mauRICE

Thanks for your response, @hank75. For the record, I wasn't the one asking but @zombie, based on what he had heard from "a source in another bar". I mentioned you as you seemed familiar with Jupiter. I hadn't been to Jupiter for a long time as the last time I went, I found the offerings on display didn't commensurate with their attitude. I've had much better service and met fresh, humble, non-jaded, and to my eye much better looking guys at Thai-style places. And until I saw Joey recently, I've practically lost all interest in Patpong. Honestly I would find the back-and-forth negotiations tiresome but I understand and accept the transactional nature of the business. And where are these stunners that people speak of? I regularly receive Jupiter's promotional material and catwalk videos in my social media feeds and would be hardpressed to call anyone there a stunner and at least half a dozen of them are faces I recognise from different venues in the country ten years ago! Again, I accept that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thailand has no shortage of attractive men and women, and in my experience, most of them are not in the bars, at least not the ones in Patpong or Pattaya. Simply go on the BTS for a quick hard on! At the gyms I go to (I move around), a handsome, athletic, student-type from a humble background would be thrilled at getting 2,000 Baht for a couple of hours of his time. Of course the trick is knowing who to approach and how to approach them and it wouldn't be an immediate or guaranteed bang. These guys are often genuine - and you'd have to be genuine too and be seriously interested in them as human beings to get a response. I've established quite a few long-term friendships this way over the years. None of that attitude one could expect from a crusty prostitute. I know this isn't a fair comparison but I just wanted to give a bit of a perspective as to why I'm often incredulous at the shennanigans that you guys are willing to put up with in Patpong.

Safe travels, @jimmie50. ✌️🫶

Perhaps a guy just trying his luck or a very popular guy who thinks he's worth that much? Or it's the guy's "polite" way of giving the customer the brush off? @hank75 might have some insights and I believe @spoon also had a negative experience there recently.

...and the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Glad to hear you had a good trip, vin. Safe journey home and looking forward to reading your trip report of a thousand likes, if not licks. 😉🫶🙏🏻

The very lovely and very American Kristy Gnome:

You're overqualified for Jomtien Complex; you don't need a personality to go there...or a pulse for that matter!

I initially read this as "something in heels" which wouldn't be far off with these guys.

Says the avid collector of exotic stamps. 🙄

I thought of you when I read the news @jimmie50 and I don't think you'll be affected. As @floridarob says, it's still being discussed and my guess is it'll only be implemented after Songkran, the start of the low leason.

As far as I know, the opening was announced on Facebook, not on YouTube. https://www.facebook.com/people/White-Cat-BAR/61570325579094/

Joey 😉

Thanks for the quick and positive report, vin. I hope to see this new venue survive and succeed too. I hadn't been to the old Atlas but I'll drop by the White Cat when I'm in Bangkok next month. I don't understand why some people seem determined to trash and mock new venues even before they're open or are facing teething problems if they already are. Pay them a visit at least before making some kind of assessment. There may be problems which we, as outsiders, cannot see or fathom in the unique Thai nightlife business, legal and social culture and upon which applying western business models as a framework for analysis may not be the most instructive or constructive. Until I read forums like this one, I've barely felt the changes in the nightlife industry. I know there've been plenty but I've always gone with the flow and adapted to the changes bit by bit not only in the nightlife industry but more importantly in the wider Thai society itself, as I myself have changed in the last twenty years. I think this ability and willingness to acknowledge that I'm no longer the naive, non-Thai-speaking twentysomething who first visited "gay Thailand" two decades ago is why I rarely have anything to gripe or pontificate about. Even if all the bars and massage parlours were to close tomorrow, I'd still go to Thailand knowing that I'm going to feel, if not very happy, then at the very least very much contented. 🙏🏻

Well, not quite... Whose tight side should we be focussing on? I can't imagine any of our forum members having a tight side left. 😏

@mima_bk's arms aren't long enough.

😂🤣😅 Ohh you're precious. Thanks for the good laugh - what a great way to start the morning. You have a good one too!

There's a huge, upmarket "super club" by that name which opened in December last year in Huay Kwang, Bangkok.

A thousand apologies, Memsahib, but today is my day off (wobbles head).

Olddaddy gives new meaning to the concept of "brain drain" and it is continuing.

Thank you for saying this. Never mind the visitors; there are farang who live in Thailand who exhibit a similar callous or that "I'm alright, Jack" attitude. I guess they don't want to see social progress for the poor and the downtrodden as they'd run out of prostitutes to fuck them.

Looking forward to any news of Joey. Please update us if you go to Moonlight again. 🙏🏻

Why vin? You didn't enjoy your trip to Pattaya or was Cambodia just so much better? No need to reply now; we can wait for the details in your trip report when you get home.

🙀 Meowww...

You'd go to a gas station toilet first? Can't say I'm surprised. 😏