Faster than I Phukit in a sauna, Pattaya’s high season has climaxed. For the record, it lasted 16 days.
OK, maybe it’s a bit early to call yet, but based on two extensive bar crawls over the past three days, the few people that were here for Christmas and New Year’s have left and most of the girls seem to have followed them. I’ve seen cemeteries more lively than Walking Street was Monday night.
Diamond — which had been importing very hot disco / G-Club dancers from Bangkok at wages of 1,700 baht a day, per head — had one girl on stage, no one around the stage and two groups of guys in the bench seating at 10 p.m. After one drink I departed to find Shark a-Go-Go had only two in the place. (Shark Club next door was about half full.) Tiger had three guys before I entered.
By 11 p.m., New Living Dolls One was only half full, which is a big departure from usual high-season percentages. At midnight, Coyotee’s had just two guys in the house and Utopia had just four. The bar was also notable for having fewer than half of the regular number of girls dancing. Roxy was about a third full, but had only 10 girls, only two of which warranted their “showgirl” labels.
Only X-Zone, by 1 a.m., was busy with about 60 percent of the seats filled.
Saturday night was not much better. Peppermint was all but empty for the first hour of its 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. happy hour, but managed, by 10 p.m. to reach the 80 percent mark. Catz was woeful, with five fat girls on stage (although two cuties appeared later). The bosses were in the house and we spent an hour or so getting each other drunk and crying in our B-52s at how few girls and punters were around.
Even more startling were how off Walking Street bars and even beer bars on The Street were faring. Primetime Saturday saw Soi 2 and Soi 3 nearly deserted over the weekend. Bars that normally would have 30-50 percent of their seats full on during a Sunday afternoon were empty in North Pattaya. Drinking Street is as dry as the desert.
This, of course, is leading to a lot of hungry girls and bargains on boomsing - which were plentiful even during the past couple weeks - are now reaching silly levels. One pair of ladies in the slower Shark bar tried their best to get me to barfine them, even offering to refund me the 100 baht kickback they each get on the 600 baht barfine. Even on Christmas Eve (which should be one of the best money-earning days of the year) one of the most-popular showgirls at What’s Up! called me asking for a 1,000-baht short-time tryst. And, in a first-ever for me, an X-Zone showgirl one recent late night — when told I had just 1,000 baht on me — offered a short-time for 200 baht, plus 800 for the barfine and room. (Of course I accepted.)
Many women, however, have chosen to head home rather than discount their wares to Wal-Mart levels. Most owners and managers believe many ladies have simply gone home for the new year and will be back. No one is willing to predict the same for the tourists. Pattaya was at dead-low-season levels until Dec. 20, showed some signs of life on the 24th, was about 70% of normal levels through New Year’s Eve and then died. No one is expecting anything similar for the rest of January or even February.
The closures have already started. Maureen’s, a long-running beer bar on Walking Street, closed up shop Dec. 31 and has already been gutted. The Clinic Sports Bar on Soi Yamoto has also closed after 15 years. The owner would rather go back to England than try to make money out of a Pattaya bar these days. For the first year ever, there were more go-go closures last year than openings.
One go-go owner predicted Saturday he expected six Walking Street go-gos to go bust before April. There are now 79 go-go bars in Pattaya and perhaps 13 are making money - Air Port Club (maybe), Angelwitch, Baby Dolls, Casanovy, Club Oasis, Happy, Living Dolls One, Living Dolls Showcase (maybe), Super Baby, Peppermint (maybe), What’s Up! and Windmill. The three maybes in the group are due to Air Port and Showcase’s high showgirl salaries and Peppermint’s large number of dancers on the payroll.
The list should really be no surprise to frequent Pattaya go-go goers. Four of the bars (Air Port, Baby Dolls, What’s Up! and Windmill) are considered “dirty” bars with lots of extreme hands-on action with lots of ex-pat visitors. Two are showbars with a solid tourist rep. Casanovy, Happy and Living Dolls One follow the same formula of basic go-go with fun and pretty girls at low drink prices. Super Baby pulls in the Asians and Oasis is an off-Walking Street ex-pats hangout.
Also notable is that of the 12 mentioned, only Air Port, Super Baby and What’s Up! are wholly Thai owned.
