I live in Bangkok, and thought I'd earn my keep around here a bit by offering you gents a quick rundown --by no means 100% comprehensive-- of the gogo scene here.
The other night I went on a crawl of sorts with an expat pal of mine who hadnt been to the gogos in awhile. We started our evening around 9:30 pm at Soi Cowboy, meeting at Baccara.

Baccara has always been a popular bar, though I've never cared for it much: never saw talent worth writing home about. That has changed, although I still don't like the bar: the music's too loud and the haze of smoke is choking. But upstairs there are some nice spinners dancing, sans panties, in the style that has now been adopted at Mandarin in Nana Plaza (more on that later). We found the atmosphere just too smoky and noisy and moved on to...

Shark
one of my favorite bars in Bangkok, they consistently have a good selection of girls and a fun atmosphere. The installations are a bit run down, and the stadium seating cramps the feng shui of the space, but it's not overly loud and the girls are friendly and cute. It was a slow weeknight, but this popular haunt still had enough customers to fill all the booth seating, and since we did not care to sit at foot of the stage, we took a pass and moved on to....

Midnite
I started checking in at Midnite recently, following Blazers' trailblazing lead--he reported sniffing out a real hottie here.
I can't tell which one he is talking about, as there are several bleach blondes--but this place has taken a dramatic turn for the better, in terms of talent. I still can't say I like the place, but it is now at least worth a look. The selection is not very big, or consistent, but there are a few VERY cute girls working here now. They also have feature dancers and feature 'shows', which are imitations of Angel Witches more professional choreographed routines.

I interrupt this gogo revue to bring you a brief report...
one of said cute bleach blondes, the only non-lao speaker in the bunch, has been giving me real good vibes the last few times I popped in, and I'd promised her I'd barfine her...so, tonight I did. I was feeling very hung over after last night's gogo crawl (the one that birthed this revue), so I dragged myself back down to Cowboy after a meal, shower, shave and a pubic trim. My girl from Chiang Mai was taking her turn as a greeter outside, and she was happy to see me--even happier still when I told her she could get dressed and I'd pay her bar. I was in no mood, however, for actually hanging out in the bar (although there were some very shapely girls on stage dancing fully nude at the time)--so I was a little miffed when she steered me over to a booth and sat down and asked me to join her and buy her 3 drinks. 'Um, no, I am paying your bar--you want three drinks instead of the barfine?'
This maneuver had something to do with Midnite's drinks and barfines quota system--every bar has one and they vary. The girls have to get a minimum # of drinks per month, and barfines per month, and if you go over your drinks quota, you can use a certain number of them to cancel out mandatory barfines. So some girls really like to hustle the drinks so they dont have to barfine as much. Anyhow, I told her no drinks, I pay bar, if you want to go you can get dressed.
At this point the (big fat and homely) mamasan came over, and addressed me in a gruff tone of voice, asking me whether I wanted my girl for ST or LT. To which, I responded in an equally gruff tone, 'that's none of your business--I know this girl, I am barfining her, what we do outside of the bar has nothing to do with you.' Then the mamasan, the waitress and my girl (who was growing nervous her fish might be wriggling off the hook), started talking in thai about drinks. I indiscreetly took back the 1000bht note I had handed to the waitress, and got up to leave: 'this is no way to do business,' I told the mamasan. 'I don't know why you treat a customer this way when I am trying to pay bar and make you money.' I walked out to see if a fave of mine was working at Shark, and she wasn't.
On the way back, I passed by Midnite, and Chiang Mai girl was outside, obviously bummed at losing a sure barfine. I sat down, told her not to worry, and gave her the 1000 and told her I'd pay bar, but that I had to show mamasan she couldnt stick her nose in my business that way. Now, this brings us to a peeve I harbor towards Midnite: their barfine is 700, 800 during during happy hour....this is 100-200 more than any other gogo in Bangkok I have seen. And I explained to my girl I thought it outrageous that on top of an already hiked barfine, the mamasan was trying to milk me for drinks.
Anyhow, my girl goes in, comes out shortly, and we go get a cab and hightail it back to my place where some very above-average lovemaking ensues. The girl was going to stay until 2 am, for two reasons: first, she kinda likes me, and second, she wanted to reassure me that she wasnt going back to the bar (this is one of the reasons the mamasans try to interject themselves in the dealmaking sometimes, to try and get the girl back to the bar after short time, and she knew I know this trick and was pissed off about this). Turns out she has a kid, and works a day job on top of the gogo gig, so I told her she was free to go and get a couple extra hours sleep.
I slipped a 1000 in her purse, and when she fished it out to see what she'd earned, she stuck her hand out for a tip and pouted somewhat: 'for taxi, you give tip', she said. 'You only give me 1000'.
'I gave you 1300,' I replied.
She dug around in her purse some more, and pulled out some change, a 100 and a 50. No, you only gave me 1000, she pouted. I reminded her the barfine was 700, and I never received any change (in my mind, in fact, I had decided to give her 1500 if she gave me the change, but since she tried to pull a fast one, I was only inclined to hand over another 1000bht note). She told me she bought drinks with the oter 300. I was totally unsympathetic, responding that she shouldnt have spent her taxi money on drinks.
She smiled, kissed me, said she wanted to see me again soon, and excused herself.
It's kind of funny with these girls: if you dont know the rules of the game, they will find all kinds of ways to nickel and dime you--and in the end those nickels and dimes add up to many hundreds or thousands of baht. I have a rotation of gogo girls who accept a 1000 flat fee from me, and they know that's what they're gonna get beforehand. They stay shorttime if they want, or longtime if they're in the mood--if they just wanna hang out and sleep and cuddle and watch a movie, then they're on their own dime.
I try not to be too much of a cheapskate, and generally on the first barfine I cough up the going rate (which is roughly 2000ST-3000LT, though if you are a regular they cut you a break, especially during low season). But I am not on an expat salary, I get paid in baht and the girls know this and I think would rather be out of the bar getting their pussies licked with a barfine on their chit, than shimmying on stage back at the gogo.

