Stickman Weekly, January 26, 2025

.

,

Mystery Photo

Last week’s photo was taken of a Thai restaurant in…..Hong Kong! The precise location was the intersection of Man Sing Street and Man Yuan Street in Kowloon. The photo showed the sign for a Thai restaurant with Thai script. It also had some Chinese characters on it but I Photoshopped those out. Yep, it was a dirty trick to run a photo from outside Thailand without saying so. When I said that last week’s photo was at “maximum difficulty level”, I laid down the challenge and boy oh boy, did you respond! Despite the obscure location, more than 30 exceptionally clever readers got it right. A fantastic effort, and it just goes to show how well some of you know the region.

For the second week in a row, I am including another “somewhat difficult” photo. It’s not so much the location which makes this difficult – it’s a place in Bangkok most will be familiar with – rather it’s that the photo was taken back 18 years ago. A reader sent in this photo he took back in 2007 and thought it might make a fun mystery photo. I agreed and here it is. So, clever readers, where is it? Normal service resumes next with photos from Bangkok taken in the past few weeks.

.

 

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

Air pollution.

During my last trip there was a period of bad air quality in Pattaya. Fortunately, it didn’t last long and in the last few weeks the air quality was very reasonable, and sometimes even quite good. That isn’t the case at the moment. It’s downright lousy right now. I don’t normally have any respiratory problems. That said, 25 – 30 years ago in Bangkok, I would get a runny nose, coughing etc. Back then I thought it may have something to do with going from air-conditioned places to the heat outside. Nowadays, I don’t have these problems anymore, but I have a strong feeling that the air pollution is not as bad as it was back then when you couldn’t check data online. Cars are less polluting nowadays so I think the problems I had back then were pollution-related. When I sneezed, sometimes black stuff came out. I also remember that if I bought a newspaper outside, I sometimes had to blow off black dust first. Bangkok seems cleaner today than back then. I never have any problems in Bangkok anymore, although I never stay more than a few days. I don’t take any precautions if the air quality is bad. No air purifier or face-mask, and I don’t stay inside either. But maybe I’m just not that sensitive to it.

Showtime!

Shows in bars? Absolutely! I’m weary of watching girls shuffle listlessly, and I appreciate a break in proceedings. Spanky’s fluctuates between good shows and bad. Angelwitch used to be my favourite bar because of the shows. I like the pole dancer at Butterflies. And Geisha used to have a troupe of skilled hip hop dancers. What’s Up? bar in Pattaya was the only bar my friends and I would stay for more than a couple of rounds and we would often spend a couple of hours there. The shows were creative and performed professionally. The owner was a lesbian who had an eye for attractive girls. Her shows were extremely erotic rather than pornographic. Upstairs they had another bar called Imagine which was like the Cirque de Soleil of gogo bars with silk / hoop / ring and rope dancers doing incredible shows. I once went to a Nanapong dance competition, and I hated it. It was loud, raucous, full of incessant screaming and zero dancing. It was young girls grinding on the faces of decrepit old guys masquerading as ‘judges’. I went there hoping to see some talented acts and was seriously disappointed. Everything is subjective.

What don’t we know?

The email titled “Beware Frenchies in Asoke” is a perfect example of someone bringing trouble on themselves. I’m sure there’s a lot more to that story. I’m guessing the writer mouthed off instead of simply passing by innocently.

The joys of Pattaya’s Soi 6.

I read your positive account from Soi 6 in Pattaya with both recognition and joy. It confirmed my experiences over 25 years that as a guest, you receive what you give. If you treat others well, especially in bars, you will get the same back in return. Of course, I’ve encountered a few disappointments over the years, but they are so few that I can remember each of them clearly. I lived and worked in Thailand / Asia for a quarter of a century. During that time, I encountered many fine Caucasian men. Conversely, I have also witnessed individuals repeatedly getting into trouble, often under the influence of alcohol, and not knowing how to behave in a foreign land. Such people frequently face issues in Soi 6 and similar areas. Generally, you receive what you give.

