everal readers have asked us why we don't provide ratings for Night Entertainment Venues. The answer is quite simple - it's a mug's game. We know, we tried it with A Go-Go bars some years back. We had hoped our ratings would inspire A Go-Go management to improve their service to the customer, and thereby improve business. Instead, we found they would prefer to debate the issues with us - rather than improve their services.
Nevertheless, we continue to get readers' requests - so we decided to provide you with a "Do-It-Yourself Kit" - rate the A Go-Gos yourself - and, should you be so inclined, let the world know what you think..... Below is our updated form - feel free to copy it and to use it entirely discriminately, but without limit. -To be fair, visit each bar on two separate nights before evaluating. Using a starting score of "100", deduct points appropriately in the right hand column, and tally below....
A Go-Go Bar Evaluation Sheet (Tough Love - Version 3)
* This form has been revised, and then re-revised, to make it partial to neither customers nor bar management. It's most recent update was Dec 2014, and can be used to evaluate anyA Go-Go bar. Before you evaluate a bar, visit it on two separate occasions (different nights) - to insure fairness - then record your general appraisal on this form.
And should you, just by chance, find that a number of A Go-Go Bars are not providing the same high-quality service as can be found in Bangkok's pubs, or other Nitespots, you might begin to understand why A Go-Go Bars are, on average, falling out of favor here in Bangkok.....
Good evening to you. Just read your latest column on Soi's Lang Suan and Sarasin.
Just wondering, are those bars like The General's Son normal bars - or are they lady bars like those in Soi 33? Personally, I prefer the lady bars at Soi 33 than those in Cowboy and Nana.
Besides Soi 33, are there any other places with the same concept?
Thanks,
A.
Greetings, A,
The General's Son (a tribute by the son to his father) is a pub-bistro, where one would bring one's girlfriend, or go alone. This would apply to the Stonehouse also, although the Stonehouse is more popular with expats. Same goes for the Wine Bridge, although, again, mostly Thai clientele. The Nitespots on Lang Suan don't have hostesses like the Soi 33 venues. The chances of finding any 'action' on Soi Sarasin are slim but not non-existent.
Soi 33 is rather unique in it's offering of expat-oriented lounge bars with hostesses. Similarly, there is a short-row of lounge bars up on The Ramp on Patpong 2 which caters mostly to Thais, but expats are more than welcome. Also, you may want to take a look at Soi Eden (Soi 7/1), although the bars there are, for the most part, more like glorified bar beers than lounge bars There are other areas / venues that have hostesses, however they are not geared to Western expats [Soi Thaniya for Japanese, and Sri Nakarin (to name but one) for Thais].
We can answer virtually any (reasonable) question on the Expat Night Entertainment Scene in Bangkok - be it Historical or very recent. Send us an e-mail and we will do our best to answer you soonest.
The upstairs Lucifer has dropped the "Disko Tk" from it's name and freshened up the entranceway. They aren't always open - opening later, on weekends and holidays. Let's see if this changes now that the flood of cool season tourists are starting to hit the Nitespots....
PATPONG I
The Holiday Season brought out a number of 'lights & decoration' vendors - making for a colorful, if too cramped visit to Patpong I.
PATPONG I
The Muzzik Cafe has a new house band. And they do know how to rock 'n roll. Worth a visit. Let it roll on....
The Dollhouse, renovations now completed, are up to a full head of steam (they remained open during renovations). The coyote girls once again are dancing out front, and all is status quo ante. Let the good times roll....
SOI COWBOY
Just when we thought it couldn't happen, it appears as though yet another bar is preparing to open on Soi Cowboy. (In the shophouse between the Cockatoo and the Sahara). Should be opening this month. Rumors aside, we will wait to see what name they nail up over their door.....
NEW YEAR'S EVE at Nana Plaza, while busy with the influx of cool season customers, was somehow different than in recent years. Sure, at midnight there was the cheering, and even a number of small fireworks displays out on the street, but up until then, it was pretty much 'business-as-usual' in the NEP.
Both Temptations and the new Candy Land 2 were doing their share of business, but there was no real 'party atmosphere' to be found.
More in the 'Thai tradition' for BangkokNight Entertainment Venues was Spanky's, where they stacked the gifts up for a later 'exchange'. Well done, lads - and ladies....
Spellbound, also busy, had at least put up some party balloons for New Year's Eve. But no real New Year's enthusiasm seeped into the NEP last night.
