[Evil Penevil]

This is a brief update to a report I did way back in 2005 on the Beer Garden (formerly known as the Bier Garten) at Sukhumvit Soi 7 in Bangkok. The original report is definitely an account of bygone days. For some, it may awaken memories of past exploits. I'll post it as a separate thread.

For some reason I don't really understand myself (nostalgia? curiosity? trying to re-capture my younger days?) I keep going back, like a moth to the flame. A lot has changed outwardly, both with me and the Beer Garden. The bar had shed its seedy tropical look thanks to a total make-over to become a comfortable bar-restaurant complex. It still functions as a hook-up point for horny male tourists and willing Thai ladies, but even on the meat-market front, there were changes.


Old Bier Garten


New Beer Garden

Keep in mind my latest observations are based on eight short visits spread over two days in early November, 2006 and then over roughly a week at the end of January, 2007. The earliest visit was around 12.noon., the latest around 9.30 p.m. I tried weekends as well as week days because I wanted to see if the scene changed according to the day. It did, not only by the day but even by the hour. Sometimes it appeared mostly like it had been for the previous 25 years, one of the most famous BKK cheap Charlie pick-up joints. On other days, it seemed like an entirely different place.

What struck me most was the shift in the Bier Garten cast of characters. The Thai ladies were still generally a solid 5 to 6, aged 25 and upward. Some of the ladies in their mid-30's looked, dressed and carried themselves as though they were office workers out to pick up some extra cash. The male customers varied quite a bit according to the time and day, Early weekday afternoons, the males were concentrated to the age-45-and-above crowd, with very few any younger. They were surprisingly presentable by LOS sex tourist standards. It was the lower end of the punter/provider spectrum that had dropped away. Except for one Sunday around noon, I didn't see any unshaven, morbidly obese farang, nor any 90-pound geeks with massive over-bites and flip-flops. The higher end of the TG scale had never been a statistically significant part of the BG7 population, but it seemed to have disappeared entirely, at least when I was there.

Among the classic BKK pick-up institutions, such as the coffee shop of the Grace Hotel in its pre-al Qaeda days or the original Thermae before it changed locations, the Bier Garten was always the one that least resembled the Star Wars cantina. However, some distinctive characters, male and female, had frequented BG7 and now they had vanished along with the old rattan furnishings.

Perhaps most surprising to me was the presence of farang females - both escorted and unescorted - in the new Beer Garden. I can't ever remember have seen any farang female in the old Bier Garten, but on each of my visits in November and January, I saw several and many on weekend evenings. A lot of the farang women were there together with their farang boyfriends/husbands. But there were also exceptions. Most intriguing was a blond woman who was together with a TG. Was it a lesbian pair? A CIS hooker and her Thai comrade? Or had the Beer Garden become so civilized that even tourist females/resident expats didn't hesitate to drop in for a beer and a bit to eat?

Who knows, but it sure was a departure from the old BG7. On a Friday night between 9.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m., it almost seemed like a European sports bar. A lot of younger men (and their farang girlfriends) were parked in front of the giant TV screens watching football. Other young men were also sitting with blond-haired ladies at the tables along the side walls that frame the central bar area. Of course, the long stretches of bar counter were largely occupied by middle-aged to older guys trying to find a partner for the night among the Thai FLers, but the overall atmosphere was very different than it had been for years at BG7. The only time it really seemed like the old days was on a Sunday around noon. A few guys were sitting at the bar, several very hung over, and a handful of Thai FLers were trying to wake some enthusiasm in them. Very low-keyed and subdued, of course, and nothing more overt than a smile, but still the approach was there.

I have zero idea about the prices at BG7. I didn't speak with any of ladies because I was already committed for the evening. Short of Miss Thailand - or at least one of her runner-ups - walking in, I wouldn't be taking anyone from BG7 .and didn't think it fair to waste the ladies time with idle chit-chat just to satisfy my curiosity.

I don't do nude or hardcore photo stuff in LOS, but for those of you who do, here's a possible hint as well as a warning. I was approached in the Beer Garden that Sunday by a very well-dressed and well-kept woman in her late 30s to early 40s. She had noticed my Canon camera bag on the bar in front of me and said she wanted to be my model. When I told her "No thank you," she said she had "young girls" who were willing to "do everything" in front of the camera. Again, I brushed her off and she went back to chatting with another guy who had visible camera equipment with him.

To me, the situation said "scam," but if you're looking for ladies willing to pose, you might try the Beer Garden. If you do get a legit opportunity to take some single girl or action shots, make sure you download to an encrypted file as soon as the girl is out of your room, then delete the photos permanently from your camera. If you don't know about encrypted files (and it isn't rocket science to learn), then you shouldn't be messing with X-rated stuff. Take a look at http://www.truecrypt.org.


Evil