Soi 7/1: Magic Table and Thermae by Werewolf
Posted by werewolf | Blog, Reader Submissions | Posted on November 17th, 2007
The top of the table is a mirror, the girls are dancing in white shirts, short red-plaid schoolgirl skirts, and no underwear. It’s easy to see that each is fully shaved. There are a half-dozen girls dancing, and another eight or ten girls hanging around the bar.
This is Magic Table on Soi 7/1 and it’s a lot of fun.
It was my first time in the Club, and really, it was my first time on this soi at night. I was surprised at how busy the soi was generally (although I guess the high season is now upon us) and at the quality of the girls at Magic Table. No old girls… no ugly girls… they ranged from average to pretty.
I like the spinners– small girls around 40 kilos — and there were plenty of spinners in the lineup. But I was there with a couple of friends who are long-term residents of Bangkok and discerning when it comes to girls, and each of them was flirting with dancers that seemed slightly chunky to me. This is what makes the world go round, and tells me that the lineup at this bar will be appealing to a wide range of punters.
This was our third stop of the evening, and I was a bit beyond noticing niceties like drink prices, but I got the impression that the beer was reasonably priced. For a lively soi and a slightly different view of a go go bar, Magic Table on Soi 7/1 looks the goods.
We left without barfining anyone, though one of my companions did trade phone numbers with a girl, and told me he had every intention of returning on another day to see her again.
We stopped briefly at a bar on the same soi called “the Ring” (next to the Eden Club) but it was a forgettable experience.
We finished the night at Thermae, around the corner on Sukhumvit Road. Thermae is a Bangkok icon for Western tourists and expats, but I have never been a customer there before. People tell me that in times past it was the place to go after hours, and that it stayed open until sunrise. Apparently, it would fill with working girls who hadn’t had any luck getting a date who were ready to take one last shot before going home.
People also tell me a lot has changed. Apparently, Thermae no longer stays open till the wee hours, and it has gained a reputation as a haven for Japanese punters, and girls who are ‘Japanese specialists’.
Along with the Soi 7 BeerGarden and Gullivers, it is probably the most well-known freelancer bar in Bangkok.
I have never really been comfortable in freelancer bars. Dozens — sometimes hudreds — of girls sitting on barstools trying to look attractive and available. They have a half-expectant look on their faces as they wait to make eye contact with an interested punter. They remind me of croissants in a French bakery, attractively sitting on the shelf waiting for the right customer to come along and buy them.
Twice in my life, before last night, I had walked into Thermae alone, cruised a quick circuit through the bar, and walked out again without stopping.
I always feel out of place in freelancer bars. I stumble around and rarely have a good time. Aside from my very first day in Thailand (years ago) I have never hooked up with a freelancer in a bar. Somehow my personality just isn’t suited to it.
Last night in the Thermae was no exception. One of my drinking companions had gone home for the night, so there were only two of us. We went in, cruised around the bar, and then my buddy settled on a stool. Amazingly, next to him was a girl who I thought was stunning! She had a beautiful face with perfect bone structure, a tiny body with long shapely legs appearing from her short dress. Her skin was perfect, beautiful eyes, great poise… jackpot! I was already kicking myself for never coming here before.
But all my efforts to make any progress with her seemed idiotic. We made eye contact and I spoke to her. I offered her a drink (I guess that’s the etiquette in a freelance bar) and she said yes but didn’t move to order it. She told me she didn’t speak much English, but my efforts in Thai seemed to leave her unmoved as well.
I have no idea what was up. Mayb she likes Japanese, but I didn’t get that impression. Maybe she just thought I was old, fat and ugly. Maybe she was waiting for me to say, “hey honey, do you want to come back to my place for a shag?”
In any event, I was going nowhere, and not having a very good time. Meanwhile, my companion was laughing and having fun with some bird. I said goodnight to my ice goddess, shook hands with my mate and left Thermae around 12:30 or 1 am.
