Bar Reports

[Jun]

That's perfectly understandable considering 99.999999% of them come from impoverished backgrounds

I agree with the sentiment, but I think you've put the percentage at too high a level.
Also I know some University educated money boys, so they've at least made some steps on the path to a better life. I thought that typically required some kind of financial backing, but might misunderstand.
On the other hand, I know boys who can't even read their own language properly.

A fairly common trait is being totally incapable of hanging onto money.
Some don't even have the budgeting skills to put 100 baht per day aside, so they can pay the rent at the end of the month. Never mind saving. I see saving as quite important, as this job has early retirement. Many of the boys do not think like that.

Another mistake I see some farang make is when they're too generous. This just opens the flood gates and they'll never stop asking you for money.

I think you, Gaybutton &I all agree on this.
Once you send money once, the requests never stop. Almost.

I never give money boys my phone number. They always get my Line and I usually have incoming calls switched off.
So they need to message me, rather than phone at inconvenient times.
Line also has the facility to switch off notifications for individual users. Which is handy when I want to retain contact with someone, but not be disturbed by their incoming requests.

I'll typically turn notifications from boys off when leaving Thailand and turn them back on when returning.

[Dodger]

I agree with the sentiment, but I think you've put the percentage at too high a level.

Your point is well taken. There are in fact a fair number of boys who show up on the scene who attend (or attended) college who sometimes come from middle-class families. It's these boys (few as there are) who seem better at planning and saving money. Also, as you correctly stated, most of the working boys lack any/all motivation to save money and plan for the future.

Right or wrong I've always blamed a lack of responsible parenting for some of this. An all-too common scenario is: The boys father is a drunk...mom left the village to work in a factory in Bangkok...where the boy and his siblings are raised by the grandmother and other family elders.

That's also a reason why I think some boys, as young as they are as compared to most of our ages, appreciate the connections they have with mature farang with higher kevels of education. Especially the farang who take an interest in being the role model that the boy never had.

As a side note; I know you've always showed an interest in teaching the boys you like some language skills and other things that will benefit them - which is commendable.

[Jun]

Right or wrong I've always blamed a lack of responsible parenting for some of this. An all-too common scenario is: The boys father is a drunk...mom left the village to work in a factory in Bangkok...where the boy and his siblings are raised by the grandmother and other family elders.

A lack of responsible parenting is a part of it in many cases.
Sometimes including a drunken mother.

That's also a reason why I think some boys, as young as they are as compared to most of our ages, appreciate the connections they have with mature farang with higher levels of education. Especially the farang who take an interest in being the role model that the boy never had.

They may appreciate the farang role model, but usually in small doses.
It's pleasing when a few words of advice solve a problem and they clearly get it.

As a side note; I know you've always showed an interest in teaching the boys you like some language skills and other things that will benefit them - which is commendable.

I might write about that in another thread.
Some of these Cambodian boys seem to be seriously short of education, including in their own language.
Whereas, I know Lao boys who claim to had very little time in school, but they have no problem reading and speaking English. Plus Lao & Thai, of course.

[SP55]

Rest in peace Winner boy bar 2017-2026. It used to be my favourite bar for many years.

[Gaybutton]

Rest in peace Winner boy bar 2017-2026.

Considering how Sunee Plaza has virtually died it would come as no surprise to me if Winner is now permanently closed. But other than your post I have neither seen nor heard anything about this.

How do you know?

[SP55]

How do you know?

The ex owner wrote it in social media that is now deleted, and one boy who worked there wrote me the same. And Winner boy bars facebook page has started posting spam in vietnamese....
But who knows? It has been so much confusion about that bar the last year. Maybe someone who is in Pattaya can check it out?

[Jun]

This bar was like a breath of fresh air when it first opened, with a selection of very cute boys and low drink prices. ~
According to this thread, it opened on 18 Feb 2017. https://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php ... lit=winner

I have posted these photos back in 2024. The first is from around 2017 and the second around 2022.
Had a bar with the selection of boys in the first photo closed, I would be gutted.
Had a bar with the selection of boys in the second photo closed, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I would off every single boy in the first photo, before any from the second.
On my last visit a few months ago, the selection was just a fraction better than the second photo, but nowhere near the standard of the first.

Closure was inevitable. Farang don't want to visit gogo bars any more and hence the bars can't pay enough to attract the right quality of staff.

Some might claim they would still visit a good gogo bar, but if that were true, they would be going to check out Classic Boys.

So thank you for running Winner Boys. However times change and there's no point trying to shovel water up hill.

[Gaybutton]

But who knows?

Apparently Winner has indeed closed. Two board members are saying so: https://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php ... 34#p121134

With Winner bar and Corner bar gone, along with so many other formerly popular, iconic bars, I would say Sunee Plaza and the gay life associated with it is truly a thing of the past. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it during its heyday golden years - back in the days when so many gay beer bars and go-go bars occupied Sunee Plaza that other bars spilled over to Soi Day-Night and one or two other sois as well.

Sadly, those days are long gone now. Winner bar was one of the last hold-outs. It would be nice if both Winner and Eros would reopen somewhere, especially if Jomtien Complex is ever allowed to have go-go bars, but I don't think there is much chance of that happening.

Some might remember when Eros was saying they are going to reopen in Boyztown, but it never happened.

And if we could somehow get Crabby to come back and open in Jomtien Complex, I, for one, would be an instant regular again.

Unfortunately:

"You can't go home again"
- Thomas Wolfe

[SP55]

I am getting conflicting info from different people associated with the bar. Some say it's closed, some say it is closing the 25th. Kind of telling that they can't even avoid confusion about closing the bar.
I am not in Pattaya so can't go and look, if I had wanted too. But closed or closing I guess... Their page on Facebook says nothing about it, instead posting strange korean (?) videoclips and texts in vietnamese for unknown reason.

[Gaybutton]

I am getting conflicting info from different people associated with the bar. Some say it's closed, some say it is closing the 25th.

That really doesn't matter, does it? - closed now or closed in 1 more week. Either way, if it's gone it's history.