Monday night update…

coming to you live from a Grab en route to moonlight. The Muay Thai might was fun from the front row. Couple of the fighters were 🔥

stay tuned for the not all that highly anticipated completion of my top 10.

5 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

I'm not much of a soccer fan but I always go to football games when I'm in South America. I feed off the energy of those who are there. Same with concerts of artists I may not be that into.

But generally I'm way more into masculine stuff than gay guys. I'm weird. I like metal. I like sports. I am bored to tears if you drag me to a musical or expect me to vibe with Britney or Gaga.

I grew up watching football from UK so I can relate to many guys during the recent World Cup.

The Vietnamese are passionate about football. The whole country recently celebrated wildly in streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City two weeks ago when Vietnam defeated Thailand to win the bi annual Asean Cup.

I know of some Viet bar guys from Good Boy and Dreamboy who went to stadium in Bangkok when Vietnam played Thailand in the first match. The second match of the final was played in Hanoi.

As much as I enjoy watching sports, I just cannot understand baseball and cricket. I can understand American football but I am not a big follower. I watch Superbowl.

Musicals can be entertaining but expensive.

What type of metal do you listen to?Mainstream metal such as Metallica and Black Sabbath or more extreme genres?

Britney and Gaga are fine with me.

18 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

I just cannot understand baseball and cricket.

you are not alone

42 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

I have always wanted to go to Fake Club (just to have a look and experience atmosphere) but couldn't find the right company to take me there.

I stopped going to Fake Club a few years ago otherwise I would offer. It is great fun but definitely requires the right company, preferably someone who knows their way around and how to get a good position next to the stage. There are a couple of guys at Jupiter who occasionally work at Fake Club and would probably be happy for an off to take you there. You just need two lively guys, and be willing to pay the price of a bottle which costs the same as Silom bars. No need to stay for hours, just an hour at the right timing to catch the model parade and show. I was told they have now built karaoke rooms at the back though I haven’t been there myself.

There is an unseen heirarchy of working boys (and girls) - a social pyramid of prostitutes, if you like - which those not in the industry may not be aware of which could explain the reluctance of Patpong boys to go to Fake. Those who aren't Thai speakers aren't very high on the totem pole. There's also something about not peeing on another man's turf. They may be more amenable to going if they've got a friend working there. Another exception is if they're exceptionally goodlooking in which case they'd be welcome anywhere.

Note that venues like Fake, Asgard and other host bars are primarily drinking bars and if you don't drink and/or are put off by excessive drinking, you'd feel out of place. I've only been at the invitation of Thai friends and barely lasted an hour at these places as I don't drink and am totally put off by any form of excess, especially alcohol. Seeing youngsters ruining their health like that day in and day out upsets me and drink-driving related fatalities happen almost daily with this lot, in a country where drink-driving related accidents hardly raises eye-brows anymore.

Only yesterday, I saw the funeral of a karaoke hostess in Chiang Mai on social media. She was driving home drunk at 6 in the morning, had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into a lamppost and died on the spot. She was a single mum and it totally broke my heart seeing her 12-year-old son leading the cortege to the crematorium. He had specially ordained as a monk for the occasion.

For some of these venues, inviting a host to your table and buying him drinks is compulsory and at Asgard and Fake the minimum number of drinks that you need to buy a host depends on his popularity. Most of the stars will expect a 100-drink minimum on any given night, which will allow a customer to "mao" (เหมา) or "charter" him until closing time. Otherwise he gets back on stage at the end of the hour and is available for bidding by other customers. Boyz Boyz Boyz in Pattaya is unique in that the boys are rotated every 20 minutes! Host drink prices range from 350 to 500 Baht depending on the venue, from which the venue takes a 50 to 150 Baht cut per drink.

