Bar owners preferring Asians over Farangs?

[chrisinth]

Would it have anything to do with increased numbers of Asian visitors to the country? Also, what seems to be the point of the OP?

If the observations are from a bar owner's prospective, a customer is a customer, period! Why would you differentiate between Asian and Western?

The other thing about the OP is that the main reference is towards Go-Go's and not just ordinary bars. Big difference................

The main point to me was the possible demographic shift, even among farang-owned bars. It used to be that farangs were the focal point, the "target market," if you will. Is that changing, even among the "farang bar scene?" That would be strange, as it wouldn't be the "farang bar scene" if that were the case.

I think the OP was being directed at specific establishments, mainly Go-Go's and not 'bars' as such. There may be a slight increase in Asian customers, but again, maybe over-emphasized in the article from Stickman in the OP for better reading?

Could be wrong with my thought line there as I haven't been into the night scene in Bkk for a long time, Pattaya either.

[NoshowJones]

Interesting article from the Stickman

That's a first.

Sorry! Couldn't resist.

I'm sorry Kananga, I think you are wrong, I tend to agree mostly with what Mr Stick says, his opinions are always fair minded.

[rusdenys]

So, you will post notice outside "Thai Only"?

[DoctorB]

Nothing new here. The Japanese in particular are THE big spenders. On several occasions I've been in Pattya go-gos and watched every remotely attractive girl in the place standing giggling round one or two Japanese customers, usually with a bottle and mixers on the table, giving drinks to them all. Nothing wrong there; up to them. But the real off-putter with Japanese is the very high proportion who smoke. I was recently in a popular Nana Plaza go-go bar where I estimated 90% of the customers were Japanese and the air was toxic. Similarly in a Pattaya Walking Street bar I watched a party of nine Japanese across the stage from me and at any given time seven of them has a fag going. I'm not a fanatical anti-smoker and prepared to tolerate the 1 or 2 in 10 among English boozers who smoke, but beyond a certain point, usually when your eyes start to burn, it becomes intolerable. If the law relating to smoking ever got enforced then the bar owner quoted by Stickman would soon be singing a different tune. But then, if the law in general ever got enforced there would be probably be no go-go bars at all. Also without wishing to knock Stickman I agree with the other contributor who said he likes to provoke a response and I've become resigned to his relentlesstly anti-British comments.

[dao16]

I am generalizing here, but I do find that most Asians know what they want when they go out and aren't as worried about spending the money to get it (externally, in front of their peer group, anyway). They go, they get the full deal, all the bells and whistles. Of course, a lot of this has to do with the group, the people who have money and face and all that. This is especially true in Japan, Korea and some parts of China. I see it a lot in Thailand, too....if they are going out, they are going out, budgets be damned!

I have been out with mixed crowds and watched the westerners debate and decide against getting more food (even though they hadn't bought enough earlier for such a big group). My Asian friends looked on, puzzled. Finally, they asked me if they should just unilaterally order food. I said "up to you....whatever you think." They ordered.....food came....and was promptly devoured by the westerners who had so recently said they didn't want more.

So, I can imagine a bar owner liking the Asian style of going out much more (and they tend not to get SO rowdy, like some westerners can get, especially on holiday).

[johnlandy]

Not very specific OP. Are we to assume you mean beer bars with working girls willing to accommodate farang advances?

Nothing would stop a demimondaine adopting an on her back configuration 'sans apparel' if she is gonna benefit financially from doing so.

Edited July 2, 2013 by johnlandy

[Lancelot]

Interesting article from the Stickman

That's a first.

Sorry! Couldn't resist.

I'm sorry Kananga, I think you are wrong, I tend to agree mostly with what Mr Stick says, his opinions are always fair minded.

+1 Add me to the Stick fan club as well.

[aalek85th]

Many foreigners behave (usually young tourists) obnoxiously. If I had a bar and had that sort of clientele, would ban them as well, if majority of my clientele is .. Asian or whatever, already.

