Stickman Weekly, March 16, 2025

 

 

Mystery Photo

Last week’s photo was taken of the small sub-soi off Soi Nana next to the recently closed bar The Tavern, which was nick-named Soi Scott, so named after the founder of The Tavern. This sub-soi is just a bit further down Soi Nana from Nana Plaza, but despite being very much in the Stickman zone, relatively few of you got it right. Total number of clever readers? About a dozen. I wonder how many of you have been in to one of the establishments on Soi Scott which rent rooms by the hour.

For a change of pace, this week’s photo is away from the bar areas.

 

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

Naughty boy numbers.

Regarding the diminishing percentage of naughty boy visitors to Bangkok, I’d agree that the numbers of western full on naughty boys is greatly reduced compared with a few decades ago. However, one must remember that a night or two visiting the bar scene is very much on the bucket list for a large number of “normal” tourists and some who are not travelling as a couple do take the plunge and indulge. With east Asians now it’s a far higher percentage and there are large numbers of them who are quite clearly in Bangkok for just that reason.

What you can learn from beach chair operators.

I know some beach chair operators here in Pattaya. One has a spot in front of soi 12, another is in front of soi 1. The lady at soi 1 is very happy as business is still good and high season continues for her. The other one told me business slowed down a few weeks ago and high season seems to be over. What’s the difference? The lady at soi 1 has a few large hotels like the Holiday Inn, the Amari and the Mercure right behind her that cater to mainstream tourists. The one at soi 12 has hotels behind her like the AA Hotel, the Hermann Hotel (previously known as the Pattaya Centre Hotel) and the Lek Hotel – old-school Pattaya hotels popular with naughty boys. Would that explain the discrepancy?

After-hours bars.

Regular clubs in Bangkok close at 2:00 or 3:00 AM and aren’t especially exciting. And after-hours clubs are horribly seedy and dangerous. A lady friend and I ended up in Lucky Club last week. It’s tiny, cramped and full of newbie tourists and predatory locals. I spent the entire time watching her handbag and phone, even entering the ladies bathroom after a guy followed her inside. I’ve always thought opening hours should be left up to the business owner. As long as the venue isn’t in a residential area, it makes more sense for people to be able to enjoy themselves in a pleasant establishment with adequate bathrooms and fire exits. People who want a late-night drink will always find one. But why not watch the sun rise with a glass of champagne in a 5-star hotel club instead of a plastic chair on Sukhumvit Road or in a death-trap basement?

To allow smoking in bars, or not?

Smoking in bars, I hate! I was really impressed when Spanky’s upgraded the air-con / extraction system. I do, however, wonder if it’s no longer just me and if allowing it does more financial harm than good? The traditional naughty boys are aging out and this seems to be the demographic that likes lighting up. From my own experience, in my local bars the younger people (those aged under 30) either don’t bother, or prefer weed or vaping.

Drink finit?

We went to a bar on Sukhumvit soi 22 last night to listen to the band. I had only drunk half my beer when various staff kept picking up my beer as if to say, “It’s finished”. It wasn’t! A few minutes later they tried again. Very irritating! I would have stayed for another but can’t stand being pushed to drink fast so they can make profit. I decide when I want to order a fresh one. It’s not like we were there for hours sitting on one drink. The last straw was when a waitress picked up my girlfriend’s drink and waved it triumphantly in the air as the bottle was empty. Without asking, she then went off for a new one. I just paid the exact amount of the bill and walked out. It’s a shame this is the vibe now in a lot of the lower Sukhumvit ghetto.

Prices and the baht.

I think the interesting point on the current costs in Thailand have a double whammy. Yes, the prices of drinks, beer, food, hotel and of course entertainment are all up. Inflation. Thailand is popular and all the supply / demand economics are at play. We complain but we understand. The strong Thai baht over the last say 5+ years is where the costs are multiplied. Just like when you are speaking with your 2nd language, an internal conscious translation occurs, Every cost, charge or value put in front of you, you instantly review that with your home country currency in mind. The cheapness in those prices you experienced in those first Thai interactions are a distant memory. What will the Thai baht do? Keep getting stronger? Will Thailand keep growing as it becomes more expensive than its neighbours? Go down? Another Asian financial crisis? Will proposed peace in Ukraine return a large population (and their funds) back home? We might see an answer to this soon. This year, perhaps.

New budget carrier from Gatwick to Bangkok.

My ears pricked up when I heard about the new route by Norse from London Gatwick direct to Bangkok starting in late October, as I live very close to Gatwick. However, I’m a bit wary of low cost airlines as they have a nasty habit of cancelling flights or routes at the drop of a hat. I’d strongly advise anyone booking to use a credit card, and not a debit card, so they are covered by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (in the UK).

 

 

This Week’s News, Views & Gossip

In last week’s column I wrote that there was no more evidence of the sewer water leak on Soi Cowboy. Was that the end of it? Possibly. There were no further reports of water pooling on the soi this week, however I did receive a report that there are still foul smells on the soi, concentrated at the Terminal 21 end, outside Country Road. Could the foul smell be related to the sewer water issue?

On Soi Cowboy, Midnite has erected a large, new sign which extends out over the soi. Midnite is, of course, one of The Arab’s bars so business must be ok for him.

Tomorrow (Monday, March 17th) is St. Paddy’s Day. Irish pubs all around Thailand will be celebrating. If you don’t have a favourite Irish pub in Bangkok, stop by Scruffy Murphy’s on Sukhumvit soi 23 which is just around the corner from Soi Cowboy. I am told that it is Bangkok’s only Irish-owned and Irish-run pub.

Up the road in Soi Nana, a strange-looking awning is being installed just inside the entrance to Nana Plaza, between Stumble Inn and the weed shop opposite. Not sure what that’s all about.

Thai news media reported yet another bust of foreign ladies on Soi Nana. Translation: More African ladies were busted on the soi this past Thursday night. That’s the 3rd round of arrests on Soi Nana in 3 weeks. It feels like someone in power is determined to make a stand while at the same time, word on the soi is that these ladies pay certain people to look the other way.

 

 

I’ve never stuck around the CenterPoint Soi 7 long enough to use the hong-nam which is probably just as well because I’ve heard it costs 10 baht to use them. It’s not the money, of course, but the principle. The fee to use the toilet is the one common complaint about CenterPoint. That aside, the beer area has a decent following. As I have never needed to use the facilities at Soi 7, I had no idea just what you got for the money. Toilets that come with a service charge are usually well-maintained, and often there is an older lady at the entrance handing out “tissue” as the Thais love to call it. This week a reader sent a photo of the soi 7 hong-nam, and I can see why so many of you have called this out. Is it a hong-nam or is it a dungeon! Even if it was free, I think I’d go somewhere else!

One of the taboo topics of Bangkok nightlife is the question of safety in late-night venues. Or to be more specific, the lack of exits in some late-night venues. And this should be a concern when we remember the fire at Santika on Ekamai before dawn on New Year’s Day, 2009. A fire broke out, people couldn’t get out, more than 60 were killed and 200+ were injured, some suffering disfiguring, life-changing injuries. If you’re out late, it’s worth familiarising yourself with where the exits are. The problem, of course, is that plenty of venues don’t have adequate exits. How can that be? Late-night venues are operating outside the law and may not have the requisite licences. To be clear, we’re not talking about relatively minor breaches of the rules here like doorways that are a few centimetres narrower than they should be or an exit sign that is not the specified colour. More than a few late-night venues have had just one way in and out – and once inside it may not be clear where it is. Then there are those venues where the only way in or out is via a lift. There are more than a few fire traps, amongst them some reasonably well-known night-spots. If you’re out late, stay safe!

 

 

Pattaya experienced some heavy downpours this week. On Thursday afternoon it looked like the rainy season had come early as very heavy rain fell for a short period, washing parts of the beach into the sea. At North Pattaya, there’s quite a difference in the height between Beach Road and Second Road and the sois that connect them become small rivers when it rains heavily as water flows towards the beach. As per normal, bulldozers and excavators were out in force the next day to restore the beach and make it look suay again. The rain was heavy and they’re still working on it 3 days later. While it can be disruptive, typically rain at this time of year doesn’t last long.

On Soi LK Metro, Top Gun A Gogo which is now open from 2:00 PM is said to be doing decent afternoon trade and has been well-supported. If you’re on the look out for a cheap afternoon drink, Top Gun has Heineken draft at just 50 baht until 7:00 PM.

So many Thai women jump in to a new relationship as soon as the last one falls over. Zero thought is given to taking some time out to get themselves together before they embark on a new relationship. The idea that some time out of a relationship and some time for themselves might actually be beneficial to them is totally lost on them. In the past I could kind of understand it. It’s not all that long ago that salaries were so much lower and Thai women were keen to get married, and tended to take on a traditional role. They were terrified of being single at an age when most men had lost interest in them – but those days are long gone. But even today, so many seem eager to jump right in to a new relationship as soon as the last one ends.

The Mad Professor’s latest drawings can be found in the Rachatewi area (which is just up Phyathai Road from Mahboonkrong / Siam Square). There’s been no sign of any of his work around Asoke for quite some time.

 

 

Can you remember your first time in a Bangkok taxi? I can. “You go massage? You want good boom-boom?” He had pegged me as the newbie I was. I don’t think a cabbie has suggested a massage parlour or boom boom to me in decades, but I was reminded of it this week when a reader mentioned that he had been offered that on the ride in to town from the airport. Are Bangkok cabbies still trying to take newbies to massage parlours? And if they are, do they still use the same old laminated cards from all those years ago?!

