newalaan2
November 25th, 2014, 23:18
Bangkok- New club/disco in Suriwong called Fusion across from Soi Twilight. Went there with Tom/Tum, chunky doorman from Hot Male (Hot Male and Fusion same owner). Tum had told me about this new club when me saw at Dicks Caf├й late afternoon. I stopped in by Hot Male beerbar later on when out for the night, at 1.30am-ish and I expressed an interest to check it out, when asking for exact directions he offered to take me. I've known him for years and occasionally buy him a Chang as he is good company and knows many of the boys who work in the Soi and makes introductions if I want, as well as getting me 'free passage' from the gogo bar barkers the length of the Soi.
We went across Suriwong Rd to Wall St Tower and down the spiral stairs to the club, I just had a look in to see the set up and if it was busy as i would be comparing it to Soi2 which I knew would be busy. It was 2am, had a look in, it seemed busy, not a big place but most of the front half of the club tables were occupied, so we went in, asked him if he was able or wanted to stay, which he did, we only had a couple bottles of Heineken @ Bt150 each, (I see on another forum report that Bt200 was the advised drink price and the staff did not allow a look in first). This was Oct not long after it's opening and I was with Tum who made it clear it was up to me if I wanted to look without going in. The door staff wai'd him so I take it he was the senior. Even got moved to a front table by staff when the 'Model boy' show came on...6 hunky-ish guys in jeans, then underwear onstage (small stage).
Plenty of gay lads inside in groups and a few waiters, line up of 6 boys on stage, katoey on the mike, but good fun.
Thing is.......it's in an odd location, tucked downstairs at the back of what seems to be a shopping/business mall with only a couple posters at street level to indicate there may be a club in the vicinity. I just can't see what the attraction will be, certainly for farang as it is open the exact same hours as DJ station, I would have understood if it had been a 5-6am closing club, but it seems to be a 3am strict closing. Certainly a lone farang might well look out of place as all the customers seemed to be groups of gay thai boy friends together. Maybe more Thai-for-Thai deliberately in competition to Soi 2 as I know many of the Soi Twilight guys don't like Soi 2 and often head off to Rachada etc clubs after their work, maybe an attempt to attract them (like the upstairs club for bar girls/katoey in Patpong) as all other clubs are a bit of a taxi ride from Suriwong. On the night I went I was the only farang.
Pattaya- For the first time in a number of years it saddened me to report that my Funny Boys visit was woeful. I know some of the support staff from years back here, DJ, waiters etc.. and just drop in for a drink and update. 5 Boys on stage, 2 sitting around, music very low, nil atmosphere, just the whole staff waiting for the finishing bell, I was one of two customers. Couple of the guys onstage did try to interact, but you could hear a pin drop. Funny Boys could never have been described as a 'fun bar' for a long time now, but with mamasan gone there was nobody willing to wake the guys up and nobody to interact and be a go-between for customers. No spark of life on the night I was there whatsoever. .
Toyboys on the other hand, was the complete opposite in all respects as well as the physical location. Keen lads onstage and off, an interested, helpful papasan as always, and plenty of atmosphere with the place very busy with customers, and an excellent range of available boys willing to joke and interact from stage and when sitting waiting their turn. I could easily have offed half a dozen candidates. It was a bit of 'them and us' in terms of customers one of the nights I was there, with Asian customers on the right as you enter and farang on left, usually the boys 'tend' to favour facing the Asians, but I found the bulk of the lads onstage trying to make eye contact/interact with the farang there.
There has always been a big difference between the two bars, but even knowing and liking a few of the long termers in Funny Boys, under the current set up I certainly wouldn't waste good potential fun time there. I hope it comes back to life in high season, maybe it has already as this report is now a few weeks old.
Airport Taxis Just a note about Suvarnabhumi Airport taxi attempts at overpricing. As I approached the meter-taxi Q on the 2nd floor there was one desk free with a female taxi dispatcher and male taxi driver beside her (rather than in the taxi drivers Q) which I thought odd, behind me there was an Asian couple (Korean/Jap?) and the dispatcher made great efforts to try and 'get' them before I arrived.
I got there first and was received with glum faces.....immediately the taxi driver, not dispatcher, asked where I was going....."Silom Soi Saladaeng" 500 baht ok? was the reply. I said " is this not Q for taxi METER?" the female took over also with grim looking face....Silom? "yes" Bt500 ok? I repeated "this for taxi METER?" reply was kurt....'yes meter! I say ABOUT (pronounced 'ABOW') 500baht' she snapped, I got the ticket with drivers details etc... then the same taxi driver who had already asked where I was going and stood by as I relayed the same details to the dispatcher asked again where I was going while trying to take the ticket out of my hand pretending to look at it for some reason, ah yes, you go Silom ...Bt500 with tolls ok? I said "up to METER how much...go tollway ok" Anyway he was ok and used the metre, a bit stoney-faced as clearly there is a scam going on between him and the dispatcher I assume for 'newbie' arrivals. In the end the fare to Soi Saladaeng was Bt190+Bt75 tolls+Bt50 airport taxi charge, total Bt315 gave him Bt350. Not a lot extra to make up the Bt500 he wanted but that's not the point of course, it's the fact they tried it on, this in the face of the airport clearly trying to get it's act together with very few (or maybe just a chosen few) chancers approaching with taxi services as you walk through the concourse. Not really a big deal I suppose, but just to make readers aware.
