A walk through the Complex

After my meal at Tinnies pie shop last night I took a walk back to my condo through the Complex. At first everywhere looked deceptively bright and businesses were open, though there was a distinct lack of that necessary commodity known as customers. Some of the roadside food kiosks, Dick's Cafe, the two massage places, the barbers, the grocery store, the two coffee places, Antz - all were open. On moving across to the main gay soi (which I never think of as 'supertown' - daft name - and especially now), it was a different picture, much gloomier in more senses than one. Dim lighting at the Venue, which was presumably open for business, but no leg kick or twirl has been performed in earnest on stage there for many a month. A few shadowy figures at Dodo bar and about a dozen more at Sun bar, mainly boys eating, chatting, drinking in subdued fashion - both bars have space for them to sleep. Mid-soi, lights were on at Divarium Cafe (formerly QM2 bar) and at Dolce Vita restaurant opposite, a sprinkling of customers in each. Most places were in darkness, the owners no doubt tucked away inside feverishly running strings of worry beads through their fingers.

Two surprising observations. The long-empty double unit between Dolce Vita and Sun bar has been converted into a 'night club' (according to a sparse webpage) called Dragon Music Lounge. The metal shutters were down last night, but lights were on when I passed it a couple of nights earlier and it seemed likely from my quick look that plenty of money has been spent on it - intricately-patterned lighting effects, spanking new tables and seating, I didn't see the rest of it. It seems to be aiming at a mostly younger Thai clientele and I have my doubts about its ability to stay the course. The night club idea was tried at a place on the bend of Thappraya Road opposite the golden statue a year or more ago and didn't last long. Putting something similar in a soi where the average customer age is about 65 is asking for trouble in my opinion.

Further down the soi, next to BC bar, another long-empty double unit is in the process of being overhauled. All I know about its future is that there is a professionally-produced new sign over it with the wording 'Dorothy's Showbar' on it. This does not immediately fill me with confidence, conjuring up images of tired, camp gay culture of years gone by. But I freely admit that I could be quite wrong about that - it might soon have near-naked boys greeting customers with hugs, somersaults and leg-splits for all I know.

My first reaction to both of these new ventures was one of astonishment. Given the present dire economic situation, I thought them recklessly conceived and probably doomed to failure. But there was some reassurance there too. As long as risk-taking nutters exist, my belief that the Pattaya gay scene will eventually recover is reinforced. Soon you might not even have to be a nutter to contemplate opening a gay business again. As for the direction of any recovery, in Jomtien anyway, we seem to be headed for more places offering some kind of entertainment and fewer plain beer bars. A mixture seems fine to me.

At the mouth of the soi the Poseidon hotel stood forlorn-looking and dimly-lit. No sign of anyone eating inside. A young male member of staff was pacing about and swinging his arms backwards and forwards in what could have been boredom or despair (or, of course, just an urge for a bit of exercise). I doubt whether many, if any, rooms are currently occupied. I feel sorry for the German owner Heiko. He told me after the first lockdown that another one would finish him off and there has been much starting and stopping since then. I walked on to my condo, where every morning I awaken with gratitude for my good fortune in being able to live comfortably in a world gone crazy.

Great review of the Complex. Much appreciated.

I cruise through the Complex often, but always in the early morning hours which doesn't tell me much.

Your report reaffirms my beliefs, and those of my personal advisor - Tong Taxi Man - that the Complex, as well as the other gay areas in Pattaya, are poised to reopen in all their glory. Well...maybe not as glorious as days-gone-by, but glorious to the majority of us who just want the venues open again none-the-less.

Thanks again.

Thanks snotface it was nice to see an honest assessment.

Thanks for that snotface.

I'm bewildered; Le Cafe Royal effectively killed-off Boyztown for many of my generation of gay travellers and, at the same time, was an abysmal and mightily- expensive failure, and so why more "show bars"? How large a market is there for lip-syncing khatoeys? The evidence from Boyztown suggests that it's both small and probably straight. Devotees can take a bus along Second Road if that's their cup of tea.

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Originally Posted by Oliver2

Thanks for that snotface.

