Thailand Night Fever

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Once again that special time is upon us when we can get away with being a Romantic Romeo and not be accused of getting too soppy by our macho mates. I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day, but definitely not from me in the Biblical sense. Do not expect me to hug and kiss you, or that would be one hell of a mess!

Wherever you may be and whoever you share Valentine’s Day with, I sincerely hope you have a good one. Who will be your Valentine? 

ROMANTIC REMINDER

This is just to jog your memory guys; you know what us men are like for remembering special days and events. You should try not forget a card and a gift for the special person in your life. You could pretend to have forgotten and surprise your teerak (sweetheart) by arranging a romantic meal for two. Just by making the effort it will be appreciated. If you are overseas you could telephone, or send a special message via email. The most important thing is that you made an effort to show that you appreciate that special person, whoever they may be.

Coyotees host their Valentine’s Dance Contest tonight in Soi Marina Plaza, which from previous events will be very popular. Get your seat early.

Angelwitch Pattaya which is located in Soi 15 just off Walking Street (behind Beach Club) is planning a special Valentine’s Day Party tonight. If you are into classy shows, go along to enjoy some special shows during the night. Showtime is from 10:00pm until 1:00am. Check it out!

VIP VALENTINE

The Four seasons Hotel on 155 Rajadamri Road have a selection of options for a VIP Valentine’s Day. In the luxurious Lobby the scene is set for an enchanting evening with a four-piece, acoustic and harmonic vocal group. This highly acclaimed group will perform tender love songs and the special five-course menu is prepared by the Executive Chef. The Valentine’s menu runs from 7:30-10:30pm and costs 2,000 Baht per person. The American steakhouse Madison has a four-course menu which starts with a cocktail drink of your choice. This special set menu costs 2,200 Baht per person. A similar option is available in Biscotti for 1,800 Baht per person. The award-winning Japanese sushi bar Shintaro offers a four-course menu for 1,800 Baht per person. Most of the Valentine’s menu options include a glass of Fantinel Prosecco on arrival.

Bangkok most certainly has no shortage of either top class Hotels or restaurants. In writing about Four Seasons Hotel I wanted to present to you just one example of many options in The Big Mango.

RETURN OF RAMBO

For a number of years now I have had the privilege of meeting and knowing some famous people. This is another positive aspect which makes living in Bangkok so interesting. You literally do not know who you will meet next and this is particularly true in The Big Mango. One extremely accomplished Englishman that I know is Gary Stretch, who was the WBC World Light-Middleweight Boxing Champion. Gary who is now a movie star was recently telling me that he has landed a top role in a movie that will be filmed here in Thailand. Gary Stretch starred in “The Kingmaker” (available on DVD), which was produced by David Winters. I also know David Winters who is an acclaimed movie producer. What people are surprised to know is that David Winters played a role as one of the Jets in “Westside Story” in 1959.

Through Gary Stretch I also met the legendary Hollywood movie producer Oliver Stone. This was a privilege for me being an admirer of some of Oliver Stone’s films like the powerfully portrayed “Heaven And Earth”, which depicts the life story of a Vietnamese woman during the time of the Vietnam War. The legendary Hollywood movie producer Oliver Stone is a tremendously talented man, even though some of his work is seen as very controversial in some circles.

There is some exciting news because Silvester Stalone will be coming to Thailand this month to film Rambo 4 in Chiang Mai. Gary Stretch will co-star alongside Silvester Stalone when we see the return of Rambo. The filming of the latest installment of Rambo namely, “Pearl Of The Cobra” is set to start in the last week of February. I would like to wish Gary Stretch and everyone involved with the movie the very best of luck. Lock and load, rock and roll.

BANGKOK CLOSING TIMES

As I briefly mentioned last week Soi Cowboy, Nana Plaza and the other bars in Sukhumvit and Tonglor have been hit with 1:00am closing. Unfortunately this is still continuing and it will be a rough ride for a few weeks. There are a lot of police politics going on right now and the replacement of the Bangkok Police Commissioner is not to be taken lightly. The newly appointed Police Commissioner has been out and about checking the nightlife areas, so the cat and mouse games continue. Even though we know little about the idiosyncratic Thai political power plays that go on behind closed doors, we can at least expect that there will inevitably be “cloak and dagger” stuff going on. All we can do as bystanders is wait for calm while we endeavor to ride out this storm.

NANA PLAZA – NEON JUNGLE NEWS

The Irish bar Hanrahans, which is located opposite Hillary 2 on Soi Nana opened in December 2006. This enormous Irish Pub is certainly a lovely venue with all the modern facilities. My first impressions were very positive when I visited previously, but into February trade has been sluggish for Hanrahans. In all fairness trade has slowed down in many bars, except the popular places that remain consistently busy. But, even so Hanrahans is yet to become established and it could well take a year before we see any real signs of its popularity. Both Gulliver’s Travelers Tavern (Soi 5 past Foodland) and Bully’s Pub (next to JW Marriott Hotel), took about a year before they became established as the very popular bars that they are now. Although it does take time some people have been disappointed with Hanrahans, but this is one HUGE place to fill every day. Father Time is the best judge so it will be interesting to see where Hanrahans are in several months from now.

