Jump to content

Pattaya to close at 1 am


eyebee

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 109
  • Created
  • Last Reply

And here is what Stickman has to say in his latest article:

Word came down this week from the powers that be that ALL venues in Pattaya serving booze must shut down at 1 AM! No exceptions. Sure enough, brown shirts were out in force city wide in the wee hours of Friday night / Saturday morning ensuring the new rule was enforced. The town once known for its late night partying was darkened at the unlikely hour of 1. Gogo bars cleared the decks of dancers and patrons; discos ushered out clientele and turned up the lights; beer bars turned off the music and turned out the lights. There was but one notable exception: Tony?s Entertainment Complex continued to rock - serving booze, entertaining customers, blasting rock and roll music unabated even while two of Pattaya?s finest listened to the music and enjoyed some of Tony?s edible fare. More than one working girl - not to mention gogo bar owners - was disgruntled by the early closing. "How can any body make money?" she asked. "Marine Disco open midnight but nobody come before 1 or 1:30...what they can do? What lady can do? Only go Tony because Tony have big money no close." That influence is also said to have played a role in Lucifer?s having been raided Friday night. While other venues were shut tight at 1 AM, Lucifer Disco was padlocked shortly after 11 PM, on the heels of police visiting the popular disco, testing clientele for drugs and checking foreigners for passports. No passport, go to jail. Many failed both tests and police closed down the new disco that in recent months has attracted many customers from Tony?s. Coincidence? You decide.

 

But the Pattaya bars were still serving all sorts of beverages well into Saturday morning, despite dimmed lights and musical silence. But beer bars hardly offer up the same entertainment value as gogo bars or discotheques. If Pattaya is to be reduced to beer bars - and early closing beer bars at that, it will have lost its single most important attraction, the naughty nightlife. Tourists will not visit Pattaya for its beauty for it has none other than the ladies who go there to prosper from the naughty nightlife. Families will not visit Pattaya for its beaches because they are dirty and the water is polluted. They will not come for tourist attractions because they are few, substandard, and many charge foreigners many times the admission price paid by Thais.

The full article can be found at Stickman 24 Oct 04 and I think it is useful to read the entire article because Stickman sets out his own personal views of the p4p scene in that article, and important to have that information when you read his articles.

 

Stickman starts his tour and rather negative commentary of Bangkok's p4p scene bars at Gullivers. More interesting - and IMHO more telling - than Stickman's commentary is the fact there is a Gullivers and a thriving nightlife scene now on the other side of Sukhumvit. A few years ago that scene did not exist. The bars have spread down Soi 4 and onto Soi 8.

 

Putting aside moral commentary and other static on the p4p scene, what does this tell us about the economics of the p4p scene. The best way to judge the economics is to look at what the market is doing, and the market is expanding rapdily. The rapid proliferation of bars pretty much demonstrates the economic strength and importance of the p4p scene to Thailand.

 

Some argue that lower Sukhumvit would be better served with high end shopping malls and that the p4p scene is an economic liability. If that is true, why isn't the market replacing bars with shopping malls? Why doesn't the market agree with this reasoning?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AM, Lucifer Disco was padlocked shortly after 11 PM, on the heels of police visiting the popular disco, testing clientele for drugs and checking foreigners for passports. No passport, go to jail. Many failed both tests

 

Well, here we go again with the Passport issue, and me with less than a week before flying off to LOS. I'd been watching this foolishness of requiring tourists to carry their passports with them "24/7" while in country and as far as I've seen there's been only 2 cases so far that I know of: the infamous Qbar raid and now Lucifers - someone please correct me if I'm wrong (which of course I might be).

 

It seems they only check passports of tourists with the intent of putting those innocent tourists in jail only when they are "attacking" particular clubs for punishment - somehow punishing the club by hurting their customers?

 

Again I could be wrong but there was that thread in the General section asking for ANYBODY who had their passport checked at any of the GoGos or Beer Bars and there was no one that replied in the positive.

 

Could be that tourists should just avoid Disco's at all costs if that's what they're targeting. On the Internet I did find some nice waterproof passport holders that one could hang from your neck under your shirt (in an attempt to protect the passport which was not really designed to be carried casually), however, now I don't have enough time to left to get one before my flight, needless to say guess I'll regrettably be avoiding Disco's this time out (again).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've got to have had some sort of frontal labotomy to carry around your passport anywhere, whatever the local rules or regulations are.

