White Cat Bar, Bangkok, is open

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, Olddaddy said:

 

Oh please spare me the singing !!

 

spare us your singing

[BjornAgain]

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

I have a feeling that the English language is a particularly fearsome minefield of "banned" words and expressions...  

Wasn't so long ago, that calling someone a 'wog' was a complement, as this was an abbreviation of the expression 'Western Oriental Gentlemen', a term used to describe people from the Middle East.

Used today, modern parlance has this as a derogatory word describing people from the Caribbean.

 

As @forrestreid said earlier:-

In England you might hear somebody saying “there used to be a Chinese restaurant there, but it closed and they opened an Asian restaurant in its place”.

Colloquially I would say "there used to be a Chinky there, but it closed and they opened a Paki in it's place". However knowing Chinky and Paki are now more offensive derogatory words, I would be consciously selective as to who I said it too. Same with describing the local corner shop which sold newspapers, sweets, cigarettes and basic groceries, ubiquitous across Thailand as 7/11, "just nipping out to the Paki shop to get some fags". Say that to an Amercian and they'll think you're gay.

 

Back in the early 1900's in the UK, "nipping out for a German", refered to the popular take-away food sold by Bavarian street sellers of German sausages or wursts. This abruptly ended after WW1, when all things German was considered derogatory or offensive.

 

As David Niven once said on Parkinson back in the 70's, "Gay, a good word ruined". Which as a compulsive womaniser his lexicon would have referred to it as being joyful, carefree or bright and showy. 

 

The word 'tranny' in my vocabulary refers to the Ford Transit van, a staple for all builders, logistics operators as the vehicle that built modern Britain. So much so, I got reported to HR by some member of the wokerati and noted for my language for describing the company van as such. As usual in these things, the name of my accuser wasn't detailed.

 

In the UK, prior to getting married, the groom would partake in his "Stag Night", the word 'Stag' implying male supremacy, size and stature. Whereas, the boys from down under would attend a "Bucks Night", a word associated to us Pom's with deer, rabbits or goats. Somewhat feminine in stature. Yes, admittedly a male red kangaroo, or buck, can stand at over 7 feet, so could be viewed the same.

 

So yes, the English language can be a minefield, especially when considering the vocabulary is nearly 1,000,000 words. A word in one country or time isn't necessary the same in another.

[spoon]

Late to the party, but for me personally, word itself, without intent, carry different weight when it comes to identifying a person. The word gay itself is still very offensive in many culture, religion and countries, even though many have accepted it. For this particular word, oriental, that is used in the thread here, I can definitely see those who didnt know it, view it as a normal word to be used as an adjective. Heck, in Malaysia, a famous cafe (kopitiam) here is called Oriental Kopi. And one of the famous 5 star luxury hotel brand here is called Mandarin Oriental. So is the luxury train Eastern and Oriental Express. Apparently, it is okay to use it to refer to inanimate object. 

[Jai]

Has anybody else been to White Cat or have any updates? Are there more guys? What body type? Hoping for hunks, but so far it sounds like mostly twinks 

[Kiwi306]

1 hour ago, Jai said:

Has anybody else been to White Cat or have any updates? Are there more guys? What body type? Hoping for hunks, but so far it sounds like mostly twinks 

I have sad tidings to bring.

I went for the third time last night, accompanied by an English gent I met at Dream Boys. I told him not to hold his breath, but he agreed to come with me.

There was one customer there, no lip syncers and there were two guys on stage, one being the bodybuilder and the other being the slim, ripped guy. No sign of the untoned boy. Maybe he is still with the aforementioned ASIAN gent.

At least I managed to get Arthur to do a full monty on stage.

I wanted to support the club and I want it to succeed, but you just don't open a bar if you don't have a full stable of guys. I don't want to put anyone off from going, but that's the reality. But, if you do go, Tae the bodybuilder will happily let you feel up his muscles.

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, Kiwi306 said:

But, if you do go, Tae the bodybuilder will happily let you feel up his muscles.

and for a tip, more than just muscles

[vinapu]

my spies are telling me that on Sunday night bar door were shut down at 11.10 p.m.

If that confirmed today  , it looks that  it was very short lived undertaking.

[Keithambrose]

8 hours ago, vinapu said:

my spies are telling me that on Sunday night bar door were shut down at 11.10 p.m.

If that confirmed today  , it looks that  it was very short lived undertaking.

No surprise there!

