Current Nightlife Atmosphere & More

[OmniBootstrap]

I remember watching YouTube videos of over crowded streets filled with pretty girls walking around in skimpy clothes lined with neon lights and bars everywhere thinking to myself this has got to be one of the only places on Earth like this and one day I'll have to see this in person. It was just so astonishing. Fast forward a few years and I've got my passport in hand and enough savings to travel for awhile.

 

I've read many things stating military crackdown on Thailand's nightlife since the junta and tourism minister came into power. I'd also suspect with the country developing further there's more opportunities for young women than just prostituting. So what has this done for the current atmosphere? Is there still a vibrant nightlife or has it all but died?

Edited January 11, 2020 by OmniBootstrap

[blackcab]

11 minutes ago, OmniBootstrap said:

Is there still a vibrant nightlife...

 

Yes, for sure. It's 3am and I've just got home.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

I remember watching YouTube videos of over crowded streets filled with pretty girls walking around in skimpy clothes lined with neon lights and bars everywhere thinking to myself this has got to be one of the only places on Earth like this and one day I'll have to see this in person.

I've seen them too and wondered why I was never around when it was like that. It's like an army recruiting VDO- the reality is never as good.

Times change. The really good looking ones are on the internet now- they're not interested in being bored in a gogo or barbeer hoping for a rich customer.

Unfortunately for you, it was great last century, now not so much.

 

However, there is still glister amongst the drab if one has the cash and the patience to look long enough.

 

Suggest you read up on the internet about hookers in LOS before arriving, and keep your money safe. Every newbie should read up on scams in LOS.

 

Good place to start- Nana Plaza in Bangkok, Soi Cowboy ditto

 

Walking Street in Pattaya is good for looking but not for renting.

 

9 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

I've read many things stating military crackdown on Thailand's nightlife since the junta and tourism minister came into power.

Any decline in nightlife is little to nothing to do with the junta. The man who really stuffed it up is in exile.

 

9 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

I'd also suspect with the country developing further there's more opportunities for young women than just prostituting.

Been reading urban myths?

 

9 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

Is there still a vibrant nightlife or has it all but died?

Not like last century, but still in places. LK Metro in Pattaya can put on a show, as well as the aforementioned Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

 

What hasn't changed is the ability of the lovelies to remove all one's cash, and make it seem worth it.

Watch out for the ladyboys though. Many look like the real thing.

[NCC1701A]

9 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

Is there still a vibrant nightlife or has it all but died?

it is all at my house now.

 

but seriously you will have a great time. some good suggestions so far.

 

but don't listen to the negative vib of this forum.

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by NCC1701A

[donnacha]

10 hours ago, OmniBootstrap said:

I'd also suspect with the country developing further there's more opportunities for young women than just prostituting.

It may seem counterintuitive but, despite the better economy, the opportunities for a guy with disposable income (whether Thai or foreign) are far broader now. It simply comes in a slightly less obvious form.

The boom years of Pattaya and the Thai bargirl industry were driven by the staggering gap between Thai incomes at the lowest levels and foreign incomes.

A typical sex worker from Isaan was primarily driven by a responsibility towards her impoverished (and demanding) family, and she might also already have a kid or two being cared for by that family. The industry was manned by a small proportion of Thai society.

Women from "better" backgrounds might have dabbled but most Thais never came anywhere close to the industry, it was simply a line they would not cross, even to the extent of not being willing to date foreigners.

Now, Thailand is pretty far into a (faltering) boom primarily driven by credit. People of all classes look around and see plenty of new cars, fancy electronics, new shopping malls. There appears to be plenty of money around and, in a sense, there is, but most of it is borrowed.

The material expectations of the average Thai, stoked by the Internet and social media, have grown massively, without any matching increase in levels of education, competence, or productivity. While the vast majority of Thai girls are now even less interested in the formal sex industry, their increased need for money and possessions has fueled a growing and unashamed culture of dating for gain.

In Asia, relationships have always been more blatantly about financial practicalities, but much of the taboo about dating foreigners has now disappeared or, at least, been overridden by women's sense of material lack, even those in good jobs.

If you can afford to bring a girl out to a very nice restaurant, or on a weekend to Singapore, the range of Thai girls who will be interested has vastly expanded, and the Internet has made it ridiculously easy to connect with them. 

There is no age gap, lack of hair, excess weight, or general unpleasantness that cannot be overcome by maintaining a steady flow of gifts and treats. It is not prostitution, it is far more expensive than that, but the point is that the field of play has expanded massively.

