IMHO - Pattaya's LB Bars in flux

[thaibound]

The first month of my current sojourn to Thailand has been marked by LB bars hosting a series of exceptional parties. Uncertain whether this is a new trend in Pattaya or all of the LOS--or just in my own head. Or maybe it's fortuitous timing that DT had a birthday so near to the GOTC reunion and almost simultaneous with the unveiling of Anaconda and Baby Boom and the revelatory resurgence of Famous Bar.

Whatever the case, i feel lucky to have been amongst though celebrating in Pattaya over this past month. Quite an improvement from my first, long-ago holiday in the "sewer by the sea". Fact is, every visit to Pattaya has, for me, been better than the one before--and what more could one ask in search of enjoyment and escape and expanding adventure in this land of ladyboys and lust? So much has it improved that i am now forced to rank Pattaya --despite its depressing lack of any useful body of water--as my very favorite first holiday destination. While I'm sure I will eventually require escape to some relatively isolated Koh -- be it Chang or Samui or Tao -- if I had to pick just one, as the saying goes, I'd pick Pattaya.

Just don't make me pick just one ladyboy. Or just one bar. Because it is the immense difficulty of just that choice which now makes Pattaya number one. I remember a detailed trip suggestion (on some now deservedly defunct board) written for first-timers by the learned Socrates where he outlined a "full day" in Pattaya in which he covered virtually *every* LB Bar in town, with a massage parlor or two thrown in where there *might* be an LB working. Maybe. On a good day. And that was not so long ago, my newbie friends (I believe I am still a "Newbie" here, am I not?), not so long ago at all.

But now--there are massage parlors which seem to be staffed almost entirely by LB's (opposite Stringfellow's on soi 13/1); there are "a ladyboy or two" at scores--if not hundreds--of bars throughout the town, from Naklua to Jomtien and virtually every place in between; and there are more bars devoted solely to ladyboys than one could possibly visit for a drink in a single day--unless you were Charles Bukowski--or Dave Duke.

I think this reflects a growing fascination by more of the mainstream world with our favorite "tribe" of humanity, although I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that it reflects any greater "acceptance"--no more than a concurrent expansion in society's interest in the world of S&M/B&D portends any preacher publicly praising the hot little Mistress with the whip to whom he submits behind locked doors. But maybe it's a start. And, in the meantime, it's a veritable bonanza to those of us already in the fold. So, while we hope it eventually benefits those for whom we lust, for now, it most certainly benefits us--more than reason enough to throw a party. Or three.

But as I party I can not but help to reflect on a few of the less positive changes I see around me. One of which is the increased apathy of a large number of those ladyboys who work that ever-growing number of bars. The expansion has necessitated a larger staff, and that increase inevitably brings forth a wider range of looks and attitudes and reasons-to-be-here amongst that staff. And many--perhaps too many--of that staff now find themselves suffering due to what I believe is a coincidentally simultaneous downtown in the economy--just as there has been an upturn in interest. I'll stop before I veer to far afield into economic theory, but the bottom line for me here is that there are a lot of ladyboys in a lot of bars who --due to whatever limitations of beauty, charm, linguistic skills, or simple interest -- do not get enough interest from customers, who do not get enough barfines, and who do not make enough money to maintain the lifestyle they thought they would achieve (by selling their bodies and pretending to love strangers) --and this general rebuff from most customers feeds upon itself leading to a less-than-welcoming attitude toward all customers. And as this attitude spreads from one unbarfined girl to the next, it appears to take hold in a form similar to Freud's view of "mob" behavior to the point that one or two of the "top" girls will get the attention, the drinks, the barfines, the money, and the rest will have to split the left-overs. I would almost compare it to Occupy Wall Street's view of the 99% versus the 1%, though it's probably more like 20% versus 80% -- the dichotomy is still vast. And the "mob" of girls at a bar doing poor business--even for just a few weeks as many of the girls rent day-to-day, live hand-to-mouth, and a month without barfines might well mean a return to the farm.

As an object lesson in this behavior I would point to Pook6 and Anaconda. Two years ago Pook6 was my very favorite bar in Pattaya. Many, many attractive girls. Most with very friendly smiles and in a wide range of shapes and sizes, each with her own unique appeal, running a glorious spectrum of pulchritude and exoticism for would-be customers. A large open space, reasonably-priced drinks, a decent and available pool table, a good view of the ever-active soi it fronts--all combined to create a fine spot to hang with buds to begin--or end--an evening. And now, Anaconda would seem to offer many of those same attributes--epitomized by the two large, well-attended, well-managed, and very enjoyable parties held there this past month.

But my last several visits to Pook6 have been welcomed by more scowls than frowns. My very last visit I sat down and ordered a beer and before I had even received my beer, before I had begun to take the edge off the heat from the walk to the bar, before I'd barely settled my ass onto the stool--three girls and the bartender had all asked me to buy them a drink. I'm sorry. That's just not what I'm looking for in a bar. Or in a girl.

