East meet Mid-East meets West

What is undoubtedly happening in Thailand and especially Bangkok, is that the composition of arriving travellers is rapidly changing. In the 10-15 years we have been around the city, we have first witnessed the increasing number of Japanese visitors. Lots of Japanese are working in Japanese co-owned companies, and thousands of them are living in the Sukhumvit area, mostly in condominiums between Asoke road and Sukhumvit soi 31. However, especially when we think about the nightlife, lots of Japanese young men are now around town, being the favorites of the Thai bar girls, because of their free spending ways.

A Thai community of Indian descent has long been established also in the lower Sukhumvit area, and reputedly are heavily involved in building and having built lots of condominiums in that part of town. However, the number of Indian tourists has also substantially increased over the last few years.

Bangkok has since many years an active Arab corner. Arab tourists have for years been residing around Sukhumvit soi 3. There they occupy among other hotels, the rather infamous Grace hotel. In that area there are also many restaurants serving Arab food, and Arab language can be read on the windows of many establishments. Lately the number of Arab visitors has been rather exploding. This is attributed to the difficulty people of Arab descent nowadays have in travelling to the United States and Europe.

According to official statistics the number of Chinese visitors is very high and increasing yearly. However, when walking the streets for some reason the Chinese tourists are less visible. This can also be due to the fact that we simply assume them to be Thai. For sure, about 10% of the population of Bangkok is of Chinese descent, and there are lots of people with mixed Thai-Chinese blood.

The number of farangs working and residing in Bangkok and Thailand is still increasing, and the number of farang tourists is also still rising, but proportionally they make out less and less of the total number of residents and visitors to the Kingdom.

The changing ethnic composition of visitors to Thailand can clearly be seen when walking around lower Sukhumvit, especially on the 'night market' street walk between soi 3 and Asoke road. This is the long about 1,5 km stretch of pavement that is occupied by street vendors along the side of Sukhumvit road with uneven soi numbers. While difficult to walk at all times, because of the crowd and the many stalls, nowadays you will find lots of Arab and Indian families strolling around in that area. Quite obvious this are not solely Arab or Indian men coming for the nightlife, but whole families even with grandmothers and grandfathers enjoying the evening shopping scene.

Now, interestingly, what is the effect on the nightlife scene. Japanese customers have been around for a while, and are indeed very popular with the bar girls, up to the point where farang customers are sometimes not paid attention to. We will not dwell on this right now.
But slowly but surely the number of Indian and Arab visitors trying to enjoy the nightlife is increasing. Most bars gladly already accept them, but they are not yet welcomed everywhere. We saw on occasion Arab customers (mainly when in obvious Arab dress or with Arab headware) being turned down when trying to entering bars. We have had a direct account of one Indian customer who was declined entrance to Suzie Wong and Shebas at Soi Cowboy, with the message that only 'members' are allowed in. These bars actually have a notice on their sliding doors that a 'members only' club is operating on the premises. Interestingly, we have never been asked to show our membership card when entering these places.

In a sign of things to come, just the other night we were visiting (on one of the rare occasions) Our Place at Soi Cowboy, and noticed that a whole group of Indian visitors were clearly and loudly enjoying the scene, having a lot of drinks and giving tips to the girls. On top of that, the standard music fare was replaced by Indian music to the delight of these customers for almost half an hour.

Now, Bangkok has always been cosmopolitan, but lately this has really become more obvious. Go shopping at Robinson department store (Sukhumvit soi 19) and you will witness that actually most of the customers on the ground floor are either Arab or Indian!
Farangs form still the majority (but just) of the bars at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. But the number of Japanese customers is now surely around 20-30% of the total (and form the majority in some bars). Slowly the number of Singaporean, Korean, Chinese are increasing. And the lastest group of customers on the scene, namely the Indians and Arabs are starting to infiltrate the scene. Since 'follow the money' certainly also applies to the nightlife scene in Bangkok, even those bars that are now reluctant or refusing to accept Indian and Arab visitors, will change their ways in the future.

More Articles :

• Which bars to go to in 2008?
• The Rise of Soi Cowboy
• Thugs and the Entrance to the Bars
• What about the Show Girls at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy
• Where to see the Shows?
• A review of the competition : Other Websites covering the Nightlife in Bangkok
• Common Rip Offs and Minor Dangers
• Happy Hours at Soi Cowboy
• About Lady Boys (Katoeys)
• More : The Return of the Lady Boys (Katoeys)
• Sukhumvit : Museum of Horrors
• Sukhumvit : Street Prostitution
• Cost of living in Thailand
• Is there a need for Nudity (and where can you see the girls?)
• Expensive Drinks at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy
• About getting some Water, and about the Noise Levels in the Bars
• The Invasion of the Arabs and Indians along Sukhumvit Road
• Our preferred Bars at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy
• The Japanese and the Bars
• Rapid and slow Turnover Bars - What is that?
• Stephen Leather : The Private Dancer, the ultimate Novel about the Bar Scene
• Escort Services in Bangkok and Thailand
• List of Escort Services (websites)

Main Page | Introduction to a-go-go | FAQ's | Links | Nana Plaza | Soi Cowboy | Short-time calculator