Walking Street discos / nightclubs, why are all the usual places completely dead?

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, iaminwa said:

Walking Street died 10 years ago when they went upmarket.

 

Then LK Metro took over as the place to go.

Seems the Thais have a knack of not knowing what makes a place popular.

 

For instance, the beaches I used to love way back last century used to be full of very cheap ( 300  baht a night ) accommodation, but then the owners thought that upgrading the accommodation to flashpacker status would bring in higher profits, so they concreted the beaches and pretty much ruined them. It's like they thought people went to the beach because of the room they would stay in, rather than the unspoiled beach itself. Had Rin used to be a fantastic beach but by this century it had become concrete hell.

[Woof999]

Republic every time. They seem to draw in loads of major DJs and if there are 4 or 5 of you and you're drinking a fair amount then a VIP booth is effectively free.

[Chivas]

Bamboo aint quiet lol

 

Had not been in for years until very recently but highly amusing course its not rammed with 25 year olds but nor are 99.9% readers of the thread

[bbi1]

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

And if a punter buys a freelancer girl a drink, is it still overpriced and she gets a commission?

Well, kind of. In places like Ibar / Insomnia / Myst (and maybe other venues) they have these free member cards for the girls that gives them points and when they get a certain amount of points, they get free drinks. So they like to get dudes to buy drinks then they give their member cards for points for future free drinks. That's why those clubs are packed, or they were back in the old days.

 

Free drinks for girls, apparently a number of Indian clubs give girls a few free beers if they come before 10pm or maybe a bottle if they come in a group of 3 or 5. Something like that anyway.

[bbi1]

3 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Has anyone seen the drink prices for the Indian Clubs?

 

330 baht for a Chang beer.....@#$^^@#

 

Add in loads of fat birds and awful music....And yet these places are packed...WHY?

 

Yes, I've seen the prices at Indian clubs before. They're a total ripoff and charge the highest prices out of all the clubs. I guess they gouge the Indian punters and they have to pay for those dancing Uzbeck girls on stage. Gets me thinking, do those foreign dancing girls have a work permit to legally work here?

[bbi1]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

It's paying to be around a large group of similar birds, not the beer. People will pay a premium to be around their own kind in a foreign country where they are feeling isolated after just arriving. Sometimes it goes to extremes and they don't want to let different people in at the door, etc.

 

Now, it can also be, to be seen and noticed. Everyone knows the drinks are expensive so they sit on a high perch, with a pricey drink and maybe even a mating companion. For that brief moment in time, they have bought an illusion of importance & relevancy.

 

See you at the club, man pigeon.

Yeah, the Indians love to go to their own club for familiarity of music and their own kind, plus a number of clubs are racist against Indians and don't let them in or ones that do, charge them a 100 or 200 baht fee each to get in. I remember in the old days Red Car club, the only non-smoking club, always charged Indians 100 or 200 baht by the bouncers at the front door. This is similar to a number of Agogos that will do that too.

 

As mentioned in my OP, I also faced my 1st time racism trying to get into Panda club. Bouncer told me "Korean and Chinese only". Never had a problem entering it in the old days, even though it's always been a Chinese club.

[bbi1]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

It's paying to be around a large group of similar birds, not the beer. People will pay a premium to be around their own kind in a foreign country where they are feeling isolated after just arriving. Sometimes it goes to extremes and they don't want to let different people in at the door, etc.

 

Now, it can also be, to be seen and noticed. Everyone knows the drinks are expensive so they sit on a high perch, with a pricey drink and maybe even a mating companion. For that brief moment in time, they have bought an illusion of importance & relevancy.

 

See you at the club, man pigeon.

Sometimes at Indian clubs, if you are not Indian, the bouncers will ask you "Where are you from". I tell them where I'm from then they say "ok". Next time I should just tell them "I'm from India" just to mess with them. Pisses me off every time I get that question from Indian club bounces.

