bumblebee Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 First, I want to say that this forum has been a wealth of knowledge for me, thanks to all the contributors. I am travelling to Chiang Mai in July. On the topic of BF would it just be worth my while to hit the streets and look for a FL instead of the bars? and if so where would be a good place to start in Chiang Mai? Welcome to the forum Toppa, good to have you with us. I am sure Lung can give you the latest on the scene in CM as soon as he reads this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toppa Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Welcome to the forum Toppa, good to have you with us. I am sure Lung can give you the latest on the scene in CM as soon as he reads this. Cool, thanks. Well appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibound Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 No doubt we are witnessing a change in the way naughty encounters are arranged in Los. The old tried and trusted formula of either a bar fine for safety or taking your chances with a freelancer from the street no longer applies all the time I feel. Most of the popular girls have profiles on Facebook and dating sites where out of work hour rendezvous can be easily arranged. Add into the mix the rise in smart phones where guys can find a girl while surfing the net sitting on a deckchair on the beach for example, and the need to go to a bar and part with dwindling funds becomes less appealing to many I think it's fair to say. This online/smartphone no-bar-necessary 'dating' formula you describe as the next wave in thailand already works beautifully in the philippines (with big help from sites like DIA and PinaLove, etc). I agree it's growing in LOS as well but i believe there are two main barriers to its universality there-- the limited english of the girls/lbs in thailand make it difficult/impossible to get to know the girls through conversation prior to meeting and thus often requires a face-to-face rendezvous prior to "room service" -- and where better to overcome the language barrier than in a bar? and historically, the whole social milieu of mongering in LOS seems to center around the bars/beer gardens/pool tables where mates can ogle in packs before choosing (or being chosen), whereas in the Philippines, while these bars exist, i'd wager there are more of them in pattaya alone than in all 7000+ islands of the philippines. maybe some clever entrepreneur will create a hybrid internet shop/go-go bar/speed-dating cafe where this transition can be captured for profit in the fast-approaching post-barfine age. it would, of course, be an integral part of any members-only gentlemans club/pizzeria/gym/microbrewery/sportsbar in which anyone i happened to know might wish to become a charter member.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luung Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 First, I want to say that this forum has been a wealth of knowledge for me, thanks to all the contributors. I am travelling to Chiang Mai in July. On the topic of BF would it just be worth my while to hit the streets and look for a FL instead of the bars? and if so where would be a good place to start in Chiang Mai? Hi Toppa, I've always said to visiting BM's/FM's that Chiang Mai's predominantly a freelance scene, based mainly around Muan Muang (Thape Gate Rd) & that's where you'll get all the best looking LBs... Plus this scene stays open till the last man standing or the BIB moves everyone along!.. (Currently the BIB is having an early closing clamp down in the bars). Loi Khroy, is the main bar area & it has got 3 full on LB bars & more than a handful which are either mixed or have at least 1 LB's in the crew... I know most of the talent in the bars all too well & in the main part they're a bit too battle weary for me... All that’s left in the bars nowdays seem to be the lame, infirmed & non internet savvie numb nuts! There’s some ‘good enough’ freelance venues too, best one (IMO) being 'Zowie in Yellow', an outdoor dance club in the Reggea Bar complex, Rachawitti Rd (which is the last major turning off Moon Mueang before you get to the north east corner of the moat). CMX is absolutely saturated with LB's & you just wouldn't believe the amount of freelancers frequenting the place... I left a bar at 5.30am the other morning & I must have seen about 15 freelancers still plying their trade, desperate for a customer!!.. And it was fuckin’ daylight with monks walking around collecting with alms bowls Anyway... I say go for both! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toppa Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Hi Toppa, I've always said to visiting BM's/FM's that Chiang Mai's predominantly a freelance scene, based mainly around Muan Muang (Thape Gate Rd) & that's where you'll get all the best looking LBs... Plus this scene stays open till the last man standing or the BIB moves everyone along!.. (Currently the BIB is having an early closing clamp down in the bars). Loi Khroy, is the main bar area & it has got 3 full on LB bars & more than a handful which are either mixed or have at least 1 LB's in the crew... I know most of the talent in the bars all too well & in the main part they're a bit too battle weary for me... All that’s left in the bars nowdays seem to be the lame, infirmed & non internet savvie numb nuts! There’s some ‘good enough’ freelance venues too, best one (IMO) being 'Zowie in Yellow', an outdoor dance club in the Reggea Bar complex, Rachawitti Rd (which is the last major turning off Moon Mueang before you get to the north east corner of the moat). CMX is absolutely saturated with LB's & you just wouldn't believe the amount of freelancers frequenting the place... I left a bar at 5.30am the other morning & I must have seen about 15 freelancers still plying their trade, desperate for a customer!!.. And it was fuckin’ daylight with monks walking around collecting with alms bowls Anyway... I say go for both! Lung your a fuckn legend. The insight is well appreciated. I'm going to visit at the end of July and I will definitely report back how my adventure went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tictac Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Hi Toppa, I've always said to visiting BM's/FM's that Chiang Mai's predominantly a freelance scene, based mainly around Muan Muang (Thape Gate Rd) & that's where you'll get all the best looking LBs... Plus this scene stays open till the last man standing or the BIB moves everyone along!.. (Currently the BIB is having an early closing clamp