47 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

Thanks for live reporting!

Reporting my be live but I'm half dead ravaged by the lag

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

and make room for new blood

I'm sure the bars wish for the same thing...where are they?

@vinapu would you know if arthur perform in atlas or is he completely behind the scene now? 

On 1/21/2025 at 2:33 PM, orson said:

@vinapu would you know if arthur perform in atlas or is he completely behind the scene now? 

Behind the scene being boss. It doesn't mean he may not be available for private meeting outside business, hours I guess. 

Sorry for delay in response but I'm in Chiang Rai now and my Sim card seems not to be working outside BaNgkok so I'm at Mercy of hotels Wi fi

18 hours ago, vinapu said:

Behind the scene being boss. It doesn't mean he may not be available for private meeting outside business, hours I guess. 

Sorry for delay in response but I'm in Chiang Rai now and my Sim card seems not to be working outside BaNgkok so I'm at Mercy of hotels Wi fi

Chiang Rai ?😳😲

What on earth are you doing there ?

Any gay report?

20 minutes ago, Olddaddy said:

Chiang Rai ?😳😲

What on earth are you doing there ?

Any gay report?

Avoiding the pollution in Bangkok? Schools shut today.

19 hours ago, vinapu said:

 I'm in Chiang Rai now

Ah, Chiang Rai, where one of the biggest night-life attractions is watching the clock tower change colour 😀. Does the Regency Boys Bar still exist, and if so what is it like? I looked in once and it was so dark I couldn't see anything (anyone!) that would have tempted me in.

Then there's the White and Blue temples:

and the Black House:

Further afield, don't miss the 25-storey Kuan Yin at Wat Huay Pla Kang.

and the Abbot appears to be a reincarnation of Matt Lucas...

6 minutes ago, thaiophilus said:

Does the Regency Boys Bar still exist, and if so what is it like? I looked in once and it was so dark I couldn't see anything (anyone!) that would have tempted me in.

+1

In Chiang Rai I highly recommend the Mae Fah Luang Culture Park. Very peaceful landscaped grounds with wonderful teak buildings and walkways over the lakes. 

Also Chivit Thammada is a restaurant well worth a visit being beside the river Kok in a charming setting. And good food or just stop by for a coffee.

On 1/24/2025 at 6:13 PM, Keithambrose said:

Avoiding the pollution in Bangkok? Schools shut today.

But lots of customers in bars in Patpong! Especially Chinese customers. They are travelling to Thailand because of Chinese New Year holiday which is next Wednesday. I know of some guys who have received red packets with money inside from Chinese customers.

16 hours ago, jason1975 said:

But lots of customers in bars in Patpong! Especially Chinese customers

@jason1975 are you seeing this first hand because you're in Bkk, or are your spy-boys giving you this Intel?

4 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

@jason1975 are you seeing this first hand because you're in Bkk, or are your spy-boys giving you this Intel?

Unfortunately not in Bangkok at moment. Info from guys

On 1/24/2025 at 4:52 PM, Olddaddy said:

Chiang Rai ?😳😲

What on earth are you doing there ?

Any gay report?

I found it very pleasant and rewarding place to see. On top of places thaiophilus mentioned and illustrated above we ( that the gay part as I took boy from Bangkok with me) we visited Mae Sai on Myanmarese border with it's " northernmost part of Thailand" marker and sky walk on the border overlooking city of Thachileik on Myanmarese side.

It used to be possible to cross border on temporary day pass but now this option is restricted only to citizens  of those two countries sharing border. 

We visited another sky walk in the area south of city Chiang Saen high on mountain overlooking mighty Mekong. And of course, actually twice, Sok Ruap where brders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet at confluence of Mekong and Ruak rivers. We even visited market on Lao side as it is possible to go there without the visa as part of river cruise. 

In short busy three full days plus two half days on arrival and departure, both middays. In reality I could use one day more there. 

By the way one cold reach head of that white  goddess by elavator and marvel at views from there. 

 

As for Patpong updates last night another member and me visited Moonlight, earlier having a drink on terrace of Banana club. 

