Thailand Night Fever

Saucy Story

Just a few days ago the lead story on the Mango Sauce website raised a few smiles. David from Mango Sauce came up with a cracker of a lead story title – “Dave The Rave fills Stickman’s hole.” I would like to thank David for running the story and also for dropping a link to my website. As an Englishman I saw the funny side of it, but some of the hostile words in the following thread leave a lot to be desired.

The thread that has stemmed from the story has turned into an epic. Some websites do not have moderators, so anybody can put up a false name and it does get very personal, and at times downright hostile. At the end of the day a reader does not have to visit any website if they do not want to. But, my friend reminded me that when ghost readers’ words get hostile, Dave The Rave does not have to listen to babble from the padded cell. Thanks go out to Man U Mike for that one!

An excellent point made by one reader is that the Thailand nightlife information that webmasters provide is free. There is a good selection of websites available and guys can surf the net obtaining a substantial amount of complimentary information. We all should not forget this and therefore not abuse the privilege. Enough said.

To show my appreciation to David I have placed a link in My Sites for the Mango Sauce website. You can read “Dave The Rave fills Stickman’s hole” and other stories here – Mango Sauce

Stick’s Box Of Tricks

Whether you are a lover or a hater of Stickman’s website nobody can deny the success that has been created over seven years. Until very recently it was by far the most popular website of its genre on the entire internet. I do not always agree with what Stickman writes but I do admire how Stickman has diligently churned out thousands of web pages to provide us all with information on Thailand. After all Stickman did become the modern day replacement for Bangkok Post’s Nite Owl.

Quite a few guys have asked me if I have any news regarding Stickman’s website. Stickman has been missed by his army of followers. I am pleased to say there is very encouraging news for Stickman fans because Stickmanbangkok.com is currently back with the Readers’ Submissions section returned, but unfortunately there is still no Stickman’s Weekly. Regarding the highly popular Stickman’s Weekly there is no news from the Stickmanbangkok.com control centre. But, when I talked to Stickman last week, he had a wry smile on his face. I think Stickman is planning something from his box of tricks. And so, Stickman fans watch out in the near future for Stick’s box of tricks.

Blowing Cool

At long last we might be seeing the cool season emerge from hibernation. The weather has been very strange with some changeable temperatures but let us hope it will remain cool and dry. It will be blowing cool in a different way as the fourth Bangkok Jazz Festival hits town. The event will take place from December 15 to 17 at Sanam Sua Pa from 7:00pm until late. A one-day pass costs 1,200 Baht and a three-day pass costs 3,000 Baht. One of the top performers will be the hot little number Lisa Ono from Japan. For those that like “all that jazz” you can visit this website – www.bangkokjazzfestival.com

Nana News

Tonight is the soft opening of the enormous Irish Bar on Soi Nana. Located directly opposite Hillary 2 is Hanrahans, which will have more than a few people confused about the name. The good news is that it is beautifully furbished in an extremely plush and modern style. Hanrahans offers the latest in amenities and it comprises of a two storey building. This new addition to Soi Nana will definitely draw more people into Soi 4 and this is welcomed news for the Nana area as a whole. Initially the owners will be selling beverages but meals will be introduced. I will keep you posted on this exciting new addition to Soi Nana. Check it out!

Real Meal Deal

Every Sunday at Hogs Breath Saloon on floor 2 in Nana Plaza (located between Spankies and Angelwitch), there is a fantastic free special. During Happy Hour at this popular old institution for farang expats, Hogs Breath Saloon offers free bowls of Texas style chilli. The offer runs from 3:00pm until it is gone, but be aware that there is rarely any chilli left close to 7:00pm. This is a real meal deal.

