RhinoTusk

Soi Cowboy is slowly coming back to life. Dollhouse and Tilac now have dancers on stage, about a half dozen anyway. Crazy House has the best vibe and drawing the largest crowds, with dancing downstairs now. Dancing on two floors in Baccara, so I can sit in my orchestra seat, look up and see a dozen bare bottoms, while sipping my Stella Artois or Hoegarrden. In my last post I mentioned a new music bar called West End, it's actually called East End, I just thought it was West End because it's towards the West End of the street. Nana Plaza is still the most fun place where things are happening. More bars are opening, now Geisha on the top floor, although I didn't get a chance to visit. Still waiting for Butterflies to open, and sadly there were no topless girls in the Jacuzzi at Billboard this week. I mentioned the new Rainbow 69 in my last post. This is actually on the second floor, where a ladyboy bar used to be for years. Rainbow 3 is on the top floor. A waitress in Rainbow 5 said she remembered me, I told her about when I ordered a burger in the corner when the place was Woodstock restaurant 20 years ago. The rainbow bars have raised the price of Heineken 20 baht to 140. With tourists returning, prices are going up. I noticed room rates at Sofitel, Sheraton Grande, and JW Marriott are now 2-3 times what I was paid last year. Stickman had reported the Soi 7 Beer Bar area would be reopening May 5th, so I went over to take a look. Also took a walk up Soi 7/1 for the first time in a while, used to be where the Eden Club was, now the soi about half filled with ladyboys. They've remodeled the lobby at the Miami Hotel on Soi 13. I lived next door at the Trendy Condo for 7 years so I used to walk past this place everyday and it always looked so eerie, but now looks respectable. Don't know how the rooms look since I've never stayed there but I heard you could rent a room for 8,000 per month pre-covid. Went over to Hooters again between 3 PM and 4 PM for half price on everything. Unfortunately, they were out of seafood so instead of their shrimp tacos I ordered a burger which was a huge mistake. The meat was dry, the bacon wasn't lean, the bun was poor, and I don't want all those fries. I don't want any, in fact. I'll never order a burger there again, should have went with a salad. I got my shrimp taco fix at the Craft Beer bar on Soi 23, with a toffee flavored English cider which I've never tasted before but was very interesting. I enjoy toffee so I ordered another but it didn't go well with the fish. I discovered a place with some tasty Khao Soi, Indulge restaurant at the Asoke Intersection. It came topped with an onion ring, now that's fusion. The curry was very tasty indeed but at 280++ it was the second most expensive Khao Soi I've ever had, the Softiel added Boston Lobster. I enjoyed the meal with a Fireball Tiki, which helps to ward off evil spirits, and is made with cinnamon whisky. I'll dine there again soon.

