Pattaya - Some Bits - 2017-02

I have been visiting Pattaya 3 - 4 times a year for the past several years. I have been meaning to write a comprehensive post on changes, but just ran out of time and after awhile I forgot.

So, I will just note some interesting bits I noticed on my Feb 2017 visit and perhaps my Nov 2016 visit, as follows.


HOMMAGE TO THAI's BACCHUS or DIONYSUS.

Nearly every gogo club that I have visited pays hommage to a Thai god, I guess, like Bacchus or Dionysus. You know, before you take your first alcoholic sip, you slosh a little of your alcoholic beverage on the ground, as tribute to Bacchus or Dionysus.

To wit, sometime early in the evening after the front club door is opened to customers, a naked or near-naked girl walks around the club dipping her fingers into a glass of liquid, spraying the liquid over everything, and touching the liquid to other girls' fingers extended for the touch. At the same time, all the girls ring a bell, clank a glass, or bang on something to make a loud noise. House music can be turned off or continued to play. The naked girl walks 3 times around the room, she stops at the front door, turns her back to the entrance, spreads her leg, and tosses the rest of the liquid between her legs to the outside.

I have asked several girls about this ritual. No one could really explain it.

It is apparently a ritual that every club must do nightly to obtain good luck.


CHEAPEST BEER.

When you enter a gogo club, you are expected to buy liquid refreshment. But, not like the Indian male tourists when they first visited Pattaya several year ago. They initially earned a reputation of a group of 5 or 6 Indians entering together and ordering one drink for the group.

The cheapest drink is not water or soda. It is usually beer. Many, if not most clubs, offer a draft beer as the cheapest drink on the menu, especially during Happy Hours.

Happy Hours on Walking Street run between 8 pm to 10 pm and can be as short as 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Last November 2016, the cheapest draft beer was 45 baht at Electric Blue (CH Link) and The Dollhouse (CH Link), both on soi 15. This February 2017, their price for draft beer during happy hour was increased to 65 baht. Both provide about 8 oz of draft beer.

However, other clubs began lowering their price for draft beer to 45 baht. These clubs are: G Spot (CH Link) (located next to Sugar Baby (CH Link), and is a sister club of Electric Blue and The Dollhouse), Fahrenheit (CH Link), Crazy House (CH Link), ByPass (CH Link) (new club, formed from the front half of The Beach Club, both on the pathway to Happy a Gogo (CH Link)). These draft beers ranged from 6 to 8 oz.

One exception was the Overmind club (CH Link) (formerly Tiger club), 2nd floor, above clubs between soi 15 and soi Diamond. I called it Vermin club, because last year 2016 the club had aggressive male waiters -- one Thai waiter had his hand on my left ass cheek when I stepped up to an upper level table and seat, I turned fast to face him, and 3 waiters backed away from me. This Feb, it changed to female waitresses, but they tended to be surly. During the last week of my Feb visit, the club was closed. It had 10 oz of draft beer for 45 baht during happy hour.

By the way, most soi LK clubs' cheapest liquid refreshment is draft beer for 65 baht during happy hours. All of them serve the draft beer in 12 oz mugs, although a few might not be filled to the top.


THAI POLE DANCER.

Finally saw my first good Thai female pole dancer. A major problem for Thai dancers is that the poles on stage are either too short and/or too closely spaced together.

The lady danced about 3 minutes at Champagne gogo club (CH Link), soi LK. While standing on the stage, she placed both arms extended on the vertical pole, pushed off into a slow circle, and raised her hips and legs above her arms and head. Impressive muscles. Then formed a beautiful pose slowly circling the pole.

She could not do full-out swings, because the nearest pole was about five feet away.

One funny bit she did was to hold herself with extended arms from the pole while upright. She mimicked walking on air around the pole.


THAI DANCERS SHAKE THEIR BUNS.

Ninja gogo club (CH Link), soi LK is always full of customers. Due to having the younger and maybe prettier girls than the other clubs on soi LK.

