Guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 http://www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&backPID=58&tt_news=575 and http://www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&backPID=10&tt_news=573 Patpong stripped of business Patpong has been brought to its knees. We examine how in the first of a two-part series BANGKOK: If the 2am closing rule was the beginning of the end for Patpong - Bangkok's leading "adult entertainment" zone - Apec is hammering another nail in its coffin. Ever since the government issued its social-order policy two years ago, strictly enforcing the 2am shutdown for entertainment venues, Patpong's "second floor" sex-show bars have been hurting. And at the district's trademark offering, the ground-floor go-go bars, customers are often outnumbered by the girls. "Patpong's life began around 10pm and normally peaked at midnight until four in the morning," said a business operator who's been running bars in the soi for decades. "Closing at 2 am cut off a significant amount of our usual incomes." Whether people approved or not, the sex show was the main attraction and generator of business in Patpong and it has been hit hard, he said. "Six years ago, police had a policy to ban the f***ing shows, and that drastically dropped our income. The remaining [second-floor] sex-show bars survived [due to] foreign customers between midnight and 4am. The 2am closing left us no chance of survival. Most of them are closed now," he added. The entrepreneur cited the example of one second-floor bar. Earnings of Bt1.3 million a month when live-sex shows were allowed dropped to Bt500,000 when they were banned. Then the 2am closing ban cut in and when the income did not cover expenses, the bar closed. "I myself have lost already Bt15 million, on average Bt1 million a month," said the president of the Patpong Residents Club, Prapan Poomchawsuan, who owns several businesses in the area including karaoke clubs and bars. During a recent evening at one ground-level bar, where a dozen go-go girls were dancing on stage, there were only a few customers to watch - less than half the number of girls. Half an hour after midnight in the surviving "second-floor" bars, which were once crowded with men ogling the stage show, almost half of the tables were empty and the few customers were surrounded by girls. Other girls were staring at the front door, desperately hoping for new customers to arrive. "There will be no sex shows until after Apec. It's a strict policy," explained Nuch, a showgirl clad in a bikini swimsuit. Out on the street, between the rows of bars, street vendors were outnumbered by potential customers. All the fake "brand-name" products - watches, handbags and clothes - that were once the lifeblood of the street market were gone. Apec delegates must not see such products, Prapan explained. As a community leader, he had been asked to convey this message to the vendors. So, the pirated products that once gave vendors 80 per cent of their sales have disappeared from the stalls. As of last week, only handmade crafts and local products were being offered for sale. Music bars and restaurants have also been an important part of the Patpong nightlife scene, but they too are suffering, a local business-person said. A few popular spots still attract expats and Thais for dancing and loud music, especially late in the week, but their business has also been hit. "More music please," a Westerner shouted at the DJ booth in the Lucifer venue when the music stopped and the lights came on promptly at 2am. "This is gonna be my last time here," one customer grumbled after being convinced that the party was over. He and his group left in the wake of six Hong Kong youths, who were also upset at their evening being "cut short". Similar scenes happen almost every night, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, a doorman said. The pressure may intensify soon if a proposal to ban daytime sales of alcohol goes through. If day-bar operators cannot sell liquor before 6pm, they fear it's inevitable that they'll also close. "If we close the day bars, it would cost hundreds of people their jobs," owners said. Now, Patpong businessmen are asking why their area has been singled out for repression. "We all agree with the social-order policy, but we don't understand why it is likely to be enforced only here," Prapan said. "Does Khao San Road allow daytime drinking? Does Nana [Plaza in Sukhumvit Soi 4 ] face similar enforcement on sex shows as we do? "Don't forget that Patpong is more or less symbolic of the 'fun' area of Thailand and has earned the country a lot of money. Patpong will die if things go on like this," Prapan said. Downstairs on the soi, groups of young men were hustling passing foreign men to visit second-floor shows, handing out printed lists of the attractions available. "No charge! Singha beer only Bt90 per bottle and foreign beer only Bt120!" they say, adding descriptions of the activities in the sex shows. Their targets are mainly foreign tourists. "You are Thai? Oh, we have no sex shows. Members only," one man told a Thai of Chinese appearance, asking to see a sex show. Another tout saw an opportunity to do business. "Wait, wait man," he called after the potential customer. "Bring him to 'that' place," and indicated a former sex-show venue that now has only go-go dancers with lip-sync performances and Bt200 beers. In tough times, this is how the people of Patpong are trying to survive. ----------- Part 2 ------------- BANGKOK: Patpong entrepreneurs want their languishing nightclubs and bars to be zoned for "night entertainment", excusing them from the "social order" rules that are, they say, killing their business. If they get their way, the sex shows and all-night bars will revive along Patpong and Silom, long-running centres of uninhibited exhibitions and all-night bars. "Social order" rules brought in by the government tightened enforcement of laws banning drugs and under-age alcohol consumption. It