The Black Pagoda group of bars at Patpong 2 ran a all-u-can-drink promotion over Songkran. For 900 baht, you were provided as many bottles of Singha-Tiger-Chang-Leo you wanted in any of their four bars (XXX Lounge, The Strip, Black Pagoda, and the new Black Bar adjacent Black Pagoda, just above the Patpong Museum). I decided to try it out, although I usually prefer Heineken or San Miguel (or Hoegaarden or Stella Artois). I'm surprised more bar groups don't try this type of promotion as a way of capturing their customers. Normally, I would have visited Bada Bing, King's Castle, and Pink Panther on a visit to Patpong, but restricted myself on this occasion. I spent about 1500 baht total, about the usual, because I bought a few lady drinks. All the bars accepted the stamp they had planted on my arm after paying out the 900 baht and I consumed 8 bottles of Singha at XXX Lounge, 2 bottles at The Strip, and one each at Black Pagoda and Black, bringing the unit cost down to 75 baht per bottle, more like beer bar prices. Really a good marketing idea from the Black Pagoda group IMHO. SOI NANA 100 baht Tiger draft at Stumble Inn Hooters has a promotion, everything half price between 3 PM until 4 PM. People dis Hooters but their food isn't too bad, it's just grossly overpriced, but not at 50% off. I had some tasty tacos with jumbo shrimp (175 baht) with a Tropical Long Island (4 shots of top shelf booze) for 200. And no mandatory tax and service charge this time, so my total bill was 375, which I thought a good deal. Has Pattaya Addicts.com come to Soi Nana? sailingbill knows where this photo was taken Off the three main bar areas, things are by far the most lively at Nana Plaza Bars seem to be reopening all the time, like Geisha on the top floor, which had been closed for two years, same as Mandarin. On the second floor, north east corner, Rainbow 3 has been rebranded Club Rainbow 69 Random and Whisky A Gogo are open on the second floor, near Spanky's Some interesting developments between Nana and Soi Cowboy. Rumor is the Soi 7 Beer Bar Complex, although currently closed, will be reopening in May. Fancy a cider in the Sportsman on Soi 13? Mojito? A cider with a shot of Jagermeister at the Red Lion Pub, also in the ground floor of the Trendy Condo on Soi 13, where I lived for 7 years. Unfortunately, this bar didn't exist back then. The office building west of Q House is open and fully operational, called the O-NES Tower. What's interesting is a direct access sky walk. Currently it's just hanging there because there's nothing to attach to, but this may imply the city is planning on extending the BTS Sky Walk in the near future. The building is west of the Nana BTS so perhaps some day we'll be able to take the Sky Walk all the way to Siam Square and avoid the rain. If they fill it in between the Sofitel and Hyatt Regency we could use it all the way to the Asoke interection. Construction has finally started at Chuvit Garden, between Soi 8 and Soi 10. Last I heard a mall was going to be built here. Old timers recall when this plot was known as Sukhumvit Square, a square block of about 50 bars targeting the farang community, including a Dollhouse GoGo. After Khun Chuvit acquired the property 20 years ago, he didn't care waiting for the leases to expire so hired an army of thugs to trash everything at 4 AM one morning. A creative way of promoting urban renewal! Read about it here. http://www.bangkokeyes.com/gestapo.html It seems some squatters are living on the property now, perhaps Cambodian construction workers who aren't allowed to earn a living wage. Thermae Coffeehouse is open for business SOI COWBOY Soi Cowboy is very quiet, Baccara and Crazy House are worthwhile but the band at Country Road has never been outstanding. I prefer to sit outside at Country Road. There's also a band at Kozy Corner and a new music bar called West End has opened. I haven't seen a band playing there but they have a good sound system. Finish the evening at the craft beer bar up Soi 23. Cheers

Nana Plaza: Billboard, Twister BKk, Rainbow 4, Rainbow 5, Rainbow 69, Spankys, Mandarin Patpong: The Strip, XXX Lounge, King’s Castle Soi Cowboy: Baccara, Crazy House

They never allowed licking pussy in Bangkok GoGos. But there’s one where the mamasan will pull the curtain on your booth so a girl can give you a bbbj.

Things are different in Bangkok. Some GoGos are already operating at pre-covid levels. I was in Billboard at Nana Plaza last night and there were bare titties in the jacuzzi tub.

There are no knickers at Baccara ?

They have a good lineup at Baccara

Made the rounds again this weekend. Patpong was very quiet, but I was there early, 7 PM Bada Bing had the stage draped off, but there were about eight girls hanging around. I ordered a Jack Coke for 180. Not only was it real Jack Daniels but a good measure. Went down good so I ordered another. The DJ was spinning rap music and they have an excellent sound system. Patpong I was almost deserted but there were 60 girls in Kings Castle, with 5 customers. I've been a customer of Kings Castle I for 30 years, they consistently have one of the best GoGo lineups. After that I went over to Pink Panther for a Long Island Iced Tea. They make them strong, and for 200 baht you get economies of scale. Although they'd been closed for two years, the waitresses still remember what I drink. The Strip, just reopened a month ago, they had 20 girls with 4 customers. Soi 7: I don't know what's going on here because it was open Friday night but closed Saturday. Here is Friday. I went to the bar to watch the band play but the band was absent. Then this was the scene on Saturday Nana Plaza: Rainbow 5 (formerly Rainbow 4) has a great vibe and with 120 baht Heineken, it's like turning the clock back 7 years, you wouldn't know there had ever been a pandemic. It was just like old times! Soi Cowboy is making a rebound, not as lively as Nana and drink prices higher, but worth a stop. That's it for this week, I'll pay another visit next weekend. Cheers!

