Big Mango Bar
drink and blog

Evolution and looking for new pastures…

Posted by sideshowBOB | Reader Submissions | Posted on July 25th, 2007

Well folks. Thanks again for reading, commenting and contributing. The traffic keeps going up on the site and we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our wireless mice. I am not sure why but my guess is the flyers I keep handing out while I am in foodland looking for fresh produce may be paying off. Only time will tell. I have to admit I have been spending a little too much time in front of the TV these past few days. I got episodes 13-21 of the final season of Sopranos from a friend and just had to barrel through them. The ending left me wanting for more. Maybe that is the idea. Some of the best TV ever made is still how I feel about the Sopranos. I just need to get going on Real World Bangkok next but more on that later.

As for Real World Bangkok. I used to watch the first few seasons of Mtv’s Real World. I don’t watch it anymore and have not for years due to the fact the novelty is over and it is just not too interesting anymore but I do think the initial idea had some merit. I think Real World Bangkok would be cool though. Put a crew of girls and guys in a cool pad in the center of Bangkok. Turn on the cameras. Make it for cable so you don’t have to cut everything and let it rip. The normal things that people get up to around here are better than most scripts. Some of the reality we deal with here is too crazy for some people to dream up. The entire show would have to be filmed before any of it was shown so that the cast and crew could get out of town because once the TV show started airing all those involved might not be let back into the country. It would be some fun TV watching for those who don’t live here though.

Favorite search terms this week:

therapist part time in bkk – time to leave town is my guess

bangkok soi best midget – see. real world bangkok

2 wives in thailand? – sure. why not?

nude girl with female condoms – glad she is packing

Back to my train of thought. 2 things stuck with me when reading BBK post’s that I wanted to discuss more:

1. Freelancers

2. Fresh Produce

Freelancers. I think this term is in need of some discussion. Some people tend to assume that a freelancer is like an ex bargirl who can no longer work in a bar so she turns to freelancing. I am not sure this is true. Sure. It is one form of a freelancer but it is not the entire picture. I think there are many forms of the freelancer and even some tweener situations. I bring this up because there have been some comments purporting to freelancers as the castoffs that people should avoid. To be clear I am not harping on the commenter but using this as an example since others may feel the same.

Sure – there are freelancers to avoid but there are girls working in bars that should also be avoided. A girl working in the bar, just because she is employed, should not come with some assumption that she is a safe bet. On the safety issue – I agree that if you are taken or suckered by a freelancer that there are less options to hold her accountable. However I think if one approaches freelancers with common sense and some practical knowledge, then one has a pretty good chance of a quality experience.

So freelancers come in many varieties:

• Girls who have never worked in a bar but full time freelance
• Girls who used to work in the bars but choose freelancing instead
• Uni girls looking to buy books
• Girls with small businesses experiencing a slow month
• Girls with boyfriends looking for a good time.
• Girls looking for boyfriends and using freelancing as a dating method

I am sure the list can go on and others may have their thoughts on it but I think it is worth discussing. The freelancer market is growing, is fun and there are some great venues in Bangkok for it. Sure – there are bad freelancers and as u explore the freelancer scene you will inevitably encounter some but being well armed with information should allow u to enjoy the TG FL scene. As the internet, social networking, and mobile communications grows my guess is freelancing may become a bigger market than the bars.

Fresh produce. Looking for new girls, new venues, and new experiences. That is how I was looking at the post and what I was thinking about. It hit on a larger subject that I sometimes discuss which is the difference between living in Thailand and holidaying in Thailand. Overtime I am starting to feel like these are two different universes. When I first visited Thailand on business I was like a kid in a candy store. After living in Hong Kong for close to five years and coming to Thailand every other month – I enjoyed Thailand like I was on holiday but yet I was more informed on where to go and what to do.

After living here and working here for over 2 years though many things have changed. None of this is negative per say but the things I seek, the places that might interest me, and the things I think are cool are probably much different than what someone who is on holiday might like. For example. Go Go bars are cool but they are not the be all end all for me. Half the time now they are a source of drinking and entertainment. I rarely pull from them. Hence why I think the freelancer market is interesting. Over time one learns to run the Bangkok marathon so to speak. How to live, work and play in Bangkok for the long haul. I think it is a much different game than the holiday one. Sometimes people will ask me if I have been to a certain place or another and then when I have said no, they look at me like I am crazy. My standard reply is – it is a marathon not a sprint. I have time.

So the viewpoint of a holiday maker, frequent traveler to Bangkok and a resident are probably not the same. I think that is a good thing since Bangkok evolves to meet the needs of all three on any given night. Hopefully this blog continues to evolve in order to cover all vantage points so people make educated guesses as to where to go to eat, drink and party. For me – I am constantly on the prowl for new pastures. Fresh produce and so on.