but I digress....back to last night's gogo crawl.
After Midnite we hit Tilac.

Tilac is hands-down the best gogo bar in Cowboy, and perhaps all of the 'kok. When I say best, I am referring to the clean new installations, the open seating arrangement, multiple stages, decent music and lighting, cleanliness, flat screen TVs, and of course, plentiful pooying. They have coyote dancers on weekends--not sure if they're barfinable.
This is not to say it's my favorite place to barfine--I have a regular girl here, so I cant really fuck as many of these girls as I'd like to--the other night was an exception, because I 'caught' my girlwalking out in her street clothes to meet a customer who'd paid her bar. Sneaky-ass me, I'd stalled having drinks at Shark hoping she'd get barfined so I would have a free pass that evening to sample some new pussy. And I did, a sweet 20 y.o. who rocked me (and who just now called me at 2 am as the bar was letting out to come over for a toss--I had to say no, since I just kicked out Chiang Mai girl, but I hate to say no, because then the girl slips out of your rotation and is less inclined to hook you up with that discounted no-barfine pussy.)
Most of the best looking girls in this bar are very mercenary--not faulting them for this, it IS a job and they have a limited number of years to ply their trade. But I advise mongers visiting Tilac, if you DONT have the time to make return visits and cultivate a warm friendly relationship with a girl here, you can expect to pay a lot. I've seen some ask 3000ST, and hold firm. And I would guess the service would be just fair to average for the extra baht spent. Tilac has become sort of Cowboy's version of Rainbow 4--known for having the biggest selection of hotties, with predictable results on prices (I cant speak to the service of the superstar girls, I only know 2 of them, and while I've have a good time, I dont pay them the going rate and I have known them for a couple months.) I do recommend NOT barfining #7 or #11 or #15. Ignore this caveat at your own risk. Report back if I have misjudged them as being too overly mercenary, or if you barfine them and they turn out to be rimjob cum-in-your-mouth freaks.

