basabajo
December 27th, 2011, 13:55
** Sent as a reply to a recent message here, but not uploaded as a separate New Topic" **
After my one night in Bangkok (14 Dec) (see yesterday's post "How do the go-go-boy clubs survive? Plus Bangkok review.") I paid all of THB 45 for the City Line train to the airport from Phaya Thai station, and then a further THB 200 for the Bell Transport bus to Pattaya. I prefer to do it this way as it avoids the traffic jams on the road out of Bangkok. I like the Bell service, easily bookable on their website, even if the buses do seem to speed somewhat scarily to their destination - in this case, 75 minutes from airport to Pattaya bus station. Then the shuttle mini-vans smoothly ferry the passengers onto their hotels, at no extra cost.
And so to business in Pattaya. I'd heard from one expat in Bangkok that the reason the go-go-boy clubs and bars were so quiet, even in December, was that many of the boys had headed down to Pattaya where business was brisker because the place was flood-free, and visitors had not been scared away. So it was ironic and amusing to hear from a farang guy in Panorama Bar that I'd find the Pattaya clubs and bars unusually quiet, because many of the boys head up to the capital in this high-season time of year because there's more and better paying business there.
Overall the venues at Boyztown, Sunee and Jomtien seemed busier than when I visited in May and August, but only in the outside bars (and definitely on Dong Tan gay beach area at Jomtien). On the other hand, inside most of the clubs, things were pretty much as dead as earlier in the year.
I started at Sawadee Gogo, a new place and the first venue you encounter as you walk up Soi V.C. (on your left). Inside was what seems to be the usual Sunee mix - some cute young guys looking cute, plus a rabble of street kids, looking bored-as-hell. All clad in standard-issue basic white undies, some happily wanking away.
Euroboys looked more promising, which I believe re-opened just recently. It's nicely decorated inside and clean. But I don't remember much else about it - I left a note in my phone "average boys, nothing special". Maybe I'm hard to please, or maybe it's just because the place lacked atmosphere, with just 2 or 3 other customers when I was there (around 10:30pm).
I knew that I had visited Tom Yum (upstairs) on my May trip but I couldn't remember anything about it - for better or worse! So I allowed the host guy outside to entice me up the stairs - in a split-second I remembered EXACTLY what I had seen inside six months ago! I'm not actually sure what the legal under-age limit is here (18?) but many of these kids looked barely that, and some surely must have been younger! It's not a go-go boys bar in the traditional sense of boys standing on the stage with numbers pegged to their undies; more just a long, narrow room, with benches on either side, and maybe 8 or 10 young boys wanking away, most oblivious to the audience watching them (and here it was quite a crowd - 6 customers all at the same time!), as they focused instead on the (straight) porn on their mobile phones. Some were being kept warm by the customers on the benches, who also provided free assistance to keep the boy's dick energised! Some of the boys remained in their (mostly) Joe Boxer baggy shorts, some still in jeans, but others just let it all hang out. Beer here was THB 150.
Tom Yum was a suitable prelude to a visit to Good Boys - a larger, more organised wank-athon was in progress here with, at one stage, a line-up of 8 young boys, sitting on the side of the stage facing their farang customers, all with their dicks sticking out as they masturbated away (the boys, that is; not the farangs!). These really had given up any pretence of being go-go boys - no styled hair, no skimpy undies on show, no lotion to make the skin shine. Instead, they all looked like they had just walked in off the street, sat down on the stage, and got straight on to a long wanking session. The two kids with the long cocks there seemed proud to show off their assets; the rest couldn't seem to care less if they were being admired or not. Definitely worth a visit, but probably not everyone's cup of tea.
I headed back to Boyztown and ended up at the 00:45 show at X Boys. Reasonably good performances - two boys playing with lighted candles and dripping wax; a good break-dancing routine; a bit feeble shower event; and an energetic fucking scene. Maybe 10 customers for the show.
That evening I had eaten at La Cuisine au Beurre in Soi Day-Night, after reading some good reviews. For the set 3-course dinner, one beer and a bottle of water I paid THB 410 and it was good value for money, and pretty good food. I arrived about 8:30pm when it was still almost full, but tables quickly started to empty. However service was slow, not unfriendly but not friendly either - long wait for service as the staff either cleared up the dirty tables or stood around chatting with the regulars. I'd still recommend this place to others, but I don't think I'd go back again.
Next night I started in Boyztown. On my last trip I'd checked out Vassa Bar and was quite impressed - younger-than-average boys by Boyztown standards, I thought, but not under-age; and all quite alert and alive. But this time, when the door opened to me (just before 10pm) the place was dead - 3 boys stood motionless on stage, and no customers. The doorman quickly suggested I try the new Splash Boys club just down the lane, which I think is under same ownership as Vassa, so that's where I headed. I joined 4 other punters for the 10pm show, which was pleasant enough - young twinks, no hardons, shower show, some nice routines, and THB 180 for a beer.
