Mayflower Bar - Chiang Mai: random discover / nothing special
Full disclosure: This is the red-light district of Chiang Mai. I am not the kind of person that takes part in all the "services" they offer here but the people tend to be friendly and I usually get along the best with the usually very old "mamasans" who are working behind the bar. In an effort to know the entire downtown area, this research was necessary. :P
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The place is not nice. I didn't expect it to be. However I had a plan when i was walking down this street that has about 50 bars that all have pretty much the same thing going on. The plan was that I was going to go into the first bar that I encountered where the ladies at the door DIDN'T say anything to me. Honestly, it becomes exceptionally annoying to be harassed for the 20th time in a block so I wanted to reward them for being a bit different.
By the way, it is considered extremely bad form to take photos of any of the staff in places like this due to the questionable legality of their profession. There were people here, but I was trying to be polite. The place was a dump, and the bathroom was frightening, but the people were nice and the beers were relatively cheap and very cold. I ordered a whiskey / soda for my first round and they managed to do that incorrectly somehow - but whatever - i had very low expectations.
I have another strategy in new bars: I never speak Thai or even let them know that I can. This is to catch them if they decide to say anything nefarious and the staff in this place did not do that - well done!
Anyway, there isn't really much to say about this place. You go in, have a chat and grope the ladies if you want to (I didn't) and you can play some pool for free. It's pretty stock-standard all over this country. The Loy Krah road area of Chiang Mai seems to be the epicenter of where this activity takes place. There might be more locations, i dunno.
I can't really recommend that you go to this particular bar because it really was just the same as every other bar of this magnitude that I have ever been to. They had Bundy Rum (which i think is awful) and they claim to be the only place that has it - so if you are looking for that... go for it
I think it is smart not letting on that you know Thai. I am sure you have surprised a few people in the past. Must be terrible being harassed and your comment about hansommme man now rings a bell.
one time ... while someone was busy talking trash about me right in my face i wrote my name (in Thai) on the piece of paper that was between us.... it was amazing.... i mean just amazing... how her attitude changed after she saw me write the first 2 letters. Then i calmly asked for my bill (in English)
She must have been shocked and a good lesson learnt at the same time. It is a handy tool to have and a secret weapon. There cant be many westerners who speak and understand Thai. Most will presume you are a tourist.
This will be a combination of bar and restaurant looking at the name