Seen quite a few times someone making trouble in a bar. It's always a white guy, sometimes white drunk girl.

Never saw a asian tourist yelling and behaving like that.

Bar owners should have a right to decide who is visiting their establishment, because not everybody is behaving the same.

[Ciaran Mc]

Interesting article from the Stickman regarding the demographics shift within the Thailand bar industry (http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/StickmanWeeklyColumn2013/Bangkok-bar-Asian-customers.htm). Some rather startling revelations. Below is an excerpt from the article:

In my bar the number of Asian customers has gone from 5% to 15%. In a couple of years I'm going to go close the bar and open a new bar that will be all Asian customers, with no farangs allowed. I can't continue in business with people like this."

(quote from an English bar owner)

I'd be curious to know if anyone has actually seen this type of attitude in the bars that you visit.

Note: If you intend to "shoot-the-messenger" (i.e., Mr. Stickman), DON'T! This thread is not about whether you agree/disagree or like/dislike the Stickman. It's simply about the prevailing attitudes of bars owners and bargirls towards their customers. If you're going to attack or criticize the Stickman, do it somewhere else!

Don't go to those go go bars.

Never been turned away from a bar in Thailand

don't shoot the messenger .. why not .. it's just Stick's usual <deleted>. 1 bar's asian customers has gone from 5% to 15% and now he's going to open a bar for asian's only ... maybe he should invest in a new calculator first !!

anyway ... his article (as usual) concentrates on the gogos and girlie bars ... who cares whether 1 or 2 of them r gonna be "asian only" !!!

[monkey4u]

In my wifes bar ( I cant run the bar, only drink there ) We allow all comers to drink there.

We have had a few middle aged English and Germans complain about our food prices and generally try to piss me off.

I just tell the staff dont serve them again, its better to take a loss of revenue rather than spena night in the monkey cage looking at an assult charge.

As for Thai's and some others they like to bring their own booze, that's ok we hit them up for glasses and ice plus soda. The best money earner from these cheap charlies is the toilet 40 baht a visit

[DGIE]

Maybe the bar girls got more tips from asian

[outlaw11wa]

I may be out of step with many expressing interest in this thread. I lost my interest and need for the "Bar Scene" in Thailand some time ago. I can enjoy Thailand without all of that now, there is far too much else to see and enjoy than the inside of a bar. Truth be known its much more fun to party with the family and friends in Loeng Nok Tha, Yaso. Never really need a reason...lol

[Tagaa]

"To your first, apparently it's already being done with Japanese-only clubs. As to your second, did you read the article in the link? The owner in question already explained the sort of people that he was talking about, essentially his own people (if you will), i.e., fellow Englishman behaving like thugs. "

Englishmen behaving like thugs. The hell you say!

I live in East Pattaya by Lake Maprachan, and we have far to many of this type here. I believe you English refer to them as Chav's.

I don't go to the bars where they congregate...Nuff said. The gathering usually starts before noon, so no problem. A bar with asses in the stools before noon = a place I don't want to be. Very simple, actually.

It's fine for the bar owners. They are all English & if they welcome their business. It's their problem. Mai pen rai.

[Payboy]

Since when is Starbucks offering free wi-fi?

[winstonc]

i dont have a problem with people sitting in starbucks all day why shouldnt they,starbucks aint to quick paying there corperate taxes aye,,,,,, my mistake they have been SHAMED into it,,

[Beetlejuice]

It`s all to do with money and profits.

At the moment many Asian countries are on the up and up, which is quite the opposite regarding the Western countries. Asians simply have more money to spend. The Thai tourist industries and businesses connected with Thailand tourism have been concentration more on the Asian markets of tourism rather than from other countries who are only visiting Thailand on low budgets for cheap accommodation, cheap booze and cheap sex.