 

 

More Readers’ Emails

Formality and shorts.

I recognised what you said about wearing short pants in Bangkok 30 years ago. You hardly saw anyone wearing them in those days. How different it is today. Indeed, back then, it was not the done thing to wear shorts in a setting that was even remotely “formal”. And going to a shopping mall was seen as a form of “formal” already.

Are casinos coming?

Talk of Thailand legalising casinos and online gambling comes up every few years. There is talk of opening places in Chonburi, then it all goes quiet again after those who lurk in the shadows and run illegal casinos have a word. As they are often – allegedly – the same people that make and uphold the laws, it all dies a death. Until the next time. As for the addiction of Thais to gambling, it often comes down to lacking self-control and self-discipline, attributes that we residents are very much aware of. They simply can’t control themselves, whether it be how they drive, violence over the smallest thing – or gambling. And they are too dumb, or refuse to accept that, as you say, the house always wins in the end. My sister-in-law benefited by buying a house dirt-cheap as someone needed the money to pay off her debts.

How about a Margarita?

Many Americans search out good Mexican food wherever we are. Decades ago, I was visiting my wife (then girlfriend) in Bangkok. A former co-worker and his wife, both Americans, who I’d worked with in Europe, had just moved to Bangkok. Of course, we wanted Mexican food and Margaritas. I asked my then girlfriend if she knew what a Margarita was. “Of course I know, I’m not stupid!” I asked, “Really, you sure?” “Yes, look…” and she proceeds to do the Macarena…..! We still laugh about it!

 

 

This Week’s News, Views & Gossip

On Tuesday night, the fun was curtailed in Nana Plaza shortly after midnight as alarms started blaring throughout the plaza! A reader was in Random Bar when all the girls started running for the dressing room. The mamasan rushed around telling customers to settle their bill. Our reader thought the police were about to raid and questioned the mamasan, who blurted out, “No, same same bomb!” That 4-letter word had the desired effect and said reader was out of the bar in a flash.

Alarms were blaring as everyone piled out of the plaza. Some dashed, most walked. At that point, no-one knew what was going on. The fire alarms were ringing loud, but there was no fire to be seen.

Reader Greg was one of a few Stickman readers in the plaza kindly sending live updates. In a brief email he wrote, “1,000 fleeing girls, drunk gawking punters, frenzied security, firefighters in full gear!”

Was there really a fire? Hardly any smoke could be seen and not one person reported seeing any flames, let alone an inferno.

Another reader was in a gogo bar enjoying himself and at around midnight, he happened to go to the loo. He heard sirens start up but didn’t think anything of it. His business complete, he returned into an empty bar with a panicked cashier shouting in Thai, “Run or die!

The Fire Service attended and the Plaza was cleared of staff and customers. While photos of firemen in full gear dragging hoses through the complex are dramatic, what turned out to be a very small fire was brought under control quickly. Most people never saw any smoke and one reader commented that the only smoke he was aware of was the omnipresent smell of weed.

Exiting the plaza was mostly orderly although the fire truck parked right outside created a bottleneck.

So what actually happened? A wall in an alley behind Nana Plaza caught fire. The most likely cause was a cigarette discarded from a nearby hotel. The fire alarms worked exactly as designed. As hundreds milled around outside the plaza wondering what all the fuss was about, the Fire Service did their job. The small fire was extinguished. It looked very dramatic but in the end it wasn’t a big deal. There was zero damage to Nana Plaza. A team of 14 was put on standby until the morning to make sure everything was completely safe. Come Wednesday evening, it was business as usual in the plaza and the drama of the  previous night had already been forgotten.

