Department_Of_Agriculture

The Chinese often do. From live monkey brains to live baby rats, they like it as fresh as possible, along with all the supposed health benefits. See, for one example, this charming video: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5979266/man-eats-live-baby-rats-sauce-wine-video/ Note that the dish in the video above is hardly a one-off. Eating live animals is quite common in China and in Chinese diaspora communities, albeit more furtively and much less so these days than in the past. I suggest waiting at least an hour after you have finished eating before watching that video. I should note, though, that even the Chinese who eat dogs and rats usually draw the line at cats. Most don't eat them, even though China is a major exporter of cat and dog meat to Vietnam Also, rather than declining in popularity, cat meat appears to be growing in popularity in Vietnam: "Cat meat, referred to in Vietnamese as ‘thịt mèo’ or ‘little tiger’, appears to be increasing in popularity in Vietnam, with thousands of cats killed every day. In January 2015, thousands of live cats destined for consumption were seized in Hanoi after being smuggled into Vietnam. The truck contained "three tons" of live cats, reportedly sourced from China. In October 2018, there was an interception of nine cooler boxes with nearly one ton of frozen cats travelling from Dong Nai province in the south to Thai Binh province in the north." See this report from the AFP: https://www.businessinsider.com/afp-thousands-of-live-cats-from-china-seized-in-vietnam-2015-1 As recently as 2000, it was estimated that over five million dogs and over one million cats are trafficked for consumption in Vietnam every year. For a comprehensive report on the dog and cat meat trade and consumption in Southeast Asia, see this Link The Thais of course, are too civilised and too decent for that sort of thing - and Thai cuisine too good. After all, why would you want cat when you can have chicken cashew nuts? Cat cashew nuts just doesn't have the same ring to it, although the Viets might beg to differ. Also note that my comments about lousy Burmese food and the cat-eating/rat-eating/dog-eating Vietnamese money boys was in the context of Thai boys not being impressed with Took Lae Dee/Foodland, while those from inferior culinary cultures seem more inclined to eating there. But, anyhow, rather than allowing this thread to be derailed by that old man who always seems to have far too much time on his hands, let us return to the actual topic at hand.

A host bar is a bar that has boys - hosts - available to take care of you in the bar. Guys will sit with you, chat with you, drink with you, play around with you and, in a proper host bar, take care of things such as making sure that your glass is full and topping-up the ice. Beyond that, formats may vary in-terms of whether or not a boy can be offed during working hours, whether or not they have stage shows, how hands-on you can get with the boy while in the bar and how exactly a boy's payment is handled. In the Thai-style places, there is usually a fixed amount or fixed formula per hour that varies by bar. Most of the Thai-oriented places will also offer food and the guys are usually lined-up on stage while waiting to be called down by customers. Thais will usually go to these places in groups for a night out. You will find host bars in all the major cities and some of the smaller ones as well. Thais, generally, prefer these places to the go go bars, which are increasingly seen as quite déclassé and definitely passé. While everyone is welcome in these places, the atmosphere in these Thai-oriented host bars is quite different from what you will find in the Western/foreign-oriented "host bars". In the Western-oriented ones, such as you will find on Soi 6 Chiang Mai, you will have bar with a bunch of boys sitting around, hoping that you will invite them over for a drink and then take them off from the bar. If you see one or more that you like, invite them over for a drink. Some guys may take the initiative to come over and say hello. Invite or don't invite them to join you according to your preference. In the Western-oriented host bars, your tip to the boy for the time he spends drinking with you is at your discretion. Obviously, don't be a stingy dickhead, though, or you won't find a warm reception from the boys the next time you show-up. The guys in the Western-oriented host bars are less polished in-terms of actual hosting; they aren't likely to top-up the ice in your drink, for example, but they are usually quite interactive. All boys can be offed from these places, if they are willing. Another difference is that most of the Thai-oriented host bars are staffed by Thai boys; The foreign-oriented host bars, increasingly, often have a large proportion of foreign boys. That matters to some. Overall, host bars are less in your face than the go go bars and the boys are more interactive by virtue of the format. Specific to Soi 6 in Chiang Mai, there are now three Western-oriented host bars: Orion (the oldest); Connections; and Charm, which is the newest and smallest. Charm was set-up by the bartender from the old New My Way bar and a couple of the guys from that bar can be found here. Generally, though, the crew is made-up of friendly young guys. If you are new to the scene there, I would start with Charm. I like Connections as well. The owner was formerly a mamasan at Dream Boy when it was on Soi Twilight. There is also a fourth bar on that street - RAM Bar, which is a drag show bar that is popular with foreigners. Someone on here once called it the best drag show bar in Thailand. I would just call it a small slice of hell.

