After the success of Thai Bar Girls – Money for Honey I am now going to turn my attention onto go go girls and wrap up my mini series.
There are a few different ways of escaping the afternoon heat of Pattaya, and slipping into one of the many go go bars to enjoy a happy hour drink in the company of scantily clad ladies is one of the more enjoyable options.
Go Go bars first appeared in Thailand during the Vietnam War and were convenient sexercise outlets for the US forces on R&R. The stampede of tourists to Thailand in the late 20th century saw go go bars become more popular as the sex industry sprung to life in Bangkok’s tourist hot spots. Patpong (pictured right), Soi Cowboy and later Nana Plaza drew the customers in as Pattaya also grew to become known as one of the major destinations for the sex tourist.
The Classroom, Mistys, Living Dolls and Kitten Club may sound like all female pop bands but to the experienced Pattaya man they are a place to beat the heat and watch a dance spectacle to please the eye. In a city where sex sells, the go go dancers command a monthly salary far above that of the bar girls and the “fee” they command from their punters rubber-stamps their more elite and glamorous status. So what are the advantages and disadvantages between the go go dancer and the bar girl.
Green for Go Go
- What you see is what you get -
The go go dancers are as a rule of thumb lithe and good looking. Their bodies obviously being on show means they are normally a lot more fitter looking with little marking. The dancers also tend to be taller girls. - Where have you been darling – All the go go bars have short time rooms where you take the girl to conclude your business. This is a great advantage for the girls as it allows the tourist and ex pat, married or otherwise, to slip into these bars for a hour or two of unseen fun.
- Professionalism – These girls will give a more professional and sophisticated approach to pleasing their customers, the salary needs to be protected.
Red for No Go Go
- Price – You will pay a lot more to the go go girl than to your average bar girl quite simply for the reasons listed above. Bar fines will start at 500 baht and the dancers will demand between 1000 & 2000 baht. Afternoon and very late at night may see the girls prices drop dependant on punter availability. Christmas and New Year will see the prices rise sharply.
- Sugar Daddy – There is much more liklihood of the go go girl having a rich sugar daddy than the less well off bar girl, and she certainly isn’t going to tell you about him. Leave your heartstrings in your hotel room when visiting go go bars.
- Island Girl – If you’re thinking of taking a go go girl off to an island for a spot of R&R, it’s going to be expensive. Compared to the lower incomed bar girl your exotic dancer will command a high fee, almost certainly expect a top class hotel and will expect to shop at the top boutiques instead of the bar girl’s markets. The bar fine will also have to be paid on top.
Soi Pattayaland and Walking Street both have a wealth of go go bars, with others dotted all around the city. If you are going for an afternoon or evening venture to see the dancing girls of Pattaya, don’t forget, leave your heartstrings in your hotel room and good luck.
Credits
Photograph Patpong Dancer by Gregorof
Top Photograph Pattaya, Walking Street by Roman Lashkin
Bottom Photograph Pattaya, Walking Street by Roman Lashkin
© 2009 – 2012, Martyn. All rights reserved.
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HD looking at the photograph at the bottom of the post reminds me of why I like living here (i.e. too many farang) the photo at the top reminds me of what I am missing.
Good post.
Mike’s last blog post..Soi Dogs, Buddhists and a Storm
Hi Martyn,
Go Go Girls seem to have quite an acceptable position in the society there. No doubt business is good as there is always a market for this service especially from farang who go there just fo that.
Presumably you have to be a gangster to qualify as a Sugar Daddy!?
Somehow I don’t think I could ever personally ever bring myself to go into this kind of thing, even without a venus by my side.
Martin In Bulgaria’s last blog post..Recession Hits Bulgarian Family Business
Martyn, good post and I’m sure for some lots of good information, but,I never came to Thailand before meeting Ciejay so never had the experience of the Go GO’s in Thailand as a single gentleman looking for pleasure. and I think you have settled down a bit yourself after meeting Wili so now you good Man.
Malcolm
Malcolm’s last blog post..IS THE DOCTOR IN????
Excellent post as usual Martyn…Went gogo hoping Wednesday night and although a few were rocking a lot were dead and by dead I mean my buddy and I were the only customers and we both have ladies so we were only looking.
The odd thing I noticed was how little falang there is in town at the moment and you think the girls would jump at the chance for money…at one point there were 10 of us traveling from gogo to gogo and the girls could care less. They all stayed huddled together talking.
Don’t even get me started on coyote girls.
Pattaya is very quiet at the moment which is nice because when I walk by a beer bar anywhere in town I hear” oiy sexy man welcome”
Talen’s last blog post..Getting Ready for Songkran 2009
Mike – Talen just dropped by and says Pattaya is not busy at all, very quiet.
Martin – You don’t have to be a gangster, just have a few bob and be willing to part with some of it.
Malcolm – I certainly have settled down since meeting Wi. The go go bars are great for the single guys who perhaps visit Thailand once a year.
Talen – Unusually quiet. Pattaya is obviously feeling the credit crunch like most people are. The bar girls would probably be a little friendlier, go go dancers tend to think they are the elite of Pattaya.
As of Friday night there has been a huge influx of people to Pattaya for Songkran…Saturday night walking street was a sea of people and all the bars seemed packed.
After Songkran is over it will most likely be quiet again. I know several bar owners and they are saying it’s the worst trade they’ve seen in a decade. Still massive amounts of fun to be had especially with the girls in the beer bars who always smile…most likely because they know I will be losing baht to them at one of the games.
Talen’s last blog post..Red Shirts Storm ASEAN Summit
You certainly are the man on the spot, drama and excitement dropped on your doorstep.
Bar girls – That butter wouldn’t melt brigade of fun, longing for the quiet family life back in their villages. Always smiling and the source of great fun, a lesson to us all in that you’ve got to make the best of your lot.
How about some more pictures of the insides of the bars. but seriously, living this life gets old really quick.