Gadfly Posted July 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 The washing of monies has been mentioned. Is that what its all about? I honestly would not have guessed, but its hard to see how the arab bar business model attracts customers or makes money. But they do look nice and expensive. If that what it is all about, all the more reason not to name bars. If you read my post closely - gee, I have that odd feeling like I said this before - at one least one bar will be obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Just a guess about the Arab's bars, but a common one. He spends a lot of money fixing them up and pays his dancers well. So where is the income? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownFox77 Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Is that what its all about? I honestly would not have guessed, but its hard to see how the arab bar business model attracts customers or makes money. But they do look nice and expensive. If that what it is all about, all the more reason not to name bars. If you read my post closely - gee, I have that odd feeling like I said this before - at one least one bar will be obvious. Past few trips I've found Nana more fun and less mercenary than Cowboy, last month's trip only visited Cowboy just one night (hit NO Arab bars). Have also been hearing good things about Patpong again, but had so much fun in Nana never made it to Patpong ..before heading out to Pattaya for the rest of my trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneSoup Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think "looking back" isn't going to work much longer, even if "back" is just 30-60 days ago. Effective next week, rents at NEP go up a minimum of 200%. That is going to have all kind of ripple effects. I have heard that leading players at NEP are seeking to form a cartel to simultaneously boost drink prices, under the theory of "It is insane to allow punters from the Western World to sit in a bar surrounded by beautiful naked girls while nursing a beer that costs less than US $4". My source suggested that 200 baht beers were being discussed - and that the NEP ringleaders were tying to get leading Cowboy bar owners to sign on. I suspect that they may be about to kill the golden goose, due to greed. Myself, I have a completely different criteria than most, for selecting my hunting grounds. First, I will no longer even go west of Soi Asoke anymore. I'm sick to death of the sidewalk congestion caused by the sidewalk vendors and the street-side bars. I'm also fed up with the fat Arabs and their broods, the rough-looking Africans, and the Indians, all moving at crawl along the vendor-clogged footpaths. If I have to go into that area, I walk in the street, dodging the four-legged rats. Next - I'm a beer drinker, but I'm really picky about what I drink. I have no interest in any beer brewed in Thailand. If forced, I go with Chang Export - but even that beer is not widely available in go-gos. The only go-gos that have beers that I will drink are at Cowboy - German Weizen bier at few places (including Tilac and Longgun), Hoegaarden bottles at Baccara, and the fair selection of Belgian Beers at Cactus Club. Rarely, I'll go for a Chang Export, upstairs at Dollhouse. And - that's it. Within my orbit, as just described, I wouldn't go with 75% of the girls if they paid me - they really are a pretty lame bunch. But - I can amuse myself by watching the few good lookers/dancers. I'm not big on actually bar-fining anyone - domestic considerations, financial considerations, and the rather quaint notion that I am really not inclined to pursue the effort unless I REALLY like the girl - and that just doesn't happen very often. I can't take a girl to "my" own home, and short-time hotels are depressing. I have occasionally gone with girls who invited me to their apartment - and I am well-acquainted with the upstairs room at Cactus Club. So - I think that the Sukhumvit scene is in for some rather big changes over the next 30-90 days. NEP will see a startling upgrade in ambiance - along with a doubling of prices. Will that work? I dunno. I sort of doubt it - except maybe for the Japanese. Ramadan 2012 runs from 19 July until 18 August - so at least the Arab legion should be pulling out by about the 18th of July. Cheers! SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think "looking back" isn't going to work much longer, even if "back" is just 30-60 days ago. Effective next week, rents at NEP go up a minimum of 200%. That is going to have all kind of ripple effects. I have heard that leading players at NEP are seeking to form a cartel to simultaneously boost drink prices, under the theory of "It is insane to allow punters from the Western World to sit in a bar surrounded by beautiful naked girls while nursing a beer that costs less than US $4". My source suggested that 200 baht beers were being discussed - and that the NEP ringleaders were tying to get leading Cowboy bar owners to sign on. I suspect that they may be about to kill the golden goose, due to greed. Myself, I have a completely different criteria than most, for selecting my hunting grounds. First, I will no longer even go west of Soi Asoke anymore. I'm sick to death of the sidewalk congestion caused by the sidewalk vendors and the street-side bars. I'm also fed up with the fat Arabs and their broods, the rough-looking Africans, and the Indians, all moving at crawl along the vendor-clogged footpaths. If I have to go into that area, I walk in the street, dodging the four-legged rats. Next - I'm a beer drinker, but I'm really picky about what I drink. I have no interest in any beer brewed in Thailand. If forced, I go with Chang Export - but even that beer is not widely available in go-gos. The only go-gos that have beers that I will drink are at Cowboy - German Weizen bier at few places (including Tilac and Longgun), Hoegaarden