also mandated alcohol sales only between 6pm and 2am. Special zoning to exempt Patpong and Silom from the crackdown would not only save the jobs of thousands of workers but could also be good for tourism, say business operators. If the rules are not relaxed, tourists seeking night entertainment will instead go to Singapore and Malaysia, they claimed. "Let's face the fact that the sex show is a business and it does exist and it has been identified with Patpong for decades," said Praphan Poomchawsuan, president of Patpong Residents Club and owner of several businesses in the area. "We employed thousands of people with low education, ranging from a-go-go girls, bartenders and DJs to waiters, doormen and cashiers. If they become unemployed, this could increase the number of criminals," he warned. "Singapore and Malaysia have recently been allowed to open bars overnight as a night-entertainment attraction for tourists. They have already hired our good-looking showgirls to work in their countries, as well as hiring some of our trainers to teach their girls," he added. Prapan said the issue is one of policy - whether to preserve or to end night entertainment in the Patpong and Silom areas. "What we need is zoning to allow us extra activities, not a strict-control zoning like we have today," he said. "Night entertainment zones should have a [special] 'rating'. Patpong should be allowed its sex shows and its 'fun' activities but just for special groups," one business operator suggested. Prapan said the concept of a special zone had already been discussed by Patpong operators, the Interior Ministry and police. Patpong entrepreneurs had been promised they would receive special zoning when they first agreed to the "social order" plan, but have not heard anything more since. "There has been no progress, while our business is dying," Prapan said. "The Interior Ministry has a social-order policy but it needs supporting legislation, which is now before Parliament," Prapan said. Many Patpong businessmen said they said they were not sure of the government's policy towards them and needed clear guidelines. "Social order is acceptable to us. The policy is good and we saw no effect [to our business] from the ban of drugs and customers under 20 years," said bar owners. "But the 2am closing really hit us, as well as the strict sex-show measure." A veteran of two years working in the Patpong area as the Bangrak police chief, Pol General Krailert Buakaew, said he agreed with the zoning idea but could see the difficulties of swift implementation. "The social order was enforced under the old law - the 'service place' [sathan borrikarn] law - which required amendments in accordance with the social-order policy of the Interior Ministry. It will take time," he said. "The best I can do now is follow the social-order policy - no sex shows, no opening after 2am, no drugs, no customers aged under 20, no alcohol sales before 6pm and no selling of fake brand-name products," he said. "I have done my best as officer in charge of this area. We sent plainclothes police to guard each sex-show bar every night, seven days a week," he said. "It is very difficult to us to enforce the social order in Patpong. We do understand the situation of the businessmen and the policy-makers," the police chief added. 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Guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 The above post is not intended to open a political discussion, just for the info. Please keep this in mind when making any responses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 Says From the Article: Pol General Buakaew bua kaew = boring glass (this is not politics, it's language ) I for one wouldn't mind the permanent closing of sex shows but I really, really, really think they re-consider the 2 am closing time. This is a ten million plus city with loads of tourists & expats and there's only friggin' karaokes open after 2 am....BORING!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 Holy smokes, did anyone else get alarmed when they read this? The pressure may intensify soon if a proposal to ban daytime sales of alcohol goes through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
june11 Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 Why did you put "nation" in the subject line? That's misleading, because most people will think it came from the newspaper by that name...and there is no evidence that it came from there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 I thought that was already the case in the Silom area (Bangrak precinct)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 If you follow the links, you will find out, that they were compiled from the nation. Afair, the nation leave their articles online for one day only, so thaivisa.com is a more stable link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loner w/a boner Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 For you old-timers: How diversified is BKK's economy? Banking, finance, import/export...but isn't its major draw tourism? Not only sex, of course. The authorities aren't busting down all the naughty sanuk places, just selectively, and from time to time. So, I can only conclude from this, that they are trying to balance appearance/social responsibilities with economic reality. Surely they want to avoid causing a significant decline in tourism, and thus induce economic recession??? Straighten me out long-timers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
june11 Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 I did follow the links and saw no evidence of that. p.s. What does "Afair" mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Says june11: I did follow the links and saw no evidence of that. p.s. What does "Afair" mean? Me too, saw no links, but stories are ok..... AFAIR = As Far As I Remember AFAIK = As Far As I Know Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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