I doubt most tourists know the anthem.

Sadly yes. This is Asia.

They open at 9 AM

So what did you buy? I thought about an aquarium ?, plants and cacti ? , but decided I’ll get get some picture frames and decorate my walls with some prints of my photos from Koh Kood. ?️

This place has everything, more than 15,000 stalls divided into 30 sections. Since 1942, Chatuchak Weekend Market sells many different kinds of goods, including plants, antiques, electronics, cosmetics, pets, ceramics, furniture, clothing, and books. Pre-covid typically saw 200,000 visitors each weekend. Plan to spend a half a day here, it's the worlds largest and most diverse market. I usually arrive around 9 AM, not so much to beat the crowds as to beat the heat, which can be stifling. You can wander hours in this maze of shops. Fortunately, it's organized into categories and a free map is available at the entrance. I took along my Nikon Zfc camera, just 15.7 ounces including battery, plus 4.8 ounces for the lens, which was easy to carry around all day. This is my personal favorite Sections 5 and 6 have used clothing There's a new air conditioned mall next door that's a great retreat from the heat and a good place to stop for lunch. It's amazing how much you feel energized spending an hour in air conditioned comfort, then prepared for a few more hours browsing in the market. The food court in on the third floor. Here are some crispy noodles with chicken (60 baht) and a glass of Roselle juice (20 baht). Roselle is a herbal drink found in many Thai restaurants, a better alternative to coke and pepsi which have no nutritional value. Roselle juice tastes good too! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roselle_juice There's also a flower garden on the third floor of the mall Although it was distressing to observe some of the conditions the live animals were caged in, fortunately I didn't observe any pangolins or horseshoe bats. Section 7 is for the arts Around mid-afternoon the crowds pick up. I spent 6 hours there and only bought a personalized camera strap, but it was a lot of fun. According to my Google Fit app, I walked 16 km that day but awoke with a calf strain the next morning that's been nagging me since. You definitely need to drink lots of liquids.

Was at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy this weekend, enjoying unseasonably cool weather. April is usually the hottest month. Nana Plaza in particular was buzzing, with more bars featuring dancers than last week, and bottled beer is going for 120 baht in all the bars. There's a new Rainbow 3 on the third level, next to Billboard. Soi Cowboy and Patpong are less busy, maybe they should drop their prices in trying to capture what's primarily an expat market? One place that's not happening is the beer bar area around Soi 7. It was shut down a few weeks ago. This was the place to go while the other bars were closed and had declined a bit when Nana started to open up. This photo from March 11th. Now all the bars are closed except the makeshift curbside bars and Soi 7 Beer Garden. There was a band playing rock classics, reggae, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix. They were pretty good and even played some of my requests ("Foxy Lady" and "Voodoo Chile"). Bottled beers were just 100. The lead guitarist, in particular, was quite good and it was obvious he's a huge Hendrix fan. The next day I read in the news they were raided by the police and all the bars were shut down. Don't know what's in store for this area. I also visited Thermae for the first time in a couple years. It was early and seemed strange with the lights on. There were about 20 girls and 10 customers, I was the only farang so most girls ignored me, but nothing caught my eye anyway. Another farang entered while I was having my Jack Coke. I saw in the news the next day that a Japanese tourist was stabbed on the corner at Soi 13, with the assailant captured on Soi 19. I always seem to miss these incidents, hope my luck holds up. We hear of scams in bars but there are honest people too. I was in Baccara paying for my Heineken, 190 baht. I left what I thought were two hundreds and a twenty, i.e. thirty baht tip, and the waitress brought to my attention that one of the bills was a thousand. I told her to keep it as a tip, impressed by her honesty. The same happened to me in Sharks a few years ago. I always check my bin for padding by the bar but need to make a more conscious effort about doing it myself! Makes me wonder how many times they just kept the money ? I usually only carry a few thousand so that's generally not a problem.