King Of Naughty Nightlife

In recent years Pattaya has transformed into Thailand’s ultimate Sin City. Without a shadow of a doubt it has risen to claim the crown from Bangkok as king of naughty nightlife. Pattaya, in its brash and bawdy way made no apology as it barged Bangkok aside to claim the title of most notorious nightlife in all of Thailand. It is most certainly sensory system overload – Pattaya is very much in your face. Therefore, Pattaya is definitely no place for the easily offended. I remember a story about a woman from England who could not understand why there was so much partying and boisterous behavior. She was shocked that this was so evident right across the seaside resort. Perhaps the poor woman thought it would be like Blackpool, or another British seaside destination during the summer season. I dare say she was shocked but what on earth was she thinking? Any city in the world with a major intensity of nightlife is going to be boisterous, as she put it.

REMINDER – To sum up Pattaya in two words I refer to it as Pleasure Playground and so this phrase will be used consistently throughout.

I can hear the faint echo of moans and groans from the Pleasure Playground residents, because they are shocked to hear that the powers that be would like to make it a family destination. To give Pleasure Playground credit it has risen tremendously in status with a substantial increase in both standards and amenities. I know executives from Bangkok who previously would not be seen dead in old Pattaya, yet now they have become regular visitors. Even elderly couples choose Pleasure Playground as their holiday destination, which is quite remarkable in itself. To be fair to the one foot in the grave brigade, there savior could well be Jomtien beach. However, the constant stream of hawkers will keep the old pensioners’ on their toes. Within twenty minutes they could buy all of the gifts required for the whole family. Last time I was on Jomtien beach I was approached by four hawkers, who were all trying to sell me those sunglasses that fall to bits not long after you buy them. I was quoted four different prices and wondered about the pricing policy. I soon came back to my senses and realized that it is all just part of the bizarre world of Pleasure Playground. Well, I am not claiming my pension just yet so we shall get back to the nightlife…

Bizarre Bazaar

Down in Pleasure Playground I was heading towards Walking Street one evening with my friend from England, when suddenly we were accosted by a street hawker on night shift. He wanted to sell my friend Jammy a hammock – yep, of all things a hammock. It was prime time to hit the now famous Walking Street and Hammock Hawker would not let my friend pass. With a big smile Jammy said, “I will buy the hammock if you give me two trees!” While the cogs were going around in Hammock Hawker’s brain we slipped away in the teaming rows of pedestrians. Welcome to the wacky world of Pleasure Playground with what can only be explained as a bizarre bazaar. The mind boggles!

Aquatic A Go-Go

In Pleasure Playground there are bars springing up all the time with new twists on old themes. Inevitably there are of course plenty of go-go bar owners claiming that their bar will be the ultimate pleasure palace. Competition is fierce among Pattaya go-go bar owners with plenty of blatant poaching and other ruthless tactics that have become the norm.

Unless I am very much mistaken the motto seems to be – build, build, build. The construction competition is so intense that they appear to be building into the sea. Will we be seeing aquatic go-go bars?

Go-Go Or No Go

In stark contrast to Pattaya in Bangkok there has been a law introduced that will only allow premises with a go-go license to be transferred to another owner as a go-go bar. For those wishing to open a new go-go bar in Bangkok, the new owners must ensure that the establishment has a valid go-go license. For new owners this is nothing short of essential. The good news for Bangkok is that this will help to give the go-go bar scene longevity by not causing extreme saturation point.

The new international airport and strict visa laws are already creating some effect on the nightlife in Bangkok. But, in saying that what will work in Bangkok’s favor is that the nightlife is so vast. Bangkok still offers such a diverse variety of venues. Also, with Bangkok being a major hub in Asia it will always have many visitors and people in transit. There are still multitudes of arrivals and a vast number of visitors to Bangkok are people on business trips to various destinations in Asia. Then of course there is the expat resident community in Bangkok who are a major contributing factor to Bangkok’s nightlife scene.

