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Back in Bangkok for 5 nights. Got room in Raya. This time, I arranged to meet my regular Vietnam boy, Y; at the hotel reception. I wanted two card keys so I got him to sign in and the staff made a photocopy of his passport. Off we went to room and did some catching up. He just came back to Bangkok on Friday after an extended Tet celebrations in Vietnam. Y works at Freshboys Twilight. I surprise Y with a Vietnam Football jersey that I bought in Singapore. Vietnam won last year’s ASEAN Suzuki Cup; a bi-annual Football competition for the 10 ASEAN countries. Y is a big Football fan who watches Football and plays Football games on his handphone. He wears the Vietnam jersey and is pleased. I got the right size for him. He takes it off and looks at the label inside. Made in Thailand. We laugh at the irony. We chatted some more then proceeded to sex. After that, showered and went down to Happy Beer Garden for dinner. Y asks me if I could buy him a pair of white shoes for work. (The Freshboys gogo boy look is white briefs and white shoes). His current pair is many years old. He shows me a photo of the Adidas shoes he wants on his handphone. I joke with him, “It’s probably made in Thailand.” Nevertheless, I agree and pass him money to buy the shoes while I go to Maxis to catch up with Paulsf. unfortunately, Paul wasn’t at his usual spot. I sent him a message on Line. He wasn’t feeling well and had to stay home to rest. We shall meet tomorrow night. I sit at the best seat at Maxis and had a great view of the boys in white briefs on stage in Freshboys as well as the massage boys next door. Of course, I could see the people coming in and out. An average night at Soi Twilight. Not packed but not dead as well. Z, a Vietnamese waiter from X Boys came over. He remembered me from last year. Happy to see each other. I tell Z that I cannot Long time him tonight as I as with Y. I agree to meet Z tomorrow. Then the X Boys Vietnamese mamasan came over as well having seen me too. “You want P?” P is a Thai boy whom I always see. But he never comes in early. He always comes in late after 10pm for big cock show. Yes, I replied. Thursday night please. So just like that, I have filled up my itinerary for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. I only have Friday and Saturday nights to meet new boys. i find out the latest news. It is true. Twilight is closing. In April, everything will close. Z says that he will move to one of the gogo bars at Patpong to be waiter / part time boy. I boy watch at Maxis. In fact, I see some promising offs at Freshboys. But I am unlikely to off them because Y works there. Y finally comes back with his shoes. I look at label. Made in Vietnam. We laugh. He is happy and I am happy. As we leave Twilight, Z together with other Vietnamese waiters from the gogo bars come out to chat with Y and check out his shoes. I realise now that Y and Z are good friends. I didn’t realise it because they are from different bars. Y and I go to a music pub at Patpong. The two bands there are really awesome. They play a mix of mainstream pop plus Japanese and Korean tunes. Their regular Japanese customers get up and dance and some even go on stage to sing with the band singers. Y finds the music too loud. I tell him to go back to room and chill and wait for me. I enjoy the music for an hour. At midnight, I drop by supermarket at foodland Patpong for drinks and snacks then go back to hotel room to be with Y for the night.

I went to AEC this afternoon at 1 plus. Didn’t fancy walking there so called a Grab car. Good thing about Grab is their Google map navigation. Driver dropped me at exact spot. I just needed to cross road to other side. A big helpful “this way to AEC” led me to shop. It’s at end of alley of shops. only 3 guys at 1plus when I visited. All 3 are twinky but with moustaches. All Thai. I didn’t have any preference so I chose the dude who opened the door for me. His name is An as pronounced in Hoi An. He spoke good English and we had good conversation. Place is small to be frank. 4 rooms or shall I say cubicles in all - formed by partition walls along a corridor. Barely enough room for masseur to move around the bed as the walls are packed closely. Toilets are end of corridor but must pass through one room with a bed. I imagine it would be awkward if there’s a session taking place in that room and guys have to walk past it to shower. i chose a one hour oil massage. Bed has a cut out for head. Cloth on bed to soak in the oil during the massage. Masseur was clothed throughout including the cap on his head. Very relaxed dude - kind of reminds me of Snoop Dog - but his massage strokes and touches were so sensual! Half the time of massage was spent on back and the other half spent on front. When it was time to turn, masseur places a pillow over the head cut out for me to rest my head. Even though he didn’t strip like in typical men’s massage (Prince, Arena, Ganymede etc) he did allow me to play with his goods. He did pull down his slacks towards the end. Love his strokes and his happy ending. Showered alone. Paid 450 baht for massage. Gave 1,200 baht tip. His smile was wide and happy! So were the knowing looks on the other 2 guys around. I totally agree with DivineMadman about the massage techniques. Different from the norm. Worth trying. Not everything is about bodies and looks. Skill does make a massage more enjoyable!

