Amid the bright lights of Bangkok's thriving sex scene, freelance street workers remain largely invisible and unprotected. Police argue their presence helps cut down on other crimes...
Harem Club is located at the Pratamnak end of Soi Diamond in the venue that was previously B4.
It is part GoGo and part short time bar.
When I visited the opening day it was a hostess bar with fat ladies. I have now visited a couple of times since, and there are now dancers, mostly in bikinis or double bikinis, so the bar now qualifies as a GoGo
The lobby, bars and dancing area covers 3 floors.
Drinks are from 100B.
All in rates are similar to Soi 6; Bar Fines + Short Time + Room = 1,000B. Another option is for 2 ladies and 3 hours at 2,500B
So there are now 89 bars around Pattaya that have Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less.
Wildcats A-GoGo has opened on Soi BJ taking over from Bada Bing.
I visited after about 11pm.
I saw 10 dancers on the stage. One dancer would change each song. The girls were dancing enthusiastically, and were paying attention to the audience. Half the dancers were bikini clad and the others were coyote. I saw just one topless dancer. 5
show girls were bottomless.
There were 24 dancers on the mamasan's board but 6 were off.
There was a happy hour before 10pm when st least some drinks were 69 Baht. After happy hour soft drinks are 95 Baht. There's no draft beer.
Bar fines are from 700 Baht to 1,500 Baht (coyote).
There are now 87 bars in Pattaya with Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less
Alcohol taxes have been hiked in Thailand to boost state revenues. This was confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong who said:
I want to assure you the tax restructuring for alcoholic beverages is not aimed at boosting state revenue, but is aimed at reducing the number of alcohol drinkers.
More importantly, we hope alcohol consumption will reduce during this Buddhist Lent period.
The tax increase has already taken effect. Also the way the tax is calculated has also been changed. The alcohol tax is now broken into two parts - a tax on product value and a tax on alcohol content.
The maximum tax for beer will be maintained at 60% of the product's value, but the effective tax rate per litre of 100% alcohol content rose from 100 baht to 300 baht. The tax hike will drive up beer prices by about 3-7 baht per bottle.
For wine, products worth less than 600 baht per bottle will be be exempt from the product value-based tax, while those priced above 600 baht will be taxed at 36% of the product's retail value. In terms of alcohol content, all wine will now be
taxed at 1,000 baht per litre of pure alcohol, up from 100 baht.
Funhouse A-GoGo opened on 2nd September at the old Club Blu venue on the corner of Soi Buakhao and Soi LK Metro.
A couple of days earlier Champagne A-GoGo at the other end of Soi LK Metro closed for renovations.
The rework is said to be extensive and the target re-opening seems to be around mid October. There are also rumours that the re-opening will be under new management.
The Champagne girls seem to have relocated to Bachelor A-GoGo and the new Funhouse A-GoGo.
The net result is that there are now 87 bars with Thai dancers wearing bikinis or less.
Wildcats A-GoGo is taking over from Bada Bing on Soi BJ, just off Walking Street. The bar is under new management. But saying, that the new Wildcats manager will be familiar, he is the old Bada Bing manager.
Champagne A-GoGo is located on Soi LK Metro at the Soi Diana end.
The bar will close at the end of August for refurbishment. It is reported to be a major project that will take some time.
Perhaps inevitably Champagne seems to have been most affected by the new competition on the soi. Champagne was lways more of a show bar than others on the soi. The newcomers of Queen, Bachelor, Crystal and Showgirls all seem to be targeting a
similar customer base.
Funhouse A-GoGo is taking over from Club Blu on the corner of Soi Buakhao and Soi LK Metro. According to the bar's facebook page, the bar is hoping to open on Monday 2nd September.
Lets hope the bar does better than XO Club. This was one of those very expensive clubs featuring East European dancers. It opened on Walking Street in front of New Living Dolls One on 14th August. It closed a few days later on 24th August.
X-Zone is located on the upper floor of the Covent Garden Complex.
The bar was reported as dark but the explanation is that a meeting to resolve staff issues was taking place. The bar owner has now stated that the bar is continuing, and indeed the bar opened at the usual time on the next evening.
Some staff have now departed. But last night the bar was continuing with 8-10 dancers and 4 girls for the very naughty show.
If your favourite girl has departed then it may be worth trying Babydolls.
There are now 86 bars in the Pattaya area with Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less
Carre Blanc has been raided by police who say they found a 17 year old girl working there. The bar is known for plenty of fun in the bar, but reviewers usually report on the girls being on the older side, rather than the other way round.
The previous French owner is reported to be working on a new project opening in Soi Arunothai.
Rehab, the coyote club on Soi Buakhao, a couple of blocks south of the main GoGo area around Soi LK Metro, is laying on a free Baht bus. It presumably runs on a circuit to connect with the main customer traffic further north on the soi.
There's now less dancing on Soi 8, with Club 23 ending its coyote dancing. It now operates as a standard bar.
Well the connections of Moulin Rouge seem to have taken the police raid in the stride, and the bar was open as usual on the following night.
The theme of East European dancing is set to increase its presence on Walking Street with the opening of XO Club. This is located on the alley down to New Living Dolls One and is set to open on 1st August. The bar seems to have connections with
the long running Galaxy Cabaret.
But Russian dancing is not universally popular, perhaps something to do with the sky high prices. Crazy Horse, a Russian Cabaret located further south on Walking Street, has gone dark.
Dream Club A-GoGo opened at the Soi Diamond venue that was previously Carousel A-GoGo on 24th July.
There's no happy hour nor is there a draft beer. However there is a 100 Baht option of bottled Leo.