I got an email from him today with his report:
I ended up taking that girl for a 1k short time. Not a bad shag but she was drunk, which I don’t like. I wasn’t really bothered about going with anyone by the end but she had put in so much work and looked distraught when I told her I might go home alone.
Thermae has changed for the better since my last visit. No sign of the old slappers who were haunting the place and plenty of talent.
I agree that there was plenty of talent. One girl in particular would have gotten my attention anywhere in the world, but I couldn’t figure out how to tap it. Freelancer bars in general — and Thermae in particular — remain outside my comfort zone.
By the time I wandered out of Thermae I had five bars and more than a dozen beers behind me, and I was feeling no pain. I walked the miracle mile (strangley empty at this early hour) and ended up on Soi Cowboy. With no destination in mind I went into the Midnite Bar. I had a beer or two, refused several drink requests from dancers, and at one point managed to fall asleep. They woke me up when they turned on the lights.
I hit the street and was suddenly hungry. I started buying sausages, spring rolls and a bit more. I walked to Asok Road, and turned towards Sukhumvit.
I’ll definitely be back to Magic Table… it was good fun. I may go back to Thermae sober and with a fresh attitude and try to thaw my ice queen — my God she was beautiful! For a change of pace, Soi 7/1 looks like it offers more than just the Eden Club.
45 Responses to “Soi 7/1: Magic Table and Thermae by Werewolf”
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Yes I remember the Mickey Rourke Lookalike. I just knew the girl I pic...
Daywalker,That's how you'll know me at the Mango.Middle-aged bald guy ...
The first time I got to Eden, you landed at Don Maeng.
Yep - I remember walking past Eden and keep walking to the end of the ...
Trojan,You have the Mango and the Eden on your list. Just don't get t...- Soi Dog, Why on earth would you want to wear a school uniform?Lolitas...
Excellent write up, had me pissing myself.Been here 8 years and done s...
They laughed and said “No pomphem. We take care. Lelax.” Cool. Don’...
ROLLN at an AA meeting...talk about irony.- Funny stuff! I was intimidated by the Eden Club too. Don't know how I ...
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Translator
Magic Table… Never been.
- “The top of the table is a mirror, the girls are dancing in white shirts, short red-plaid schoolgirl skirts, and no underwear. It’s easy to see that each is fully shaved”
After reading this. I just gotta go.
View all comments by Day Walker
Try this.
Walk up to the girl.
Smile.
Say hello.
Make minimal small talk (suggestions: “did u eat”, “nice shoes”, “where u live”, “what time u come outside”).
You might even want to add…”You come my room?”
Let HER provide an opening salvo on price. Hope for a k, be prepared to go to one-five.
Keep us posted.
View all comments by Jack Dawson
you could not pull in thermae???
View all comments by MSB
My sentiments exactly.
View all comments by Jack Dawson
Might stick my head back in Magic table. It was empty and depressing about 5/6 months ago, I suspect primarily due to the aging and ugly dancers. It seemed to have everything going for it except for the talent. If they took that lot off to the dog food factory and got a fresh herd in definitely worth a look.
View all comments by Cabby
Are you “… old, fat and ugly.”? Might be a problem, my man.
View all comments by James
I thought everyone was ‘hansome man’ in Thailand?
Unless there is a Jap near you. Then you’re are just ignored.
View all comments by Day walker
In ww’s defence…. he’s not old.
View all comments by Day walker
@Daywalker: The club was designed with you in mind.
@MSB: Embarrassing & pathetic, I know. To be fair, I only tried one girl. There’s just something about the freelancer scene that I don’t like… I don’t like Soi 7 BeerGarden or Gullivers either. I drank one beer & left.
@Cabby: Be careful… I didn’t say the place was full of stunners, just not old & ugly. I suggested a range from ‘average to pretty’. Plus, they were all without panties and all very friendly, which makes them look better.