I then went into Cupidol, a bigger venue with perhaps 10 bored-looking boys. Don't remember much else about it, but I noted down that the beer was THB 160.
After Cupidol I walked past Kawaii Boys, Lucky 777 and Jet Set. I myself had probably seen and drunk enough for one night, but could probably have been enticed into one more venue if someone tried me. Instead, what I noted was that even the guys who hang out at these places to bring in the customers didn't seem interested any more. It was still only about 11:30pm but it just felt like everyone had given up, since business was so thin. I headed back to the hotel.
Dinner that night was back at Cafe Ritz in Jomtien, which I had enjoyed on my previous trip. Once again the food was excellent, the atmosphere quite classy for a location like this, and service good (including from a cute flirting waiter). Set 3-course dinner is now THB 450 - I paid THB 600 in total with beer and water.
The next night's dinner was back at Soi Day-Night at La Petite Planete. The colourful large murals of French street scenes on the walls attracted me in, and I joined the one other customer in the restaurant. Note that later in the meal, the crowd swelled to no fewer than 4 customers. The set meal with beer and water was THB 365 here - food was ok, but no more than that. The steak was very difficult to eat - lots of gristle and fat. Good enough value-for-money, but surely not the best food in town.
I had a quick G&T at Sunee Plaza Bar for THB 100 - but it tasted like it was almost all T, and very little G. Then popped into Happy Boys which, at about 10:30pm, was almost dead - 1 other customer who was wrapping himself around one of the boys (I think the two of them then disappeared upstairs to relax). That left me as the sole target for the 4 or 5 older guys who were stood on the tables in their peculiar sports-shoe-stencil socks. Whatever turns you on, I guess! The mamasan was getting a bit too pushy so I paid my THB 140 plus tip for the beer and left.
I walked past Crazy Dragon thinking I might venture inside, but nobody was around to open the door, so I assumed there was nothing happening and walked on. I decided to return to Mic My as the place is relatively busy and lively. There were about 20 young - or very young! - boys on stage in their undies. Very little interaction with the customers - it was modestly busy - but it was nice to see the boys having fun (not "fun") with each other, and some dick-playing now and again. Beer THB 150.
Next night was Funny Boys in Boyztown and that was a pleasant surprise. So many boys - maybe 30! - and only 12 or so could fit on the stage at any one time. A nice mix of ages, some skinny some lean, and all clean-looking in their white undies. The handwash and wet towel offered on arrival is a pleasant gesture, and the seats are comfy and overall the place is clean and nicely lit. I'd definitely recommend this place.
Over at Sunee I walked up to Crazy Dragon again and this time was ushered into the darkness and got my THB 110 beer. There were about 6 customers and I counted 8 boys - or I should say men, as they all looked much older than average, even though one told me he was only 22. The usual routine here - white baggy shorts, split down the sides. A few had a nice hardon to display, while they each in turn asked for a drink, and then switched off and disappeared promptly when none was forthcoming. I looked around the place and tried to imagine what it would be like inside when - if - it was ever actually busy. There must be space for at least 100 customers, and mirror-tables enough for just as many boys. But instead, even in high-season, it was so dead - felt like being in a ruined museum, something that had been passed by the progress of time.
I then looked in Nice Boys, which is similar in many ways to Mic My, and watched the 15-20-or-so young boys in their regulation white undies chatting and playing around on the stage. None of the wanking on show as in Tom Yum or Good Boys, but plenty of decent looking young twinks. Beer was THB 150 and 130 for boy-drink. One thing I was not sure about here is why there always seem to be 3 or 4 boys in low-hanging jeans and boxers looking like they are about to do a break-dancing routine. I've been in Nice Boys twice, both times those boys were there, but neither time did they actually do anything!
I ended my trip at the bar at the corner next to Panorama Pub in Boyztown - Serene Hotel Bar I think it's called. Paid THB 90 for a Tiger beer, watched the world go by until I noticed the farang on the table next to me, perhaps early or mid 60s, slump to one side. I looked more closely and realised that he had simply nodded off, while his boy sat next to him, who looked about 16, was too busy texting or watching porn on his phone to notice what had happened to his client. This old guy's struggle to avoid falling asleep was a nice metaphor for how I saw the who five days in the gay zones of Bangkok and Pattaya - there must have been some energy, life and real vibrancy to these venues years ago, but in my three visits this year I just sense that all that life has dissipated away and that many or most of the bars that are left are going to continue to struggle to stay in business as much as that old guy was fighting to stay awake!
