An ex music pub owners good and bad personal experiences

The Doors Music Pub was the name of my bar, which I owned and managed for almost 5 years in Chiang Mais popular Night Bazaar area. I dont know exactly how many, but it must have been more than a dozen customers who all said that I was such a lucky dude. They also would like to live a laid-back life while having a lot of fun and making some easy money owning a bar in Chiang Mai. Several of these jealous travellers suddenly saw the light. As soon as they had saved plenty of cash, working in their homeland, nothing could stop them to return and open a groovy pub themselves. Well, years have gone by, but so far nobodys plans have become a reality.

Sure, having a funky pub in an exotic country can be very rewarding. Ive met a lot of fascinating and controversial people that I will never forget. I even made several good friends which still come and visit me twice a year. Listening to some great 1960s tunes with newly made international friends while sipping on a good glass of bourbon was truly enjoyable. Sharing my love for the music of The Doors with visitors from young and older generations, coming from all over the globe, was something that I had always wanted. Each night, enjoying the company of the three pretty girls who Id hired as staff was also very pleasurable. However, the problems I had to deal with had a negative influence on my motivation to keep going.

One of the main factors which severely spoilt my enthusiasm for running my pub was the Thai police. During the first week of my bars existence an intimidating, non-uniform wearing policeman visited my pub. He explained that every bar in Chiang Mai had to donate a certain amount of money to the police force. In return, each business enjoyed protection by the police and therefore was able to run the bar without having to worry about crime-related problems. The always sunglasses-wearing policeman showed up the first day of each month, silently collecting the money. I never benefited from his so-called protection.

Two Thai girls owned the tequila bar which was located next to my bar. Unfortunately, their pub never had many customers and it was getting harder and harder for them to pay the monthly rent. For 2 months, they were unable to donate the fixed amount of money to the policeman. One day, a group of Thai customers visited the bar and began to play a game of poker. About 15 minutes later, two policemen came inside and arrested the card-playing customers. The owners were ordered to immediately close their bar and to get inside the police car. After that I knew what to expect if the money-collecting policeman didnt receive his money.

Than there was the friendly tourist policeman who chose my bar for a weekly visit. After a while, it became clear that he fancied one of my staff, and he commonly made compliments about her figure and pretty face. He even asked her to go out with him and handed over his personal mobile number. During his visits, he always washed away a couple of Thai whiskies, but he never paid for the booze. A few minutes before leaving the bar, he always started praising the Dutch football team (he knew I was Dutch) and told me that if I ever had any problems, he was the one I should go to for help.