The irony of this is, that the majority, if not all, farang beerbar owners in Thailand are illegal owners anyway, mostly using Thais to front their businesses and paying off whoever in order to turn a blind eye.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate and viable to rid the bar establishments of their behind the scenes farang owners and give the Asians a shot at running the show? Better quality service, less seedy and some real decent adult entertainments establishments dealing in a more better class clientele.

[MickGC]

The Japanese tend to be younger, slimmer and cleaner than these more recent waves of farangs, notably the farang pensioners and the yobble-gobble, "plosive-glottal" fough-bough-blotto, binge-drunk set from the UK. And they are on average better behaved.

They are more accustomed to brothel creeping as well. They order from the greedy old squaws we ignorantly refer to as the mamasan. They buy the greedy old slapper a "ding"They do not complain and they do not get into arguments and fights. They are docile and cooperative.

The girls like them because they'll drop 4K on a leisurely short time.

A lazy slapper or inexperienced bar chippie just has to approach them, nod, smile and twist a fist in front of her jappy pout and the drink is agreed to. It's a yes or a no. No cumbersome language issues. No boring tedious engagement issues. No need for conversation. Very little need for communication because with rare exceptions Japanese "Thai" is incomprehensible to the buffalo bunnies. Yes, some (the poor innocents we read about being tricked into prostitution by an evil "past her due date"auntie in Tokyo are around. But there aren't many.

At the beginning of the AIDS scare they used to have a bar in Nana (now GSpot) that was off limits to gaijin. Now they have their own clubs all over the city. Japanese only. There's hundreds of them. You can see the girls trickling in to work around 4 pm.

There is far less bother and friction with these guys.

I guess it all goes back to Japan's WW II. occupation of Thailand when the Sons of Heaven would descend on one village after another, march into the temples, liberate the gold Buddha images and all the gold jewelry they could find and melt it into ingots for shipment to the Philipines. A few beheadings of prominent monks and elders in each village served to encourage these contributions.

Nobody here talks about this now because it's not here and it's not now. AND just the sight of a soi Cowboy bar full of goofy old Brits and Western douchebags might explain a lot as well.

I was trying to explain to a gaggle of Japanista BG's that westerners were better for their overall health because unlike the Sons of Heaven, our bodily fluids were NOT radio active. They just smiled and said stuff like "jai dee" and "nam jai" and " sebeu"

Thailand has always been like Mexico for these guys.

Spot on. If I was as erudite as you I would type a similar message. Think you have covered most bases.

[animatic]

Yes, in BKK it was on occassion dificult to get into a bar in popular areas where there are not many foreigners, even accompanied by Thai's. Not realy a problem, but allowed to enter wasn't instantly. The bouncers sought permission first.

The staff was happy when we bought "Jack Daniels", guess they don't like cheap drinkers there.

Pretty soon, they'll have special restrooms and drinking fountains for the "not colored folks".

Perfect!!!

Yes, drole,.

But no doubt part of the managers calculation is

Who's in their bar, what kind of local ego are they carrying,

and how bleedin' drunk, and belligerent they are,

and if they are packing heat.

Some bars are best not to be in if certain people are on a tear,

and the managers will consider will their drunk, hiso dirtbag, with a pistol,

tollerate a tall rich ( you too handsome man) farang having too good a time in his face..

Edited July 2, 2013 by animatic

[Donnie Brasco]

Spot on. If I was as erudite as you I would type a similar message. Think you have covered most bases.

Thank you for the kind words MickGC

As you can see, I'm making the most of my time on Thai Visa until they kick my fat @$$ off the site.

Rgrds

Donnie

[hawker9000]

At first, I was disinclined to go & read the Stickman article. I wanted to say it just sounded like some business-is-down, grass-is-greener attitude. But having read it now, it sounds MORE like the "entitlement" mentality has found its way into farang bargoers. Time was when the western visitor was sort of almost humbled by the availability of pretty, cheap, willing women. Humility & wonder breed civility & courtesy. Now it's more a matter of expectation and what the dollar/pound/euro/? should be worth. Expectation & a sense of entitlement breed resentment & confrontation. Standards & values have changed in the west, and not for the better. That unfortunately comes on the flight over with us. And THAT has disenchanted Thai ladies (who have acquired some attitude and expectations of their own). And it also sounds like Asian men simply pay better, and that's got to matter. All part & parcel of the decline of the west. Make the best of the years we have left.

