Bar Reports

[Gaybutton]

There is a city ordinance that was put in place years ago that bar music cannot exceed 90 decibels. At first it was rigidly enforced. That lasted about two weeks. Now it seems that rule has simply been both ignored and forgotten. For years I don't recall even a single case in recent memory in which a bar was penalized for excessively loud music or even asked by the police to turn down the volume.

That is one of the reasons I hardly ever go to the bars anymore. For some strange reason I don't enjoy spending time in a venue where by ear drums stand a good chance of being blown out.

Anyone besides me remember that blasting constant loud music is what eventually drove Manuel Noriega out of his hiding place and surrender to USA authorities? Knowing he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison was preferable to tolerating the music volume. I can sympathize with that. For me, it's similar at some of these bars.

[Jun]

There is a city ordinance that was put in place years ago that bar music cannot exceed 90 decibels. At first it was rigidly enforced. That lasted about two weeks. Now it seems that rule has simply been both ignored and forgotten. For years I don't recall even a single case in recent memory in which a bar was penalized for excessively loud music or even asked by the police to turn down the volume.

Pattaya doesn't have effective law enforcement.
As far as I can see, if a bar pays off the police sufficiently, they can do what they like.

[Jun]

Winner Boys
About 6~7 boys, of which a couple were sat with customers and the rest occasionally were on the stage, in turns.
Two boys might have been borderline candidates for an off. I wasn't really looking for one, although an exceptional candidate would have changed my plans.
One lad was mostly in quite good shape, but was possibly doing everything he could to avoid revealing his teeth with a smile.
The other slim one took a sudden interest in me the moment two of the other farang left. He soon realised this wasn't going to work.


Diamond Bar
Quiet. Although with a total of 4 occupied tables, perhaps that's busy for Sunee. Two lads, as usual.

The two bars across the road were open. I didn't check Nice Boys, as I find a visit about once every 3 years is more than enough.

One advantage of Sunee Plaza is no loud music. Although, to be fair, Jomtien also seems better than last year.

[Jun]

Toy Boys
On my previous visits, in January, the boy selection was the best I've seen for years.

Standards have dropped slightly this time. Perhaps 4-5 lads I could consider offing, but none of the outstanding candidates I saw on the previous visit.
The remainder were not my type, due to being either large, hairy, fat, covered in tattoos or with combinations of these fearures.
One farang arrived and showed some taste by inviting the 4 cutest lads to sit with him. Well done to him for supporting the bar, although slim pickings remained on stage after that. Rotation of boys was slow.

Another farang had a long discussion over the price list, using a phone to translate and left without a purchase.
Beer 280 baht. Boys in underwear.
Very uncomfortable seating.

A-Bomb
Walking past was sufficient to see all the boys were in jeans, so I kept walking.

Dream Boys
I decided to have a look inside, but the staff rushing to the door ahead of me was a warning sign. The boys weren't yet on the stage. I don't like being the only customer, except perhaps when I'm definitely looking to off AND when they have cute lads. I left. When I walked past later they had lads on stage, but I had some other plans. I may visit on another night.

Again, I didn't bother with the likes of Panorama.
There it's about 130 baht for a beer and there's not much going on, now Boyztown is no longer the centre of the gay scene. Going to Jomtien where there's far more going on and paying 80~100 baht per beer makes more sense.
Bear in mind that outside of the gay areas, a price range of 65-100 baht per beer seems typical for bars without entertainment.
I find the Toy Boys pricing of 280 baht per beer, with entertainment is more palatable. For a start, they have very little competition.

[Jun]

Winner Boys
11 boys in the building, plus the well fed one sat outside with clothes on.

A farang buys a bottle of whiskey and they all have a quick shot and leave him. At the second attempt, a few more hang around.

I invite the best looking one off the stage to sit with me. He's quite nice, but there's not much eye contact.
I suspect I'm better off with my lovely Grindr lads, so once we finish, he's tipped and I leave without him.
Customer drink 99, boy drink 160, plus tips.

Their other skinny lad has tatoos and a piercing on his face, so I'm not going to be chasing him.

[Jun]

I wonder how long "The Best Bar" in Jomtien will survive?
They have lots of staff adding to their cost base, but mostly very few customers.
The bar puts on a show sometime around 10:30, with the music volume turned up. I've only seen them busy once, but perhaps they pick up more customers later on?

All my observations are from a safe distance, as there are plenty of quieter bars where I'm pleased to take my custom.
Judging by the number of customers, that's what most other farang prefer.

[Gaybutton]

The bar puts on a show sometime around 10:30, with the music volume turned up.

I have never understood what purpose excessively loud music is supposed to serve. Who is attracted by it compared to who it keeps away? I know of no farang customers who go to bars because they want the music to be that loud. Most of those bar customers are far beyond teen and below 30 age. I doubt excessively loud music is what most of their customer base is looking for.

I'm among the other side of the coin. I can understand why go-go bars need music, but open air beer bars? Speaking only for myself, I would prefer it if they were not playing any music at all. I, for one, don't enjoy it.

In other words, who's it for? And please don't anyone try to tell me it's for the boys. Even if it is, to me it's kind of bizarre to try to attract boys who likely can't pay for drinks and don't drink anyway unless a customer buys it for them. If it's meant to try to attract customers, is it succeeding? Somehow, I think not.

[gerefan]

I wonder how long "The Best Bar" in Jomtien will survive?

A few days ago two Thai friends and I were in Dodo Bar (or whatever it’s called nowadays). The dancers were doing a brilliant job and we stayed about an hour.

My friends and I had not yet been to The “Worst” Bar so decided to cross the road for our next drink and sample the show.

The “Noise” was so loud we had to sit outside, facing the street, and so saw nothing of the show. After less than 10 minutes my two Thai friends said they couldn’t stand it any longer and could we move on. I readily agreed.

So how long will it survive…hopefully not long.

[Jun]

I'm among the other side of the coin. I can understand why go-go bars need music, but open air beer bars? Speaking only for myself, I would prefer it if they were not playing any music at all. I, for one, don't enjoy it.

A good point. As far as I'm concerned, a bar can play music at whatever level it wants, as long as that's contained within the premises.
I simply choose to go elsewhere. No problem.

Once they inflict the music on other bars, it becomes a problem. So the faster "the worst bar" fails, the better. Hopefully they spent most of the money on the refit and will run out soon.

I think the far nicer bar across the road is called "The Club Lounge". They don't appear to have any signs, but that's the name on one of the Jomtien maps.

[Gaybutton]

a bar can play music at whatever level it wants

And when it is excessively loud, my question remains - WHY? Who is that music for?

Gerefan pointed out that the music was too loud even for the two Thai boys he was with.

That extremely loud music is one of the reasons it is rare to find me in a bar these days.