 

 

Reviews are coming in about On Top, Nana Plaza’s newest bar which had a soft opening Friday before last. It’s a small, cosy bar about the size of Sexy Night. As you’d expect from the same owners as Billboard, everything inside  is top-notch from the lighting to the sound system to the seating to the hong-nam. Billboard and Butterflies are known for their comparatively cheap drinks compared to other chrome pole bars; On Top is pitching itself at a slightly different market. A Singha will set you back 200 baht and many drinks are closer to 250 baht. Lady drinks are a flat 250 baht, regardless of what she chooses. I’ve heard no reports of any double-lady drink nonsense. The interior sounds a little odd with booth-style seats along one side of the bar, where there are just 3 booths. If 3 guys came in, that’s half the bar’s seating full. A couple of readers have mentioned the toilet, with one saying it was the most impressive aspect of the bar, but pointed out that it’s not sign-posted. Looking for a slightly more cosy, laid-back vibe? You might like to check it out.

And on the ground floor of the plaza, word is that Lollipop may utilise the sizeable patio area outside the bar. Manager Dennis moved across from Dollhouse in Soi Cowboy which has a history of putting dancers on a pole out front. Lollipop is considering doing the same thing with a dancer or two doing her thing on the patio to entice punters inside. Good idea (even if the poor girls generally don’t like dancing outside).

Just as I predicted in last week’s column, Africans were arrested this week by police for selling drugs in the Sukhumvit area. This was inevitable after they became a talking point on Thai language social media. If you are in town at present, have you seen any drug dealers in the usual area over the past few days? I ask because I wonder if this round of arrests were for show / to appease the many Thais who were ranting about it on social media, or was it a genuine crackdown to eradicate them?

 

 

There has been a rumour doing the rounds about the resumption of the Biergarten to Sukhumvit soi 7. It all sounded rather unlikely but given that the mere mention of the Biergarten gets some old-timers shaking with excitement, I had to check out if there was any truth to it. One of the food vendors inside the complex has been given notice that as of the end of January she would have to vacate. The reason given to her was that they would be relocating the property office to that area as, apparently, the landlord was planning on giving the Biergarten side of the complex that is currently only 30 – 40% occupied back to the owner of the land. (Now if that sounds confusing to you then you’re not alone. It’s confusing to me too! I assume that there is a landlord who sub-leased the area from the actual land owner.) Anyway, there are a few bars that span both the old Biergarten space and the new side of the complex. So, will the Biergarten make a comeback? My best guess is that it’s unlikely.

Speaking of the Soi 7 complex, there haven’t been any new bars open recently; in fact there is at least one prime space in the area that is vacant. So why hasn’t anyone snapped up this potential goldmine? It’s the same old story – the high asking price for rent. This prime spot that has been empty since November has an asking rent of 190,000 baht / month. That is for an empty shell that would then have to be fitted out including all electrical work, installation of a counter / sink, signage, decorations, fridges, chairs, sound system etc. And then there’s the deposit, on top. While things are settled in the area, medium-term there is uncertainty – and with the issues a year or so back over leases and deposits, it would be a brave investor to set up a new bar in Soi 7 at this time.

Disappointing news from Soi Cowboy where I am told that the double lady drink nonsense is now a thing in Tilac. Whether it’s bar policy or up to the girls individually whether they return to the customer with 1 or 2 lady drinks, I really don’t know. I know that many who are in town for a short-time – pun most definitely intended! – do not worry what the whole experience costs and happily pay for double lady drinks without giving it a second thought. But for many expats, double lady drinks are a big no-no. And many expats who are faced with a lady returning to them with two drinks rather than the one offered, or the maddening two drinks in one glass billed as two BS vow to never return. Bar owners ought to know that punters have plenty of choices – once you’ve lost a customer for something like this double lady drink nonsense, it can be hard to get them back.

 

 

In Patpong, King’s 3 had a soft opening last week. The King’s Group bars have traditionally been known for beautiful girls, not so much for beautiful bars. But word is they put a lot more effort in to the interior of the bar this time and King’s 3 is said to be done out real nice. If you stop by, do let me know how you find it.