The usual stage dancing is rather lethagic, which is understandable when a girl may have to dance for 15-30 minutes every 30-45 minutes. In some clubs, even if a customer buys a lady drink for dancer on stage, the dancer may have to finish her set of dancing before she can sit with you. I remembered this happened to me in the former Roxy gogo club, on Walking Street, which closed down several years and repaced by a clothing store, or pharmacy, or convenience store. I waited about 20 minutes, finished my beer, paid my bill for the beer and lady drink, received my change, and as I exited the club, the group finished their set and came off the stage as I went out the door. No companionship for my lady's drink.

I was sitting in Ninja and I noticed that the house music was infused with fast Thai village folk music. It was kind of catchy, very rhythmic. I noticed that nearly all of the 12 female dancers on stage were really shaking their buns, and laughing at each other having a good time. Nothing like some home festival music to get the girls shaking their buns. On the other hand, the way they were shaking their buns could have caused the village elders to banish the girls to Pattaya.


TATTOOS WITH A MESSAGE.

Some girls get a big tattoo on their lower abdomen to cover their stretch marks.

Anthony Bourdain in a travel show to Thailand explained that a tattoo across the upper back looking like the tops of temples, were especially selected as good luck symbols for each person.

But, some Thai dancers have several large tattoos all over their bodies. Why?

Sometimes, I wonder if they are deliberately distorting their body image to deter customers from paying their bar fines?

A couple of years ago, I saw 3 different girls wearing large death head tattoos on their torso. Maybe they were looking for motorcycle-club customers. You know, the Hell's Angels type.

The simplist tattoos were on the back of thighs of a Thai girl wearing shorts in a buffet line. Each thigh had a small 5-point star. Under the star on the left thigh rear was "Fuck" and right thigh rear "Me". Message received and understood.


UGLY DRIVERS.

Maybe it is just simply overpopulation or a favorite tourist destination attracting both Thai's looking for money and foreigners. Another cause could be the numerous festivals and parades held. But, the major streets seem overly crowded.

The Pattaya government installed some pedestrian-controlled street traffic lights. After a few months, the signal lights did not turn on when a pedestrian hit a button. It does not matter. Because when the stop lights did work, some vehicles drove through the red light.

On the one-way soi's between Beach Road and Second Road, and between Second Road and Soi Buakhao, motorcyclists continually drove the wrong way and some car drivers. These soi's are barely wide enough for one vehicle. When a truck is parked to load beer, etc for a store on the soi, there is hardly enough space for another vehicle to pass by and no space for pedestrian.

In general, car drivers and motorcyclists are very careful to let jaywalking pedestrians cross the street. And, I am always cautious, knowing that I am now a slow walker and I do not trust drivers. Usually, I cross with a crowd of people, or wait until there is an unusually long break between passing vehicles.

However, unlike previous visits, I had more close calls. A vehicle turning left into a soi while I was crossing it suddenly sped up and sharply turned it wheels as though to pass in front of me; I lurched backward expecting the vehicle to pass in front of me; instead, its wheel turned from a sharp left to directly in front where I had lurched back; luckily, the driver also hit the brake sharply. It stopped a foot away from hitting me dead center. I was pissed. But the front windshield was darkly tinted, so I could not see the driver.

One evening, I was standing just off the curb on Beach Road trying to flag down a baht bus heading towards Walking Street. A senior white guy on a motor scooter turning left from a soi pulled up in back of me. I noticed the light shining between my legs. I looked back and saw the driver. He said, get out of the way. I replied, I am waiting for the baht bus, go around. There was space to go on either side of me, but he wanted me to move out of his way instead of driving around me. He muttered something under his breath as he drove around me. I was tempted to help him with his turn, by reaching out and thumping his shoulder.


POST MIDNIGHT ROBBERIES AND CRASHES CONTINUE.

On the Sophon cable television, there are two local news channels in English. One channel is basically advertisements for local businesses (real estate, restaurants, clubs, etc). Other channel alternates between movies and news, usually news in the late afternnon and late night. News reporting on the Pattaya scene seem to have always a motorcycle crash ending in death or serious injury at night. Frequently, alcohol is mentioned. In a recent death reporting, local Thai's prayed to the ghost of the dead motorcyclist and ten Thai's claimed that their prayer resulted in lottery winnings.