Also G Boyz on Wall St just off Surawong and Fresh Boys 2 in Patpong, both gogo bars. And the new Chill Out Bar Patpong.1 for drinks, karaoke and I think there might be a massage room upstairs. Chill Out Bar opens around 2:00pm. Nice space with nice people.

Unless you have substantial mobility issues, you should be able to walk. Do not despair. Bangkok guys are masters at re-flation.

Sorry to tell you, but that is not exactly how it works. A mamasan friend is not the same as having a free personal pimp. Hahaha.

I would put it differently. You can have a perfectly fine experience without engaging with the mamasans, or they can be helpful. Depends on the customer and the mamasan. There are some I don't have the time for, and others I have been friends with for years. For a customer who has a regular guy at a bar, being nice to the mamasans and the occasional tip or drink can go a long way to making your guy's life easier at the bar.

This is my own opinion, but a guy who is alone, regardless farang or asian, are more likely going there to look for an off? So if u are alone, chances are mamasan would prefer to get u the boy. Might be wrong but i believe this also play some part

yes , this is what I think and hope as well. It's nice to have memories but I'm one of those who rather think about next trip than cherish memories of previous one. Like spoon said above , at end of day and beginning of night all we need is one bar and one boy from that bar

I think it's great to have and cherish all the good memories, as long as that doesn't keep us from enjoying how things are now. I expect we'll be hearing about new places being opened by familiar names/faces from soi twilight, so by all means stay tuned. Certainly over the past six months Soi Twilight has been busy some times and has been slow some times. It's unfortunate that some people have stopped by when it seemed lifeless. Time it right and you can still have to run the gauntlet of young guys from Banana and Hot Male bars and the barkers from the gogo bars - at least for a a few more weeks. Last month -- or possibly January -- there was a very busy period and the manager of one Soi Twilight establishment told me that they had two of their best nights ever. Soi Twilight is a state of mind.

In a way, i feel blessed not knowing how soi twilight or bangkok used to be. I dont have to mopped around thinking of what it was and what itll never be again and just enjoying the current scene. Ive read few articles that the main culprit of the downfall of gay gogobars was the advancement of apps, and the increasing popularity of live cam website and of course, free porn are so easy to get nowadays. It will not replace what gogobars can offer but there are other benefits that also gogobars cant offer. Its cheaper, u can chat with boys without middle man, and nothing beats free, porn or sex.One of the more significant advantage of apps is its 24/7. I still prefer bars, seeing and touching the boys are definitely better than online assessment, but the cost adds up pretty quick as ive experienced during my last trip. Gogobars will still be a unique experiences for the tourist but less so for the local, and i believe local support to a business are more important for a business to keep running compared to the seasonal tourists. Thus explained why some bars like jupiter and bbb are enjoying a rather great stream of locals and tourists alike, with more of the hot guys sticking around the bars. As a tourist, i dont have time to wade through bunch of profiles in multiple apps to find the one boy who might not look the same in person. Massage places are almost similar with what i have back home, so that leaves gogobars and overnight, the two main reason id still go to thailand. All i need is one bars full of hot guys and for one night, i just need 1 boy, and thats all it takes to keep me happy

There is NO set rate. it all depends on the place and probably also on the guy-some places do differntiate between popular and less so guys etc. Cheaper or less touristy places: the normal charge for Thai is more like 1000///1500-2000 for sh/lg. So compare and decide what fits you best. As Chinese you must know the practice of suddenly raising prices when an unknown-even foreigern comes along and asks. Thai never bargain about it or even ask.

...If only I had known.

It’s called Twilo. Quite a number of guys go there with the girls they pick up from the Patpong bars.

Who is this diva?

HOT. thank you for sharing

Nakki's @ nakkii69

Don’t worry you will have Jupiter, Moonlight, Tawan and Screwboys available to you. And Fresh Boys and Dream Boys seem to have confirmed their relocation so likely they will have reopened by time you are there. Gogo bars can’t afford long closures if they want to stay in business. I’ve always preferred hanging out in Soi 4 to Twilight anyway. Add on the massage places, DJ Station and Soi 2...:you’ll still have plenty of action around Surawong.

That is an excellent question! Shall ask tonight!

The new Dreamboy bar is near Patpong police box. The exterior is nearly done, they are working on the interior but the venue is apparently very small. Therefore the Thai owner is planning to reduce drink price to 350baht from 500 baht.

Don’t you worry about lack of bars. Soi Twilight is closing but the bars and businesses will move all over. We shall only know once they suddenly pop out - just like Freshboys Patpong last year!

Wow this is significant. New owner = major change in how bar is run? Good news is that new ownership implies bar will remain open, injection of funds to revive what was becoming a very tired venue. I hope they lose the camp lady boys finally!

I think I know who quoted 5000 long time. Last week he rejected the discount offer from a female customer and insisted he wants 5000 so the deal was off.