@James: I am indeed old, fat and ugly. This is a fact. I still have all my teeth, though.
View all comments by werewolf
o.k.. maybe he is old?!
View all comments by Day walker
@Daywalker: Are you glued to the computer today?? That’s about two dozen comments from you since lunch time…
View all comments by werewolf
maybe I am
View all comments by Day walker
ww – learn some Thai jokes, making a girl laugh is a good ice breaker.
View all comments by Orion
@WW, maybe the girl didn’t know Homer Simpson
View all comments by hanuman
I have popped into the Magic Table a couple of times each in April, July and August. On each and every visit the place was completely empty except for me and perhaps one or two old men.
I have always liked the idea of knickerless girls especially if they have billiard ball smooth fannies however the girls in the bar have always been chunky legged, short, uglies with just one or two OK looking ones.
The ones that were OK looking always seemed to dance staring into space without acknowledging or interacting with the customers (all two of them!).
The only reason why I visit the bar is because it is on the same Soi as Eden and I like to walk past and see if there are any nice looking girls outside Eden and of course there never are.
Pretty lady in Nana has pretty girls and offers the same concept as Magic Table however the girls are mercenary about getting tips and the place is a Jap stronghold. It is a bit off putting seeing groups of Japs throwing money at the girls.
View all comments by Mike Phillips
My god – another I couldn’t pull in a brothel story. Pull yourself together.
Just say – “how much?” or “do you want to go to a hotel?” Anything with this kind of tangent is bulletproof for “picking up” a prostitute.
View all comments by m
m – yes it might be, but some people want to have a nice vibe with a girl before taking her home.
View all comments by Orion
@ m: Hmmmm. I’ll lay this out for ya “cause you may just have been “taking the piss” (whatever THAT’s supposed to mean) so please forgive the “pedestrian” tone.
(Me? I’m just kidding, here
Michael Crichton, of all people, in a short story in “Travels” (penned between endless rewrites of his Andromeda Stain) noted to the initial dismay of many of us that between men and women it was actually MEN who were the great “hopeless romantics”.
After road testing his theory for more years than I’d care to remember (both in serious “couplehood” trials and un-forgettably depraved torrid one-nighters) I will suggest to you that this “order up” approach you hold in such high regard and to which you to frequently subscribe when commenting on ww’s posts, leaves most men a bit cold
Another great man on another great board once commented that it was always a good idea to (“Wait for it
” seduce the whore into liking you. His idea was that the The sex would be less “by the numbers” and the price might be a tad lower if the “athlete” had some laughs prior to closing.
While, for an evening of engagement and frolic you, “m”, may require nothing more than a fistful of fifties, many of us in a quiet moment, will confess we need a “click” or two from the sexy li’ll rascal. Some of us, along with certain personality traits we find engaging, have a “spec” or two we seek. We, in a word, prefer to get the transaction to that “meeting of the minds” stage BEFORE closing.
We play the soft side of the hierarchy game rather than its hard side. It’s usually less expensive; time-wise, disappointment-wise, and, yes, as cheap as it is already, BAHT-wise. In other words we want to ensure that there’s a shot that this here ST will be a bit more than just a stop at the ATM so she can pay Somchi mo’sai’s barbill at Ratchad’s Hollywood Disaco or pay the Q-Bar upcharge
Now, you, with your boyish good looks and prodigiously rampant regard, may have what it takes to overcome the preconceived hopes and dreams of the Thermae’s myth-oriented nipponette squad. For others among us the object is less clear: In a low-ceilinged room three quarters full of niponettes” or nipponette wannabees, the discerning quester can indeed sense “no-go” at every turn. This can happen at Spicy, le Tunnel, and anywhere else where the chemistry is not right.
We,a la Dr. Crichton, may actually have the temerity to fantasize that that even though she’s working, that li’ll RASCAL (or that big athletic “beach volleyball-style” GATOR actually prefers an “engaged” liaison as well or, at least, like a true pro, will fake one till we’re “through her”
(Oh, to have your cash and/or your irresistible demeanor.)
