New from Bangkok

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by graceinbangkok

There were two clubs on RCA, EFun (with a double female symbol and the slogan "Extreme Fun for Ladies") which closed a couple of years ago, and Zeta which is still open but IMHO been ruined by the new management, which in opinion is very sexist. There is a new club called Diva where EFun used to be but when i went it was not very exciting. The new owner of Zeta is modeling it more along a gay club. Before the staff was all-female, and no men allowed - last time I went they had men working the door and as deejays (Diva did as well, though) and I saw one guy inside at a table. so changing. I complained about the the increased number of men working there and was old "women cannot manage" and "women steal" - after that they are on my crap-list and if my friend quits working there I won't go any more...

There is a club called Lick too, but a bit hard to find. The tom-dee group Lesla will have a party next month at a bar on Phaholyothin, hope it will continue. And there was a farang oriented party on Sukhumvit but I think the organizers are a bit burnt out...

The woman you mentioned, was it Dee Lesla (I'm sure not her real name)? She is behind the current Lesla group, and maybe was before... I believe she has ran some clubs in the past but not sure which ones. Given that there is such a huge gay male scene here in Bangkok, I don't know why so few lesbian ones.

Hopefully my pub/cafe idea will see fruition after my financial obligations are all taken care of. I got the idea after watching the South Korean drama "Daughters of Club Bilitis" - want a place for all ages, Thai, Farang and others, but women only ... maybe have some speakers (Allison Bechtel would be my dream LOL), TVs showing LGBT movies, a small bookshop, and maybe try to put out a newsletter. I am thinking I can do it in about 4 years if I can break even or lose only a minimal amount...

Or maybe I am just a dreamer LOL...

Zeta was the bar / club at RCA but a year or two after it opened, the woman who owned it opened another bar. I totally forget the name but almost certain that it began with "S". It was over two stories with pool tables on the upper floor and, all-in-all, a bit nicer than Zeta.


The other place I remember was an informal restaurant / bar called Vega. This was in the Shukhumvit area, down a soi on the opposite side from the Emporium. It was nothing special as regards food or the surroundings but could often get a good atmosphere in the evenings. From what I recall, it was owned by a Thai lesbian couple.


As someone who used to have minor business interests in Thailand, I admire your ambition. That said, as you will know much better than I do, it can be very challenging for non-Thais to set up and successfully drive businesses in Bangkok for a whole host of legal and cultural issues. At the very least, you'll need a Thai partner (in a business sense, not romantically) to avoid much of the red tape and, even then, you'll likely need to not have a nervous disposition to make things work.