed this African on Sukhumvit and thought he appeared suspicious.

Word is that the friendly Africans loitering on Sukhumvit have become very comfortable in the ‘hood. They’ve been peddling pills and powder for some time and little ever happens. Usually they’re pretty chilled and laid-back….but not always. A friend spotted the guy in the photo above from the footbridge and snapped a series of shots of him. This particular guy was animated and appeared agitated. He was twitchy and couldn’t stay still. Had he sampled the merchandise? These pill peddlers are often in groups or spaced not far apart from one another, while this guy was on his own. He was in front of the Westin, across from Terminal 21. Some of you tell me these guys are harmless if you ignore them and for the most part that’s true. Still, I think one needs to be wary. Some of these guys are off, and I’d never engage with any of them.

With visitors everywhere, reports of taxi drivers between Nana and Asoke being less keen to use the meter have resumed. There is a constant stream of taxis in the area so if the first driver won’t turn on the meter, the second or third most likely will. The worst spot to get in a cab is the stretch from the Nana intersection down to soi 7. The further down Sukhumvit Road you walk towards Terminal 21, the easier it tends to be to get a cab who will turn on the meter. On the other side of Sukhumvit  Road- with the even-numbered sois – getting a cab isn’t usually a problem.

There are plenty of news reports in Thailand of someone who did the crime, but never went on to do the time. A solution was found and the problem went away. I have long wondered just how much it costs to work things out if you’re facing criminal charges. There has been very little in the way of verified data, until now. You may remember coverage in the mainstream news earlier this year of two Kiwi brothers holidaying in Phuket who were arrested and facing various charges including assaulting a policeman. The brothers rode through a police checkpoint on their motorbikes, were pursued, stopped by a cop and in a moment of madness they disarmed said cop, the gun discharged and one of the brothers was recorded holding the cop in a headlock. Video of the incident went viral, and it made the news all around the world. A few months later, The New Zealand Herald reported that the brothers were back in New Zealand. There was much speculation about how they had got home so fast and avoided a lengthy jail term. It was assumed they paid their way out of it. Yesterday, The New Zealand Herald published a follow-up story with more details. In summary, the family of the two brothers engaged a New Zealand fixer to liaise with the police in Thailand. The brothers paid 3 million baht compensation to settle the case. That’s for two people so you could say it cost 1,500,000 baht per brother. I can’t make my mind up whether they got off lightly, or they paid too much. It was also revealed that back in New Zealand, one of the brothers was diagnosed with tuberculosis which he is presumed to have contracted in Thai jail, and there were concerns he might not have survived had they not returned. Yesterday’s article also includes a statement from the brothers who firmly deny the account of events outlined in the court judgment, which they say fails to reflect what truly occurred. The full article is at The New Zealand Herald website, behind a paywall.

Is it time to check your holes? The advertisement below is from an STD clinic at the foot of one of the BTS Sala Daeng stairways on the Patpong side of Silom. 7,890 baht for a comprehensive sexual health screening strikes me as pricey. If you’re interested in getting checked, I imagine it would cost less at a hospital – and you’ll get the results faster too. The ad says results are available online within 3 days which suggests samples are sent to a lab outside for testing whereas most hospitals do testing on the premises.

From an STD clinic, near Patpong.

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Thailand-Related News Articles

Chiang Mai expects a decent high season with hotel bookings looking good.

A Netflix star is caught smuggling drugs from Thailand into the UK.

The old capital of Ayuthaya looks spectacular when the temple ruins are lit up at night.

As the monsoon goes south, it’s the turn of the south of Thailand to experience terrible flooding.

The flood of Indian visitors continues with 110 more flights a week between Thailand and India than one year ago.

Here are all the photos from the Butterflies 8^th Anniversary and Babe of the Year pageant at Dave the Rave.

Rainbow, Soi Nana. The name was ditched and replaced with Las Vegas Nana before the bar had even opened.

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Closing Comments

This week a long-time reader who tells me he has been knocking around the bars since 1974 sent a note of displeasure. His beef? I don’t mention the Rainbow Group often and to use his words, “have been misleading readers.” It was the second email in a week to suggest I am misleading readers. I welcome all feedback, especially suggestions on how I can do things better, but this one had me scratching my head. Yes, some bars are mentioned more than other bars. There are reasons for it. When I’m in Bangkok – which isn’t so often – I scurry around and gather most of the news and gossip myself. When I’m not in town, I rely on friends on the ground, industry insiders, bar marketing departments and some trusted readers to let me know what is happening. Some bars get more press than others because they make an effort to reach out and let me know what is going on. Back to this reader’s complaint, the reason the Rainbow Group is seldom mentioned is primarily because it has never been in touch. The Thai-owned Rainbow Group does not have a website, nor any social media presence. They don’t engage anyone to market their bars. And their bars just don’t seem to be that popular with Stickman readers. That’s why the Rainbow bars seldom feature. All it takes is a quick email from a bar to let me know about a party, promotion, a new troop of girls or whatever – and it will be featured in the column. But if a bar does not have an online presence and doesn’t make an effort to get in touch, they won’t get a lot of coverage. I hope that explains it!

Your Bangkok commentator,

Stick

Stick can be contacted at : stickmanbangkok@gmail.com