All that said, Asian values & manners are undergoing a gradual transformation as well. They learn fast, and pick up western bad habits quickly thanks to the new global community. Those who've been coming for many years can see this in Thailand. The day'll come when they're as bad as we are. Above all, experience teaches that personal behavior, manner, courtesy, attitude, humor, etc. matter much more than where you're from. All the above is a matter of demographics, statistics and "social studies". Come to Thailand with a good attitude and simple desire for a good time (and yes, the awareness that prices have changed since 1974...), and the girls won't care that you're not Korean... If the odd bar doesn't welcome you simply because you're a westerner, you might not really be missing much; you can find another.

[Berkshire]

It`s all to do with money and profits.

At the moment many Asian countries are on the up and up, which is quite the opposite regarding the Western countries. Asians simply have more money to spend. The Thai tourist industries and businesses connected with Thailand tourism have been concentration more on the Asian markets of tourism rather than from other countries who are only visiting Thailand on low budgets for cheap accommodation, cheap booze and cheap sex.

The irony of this is, that the majority, if not all, farang beerbar owners in Thailand are illegal owners anyway, mostly using Thais to front their businesses and paying off whoever in order to turn a blind eye.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate and viable to rid the bar establishments of their behind the scenes farang owners and give the Asians a shot at running the show? Better quality service, less seedy and some real decent adult entertainments establishments dealing in a more better class clientele.

It would be easy to summarize and say it's all about the money, but I don't think it is. I've seen some farangs (the minority) act rather belligerent after having a few and many do feel a sense of entitlement. That is, spend a few baht and they should be allowed to do what they want....to anyone they want. That's mostly what the article was about, attitude. I actually sympathize with the bar owners who have to put up with this sh*t night after night.

[Scottythai]

^{The qoute of the bar owner was this:}

In my bar the number of Asian customers has gone from 5% to 15%. In a couple of years I'm going to go close the bar and open a new bar that will be all Asian customers, with no farangs allowed. I can't continue in business with people like this."

First of all - would it be legal to open a bar and deny certain people access cause of their skin colour and etnical origin in Thailand?

Secondly - why cant the bar owner continue business? nd who are the "People like this"?

No I know for sure of places that will only Allow Japanese inside.

[Kananga]

Interesting article from the Stickman

That's a first.

Sorry! Couldn't resist.

I'm sorry Kananga, I think you are wrong, I tend to agree mostly with what Mr Stick says, his opinions are always fair minded.

Well I'm sorry too but I think you're wrong. There never seems to be much more to him than his wishy washy sensationalist rhetoric.

Oh yeah, has he left yet? Every year he says its going to be his last but he never seems to find another job anywhere. Is he still here running his prostitute private eye service?

[Docno]

^{The qoute of the bar owner was this:}

In my bar the number of Asian customers has gone from 5% to 15%. In a couple of years I'm going to go close the bar and open a new bar that will be all Asian customers, with no farangs allowed. I can't continue in business with people like this."

First of all - would it be legal to open a bar and deny certain people access cause of their skin colour and etnical origin in Thailand?

Secondly - why cant the bar owner continue business? nd who are the "People like this"?

I expect it can be done. We have bars here in Singapore that won't allow farangs like myself or even locals entry... only Japanese get inside. They get around the law, supposedly, by calling the place a club... Japanese buy 'membership' when they enter. If it's a club, they can choose who they want to let 'join'.

[somtampet]

So this includes indians,chinese,south koreans?????

[Berkshire]

So this includes indians,chinese,south koreans?????

Good question. I'd tend to think that when the article refers to Asians, they're talking about east Asians, e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.

