Pattaya Nightlife News and Reviews

You've got to feel sorry for those who are trying to run a bar in Jomtien where new bar hours are being enforced.

There's a new sheriff in town and he sent his deputy to explain the new thinking to a meeting of bar owners.

The outcome was that as long as outside lights are off and music is turned off a blind eye would be turned. It should be added that several bars in Soi Welcome were raided after midnight last week and the owners taken to court where they were fined 5,000 baht for not having the correct license. But in typical local style, when they asked where they could purchase said license they were told by the court that it does not exist!

Byblos A-GoGo at the Pratamnak end of Soi Diamond re-opened on 27th June 2009

There are now 77 bars with girls dancing in bikinis or less

The well known owner of the popular Rock House on Soi LK Metro hit a customer with a bottle causing a gash to his head.

The incident arose out of an ongoing argument between bar owner Alex (posting as Mulphy on Pattaya forums) and a board member using the handle Fondles.

The argument was said to be aggressive but verbal. At one point Alex said he felt threatened and Glaswegian survival reflexes kicked in, he overreacted and struck out with a bottle.

Fondles made a quick exit but was further attacked outside by the bar owners friends.

No serious injuries were sustained and the protagonists are reported to have reached a settlement.

This was the only time this has occurred in several years of running the bar.

Casnovy is located on Walking Street towards the Beach Road end

I had read a couple of forum postings that Casnovy had declined a little. The bar still seemed to be doing fine to me but saying that the dancers that I know there were nowhere to be seen.

But all was not lost, I know service girls there too, and I was soon set up with an attractive replacement. She proved good company and so I had a good session.

The bar has plenty of girls both dancing and on hostess duty. Chatting to my service friend it seems that service staff aren't allowed to sit with customers. I thought this was a bit strange as there well enough servers to cover for a couple staff taking time out to sit with the customers.

Beer prices are reasonable and the music wasn't quite so loud as during previous visits.

So still on my list of gogos well worth a visit.

Naughty Girls is located on Soi Diamond

Now a very traditional gogo with not really much going on except the stage full of girls. The bar still seems to err by having too many girls dancing and not really enough on hostess duty. But better ratios then about a year ago.

There are about 10 girls on stage and most are bikini clad with a few topless. Probably about average for Pattaya but that means there are several that are attractive. The dance roster is too long and if your girls says I go dance, then the best reply is : ok I go check bin.

From what I have seen recently the bar is struggling for customers. I've not really helped out much by staying for a second drink, I have been ignored, double teamed and targeted by the bar oldie.

The draft beer is reasonably priced.

The bar is not a million miles away from getting it right but at the moment is does not seem a roaring success.

Air Port Club is centrally located on Walking Street opposite Soi Diamond

The bar must be doing something right as it is very busy during a very low season.

The bar is closest in feel to What's Up. It has half the bar devoted to gogo dancing on a small set of stages and then at the back of the bar it has a water feature and play stage with girls doing a continuous naughty show. And in common with What's Up it has the Thai run potential to be a bit overly ruthless on the quest for money.

The gogo dancers were mostly bikini clad with an odd one taking her top off. The prettier girls were assigned to the fun stages at the back and were generally having fun with the customers willing to feedback the fun.

The service staff make a mark with their fetching air stewardess uniforms which definitely add a unique atmosphere to the bar.

Byblos A-GoGo at the Pratamnak end of Soi Diamond is reported to have closed. As yet unclear whether this is down to lack of trade or maybe a police closure. There's an unlikely sounding 'closed for renovation' sign on the door.

The target audience for bells & whistles shows though has been hard hit by economic, political and flu woes.

Some of the ByBlos girls were said to have moved to Club Boesché but may have moved on already.

There are now 76 bars with girls dancing in bikinis or less

Sexy A-GoGo is on Soi 7 a few metres from 2nd Road

The bar is a small and narrow and is a little inconsistent but I find this generally a pleasant bar to have a drink or two.

I've had to shoo away a few oldies in my time but there also a couple of pretty dancers and the staff are friendly too.

There's usually 4 dancers either topless or bikini clad depending on the preferences of the girls. There are then 4 to 6 girls waiting their turn on hostess duty.

Draft beer has been 50 Baht for a while, undercutting the neighbourhood price of 65 Baht.