Again, I digress. After a couple drinks at Tilac, we decided to shift gears and head to Nana.
First stop:

Mandarin, which is one of my faves in Nana: for the girls, definitely not for the music or the atmosphere. They have a second floor in effect on weekends (and every night during high season), which is where the hotter spinners dance. I barfined probably the most beautiful girl I have ever seen naked in my life from here a couple weeks ago. She was 18, and new to Bangkok and the gogo scene, from Burirum. Absolutely gorgeous. Flawless. But, she was so nervous, I didnt penetrate her. Her heart was racing like a rabbit, and not from ya-baa. We enjoyed some foreplay and I brought her off to a few orgasms, but she was petrified at the idea of actually having sex. She also refused to smoke. She didnt ask for a tip, and I didnt give her one--this caused a little beef with the mamasan the following night, but after explaining the situation and buying another ladies drink, it seems I'm in the clear. Now, to clarify, I told the girl when we got back to my place that if she didnt want to put out, she could go home and just take the night off. She assured me she was up to the task, adn I was as gentle and patient as I know how to be, but she was a little freaked out (and for those who don't know me--eg, everyone except tujunga--I am no srping chicken any more, but I am under 40, far from ugly and in excellent shape).

When I returned a couple weeks later to show my friend the fare at Mandarin, he just had to have one of their little spinners, also from Burirum. The rate agreed to was 1500, plus barfine. She delivered slightly above par service, I understand.

Now that I was on my own, I moved along to Rainbow 4.
Now, I really dont dig this bar, but it has the biggest selection in Nana and I know a couple of the girls who I always enjoy seeing, so I stopped in.

My faves werent working, so across the way I went to Angel Witch, just because.
By this time, it was nearly 2 am, and I was drunk off my ass. I have a little bit of history at Angel Witch: Dave is a very friendly acquaintance of mine who often is good enough to buy me a drink, and I have barfined their (in)famous feature dancer Jojo a couple times, and one of their doorgirls many years ago when she first came to work at the bar (and was much cuter).
I have had my eye on another girl for quite some time now, and since the bar was nearly empty I had a chance finally to talk with her and buy her a drink. She was reluctant to meet me out front after the bar closed, and I was likewise reluctant to pay bar at 1:50am--she asked me to come back tomorrow, and that probably means I'll have to cross her off my 'to do' list. I've got too many girls already who are considerate enough to meet me after or before work and save me the barfine to bother patronizing pooying who try to gratuitously milk every last baht out of me.

I shoved off from Nana around 2:10, wasted, tumbled into a taxi where I left my fucking bag. That cost me a pair of glasses, some cool Nike basketball shorts, a couple t shirts, an umbrella and some toiletries (I started this barcrawl straight from work, and was at the gym before going to work). Rats. Maybe I shoulda paid that girls' barfine, at least then I almost certainly wouldnt have left my bag behind!
To Dave's credit, I phoned him at the bar to make sure I didnt leave my stuff behind at A-W, and he was kind enough to have a look around and make sure none of his staff had lifted it, and phoned me back around 20 mins later, apologising for my misfortune and his inability to help.
Moral of the story: dont drink too much at the gogos, pull a girl early or go home when you realize you're not gonna barfine!

Final thoughts:
the gogos are packed with talent right now....and not packed with customers. Some of the aforementioned bars, like Rainbow 4, Angel Witch, and Midnite were practically devoid of customers. You could take your pick, and that's not usually the case at R4 and A-W, where you gotta have a lot of money or be a regular to get the girl of your choice. I have seen Jojo start bidding wars for her pussy as A-W is closing, and if you arent willing to come up with 5000-6000, she'll go home with that old prune from Norway who's got the cash and a few pills of Viagra handy!

I haven't been to Soi Cowboy in a wile, staying at the Nana Hotel its just too easy to walk across the street, hell half the time I dont even make it out of the parking lot but next time I am in Bkk I will make a point of heading up to Soi Cowboy, for old times sake. Your report has reminded me that there is more to Mongering BKK then Nana.

