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? Old
BANGKOK NIGHT SCENE
PHOTOS ?

Any old PHOTOS of
Bangkok's Nightlife ?

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William R Morledge

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Soi Eden Roots 

   Reader :   Hi, a long time returning to Bangkok, I found that Soi 7/1 - your "Soi Eden" had gotten much bigger.   I can't recall if any of the original bars are still there.   Which were the early bars there, and the first place?   Thanks this.

   Midnite Hour:   Of course, the first Night Entertainment Venue was the Eden Massage, but we did make a preliminary survey of Soi Eden in November of 2003, only to find it was quite far from reaching the critical mass necessary to be called a "Night Entertainment Area" in its own right.   We did note the following five Nitespots:  Dreams,  Night Flight,  Boo Sa Bar,  Eden Massage and  Bill Massage.   In May of 2005, Soi Eden 'went critical', becoming a self-sustaining Entertainment Area, with both Dreams and Night Flight claiming to be the first actual 'bar' on the Soi.   With no way to determine the accuracy of either claim, we gave both the 'seminal bar' label. Today, none of the original bars remain, the Night Flight closing this last February - becoming a boutique hotel which has on its premises both the BR Spa and the Bangkok Beer Cafe.

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Bobby On Our Mind   CLICK to Story <link>  

   Reader :   Thanks for this.   This rocked my gray matter.    I was introduced to Bobby by Charlie (Thai), Getz's transportation subcontractor.   Maybe I'd heard from Charlie he was Macau born, an obvious fit with his Portuguese heritage.   The place was called Bobby's Aroy Dee, I think!   I ate many, many of those chili dogs, sometimes several a day.   It seemed that any bar on Pat Pong would take your order, then send a girl to Bobby's.   It worked well for everyone, you got something to eat, the girl got a tip for delivering the dogs, the customer stayed in the bar drinking, buying drinks for the girls, but a negative for the customer, the bar continued stuffing extra chits into the cup.   There were some days my only food intake was Bobby's chili dogs.

   Midnite Hour:   We continue to be surprised at the feedback on our 'Bobby' article.   You were correct - his first place started out as Bobby's Hotdogs, and quickly became Bobby's Aroy Dee - the 'Dee' being a bilingual take-off of his surname initial (De Cozier).

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Another Graffiti Rant 

   Reader :   Returning to Bangkok Eyes after a 'break', I see you are still promoting graffiti.   Isn't it self-evident that this is a scourge on society, and that your moral support is just making it worse?

   Midnite Hour:   We get a lot of comment on our graffiti page, much for - and much against.   Had you been reading our graffiti column closely, you would have seen that we are reporting on the controversy that is graffiti, neither pro nor con - we remain the clear glass window through which the controversy rages.   We also pose the question, is it, or is it not, 'art'.   I challenge you to find one article where we support graffiti or graffiti artists (or for that matter, where we condemn same).   You, obviously are in the 'anti' camp, but do understand, you are only one vote amongst the masses.   Thanks for reading, and for writing in.

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But What About Pra Pradaeng? 

   Reader :   I see you occasionally get out of town to other places like Pattaya and Hua Hin, but I haven't seen you do any exploring closer to home - and I'm referring here to Samut Prakan / Prapradang, just south of here.   I suspect there is a lot going on there that you are not aware of.   Just saying.

   Midnite Hour:   Well, first of all, you are correct, there is a lot going on there.   But were you one of our older readers, you would have seen our two articles on Night Entertainment in that province attached to our southern border.   First, there was Sri Nakarin South <link>, September 2011, of which the lower two thirds of that stretch of road are in Samut Prakan.   The second was STATE - The Cinema, Soi & Area <link> in July 2011, which, up until that time, was our most widely read, most controversial article.   But we do thank you for a timely heads-up - we definitely need to get back down and continue explorations of The Scene...

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'Reader's Corner' moderator -


'Boge' Hartman
Historical Research

 

Street Bars
...ARE COMING BACK

      The recent National and Municipal juggernaut to rid Bangkok of street sellers in general, and Street Bars in particular (and make Bangkok into another sterile 'Singapore'), seems to be losing the battle.   Vendors, to include Street Bars, are creeping back into the side-sois and crowding into spaces between shop fronts and the actual outer property lines (the inner edge of the sidewalks).   However, the Street Bars have innovated even further - they have constructed push-cart bars on wheels which they are parking on the streets and placing only the folding tables and chairs on the sidewalks.   What hasn't changed is the Tesaban Men in Too-Tight Uniforms are continuing to impose their nightly extra-judicial fines....   Oh, well....

      

     For no outwardly apparent reason, the Rainbow Bar has replaced their facade with a full-width neon (real neon) sign.   We suspect others in the Plaza will soon be following suit.   Real neon always gets our nod - the Rainbow Bar is this month's uncontested Door Art Of The Month awardee.

VICARIOUS ART CRIMES    #147

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