In a low key, no hassle sort of way, this is the friendliest gogo in the Soi 7/8 locale. Probably not the sort of place where you could whoop it up though.

Smoke & Mirrors is a new short time bar on Soi 6 next to Love Club

The bar has connections with Quicky Bar, another recent bar on Soi 6. It shares the idea of having an open drinking section out front for those that like to watch Soi 6 go by. And an aircon inside are for those who prefer a bit more privacy for their choice of entertainment. No doubt the design will come into its own should ever the smoking ban get enforced.

The drinks counter is actually in the outside section but there is also an unused bar in the inside room. The inside room features the expected comfortable seating and plenty of large mirrors on the wall. I am told that large wall mirrors feature in the short time rooms too.

The drinks prices were reasonable and the bar seems well run.

The bin appeared with the drinks which is something that is happening less and less on Soi 6. Not having the bin available for inspection is an incredibly tempting opportunity for bill padding. So it is something I particularly look out for these days.

I am a bit doubtful about the name though, in my dictionary Smoke & Mirrors means: "something that is intended to draw attention away from something else that somebody would prefer remain unnoticed". I was a bit worried that my girl may therefore turn out to be a boy...but that surely wasn't the case.

Monk development organisations have urged the government to implement the law to prohibit the sale of alcohol drinks on major religious holidays, starting from the July 7 Asanha Puja Day.

Some 30 representatives of 14 organisations and the Alcohol Watch Network in Bangkok submitted to Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai a request for Thai government to push forwards the ban of alcohol sales on the Makha Puja, Visakha Puja, and Asanha Puja days as well as the Buddhist Lent Day (Khao Phunsa).

The group also asked the ministry to spearhead a campaign to promote public's recognition of the National No Alcohol Day [which I think is Buddhist Lent Day]

The main are generally closed on Buddhist days but at the moment this is at he request of the authorities and recently bars have been pushing their luck and opening anyway.

Kiss Kool is a short time bar with bikini dancing girls. It is located towards the Beach Road end of Soi 6.

Can't say I got a very friendly reception on my last visit. I smiled at a pretty girl sitting outside only to find that she was a newbie and had a friend acting as a minder. I wasn't very enamoured by the uninvited minder and indicated that I found 3 to be a crowd. The minder didn't take it well and decided that the bar had just implemented a no lady drink - no company policy and she whisked the original girl away on that pretext.

I sorted it out but the incident rather soured the visit.

But at least the bar has a fair few girls, the drinks are reasonably priced and the decor is good.

Shark Club A-GoGo has entrances at Soi 15 just off Walking Street and Soi Diamond

The recently merged Shark A-GoGo/Shark Club still seems to be finding its feet with a pretty variable experience depending on the day of the week.

Although the bar is knocked through the, two ends of the bar still have a different feel, presumably down to having a mamasang for each end of the bar.

I very much recommend the Club end of the bar (ie above Super Girl). For some reason the girls are far more likely to seek out a few tips and hands on fun at that end of the bar. The girls at Soi 15 entrance end seem to be solitary creatures.

Both ends of the bar suffer from an over long dance roster of at least 7 dance songs. I tend to take this is a cue to move on.

The music is always of the dance variety but wildly random volume levels make for very different experiences. Sometimes it is very loud, similar to Casnovy and sometimes the music is kept down. One has to suspect that it's something to do with the boss being present or not.

Anyway I have certainly had a few good sessions mostly at the Club end of the bar and it is definitely on my regular circuit.

Club Mistys is located on Soi 15 just off Walking Street

I still drop by for the occasional look see but never stay long because the dancing ratio doesn't really give the customers a fair chance for much time with the girls. Whenever I have dropped by there are many more girls dancing than hostessing such that the girls were only hanging around for 3 dances before starting on another 6 dance stint.

Just a personal taste thing, and I did see a large party who were clearly enjoying themselves. The trick being to be able to have a good banter with your mates whilst the girls are away for the majority of their time. Then you can spoil the girls rotten for the short time that they are at your side.

There's an affable host on hand for a chat should you not bring your mates with you.

Most things are spot on about the bar. It looks good, there are some good looking girls and they take off plenty of clothes when dancing. Drinks are reasonable with a plenty of happy hour options too.

