Has Silom Soi 4 Changed?

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fountainhall

Has Silom Soi 4 Changed?

Post by fountainhall »

Spent much of yesterday evening in Silom Soi 4, the first time I had been there for more than two years. We started with dinner at the Tapas Cafe. It's not cheap and we reckoned not particularly Spanish, at least not in my experience of various Tapas bars around Spain. But the service was excellent and most of the dishes enjoyable, with the exception of the shrimps in olive oil and garlic. Surprisingly, this had almost no taste of either garlic or olive oil! If you want to enjoy the finest prawns in garlic and olive oil served with pita bread, head for Crepes & Co. on Langsuan. These are served in a sizzling pan and just zing with flavour. In over a dozen years visiting there and in their old location on Sukhumvit Soi 12 I have never been disappointed. Yesterday at Tapas five dishes and two drinks each came to just under Bt. 2,200.

We then went to Balcony to people watch. Around 9:00 pm we were surprised that the vast majority of customers sitting outside the bars were farang. By 10:00 pm at least 85% were farang and we reckoned that of these probably three quarters were tourists. A few straight couples wandered through with most making a quick exit. Not many seemed to be heading for Jupiter 2018. We wondered what has happened to all the Thais and Asians who used to converge on Soi 4. It was a very pleasant breezy Friday evening with no hint of rain all day.
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Undaunted
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Re: Has Silom Soi 4 Changed?

Post by Undaunted »

I don't bother going to BKK anymore as the whole gay scene is in so much flux, I used to go often and would go to Telephone for a drink, the thing I always did notice and doesn't change is what a cash cow both Telephone and Balcony......Great places to own!
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
fountainhall

Re: Has Silom Soi 4 Changed?

Post by fountainhall »

I once took a young Japanese visitor to Soi 4 and he absolutely loved the atmosphere. So different from Japan, even in Shinjuku ni-chome. If memory serves me correctly. I made my first visit to Telephone in 1990 and loved the bar then. At that time there seemed more younger Thais than farang, although that may be a result of the rosy tinted spectacles syndrome! I certainly worked the phones quite regularly!

Incidentally, those who have been to La Table de Tee, the quite excellent fusion restaurant on Soi Saladaeng, might recognise Khun An who is the maitre d' and co-owner. He was a barman in Telephone for 2 or 3 years in the early 1990s.
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Re: Has Silom Soi 4 Changed?

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:So different from Japan, even in Shinjuku ni-chome.
I seem to recall a post of yours where you said a little bit about Shinjuku ni-chome and that you had trouble finding it.

I know absolutely nothing about Shinjuku ni-chome. If you can, I'd like you to post a topic on the "Gay World" forum and tell us what you know.

Some of my questions are:

1. How do you find it?
2. Is it a large area with loads of bars or is it more like Boystown, Sunee Plaza, and Soi Twilight?
3. What kinds of bars are there? Is it go-go bars, host bars, discos, all three?
4. Do the bars have "off"?
5. Are short time rooms available?
6. What are prices like? Drinks, tips for boys, off fees, etc.
7. How much do the boys expect?
8. Do you tip the boys in advance or after the tryst?
9. If you are not staying in that area, are there any problems about bringing boys to your hotel?
10. What about freelancers?
11. Do you have a particular favorite bar? If yes, what makes it a favorite?

I have the same questions about Ueno (including how to pronounce it) and any other gay areas you know of.

Just to get started, I found this video:

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