Calypso Cabaret (3 pics)

[farang_oz]

Anybody been lucky enough to go out with any of the ladyboys from Calyspo Cabaret?

[doug]

(farang_oz @ Mar. 25 2008,16:11) Anybody been lucky enough to go out with any of the ladyboys from Calyspo Cabaret?

Yes, but not one of the one's you pictured.

Ended up being a waste of time. I was actually interested in dating her, as in really dating in a boyfriend-girlfriend way (this was a while ago), but she was more interested in just using me to treat her and her friends to copious amounts of seafood in Chinatown after work.

Couple nights of that nonsense without so much as a "thank you" (but several "hey, why don't you walk over to that jewelry shop and buy me something"), I gave her up as a bad job.

I know these caberet girls don't make much, but to see these girls pack away 800-baht plates of crab and shrimp as if they hadn't had a decent meal in weeks was just annoying. Especially when they ordered WAY more than they could possibly eat just so they could take it home.

I'm well-aware that "Thai-style" dating involves taking friends out as "chaperones" at first, but this was more like "take three of my friends out and buy them three days worth of expensive seafood if you want to 'date' me, but don't expect me to appreciate it in any way, shape or form, because you're just another sap, in a long string of saps, that I have chasing me around."

Trust me, you're better off with an "honest" hooker. These girls put on airs that they're not "working girls", but they cock-tease like pros and if you don't have a padlock on your wallet, they'll try to milk you for every last baht in it, all the while never giving up anything but half-interested flirtations in return.

[stogie bear]

Welcome back, Doug... I missed your style of posts.

[farang_oz]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience Doug, i think these girls are very expensive from what you have just stated, i think i will take your advise and stick to the hookers at least i will get a good time for my money.

And thanks for your post. Cheers mate,
farang_oz

[stogie bear]

I've had Cab Gals in the past. Thing is; they've got little to no energy by the time they knock off from work.

[doug]

Yep, I talk with this girl (her name was "Real", she played the "young" Josephine Baxter in the show, the one they brought out on a tray), and she said that they spend pretty much the whole day rehearsing and then they perform two shows a night.

They really do make peanuts (which just means that Asia Hotel is ROBBING people because they charge 1000 baht admission, plus extortion rates on drinks), but based on my experience, I'd say they were a pretty hard-hearted crowd of girls.

One of her friends spoke to me while I was waiting for Real to get off work. She could tell that I was a bit smitten by Real, so she asked me, "Do you like her?", and I said, "Yeah.", and she said, "Well, OK, good luck, but she really just likes MONEY."

Should have taken her advice. Would have saved me a few more "dinner dates" with Real and her friends (4000+ baht each time. Ouch).

[farang_oz]

Its a pitty because some of them are sure hot.

[doug]

Well, I'd hate to paint every girl in there based on the actions of the few I met, but think about it.

In nearly every tourist trap in every country in the world, the "locals" who work in the traps mostly view tourists as fat sheep begging to be fleeced. The quicker they part you from your money, the quicker they can move on and do the same to some other poor schmuck.

I am not, of course, talking about all the nice people who run pleasant tourism-related businesses because they actually enjoy working in the service industry. There are plenty of those kinds of people around Thailand too. But downtown Bangkok is not one of the places where those kinds of people set up shop.

And to me, it seems that Asia Hotel is a tourist trap from the top down. Seriously, 1000 baht to watch a bunch of re-tread show-tunes? They must make over 200,000 baht a night from the cover charge alone! And yet they rehash the same damn show every night because they know that a fresh crop of sheep (er, "guests") isn't going to care. How long has it been Josephine Baxter's birthday anyway?

And since you're robbed right at the ticket counter, you can certainly expect more of the same from the unpaid girls. They probably pull in several million baht a month on that show, and yet they pay the average dancer around 4000 baht a month, and the "stars" get maybe 10,000 to 20,000 a month, if that.

Sure it beats turning tricks or cutting hair for a living, especially since it gives some of these flaming queens an excuse to prance around (like they need one), but it's still a pitance compared to what the hotel makes off that show. Sadly, I think that "fleece the sheep" attitude of the management has trickled down to the girls working the show.

It may still be possible to meet a girl there who genuinely likes you, but my advice would be to VETO any "friends" coming along for dinner after the second date. Once. OK. Let them have their fun. But after that, if she tries to bring friends along, you know they're just using you to load up their doggie bags.

[jimslim]

(doug @ Mar. 25 2008,17:12) I know these caberet girls don't make much, but to see these girls pack away 800-baht plates of crab and shrimp as if they hadn't had a decent meal in weeks was just annoying.  Especially when they ordered WAY more than they could possibly eat just so they could take it home.

Phone everyone , dinners on the farang

[Otho]

Sorry, but who's Josephine Baxter?

[Guest]

Probably Joséphine Baker. A hot muffin who danced wearing only bananas!

[doug]

Baker, Baxter, what's the difference? Like I was there for the history lesson.

[rxpharm]

I have photos of the lb I think Doug is posting about.

[Looker]

(doug @ Mar. 25 2008,19:31) And to me, it seems that Asia Hotel is a tourist trap from the top down.  

Asia Hotel is one of those dinosaur of hotels that should only bringed down to duild something decent!

Some 2 or 3 years ago I happened to be walking nearby there late in the evening, and I realized it was about the end of the second show..probably 10:30 or 11 PM.

Being quite pissed that night..forgot why..I had the pathetic idea to make a stake-out and check those LBs out after they finished the performance.

I managed to see a dozen of them getting out from the side entrance. Probably some other "escaped" from another side of the hotel. Honestly, apart from a couple of them, I didn't see anything special at all.

About half of them had their Thai b/f coming to pick them up on motorbike. Few others stopped by the restaurant on the main road, near the BTS station, and the others left scattered in every direction.

However, nothing special at all! I wouldn't see half of a reason to get your wallet drained by any of them. Probably the make up and the glam of the shows make the trick. In normal clothes I just saw a bunch of ageing LBs least than attractive.

[trobriand]

(doug @ Mar. 25 2008,17:12) I'm well-aware that "Thai-style" dating involves taking friends out as "chaperones" at first, but this was more like "take three of my friends out and buy them three days worth of expensive seafood if you want to 'date' me, but don't expect me to appreciate it in any way, shape or form, because you're just another sap, in a long string of saps, that I have chasing me around."

In my opinion "Thai style dating" protcols don't really apply to ladyboys, none of whom I have met being chaste virgins. I would run a mile of one of them suggested that she bring along her mates. A sure sign they are blood suckers.

I think Stogies summation of the level of fatigue of cabaret girls is worth noting.

I have had a few good short times with girls from Mambo that I have pounced on after they finish work. The younger ones tend to catch the bus home and are not shy. Have found the bus stop on Sukhumvit right outside the entrance to mambo a good hunting ground.

Enjoy!