The End Of Washington Square

[kiakaha]

My question is what culture in WS is there to be preserved?

Much of the "yeast" you'll find in WS isn't the type you really wanna be preserving,,,if ya know what I mean

[KhunDennis]

Personally I like Washington Square, I have been dropping by for nearly twenty years now, and have my favorite places there. Once you get acquainted, you find that there are some friendly people , that have led interesting lives.

Granted it is run down, I wish it would be rejuvenated rather than torn down. It is one place in Bangkok you can go to, and not have the hassles and rip offs of some more popular places, which there- in lies, the appeal to the regulars.

I find most of the people there have been around a fair bit, and are contented with more of a low key atmosphere. Seems like there should be room for this type of place in Bangkok and it will be missed by many if it goes away.

Another thing I wanted to say is that some of the people that take cheap shots at the place and people there, may simply not understand the place, and its unique history.

Like I said before if it was rejuvenated, and the business owners where assured that they could stay, it could be an asset rather than an eye sore.

[billd766]

Like KhunDennis I have been going there on and off since 1993 and I like the place.

What it really needed over the years was a good high pressure water wash or sand/grit blasting which would have made the square better looking.

I usually drink in Cats Meow with the odd visit to the Silver Dollar when I am in town and have been over the years.

I like the place and a lot of the people too.

[taxexile]

Another thing I wanted to say is that some of the people that take cheap shots at the place and people there, may simply not understand the place, and its unique history.

is that bastion of elegance , class and good taste "the hairy pie club" , near the soi 22 entrance , still open for business?

[bendix]

Rather curiously, some guy is trying to sell a Washington Square bar in the classifieds section. He says the lease is until Jan 2009 with 'a good chance of renewal".

Mmmmm. . . . . . . . . . very very dodgy.

[kiakaha]

where are all the annoying chinese tour buses/vans going to park now ?

[kingwilly]

Yesterday I recieved an email from stating that Washington Square will be "pulled down" and that the pub owners are looking for new properties. What do you guys know about this development?

no shame, bkkandrew, old a few other oldtimers might shed a tear, but noone else will

[KhunDennis]

A very witty statement taxexile, but really what is the point ? Have you not noticed the whole country is filled with harry pie clubs, of one kind or another, and have been for many years. Maybe you need to get out and about more.

[taxexile]

yes , i have noticed that there are lots of these places around , but please , "the hairy pie club" ?? , what on earth possessed the man when he came up with that winner of a name for his bar.

its so low rent and corny as to be unbelievable.

it conjures up grotesque visions of fat pale blotchy thighed drunken northern lasses in a cold wet industrial inner city landscape who would rather punch you in the mouth than soothe your soul.

why didnt he just call it "the minging vagina" and be done with.

[Ulysses G.]

yes , i have noticed that there are lots of these places around , but please , "the hairy pie club" ?? , what on earth possessed the man when he came up with that winner of a name for his bar.

I want to go there!

[rgs2001uk]

i have no desire to drag this thread into the gutter, however do any of you actually know how the name, the hairy pie club came about?

i assume we all know the establishment in question, where it is alleged, the more discerning clientele would retire to the upstairs members area to engage in a particular, for want of a better word, fetish.

[kiakaha]

why didnt he just call it "the minging vagina" and be done with.

I prefer "Rumble in the Jungle"

[pliny]

it conjures up grotesque visions of fat pale blotchy thighed drunken northern lasses in a cold wet industrial inner city landscape who would rather punch you in the mouth than soothe your soul.

Ah, memories, memories.

Any port in a storm, eh what me old curmudgeon?

[aussiechick]

I have been going to WS for the last 8 years. Taken by my friends as it was their hangout. Love it - Taffy's and the Lone Star being my favourite places. Have stayed at the Lone Star many a time on my quick trips to BKK.

Walking into Taffy's is fun - the place goes quiet trying to figure out what a white female is doing in there until Taffy yells "Oh shit it's me f**ing Mum, get her a beer!"

I keep hearing that it will close and the bars are all on shortened leases that keep getting renewed but will keep going there until it is bulldozed.

[thecatman]

[thecatman]

Does that mean the Mambo will go as well? In which case, the Dubliner will be nicely placed as the most favoured venue next to a building site beyond par

The Mambo Cabaret has been closed a long time now so yeah, I'd imagine that the old theatre building will be pulled down with the rest of W.S.

[Gary A]

I've been hearing this for fifteen years. I'll believe it when I see it. If not for Washington Square, I'd have no reason to even visit Bangkok. Tourist rip off prices have ruined Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

[MarkBKK]

Does that mean the Mambo will go as well? In which case, the Dubliner will be nicely placed as the most favoured venue next to a building site beyond par

The Mambo Cabaret has been closed a long time now so yeah, I'd imagine that the old theatre building will be pulled down with the rest of W.S.

Shit! Someone really ought to tell all those coach loads of Chinese and Korean tourists I keep seeing arriving in coaches. They must be really pissed off! (Unless by ''a long time'' you mean since last Friday night ...)

