Belem

He has said that he has been in Thailnd for 3 decades so that means he arrived in 1985 and is probably closer to 50 than 40.

I met him when he first moved out there in 1998 with BM WhosYourDaddy when he first started his Geocitiies Thai nightlife site. He first visited Thailand in 1997 and spent most of his time in Phuket then. He was in his late 20s.

 

 

Very much so in mine . So we are all different whatever Stick´s plans are , or his investors´ .

And people like you are a dying breed I'm afraid to say. Look at how dead this board is as well as the other Thailand nightlife boards compared to several years ago. Look at Sticks declining readership. Look at how a lot of the bars are struggling for business. There are less mongers and more mainstream tourists in Thailand. I know many people who have moved on from being obsessed with Thailand and now go to other areas as a result of go go girls charging 3000 baht ST, lack of GFE, a different vibe, higher drink prices, worsening attitudes, the Thai economy resulting in better opportunities for the girls with bars struggling to get staff, more young guys around, etc. The life blood of a board or site like Stickmans is newbies.

When I first visited Thailand back in the 90s, I had the fever, was addicted, and often planned my next trip while flying home. That was when Thailand was cheaper and a lot more fun. I know several people who recently visited Thailand and participated in the nightlife, and they didn't have he same feeling like me on my first visits and won't be back for reasons like a ST can be had for the same price or cheaper back home without spending two days on a plane from North America, I can have a beach party atmosphere in Mexico or an island closer to home, etc.

Thailand doesn't need the mongers anymore and will move on with more couples, families, and Asian tourists, but I suspect the majority of Sticks readership are people who have an interest in the nightlife or those who use to participate in it and still want to stay informed with what's going on.

About this board, how in the hell is anyone going to find it? It doesn't come up in the search engines like Secrets and Pattaya Addicts and there's no link exchange with affiliate sites like Stickman had with Secrets. Is someone going to know to get on Google and type Thai360? LOL! The demise of this board is sad because at one time it was on top.

According Mr Stickman´s latest thinkings I propose to change the thread title into " Stickman again not leaving Thailand " .

Even if an investor came in to try to save the column, albeit with less of a highlife slan., Stick himself said that his readership has steadily declined and is down 15% from last year and that there were not enough newbies. Fact is Thailand is no longer a driving force in my life. I used to have Thai fever like many guys did. Stickman, nor any investor, can't change that.

I doubt it made all that much difference. Most boards are hurting, thanks to Facebook and Twitter. The Delphi boards are almost all dead or dying. This one is at least treading water.

Pattaya Secrets and Pattaya Addicts are still very active, albeit not at the level they were in say 2009. There are some private Facebook groups that focus on nightlife and have racy pics, though. Fact is this board was the first Thailand nightlife board and had an advantage over other startups being already established and died a slow death due to the name change as well as it adopting a more general approach as opposed to focussing mainly on the nightlife. I think the last nightlife post on this board was a few months ago...LOL! Regarding Twitter, can't see someone starting a discussion with #Nanaplaza.

Although reading the last words of today`s edition , there seem to be signs of hope .

He was supposed to leave three years ago only for him to change his mind and say two more years. Then last year he said one more year. Wouldn't surpirse me if he changed his mind again.

Western Union will also allow you to transfer money into the recipient's bank account. They have an app for smart phone which is really easy. And the recipient can check it on their Bangkok bank app or whatever bank they have.

Take my word on Thais moving to faring land. It's one thing to visit for a couple of weeks and another to live there indefinitely. After 8 years, I'd say that my thai wife has assimilated into U.S. Lifestyle about 5%. Concerning Stick, maybe he and Mrs. stick could have made it in New Zealand, with few Thai males as temptation.

Auckland, where Stickman is from and where his family lives, has a sizable Thai population, not as big as Thai town in Los Angeles, but big enough to have Thai festivals. I think Thai Airways still has the direct flight from BKK to Auckland.

Interestingly, the title of this week's Stickman weekly is Infidelity.

In saying that his divorce is a factor in his leaving Thailand, I was only referring to the fact that he can leave Thailand without regard to whether his wife wanted to or not. By being divorced, he has no marital ties to remaining in Thailand and can leave because of other concerns.

His ex wife went to New Zealand with him to visit his family, and Stick even said in his weekly that she was open to leaving Thailand for Farangland, probably more so than him. She was very interested in all things Farang.

Interesting how after all these years Sticks column eventually refers to his "bad wife" on last weeks (22-Mar) edition. Don't think he's ever mentioned her before in such a manner?