Most bar managers and owners have already written off the rest of the month and expect February to be brutal. The one respite next month might be that the annual Cobra Gold joint naval exercise has been moved from May to February 4-17 this year. No word yet on how many U.S. forces will be participating. Last year about 3,500 personnel took part, but only a fraction of them actually enjoyed some free time in Pattaya.
The more encouraging news is that airfares are coming down faster than expected. In SomeOneWhoKnow’s recent post here on TFS2M, the travel executive predicted big discounts for travel in April, May and June. Last week, however, reports began surfacing of fares as low as 410 pounds round-trip on Ethiad from London to Bangkok for travel from end-February through the end of March. Set up a Google News alert for the name of your preferred Thai holiday destination and you’ll see stories of bargins and promotions popping up daily, such as this quote from a Tuesday article in The Examiner:
“We are beginning to see an influx of fantastic deals from both hoteliers and airlines to Thailand,” says Ben Briggs from Travelmood. “For example, we now have a week’s beach holiday in Pattaya from just £549 [which represents a deal of seven nights for the price of five].”
It may be wishful thinking, but the feeling of many, myself included, is that the next seven weeks are going to truly dreadful, business-wise. But March might be passable and there are real hopes that April and May match last year’s levels.
Hi Ghost,
Good meeting ya on your bday if you can even remember the events of that night. lol
Nice detailed report to kick off 2009!
View all comments by sabai
Excellent news. Pattaya is the playground for bangkok expats on a dirty weekend. Last thing we want is a bar full of sex tourists.
Whats Up bar was in good form the Sat before Christmas.
View all comments by MSB
Ghost,
Good summary. I was there in late November and early December and it was pretty quiet. I know a few ladies there that said the season has been slow and they even mentioned how slow it was over the holiday season this year.
One comment..I would be surprised if X-Zone isnt making money. It’s my favorite bar in Pattaya and draws a consistent crowd and the mamasan is aces. Not to mention, some very fine talent with great attitudes.
View all comments by Indu WangZi
Indu — It’s a very big bar with key money of 1.9m that was just paid in October. Not sure on the rent, but it’s 100,000+ a month. Hard to make money at those rates, especially when you let punters drink house spirits all night with 2-for-1 coupons that reduce the price of vodka, gin, tequla and thai whiskey to 70 baht a drink. AND they hand out VIP cards that allow you to take 20% off of THOSE prices. Bascially, they make no money on 2-for-1 spirits.
So drink up while it lasts boys. And ask one of the farang bosses for a VIP card.
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
Good news that these go-go bars hiring expensive g-club type girls are now in trouble. g-club girls are for g-clubs and go-go girls for go-gos. period. The bars which will survive are definitely the ones that will offer what punters are expecting to get. And if most of the punters are expats, and not tourists, it will be even more difficult to fool them for long.
View all comments by SukPsycho
@PG - “Faster than I Phukit in a sauna,…” - You try holding in a 4 day old load with a 1/2 hour of steamy sauna flirting combined with a tight and firm body TG and we will see how long you last!
View all comments by I Phukit
@Ghost - yes, you make a good point about the 2-for-1 drink specials. They also let you load up on those coupons before going in. As to the VIP card…now, I am a little miffed. Seeing as I’ve been in there numerous times, always dropped a good amount of money and even cozied up to the mamasan..this was never mentioned. I will be in Pattaya of Chinese New Year and intend on getting said card from them. Thanks..
View all comments by Indu WangZi
suk - agree about the coyotes
View all comments by sideshowBOB
From a customer’s perspective this is good news albeit the lack of inventory is a bit disconcerting.
I’ll be there in February for a few weeks so I’m now curious just where the bargains are. Normally I stay at the Flipper House on Soi 7, Eastiny on Soi 8 or sometimes the Haven on Soi 13.
However, given the ghost(town) atmosphere, I’m wondering if some of the hotels are offering lower rates or buy 5 nights, get one free type deals. They certainly aren’t advertising any deals on their websites so I’m wondering if it is just better to show up and hunt around for a place to crash?
Any advice on this Ghost?
While I’m groveling for free advice I might as well ask a transportation question from anybody who knows.
What is the best way to travel to Bangers (sukhumvit area) from Pattaya? Yes, cabs will get you there but I’m wondering if they have shuttle buses or perhaps a train?
