BKK's nightlife is dead - exagerated?

[pattaya127]

The crackdowns on nightlife in Cambodia, especially Phnom Penh, because of the NGO's is worse than what is happening in Thailand.

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Good!

[bibblies]

I was going to say something about the viability of long-term predictions too! Apart from death and taxes, the smart money would always go on the prediction being wrong.

 

For a start, isn't it interesting how easily people seem to change their lines of long-term reasoning according to short-term conditions? Suddenly, there seems to be a consensus that it's 'inevitable', primarily because Thailand will become a developed nation and move on to other, more cerebral, things. These people have to ask themselves, 'Where was this reasoning as little as 4 years ago when I was having the time of my life?'. I bet you'd have laughed at someone who said what you're saying now! So, what cataclysmic event has caused this shift, to make you buy the 'developed nation' theory when before you didn't? Thaksin's the only thing that's happened. So are you telling yourself that you actually believe Thaksin economics are going to make Thailand into a developed nation?! ::

[short-time]

Have to agree with most of your comments. As a kid growing up I recall reading Popular Science magazine which always seemed to feature new and wonderful things that were just around the corner and would soon completely transform our everyday lives forever ? can?t recall any of them coming to pass. They should have called that publication Science Fantasy.

 

However, I don?t recall mentioning flying cars, flying saucers or the Jetson?s in my post. Aside from the MP comment, I was speaking in the near short-term; let?s say two or three years from now. At that time, I will be very surprised (though pleasantly) if both Cowboy and NEP are still above ground. And, yes, I hope I will be as well.

 

Bibblies: As to your comment that the only change in the past several years has been the Thaksin regime ? well, perhaps that?s enough. Hell, one could also argue that the only thing that?s changed in the US during the same time period is that Bush was elected president, but look at the consequences?

 

ST

[Guest]

I was speaking in the near short-term; let?s say two or three years from now. At that time, I will be very surprised (though pleasantly) if both Cowboy and NEP are still above ground.

I originally read your comment as referring to go go bars generally: "I see gogo bars going first followed by beerbars with barfinable girls."

 

In any event, if you exclude Patpong and refer to the razing of either NEP of Cowboy, but limit it two to three years from now, I guess serious speculation is possible.

 

If zoning becomes serious, and if development expands beyond Asoke plaza, you could be right. My prognostication skills aren't strong, but I still think the odds are strong that both places will still be standing.

 

Now if we limit it to Asoke plaza - that shanty town of shot gun shack bars at the corner of Asoke and Sukhumvit, I think you may be right.

[Hardy641]

I am not sure where these rumors come from that the area around Asoke is that valuable. After all it depends on the objective of the landlord. Does he want to sell his property or does he prefer to keep it and live from rents.

Honestly, if I would be a landlord I would think twice these days to sell. First the real estate bubble is already pretty big and prices have peaked already. Second what can he currently do with all the money? The THB is very low against all major currencies, interest rates are also low and the SET isn?t a sure investment either. Some economists even expect a new crisis looming. So what are the benefits in selling now, if one can have a secure income?

I have been down to Pattaya this weekend and 2 reliable sources confirmed that in December all licenses of any entertainment venue or restaurant will be revoked and have to be reissued with license fees going up tremendously from 1000 ? 5000 to 10000 ? 50000 THB. Don?t know about Bangkok, but if the same will happen here, the whole crackdown might just be an intimidation for owners to make sure that they will buy the new licenses. As far I know Q-bar still does not have (all) proper licenses. With several thousand of venues affected in Pattaya only, each of them requiring multiple licenses, quite a big amount of money for the government. I don?t know if it is just a coincidence that the general election is just one month later. Thaksin probably needs much more money than originally thought to get his 400 seats?.

[short-time]

Very disturbing to hear of ten-fold price increases in Pattaya licensing fees. This seems to follow a general pattern though doesn?t it? By putting more financial pressure and restrictions on bar owners and creating additional hoops for them to jump through it will certainly be more difficult for their businesses to turn a profit. Sooner or later many will fold.

 

Pattaya must present quite a dilemma for the social reform do-gooders though, hard to say what?s going to happen there. When I visited last month was surprised how wide open the place was, beerbars open all night, full nudity in many gogo?s with topless everywhere. Also, new building construction is booming. In fact, right now Pattaya is about the best I?ve ever seen it - a refreshing change from BKK.

 

If the politicians decided to seriously crackdown and clean the place up, close down the gogo?s and attempt to eliminate the sex tourist business, the town would literally fold up and revert to being a small fishing village with golf courses. It would be a huge financial disaster and the sailors of the world would be very sad indeed.

 

ST

[pattaya127]

the town would literally fold up and revert to being a small fishing village with golf courses.

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Not exactly. You should take a walk (ratrher a bike ride) from the 2 main streets of "shame", and see, even on a busy Xmas week, that thais overwhelm tourists in numbers.

 

More and more, the place is accommodating thai families, who either work in industry estates nearby (like Laem Chabang), or whose work in tourism is not associated with sex tourism, which leads me to point one more, since some here keep hammering that the place attracts very few tourists of which we call "family" type, you are dead wrong.

 

Not putting any numbers, not predicting anything. Just get up at 6 or 7am, go hang out near 3rd road and beyond, and see a bustling activity of people going to work, children going to school, while sex tourists are in no need to be catered to, asleep or sanooking that they are in the comfort of their hotel.

[Zorro]

P127 said

Not exactly. You should take a walk (ratrher a bike ride) from the 2 main streets of "shame", and see, even on a busy Xmas week, that thais overwhelm tourists in numbers.

 

It is not just Thai families either.

There seems to be plenty from Eastern Europe and Asia these days as well.

I think that the crackdown will hit Pattaya sooner of later and they might indeed lose some revenue in the short term but in the longer run it might attract more families and non sex tourists as a result of cleaning up its sleazy image.

Just hope it doesn't happen in the next few weeks when i get down there!!!

[Guest]

think that the crackdown will hit Pattaya sooner of later and they might indeed lose some revenue in the short term but in the longer run it might attract more families and non sex tourists as a result of cleaning up its sleazy image.

I believe it was the economist Maynard Keynes who said, "In the long run were old dead," when trying to make the point that basing economic decisions based on speculation about what will happen in the "long run" doesn't make any economic sense. That same point applies here.

 

But of course there is always the example of Mao's five year plans for China - look how succesful they were. ::

 

Meanwhile, back on earth, in the here and now, it is pretty obvious that closing all the bars in Pattaya would be an economic disaster. And, in the short term, the economy might falter (anyone's guess at this point), and if that occurs, you can expect the government to quickly discard all of their grandiose long term plans to keep the economy afloat in the short term.

[Damen]

Who cares where the nightlife scene may be 10 years from now? Who knows what they will be doing 10 years from now?

 

For all I know, instead of flying 18 hours to LOS, I will putting "Asian Fuckfest III" into my virtual reality player and sticking my dick into the side of my computer.

 

What I do know is that life is short, tommorow is not guaranteed, LOS is still a great place for sanuk and I am going to make the most of it while we are both still here!