Bar boys in Jomtien Complex

[MrBill]

On 9/21/2023 at 4:49 AM, barcelona92 said:

as i sed before ill be in bangkok and pattaya next november for first time, this forum as really helped me on a lot of newbie questions but i still have some that would like you to help me with ...here i go 

how do i know what bar boy is offable and wich isnt? , and what are they fees ? do i always have to pay the bar to take one to my hotel? 

do i always have to pay the bar to take one to my hotel? 

do you recomend me this sistem , or is better by apps , massage parlours or propper gogo bars o hostbars?

thanyou and sorry for my english ...dis better i could. hehe

I was in Pattaya end of July and 1st wk of August. I went online on Grindr and found many willing guys. Turns out all were from Jomtien bars, but they were willing to deal directly with potential customers when they were not working. So there were no off fees. I met several guys that way including two 3-somes. In fact, I didn't visit a single bar this trip. Been-there-done-that on previous trips, but this time there was no problem finding lots of guys solely using Grindr.

[Londoner]

Younger posters may not be aware that, back in the day,  meetings such as Mr Bill describes were very difficult to arrange.  Gogo bars opened at 2100, there weren't so many host bars open earlier and few massage places anywhere in Pattaya. And of course there were no mobiles.

Much as I loved Pattaya,  I'd  sometimes find the afternoons frustrating (and lonely) waiting for 2100 to arrive.

[Marc K]

10 hours ago, MrBill said:

I was in Pattaya end of July and 1st wk of August. I went online on Grindr and found many willing guys. Turns out all were from Jomtien bars, but they were willing to deal directly with potential customers when they were not working. So there were no off fees. I met several guys that way including two 3-somes. In fact, I didn't visit a single bar this trip. Been-there-done-that on previous trips, but this time there was no problem finding lots of guys solely using Grindr.

Like you Bill I have never quite understood the attraction of the Bars in the Complex. Especially in the low-season, it seems rather like a waste of time, and money. It seems boys are more interested in playing with their phones than they are playing with customers.

[Marc K]

1 hour ago, Londoner said:

Younger posters may not be aware that, back in the day,  meetings such as Mr Bill describes were very difficult to arrange.  Gogo bars opened at 2100, there weren't so many host bars open earlier and few massage places anywhere in Pattaya. And of course there were no mobiles.

Much as I loved Pattaya,  I'd  sometimes find the afternoons frustrating (and lonely) waiting for 2100 to arrive.

Indeed Mr London there was a time and place for sitdown bars but it sure seems that now that time has past given the other avenues available. So I wonder why there are still so many businesses trying to promote the old method?

Many of the massage houses (at least in Bangkok) are changing, now sending out a daily "menu" of available "treats" on Line, but bars seem stuck in their old ways. Why?

[omega]

12 minutes ago, Marc K said:

Indeed Mr London there was a time and place for sitdown bars but it sure seems that now that time has past given the other avenues available. So I wonder why there are still so many businesses trying to promote the old method?

Many of the massage houses (at least in Bangkok) are changing, now sending out a daily "menu" of available "treats" on Line, but bars seem stuck in their old ways. Why?

Attachment to the past perhaps... not only did the business model worked, but they loved how it worked.

Might also be that they're owned by people who see only costs and no profit in using technology.

[floridarob]

6 hours ago, Londoner said:

Much as I loved Pattaya,  I'd  sometimes find the afternoons frustrating (and lonely) waiting for 2100 to arrive.

But back then there was boys at the beach looking for fun and cute massage guys, I think it's the same massage guys now, just they got older.....well, we all got older.

There was Blue House massage too, is that still in business??

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, floridarob said:

There was Blue House massage too, is that still in business??

one behind the Tukcom? 

If yes , yes it's still in business under new name . One needs to go in as their boys are not soliciting business at front.

 

[PeterRS]

19 hours ago, Londoner said:

Younger posters may not be aware that, back in the day,  meetings such as Mr Bill describes were very difficult to arrange.  Gogo bars opened at 2100, there weren't so many host bars open earlier and few massage places anywhere in Pattaya. And of course there were no mobiles.