I need to check it out as well. Eh, no you don't. As @captainmick has stated above, it is basically mediocre food. The name of the restaurant in Foodland is Took Lae Dee, which, literally, means "cheap and good". Many go there because it is cheaper than some of the surrounding restaurants. Not many go there because it is good. It is only average, at best. I have never had a Thai boy actually ask to go there. They will go along if you ask them to, as the food isn't bad - but none of them are actually going to recommend it. Don't waste your time or money in Foodland. Most of them will be perfectly happy to go to the Happy Beer Garden though; but most of them will be even happier if you take them to the @Surawong restaurant on Surawong Road, near the junction with Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road. The food is excellent and many of them go there on more special occasions. Note, though, that I am talking specifically about the Thai boys, as they actually know what good Thai food is. On the other hand, If you have offed a Burmese or Vietnamese boy, there is no accounting for their lack of good taste. Burmese food is appallingly bad; and the dog-eating/rat-eating/cat-eating Vietnamese money boys would probably be at their happiest if you could grab them something on four legs from a back alley, which they can then cook, out of sight, in their own homes - especially if they can persuade you to pay for the condiments as well. 40% of the Vietnamese population eat cats and that is especially common among the poorer sections of society, where it is considered a great delicacy. We can, therefore, assume that about 70% of Vietnamese moneyboys eat cats (the overly obvious joke about eating pussy need not be attempted). As cat/rat/dog is not on the menu in any Silom restaurant that I am aware of, the Viets will settle for Took Lae Dee. That is hardly a great recommendation of Foodland, though. In addition, Took Lae Dee/Foodland is completely lacking in atmosphere. If it is boy-watching that you are interested in, you are better-off sitting at one of the open-fronted bars on Patpong 2, or at the French Kiss restaurant on that road. French Kiss has been there since the 80s and the food is good - and so is the view. French food, obviously. The Derby King is good for Thai food. That place has also been there since the mid-80s and that it has lasted so long speaks to the quality of the food. Unfortunately, the last time that restaurant was actually aired-out was also probably in the mid-80s. It has 40 years of the accumulated pungent smells of Thai cooking, which isn't very pleasant. There is a good reason that they do more business from takeaway than dining-in. That is also why it is best to visit Derby King on your way home from a bar, rather than at the start of a night out. The last thing you want when trying to pick-up a boy is the smell of the Derby King clinging to your clothes. The odd choice of name for a Thai restaurant is because it used to be an old farang-owned bar before being taken-over. Hence also the faded, overly grand decor. @captainmick has already mentioned the Mango Tree on Soi 6 as a good, more upmarket choice for Thai food and I definitely agree. Their masaman curry is absolutely fabulous - the best that I have had in Bangkok. An alternative nearby Thai fine dining venue is the Ruen Urai restaurant, attached to the Rose Hotel. The Rose is a legendary dump, but the current generation of the family that owns it is doing more innovative things and the restaurant has a nice ambience, with a beautiful garden, in addition to good food. Neither of these places will break your bank account. In passing, since we are talking about restaurants, beyond Silom but not too far away, I still like Cabbages and Condoms on Sukhumvit Soi 12. It still offers excellent Thai food and the ambience has only improved as the garden has matured. I believe that they no longer perform abortions in the back room though. Also, the food court at Central Embassy is one of the very best in Thailand, both in-terms of variety and quality of the food, and very reasonably priced.

