Latest Soi Twilight Rumor (Nov 2018)

[JackR]

Does anyone think that it might be better to have a smaller amount of bars, with concentrated selections of great guys, rather than a load of bars, each with dwindling numbers of boys and customers?

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, JackR said:

Does anyone think that it might be better to have a smaller amount of bars, with concentrated selections of great guys, rather than a load of bars, each with dwindling numbers of boys and customers?

at end of day all we need it one bar and one guy from that bar

[abidismaili]

6 hours ago, JackR said:

Does anyone think that it might be better to have a smaller amount of bars, with concentrated selections of great guys, rather than a load of bars, each with dwindling numbers of boys and customers?

Unless this would drive the prices up (off fee, drinks,  short time price), then I prefer current the situation. 

[Londoner]

I agree with JackR. Too many bars were established in the last fifteen years to cater for a dwindling market. Empty bars drive away customers, empty sois likewise, just as a vibrant atmosphere encourages custom.

 

[hank75]

4 hours ago, Londoner said:

I agree with JackR. Too many bars were established in the last fifteen years to cater for a dwindling market. Empty bars drive away customers, empty sois likewise, just as a vibrant atmosphere encourages custom.

 

This discussion pops up now and again...are bars still relevant? I go to bars for entertainment, a few sdrinks with friends or boys I know. I rarely off from bars because at the end of the night, I want to have some street food and go to bed. If I want company, I set this up early in the day through apps, or my regular boys who are just a Line away. 

Bars which don’t provide credible entertainment (show boys, not lady boys) and no eye candy are written off.

[DrimVoiz]

As for me, I go 2 bar 2 off or table a boy...aside from the show of course...ladyboys are okay if they're not the main performer but backup only of the boys...I tried searching 4 mb thru social media & never did it again, some are obviously posers while the others are not appealing, only a few is okay but I don't find it exciting...I go 2 BKK 4 d go go bars and massage places which excites me, that's only 4 me, of course.

[JackR]

Don't get me wrong - I love the bars - I visit for the bars - there's no scene like it in the world. But I'm just wondering if it would be better concentrated in less venues, who can each supply a better selection of guys, get more customers, and continue to thrive. I assume this will probably happen anyway, if there is a general decline in numbers.

[hank75]

1 hour ago, JackR said:

Don't get me wrong - I love the bars - I visit for the bars - there's no scene like it in the world. But I'm just wondering if it would be better concentrated in less venues, who can each supply a better selection of guys, get more customers, and continue to thrive. I assume this will probably happen anyway, if there is a general decline in numbers.

The problem is there will always be a failing bar or two (or four) and these will continue to take in the unattractive guys who accept cut-price offs. And these cut price offs will still pay better than say, being a gas station attendant in Isaan. Ditto the bar on a slow decline makes more financial sense than winding it up altogether. 

[Londoner]

We oldies tend to romanticise the past. Ask me about BKK in 1997, the year of my first visit and I'll recall the exciting , vibrant and busy bars I visited, all of them full of cute and willing guys. And they actually danced and engaged with us.  So different to the statuesque ones that took over ten years later when straight guys with muscles became the fashion.

And yet, and yet....if pressed, I can also recall bars with no customers and few guys. Even then, there were too many bars, a couple of them in Patpong where the exodus is taking place,  and even at the end of Silom Soi 2 where the clubs are now.  Some of them had disappeared before my next trip the following year. 

Come to think of it, I'd even suggest that the last few years of Soi Twilight have seen a period of relative stability. And, by the way, in 1998, Soi Twilight had only a few of other bars -Twilight Bar itself, Blue Star, Extreme......it was hardly the centre of gay life. Others can correct me on this but my recollection is that it wasn't even paved in those days.

[Guest]

On 4/14/2019 at 10:04 PM, JackR said:

Does anyone think that it might be better to have a smaller amount of bars, with concentrated selections of great guys, rather than a load of bars, each with dwindling numbers of boys and customers?

Generally, competition is good.   

If there are too many bars, then the competitive pressure should pressurize the bars into improving their offering.   Some bars figure this out, do a good job and get more customers.   Others are barely viable and usually seem to have more boys than customers.  

