Jimbillp

Another epic trip. And I love the way you in effect double your enjoyment by writing it up over a similar time period to the trip itself thereby reliving all the experience - and of course sharing with us. You bring a very healthy and can do approach to having a great holiday in Thailand. It was great to overlap with you at the beginning of your travels and we will always have that time we had private viewing of the Grand Palace all to ourselves.

I was in there 2 weeks ago. It would be chaos in a fire. So full at times it was like a rush hour subway carriage. You literally couldn’t move anywhere.

When I got the Thai pass recently I just scanned the relevant page of my standard annual travel insurance ($90) that has coverage for medical issues including covid. Simple and easy. As you get a result within hours just try that first.

On the quarter: Modern and clean. Room is compact and a bit short of clothes storage space. Super fast Wi-Fi and good shower. Balcony is tiny. Good gym with modern equipment. Swimming pool a bit goldfish bowl alongside restaurant. Very small sauna and steam. I got a great rate in May. At their full rack rate I’d probably judge the room a bit too small but the Wi-Fi was fantastic for working.

Recently went to Thailand (mid May) and here are a few observations on what was a different Bangkok but also reassuringly familiar. Thai Pass so easy and airport arrival and entry smoother and faster than ever. Bangkok is still really quiet, which brings advantages of low accommodation costs and always getting a seat in a restaurant. At times it is too quiet, that buzz of a big city and nightlife not there, but then there are advantages….. I thought I was done with the Grand Palace and Wat Pho but an instinct it might be crowd free led to an 8.30 arrival with board member vinapu. And what a visit. It was like a private viewing! We were less than six people in total viewing the Emerald Buddha, and had the hall of the reclining Buddha and many courtyards to OURSELVES. I now have some amazing photos recorded digitally such was length of time since last entry. When we caught the boat back they had to radio for it to stop so few were the passengers waiting to head downstream. I enjoy the show bars for the entertainment rather than the taking off and here they were largely reduced in spectacle but the glass half full were how many were trying their best to get going sometimes with very low audience members. In Jupiter there were perhaps 25 brazing the air con at best and Moonlight on a Saturday had 15 at best and a much shorter show from only the models themselves. There does seem even more of a clear demarcation between the more no holds barred (Tawan/Hot male) and the fashion model parade (Moonlight, Jupiter, New Twilight). Be interesting to hear what relaxed opening and bigger visitor numbers brings. New Twilight has some money and energy behind it and is the most comfortable viewing experience, be interesting what next for them. maybe half the massage shops are empty or gone but plenty of choice at the others and walk in spaces at Prime which is the quality offering. MBK really shows how hard times have been with less than half the units occupied esp the smaller outlets I have some Thai friends and this saw a visit to Fake Club. This required a 120 baht swab test for entry with a nurse administering on the door. Felt very down beat on entry to be literally first customers at 10.20pm, buy by midnight it must have been 100 plus and was good fun with lots of time to chat to some very attentive models including Spai who appears to have transferred from Jupiter. A visit to DJ station on a Friday night with several Thai friends was the other extreme as it was so busy there were times you literally couldn’t move. It was like a subway train in peak rush hour. But this novelty was kinda fun after nearly three years. Bit bizarre to wear a mask all week on empty streets then no mask in a packed, indoor night club. As ever good to meet some new faces as well as the irrepressible @vinapu and also to catch up again with super guy and knowledgable @paulsfand @anddyover the week My last night saw all bars closed for an election, so took chance to try the local Sauna Mania. It was very busy and 120 baht to enter and as probably the only Farang there lots of interest and opportunity with no feeling of exclusion. I did find the heat and humidity a bit constraining and wouldn’t rush back in May but once again found my time in BKk, and the few days spent exploring the North, as rewarding as ever. So my advice is you only live once. go now before the world has come back, enjoy the quiet, and add to those special memories.

The premium class was full. It’s only 18 seats. The rest looked about 75%. Interesting the best economy seats they charge more for including front row with leg room were empty both directions. Seems opting for the £200 ticket at the back very popular.

Return leg just completed. Fast check in. Took off only about 15 mins late. Scoot plus as described before, a premium economy seat with basic frills. 30 mb free Wi-Fi worked. The meal included is basically one of those 99 baht 7 eleven microwave deals! Take snacks and all good in flight entertainment. Well, you do get one of those lift up from the are rests trays you could use, or you could wrap your tablet in bubble wrap, or even let it potentially slide all of 50 cm to a carpeted floor! only downer was the hour wait for baggage, but that’s Gatwick’s screw up not Scoot. All in all delighted with what I got for £830 direct flight return. However I see in next few months they are charging around double that no doubt capitalising on their lack of competition for direct flights.

