New Zoning/Early Closure Thread

[Belem]

And lets hope the "Sukummvit recruits"are not expecting Bkk pay rates !

 

I second that. It's bad enough paying BKK prices for girls during Christmas/New Years in Pattaya. Many have already been priced out of BKK, as evidenced by all the punters who stay in BKK for one or two days before moving on to cheaper destinations in Thailand(eg Pattaya) and/or SEA(eg Cambodia, Angeles City, etc.) for longer periods of time.

[Guest]

IMO Patpong does not have the capacity for an enhanced role as a nightlife center. Picture trying to make it to a late-night spot in or near Patpong at 1 or 2 AM under such circumstances -- it's a completely disaster as it is already:

 

* Worrying about getting smacked upside the head with a pipe as they dismantle the night market while the bars are still open

 

* The traffic circus on Suriwong

 

* The rediculous taxi situation and traffic nightmare that develops on Silom at 2AM

 

* The unbearably crowded sidewalks on Silom all the way from Patpong to Robinson's

 

One of the nice things about the Sukhumvit nightlife area is that (at least compated to patpong) it's more easily navigated. One has a prayer of getting between cowboy, nep, the thermae, the grace, etc, over the course of a night, even just on foot.

[Yehtmae]

From the 'Farang Affairs' page in "The Nation"....

 

Not in the zone

 

We find it a little ironic that some of the biggest noise being made about the closing-time changes comes from those who have no qualms about breaking laws for their own fun and profit.

 

We speak of laws covering dress codes for entertainment providers, lewd and obscene onstage behaviour by said entertainment providers, hiring foreign bar managers without work permits, and the total disregard for labour regulations, especially when it comes to days off, annual leave, overtime and the odious practice of withholding wages.

 

 

 

Bar, humbug

 

There seems to be little sympathy around town for the plight of Nana Plaza cartel members and ? to a lesser extent ? some Soi Cowboy bar owners who are facing hard times because of earlier closing times.

 

Most of these places long ago abandoned any pretence of acceptable service on the assumption that when you have scantily-glad girls shuffling amid shiny poles, why bother.

 

Tourists may accept ? or be too pre-occupied to notice ? this lack of customer care, but expatriates are becoming more and more fed up with it all.

 

Really, who wants to deal with a waitress who needs a calculator to add up 20 plus 20 (and she?s still at school, judging by her attire!); who rudely and repeatedly shouts ?HUH?? in your ear when you place really complicated orders like ?one Heineken please?; who brings your change in a pile of Bt10 coins on a silver tray in an asinine ploy to con you into leaving a tip; and who then snarls a sarcastic ?thank you? when you leave only one of the coins behind.

 

Bugger that.

[Hardy641]

lotus said:

The fact that RCA is in the zone, as someone mentioned, makes a complete mockery of the whole point of the exercise, since RCA is a well-known hotbed of underage drinking, drugs and fighting. Even by Thai standards the whole proposal is totally illogical and a I believe degree of sense will prevail in the end.

 

You are wrong with this one-it absolutely makes sense. Just look who owns and/or bought the land around RCA and Ratchada. It belongs to our beloved PM and his myrmidons. It is all about money - what else would you expect from this administration.

 

They don't need a law that makes sense, just a law that makes them rich. So don't expect them to zone any other area especially not lower Sukhumvit as it is widely owned by Indians. That actually would make no sense.

[Guest]

This is precisely why the debate has to be cast in terms of bars like Irish Exchange, the Londoner, Q Bar, etc., going out of business while sex and tenage bars are protected under the new zoning rules

 

The Sukhumvit area has more couple friendly, upscale, interesting new bars that carter to tourists than any other area in town - certainly more than Patpong. Someone needs to draw attention to the fact that the new rules will destroy the new, non-sex tourists bars while protecting the sex venues like Patpong and Ratchadipisek.

 

Somehow this point is being missed.

[Guest]

Well you have already strayed down a dangerous path, so I will just add a quick note. Think back several months ago about a story involving a certain high government official's wife somehow winning an auction for very valuable land in the Ratchadipsek area. I will leave it at that.

[Hardy641]

Gadfly1 said:

Well you have already strayed down a dangerous path...

 

I know about the no politics rule on this board, but this topic is highly sensitive and political. Guys working in Thailand can ask their Thai colleagues. Most will just tell you not to ask about it except you have some close Thai friends, who might tell you some interested facts (not only limited to nightlife), but insist not to speak about it.

Unfortunately the newspapers too are already controlled/ bought or too afraid to publish the facts and investigate deeper. This clearly demonstrates the rapid decay of democracy in Thailand.

[Hardy641]

Moderators please feel to delete this post, if too sensitive...

 

Critics see blatant govt interference

THE NATION

Feb 21, 2004

 

Critics viewed yesterday's abrupt power shift at the Bangkok Post as a slap in the face for Thai journalism and a clear warning of growing political intervention in the media.

 

They said the removal of Veera Prateepchaikul, who has served as editor of the English-language daily for less than two years, was a serious dent in its credibility. They also called for prompt and unified action by the media organisations against interference.

 

Vilasinee Pipithakul, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts, said yesterday that the editor's removal was a clear sign of intervention by business and politics in the media.

 

"Although it is an internal affair, the removal can be linked to the government, in particular the prime minister," she said.

 

"What's worrying is that from now on anyone who upsets the prime minister would face the same fate. That seems to be a warning from the government."

 

Intervention by the newspaper's management has damaged its long-established credibility, Vilasinee said.

 

In a move described by some as self-censorship, Veera was removed by the Post Publishing Plc's board of directors at the suggestion of chairman Suthikiati Chirathivat.

 

Under Veera's leadership, the Post has run some articles critical of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his government.

 

Pirongrong Ramasoota Rananand, of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts, said management intervention in the newsroom also occurred in Western media, but no editors had been removed.

 

"In the case of the Post, the matter is fairly serious. It's a slap in the face," she said.

 

"The dignity and principles of journalists have been compromised for business interests."

 

The academic called for "an offensive" by media professional groups in response to the editor's removal, which she viewed as a move by certain investors in the paper to appease politicians in power.

 

Supinya Klangnarong, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, said the move indicated that the Thai media is being threatened by political and business influences.

 

"From now on, the media may have to trade its ethical principles with business survival," she said.

 

The activist, who viewed the newspaper's move as self-censorship, described it as an attempt by its management to appease the powers-that-be.

 

Supinya said that her group would issue a statement today to oppose the removal of the editor.

[christo23]

I think the main objective is not to eliminate the nightlife (they could eradicate the obvious part of the farang oriented scene if they wanted to imho) but to direct it to other places, whatever the reasons may be.

[Old Hippie]

Just thinking here, if the Nana/Cowboy areas are made to close, then I would think that property would become lower in value and the owners might want/have to sell...once sold to my guess is "someone important" than perhapes the area would be rezoned, or redeveloped...