As for the nostalgia, well I didn't get to Thailand in the last century, but the description of some bars with naked boys on stage is certainly something that would make a nice change from boys in underwear.   

Things that have deteriorated in the time I have been coming to Thailand include the proliferation of tattoos, fewer slim lads, fewer bars and in some cases, boys that seem more interested in their phones than putting on a stage show.   Also I don't find freelancers in Silom Complex or on the street any more,  but perhaps that is just me. 

A few things have got better.     For a start, I have the OPTION of hiring lads via phone apps.   That's nice in places like Patttaya and Bangkok, but is very useful when we go further afield to places that never had a bar scene. 

Also, it is what it is and unless we want to be starting our own gogo bars, then all we have to think about is how to enjoy the fine scene that still remains in Bangkok and Pattaya.   

[reader]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

As for the nostalgia, well I didn't get to Thailand in the last century, but the description of some bars with naked boys on stage is certainly something that would make a nice change from boys in underwear.   

Also I don't find freelancers in Silom Complex or on the street any more,  but perhaps that is just me.  

Naked guys on stage can be titillating, but for my money some of the hottest guys on Twilight were the waiters at X-boys who were attired in black jeans and black or white shirts. Somehow I find guys in street clothes sexier than than I do those in underwear--or sans.

Still enjoy the thrill of discovery that comes back in the room. Like opening a nicely wrapped package.

It's not just you who don't see freelancers in Silom Complex like back in the day when they congregated around the escalators and elsewhere. Thank smart phones and beefed up security for that.  But I continue to find them on the streets and occasionally on the BTS and in the 7-11 after hours.

3 hours ago, z909 said:

Also, it is what it is and unless we want to be starting our own gogo bars, then all we have to think about is how to enjoy the fine scene that still remains in Bangkok and Pattaya.   

Could not agree more.

[DrimVoiz]

8 hours ago, Londoner said:

We oldies tend to romanticise the past. Ask me about BKK in 1997, the year of my first visit and I'll recall the exciting , vibrant and busy bars I visited, all of them full of cute and willing guys. And they actually danced and engaged with us.  So different to the statuesque ones that took over ten years later when straight guys with muscles became the fashion.

And yet, and yet....if pressed, I can also recall bars with no customers and few guys. Even then, there were too many bars, a couple of them in Patpong where the exodus is taking place,  and even at the end of Silom Soi 2 where the clubs are now.  Some of them had disappeared before my next trip the following year. 

Come to think of it, I'd even suggest that the last few years of Soi Twilight have seen a period of relative stability. And, by the way, in 1998, Soi Twilight had only a few of other bars -Twilight Bar itself, Blue Star, Extreme......it was hardly the centre of gay life. Others can correct me on this but my recollection is that it wasn't even paved in those days.

Wow, that's a piece of nostalgia, as for me, what's nostalgic is the memory of Soi Twilight.

[ggobkk]

I can recall Surawong back in 1991 (!).  I was a mere child, but, I remember most of the clubs and gogo's were in the vicinity of where Tawan is today.  Other than that, I would echo Londoner's description of things.

[Londoner]

Let's be honest about this....the guys back then were hungrier. Larger, pre-birth control families were still encouraging (or allowing) their sixteen year-olds to migrate to Bangkok and Pattaya because there wasn't enough to eat at home.  The Isaan busses were met in Bangkok by bar-owners,  and offers of work and accommodation made. 

In 1996, my first visit to Pattaya, sixteen was the legal age for go go dancers. These guys were often poorly educated, desperate for money and, frankly naive, having spent their lives in some very isolated communities.

There was certainly nude dancing in soi Twilight in 1997. Blue Star had two troupes, one of more mature guys, the other of the younger ones. They took the go go responsibilities in turn but appeared together for the full-frontal display. Even then, I was conscious that some of the younger guys were very shy, keeping their hands strategically placed while the older ones were usually more comfortable. 

I also saw nude dancing in a tiny Patong Bar, and the old Adam's Apple in Chiang Mai. Once or twice in Sunee, too.