I'm bewildered; Le Cafe Royal effectively killed-off Boyztown for many of my generation of gay travellers and, at the same time, was an abysmal and mightily- expensive failure, and so why more "show bars"? .

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As long as there are Brits, there will be show bars.:devilsh:

"As long as there are Brits, there will be show bars. "

Show bars are loud, brash, fake, large of girth, garish and full of people in brightly coloured fuller figure clothes. Just like Florida.

Posts relating to gay bars in Cambodia have been moved here :

https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showt...0-Gay-bar-news

A447
Moderator

i like florida...

I'm not really a Show Person but I like the fact that the Complex will have a mix of venues. Stage shows attract customers - and more customers attract more boys.

I loved the shows that Kevin Quill used to choreograph at "Throb" back in the day. I remember one show where the boys were dressed in sexy sailor outfits with short white pants leaving almost nothing to the imagination. They were lip-syncing the song "I'm gonna wash that man right outa my hair" from the movie "South Pacific" - while a rather robust farang transvestite was doing backflips off the stage. What's there not to like?

The fact that the majority of places in the Complex have not been vacated and are still poised to reopen should be encouraging to everyone. They all deserve our support regardless of what venues they offer. It's all under the "Rainbow".

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Originally Posted by Dodger

I loved the shows that Kevin Quill used to choreograph at "Throb" back in the day.

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I agree with you. The routine that comes to mind is the famous monkey costume one where boys would hop about on stage, make monkey noises, scratch themselves under the armpits and then come down and pretend to remove nits from the hair of amused/mildly embarrassed farang customers. Great fun.

So much with these shows depends on the imaginative flair of the director/choreographer and unfortunately that is in short supply in most bars. An exception was Adam's Apple bar in Chiang Mai, oh, a couple of decades ago now. For a couple of years they had very entertaining shows with lots of humour, the bawdier the better (a vital ingredient). There was one involving boy scouts and a strict scoutmaster twirling his cane that comes to mind.

When it's just self-adoring ladyboys prancing about in their feathers and sequins and lipsynching away (usually badly), I, like others here, lose all interest. I have been known to attend the Venue show more often than I care to admit, but that had nothing to do with the ladyboys and everything to do with one of the boy dancers who I fancied like crazy... Never got me anywhere [sigh]

Throb at its best was unbeatable. And, bluntly, had little in common with the khaotoey shows that followed its demise. Comedy and self-deprecation were replaced by preening. And ludicrous costumes.

And what was lost by Throb's closure? to begin with, full houses- once I counted two hundred people, utilising small, uncomfortable stools because the seats were full. Unsurprisingly, three show bars offering the same product rarely attracted audiences into double figures.

Unlike the show bars, Throb appealed to all sorts and conditions of mankind.... I loved the old woman who nearly wet her knickers when her husband was dragged onto the stage by two randy monkeys who proceeded to attempt anal entry. What tales she had to tell her Darby and Joan Club! Meanwhile, the more-favoured among us, the gays, could enjoy watching some cute dancers who weren't pretending to be ladies.

It was engagingly unpretentious- older posters in the UK may recall The Scout Show back in the 50s- but it was fun and popular. I fear that we shall never see its like again.

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Originally Posted by Dodger

They were lip-syncing the song "I'm gonna wash that man right outa my hair" from the movie "South Pacific" - while a rather robust farang transvestite was doing backflips off the stage. What's there not to like?

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Well, the robust farang transvestite doing backflips comes immediately to mind! Lol

Best of all was for me the interpretation of that awful "Barcelona" song. Khun Oh frequently had the old coach-party ladies falling out of their chairs with laughter.

I must stop this before the tears of nostalgia start rolling down my cheeks!

ive really enjoyed this thread...thanks...i do have a lingering fear that the crazy unbridled Thailand may never return...i have lived through difficult times...so nothing really sur;rises me anymore...

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Originally Posted by Oliver2

.

I must stop this before the tears of nostalgia start rolling down my cheeks!

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A gift to you from Khun Oh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1fiOJDXA-E

Thanks....but Caballe and Mercury just don't do the song justice. For me, Khun Oh provides the urtext, giving it exactly what it deserves.....laughs..