Because for some evenings, for some of us, that’s just not on.
You’re a smart guy “m”. You don’t need any more of this.
Be nice to ww:-)
View all comments by Thongsuk
@Orion Yeah, like you said.
View all comments by Thongsuk
ts – that was the best explanation I have ever heard on the subject. I have always thought I was just wired wrong but the whole grab and go pretty much always guarantees that I will have a horrible time in the sack. Working girl or not. I need the click. Hence I pick slow. I sometimes pay a bar or buy drinks but don’t take her home. Get in there JD! Hence I like repeats, massage girl regulars and seem to think that Bkk is an okay place to even have a gf. It is all in the wiring I guess but without some vibe I might as well pass.
View all comments by smitty
Thongsuk – I second Smitty’s motion. Well said indeed. I especially appreciated your citing of Crichton’s ‘Travels,’ one of my all time favorite collections of travel writing. Dang, that book was published at least twenty-five years or thirty ago, wasn’t it? It’s so old that Crichton was still writing readable prose back then….
View all comments by Old Asia Hand
@m: “My god – another I couldn’t pull in a brothel story.”
I actually thought of it as an “I didn’t pull in a brothel” story.
Thongsuk, Smitty, OAH and Orion (love the pink bow!) have already said well what I imagined was inherently understood.
When I lived in Sydney, a trip to the brothel was like a trip to McDonald’s … pick a girl from a lineup, go to the room for 45 minutes, shower and leave.
I enjoy Bangkok specifically because the process of choosing a girl is engaging and fun. I like to go with girls who (a) are attractive to me and (b) are fun to be with. If I can choose only one of the two criteria I’ll go with a less attractive girl who’s lots of fun rather than a cool (unfriendly) beauty.
Like Smitty, I like repeats. I tend to see the same girls again and again because they are engaging and fun to be with.
This doesn’t square with the view of many people; it’s just sex and she’s just a whore. Don’t worry about ‘engaging’ her in conversation. Just take her out and fuck her and move on.
That’s a view I understand, but I usually don’t enjoy. I have fun in Bangkok because it offers the engagement that I want. In my original blog I mentioned that the girl in Thermae may have just been waiting for me to ask her if she wanted to go home for a shag. I certainly know that it works that way, and I’m capable of it, but the fact is that on Thursday night I was looking for some connection with this girl but it just wasn’t happening.
I guess you’d have approved of me last night. Coming home late, I stopped for a burger in front of Nana at 3:15 am. I sat in the parking lot of the Nana Hotel eating and drinking a beer. I watched all the entertaining interactions between girls and punters for about 45 minutes, then stood to go. Just as I was moving out, a cute little spinner appeared from somewhere. Without so much as a ‘hello’ I invited her to come home with me. She smiled and said ‘sure’.
I guess the great thing is that — not only the city of Bangkok — but every bar and brothel is big enough to accomodate both styles: engagement and picking off the menu.
@Mike Phillips: This was my first time in the Magic Table. I went in with two friends, so I guess we were a crowd in ourselves, but there were another 5 or 6 punters in the place (which is a fair crowd in this small bar). Of course, mid-November is the start of the high season.
The girls were all decently young and attractive. They were VERY engaging and fun, cuddling, laughing and kissing customers. They were flirting while dancing and there was a good atmosphere. The Magic Table has been open for many months, and I spent only 30 minutes inside. My 30 minutes were fun, but from the balance of comments it sounds like it may not always be that way.
I’d love to hear from someone who visits now (Daywalker… sounds like an assignment for you.)
BTW: I went into Pent Club last night from 11 pm to closing. It was packed elbow-to-asshole, and huge numbers of ferang. One of the dancers said that the mix of customers has changed in the last week or two with the start of high season. There were a dozen or more beautiful coyote dancers. The energy was high, and it was another fun night. Khao Thom Moo (Rice Soup with Pork) was served at closing time again… a bit salty but very nice after hours of drinking whiskey.
