Go Go Touts on Bangla Rd

[Froggy McFrogfeet]

Patpong?? I doubt his spelling has improved with the new name...

 

[lilbigd2010]

ok after reading the replys to this where i said beware spicy bar maybe i was wrong but in saying that when i went there knowing were i was going there was two boys open the door for me and take me inside not looking at the card i order a beer and glass of wine when ask why price so high was told for the show but maybe was thai to english translation my g/f was impressed with this she say hope they all price the same so u dont come back to the gogo bars so maybe was my fault just to order a beer not look at the card maybe a tout that is more clever and stand at the entrance to the bar doesnt mater much just another lesson in life that i have learnt

 

[Delacy]

i know patong quite well and have never been to anywhere a tout as asked me to go! just shake your head no! and carry on walking to the place you were supposed to go anyway.
only fools and newbies get caught by the pirhranas that hang around bangla imho.

 

[Champdude21]

Good to hear there are fewer touts as it was getting ridiculous. There are still some pushing the ping pong "show" and I did wonder how they got paid. Thanks to this forum I now know !

 

[Underground lightning]

no tout involed had been there gefore last june when ask why price so high was told for the show when ask where the show was told no show too many police around so payed up and never to return

 

[Goodnatured]

Dont listen to him. His words are VooDoo. He'll have you howlin' at the moon. Look what he did to our lovable pablo.

 

[ch3z_s]

No, I haven't seen those other threads - please provide a link. I'll read them tonight.

THAT'S NOT AT ALL WHAT I'M SAYING, any more than tuk-tuk drivers are "nice guys". All I'm saying, is that IF (and the word IF is important) they've got an arrangement with the bars to collect so much money for bringing a guest to the bar, more and more of them are going to be out there doing it - "easy money". If the bars refuse to pay them, they'll go off and do something else. Fewer payoffs ==> fewer touts.

IF (again, there's that word IF) they're now officially allowed to do this, and the bars have to pay them, then we're stuck with them forever, unless we can somehow inform ALL newcomers coming to Patong to refuse to pay the higher prices. I suppose visitors could be told to ask for the menu before ordering drinks (and refuse to pay inflated prices) but that seems very difficult to accomplish.

If you're right about this, and I'm wrong, then I apologize, as the bars are being forced into it. If that's true, we're stuck with them, unless enough people spread the word, and refuse to pay extra for a drink. Asking for a menu first, or for the price of a beer, would at least give people the option of going to another place.




(There was a fascinating story here ages ago, about how if a taxi driver brought someone to a hotel, the hotel had to pay extra money to the taxi driver, even if the guest already had a reservation. Is that article still around? I tried to find it once, but couldn't locate it again.)

 

[iKNOWyouDO]

Even if what you just said was true (which it isn't), 50, or 500, or 5000 people could come on here and elaborate how miserable the touts are, and the next day they'll still be out on Bangla Road doing what they've always done. They were out there ten years ago, and they'll probably be doing the same thing ten years from now.

When you have time, please send me a PM telling me what I said in the above post that you feel is inaccurate. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

As to disrupting things, I can simplify that very easily. Maybe I'll just create one new discussion topic for these thoughts, and anyone who wants to debate can do so there, without interrupting ANY of the other discussions going on. Or, people can just ignore it completely. I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow, and probably won't have any more time to post for a while, so I can't do much more here for a while anyway.

 

[Carlos Guitierres]

now geir has gone i have no reason to go down seadragon unless i get dragged there by someone.so the bars down that soi are going to LOSE business from regular visitors because of the b*st*rd touts IMHO.

 

[natesando]

Sorry to say but if a Bar or Go Go try to scam you or whatever,no matter who is behind it,my response to that bar is to stop frequent it.

So simple as that as a customer,as i see it.

If run a business you cant control you have a problem,softley speaken

 

[Anony Moose]

This just reinforces my stance of always finding out the price of a drink in Thailand before ordering. I wont let anyone pour me a beer, take the cap of a bottle or even take my order until I know what I'm up for. My recent trip as a group we walked away from two bars after being quoted 350 baht beers. I didn't see a tout but there might have been one behind us for all we know. I have had dealings with them before after a very expensive night in Bangkok on my first trip.

Keep your money in your pocket and dont order a thing until you've seen a price you're happy with. If they're running a bill don't let it stack up all night unless you're familiar with the bar. Clear the bill every hour. As for the touts, forget them. Just smile and keep walking, it's the locals problem and pandering to them out of fear or embrassment only helps their cause.

 

[eric k]

You were probably 'claimed' by a tout as you walked in..

Hence you got scammed on a drink price.. and the bar had to make up some reason, so 'show' was something they could say without saying to your face you just got done.

 

[Erica Ewen]

That is Thai logic, and the tourist ends up paying for something he didn't get.

 

[sassy k]

if they (touts) are hanging right in front of door when u try & walk in , they will follow u in, u say "i go in by myself", when u come out there may be trouble waiting for you,
myself i'd like to go in & have a look at some of these bars, but dont need any hassles from these thugs, iam on holidays & want a trouble free time while iam there.

 

[TeenageBoy]

i just finished a book called "Thai Die" by Greg Fleet an australain comedian , its about his 1st time to Thailand in 1989,
outside his hotel on his 1st day he met a very friendly & helpful Thai guy, it cost him $4500.00 (conned/scammed/robbed)

 

[Pompal 09.]

There are over 100 touts each paying 1000baht a month.

 

[Cyber Ninja]

Ahhh, the ping pong show with the fat ugly Thai...never again I tell you.

 

[autumnbrookblue]

Don't know why you have to even comment on this thread THAICAM when you clearly know nothing about the tout system and can't have been in a gogo in Soi Seadragon otherwise you would know they do have their own price lists inside.

 

[jaydens_mommy.]

As I can't find a brick wall to talk to I think it's time to hit the "Big Red Button" , you obviously have a visual impairment that does not affect everyone else who has posted in this thread !!!!!

 

[Pompal 09.]

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a problem with these touts. I just shake my head; say no and that’s it.

I’m not a go-go-fan, and I’ve only been to at go-go in Patong once, but I remember being dragged in by a tout, paid 300 bath for my beer, watched a show I didn’t enjoy, and left. Most of the crowd seemed to be couples that I presume wanted to see the red light Thailand we read about in the papers, and I guess they never would have been there in the first place if it wasn’t for the touts.