Another frequent news reporting is robberies. They are usually robberies by ladyboys, frequently on Beach Road after midnight, or snatching of gold necklace worth nearly US $2,000 by a passing motorcyclist. As a tourist, I have never seen any warnings about being careful after midnight, or on Beach Road, or wearing gold jewelry. Sometimes, the thief is caught, being identified on CCTV. The news photographer taped the thief for television viewing, and reported that the thief supposedly claimed that it was the first time for theft and the proceeds were used to feed their children.


HOTEL OUTAGE.

Luckily, I have not experienced any electricity or water outage in Pattaya.

However, one 3-star hotel has only one elevator. A couple of years ago, the elevator was not working and I had to walk up and down the ten floors of the hotel. It took over four days to repair the elevator, because replacement parts were only available in Bangkok. The aggravating thing was that every day during the outage, the hotel said that the elevator would be working towmorrow. Actually, they did not know when the elevator repairman would do his thing.

On the plus side, my check out date was outside the outage period, so I did not have to haul my suitcase on the stairs.

During my Feb 2017 visit, the elevator outage occurred again. This time the elevator was repaired the next day.


THAI HOLIDAYS.

Before traveling, there are some things that I should do. Many times, they are unnecessary. Many times, I forget to do them, while hurrying to get ready to go.

One of those things is to check the holidays in the countries I may visit. Many people like to travel during, just before, and just after a holiday. So, I should avoid them.

In Pattaya, a parade might be held on a holiday, or traffic may simply be heavy just as it is on the weekends. What this means is that a door-to-door transport company, like Bell Travel Service, will not pickup or deliver a client to a Pattaya hotel located in certain areas on holidays, or race day, etc.

Another reason to check the holidays is that the clubs, bars, and the like are closed on holidays, and stores may be prohibited on selling alcohol.

This happened on Feb 11, 2017, Saturday. I walked in hot weather to the Walking Street about 8 pm, thirsty for a cold beer. But, no beer for sale, clubs and bars were closed.

I returned to my hotel. The receptionist said that today was a Buddha holiday. She was surprised to hear that clubs and bars on Walking Street were closed.


TOURISTS

Pattaya is full of tourists. Sometimes a tour group of middle-aged men and women entered a club to see the view. Happy a Go Go club is one such current visited place.

Sometimes, at night Walking Street is jam-packed shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists following someone holding a pennant on a selfie pole. Meanwhile, a few Thai guys demonstrating card tricks, a young Thai female showing off her hula tricks, a couple of Thai mimes, Thai males and a few females holding a menu card listing pussy tricks to entice people into their clubs, girls lined up before their clubs, and a few transvestites in their carnival costumes block the passing crowd. Night life on Walking St.

I like to find another city full of clubs with half-naked girls on stage, other than Pattaya, Bangkok, Manila, and Angeles City. Until then, I will have to make do with Pattaya for my rest retreat.

Keep on mowing.

Yes, they highly believe in luck, not only to wish for a client that day, but to meet a farang for a big payday.

Any deals on San Mig light or Singha Light?

Drivers...no rules and watch out. If a Thai hit you..its your fault for being in their way.

Tattoo...yeah just a fad..bargirls hangs with other bar girls and that's the life.

Makha Bucha....I always check and make sure I leave by then or arrive a few days after. I'm there for booze and girls daily, so it will be a COMPLETE..I mean COMPLETE LOSS if I'm in Thailand.

Robberies....I never worry since I don't wear a 2oz gold necklace and they don't have x-ray vision to see the cash in my pockets. But as any poor place...$2000 is $2000 and they're going to try you. If you wear that same necklace here in the states...if your in the wrong place at the wrong time it can get snatched. If your really unlucky..these thugs will try and knock you out first..then take your necklace.

4 times a year! wow...that's great!

any luck in Davao or Phuket?

Thanks for the comprehensive update on Pattaya, a quirky town if ever there was one.

Whatever rituals you witness in Thailand certainly have nothing to do with either Dionysus or Bacchus, the Greek and Roman gods of merrymaking. The only reason you see those names in Thailand are because Europeans sometimes invest in bars.

Dionysus was the Greek god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy.

Bacchus was the Roman god of agriculture, wine and fertility copied from the Greek god Dionysus.

your report, dee mak mak.