Much as I loved Pattaya,  I'd  sometimes find the afternoons frustrating (and lonely) waiting for 2100 to arrive.

On the few occasions i visited Pattaya 15-25 years ago, there was always the possibility of finding attractive guys on the beach wearing skimpy trunks, especially in the late afternoons. In addition to the boys who came down to play a sort of volleyball, there was usually the accasional cruiser. There was also a host bar - Bamboo Bar? - located around the corner from the Police Box which was open in the afternoons. The gay area of the beach was then quite busy with cheap drinks and food available.

[vinapu]

13 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

 There was also a host bar - Bamboo Bar? - located around the corner from the Police Box which was open in the afternoons

I believe it's still there

[reader]

If only there was a time machine that could transport us chasers back a quarter of a century to the days of yore, I’d be among the first to sign up. 

Maybe they’d   call it “dynamic chaser conversion.”

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, reader said:

If only there was a time machine that could transport us chasers back a quarter of a century to the days of yore, I’d be among the first to sign up.

While we're at it, let's make it 30 years when the Bangkok gay scene was really hot and humming.

[reader]

Actually, it still is. Patpong 2 offers five go-go’s and two beer bars with approximately 120-150 guys of all descriptions on any given evening.

slip over to Soi 4, and that’s humming with more 50 or so more offable guys in varied venues.

on the massage front, an equal or greater number in just the Silom-Surawong triangle. 
 

[Travellerdave]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

I believe it's still there

Yes the Bamboo Bar is still there . I think it is in rather an inappropriate location for a gay bar. I called in a year ago and was “getting to know” one of the staff when an str older couple came in but exited rather quickly.

[vaughn]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:11 PM, Marc K said:

Many of the massage houses (at least in Bangkok) are changing, now sending out a daily "menu" of available "treats" on Line, but bars seem stuck in their old ways. Why?

Could probably be attributed to privacy and legal issues.

Bars operate in a discrete tea money to authorities way, it's easier to pass off massage to online customers as a legitimate legal service but if bars start posting too much online it could potentially bring unwanted attention.

There are a lot of guys in bars that don't want their photos online associated with this line of work as well, I know a few that don't use the apps in case friends or someone from their hometown sees them and the rumours/gossip makes its way back to family and hometown.

[PeterRS]

11 hours ago, reader said:

Actually, it still is. Patpong 2 offers five go-go’s and two beer bars with approximately 120-150 guys of all descriptions on any given evening.

I'm sure it is. But you mentioned your interest in being transported back 25 years when there were quite a few more bars staffed with lots more guys much more skimpily dressed than is the case today. Same with the best-known massage spas which have disappeared, many fondly remembered like Hero, Albury and Adonis each of which (if I remember correctly) usually had quite a few more masseurs. Same also with gay saunas, with Babylon being the most lamented casualty.

Going back an extra few years, some months ago a member posted a list from one of the free mags that used to be available in many gay venues which listed even more bars with more bar boys, and not all in the Silom-Suriwong axis . Taking just one, Barbiery on Suriwong opposite the entrance to Soi Twilight often had 100 young guys working at the week-ends. Nudity and more adventurous, fun shows were the norm. Not sure if Twilight had as many guys in 1993 but it certainly had 60-70 a few years before then.

But times change, society changes, government regulations have changed and the economics of gay venues have changed particularly in the face of competition from the apps. Also, as I have mentioned before in several posts, the customer base has changed. 30 years ago Thais virtually made up a majority of bar customers. We live in different times.

[10tazione]

14 hours ago, PeterRS said:

While we're at it, let's make it 30 years when the Bangkok gay scene was really hot and humming.

That costs some extra bucks!

Now, if that was really possible, how much would we be willing to pay?

[vinapu]

20 hours ago, reader said:

If only there was a time machine that could transport us chasers back a quarter of a century to the days of yore, I’d be among the first to sign up. 

Maybe they’d   call it “dynamic chaser conversion.”

better focus on your current trip 

[vinapu]

18 hours ago, reader said:

Actually, it still is. Patpong 2 offers five go-go’s and two beer bars with approximately 120-150 guys of all descriptions on any given evening.

slip over to Soi 4, and that’s humming with more 50 or so more offable guys in varied venues.

 

and don't forget Moonlight, Tawan , Nature boys and Super A

[vinapu]

12 hours ago, vaughn said:

 

There are a lot of guys in bars that don't want their photos online associated with this line of work as well, I know a few that don't use the apps in case friends or someone from their hometown sees them and the rumours/gossip makes its way back to family and hometown.

Correct. I once asked at Arena why they don't have proper website with pictures of guys , they told me their guys don't want their faces to be shown anywhere.

We may be in the same situation, at least twice on YouTube clips from Silom and Jomtien   I noticed familiar faces  , nothing drastic , just passing by at day time .

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 We live in different times.

part in bold is most important. Past was glorious but if we are not here to tell the tale, what the use of it other than getting bitter that  it's gone 

[PeterRS]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

Past was glorious but if we are not here to tell the tale, what the use of it other than getting bitter that  it's gone 

I for one certainly don't feel in the slightest bit bitter about the past being gone. I'm just glad I was in Bangkok in those particular years and have so many extremely fond memories, some great. Nostalgia is part of our existence. Thankfully we all move on and experience a myriad of new things as we age.

[reader]

10 hours ago, PeterRS said:

We live in different times.

Yes, as much as I relish the days of old we’re restricted to what the present offers. The biggest difference is the influx of ASEAN guys into the mix to the point they are dominant. And that is a good thing because it broadens the gene pool. 

I still have great memories of 20+ years ago but new ones keep me returning much longer than I ever thought possible.

My advice is to cherish the memories but make the best of the present. 

[PeterRS]

On 10/12/2023 at 3:11 PM, Marc K said:

bars seem stuck in their old ways. Why?

That's a question that has been asked in this forum for many years - over more than a decade. I suggest it is in part the government and the elite. They have increasingly disliked Thailand being called the sex capital of Asia and have taken action to clamp down on it. This was the primary reason for Interior Minister Purachai's Social Order campaigns two decades ago. Restrictions were then placed on nightlife. While this may have resulted in little change over the longer term provided the increasingly fat brown envelopes were regularly handed over, it did make in particular the gay venue owners think twice about their businesses.

It is also in large  part due to the bar owners themselves. They had a business model. When business fell off the only way they knew how to adapt was to raise prices to cover their shortfall.

The attitude of the bar owners to a certain extent reflects that of Thai society as a whole, in my view. Having done business in this country for many years, there is clearly an in-built reluctance - some might say fear - of change. In one Thai company in which I have been involved over almost four decades, I have seen overseas consultants and experts brought in to write reports and offer constructive suggestions for change and development. In large part it has been money down the drain for so few recommendations were acted on. When I have asked top management the reason, I always get the response, "They don't understand Thailand!"  It is a recurring refrain I hear with some frequency. Similarly, I believe bar owners are afraid of change in case it brings their business tumbling down.

Then there was the drying up of the supply of young Thai guys ready and willing to be bar boys, especially in the go-go bars. The country's rapidly rising economic growth offered lads from up country more opportunities for gainful employment away from the rice paddies and village stores. Those prepared to work in the bars expect considerably more for their services than in the past. Thus the gradual influx into the bars of young guys from neighbouring countries, many without proper visas.

The question I have never seen asnwered, though, is this: why is it that the gay venues have been reduced and yet it seems the establishments offering the services of young ladies continue to thrive? Or so it seems. Is this because the majority of new customers for gay bars, especially those from North and South East Asia, are much less interesting in offs from gogo bars? They tend to be younger than the westerners who mostly frequented bars two and three decades ago and much more interested in a spa experience followed by a bar show followed by dancing somewhere.

[reader]

Since most of they guys I meet are from other SEAsian countries, I’ve learned that the wise ones cultivate regular customers who—like many here—are returning international visitors. Many have acquired some English that helps them with both western and Asian countries where English is a second language.

[ChristianPFC]

On 9/21/2023 at 10:51 PM, kokopelli3 said:

There is one bar, DoDo, in Jomtien Complex which does have some dancing boys which is  a nice treat. 

The crucial point is that they take off their shirts.