If you plan to go to Fake to see the shows, bear in mind that is a very large venue reminiscent of an evangelical tabernacle and the best seats are nearest the stage and are usually reserved for VIP customers. It's fine if you're contented sitting in the galleries and watching the shows on the big screen TVs. The majority of Fake's patrons are East Asian. Security is very tight, especially around the stage area as some female customers have been known to go crazy watching the highly erotic performances. Most of the performers are straight but their lead dancer, now 38 but physically very fit, is gay. He goes everywhere in Asia to perform at various clubs but is especially popular in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Late Monday night update. We now have it ladies and gentlemen. Or gentlemen. Can't imagine we have many ladies in the crowd... at long last, here's my Top 10.

I wandered into Moonlight just as they were about to kick off the show. My initial impression was ugh here we go again when I walked in and saw a handful of guys stonefaced and emotionless standing on stage seeming to be miserable. The mamasan chatted me up but wasn't employing the high pressure sales tactics even though at the time I think I was the only customer in the place. Eventually there was some motion on the stage and guys cycled in and out. There were 4 or 5 cute guys out of the couple dozen or so.

I liked the layout of the place. You can't be far from the stage. Staff was decent... a few of the waitstaff were cute.

I'm impossible to offend, but I did cringe a little when they played a remix that had the Asian chick doing "Me So Horny, Me Love You Long Time." Evil me cackled laughing inside. One thing that set Moonlight apart is they were cool with you taking photos and video when they are doing the model lineup. I thought that's pretty brilliant on their part. Many will post it to social media ... or say on a message board with creepy old men. 😆 I'm sure the models hate it, but I had to wait to be told twice that it's kosher.

After they got past the awkward standing on stage thing, they finally got to the routines. I was glad the performances were from the actual models and not outdated extras or drag queens. There was a drag queen but she was accompanied by 2 of the dancers. The show was nowhere near the level of Jupiter, but much better than most in Silom.

Within 30 minutes the club was probably 2/3 full but mostly with groups of young women. One looked to be a bachelorette party.

Got the answer to my own question from earlier today btw at least for Moonlight. 2nd drink is 250 or 350 for a cocktail.

I stuck around for about an hour. I saw enough... Moonlight doesn't come in at the top of my Top 10... but it's far from the bottom. Without further adieu, here is my final top 10... I'm still debating on switching #1 and #2... it's so close.

1. Jupiter

2. Dreamboy

3. Freshboy

4. Moonlight

5. Super A

6. Goodboy

7. Banana Boy

8. Hotmale

9. Tawan

10. Natureboy

The night ended with a Bangkok downpour. I ducked into Foodland to try their chicken pad Thai hoping the rain would pass. Nope had to Grab. Have to give props to Foodland though... not for the chicken pad Thai... it was pretty forgettable. But they had staff out sweeping water off the walkway and a guy carrying a giant umbrella helped customers to and from their cars. You don't see that kind of service much in the US.

Hi Aaron. Has it been raining in the evenings?

I didn't realise you had a ranking of the bars. Did you get a chance to chat with the guys and find out what their thoughts on world peace and global warming were?

There's an entire devoted thread devoted to Moonlight on this forum somewhere. My favourite, Joey, has left for greener pastures. My other favourite, Babe, is still there on and off. (Babe is the shorter guy in your duo pic above. He may be short but, trust me, he's packing it.)

2 hours ago, jason1975 said:

What type of metal do you listen to?Mainstream metal such as Metallica and Black Sabbath or more extreme genres?

If it rocks I'm in. I listen to everything from 70s Seger to 80s hairbands to 90s grunge to 2000s emo punk and everything in between. But my point is to the poster who felt the need to tell us he wouldn't want to go to a Muay Thai boxing match for fear of catching HIV... on a message board that revolves around activities FAR more likely to expose oneself to HIV. The irony cracked me up.

9 minutes ago, mauRICE said:

Hi Aaron. Has it been raining in the evenings?

I didn't realise you had a ranking of the bars. Did you get a chance to chat with the guys and find out what their thoughts were on world peace and global warming?