[bbi1]

3 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

I'm almost 20 years older than 37 and still love going to clubs and dancing all night to good house music.  I am not a fan of hip-hop though so anywhere that plays that I won't go.    

Considering that hip-hop is played in nearly every club, Agogos, those street cocktail cars, other girlie bars, I guess the clubs you'd be going to are the Indian clubs, am I correct? But then again, even some of the Indian clubs will play some hip-hop too. So exactly which nightclubs are you going to? I don't think there's really anywhere that doesn't play hip-hop.

[bbi1]

2 hours ago, Keeps said:

That only works out at 66 baht per person as there will be 5 of them sharing a bottle.

You obviously have no knowledge of the Indian punters who frequent Indian clubs. Some of them are loaded big time. Plus everyone has to buy a drink and can't just share a bottle between themselves. The service staff are aggressive from when you walk in to bring you to a table and get an order out of you and tips. Plus Indians exchange real cash for those fake cash in the clubs and throw it around on stage around the dancing girls. Apparently it's to show off that they have money or something like that in their culture.

[bbi1]

2 hours ago, AlexPattaya said:

The Good Ol’ Days in Pattaya are Gone! Permanently! It will never be the same! Multiple factors are involved such as :

Lack of easy money. Advent of online dating. In time , Pattaya will definitely change into more family friendly place with less Clubs and Bars . That’s why so many Clubs and Bars are For Sale! And it’s only a beginning! 

I was under the impression that lots of bars for sale because the owners can't make money and are losing money. There are millions of bars everywhere doing the same. An oversupply. We have all these foreigner geniuses (aka foreigner idiots) who come here and decide it will be wise to buy a bar and become a pimp, but they quickly end up losing their money.

[Keeps]

37 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

You obviously have no knowledge of the Indian punters who frequent Indian clubs. Some of them are loaded big time. Plus everyone has to buy a drink and can't just share a bottle between themselves. The service staff are aggressive from when you walk in to bring you to a table and get an order out of you and tips. Plus Indians exchange real cash for those fake cash in the clubs and throw it around on stage around the dancing girls. Apparently it's to show off that they have money or something like that in their culture.

Obviously eh? From your barrage of posts over the last few days you seem to know everything about everything. All hail the font of all knowledge. 🙌

[georgegeorgia]

3 hours ago, noobexpat said:

The biggest change is ibar, which i used to like. 

Although, it started getting polluted with arabs in its pre-covid years and they are generally unpleasant to be around anyway.

 

Myst and republic are the 2 now. Again too many arabs, as most of the western tourists are old guys. 

They don't get going until >1am.

I think a whole load of freelancing girls just left the scene and never returned after covid.

 

You have mentioned "arabs" 3 times .

Is there any need to be ...racist and stereotyping?

Everyone is welcome and we must be harmonious especially yesterday was World Harmony Day

 

We must enjoy and enrich every cultural aspects of different nationalities and enjoy the cultural enrichment they bring ,please find love in your heart and next time open your arms if you see a Arab person and HUG them.

[proton]

7 hours ago, Darksidedude said:

Walking street died decades ago, was great in the 90s

 

No it wasn't😄

[Olmate]

26 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

You have mentioned "arabs" 3 times .

Is there any need to be ...racist and stereotyping?

Everyone is welcome and we must be harmonious especially yesterday was World Harmony Day

 

We must enjoy and enrich every cultural aspects of different nationalities and enjoy the cultural enrichment they bring ,please find love in your heart and next time open your arms if you see a Arab person and HUG them.

Dont u mean SLUG nice boy Gorge, maybe PLUG even? 

[JensenZ]

22 hours ago, bbi1 said:

 I know that the majority of forum users are well on in their years and probably all on retirement visas and I'm going to get the usual stupid comments like they're usually in bed sleeping by 8pm or everything should close by midnight, but I'm hoping there are some "younger" members on here that are on this forum.

