Two Questions

[N47HAN]

NB This is for information gathering only , not a bashing thread !

First,

Having spent a while in Pattaya , Samui , Bangkok and Phuket. Phuket it would seem is the only place where an afternoon drinking place with some atmosphere is lacking. ( Bangkok soi 4,7 ... Pattaya soi 6 ... Samui nr Fishermans village ) any one found anywhere outthere ?

Second,

A freind of mine is contemplating a small agogo in Ao Chalong , would you visit ?

[thaigerd]

Having the same problem............

Yes I wold visit his place,when does it open?

Gerd

[Sir Burr]

A freind of mine is contemplating a small agogo in Ao Chalong , would you visit ?

Thanks for the best laugh I've had all week.......

[LivinginKata]

I thought that the topic 'Dial Tones Thailand' was a much bigger laugh .....

[Sir Burr]

Nope, I disagree. Opening an Ago-go in Chalong is by far the funnier.

[N47HAN]

The plan for the "agogo" is to alternate nights

Along the lines of mon wed fri live band tue thu sun agogo or something similar,

personally reckon it could a nice little earner ,plenty of expats in the vicinity not wanting the bs of patong.

Soi Cowboy bangkok ring bells with anyone ? 90%+ expats

Ps

Has anyone been to the new Chang Bar on the hill from Kamala to Patong ? heard its a coyoty type place ?

[Sir Burr]

Good luck trying to get a licence.

[N47HAN]

As i said sirburr,

A freind of mine is contemplating it , i beleive all the papers have been okd one way or another , i was just curious to the general concensus of expats here in Phuket thats all.

BTW anyone with an afternoon venue they would reccommend ?

[Sir Burr]

Nikita Bar - Rawai.

Friendship Beach Bungalows -Rawai.

[geriatrickid]

Not to be Mr. Negativity, but there are just way too many bars around and there is already great variety. Another one will just get lost in the shuffle.

[seonai]

The Lighthouse, Chalong

[smartecosse]

its a shame that Chalong in turning into such a toilet

Its mildy embarrising to be with customers coming along the pier road at only 6pm ish and have over the hill hags in shimpy clothes shouting "helllllllooooooooooooooo weeeeeellllllllllllllllccccccccccooooooooooooommmmmmmeeeeeeeeeee" to all and sundry

indicative of the type of farang that frequent the area now though thats its gone from just a couple to a whole street of whore houses, sorry I mean bars

[donna]

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

[huggybear]

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

It's still a great view, and although a bit pricey, the food is better than when Jimmy had it. Also you don't have the 9:00AM already full of gin, yachties and wannabe yachties passing out at the bar.

"they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid." Please let us know how many restaurants you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Because a Thai family that's been successful takes over you bash it? Never been succeesful eh Donna? I seem to be sensing jealousy.

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Edited January 28, 2008 by huggybear

[PhilHarries]

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Please let us know how many agogos you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

[Tony121]

Opening agogo bar what a great idea I can't believe no one else has thought of that maybe he could do a free bbq or show sports genius !

[huggybear]

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Please let us know how many agogos you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Not the same Phil, the restaurant is already established and running, it's not a matter of prospection.

Before you set up a business, in the "doing diligence" part of the business prospectus, you outline your target customers. Target customers for an agogo in Chalong? Phil me in Phil? Retirees who pass out at 8:00?No? Young guys trolling for putty, they are in Patong. Who would be the target customers that would make this agogo a success?

An example would be the agogo in Kata that did not fly, now there you might think in your prospectus you would have a clientele, but it flopped.

[Ping]

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

It's still a great view, and although a bit pricey, the food is better than when Jimmy had it. Also you don't have the 9:00AM already full of gin, yachties and wannabe yachties passing out at the bar.

"they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid." Please let us know how many restaurants you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Because a Thai family that's been successful takes over you bash it? Never been succeesful eh Donna? I seem to be sensing jealousy.

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Have you ever considered that if you are pleasant to people, you may get a more favourable reaction? It always helps to put yourself in the position of the person you are addressing, ie how would you feel if someone said this to you?

It's never too late to learn...

[N47HAN]

Opening agogo bar what a great idea I can't believe no one else has thought of that maybe he could do a free bbq or show sports genius !

The person concerned has run bars in Phuket for many years , and to my knowledge actually does turn a healthy profit.

If someone could set up a pole for this question maybe just a vote would be better?

Will it work ?

yes

no

would you visit

yes

no

etc..

[huggybear]

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

It's still a great view, and although a bit pricey, the food is better than when Jimmy had it. Also you don't have the 9:00AM already full of gin, yachties and wannabe yachties passing out at the bar.

"they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid." Please let us know how many restaurants you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Because a Thai family that's been successful takes over you bash it? Never been succeesful eh Donna? I seem to be sensing jealousy.