I used Scoot to get to Bangkok last week. Give everything a go once is my motto. I used the scoot plus hoping it equated to premium economy in a standard full service airline and that’s just what it is. Just be prepared for no in flight entertainment (easy if you have a tablet or read) and less food (I brought some snacks), one average meal was included and you could buy more. check in line was slow, but fine once I realised with plus you could go round the side with premium. main issue was we were sat on plane for 2 hrs before journey started, they said this was a Gatwick airport issue with short staff and take off paperwork being cleared. Hmmm!? Others on here are better at looking up their regular punctuality. anyway, overall it is a serviceable, direct route. If you really want to save money go in back of plane and travel in standard short haul type seating. It was busy and not surprisingly looked very backpacker types would I use again? Well I have a return so am next weekend! but yes, I’d use their premium again if it was a decent saving over equivalent direct with Thai, Eva or BA

4th boy is Watt. Even more amazing when he lights up the bar with his smiles. And super nice boy with good English.

It was good to be a small part of your day 9 and thanks for the suggestion of going to top of Maha Nakhon and being so welcoming. I really add to your endorsement. It is so much fun seeing all the sites and also looking down on the local haunts. I spotted a big swimming pool on soi 3 (not the Trinity one which is my usual go to) and as a daily swimmer when in Bkk will now try to find it to test out. The boys adore it up there as it creates a film set backdrop feel for their selfie life. spoon was also good at spotting local sites especially zooming in on the roof of local sauna. I think he should report on what he found under that roof In Z you really had a lovely guy with a personality as big as the tower we visited who was so fitted into the fun of our group. So great to read more about your time with him. And Sppon’s A had muscles and a smile as easy to look at as the bangkok skyline and a lovely understated personality - all in a most enjoyable few hrs As a bonus i am also glad we got you to enjoy a usual no go area in soi 4! a great last night for me.

So I went to Moonlight last night, Friday. And there were a few things to see/report/ask about; Firstly it is a new show, 80% new routines I’d say. the models have been sent to a dance instructor, oh and learning lip syncing! They are being used much more in the routines. Many of which are closer to boyband type routines - miming in costume/fashion clothes. I prefer the variety of this and street look for nearly an hour it was more like cabaret/fashion show, but good fun just when I thought it was going chaste they produced 10 boys for the big cock number the models now come out and dance/gyrate with the crowd and it has energy it was full and I’d say 25% Asian female, some big spending they bar now sell the Money garlands already made up with flowers and notes all made beautiful over the evening at least 15 bought and presented with some of the boys getting two or even three Question; do the boys keep all the notes or is their kick back to the bar? Question; do they share backstage or is it win some lose some? All in all a good night Entry 450 with one drink, second drink 350 oh, and the cute lad with the best smile from Soutern Thailand is back now wearing 19

Was there tonight. Given its all just a few months in it feels quite established. You can sit at hotmales outside bar and in the right spot see the entrances to the five gogo bars on patpong2. Yes you are up high on their balcony and it’s not quite soi twilight. But given the big upheaval of that closure it’s amazing how much has reformed in one 50 yard stretch. And with the arrival of the massage shop it does feel quite like a community. Got to give it a full High season to see how it fully settles down.

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.

Now he (bandana man) is touting for Moonlight and perched at entrance to their soi new routine last night saw three of the Moonlight models, including babe, doing towel only dance. Getting more revealing than they were before. sadly no Tam, Sunny or Nicky........

Yes. His hair look is better and possibly a venue requirement. I prefer also. The models, and the dancers, join the tables. Of course the reaction from the tables will determine how long they stay and you can see that they know they have to circulate. Esp the popular ones. Most of the time they seem happy with drinking the whisky shots and generally sharing the drinks, often decided who drinks shots after drinking games. All part of making the club work and tick over I guess if they stayed a while it seems a tip of 100 was the market rate. my Thai friends would do this or tell me to from time to time and I wasn’t sure if it was based on how long the guys stayed or how much they were appreciated (or if they’d asked). but certainly not heavy pressure to tip There was a lot of tipping on the runway including the banknote garlands from I guess the Chinese who really love that part Fook did ask for a 100 at the end of night as we made him drink some shots to finish bottle and I did give at beginning of night as guessed it meant he’d keep returning It is a good fun night with some Thais or I guess some Moonlight models in tow and it is much more of a club/party scene than boy to hire and I prefer that vibe For variety there used to be App club but that burnt down apparently and so now not sure if there is much else. Is a place called joob bar and another smaller one on sukhumvit somewhere I think? but Fake is definitely the big grand daddy of them all.

Mr Fook from Fake Club last night. Previously of Moonlight

So went back to Fake club last night. Less busy so chance to meet models and dancers who as hank75 says do a great job of getting customers to keep drinking.. And who do I see in first 15 minutes but Mr Fook as badge calls it, aka Fluke very friendly and amazing physique he was really working tables well and perhaps Moonlight has given him experience/confidence as clearly one of best at it. Also conscientious to keep rotating we chatted about his shower show and for his second table visit I’d found his shower video which he thought was very entertaining and was showing others no fancy costumes this time and indeed on catwalk show part he was one of star performers moving down catwalk with speedo around his knees as he gyrated and collected tips, hand strategically placed of course. at one point Mr babe came past and they greeted like long lost friends - are they about to poach another?! I couldnt see who he was with anyway I left with his line ID and memories of one sexy dancing/touching at end of night. He was pretty drunk at the end of the night but really friendly. A fun night.