I remember earlier trips to Pook where the girls would all smile when I smiled, and wait for me to beckon before approaching, and offer to play pool with me--or surrender the table should I wish to play with my friend. But these last few visits the girls were more intent on their own lb vs lb pool game than on any entertainment I might desire. And if I wasn't going to buy them a drink before I knew their name, then they had no interest in my ever learning their name. And I believe (again, this is IMHO, so flame away) this is because they have become used to not being bought drinks. They have grown accustomed to customers saying "no". They now expect that if they aren't one of the most "popular" 2 or 3 girls in the bar, then the odds are huge that they will end the night as they began it--over-dressed and alone. So they begin to feel their only chance is to leap quickly, leap before the rest, and occasionally they'll nail some frightened newbie customer who'll say yes without thinking to the first hot amazon to lay an arm around his shoulder or a big hand upon his trembling thigh. And I suppose that must work just enough to encourage its being repeated. Again and again. Maybe it only gets them one drink or two all night, but that's better than the zero drinks the less-aggressive and not-most-attractive girls obtain.

But I could be wrong.

But I don't think so. Because I see more to the pattern. The parties.

The GOTC party was held at Pook6 and to my mind was a well-run and enjoyable affair, but it lacked in one department--and in that department, it lacked in a big way. The party was held upstairs at Pook6--but not a single girl from Pook6 seemed to find it worth her trouble to climb the stairs and join the party. Now, perhaps there were circumstances, restrictions or instructions of which I have no knowledge which were the cause/justification for that oversight, but I think not. I think the apathy was too great to climb those narrow stairs on the off-chance that someone, somewhere might buy them a drink, or perhaps, later barfine them--all in return for their simply taking a few minutes to be a charming hostess without immediate recompense. The buy-me-a-drink-first attitude had reached it's ultimate culmination and they weren't about to take the time and trouble to entertain guys, most of whom would undoubtedly not be staying to buy drinks much less barfines. And that desire not to stay was only reinforced by the lack of any interest shown by the girls to have them do otherwise.

Now compare that to the parties held at Anaconda, on nights just before and after the GOTC party. At Anaconda the girls were everywhere. Ever-present, immensely friendly without being pushy. The service girls were gorgeous, efficient, ever-available, and had they not been such lookers, would have been completely unobtrusive--and for that particular failure on their part, I could not be more thankful. The Anaconda girls were assisted by Guess Bar beauties "flown in" for the occasion, and they seemed more than willing to take their cues from their more-experienced co-workers, and despite the occasional sound of a glass being dropped in the distance, it all seemed to go swimmingly. I know i enjoyed it and heard nothing but positive remarks from anyone else. And even managed to score one of the hostesses to enhance the beauty of my own room at the end of the evening. I saw nothing jaded in any of their performances--despite the fact that a number of the girls had spent a fair amount of time at Guess Bar already. So it is possible to maintain a positive attitude which will do nothing but increase the positive return which will in turn increase the positive attitude. And so on.

But danger lurks.

Upon my most recent visit to Anaconda I found myself absolutely alone amongst 7 or 8 hostesses. Not a single customer in sight. Perhaps it was the time of night (10pm) or the day of the week (thursday) or the time of the month (no, it wasn't the time of the month). I'm not sure why the bar was empty, but I am certain that as i looked around at the faces of the girls--and a few of them were more than a little attractive, so it wasn't as though there was no eye-candy left in the bar--I saw few smiles. Two of them played pool and ignored me. A few them texted and ignored me. One of them grabbed me and--well, that's another story, but the bottom line here is, while I realize it would be difficult to maintain the welcoming smile--and while I myself disdain fake smiles when in private conversation--it may be almost necessary to require it of those who require a customer's interest to make a living--for themselves and for their bar--or else they may never find that interest, nor obtain that income, nor support themselves or their bar.

I'm hoping Pook6 rebounds. And I'm hoping Anaconda lifts itself back up to the heights of its recent parties--although it appears the "best" of the Anaconda girls have been absconded to Guess Bar--almost enough to make me move to Bangkok, but not quite. Not with all the other available alternatives here in Pattaya now. But in the meantime other upstarts vie for our customer-dollars. I've already written elsewhere at the near-stunning resurgence at Famous Bar--and don't want to encourage too much more competition on that front anyway--but I can also add that I have been taken aback by the beauty I've seen at more bars than I could mention here. From Koyo at walking street to Family in Naklua. From the Soi Bukoaw section including Pook and Baby Boom, down Diana to New Orn and old Orn and more. Across 2nd road to LaBamba and Stringfellows. Down 2nd road to Sois 7 and 8 with yet more Family Bars, and So Nice and Luxor and UK and on and on. And I couldn't even name all the LB Bars on Soi 6--although I'm sure more than a few of our posters could.

So I'm old and jaded and I see all the dark linings, but even I have to say--it's a helluva time to be meeting ladyboys in Pattaya, my friend. A helluva time. We just need to be sure we keep them employed or 2012 might be remembered as the Boom Year, like the world economy before the Bust. I hope the ladyboy bars have not over-expanded and will soon, of necessity, shrink and retrench. I hope my next visit to Pattaya will prove to be even more eye-opening than my current visit. I hope so. But we're going to need each other's help to make that happen. We're going to have to keep buying those drinks and paying those barfines. But for that to happen, first we're going to need a whole lot more smiles from the would-be girls of our dreams. At least, IMHO.