[Removed - KS], which is why they are divorced. They have been divorced for several years, and I don't think it's a factor in him leaving.

More to the point is there going to be a send off? A booze up? If so I'm in - would love a good excuse for a holiday.

 

Seriously, well done on a good job while you were (are) in LOS, admittedly I stopped reading the "Weekly" years ago - I think I have grown out of the Thai-fever I (we all) had. I do have a look every now and then but it has been years since I have been a frequent visitor there, and most of the places mentioned I don't recognise. We met a few times at Woodstock and Gullivers, and you seem like a decent chap. Best of luck with whatever you end up doing. Yell out if you are ever in Melbourne, I'll let you buy me a beer.

He may be settling down in Melbourne.

 

 

Bingo! Reader patterns change but the majority of the traffic to the site is from outside Thailand.

 

There is a portion of readers outside the country who wish to stay in touch with what is going on so they tune in once a week to catch up on news and gossip. They may be regular visitors to Thailand or they may not. Another group is those who used to enjoy going out to the bars and the bar industry in general, but have since moved on and their lifestyle has changed. I think reading about what's happening in places they have been to and seeing photos of how things are currently gives them a connection to the place and may help revive nice memories.

Or remind people how much the bar scene has gotten worse.

First of all, is it necessary to name people? This should be edited and removed as I am sure it is against forum rules. Further, what you have written is factually wrong. Why do you continually do that?

 

The relationship between Sunbelt and Sunrise is immaterial to any mentions made of either on my site and NO, Sunrise is NOT owned by Sunbelt. Again, the facts are wrong.

 

Yes, I once had a banner exchange with Secrets but that is NOT why I mention the bar. I've long said Secrets is my favourite bar in Pattaya and many years after the banner exchnage ended, that's still the case and I still mention it BECAUSE I LIKE IT THERE! I mention venues I frequent and venues which provide with information about what is going on. I tend to mention the same veues rhese days because I don't go out a lot and when I do I tend to gravitate to the same places.

 

Sunbelt Legal is not an advertiser although, yes, they have a banner which is a thank you for the legal questions they answer.

 

Like I said in a previous post, I happen to eat at Sunrise more than anywhere else hence it is mentioned more than anywhere else. In the past I mentioned Tilac Bar in Soi Cowboy a lot because, funnily enough, I used to go there more than any other bar.

I skipped over the questions your ex wife answered and have continued to skip over the Sunbelt answer of legal questions when I read your weekly.

Hi,

 

"I was around that time and you also took down your nightlife section for a time in response to the Purachai-Thacksin crackdown like some other sites."

 

There was a lot more going on behind the scenes at that time, but Purachai/Thaksin had nothing to do with it.

And no, I will not elaborate.

 

The name change was done in order to try to get more advertisers and a broader audience. In hindsight that was a bad move, but of course hindsight is always 20-20.

 

As for the decline in members, yes, the name change almost certainly was a part of it, but the rise of social networking and the increased ease of setting up websites were certainly a large part of it as well.

 

Sanuk!

Was there an issue with Google classifying the site as an adult site and thus could not get Google AdSense revenue.

 

 

 

Iraq? Afghanistan? North Korea?

 

Seriously, maybe Vietnam? Nowhere the freedoms you find here though, even under the military government. Burma? Probably the same is true.

 

p.s. I went back to the States for some years. I found that almost everything I complained about here was to be found at home. The main difference was they didn't smile when they did it.

Australia

Before this thread goes in a different direction, I want to reiterate that I want it to be kind of a tribute to a guy who has a place in Thai nightlife history.

Some of the content of the weekly column is simply a reflection of the places I go and the bars that contact me and provide information. That's why some places are mentioned over and over again and some are never mentioned.

 

Dave The Rave's bars don't advertise with me, neither does Secrets, neither does Sunrise Tacos.

 

In the case of Dave, yes, he is a friend and he also let's me know what is happening in his bar. If i am in Nana I go in to see him, I see what's happening in his bar and write about it. Ditto when I am in Pattaya I go to Secrets. They don't advertise with me. Secrets quite simply has a format that works for me. Sunrise Tacos is where I eat often so I write about it. Yes, the owner is a good friend, but if I didn't like it, I wouldn't write about it! I have many friends in business who have bars or restaurants I don't like and I simply don't mention them!