For my most recent trip to Bangkok, I stayed at Lebua at State Tower, the "Hangover 2" hotel. Rooms were huge, 60 square meters. Nice views from the balcony The hotel lobby had a classic feel. I went up to the Sky Bar on the 63rd floor. They feature a special Hangover Cocktail, made with 18 year old Chivas, but at $40 who can afford a hangover? There are also some Michelin rated restaurants up there, like Sirocco But for dinner, I went to a more reasonably priced hole-in-the-wall restaurant 5 minutes away called Andre. There are only 6 tables, so you need a reservation unless you arrive in the afternoon. They open at 3 PM and there's no air-conditioning. I like to start with a dozen oysters, because they remind me of something I like Oysters are only available on weekends, if you're lucky, so a seafood salad or a goat cheese plate also makes for a good starter. I usually follow with either some pan seared scallops or a salmon steak. If you prefer red wine with your meal, the New Zealand tenderloin is a good choice For desert, either the chocolate mousse or creme brulee And top it all off with a shot of espresso I did a few photoshoots with Thai Playboy bunnies, see my camera thread for more Visited some full-service massage shops This girl is becoming a regular, gives a great balls massage and pussy is a nice fit too. Bars are open, mainly catering to the expat crowd, so lively on weekends but quiet during the week. Some bars, at Nana, Cowboy, and Patpong each have girls dancing on stage. Since it's not officially allowed, I won't name them, I've been paying a lot of bar fines, trying to support local businesses The reason I came was to look for a condo. With bars reopening, it's time to relocate back to Bangkok, and I found one I like. Not as high as the Sky Bar at Lebua, but close. I like all the pools on the roof and swim for 40 minutes every morning. It's great to be back in the Big Mango

There's Something About Mary

Yeah, it's open. I'm sure there's a photo somewhere in this thread, although I've never been in there. I've never been in Oskar Bistro either, I think they have a dress code and I like to wear cut offs and flip flops.

FYI, there's a beer bar area across the street from Wine Connection. I didn't show it because not open in the afternoon but it comes alive at night.

I stated it closed for two years, actually it’s only one year. Their website shows the last time.

