Once you’ve been out here for a while, you tend to “toughen up” to a lot of things. I’ve found myself sat in gogo bars staring at the TV, blithely ignoring the skimpily-clad, or even naked girls jiggling on stage, more times than I care to remember.
The touts of Patpong may seem intimidating to the fresh tourist, but you eventually either develop witty (or otherwise) retorts to their sales pitches, or just blank them out completely.
But wandering down Patpong 2 and seeing a farang bar tout did give me a bit of a shock. I’d guess he was in his mid-50s, and although sporting stubble he looked healthy enough. So why on earth had he sunk this low? Perhaps I’ll go back and offer him a plate of som tam and a Mach 3 in return for an interview. Seriously, if you thought the most desperate position for a westerner in Bangkok was that of the ฿35k/month English teacher, think again.
He looked at me through desperate eyes, assured me that Super Queen was a terrific bar, and implored me to enter. How could I refuse?
Inside lay a stage, a bar, and a selection of unattractive, bored-looking girls. The whole interior was utterly dilapidated, and didn’t so much need a lick of paint as burning to the ground and starting again! The butchest-looking gogo dancer I’ve ever seen swayed idly on stage as an overweight waitress moved in on my table. An elderly Thai woman slept on a couch behind us.
Aside from one average-looking dancer with a surprising number of body piercings, there was absolutely nothing of any interest whatsoever here. To top it off, my waitress took ฿30 out of my change and refused to return it. Obviously ฿30 is a trifling amount, but bare-faced theft is not going to encourage me to return to this hovel of a bar. Possibly the worst bar in Patpong.
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So did you talk to the farang tout? What’s the story??
View all comments by Julian
No, I’d planned on collaring him on the way out - to complain about the service if nothing else, but he’d disappeared.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
Turns out he was the manager. Oops.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
I guess the bloke that walks around Patong selling pasties to tourists may be a little below the 35k baht threshold too.
View all comments by Combover
Today, at Phrom Phong Station, there was a Ferang with a cardboard sign, written in English, saying he didn’t have a ticket home, and was looking for 500 baht donations. The sign didn’t say where “home” was, but presumeably he was trying to make plane fare. Good luck…
When I moved here I made sure to keep enough frequent flyer miles in my account to fly business class to any Western Country in the world… just in case.
I’ve often thought that I would never want to be broke and stranded in Bangkok, and now that I’ve seen this bloke I may have nightmares tonight.
View all comments by werewolf
This guy has been around for months. I think it is just his way of getting beer money. I tried talking to him once and he would hardly say a word. Was strange. Supposedly he only takes the big bills and won’t take small change. Bizarre.
View all comments by Smitty
Not the Dutch guy?
http://www.thaiso.com/thaiso-tv/dutch-beggar-bangkok.htm
Obviously the YouTube link won’t work if you’re in Thailand. Unless you’ve very very clever.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
For anyone in Thailand, we have it to watch here on ifilm as well.
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2834021
View all comments by thaiSo
your right this bar is the armpit of hell, this was the first bar i ever went into in bangkok about 3 years ago
i went back there a few weeks back for old times sake as i thought it couldnt of gotten any worse…….. cough cough
the girl doing the show was horrific, must of been 200LBS and the show was shyte. i told the ferang tout the place was a shithole and he didnt say a word
hes been there for years, and hes from newcastle england. recently he started slicking his hair back and wearing glasses - think the guy has aids or something because he looks an absolute wreck
View all comments by Stevie G
i have seen the tout outside and he is a sorry state
hes from sunderland i think and he dresses like a clown
View all comments by Penfold
p.s. on a side note i was being harrassed as i watched the appauling show and one of the girls passed me a glass bottle with the lid on to verify it was real for the minge trick of opening it - in a pissed state accidentally grazed my knuckle on it and it started to bleed quite heavily……. then to my horror the girl grabbed my hand and licked the blood off like a vampire then asked for a tip……. without a doubt the grossest thing i have seen in BKK
View all comments by Penfold
Was in there early on the 2nd of AUGUST and god it was bad but I was pretty pissed and reckoned I'd better see something of Patpong as I was passing through.Met an older Australian guy in the bar across the road and after we'd had a few drinks we had the courage to go over.We were the only two customers in the place and god some of the birds were dogs.The ping-pong bird was gross but being pissed went into a dingy side room with the only attractive[relative after seven pints] one in the place.It cost1400 Baht but I was only in fifteen minutes cos she wouldn't turn the lights on and with no visual stimulation I couldn't keep it up.As they say it was an experience but not one I would repeat.Don't feel I was particularly ripped off as the drink was cheap,by the way the sketchy english guy is still hanging around outside.Another thing the bar downstairs had pool tables and some particularly nice looking Trannies.
View all comments by Scotty