down in the bars). Loi Khroy, is the main bar area & it has got 3 full on LB bars & more than a handful which are either mixed or have at least 1 LB's in the crew... I know most of the talent in the bars all too well & in the main part they're a bit too battle weary for me... All that’s left in the bars nowdays seem to be the lame, infirmed & non internet savvie numb nuts! There’s some ‘good enough’ freelance venues too, best one (IMO) being 'Zowie in Yellow', an outdoor dance club in the Reggea Bar complex, Rachawitti Rd (which is the last major turning off Moon Mueang before you get to the north east corner of the moat). CMX is absolutely saturated with LB's & you just wouldn't believe the amount of freelancers frequenting the place... I left a bar at 5.30am the other morning & I must have seen about 15 freelancers still plying their trade, desperate for a customer!!.. And it was fuckin’ daylight with monks walking around collecting with alms bowls Anyway... I say go for both! thanks for the useful information...encouraging to visit chiang mai.....CM...wait for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i personally hate to date online.....do not mind to pay barfine...but 700 bath in Cm seems too far from any logic...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 The Euro is going south and many popular currencies are following, time to cut corners again when out for a night of fun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimslim Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Looks like it ! The pound has been gradually slipping against the Baht for the last 6 months its down to around 50 again now . How the Baht stays strong is one of the mysteries of the universe , in a country that stumbles from one crisis and coup to another it doesn't seem to vary much . I gave up years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenton42 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 THB is a boutique currency, and the Bank of Thailand sits on a mountain of USD, which they use to prop up the THB when needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumblebee Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 This should make uncomfortably viewing for our non USA members. And there was a further drop later in the afternoon after I took that shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba8221 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Well, as one who lives by the dollar, I know I won't get sympathy from my euro brothers, but it's always pissed me off the way the currency is manipulated here. When I came back to live here for part of the year the baht was at 42. Had been for years. Then it started to strengthen. I was dealing in large sums of money at that time, and the baht going nuts was very bad for me. Then the coup hit and I thought I saw hope. Fucking thing just got stronger. When it finally went below 30 I thought it was all over. Who could afford, or want to live in a place like this, with that cost of living? I guess I should be happy it settled around 32. I find little consolation with 33. Well above 35 would be more like it. But I guess they won't let that happen. Oh, and just for the record, when the discussion of the exchange rate comes up I frequently hear people say (not necessarily on this board) something like "be glad it's not at 25 or so, where it was in the '80's". Well, as one who was here in the '80's I can tell you you cannot compare a B25 = $1 to what we have today. Things were GREAT back then, due to a whole different pricing scale. It's been a long time, but best I can recall drinks in bars, both for guys and ladies, were around B30 - B40, max. And that was Patpong, the highest prices. At least that's what I remember. Bottom line, B25 = $1 in the '80's was more like B40 = $1 today. If anyone was here at the time and remembers better, please post! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba8221 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 One more reference of pricing/cost of living change. I'm up in Chiang Mai. Groceries are a good indicator. Back at the same time around B42-$1 I could go into the local "western style" supermarket up here and my basket seldom went above B1000. We shop a couple of times a week, so it was not a lot of stuff, but a mix of local produce (I know, it's cheaper at the 'local' markets) and some western items (milk, cheese, butter). Then the baht started getting stronger, and to exacerbate the issue, this is around the time oil hit $150@barrel. Same groceries, I could not get out of the check out for under B1000. So, in maybe a year, or less, went from B800 for my groceries to B1200. In anyone's book, that's huge. The only consolation is here we are, what, five years or so after $150 oil and I'm still paying under B1500 for my groceries. But we use the local market for most produce and such. And, I guess a drink in a bar has not gone up too too much since then. Though some bar fines have. But I'm guessing the powers won't let the baht take the correct hit because there's lots of bigshot business owners with a lot of foreign debt. The baht goes down, the bigshots get hurt badly. When the financial crisis hit Thailand way back (in the '90's?) and the baht sank to 42, the only telecom company to survive was Thaksin's (AIS). I can't remember the details exactly, but he shed his debt before the fall, and his competitors were driven out of business by debt that doubled or tripled overnight. Ah.... the power of the few. That Thaksin is a shrewd operator! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1954 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Think that sounds like a fair description of the Beer Garden in Bangkok. Had the same thought but LB are missing in beer garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRIGG Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Barfines seam to be double in bangkok compared to pattaya , 600 at darkside and only 300 at 69 bar in pattaya , some differance that . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenton42 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 FFS... Isn't 69 a beer bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRIGG Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Ladyboy bar with staff and freelancers working there . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenton42 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 It's a beer bar. BFs *should* be less expensive there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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