The 1,000 baht seats at Rajadamnoen are actually the most fun of all as that is where the local Thai gamblers sit. That is where you will have the most raucous and authentic experience, as opposed to sitting among the foreigners. Note though, that the quality of the fights defers greatly depending on the day that you go to Rajadamnoen, as different promoters have their events on different days. The worst one are on Monday and , which features a lot of lower quality fighters, including foreigners who have come to Thailand to train. Not worth it. Tuesday is so so. On Wednesday, you have the Palangmai promotion, which is good and quite traditional. On Thursday, you have the Petchyindee promotion, which often has good fights, but has a very modern format, with a live DJ and is very popular with foreigners. Saturday is the Rajadamnoen World Series (RWS) which often has well-known fighters, but has a modern format. Sunday has the best and most traditional fights by the Suek Kiatpetch promotion. If you want to watch old school Muay Thai, go on Sunday and get the 1,000 baht tickets.

Well this is some amusingly hypocritical idiocy. Here we have a poster who - according to his own words and standards - is tainted by association with genocide and ethnic cleansing calling for someone else to be ignored. You called for forum members to boycott Myanmar, based on your claim that the population was supporting the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas. You said: Yet today, when polls show that a majority of Israelis support the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, I don't hear you calling for Israel and Israelis to be boycotted. Why not? Because it is one standard for you and Israel and one standard for the rest of the world; and of course because you would like to keep flying around the world paying for sex and you would like everyone to be very polite and not mention that, according to your own words and standards, you are tainted by association with Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing and should be boycotted. But the desire for politeness should take a backseat to truth. If anyone here deserves to be boycotted, it is you. Yet here you are calling for someone else to be ignored. Clown.

Ayutthaya is fab and it is definitely worth spending a night there, or even two. I wouldn’t base my decision on the opinions of a few old queens in a hurry to get back to Bangkok to get their arses stuffed that night. There are some really nice boutique hotels and restaurants along the river, with wonderful views of the illuminated ruins. Enjoying very good food and live music – not of the thumping kind – with the river flowing by, is a delightful way to spend an evening. The better ones also offer riverside swimming pools. Plus, there are, or used to be night time tours, so you have the chance to see the illuminated ruins at night. Some of the boutique hotels near the monument park also offer free bicycles, so you can tour the larger area at your own pace. There is also a rather nice night market which is quite new but atmospheric. From the riverside hotel area, you are also only about ten minutes away from the heart of town, if you feel like stepping out for the night. When touring the ruins by day, just remember that it can get very hot, so you will need a hat, with plenty of vendors around there offering them. Accordingly, you are better-off starting your explorations a little earlier, before it gets too hot and too crowded in the main area. Therefore, it makes more sense to arrive the evening before and spend the night there, have a good breakfast and then start, rather than driving up from Bangkok in the morning and then arriving in the heat and crowds. If you are starting early, you might want to start in the main, ticketed, monument park area before the big crowds arrive and then move on to the outer areas. If you have an interest in history or architecture, one of the things that I found really enjoyable was seeing the evolution of Ayutthaya architecture, with some of the earlier buildings clearly based on the Haripunchai/Lamphun models and then evolving towards what we now think of as classial Thai architecture. As @Keithambrose has mentioned, there are also many other monuments worth visiting beyond that area. No need to rush it just in order to get back to Bangkok. If you are spending a second night there and then returning to Bangkok by car, stopping at the Bang Pa In royal pleasure palace is worth it. Or you can take a leisurely boat ride back to the capital. Either way, don’t rush. At a minimum, I would say spend one night. Two is fine too. Ayutthaya is as much a place to unwind as it is for sightseeing. Enjoy it.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to that. Most of those sorts of comments come from old farts who get more satisfaction from whining about how places they used to visit years ago have now closed, rather than going out and enjoying the many new places that have opened. They mistake their own increasing decrepitude and impending death for the decline or even death of the scene, not just in Chiang Mai but practically everywhere else. The one good thing about their moaning about Chiang Mai, though, is how it deters the unpleasant, hardcore sex tourists from going up there. The Empress probably isn't the best place for a solo stay. It is rather quiet in that area, while the real fun is in the night market area. For a comparable price, you could get a room at the Movenpick hotel, which is rather bland, but situated right on the doorstep of the action with the night market just steps away. If you want to splurge, the Marriott (formerly Le Meridien) is directly opposite. Since you are only going to be there on your own for a couple of days, you probably don't need a list of too many venues and are better off sticking to the ones that are well known on here. In addition to the massage places mentioned, you may actually enjoy some of the host bars on Soi 6 (aka Soi Gay) in the night market area, if you want night time entertainment. If you are taking a taxi or tuk tuk back to your hotel at night and mention to the driver that you are looking for guys, rather than girls, when he inevitably offers to take you to a girlie bar, he may offer to take you to an all night karaoke with host boys instead, because he will get a commission for bringing in a victim. Be careful of that. While those places have some very good-looking boys, the price can really start piling-up very quickly - room, bottle, host fees by the hour. Those places are meant to be enjoyed and paid for by groups, not solo. Note that I am talking about the all-night karaokes, rather than the Thai-style host bars, which are perfectly safe. As you are new the city, don't go to any venue that a taxi or tuk tuk driver recommends. Note also that the all-night karaokes offer both boys and girls. Another thing that you may enjoy doing while in Chiang Mai, if you like hard male bodies, is going to watch Muay Thai. There are four venues in the night market area where you have Muay Thai nightly, with different venues hosting the fights on different days. These will be advertised by promoters around the market area, so you can't miss them. In addition, the nearby Thapae Stadium has fights every night. Given the number and central location of these venues, it is much more convenient for tourists to go and watch Muay Thai in Chiang Mai than it is in Bangkok or anywhere else. For all these venues, it is 600 baht for entry and you get 2 or 3 hours of good entertainment by hot Thai guys.