Some premium boys ask 2500 for short time but anything above 4000 long time is boy’s own hopeful expectation and customer’s goodwill. 2000/3000 should still be the norm in most places. I think I know which forum you mean. It seems the young Chinese have a reputation for being generous so the boys (especially at Jupiter) ask them for higher tips. This is then passed on to other members as “fact”. Only exception I know of are Moonlight models who ask between 3000-6000 short time.

that is so good to hear. I personally wanted to be a nice friend of an informative mamasan too. So I can have a nice experience in the bar and also maybe have some contacts info of some boys who I'm interested in. Then maybe I can off them without going to bar and paying the bar lol. Since I can't afford to buy drinks to every single boy that I'm interested in to just have a little chat.

I really think this was circumstantial. I find farangs and Asians equally welcome as first time visitors, and only segregated into “preferred” and “non preferred” once the bar gets a sense of their spending. Like everyone else says, mamasan could see you were there to seriously engage an off, there was the expectation of business for the bar and a tip for boy and him. Perhaps they knew something about the group of farangs that you did not? Many well meaning but clueless holidaymakers come to the bars to drink and have fun, and take up boy’s time because they enjoy chatting to a real “Thai gogo boy” but leave without offing or tipping because they simply are not aware this is where the real money is made. I see this at Jupiter all the time. On mamasans, I have had both good and bad experiences. But some can become good companions once you cut through all the initial flattery and guff. One mamasan I’ve gotten to know well shares with me his career and family anxieties, and not in an effort to lobby for tips either. He doesn’t enjoy mamasan work in Bangkok, finds it boring most days, feels heart stricken when he and fellow mamasans have worked hard all night to chat up customers and they leave with no offs because they don’t like the boys or other reasons. I have offed him to join me for a drink in other bars just to liven up his quieter evenings. I was very touched when he tried to steer me to bars where he has an open bottle so I don’t pay for all the drinks. Now when he knows I’m in town, he hopefully texts “Tonight I can leave by 11.30!”

good honest mamasan = cognitive dissonance

Management is quite strict on boys. My regular Vietnam boy worked at Jupiter awhile then he went back Vietnam. When he tried to go back to Jupiter, the management said he owed them 10,000 baht. So he ended up at other bars and never set foot back in Jupiter.

i don’t believe mamasan are more inclined towards me because I am Chinese. I am from Singapore by the way. They generally go to whoever seems really keen to pick an off. They know who are there for the boys or just to see the shows.

As are you.

Welcome to the board! First of all, you're not responsible for the actions of a mamasan. You're kind to notice the issue, but don't worry. As to the question of attitude towards Chinese and/or western customers, I think overall it ends up being no different from any other customers. If you're a bit younger then you're likely to be a more desirable customer for the guys, and walking with you down the street to the hotel might be a little less cringe-worthy than for some customers (e.g., me), and they might find the sex a bit less of a chore. But it's still just a job. I know some guys at the bars who prefer farang, but I know many more who find other asians more attractive (as do I), so color of money not nationality prevails. The job of the guys working at the bars is to figure out and be more attentive to the customers who might tip / tip well. If you are engaging with a mamasan then the mamasan will try to earn his/her tip, and if that means getting your guy to come to chat with you, they're just doing their job. Certainly if I tell a mamasan I want to chat with ##, I expect the mamasan to go tell the guy and if he's available bring him over. If the mamasan says he's busy or not available, not problem.

If u look closely at the picture of the guy wearing the black sweat pants you will see how massive his dick is. AND THATS WHILE ITS SOFT!!!

It enables Vinapu to earn more money for BKK!!!

I'm excited about the change. I'll be in bkk early April after being in Pattaya. I can't wait to see the seeds of change taking root. No need to walk through the old soi kicking cans and looking sad. The soi lost my money a while ago with their expensive drinks and this is a chance for them to try and reinvent their bars.

If it were only true but most unlikely.

Thank you for sharing your memories. Like spoon, I am a relative (though enthusiastic) newbie since I’ve only partaken of the scene for less than a year. Remembering the intoxicating headiness of my first two visits, I can only imagine what it must have been like in the pre-internet years when the gogos were at their peak form. However this could be the start of some exciting times as the old bars reopen in new incarnations? Perhaps even revitalize scene by attracting new boys to work in spanking new premises?

