Thailand Stories About Nightlife Mistakes

My first trip to Thailand began April 12th, 2023 in other words, the beginning of the first full blown Songkran Water Festival in Bangkok since before COVID 19. I’m an American who was in his early 60s, retired, and I’ve never visited Southeast Asia. I was planning some of the hotel and city schedule destinations by ear. It was to do Bangkok long enough to recoup from the anticipated jet lag, then jump in for a few days at the Jomtien area near the beach, switch to Central Pattaya near Witherspoons, and also sample Hua Hin. Settled in Bangkok, I left my hotel to explore Soi 22 I think it was my second full night in the city not knowing where to go or what to do there, despite a year or so back in the US watching Thai focused YouTubers.

I made my way past various massage parlors with ladies seated out front something the women working in US spas don’t do. Although people on the opposite side of the soi were doing some festive spraying and splashing, this was not the case on the side featuring most of the little spas. I walked the length of the soi that had massage spots, sampling the eye candy while deciding which one to try. At one of them, a couple of blocks after the Marriott, I inquired about prices and menu. I picked the prettiest girl to my taste a full figured Isaan girl of around 24. I can’t recall whether it was she or the manager who asked if I wanted body to body. Since there isn’t such an option in the States, I had zero clue what body to body entailed. Someone gave me a thumbnail idea of what was involved. “What the heck it’s a vacation, right?” To my slight surprise, the girl walked me upstairs from the street I couldn’t even tell they had a second floor, another difference from US spots. Her generous rear swayed a few steps above me in black yoga pants. Once inside the room, she explained a bit more about how things work. Needless to say, I had a great experience in the massage shop job.

The last time I visited there that week, the first girl was working, but the staff were fully engaged with water fights and she was uninterested in heading upstairs. I walked down the block to a smallish alley bar where the pretty 40 ish owner, Lao, told me her girls service clientele upstairs for 1,000 baht. Though her staff were attractive and some were being chatted up by Westerners, I passed. In Jomtien, I sampled the largest night market, witnessed front desk staff hosing down a passerby, enjoyed my view and hotel breakfast, and one night hired a freelancer that I had met down on a quieter section of Beach Road. She was in denim shorts seated on a curb. We’re still in touch, as she also came to my eventual Central Pattaya hotel, but she spends a lot of time in her home province super quiet girl, maybe 32. I remained in the Kingdom around 27 days, five of them where I stayed at a hotel owned by a lady there. My physical escapades took on the second floor of two massage shops with women in their late 30s.

Central Pattaya was of course sensory overload street food, live DJ music, beer bars, massage shops, lovely bar girls, lots of strolling Isaan freelancers. I didn’t use ThaiFriendly or Tinder in Central Pattaya. I approached ladies in the outdoor markets or 7 Elevens. Near the end of my stay, a beautiful tan girl of maybe 38 came to my room for a couple of nights of non transactional fun while on holiday from her job at a tiny nearby bar. She genuinely liked me, had some free time, and never asked me for money. We had smoothies together the afternoon I was leaving for the US. When I got home, she texted me clean selfie photos for a few weeks super limited English. Great girl. When I flew back to Thailand in June 2023, she was always busy with work, but we bumped into each other three or four times. My second trip was mostly spent in Central Pattaya, though I did get up to Hua Hin twice and there enjoyed aerobics with the same two massage girls.

My third time in Thailand began last September, and I began to use ThaiFriendly. I also looked for a condo, which I have since found. A good portion of the ThaiFriendly connections proved to be freelancers some ThaiFriendly contacts and a couple of ladies I knew from previous stays. Of course, I watch your channel regularly, and I said hello to you once in Witherspoons in Pattaya last summer. I should probably add I’ve met some girls who work in jobs such as tour guide, online chef business, and bartender for good non transactional fun. I curtailed my apartment aerobics after the first three months since I’m no longer on holiday. I’m leaning towards a move from Jomtien into Hua Hin a city Thai expats say they find boring, but I think it’s a great place to live if you’re living here full time.

A 52 Year Old Man Has a Hua Hin Nightmare

I am a 52 year old guy from England, and I had visited Thailand many times in my late 20s, mainly based in party destinations like Phuket, Pattaya, Bangkok, Koh Samui so I know the ropes with regards to the nightlife scene. I had overdone it a bit in my younger days and had vowed never to go back to the bar scene. I had been back to Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Cambodia in these subsequent years, and I was in a relationship. I kept my resolve and stayed clear of the ladies. Fast forward to late 2023, and my world suddenly turned upside down. My ex was diagnosed with cancer and had to go through surgery and chemotherapy. My elderly dad had started to show signs of dementia. And the icing on the cake I lost my job of 30 years. Although I’m not usually the sort to wallow in my own misery, the last year really was a kick in the head.