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Have you ever considered that if you are pleasant to people, you may get a more favourable reaction? It always helps to put yourself in the position of the person you are addressing, ie how would you feel if someone said this to you?

It's never too late to learn...

Ping, point taken, thank you, yes, at times I'm a bit course, definitely a fault of mine I need to work on.

But Donna's post gets me a little riled as she says "Forget The Lighthouse" because

1. A rich Thai family now owns it (only poor people should own restaurants? Where does that leave Mom Tri?)

2. It's lost it's charm (the view is the charm, what it's lost is drunks, and hot dogs off the menu)

3. They have no idea what they are doing (this is where I would like an explanation as to how this conclusion is reached)

If she states "I have operated resataurants for over ten years and they do not know what they are doing" then I would be o.k., but if she has gone there once since Jimmy sold and didn't see what she usually ordered on the menu and came to that conclusion, then it's fallacy.

I would like to take back the statement "never been successful, jealous" that was not right, shouldn't have gone there and apologize.

[Sir Burr]

Opening an ago-go bar in Chalong is patently rediculous. You don't have to have operated a bar to know that, either.

[Lilawadee]

its a shame that Chalong in turning into such a toilet

Its mildy embarrising to be with customers coming along the pier road at only 6pm ish and have over the hill hags in shimpy clothes shouting "helllllllooooooooooooooo weeeeeellllllllllllllllccccccccccooooooooooooommmmmmmeeeeeeeeeee to all and sundry

indicative of the type of farang that frequent the area now though thats its gone from just a couple to a whole street of whore houses, sorry I mean bars

Ouch.. well there you have it.. I arrive and there goes the neighbourhood.

Though.. if you have a problem with smiling girls saying 'welcome' then I think Thailand may not be for you.

(The point being not that you should leave, but that "smiling girls saying welcome" are omnipresent.)

The plan for the 'agogo' is to alternate nights

Along the lines of mon wed fri live band tue thu sun agogo or something similar,

That's near impossible. I think a bar should have a format, and go for it 100%. Also what would the girls do on the music-nights?

What I CAN imagine, and what might actually be a reasonable idea not just for Chalong but anywhere, is a bar that starts out in the early evening as a regular sports/music bar, and as the night heats up will have some stage/coyote dancing activity though I would never call the format a-go-go..

personally reckon it could a nice little earner ,plenty of expats in the vicinity not wanting the bs of patong.

And your response to that would then be to import some of that Patong BS ?

Soi Cowboy bangkok ring bells with anyone ? 90%+ expats

Not sure about that percentage. Also not sure that a majority of expats would appreciate having Soi Cowboy right around the corner in Bangkok, either. Or differently: a high percentage of visitors to Soi Cowboy may be expats, but that doesn't mean that a majority of expats would like Soi Cowboy, and especially not right next door. So be careful of your goals: is it preventing tourists from finding/visiting the place, or getting it full every night?

Has anyone been to the new Chang Bar on the hill from Kamala to Patong ? heard its a coyoty type place ?

Mental note: Must try that one..

[Rajah]

A freind of mine is contemplating a small agogo in Ao Chalong , would you visit ?

IMHO not a really good idea to start business in Ao Chalong. This place is dead. Only one bar (Come On) is always crowded, I don't know how the others exist - even in high season. Hardly customers, bored ladies. In one of the sois is a bar where I never ever saw a costumer! A good Italian restaurant with an Italien chef there is worth a visit, though.

[LivinLOS]

Opening agogo bar what a great idea I can't believe no one else has thought of that maybe he could do a free bbq or show sports genius !

The person concerned has run bars in Phuket for many years , and to my knowledge actually does turn a healthy profit.

If someone could set up a pole for this question maybe just a vote would be better?

Will it work ?

yes

no

would you visit

yes

no

etc..

Next question..

Will you be able to keep attractive gogo 'dancers' there ??

Yes

No

Bearing in mind rates for dancers in popular Patong gogo's horizontal folk dancing is getting to be 2k ST and 3k LT what price will you need to pay to keep dancers of any calibre interested active and bubbly in a slow OAP's version of a gogo without that side earning ??

No offense to anyone who like living in gods waiting room.. But reality is what it is.

[Sir Burr]

Chalong Ago-go. I nice little earner for the BIB and they'll be just round the corner, too.

[vanalli]

Keep it in Patong.

[donna]

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

It's still a great view, and although a bit pricey, the food is better than when Jimmy had it. Also you don't have the 9:00AM already full of gin, yachties and wannabe yachties passing out at the bar.

"they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid." Please let us know how many restaurants you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Because a Thai family that's been successful takes over you bash it? Never been succeesful eh Donna? I seem to be sensing jealousy.

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

forget the lighthouse in chalong. it was taken over by a rich thai family and the place has lost the charm it had. they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid.

It's still a great view, and although a bit pricey, the food is better than when Jimmy had it. Also you don't have the 9:00AM already full of gin, yachties and wannabe yachties passing out at the bar.