The unique economic factors that energized the bar scene in the last century have pretty much petered out. It is no longer possible for a guy who is more-or-less broke by Western standards to fetch up in Pattaya and live a deliciously chaotic playboy lifestyle, spending amounts so low it almost didn't feel like prostitution. It was a situation whereby non-rich guys could get a sense of what it would be like to be rich.

Now you just have to be rich ????

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by donnacha

[alant]

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Any decline in nightlife is little to nothing to do with the junta. The man who really stuffed it up is in exile.

Must have waited until he was exiled for it to come into effect by the look of things.

[kingdong]

On 1/11/2020 at 8:26 PM, blackcab said:

 

Yes, for sure. It's 3am and I've just got home.

Don,t tell me you ordered an uber at 23.00hr, s and his sat nav went for a burton.

Edited January 13, 2020 by kingdong

[BritManToo]

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I've seen them too and wondered why I was never around when it was like that. It's like an army recruiting VDO- the reality is never as good.

Female action .......

I thought it was every bit as good when I first arrived in 2009, too many young and pretty girls to choose from.

Now Chiang Mai is dead as a doornail, but a quick hop over to Saigon and it's just like Thailand used to be

(only at 4x the price).

Edited January 13, 2020 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

18 hours ago, donnacha said:

If you can afford to bring a girl out to a very nice restaurant, or on a weekend to Singapore, the range of Thai girls who will be interested has vastly expanded, and the Internet has made it ridiculously easy to connect with them. 

What I can afford, and what I am prepared to pay are two entirely different things.

I have a simple 'beer comparison' test, I would rather have 20 beers (or a bag of cannabis) than a sexual encounter.

Thailand used to be 10 beers or a girl, and I'd probably have both of an evening

Now it's more like 40 beers ....... and I'd rather have 40 beers every time.

 

A weekend to Singapore?

Why would anyone pay that? plenty of available girls in Singapore.

Edited January 13, 2020 by BritManToo

[neeray]

On ‎1‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 3:14 PM, OmniBootstrap said:

streets filled with pretty girls walking around in skimpy clothes lined with neon lights

I've never indulged in a side trip to Pattaya but this nouveau fashion sounds positively eye catching.

Will I need sun glasses at night?

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, alant said:

21 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Any decline in nightlife is little to nothing to do with the junta. The man who really stuffed it up is in exile.

Must have waited until he was exiled for it to come into effect by the look of things.

 

It was a minster in his government who banned sales of alcohol between 2 and 5, supposedly to protect kids from buying it. Thai logic though meant that it was only on sale 11-2, when the kids were out on a lunch break and free to buy (asking for ID to check age has so far never occurred to the Thais). He also tried to close bars and night clubs at midnight, even at 10pm if I remember correctly.

[roquefort]

21 hours ago, donnacha said:

It may seem counterintuitive but, despite the better economy, the opportunities for a guy with disposable income (whether Thai or foreign) are far broader now. It simply comes in a slightly less obvious form.

The boom years of Pattaya and the Thai bargirl industry were driven by the staggering gap between Thai incomes at the lowest levels and foreign incomes.

A typical sex worker from Isaan was primarily driven by a responsibility towards her impoverished (and demanding) family, and she might also already have a kid or two being cared for by that family. The industry was manned by a small proportion of Thai society.

Women from "better" backgrounds might have dabbled but most Thais never came anywhere close to the industry, it was simply a line they would not cross, even to the extent of not being willing to date foreigners.

Now, Thailand is pretty far into a (faltering) boom primarily driven by credit. People of all classes look around and see plenty of new cars, fancy electronics, new shopping malls. There appears to be plenty of money around and, in a sense, there is, but most of it is borrowed.

The material expectations of the average Thai, stoked by the Internet and social media, have grown massively, without any matching increase in levels of education, competence, or productivity. While the vast majority of Thai girls are now even less interested in the formal sex industry, their increased need for money and possessions has fueled a growing and unashamed culture of dating for gain.

In Asia, relationships have always been more blatantly about financial practicalities, but much of the taboo about dating foreigners has now disappeared or, at least, been overridden by women's sense of material lack, even those in good jobs.

If you can afford to bring a girl out to a very nice restaurant, or on a weekend to Singapore, the range of Thai girls who will be interested has vastly expanded, and the Internet has made it ridiculously easy to connect with them. 

There is no age gap, lack of hair, excess weight, or general unpleasantness that cannot be overcome by maintaining a steady flow of gifts and treats. It is not prostitution, it is far more expensive than that, but the point is that the field of play has expanded massively.

The unique economic factors that energized the bar scene in the last century have pretty much petered out. It is no longer possible for a guy who is more-or-less broke by Western standards to fetch up in Pattaya and live a deliciously chaotic playboy lifestyle, spending amounts so low it almost didn't feel like prostitution. It was a situation whereby non-rich guys could get a sense of what it would be like to be rich.