While busy, for Saturday night soi 4 definitely used to be and can use to be busier. At one point  shortly after 9 pm there was only one dinner on the Bangkok terrace. Granted, it lasted perhaps 10 minutes and before we moved to Moonlight terrace was full again. Entered Moonlight bit after 10. 00 PM and again it was, pretty empty although by time show, started it filled again. About 10 floor boys on display but we both agreed that all of them are offable material, in fact I think only 4 went home empty handed. We were last customers to leave just past 1.30.

Boss was not part of models parades nor show but appeared in their Fri and Sat only boy, dancing at 1 am. Drinks 500, past midnight only 200,boy drink 450. I had 2boys sitting with me but did not off them as I felt and still feel a bit of crisis sick man, likely picked something somewhere in Chiang Rai. So I did not want them to pick up something from me at closer contact. Both boys got their customers that night, actually one of them as soon as I released him from my obnoxious company. So lesson is for all of us, in name of fairness to the boys, if you don't intend them to off tell them that right away and don't hold them too long. Otherwise bad karma may chase you. 

19 hours ago, vinapu said:

We visited another sky walk in the area south of city Chiang Saen high on mountain overlooking mighty Mekong.

I have visited the ancient Lanna city of Chiang Saen several times with different boys over the years.  For anyone interested in Lanna history, this area is a gem, including a very good provincial museum.  Only a few miles from the Golden Triangle, Chiang Saen is the oldest city in Thailand, and is one of the old fortified cities that had a wall and a moat surrounding it.  

Sadly, the city was ordered to be destroyed by the Thai king centuries ago, to prevent the invading Burmese forces from capturing and occupying the city.  Everything except the religious sites was destroyed.

Although Chiang Saen is only a shadow of its former size and glory, its strategic location on the banks of the Mekong River makes it an important trade port, with boats constantly being unloaded by hand, fascinating to sit alongside the Mekong and watch. 

I went to Moonlight bar in Bangkok last night, and I won't be going back again.  The floor go-go boys were doing their rotation, taking turns on stage.  However, they were fully clothed.  It's as if they are taking a page out of Pattaya's BoyzBoyzBoyz business model.

Sure, the six muscular models were shirtless, but the regular go-go boys wearing number tags wore shirts while on stage.  At 500 baht for a drink to watch go-go boys with shirts on, they have lost my business.  I have always supported the bars, but bars that follow this practice will not see me again.

The mamasan trolled by and asked me which boy I wanted.  I made it very clear that I had no interest in looking at fully clothed boys in a go-go bar.

I know it has been discussed about BBB Pattaya catering to Chinese women customers as the likely reason for having go-go boys wearing shirts, and that may be true, but last night in Moonlight bar, I did not see one female customer, Chinese or otherwise. 

Re Moonlight, strangely @vinapu was there around the same time, wasn't he? And he didn't mention this. 

Did you @daydreamer go in at an unusually early or late hour?

If fully clothed boys is the new policy at Moonlight, it's almost surely the strange personal notion of the boss who also owns Hotmale.

The rotation boys of Hotmale are in red pants. Those in Moonlight have long been in black pants. I once asked the papasan in Hotmale why they are in pants when boys in other bars are in shorts or briefs. He replied, with some exasperation, that it was the boss' instruction even though he (and other papasans) told him it was a bad idea.

Now I wonder whether the rotation boys in Hotmale are also in shirts.

This same boss is trying to sell Hotmale for 5.5 million baht to "focus" on Moonlight. His "focus" is the factor that is destroying the bars.

For instance, I had long doubted Moonlight's marketing strategy of featuring "models" who only parade around the stage. Can't dance, can't act. Apparently not off-able at an affordable rate. The strategy represented a kind of false marketing, luring customers in with a certain implied promise but mostly offering something else. Although the rotation boys of Moonlight are not bad looking, they are clearly not the same look as their publicized models. In marketing ethics, this is known (negatively) as bait-and-switch.

And now if they demand payment before entrance, and then customers see only clothed boys after paying good money, customers will feel even more misled.

Actually the Moonlight guys are not fully clothed. They wear sleeveless tops so one can admire their toned arms. Sometimes they do lift their sleeves tops to reveal the 6 pec abs. A bit of imagination is required, I will admit. Easy way is to invite them to sit with you and buy them a drink.