[Stephen777]

I've been hearing this for fifteen years. I'll believe it when I see it. If not for Washington Square, I'd have no reason to even visit Bangkok. Tourist rip off prices have ruined Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

It's true! The bar owners of WS are out looking for new property as we post here.

Things always change and even WS isn't what it used to be.

[loytoy]

I must admit Washington Square during the day time, 10am in Taffys hairy pie club is an experience not to be missed. About 12 noon the regulars start to come in and it an crazy way to start the day off. The Texas lone starr does good bar food to soak up the beer and the Silver Dollar as a very friendly atmosphere. Sets everything up for great time in Bangkok. I will miss the place if it pulled down.

[kiakaha]

Does that mean the Mambo will go as well? In which case, the Dubliner will be nicely placed as the most favoured venue next to a building site beyond par

The Mambo Cabaret has been closed a long time now so yeah, I'd imagine that the old theatre building will be pulled down with the rest of W.S.

You musn't live in Bangkok then, cos i live locally and it is very much open.

[thecatman]

Does that mean the Mambo will go as well? In which case, the Dubliner will be nicely placed as the most favoured venue next to a building site beyond par

The Mambo Cabaret has been closed a long time now so yeah, I'd imagine that the old theatre building will be pulled down with the rest of W.S.

You musn't live in Bangkok then, cos i live locally and it is very much open.

I'm sorry, I stand corrected, it's just that I went there one afternoon a while back to see about getting tickets for the show for visiting relatives, but there was no sign of life, I walked up the stairs to the left and into the theatre, still no sign of life or security, the place appeared condemned, no box office open, nothing. If it is still up and running, then it's certainly not the kind of place I'd wish to take family members. We went to Calypso Cabaret at the Asia Hotel instead, some where with a little more class and much more up my street!!

Oh, and I do live in BKK!!

[Stephen777]

I must admit Washington Square during the day time, 10am in Taffys hairy pie club is an experience not to be missed. About 12 noon the regulars start to come in and it an crazy way to start the day off. The Texas lone starr does good bar food to soak up the beer and the Silver Dollar as a very friendly atmosphere. Sets everything up for great time in Bangkok. I will miss the place if it pulled down.

You won't have any trouble finding new haunts in Bangkok. The one thing that might be hard to replace is "radio free Washington Square" aka Taffy. LOL He was given that nickname by an American who visits Bangkok each year. It's a nickname that really fits.

[Gary A]

Say what you want about Taffy. He's crude, sometimes rude and always loud but he is a really good guy. As the Thai's say, he's Jai Dee.

[Shuddee]

There is one place in Washington Square that keeps it going and that will likely stand for a long time. May I present...

The Texas Lonestar Saloon...for all of your eating, drinking and being merry pleasure.

When you're there, check out the distinguished and admirable pictures, photos and images on the walls. They're truly legendary.

[Stephen777]

Say what you want about Taffy. He's crude, sometimes rude and always loud but he is a really good guy. As the Thai's say, he's Jai Dee.

Agreed! Taffy is a likeable character and amusing.

Taffy is also one of the guys who is looking for a new site to host his bar. I wish him the best of luck during this forced move.

[Stephen777]

There is one place in Washington Square that keeps it going and that will likely stand for a long time. May I present...

The Texas Lonestar Saloon...for all of your eating, drinking and being merry pleasure.

When you're there, check out the distinguished and admirable pictures, photos and images on the walls. They're truly legendary.

I've heard that "Generous George" from the Texas Lonestarr is in the hospital. What happened?

[MekhongKurt]

There is one place in Washington Square that keeps it going and that will likely stand for a long time. May I present...

The Texas Lonestar Saloon...for all of your eating, drinking and being merry pleasure.

When you're there, check out the distinguished and admirable pictures, photos and images on the walls. They're truly legendary.

I've heard that "Generous George" from the Texas Lonestarr is in the hospital. What happened?

First off, George Pipas "aka "Generous George") died a couple days ago, so who knows what's in stor for the Texas Lone Staar in particular.

As for the future of the Square, after being a regular there for 14+ years -- even living above the Lone Staar about 4 years earlier on -- it's difficult to say. For me, impossible. I know all my many sources are reporting what they have been told, reporting honestly and accurately -- but their various stories at best don't add up, and sometimes downright contradict each other. Took some doing, but I finally convinced folks that for me to take a wait-and-see attitude is not tantamount to calling them liars; I plain don't know, and have no inside track with the owners.

As for the atmosphere of Washington Square . . . well, I don't see rowdy guys who'll cool things down when a stranger walks in (especially a lady) is as bad as drunk fools trying to perform oral sex on a naked a-go-go girl in front of everyone in the place, as one can readily see in Cowboy (which I like), NEP, and Patpong (the latter two which I haven't visited in eons). I also like knowing most of the folks around the Square, and actually like most of them, to one degree or another.