"they have no idea what they are doing, im afraid." Please let us know how many restaurants you have run so we can consider this conclusion as valid or not.

Because a Thai family that's been successful takes over you bash it? Never been succeesful eh Donna? I seem to be sensing jealousy.

P.S. for the OP-an agogo in Chalong will not work

Have you ever considered that if you are pleasant to people, you may get a more favourable reaction? It always helps to put yourself in the position of the person you are addressing, ie how would you feel if someone said this to you?

It's never too late to learn...

Ping, point taken, thank you, yes, at times I'm a bit course, definitely a fault of mine I need to work on.

But Donna's post gets me a little riled as she says "Forget The Lighthouse" because

1. A rich Thai family now owns it (only poor people should own restaurants? Where does that leave Mom Tri?)

2. It's lost it's charm (the view is the charm, what it's lost is drunks, and hot dogs off the menu)

3. They have no idea what they are doing (this is where I would like an explanation as to how this conclusion is reached)

If she states "I have operated resataurants for over ten years and they do not know what they are doing" then I would be o.k., but if she has gone there once since Jimmy sold and didn't see what she usually ordered on the menu and came to that conclusion, then it's fallacy.

I would like to take back the statement "never been successful, jealous" that was not right, shouldn't have gone there and apologize.

yes, a bit harsh i agree.

i never implied that poorer thais were the only ones who should own restaurants.

as for losing its charm maybe that was a bit harsh of me. yes, the view is lovely.

i have sent you a pm explaining this, but will go into it again here. i was 'taste testing' a chef i was employing at the time. we got him to cook in the lighthouse kitchen as the property i was working for was owned by the same people. the staff had no idea what they were doing, my dinner was almost thrown at me by a driver (not the waiting staff), the drinks menu was not in order, the food menu was not complete and half the dishes were not available. the owners daughter was in the kitchen with her dog on the benchtop, and then brought it on to the countertop of the bar. i do not see this as being health conscious, and i have not seen a dog on the counter of any other bar or restaurant in thailand.

i have worked in the hospitality industry for some time and i do know the difference between good and bad service. i do not expect five star, but on the night i went to the lighthouse, it was certainly not up to scratch.

if i were running it i would get a great band in on a friday or saturday night and rock the place to the core. as a pub its got great potential and in my opinion its not used as well as it could be.

[karlbkk]

Well it is me that is thinking of setting this up and from what i have seen here not a lot of you know much about chalong or the trade in bars.

Kata yes it did not fly BECUSE he did not have a licence thats it and it was alway full of big not so good looking Thai men at the door who will go in there?

Licence that one is easy its a 3/4 licence and its the same one for a Karaoke and how many are in chalong.

This place i am thinking of will not be big like in Patong just a small place and will be open daytime as thats the trade i am looking at the men who want somewhere to go for a few hours.

for the boat man who passes every day and gets the hhhhhhhheeeeeellllllloooooo bit well they sit on them trucks and go by but what you dont know is they come back to chalong at night for a good look round

[Prakanong]

The plan for the "agogo" is to alternate nights

Along the lines of mon wed fri live band tue thu sun agogo or something similar,

personally reckon it could a nice little earner ,plenty of expats in the vicinity not wanting the bs of patong.

Soi Cowboy bangkok ring bells with anyone ? 90%+ expats

Ps

Has anyone been to the new Chang Bar on the hill from Kamala to Patong ? heard its a coyoty type place ?

Cowboy is a favourite with expats but its not 90%

You also have a lot of regular visitors going there plus guys who once worked in Thailand maybe but its still a lot of visitors.

[Sir Burr]

Well it is me that is thinking of setting this up and from what i have seen here not a lot of you know much about chalong or the trade in bars.

Chalong has very few tourists. So, who are the farang that live in Chalong and the surrounding area? Well, the vast majority fall into one or more of the following catagories:-

1. They like the peace and quiet of the area.

2. They are married or have a girlfriend.

3. They don't have much money and are on a budget.

Not exactly the type of demographics needed to support an Ago-Go bar.

The girls that work in Chalong in the bars are either older, or, more homely looking than their sisters in Patong and Karon. That's why they are in Chalong, so they don't have to compete. Many of them look quite presentable if they dress nice. Put them in a bikini?

Without good looking girls, potential customers (what there is of them), won't come. Without customers, potential good looking girls won't come.

I've lived in Chalong for seven years now, and Phuket for twenty three, but, what do I know?. My own opinion is that opening an Ago-Go in Chalong is a bad idea, if you try, you'll be riding for a fall.

You think the off-season is bad in Kata? It's even deader in Chalong. How will you survive the long off season. the only place where bars make good money is Patong. precisely because it has tourists visiting all year round.

I think you need to do some serious home-work before you spend your hard earned cash on this pie-in-the-sky.

Edited February 3, 2008 by Sir Burr