Last year I wrote An Alternative To Sukhumvit where I looked at some of the online options for those who are simply looking for a naughty, rather than a night out culminating in a dalliance. FIWFans was highlighted, a website popular with Thai men which also had – yes, “had”….you can see where this is going! – a small but nonetheless very keen following amongst foreign men. The website may have been an intermediary and not actually involved in the sale of hanky panky per se, but that didn’t matter. It was busted this week, shut down forever. FIWFans is history. The rumour mill has it that an underage Laotian was on the site, someone complained, the boys in brown investigated and that was the end of that. An underage foreign national on a site like that is asking for trouble. That’s why the bars are so careful to ensure that ladies are of legal age these days and are Thai nationals. The days when the bar scene was littered with girls from Laos and the odd Cambodian are long gone. Of course, out on the streets it’s a much more international scene.

You might like to make a note in your calendar that the next no-alcohol day is February 12, which happens to be Makhabucha Day. While nothing is ever announced until nearer the time, expect that most bars will be closed. Bars are never happy when these days come around, but at least it falls on a Wednesday and not a Friday or Saturday which really messes up trade for the week.

 

 

Down in Jomtien, word is that bar trade hasn’t been great with some saying this year’s high season has not been nearly as good as last year’s. In at least one of the bar streets, things are a lot quieter than last year – with one bar owner saying that high season is over already. There was a short, sharp spike that started around Christmas, but soon after 2025 rolled around things went downhill pretty fast. Same old story I would imagine, a changing demographic.

Over the hill in Pattaya, expect the next week or so to be bedlam as 5,400 troops from the US Navy will be in town for R & R. And that just happens to coincide with Chinese New Year which kicks off on Wednesday. Expect a spike in Chinese visitor numbers and likely some of the Thais who have discovered Pattaya too. It should be quite a week in Pattaya, and even more crowded than usual.

Call me prurient, but what’s the deal with the military descending on Pattaya these days? Once upon a time the idea of thousands of sailors hitting Pattaya would have been quite a debauchery, but I seem to recall new rules whereby they can’t fool around with ladies of the night these days. That seems awfully harsh. I always thought that was one of the benefits of being at sea!

A couple of months back there was much talk about a new Indian gogo bar about to open on Walking Street. The Jalwa Indian gogo bar lasted all of…..one week! The space is now an after-hours club, where partygoers can drink and party until well after the sun comes up. Word is the gogo bar was just too much hassle and too expensive to run. The after-hours club is easier and much more profitable.

 

 

A customer had a problem paying his bill in a Pattaya gogo bar which I won’t name (because this could conceivably happen in any bar). He ran up a bill of about 3,000 baht and went to pay by scanning a QR code which would transfer payment from his bank account to the bar’s. The transaction was cancelled. He tried again. Same result. It clearly showed up as cancelled on the machine. The problem was that the money was deducted from this guy’s account so he, quite understandably, refused to pay again. That meant that the bar didn’t get paid. What a cluster-you-know-what! Some say electronic payments is the way things are going. I say bite me! I am no fan of paying by electronic means in Thailand for all the reasons you can imagine, and then some. Which probably makes me a hypocrite because I pay for virtually everything in New Zealand electronically. What’s that all about? It’s because I know how difficult it can be to resolve these sorts of issues in Thailand. Here in NZ, whenever there’s an issue with your bank, it’s very easy to resolve. Local banks’ default position – at least in the case of disputes over modest sums – seems to be to side with the customer. In this case of the cancelled transaction, it sounds like the customer’s bank cancelled the transaction, possibly due to some sort of fraud protection – but the money was taken out of his account and not returned immediately. So in this case, the victim was the bar. The police were called and it all became a giant mess. Which begs the question of whether paying by electronic means is worth it. I’ll stick with using cash in Thailand.

