One Night in...

[Mac]

I thought it was time to share my experience of my last night in Hua Hin.

Bar Girls like to have fun. Sanuk. This is a word that does not really translate into English. Thai Culture also has roots in a village concept where everything is shared. Thai culture is also very hierachical where there is a very real pecking order. I saw all of this first hand on a very eventful night on my last tour in Hua Hin.

It was raining all the time in early August. Don't let anyone tell you differently. It was not that light summer rain we have but the Carribean down pour that usually lasts about ten minutes in Antiqua but lasted all day and all night in Thailand. The bar girls were looking sexy in plastic over macs as they plied their trade on the Soi. There were no customers at all. As I was really the only customer I spread my time between the bars, playing pool and drinking. The girls were also frightened of the thunder and when it rolled really loudly they dived under the table. The Hotel I was staying in was full but not designed for indoor eating and most of the guests went out at night to seek more covered eating places. The Bar staff at the hotel had very few customers.

By the end of my stay I had met a lot of people in Hua Hin. The village gossip meant that I was greeted on the street during the day and as I was made to feel very comfortable. If I went somewhere for lunch people would come and sit with me and talk about themselves, the weather, and watch a farang try Tom Yam Soup for fun!

At the end of my stay I decided that I would organise a party for Sanuk. I went to see the owner of the only real Disco in town and arranged for a big table to be set up to seat about 40 people. I invited the bar staff from the hotel and told them to bring their friends and I walked up the Soi and spoke to a few of the girls and asked them if they would like to come to a party. Because I did not really think anyone would come I also bar fined six girls just to be sure I would have company. The Anantara Hotel in Hua Hin is probably the best hotel there and the Disco Owner was quite excited because very few people from the Antantara came to his establishment.

Expect the unexpected is always the rule in Thailand. At 10:30 I was sitting at my table with the six girls and we started on Heinekin. They seemed reluctant to have real drinks as it was too expensive. The Heinekin came in huge five litre towers and you served yourself. The band played old fashioned English Songs so I asked them if they could not perhaps play more modern Thai music. This went down very well and soon some of the girls were up on the stage joining in with the band. My girls were dressed very sexily and the Disco Owner seemed pleased to have unpaid chorus dancers adding a bit of colour to the proceedings. The Hotel staff then turned up and bottles of Whiskey were ordered along with a couple more Heineken towers. Because they were Bar Staff at the best Hotel the waiters in the Disco were very deferential! There was a nice moement when the head of the Bar from the hotel was asked to serve a drink behind the bar. This was done with some ceremony and lots of camera clicking!

Things then really began to liven up. News of the party had spread and more girls from the bars that I had spoken to began to turn up. Interestingly we had no "gate Crashers". The only people who sat at the table were those that I had directly invited. Gradually the girls began to unwind and perhaps to realise that this really was a party and not some prelude to a perverted sex orgy. They began to dance on the table and I managed to persuade the Band to play Offenbach while they did a good approximation of the Can Can. It was really something to see as 30 girls tried to kick their legs higher than each other.

Inevitably I suppose these activities caught the attention of the local gangsters. I was summoned to another table and greeted with much formality by a group of men who looked like extras from Black Rain. The obvious head of this group smiled at me and asked if my friends and I would join him afterwards at his restaurant. You can imagine that as it was 01:30 in the morning and I was drunk I was a little concerned about accepting invitations from people I did not know. I spoke to one of the staff from the Hotel and he said: "This man very important in Hua Hin. Best if you say Yes". I said that I would be delighted to come to his restaurant although I did not like spicey food.

At 2.00am the Disco closed and we left to be greeted outside by five Mercedes cars. I was driven to a restaurant in the back of an S500 and about 20 people followed. The word "Restaurant" does not really describe this place. It was more like a converted Gambling joint. The walls were dark and a table had been set up in the middle of the room. I was a little nervous as I had no idea how much this was going to cost me. I had about 10,000 Baht on me and had visions of being held to ransome at the end of the meal. I decided that I had better find out. I spoke to one of the staff and explained my predicament. He said. "No money."

More Whiskey was produced and this time the girls tucked in heartily to Marguaritas and Tequila. It became clear that part of the deal was that the girls wanted to show me a good time. In the confines of this dark room they were not shy about taking off their clothes and asking me what I thought of their bodies. I tried to keep my clothes on out of respect for my host but it really was not possible and soon I was being accosted by about five girls at the same time. All of the male participants were getting a similar treatment so it did not seem too out of place. Luckily I had slipped a VIT V so the English end was held up much to the interest of some of the Thai men...

At about 4.00am I said that as I was leaving for Bangkok in the morning I really must leave. I thanked mine host graciously and was whisked back to the Hotel in the ubquitous Mercedes.

The postcript is that on my return from England I received an email from the General manager of the Anantara saying that he did not know the exact details but his staff were talking about the party all the time. He has invited me to his Christmas Party...

Mac

[andy50]

great post mac !just the sort of post that makes this forum so interesting,any more pics?

[IRISH JONNY]

Good Read Mac.....
I Would Have Shit Myself Going Into That Mafai Style Place.dodgy..........
Jonny

[eric-the-viking]

wow with out sounding like a cheap skate but what kind of figure did all that cost you ?
when you told the waiter you had no money left what happened ? this excellentstuff im so jealousof you but as jonny said i think i would of sh1t scared ,so i take it you was mega pi55ed

[Geir]

Great story. Its allways nice to see something different, but it for shure sounded a little bit scary for a moment.

[Mac]

The disco party cost THB 13,000 and the six bar fines were THB 1200. Call it £200 for cash. The "restaurant" was free as I was a guest apparently.

Yes Eric I was a little beyond my normal sober self. I find that I can drink Heinekin and usually blow up before I get pissed but start me on the Jonny Red and I am all over the place.

The point of my tale is that this could only really happen in Thailand. I was obviously uneasy about accepting the restaurant invitation but it really would have been an insult not to and I figured that with 20 of my closest friends with me what could go wrong...
Mac

[butterflyblonde]

I loved the ''Black rain '' reference , like jonny i think i would have been a little nervous too about rubbing shoulders with the mafia but it looks like you could have made some good contacts with meeting them.

shame that pic isn't a little clearer though but a good post anyway

[dawsey]

Great post Mac
That was worth £200 for that experience.I'm envious

[urtheman]

Wish I could have been there. The mafia guy actually gains face as well if he has a falang in his establishment. Especially a classy guy such as yourself.

I used to run a restaurant in Hong Kong and we had a known gangster come in with a limp and a caine, he had an entourage with him but my staff said do not go talk to him as I would usually do with a high profile guest. "Good evening how is your dinner," etc. They said he dosen't speak english and would lose face in front of his guests if I put him in that position and my cantonese was almost non-existent so I just stayed away.

[JayBee]

Great story, Mac. Very enjoyable reading!!!

Money very well spent!! And it never hurts to make friends with powerful people in faraway places. Even the Mafia. I don't think you had any reason at all to be afraid, since you had comported youself in a commendable manner, and had no reason to believe that anyone might mean you harm!

P.S. I also found the Black Rain reference to be a very nice touch.

[river]

Nice story Mac you made my day reading this post keep up the good work.

[Diver69]

Nice Story. I have to work 5 more hours and this story kept the blues away for quiete some time while reading.