It's not primarily about age, but maturity. I didn't enjoy discos or clubs in my 20s, and nothing has changed in my 60s. I suspect you're going there for cheap pussy and that's why you want crowded dumps to explore.

[JimTripper]

4 hours ago, AlexPattaya said:

The Good Ol’ Days in Pattaya are Gone! Permanently! It will never be the same! Multiple factors are involved such as :

Lack of easy money. Advent of online dating. In time , Pattaya will definitely change into more family friendly place with less Clubs and Bars . That’s why so many Clubs and Bars are For Sale! And it’s only a beginning! 

 

[KhunHeineken]

A lot of attractive girls are working online these days. They don't have to worry about lady drinks and bar fine quotas, and penalties for not meeting their quotas. They don't have to stand around a nightclub all night with ridiculously loud music that they don't like. They don't have to dance on a pole for hours. They don't have to sit around the bar all shift fighting over the few customers that come in.

They chose when they want to work, who they want to go with, and set their own price. They can even be on a night out with their friends and have some messages come in and they leave for an hour and come back to their night out with friends. I have seen this first hand.

The attractive girls have realized they are the business, not the bar, nightclub, or gogo, and they are now freelancing on the internet.

The quality is not in the bars, in the clubs, or on the stages anymore. It's online. Some of their prices can be a little high, but take out lady drinks and the bar fine, and the fact you can meet them anywhere you like, there ends up being not much difference in price.

Not sure what businesses here can do in order get the attractive girls, other than pay them a lot, which means drink prices, lady drink prices, and bar fine prices all increase, which then makes even more people have a look online at the apps.

Bar owners will tell you guys like to go to bars to have fun with the girls, but you can take a freelancer into wherever you want, even a girly bar, and still have fun.

Bars, nightclubs and gogos will still be here for years to come, but I don't think the attractive girls will be working in them, or out of them, which you can already see is happening.

[bbi1]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

 

Going out alone to a nightclub is the only way to go. Why the f&ck would you want to go to hang out with other dudes when going to a nightclub? Unless you're gay, I guess......

[JimTripper]

4 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Going out alone to a nightclub is the only way to go. Why the f&ck would you want to go to hang out with other dudes when going to a nightclub? Unless you're gay, I guess......

Many guys need to be in groups to break the ice. He talks about it in the video. 'Lone wolfs' are viewed with extreme suspicion in many countries and your chances are slim to none cold approaching in a club or bar environment, in say, the Usa for example. Especially, if you are an older guy, in say, your 50's and you want to meet women in their 20's. Obviously, it does not apply to freelancers at all and not in Thailand as much.

[ABCDBKK]

17 hours ago, Darksidedude said:

Walking street died decades ago, was great in the 90s

Yeah it was. Had a lot of fun back then in Marine Disco. And if you wanted to reload, there was Marine 2 that opened after hours. There was no gentrification back then and no Asian tourists. It was so much fun back then that you couldn't handle more than 2-3 nights of it in a row. 

[ABCDBKK]

11 hours ago, bbi1 said:

I was under the impression that lots of bars for sale because the owners can't make money and are losing money. There are millions of bars everywhere doing the same. An oversupply. We have all these foreigner geniuses (aka foreigner idiots) who come here and decide it will be wise to buy a bar and become a pimp, but they quickly end up losing their money.

That's not new. It's been that way for 40 years in the bar business in Thailand already. 

[JimTripper]

The Op is correct. I was just down there again tonight. There's something strange about the area. The dancers in the go-go's are fully clothed and I don't think people are really hooking up in that area. It's more of just a tourist attraction and has a fake energy to it.

 

It's similar to a Disneyland area where people are walking around staring like in a theme park. Not the same as like Nana in Bangkok, for example. I think that's what the Op means when he says it's empty, the strange vibe, or people just kind of passing through, or if they do go in the clubs they look around then leave and don't really sit there for long. It sounds like the indian and arab places are different but I don't go in there.