I am just amazed, and slightly disappointed, that @ChristianPFC hasn't shown-up to tell us exactly how much he has spent over the last 16 years, complete with a breakdown by item and backed-up by pictures of all the receipts since he first arrived. What was it that he paid for a plastic comb again?

What rubbish.

Critising me for calling out someone who was obviously looking for underage guys is just stupid, nor was I "incorrect". Feel free to post whatever nonsense you want in response but I won't be responding. You obviously have far too much free time on your hands and I have no interest in helping you pass your empty hours while waiting for it all to end. The last thing any sane person needs is to get into a silly back and forth with someone with far too much time on their hands.

Nop is the older guy who is, almost inevitably, their chuk wow champion. He usually also does the fuck show when they have one. He has been at Tawan for a long time - and moved to Atlas when they originally opened last year. He is a multiple body-building championship winner. I would also give him full marks for his personality, even more so than for any physical characteristics. No, he won't mind this picture being shared. Nothing risque and his pictures are all over the internet.

It is actually quite evident what this sick bastard is trying to find.

Hero closed because the Chinaman who owned it pulled a typical Chinese scam. He didn't pay the rent for several years, which was several million in arrears by the time they closed, and siphoned out all the money. When the property owner attempted to claim the money, the Hero owner simply closed down the business. Typical Chinese scammer. That the business itself was viable in that location was evident by the opening of the unrelated, and not as popular, My Hero in that same location afterwards. Albury did not "just die". It moved to a new location even further down Sukhumvit and it continues even today as Jey Spa. Having originally been on Soi 11 Sukhumvit, it moved to Soi 23. The original owner eventually sold it and the new owners moved it even further out and then, eventually,changed its name to Jey Spa. Even after the change of name, they continued to use the Albury social media for quite a while. Of course, it has moved yet again since the pandemic, but it is the same thing. Although it has been in four locations over the years, Albury/Jey Spa has has only had one change of name and, as far as I know, only one change of ownership. Not that I would actually know as I haven't been there for ages. Sweet Cigar, aka Khun Sweet Cigar, aka Khun Bar was a disgusting paedo joint in the Soi 6 area close to the Golden Cock. It was such a vile place that even Dreaded Ned preferred not to mention it. It was on the corner of that lane that leads to Super A. You had to go past that bloody place to get to the Golden Cock or Super A or Super Lex if you were coming from the Patpong side. Considering its out of the way location, I wonder how @kokopelli3 ended-up there on his "first visit to Thailand, 25 years ago, my first bar". A recommendation from a dear friend perhaps? No surprise that there was no elaboration about that "learning experience".