I want to pop up there for a few days and visit the Big Mango as I have never been there before. See, this blog really does pull in new customers!
Any advice or suggestions will certainly be appreciated!
View all comments by Moonman
>What is the best way to travel to Bangers (sukhumvit area) from Pattaya? Yes, cabs will get you there but I’m wondering if they have shuttle buses or perhaps a train?<
There are buses about every 30 minutes from Pattaya bus station to Ekkamai in Sukhumvit Road. Last year it was about 120 bahts in a good air-con bus and the journey took 90-120 minutes, depending on traffic. Ekkamai has a SkyTrain station just a short walk from the bus station and the SkyTrain runs up the length of Sukhumvit Road. If you ahve a big suitcase a taxi might be easier if the traffic is not too heavy. Hint: meter is usually cheaper than haggling for a fixed price.
View all comments by Bonkabit
Simple. Take bus (coach) from Pattaya bus station to Ekamai Bus Station (which is next to Ekamai BTS station on Sukhumvit Road) as opposed to Mo Chit Bus terminal in Bangkok. Buses go every 20 mins or so, no need to pre book just get ticket from window at Pattaya bus station. Aprrox 2 hours door to door, 200 baht or so one way. Cheers
View all comments by Ossies
The taxi to Bangkok will cost you around 800-900 and make sure that includes the tolls. Check with the little Taxi stands spattered around town. From Bangkok to Pattaya it will run you around 1200.
View all comments by pmmp
Bonkabit may be closer on price as I cannot remember. Memory like a sieve!
View all comments by Ossies
Suk / ssB — On the Diamond coyotes — I know they were not BKK go-go girls but not quite sure they were “legit” G-Club girls. The couple I talked to were contract dancers who worked most recently at the Hollwood Disco, then in Phetchibun before that, and so on. The Fashion Club G-Club coyotes are on a similar circuit. However, at least some of these girls do / did go with customers.
I’m in there one night with a very large 34-year-old bar manager and we’re talking about the idea of taking some. My initial thought was “They may go, but for big bucks.” His reply was, no, his fellow manager at the same go-go took one out for standard Pattaya rates.
He then quickly added, “then again, J is 22, tall, rich and the manager of a go-go bar.”
So, yeaah, probably big bucks for you and me.
It may have been just a two-week thing. I didn’t see the hotties on my last visit in there.
I.P. Just having a bit of fun at your expense!
Moonman– I obvioulsy don’t rent hotel rooms here, so it’s hard to say, but my gut would tell me the town is empty, hotels use websites to get the full rates from unknowing customers and that bargaining here on the ground might work better. Then again, as others have noted for a while, hotels have been stubbornly / stupidly sticking to high season rates even at the expense of 15% occoupancies…
the bus — Info is all over the place here, so here’s the reasl scoop, as I use it a couple times a month. Bus from Pattaya Bus Station to Ekamai (and reverse route) runs every 30 minutes from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. Fare is currently 113 baht and trip takes 1:50 almost every time. You can shorten that by 10 minutes by having the bus stop at the On Nut BTS station and getting off there, rather than driving in traffic to Ekamai. From Pattaya Bus Station you can get a 20 baht Songthaew into town.
Another option is the mini-bus service that runs between Pattaya Centre Condo on Pattaya Tai (with pickup stops at Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital and Mini Siam) to Frendshp Monument BTS Station. Fare is 150 baht for a 9-seat mini bus. Service runs every 30 minutes. Because of multiple stops, this is a slower option, however. Average trips is 2 hours, 30 minutes. I live near the terminus in Pattaya and don’t even use the minibus anymore. Public Bus is just too efficient.
Taxis from Patts to Sukhumveit are usually 1,200, but if pmmp has gotten them for 800-900, he can say where. Haggling maybe? From Bangkok to Pattaya I’ve been offered as low as 500 (!) for a trip from Suk to Patts, but very early in the morning. (8 ish). Taxis will do this early cuz they can get a return easily in the morning from Pattaya.
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
I’ve taken more than a few taxis from Pattaya to Bangkok and the price has always been about the same with no haggling. I just walk up to the little Taxi stands on Pattaya 2nd Road around Walking Street.
