Asiabugle Gogo and bar news January 2009
Soi Cowboy is now in the midst of a neon war as the No Name Group and the Arab slug it out with massive neon signs that are getting bigger and bigger as they try to block each other’s premises. It escalated recently when the Arab extended the Deja Vu gogo sign to block Apache coyote sign. Other bar owners are being forced to follow suit. It is making Soi Cowboy into a neon jungle. I personally think it is good for the soi and the more it goes on the more trashy (if that is possible) Nana Plaza looks.
In another extraordinary move the Arab has banned his staff from buying chips from the chip cart owned by Boston Diamond and normally parked outside Cowboy Two. Any of the Arab’s staff found eating chips from that cart are cut 500 Baht. In addition a similar impost is applied if they are seen in a No Name Group bar. Girls do not go to bars alone; if they are bar fined it is up to the customer if they go to another bar and he decides which bar.
I had heard several reports about costly drinks in the Arab’s bars. I watched the show at Midnite in an attempt to find out what is what. The show was not all bad, but I worked out what the problem is. In the Arab’s bars there are different pricings depending upon the girl’s status. Regular lady drinks are 150 for soft and 170 for beer but 200 for coyote dancers (presumably soft only) which does not include Bacardi and beer. The girls in the show are designated as Coyote, but when I walked in there was normal dancing and I had no idea who was who. So I could easily have bought a Bacardi Breezer for a Coyote girl and bar fined her expecting a bill of 900 Baht and got one for 2,275 Baht (2000 for bar and 275 from Bacardi). That would turn me into a very pissed off bunny indeed and, if I had any money left to buy a beer you can be sure I would not have gone to Our Place, Spice Girls, Kiss, or Déjà vu to spend it.
A recent trundle down soi 7/1 revealed that the Magic Tables Bar has most definitely lost its magic, if for no other reason than there were only five girls and the sound system, which has been rubbish for a long time after the original broke, has still not been replaced. There are strong rumours that Thomas is in deep financial do do ( but what is new?). His Absolute Bar did seem to be doing quite well and was packed when most other bars were empty. This must now be one of the main late freelancer bars in the area.
I caterpillared into Crazy Hot and had a chat with Kiwi John who runs this bar. He seemed a decent sort of bloke; well he bought me a drink. There was a fun bunch of girls and a decent regular clientele.
Talking about Kiwi owners brings me neatly to the Soi 8 pub which has recently added an extension and is still packed. Which only goes to prove that management really can make a difference. Murray is back as manager and he and owner David are constantly on the move and watching and actually doing some of the work. I suggested to David, an ex skipper for Cathy, that he should have been a trolley dolly working at the back end instead of a computer operator at the sharp end. The success here goes to show that there is still one place gaining new business when all around are blaming: farang no come, nobody have money now, close airport no tourist. What they really mean is they are not good enough.
I risked a visit to Nana Plaza over the Christmas period and could not believe how quiet it was, although I am told it has been busier latterly. In particular I was shocked at the lack of girls in the Crown Group bars, although with some of the most venomous lady boy type managers I have met, I am barely surprised. I went to Voodoo and saw a service girl I know. I bought her a drink but she was not allowed to sit down unless I paid bar, and then she was shooed away from me by the manager. The place had about 6 customers, five or six service girls and maybe eight dancers. Needless to say I paid and left. Clearly they do want the business. In G Spot there are maybe a dozen dancers which in a place that size is pathetic. Again the manager strutted its stuff and was downright unfriendly.
In Sexy Eyes, a bar at least one-fifth of the size of G Spot, I found fifteen or so fun girls and least there was an atmosphere. But another one of those absurd Nana Plaza rules was applied. I bought a few girls a drink and suddenly they all had to go dance, and looked quite unhappy when I left. What is with this dumb rule that buying a girl a drink does not excuse her from dancing? It certainly does in Angeles City agogos. I can understand it if the bar is full but when you are one of the few customers and there are plenty of dancers it is ludicrous.
So as ever another unsatisfactory night in the Plaza demonstrating, if it was needed, that this dirty scruffy edifice is not worth a visit. Even Angelwitch seems to have lost its allure; it still has a following but it is no longer packed. I have a feeling it needs to reinvent itself. I suppose that is inevitable as, after so many highly successful years, it is becoming passé, a view I have heard from more than a few recently. And if Angelwitch goes down the pan that truely will be the end of Nana Plaza. I think many may say good riddance!
In Patpong Electric Blue is clearly one of the more successful agogos. Big Andy has now introduced a happy hour after 1 am and with it introduced 400 baht bar fines. I am truly surprised bars have not done that before. It would seem logical to reduce prices to get some extra business at the last knockings. After all an agogo dancer is like a hotel room. If it, or she, is not let that night, there is no income that night and it cannot be sold later. Walk into a half empty hotel after 7 pm, anywhere but Thailand, and you should be able to negotiate a deal.
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