Latest Soi Twilight Rumor (Nov 2018)

[reader]

The period following Chinese New Year usually sees a temporary dip in tourism.

 

[anddy]

15 hours ago, bobsaigon said:

New Latest Soi Twilight news, from a capitan at Dreamboys tonight (Wednesday 13 Feb)::    "Today Dream Boys early close. Because no customer. in Soi-Pratuchai (Twilight) Very Very Quiet. Because have some Bar already close and move to another place. Right now just only Hotmale, XBoys, FreshBoys, DreamBoys and ClassicBoys."

emphasis on "JUST ONLY" LOL! The only bar that has closed is x-size if I'm not mistaken, so everything else is as it's always been. Well and Dick's has closed, but that's not a bar. 

[spoon]

And how "early" does dreamboy close i wonder. Might not be so obvious with bars what constitute early. 

[hank75]

Today is Makha Bucha day so for anyone thinking of hitting the bars, best to check if they are serving alcohol.

[Jasper]

Dreamboy  mamasan informed my friend that Dreamboys are moving to new premises, which is smaller than current one in Patpong after Songkran April 13-15 holiday.

[Jasper]

There is a rumour Dreamboy’s new premises is at Bada Bing gogo bar, which will close at the end of the month(February).

[hank75]

On 2/25/2019 at 8:49 PM, Jasper said:

Dreamboy  mamasan informed my friend that Dreamboys are moving to new premises, which is smaller than current one in Patpong after Songkran April 13-15 holiday.

Jasper do you know if they will be closed while the move is happening? I have a trip planned in very close proximity to those dates, might adjust if there is a full closure of the bar.

[Jasper]

My friend who has informed me of the Dreamboy move is arriving next week in Bangkok. He has a regular boy and friend with mamasan in the bar so hopefully there would be more information.

However I wouldn’t change schedules based on rumours if I were you.

Even with a definite official plan anything could happen last minutes and change completely.

[Patanawet]

How about this for a rumour ----- Fresh Boys (Twilight) moving to Soi 4.?

[vinapu]

19 hours ago, Patanawet said:

How about this for a rumour ----- Fresh Boys (Twilight) moving to Soi 4.?

very welcome

[Patanawet]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

very welcome

To elaborate a little --- above (and in collaboration with?) Banana on 4.

[hank75]

7 minutes ago, Patanawet said:

To elaborate a little --- above (and in collaboration with?) Banana on 4.

This is confusing though, because it would then suggest Soi 4 is not closing.

[Patanawet]

14 minutes ago, hank75 said:

This is confusing though, because it would then suggest Soi 4 is not closing.

Not confusing really because Soi 4 is not closing -- this year at least and probably not soon after.

Whatever anybody tells you, the leases on soi4 are renewed annually and ALWAYS have been with no guarantee for the following year.

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, hank75 said:

This is confusing though, 

this is what rumors are all about

[paulsf]

[ggobkk]

Step by step...inch by meter

[NIrishGuy]

And now Banana Bar has just confirmed their earlier than planned Soi Twilight bar closure too - very sad, so many happy memories there with their end of an Era party on the 29th March :-(

[BiggusDikkus]

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.

[PeterRS]

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.

[spoon]

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

[reader]

The last visible remains of Dick's cafe before partition went up....

 

[DivineMadman]

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.

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, spoon said:

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

I doubt if those of us who visited Bangkok all those years ago are stuck moping around with our memories. We are all a lot older now. Some have settled down with long term partners. We have all changed and our interests re nighttime entertainment have changed/evolved over time. We may also have discovered other countries. The scene may not be as vibrant as Thailand but its there in many countries. I for one take life as it comes. I change. The entertainment scene changes. There is still a great deal to enjoy. 

Theres no doubt that the rise of the apps is one reason for recent changes in the nighttime scene. But internet hook-ups did not start just with smart phones, grindr, hornet and their like. In the second half of the 1990s there were several internet sites where Thai guys put up the same sort of information found on the apps now. There were also gay dating sites like gay.com. I met many guys from those sites. Chatting took a lot longer but the hook ups when they finally happened seemed at least to me a bit more meaningful. 

I reckon the decline in the bar and nighttime scene actually started around 2000. Blame the first Thaksin government's Social Order campaigns. I think for the first time the existence of male gogo bars, saunas and massage spas was brought home to the average man in the street, especially in the countryside. This was the first time government Ministers were pictured holding up used condoms and hints given about gay farangs coming for sex tourism. Of course Thais had been enjoying their own much larger underground sex scene for many decades. Farangs filling girlie bars were different. That was OK. But in a very conservative society the thought of their country having a reputation as a sex haven for gays was not welcome. The countrywide popularity ratings of that homophobic Minister rocketed.

Interesting I think that in the 80s and 90s Thais always seemed to outnumber farang in the bars. Yet from 2000 the Thais began to disappear. Where they went to and why I never thought about till now. Also that bars rarely seemed to bother changing their business model. Owners failed to realise that the general farang customer was ageing and not being replaced by enough younger ones. The only one making radical change was Twilight which completely changed and became Hotmale. Probably the most popular bar Barbiery moved from its ideal Suriwong location opposite Soi Twilight into larger premises close to Mango Tree. The atmosphere was dead, the mostly twink boys became more manly and customers stayed away in their droves. It quickly died.

Even though the gay world has got much bigger over the decades there is still nowhere like Thailand. Long may it continue . And long may we continue to cherish memories of so many wonderful times whenever we experienced them.

[PeterRS]

Sorry duplicate post 

[hank75]

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?