Next trip? Chiang Mai maybe???
After my one night in Bangkok (14 Dec) (see yesterday's post "How do the go-go-boy clubs survive? Plus Bangkok review.") I paid all of THB 45 for the City Line train to the airport from Phaya Thai station, and then a further THB 200 for the Bell Transport bus to Pattaya. I prefer to do it this way as it avoids the traffic jams on the road out of Bangkok. I like the Bell service, easily bookable on their website, even if the buses do seem to speed somewhat scarily to their destination - in this case, 75 minutes from airport to Pattaya bus station. Then the shuttle mini-vans smoothly ferry the passengers onto their hotels, at no extra cost.
And so to business in Pattaya. I'd heard from one expat in Bangkok that the reason the go-go-boy clubs and bars were so quiet, even in December, was that many of the boys had headed down to Pattaya where business was brisker because the place was flood-free, and visitors had not been scared away. So it was ironic and amusing to hear from a farang guy in Panorama Bar that I'd find the Pattaya clubs and bars unusually quiet, because many of the boys head up to the capital in this high-season time of year because there's more and better paying business there.
Overall the venues at Boyztown, Sunee and Jomtien seemed busier than when I visited in May and August, but only in the outside bars (and definitely on Dong Tan gay beach area at Jomtien). On the other hand, inside most of the clubs, things were pretty much as dead as earlier in the year.
I started at Sawadee Gogo, a new place and the first venue you encounter as you walk up Soi V.C. (on your left). Inside was what seems to be the usual Sunee mix - some cute young guys looking cute, plus a rabble of street kids, looking bored-as-hell. All clad in standard-issue basic white undies, some happily wanking away.
Euroboys looked more promising, which I believe re-opened just recently. It's nicely decorated inside and clean. But I don't remember much else about it - I left a note in my phone "average boys, nothing special". Maybe I'm hard to please, or maybe it's just because the place lacked atmosphere, with just 2 or 3 other customers when I was there (around 10:30pm).
I knew that I had visited Tom Yum (upstairs) on my May trip but I couldn't remember anything about it - for better or worse! So I allowed the host guy outside to entice me up the stairs - in a split-second I remembered EXACTLY what I had seen inside six months ago! I'm not actually sure what the legal under-age limit is here (18?) but many of these kids looked barely that, and some surely must have been younger! It's not a go-go boys bar in the traditional sense of boys standing on the stage with numbers pegged to their undies; more just a long, narrow room, with benches on either side, and maybe 8 or 10 young boys wanking away, most oblivious to the audience watching them (and here it was quite a crowd - 6 customers all at the same time!), as they focused instead on the (straight) porn on their mobile phones. Some were being kept warm by the customers on the benches, who also provided free assistance to keep the boy's dick energised! Some of the boys remained in their (mostly) Joe Boxer baggy shorts, some still in jeans, but others just let it all hang out. Beer here was THB 150.
Tom Yum was a suitable prelude to a visit to Good Boys - a larger, more organised wank-athon was in progress here with, at one stage, a line-up of 8 young boys, sitting on the side of the stage facing their farang customers, all with their dicks sticking out as they masturbated away (the boys, that is; not the farangs!). These really had given up any pretence of being go-go boys - no styled hair, no skimpy undies on show, no lotion to make the skin shine. Instead, they all looked like they had just walked in off the street, sat down on the stage, and got straight on to a long wanking session. The two kids with the long cocks there seemed proud to show off their assets; the rest couldn't seem to care less if they were being admired or not. Definitely worth a visit, but probably not everyone's cup of tea.
I headed back to Boyztown and ended up at the 00:45 show at X Boys. Reasonably good performances - two boys playing with lighted candles and dripping wax; a good break-dancing routine; a bit feeble shower event; and an energetic fucking scene. Maybe 10 customers for the show.
That evening I had eaten at La Cuisine au Beurre in Soi Day-Night, after reading some good reviews. For the set 3-course dinner, one beer and a bottle of water I paid THB 410 and it was good value for money, and pretty good food. I arrived about 8:30pm when it was still almost full, but tables quickly started to empty. However service was slow, not unfriendly but not friendly either - long wait for service as the staff either cleared up the dirty tables or stood around chatting with the regulars. I'd still recommend this place to others, but I don't think I'd go back again.
Next night I started in Boyztown. On my last trip I'd checked out Vassa Bar and was quite impressed - younger-than-average boys by Boyztown standards, I thought, but not under-age; and all quite alert and alive. But this time, when the door opened to me (just before 10pm) the place was dead - 3 boys stood motionless on stage, and no customers. The doorman quickly suggested I try the new Splash Boys club just down the lane, which I think is under same ownership as Vassa, so that's where I headed. I joined 4 other punters for the 10pm show, which was pleasant enough - young twinks, no hardons, shower show, some nice routines, and THB 180 for a beer.