bottles at Baccara, and the fair selection of Belgian Beers at Cactus Club. Rarely, I'll go for a Chang Export, upstairs at Dollhouse. And - that's it. Within my orbit, as just described, I wouldn't go with 75% of the girls if they paid me - they really are a pretty lame bunch. But - I can amuse myself by watching the few good lookers/dancers. I'm not big on actually bar-fining anyone - domestic considerations, financial considerations, and the rather quaint notion that I am really not inclined to pursue the effort unless I REALLY like the girl - and that just doesn't happen very often. I can't take a girl to "my" own home, and short-time hotels are depressing. I have occasionally gone with girls who invited me to their apartment - and I am well-acquainted with the upstairs room at Cactus Club. So - I think that the Sukhumvit scene is in for some rather big changes over the next 30-90 days. NEP will see a startling upgrade in ambiance - along with a doubling of prices. Will that work? I dunno. I sort of doubt it - except maybe for the Japanese. Ramadan 2012 runs from 19 July until 18 August - so at least the Arab legion should be pulling out by about the 18th of July. Cheers! SS I have heard the same about rents in NEP, but not about the cartel. We'll see. For plain old entertainment and good restaurants, I prefer Thonglor and Ekkamai, but I don' t think you are going to find anything close to a go go bar. Perhaps there are freelancers, but I am always very cautious about this in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think "looking back" isn't going to work much longer, even if "back" is just 30-60 days ago. Effective next week, rents at NEP go up a minimum of 200%. That is going to have all kind of ripple effects. I have heard that leading players at NEP are seeking to form a cartel to simultaneously boost drink prices, under the theory of "It is insane to allow punters from the Western World to sit in a bar surrounded by beautiful naked girls while nursing a beer that costs less than US $4". My source suggested that 200 baht beers were being discussed - and that the NEP ringleaders were tying to get leading Cowboy bar owners to sign on. I suspect that they may be about to kill the golden goose, due to greed. One more comment: cartels are notoriously unstable because there are strong incentives for individual players to cheat. Once one player cheats, it has a domino effect with other players cheating to compete with lower priced competitors. For a cartel to succeed, there usually must be some mechanism to enforce the cartel's rules. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in reality in the months to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 I know during my last visit to Soi Cowboy,the entertainment is just getting too expensive, with the dancers coming up with some unrealistic prices for their time. I did try Nanaplaza also, but I have found that prices in Bangkok have come to the point that Pattaya is a much better option, along with much more choices, whether its beer bars or go gos. Pattaya is now where I spend most of my time, as it still has so many bars available, I can still find what I am looking for without going bankrupt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 I know during my last visit to Soi Cowboy,the entertainment is just getting too expensive, with the dancers coming up with some unrealistic prices for their time. I did try Nanaplaza also, but I have found that prices in Bangkok have come to the point that Pattaya is a much better option, along with much more choices, whether its beer bars or go gos. Pattaya is now where I spend most of my time, as it still has so many bars available, I can still find what I am looking for without going bankrupt I've never been in Patty, but I guess next time I am going to LOS I will give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Kamui, for all the negative comments that Patts seems to get here, I still think its the best that LOS currently has to offer, but I'm not a big fan of the overpriced go-gos in either city, so you may have to take this with a grain of salt. Its ironic, to me anyway. that the same guys who bitch about the crazy money dancers ask for ST are often the first to mention how many fat and unattractive women can be found in Pattaya beer bars. No argument from me - the day shift is particularly ordinary - but get past that and there are some very good times to be had without spending 20K baht a night. I also like the fact that there are so many 'hidden treasures' away from the Walking St gawkerfest. By far the biggest frustration is the sheer number of non-punter tourists you have to dodge anywhere from 10am till the early hours of the following morning, but its rarely as bad as the Suk Soi 3/4 Arab/Nigerian conurbation. The Russians piss me off, but most of them are harmless - feel a bit sorry for the Thais having to endure that level of arrogance each day but they seem happy as long as they are making money. With the exception of the cluster of very ordinary freelancers along Beach Road at night, I don't see the same desperation as Suk Soi 4 and that hideous 'morning shift' on the other side of Suk each AM. Plenty of near empty bars, particularly during the day, but somehow they all seem to make enough money to stagger from week to week. Its not hard for Stickman or anyone else to find cliches in Patts and bag the place, but there is still enough Disneyland from about 10pm on to keep me interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayjann Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 only ever been to NEP and SC in 2005 and did'nt really like either. overcrowded,overpriced full of people who hassled me a lot of the time. give me a small place to sit in and interact and i'm much happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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