View all comments by pmmp
If you wanna bang a coyote dancer, go into Rainbow 1 and ask for Beem. She is a petite girl and the best dancer of the lot. Her English is terrible though.
Says she used to be a coyote dancer at Hollywood and some other Thai clubs in Ratchada but went to Nana a couple months ago cause the money is better. Either that or she got sh*tcanned. Works for me either way. lol
View all comments by sabai
Just came back from Patts this morning!
I went down on the 3rd and stayed in my flat that I have (Jomtien Soi 7) rented 6 years - (started renting at that time for 2500 now 6500 bht per month - pretty fair rental increases I think for all this time).
I went to clear out some of my things in that I gave them 60 day notice. The people there have always been great to me!
Yes, I am not in Jomtien every weekend now (used to go every weekend) but for me everything has changed for the worse! I could sit on the beach (up to about 1 1/2 years ago) really late at night, drink beer and not get hassled - but now forget it!
For all the years I went to Patts - I was never one to frequent Walking Street too much - more into quiet time in that I have lived in BKK for a pretty long time and they beach was always a great get-away for me!
I cannot speak about Walking Street businesses - but I can speak about Jomtien! I would go to (Patts) Jomtien purposely “NOT TO PULL” - just quiet time away from BKK.
The guys that I know in Jomtien that own beer bars are elated “IF THEY CAN” meet monthly expenses.
I talked to about ten guys that own beer bars (some provide take away girls - some don’t offer) and they all complained about how “bad” business has been for the last 6 months. They do not believe that business will improve any time soon!
It was not only the beer bar owners that are having a tough time but also farangs that own some really good food places. There are many - if you know Jomtien!
A person that I know owns a corner hotel on Soi 7 that was always packed for the years I have been going there - not a fancy place - but an open restaurant / bar all night, nice people and 50 yards to the beach - if that! He told me he has never seen business so “BAD”! Needless to say the hotel was about empty!
So why am I “throwing in the towel” with Jomtien? Pretty simple, I love the power of the beach at night, the fresh air, drinking beers and feeling safe on the beach! I just don’t feel safe doing that there anymore and I grew up in NY! Please everyone - give me a break with the NY comment! LOL
Shit, over the years the degradation (can’t spell) some of the people there - tatooed out, no neck, drunk fucking assholes with no brain - that are really pussies causing shit - for what!
This decision makes me feel pretty sad in that I formed some good friendships there!
So now, I will find a get-away place in Rayong, Cha Am, Hua Hen or even a little further south - not more than 3 hours away from BKK for my weekend get-aways.
Not sure why I posted - just feel a little sad saying goodbye and remembering about all the great times I have had there, some good people I have met and the depressing fact that it has just detoriated to the point where I do not feel safe there!..
Thanks for the sounding board!
View all comments by JDH
@JDH - can you elaborate on the reasons why you dont feel safe? Been to Jomtien many times, even recently, and always have felt safe. Interested to hear your rationale as to why.
View all comments by Indu WangZi
Just a few more candidates for profitable Pattaya GoGos
- TQ1 always full, afternoon and evenings
- Hot & Cold, you should see their list of STs and Offs
- Champion, ever since the refit, the cheap beer surely gets the customers in. Most bench seats are full these days. (but maybe too cheap beer to make a good profit).
I’ve seen good crowds at times in Sisterz, Betty Boup, Heaven Above, Champagne, Silver Star 2 (Soi 7) and Mirage
View all comments by Thai-anxiety
T-A — I’d probably concur, although I’ve not been in TQ1 in probably 3 years. Strictly expats, I think, no?
Same Hot & Cold and while I hit there every 4 months or so, 9.9 out of 10 women are horrendous in my eyes. Total dirty sluts (in a good way), but ugly as fuck.
Champion — Last time was there I nearly had to get a tetnus shot from stabbing myself on a nail protruding from the bottom of the bar/stage. Have to check out after the refit. But the cheap beer is Chang. And the dinosaur rock I just can’t abide. (44 and into Hip-Hop, something must be wrong with me…)
As for the others on your list? Heaven might honestly make the list, due only to the fact it has one of the lowest rents on The Street. It’s almost the same as my apartment rent. That’s likely changing with the next lease.