I went to fake for New Year’s Eve and have been a few times. Always go with Thai friends and great fun the way they congregate together around the tables. It’s basically a club and I enjoy being somewhere that is less than 1% western faces. Much less of boys on catwalks and dancing this time. Only one show after 1am which was a bit raunchier than before but still at tease end of things. Models circulate on floor for drinks and to engage. Must have strong livers if do it every night. I agree it isn’t a place best to go alone. On Moonlight is there any news of boy I think wore no.8, from south Thailand? He had the best smile I ever saw and lovely personality.

Just thought I’d bounce this back up to say ,for once!, I was a trend setter calling the Moonlight popularity. Haha Was back in there thurs 27. Full but not packed. Didn’t have quite the same energy with routines I felt. And pricier. but still worth a visit ps, what happened to the really cute guy with amazing grin. Worked in the shoe shop and was from southern Thailand?

18 US DOLLARS in 1982 would be about $48 now. So on exchange rate of today would be about 1500 baht. Of course you also have exchange rates changing and inflation varies in different sectors.

A few thoughts, questions and debate. Welcome feedback as it used to help me decide and be informed. So hopefully helps others as well as me. All this is on limited visiting this time but enough to get a feel. So here goes: 1. Jupiter is clearly now the big daddy of them all. This Sunday night pretty full, say had 150 ish in over whole evening. 350 entry with drink included and second drink just 150. So you can have 4 drinks for 800 which is really very fair given you get a show as well? 2. Show very similar to previous visits [for me 1 last August and 1 in april). The song starts up and you know exactly what you are getting. They also drag out the time between routines. Lost almost half attendees by interval. Certainly great looking model boys but really quite chaste. I do like more clothes and tease but this is really vanilla now. Is that reflecting Asian audience preference or what good looking boys/dancers will do? 3. Only briefly in soi boy. Ate at maxis. Full. Soi Felt lively on Saturday night. Streams of Chinese heading to dream boy. Big sign up saying ‘not closing’. So I guess carries on for foreseeable. Anyone have recent intel? 4. Also made me think is there a Chinese site like this one that raves about dream boy and other places. How does the marketing reach target audience? 5. Went late night - 1.20am ish to screwboys. Only because stayed out watching live premier league. Hated it. Show was just drag queens, and poor at that. And then big rotation of mainly twink types. Expensive for one drink at 450 imo. Do they have any boys show? Does it have redeeming feature or is it just the late licence place? 5. Moonlight best all rounder for me. Mixes Jupiter with sleazier stuff. Have done separate post update. Pricing good. Model show gone or on hold?

Ok, brief sojourn in Bangkok and back to the scene of the crime, so to speak. Moonlight bar on a Saturday night in mid August. Busy but not heaving. Maybe 60 to 80 in across show time. I did notice rotation of customers is quite fast and many leave without finishing first drink. That’s your Asian market not stingy old farang for you! At 350 entry ticket with drink and 200 second drink {and third if wanted] it’s certainly good pricing. Show was almost all new numbers from 4 months ago. Good mix of humour, routines and sleazy imo. Still like that they make their boys parade a bit more entertaining. It feels like they think about it. No model parade. Has that ended or low season hiatus? One of the models, I think, with blonde highlights, did a solo shower that was as sexy as hell. A lot of tease can be more fun than just whacking it out. They have one main dancer, who can really move. Makes the others look flat footed. The dancing makes him sexy as hell. Anyone know who I mean. Not quite as good as April visit but I’d still recommend very much. Will do another post on few other sites and sounds. Fair to say it all felt ticking over, the Chinese, Asian visitors keeping it going for sure.

Hey Jason. On my recent trip I thought Moonlight was the best show and that no.8 had the cheekiest smile and zinger personality. I reckon Moonlight will be the star bar of 2019 as word spreads

My last visit to Dreamboys I also found a bore. Too many ‘skits’ with ladyboys and dragged out for poor humour. Non stop commentary which is annoying too. The other shows take too long to transition and of course it’s pricey. I thought Moonlight had it right this time around. More relaxed, more fun, attractive talent.

Had a recent quick stay in Bangkok either end of a business trip to region. First night was during Songkran. Loved the party spirit and water fights. Stayed out by the university and great to see the local area on holiday. Drenched by smiling kids. At night went with Thai friends to app arena. They move the whole club outside and rig up ‘sprinkler scaffolding’ so you spend all night drinking and dancing under constant rain. Brilliant fun. 95% locals, guess 750 there at least. Sharing whisky bottles and getting soaked through. Great jet lag cure and so much more fun than the commercial tourist scene. Next weekend checked out silom area and took probably last chance to stay at Dustit Thani - good value offers available as hotel winds down. It was post Songkran and quiet in bars. Thought new place Moonlight getting it right. Good humour in routines, right balance of sexy fun and sleazy. No ladyboys. Good range of Handsome boys who come out into audience to mix. No.8 has the cutest smile in the entire City so got to know him more....... Dream boys so dull. Too much ladyboy and laboured sketches. Relying on some ropey old boys in shows. Jupiter too much a fashion show. Attractive boys but come on, show a bit more. So chaste. Is this standard now? Also enjoyed spotting local guru Paulsf and then having a chat. Lovely man.