Bangkok Reports

I will be returning to Bangkok this winter after a two year Covid related hiatus. For kicks, I like to watch some of the posters on YouTube who post walking tours of lower Suk. I was surprised to see that Soi Cowboy seems to have lost its mojo. On the video I saw tonight, the poster commented that only the entrances on both ends of the Soi have bars and clubs open and the middle section is still dark though you can see the old signs of the establishments such as Tilac etc. But the lights are off. They did say that Susie Wong has reopened but never went in there anyway.

Overall, it appeared pretty dull. Soi 4 appeared quiet and Soi 8 had some bars open but not a lot of people. Maybe this is a traditional off-season attendance or the recent monsoons played a role in less people. Soi 11 did appear livelier so wondering what the prognosis is for the winter.

[QUOTE=Tomasb;2744944]I will be returning to Bangkok this winter after a two year Covid related hiatus. For kicks, I like to watch some of the posters on YouTube who post walking tours of lower Suk. I was surprised to see that Soi Cowboy seems to have lost its mojo. On the video I saw tonight, the poster commented that only the entrances on both ends of the Soi have bars and clubs open and the middle section is still dark though you can see the old signs of the establishments such as Tilac etc. But the lights are off. They did say that Susie Wong has reopened but never went in there anyway.

Overall, it appeared pretty dull. Soi 4 appeared quiet and Soi 8 had some bars open but not a lot of people. Maybe this is a traditional off-season attendance or the recent monsoons played a role in less people. Soi 11 did appear livelier so wondering what the prognosis is for the winter.[/QUOTE]Of course, it matters which night of the week and what time in the evening those videos are shot. Actually, the scene you described sounds like the way things were months ago.

Many bars are open on Soi Cowboy now, from one end of the soi to the other, gogo bars and beer bars. Most nights, Thursday through Saturday especially, it is no different in terms of numbers of girls and customers than a typical low season experience during normal times, although perhaps not yet there in terms of a higher percentage of relative lookers. Tilac is open and has many girls inside. Baccara, Suzy Wong, Long Gun, Doll House, Cowboy 2, Crazy House, Kazy Kozy, all open and others.

Soi 4/ Nana Plaza is no longer quiet almost any night of the week, maybe a bit quiet Sunday through Tuesday. Not as packed with girls and better lookers as high season during normal times but many doables to choose from.

Soi 8 and Soi 11, all open. In fact, more bars are open and stocked with girls on those sois now than in pre-Covid normal times. The collection of bars on Soi 7 is coming alive again.

Also many more portable cart bars with girls in attendance are open on Sukhumvit from in front of Thermae / Soi 15 down to Soi 3 and Soi 4.

Yeah, lesson learned. Pattaya's definitely next on my bucket list, next time I'm back in Thailand.

[QUOTE=Mogwai;2744936]If you select "Search Near Me" you have to select a distance as well. I usually set it to 10 or 20 km, or something like that.
Nevertheless people from far away places can always contact you, no matter what your search setting is.

But anyways, it can indeed be difficult and time consuming in Bangkok to find anyone in TF. In Pattaya it's a lot easier.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=EnjoysAction;2744532]I didn't ask for her name. I'll give the story though:

The place was easy to find, and it has good (but very few! First red flag) google reviews as well, and there were many mentions of the "gorgeous ladies" or "lovely ladies" - now I see these were probably fake? Especially because they all sound similar too.

I went in and was presented with a tablet of prices - 40 minutes 2500 THB and 60 minutes 3500 THB for a room with jacuzzi. 90 minutes is two shots and 60 minutes one shot. "Everything included" the lady said. I was looking at the girls in the lobby and getting concerned so I mentioned I wanted women & not LBs, and she assured me they were all "real women".

Anyway she called for a lineup, and this is where I screwed up. I saw they were all LBs, but I've not had too much mongering experience, so I was unable to say no firmly. This is going to sound extremely silly but I basically thought they'the feel super rejected if none got picked & I was determined to have a good time (especially because I hadn't picked any at thermae either. It felt less bad over there because there were dozens of other customers around & here I was alone). So I made a mistake and picked one. S / he was heavily & visibly tattooed, and had braces on her teeth, but she was the most mild mannered and shy looking of the bunch, and therefore least intimidating. Tablet lady confidently asked for cash immediately before service; and I gave in to the sales pressure..[/QUOTE]I think to say that "I saw they were all LBs" must be a bit of an exaggeration. It's possible that here may be some LBs in Aya Massage, but certainly not all in any lineup. All I can say is that on my couple of visits there I saw no obvious LBs at all in the lineup, and the lady I chose was certainly a "real woman".

