New from Bangkok

[graceinbangkok]

Ciaran, I live out in a Thai neighborhood, but Sukhumvit is just a 5 minute subway trip... I like the Thai areas, because, well I love Thailand and Thai people, and much cheaper to live here LOL, rent and food... I know the pub you are referring to, Dubliner, annd I go there and Molly Malone's sometimes for a pint of Guinness... There are 2 or 3 other Irish pubs around but i haven't been to those... I don't go out to clubs much any more, though, just Saxophone at Victory Monument, and I used to go to the tom-dy pub on RCA but not often any longer, it has changed a lot since a guy began managing it...

If you are in BKK again we will have to meet for a pint together

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by graceinbangkok

Ciaran, I live out in a Thai neighborhood, but Sukhumvit is just a 5 minute subway trip... I like the Thai areas, because, well I love Thailand and Thai people, and much cheaper to live here LOL, rent and food... I know the pub you are referring to, Dubliner, annd I go there and Molly Malone's sometimes for a pint of Guinness... There are 2 or 3 other Irish pubs around but i haven't been to those... I don't go out to clubs much any more, though, just Saxophone at Victory Monument, and I used to go to the tom-dy pub on RCA but not often any longer, it has changed a lot since a guy began managing it...

If you are in BKK again we will have to meet for a pint together

I used to love that bar at RCA - it was great fun and, if I recall correctly, it was open most or all nights of the week. I met some great friends there back in the mid 2000s but haven't been back to it since 2007.

There was another bar / club that opened in 2006 or so and, at the time, it was owned by the same woman who owned the RCA one. Forgot the name but it began with S and had a slightly older crowd. It was good fun too.

I'd like to go back to Bangkok and also to some of the lesser known Thai islands (I loved Phuket until it got incredibly busy and touristy) but am not sure if I will get the opportunity as, although I still travel to Asia, I now travel to the Philippines. Metro Manila has some strong similarities, and differences, with Bangkok.

[graceinbangkok]

Originally Posted by Ciaran

I used to love that bar at RCA - it was great fun and, if I recall correctly, it was open most or all nights of the week. I met some great friends there back in the mid 2000s but haven't been back to it since 2007.

There was another bar / club that opened in 2006 or so and, at the time, it was owned by the same woman who owned the RCA one. Forgot the name but it began with S and had a slightly older crowd. It was good fun too.

I'd like to go back to Bangkok and also to some of the lesser known Thai islands (I loved Phuket until it got incredibly busy and touristy) but am not sure if I will get the opportunity as, although I still travel to Asia, I now travel to the Philippines. Metro Manila has some strong similarities, and differences, with Bangkok.

There were two clubs on RCA, EFun (with a double female symbol and the slogan "Extreme Fun for Ladies") which closed a couple of years ago, and Zeta which is still open but IMHO been ruined by the new management, which in opinion is very sexist. There is a new club called Diva where EFun used to be but when i went it was not very exciting. The new owner of Zeta is modeling it more along a gay club. Before the staff was all-female, and no men allowed - last time I went they had men working the door and as deejays (Diva did as well, though) and I saw one guy inside at a table. so changing. I complained about the the increased number of men working there and was old "women cannot manage" and "women steal" - after that they are on my crap-list and if my friend quits working there I won't go any more...

There is a club called Lick too, but a bit hard to find. The tom-dee group Lesla will have a party next month at a bar on Phaholyothin, hope it will continue. And there was a farang oriented party on Sukhumvit but I think the organizers are a bit burnt out...

The woman you mentioned, was it Dee Lesla (I'm sure not her real name)? She is behind the current Lesla group, and maybe was before... I believe she has ran some clubs in the past but not sure which ones. Given that there is such a huge gay male scene here in Bangkok, I don't know why so few lesbian ones.

Hopefully my pub/cafe idea will see fruition after my financial obligations are all taken care of. I got the idea after watching the South Korean drama "Daughters of Club Bilitis" - want a place for all ages, Thai, Farang and others, but women only ... maybe have some speakers (Allison Bechtel would be my dream LOL), TVs showing LGBT movies, a small bookshop, and maybe try to put out a newsletter. I am thinking I can do it in about 4 years if I can break even or lose only a minimal amount...

Or maybe I am just a dreamer LOL...

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by graceinbangkok

There were two clubs on RCA, EFun (with a double female symbol and the slogan "Extreme Fun for Ladies") which closed a couple of years ago, and Zeta which is still open but IMHO been ruined by the new management, which in opinion is very sexist. There is a new club called Diva where EFun used to be but when i went it was not very exciting. The new owner of Zeta is modeling it more along a gay club. Before the staff was all-female, and no men allowed - last time I went they had men working the door and as deejays (Diva did as well, though) and I saw one guy inside at a table. so changing. I complained about the the increased number of men working there and was old "women cannot manage" and "women steal" - after that they are on my crap-list and if my friend quits working there I won't go any more...

There is a club called Lick too, but a bit hard to find. The tom-dee group Lesla will have a party next month at a bar on Phaholyothin, hope it will continue. And there was a farang oriented party on Sukhumvit but I think the organizers are a bit burnt out...

The woman you mentioned, was it Dee Lesla (I'm sure not her real name)? She is behind the current Lesla group, and maybe was before... I believe she has ran some clubs in the past but not sure which ones. Given that there is such a huge gay male scene here in Bangkok, I don't know why so few lesbian ones.

Hopefully my pub/cafe idea will see fruition after my financial obligations are all taken care of. I got the idea after watching the South Korean drama "Daughters of Club Bilitis" - want a place for all ages, Thai, Farang and others, but women only ... maybe have some speakers (Allison Bechtel would be my dream LOL), TVs showing LGBT movies, a small bookshop, and maybe try to put out a newsletter. I am thinking I can do it in about 4 years if I can break even or lose only a minimal amount...

Or maybe I am just a dreamer LOL...

Zeta was the bar / club at RCA but a year or two after it opened, the woman who owned it opened another bar. I totally forget the name but almost certain that it began with "S". It was over two stories with pool tables on the upper floor and, all-in-all, a bit nicer than Zeta.


The other place I remember was an informal restaurant / bar called Vega. This was in the Shukhumvit area, down a soi on the opposite side from the Emporium. It was nothing special as regards food or the surroundings but could often get a good atmosphere in the evenings. From what I recall, it was owned by a Thai lesbian couple.


As someone who used to have minor business interests in Thailand, I admire your ambition. That said, as you will know much better than I do, it can be very challenging for non-Thais to set up and successfully drive businesses in Bangkok for a whole host of legal and cultural issues. At the very least, you'll need a Thai partner (in a business sense, not romantically) to avoid much of the red tape and, even then, you'll likely need to not have a nervous disposition to make things work.