[SiamSam]

Great piece thaibound! I think you are spot on.

It's interesting you compare Pook Soi 6 to Anaconda. DT and I were debating where to hold GOTC lll, 2013 and Anaconda is certainly a contender. I hope to get to Planet Pattaya sometime in March or April. I'll do the rounds and check out the scene which appears by all accunts to be cooking.

[mardhi]

I posted something on LB-69 about 6 weeks ago with my take on Pattaya v BKK and how the scene will be changing and probably not for the better. Your take is pretty similar to mine in the overall concern that its not sustainable and as always the market determines the results. The Anaconda girls who were offered the chance of switching to BKK - all did so, knowing exactly who they would be working with (they had all met each other at various events) and how tough the competition is in BKK, but so are the relative rewards. Of the 11 that went, only 1 has returned.

By the way, Soi 7 last night had no power from 8pm in multiple bars due to a huge transformer blowing - I am surprised they were even still there at 10pm lol.

It should also come as no surprise about 'parties' springing up left, right & centre - they are loss leader events for the most part and call me old fashioned but I just expect something 'special' to happen at a party - not just the same old routines as a normal daily opening. When Anaconda does one - its a special not repeating theme and typically includes a live band or some other focus. That is why they have not joined in the medley of events taking place at the moment - its cool if there is a well thought out special theme but other than that - why bother?

[duke007]

Great piece Tommy ya crazy dude

[deepthroat]

TB, that is one amazing opp-ed piece you've put together there.

I think you're spot-on in your assessment. Hopefully things work out for the girls but right now the confluence of events has created a firestorm of oversupply and undersupport, which you would think bodes well for us. Instead, the result is often that which you describe - sullen and desultory attempts at anything related to "customer service" as the girls are so dispirited.

More than anything else, I wanted to thank you for the following, which will be bouncing around in the empty recesses of my cranium for years to come:

"They now expect that if they aren't one of the most 'popular' 2 or 3 girls in the bar, then the odds are huge that they will end the night as they began it--over-dressed and alone"

[SiamSam]

Same same for me.

It doesn't matter if I am over-dressed, under-dressed, or not dressed at all. I simply cannot shake that "alone" thing.

[Jimslim]

Pretty good synopsis of the state of play there Thaibound .

Too many ladyboys in search of fools gold and bad attitudes abound .

And yet the smart ones with good attitudes still do OK , no matter if they are lookers or not ...... ah when will they learn ?

[bumblebee]

An excellent snap shot TB of how things stand just now in Patts. It would be interesting to do another in 6 months or even one year from now to see how/if things have changed in the meantime.

[SLBT]

Great thought analysis TB, I have seen a change (downwards) every trip I come out on but I blame it on the economy on the whole.. What can you do na

[Snick]

Good insights, I'll add my 2 baht and say that Pataya has gotten better in a lot of other ways as well. The hotel options are much better then they were 3-4 years ago, new hotels like April and August suites, Page 10, etc... have created a niche of reasonable priced hotels (1000 to 2000 Baht) that are modern, clean, friendly and have good facilities. Compare that to 5 years ago when I kept rejecting hotel after hotel due to bugs and other problems.

Food selection is also much better, there is a much more varied selection than in the past and i would say quality has gone up as well.

As for the ladyboys, the grass really is greener here. Enjoy the golden age.

ps. The only thing missing in my mind, is a good ladyboy bar that can also make a cocktail (no pun intended). Most bars can barely mix Orange Juice and Vodka together.

[SiamSam]

Snick,

Corner Bar's cocktails were quite remarkable as I recall. I remember slamming back margaritas one evening as you were ordering some other concoction. I forget what you were drinking but you seemed to be enjoying them. :lol:

[Snick]

Yup, but I would not call that a Ladyboy bar.

If you could duplicate that service with a bunch of cute LB, I would be more of an alcoholic than I am today.

[crackerjax]

Very interesting analysis of the scene as it currently stands in Pattaya, Thaibound. Noted the contrast between the parties held at Pooks and Anaconda - although that upstairs space on Soi 6 has never really seemed to work. The parties and gatherings I've attended at Pooks in the past were always on the ground floor - where the girls couldn't get away from us.

Just curious, did a lot of the attendees of GOTC 2 bring dates? The vibe I get at both the Pooks bars isn't one where I would expect a welcoming committee for interlopers. But the party I attended at Anaconda last November was kind of a "meeting of the ladyboy world" with girls coming from all over and fellow bar owners in attendance as well. The Anaconda/Guess team couldn't have been more welcoming that night despite having to work their asses off.

With a glut of bars, the onus will be on management to make sure that service standards are high in order to make a go of it. And let's keep our fingers crossed that these signs of an economic upturn in the US are solid...