New Building on Soi 4

[Gadfly]

Anyone know what they are building behind Bus Stop and Hanrahans (sp? - the Irish Pub)? Judging by the number of cement trucks trucks going in there last night (a Friday, no less), it appears it will be a fairly significant structure.

 

I noticed a Sofitel is going up next to Thermae.

 

For all the talk about imminent demise of the lower Sukhumvit scene, I still see more and more bars, clubs, hotels and restaurants going up all the time (although more and better restaurants on Soi 4 would be appreciated). If they closed the p4p venues here (and that now not only means NEP), would there be any draw at all for tourists in this area? I don't think so.

[gobbledonk]

If they closed the p4p venues here (and that now not only means NEP), would there be any draw at all for tourists in this area? I don't think so.

 

Gaddie, a month ago I would have agreed with your statement, but I see more and more tourists with families etc wandering around Suk in the vicinity of Soi 4, and less potential Farang customers in the bars. Many of these seem more intent on getting drunk with their mates than shagging the girls, and I cant say that I blame them given the 'talent' that now inhabits the carpark. Whether I'm playing pool 50 metres from Nana Carpark or having 'Chim Chuum' at 2am across the road from the whole spectacle, the ratio of Katoeys to actual females seems to change every time, and many of the girls have bailed for something else (one told me she was going back to work in her mother's shop : hardly a lucrative option, but there you have it).

 

I dont spend as much time in Soi 4 as I did in April, but the mix has definitely changed. The old timers on the board will probably tell me that all this will change when the snow returns to the Northern Hemisphere, but its a pretty sad sight on Soi 4 at the moment. As for the other side of Suk , from Soi 3 to 7/1, I agree with a recent poster that the number of desperate FLers is way out of control : they lurch at you out of a darkened doorway, grab your arm while you wait for the traffic lights and generally put lone males in the spotlight in front of other Farang holidaymakers : thanks 'ladies', nothing like reinforcing stereotypes.

 

Gobble

 

PS BKK is in the midst of a building boom : lets hope it doesnt 'end' the way it did in the early 90s.

 

[..]

Well, as I see it, it has always been a sad sight down there. Your eyes are just opening...

 

Cheers,

SD

[bibblies]

You're wrong, Suadam. From at least 1994 to mid/late 2001, it was great. And for short periods afterwards. In other words, when it was showing and full of girls.

 

Despite a slight Patpongification, it's still not at the stage where we're seeing lots of female farangs and families walking though the heart of the action. There's just a lack of customers because of lack of showing and a lack of girls because of a lack of customers hence a lack of customers...

 

All this would change, in my opinion, if Rainbow and Crown Group bars made the effort to SHOW. At the moment, they're lazily content to just survive. But if they started to show, more customers would come back...

 

Having been out and about for the past year, I've had my moments of pessimism (particularly about the number of 'normals' in Bangkok) but I think Gadfly's right. There's not enough in the area to sustain big crowds. There are annoying numbers of Arab women walking around shopping late at street stalls, getting in my way when I'm travelling between sanuk venues but I don't see anything that could really replace NEP, especially if NEP starts showing again.

 

Face it, with nothing there apart from street stalls (which can be set up quickly anywhere), 'normal' tourists might as well stay closer to the 'normal' sights - the old city, Chinatown, the river, etc. And for shopping, why bother with dingy Sukhumvit when there's Siam, Central, MBK, Pratunam market all in the same area? Or Chatuchak?

[bibblies]

As for the other side of Suk , from Soi 3 to 7/1, I agree with a recent poster that the number of desperate FLers is way out of control : they lurch at you out of a darkened doorway, grab your arm while you wait for the traffic lights and generally put lone males in the spotlight in front of other Farang holidaymakers : thanks 'ladies', nothing like reinforcing stereotypes.

The trouble with you is that you don't know who you are. You're complaining about that?! What did you think you were?

 

I don't see this phenomena btw (and I do the walk almost every day). That's your other trouble. You're too soft and the girls (or not girls ) know it. You haven't got 'the look' (I think of it as being like the Vietnam Vet's 1000 yard stare ). Touts, girls, ladyboys know not to bother you with that.

 

You could say I don't get bothered because they just know me but not all. Even in Pattaya, where I'm not known as much, I remember a cordon of ladyboys who were making moves with other guys but they held off for me when I walked straight through them. I heard one mutter "He's not afraid" and they all just left me. Some guys get a frightened or embarassed or over-aggressive look in front of ladyboys and they just love it. I just have the 'let's not waste each others time' look and very rarely even get touched.

 

I've just remembered - Drogon's arriving today, isn't he? Why don't you two go out together?

[..]

You're wrong, Suadam. From at least 1994 to mid/late 2001, it was great. And for short periods afterwards. In other words, when it was showing and full of girls.

You are correct in that respect. I was referring to the pathetic freelancer & plastic stool street bar scene.

 

Cheers,

SD

[Old Hippie]

I like the street bar scene and freelancers. granted, it is a bit high end for me, but I manage to get by.

[USVirgin]

You haven't got 'the look' (I think of it as being like the Vietnam Vet's 1000 yard stare ). Touts, girls, ladyboys know not to bother you with that.

 

That's exactly right, and anyone who's spent any amount of time in Patpong learns it. They wouldn't be able to get around otherwise. Me, I kind of enjoy the attention when I first land in Bangkok, 'cuz I don't have throngs of young ladies tugging at me back home, but the thrill wears off after an hour or so. Ladyboys, I have no time for, ever.

[Gadfly]

I also agree that the Soi 4 area is not as good as it was, but there are now more bars and pubs in the areas surrounding NEP than there was in the "good ol' days". I also agree that you see more "family tourists", Arabs, etc., in this area, but I still cannot see how this area could possibly survive as a tourist venue without the bars and clubs.

 

Imagine grimy Soi 4 without NEP or the other bars (where p4p is readily available) in the vicinity. I just can't imagine the area surviving.

[buddha]

ahhhh...I remember my first trip into NP in sept 2001. I walked into the three roses bar and was 100% certain i had discovered paradise.

 

Three days later I fled the cacophony we call Bangkok for Koh Samui. Upon my return I began to love Bangkok and I still do; however, nothing quite resembles that first visit.

 

The scene has changed quite a bit but I have also. It's amazing how the human being can adapt to any given situation. I think that as much as the scene has changed I have changed and adapted just as much, possibly more. There are still n00bs tripping over themselves as I did upon first entering and that 'discovery' is what I miss most about Bangkok.

 

I think the comment about 'patpongification' was pretty accurate. Perhaps that is why on my last sojourn I enjoyed Patpong a bit more than other visits.

 

Truth be told I had more fun in Phuket than anywhere on the planet. There was nothing like the scene at Bangla and rat-u-thit rd at 2am when all of the girls would stream out onto the streets.

 

I read what is happening to the scene in Thailand and it kind of makes me shake my head. It's not like Cambodia where there was a definite positive side to the changes that have occurred there. By your accounts the bar scene seems more commercial and less fun. The street scene brings an element of both punter and BG that most would rather avoid. I always found the street scene to be most entertaining as a people/elephant watching experience.

 

Surely this should cause a shift in behavior.....there must exist a happy medium that you need to find. Thanks in advance for finding it and writing a full report.

 

My weekend was about watching the tour de france and doing laundry. You do the math.

 

Now buck up, stop complaining and go enjoy.