Occasionally I get letters from newbies to Bangkok’s bar world in response to my First Timers Guide posts telling of their experience braving Soi Twilight. Most, unfortunately, are posted as private comments. A few are not and end up in the comments section of one of those articles. For newbies still to come, those tales add to the record and provide a further glimpse at what they can expect when they hit Bangkok for the first time. Regular readers, however, often miss them. Which is a shame ‘cuz even though they may be more than familiar with the gogo bar scene, the telling of a first time visit can resonate with them, bringing back memories of when they too were virgins to the fun that Soi Twilight offers.

I’ve just received one such comment and thought it was well-written and deserving of more than being buried in the comment section of a two-year-old post so I’m giving it a spot on my blog of its own (though I will post it there too for future newbies’ reference). It came in in two parts, so I’ll post them separately too. I should also note that a similar comment, though different in the outcome, came in not long ago from Andi; if you don’t regularly read the comments posted on older articles you might want to check out his tale too (I’ll link to the original article below).

I chanced upon your blog a couple of weeks before my Bangkok visit and read them through and through. That’s quite unusual for me, but it is another testimony of how entertaining your blog is, apart from being informative.

Thanks to your blog, I did manage to take the BKK scene and the gay go-go bars in stride – my first – and what I am going to document here is that first experience. Not sure how typical it is, but I did have a superb time and even after several days, the feeling of exuberance is still with me. In short, I hit the jackpot.

So it was past 22 hrs that after some nosing around Silom I managed to find the entrance to Soi Twilight. With a bit of contemplation I slip in, trying as much as possible to blend in and remain unnoticed. Why: I am not out and though I was in a faraway foreign land, the neon signs screaming down “Boys” from all sides were not helping.

Of course I couldn’t remain invisible and with as much look of “oh-I’m-an-old-hand-at-this-game” as I could muster, I tried warding off the tugging and pulling on my every body part (again, save that where I really wanted :P) I strode into the alley.

I must say that the first sight is an unforgettable experience, and not having been to such a scene ever, I was soaking it all up. I passed by those “welcoming” bars, with the hustlers and barkers at the entrance, promising all of them that I’ll be back. I intended to have a good look at the entire place first.

Even though you mention the names of several of the places and I also had done my research before my adventure, at that moment in time, nothing clicked. All was new and alluring. I did remember Dick’s though, with a couple of old couples hanging around, crowd watching. I walk till the very end, until the neon starts dying and the dark form of the broad thoroughfare Rama IV looms ahead once I turn the bend.

Heading back, decision time. Well, this is my first and with zero hopes of expectations, I have nothing to lose. I spot one of those curtained entrances, with flashes of bare torsos beyond, and my brain simply shut down. A few guys (and gals) were being coaxed into the bar and I slipped in behind them. No coaxing needed.

Once inside, the story-line’s pretty much what’ you’ve scripted on your blog: Mamasan appears with penlight, me stooping dead in tracks to stare at the podium until I am forced into a seat, drinks appearing, bill placed in cup in front, hands all over me from those skimpy boys sitting at the back, waiting their turn on the stage. OK, so I settle down to watch and watch. Every five minutes, the hooter is back with “you want boy”, “which number” or simply “naaambaar” from half an hour onwards. I keep waving and nodding, attempting to keep her at bay. Oh, here I should mention that the bar was Fresh Boys. Not that I cared.

After my initial half-hour gawking, things were getting pretty boring, The guys in white undies would simply stand and stare, with all sorts of expressions ranging from ear-to-ear grins to a scowl or to that of a blank canvas. I spot a few that I would fancy in bed or just next to me on the sofa, but am undecided. It was nearly midnight. My first drink’s almost done and the screeching in my ear is not as frequent. I decide it’s time to leave, but then in the far corner of the bar, some hurrying-scurrying and more bois in colourful costumes caught my eye. I settle down for another drink.

What followed was a striptease and a big cock show. The guys would walk down the ten feet long ramp, cocks out and hard, with condoms on, and would bang their cocks hard on one of the steel poles erected at the viewers’ end. Some prowess, but not the kind I was looking for. The next show was even more wonderful, fully in the buff, and ending with one guy doing it to the other on stage. Thankfully for me, that’s where they remained and I did not have to deal with a fucking couple in my lap screaming “tip meeeee!”

By this time, the bar’s nearly empty…wonder why…are there better shows going on elsewhere, and such thoughts. The mamasan has reappeared and has resumed her rant. The captain, or so I presumed, a skinny guy in a skinnier suit and a fedora joined her…and me…at my table. I was almost bullied into calling out a number, which I did. Not that I was very reluctant. You see, it was my first night, and probably my last in BKK and I had decided to go all the way.

Well, to cut the long story short, the boy was a disappointment. Nice and sweet, with very little English to carry out a conversation, everything was being done at mamasan’s behest. I was almost ready to off him, when the bomber struck. At my question, “Heee is a maan…you cannot fuck heeem” was screamed into my face. I was totally unprepared for this. If you mention in your writing of this prospect, that had gone unnoticed by me. By this time, everybody (well there only the mamasan, captain and the bois left) had sensed something hilarious and I was getting a lot of smiling disapprovals, thumbs down and jeers. Not a very pleasant experience, particularly after spending more that two hours and 960 baht (my two drinks plus the boi’s). I decide to call it quits, and exit the bar as elegantly as possible.

This post is already quite long so I end here, but this is just the first half of the story. Except for the not so happy ending in Fresh Boys and not being able to off the boy I wanted, it was an evening well spent.

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