[YeahSiam]

It`s all to do with money and profits.

At the moment many Asian countries are on the up and up, which is quite the opposite regarding the Western countries. Asians simply have more money to spend. The Thai tourist industries and businesses connected with Thailand tourism have been concentration more on the Asian markets of tourism rather than from other countries who are only visiting Thailand on low budgets for cheap accommodation, cheap booze and cheap sex.

The irony of this is, that the majority, if not all, farang beerbar owners in Thailand are illegal owners anyway, mostly using Thais to front their businesses and paying off whoever in order to turn a blind eye.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate and viable to rid the bar establishments of their behind the scenes farang owners and give the Asians a shot at running the show? Better quality service, less seedy and some real decent adult entertainments establishments dealing in a more better class clientele.

BJ, you don't half talk out of your arse sometimes.

How do YOU know that the majority of foreign beer bar owners are illegals? It's not like buying land where you had to buy it in a company name (before the authorities stipulated the company had to be majority Thai-owned); the fact is that any plank can open a bar in Thailand.

As far as better service is concerned, what the hell are you talking about? There are countless bars and entertainment establishments run by Asians and lots of them are even more seedy than those run by foreigners.

You really DO need to lay off the hallucinogens, mate.

[Jim walker]

I only spend my money in a bar that I am welcomed in same as any restaurant if I was not treated with total respect and best service I would never go back plenty bars in Thailand welcome my money and I have never had a problem in 15 years in Thailand, anyone who wants to exclude farangs from there customer list will soon be closing their doors that’s for sure, and anyone who thinks different is a very naive businessman.

[CrypticBob]

The Japanese tend to be younger, slimmer and cleaner than these more recent waves of farangs, notably the farang pensioners and the yobble-gobble, "plosive-glottal" fough-bough-blotto, binge-drunk set from the UK. And they are on average better behaved.

They are more accustomed to brothel creeping as well. They order from the greedy old squaws we ignorantly refer to as the mamasan. They buy the greedy old slapper a "ding"They do not complain and they do not get into arguments and fights. They are docile and cooperative.

The girls like them because they'll drop 4K on a leisurely short time.

A lazy slapper or inexperienced bar chippie just has to approach them, nod, smile and twist a fist in front of her jappy pout and the drink is agreed to. It's a yes or a no. No cumbersome language issues. No boring tedious engagement issues. No need for conversation. Very little need for communication because with rare exceptions Japanese "Thai" is incomprehensible to the buffalo bunnies. Yes, some (the poor innocents we read about being tricked into prostitution by an evil "past her due date"auntie in Tokyo are around. But there aren't many.

At the beginning of the AIDS scare they used to have a bar in Nana (now GSpot) that was off limits to gaijin. Now they have their own clubs all over the city. Japanese only. There's hundreds of them. You can see the girls trickling in to work around 4 pm.

There is far less bother and friction with these guys.

I guess it all goes back to Japan's WW II. occupation of Thailand when the Sons of Heaven would descend on one village after another, march into the temples, liberate the gold Buddha images and all the gold jewelry they could find and melt it into ingots for shipment to the Philipines. A few beheadings of prominent monks and elders in each village served to encourage these contributions.

Nobody here talks about this now because it's not here and it's not now. AND just the sight of a soi Cowboy bar full of goofy old Brits and Western douchebags might explain a lot as well.

I was trying to explain to a gaggle of Japanista BG's that westerners were better for their overall health because unlike the Sons of Heaven, our bodily fluids were NOT radio active. They just smiled and said stuff like "jai dee" and "nam jai" and " sebeu"

Thailand has always been like Mexico for these guys.

I think you're turning Japanese, I think you're turning Japanese, I really think so.

.... no wonder it's dark

[2008bangkok]

Interesting article from the Stickman

That's a first.

Sorry! Couldn't resist.

I'm sorry Kananga, I think you are wrong, I tend to agree mostly with what Mr Stick says, his opinions are always fair minded.

Agree