On the Ting & Tong's Gay Thailand board, Doug posted about this. The thread is:

 

http://www.gaytingtong.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4654

 

If the boys were not paid, this isn't the first time bar owners have pulled this stunt. I think it really stinks. I understand that the Legun bar also closed under similar circumstances and that the owner hightailed it back to Germany. I'm not sure whether those boys were paid or not, but he is the former owner of Happy Boys and when he closed that bar, the boys were not paid, so they said.

 

Also, after the controversy about the 150 baht charge to go upstairs at Happy Boys, that's now a moot issue. Happy Boys is closed. I understand they will reopen in three months, but some of the boys who worked there are telling me they were not paid. Again, I have no way of knowing whether they were actually paid or not. That could just as easily be a sympathy ploy to get people to give them "money for room" and "money for eat." Nevertheless, Happy Boys is definitely closed for at least three months.

Sucks if they didn`t get paid. It must be so hard on them.

It must be so hard on them.

It would be hard on them even if they did get paid. They depend on being taken off more than they depend on what the bar will give them. But with so few customers, boys who were used to being taken off several times each month are complaining that now they are lucky if they are taken off once a month or even once every two or three months.

If I were a bar owner, which I am not and never will be, in order to promote business and have the boys taken off, I would discount the off fees and/or provide a take off 5 and get one free system Also I would get the boys to actually dance and flirt with the customers. I haven't been in the bars for quite a long time, but when I did frequent the bars most of the boys looked so bored and boring that I would never consider taking them off. After all, they are selling a commodity and should promote what they are selling.

when I did frequent the bars most of the boys looked so bored and boring that I would never consider taking them off.

Nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed.

It's good to know that I have not missed a thing.

 

It's good to know that I have not missed a thing.

Currencies may come and go. Industries and economies may collapse. The world may have totally changed. But the "One-Knee Shuffle" goes on forever.

I think we really can't blame the boys for being bored. Imagine having to exhibit yourself like a piece of meat every night. What with the dreadfully cold air-conditioning, their blood sugar must be quite low whether they realize it or not - no wonder they occasionally seem lethargic.

 

It's perfectly fine for voyeurs like us - after all, we don't have to try and look flirtatiously frisky to lustfully drunk old farts (again, like us) on a near permanent basis. But look at it from their point of view. If the bars are quiet, it must be even harder to try and look enthusiastic, let alone dance titillatingly.

 

Xian

I assume that a barowner still pays rent when a bar is closed. And the key money is a sunk cost.

 

The other two main fixed costs for a bar would be salaries and payoffs.

 

My understanding is that salries are small, perhaps as low as 2000 per boy per month. So unless payoffs are high, if a bar can't have positive cash flow (excluding rent) in the low season, how can they hope to ever survive?

. . . What with the dreadfully cold air-conditioning, their blood sugar must be quite low whether they realize it or not - no wonder they occasionally seem lethargic.

 

For me, it's quite the opposite. When my blood sugar is high I get lethargic. When it gets low, I am more energetic. I know if this doesn't make any sense, but then, I am diabetic. I don't understand how the air conditioning could have any relationship to blood sugar. However, when I sweat, my blood sugar plummets. This can be dangerous for diabetics in a hot, tropical country like Thailand. Must be different physiology going on than those with no blood sugar problems. I don't know. It's weird.

I know if this doesn't make any sense, but then, I am diabetic.

Weather has no direct effect on diabetes control but can affect it indirectly. While your blood sugar doesn't go up or down in response to hot or cold outdoor temperatures, weather does have an impact on eating and exercise habits, which can in turn influence how well you're able to control your blood sugar. Then there is the fact that bad weather can lead to depression and anxiety, which, in turn, can affect blood-sugar management. In the summer, diabetics are among those most likely to suffer as a result of heat stress and high humidity.

I told the Mamasam when she said she was sub renting the Bar form the original Boss Colin, who still has to pay the Rent, Whom I'm sure will have the Bar Back Up and running very soon. He has a few problems at the moment, but knows how to make you welcome with Guys for most taste and likes for that area.

 

 

This is so sad. I had a wonderful time the last time I was there. The boys are the friendliest in Pattaya and so cute that they are good enough to eat. Mmmm...yummy.