If the two goliaths of Boyztown, BBB and the old Cafe Royal want to reopen successfully they're going to have to appwal to that other that the Chinese. Over the last decade or so I watched many businesses gear themselves to that market. Without exception all changed their minds as their other customers disappeared and their standards fell away. If this pandemic signals the end of the Chinese tour groups then at least some good will have come out of it..

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Originally Posted by arsenal

If the two goliaths of Boyztown, BBB and the old Cafe Royal want to reopen successfully they're going to have to appwal to that other that the Chinese. Over the last decade or so I watched many businesses gear themselves to that market. Without exception all changed their minds as their other customers disappeared and their standards fell away. If this pandemic signals the end of the Chinese tour groups then at least some good will have come out of it..

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Catering to the Chinese was a necessary evil as Boystown lost its appeal to so many that the bar owners were left with little choice. The whole scene in Pattaya has changed so much over the years that the incentive for people to travel half way around the world has very much diminished, as the O.P. notes the customers that inhabit the complex are an average age of 65, unless the gay venues can enlarge their customer base the future is less than bright.

guess thgat with us homos being more widely accepted in the west the need to search for forbidden fruit in faraway lands in no longer needed

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Originally Posted by latintopxxx

guess thgat with us homos being more widely accepted in the west the need to search for forbidden fruit in faraway lands in no longer needed

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Just because we're more widely accepted doesn't necessarily mean we're going to find what we're searching for back in our Motherlands. Unless you're content having sex with someone the same age as you.

I shutter at the thought!

I live in close proximity to 2 high schools, a university and a technical college....i practically have to beat them off with a stick...but then im still on the right side of 50 and am not obese and smelly...lots of younger guys keen on older fit hung gjys endowed with natural good looks...and i have two spare bedrooms..often have students looking for "free" accomodation...

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Originally Posted by latintopxxx

I live in close proximity to 2 high schools, a university and a technical college....i practically have to beat them off with a stick...

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Wow...your life sounds so amazing!

I have this image of Antonio Banderas standing on a street corner across from a high school bus stop, with all the gay boys blowing him kisses and tossing love letters out the windows with the hopes that one may land near his feet.

I imagine your holidays in Thailand are needed just to take a break.

I'm not surprised... the guys know class when they see it!

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Originally Posted by latintopxxx

...i practically have to beat them off with a stick.

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Next time use one of these...

"Wow...your life sounds so amazing!

I have this image of Antonio Banderas standing on a street corner across from a high school bus stop, with all the gay boys blowing him kisses and tossing love letters out the windows with the hopes that one may land near his feet.

I imagine your holidays in Thailand are needed just to take a break."


Our latin is the Cyrano de Bergerac of his town. Serenading the impressionable young men of his acquaintance with his lute and mellow words. A flower placed through his lapel, a jaunty boater worn at a coquettishly alluring angle, the twinkle in his eye mirroring the twinkle of the stars, a warm soft smile enveloping polished pearly teeth and an occasional lick of the lips as he sings his slightly risque but never threatening ballads and sonets. Oh to be a mere boy at university when Monsieur Latin came a calling..

Yes indeed. I fact, I'm itching for date here in London. A slap-up meal in Macdonald's (I'm paying, of course) and then we can make the beast with two backs chez-moi.

How about it?

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Originally Posted by latintopxxx

I live in close proximity to 2 high schools, a university and a technical college....i practically have to beat them off with a stick...but then im still on the right side of 50 and am not obese and smelly...lots of younger guys keen on older fit hung gjys endowed with natural good looks...and i have two spare bedrooms..often have students looking for "free" accomodation...

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How to you beat a guy off with a stick?

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Originally Posted by francois

How to you beat a guy off with a stick?

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Am sure there are videos of this, if you look :devilsh:

I looked, I couldn't find any........there was a guy fucking a hole in a banana tree but I hesitated posting it in case it broke some obscure board rule about us not being allow to show the sexual abuse of trees or some such thing ! :)

I recall being called "a tree-hugger" by one poster....I wonder who it was?

If it was a banana tree then I've watched your video !!!! Shocking !!! lol

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Originally Posted by arsenal

Our latin is the Cyrano de Bergerac of his town. ..

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Cyrano was dreadfully ugly so if the shoe fits....