We went across Suriwong Rd to Wall St Tower and down the spiral stairs to the club, I just had a look in to see the set up and if it was busy as i would be comparing it to Soi2 which I knew would be busy. It was 2am, had a look in, it seemed busy, not a big place but most of the front half of the club tables were occupied, so we went in, asked him if he was able or wanted to stay, which he did, we only had a couple bottles of Heineken @ Bt150 each, (I see on another forum report that Bt200 was the advised drink price and the staff did not allow a look in first). This was Oct not long after it's opening and I was with Tum who made it clear it was up to me if I wanted to look without going in. The door staff wai'd him so I take it he was the senior. Even got moved to a front table by staff when the 'Model boy' show came on...6 hunky-ish guys in jeans, then underwear onstage (small stage).
Plenty of gay lads inside in groups and a few waiters, line up of 6 boys on stage, katoey on the mike, but good fun.
Thing is.......it's in an odd location, tucked downstairs at the back of what seems to be a shopping/business mall with only a couple posters at street level to indicate there may be a club in the vicinity. I just can't see what the attraction will be, certainly for farang as it is open the exact same hours as DJ station, I would have understood if it had been a 5-6am closing club, but it seems to be a 3am strict closing. Certainly a lone farang might well look out of place as all the customers seemed to be groups of gay thai boy friends together. Maybe more Thai-for-Thai deliberately in competition to Soi 2 as I know many of the Soi Twilight guys don't like Soi 2 and often head off to Rachada etc clubs after their work, maybe an attempt to attract them (like the upstairs club for bar girls/katoey in Patpong) as all other clubs are a bit of a taxi ride from Suriwong. On the night I went I was the only farang.
Pattaya- For the first time in a number of years it saddened me to report that my Funny Boys visit was woeful. I know some of the support staff from years back here, DJ, waiters etc.. and just drop in for a drink and update. 5 Boys on stage, 2 sitting around, music very low, nil atmosphere, just the whole staff waiting for the finishing bell, I was one of two customers. Couple of the guys onstage did try to interact, but you could hear a pin drop. Funny Boys could never have been described as a 'fun bar' for a long time now, but with mamasan gone there was nobody willing to wake the guys up and nobody to interact and be a go-between for customers. No spark of life on the night I was there whatsoever. .
Toyboys on the other hand, was the complete opposite in all respects as well as the physical location. Keen lads onstage and off, an interested, helpful papasan as always, and plenty of atmosphere with the place very busy with customers, and an excellent range of available boys willing to joke and interact from stage and when sitting waiting their turn. I could easily have offed half a dozen candidates. It was a bit of 'them and us' in terms of customers one of the nights I was there, with Asian customers on the right as you enter and farang on left, usually the boys 'tend' to favour facing the Asians, but I found the bulk of the lads onstage trying to make eye contact/interact with the farang there.
There has always been a big difference between the two bars, but even knowing and liking a few of the long termers in Funny Boys, under the current set up I certainly wouldn't waste good potential fun time there. I hope it comes back to life in high season, maybe it has already as this report is now a few weeks old.
Airport Taxis Just a note about Suvarnabhumi Airport taxi attempts at overpricing. As I approached the meter-taxi Q on the 2nd floor there was one desk free with a female taxi dispatcher and male taxi driver beside her (rather than in the taxi drivers Q) which I thought odd, behind me there was an Asian couple (Korean/Jap?) and the dispatcher made great efforts to try and 'get' them before I arrived.
I got there first and was received with glum faces.....immediately the taxi driver, not dispatcher, asked where I was going....."Silom Soi Saladaeng" 500 baht ok? was the reply. I said " is this not Q for taxi METER?" the female took over also with grim looking face....Silom? "yes" Bt500 ok? I repeated "this for taxi METER?" reply was kurt....'yes meter! I say ABOUT (pronounced 'ABOW') 500baht' she snapped, I got the ticket with drivers details etc... then the same taxi driver who had already asked where I was going and stood by as I relayed the same details to the dispatcher asked again where I was going while trying to take the ticket out of my hand pretending to look at it for some reason, ah yes, you go Silom ...Bt500 with tolls ok? I said "up to METER how much...go tollway ok" Anyway he was ok and used the metre, a bit stoney-faced as clearly there is a scam going on between him and the dispatcher I assume for 'newbie' arrivals. In the end the fare to Soi Saladaeng was Bt190+Bt75 tolls+Bt50 airport taxi charge, total Bt315 gave him Bt350. Not a lot extra to make up the Bt500 he wanted but that's not the point of course, it's the fact they tried it on, this in the face of the airport clearly trying to get it's act together with very few (or maybe just a chosen few) chancers approaching with taxi services as you walk through the concourse. Not really a big deal I suppose, but just to make readers aware.