 

If you're worried, I've heard that the local fuzz might authorise a copy which you could then carry. Otherwise, just photocopy it and your visa.

 

Losing your passport is much worse than getting asked for it by some BiB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

torrenova said:

Losing your passport is much worse than getting asked for it by some BiB.

 

Do you think so? Those found without their passport risk arrest and jail until they can arrange for someone to bring it to the police for them.

 

Last month a farang was murdered in the Pattaya Police cells.

 

A lost passport requires a trip to BKK to the appropriate embassy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stumpdog said:
torrenova said:

Losing your passport is much worse than getting asked for it by some BiB.

 

Do you think so? Those found without their passport risk arrest and jail until they can arrange for someone to bring it to the police for them.

 

Last month a farang was murdered in the Pattaya Police cells.

 

A lost passport requires a trip to BKK to the appropriate embassy.

 

Good point stump. I've lost my passport before and was able to get a replacement pretty easily at the US embassy. I do realize that it may (or not) be more difficult for citizens of other countries. I heard France is quite tough about issuing new passports.

 

I carry mine now cause I would hate to be detained for any length of time. For me, it's worth the risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

while in country and as far as I've seen there's been only 2 cases so far that I know of: the infamous Qbar raid and now Lucifers - someone please correct me if I'm wrong (which of course I might be)
There was also CM2 and, I believe, Radio City. The passports checks seem to be ancilliary to urine tests, and those seem to be quite frequent. There was an article in the paper where a police spokesperson said there would be at least one raid a week in Bangkok

 

I don't know for sure what the actual frequency is, but I wouldn't completely disregard this official announcement. If you include Thai venues (which probably don't get reported as much here or in the English language press) and the raids on go go bars where only the BGs are tested (and perhaps a few farangs), this actually seems like a conservative figure.

 

I think there actually have been several first hand reports; I have been urine tested. There is no disputing that it is happening, and the CM2 and Q Bar raids several hundred foreignors went through a pretty unpleasant experience.

 

I am not suggesting that you carry your passport with you when out at drinking at night (that would be silly), but I believe several embassies are now providing ambigious advice on whether you should carry your passport when out at night - sort of a compromise between commonsense (leave it in the hotel safe) and the risk of getting caught up in one of these nighmare raids.

 

Crystal ball gazing is hazardous in Thailand, but as a final observation bear in mind that (a) the government recently launched another war on drugs (passports checks seem to an ancilliary tool in this war) and (B) the campaign for the major Thai election in February has started and hence the temptation for dramatic measures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stumpdog said

'Do you think so? Those found without their passport risk arrest and jail until they can arrange for someone to bring it to the police for them.

 

Last month a farang was murdered in the Pattaya Police cells.

 

A lost passport requires a trip to BKK to the appropriate embassy. '

 

For me it is a giant hassle if i lose my passport as it has my visa for Saudi in it.

It would cost me a serious amount of time and money if i lost it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, this could end up to be a pain in the ass issue.

 

I have been places in years past that carrying a passport was mandatory, but most of even them would take you back to your hotel to produce it should you not have it with you. In fact a few years back I had this occur in LOS during a sweep for Visa overstays. IMO no big deal.

 

But being carted off the Police station in the wee hours without the option to go to your hotel to get it is definately beyond the norm. Just how the hell do you get it from your hotel safe at 1am while you are in the lockup.?????? :dunno: Even if you could call someone, how would they get it for you. (I see a new scam brewing here........ 'Oh excuse me Miss Front Desk Person, my friend in room 202 is in jail so I need his passport to take to the Police". Oh sure, and some hotels couldn't get it without your key anyway, short of drilling the lock on the safety deposit box. (baht 3000 last I checked)

 

Is this just a hustle for the BiB to get a large on the spot 'fine' ?

Has anyone knowledge of what happens if you offer? or you can't magically produce your PP ?

 

Interesting times are here............. again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I don't plan to carry my passport but instead will be carrying a copy as I awlays do. So far haven't seen one board member yet who was personally asked for his passport and then report the results of not having it on his person - hopefully I won't be the 1st. I have seen folks report getting Urine tested even in the GoGos but no Passport checks were made that I heard of. Needless to say I'll be filing first-hand reports soon, hopefully they'll all be good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...