A Go-Go clubs in Pattaya

Someone I met on the plane told me that if I was going to Pattaya, I should go to an A Go-Go club. What is an A Go-Go club, anyway?  Well. Basically, an A Go-Go club is an entertainment venue where men – usually men, anyway – go to have a drink and watch attractive ladies dance.

Oh, well, what kind of dancing to the ladies do? Dancing might not be an exactly correct word for what the ladies do.  The ladies invent movements to go along with the music which the A Go-Go plays.  They do not do a particular dance or dance style. When they feel good, they usually try to move in an erotic way to show off their charms.  If they are tired, they sometimes just walk in place!!!

What do the ladies wear? When they are dancing, most ladies wear very revealing and skimpy clothing, usually some sort of bikini.

I have been told the ladies dance topless or even naked. Is that true? Well, it does happen, but not very often. There are laws about this sort of thing and most dancers and club operators worry about that. Don’t worry too much about this. The clothes they wear are revealing enough for most men and you will see…a lot.

So how old are these ladies, anyway? Most are in their early or mid twenties. Some dancers are in their early thirties, but that is about as old as they get…don’t worry, everyone looks pretty good.

Can I meet a lady if I want? Sure. Ladies will almost always ask if they can sit with you. Most ladies wear numbers, so if you see a lady you like, you can ask the waiter to have her come to you. They will expect you to buy them a drink after a few minutes chat, and to get down to business. But if you don’t buy them a drink, they might continue chatting with you.

What do you mean , get down to business? Well, the ladies are often pressured by the club operators to go home with customers. This is because the customers must pay a “bar fine” to take a lady home. The bar fine at an A Go-Go club  usually  begins around 500 baht…a nice sum of money! Ladies can get in trouble with their bosses if they do not go home with enough men…and most ladies want to go because they want the extra money, which actually adds up to more than their salaries.  So customers have an advantage in this regard.

Well, how much should I give a lady if want her to stay with me? The going rate is around 1,500 to 2,000 baht for her to stay all night, maybe a little more in high season.

Why should I pay more when I can find a lady on the street or at a beer bar? Remember, that these ladies are hired based largely on the attractiveness… they are usually better looking than girls in beer bars or on the street. And they are safer, because you have their names and numbers and you know where
they work…so if you have a problem, you can go back to the club manager or to the police.

Tell me about an A Go-Go club. What is it like?  The central part of an A Go-Go is the stage…larger places might have more than one stage and some places have small podiums scattered throughout the club. Ladies dance on these stages. Most stages accommodate at least four of five ladies, but usually no more than 12 to 15. Customers sit around the stage or stages. The customer seating is usually arranged specifically for viewing the dancing. Often, the seats are fixed into place so they can’t be moved.  These places usually have lots of mirrors and are dark, except for the special lighting. And there is loud, loud music while the ladies perform.

You said that the seating is arranged mainly for viewing. Does this mean that an A Go-Go is not a good place to go with friends for a chat? Well, you are probably correct. An A Go-Go is a place for looking, not talking. The loud music makes it difficult to talk, anyway. There are better places to go for conversation with friends, but not for looking at lovely ladies.

So, what is the music like? Why is it so loud? An A Go-Go is for dancing so the music is important. It tends to be a disco or heavy metal style, but you hear all kinds, including Thai popular and country. It is synchronized with the lighting to create an erotic, fantasy effect. When customers hear the music and see the ladies dancing in the special lighting, it is very exciting. It also helps the ladies dance better, too.

Well, what about the lighting? Is the club awash in crazy lighting? No, as I said, A Go-Gos are usually dark…the lighting is focused on the stage and the dancers, and perhaps on special exhibits or decorations. All A Go-Gos synchronize the lighting to the music, and in the better clubs, a great deal of money is spent on the latest technology and it is very impressive. Sometimes customers complain about the lighting (and the music), but people should remember that a club is not a hotel…it is a place to come for an hour or two to escape from the real world…and maybe find someone to spend some time with.

It sounds like the clubs are all pretty much alike. Is this true? Yes, it is at least partially true…but all ice cream is alike, and yet it is different. The better clubs all try to operate with an ambience or a theme. In Pattaya, for example, you will find clubs trying to create the environments of a prison or dungeon, a school or classroom (very popular with Asian tourists), Manhattan, London, San Francisco, Czarist Russia, a Viking kingdom, a South Seas Island, an office or workplace, a farm and so forth. Typically, in these places, the ladies wear appropriate clothing when they not dancing, so in a “classroom” setting, for example, the ladies are dressed like young school girls.

Are the clubs the same size? Most are generally rather small, having only four or five ladies dancing at anyone time. Some might have 15 or even 20 dancing. They are usually not as large as the larger clubs in Bangkok.

How can I know if I will like a club or not? You can’t know, and club hopping can be expensive, so you should take a look inside a club before you commit yourself to staying. Most A Go-Go managers will let you go inside and have a look. If they won’t, then you can know for sure that you do NOT want to go in that place! But you can only stay a minute or two without committing yourself to staying or leaving.

You said that the clubs are expensive. Is that true? A visit to one A Go-Go club will not set you back too much unless you drink a lot or buy a lot of drinks for ladies, which is a foolish thing to do as ladies generally do not expect a customer to buy more than two drinks.   Generally, these days, one should count on paying 100 baht for a drink – except at happy hours – and maybe more if one wants whiskey drinks. Cokes are less, but not a lot less. Lady drinks can be expensive – near 200 baht a drink – so one should ALWAYS ask how much they are before saying “yes.” One can enjoy oneself at a typical A Go-Go for betweem 300 to 400 baht, but hopping around town will cost you!!

Do A Go-Go bars have cover charges? Most do not but some do.  These usually include the price of a drink or two. Most people feel that A Go-Gos that do not have cover charge are the most economical.

How can I identify an A Go-Go club? Most A Go-Go clubs clearly identify themselves with the word “A Go-Go.” Some, however, are only identified with the word, “club,” so one must take a look inside before on can know for sure if it is an A Go-Go club or just some other type of club.

So where are the A Go-Go clubs in Pattaya? There are a lot of them, and the most are located in the “Walking Street” area in South Pattaya - on the  Walking Street or on streets connecting to the Walking Street and in the nearby “Boyztown” streets, mixed in with the gay bars. There are also five or so on Soi Eight, near the central police station and Pattaya Klang Road, and some near Big C (on the other side of the road) in north Pattaya. There are probably some on Soi Six, Soi Yodsak, near Big C, and there are definitely several in Naklua, north of Pattaya. There are a few, but not many, in Jomtien Beach, which is south of Pattaya.

What kind of hours do the A Go-Gos have? Most open their doors around six or seven PM but the ladies do not start dancing until between 8:00 and 9:00. They begin to fill up around 10:00 PM. They generally following the closing laws, whatever they happen to be at a particular time!! Most of the time, closing is around 2:00 AM.

If I go to an A Go-Go, do I have to drink beer or whiskey. No, of course not. Just have a coke, sit back and enjoy yourself.