I took a walk through my old neighborhood yesterday. I took these with my new Nikon ZfC camera ? which I specifically bought for street photography since it's half the weight of my Nikon Z6 (half the cost too), with an inconspicuous retro-look. Some people may even think I'm shooting film. Heading north, Zanzibar has been closed for two years now. The food wasn't that good but I sometimes liked the band. The Ambassador Hotel is popular with Indian tourists. I'd frequently have a bagel for breakfast at Au Bon Pain but they've vacated, as has Pomodoro upstairs. You can see earlier photos in the thread on how it used to look. There's a lunch special at Wine Connection, which moved in two years ago. Salad ? pasta, iced tea, and a glass of house wine ? (French) for 394, including tax and service charge. The Old German Beerhouse has reopened on Soi 11, the one on Soi 13 had been open throughout the pandemic. Yet another Bawarchi restaurant has opened in lower Sukhumvit, this one looks more upscale. The chain was started by an Indonesian woman doing Indian food she's has been very successful. I've eaten at a few and the food is pretty good. Meanwhile, the signage has been removed at El Gaucho Argentinian steak house, ? I guess they're moving out. Fortunately, still have Soi 19 and Thong Lo branches. I seriously considered moving into the Hyde Condo but decided to try a different neighborhood. Something there starts around 20,000/month. The Loft looked very quiet but was open, I think. Cali-Mex I sometimes went for a burrito ? they were open but empty. There's a small alley that leads to more businesses, I don't see how they can attract customers. A look to the right.➡️ A look to the left.⬅️ I felt bad for the massage girls, you can't see their shop from Soi 11. Stop in for a massage if you're in the vicinity. I've never tried the pizza at Soho, it's fairly expensive. Up to 700 baht for the 18 inch, surely more than I can eat.? Next door is Craft Burgers, I've eaten there twice, and liked the burger with the Vermont cheddar.? And next to that is Bam Bam Burger, where I usually go, as much for the craft beers they serve. Across the street is Hillary 11, as in Soi 11, there aren't eleven of them yet. At the T, and to the left, Chilli Culture has been closed for two years. Quite good but fairly expensive Thai food, and they add 17% to the check. Insanity nightclub has been closed two years, I believe they're facing a 5 year closure for violating covid rules.?‍♂️ Apokeka has been closed two years, I used to go there for live music.? I did most of my grocery shopping at Villa Market, but that was when it was next to the Ambassador Hotel. The new location was previously occupied by Q Bar. A view back to the east from in front of Le Finix hotel, which is beginning to show signs of age. Heading that direction to Soi 13 is CitiChic hotel, where I frequently stayed 12-15 years ago. It was operated by the same management team as Majestic Suites and Majestic Grande. CitiChic is about a 12 minute walk to Sukhumvit. There's not too much interesting along the way ? on Soi 13, so we finally come to the Trendy Condo, where I lived for 7 years. My destination is the Sportsman Pub, on the ground floor. They gave me a 10% discount card while I was a resident at the Trendy. The Old German Beer House on Soi 13, also in the ground floor of the Trendy, has been open through the pandemic. Advertising the Ali-Patterson bout. LOL On the south side of the Trendy, Breakers Pool bar has expanded, moving next to the Red Lion Pub. I guess the Trendy Condo is the place to go if you wish to shoot some pool ? there are also tables in the Sportsman's Pub. Time to cool my heels with an ice cold one. ? After that, back to Bam Bam Burger for some dinner. ? The Duke Cheeseburger with fries and a bottle of Duvel Belgian Ale (8.5%), 280 for each. They have a new item on the menu, the Bruce Lee pork burger with special 'fury' sauce. This concludes my afternoon in the old neighborhood. Hope you enjoyed walking along with me. Cheers!

Tim Roth

There's a new burger joint in town called Bang Bang Burger, at the location of the previous Daniel Thaiger burger before 'the T' on Soi 11, across from Hillary 11. They serve the same craft beers as before but the restaurant now has a boxing theme. They serve a Cassius burger, an Iron Mike burger, a Raging Bull (with jalapenos), and a Duke. Burgers go for 320, including fries. This is the Cassius, a bacon burger. Here is The Duke, which is without the bacon. I had to research "Duke" in boxing lore and it turns out to be Tommy Morrison, who defeated George Foreman for the WBO Heavyweight championship in 1993. I remember watching the fight with friends, Foreman was 20 years older. Morrison had one successful title defense before losing the title to Michael Bentt later that year. He then won the vacant IBC heavyweight title in 1995 before losing it to Lennox Lewis. Morrison was called 'The Duke' because he claimed to be a distant relative of John Wayne. He was married to two different women at the same time and had an acting role as Tommy "The Machine" Gunn in Rocky V. Morrison had his boxing license suspended in 1996 after testing positive to HIV, which he succumbed to in 2013 at the age of 44. He finished his boxing career with a record of 48-3-1.

Cameo by Cassius Clay

Boogie Nights

Requiem for a Heavyweight