And there is there is the answer to your question. The building that collapsed was being built by the Chinese firm China Railway No 1 (Thailand). The Chinese, as you note, cannot be trusted; and people died because of their shitty, shoddy work and corruption today. What the fuck do they care if Thais die as long as they can make money from it. I am sure they are deeply disappointed that the earthquake revealed their shitty work before they could "complete" the job can get fully paid. Now while the construction is, supposedly, being carried out by a joint venture with local Thai firm Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), the reality is that ITD is in financial mess and does not have the resources to undertake a project of this size anymore, hence their bringing in the Chinese. Why would they turn to the shitty Chinese? Because ITD is itself owned by "Thai Chinese" who are delighted to deal with these scoundrels; there hasn't been any Italian involvement in ITD for decades. You can also take a look at the faces of the owners and principals of the various so-called "safety inspection companies" on their websites. Parasites, the entire lot of them. Thai blood on Chinese hands - again. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2989962/dozens-of-workers-trapped-in-collapsed-bangkok-high-rise

Argument with one obese, "reader" who keeps posting rubbish links in the threads without comment drove PeterRS away the first time. That tide of rubbish links that that "reader" posts on here daily pushes threads with real, interesting, content to the back pages So I actually shared PeterRS's opinion on that. Ironically, when the bloated "reader" in question actually does add commentary it gets even worse as he seems to have a serious problem with comprehension and posts absolute nonsense. Inter alia, he has recently made the claim that Soi 4 is to close "imminently" and that Thai Airways has banned passengers from carrying spare batteries on board. The former he pinched from a C-grade blog and the latter he seems to have pulled out of his bloated bottom as it isn't in the article that he links to. What's worse? A tide of dumb links with no comments or links where the poster has added false headlines and comments that are full of absolutely nonsensical claims? p.s I am also amused at how the two posts immediately above this one talk of PeterRS as if he were still missing even after he has actually posted in this thread

You are as thick as your obese friend aren’t you? 😂 The ban on 32,000 mAh batteries is a long-standing one and is applied by almost all airlines. It has nothing to do with the article that your fat friend has posted. His claim that “Thai bans power banks on all flights” is absolute nonsense, like most things he posts. Apparently both of you have trouble with basic comprehension. But I notice that your bloated friend hurried to give a “Like” to your silly comment, thinking that you had vindicated him. Hilarious. A pair of geriatric jokers 🤣🤣 Still, it’s amusing to see the solidarity in stupidity that the pair of you share. Thai Airways should consider a ban on obese travellers though. They take-up too much space and often smell bad. Or perhaps they should start charging by weight.

So have I.

Once again, you are posting absolute nonsense on here. The Thai Airway FB page clearly says "Passengers are not allowed to use or charge Power Bank (Spare Batteries) during the entire flight". It does not say anything about banning power banks on any flights. Your topic title "Thai bans power banks on all flights" is absolute rubbish and may dissuade people from flying on Thai. The Pattaya News article that you quote states and explains this clearly: "Thai Airways announced a ban on charging power banks during flights" and " Effective March 15, 2025, the use of power banks will be prohibited while onboard the aircraft" For someone who calls himself "Reader" your inability to understand the basic English that you read is hilariously ironic. Your post, on the other hand, is just plain idiotic. That Moses, whose first language is not English can easily understand that the article and Thai Airways advert say while you cannot says a lot about your linguistic, or perhaps intellectual, challenges. Clown.

Kasai massage is part of the Chiang Mai massage tradition. Specifically it originates from Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas. It is very hard to find in other parts of Thailand and even in Chiang Mai, it is only a few places that offer the authentic thing. A lot of it has to do with massaging the area around the genitalia - the focus is on strengthening muscles, the nerves and improving blood flow for better erections; not on giving you a handjob and happy ending. Yes, there is also dick/yoni massage involved. There is, or was, one disgusting old farang in Bangkok who claimed to provide Kasai massage and claimed to be properly trained in it. Trained or not, I assume that he just wanted to grab dicks. There are a couple of straight massage places that offer "kasai" massage from the ladies, but generally you can't find it in real massage houses in Bangkok. I would also be extremely sceptical of any place that claimed that all its masseurs were trained on how to do it. Practically the only places in Bangkok where you will find the real thing is places like 365 that cater almost exclusively to Thais, who know what Kasai is and go for health and treatment, not happy endings. No, not really. There is a significant difference. The "urut batin" in Malaysia and Indonesia is only for men. Kasai has wider application and includes specific techniques for men and women - and what they actually do is quite different.