Now you just have to be rich ????

 

Excellent summing up. I'd add that the age range of expats available to Thai women has also vastly expanded, and the better-looking ones have no trouble finding a partner their age who is willing to finance their need for money and possessions. It's a commerical relationship that works for both sides.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, roquefort said:

Excellent summing up. I'd add that the age range of expats available to Thai women has also vastly expanded, and the better-looking ones have no trouble finding a partner their age who is willing to finance their need for money and possessions. It's a commerical relationship that works for both sides.

Would disagree, young expats with enough money to satisfy a Thai lady their own age are rarer than hens teeth.

Even retired expats with enough money are in short supply as guys with pensions and savings from the west become harder to find.

Edited January 13, 2020 by BritManToo

[Denim]

22 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Watch out for the ladyboys though. Many look like the real thing

 

Is that the voice of experience from the school of hard knocks ?

 

What a bummer eh ? Quite literally.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, alant said:

Must have waited until he was exiled for it to come into effect by the look of things.

Not at all. He ( or at least his man Purachai ) stuffed it while in office. I was there at the time- were you?

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

It was a minster in his government who banned sales of alcohol between 2 and 5, supposedly to protect kids from buying it. Thai logic though meant that it was only on sale 11-2, when the kids were out on a lunch break and free to buy (asking for ID to check age has so far never occurred to the Thais). He also tried to close bars and night clubs at midnight, even at 10pm if I remember correctly.

He also stopped the shows in gogos and liked to close them for stupid reasons. Not sure, but I think he also stopped nudity in gogos.

Edited January 13, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[CGW]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I thought it was every bit as good when I first arrived in 2009, too many young and pretty girls to choose from.

You should have been here in 1999, 1989 even better, the whole vibe was ruined by mobile phones!

[thaibeachlovers]

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Would disagree, young expats with enough money to satisfy a Thai lady their own age are rarer than hens teeth.

Even retired expats with enough money are in short supply as guys with pensions and savings from the west become harder to find.

A big driver of the night scene before the economic crash were expats with  big salaries. After the crash many lost their jobs.

Another driver was western men getting divorced and a big pay off from sale of the house back home.

[Denim]

2 minutes ago, CGW said:

You should have been here in 1999, 1989 even better, the whole vibe was ruined by mobile phones!

Back in 1979 they didn't even have many color televisions and a fridge in a hotel room was unheard of luxury.

Down in Pattaya , if you had a pedal bike you were a God.

 

[LivinLOS]

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not at all. He ( or at least his man Purachai ) stuffed it while in office. I was there at the time- were you?

The purachai social order campaign wasnt a patch on Junta clampdown.. 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

The purachai social order campaign wasnt a patch on Junta clampdown.. 

 

 

I fundamentally disagree. The scene never recovered from Purachai's destruction.

 

Has the junta ordered very BG to spend more time looking at their phone than attracting customers? Has the junta ordered BGs to demand ridiculous rent fees and the bars to impose insane bar fines? Has the junta ordered gogo DJs to play horrible noise far too loudly? Has the junta ordered gogos to take fat girls on?

 

What, exactly has the junta done to "clampdown" on the nite scene, according to you?

Edited January 13, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[LivinLOS]

7 minutes ago, CGW said:

You should have been here in 1999, 1989 even better, the whole vibe was ruined by mobile phones!

Agree mobiles changed the scene dramatically from the 'hello my big Honey' days.. Then smartphones and online 'dating' has again changed it further.. Why work in a bar when a good badoo / tinder / FB profile can get you 3 short times a day with relative privacy.. 

Now with pornhub launching a income earning 'adult performer' AKA youtube for brass, expect to see the earnings of the top tier bikini mafia types skyrocket far beyond the pockets of you average visitor. 

[Pravda]

I don't know how it was before, but God bless tinder. Plenty of horny girls who proclaim no one no fwb, but 2 beers later I'm in their loom helping take their panties off. 

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, Denim said:

Back in 1979 they didn't even have many color televisions and a fridge in a hotel room was unheard of luxury.

Down in Pattaya , if you had a pedal bike you were a God.

 

Not sure that anyone thought Glitterman was a god:-)

Pattaya lost sanuk about the time he left for ?far shores.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, Pravda said:

I don't know how it was before, but God bless tinder. Plenty of horny girls who proclaim no one no fwb, but 2 beers later I'm in their loom helping take their panties off. 

I'm obviously different to yourself, but I preferred to examine the merchandise before renting.

[Denim]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not sure that anyone thought Glitterman was a god:-)

Pattaya lost sanuk about the time he left for ?far shores.