Club Nevada is located at the beach end of Pattaya Soi 13/2 (Soi Post Office)

There were about 12 girl in the bar of which 6 were dancing. Of the 6, usually half are naked and the others prefer bikinis. They dance to rock music which sometimes features long tracks, so the dancing stint can often be overly long. There are usually a few good looking girls, but there also the inevitable off-Walking Street heavies.

The girls now seem to prefer their own company rather than circulate seeking the company of customers. Maybe it is better in the afternoon, but my recent early evening visits have been lonely affairs.

The drinks prices are reasonable at 50 Baht or a draft Chang and 60 Baht for a draft Heineken. Served in a good sized glass too.

The hosts for the re-opening of this small bar will be familiar with anybody that has been to BJ Club. The manager there and the mamasang seem to have done a good job at the poorly located BJ Club, so perhaps they can do something with a notoriously difficult small narrow bar.

The opening night perhaps demonstrates some of the problems. There were perhaps a couple of dozen girls in the bar with 4 on the central stage and a couple doing their own thing in the Jacuzzi. By the time the owners mates had claimed the best girls, then there weren't enough left to entertain the rest of the customers. No doubt on following days there will prove to be too many girls. It is hard to maintain a happy medium for a small bar

There were quite a good team of girls for an opening day, probably a few from BJ Club. They mostly danced in bikinis but a couple lost their tops.

Draft beer was 45 Baht. Heineken was 90 Baht and Thai whiskey at 80 Baht.

There are now 77 bars with girls dancing in bikinis or less.

In the early hours of Thursday Morning a one-off clean-up operation on Pattaya Beach took place whereby officers were given orders to round-up as many suspected prostitutes as possible.

During the 2 hour operation a total of 105 people were arrested including 103 women and 2 transsexuals.

They were all packed into a processing room at Pattaya Police Station and paid fines of between 100 and 200 Baht and were then sent on their way with a stern warning not to be seen on Pattaya Beach again.

Sexy Soi Six has just been renamed Sex in the City. Not sure whether this reflects a change of ownership.

Meanwhile on Soi 15, there are signs of activity at the Fun Room. A small gogo next to Misty's that has been closed for quite a while.

Nana Bar on Soi Honey has gone dark.

There's a new bar opened in Soi 6 next door to Love Club.

Not tried yet but it is a single unit presumably short time bar that follows the recent trend set by new bars Quicky & Soho. It has a small area out front for those that like to drink outside or take a cigarette and then the more traditional inside aircon area.

We Are No 1 is located on Thappraya Road near to Jomtien Beach.

The bar seems to have scaled down a bit since my last visit and no longer opens on weekday afternoons.

There were also a few less girls dancing.

But as always, the bar does very little in making me interested in what's on offer. They had 6 of the nine girls dancing. Below average and overdressed in bikinis. Hardly riveting stuff.

But because the bar has so many girls dancing, then there is hardly any opportunity for a chat with lady drinks for the girls.

However it does provide a little aircon and a place to rest one's wearing legs after a stroll along the beach. The staff are friendly enough, the drinks are reasonable and there's no hassle.

They really need to get half the bar curtained off, and so cut back the number of girls dancing. Then they might find a bit more time for the customers. Who knows? a few guys may even then come back for a return visit.

 

Club Sin City is the newly opened gogo in the Covent Garden venue on Soi 16 previously home to Black & White, Taboo and Babe Watch.

Club Sin City brings the tally of Pattaya/Jomtien bars with girls dancing in bikinis or less to 76.

I can't say I enjoyed my first visit much, I seemed to get hassled by some of the oldest gripes in the book.

But first the basics. The bar is more or less the same layout as last seen for Black & White. There's a large central stage, a cage stage, like Peppermint ,which was unused as was the swimming tank. The inevitable Jacuzzi was in operation with a couple of girls soaping themselves down.

There were a decent amount of girls in attendance with quite a busy stage show of 8 dancers. The girls were dancing for 8 songs which is way too long for those waiting for girls who 'go dance'.

The girls were average which means that there were several that would surely be escorting customers home. Not a bad team for the 2nd night of a gogo. The gogo dancers were a bit shy though, only one took off her top to dance.

There is a draft beer at 65 Baht.