What a silly little post. The world didn’t begin when you signed-up on this site, Nor did leases on Soi 4 didn’t begin when you signed-up on this site If you had actually read what I posted before posting your “response”, you would see that have I have not suggested that one year leases are something new and that in fact, I have not suggested anything at all. That was a quote from Stickman from back in 2018 – before you signed-up on this site. So yes, the Soi 4 venues have “always” been on one year leases for as long as you have been on this site to share with us the remarkable knowledge and insight that you have gained while travelling to Thailand for discounted sodomy.

KMan is a knock shop and virtually no one from there hires for overnight; therefore they won't put an overnight price there on their regular bulletins. Overnights are possible though - if the particular boy is agreeable to it. Just message the shop on LINE and ask whether he is available to do overnight. You have a better chance of him agreeing to it if you message and arrange ahead of time rather than at the moment you want it. He may need to adjust his own plans to accommodate an overnight. Also, as overnights are not standard in these places, the price quoted may have no apparent relation to the hourly rate. Short-time prices on the Thai side of things are visibly lower than what you pay in foreign-focused places. That advantage often disappears when you book for an overnight.

That reminds me of the horror stories from boys who end-up in bed with customers who snore loudly and then complain when the boy tries to convert the overnight job into a short-time so that he can get out of there and actually get some sleep. In most cases it's not as if these boys who agree to overnights know what they are in for until they get into bed with - or try to fall asleep with - these customers. Even if they have actually been in bed with that snoring horror before, the snoring may have got a lot worse without the old fart realising it. Some of these stories are fairly recent and my sympathy is usually with the boy.

No, sugar puff. Your conclusion was that the closure of Soi 4 is imminent - which is complete and total rubbish that you pinched from a C-grade blog. That was your conclusion. Just one more example of the nonsense that you regularly post on here.

Bangkok Seven doesn't know his arse from his elbow. That fat clown showed-up in Bangkok a couple of years before Covid and started a blog trying to sound like a Patpong insider when, in fact, he barely knew the history of the area, the owners or the ownership. The fat clown had no idea even what Cosmos was all about while trying to blog like a pro - very much like a certain obese reader on this forum. If that is your source, I rest my case. With regards to the bars and "speculating where they will go", as I said There is no speculation about where they will go, or recommendations on where they should go. I have simply pointed-out that they won't be going far, regardless of where they end-up. The application of licensing laws mean that they will stay in that grid and there is no shortage of places for them to relocate. Therefore, the fears that led to comments such as Spoon's quote below are quite unfounded. The bars aren't going anywhere "imminently" and they aren't going to be going very far even in the future. Don't worry. There will be plenty of reasons to keep visiting Silom.

