The Fading Away of Gay venues in Pattaya

I agree with most of you guys (except justme, sorry)

No need to put the whole list out again, but I will tell you about me/my situation.
I live here now 9 years (never been back home). I used to go out, to gay bars (mostly Sunee) a lot 3-4 times a week, then 2-3 times a week and now ones every 7-10 days and have not been in Sunee for over 9 months.

WHY, you ask? :alc:
Bored? YES, sick of the same faces, same stories, same drunks, same music, same boys, same same same and same. Guess I just got a few years older and also got sick of feeling like crap the next day after going on the drink.

BOYS, don't get me started. OK, I will. :evil4:
As cdnmatt put it they are so much more westernized, which means more greedy.
Yes, now days they want double the money, but preferably do nothing or less for it. They are just no fun anymore compared to 5 years or more ago.
Blame it on us, on the frustrated mamasans or on whomever, but the boys are just not that good and interesting anymore.

PRICES, for drinks in some places are just too much. :gy: The beer prices in the supermarkets stay the same, so why does it in the bar have to go up 10 baht every 6 months. You can hardly find a beer below 80 baht (Sunee) anymore in just a simple beerbar. Forget the gogobar's, I never was a real fan of them anyway.

Nowadays if I go out I enjoy myself in Thai places with some good Thai food and 50 baht beers and meet the most lovely Thai boys there who are happy to have a good long talk, share a bottle of whiskey together incl. the bill, which I mostly want to pay but most Thais like to share in the bill.
and yes even sex with these guys is possible.

As for Sunee, :tif: I think it is slowly dying and will be a 100% Arab area in a few years. They have already surrounded the area and a moving in for the kill. (pardon the expression) :notworthy:

[Dutchboy]

That┬┤s me again....Why is this happening to me? LOL
First time visitor of Sunee end of this month, and then one says that the area is slowly ┬┤┬┤fading away┬┤┬┤
Is it still worth paying a visit?
Or will I just see overpriced, bored, no good for real action ┬┤┬┤boys┬┤┬┤ (read-old men) there?

Well at least I can feel like being home in Amsterdam...6 euro for a beer :crybaby:

Actually Dutch it might be interesting to headr YOUR views of things when you get there - we all already know / have our own thoughts on both Sunee and Pattaya in general ( whether they be right or wrong is of course a whole other topic ) so you coming as a new pair of eyes will actually be quite interesting / refreshing and YOU can tell US what you think perhaps ?? :-)

Aside from that don't worry I'm sure your holiday won't be a wash out and you'll find enough boys in Pattaya to keep you happy :-) Although I do agree with you about the price of the bloody beer, it's getting beyond a joke :-( still a couple of cold ones in a few straight bars normally balances things out a bit I find and is a refreshing change of scenery from the same old same old I find sometimes.

[anonone]

Every so often, there is a post about the decline of the gay areas of Pattaya. I seem to recall seeing the same type of complaint when I first discovered Thailand a couple years ago. I thought they were a bit daft as I had the time of my life...and continue to with each and every visit. I agree it will be interesting to hear the impressions from Dutchboy.

There is a human tendency to recall the "good old days" with fondness and "rose colored glasses". Do not extrapolate to conclude that the present day is any worse....different is not always bad.

I think for the long term resident, they can become a bit bored and find the "same same" to be a bit monotonous. This is the same reason I do not go out to the bars with any frequency while at home. It quickly loses the appeal. For the visitor, it is a different experience.

There may also be a generational thing going on as well. I can see the retired guys having a different set of priorities than the younger tourist. This seems to come out in the "music too loud / not enough lights" comments compared to those of us that go full tilt at the clubs until 4 AM...or later. :tongue3: NOTE: I am not saying either is wrong or better, just that we tend to look for different things when chose how to spend or time. I continue to say Pattaya is a great place because of the variety to please most everyone and every mood.

As for the price of beer, the highest price I can recall ever paying in Pattaya is 200 baht for a can of beer at X Boys. That equates to about $6 USD, which is still quite a bit short of 6 Euro. While pricey, it also comes with a great, explicit action show that is great fun on occasion. Of course, this is not a nightly stop for me nor where I would go to do some serious drinking. Gogo bar price for a bottle of beer is more typically 120-150 Baht, sometimes as low at 99 Baht in low season (Happy Place during happy hour as one example). From a tourist perspective, not at all unreasonable for holiday fun.