 

 

[DrimVoiz]

8 hours ago, Londoner said:

Let's be honest about this....the guys back then were hungrier. Larger, pre-birth control families were still encouraging (or allowing) their sixteen year-olds to migrate to Bangkok and Pattaya because there wasn't enough to eat at home.  The Isaan busses were met in Bangkok by bar-owners,  and offers of work and accommodation made. 

In 1996, my first visit to Pattaya, sixteen was the legal age for go go dancers. These guys were often poorly educated, desperate for money and, frankly naive, having spent their lives in some very isolated communities.

There was certainly nude dancing in soi Twilight in 1997. Blue Star had two troupes, one of more mature guys, the other of the younger ones. They took the go go responsibilities in turn but appeared together for the full-frontal display. Even then, I was conscious that some of the younger guys were very shy, keeping their hands strategically placed while the older ones were usually more comfortable. 

I also saw nude dancing in a tiny Patong Bar, and the old Adam's Apple in Chiang Mai. Once or twice in Sunee, too.

 

 

Wow, full frontal dancing, that's exciting 2 watch!!!

[PeterRS]

Ive written before that there was nude dancing in some form or another much earlier than 1991 and 1996. In 1980 the old Apollo Bar located at the end of Soi 4 had nude dancing from around 9:30 pm or maybe 10 pm. On my visits over at least 3 years there was never an evening without nude dancing. Soon Twilight (the original version of Hotmale) had nude dancing every night from roughly the same time. fFom the mid-1980s Barbiery, Super Lek and others soon had nude painted body shows and soap bubble shows. All this was in addition to the usual fuck shows. I know some posters are put off by nude dancing. The boys in Twilight never seemed to enjoy being nude, but those particularly in Apollo and Barbiery seemed to really enjoy it and they really did dance. Certainly those of us in the audience did.

[reader]

I think nude performances are most appreciated when the dancers know they have the body and skill for it. I found that there was always some to be found on Twilight who fit that bill.

Seeing guys who lack confidence put on display simply to extend the show doesn't enhance the experience  But when I see dancers who are really into it I'm far more inclined to sit back and enjoy the show--and buy that second drink.

 

 

 

[macaroni21]

One thing that has disappeared was the fluorescent painted body show particularly in Barbiery, but at a few other bars too. The artistry of the painter was amazing. Performed in black light, the dragons, serpents, tigers, or foliage moved sinuously with the gogo boy's body outline barely visible. At its best, the gogo boy would be nude, and there would be the added thrill of making his equipment out amidst the darkness. It think the heyday of this art (and it's the one thing about these bars that I'd call art) was in the 1990s; it began to disappear with the crackdowns of later 1990s, and soon faded out altogether by the 2000s. 

Does anyone remember this act? It's such a pity no one was allowed to take photos in the bars. I would have built a valuable collection otherwise.

By any chance is any bar doing something similar nowadays?

 

[DrimVoiz]

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

One thing that has disappeared was the fluorescent painted body show particularly in Barbiery, but at a few other bars too. The artistry of the painter was amazing. Performed in black light, the dragons, serpents, tigers, or foliage moved sinuously with the gogo boy's body outline barely visible. At its best, the gogo boy would be nude, and there would be the added thrill of making his equipment out amidst the darkness. It think the heyday of this art (and it's the one thing about these bars that I'd call art) was in the 1990s; it began to disappear with the crackdowns of later 1990s, and soon faded out altogether by the 2000s. 

Does anyone remember this act? It's such a pity no one was allowed to take photos in the bars. I would have built a valuable collection otherwise.

By any chance is any bar doing something similar nowadays?

 

There is 1 in Dreamboy Soi Twilight b4 but I'm not sure if there is still is in DB Paradiso...

[PeterRS]

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Does anyone remember this act? It's such a pity no one was allowed to take photos in the bars. I would have built a valuable collection otherwise.

Yes, I recall many such shows and I agree they really were artistic. I think they started in Barbiery with one or two boys being painted on each of its small stages. I recall the boys were always nude. Once painted, their dancing under the ultra-violet light was slinky and indeed sinuous. It certainly started in the 1980s although precisely when I cannot remember. A few other bars later began to copy the idea. I remember seeing it in Hotmale after its reincarnation from Twilight around the turn of the millennium. But the painting was more basic and the boys did not have the same artistry - nor did they seem to have the same enthusiasm. Wasnt that one of the great bonuses in Barbiery - how enthusiastic ALL the boys were? I dont recall any of the many dozens of evenings I spent in that bar when even one boy looked bored. There seemed to be a tremendous camaraderie amongst them - and there always were lots and lots of them!

