Continued from above...
SOI TANTAWAN
Much has changed on Soi Tantawan (Silom Soi 6), with none of the bars being exactly what they were before the pandemic. Yet, at the same time, it is all still same-same on this more dubious side of the scene, with some venues gone but not gone…
Tawan: If Jupiter is now ascendant, the sun is also rising. Tawan now offers the best line-up that it has had for years, with some of their guys looking like they stepped straight out of its heyday, including several major prize-winning bodybuilders. There is no shortage of hard bodies in this bar at the moment. At the end of August they had 30 guys on their official roster and they have continued to add top-notch talent to their stable. Admittedly, the bar still has its share of over-the-hill guys, including the pair who do the bang show.
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Tawan has been giving-out branded hand sanitisers to customers.
Tawan’s shows remain pretty much what the bar has long been known for: flexing shows, katoey lip-synching (featuring the most attractive katoey to be seen in any of the bars), a big cock show with the guys descending into the crowd and offering a chance to grope and feel, a bang show and their famous chuck wow show. The much smaller stage in the current venue also sees more of the action taking place at ground level. Tawan still offers a day time massage service. They have a couple of massage rooms on the upper floor which double as short-time rooms at night.
As previously noted, Tawan has moved to a smaller venue across the soi from its old location. According to the owner, it was not lack of business that prompted the move but, rather, the owner of the old building has not renewed the leases on the several contiguous properties that he owns. Redevelopment is coming to that section of soi 6, it would seem. Far from being a blow to Tawan though, the move seems to have shocked the owner out of his complacency and he has gone on a recruitment drive and says that he is looking for a suitable larger venue.
The biggest change in the bar has not been its halving in size but in the lighting within. The old bar offered many dark corners, allowing ample opportunities for dubious deeds. By contrast, the new bar is brightly lit, with all shenanigans visible to everyone. The other big change has been on prices. Tawan has always been the most expensive of the bars, with guys frequently quoting a thousand or more above what you would expect to pay in any of the other bars. No longer, though. Prices elsewhere have headed upwards while prices at Tawan have stood still or drifted down. One of their prize winners quoted 2,500, while even one of their two top stars quoted 3,000. Then again, on one occasion when I was there a lusty old farang offed two of the Tawan studs and took them upstairs, before staggering down 40 minutes later, having tipped them 4,000 each. This place still moves to its own rhythm…
What hasn’t changed though, are the attitudes. Tawan remains a friendly place. The lack of a mamasan system here continues to be one of its major advantages, with their free-range guys circulating around the bar and coming-up to introduce themselves. Discussing what the guys in Tawan wear would be pointless, given that the answer has always been “very little” or “nothing at all.” That hasn’t changed. No sign of black jeans here. The bar was also full or close to full on most nights that I visited. Not that it takes many people to fill the new venue. Tawan’s fan base has remained loyal and there were a couple of nights when it was absolutely packed though. More importantly, people continue to spend real money at this bar.
Drinks cost 400 baht each and off fees remain 500 baht. Tawan is on the up.
The New Twilight Bar is a welcome addition to the Bangkok scene. The bar is located directly opposite Nature Boy on Soi Anuman Ratchathon, which branches off from Soi Tarntawan at the junction where the Mango Tree restaurant is located. The bar is sleek, spacious and well laid-out, with comfortable seating, a large central stage and a large LED screen behind the stage. The owner is Chinese and the bar is targeted at Mainland Chinese. For now though, in the absence of the Chinese, they are focused on building-up their crew and working on their shows. The biggest negative in this place is that smoking is permitted; but that is only to be expected given their mainland Chinese target market.
Most boys are on the decent looking, lean-muscled, masculine side. Total numbers are still relatively small, but they are actively recruiting, with their crew being a mix of Thais and lads from neighbouring countries. The twink quotient is provided by the waiters, who are also offable – at least in theory. The mamasans are a younger bunch than you find elsewhere and actually quite pleasant, rather than overly in your face.
The place is still fining its footing and the rough edges give it its own appeal. Boys are generally in jeans, except at show time. The bar is clearly aiming for a more sophisticated type of show along the lines of Jupiter and Moonlight, but they still have some way to go with their new recruits occasionally out of step with the choreography on stage. Mercifully, there is a low katoey factor in New Twilight, with a ladyboy only prominent during some of the choreographed dance numbers. As with Jupiter and Moonlight, the shows feature no nudity. The highlight of the show is a crew of very handsome young B-Boys with an impressive routine. The B-Boys are not offable, although they are available to join you for a drink in the bar.