At 9:30pm on opening night there were 25 dancers, all coyote. The bar has a dream that the dancers will soon lose a fair few clothes. But for the moment the bar fines are 1500 Baht until midnight, and 1000 Baht after.
Bada Bing is located on Soi BJ, just a few paces off Walking Street.
It has been pretty low key on my last couple of visits with too few girls wearing too many clothes.
Unsurprisingly this situation has led to a change of management. The bar has now closed and is hoping to re-open under new management on 5th August. The hopes are to introduce plenty of nudity and also shows.
There are currently 87 bars in the Pattaya area with Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less.
Bachelor Pattaya opened on the 17th July on Soi LK Metro.
It does seem to have scored many comments on the forums yet but the few that it has have reported a good looking club, a few friendly ladies but no nudity.
Dream Club A-GoGo opened on 24th July on Soi Diamond at the location that was once Carousel.
Again it hasn't scored many forum comments yet.
Reviews to follow.
There are now 87 bars in Pattaya with Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less.
Champion A-GoGo is a long running bar on Walking Street near Soi BJ.
The bar has been struggling of late and the management has decided to do something different. And unfortunately the new idea is to try a pussy tricks show.
The happy hour has ended and the draft beer is now 85 Baht.
There is an entry charge for people snared by touts which includes a drink. It is still free to those that walk in independenty.
Dream Club A-GoGo
The new bar replacing Carousel on Soi Diamond has given up a pre-opening and will now open up with dancers on 24th July. There will be an opening party on 27th July.
Bachelor Pattaya is a new bar on Soi LK Metro opposite Queen Club. It is set to open tonight(17th) and will have an opening party on Saturday 20th July. On the same day, sister GoGo, , Queen Club, will have its 1st anniversary party.
Dream Club is a redevelopment of the Soi Diamond bar that was previously Carousel Club. It is set to open on 18th July, but just as a bar until after the two dry days for Buddhist celebrations. It will open as a GoGo bar on 24th July.
In the early hours of Saturday Pattaya Police and Local Government Officials conducted checks on three Late Night entertainment venues in North Pattaya.
Over 100 Police, Government Officials and Volunteers conducted raids on the Hollywood Discotheque, Tawana Pub and MC Pub in the two hour operation which saw a number of individuals arrested for minor drug offences and some foreigners who were not
carrying their passports which is a fineable offence in Thailand.
These raids are set to continue for the foreseeable future and ensure that everyone, including foreigners, comply with all aspects of Thai Law.
It was a little later than hoped but they got there on the appointed day. Which was a good job really as they had invited an awful lot of people to the opening. It was full. So first impressions will have to wait for another night.
There are now 86 bars around Pattaya with Thai girls dancing in bikinis or less.
FLB is a long running hostess bar on Walking Street between Insomnia and the street's famous tree.
For the last few month the bar has been employing agency coyote dancers, but has now announced that the bar will revert to staff hostesses.
Easier said than done, but several bars have spoken of the desire to do away with the expensive agency girls. Lady Love on Soi LK Metro recently announced that it no longer uses agency dancers.
Police have been raiding Pattaya bars again and particularly picking on discos.
On Saturday nigh/Sunday morning, police raided the Bali Hai clubs, Lima Lima Club, the MC2 Infinity Pub and Mixx Discotheque.
Thai and Foreign customers along with members of staff were urine tested and after over 200 tests were conducted a total of 15 people were detained after irregularities were found with their test results.
11 female patrons, 3 staff members and 1 famous model from Bangkok were arrested and taken to Pattaya Police Station for processing.
The Glass House A-GoGo opened on Walking Street in February 2013.
There have been changes at The Glass House. Owner and hard working manager Brian has sold most of his shares to partners.
He also departed from his job as manager. And it is reported that most of the staff walked out with him.
The bar closed a couple of nights for recruiting and then re-opened.
It seems that the new management will ease off on prices. Happy hour and 59 Baht draft beer will be introduced and bar fines have been reduced to a straight 700 Baht.
The bar will also try to avoid using coyotes. The upstairs bar will feature nudity and the bar intends to introduce shows.
The market leading Happy group have put up their drinks prices in response to the recent government tax hike.
It seems that the beer suppliers to Pattaya's bars have substantially increased their prices.
Harem Club is located at the Pratamnak end of Soi Diamond in the venue that was previously B4.
Funhouse A-GoGo opened on 2nd September at the old Club Blu venue on the corner of Soi Buakhao and Soi LK Metro.
Wildcats A-GoGo is taking over from Bada Bing on Soi BJ, just off Walking Street. The bar is under new management. But saying, that the new Wildcats manager will be familiar, he is the old Bada Bing manager.
Carre Blanc has been raided by police who say they found a 17 year old girl working there. The bar is known for plenty of fun in the bar, but reviewers usually report on the girls being on the older side, rather than the other way round.
Well the connections of Moulin Rouge seem to have taken the police raid in the stride, and the bar was open as usual on the following night.
Pattaya police raided the Walking Street bar, Moulin Rouge, last night at around half past midnight.
Bachelor Pattaya is a new bar on Soi LK Metro opposite Queen Club. It is set to open tonight(17th) and will have an opening party on Saturday 20th July. On the same day, sister GoGo, , Queen Club, will have its 1st anniversary party.
In the early hours of Saturday Pattaya Police and Local Government Officials conducted checks on three Late Night entertainment venues in North Pattaya.
FLB is a long running hostess bar on Walking Street between Insomnia and the street's famous tree.
Pattaya Police conducted an undercover sting operation at Fun Seekers Dance Bar on Soi 6.
