Nightmarch

[PattayaPete 530]

Boom and boom boom in Pattaya

R.I.P.: Patrick Jourand, the genial and jovial proprietor of one of Pattaya's longest-running and finest French (Swiss) munching palaces Le Petrus on Soi Yamato, sadly passed away on 15 April. According to reports, Patrick had been ill for some time. Pattaya is definitely the poorer for his passing.

 

Tales of Chrome Pole Palaces: The number of gogos in Pattaya is set to keep rising if strong rumours, which have been circulating for some time, are true. The Thai boxing arena and the beer boozers around it in front of the Dollhouse gogo (Walking Street) and directly underneath the Marine late-night Disco are supposedly to be re-developed with the focus being on the construction of up to six dedicated dens of the chrome pole. The question no doubt on the lips of other bar owners must surely be, ‘where are all the dancers going to come from?' After all, most places struggle to attract sufficient dancers and many -most if the truth be known- employ a few ladies who could probably be charged with an offence against private property for the way they molest a chrome pole.

 

Expanding the Empire: The Dollhouse gogo, rightly marked as being the one that led the incredible resurgence of Walking Street a few short years ago, has changed hands. In the last week or so of April, the Dollhouse was taken over by a combination of the people who have been very successful with Club Boesche (Soi 16) and Captain Picard, the commander of the Living Dolls Showcase den. There are no plans to change the name, with the previous owners preferring to concentrate their attentions on The Dollhouse Bangkok (Soi Cowboy).

 

The new brooms plan on taking their time to revitalise what used to be one of Fun Town's better dens and at the time of going to press it's my understanding the place will have a party to celebrate the changeover around 5 May with talk of a dance contest a couple of nights later.

 

Regulars would have noticed the Dollhouse seemed to have lost its direction in recent times, but I've no doubt we'll be seeing some dramatic changes in coming months. For Captain Picard it must feel like a return to the time machine, as this was the place he commenced his career, as manager; now he returns as one of the owners.

 

Are You A Player? Located above the Mumbai boozer in the dog-leg section of Soi Marina Plaza, the Players late-night Disco should be well and truly open for business by the time you read this. The opening night, so I was told, was supposed to be on 28 April.

 

Once more, as with The Dollhouse, the venture is a combined effort between the operators of Club Boesche and Living Dolls Showcase. The place is not a gogo, it is designed more as an intimate style nightclub, along the lines of the very successful and popular Casino Club (Soi Diamond). I hope to have more information, and pictures, available for the next missive.

 

Parking Premium: Had an email from my reader who was upset at the cost of parking his car in the Tony's parking area near Walking Street. He was told the charge would be 30 baht, which he was happy to pay, but then informed it was 30 baht per hour. He decided this was an unacceptably high impost and drove off to find a spot on Second Road instead.

 

In fairness, I sent an email to the Tony's operation and they replied to the effect that as yet the land they are using as a car park at present is earmarked for further development, but while it is waiting for that development to commence they are offering it as the closest off-street parking to Walking Street, but at a premium. Their argument is that the land cost some 42 million baht and there are monthly expenses accruing, so in order to offset these they charge 30 baht an hour for parking. To put things in a little perspective, a four-hour parking charge would run to 120 baht, the price of one drink in many of the show dens around Walking Street.

 

Clubbed to the Point of Exhaustion: There has been, and is, a subtle but very definite change in the nightlife scene in Pattaya and Jomtien taking place with the opening of more and more late night Disco style venues. The Casino Club (Soi Diamond), Route 999 (Third Road), Players (Soi Marina Plaza) and at least two other joints set to open in and around Walking Street in the next few months are adding to the existing places such as Marine, Tony's, and Lucifers (all on Walking Street).

 

While there's no doubt the gogos will retain supremacy for some time to come, there are more and more under-40-year-olds making Pattaya a regular port of call, and many of them just love to party in both the dens and the head-banging joints. I have a feeling many of them think the girls they ‘pull' from the late-night places are ‘not really hookers'. A rose by any other name. At any rate, the competition on the night scene is set to keep growing as the places that are opening are getting classier and classier-looking.

 

One place that is taking its time to draw the crowds but is certainly worth a look, even if only for the terrace bar above the main area, is Echoes in the Jomtien Complex. Billing itself as a dance club, it opened in November 2005 and the management are aware it will take quite some time to build a solid and regular clientele, but they are prepared to put in the hard yards. The place is spacious and well-appointed, with free pool tables upstairs for customers and a nice terrace to sit and relax if you want to escape the music downstairs. A top-shelf liver waster runs to 130 baht, which may seem pricey except it comes in a big glass and thus represents better value than many similar establishments. Coffee and tea are 50 baht with lolly water at 65 baht, so prices are not outlandish.

 

Some New Spice on the Greeting Bench: The Spicy Girls gogo (Pattayaland Soi 1) started life just over six years ago with Martin -the Elephant Man- and Ewan in partnership. The den was previously known as Papillon and has been a feature of the Pattaya chrome pole palace landscape for about 13 years all up.

 

Martin sold out a couple of years back (he now runs the Ace Café in Jomtien, near the Hanuman Statue) and Panda took his place in the meting and greeting duties. Now Ewan has sold his share and as of the start of May Panda becomes the senior partner. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, are made to the format, but whatever happens I wish them all the best in what is becoming an increasingly tougher market for operators away from Walking Street.

 

Tired and Faded: If long-service medals are ever awarded to the damsels of the chrome pole then surely some of the first in line for a raft of decorations would be many of those employed by the Champion gogo (Walking Street). The place plays good music and always has and if you fancy obtaining an almost 100 percent view of stretch marks, dimples, pockmarks, and sagging protruding bits of the ageing practitioners of the art of chrome pole molestation, then Champion is the place for you. In an increasingly competitive market, the décor is desperately in need of a makeover, not only in terms of fixtures and fittings but of the staff. Lady drinks are now 105 baht; excellent value for the masochist.

 

Still Going Strong: Browsing through the latest edition of Pattaya Restaurants (email: info@pattayanightlife.de ), the free pocket street guide, I noticed an advertisement for Studio Café & Guesthouse, located on Naklua Soi 13. There are three items highlighted as features offered by the café: ‘cocktails, snacks & bargefluster'. I think the last time I contracted something that could be construed as a ‘bargefluster' I couldn't trust myself to be out of sight of a suitable lavatory facility.

 

The Pattaya Restaurants booklet is a sister publication to Pattaya Nightlife Guide, a perfect pocketbook for getting around the boozers and dens of Fun Town. Although I am no longer directly associated with the publication, and haven't been for a few years now, I am happy to say it continues to do the job for which it was intended: helping newcomers, and even regulars, easily find their way to the boozers of Pattaya. The booklet comes out every two months or so and is distributed free to mid-range hotels, boozers, nosheries and anywhere else there are liable to be people looking for a specific guide to the nightlife in Fun Town.

 

To Be Sure…An Indian-run, Irish Pub: The Ali Baba Indian noshery has been a feature of the Central Road landscape for many a long year and the premises right next door, which formerly housed the Sikh Indian owner's travel agent and tailor shop, is being renovated and is to be turned into an Irish-themed pub, along the lines of Shenanigans, Kilkenny and Jamieson's, although it will be smaller in size. There's no truth in the rumour the place will be named O'Grover's.

 

Piece of Pith: ‘Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.' –Oscar Wilde