[Enchanted_Elixir]

Sic transit gloria mundi

[vinapu]

correction , it was Monday evening when bar was discovered to be closed. My spy offered to do second check , just in case , next evening.

48 minutes ago, Enchanted_Elixir said:

Sic transit gloria mundi

but glory of Kiwi306 and me being their first customers will shine eternally  

[Keithambrose]

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

correction , it was Monday evening when bar was discovered to be closed. My spy offered to do second check , just in case , next evening.

but glory of Kiwi306 and me being their first customers will shine eternally  

First and last would be even better!

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, Keithambrose said:

First and last would be even better!

Not sure what you have against that short lived bar.

I got conformation that Tuesday evening door remain shut.

It could be a victim of war with Cambodia as due to absence of Cambodian  there's certainly shortage talent available.

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, Enchanted_Elixir said:

Sic transit gloria mundi

Galia omnia es divida in partes tres

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

Galia omnia es divida in partes tres

I didn't know that the White Cat Bar was in Gaul?

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

Not sure what you have against that short lived bar.

I got conformation that Tuesday evening door remain shut.

It could be a victim of war with Cambodia as due to absence of Cambodian  there's certainly shortage talent available.

Well, a Bar that can't even display the correct name outside, to me doesn't deserve  to survive. The whole thing  seemed very odd.

 

[floridarob]

On 2/11/2026 at 11:11 PM, floridarob said:

I have faith you will... the bar, not so much.

Well Aunty Vin is still with us but the bar isn't....... and I'm ok with that, better than the other way around 🙏

[vinapu]

sign on the door , according to my spy still says they are looking for staff

[mauRICE]

59 minutes ago, vinapu said:

sign on the door , according to my spy still says they are looking for staff

Yes, they are looking for staff. Their posters say they are looking for large numbers of young, goodlooking, handsome men, aged 20 and older, who are service oriented and good at entertaining. They don't say applicants need to be jacked or muscular which means half of our forum members should qualify. 😏

[Kiwi306]

It still mystifies why you would advertise for staff after opening the bar. I'm still hoping that it will survive.

[macaroni21]

On 2/19/2026 at 8:34 PM, Kiwi306 said:

At least I managed to get Arthur to do a full monty on stage.

Was just catching up on this thread... Do I understand you correctly? The boss himself performed a full monty on stage? Just for you only or were there other customers in the bar? Or do you mean he got one of his boys to do the show/monty?

[Kiwi306]

No, just 3 customers there.

I went 3 times and there were never more than 3 customers in the bar during the apparent show time.

 

[macaroni21]

53 minutes ago, Kiwi306 said:

It still mystifies why you would advertise for staff after opening the bar. I'm still hoping that it will survive.

He did have staff, a handful at least. They must have walked out on him when after a couple of weeks they realised that there weren’t enough customers to provide them with income.

Launching a new business is horrendously difficult. I’ve been trying to help businesses step up a notch, and even then, one notch is helluva difficult, especially when the business owner (a) has had no business education and (b) started it as a personal hobby.

Many things must come together, synchronously, to launch a business successfully. In the case of a gogo bar, the lease and outfitting the space, getting staff, building up a head of excited customers waiting for opening day, advertising campaigns, and most important of all, a business plan to fight for market share and create a brand identity.

One needs deep pockets. Rent has to be paid (including up-front deposits). Contractors and suppliers have to be paid. Staff have to be paid. Palms have to be greased. More than that, just to fight for market share will likely involve price promotions, loss-leader offers and so on... for several months or even a year before one breaks even.

I have no details about the finances at White Cat, but he must have lost a lot of money on Atlas and probably does not now have the cash buffer (the working capital) needed to launch White Cat properly. That he can’t even afford to get a signboard made is symptomatic.

I have seen too many people start businesses the way they would pitch up at a farmer’s market in the village square -- park yourself there and customers will come. Well, if you’re selling your home-grown water melons, if you don’t hire staff but expend your own time, if you don’t have to pay for the space in the village square, and if the human traffic is already in the square, maybe.... except that you still need to be prepared for the other stall to undercut you price-wise and your melons go unsold.

A gogo bar is nothing like that. Every little component of the business plan and set-up costs money. Most important of all, the human traffic is not waiting for you at the village square. Your potential customers are dispersed all around the world. How do you get them to know about your water-melon stall? How do you get them to make their way to your door? And mind you, they have to make their way to your door in enough numbers within a week or two of opening day so that you start with a bang, and that momentum is what will hopefully create the further word of mouth to carry you further. Of course, you need staff at hand to create the bang too, you need a DJ, a bartender, you need stock for your bar.... so as I said, a million things need to come together synchronously to launch a business successfully.