Considering the number of drinks that I bought in this place, it is somewhat galling that I can’t remember whether they were priced at 350 baht or 400. 350 baht comes to mind, though. Off fees are 500 baht and the mamasans have tablets that state the tip for boy as 2.500 for short time and 5,000 baht for long time.
The Sleaze Bars: Of the three, old, sleaze bars on the soi – the Golden Cock, Nature Boy and Super A – there is also somewhat to be reported. As previously noted, the Golden Cock is now operating from the Nature Boy premises, with signage for both the Golden Cock and Nature Boy still at that venue. A number of guys from the old GC are to be found in that bar. Their presence has done away with the need for Nature Boy to constantly dredge-up waifs from who knows where to populate their bar. The Golden Cock / Nature Boy combo has now done away with any pretentions of being an a go-go and is now, supposedly, a karaoke bar that is open all night. On my first visit, there was one boy in the bar (ex-GC) and on my second visit at 1:00 a.m. on a different night, a grand total of three. To be fair to them though, there were considerably more guys hanging around the bar on an occasion when I did not stop and go in. The old katoey concierge from Super A (referred to by some as “the long-haired boy”) is now the doorman at Nature Boy. He informed me that Super A is to reopen sometime in September. If anyone ought to know, it would be him, but seeing is believing though. He also informed me that the Golden Cock will not be returning to its old digs as that building has now been leased by the Chinese owner of the New Twilight.
Further down towards the Silom end of Soi Tantawan, the dubious massage parlours are operating as normal, with their boys sitting outside. For those looking for a genuine and genuinely good Thai massage, on the other hand, Prime Massage is still the best option. Reservations are highly recommended as slots are often almost fully-booked, despite Prime extending across three, separate, buildings. At 400 baht for a 90 minute Thai massage and a minimum tip of 100 baht for the masseur, it’s an absolute steal.
SOI THANIYA 2
Soi Thaniya 2’s association with Bangkok’s gay nightlife goes back to the 1960s, when the original Twilight Bar stood at the entrance to the Soi and the Surawong Hotel provided a place to do the deed. On this trip I found an additional reason to visit the soi.
Surawong Café: Just opposite Moonlight is the newly-opened Surawong Café, which offers Western and Thai fare. It is co-owned by a genuinely sweet divorcee and her business partner, who was formerly a chef at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit. The pizza was excellent and the service was good, and they are open for lunch and dinner. Commenting on their somewhat hidden location, I suggested that they might do better on Patpong 2. She shared that apart from the higher rent in Patpong being a deterrent, the dreadful night market is set to return in December. Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen; but if it does it will crimp any hope of a real revival in nightlife on Patpong 1. Good food available here at decent prices and a nice alternative to Soi 4.
Moonlight: A couple of weekend trips to Moonlight show that the bar is doing well. Arriving rather early on a Friday night, the mamasan informed me that they had 24 boys on rotation that night. Their total line-up is now somewhere around 26 or 27 boys, excluding their overhyped “models”. Including those, the Moonlight crew now stands at perhaps 33 or 34 boys. Barring the models, their line-up is largely Cambodian. Thai faces are in short supply here. Most of the guys in the bar are in good shape and offs would seem to be reasonably common, with a separate late-night visit seeing a considerably reduced number of boys left in the bar. The crowd was almost exclusively Asian and decent for a Friday night. Unlike Jupiter, though, Moonlight has yet to see attendance return to pre-pandemic levels. The shows are also less elaborate than they were pre-pandemic and completely lacking in erotic content. Guys are mostly in dark jeans or trousers, with some in singlets and some bare-chested. The cover charge, including first drink is 400 baht. After midnight, second drinks are 250 baht. “Drink for boy” is 400 baht.
SOI 2 SILOM
I generally avoid the death trap that is Soi 2 but did stop-by on a Thursday night to see the state of things. DJ Station was quiet but the bar diagonal to it was packed with nerdy young East Asians and their female friends “dancing” to crap Korean music. The big change is the absence of working boys heading to Soi 2 in search of customers once the a go go bars close. Without the older farang or Southeast Asians who are willing to pay, there is little incentive for them to be there. Whether that makes the vibe on soi 2 more or less fun right now is a matter of opinion. I personally couldn’t care less. People on the soi were having a good time and that’s what matters. Bangkok is swinging again.
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