Part I - Spending a little more time in Bangkok

Fourth trip to LoS in thirteen months. Sounds like some kind of addiction to me. The past three trips, my buddy and I spent most of our time in Pattaya (not counting a disastrous couple of days in Samui. This time, we decided to spend a little more time in Bangkok, just to break up the trip a little. So three days in Bkk, followed by a week in Pattaya and three more days in Bkk before heading home.

Getting there

Coming from the west coast of the US, we decided on taking EVA Deluxe again. Nowhere near business class, but better than regular economy. The pitch and width of the seats are sufficiently better than economy seats. Not sure that the food is any better though. Big drawback though is that at LAX, there are basically four check-in queues: one each for business and first class, one for economy and one for deluxe class (including Silver Card holders). For some ungodly reason, the deluxe class line takes forever. For the second time I’ve taken this flight, the economy line has moved MUCH faster than the deluxe line. Next time, I go straight to the economy line (or hope that I qualify for Gold status).

The flight to Bkk was pretty uneventful. A three hour layover in Taipei, but with Silver card status, we got to use their lounge. Not a bad lounge as vip lounges go, but it did have one thing I had never seen before. It had a special room with about 5 or 6 flatscreen monitors and Xbox’s. So for all you gamer addicts, it looks like a nice place to kill some time.

Swiss Grottino

www.grottino.com. A very nice “residence” hotel. Kind of small and unobtrusive from the outside, but decent sized and very well maintained rooms, with really nice beds and furnishings. Cost is 1700B/nite. Nice alternative to the Majestic Suites. Great location directly behind the Westin, between soi 17 and 19, about 200 meters from the skytrain and 300 meters from the new subway. The only thing they don’t have is a real hotel lobby (and shower only – no bathtub. For a few hours one day, I had problems with the air conditioner and the manager comped me for the entire day.

Barons

My first stop, because service has always been consistently high. The cost of an oily massage is 400B, 600B or 800B (for 60, 90 or 120 minutes), plus tip (500B HJ, 1000 BJ, 1500B FS). If you have a regular or a favorite, you can call ahead and reserve her. Otherwise, just show up and pick from the lineup or let them choose for you (usually whoever is next in line). My usual girl is busy when I get there, so I pick the hottest looking one there (imo). She was relatively new, and I think she said her name was Joy. My pal picks this cute girl who had to be about 4’10” or less (“because of her smile”).

Joy was good looking and had a hot bod, but was definitely lackluster back in the room. She didn’t DFK and she wasn’t that wild. Still, this was my first day in LoS, so I was easily able to get off two loads. My buddy was even less fortunate. He kind of received the starfish treatment, as the girl was more “into” giving the massage than the “extras.” He declined having seconds, and just shook his head when she actually asked him “I guess you won’t be asking for me the next time you come.” We went back to Barons and my buddy had a much better time – with a different woman, of course.

Soi Cowboy

Located off Sukhumvit, between Soi 21 and 23, it’s a nice change of pace from Nana. Less cramped and less pressure. As a side note, on two separate nights, we saw elephants (real ones, not just very heavy BGs) doing tricks on the street. The coolest part, though, was when the baby elephant “sat down” and took a major crap right in the middle of the street. Roughly the size of a very big grapefruit. Thankfully, the owner or trainer scooped it up.

I really only checked out a few of the bars at Soi Cowboy. Long Gun is probably the most well known and the most crowded (sort of). It has some decent shows (and some very hot showgirls) at 9, 11 and 1. The shows last about 30 minutes, and during these times, it gets really crowded in there. Immediately after the shows, the place empties out. The one thing I didn’t like about it was that the very hot showgirls change outfits and leave as soon as the shows are over. The regular dancing girls, on the other hand, also change into their civvies during the show. What this meant for me was that the targets were constantly moving in there, and it finding missile lock was more difficult there than I prefer.

Tilac is another of the “bigger” gogos on Cowboy. I bought a couple of drinks for one of the “mamasans” (although she called herself a “service manager”) named “Beck,” and she proved to be extremely helpful in finding us cute girls. Right away, she offered to help us find girls, but I am usually a little hesitant about this. The mamasans always say they will find you a very pretty girl with “jai dee,” but tastes differ and I have always been a little uncomfortable rejecting a girl that a mamasan brings over with great fanfare. Instead, if I have a mamasan “in pocket,” I usually find a girl I like and have the mamasan get her for me (from on stage, or the dressing area, etc.).

