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You could wake up at 2pm pop down have an egg and bacon sandwich with brown sauce, 2 San Miguel Lites choose a lovely and be back upstaits within the hour. All good things must pass ........

Guys we have listened to what has been said about the Volume, and spoken to our Bar Manager Anthony, we will monitor volumes to ensure they are an exceptable level, but !! - Too please all would take many lifetimes in this business 😉

Secrets was never really an afternoon venue doing nothing much more than ticking over during the daytime. Most, if not all, Bars and GoGo's in the Walking Street area are evening venues and I doubt if Scooters at Secrets is going to be too much different in the immediate future. I was in the bar on Friday and at 7.30 and it was not very busy but by 11pm or so it was very busy. HOWEVER, commencing as from today Scooters at Secrets is pleased to announce an incentive to those who like to start their night out in the early evening And from 10pm until closing time an effective 99 baht offer on a selection of premium bottled beers.

D -3 Yesterday the marquee team installed the tarpolin for the kitchen area, for which we cleared some land just behind the house. They also brought the crockery, plates, etc…. Look at the size of the pans compared to the chair ! Today things are really getting started. The fires were lit at 04:30 to start cooking. Indeed, considering the quantities a lot of the cooking has to be done in advance when possible. And food need to be prepared for all the people that will be here today to help for the preparations. Starting 07:00 am plenty women start to arrive, to help with the coconut rasping (?). And while I am typing the flow continues……. Needles to say the noise is at the level of a market place ! One has to understand that in those rather remote, agricultural villages there is about zero entertainment so any event like a wedding is an occasion for gathering together, exchange some gossip, eat together etc… I think this a very good thing as it allows social cohesion and maintaining good relationships. Note also that 2 very different cultures live together here, and they mix without problem in such occasions. This how it looks 1h later (right now there are even more) : As explained earlier everybody brings some goods (mainly sugar and cooking oil). Everything is sorted, recorded and stored in the store room. The coconuts meat (?) is being rasped and will be used to cook some cakes or buns from what I understand. In order to soften them, they have been immerged in water yesterday (yes, that was our fish pond….) Rain ? End March / early April is the end of the rainy season here, so we should be ok. But anyway, the Miss has arranged for a local “shaman” to be present for the critical days to make prayers and the necessary hocus pocus to chase away the clouds ! OK guys, thats it for this batch. Time for a Bintang for me. After all it's party time !

Hell, somebody is getting artistic ...or is it just he has a better phone then me ?

For them yes, for me a bit more stressing... No clue about the "protocol" during the ceremony, although it seems way more relaxed than the Thai thing. And of course being the only white face in a 40 km radius, I am a bit the exotic circus animal....🙈🙈 But hey, the Miss is more stressed than me ! No, seriously for her it is a once in a lifetime thing (only 1 kid) and having a normal life at home after spending close to 15 y as a domestic helper overseas. So, I do my best to fit it and give a good image. It is to note that I am accepted as the "husband" even everybody knows we are not married, which is normally a big nono here in Java. So I have to behave a bit !

Been there and done that several times!

One theory I heard some time ago about bar managers' penchant for loud music is that they don't want people to chat because then they drink more slowly. The theory takes no account of people leaving!

We use many original tracks at Scooters from the 50's to 80's, where sound quality is debatable but the tunes never grow old. As we have only been open a week, we will obviously be monitoring all aspects of the business. NB: we use a sound leveling program on the computer, which works to a degree, but is not infallible. 😉

I agree with most of your posts and most of this one.... but disagree on one point. Towards the end of Secrets...yes it was not an afternoon bar...but a few years back when the two shifts were going it was still worth dropping into for a coldie or two in the arvo/early evening. In fact... some of the afternoon girls would more than hold their own against some that worked the night shift in both looks and attitude.... but they were in the "glory" days of Secrets. Agree the area is a night time venue.... but in the past it was not a bad afternoon early evening venue. cheers

Not my type of bikes personally,i have always ridden sportsbikes.Would love one of these.

- Was not a gogo - Did not fail, but was sold as a going concern, that was turning a profit during low season. Other than that, good post. Except that you managed to get a one-word bar name wrong.

Gal, when ya in your 20/30s full of lager and good gear, it is a lot different when ya in you 50/60.70s I went a few years back with my headbanger nephews/nieces to a local pub with a great headbanging band,had great night the young ones thought it was great seeing a old [65] white haired bloke bouncing around in his second childhood,spent the night with a 32 yr old slapper,who I enjoyed for the next 2 days LOL ruff/ruff regards grayray

I’m not allowed to pick him in my pool,but he’d be a good bet. Would love to see him win.

You are quite correct, in years gone by Secrets had an awesome afternoon line up and was indeed a great venue to visit in the afternoons. Sadly this hasn't been the case for quite a few years now.

Spending some money on girls and marketing to develop this place as a good afternoon venue might pay off.

My sadly missed 929rr Fireblade. No idea who the girl is.

