Stickman Weekly, October 5, 2025
Mystery Photo
Where is it?
Last week’s photo was taken beside Margarita Storm, at the start of Sukhumvit soi 13. This photo received the largest reader response of any mystery photo in quite some time, with well in excess of 50 of you getting it right. It seems many of you are familiar with this particular outlet!
After a couple of weeks away, I thought I’d resume with a rather easy location that I expect all readers of this column are familiar with. With that said, do be specific about the location and not just answer with the name of the road!
Stick’s Inbox – The Best Emails From The Past Week
What’s better than being a two-week millionaire?
Regarding the comments about the cost of Thailand these days, I visited Thailand for quite a few years before retiring here eight years ago. I saved, invested and planned. Do you know what’s better than being a two-week millionaire in Thailand? Actually being a multi-millionaire, retired in Thailand!
Middle age, long flights and the case for business class.
About that reader saying Thailand is not the bargain it used to be, for me it’s kind of the opposite. Being able to pick my travel dates and compare tons of options through search engines like Google’s ITA Matrix, Google Flights, and others makes a huge difference. My first trip back in October 2002 (BRU–LHR–DMK with BA) cost about €700 in economy; now I can often find BRU-BKK-BRU for €500 – €600 with decent layovers. Business can still be decent value — Finnair around €1,800, Etihad €1,900. With Qatar, economy is also about €600 but business starts around €2,350 — so the gap is way bigger, but their product is amazing. And about your comment a while back on people flying business but staying in budget hotels: I used to think that was weird too. But once you’re middle-aged, 11+ hours in an economy seat next to a stranger, not sleeping and arriving wrecked in Thailand, just isn’t much fun anymore.
Shining the light on banking woes.
I finally had an issue with my bank this week. When trying to pay over 50K baht with my banking app, the transaction was denied. I received a message that I needed to visit a bank branch with my passport and bank book for face scanning if I wanted to do transactions of this size in the future. At the branch, not only did they scan my face, but they also wanted an overseas address, occupation, estimated monthly income and my tax ID number in my home country. The next day I tried again. When the banking app scanned my face the scan was unsuccessful. I was so mad about having to go back to the bank again, but then I had the idea that maybe the problem was the lighting in my condo. Sure enough, trying the transaction outside from my balcony allowed the transaction to go through.
When your bank account and mobile phone account don’t match.
I had my own issue recently with Bangkok Bank. Accounts were fine, and online banking worked, but mobile banking access was suddenly suspended. The reason? The name under which my SIM card was registered did not match the name on my bank account. I called AIS about the issue and they said there was no problem with them. They said that my SIM card was over ten years old, registered to an old passport and suggested that I update the card and documents. A visit to the AIS office took care of everything, and a short visit to Bangkok Bank cleared the problem.
Tequila lady drinks.
Regarding lady drinks, the tequila used is barely better than moonshine. It doesn’t taste like agave at all and is causing brain-rot to the girls. Buying a girl 5 or 6 of those is frightening. I don’t care if they have water instead – it’s the smarter choice. My preference is to buy them a ‘real’ drink of their choice and tip 100 baht each time.
Buying a lady drink doesn’t guarantee she’ll sit with you.
Regarding tequila lady drinks, I’m ok with shots being water. If I was sitting with a girl weighing 40 kg and she did 10 shots, she would spend the next few hours under the table. I don’t mind spending money for lady drinks. I get the girl’s company for that. I do mind if they go crazy and quickly want to introduce their “best friend” or the poor cashier who had not had a single lady drink all night. In some bars it gets out of hand and they try to milk you for as much as possible. In the gogo bars, I usually don’t buy drinks. Too many times a girl I have just bought a drink for goes up on the stage and does not come back for quite some time. I sit alone while she is dancing. Recently I bought a girl a drink and she got up on stage even before the drink had arrived! When she returned 15 or 20 minutes later, I told her that the drink was at the next table and she could enjoy it there. I left shortly afterwards and found a better place.
Your liver doesn’t forget.
On the topic of liver issues. around 5 years ago I fell into the trap of consuming a lot of Chang beer. I would have a few large bottles of Chang with every meal, a few in the garden enjoying the weather in the afternoon, and a few late in the evening while watching a movie. It quickly adds up. Fast forward to 6 months ago and I had my biannual check-up and blood tests. The doctor informed me that at this rate my liver and pancreas would not last another year. I’m 45 years old. I stopped drinking that day. 4 months later I redid the tests and thankfully all of my liver markers had returned to the normal range. Please be careful, guys, even if you don’t feel sick. There is a price to pay if you drink excessively.
What’s with the onions in taxis?