[QUOTE=ThaiGoodTimes;2744653]If you're "grossed out" by trans, then Thailand is probably not the right place at all for you to be.

Trans is a fully recognised and legal third gender, that are accepted everywhere totally.

They don't even need to hide their initial gender identity, as their ID cards still show birth gender.[/QUOTE]They are not accepted everywhere and they are not legally recognized as a third gender at all. Thailand does not even tolerate gay marriage. I'm not sure where you got this info from but its not true.

[URL]https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/16/thailand-transgender-people-denied-equal-rights[/URL]#text=Thailand%20 has%20 limited%20 legal%20 provisions, apply%20 to%20 change%20 their%20 name.

Wood bar.

Definitely put it on your list. Tried a few girls over a week, all good and can deep throat for the Olympics. Price is fine for a quick release. Don't go for hot looking birds go for the service.

Thai friendly and Wechat.

Found TF great, a good mix of pros and non pros. You don't have to do the long play of chatting for weeks, I found both types of girls are sick of endless chatting. I would recommend buying the membership. Wechat was less useful in bkk. A lot of trans and birds far away.

Had a chance to visit Baccara a few times. There was quite a few stunners there. Wanted to ask if what I experienced with pricing typical, or if the staff there just realized I was new to gogos and tried to milk me.

They quoted 3 k /6 k for ST / LT, they even had a little laminated card with it to show me, and LT was only 4 hours (I thought it'd have been until the morning). When I asked to barfine a girl, they required two more drinks on top of the 700 BF, one for the girl and another for the staff that was serving me drinks (so in total, usually 4-5 drinks, since I would have had 1-2 and the girl would have had a LD prior to me barfining her). So in total, looking around 4.5 k /7.5 k for ST / LT.

I also asked about taking a girl for holiday, and was quoted 1.4 k BF per day and 8 k to the girl. Close to 10 k seems steep.

Anyone know if these prices are normal nowadays (I recognize Baccara also has a reputation of being more expensive)?

[QUOTE=WayneRoberts;2745052]They are not accepted everywhere and they are not legally recognized as a third gender at all. Thailand does not even tolerate gay marriage. I'm not sure where you got this info from but its not true.

[URL]https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/16/thailand-transgender-people-denied-equal-rights[/URL]#text=Thailand%20 has%20 limited%20 legal%20 provisions, apply%20 to%20 change%20 their%20 name.[/QUOTE]Wrong wrong wrong.

That report you quote is from a special interest group based on interviews with 62 people in four locations plus associated special interest parties.

Hardly a representative sample.

It does not reflect Thailand's cultural Buddhist acceptance of a third gender.

It does not reflect the positive even if eventually dropped debate and discussion about inclusion in the constitution that took place in 2015.

Go out around Thailand, live here, instead of being visit based in Pattaya pretty much solely, as it sounds like you do, and you will see ready acceptance everywhere.

For sure, there is some persecution, some intolerance, mainly of badly behaved individuals / groups in an area, as there is of every badly behaved group of individuals.

Thailand and Thais accept Kathoey, ladyboy, tomboy, gay, and lesbian, culturally far more inclusively than many many parts of the world.

Do they do it totally, legally, no, as I said at the start with respect to ID cards.

But are they discriminated actively by way of their ID card gender mismatch?

That answer IMHO and experience living and traveling here is a clear and emphatic no.

In the late 2010's, one could easily find around 100 freelancers on this road between Asok and nana area. Many of them were non pros whose company it was always a pleasure to be with. Then the numbers dropped dramatically around 2015, sometimes one would see no more than 30 and mostly fugies.

How are things now a days?

Took a trip to the famous Poseidon. Great for a spin, the staff have all worked there for years and are super friendly and helpful. It's good solid 7 out of 10 . You get the full bath experience and girls are happy and accommodating. I wouldn't go for the high end batch as couldn't really see the point. Good thing is you can pay by credit card and it's easy to find.

