Category Archives: Nightlife

GOOD AS IT GETS FOR GERMANS by Peter Nolan Smith

Back in 2007 I had a friend in Pattaya. Fabo had heart of gold and the young Belgian oil explorer was happiest with a Heineken in his hand and his eye on Gai, the Rubenesque beauty of the Buffalo Bar. He had loved her forever. She loved him too in her own way, whenever she […]

THE BOUQUET OF RUINS by Peter Nolan Smith

Dec 1982 Some cities are best defined by songs such as APRIL IN PARIS or AUTUMN IN NEW YORK, but Hamburg defied music, especially as winter weather skimmed off the North Sea to besiege the harbor city with endless rain, cold, and darkness. Every day the night conquered a few more minutes of light and […]

Christmas on Walking Street 2007

Written 2006 Twelve years ago my 4 year-old daughter had a long Christmas Eve. Gifts in the morning. Khao Khio Zoo at noon and then a swim at the Shaba Hut pool. By 7pm her eyes drifted together and weary muscles refused to support her weight. I carried Angie into the bedroom and laid her […]

A BAR OF INFAMY by Peter Nolan Smith

Written 2007 Some bars’ names evoke grandeur; Harry’s in Venice, The Oak Bar in the Plaza, Raffles Long Bar in Singapore. Other bars elicit yawns from real drinkers; TGIF, Hooters, Harry Beans. Yet a few are notoriously renowned for their sleaze and mayhem, where most people’s fun ended where the fun of those those frequenting […]

THE SIRENS OF SOI 6 # 5

The rainy season had lasted longer than most Thais could remember. Many of Pattaya’s roads were inundated by the overflow from the sewers. One polluted pool stretched 100 meters along Soi Buahkhao. No cars or motorcycles were navigating through the floodzone. The black water was knee-deep, but Nai was in a hurry. His girlfriend was […]