Perhaps the staff were a bit over keen, being near the opening but I found my self getting a bit hassled. There were 2 mamasangs working the floor and they were friendly enough to introduce themselves. One clicked her fingers and 2 girls appeared at my side. I always consider it bad manners to be doubled teamed, I take it as a set up for hassle. Anyway I sent one girl away and spoke a few words to the other. The girl, a server, and one of the mamasangs were unduly quick to push for a lady drink. And no wonder they were so quick, at the next song, it was the girls turn to dance (for 8 songs!).

Perhaps I was just unlucky with timing.

ByBlos is located in Soi Diamond at the Pratamnak Road end

I heard rumours that some of the girls that had previously moved on from Coyotee's A-GoGo had ended up in By-Blos. And indeed, the downstairs bar is now boasting 10 or so very pretty girls. I can't say I recognised any of them though.

They also have made a good improvement in that some of the girls now dance naked.

I was also intrigued by the booth that was curtained off, surely looks a promising idea.

I would have stayed longer but the girls didn't seem to be overly interested in customers and the 65 Baht draft beer was a bit off. But interesting enough to schedule in another visit.

Stork Club is a hostess bar located on Pratamnak Road on the slope up the hill heading out of Pattaya.

Something of a Pattaya hit judging by the amount of customers at 7pm. Perhaps it is down to the plush decor. Or perhaps down to the ready availability of girls.

But hostess bars are never a success for me. Somehow the girls willing to mingle in my direction, are the ones that I wish would stay away.

The bar had the complete range of girls from the desirable to the not.

GoGos have the advantage of the stage being a focus point where smiles and body language can effect the introductions that you prefer. This bar only seems to have girls hiding in dark corners where you can't see them and they can't see you.

All this bar needs is some sort of pick up point where unattached customers can select from the unattached girls.

Drinks prices seemed reasonable at around the 90 Baht mark.

The latest addition to the GoGo list is Sin City A-GoGo. This will open in the Covenet Garden complex on Soi 16 just off Walking Street.

Surely a bit of a challenge though as previous GoGos there haven't lasted, Babe Watch, Taboo and Black & White.

The bar is set to open on Friday 5th June and will be the 76th Pattaya bar with girls dancing in bikinis or less.

The vindictive German co-owner of a Pattaya bar, outraged that his Thai partner had rejected him, sought vengeance, on 3 June 2009, by going to her new place of work, a beer bar in Soi 6, and slashing her neck in full view of customers and staff. He escaped immediately afterwards and police are still searching for him

Arriving at the bar, the police found a crowd of onlookers, both Thai and foreigners, gathered around. The victim, Miss. Sairoong Boonsomtop, [27], a waitress at the bar, had a 20 cm.-wide wound on her neck. The heavily bleeding wound was so deep that it had nearly reached her trachea. She was rushed to Pattaya International Hospital.

The actual attack happened while Miss Sairoong was playing snooker with a foreign customer in the bar. Miss Sairoong's partner, Mr Harry had apparently approached her from behind, held her in a neck lock and then slashed her neck with a knife, splashing blood everywhere right in front of everybody. Harry had apparently then run away to the end of the soi, caught a motorbike taxi and sped away.

Questioning Miss Sairoong's friends, police were told that Mr. Harry was the co-owner of the Poppy Beer Bar in Pattaya Soi 6. He was apparently a jealous individual who was always drunk. [The word on the Street is that it was Red Point Bar].

The police will continue their search for the suspect and arrest him as soon as possible.

New Star is located in Soi Diamond, a few paces from Walking Street.

The odds of an enjoyable visit seem to have diminished.

There are some unattractive girls who do the circulating around the customers. There are a few attractive girls but they seem locked to the stools at the door presumably to entice passers by.

The net result is that this has become a bar that does not deliver. And there's plenty of nearby bars that do biz.

If you are lucky enough to get one of the pretty girls at your side, then the bar can be quite hands on.

I think the location is excellent for the bar. It is the first bar in Soi Diamond and you see an avenue of touts ahead of you. It is then so easy to just dart in the first one rather than run the gauntlet of quite hasslesome touts.

The bar probably does a steady trade in people tempted in, but who stay just for one drink.

The row of shops previously housing Pinky Girl A-GoGo has been gutted and is now taking shape as a beer bar complex.

Bookings for the 15 bars are now being taken. There's still a few unsold just a few metre's down the street where Voodoo A-GoGo used to be.