I dont know of any bar where this act can be seen today - or even in the last dozen years. 

[Jimbillp]

Yes. Dreamboys had it on their closing show.  On their last night one of the boy dancers was illuminated with ‘farewell tonight’ painted on.  It was almost the only reference to the place closing down. They were definitely promoting the paradiso in some mic name checks.  I’m not sure if it was a final night special but there was an interminable scene where one fat old ladyboy was screwed by two of the big cock guys including full audience tour for tips. The other noticeable thing to me was how many women were in the audience. For the later show I’d guess 25 out of 60 were asian women and quite a lot of couples/mixed sex groups.  

When I walked past their new place on its first night there was an overspill of the boys having to sit out on the street. If that capacity issues continues will certainly catch the eye of passers by.

other brief observations I did a daytime reccy.  

In the right spot on pat pong 2 you are less than 50 yrs from the entrances to four new bars.  Also totally mixed in with the girlie scene. Will the big topless pool bar soon be torsos not tits?

New hotmale must be several weeks away judging by building work.  Reckon it will hold 150. Decent size space. New fresh boys clearly took over an out of use girlie bar. Again I’d guess 150 if packed in.

the interesting place is luckboys.  That is big and had some decent capx at one stage.  It’s got a small Vegas stage style. It has three tiers and reaching the upper level won’t be for the less nimble....

it wasn’t that well suited to moving people in and out quickly but given its set up and that market now seems to be about tourist ‘shows’ I’d guess it will be the story of 2020.

[sglad]

5 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

One thing that has disappeared was the fluorescent painted body show particularly in Barbiery, but at a few other bars too. The artistry of the painter was amazing. Performed in black light, the dragons, serpents, tigers, or foliage moved sinuously with the gogo boy's body outline barely visible. At its best, the gogo boy would be nude, and there would be the added thrill of making his equipment out amidst the darkness. It think the heyday of this art (and it's the one thing about these bars that I'd call art) was in the 1990s; it began to disappear with the crackdowns of later 1990s, and soon faded out altogether by the 2000s. 

Does anyone remember this act? It's such a pity no one was allowed to take photos in the bars. I would have built a valuable collection otherwise.

By any chance is any bar doing something similar nowadays?

They had this act at Hotmale last November.  I asked one of the captains whether the three guys were wearing body suits because the artwork was quite intricate to have been painted on the go go dancers in just a matter of minutes but he assured me that it was painted on.  The act was OK; it would have been sexier if they had picked the guys with the sexiest bodies but they seemed to have been in short supply that night but there were plenty of huge cocks!  One of the dancers had a substantial amount of lower abdominal fat which seemed more pronounced in silhouette form but overall the show was alright and the captains at this bar were some of the friendliest and least intrusive that we had encountered.

[floridarob]

Hearing names of bars from yrs ago brings back memories.....the boys were more humble, less materialistic.

Things I miss are the Old Babylon, late nights after the bars going to the Malaysia coffee shop or the Suriwongse hotel and having all the money boys looking for customers....the apps just aren't the same, I like to see them in person, not photoshopped pics.

[abidismaili]

10 hours ago, floridarob said:

Hearing names of bars from yrs ago brings back memories.....the boys were more humble, less materialistic.

Things I miss are the Old Babylon, late nights after the bars going to the Malaysia coffee shop or the Suriwongse hotel and having all the money boys looking for customers....the apps just aren't the same, I like to see them in person, not photoshopped pics.

Not only that, even if the picture is not photoshopped and is very recent,  somehow some boys look different in 3D than 2D. Very strange. It can be better or worse looking. So indeed, seeing them in person is also my preference.

[Londoner]

I agree that some of the guys are better-looking than their photos suggest. I'm thinking of those photos where the guy is putting on a moody James Dean look or, even more irritating, pulling faces at the camera...sticking out a tongue for instance.,