Sweethearts is a small bar with a mixed staff at the end of a Bangkok alley that is home to an unexpected amount of action. Both the alley and the bar could easily be missed by someone who wasn’t looking for them.
For those who don’t know Sukhumvit Road is a main road running through Bangkok. A lot of foreigners stay in the area but locals use it heavily too. It’s home to a lot of shopping centers, banks, hotels and two of the four major go go bar centers in the city. There’s also a lot of hot ladyboy action around.
The Thai word for alley or side street is soi. The alleys that run off of Sukhumvit Road are numbered. The odd numbered sois are on the north side. The even numbered sois are on the south side. They run in order. It’s easy to figure out.
Sweethearts is at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 7/1 which is right after Sukhumvit Soi 7. There’s a heavily used Subway restaurant on the corner which is right at the Nana BTS sky train station. The soi itself is filled with all kinds of bars. Most of them are girlie bars but there are some ladyboys too. One of the massage places half way up has a lot of hot ladyboys working. I’ll review that soon. Keep walking, past the Magic Table go go bar, Eden swingers bar and Wood blowjob bar and you’ll eventually see Sweethearts on the right hand side. There are usually a lot of ladies hanging around out front trying to pull in any guys who made it past the gauntlet and into their part of the soi.
There are usually about 10 women working with an even split. Five of them are genetically born women and five of them are ladyboys. Both sets are pretty good looking. There aren’t really any dogs on board at all. The ladyboys are all pre-op which means they have their units intact. They are hung average, versatile and all have silicone tits. They are between 21 and 31 years old. Most are in their twenties.
After customers approach the ladies out front and start talking to a lady or two they are led back to the actual bar which is open to the street but still dark and closed off enough to be discreet. No one really sees what’s going on inside. It is light enough to see the women though which is great. All too many places are so dark that you can’t tell a woman from a man, which is a bit ridiculous even if that idea may appeal to some readers of this site.
The women at Sweethearts come from all over Thailand but most are from some part of Isan. A lot of ladyboys are from that area in general. A lot of bar girls are too.
The stand out thing about Sweethearts is the mix of staff. The genetic ladies can be a bit of a buffer that slow down some of the more aggressive ladyboys. The ladyboys aren’t harmful or anything like that but they do push for contact and of course lady drinks and barfines more than their genetically born counterparts. For those who don’t mind the in your face stuff it wouldn’t matter. For those who are a little more shy or reluctant to say no when they aren’t interested in something the dynamic probably provides much help. On the other hand at times customers who opt to chat solely with a “real” lady may find that one or two of the ladyboys will get jealous and continually walk back and forth trying to get their attention.
Drinks are reasonably priced for the area at around 50 Baht ($1.50 USD) on average with doubles and more expensive drinks costing more. Lady drinks are also more at 150 Baht ($4.50 USD) which is still the average for the area. Lady drinks cost more because a cut of the money goes to the lady. It’s a way for ladies to get paid for sitting and chatting with customers even if the customer doesn’t want to take them out of the bar.
If a customer does want to take a lady out of a bar they pay a barfine. The barfine is money paid to a bar that is supposed to make up for the absence of the lady and her customer attracting and earning power while she is out with a customer. Usually customers also pay additional money to the ladies that is theirs to keep.
At Sweethearts the barfine is give as 2000 Baht though no extra money is paid directly to the women. This quoted price includes everything and even gives access to a room directly above the bar for customers who don’t have a place to take a lady or don’t want to be seen walking around in the streets with a bar lady or ladyboy.
The room isn’t anything out of a four star hotel but it’s not the worst thing around either. It is what it is. The room holds up for its actual intentions and so I don’t think many or any customers would complain about it.
Overall Sweethearts is a quiet place with a surprisingly large and lively staff and prices that are average for the area. The women wear cocktail dresses and look quite nice with their hair and makeup done up. The bar opens at 7 PM and closes at 1 AM.
Sweethearts. Sukhumvit Soi 7/1, Bangkok, Thailand. Open 7:00P-1:00A. Click here for map.