Before every queen starts clutching her pearls at the prospect of Soi 4 and Patpong being torn down, you should perhaps stop to consider the credibility of the claim of imminent destruction. Here we have a reader who is a habitual poster of all manner of nonsense telling us “Silom Soi 4 closing seen imminent”, supposedly “based on a tip" from another reader. We are further told that “however, a blogger claims that developers have their eyes set on Patpong”, without even being told which blogger it is so that we can evaluate the accuracy of the said blogger’s claims by looking at what other claims he has made on his/its blog. As far as that reader actually having any insight of his own into what goes on in the Silom/Patpong area, do bear in mind that this is the same joker who told us in September 2024 that “A reliable source reports that Good Boy bar (formerly Screw Boy) is giving serious consideration to relocating to the site last occupied by SOL bar (and its short-lived successor) opposite Hot Male's Midnight bar on Patpong 2.” Of course we all know how that turned out. Screw Boy didn’t move, while it is Atlas that now occupies that location. Also, bear in mind that the rumours of Soi 4 and Patpong being simultaneously taken-over and redeveloped have been going-on since at least the middle of the last decade. Here we have Stickman reporting in 2018: Something is going on at Patpong and some business owners in Bangkok’s oldest bar area are worried. And it’s not just in Patpong where business owners are concerned, but the wider area. What is going on in Patpong and its surrounds? The worry was magnified when word got out that bars were being offered just one-year leases… The first sign that something was up came a few years ago when word leaked from the Patpong Group about a so-called new development. That was all anyone knew – two words: new development. No details, not much of anything, everything pure conjecture, but worrying nonetheless. But it was not just Patpong. Across the wider area, other business owners reported that they too had only been offered one-year leases. The rumour mill went in to overdrive. The next soi up Silom Road from Patpong is Silom soi 4. It has long been known as a gay soi – though these days it is more a dining soi than a gay pickup area. All the bars and restaurants in Silom soi 4 are now on one-year leases too. And it is believed these are one-year leases with no extension clause. So what that means is that as it currently stands, businesses in Silom soi 4 have leases through until December 31st, 2019 with no guarantee that they will be able to run their business from their current location beyond then. One Silom soi 4 restaurant changed hands in the last month for just a million baht. Based on the numbers it was doing, you would have been expected it to go for several times that. Both the seller and the buyer are well aware of the short leases and the shadow hanging over the area – and that is attributed as the reason for the low price it changed hands for. See: https://www.stickmanbangkok.com/weekly-column/2018/11/whats-going-on-at-patpong/ None of this means that it won’t happen at some point. Just because this reader habitually posts nonsense doesn’t mean it won’t happen After all, even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day. It is inevitable that Patpong will be redeveloped at some point. That land is too valuable to be given over permanently to go go bars and, in any event, the pandemic and years of neglect have resulted in many of those properties now lying empty. Does that mean that the closure of Patpong, let alone of Soi 4, is imminent? No. Closure, after all, has been “imminent” for a decade now. The fact that the fat Australian queen who owns Pride has been flogging his bars on Soi 4 may be a sign that something is up, but as noted in that Stickman article, business owners on Soi 4 were flogging their bars and restaurants or relocating even nearly a decade ago in the belief that closure was imminent. When redevelopment eventually does happen, it will not mark the end of Silom/Patpomg as the main gay area for foreigners though – because the bars have nowhere else to go. The Patpong Entertainment Area - which goes beyond the narrow confines of Patpong 1 and 2 - is one of the three officially designated entertainment zones in Bangkok, along with RCA and Ratchada. These were designated during Thaksin’s time as PM. Take note that Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are not officially designated entertainment zones and it is not possible to open new bars there. All supposedly new bars there are simply trading on old bar licences that they have bought - i.e. bought and rebranded old bars. With RCA itself now set for redevelopment and Ratchada too out of the way for foreigners, the gay bars will have to stay in that section of Silom. While the Patpong entertainment area was designated, its boundaries are not formally defined. However, it is generally accepted by the police to begin at Rama IV Road and run to Decho Road from right to left and from Surawong Road to Silom Road from top to bottom. Obtaining a bar licence within that grid is easy and venues within have generally been allowed to operate to very late hours. That is why, for example, Screw Boy was, traditionally, able to stay open long after the Soi Twilight bars closed. The gay bars won’t be leaving that area. There is no shortage of space within that grid – there is space on Thaniya 2, on Soi Wall Street and in the Soi 6 area, particularly on Anumanrajadorn where the Golden Cock is located – including the former Golden Cock building itself and the venues on the lane where Super A is. In times past, you had bars like Super Lex, Mamasan and King Diamond there on that lane. The only problem with Soi 6 is its distance from Soi 2. Right now, the proximity works nicely, creating a rather nice buzz. Then again, maybe some distance between the off bars and the gay social venues may not be such a bad thing. However, worrying about where bars may eventually end-up in the event that redevelopment actually happens is pointless. They aren’t going to be going very far. You may have to walk or waddle a little further than you do now, but that is hardly going to be the end of the world – and, no, nothing seems imminent.