 

There are other bars like Heaven Above in Pattaya and Club Malibu recently which get frequent mentions BECAUSE THE OWNERS LET ME KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. I have long tried to get bar bosses to tell me what's happening so I can plug parties, promotions and events but most are really slack at letting me know what is going on.

You had a banner ad exchange with Secrets for a time and isn't Sunrise Tacos owned by Sunbelt Asia who writes a column in the place in the weekly where Mrs Stick wrote before you two divorced?

 

 

It's posts like this that demonstrate well why I tend not to post on the forums any more. There's so much misinformation - and this is a really good example of it.

 

The sad part is that people read stuff from people on forums who don't have a clue what's going on and they believe it. Worse still, they repeat it, often twisting it further or adding false comments such as "my friend who knows KS or Stickman or whoever said that......".

 

As for this forum's name change, that came several years later and was nothing to do with KS being scared or anything like that. It was due to a completely different and one which KS need not explain nor justify.

I was around that time and you also took down your nightlife section for a time in response to the Purachai-Thacksin crackdown like some other sites.

I stopped reading also a couple of years ago when he seemed to be running outof ideas.On the name issue I would say Thai360 is better because NanaPlaza suggests its the official site of that place on soi 4.

This board went from being the number one Thailand board, especially for nightlife coverage, to one that is barely on the radar to those people who were members from the beginning. The name change killed this board.

does anyone Really care.....?????

If you don't then don't read the thread. Go troll somewhere else.

Just a thought: why not change the name back to Nana Plaza .....?

KS got scared back in 2001 during the Thacksin draconian crackdown and changed the name.

Credit to Stickman for keeping it going this long!

 

Credit to KS for keeping NanaPlaza-Thai360 going for this long!

 

I know I couldn't do it and doubt most of us could...

The name change from Nana Plaza to Thai360 was almost the death knell for this board, though.

Hi,

 

"Credit to KS for keeping NanaPlaza-Thai360 going for this long!"

 

Thanks, but in my case it's not really that much work. You guys do all the hard work by creating content

 

Stick's weekly is a lot of work though I would imagine.

 

Sanuk!

Funny before you said it was the same rehashed shite every week and you couldn't be bothered reading it. It's really a plug for his advertisers like fill in the blank Irish or English bar with an all you can eat Sunday carvery, Sunrise Tacos, any bar affiliated with Dave the Rave, or Secrets in Pattaya having an event. He's been going through the motions for awhile with very mundane opening topics. Like I said, he caught lightning in a bottle and started a nightlife website when no one else stepped up....and I give him credit for that.

I would think that Stick had a good run here in Thailand and maybe time to head out and make some $$$ for his retirement

Stick has had his rocky moments. [Removed - KS]

In March of last year in his weekly column, Stickman announced he was leaving Thailand in a year. With the date approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to start a thread about it on this board, as he was by far most active on this board from its Delphi beginnings due to the Bangkok expat clique.

I remember first meeting him around 1998 when he was teaching English and started a Geocities nightlife information site as well as meeting WhosYourDaddy. I subsequently saw him at a few Nana Plaza Friday night board meetings at the Woodstock Bar in Nana Plaza.

His website first started out as an encyclopedia of Thai nightlife information breaking it down to cities like Bangkok and Pattaya and bar areas like Nana Plaza. It was a plethora of info that convinced many people to take the plunge and go to Thailand.

Around 2001, he made a genius move starting a weekly column that enabled him to get more hits and attract more advertisers giving him more of an income stream to supplement his English teacher salary as well as other ancillary income from his bargirl investigation service. Over time he dismantled the nightlife sections, and his website evolved into other sections like book reviews, photography, etc.

He has stated some of his reasons for leaving are wanting to live a more active lifestyle and wanting to have animals. I also suspect that another reason is Thailand has changed and not for he better with changing attitudes, declining Thai nightlife web traffic, and an ever changing tourist mix among other things. He also said that he may not go back to his home country, New Zealand. It wouldn't surprise me to see him settle in Australia, where many Kiwis have relocated.

Stickman first arrived in Thailand to settle around 1998, and it's now 2015. He is now in his 40s, and I'm sure his experiences would make for an interesting book, although he has said he has no plans of writing a book. From his beginnings of being a participant in the nightlife and venturing to the dark side for a time to getting married to a Thai national and his subsequent divorce to embracing health and fitness, he has evolved like many expats do.

His departure from Thailand is the end of an era, a big part of Thailand nightlife history becoming the Internet's version of Bernard Trink. I know I will be reading his final column with great interest.