Did somebody say sunsets? 🙂

Did Ray have one?.😀

The following is not myself but lifted from elsewhere. Personally I have no idea how busy Secrets was originally at the same time of day "After an afternoon on Soi 6 with a couple of mates yesterday we decided to check out the new Scooters at Secrets on the way back to Pratumnak. All I can is that it is not an afternoon / early evening venue. When we arrived, around 6pm, there were three staff behind the bar, no girls and no customers. Had the prices been more Scooter like we might have stayed for a drink but at that time it was not worth paying 145 baht for a Heineken to sit in an empty bar"

Good to know about the sound but I would say most punters could not care less about crossfade, compressor over the mix, etc etc...all they care about is the sound level and you can always ask for it to be turned downed and if they do not...walk.. But lets get to the important things that most of us want to know when you visited..... Was the beer cold.....and did they have a good line up of girls....and were they interactive ??? cheers

OK, back in the jungle and starting to follow the events (well, at least trying…..) So first a look around the inventories ! Indeed, there seem to be some serious amounts of stuff around and I had now a look on the real situation. 1 Water (220 ml bottles) : 40 cartons of 48 bottles = 1,920 bottles = 422 Liter Food boxes, as mentioned before close to 500 boxes (470 counted) . Remember these boxes will be distributed in the village and around, to relatives, friends, etc….. The “distribution” operation should be interesting to watch ! The cover on the box act as invitation to the celebration. Funny it mentions also the type of local music that will be played, in our case “Jaranan”. Look it up on YouTube , so you will see what I will enjoy for 24h ! Crackers, made from coconut. Remember a previous pic showing the women rasping coconut (the white stuff) ? Well it is to make these round crackers or snacks. They will be offered to all visitors. In those bags another type of crackers : Visitors are expected to bring gifts, this can be in form of goods (usually rice, oil, sugar) or “red envelopes”. As usual in Asia, in order to maintain good harmony, everything is recorded so that the day any of them has a celebration we know what they offered, and we can reciprocate at same level. Giving less could cause hard feelings, giving more could be taken as boasting or showing off. So there are 2 specific books to record this. One book for the cash (Buku Tamu), this one in fact you will have two : One for the men (Buku Tamu Putra on the picture) , one the women (not yet received….yeah, yeah, why not print them all the same day ?) One book for the goods offerings (Buku Barang), that one for some reason in unisex, maybe because it is only women that bring goods ? Note that for the goods many will offer them a week or two before the event so that it can be used and therefore reduce our expenses. Concerning what we buy (rice, sugar, oil, water,…) the arrangement is that we pay only half of what we take. After the event anything left can be returned to the shop and the balance payment will be arranged accordingly to what we really used. This is a facility that nearly all shops offer, as of course being the main supplier for such an event is a rather big deal for them compared to the usual daily income. OK, I’ll post some more pics and vids of the preparation works next.

Twenty two days less the Election when all the workers said they were going home to vote and one day when the electricity was down from 9 - 5 pm. No major structural alterations but changes included a new floor, toilets, tables, bar seating, music video's, lighting, external sitting area and "canopy" and a multitude of interior fixtures and fittings and complete redecoration. Steve, the guy in charge of the building team, treated each set back ( and there were several) as a personal challenge to be overcome which he did on every occasion. The final one was 6 hours before the official start of the Party when it was discovered that 4 of the TV's had been fried when the outside electrical transformer box blew up about 3 weeks ago. Scooters had 3 TV's in storage which were speedingly repatriated. Unfortunately the two TV's over the Bar were the ones not working on the night although I think that will be remedied within a day or two. The music played at a level that did not interupt conversation and coped well.

Nice ride.

Just started playing golf in last 4 months and now I’m obsessed by it! What a great game

Went to watch my adopted Swedish football team on Saturday... Been 3 times and they've lost 3 times so I must be a jinx. Halmstad 1-3 Orgreyte Att:-3579

No red curry here. It is to make red sugar jelly. More on this when I get up. 03:40 am now, kitchen team already at work, my mate Ahmed should start singing very soon, so little hope for me to sleep again... Living the dream ! 😂😂😂 Edit : concerning the total number of people expected over the 2 main days (11 and 12), from the rumour mill it seems to be over 500 ! 😱😱😱

Woods!

There were 19 working days to transform Secrets into Scooters and it was inevitable that there would be items that needed fine tuning after the reopening. Finding out that no less than four TV's had been fried on the very afternoon of the opening Party was the most frustrating and it is recognised that the music video's are not 100% as yet . Fortunately we have Mr Egg to point out the technical deficiences which I am equally 100% certain most customers would not have noticed at all. The first week has been very good and support is continuing to build. Do come and see the " good line up of girls.. " first hand yourself because they ARE! 😛 The good news about the first batch of promotions will follow very shortly.

A backpacker is traveling through Ireland when it starts to rain. He decides to wait out the storm in a nearby pub. The only other person at the bar is an older man staring at his drink. After a few moments of silence the man turns to the backpacker and says in a thick Irish accent: "You see this bar? I built this bar with my own bare hands. I cut down every tree and made the lumber myself. I toiled away through the wind and cold, but do they call me McGreggor the bar builder? No." He continued "Do you see that stone wall out there? I built that wall with my own bare hands. I found every stone and placed them just right through the rain and the mud, but do they call me McGreggor the wall builder? No." "Do ya see that pier out there on the lake? I built that pier with my own bare hands, driving each piling deep into ground so that it would last a lifetime. Do they call me McGreggor the pier builder? No." "But ya fcuk one goat......"