Trade on Soi Nana is said to have passed the worst of the low season with some mid-week nights racking up decent numbers.
This Week’s News, Views & Gossip
It’s still the low season, right? It sure is, but one bar owner has come up with a new name for it, the “crazy season”. While for the most part trade hasn’t set balance sheets alight, some nights can surprise. One night the bars can be dead and then for no obvious reason, the next night things pick up and it feels like high season is just around the corner. And then it goes quiet again. October is a funny month, with the first half of the month usually very wet. Things will almost certainly pick up next month.
In Nana Plaza, one bar experiencing the so-called crazy season is Angelwitch which is not a bar featured all that much in this column over the past few years. Word is that it just might be worth taking another look.
Eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that Virgin X would be the name of a soon-to-open new gogo bar in Nana Plaza. But some wondered why the owners would use the name of a Patpong bar which had struggled to gain traction. Someone saw the light and signage went up this week not with Virgin X, but a new name – Orbit. Expect Orbit to open real soon.
Punters are impressed with the recently renovated Mandarin’s new VIP section. There’s a full view, something you don’t see in that many gogo bars these days. The VIP section comes with slightly higher prices – lady drinks run 250 baht, compared to 220 baht downstairs. The stage has been revamped in Mandarin with one chrome pole in the middle of a Jacuzzi that runs up to the second floor with a circular cut-out in the plexiglass ceiling surrounded by LED lights.
For the time being, Red Dragon, next door to Mandarin, is home to the Shark crew from Soi Cowboy, and is packed to the rafters every night with sexy ladies. The bar is said to be pumping! Be quick and enjoy it while it lasts because the Shark crew will only be there until the end of the month.
Shark Soi Cowboy will reopen on November 1st.
Shark on Cowboy is undergoing a full and complete renovation, including the patio which has been ripped out. Are they making a carbon copy of Shark Pattaya (which doesn’t have a patio area outside)? Will the patio be replaced? Or will they use the space that was the patio and push the wall out and meaning the interior would be expanded? The new, revamped Shark is expected to reopen on November 1st.
Some are making wild predictions about Shark – even before it reopens – that it could become the best gogo bar in all of Bangkok. And that would be quite something given that some – me included – feel that Shark on Walking Street is the best gogo bar in Pattaya. Which begs the question, has a bar group ever had boasting rights that it had the best gogo bar in each of Bangkok and Pattaya at the same time? Actually, yes, there is an argument that this has indeed been the case. There was a time when Angelwitch was regarded as the best gogo bar in Bangkok and when the Pattaya Angelwitch first opened, it was sensational. Some years later, the same argument could perhaps have been made about Baccara. Shark on Soi Cowboy has a wonderful lineup of ladies and a great frontage – but the interior has been a disaster for many years with foul odours and the strong stench of mould. Fix the interior and the sky’s the limit.
Speaking of Shark on Soi Cowboy, the land and building (as opposed to the gogo bar business) has been listed for sale on the Kaidee Property website. Details are scant, with the ad revealing the size of the double-shophouse property is just 28 ตารางวา (tarang wah) or, in English, 28 square wah – where a wah is a Thai unit for land measurement, equivalent to 4 square metres. The current rent is listed at 500,000 baht / month. I just about fell off my chair when I saw the asking price for the land and building. I am, admittedly, not that familiar with the downtown Bangkok property market but the asking price of 180 million baht seems awfully high. But what would I know? That may well be the market price.
The mighty impressive Shark Gogo Club, on Walking Street.
Showtime, Soi Cowboy’s new ladyboy cabaret bar, was supposed to open on Friday of last week. It didn’t. Work has stopped and what was the old Stumble Inn Soi Cowboy remains in darkness. After a few weeks of hyping Showtime on social media, everything went quiet. In what is turning into one of the more bizarre tales from a big-name Bangkok bar group, leaks reached me that not one, but two of the partners in Showtime had each been individually approaching other players to see if they were interested in buying them out. A few days later, the American partner confirmed that he was out, and had sold all of his shares to his English partner / the head honcho of Stumble Inn. And he, in turn, is trying to sell the whole thing! Some work was done on the interior, a beautiful new sign was installed, and the venue promoted on social media only for it to all fall over. Soi Cowboy regulars who were aghast at the idea of a cabaret bar in the middle can now rejoice – it looks like the crazy ladyboy cabaret concept is dust. It’s become quite a debacle for Stumble Inn whose credibility has taken a major hit with some industry players sniggering like Muttley in the Wacky Races.
On a more positive note, up the road in Nana Plaza, Rainbow 2 has a great happy hour that runs through until 10 PM with 100 baht drinks.