View all comments by werewolf
I look forward to ww’s post the day after he spots one of these picky Pent “treats”cruising the Nana parking lot for Nokia N-series cash.
View all comments by Thongsuk
Give me a week, and I shall write-up a visit to ‘Magic Circle’..
I must state, that as I am such a good looking bastard, I might not go for anything less than stunning.
Then I’ll be in the new category “couldn’t get pulled in a brothel”
I’ll then head to Eden Club, and get a girl to put her tongue in my ‘Magic Circle’.
View all comments by Day walker
i popped into the table place sat night. Got my fingers wet. Will go back.
View all comments by MSB
But the click with a hooker is a falsehood. She is just indulging you by acting out some chat and seduction hook you are into.
Funny how she can “click” and “click” time and time again, even in a single evening. She has so much love and resonates with so many. What a compassion!
View all comments by m
I was in the Thermae last night about 1:50.
The girls in there looked as happy as someone mourning a dead relative.
Most were waiting for Japanese clients it seemed.
But it was disappointing.
I left after about 5 mins.
Maybe getting there a little earlier would be better?
View all comments by Jimmy Cricket
thermae “clicks” = amateur dramatics.
Just be aware that your “click” is actually a “simulated click”.
Try saying you don’t want to pay – see where the “click” goes then.
View all comments by m
@”m” From the tautological tenor of your position (Argument? Hardly.) and its shrill timbre of I strongly suspect that you are a woman.
You’ve found that you could be less revolted by the reality you see on this site if you denigrated the “engagement” aspect to a form of delusion on our part.
You can accept the rutting sex part but the fact that we actually prefer these women to you and can in fact engage with them and DO so out of preference horrifies you to your very core.
Christ, if this was a GAY site you’d be leaving us the fukc alone wouldn’t you?
“m” We can have a conversation here if you’re honest. A man doesn’t have to be a goddamned hairdresser to discuss this stuff with you.
If I’m wrong about all this I can’t really see what harm I’ve done.
Chaps: Earlier connection dropped.
There may be a duplication.
As well, please feel free to drop this post if it’s too combative.
Regards
Thongsuk
View all comments by thongsuk
I am a pre-operative ladyboy.
View all comments by m
@m: why does the fact that the girl is faking it matter? I don’t think that every waiter in the US is happy every minute of the day, but I only tip the ones that smile, not the ones who are surly.
You seem to think that you are the only person in Bangkok that understands that the girls do it for the money. I’ve got a newsflash for you… we all know.
As a customer, I’ll pay for the illusion… for the Girlfriend-Experience. I don’t like having sex with girls who can’t at least pretend that they’re having a good time. Given that there are generally a few thousand to choose from within 500 meters I choose NOT to take surly girls.
Also, I’m keeping my streak alive for you. Took another girl out of the Nana Hotel parking lot last night without conversation. Following your advice I told her this morning that I wasn’t planning to pay her. You were right; she wasn’t happy. I was shocked… I thought she wanted to have sex with me because of my charm and good looks.
View all comments by werewolf
Hi “m”: Whatever. Obviously.
I’ll just stay with my image of you as a backpacker heifer whose Kao San Pad Thai habit has re-packed, all the lard she dropped in the India leg. (oh yeah and ,um, . . . . who has lost her “partner”)
Or full-Monty corporate expat wife whose hubby has strayed with an engaging but ill-educated Isaan hard-body. (You can thank that “Woman’s Studies” program.)
Or a bored, horny expat English teacher with “thrush.”
(Who rarely gets any anyway but whose Masochistic nature keeps her here instead of hustling her pimply cottage-cheese ass off to South America or Africa. (Indonesia in a pinch? Samui rock climber gigolos and beach boys won’t even bite, ’cause there’s no money.)