The graphic below is an ad from a popular Pattaya bar that appeared online a week or two back. I want to make it clear that this is not a Stickman-endorsed ad or anything like that, rather I include it here to comment on. The ad shows what one of the better Pattaya gogo bars pays its foreign staff. First impressions? Long hours, and 6 days per week. And very low pay. In fact, I’d go as far as to call the salary insulting! I won’t go through and comment on it line by line but one thing that caught my eye is specifying applicants should be aged under 40. Good on them for specifying the age band they want – I know some will cry ageism blah blah blah but I have no issues with that. Best to say exactly what you want from the outset and not waste anyone’s time. Specifying a manager’s age as less than 40 suggests the bar attracts a young crowd as the role of a manager is more that of a host than a traditional manager. Their primary duty is chatting with customers, keeping them in the bar and keeping them buying drinks and spending money. The visa assistants (sic) bit is a possible red flag. A visa is one thing, but what about a work permit? That might merely be an oversight / not mentioned in the ad but I’d strongly suggest that anyone in Thailand offering you a job without a work permit be told to put their job where the sun doesn’t shine. It’s too risky working without a work permit these days and just not worth it. Play Girlz is a decent bar which was getting rave reviews several months back. I popped by a few months back, and thought it wasn’t bad. But offering such an insulting salary makes me think they’re not going to get great applicants. And if you wondered why some punters buy bar managers a drink (in many bars the manager gets a commission just like ladies do on lady drinks), then just look at that lousy salary and you’ll understand why!

Some bars really don’t want Indian customers with news reaching me this week that two big-name gogo bars have been charging those of Indian or Arabic appearance a 500 baht entry fee. These two bars are curiosities, generally well-regarded by white guys and Asians but perhaps not doing as well as one would expect. A British-born reader of Indian ancestry loves Bangkok’s gogo bars. He visited 3 times last year – July, October and December. In July and October, door staff in each of these two bars asked him a few questions at the entrance – in what appears to be an effort to figure out where he is from and if he is a serious customer – before waving him in. One question was if he had been there before. Another question was what country do you live in, as opposed to where do you come from. In July and August, all was well – he answered the questions and was allowed to enter. However in December, door security insisted that he had to pay 500 baht to enter. He tried on a couple of occasions. The second time, what he describes as junior security staff let him through, but the senior security guy put a stop to it, and said he needed to pay the 500 baht. After speaking to the senior security guy who has been around for many years, he was allowed in without paying the entry fee. These two bars have a lot going for them and this fellow is but an eager punter keen to enjoy himself. Of course, it’s their business and they can operate as they please. The two bars in question? Two Chinese-themed bars in Bangkok’s best bar area.

There are at least two bars in this horseshoe-shaped bar complex which have a clear policy of not allowing those of Indian or Arabic appearance to enter. Of course, some Indian and Arab-run businesses are not exactly model operators and may have clear preferences on who they welcome.

 

 

The other half had a minor rant about Thai massage this week. But it wasn’t the obvious thing to rant about – the price of a good, legitimate Thai massage here in New Zealand. In fact, it was massage in Bangkok that she ranted about. She really likes it that you pay for an hour’s massage in New Zealand, and you get a full hour of massage. The clock does not start from when you enter the cubicle or when you go to shower or any of the other stuff that may happen before or after the actual massage. Pay for an hour’s massage in New Zealand – and that is what you get, 60 minutes of massage. She had quite a rant about how a one-hour massage in Thailand might only be 45 minutes. She hates the way in some places staff fluff about and the clock starts from when you enter the premises, and finish when you’re changed and back in your own clothes. Why do you get a full hour here, and often rather less time in Thailand? My best guess is that in this part of the world, consumer law is particularly strong and the product or service offered must be as described. Pay for a 60-minute massage but only get 45 minutes and you’d have reasonable grounds for a partial refund. No business wants to deal with that.