Hanrahans have received a lot of criticism over the location of their toilets, because there are none on the ground floor (floor one for non-Brits). This has raised serious doubts over the planning of Hanrahans. To me it is not that big a deal, because you could always choose to spend your time socializing on the second level. Or, we could all get some exercise if we are able bodied, but for anybody with a disability Hanrahans is not at all user-friendly. I have to say zero marks for the man with the plan!

Building work has started on the old Hog’s Breath and the completion of the new Spankys Bar should be within two months. The plan is to combine the two bars into one go-go bar, which will keep the name Spankys. The new owner has been known to build good looking bars, but some of my best nights in go-go bars have been spent in some rough old places. A brand spanking new go-go bar is alright for comfort factor, but the quality of the dolly birds and entertainment is the essential thing.

Notices in Thai on the outside of Spankys are hoping to attract new girls. These days attracting and retaining a quantity of quality is of paramount importance. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

The fairly recently re-opened Pretty Lady Bar on Floor One in Nana Plaza is continuing to go from strength to strength. Only the other Friday evening several guys said that they could not get into the door because it was a full house. The quantity and quality of the dancers in Pretty Lady is steadily increasing and it is now well worth a visit. If both stages are operating you know that Pretty Lady has a good number of dolly birds or hot babes. The girls interact well with the customers to say the least.

THE LITTLE DOLLS IN DOLLHOUSE

The sister Dollhouse go-go bar is situated on Walking Street. It has a good manager who has his eye on the ball and not always just on the girls. Dollhouse does try to seek tiny dolls, so for all you neat petite fanatics this is one place to find some smaller and lighter go-go dancers.

My American friends like Walkingdude and Don Marco from the Club Hombre website call them “spinners”, because you can sit them on your lap and spin them around. Hey guys, whatever pops your cork!

PHUKET – PEARL OF THE SOUTH

A friend has just returned from visiting Phuket which has the appropriate label of “Pearl Of The South.” The name is deserved because Phuket has risen again to claim the accolade of being the most popular tropical beach resort in Asia. Somsak (Big Power) had to do an extensive search until he could eventually find an available room in a Guest House. All of the Hotels he tried were completely full, which is pleasantly surprising news considering we are half way through February. Most of the bars were very busy and the atmosphere was simply buzzing with a mixture of expats, foreign couples, farang families, Asian tourists and backpackers. While the Bangkok and Pattaya bars remain relatively quiet with a few exceptions, Phuket is teeming with life. This is good news for Thailand’s tourism industry and it makes sense why visitors still flock to this classy beach resort. Phuket is certainly not a cheap place but like most things in life if you want class and quality, you have to be prepared to pay for it.

In terms of the late discos Tiger has not been that busy and Taipan still remains the more popular of the two. About the only go-go bar I would recommend to visit in Phuket would be Rock Hard on Patong. Another reason for visiting Rock Hard would be because of Larry the party animal who is the owner.

BANGKOK – BLAST FROM THE PAST

Even way back in the 1950’s Bangkok attracted Western visitors, although in those days they were much more likely to be businessmen or foreigners in transit. What was all the rage then was hostess bars with classy Suzi Wong’s in silk. I remember reading an interesting book by an Australian businessman who enjoyed Bangkok so much in the 1950’s that he published his memoirs. The men dressed in suits and the women wore elegant dresses. In the search for the hostess with the mostest it was acceptable that a hostess could go home with a Western man. However, interaction in public was strictly verbal and the elegant and demure Thai hostesses were a far cry from the antics of the modern day bargirls.

All over the City Of Angels there were taxi cabs and this way the mode of transportation that a guy used to take his girl for a ride. With that emerged the term “taxi girls” and this is what bargirls were called in the 1950’s. For a different reason I used to use the term “taxi girls” in the 1980’s for Pattaya girls who only wanted little more than the costs of a taxi ride home. Those really were the good old days.

NOTE THE QUOTE

I was talking one evening to an English friend who was explaining to me his theory on the “casting couch” and what his requirements are. Whenever Jim takes any bargirl home she must be willing to perform fellatio. I think this is a prerequisite for many guys before they take the girl out of a bar. Here is Jim’s classic line, “I have a strict bargirl policy, no blow no go.”

APPRECIATIONS

My thanks this week go out to Somsak, Braveheart, Sexy Beast, Club Hombre’s Val and the awesome Gary Stretch.

Please send your feedback to – davetheravebangkok@gmail.com