But perhaps we have only ourselves to blame... Perhaps this falls into the category of 'Unrealistic Expectations'. We recall previous years when the 'David' bars and the 'P....' bars held sway, and there was luk thung, and a spry young mor lam miss, or two, performing in the corners - hitting us with a little luk thung prayuk, party hats, and all the rest...
Nevertheless, Bangkok Eyes wishes all a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Up on the 2nd level, the Hot Lips, which came onto the Nitescene only in April 2014, has gone the way of the Paraprotopteryx. Popping up in it's place is the Candy Land 2 (the original Candy Land still bumping and grinding in the old G-Spot digs). Welcome to the machine.
Last month we noted Guess had come back to life. This month we note it's demise, but this time it won't be coming out for the next round. In it's place is the new Chaos 9, with, apparently, an all girl crew - for a change of pace.... Located in the Rajah Hotel compound. May the nightwinds blow kindly....
SOI NANA
Strikers Sports Pub hosted a Christmas party this year - to the enjoyment of all. We have to admit, management inviting customers to dance with the coyotes is a 'first'. Located in the Rajah Hotel compound.
The Happy Pub Bar opened recently in a 'hole-in-the-wall' not previously occupied by a Night Entertainment Venue. It is located in Soi Starlight, about 30 feet in. Let the nightgames begin.
Door Art Of The Month
Award
The Happy Pub is a tiny bar with a tiny sign, but still radiating that 'welcome' aura. Best door-artwork we've seen in a long time.
NANA PLAZA
The Bongkoch Massage has taken over the real estate previously home to the Lotus 22 Massage. Opening up a new massage parlor when so many others are closing down on Soi 22 takes a strong nerve - and a stronger purse (if one wants to wait out the slump caused by the closing of the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel).
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
'Nothing new under the Rising Sun'? Don't tell the people at the Bit Style Fantasy Massage. They will be offering 'No 1 Super Models' for those wanting to indulge in whatever fantasies. And they should be opening right about..... now.... We'll steal a peek and confirm next issue. Located in Soi Starlight.
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
The Siriporn Massage has seen it's End-of-days, and the digs have been taken over by Love Me Bar & Massage. May there always be a chinchoke on their sign. Also located in Soi Starlightt - a sub-soi that seems to be growing legs...
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
Could it be a shroud is being drawn across the May Massage after all these years? Arguably the best legitimate Thai Massage on the Soi, it is now sporting a "For Lease" (Seng) sign in big bold letters. They say there is just not enough business, and their masseuses are starting to drift away to other massage parlors.... Time will reveal all....
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
We made note last month of the yet-to-be opened Be Rich Massage, and wondered about it's status. Now we know; it has opened (newly) and eagerly getting into the fray. Welcome to the Big Uneasy. Located in Soi Lemongrass.
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
The Sofa Thai Massage has succumbed to Darwin's harsh call. Opening in November of 2013, they were unable to keep up in a Night Entertainment Area experiencing a flood of new massage parlors as well as a declining tourist market on that Soi.
- File photo
SOI 22 - (Sukhumvit)
The 2nd floor Anego Massage has thrown in the steamy towel (the below pic is actually the common-use sign for the Restaurant and the Massage Parlor). While the sign remains, the upstairs massage rooms have been stripped bare. Located directly across the Soi from the closed Imperial Queen's Park Hotel, this doesn't come as a large surprise...
Lips threw all their ice cubes into the street and went home (yes, they did). Unconfirmed reports said they were sent to the penalty box by the "authorities" for certain operating indiscretions. 'Unconfirmed report' equals 'rumor' - you didn't hear it here first. On their reopening, should there be such, we shall be there, camera in hand....
SOI DEAD ARTISTS - SOI 33
The ladies at the Ran Hime Club were driven from their usual curbside perches to the upper verandah by an unseasonal rain last weekend. Otherwise, business as usual.
SOI DEAD ARTISTS - SOI 33
The Bar Kizuna has promised the owner that they will be a quiet live music venue, a quiet karaoke and a quiet bar with no bar girls. ....Our bookie wouldn't talk to us. They should be opening sometime in the first or second week in January.
What started out as the Wax quickly became the Wax Late. Then, after a brief renovation, it became the Wax Sugar Club. Then it quickly became just Sugar Club. We hear that the genesis is complete, however, and we welcome them to the Bangkok tar-pit.
SOI AMBASSADOR - SOI 11
Opened last May, the The Lollipop 1, has run headlong into the Abyss. It's namesake specialty massage parlor still soaps 'em down on Sukhumvit Soi 10, however....
Nazabar, the small bar beer adjacent to the Baan Beer slipped quietly into the night last month, leaving the door open, figuratively, for The Star. Modus operandi unchanged. Welcome to partytown.