A lonely troll (they’re sexless in all senses of the word) who seeks intimacy with others through THIS type engagement on topics of he/she knows next to nothing?
In any case, since you have nothing but a self-defining premise to hang your hat on and no real information to add, I have no wish to continue this sort of exchange.
View all comments by thongsuk
Werewolf: What has happened to your Gravatar? I was in Magic Table last week and saw two middle-aged guys behaving disgracefully. I wonder if one of them was you…he looked a bit like Homer Simpson.
Thongsuk: Brilliant! I nominate your three lengthy comments on this thread as comments of the year.
View all comments by On Nutter
“why does the fact that the girl is faking it matter?”
Because lots of guys dont know. and get taken in. even to the point of marriage. Then is all tears in the end.
eg.
http://www.bigmangobar.com/main/2007/11/19/knight-in-shining-armor-syndrome-by-pmmp/
View all comments by m
m, if you like taking girls home who are unfriendly, boring or have a bad attitude we are in no position to criticize you for that. How you select your whores is none of our business
View all comments by Orion
I select on looks. Which – going by the state of the women in lower suk – not many do.
View all comments by m
ON: No idea what happened to my photo… I checked the gravatar website and it’s still there. Technology… I don’t understand it.
m: I read the KiSAS blog already, but thanks for the link.
It seems to me that over the past few weeks the comments on every blog, almost without regard to the blog subject, have degenerated into a spitball contest between the “fuck’em & forget’em” camp and the “I respect bargirls as people” camp.
Personally, I am now finding this ongoing discussion wearisome so I am withdrawing from this particular debate.
The lines in the debate have been clearly drawn and I think we all know where everyone stands on this one. My point of view is well documented, and repeating it continuously isn’t going to change any opinions or make it any clearer.
I invite everyone else to withdraw as well so we can get on with the job of finding the hottest girls, the cheapest beer, the best massages and the tastiest food.
To paraphrase Thongsuk: I’ll shut the fuck up now!
View all comments by werewolf
Not sure where to find the ‘hotties’….. but…
The other week, a buddy and I were crawling Cowboy looking for some light relief..
‘Moonshine’ was a bar we entered.
MY GOD!! What a bunch of monsters. There should be a warning outside. Some of these horrors were older Michael Douglas.
They did manage to ‘scare’ me into buying a round of drinks for these ‘clingons’.. as I thought whilst their hands (claws) are gripping their glasses, they’re not touching me.
My mate did manage to get a Semi-Chubby on, aided by some wrinkly old duffer. No lie.. she was easily mid 50′s.
Not going back there in a hurry.
View all comments by Day Walker
“I select on looks. Which – going by the state of the women in lower suk – not many do.”
The man has a point. Many of us select purely based on kilos.
View all comments by Combover
@Daywalker; You should have slayed the monsters with your shining blade.
View all comments by hanuman
I had to use my blade as a mirror so as not to make eye contact with the monters.
I’m sure Medusa was in there too.
View all comments by Day walker
If the bar was full of “monsters” then why did u stay and buy them drinks?
View all comments by MSB
@MSB
“They did manage to ‘scare’ me into buying a round of drinks for these ‘clingons’.. as I thought whilst their hands (claws) are gripping their glasses, they’re not touching me”.
I’m easily bullied into buying people drinks.
We were not there long…and quickily made use of my mates ‘semi-chubby’ in Afterskool.
View all comments by Day walker
Some girls in the “T” are fussy and just won’t go with a guy they don’t like tghe look / vibe of…some are just waiting for a Japananese client with a big wallet and a small dick…but, not being able to pull a girl in the “T”, well I don’t even need to say it.
Some guys in Bangkok act as if they are still back home (wherever that may be) they just don’t have a clue how to have a sleazy, fun time with gals. Like little boys in primary school.
View all comments by smartyanimal