And though the ranks are thinning, one can even now meet true legends around the Square. The late Pat Landry, senior commander with the CIA during the secret war in Laos. Tony Po in his day (before my time). George himself was legendary, as he should have been after some 44 years on the ground in Bangkok. Then there was the spice king, German Kurt, who supposedly fled Germany after WW II, joined the Foreign Legion, then had to flee again -- when Diem Bien Phu fell, from where he is said to have made his way overland to Bangkok and gone into the "pull-myself-up-by-my-bootstraps" routine. Lots of retired military, and former military. The occasional embassy type.

Well-known local writer Roger Beaumont once described Squaronians -- as they call themselves -- as "men with thousand-yard stares" -- sort of like, say, the Marlboro Man. It's more accurate, if you consider the meaning, than might first meet the eye.

There's a rare fellowship (if of a rough sort) there.

As Doctor Dennis noted much earlier in this thread, one is far less likely to get hassled or ripped off in the Square than he well might in quite a few other places.

As for the *physical* atmosphere, yes, most of the places definitely need a major face lift, to put it nicely.

But not everyone likes the same places, the same ambiance, etc. And that's okay, too.

Meanwhile R.I.P., George. . . .

[Gary A]

There is one place in Washington Square that keeps it going and that will likely stand for a long time. May I present...

The Texas Lonestar Saloon...for all of your eating, drinking and being merry pleasure.

When you're there, check out the distinguished and admirable pictures, photos and images on the walls. They're truly legendary.

I've heard that "Generous George" from the Texas Lonestarr is in the hospital. What happened?

First off, George Pipas "aka "Generous George") died a couple days ago, so who knows what's in stor for the Texas Lone Staar in particular.

As for the future of the Square, after being a regular there for 14+ years -- even living above the Lone Staar about 4 years earlier on -- it's difficult to say. For me, impossible. I know all my many sources are reporting what they have been told, reporting honestly and accurately -- but their various stories at best don't add up, and sometimes downright contradict each other. Took some doing, but I finally convinced folks that for me to take a wait-and-see attitude is not tantamount to calling them liars; I plain don't know, and have no inside track with the owners.

As for the atmosphere of Washington Square . . . well, I don't see rowdy guys who'll cool things down when a stranger walks in (especially a lady) is as bad as drunk fools trying to perform oral sex on a naked a-go-go girl in front of everyone in the place, as one can readily see in Cowboy (which I like), NEP, and Patpong (the latter two which I haven't visited in eons). I also like knowing most of the folks around the Square, and actually like most of them, to one degree or another.

And though the ranks are thinning, one can even now meet true legends around the Square. The late Pat Landry, senior commander with the CIA during the secret war in Laos. Tony Po in his day (before my time). George himself was legendary, as he should have been after some 44 years on the ground in Bangkok. Then there was the spice king, German Kurt, who supposedly fled Germany after WW II, joined the Foreign Legion, then had to flee again -- when Diem Bien Phu fell, from where he is said to have made his way overland to Bangkok and gone into the "pull-myself-up-by-my-bootstraps" routine. Lots of retired military, and former military. The occasional embassy type.

Well-known local writer Roger Beaumont once described Squaronians -- as they call themselves -- as "men with thousand-yard stares" -- sort of like, say, the Marlboro Man. It's more accurate, if you consider the meaning, than might first meet the eye.

There's a rare fellowship (if of a rough sort) there.

As Doctor Dennis noted much earlier in this thread, one is far less likely to get hassled or ripped off in the Square than he well might in quite a few other places.

As for the *physical* atmosphere, yes, most of the places definitely need a major face lift, to put it nicely.

But not everyone likes the same places, the same ambiance, etc. And that's okay, too.

Meanwhile R.I.P., George. . . .

Well MekhongKurt, you, myself and Dennis go back quite a few years. We had many great times in the Square that I will never forget. Washington Square was home and they say you can never go back home. That appears to be true. Many of the old timers have passed away and others like myself and Dennis have drifted away. Every time I go to Bangkok, the first stop is always the Square. Unfortunately I now usually feel like a stranger there. Other than yourself and some of the bar owners the familiar faces are mostly gone. I often think about the good old days and for the most part, they were VERY good.

[on-on]

Does that mean the Mambo will go as well? In which case, the Dubliner will be nicely placed as the most favoured venue next to a building site beyond par

The Mambo Cabaret has been closed a long time now so yeah, I'd imagine that the old theatre building will be pulled down with the rest of W.S.

You musn't live in Bangkok then, cos i live locally and it is very much open.

I'm sorry, I stand corrected, it's just that I went there one afternoon a while back to see about getting tickets for the show for visiting relatives, but there was no sign of life, I walked up the stairs to the left and into the theatre, still no sign of life or security, the place appeared condemned, no box office open, nothing. If it is still up and running, then it's certainly not the kind of place I'd wish to take family members. We went to Calypso Cabaret at the Asia Hotel instead, some where with a little more class and much more up my street!!

Oh, and I do live in BKK!!

I cross by there a lot going around Phrom Phong and I think the key is to show up with a bus full of Koreans. Do that and the place magically comes alive (whether you want it to is another question entirely).