On this occasion, however, she insisted that she could find one that I would like. She was right; she brought over a real hottie who had worked at the bar for only about a month. She was quiet, but I was willing to make the plunge based on her looks alone. Unfortunately, just then, her “regular” shows up and immediately barfines her. Damn!! Not the first time, and unfortunately, not the last this would happen to me. Still, always lots of targets in LoS. Beck quickly found me a more-than-suitable replacement and off we went. Had a quick meal at the restaurant next to Tilac, and off we went.

Things went well until we got back to the room. She immediately starts talking compensation. I know, I know. Time to cut bait. But I was tired, I was horny, I was weak. Worked out an okay deal and got down to business. She was great in bed, but it left a sour taste in my mouth and I didn’t repeat with her (or go with anyone else at Tilac, although my buddy would use Beck’s help on another two occasions).

The following night, we went to Nana and checked out Angel Witch and Playskool. AW has some nice shows and a lot of very hot girls there. Along with Rainbow 2 (where all the Japanese guys hang out), AW is probably the busiest gogo in Nana. After checking out the show, we went to find one of my favorites at Playskool, and she quickly grabbed one of her friends for my buddy. After grabbing a bite on Soi 4, we all went back to the hotel for a really nice time. Well, at least for me. My buddy’s girl was a hot little spinner and I was a little envious of what he was going to sample. However, she turned out to be quite a dud. According to my pal, he DATY for quite a while until she got off a couple of times. Afterwards, when they started having sex, it didn’t take long for her to complain about pain and wanting to go home. Being a man with a tremendously jai dee, he nevertheless paid her and showed her the door. She had the gall, then, to ask for a “tip.” I think he said he was too flabbergasted to say what was on his mind (“hey, bitch, you didn’t even get me off, and you want a TIP?”). Win some, lose some.

Soapy Central

Although I have ALWAYS loved Soapies in theory, in practice, I’ve often been disappointed. In theory, you go to a soapy full of super hot women, pick the hottest of the lot and have a great time. In practice, sometimes the fishbowl has slim pickings and even when there is great selection, it’s often hit or miss once you get back to the room. Moreover, the best selection usually isn’t available until about 6 or 7 pm, which I find a little late, since I like to trawl at the gogos before the selection is picked clean. For the above reasons, I usually like to go around 5pm, and I like to go to an area where I’ll have a lot of choices.

Plaza/Cupidy

From the Grottino, it’s about a 45B cab ride. It’s even closer from the Nana area, since it’s only a long walk down Soi 3, but unfortunately, Soi 3 traffic is one-way going the wrong way. If you take a cab, you MUST tell them to go upstairs to Plaza, because there is a taxi surcharge at Cupidy. Insist on this and if the cab ignores you and drops you off under the parking structure at Cupidy’s door, just go straight upstairs. The cab driver might wait a little while, to see if you double back, but just go to Plaza first to scope out the talent.

The drawback with Plaza is that it is geared more towards an Asian clientele. Which means a surcharge of, if I recall correctly, 1000B (1500B for the “super models”). When you get to around 5pm, 6pm or 7pm, both Plaza and Cupidy will have a lot of hot ladies, so there really isn’t any reason to go to Plaza instead of Cupidy – all things being equal. The only reason I go to Plaza now is that I’ve cultivated a nice little thing w/ one of the papasans at Plaza and he has always steered me to ladies who provide, in his words, “good service.” I know that a lot of the dirtbags at the massage places are VERY unreliable. But if you play it right, and you frequent one place enough, try your hand at making friends w/ a papasan.

That having been said, I’m not sure that Plaza’s women are any hotter than Cupidy’s. Cupidy, in fact, is a lot more falang-friendly. Their papasans speak English well enough to make you comfortable. The one caveat though, besides the taxi surcharge, is that if they can get away with it, they will quote you a higher rate if they think you are a total newbie. I think the fishbowl girls cost around 1800B and the sideliners around 2200B. If you get quoted much higher than that, balk and walk.