My ex fortunately survived the chemo and was in recovery by January. Although we are no longer together, we are still really close friends. She could see that I was burnt out and in need of a break, and was encouraging me to use my new unemployed status as an opportunity to do some traveling before attempting to find work. She assured me that she was almost back to full health and that she had her sisters to help her if anything cropped up. Thrilled at the prospect of traveling again, I started to look at my options. As per usual, the default in Southeast Asia is safe, it’s cheap, and it’s fun. I was telling all of this to a friend at the gym, and he told me that his extended family leases a condo in Hua Hin which they use between themselves as a sort of timeshare. He told me that nobody was using this between February and April, and I could use it free of charge as long as I was out by the week before Songkran.

Perfect, I thought. Free accommodation, and I already loved Thailand. So I booked my flights and dreamed of long, healthy runs along the beach, doing some daily Muay Thai classes, some yoga, eating great food, and generally recharging my batteries. Definitely no late nights or bar girls just pure, healthy living. Come home suntanned, a few kilos lighter, and a lot happier. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything, it turned out.

A Sprained Foot Makes Hua Hin Feel Boring

A few days before I departed, I somehow managed to badly sprain my foot while out running, and I could barely walk the next day. This wasn’t going to stop me going, though but it meant a little rethink of what I was going to do when I got there.

So finally, I arrived in Thailand and made my way down to Hua Hin in a taxi. I’m sure it’s a lovely place with loads to do, but to me a single guy with a swollen foot it was about the most boring place on the planet. I just couldn’t find much to fill my day apart from sitting on the beach with the donkeys.

After a week or so, I started to be a bit more mobile. By this point, my evening beers had turned into early afternoon beers, and I was aware this was a slippery slope. So with this backdrop it’s almost a sure sign of what was to follow I decided I’d visit a few beer bars, chat to some expats, and maybe play a few games with the bar girls. All good, clean fun, as long as I stick to buying an occasional lady drink and nothing else. Under no circumstances did I intend to bar fine I just didn’t want to get into that lifestyle again.

I ventured out, and I found the nightlife area at Soi 80. I have to say I was very disappointed with the quality. This is no Bangla Road or Thermae Cafe. Still, I was only there for a beer and a chat, so I had a good time, bought a few ladies’ drinks, and went home alone as I planned.

I repeated this again the next night different bar, different ladies, same outcome.

The third night is when it all went horribly wrong.

A Soju Night Leads to a Complete Blackout

I had discovered that 7 Eleven sold a drink I used to buy in Korea it’s called soju, and it’s very strong. I had a few bottles of this in the afternoon. The problem I find with solo drinking is that it’s quite hard to gauge how drunk I am. It’s safe to say that I was pretty drunk by the time the evening came. My plan was to head down to another nightlife area called Wonderland on Soi 94. My memories of the night are very hazy, but I do seem to remember the ladies were of a higher quality than the previous few nights. Everything after my first beer is pretty much forgotten.

I woke up the next day in a strange hotel. Beside me was a lovely new friend from last night. I did well to have the presence of mind not to take a bar fine back to the condo but that’s where my common sense ended. When she woke up, we chatted a bit and finished the leftovers from last night’s breakfast beer very classy. A very nice lady, though. I gave her 2,000 baht, we said goodbye, and I hobbled back to my condo.

It was over the next few hours that I started to get flashbacks as to what had happened the night before. Normally, I’d be proud of myself for managing multiple performances in one evening despite being 52 and full of alcohol but I think that’s more down to my lady’s talent than anything else. The one memory that horrifies me is that I remember the last time was without protection. This is just the biggest no no there is. How could I have been so stupid?

As I sobered up, I became disgusted with myself. My dream of a healthy holiday had turned into an alcoholic nightmare. Now I had added highly risky behavior on top of that. I knew I had to get out of Hua Hin ASAP, or I would just drink away the rest of my holiday.

A Road Trip Leads to an STD Scare

I arranged to hire a motorbike for a few weeks and decided that a road trip would be the answer to all my woes. I had a lovely, mellow first week on the bike. I found the paradise I was after beautiful quiet roads, deserted beaches and jungles, outstanding food, nice people, and no farangs anywhere. This was the Thailand of my dreams.