Are the Moonlight guys still calling themselves models? That's like calling Marlon Brando in his later years a heartthrob. 🙄

There's an entire devoted thread devoted to Moonlight on this forum somewhere. My favourite, Joey, has left for greener pastures. My other favourite, Babe, is still there on and off.

Past few days there have been showers, but not all day. Just an hour or so usually. First week was almost completely dry.

My previous bar reviews are in the first 15 pages of my rambles.

I don't know what they call themselves. I use the terms models/dancers/performers... just nicer than calling them whores. It's a respect thing. 😆

Thanks for the pics, @aaroninatl . Some of the guys are looking quite buff and I take back and have deleted my Marlon Brando comment from my previous post. I agree that associating muay thai with HIV is not only tenuous but betrays a total lack of understanding of how HIV is transmitted and, coming from a guy who proudly bragged about taking advantage of a young man whom he himself said was high on drugs, is just plain hypocritical.

3 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

If it rocks I'm in. I listen to everything from 70s Seger to 80s hairbands to 90s grunge to 2000s emo punk and everything in between. But my point is to the poster who felt the need to tell us he wouldn't want to go to a Muay Thai boxing match for fear of catching HIV... on a message board that revolves around activities FAR more likely to expose oneself to HIV. The irony cracked me up.

I remember metal music being played during the SM show at Tawan!

4 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

There were 4 or 5 cute guys out of the couple dozen or so.

I liked the layout of the place. You can't be far from the stage. Staff was decent... a few of the waitstaff were cute.

I don't see my favourite Moonlight model, Boss, in your photos. Either his off day or he got offed by customer. 🤣

I am surprised Moonlight is not in your top 3!

4 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

Without further adieu, here is my final top 10... I'm still debating on switching #1 and #2... it's so close.

1. Jupiter

2. Dreamboy

3. Freshboy

4. Moonlight

5. Super A

6. Goodboy

7. Banana Boy

8. Hotmale

9. Tawan

10. Natureboy

4 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

The night ended with a Bangkok downpour. I ducked into Foodland to try their chicken pad Thai hoping the rain would pass. Nope had to Grab. Have to give props to Foodland though... not for the chicken pad Thai... it was pretty forgettable. But they had staff out sweeping water off the walkway and a guy carrying a giant umbrella helped customers to and from their cars. You don't see that kind of service much in the US.

Foodland staff gives good service. Especially for regular customers. Local Thai families come to eat on Sunday morning and afternoon (after eating, they buy groceries from supermarket).

Forum members here have received good service from Foodland staff. Whenever we enter in a big group (with our guys), they will combine tables for us.

14 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

But generally I'm way more into masculine stuff than gay guys. I'm weird. I like metal. I like sports. I am bored to tears if you drag me to a musical or expect me to vibe with Britney or Gaga.

You know that masculine gay guys do exist right? Let's celebrate our diversity, yeah?

10 minutes ago, ichigo said:

You know that masculine gay guys do exist right? Let's celebrate our diversity, yeah?

Uh yeah. That was my point. 😉

7 hours ago, mauRICE said:

the reluctance of Patpong boys to go to Fake. Those who aren't Thai speakers aren't very high on the totem pole.

I have taken bar boys to Fake many many times, they have always been enthusiastic and enjoyed themselves hugely especially the gay ones, Thai, Cambodian, Burmese notwithstanding. One boy picked up a date in the toilets (a social experience in itself). They accompanied customers there so often they were the ones who taught me the ropes. A Cambodian Jupiter boy is currently working there on busier nights.

7 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Asgard and Fake the minimum number of drinks that you need to buy a host depends on his popularity.

There is no obligation to buy any of the guys at Fake drinks. It is a club, not a host bar so there isn’t a drink system. Completely untrue. They’ll come down and drink from your open bottle for a small tip, if you don’t offer more they will move on.

7 hours ago, mauRICE said:

the best seats are nearest the stage and are usually reserved for VIP customers.