There have been lots of comments about how Soi Nana in general, and particularly Nana Plaza, feel like they’re dominated by Asian customers. This is especially the case earlier in the evening but later in the night, the more Caucasians you see. When high season comes around, I imagine the percentage of white guys in the Nana area will increase.
The demographic on Soi Nana is something a good few Stickman readers have commented on.
A couple of columns back I noted there had been no news from CenterPoint / the soi 7 beer bar complex for a few months. I am back in touch with a bar boss in the centre who tells me that trade is erratic, much like elsewhere. The next date on the calendar to keep an eye on is November 1st when the new leases are expected to be signed. As a reminder, CenterPoint is on 6-month rolling leases so no-one in the complex is ever quite sure how much longer they’ll be in business.
Short-term leases in a bar area aren’t actually something new. That’s how it is at Patpong. Bars in Bangkok’s oldest bar areas are on rolling 12-month leases. They’re in good company – my involvement with Stickman is also on 12-month agreements, the current one of which has less than 3 months to go. Tick tock, tick tock….!
Speaking of Patpong, the area ticks over despite some very, very quiet nights in the bars. But word is that those who brave the rains and venture out to Patpong might just find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Virgin, King’s 2 and Radio City are all said to have fantastic lineups currently. With few punters about, you might be able to get a Ferrari for the price of a Corolla. But then maybe that’s not the best analogy – Ferraris don’t just look great, they are supposed to be a great ride. Does that analogy work with the bar ladies these days? Many look great but I hear they may not be such a great ride. So perhaps they’re more like a DeLorean – which look great but the performance is lousy!
The ladies of Beach Road are more interested in playing with their phone than passersby.
Down in Pattaya, more evidence that the city is changing. Walk along Beach Road after dark and you might not hear the classic old Sin City cat-calls of ,“Hello, hansum man!”, “Where you go?” or “I go with you!” Many ladies along the Beach Road have their head buried in their mobile phone and those strolling by hoping to find a lovely lady to spend some time with may feel invisible. A regular reader who has a knack of capturing some great images sent a collection of shots this week of ladies on the Beach Road consumed by their mobile phone. What’s the bet they were monitoring dating apps as they explore multiple avenues in the hunt for a customer.
Speaking of the Beach Road, reports have it that despite recent police activity, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of African beauties around.
The Shamrock Bar on Soi Pattayaland 2 welcomed punters for the best part of 4 decades, with many stopping by to see the popular publican, Terry McBroom. In this column’s heyday, Terry was a regular contributor who sent missives of comings and goings on the soi. I received the sad news this week that Terry had passed away. May he rest in peace.
Tantra, Walking Street, Pattaya.
Tantra on Walking Street is changing names this month and a new sign has been ordered. Until then, the owner had a temporary banner made. The popular Japanese boss of Tantra was bemoaning that any time he has Thai workers doing work on the bar, he has to be there on site. In this case, he thought it would be fine to leave it to the Thai crew to hang a banner. How could they possible mess that up? He arrived at the bar to find the banner had been hung upside down!
With a week off from the column, I spent some time sorting through items I had in storage, and came across the magazines below. They were popular back when magazines were still a thing. Some of these magazines are close to 20 years old, and I wonder where the ladies are now? I can’t imagine these magazines are collectible or will ever be worth anything but they’re a nice souvenir of a bygone area. If you’re wondering whatever happened to it, After Dark magazine came to an abrupt end after the fellow behind it, known to many of us as “Cigar Bob”, himself came to an abrupt end. Bob was a real nice guy, but a very heavy drinker and smoker, and with the seemingly never-ending dramas he had with women, his life came to an early end.
Are these magazines collectible? Probably not! I wonder where these ladies are now.
Following on from comments in the last column about YouTube making it difficult to publish videos with naughty nightlife content, a few of you have told me that many videos published on YouTube in the past with content that could barely be considered nightlife-related have been removed from the platform. Amongst the videos removed were a number where someone just walks around the Sukhumvit / Nana area after dark. If you have any favourite old Pattaya / Bangkok / Thai nightlife videos on YouTube that you like to go back and look at from time to time, it might pay to download them ASAP before they disappear forever.
Speaking of YouTube, I notice that a Bangkok-based Brit YouTuber who has been begging for money online is at it again. It has been widely reported that said fellow has addiction issues and money donated might go on things that are no good for him. (And to be totally clear, I am NOT talking about Bangkok Pat who is a straight-up guy and most deserving of any donations / contributions you might make for all the hard work he puts into his channel.)