I started to get distracted by a bit of an itch a bit of a discomfort, even, in the downstairs department. I kept trying to tell myself that this was just being on a saddle in the hot sun for hours at a time a bit of sweat, poor hygiene, perhaps. Or was it something I caught on that crazy night in Hua Hin?

I convinced myself that I had contracted an STD. A swift detour to somewhere I could get checked out in this case, I reckoned Phuket would likely have an English speaking clinic that would specialize in these things without being judgmental.

I arrived in Patong Beach and went straight in for tests. If you’ve ever had to go for these tests, it’s neither pleasant nor dignified.

To my great relief, the test came back negative for all the usual suspects. But I would have to wait a few weeks before I could get the “Big H” test results. The doctor was very nice and reassuring. She said it’s very rare to catch the Big H through standard male female aerobics, and bar girls get tested very often. I don’t know how true this is, but it certainly put my mind at rest.

Bar Girls Show Generosity When Money Runs Out

I decided to hang about Patong for a few days, but funds were running low. Hotel prices plus clinic fees had burned through my cash, and I foolishly had left my bank cards back in Hua Hin. I still needed fuel for the bike and enough to pay for accommodation on my way back. I did have enough for a few cheap Charlie nights out, though two beers plus one lady’s drink per night was my maximum.

I hung about at the Otop beer bar complex, had a nice time sipping beers and people watching. I explained to the girls straight away that I had no money, so not to waste their time on me but they still chatted with me.

On my last night, the bar manager gave me a few free beers, and one of the bar girls I took a shine to also bought me a few beers and a big bowl of food. I was overwhelmed by their generosity. Once they no longer saw me as a potential customer, they did tease me a lot, knowing I couldn’t afford the bar fine but that was all part of the fun.

Lessons from a Hua Hin Nightmare

Lessons from my trip:

1. Hua Hin is not my sort of place.

2. Excessive drinking and bar girls is a bad combination pick only one vice per night.

3. Always use protection.

4. Not all bar girls are money grabbers.

It probably comes as no surprise that I tested negative when I came back. I have also booked flights back to Thailand for later in the year this time to get stuck into the nightlife.

A Married Man Begins a Ten Day Adventure

Hi Peter, here is the story of my recent 10 day trip to Thailand. I am married to a lovely Thai woman for a little over 13 years and have been a regular visitor to Thailand for just as long. I was in Thailand recently because we are currently building a house there something that I said I would never do, but there you go, plans change. The house is progressing well, but that is another story which may be of interest.

But today, I want to talk to you about my 10 day adventure. I traveled alone this time as it was just to check up with the builder and choose a few internal items for the house, so my wife stayed in Australia as we will be traveling in three months once the house is complete.

Now, the first question I’m sure people will ask is: if I’m happily married to a lovely Thai woman, what am I doing in the bars? The answer to that is simple: I love collecting experiences, like some people collect stamps or coins. Normally, when we travel together, I get a few days away from the family to go and have fun and meet expats and drink a few beers and play pool which I love. However, this trip I was alone and had a full 10 days to enjoy all the delights the bars have to offer. Naturally, I made the most of it but please don’t tell the wife.

Meeting MIM and PIP

I am a creature of habit. I have my favorite bar that I have been going to since post COVID. The girls may change, but the mamasan has always been the same. There is one girl I like to be with her name is MIM and we are always friends on Messenger. There is also a beautiful ladyboy that I also keep in touch with her/his name is PIP. I’ve had aerobics with both of them at different times before on previous trips. It was a blast.

Our communication online is sporadic at best, and usually I won’t hear anything for a few months, and then I will get a couple of “hello, how are you” messages. By the third message, it’s usually a plea for money sick buffalo, can’t pay bills, need a new motorbike that sort of thing. I remind them both every time: I don’t sponsor girls in Thailand. I tell them both when I’m in Thailand, I will take care of them if one of them stays with me but I don’t pay money if I’m not getting a service in return. It’s that simple, and they know it but still try it on anyway. It’s in their nature, I guess.

Pip the ladyboy even sent me photos of her with her mom in the cancer ward once and asked for help with medication costs. I just said no that is the family’s responsibility. It’s a very slippery slope once you start down that path.

MIM and the Second Generation Bar Girl Life

Now a little background so this all makes a bit more sense. I am 60 and not too shabby for my age but as everyone knows, no matter what you look like, you’re always a handsome man when you have a baht in your pocket.