Again untrue I have been given a table near the stage multiple times, as long as there is one available. On nights with guest singers or special performers yes they take reservations in advance. You just have to indicate willingness to open a bottle so they know it is not going to someone buying two beers and a water. It is exactly the same system as in other big clubs. But if you do just want to have a single beer to check the place out it is entirely your choice. No compulsory spending.

7 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Security is very tight, especially around the stage area as some female customers have been known to go crazy watching the highly erotic performances

Somewhat exaggerated there are one or two security people but generally to break up fights on the floor. People giving the boys a grope and a tip are all part of the game. “Crazy” females are usually just drunk and pulled back to their tables by their friends. The performances aren’t particularly erotic especially by comparison to Patpong though the boys are good looking and (some) demonstrate teasing personalities on stage that makes it more stimulating.

6 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

The mamasan chatted me up but wasn't employing the high pressure sales tactics even though at the time I think I was the only customer in the place.

Lucky you. There is one mamasan there that I particularly dread and makes me think twice about visiting. All the more if the bar is empty, she pounces relentlessly and takes great effort to shake her off….for five minutes

6 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

One thing that set Moonlight apart is they were cool with you taking photos and video when they are doing the model lineup. I thought that's pretty brilliant on their part. Many will post it to social media ... or say on a message board with creepy old men. 😆 I'm sure the models hate it, but I had to wait to be told twice that it's kosher.

You’ve inadvertently hit on the reason why in your previous post. Moonlight first instituted the “model” system using their photos for heavy advertising , implicit is “these boys are models not whores” therefore their photos can be legitimately seen without bringing any shame to the boys. They’ve previously attracted some white party stars into the line up on this pretext - just modelling, no whoring. The other boys who are whores continue to prefer anonymity so the families back home don’t see it.

2 hours ago, jason1975 said:

I am surprised Moonlight is not in your top 3!

I mean number four is not that far behind. Number three just has more guys my type. Having guys just stand there looking miserable, just absolutely kills my mood. Every time. fortunately, they moved on and started the show and it got better. But yeah, moonlight was definitely in the upper half of my top 10. Just didn’t win the bronze.

2 hours ago, jason1975 said:

I remember metal music being played during the SM show at Tawan!

Even metal music wouldn’t be enough to save that place for me. I’m gonna have PTSD for a while from those visits to Tawan. 😆

7 hours ago, aaroninatl said:

But my point is to the poster who felt the need to tell us he wouldn't want to go to a Muay Thai boxing match for fear of catching HIV... on a message board that revolves around activities FAR more likely to expose oneself to HIV. The irony cracked me up.

It was tongue in cheek, aaron!

I didn't really mean you should turn up in a full body suit and a pair of goggles!

I didn't see the need to add a 🤣

And it's not the fear of catching HIV (!) that stops me going to a fight - I don't like blood sports.

as two posters seem to have different look at Fake , I removed my previous post due to confusion - should I try it or forget it

3 hours ago, jason1975 said:

I don't see my favourite Moonlight model, Boss, in your photos. Either his off day or he got offed by customer. 🤣

I'm glad Khun is back and is back in shape as word was covid time was not good for his musculature

4 minutes ago, vinapu said:

I'm glad Khun is back and is back in shape as word was covid time was not good for his musculature

Don't know any of their names but the standout after the performances was the last guy before the Foodland pic... the dude in the blue. There were about 5 or 6 guys I'd swipe right on but in terms of stage performance, his was top notch.

It's my last night in Bangkok for this round. Off to Koh Samui tomorrow. Don't know if I'll make it to the bars... have tentative plans with both Grindr guys today. I never learn. 😆

40 minutes ago, vinapu said:

as two posters seem to have different look at Fake , I removed my previous post due to confusion - should I try it or forget it

Regardless of our points of difference on the format, there is also a consensus you need to enjoy ogling, drinking, dancing, and standing. It is the last part that deters me now as age catches up.