Pattaya Prediction

Can there be too much of a good thing? I think only time will tell but The Nation previously published an article about the tremendous overdevelopment of Pattaya. Apparently there is a growing rodent problem along Beach Road with rats and cockroaches in abundance. This must be part of an ongoing concern when you also consider the lack of infrastructure, the increase in road users and a few other headaches. With only slight concern for the future of Pleasure Playground, it is full steam ahead for the time being. A Pattaya property specialist said that the property market is booming, so expansion appears to be the entire focus. New bars are not only being built at a frenetic pace, but the sheer amount of bars is absolutely staggering. In effect the Pattaya bar scene reached saturation point years ago, and yet they carry on building full steam ahead like they are trying to build a new city. I do not know how many bars in total there are in Pattaya, but it was estimated that there could be as many as over fifteen hundred. Bearing this in mind the entire population of bar owners would like a slice of the action, but this is impossible because there are simply not enough customers to go around the sheer multitude of bars. Down in the bar business in Pleasure Playground it is certainly a case of survival of the fittest. What is good news for Pleasure Playground prowlers’ is that you can be spoilt for choice and nightspot owners are constantly trying to upstage each other. This is great news for customers because the bars are competing for you to visit them. In this case it is certainly true that competition is healthy.

We know that there are plenty of empty stools in many beer bars in the low season, but especially those bars in areas away from Walking Street. But, even though we have supposedly entered the high tourist season, some bar owners are saying that Pattaya is very quiet. I will endeavor to explain the situation.

Generally speaking every December there is a lull in bar trade due to what I call the “expat exodus” as businessmen return home for their annual leave. Tourists are not arriving in abundance just yet, because they are busy planning Christmas and therefore trying to get their Christmas shopping and preparations done. This happens every year and it comes as no surprise to the seasoned veterans of Thailand. For those keen dolly bird watchers now is a great time to be in the Land Of Sanuk, because there is less customer competition.

The single guys in Pattaya better make the most of it because this is however the calm before the storm. We are expecting a sudden influx of visitors to Pattaya very soon. The Hotels in Pattaya are filling up very quickly with bookings for next week onwards. Therefore, following what was generally a very long and disappointing low season in Thailand this year let us hope that pleasure playground continues to remain popular. I know what some of you babe hunters will say let us hope on the other hand that it is not too packed with foreign visitors. Good luck and happy hunting!

Window Shoppers On Walking Street

On the surface Pattaya looks to be busy with plenty of Hotel bookings and people walking around. This is exactly what they are doing in many cases just walking around. The number of Eastern European visitors in particular has increased dramatically, but they are often just couples out sightseeing or window shopping. So few of the Eastern European visitors are even entering the bars, let alone having a jolly old time on the ale! Basically, this boils down to many more available girls in Pattaya, compared to paying customers. As one of my friends pointed out – with such a wide choice of beer and go-go bars just on Walking Street there is good reason not to wander away from the Walking Street area at all. The way Walking Street is expanding this could possibly be an increasing problem for bars that are off the beaten path.

Lost In Cyberspace?

Entering the vast world of the internet can cost you a lot of time and effort unless you know where to look and what to look for. I am currently building up a section called My Sites to provide an information service to guide you to the relevant websites. I am a firm believer in sharing links to enable the internet to flourish. Looking for certain information? Never fear Dave The Rave is here!

Spray And Stray

Scientists are currently working on a spray on condom. You literally do a touch up and spray job on your little head. This do it yourself special condom consists of liquid latex. If research is successful it will be a case of spray so you can stray. What will they come up with next?

Single And Able To Mingle

A young Englishman told me about his love life. “In my teens I grew up thinking that women did not like sex, but sadly I realized that women just did not like sex with me.” He went on to say, “All that changed upon arriving in Pattaya, and I can’t wait to get back to Thailand.”

STORY SUMMARY – Is Pattaya becoming a lonely hearts club?

Appreciations

My sincere thanks this week go out to David from Mango Sauce, Stickman, Webmaster, The Nutty Professor, Dana, Pattaya Addicts, Special K, Grady, Khun Soon Bai and Doc Dre.