What a great game.Ludicrous to announce with 2 minutes of normal still to go the man of the match(Wolves # 9).Two great goals from our # 7.

Salmon is my favorite fish.I usually wrap it in foil and bake it in the oven.

Will be used to help pay for the wedding. In our western cultures we tend to make the gifts to the newly weds to help them start in life. At least in the old days. Here, in the poor areas usually the new couple will live in with one of the parents. In our case they will stay in the Missus house. Its big enough, and personally I find it has the advantage of having somebody in the house to take care of it when we are in Bali. And the son now is also officially responsible for the "farming" part. Keep in mind it is her only kid, sure if there more it would be more complicated, but then I wouldn't be here to start with.

Not me, but my son. Sunset on the sea in our village in France, and his bike. Makes me thinking....problem is the temperature of the water !

Loch Fyne Bristol

Barfine still only 400฿. Happy days. Hope to see you soon. Phil

I hired this little girl my ex-wife's niece as a door girl about 13 years ago very very loyal stayed with us at Secrets the whole time and now continues on with scooters. When I hired Gee not a word of English now she's very fluent I'm very happy to see her doing well

Welcome Gary. You have a good wingman there for sure!

With Al McReady, you like ladyboys as well then?

Scooters gets my best wishes in making it a success. Have many happy memories from that bar and hotel in previous trips. Leave you with a top tune that Scooters would appreciate.

Got to be honest saying 'it's just another bar' is a bit odd, of course if the themed bar product doesn't appeal to you then that might be a reason for not going but bars open all the time but does that mean you will not go to any of them because they are new. Scooters has found a theme, a business idea that appears to be working hence the opening of yet another part of the brand. Plenty of people attend their other bars (so I am told) so I doubt it will fold soon. Of course if their offering, their business plan becomes stale then it may not last long but I think they have a good product and they will attract a good following. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Scooters in LK Metro and I was taken care of very well by their excellent staff, I like the style of the place, the girls look great in their uniforms and I am sure I will visit. If I don't like it when there then of course I might not go back but I will give it a try as that experience will enable me to have an informed view rather than knocking a place without even stepping inside it.

One of the main positives of this association is that Scooters bring with them a proactive managerial "team". As well as Anthony, an experienced and very enthusiastic Bar Manager who will do the recruiting, they have there own promotional manager who also maintains the music video's and takes promotional video's and photographs. They are all hands on and the Bar is in their very capable hands. Keep an open mind EDITED BY LANZALAD

There were more than 20 last night with two more girls coming in during the evening looking for a job. The six that were drafted in from their other bars for the opening have apparently all asked to stay permanantly. These were taken this morning after the cleaners got to work. I will follow those with some I took last night. Last night to follow

Monday I decided to leave a bit the pensioners club that is Sanur, and I headed for Kuta for lunch and a little walk around. Easily done with Bluebird taxi, cost 100 K IDR (220 b) for a 30 min ride. Had him drop me off at Discovery Mall, located near the beach (in fact in Kuta you're never far away from the beach..) Nothing special, just went around to see what kind of shops they had. Mainly fashion and souvenirs but I found a electronic shop with prices, good to know. There is a "computer center" somewhere in Kuta, I visited once. Most of the shops are run by Indians and no price indicated anywhere, so you better know the cost of what you want, if not you are guaranteed to be ripped of. A pic of the main gallery of Discovery mall main hall. Usual lay out : cheap stuff and souvenir at the ground floor, clothes shops on the 2nd fl, restaurants and game center on the 3rd. Place is of course full of mainland locusts, so 10 min was enough for me ….. Walk through the place and you arrive on the beach walk. Kites are a favorite hobby, and they come in all shapes specially for the tourists. A short walk from there is one of my favorite restaurants "The Beach walk", part of a hotel with the same name. I like the colonial style of the place, food is OK, service good. A look at the menu (add 10% tax and 5% service !) And of course all imported spirits are expensive as everywhere here. I had the shrimp / avocado salad : Lamb shank as main : Yeah, presentation was not top, but the meat was tender. And as dessert I treated myself to an Irish coffee...….. Total cost 500 k (1,100 Thb) with 1 beer and 2 glasses of rose . Not bad. After that I went for a little walk along the beach. Now from this view it looks OK But the beach walk behind the trees is the usual crap tourist trap with vendors of all sorts. I hate this kind of places, the calm of Sanur is 100 times better. This giant turtle is the entrance of a "turtle park", needless to say I am not interested. Later went on for a few beers in a bar on the main street, but I definitively lack of training and at 3pm I jumped in a taxi back home !

With all due respect to St Andrews, Carnoustie, and the like....Augusta is the Mecca. TV, does no justice to it. I guarantee when you see it live and in person you will not argue with this perspective.

I have been playing on and off for around 20 years now. Was suppost to play this week but the weather has been shite.