RAWBangkok

As a blogger, there’s something that started bothering me sometime in the past year, and now it’s positively starting to drive me crazy, like an itch in the middle of my back that I can’t reach and can’t make go away.

Part of writing a Bangkok blog is to write about the nightlife. Some would say that’s the only reason for writing a Bangkok blog, though I would disagree with them intensely. For me, it is about trying to make the experience of life in Bangkok come alive for others; to offer a glimpse into what it means to live here. I see politics, work, personal relationships, transportation, language and many other topics to be relevant topics for me as a blogger. But that’s a different discussion.

For today, I want to talk — not about Bangkok nightlife directly — but about the act of writing about Bangkok nightlife.

I have always written about the three well-known pay-4-play areas: Nana, Cowboy and Patpong. Barring unforseen circumstances I expect I will talk about them for as long as I write a Bangkok blog.

But I have never limited myself to these centers of sin. My writing has reflected my interests, and my interests are varied.

I live outside of America because I am interested in learning about different cultures. I want to meet and get to know Thai people.

I also enjoy live music, choreographed dancing, good food and other forms of entertainment.

Over the past year or so on Werewolf’s Lair I wrote about German Tawandaeng, Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Tokyo Joes Blues Bar, Saxaphone Club, Ad Here the 13th, Country Road Bar, The Downunder Sports Bar, Duke of Wellington, Hard Rock Cafe, the Pent Club, Resort, the Sky Club, the Memory Club, Karaoke Bars, Sunrise Tacos and Coyote Restaurant on Sukhumvit just to name a few venues.

With the exception of Country Road, the one thing all these venues have in common is that they do not offer a situation where customers can simply point to a girl, order by number, barfine her and take her to a room for sex. They aren’t beer bars or go go bars. They aren’t massage parlours or any other type of brothel-in-disguise. Except for the member clubs (Pent, Resort, Sky) none of them even has girls dancing in skimpy clothing.

For me, this is all about enjoying the experience of living in Bangkok.

I would never ever ever spend every day or every waking moment trotting from beer bar to go go bar to massage parlor. It could never entertain me. I’m interested in a broader array of experiences, and I’m happy to try out a variety of venues, from the simple low budget outdoor pleasure of Cheap Charlie’s to the relative opulence of the Steak One Restaurant at JW Marriott Hotel.

As I said above, I enjoy many types of entertainment. While living in Thailand I actually have come to enjoy Thai music. I enjoy the company of Thai people. I enjoy Thai food.

If I was living in Memphis Tennessee I’d be visiting Beale Street. In Melbourne, perhaps the Chinese and Italian Restaurants. Here in Bangkok, I’m not going to confine my nightlife activities to three streets in a city of ten million people. It’s just stupid.

So I go to many other venues and enjoy as much of the rich variety of entertainment as I can find and afford. I think it would be mind-numbing and soul-killing to spend all my time in the same 36 bars for the rest of my life.

Who cares?

Well, apparently a lot of commenters do. Whether it was on Werewolf’s Lair, TFS2M or other sites where I read and write, and whether the author of the blog is me or someone else, every entry that talks about going somewhere to do something that doesn’t lead directly and immediately to getting laid gets these kinds of comments:

sounds. like. one. huge. waste. of. time.

not only a waste of time, but a monumental waste of money…. ‘Tis all just bollocks desinged to make losers part with their cash. Anyone who pays for it under the guise of ‘enjoying themselves’ is fooling themselves.

i dont get it.

w/ happy a go go , a SURE thing at 2,600 a songtaow ride away, why would anyone blow twice that to maybe “bag a number”

pt barnum sure was right .

The underlying message from all these commenters is this: If you ain’t getting laid, it ain’t worth doing.

What a load of crap!

Just because I now live in Bangkok, it doesn’t mean that I no longer value the things I did when I lived in America or Australia.

If I go to a venue with superior service, fashionable décor, high quality live entertainment and good food I am happy to pay premium prices, in the same way that if I go to a venue that has uncomfortable seating, no entertainment and average quality food I expect to get it at a very low price.

So, if I go to a small Thai open-air restaurant and have Khao Man Gai with water for 35 baht, it seems a fair value.

On the other hand, if I go to a club with a live band, dancing, great food, and the entire décor and service package to go with it, and I get a bill for 3,500 baht at the end, even though it cost a hundred times more than my simple lunch, it also seems fair value.

Too many people commenting on Bangkok blog sites today bring everything down to the lowest common denominator. Everything is compared to a night at Sheba’s Go Go, Tulip Massage or the Soi 7 Beer Garden.

The message from commenters about any venue that isn’t a go go bar or a freelancer joint is: “Didn’t get laid? Why waste your time?”

Basically, the message in these types of comments is that – in Bangkok at least – the only activity worth doing is having sex with hookers.

Apparently, anything that isn’t directly linked to that activity is classed as a waste of time.

I’ll repeat: what a load of crap!

Life anywhere is too rich and too varied to value everything in terms of getting laid in the process. It’s a ridiculous standard to set in my opinion. It says that there is only one objective in life – sex with hookers.

So, spending time with friends, watching entertaining shows, eating excellent food, being in comfortable or even beautiful surroundings, meeting new people and generally enjoying life are dismissed as a waste of time and money.

Get real.

I love having sex with bar girls. I love go gos. I really enjoy sexy massage places and I can spend the odd evening in a freelancer bar. But if that was my entire life I’d go crazy or kill myself.

I also enjoy member clubs for the comfort, the entertainment and the service.

I enjoy Thai clubs and other venues where I can mix with Thai people and enjoy their company.

I like the relaxed atmosphere of low budget venues.

I really enjoy anyplace that I can listen to quality live music or shoot pool on a quality pool table.

And as anyone who has seen my waistline knows, I love good food. Hell, I love any food!

Spending time and money in these venues is not a waste of time for me, whether they lead me to getting laid or not.

There’s too much in life to be enjoyed to become pinned to a bar stool, a massage table or a seat in a go go bar day in and day out.

In my opinion, when getting laid is all that matters, you’ve lost touch with life.