Old Hippie Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 I would think a limited number of places to open bars would mean higher rent, thus higher drink and barfine prices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 I would think a limited number of places to open bars would mean higher rent, thus higher drink and barfine prices... I would think you are right. And I also think that if you are the holder of a long-term lease or, even better, a property owner in one of the desiginated entertainment venues, and these new rules are actually enforced, you will do quite well. My best guess is that we will not see big changes in prices and new bars until the market is confident that these new rules will be enforced. These changes were announced about two years ago, and nothing has happened in terms of zoning new entertainment zones. The market is justifiably skeptical right now, but that could change quickly if the government starts to enforce the new zoning rules or there are other solid signs that the government will enforce the new zoning rules. For example, if certain well connected family groups start to buy up leases and properties within the desiginated entertainment zones, I would consider that a solid sign of changes ahead. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingStarz Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 there has also been debate previously as to whether zoning would apply to existing venues or just new ones. Also the categorisation of a venue will be complex, somewhere like CM2, or Spasso cross over multiple categories. I would guess in reality not much would change in the short term, perhaps a mini crackdown but then back to where we are today if this get's passed, which it has not yet, or is even true as the story is a "leak" with no named source. The concept of Adult Zones is also quite interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 there has also been debate previously as to whether zoning would apply to existing venues or just new ones. Good point - the grandfather clause. And to complicate matters further, there is and will be considerable confusion about what closing time to grandfather in - the de facto closing time or the official one? If it is the official one, there will still be considerable confusion, at least among bar owners, customers and newspapers, since every other news story or post I read about the "official" closing time says something different. I am no legal beagle, but my guess is that Thai law is ambigious on this point to begin with. There may be specific closing times on the books, but I suspect it is not quite clear what those closing times apply to and that many of the things it does apply to no longer exist. Look at the current proposed law - it establishes a specific closing time for places that have ball room dancing?!? Who associates ballroom dancing with teenagers, underage drinking and drugs? This law is presumably aimed at those funky old places where geriatric Thai-Chinese men pay for dances with garlands - obviously a major gathering place for wild, underage drug snorting Thai teenagers. :: There is an American Chamber of Commerce function coming up on Valentine's Day that will be held at one of the major hotels, and I am sure they will have ballroom dancing. Would the new rules apply to AMCHAM's Valentine's party?? Are the police going to close the Regent if a few 50+ American expat couples stay on the dance floor a few minutes past midnight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingStarz Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Also the classification about Entertainment with female escort one is a bit weird, does that mean the hookers have to be on the payroll and then they can open until 2am. Interesting it says "female" ?! Having once gone for an interview at the Nation and seen the state of the Thai journalists quality of work and sources, many things in that article are a bit "dodgy" to say the least or may have been translated in a unique manner. I havent seen reference to this point anywhere else apart from in that 1 article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 are go-go girls escorts?....How do you define an escort? The whole zoning idea as it stands is maybe deliberately ambiguous to help the bending of the rules? Or maybe they just havent thought through things properly? Added to that..if the thais or we dont even know what is going on with Thai nightlife ...what chance does the average tourist of knowing when they can get their last beer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 " For example, if certain well connected family groups start to buy up leases and properties within the desiginated entertainment zones, I would consider that a solid sign of changes ahead. Stay tuned. " This was done long ago and I know for sure because my close Thai friend used to contril the realestate for the--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingStarz Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Just looked through the story archives in the press going back to 2001. The stories relating to this "solution" were identical back then, so it could even be a rehash, but ultimately nothing has changed and none of this is new at all. http://www.thaipro.com/thailand_00/132_thai_sex_crackdown.htm http://www.bkk-gui.de/zon_eng_t.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1513000/1513398.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Hi whitney, Right - and then take a shopping and fact finding study tour of Singapore where they have 24 hour opening. IMHO the issue has been killed. Khwai maybe thaksin want Thailand to be like Laos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 How do you define an escort? The whole zoning idea as it stands is maybe deliberately ambiguous to help the bending of the rules? Or maybe they just havent thought through things properly? This seems to be a common feature of Thai law. When we need advice on something, we are often quoted some general law that provides little or no guidance on what we can or cannot do. The law will often refer to ministerial regulations that are supposed to be promulgated, but often have not or, when they have, are only marginally more specific than the law. At that point, we have to ask for advice on custom and practice, which always make me nervous because custom and practice, by their its very nature, can quickly change when the officials in charge of administering that law change. It also provides lee way for more opportunistic officials to interpret the law in favor of vested interests or paying parties. There are exceptions (the Ministry of Finance is usually OK), but there are seem to be large areas of Thai officialdom that act in this manner. I think part of the ambiguity is deliberate. It seems to me that this is generally not intended to foster corruption (but there could be exceptions), but rather to avoid making tough decisions or, probably more accurately, being held accountable for making tough decisions that could prove to be unpopular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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