 

It reminds me of the Las Vegas Strip where people are just walking up and down and taking the 'Deuce' tram, but not many people are gambling, meeting people or even having a Whiskey. Just a Disneyland type setup. It even seems family friendly like somewhere you could take the kids.

[noobexpat]

Its 2am and i'm back from walking street.

Rocking in the places i go to. Poor old miserable retirees not welcome!

 

They let the scruffy buggers in but not really welcome.

[DonniePeverley]

I remember many years ago, i saw how many bars would not let Indians in. I remember thinking they could implement policies rather than go straight to banning - for example, they could make Indians pay for their drinks on entry, etc. But nope it was a straight ban. The more i asked club owners about this extreme policy, the more it wasn't really about business and just out right prejudice. 

 

Unfortunately now for these places the only main customers in town are the Indians. And sick and tired of the racism they faced they've now gone and built their own super clubs, and reeping it in. 

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

The attractive girls have realized they are the business, not the bar, nightclub, or gogo, and they are now freelancing on the internet.

That's been happening for years, many girls online are working bar and just adding the bar fine on their price 

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I was just down there again tonight. There's something strange about the area. The dancers in the go-go's are fully clothed and I don't think people are really hooking up in that area. It's more of just a tourist attraction and has a fake energy to it.

For naked you have to go to Windmill Soi Diamond. That's pretty much the only one like that now in WS, a few others died during covid. Windmill 9,000 baht long time, more a deterrent than anything else

[ozimoron]

Tonight, Saturday, I went to walking street and visited the two most popular clubs. The street itself was quiet. At 8:30 there were only a handful of customers in the first club I went to then at 9 I went to the other club which was mostly full but I could still get a front row seat. Apart from handful of farangs who sat alone both places were patronised almost exclusively by Chinese and Koreans. Both clubs had only one girl each that I would consider were worth going there for.

 

[SportRider]

Since Covid loads of the girls have moved to the apps (TF etc) so can run their business without needing to go to the freelancer/after hours spots.  

Then fewer ladies -> fewer punters -> empty clubs.

[Henryford]

12 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

A lot of attractive girls are working online these days. They don't have to worry about lady drinks and bar fine quotas, and penalties for not meeting their quotas. They don't have to stand around a nightclub all night with ridiculously loud music that they don't like. They don't have to dance on a pole for hours. They don't have to sit around the bar all shift fighting over the few customers that come in.

They chose when they want to work, who they want to go with, and set their own price. They can even be on a night out with their friends and have some messages come in and they leave for an hour and come back to their night out with friends. I have seen this first hand.

The attractive girls have realized they are the business, not the bar, nightclub, or gogo, and they are now freelancing on the internet.

The quality is not in the bars, in the clubs, or on the stages anymore. It's online. Some of their prices can be a little high, but take out lady drinks and the bar fine, and the fact you can meet them anywhere you like, there ends up being not much difference in price.

Not sure what businesses here can do in order get the attractive girls, other than pay them a lot, which means drink prices, lady drink prices, and bar fine prices all increase, which then makes even more people have a look online at the apps.

Bar owners will tell you guys like to go to bars to have fun with the girls, but you can take a freelancer into wherever you want, even a girly bar, and still have fun.

Bars, nightclubs and gogos will still be here for years to come, but I don't think the attractive girls will be working in them, or out of them, which you can already see is happening.

 

 

For me most of the fun i had in Pattaya was going around the bars/clubs interacting with the girls and finally choosing one for the night.  Just picking a stranger  off TF and have her delivered like a pizza for a quick 30 minute shag is not my idea of a fun night/holiday.

[Olmate]

4 minutes ago, Henryford said:

 

 

For me most of the fun i had in Pattaya was going around the bars/clubs interacting with the girls and finally choosing one for the night.  Just picking a stranger  off TF and have her delivered like a pizza for a quick 30 minute shag is not my idea of a fun night/holiday.

Of course that works bothways, your history in a club if you have two heads!