38 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

Actually the Moonlight guys are not fully clothed. They wear sleeveless tops.....

You are correct, the shirts do not have sleeves, but in my book, that's still fully dressed, no different than you see on the street, or the BTS.

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Re Moonlight, strangely @vinapu was there around the same time, wasn't he? And he didn't mention this.

According to the report by @vinapu he was there the night before I was.

 

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Did you @daydreamer go in at an unusually early or late hour?

No, I was there during regular hours.  When I arrived, there were 6 people in front of me at the desk outside the front door buying their 500 baht drink tickets.  I stayed for about 30 minutes, until about 10.30 pm, and since the shirts did not come off, I gave up on wasting more time, as I was not there to ogle the muscular models.

 

3 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

And now if they demand payment before entrance, and then customers see only clothed boys after paying good money, customers will feel even more misled.

Yup, that's me, fool me once, but not again.  I was not there to admire sleeveless arms.

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

Actually the Moonlight guys are not fully clothed. They wear sleeveless tops

Oh, that explains why there was no mention by @vinapu of any new policy. It's been like that for years. All the boys wear long trousers, and half or more of them have tank tops. It's the same at Hotmale.

When @daydreamer referenced BoyzBoyzBoyz, I thought he was talking about long-sleeved shirts which are often seen there.

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

Easy way is to invite them to sit with you and buy them a drink.

That's the problem. One has to pay 500 baht per boy just to see whether there are hideous tattoos under those tank tops and trousers. Multiply that by the 12 boys on rotation, and that's 6,000 baht.

Businesses like that deserve to die. The only qualm I have about making that statement is that Bangkok is perilously close to the cliff edge when it comes to maintaining a critical mass of gogo bars. Once a few more closes, then Patpong goes the way of Pattaya's Boyztown, without enough of an attraction to draw enough visitors through the year.

l was there 2 weeks ago, we entered the moonlight bar at 9 p.m. . One of my boy's bestfriend was working there and we visited bar for him and invited him out for drinks. Boys were going on stage with the same music repeating in the background at certain periods but after 15 minutes, I lost my interest. I felt like I was sitting in any pub, not in a gogo bar. However, the first thing that caught my attention was the lack of customers. It was 10 p.m. and I felt really bored. That's why I offered to go to another bar. 

When we entered Dreamboy as 4 people, the bar was quite crowded. First, we were directed to a table on the side of the stage, then they took us to semicircular sofas.

When I compare both bars, I can make the following comment: Moonlight bar has a lack of customers and most importantly, a lack of fun vibe. At Dreamboy, there are people who come with groups of friends, there are people who come to watch shows, there are customers who come to have drinks with their boys and there are customers who come to take the boys out. The scene is interesting and lively. There are more than 40 employees, the boys are smiling and seem happy with their situation, they wear seductive shorts or briefs. There are new faces on stage,  waiters and mamasans are always on the move inside the bar.

Also lately Freshboys, Jupiter and Banana bars are doing well business. Atlas bar and Dragon bar have good reviews on this forum.  l hope moonlight bar management will find solution. 

27 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

That's the problem. One has to pay 500 baht per boy just to see whether there are hideous tattoos under those tank tops .....

The shirts worn last night were not even as revealing as a tank top.  The shoulders were covered, only the sleeves were missing.

I long ago lost my fascination with Moonlight. What I reading above tells me that some in the show bar business may be trying to hitch their wagon to the "soft power" that politicians are so fond of promoting. While soft power may indeed work with attractions like Thai cuisine, Muay Thai and Moo Deng, it's "hard" power that built the bar business and those who forget that do so at their peril.

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

Businesses like that deserve to die. The only qualm I have about making that statement is that Bangkok is perilously close to the cliff edge when it comes to maintaining a critical mass of gogo bars. Once a few more closes, then Patpong goes the way of Pattaya's Boyztown, without enough of an attraction to draw enough visitors through the year.

I feel that Moonlight has a different business model from the other bars. It's not a traditional "offing" bar like Freshboys and Dreamboys. It probably makes most of its revenue from bottles by big spending customers similar to Jupiter.

On the other hand, bars like Good Boys and Banana gain large revenue from straight curious tourist crowds with their shows.