I will return in 2 weeks to take full advantage of the entire package. Most importantly to spend time with my BF, but also reasonably priced hotel accommodations, great food everywhere at cheap prices, stunningly beautiful Thai companionship whenever the mood strikes , cheap massage opportunities every day, all wrapped up in a customer service environment that you find in Asia.

There is always room for improvement and innovation when it comes to the bars and clubs, but the gay venues of Pattaya are far from becoming extinct.

Well, I don't hanker after "the old days", I'm not a resident, and I've never once complained about loud music.

However, I do know that Sunee is a shadow of what it was 10 years ago in terms of the number and variety of bars.

I also know that the "entertainment" in BT is essentially the same as it was 10+ yrs ago - the shows in Copa & BBB are no different, only the songs have changed. Go into most of the gogo bars and you could stepping back 20 years.

I also know that drinks prices have never been higher (and I would say 160-180B is more like the average if you exclude Happy Place), the
booze content has never been weaker, and the boys (whilst still delightful and charming) are certainly more commercially aware than before in so far as many just want to do the deed (or not) and claim the reward.

Finally, I also know that each year whether its high or low season the numbers on the streets and in the bars are down.
It seems to me that "High season" is now really only 6 or 7 weeks long Dec-Jan.

All of the above is, for me, facts - not nostalgia.

I'm glad you enjoy your trips and long may that continue - I just find that it's all getting a bit played out.


:dontknow:

[Impulse]

I have a great time whenever I go (once a year for a month). I view the glass as half full, maybe that helps me.
I can't keep up with all the sex and all the missed opportunities when I'm there. Plenty of bois and excitement. I'm not a big drinker so the prices don't bother me.
I'll grab a stack of 20 baht notes and throw them in the air at least once a trip and watch the bois go crazy grabing them up. I love sunnee and boys town. Plenty to keep me busy and no need for gay romeo. And the host bars are great fun too. Even walking street I met a real cutie at that gay bar and did'nt have time to go back and off him. My only problem is staying healthy for the whole trip but that is what dr Oliver is there for.
You only live once.

[christianpfc]

First time visitor of Sunee end of this month, and then one says that the area is slowly ┬┤┬┤fading away┬┤┬┤
Is it still worth paying a visit?

No need to worry. Claims about the decline of gay entertainment for Farang have been posted regularly since I started reading these forums more than 2 years ago. Whenever I went for holiday to Thailand, be it high season or low season, I found myself more or less satisfied with the situation. (Ok, I am optimistic and can be easy to satisfy.)

I once read somewhere (citation needed) that already the old Greek complained about the youth, and that was 2500 years ago.

(Looking at the current economical situation in Greece, they must have been right!)

[Neal]

There is no doubt that there is a decline in tourists from 10,15, and 20 years ago when it was elbow to elbow but there is still lots to see and do and enough boys to keep ya busy. I too have been reading all along about the decline and it's almost gone. Bullshit. It's not salmost gone and it ain't gonna be gone in the next few years. Like everywhere, once you have done it for so many times or so many years, it gets boring and you look for something new and exciting. a new thrill if you want to call it that. I came to Pattaya 11 years ago and sure while it is nothing like 11 years ago, it's still great fun and a great deal. Rooms for $29.00, drinks from $1.50 US to $6.00 in an air conditioned bar with a show and boys lusting all around you.

Do a search on something like is Boyztown dying or similar to that and you will see years of threads full of it. Really I get tired of these doomsday threads.
You don't like it, find and go where you want to go but please stop saying this place is dead cause it just is not. :alc:

[bucknaway]

The internet and cheap flights has helped trend new paths in gay vacations. With more guys turning to online dating and weekend sexual hook-ups by way of the internet, many are not interested in flying over 20 hours in a plane and then having to deal with customs as well as homeland security. I myself can't think of one single trip back from Thailand where a travel bag was not damaged or items removed from it by theft of homeland security or airport workers.

Thailand's rising entertainment costs now has to compete with the world dished up on message board forums, facebook chats, gay travel blogs and the like. Is it over for Thailand? No way! Are times-a-changing? Yes and for the better, if you are a gay traveler.

....I once read somewhere.. the old Greek complained about the youth, and that was 2500 years ago.

The old Greeks were always complaining about the youths - .....won't bend over readily enough...too tight...not tight enough....etc etc.

:occasion9: