Cost of Drinks on Soi Twilight in Bangkok

[TotallyOz]

I have wondered about this for a long time. Why are the cost of drinks in the gay bars so much more than those of the straight ones or the ladyboy bars? You can't say they have to pay police more. That is BS. All the bars on that soi are price hungry and I think it is losing them business. If they were a reasonable price I would be there more often and would buy drinks for the guys in the bars. But, at US 7.50 a drink, I won't do it. I think it is a major ripoff and no makes no sense at all to me. The same drink around the corner with the lady bars are 90 baht or about 2.50 a drink.

 

When I have a boy from a bar in Soi Twilight for a drink, I hate to spend 7.50 for a few ounces of soda.

 

Why has no one gone into the area and opened up a bar to compete with these crazy prices? Why don't the owners do the logical thing to get more customers? Are they making that much money? I hear that the bars were packed last night for the shows but still, is that price needed every night? Come one, something has to give.

[Guest jomtien]

First it was the hospital. Now it's the bars. What's next, the road from Pattaya to Jomtien??? Face it. You're turning into one of them complaining old farts. Welcome to Thailand.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Even in the US drinks are more expensive in gay bars. I never understood it.

[Guest fountainhall]

All the bars on that soi are price hungry and I think it is losing them business

 

I totally agree. If bars not in that soi can offer drinks at much less - e.g. Solid prices soft drinks at Bt. 100 and alcohol at Bt. 120, and even drinks at Nature Boys are a lot cheaper - then Soi Twilight's owners are rip-off merchants, even with the police tea money added in to the economics.

[Guest]

I totally agree. If bars not in that soi can offer drinks at much less - e.g. Solid prices soft drinks at Bt. 100 and alcohol at Bt. 120, and even drinks at Nature Boys are a lot cheaper - then Soi Twilight's owners are rip-off merchants, even with the police tea money added in to the economics.

 

I agree. But, can the tea money for that soi be any different from the lady bars? I don't think so! And, they are raking them in the lady bars and still making a killing!

[Gaybutton]

The way things seem to happen around here, if customers keep coming they'll stick with these prices. If customers stop coming, they'll raise them.

[Guest Astrrro]

One possibilty is that there are more straight bars than gay bars and it's easier for a price cartel to stay unified if the numbers are small.

[Guest]

I think Astrrro has the right theory.

 

Of course it's always possible to have one or two beers elsewhere & just take the one in the gogo bar whilst offing your boy for the night.

[Guest Oogleman]

and they wonder why the bars are getting emptier.

 

Im with GT on this one - i vote with my feet and go elsewhere.

 

Not because i cant afford it - i just hate feeling im being ripped off.

[bkkguy]

at one extreme some bars have 5-10 boys that get paid little or nothing by the bar, offer no shows and are in low rent, poorly maintained buildings in back sois with less "overheads"

 

at the other extreme some bars have 40-50 go-go dancers and have to pay 30-40 performers per show two shows per night and spend significant amounts on bar fitout and maintenance on high-rent premises on popular sois with higher "overheads"

 

in between are many bars offering different levels of service, comfort, staff, shows, etc

 

so is it really that surprising that the drink prices are not the same in all bars? do you expect food prices to be the same at a food court and a top class restaurant, or the room prices to be the same at a backpacker dosshouse and a 4 star boutique hotel?

 

while I agree that the soi twilight bars are expensive and many are not worth the money, if you are going to compare drink prices only then you are not being fair and are not comparing apples with apples!

 

bkkguy

[PattayaMale]

if you are going to compare drink prices only then you are not being fair and are not comparing apples with apples!bkkguy

 

If your theory is correct, why do the bars with fewer boys and poor service charge the same price as those with more boys and good service. How do the girl bars that have high levels of service and are in the same expensive areas charge less?

[Gaybutton]

Not because i cant afford it - i just hate feeling im being ripped off.

Well, I can't afford it and I also feel that I'm being ripped off. I have better things to do with my money than spend it on overpriced bars, excessively aggressive street touts, excessively aggressive mama-sans, excessively high music volume, boys who aren't my type in the first place, and boys who demand 1000 to 1500 baht, or more, for short time.

 

I can do without all that and I don't think I would enjoy it even if money was no object.

[bkkguy]

If your theory is correct, why do the bars with fewer boys and poor service charge the same price as those with more boys and good service.

 

not all the bars in Twilight charge the same for drinks so what are the names of the two bars that have the same drink prices that you would like to compare for "boys", "service", "shows", "quality" and other expenses that may or may not justify their prices?

 

and my point is that there is a range of bars and a range of prices and while some bars may be overpriced for what they provide comparing drink prices only is not a far comparison - Hotmale and Classic 2 I think have similar drink prices and are probably fairly comparable for "quality", "shows" and "service", Dream Boys prices are maybe 20% higher and you can easily see why, Solid's prices are 50% lower and you can easily see why!

 

but for what you get for your money at Solid it is probably just as easy to say it is a ripoff compared to buying a drink at 7/11 as it is to say that buying a drink at DreamBoy is a ripoff compared to Solid

 

And if Solid is such great value for money why is the percentage of occupied seats there often less then the percentage of occupied seats at the Twilight bars?

 

 

How do the girl bars that have high levels of service and are in the same expensive areas charge less?

 

I can't really comment on differences in rent and under the table payments in Twilight compared to Patpong so that makes a direct comparison hard but not many of the girl bars that I am aware of that have cheap drinks also have live sex shows or any show at all - while you may think the show at Hotmale or DreamBoy is terrible it is a cost that you can't just ignore. Also "lady drinks" at many of the Patpong bars are small are more expensive than the punter's drinks - at least you boy in Twilight gets a real bottle of beer for his 240 Baht!

 

bkkguy

[Guest]

After flying all the way to Thailand, the only thing that would stop me visiting Classic Boys is bumping into a really cute guy before I even reach the bar.

 

The price of beer might be more of an issue if I lived there full time & had to stretch the budget over 52 weeks.

[Guest taylorsquare]

By the time you paid airfare,drinks,off fees ,boy tip,etc etc it would be cheaper looking for street trade in your own City.

 

One only has to wander the Gay areas of their own City or look in newspaper adverts in your own City to find many Asian,especially Thai boys who are servicing more than the massage they are offering ......for far less price than your forking out in Thailand.

 

Had a Japanese boy recently,private newspaper ad,he was 20yo,he came to me,total was $100.00,about 2500 baht,1 hour service.Full service

 

Thai boy massage in my City,$50.00 plus $20.00 for hand relief,1 hour service.$70.00

 

One only also has to look on Gay Romeo,Gaydar and offer guys to meet them.

message them with offers,some dont reply,some do,some are gay4pay.

 

Thailand is becoming way toooooo expensive and boring for me.

If your happy to fork out 250b for a drink,400 b off fee ,plus a mamasan tip,plus 1500 b for sometimes not even a hour of service then fine,its your money,just think how hard you worked to get it.

[firecat69]

There is essentially no difference between the bars on Soi Twilight in their drink prices. Dreamboys sets the prices and the others follow. At most at times there may be a 10 baht difference which is about 4% not 20%.

 

If a boy orders a beer in Soi Twilight he gets a beer, if he orders a drink he get 3 ounces of soda. At the girl bars if a girl orders a beer she gets a beer. Same Same as Soi Twilight.

 

It is extremely easy to get phone numbers from boys and then do away with off fees , rip off drink prices etc. The shows are for tourists and Asians. It must work or nobody would have them. I hate them and will never go in if show is starting or about to start.

 

But I appear to be in the Minority. To say that you can get similar boys in big cities in the USA for $40 is just plain ridiculous.

It is a 1 in a million chance and then only from a new desperate immigrant who will quickly learn to charge $200 or more.

 

Have things gotten more expensive in Thailand , you bet they have. But I can still stay in a 5 star Hotel in Bangkok for $100 most of the time. In the USA or Western Europe that will get you Motel 6. I can still get a pretty good Thai meal for the cost of a hot dog back home. I can get a massage and happy ending for between $30 and $50. Try that in USA, Western Europe etc.

 

I can choose from 100's of boys to have sex with. Depending on the Bar and the amount of time, it will cost me $60 for short time and $75 for all night. Once you find boys you like that cost drops to $30- $50 when drinks and bar fines are eliminated.

 

These are Bangkok prices . Go to Pattaya and on average those prices drop by 30-40% and Chiang Mai 40- 50%.

 

 

By the way for the math challenged here $100 is 3400 baht not 2500 baht. Also most people do not stay home for their vacation. If you are on the East coast and fly to the west coast it will cost you $600. Fly to Europe from the East coast $700- $1000 depending on time of year. Fly to Thailand for $1100 and when you get there stay in similar grade Hotels for 30% of the prices in USA or Europe. Take a taxi in Bangkok for 20% of the cost back home and a Limo for 15% of the cost back home.

 

Thailand works out way cheaper then a vacation in the USA or Europe and the boys are a huge bonus on top of that.

 

The worst thing about Thailand is it takes 22 hours to get here. Other then that , let me know when you find a better place at a lesser price.

[Guest fountainhall]

but for what you get for your money at Solid it is probably just as easy to say it is a ripoff compared to buying a drink at 7/11 as it is to say that buying a drink at DreamBoy is a ripoff compared to Solid

 

Oh dear! That logic defeats me! Comparing Dreamboy and Solid is at least comparing like with like, more or less. I'll take a comparison with 7/11 once they start offering go-go boys in short pants dancing/making as though they're dancing on a regular basis.

 

And if Solid is such great value for money why is the percentage of occupied seats there often less then the percentage of occupied seats at the Twilight bars?

 

You can also turn that argument on its head. Since Solid gets by with a small fraction of the customers and its drinks are at least 50% less than the bars in Soi Twilight, then Soi Twilight is an even greater rip off.

[Guest taylorsquare]

"Other then that , let me know when you find a better place at a lesser price".

 

 

Well,I am looking at India after seeing slumdog millionaire.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

By the time you paid airfare,drinks,off fees ,boy tip,etc etc it would be cheaper looking for street trade in your own City.

 

I can't help but agree with Taylor on this, even though I live just 4 hours away from Hatyai (by car) where I can get what I want without having to spend 10,000 Baht just getting to BKK by air. For me, the cost of a Hatyai weekend used to be something like -

 

Baht 1200 - Van fare to and fro

Baht 800 - 3* Hotel (per night)

Baht 60 - 1 person tuk-tuk to and from the gay bar area

Baht 400 - Off fee per guy per night

Baht 100 - Mamasan tip

Baht 1,500 - Tip per guy per night

Baht 400 - Drinks for guy and me (just a fizzy for me since I don't touch hard stuff)

 

Total cost of a 3-day/2-night weekend jaunt came to about 7,840 Baht. Make that 10,000 Baht with food and miscellaneous extras, and when you consider that I used to take home only 700 Baht per day before I retired from my old hotel job, you can see that the little Hatyai holidays were really luxuries already, never mind going all the way to BKK or Phuket.

 

*(The exchange rate for Baht and Malaysian Ringgit is 9.50 baht to RM10.00 on average.)

 

Since there were only one or two off-bars left in Hatyai at an unfamiliar red light area nowhere near my hotel(the last time I looked), I used to take a risk and pick up street trade, for which I'd pay around Baht600-Baht800 per night.

 

And then I contacted a guy from one of the dating websites who is not gay4pay, has a good job, doesn't want a LTR and speaks English very well, and he has become a friend and f*%buddy, so I don't really feel any urgency to travel all the way to BKK any more (except for sightseeing and shopping once in a great while).

 

But the thing is that like Taylor, I was beginning to find even Hatyai expensive for a naughty holiday before I met this nice Thai guy with the great endowment and hunky body, let alone BKK and Phuket though I could never say that either place was boring.

 

Xian

[Gaybutton]

I'm sure everyone is correct about how it would be less expensive to take rent boys in your home country rather than traveling to Thailand, but we all have our different points of view. To my mind, if your only reason for traveling to Thailand is sex, then that's not exactly the best reason to travel here. I would think the best reasons to travel to Thailand would include enjoying and experiencing as much as you can of what Thailand has to offer and also be able to take boys. But if you're coming to Thailand only for the boys, then I would agree that you're better off staying home and spending your money on rent boys.

[PattayaMale]

I'm sure everyone is correct about how it would be less expensive to take rent boys in your home country rather than traveling to Thailand, but we all have our different points of view. To my mind, if your only reason for traveling to Thailand is sex, then that's not exactly the best reason to travel here. I would think the best reasons to travel to Thailand would include enjoying and experiencing as much as you can of what Thailand has to offer and also be able to take boys. But if you're coming to Thailand only for the boys, then I would agree that you're better off staying home and spending your money on rent boys.

 

Is this satire?

I understand that most people come to Pattaya for the fine white sand beaches, the floating market, and the elephants..............I came for the..............

 

 

overpriced drinks

[Gaybutton]

Is this satire?

That depends on your point of view. If you're looking at it strictly from a cost point of view, then the post is serious.

 

If you're looking at it from the point of view that's below one's personal equator, then well . . . . .

 

I may be totally naive about certain things, but I'm sure everyone comes here for the waters.

[Guest]

For anyone who wants to got through the entire year without having a holiday, it might just be worth doing the "is it cheaper to stay at home for sex" analysis.

 

As it happens, SE Asia is a superb holiday destination, offering a wide range of historical attractions & a climate which is very comfortable right in the middle of a northern hemisphere winter.

 

If I want to hire a rent boy in my own country, there's a £15 rail fare to the big city, then a going rate of £80~120 for one hour (mostly nearer to the £120 level). The guy I'm with is likely to be less attractive than Thais, less clean & the overall experience is less satisfactory. The Thais will happily spend at least a couple of hours with me for 1000 baht.

 

If I go to another European country, then the cost of tips & hotels is likely to be well in excess of the equivalent in Thailand, to the extent that the extra flight cost to Thailand is recovered within the first week.

 

Within Thailand, there are choices for almost every pocket from the 500 baht street trade to the best gogo bars, even if the beer is rather expensive.

 

On top of all that, what else compares with Classic Boys, Euro Boys etc ?

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I couldn't agree with you more, GB. It was only after I no longer felt the imperative to go out and pay to get my pipes thoroughly rimmed out every night that I began enjoying the other aspects of coming to Thailand like the food, the culture and shopping.