Zuperfly ! excellent trip report !!
a couple of pics would have made this report
a must read for every Thailand lover !
but thats your choice of weather you will post pics or not.

Thanks for the updates. It's good to get fresh 411 from an expat. I have a huge soft spot for Buriram spinners, so I was nodding accordingly when you mentioned the one from Mandarin.

One slight correction. The sans panty style of dancing has been present at Mandarin for many years; definitely not a recent adoption.

By the way, speaking of screwy bar fine and drink policies, Baccara's system is so fucked up now that they are on my boycott list. I've had several good fines out of there over the years, but simply refuse to put up with their gouging.

Nice to see positive comments from board veterans.
Sorry for no pics, happy, that's just my policy: no evidence!
Indeed, Isawal, if you are limiting yourself to Nana, you are really cutting short your horizons unnecessarily. Time was, not so long ago, that I would rarely go to Cowboy--but depending on your likes and dislikes, Cowboy gives Nana a run for its money these days, and I actually prefer it right now.

Good one, bunky! Even the same old song & dance sometimes has an improvisation to keep us on our toes. And it's good to know that familiarity breeds breaks - as you know, the universal hue & cry on my recent trip was 2000 ST.

You probably are wired in Bangkok, but I found a great optical option if you need to replace those glasses.

One more little detail I forgot to report:

In many gogos nowadays, especially in Cowboy, the bars are jamming cell phone signals. You will find in Tilac, Shark, and Baccara, for example, your phone does not work.
A smart move on the part of bar managers/owners, as this keeps girls and regulars from communicating during bar hours, when they need the girls in the bar to draw in customers and sell booze.
So, if you are expecting a call from a tilac or your boss, make sure your phone has a signal before you settle in for the evening's festivities, or you'll likely miss the call.
And, if you want to repeat with your gogo girl from the night before, but you dont feel like going down to the bar to pay her fine, be certain to call her before 7:30pm and make your desires known, because chances are you wont be able to reach her once she crosses the threshold of the bar.

Who is Jojo?

Now that I think of it, that fat mamasan at Midnight was trying to get me to go for another girl as she didnt want to lose one of her hotties so early in the night. She then started speaking to my girl in Thai to make sure she comes back to the bar and then my girl looked nervous and pointed at me and said, "He speaks good Thai". Instead of confronting the issue and realizing I was pissed, the mamasan just walked away.

You point out why I hate Bangkok for more than a couple days. The girls are just spoiled with guys partying on corporate accounts and have zero expectations of price or level of service.

I take it you are an ESL teacher as most guys who get paid in baht are doing that job. Good side is that you get to live in BKK, bad side is that they dont pay ya much. I hear you can get good money on the side tutoring.

Yo Blazers.
I aint no ESL teacher.
But if I told you what I do, it'd make it too easy to ID me!

Jojo used to be a feature dancer at Hollywood Carousel. She has a serpent tattoed on her calf, and has added another couple tatts as the years wore on. Superhot girl from Burirum, and a very acrobatic dancer, who is now so jaded after years in the business that I do not recommend trying to barfine her.
She loves to drink tequila, and she loves to run up your tab, be forewarned -- but as always, if you just gotta have it, up2u. Lots of guys, myself included, have seen her and lost our better judgement, willing to pay whatever to get a taste of that ass. Personally, the last time I barfined her, I had extreme buyer's remorse. Her attitude in bed is not fun loving as it used to be years ago.

you have to watch the bargirls specially the bars with pool tables as the girls are looking for sponsors

I love the idea of jamming the damn cell phones. I'll check to see about getting such a device for my car. I recently had a fantastic hottie spend a lot of time on her cell phone, while we were on a "freebie" date. How rude!

Zuperfly, wow! great report!i'll be in BBK in about a week or so but i planned to go directly to Pattaya. my first round in BBK was not so good but i have to admit it was my first time there. but after this report, i feel i should give it another try. know what to look for and know what to avoid. thank you!