The others I just don’t see it. Soi LK is a graveyard, so I can’t see Champagne doing well. Sisterz I give 2 months. 150,000 baht monthly rent, 2.5m baht key money, 65 staff and giving away spirits for 45 baht until 11 and (now) 75 baht after 11 means ZERO profit> Both Tom and Greg have told me they have to do the cheaps drinks or no one would be in the place. And the expat guys who are have one drink, no barfine and leave. One boss said he can see the UK pensioners hitting bottom just by the fact they no longer can afford to have fun.
Silver Star 2? Nope. Busy times are an exception, not hte rule. And I know the folks in Mirage well enough to know they ain’t off to a great start.
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
the little stalls around town usually advertise taxis at 800 baht, private cars (”limos” - not really!) at 1200 baht. Last trip I booked and paid 200 baht deposit for a taxi, but a private car turned up. If he was expecting to be paid for a private car, he was out of luck ! I just gave him the 600 baht owing for a taxi.
View all comments by Mike
Ghost - what is bhat key money??
View all comments by Indu WangZi
Key money is the unrefundable “gift” you pay greedy Thai property owners for the honor of leasing their real estate. Most places near entertainment zones in Pattaya require it. ALso common in Japan for even apartments.
Anohter word for it is “highway robbery.”
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
Or is key money generally also acknowledged as a tax dodge for ‘greedy Thai property owners’ and is really just treated as part of the rent to be apportioned monthly for the period between key money payments (if you wish to consider the real monthly payments taking in to account the key money payment)? Would welcome anyone elses take on this.
View all comments by Ossies
You can think of key money as a rent deposit that you never get back, it’s more like a ‘privilege to rent’ fee. Another difference is that with each renewal of your lease you have to pay additional key money. In Nana Plaza for instance, lease renewal happens every 3-6 years and key money is requested each renewal.
View all comments by pmmp
o - sure you factor key money and real rent as the total cost of rental to see how u come out but key money is off the books, usually paid up front and no way to really deduct it as a biz expense. so yeah - right to a landlord’s pocket with them paying no taxes. biz just eats it really.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
PG: Great info, as always. But curious about local drink costs. A barowner recently told me that the direct product cost of a local drink is only about 20 baht.
RE key money:
Pmmp and SSB’s description of key money is consistent with what an attorney friend told me: that key money is nonrefundable, and not shown on the books by the recipient.
But makes me think, does the business paying key money normally show it as an expense when calculating income taxes?
If a business paying key money deducted it as a business expense, would the Revenue Department note the discrepancy of a business paying an expense that another business does not show as revenue?
View all comments by dj
dj - wont get into it here but you are mixing up figures for bars between what would be public books and what would be the internal books. key money can’t be used as a real business expense but surely it factors into the cost of running a business. Also keep in mind that if a company is dealing with key money, police payments and so on then they are probably doing a lot of revenue machinations as well.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
I don’t understand about losing money on drinks. 7-11 sells a 12oz bottle of Heineken for 35THB and makes a profit. If a bar sells a small sized draft of the less expensive Chang for 45THB, which is 40% higher than it costs, they are not losing money on the drinks. Mixed drinks for 45THB is cheap, but I doubt they use premium spirits and they are probably generous with the ice and mixers.
We are now seeing the results of the horrendous price gouging of foreigners for the last few years coupled with the sagging farangland economies. Barfines, girl prices, hotels, restaurants, etc. have been increasing way over the inflation rate. When I go to the Thai only nightlife areas I find it comical how cheap the prices are…and the service is so much better to boot.
View all comments by Hard one
@JDH – Thanks for sharing your story. I agree with you. The farang naughty nightlife areas were never that spectacular, but they have degraded to filthy ghettos run amuck with broken-down farang losers with matching TGs. The “normal” farangs that were the majority there 4 years ago are now in the tiny minority.
I fully agree that Jomtien/Pattaya is much more dangerous than a few years ago. Countless girls have warned me against walking along the beach after 21.00 because it is simply too dangerous. They have endless stories of seeing farangs being the targets of beatings, muggings, robberies, or worse. If that wasn’t enough to convince me, my friend recently told me of a gruesome murder to a TG that happened near the lift of his condominium building. There have been so many break-in robberies in his building they have added a small army of security guards to make people feel safer. This was never the case 4 years ago in his building, but sadly it’s typical now.