QUEEN'S PARK PLAZA - SOI 22
The Baan Beer was, once upon a time, a Beer garden - Restaurant. It is now, mostly, a pool bar - and feral cat refuge. One of the oldest Venues in the QPP, may they keep on keeping on.
The previous Saturday night saw an unseasonal 'monsoon' rain chase away the passing foot traffic from Soi Eden. But 'storms never last', (in this case, a little over an hour) - customers returning later in the evening....
Bangkok Eyes goes back in time to see
Who was new - And who was through
in the Expat Night Entertainment world.
How many of these old 'oases'
do you remember ?
Patpong I
* The upstairs Signal Bar closed it's doors for good. It was located upstairs on the Surawong Road side of Mizu's.
* The Erotic Bar Classic Ago Go opened upstairs in the then recently closed Max's Bar digs. It was located approximately upstairs from the Safari. The Erotic Bar Classic Ago Go is no longer in business. The Safari currently remains open.
* The Sexy Bar opened newly in the upstairs area formerly home to A's Bar. Located just above today's King's Castle II in what is the (current) Club 66 digs.
Patpong 2
* The Imagine closed. It was located above the Memphis Queen. No Nitespot currently occupies that space.
* The Marina Cocktail Lounge took over the reins from the then recently defunct Montana Pub. It was located up on The Ramp in the real estate now occupied by The World (Linda's Place).
* The Top Light Bar opened in what is today's Pinocchio's. It didn't last long in that location. It had been closed for many years, but recently opened up under the same name, now next door to it's original location.
Soi Cowboy
* The Disco Tak (sic) opened above the Eros Bar. Eros was located in what is one half of today's Lighthouse.
Nana Plaza
* No changes that month / year.
Soi Katoey(Silom Soi 4)
* No changes that month / year.
Buckskin Joe Village(~ March 1988 - 9 June 2006)
(Also known -originally- as Tobacco Road or Soi Rot Fai, and later as Machim [Thai] and Soi Zero)
* The Bottoms Up bar beer closed
* The Pro Hand Thai Massage opened newly that month.
* The Arnold Bar also opened it's doors for the first time.
* The Lucky Touch Bar was also a newcomer to the Nitespot Area that month
* The Havana Restaurant & Karaoke was also new to the scene that month.
* The Hong Aharn Phu Kadung is now newly reported - as of the relocation of the Bar Area away from the railroad tracks..
Graffiti - the Dark Side
SOMETIMES IT'S NEITHER ART NOR FUNNY
When George Duddy, the Democratic Unionist Party's mayor of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, looked out his window last Sunday, he saw a brand new bit of graffiti sprayed on his home. This was the fifth such incident in recent times and by far the least pleasant. It read, "Curry my yougrt, oil my AK-47".
The spraypainted vandalism was the result of something that happened three days earlier in the Northern Ireland Assembly. MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly)Gregory Campbell, not coincidentally of the Democratic Unionist Party, uttered, in-chamber, "Curry my yoghurt can coca coalyer", something opposition MLAs thought was both tasteless and humorless.
It seems MLACampbell had long been nuturing a festering hate-brace for the Legislature's unwritten protocol of having each speaker introduce himself with the Irish language, "Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle" (which translates approximately as "Thank you, Speaker"). No longer able to contain himself, MLACampbell took that very public opportunity to lampoon the honorable and ancient Irish phrase. One would think that Campbell, himself being Irish, would not have found the use of this phrase objectionable, however he saw, and still unapologetically sees, this as a partisan remark used solely as a political statement by opposition members. His further objections are that the greeting is entirely superfluous, and understood by almost no one.
For his trouble, and for his intolerable rudeness, MLACampbell was suspended from speaking in NIA chambers for one entire day. Which didn't really affect him, as the following day he was in London on other matters.
Meanwhile, because of the content (presumably the reference to the AK-47), police are treating the graffiti spraying of MayorDuddy's home as a hate crime. On the following Wednesday, several properties in the Coleraine area were searched by police, and a number of items were confiscated. They have subsequently arrested, and then released two suspects. The investigation continues.
PATPONG I 
TOP
January's Nightlife News 
everal readers have asked us why we don't provide ratings for Night Entertainment Venues. The answer is quite simple - it's a mug's game. We know, we tried it with A Go-Go bars some years back. We had hoped our ratings would inspire A Go-Go management to improve their service to the customer, and thereby improve business. Instead, we found they would prefer to debate the issues with us - rather than improve their services.
2002 - 2014, BANGKOK EYES /
bangkokeyes.com