Ratchada Soapies

In keeping with my strategy of trying to make sure I have Option B and Option C always at the ready, I also liked going to Mirage, which is located next to the Palazzo, off Ratchadaphisek Rd. If you’re in a cab, just go straight north on Soi 21, and it becomes Ratchada. I call this area Soapy Central, because there are a good 10 – 12 soapies here within reasonable walking distance. In the past, though, it’s been a pain in the ass getting there and back during prime soapy hours. Finally, there is now an easy way. Last summer, the Thais, in their infinite wisdom, opened a subway system that makes access to soapy central a snap. Just as the Skytrain made going to and from Nana, Emporium, and MBK, etc., really convenient, there is now no reason not to take the Subway system to soapy central. Here’s a decent link: http://www.bangkokbob.net/subway.htm

In the Sukhumvit area, the nearest station is on Soi 21. Although it is located within a stone’s throw from the Skytrain Asok station, they are not connected. You have to get out of the Skytrain station and descend down to the Subway station. The subway stations are new and immaculate. Just buy a ticket and go. From the Sukhumvit station, you go to the fourth stop (Huai Khwang) and get off. I think it cost about 30B. Go to exit 3 (I believe) which should be the southwestern most exits. Voila – soapy central.

We walked to Mirage, but were disappointed w/ the pickings there, so we decided to check out the other soapies in the vicinity. For some reason, we didn’t go into Subway (Eat Fresh), and continued north. Between Subway and Nataree, there is a soapy that didn’t seem to have an English name. We peeked in, but the talent was anything but and we hightailed it out of there. We were far luckier at Nataree. The viewing/selection area is smaller than most, but there were a lot of lookers, some in the bowl and some outside. I think the bowl girls were around 1700B. The sideliners were more expensive, depending on the color and letter on their badges. I picked a sideliner and was pleased with the effort. The rooms, though, weren’t so hot.

Afterwards, we decided to recon a few more of the nearby soapies. We went to Emmanuelle, which had a very nice décor that made it look like a high end US strip joint. The girls were pretty good, but I remember being quoted a high price AND high surcharge. We thanked them and walked out. Continuing further north, we stopped by Hi-Class, which I think is owned by the same group as Emmanuelle. The décor wasn’t as nice and there weren’t as many women, but I was quite impressed by the selection. And price – no surcharge and the prices were more in line w/ Cupidy, Mirage and Nataree. We intended to come back to Hi-Class, but alas we failed to do so. Perhaps next time.

We eventually crossed to the eastern side of Ratchada so that we could check out Caesars. The place is huge, with food, live music and a VERY big fishbowl. Unfortunately, the prices were huge as well (surcharge as well). Interesting place, but I can’t say that they had so many super looking women as to make me want to spend so much more money there. In fact, I can’t say that their women were any better than anywhere else. Don’t take my word for it. Hop on the subway and take a look.

This is a great trip report. Thanks for writing it.
Sounds like you can soapie hop, enter the soapie, hang there a few minutes and head out with no cost if nothing fancies you?

Have you flown on Cathay before? Any difference in seats space?
I keep seeing $800.75 from LAX on Cathay and $863 on EVA leaving early in the morning (1:00 am)

There is absolutely no charge for walking into a soapy and examining the talent. If you're not happy with what's in the fishbowl, head right back out. No fee, no penalty.

As for Cathay, I haven't used them in YEARS. Couple of differences w/ EVA. Cathay uses Hong Kong as the hub. EVA uses Taipei. HK is a MUCH more interesting city and the airport much nicer. EVA has a deluxe class that's a couple of hundred dollars more than regular coach, with a little bit wider seat and a little more legroom. I've heard that Cathay's coach seats are really small (although I don't know if it is any smaller than EVA's coach seat).

EVA is connected w/ Continental's FF program, and Cathay is connected w/ American Airlines'. If you have elite status w/ AA, you should consider going Cathay, since it's VIP lounge in HK is reportedly excellent.

The duration from LAX to BKK is perhaps an hour or two shorter by going w/ Cathay rather than EVA. If cost is the same between Cathay's coach and EVA's deluxe, I would go w/ EVA. Ditto if you don't ming spending a couple bills more for a little more space. Otherwise, Cathay might be a little better choice (especially if you are an AA program member).

I've flown both Cathay and EVA coach. Found the seats about the same, but EVAs service to be MUCH better when the flight is full.

E

I paid $730 on United from LAX for next Monday, bought the ticket a couple weeks ago.