Most tourists have blinders on to all this but for the long time expats, I wonder what makes them stay.
View all comments by Hard one
Thanks to all who provided transpo info. A special hat tip to the Ghost for the On Nut BTS tip. (Hey, 10 minutes I save by not being stuck in traffic is 10 minutes more I can spend eyeballing the entertainment!)
A friend who owns a beer bar on Soi 7 in Patts normally picks me up at Swampypoon but she charges a pricy 2000 baht fee. That’s cool with me because I normally don’t land until about 11PM and she stocks the cooler with some frosties. It’s a sweet ride to boot!
I figured a trip to Bangers for a few days calls for a more economical transpo approach.
A few notes:
Bonkabit - The only baggage I’ll be carrying is a bushel of condoms. A might bring a snappy pair of slacks though…;-)
Pmmp - Screw the taxies. I think I’ll just jog to Bangers. I hear it’s a lovely 65 degrees around noon time. One can only dream…
Ghost - 1. Yeah, the hotels are certainly not rolling out the welcome mat in cyberspace. I’ll just check into Hard Rock for a night and find something more suitable the next day with my rubber sedans. 2. Yes indeed, tea money gets extorted here in Japan as well. They called it a realtor’s fee. You pay 4 months rent in advance. First, last, security and realtor’s fee. The last two you never see again. Go figure. BTW, you could live for a year in Patts for what it costs for one month’s rent here. Fucking insane rent prices for gaijin!!!
Thai-anxiety - Yep, TQ1 is one of my favorites. It always has a bevy of girls and the couches are plush. Seems it always has lots of customers and the staff comes from the no-hassle school of thought. I wish they get rid of that damn golden dragon on the wall though; I’m constantly banging my head into it!
Mango boys - When you see a “hansum man” stroll into your establishment, in mid Feb, who looks like Nicklaus Cage; that’ll be me!
View all comments by Moonman
h1 - i get your drift but that is not how one looks at it. I have to look at am I selling it for enough to pay my bills and hopefully pocket some money. the gouging has been at the tax level, the police and taxes. mot owners are passing that down and most have not been making enough money.
I hear you though you want value for your money and that is different things to different people. So yeah if someone is charging me 180 baht for a bottle of HB then it better be worth it. Otherwise I won’t go back.
If some charges 50 baht and the beer is not cold, the place is a dumb - then I think 50 baht is not worth it either.
so the pricing thing is finding a point that customers keep coming back and like it and the owner is making money. the prce is going to vary all over thailand.
mm - is nick cage good looking?
View all comments by sideshowBOB
ssb - I’m not sure but mob who chased me half way down the block in Yokohama must have thought so.
I’m waiting in line to get into the hard rock cafe’ and a group of girls kept staring at me. Fine, no problem. One gets the nerve to walk over and ask me to sign an autograph.
Excuse me?
As much as I denied the fact I wasn’t Nick Cage, she was adament that I was. One girl lead to 5, then 12, then 30 and the next thing I know there is over 100 people clamoring for my signature! Scary shit!
I signed a few bar napkins and then just bolted. They literally chased me for half a block!
True story.
View all comments by Moonman
mm - pretty cool. is it getting u laid?
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Most definitely it gets me lots of trim but not as much as my bahtnality gets me in the land of verticle smiles.
View all comments by Moonman
@Moonman, you can also catch a bus directly from Suwannaboom to Pattaya for 120THB. By the way, you are crazy for not seizing that free gold mine of hungry Nick Cage groupies. SSB should ban you from this website for not whisking away the 2 hottest girl groupies to your hotel room for 3-way bang.
View all comments by Hard one
I hear you ssb. Value for the drink price is what matters. As we can all see by the still empty original Big Mango Nana Plaza location, wildly jacking up the rent prices compared to inflation eventually leads to a popping of the greed balloon. It sounds like that’s starting to happen in the naughty farang ghetto areas.
I expect it to continue en masse with the BKK condo prices. It’s actually happening already, those yet to be built condos near the Lad Prao BTS have already dropped in asking price by 15%. I have the original brochure to prove it. The people who were unlucky enough to put down the nonrefundable holding money are now underwater. At this point it would be cheaper to forfeit their holding money and immediately re-buy at an overall cheaper price. I’m predicting a 40% haircut on BKK condo prices within the next 2 years to bring them in line with reality.