I never read The Men of Thailand but I have read lots of posts on various chat rooms about what Bangkok was like in the 'old days'. I also have my own memories of the era. Difficult to know how much views have changed as people have grown older and the spectacles pinker. One thing does seem certain though. The gay bar scene was much more active 20 even 25 years ago. My memories differ a bit from BiggusDikkus. The original Twilight bar was quite dark on entry. It was lorded over by a couple of older trans women who fluttered around behind the long bar. There was also a small guy who always seemed to be rushing around adding extra seats on the large floor area at the weekends when the bar was packed more with Thais than farang or pushing boys to get dressed when they were offed. These are only a small part of my memory. The lasting one is of a large number of amazing boys. Until about 9 pm they would do s rather bored soft shoe shuffle 4 at a time on the tiny stage behind the bar. But one of the mamasans would then bark an order when the short pants would then come off and the boys would dance naked. Many were a bit shy and covered their assets. After each group of four came offstage still naked they would walk round through the customers and stand around one of the mirrored pillars. The best place to sit was at the left side of the bar. Once the order had been given, the 4 boys due onstage would sit crouched behind the bar desperately trying to get themselves even slightly erect. They didn't care that a group of Thais and farang were sitting watching them. Later in the evening there would often be a show (maybe only at weekends - not sure). Two pairs of boys would start on the stage, With a degree of athleticism they would then clamber over on to the top of the bar. Theyd then manoeuvre themselves slowly along the bar and back again. Im sorry BiggusDikkus did not enjoy Twilight then. I loved it same as I loved the better run and more fun Barbiery across the road. Also the various bars like Super Lek and the original Super A near where Mango Tree is located. They were in full swing then. There was a lot of fun there, just as there was in the still young Soi 4 and in the small DJ Station soi. Babylon had opened and offered a myriad of delights . The only problem was having to queue to get in at the weekends. Several other saunas had sprung up along with quite a few gay massage spas. The choice was quite amazing. I agree. I also consider myself so lucky to have enjoyed that era. Bangkok was heaven.

It was January 1996 when I first made way way to Soi Twilight, pointed there by an old-fashioned guidebook, “The Men of Thailand.” The book referred to Bangkok as “Groong Tep.” My memory is fuzzy, but I recall the soi having only one bar, the namesake bar, Twighlight. Inside an old trans woman lorded over the cash box as though she was sure her workers and customers were about to steal it out from under her nose. I left after one quick drink, and all these years later the sight of the mama-san counting her money is my only lasting memory of the place. One reason Soi Twighlight had yet to become the red-hot tourist draw it would become was all the gay go-go bars were across Surawong, along Patpong, mixed in with the straight bars. A year hasn't gone by since when I haven't returned to Bangkok but many years passed before I returned to Soi Twilight. In the 1990s, there were so many great gay nightclubs, a couple in Soi 4, and that den of freedom in Soi 2, DJ Station. That's where I would spend my vacations. When I made my way back to Soi Twighlight, not only had several other go-go bars joined Twighlight (which may have been replaced) but restaurants, beer bars, a pool hall, even a hair salon had taken up residence on the sideline. The soi was packed with handsome young Thai men, drag queens, gay tourists even straight tourists with their little kids snickering about the wrong turn they had made and not wanting to answer their childrens' questions. I was there last just a few months ago, the weekend after New Year's. And the place was dead. A few of the bars remained open, but there were no customers. Even the touts who used to grab me by the upper arm and tow me into one bar or the other, often up staircases, were docile. I could feel it. It was the end of an era. And I continue to wonder why? Are today's tourists sickened by the go-go bar scene? Is it true what news reports say and young people are losing interest or are even disgusted by sex? Is it too difficult to hire staff for these bars? Or is it the effect of the internet and hookup apps? I don't know, but I consider myself lucky to have witnessed the era, to have enjoyed the scene. I already miss it.

And he did not bother me! Just a week before the deadline, he called and said, ‘Can I see what you have?’ After reading it, he just said, ‘Well, you need an introductory page or so, and a few words at the end summarizing the whole thing.’ He meant I had done the job!

But then I have danced with the Devil many times more than once, and somehow lived to tell the tale.

My non-theory-supported at all idea to write a senior thesis comparing the poetry of John Ashbery with the paintings of Jasper Johns he thought was the greatest thing! So with his encouragement, I went off and spent a dedicated double-credit semester doing the impossible.

Rumor I heard Monday night is there will be no more Maxi’s

Dreamboy’s veteran boy said to my friend that the farang owner sold the bar to a Thai. He was accompanying a customer to Jupiter and said there are very few customers at Dreamboy nowadays and actually he wants to move to Jupiter.

Freshboys in Twilight is moving straight after Songkran to Silom Soi4 above (and maybe associated with) Banana on 4. Freshboys (2) is in Patpong 2 above Screw Boys. No news oabout Maxis. Twighlight Banana is closing on 29th March (see their website for details). Banana Bar Soi Twilight (Suriwong Rd) must vacate the Soi by 31 March 2019 . . . . we invite all our friends and customers for the BANANA BAR SOI TWILIGHT: END OF AN ERA PARTY on Friday 29 March 2019 @ 8pm. Come to farewell your favorite Soi that has been part of our lives for…