sing a song lao

[Guest]

This is 'almost' my first entrée into this board so let me know if this is considered off topic.

This is in response to those who think they've done everything there is to do in Pattaya - try it, you may like it. Note, not real names herein.

Recently I was sitting in a GF's bar on Beach road. Her Thai boss (Axx), who's owned the bar for 25 years, and I were discussing the relative attributes of Tony's - loud, semi interesting music, expensive, loud, full of eye candy, loud, etc. Well you get the idea. He ended the discussion with an invitation to go to 'sing a song Lao' and see what a real entertainment complex should be (did ya hear that Tony?). So we set a date for the next evening.

Arriving at the bar at 9 PM with the GF in tow, I paid the bar fine for the Axx (strange isn't it) to join us, the GF already being BF'd for a few days. We were also joined by my friend Jxx, his GF, mamasan, and a moto taxi driver - Nxx - to plan the evening. I invited Jxx and company, but I still don't know where mamasan and the Nxx came into this scenario, but here they are, sucking up drinks on my bin. Nxx - as I was to learn later - was about 30 or so, from Hat Yai, female, but preferred women over men - this was told to me several times by all involved, just in case I couldn't grasp the concept. Nxx was looking for a room mate and my GF was a candidate, but I don't think my GF's boy friend (not me!) would have gone along with it anyway. Strange how these things become apparent after a few beers.

Mamasan had to work (thank Buddha) so the rest of us, sans Nxx, piled into a baht bus, and speed down Beach Road at high speed with Nxx following 4 feet behind us, waving, speeding up and down, and being encouraged to 'hop aboard' with her moto. Zipping inland from Walking Street, we soon arrived at what could be called a covered parking lot, for the princely sum of 50b - I guess the baht bus driver didn't want to join, but he did give us a discount since we were only half mao and would need all our resources at such an early hour.

The 'sing a song Lao' had a tin pitched roof, fencing for walls, and a concrete floor. Stained vinyl covered tables were strewn about in semi straight lines from the dance floor to the back wall and maybe 6 isles wide. Most had a fan above (thank Buddha here too!) and chairs of various types and condition around the tables. We picked one, almost in the middle, with an operating fan and all sat down. I was at one end, on the side, GF next door, Jxx and GF across and Nxx and Axx on the end. On the end by me was a small cart full of booze that someone ordered - from here on out, things got really strange and hard to follow. I ended up with a beer in a glass from the large Heineken bottle - an insult to hard drinkers if there ever was one - but what's worse, though out the evening, when ever I got a refill (often) I also got ICE in the beer, disgusting - good think I was mao at the time or I'd have left.

The GF was drinking Thai whiskey with soda which is a problem all by it self - she can't handle whiskey well, doesn't like soda, and likes a full glass. The others were drinking something or another, what ever it was it sure kept the waiter busy poring drinks. Don't think he ever left the table other than to fetch more booze or food.

Speaking of food, for the 3 hours we were there, it kept appearing on the table. I don't know who was ordering, or what it was (very dark in here), and I'm sure I ate a lot of disgusting things I wouldn't have sober, bugs and such, but it sure was tasty and necessitated in drinking more beer - with ice.

The setup for entertainment was bizarre for mid western standards (well for me anyway). On one end of the parking lot was a elevated dance floor about 7 by 7 meters, chairs on both sides, with a higher stage for singers/karaoke behind it, and the band on a higher stage behind it. The band was two guitars and a drummer, making lots of noise, loud, and maybe tuneful. The singers varied from house singers to the audience. I assume what they were singing/playing was Lao/Cambodian because the only two words I understood all night were 'mai dii', the rest flew over my head, but the ladies with us were in hog heaven, singing along all night.

The dance floor provided the most entertainment. As we settled in, the house fielded about 15 girls and 15 guys for the audience to play with. They came out of nowhere, paraded up to the dance floor, danced for a while, and then all hastily sat down in the chairs as if they were wallflowers at the prom. The guys in black slacks and ties, and white shirts. The girls in short dresses, with ruffles of red, yellow and blue with white tops. Reminded me of a Mexican fiesta. Audience members would come up to the dance floor, pick out the flavor they wanted, and dance away. My GF and Nxx spent a lot of time trying out the boys and girls between drinks and gossiping about the other dancers. Seems that there was a kataoy in a yellow dress that kept hogging the good looking ones, much to their disgust.

After drinking, eating, gossiping, dancing, and being totally immersed for 3 hours, we decided to go to a quieter clime (Tony's) for the remainder of the evening. My GF decided that the whiskey bottle should be empty and down the rest in one gulp, rendering her incoherent for the rest for the evening. The bar owner decide to go home with the moto taxi driver, and the remainder of us piled into a baht bus for Tony's after paying the huge 1700b bill. I was too mao to divide it up, so I generously paid the whole bin! The baht bus charged the 4 of us 100b to go to Tony's, guess it costs more to leave the twilight zone than to enter.

Good night Rod, and now for something completely different.

Ringmaster

[Sarisin]

Personally, I really enjoyed your post. I am always interested in alternative venues, and this is certainly one I never heard about. I think often when you take the girls out of their natural element and stick them in a gogo bar, hostess bar, beer bar, etc. you get mixed results. However, put them in a place like you described, and, bingo, I believe the ladies thrive and really get into it.

As another example, I cite the gogo bars that will occasionally during the evening and often at the end of the evening play Thai Pop and Lao songs. Just watch the ladies (dancers and others in the bar) and watch what happens. It happened in Midnite Bar when I was there Saturday night. You really get a Sing a Song Lao then.

Thanks for the interesting report ringmaster.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

I would like to second Sarisin's comments, I too enjoyed your report.

I have been to a few of these places myself (in Trat and Nakhon Sawan), but unfortunately at that time my Thai was still abysmal which meant that I couldn't really interact with anybody. People seemed to be having a great time though.

Sanuk!