omg...had no idea...
omg...had no idea...
How depressing!
I think I'll just look to the future and not concern myself with what we have lost. It's all too sad.
But thanks, Halcyon, for the incredible effort you have put into your research, not to mention the time you put into typing it all up.
Thanks Halcyon....that was a job worth doing! I've just dug-out my copy of the Michael Burchill book about the formation of Boyztown with its appendix of gay bars (now out of date, of course) and will do some comparisons.
Halcyon (February 1st, 2020)
Well done. Probably got a few more photos to add.
Halcyon (February 1st, 2020)
Depressing, certainly, but somewhat misleading. I wonder what the maximum number of bars that ever existed AT ANY ONE TIME is. More than 50, no doubt, but as many as 100? I doubt it. Sunee's loss is Jomtien's gain, for instance. I'm not suggesting there's not a big decline, but maybe the picture is not quite as bleak as it looks at first glance.
snotface (February 2nd, 2020)
christianpfc (February 2nd, 2020), Halcyon (February 1st, 2020), Jellybean (February 1st, 2020), Patanawet (February 4th, 2020), poshglasgow (February 17th, 2022)
My first visit to Pattaya was in 1985 or 1986 - only a few Gay bars here at that time. I met my present bf in 1991, he worked at the Ambiance Hotel coffee shop. At that time, the Amor (Boystown) was a Go Go bar - later becoming the restaurant - Richard Burk, owner of the restaurant told me because the sign was already there, he kept Amor as the name of his restaurant.
Another place not mentioned is the Homex Inn - this was a Gay hotel in North Pattaya with a pool bar frequented by free lancers. There was another bar in North Pattaya, the name escapes me, but it was perhaps the first gay bar, in Pattaya - but I think I would recognize the name if it were on the list - maybe someone will recall its name -- the boys dressed in street clothes unless they were dancing - sitting on the front of the stage. They also had soapy body massage shows.
Also, near Gentleman's Club was another bar called My Way - not sure but I think it was later became the Why Not (which is on the list).
Halcyon (February 1st, 2020)
I always suspected that Why Not was reflecting a famous bar in Amsterdam....and, by the way, that scene has declined almost as dramatically as Pattaya's.
I believe that Adam & Eve was considered to be the first gay bar in Pattaya, certainly the first outside Boyztown..