There has been talk on and off in the mainstream press for a few months about Thailand reverting the permission to stay for those who enter on a visa waiver from the current 60 days back to 30 days. The argument being that 60 days entices some low-quality tourists to visit Thailand, some of whom get up to no good. Does it really?! Or is this just an excuse to revert it back to 30 days? Given the deluge of articles decrying fewer visitors to Thailand, shouldn’t they perhaps consider going the other way and increasing permission to stay on a visa waiver up to 90 days?!
Does Patpong really hold up in comparison to the other bar areas these days?!
I still hear some claim that if you prefer Patpong, it’s a sign that you’ve reached true expat status. It’s a funny comment that I’ve heard since my first year in Bangkok. And I don’t think there is an ounce of truth in it!
Thai women used to mostly sit side-saddle on a motorbike when they were a pillion passenger. You don’t see that so much these days, and many sit the same way on the back of a motorbike as we Western males do. What’s that all about? Could it be that more local ladies wear trousers these days? Could it be a generational change? Any thoughts?
Ain’t it a hoot that in a country where so many absolutely love to gossip about others, they absolutely hate it when others gossip about them!
The readers’ submissions section of this site doesn’t get many new articles these days, so if you’re keen to read something similar to what used to run in that section of the site, you might like to try Thai Tales: A Collection of Short Stories, by Mike Bell. You can grab a copy for just a few dollars on Amazon.
Thai Tales is a fun, light read.
Thais really are scared of ghosts. Not just youngsters, but adults too! Young Thais, especially in rural areas, are told all sorts of stories about spirits and ghosts which seem to stick in their mind. In some cases, these stories are part of a ruse to prevent them from sneaking out after dark. The other half’s younger brother is one of the most physically imposing Thais males you’ll see, and such a fantastic specimen of a human that the military recruiters were terribly disappointed that he chose not to sign up. Yet to this day, as an adult male, he is genuinely scared of ghosts. The mere mention of ghosts makes him uncomfortable. A Thai friend of ours here in this part of the world is a former muay Thai boxer. He’s another with an imposing physical presence. He also just happens to be terrified of ghosts. A few weeks back he shut up his business at the end of the day and drove home, only to realise that he had left his mobile phone at work. Night had fallen and he was too scared to go back and enter the building alone to retrieve his phone, and he had to take his Mrs with him. It’s fun to joke about ghosts with Thais but don’t push it too far because some are phasmophobic.
A friend captured the photo of the sign below on Sukhumvit soi 15. There have been a few different signs over the years in downtown Bangkok warning of pickpockets. I laughed at his description of the picture on the sign, “It looks like a giant ladyboy kidnapping a hobbit!” I guess this poster is better than one that was produced some years ago where the English text read, “Beware of Thai snatch!”
Beware the snatch in Bangkok!
Thailand-Related Links & News Articles
Quote of the week comes from a friend, “Naughty boys certainly need deep pockets these days!”
From The Stickman Archives, in 2018 I interviewed one of my favourite people in Pattaya, The Life Of Larry.
YouTube video of the week shows a massive sinkhole forming in Bangkok.
In Khon Kaen, a Dutch nutter is arrested for stealing an ATM machine.
Is Pattaya’s once notorious soi 6 that used to be favoured by hardcore Caucasian naughty boys becoming a Chinese bar area?
A young Brit who’d had a very good upbringing is caught with 9 kg of crystal meth in a Sukhumvit Road hotel.
A large Indian nightclub on Walking Street is closed after the Indian manager went bonkers at a visitor who didn’t pay his bar tab.
The significant drop in the number of Chinese visiting Thailand continues to make the mainstream news.
Comments from the BBC shows its arrogance after it was panned over its Thailand Dark Side series.
Great work from police in Chiang Mai who catch a snatch thief who ripped off two British teenagers.
Thailand seems to be getting closer to implementing the long talked about tourist tax.
A foggy morning in the neighbourhood.
Closing Comments
I’m back in the saddle after a week away from the column. While I didn’t write a column last week, I largely stayed away from Thailand stuff altogether for 10 days, and didn’t respond to many emails from the Monday following the previous column until Friday of this week. That gave me a proper break. So what did I do with my time? A bit of maintenance around the house, some spring cleaning, and sorting through stuff in storage that I really need to do something with or get rid of. It’s fun discovering stuff you’d forgotten about, like those Pattaya gogo girl magazines mentioned earlier in the column as well as some vintage movie posters, old computer games etc. Now I’ve got to sort through it all, photograph it, catalogue it and prepare it for sale. Maybe I need to take another week off to get through all of that?! Just kidding, there’ll be a column every week until the end of the year.
Your Bangkok commentator,
Stick
Stick can be contacted at : stickmanbangkok@gmail.com