MIM is 20. I even asked to see her ID card because I was amazed she was so young. She first started working in bars at 18. Her mother was a bar girl, which makes her second generation. This also explains why at age 20 she speaks excellent English. MIM would, like many girls, love to get out of the bar scene and has done so on several occasions and gone to work in the hospitality trade but the pay is so poor that she ends up back at the bar where she can earn much more money.

Because I have known her for 18 months or so, she has opened up a lot to me. After our aerobics workout, we were usually relaxed, having a beer and a chat by the pool. Men would love to study something worthwhile she’s a very smart girl but she just can’t break free from the law of the almighty Thai baht.

I rate her a 7 out of 10 a little chubby, but the face of an angel and a true professional when it comes to gym classes.

PIP and the Ten Out of Ten Ladyboy

PIP, my ladyboy, is a 10 out of 10. I have been with her twice before, and she is heaven. Now, about ladyboys a friend of mine told me I must be gay because I partake in aerobics with “dudes,” as he likes to say. Many men think like my friend, and that’s okay.

PIP has been on hormones since her early teens. She’s now 25. She has a body better than many girls, skin like silk, and long legs. The only thing that makes her not a girl is the fact she has the fishing tackle and not the tackle box if you get my meaning.

PIP works full time at a nearby hotel and does not work in the bar scene. She is also a dancer and does cabaret shows in Pattaya a couple of times a year. So when I say 10 out of 10, she is absolutely that. She was a lucky find.

The Double Up Fantasy

Many guys have the double up fantasy I’m also not immune. I thought it might be fun to have MIM and PIP work out together with me. PIP had previously told me she doesn’t go with girls. MIM said it would be fine as she had met PIP before when I took her to MIM’s bar. PIP was okay too.

In the end, they got on well together. PIP got a day off work, and they both came to the pool at my hotel. We had lunch, a beer or two, and swam. I can tell you we got a lot of attention from other men staring at us doing our threesome party in the pool. I was in heaven kissing one of them. PIP and MIM were having a ball and did everything to give me the true girlfriend experience.

The Cost of a Double Up Experience

I’ll take time out here to explain what this all cost me remembering this is all transactional. I am the customer, and they both have a product to sell that I want.

MIM was 5,000 baht per day, plus a daily bar fine of 300 baht for 24 hours. She needed to go home to pick up fresh clothes and also hit the real gym before seeing me otherwise, I had her all day and night.

PIP was 7,000 baht for the same period, but she only stayed the one full day and night. At other times, she was just there in the evening, but I still gave her 5,000 baht for a full evening sleepover, and then she went to work in the morning.

Some viewers may think this expensive or good value. I don’t really have a comparison. All I know is I had the time of my life and an experience I will never forget.

An Australian guy I met in the bar one night took a girl back to his room for a short time. He later told me that she wanted 2,500 baht for a short time. He bargained her down to 1,000 baht but when they got to his room, she said it wasn’t enough, so he went up to 2,000 baht. He got the starfish treatment, and I think he deserved it. These may be bar girls, but I also think they need to be treated with respect and paid well enough that they feel like they’re being taken care of.

He stayed in his room for a while afterwards to shower. The girl came back to the bar and was immediately all over me, kissing me and so on. MIM came over and said something to her in Thai that I didn’t understand, but it was clear that MIM was protecting her asset.

An Afternoon with MIM and PIP

Back to the story. After our pool fun, we headed back to my hotel, showered separately as it would have been cramped with three. It was still early, but time for a workout and workout we did. I could not write here what went on in that room for the next two hours except to say I don’t think it could ever be repeated. It was a one off afternoon that will forever be etched in my mind.

Another shower was needed after to freshen up before hitting the bar. Walking out of the hotel and down the road with two hot girls on my arms was about as big an ego boost as a 60 year old can get.

We saw PIP a few times over three days, but MIM was my holiday girlfriend. I broke all my own rules with MIM she stayed with me a full 5 days. Somewhere after day three, I started to get emotionally attached to her. I know all about the three day rule and why it’s good to stick to it. Despite it all, and the fact I should know better, I went to 5 days. Even the smartest of us can be sucked into that imaginary world.

Anyway, I came to my senses, just remembering it was all transactional and fueled by their need for money and my desire. I treated MIM very well she got some new clothes (nothing extravagant), she had her hair and nails done at my expense. Even if I was rich, I would not spoil a bar girl too much, as they don’t know the word “enough.” The more you give, the more and more they want.