I then went into Cupidol, a bigger venue with perhaps 10 bored-looking boys. Don't remember much else about it, but I noted down that the beer was THB 160.
After Cupidol I walked past Kawaii Boys, Lucky 777 and Jet Set. I myself had probably seen and drunk enough for one night, but could probably have been enticed into one more venue if someone tried me. Instead, what I noted was that even the guys who hang out at these places to bring in the customers didn't seem interested any more. It was still only about 11:30pm but it just felt like everyone had given up, since business was so thin. I headed back to the hotel.
Dinner that night was back at Cafe Ritz in Jomtien, which I had enjoyed on my previous trip. Once again the food was excellent, the atmosphere quite classy for a location like this, and service good (including from a cute flirting waiter). Set 3-course dinner is now THB 450 - I paid THB 600 in total with beer and water.
The next night's dinner was back at Soi Day-Night at La Petite Planete. The colourful large murals of French street scenes on the walls attracted me in, and I joined the one other customer in the restaurant. Note that later in the meal, the crowd swelled to no fewer than 4 customers. The set meal with beer and water was THB 365 here - food was ok, but no more than that. The steak was very difficult to eat - lots of gristle and fat. Good enough value-for-money, but surely not the best food in town.
I had a quick G&T at Sunee Plaza Bar for THB 100 - but it tasted like it was almost all T, and very little G. Then popped into Happy Boys which, at about 10:30pm, was almost dead - 1 other customer who was wrapping himself around one of the boys (I think the two of them then disappeared upstairs to relax). That left me as the sole target for the 4 or 5 older guys who were stood on the tables in their peculiar sports-shoe-stencil socks. Whatever turns you on, I guess! The mamasan was getting a bit too pushy so I paid my THB 140 plus tip for the beer and left.
I walked past Crazy Dragon thinking I might venture inside, but nobody was around to open the door, so I assumed there was nothing happening and walked on. I decided to return to Mic My as the place is relatively busy and lively. There were about 20 young - or very young! - boys on stage in their undies. Very little interaction with the customers - it was modestly busy - but it was nice to see the boys having fun (not "fun") with each other, and some dick-playing now and again. Beer THB 150.
Next night was Funny Boys in Boyztown and that was a pleasant surprise. So many boys - maybe 30! - and only 12 or so could fit on the stage at any one time. A nice mix of ages, some skinny some lean, and all clean-looking in their white undies. The handwash and wet towel offered on arrival is a pleasant gesture, and the seats are comfy and overall the place is clean and nicely lit. I'd definitely recommend this place.
Over at Sunee I walked up to Crazy Dragon again and this time was ushered into the darkness and got my THB 110 beer. There were about 6 customers and I counted 8 boys - or I should say men, as they all looked much older than average, even though one told me he was only 22. The usual routine here - white baggy shorts, split down the sides. A few had a nice hardon to display, while they each in turn asked for a drink, and then switched off and disappeared promptly when none was forthcoming. I looked around the place and tried to imagine what it would be like inside when - if - it was ever actually busy. There must be space for at least 100 customers, and mirror-tables enough for just as many boys. But instead, even in high-season, it was so dead - felt like being in a ruined museum, something that had been passed by the progress of time.
I then looked in Nice Boys, which is similar in many ways to Mic My, and watched the 15-20-or-so young boys in their regulation white undies chatting and playing around on the stage. None of the wanking on show as in Tom Yum or Good Boys, but plenty of decent looking young twinks. Beer was THB 150 and 130 for boy-drink. One thing I was not sure about here is why there always seem to be 3 or 4 boys in low-hanging jeans and boxers looking like they are about to do a break-dancing routine. I've been in Nice Boys twice, both times those boys were there, but neither time did they actually do anything!
I ended my trip at the bar at the corner next to Panorama Pub in Boyztown - Serene Hotel Bar I think it's called. Paid THB 90 for a Tiger beer, watched the world go by until I noticed the farang on the table next to me, perhaps early or mid 60s, slump to one side. I looked more closely and realised that he had simply nodded off, while his boy sat next to him, who looked about 16, was too busy texting or watching porn on his phone to notice what had happened to his client. This old guy's struggle to avoid falling asleep was a nice metaphor for how I saw the who five days in the gay zones of Bangkok and Pattaya - there must have been some energy, life and real vibrancy to these venues years ago, but in my three visits this year I just sense that all that life has dissipated away and that many or most of the bars that are left are going to continue to struggle to stay in business as much as that old guy was fighting to stay awake!
Next trip? Chiang Mai maybe???