Bondi Website offline?

Anyone know what has happened to the Bondi website? Can't seem to get to it.

http://www.thebondipattaya.com/

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

could be temporary..

there was a rumour sweeping around yesterday after a few sites I tried to connect to went down that a major failure in Russia had led to hundreds of thousands of sites crashing world-wide for a day.

Imagine if the whole net goes down one day..life would be over as we know it !

Last night (Tuesday) the Bondi was shuttered and closed without any lights on at about 21:30hrs..

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[Irish1972]

Any further news on this?

[Smiles]

Stayed at The Bondi for 4 or 5 days last December. It had just 6 months before changed ownership. The new owner was straight and it certainly seemed to me that the place was morphing slowly into more of a 'straight' hotel. The entertainment area in the open air foyer at night was decidely straight (drunken Brits karaoking and back-slapping everyone in their immediate reach), with very few gay couples or lurkers hanging around. The staff seemed much the same as I remembered it before: gay mostly, but hardly enthusiastic, and often frankly, a bit sullen. This is a bad sign in any business ... your staff not really caring that much, and not bothering to hide it.

I spoke to a few guys during breakfasts on the patio and at least two of them had already made up their minds not to come back to the Bondi. Actually make that 4, as both Pot and myself had decided the same thing.

Although I have no idea whether John's 'rumour' above is correct, if it turns out that the Bondi has gone belly up (under this new owner) then it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Cheers ...

[TOQ]

I rode by Bondi on Wednesday night around 830 or so. They were open however not one customer in site..


john

[jinks]

Stayed at The Bondi for 4 or 5 days last December. Actually make that 4, as both Pot and myself had decided the same thing.



Same same = 5

[Irish1972]

Amazing how a Bar can change so quickly! I have use of a place up the road in Chateau Dale so I never stayed there, but we tended to frequent it a bit at night. The last time I was there (last September) the owner had changed but the place was still reasonably busy and apart from the owner murdering "My Way" and "you'll never walk alone" the entertainment was still very good. When the two guys from the UK had it, it was a little goldmine and tended to buck the trend for bars in that area.

Is Rock Hard still open across the way, I think it was an American guy who had it? And what other Bars are still in the complex?

[piston10]

I was staying in the Complex for most of the month of May, so I passed the Bondi several times during the day and evening. I don't think I ever saw a customer there. Certainly no boys anywhere to be seen. Another trader in the soi told me that the new owner has a Thai wife and she doesn't like gay people or boys around. (That is hearsay and rumour, so don't quote me.) It rather looks as if the new owner has Killed the place stone dead as far as we are concerned.

Yes, Rockhard is still there and flourishing, even in this low season. I like the place and made a considerable contribution to keeping it open during hard times! The boys can be fun, are very hands-on when you get inside, don't take 'no' for an answer, and if you throw a few drinks around anything can happen. The ladyboy mamasan is keen on tips and a crazy exhibitionist - over the top at every opportunity. Sometimes, when I had been elsewhere for the evening, I took a peaceful late-night smoke at the other end of the soi, waiting for the Rockhard boys to come up to the main road to catch their songtaew into Pattaya. (That was a busload of bitches to be seen!) They used to descend on me with screams of delight and I think the motorcycle boys on the corner used to enjoy the goings-on as much as I did.

Of course, Monty's Hut is a couple of doors from Hardrock, but whether flourishing I find it hard to say. Festival, round the corner and next to Dicks Caf├й, is quite a welcoming host bar - the few guys are very nice types - but I never saw the place busy.

Amazing how a Bar can change so quickly! I have use of a place up the road in Chateau Dale so I never stayed there, but we tended to frequent it a bit at night. The last time I was there (last September) the owner had changed but the place was still reasonably busy and apart from the owner murdering "My Way" and "you'll never walk alone" the entertainment was still very good. When the two guys from the UK had it, it was a little goldmine and tended to buck the trend for bars in that area.

Is Rock Hard still open across the way, I think it was an American guy who had it? And what other Bars are still in the complex?

Hi Irish, it's not really that amazing how a bar can change so quickly, as many have discovered when purchasing successful bars, only to see the income as well as the customer occupancy plummet, from that which they had witnessed under the owners they had purchased the bars from. Contrary to what many of those that buy bars think, there is more to running a successful bar, than just opening and closing the doors for business each day.