MIM told me how jealous the other girls in the bar were getting because she had a good customer who was taking care of her. MIM said the other girls were asking her for ladies’ drinks because they thought she should share her money with them. I told MIM to tell them I was a cheap Charlie and only paid her 2,000 baht for the day. MIM said that would not work, as the other girls were looking at my bar bill and would know that’s not true. My bar tab was between 4,000 baht and 5,000 baht per day when I was in there. My biggest bill was just over 7,000 baht but that included a bell ring. Beware the bell.

Knock Reveals a Ladyboy Secret

Now at day four, I could have been content but I decided to add a third girl to the party, or so I thought. Enter girl called KNOCK. I have known Knock for about two years and have always wanted her a stunner in anyone’s book. She would always make an excuse as to why she would not go with me. Knock is a real professional and the queen of the bar. She could sell lawnmowers to Isaan or sand to the Arabs. I love watching her work the guys in the bar. She always gets the most ladies’ drinks. She works the tables the guys love her. They get kisses and hugs, but she won’t go with any of them.

Knock, it turns out, is a ladyboy. And even I couldn’t pick her/him up for two years obviously, neither can the men who were all over her. It is the big bar secret that she is not actually a real girl. Knock doesn’t want anyone to know in case it affects her earning potential. I had a good chat with Knock one night about the infamous three questions bar girls ask and what many know already was confirmed by her. It starts like this:

“Hello, how are you? How long you are in Thailand?” that is to work out how much time is left to invest in you. “Have you been to Thailand before?” if you say it’s your first time, then you’re a prime target for money extraction.

“Are you married?” if you’re single, then this information can be passed on to the other girls because you could be a potential sponsor or long distance boyfriend. Nevertheless, Knock is awesome. After two years, I did get her out of the bar just for the afternoon to hang out with MIM, PIP, and me at the pool and do a photo session with me (clothed, of course). I paid her 3,000 baht for 4 hours of her time.

The Australian guy I mentioned earlier called them my entourage. It was great fun. I have to say.

The Bar Owner and Her Swiss Boyfriend

Now, the bar itself is great. The owner is very nice and knows how to look after the customers. She bought the bar a year ago from the property owner for 1.5 million baht that is the business only, and not the property. How did she get the money? She has a Swiss boyfriend who gave it to her lucky girl.

I recall one night I wanted to kiss her goodnight as we were leaving. She said she couldn’t because her boyfriend might be watching. I was surprised at this, but she explained he has remote access in Switzerland to all the CCTV cameras in the bar and he watches what happens in there. He might see what happens in the bar, but not on the street. He has no clue. I did get my kiss in the end out there.

This is why I could never do a long distance romance with a Thai bar girl. You simply have no way of knowing how many sponsors or boyfriends they have. Thai bar girls are the best actresses in the world.

Bad Behavior from Foreigners

All in all, I had a fantastic time but I did notice more unruly and drunk farangs than on previous trips. One night I was minding my own business having a drink with friends I invited to the bar, and a drunken farang started yelling and swearing at me because I lit a cigarette. I might add he was nowhere near my table, and smoking is still allowed there. He was out of control, and as I stood up to put myself between him and my friends, a wall of ladyboys appeared three of them and confronted him, telling him to leave.

He continued his rant and was promptly taken by both arms and put out on the street. He came to no harm, though. If you don’t know already never, ever get on the wrong side of the ladyboy brigade. This guy was lucky he did not start throwing punches, because they would have put him in hospital.

His Thai girlfriend came over to me apologizing for his bad behavior. I told her not to worry, and he will probably be sorry in the morning. I really felt for his girlfriend, because that was a huge loss of face in public for her. She was clearly not a working girl.

Despite being 60 myself and not a fighter, I would not have hesitated to jump in if he went further but I think the sheer shock of the ladyboys escorting him onto the street really threw him.

The Thai people are wonderful, and I have never had a problem ever with them. I do worry that as more farangs move to Thailand, we bring unwanted behavior. Thais are very peaceful, and I know they don’t appreciate people like him being in their beautiful country.

Final Thoughts on the Adventure

I hope this is worth a read. I have deliberately omitted location and place names, but you can assume it happened up north somewhere. In three months, if there is more on the MIM and PIP story, I will update but I am planning a different experience next time, as some things just can’t be repeated.