I would say that some of the places in Jakarta are better buts it's good to tick the box on this one.

[QUOTE=Plan77;2745398]In the late 2010's, one could easily find around 100 freelancers on this road between Asok and nana area. Many of them were non pros whose company it was always a pleasure to be with. Then the numbers dropped dramatically around 2015, sometimes one would see no more than 30 and mostly fugies.

How are things now a days?[/QUOTE]I can say with certainty that when I was there right before covid there were plenty of freelancers on Sukhumvit, but most seemed to hang out on Soi 4 or closer to it, or across the street and of course plenty scatter around nana to asok, plus the alcocarts, I'd just say that there are probably a lot of LBs in the mix though, so if thats a problem, make sure. By most reports it seems the FLs are all back in action in the usual spots. , its more places like Beer Garden, etc. That I think haven't fully bounced back.

[QUOTE=GrapeMan;2745569]I can say with certainty that when I was there right before covid there were plenty of freelancers on Sukhumvit, but most seemed to hang out on Soi 4 or closer to it, or across the street and of course plenty scatter around nana to asok, plus the alcocarts, I'd just say that there are probably a lot of LBs in the mix though, so if thats a problem, make sure. By most reports it seems the FLs are all back in action in the usual spots. , its more places like Beer Garden, etc. That I think haven't fully bounced back.[/QUOTE]It is tough to have a clear and accurate picture of how things are. I have asked similar question about freelancer numbers in Pattaya on beach road and some mentioned that it is like 70% of pre covid evenings. When I see the BR videos, I am horrified. Still looks like not even 20% of what numbers used to be.

Same with Thermae in Bangkok. Some have mentioned that it is nearly empty. If some clubs in soi cow boy still have lights off, I better save the money, disappointment and hassle of traveling to other end of the world.

[QUOTE=Mgkckr;2745167]Had a chance to visit Baccara a few times. There was quite a few stunners there. Wanted to ask if what I experienced with pricing typical, or if the staff there just realized I was new to gogos and tried to milk me.

They quoted 3 k /6 k for ST / LT, they even had a little laminated card with it to show me, and LT was only 4 hours (I thought it'd have been until the morning). When I asked to barfine a girl, they required two more drinks on top of the 700 BF, one for the girl and another for the staff that was serving me drinks (so in total, usually 4-5 drinks, since I would have had 1-2 and the girl would have had a LD prior to me barfining her). So in total, looking around 4.5 k /7.5 k for ST / LT.

I also asked about taking a girl for holiday, and was quoted 1.4 k BF per day and 8 k to the girl. Close to 10 k seems steep.

Anyone know if these prices are normal nowadays (I recognize Baccara also has a reputation of being more expensive)?[/QUOTE]I've taken 10+ girls from Baccara between 2015 - 2020, but haven't been since covid. 3 k /6 k was the standard pre COVID for the top tier girls on the ground floor, and my last trip I do seem to remember they increased the BF from 600 to 700. On top of the BF there was indeed a 2 drink minimum but it was for the girl I take, waitress drinks was not necessary (I just tip them cash if service was good). No idea about taking girls for holidays, but would suggest talking to the girl directly rather than negotiating with the bar. Take her for st once or twice, establish some chemistry and ask.

[QUOTE=SuperRaven;2745100]Wood bar.

Definitely put it on your list. Tried a few girls over a week, all good and can deep throat for the Olympics. Price is fine for a quick release. Don't go for hot looking birds go for the service.

Thai friendly and Wechat.

Found TF great, a good mix of pros and non pros. You don't have to do the long play of chatting for weeks, I found both types of girls are sick of endless chatting. I would recommend buying the membership. Wechat was less useful in bkk. A lot of trans and birds far away.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the info. I will check it out in Dec, I have only been to Lolittas, Kasson and Duangaporn. I will let you known what I think or Mr wood.

Haven't been on here in quite some time. Haven't been to Thailand in 15 years. As luck would have it I will be in Bangkok in the next few days for work. I will have a night or two to get out and have some fun. I will probably just stick with a soapy and or a BJ bar. Going back to my hotel just isn't an option due to various reasons. Looking for a recommendation for both venues if you wouldn't mind taking the time to help me out. If you have any other suggestions, I am all ears!

Thanks in advance for any and all information.