 

 

I’d love to be in Thailand now and I considered making a quick trip up in March, but I decided against it. Why? Quite simply, the pollution puts me off. The photo above was taken shortly before this week’s column went to air, around 8:30 AM Thai time. It was taken by a friend on the motorway, driving from Pattaya to Bangkok. In much of Thailand, pollution levels this week have been even worse than last week. Avoiding the pollution means staying inside – and if I have to stay inside, I may as well stay in New Zealand. Air purifiers work well when you’re indoors, but you can hardly lug one around with you. And I don’t do masks. Wherever I am, I like to spend as much time outside as possible, and that’s especially so when I’m in Thailand. I like nothing more than wandering around, exploring and taking photos – and that isn’t much fun when the air quality is as bad as it is now. I place much more importance on my health these days, and being outside when the air is so bad is really quite bad for you.

Speaking of walking around, one of the pleasures of exploring in Thailand is not knowing what’s around the corner, and just what curiosity you might come across next. It’s just another reason why it really is fun to venture off the beaten path and see where you end up. In the Udom Suk neighbourhood of Bangkok, a reader was doing just that when he came across the fellow in the photo below. This Norwegian gentleman drives a songtaew. And when I say he drives a songtaew I don’t mean that he had acquired one as his personal transport. Rather, he is employed as a driver on the route that runs up and down Udom Suk. I am not sure that passengers paying a flat-rate 10 baht will provide him with a great lifestyle, but if he enjoys it, all power to him. I imagine he’s something of a minor celebrity in the neighbourhood. I can just see the scene now when Thais saw him for the first time. They would have positively squealed at the idea of a farang driving a songtaew and a respectable-looking / เรียบร้อย farang at that. Mr. Norway can be found behind the wheel of the #44 songtaew in the Udom Suk area.

 

 

Thailand-Related News Articles

Quote of the week comes from a Bangkok expat, “You know that you have lived in Bangkok for a long time when you can stand on your balcony and, just by looking at the city skyline, you can guess the AQI to within 10 points.”

From The Stickman Archives, Snake Dancer was published on March 27, 2016, around a year after I left Bangkok to return to New Zealand. The opening piece features a photo essay of the blonde python which featured in shows at The Strip.

Another young backpacker loses their life on Koh Tao.

Can anyone really be surprised after an elephant scared by fireworks tramples 5 people in Nongbualomphu province?

A 29-year-old British overstayer records the conditions inside the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre.

Just as I predicted, 11 Africans were arrested this week on Sukhumvit and face charges for selling drugs.

5,400 US Navy personnel will descend on Pattaya this week.

Buses and electric trains are free in Bangkok for a week, starting yesterday.

A Russian is charged with murder after throwing his son into the sea off Phangnga, resulting in the boy’s death from injuries caused by a propeller.

Terrible pollution in Bangkok this week caused hundreds of schools to close.

 

 

Closing Comments

In the news article links section, I linked to a column from the Stickman archives. With more than 1,000 Stickman weekly columns going back 24 years, I thought it might be a bit of fun to link to an older column each week. With that said, there are almost certainly things I said in the past that don’t reflect how I feel about them today so if you think some of Stick’s views have changed, you’d be right. It’s not widely known that a few days in to 2022, just as we were planning to resume writing the column after a year’s hiatus, this site was sabotaged, and the entire website was deleted. It took a Herculean effort to reconstruct it. For a while it looked like it was gone forever. While we were able to piece it back together, the text formatting is messed up in a lot of the archives. The only way to fix this is to go back and edit pages manually which is time-consuming. I figured that linking to an old column each week gives me a reason to go back and tidy some old columns up. Of course, this all begs the question of how the site could be maliciously deleted without a backup in place? The answer to that question is simple. The person who deleted the site was the guy responsible for the backup. It’s a long story and a rather sad chapter in this site’s history. Perhaps I will write about it one day. Perhaps not.

Your Bangkok commentator,

Stick

 

Stick can be contacted at : stickmanbangkok@gmail.com