In the case of the Bondi, I feel that with the greater majority of the clientele being gay, it was never going to be as successful under straight owners, as it was previously under the gay ones. Others may know of one, but I don't know of any really successful gay bars that are or have been, run by straights. I have of course heard other reasons given for the demise of the Bondi, but will leave others here to give those reasons, others who are far better qualified than I am, when it comes to character assassination. :8(

Will it recover and can it recover as a gay venue? I believe that the the answer to both those questions are a definite yes, but only if it is managed by someone that is not only gay, but also someone who knows how to cater for the likes of some of the finicky locals, whom used to patronise it in it's hey day.

The fact that both jinks and Smiles have both indicated in this thread, that they no longer intend staying at the Bondi, will be news that undoubtedly will at least go someways in hopefully aiding it's recovery. Don't tell anyone I told you this Irish, but it's no small co-incidence that the slow decline the Bondi was already in at the end of last year, was accelerated quite considerably, after the stay of those two last December was openly reported on, in many of the local magazines, as well as all of the message boards . :glasses8:

Rock hard is still very much in business, being managed by a Thai, whilst the American owner Mitchel, is away overseas and of course, that legend in his own lunchtime, the one and only Monty, is still going strong a couple of doors away from Rock Hard at Jomtien's very own emulation of the razz a ma taz of Vegas, The Enchanted Hut Only joking. I have known some survivors in my time, but none I can tell you, that come anywhere close to being the survivor that that old goat is. Monty my man, respect where it is deserved. :notworthy:

On my rare sorties down to the complex, I rarely if ever get out of that one particular soi. There are a couple of massage parlours on the third soi that I have seen mentioned here from time to time, that I know very little about, so will let others report on those as well as whether or not they are still operating.


Choc Dee Irish,


George.

Edit. It looks as though Piston beat me with his post and covered a lot of what I did. However, I don't think there was too much if anything that we disagreed on. What say you Piston?

[piston10]

Nothing to disagree with, and on the possibilty of the Bondi recovering - well, I'm in no position to judge. Thought you found a very nice way of commenting on Monty's Hut. I rather copped out on that one!

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[Smiles]

" ... Thought you found a very nice way of commenting on Monty's Hut. I rather copped out on that one! ... "
And jolly good thing too! I hear that neither smoking, nor the wai-ing of Mamasans, nor the wearing of black tube socks with sandals is allowed there.

Cheers ...

Mamasans are adult human beings. If they wai you, it is absolutely proper to wai them back. I would not initiate a wai to them, though, as it is you who are the customer -- respect should be initiated by them first, but should be acknowledged.

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Yes, it is acceptable to dip your head.

It is also acceptable -- and more polite -- to wai them back.

DELETED

Mamasans are adult human beings. If they wai you, it is absolutely proper to wai them back. I would not initiate a wai to them, though, as it is you who are the customer -- respect should be initiated by them first, but should be acknowledged.

I agree with you totally that mama-sans are adult human beings, although in a few cases, that point may well be argued by some. :glasses8:

However, with regard to your statement that one should wai them back if they first wai you, I have to agree with JB and say with respect, that this is load of absolute cods. If one were to do so and I m only too aware that there are those that do wai them, as well as every other member of staff in the bar, you would be looked upon with ridicule by the Thais for doing so, as those that do are.

Those that have been living here for any length of time should know, that to wai anyone that is in a position whereby they are serving you, is totally wrong. I don't personally care if some farangs who should know better by now, continue to wai mama-sans along with the boys in the clubs they visit and chant the mantra whilst doing so; just as long as they are aware, that when doing so, they will be looked upon as an ignorant farang that mai mee samong.


George.

George,

You don't hang out around many Thais, do you?

Make an observation. You will see that SOME do not return the wai of a Mamasan (those are invariably the ones who think they are better than everyone else) and SOME do. When a boy comes to sit down with a Thai, the boy invariably wais him. Many wai back. Many do not.

Neither is "right" or "wrong". You will NOT, though, see a Thai INITIATE a wai with someone serving him. That is where many farangs end up looking silly. You will NEVER look silly returning a wai to an adult, and I find that it is appreciated. You can make your own choice.

[Sen Yai]

George,

You don't hang out around many Thais, do you?

Make an observation. You will see that SOME do not return the wai of a Mamasan (those are invariably the ones who think they are better than everyone else) and SOME do. When a boy comes to sit down with a Thai, the boy invariably wais him. Many wai back. Many do not.

Neither is "right" or "wrong". You will NOT, though, see a Thai INITIATE a wai with someone serving him. That is where many farangs end up looking silly. You will NEVER look silly returning a wai to an adult, and I find that it is appreciated. You can make your own choice.

Mr Quisp has it exactly right, according to my experience too.