 

Glitterman was about 30 years too late although credit where its due, he tried. Even introduced himself on TV forum

 

Back in the 80's there was Lipoman, a Nordic alcoholic who could often be seen stumbling around walking street with a bottle of Lipovitan sticking out of his flies.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, Denim said:

 

Glitterman was about 30 years too late although credit where its due, he tried. Even introduced himself on TV forum

 

Back in the 80's there was Lipoman, a Nordic alcoholic who could often be seen stumbling around walking street with a bottle of Lipovitan sticking out of his flies.

Just to be pedantic, Walking Street didn't exist till mid 90s. Perhaps you meant the road that was there before Walking Street.

Sigh. Pattaya was far more fun back then, than since. I'll never forget sitting in a baht bus ( they had low roofs back then ) driving along Beach Rd for the very first time - the sun sparkled on the bay which was full of big boats and the road was lined with bar beers full of punters and girls. I just knew I'd found paradise on Earth.

Edited January 13, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[Thingamabob]

22 hours ago, donnacha said:

It may seem counterintuitive but, despite the better economy, the opportunities for a guy with disposable income (whether Thai or foreign) are far broader now. It simply comes in a slightly less obvious form.

The boom years of Pattaya and the Thai bargirl industry were driven by the staggering gap between Thai incomes at the lowest levels and foreign incomes.

A typical sex worker from Isaan was primarily driven by a responsibility towards her impoverished (and demanding) family, and she might also already have a kid or two being cared for by that family. The industry was manned by a small proportion of Thai society.

Women from "better" backgrounds might have dabbled but most Thais never came anywhere close to the industry, it was simply a line they would not cross, even to the extent of not being willing to date foreigners.

Now, Thailand is pretty far into a (faltering) boom primarily driven by credit. People of all classes look around and see plenty of new cars, fancy electronics, new shopping malls. There appears to be plenty of money around and, in a sense, there is, but most of it is borrowed.

The material expectations of the average Thai, stoked by the Internet and social media, have grown massively, without any matching increase in levels of education, competence, or productivity. While the vast majority of Thai girls are now even less interested in the formal sex industry, their increased need for money and possessions has fueled a growing and unashamed culture of dating for gain.

In Asia, relationships have always been more blatantly about financial practicalities, but much of the taboo about dating foreigners has now disappeared or, at least, been overridden by women's sense of material lack, even those in good jobs.

If you can afford to bring a girl out to a very nice restaurant, or on a weekend to Singapore, the range of Thai girls who will be interested has vastly expanded, and the Internet has made it ridiculously easy to connect with them. 

There is no age gap, lack of hair, excess weight, or general unpleasantness that cannot be overcome by maintaining a steady flow of gifts and treats. It is not prostitution, it is far more expensive than that, but the point is that the field of play has expanded massively.

The unique economic factors that energized the bar scene in the last century have pretty much petered out. It is no longer possible for a guy who is more-or-less broke by Western standards to fetch up in Pattaya and live a deliciously chaotic playboy lifestyle, spending amounts so low it almost didn't feel like prostitution. It was a situation whereby non-rich guys could get a sense of what it would be like to be rich.

Now you just have to be rich ????

 

Very well said. Peak years were the 60s, 70s and 80s, however still a good time to be had, at a price. 

[CGW]

34 minutes ago, Denim said:

Back in 1979 they didn't even have many color televisions and a fridge in a hotel room was unheard of luxury.

How quickly we forget! if you wanted to make a international telephone call it would cost you more than the room cost for the week!

[Nyezhov]

On 1/12/2020 at 3:26 AM, blackcab said:

 

Yes, for sure. It's 3am and I've just got home.

Again, Thai Visa leads the way with an absolute killer one liner!

 

Let me add: Nightlife is great here in Bangkok. Anytime I want to get drunk, I have a choice of hundreds of places to do so. Anytime I want to make the beast with two backs with a girl 40 years younger, I merely need to smile, wink and open my wallet. I have had more cheap great meals here in BKK than anywhere else in the world. Check out Azzurro near BTS PK if you think Im kidding. If I am hungry, there is food 24/7. They place great music in Mixx and Levels. I can go down to Lower Suk at anytime and watch wierdos (present company included), football and eat tacos! The transport system is world class. I can go to all sorts of strange areas. I can even go to Soccer matches!

 

This place is great! Fabulous! There is so much to do I get overwhelmed with trying to decide and end up watch Netflix, smoking bowls, then getting pizzas from gallery Pizza (delivery to 4am) and finding love on Tindr. Then I go take pictures of strange roadside Gods, spirits and locals.

 

This is the fun capital of the world! Number One in My Book for the past 25 years or so.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Nyezhov