I note comment in an article in the mainstream media this week that this column doesn’t cover the gay scene. A couple of readers brought this to my attention and one asked why I don’t report on gay bars but I do comment on ladyboy bars. As a straight guy, gay bars are of no interest to me. And I imagine that the vast majority of readers have no interest in gay bars either. Amongst this column’s readership are some readers of a generation who feel that one way to show your masculinity is to speak out about all things gay. I’m hardly going to write about the gay scene when I have zero interest in it and I could potentially lose readers by doing so. That begs the question: why then do I include bits and bobs from time to time about ladyboy bars when I have no interest in them either? Ladyboys appeal to a small subset of what I’ll call otherwise straight men. Now I know this will probably elicit some comments about ladyboys being men and if you like a ladyboy you must be gay blah blah blah. It’s an argument I have zero interest in getting in to. But as I have written in this column previously, gay men have zero interest in ladyboys, whereas men who like ladyboys usually also like regular women. Let’s not forget that ladyboy bars tend to be found alongside lady bars (think Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy) whereas gay bars, for the most part, have their own dedicated gay area. Hopefully that explains it.

 

 

Long-time Bangkok expat, writer and filmmaker James Newman has produced a documentary about Bangkok featuring interviews with people he has known through his 25 years living in Bangkok and who he thought of as experts on Bangkok. Amongst them are novelists Christopher Moore and Dean Barrett, Australian drug smuggler David McMillan who is the only man to escape from the Bangkok Hilton, YouTube sensation Bangkok Pat, the last owner of CheckInn 99 Chris Catto-Smith, the now incarcerated owner of the Patpong Museum, and weed connoisseur Benny Baskins. Along with the interviews with these Bangkok personalities and others, there is archived footage of Bangkok, all edited into a 44-minute documentary. It is available to buy on Amazon Prime.

The e-book edition of Jake Needham’s next Asian crime thriller, Goodbye Mr Boogie, is now available for pre-orders on Amazon. You can order it now but don’t worry, Bezos won’t dip his sticky fingers into your wallet until the book is published in July.

 

 

A friend left Bangkok a while back after living there for many years. He sent an update about his new life elsewhere and made a comment which really resonated with me. “You go to a specific neighbourhood and it’s got its own character.” One of the disappointing aspects of traveling around Thailand is that so many Thai towns lack character and many look so similar. Endless rows of shophouses, some low-rise apartment buildings and all the usual chain stores. As you drive through town after town in parts of Thailand, many places feel so similar. Of course, if you were to compare, say, Pattaya with Chiang Mai then they are, of course, very different. But in much of the country, so many towns feel like cookie-cutter copies of one another.

There are many things I miss about Thailand and, sure, the idea of moving back at some time does cross my mind from time to time. I’ve written before about why that is not something I’m considering at this point in time but there is one issue which I don’t think I have previously mentioned. The drama! So many people live drama-filled lives in Thailand! I frequently talk with expat friends in Bangkok and so often they are telling me about one drama or another in their lives. And the Thais are even worse! Drama in Thailand transcends gender, social status and financial standing. So many people live drama-filled lives. I hate drama and much prefer a quiet life away from the nonsense. That’s why at this point in time, Thailand works well for a few weeks of the year. It’s fun to hear stories of all the craziness, and for a short time it’s all rather exciting, but hearing about people’s personal dramas day in and day out is no fun at all. Which actually leads in to Chris’s quote of the week below perfectly.

 

 

Thailand-Related Links & News Articles

Quote of the week comes from Reader Chris, “Living the dream and living in Thailand are often not the same thing.”

From The Stickman Archives, Thailand’s Best Known Farang, published on August 8, 2004, featured part 1 of a lengthy interview with legendary Bangkok nightlife columnist, Bernard Trink. The interview ran over two columns and part 2 can be found here.

YouTube video of the week is City Walk – Slow-mo – The Beautiful Girls of Soi 6 is a walk along Pattaya’s soi 6 which is very cleverly presented in slow motion. It’s a few months old but very much worth a look if you’re missing Pattaya.

A Swiss expat may lose permission to stay in Thailand following multiple instances of his dogs attacking people in Hua Hin.

Two Germans and a Turk are arrested after attacking a Russian defending 2 Finnish women in Phuket.

A retired British couple in Hua Hin are in a nightmare situation after a dispute with neighbours got crazy.

A fake Russian Mafioso is arrested for scamming his fellow countrymen on Ko Phangnan.

Thailand’s Top Gun pilots take to the skies in a bid to give Bangkok a reprieve from the pollution.

A German is arrested for operating child porn sites on the dark web from his base in Chonburi.

The Sydney Morning Herald slates Gaggan, a Bangkok restaurant that has been voted the best in Asia.

A Brit about to fly from Bangkok to London is caught with 38 kg of cannabis in his luggage.

 

Closing Comments

It’s a shorter column than usual this week. I didn’t manage to gather all that much news so on word count this week’s edition is about 25% shorter than usual. I wouldn’t take this to mean that it’s getting quieter though with most people in agreement that there are still plenty of people around and the bars and the tourist areas in general are pumping.

Your Bangkok commentator,

Stick

 

Stick can be contacted at : stickmanbangkok@gmail.com