I don’t see that White Cat was doing any of these things right. Instead I see a copycat idea (thus no unique branding) poorly, pennilessly executed with no realistic plan. I'm not trying to diss his attempt, and I for one would love to see an addition to Bangkok's gay scene, but I also appreciate how difficult it is in business.
 

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

He did have staff, a handful at least. They must have walked out on him when after a couple of weeks they realised that there weren’t enough customers to provide them with income.

Launching a new business is horrendously difficult. I’ve been trying to help businesses step up a notch, and even then, one notch is helluva difficult, especially when the business owner (a) has had no business education and (b) started it as a personal hobby.

Many things must come together, synchronously, to launch a business successfully. In the case of a gogo bar, the lease and outfitting the space, getting staff, building up a head of excited customers waiting for opening day, advertising campaigns, and most important of all, a business plan to fight for market share and create a brand identity.

One needs deep pockets. Rent has to be paid (including up-front deposits). Contractors and suppliers have to be paid. Staff have to be paid. Palms have to be greased. More than that, just to fight for market share will likely involve price promotions, loss-leader offers and so on... for several months or even a year before one breaks even.

I have no details about the finances at White Cat, but he must have lost a lot of money on Atlas and probably does not now have the cash buffer (the working capital) needed to launch White Cat properly. That he can’t even afford to get a signboard made is symptomatic.

I have seen too many people start businesses the way they would pitch up at a farmer’s market in the village square -- park yourself there and customers will come. Well, if you’re selling your home-grown water melons, if you don’t hire staff but expend your own time, if you don’t have to pay for the space in the village square, and if the human traffic is already in the square, maybe.... except that you still need to be prepared for the other stall to undercut you price-wise and your melons go unsold.

A gogo bar is nothing like that. Every little component of the business plan and set-up costs money. Most important of all, the human traffic is not waiting for you at the village square. Your potential customers are dispersed all around the world. How do you get them to know about your water-melon stall? How do you get them to make their way to your door? And mind you, they have to make their way to your door in enough numbers within a week or two of opening day so that you start with a bang, and that momentum is what will hopefully create the further word of mouth to carry you further. Of course, you need staff at hand to create the bang too, you need a DJ, a bartender, you need stock for your bar.... so as I said, a million things need to come together synchronously to launch a business successfully.

I don’t see that White Cat was doing any of these things right. Instead I see a copycat idea (thus no unique branding) poorly, pennilessly executed with no realistic plan. I'm not trying to diss his attempt, and I for one would love to see an addition to Bangkok's gay scene, but I also appreciate how difficult it is in business.
 

A good explanation! The Owner appears to be doing everything wrong. As previously  mentioned,  not even changing the sign outside is bizarre 

 

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, Keithambrose said:

A good explanation! The Owner appears to be doing everything wrong. As previously  mentioned,  not even changing the sign outside is bizarre 

We haven't heard the owner's side of the story. He may have been stalled by unforeseen circumstances or, as they say, shit happens. There may be also hidden forces at work and/or the motivation for opening the bar may not be what you think at all and perhaps beyond the grasp of the average armchair analyst. 

What if the Thailand authorities were to prohibit the Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam passport holders - even those with legitimate work permits - from working in sex oriented businesses? I can see this happening. What then? More doom and gloom predictions? Another armchair expert ringing the death knell? Or do we just go with the flow and evolve with the changing landscape of the entertainment industry and Thai society in general? I pick the latter and will continue to visit Thailand as and when I can as there's still so much I'd like to see and experience. 🫶

[Keithambrose]

19 minutes ago, mauRICE said:

We haven't heard the owner's side of the story. He may have been stalled by unforeseen circumstances or, as they say, shit happens. There may be also hidden forces at work and/or the motivation for opening the bar may not be what you think at all and perhaps beyond the grasp of the average armchair analyst. 

What if the Thai authorities were to prohibit the Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam passport holders - even those with legitimate work permits - from working in sex oriented businesses? I can see it happening. What then? More doom and gloom predictions? Or we just go with the flow? It doesn't really bother me to be honest. I'll continue to visit Thailand as and when I can as there's still so much I'd like to see and experience. 🫶

Yes, true, but something  basic like having the correct name, is not that difficult!