View all comments by Hard one
h1 - I am waiting for the condo market to pop but I see just small signs of it. In 97 they did not pop much but I think this time will be different.
it is the baht I don’t understand…
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Hard One — I think ssB said this, but your quote:
In a 7/11, there’s lots of revenue sources, not just beer. How much do they make on Slurpees? Or all those 10-baht charges for people paying electric bills. They have a few staff, electric and some rent, which won’t be that high.
In the gogo, each drink must pay for:
- key money
- rent
- staff of 25-150 (depending on size)
- police payoffs
- electric
- water
- bar fixtures (glasses, etc.)
- marketing
- insurance (you’d hope)
- sign taxes and other taxes, plus accounts and lawyers
- oh yeah, the actual liquor.
Sure, income is supplemented by barfines, but driks are the main source of income. So if you are selling a Vodka Tonic that costs you 20 baht for the materials for 45 baht, that means you gotta cover all the rest on 25 baht?
Take a good magician to make that happen.
Having said that, I was strongly countered by the folks at Sisterz last night that they’re doing great, are up year-on-year in Dec. have been packed when everyone else is empty and will be around for a long time.
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
Nicholas Cage…not bad. At least you dont look like a 250lb. Ralph Macchio….and no, Johnny, dont sweep the leg.
View all comments by Indu WangZi
SSB: Thanks for the insight on key money. Agree that a cash business gives the owner flexibility on accounting and tax payments.
View all comments by dj
H1 - Yeah, you’re not the first one to tell me that. I had only been here for about 2 months and couldn’t speak any of the lingo.
Pretty much, I was still in culture shock and didn’t know my ass from a hole in the ground.
Hindsight is 20-20 as they say…
View all comments by Moonman
Hi Ghost, Yes, I am sure it is quiet in Pattaya, now. I wanted to stay longer but I was only given a 15 day visa, so I had to leave. A few others I met had to change there plans and leave sooner then they wanted as well. Thailand, really knows how to make life difficult for people who want to spend money in there country. Oh well. Off to the Philippines next time. I can stay a month there.
MCJIMMYS
View all comments by mcjimmys
Nick Cage frequents ladyboy bars when in Thailand.
View all comments by Jimmy Cricket
As does Jean-Claude Van Damme
View all comments by Pattaya Ghost
As does Pattaya Ghost
View all comments by Daywalker
Hi Ghost
Very informative report as always, thanks for your efforts and research… I guess it must be ‘hard’ sometimes…. especially the X-Zone situation! Keep the intel coming.
Whats killing it is surely the exchange rate 50 baht or less to the pound = 30% increase in costs + no one in farang land knows if they have a job to go to in the morning…
Anyone worried about these things just remember you only live once (no matter what the locals might tell you), get to LOS quick as you can.
The chocky will be back in a week and hope the party is picking up…
View all comments by Chocky Starfish
mcjimmys - I take it you mean that you only got a 15-day-stay visa exemption stamp by entering the Kingdom?
Almost every Farang can get a 2-month tourist visa for Thailand and some consulates accept postal application. Going to the Phils just because you can’t be bothered to apply for a Thai visa is pretty lame in my book.
View all comments by mart
The small bars on Soi Buakhao are cheap and at least two are selling beer at 35 baht a bottle. They seem very busy albeit with people who need to drink beer at 35 Baht a bottle.
With the pound/dollar/baht exchange rate so bad beer is nearly £5 a pint at The Day and Night Bar on Soi Nana Tai to name just one of many.
Sure the chill wind of recession and credit crunch are contributing to a decline in visitors to Thailand but is not the only issue: Thailand is increasingly being viewed by outsiders as a basket case failed state and therefore both unstable and expensive. Violent with no rule of law. The airport occupation fiasco has permanently coloured peoples’s views of Thailand. I lost around a thousand pounds. Presumably 100s of thousands of people around the world also last money and this brings me to my last thought about why I have cut down on my visits to thailand and am checking out cambodia, Philliphines, Cuba, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Laos etc; It is the insufferable smugness of the Thais, who lacking a coherent world view, seem to live in another world of assumed expectations about an endless supply of rich white folks who will pay incresingly over inflated prices for mediocre service.
View all comments by The Sandman