torrenova Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Primarily we are talking about evening entertainment as that is what is affected by the crackdown isn't it ? Sure, you can do the daytime shopping, temples etc. and then the families can go off for dinner in their hotels and restaurants, then off to bed with the kids wrapped up. What about the rest ? Going out for a beer in many places your average 1st/2nd/3rd time visitor to Bangkok would stumble into and you will see some aspect of the adult nightlife. Some may not even realise it is there but it is. Its not just Bangkok, go the Krabi, it is there, as in Ao Nang, as in Hua Hin and Trang and Hat Yai. Everywhere it is there. What I am saying is that you can shut down the overtly obvious places but you will never eradicate the mainstream. So if you can't do that, why not have a beer when we want one. Also, if you try and cater for families you'll go bust. Families spend jack shit per capita compared to singles, couples and groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Maybe time you looked around Thailand and saw the other parts of tghe place...have a favorite girl? why not bring her along? go to Chaing Mai, or the islands...? maybe see Angkor Wat...? go diving...a lot more to Thailand than beer bars and gogos after midnight...just a thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 I've seen an awful lot of Thailand. Admittedly, the north is still much of an untapped location for me but around 2 1/2 years all tolled in Thailand. I've spent a lot of time in the south, from the Andaman Sea to islands which do not make the map. From Phuket to the Similan islands, multi hour journeys on long tail boats not seeing land for hours, living with locals. From commercial on Samui and Phi Phi to near zero tourists in the deep south. Travelled by planes, trains and automobiles (and the rest). I could go on. I know there is an awful lot out there but the visitor on his first couple of trips, which will define whether they come back or not, will often see only the surface and a lot of that surface is defined with obvious or implied links to the sex trade. Try to imagine you are on your first trip, not on internet boards about Thailand and you want a beer outside of your hotel. Where do you go ? Patpong, Sukhumvit, Siam Square, Khao San Road ? Even in upmarket clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Oh yea, my first trip was based on all the great stories I heard about the golden age from Vietnam era vets... no mistake or pretense about it. I am talking here (and didn't mean to sound like a stuffy dick, if that's how I came offf ), about repeat travelers...guys who have been around BKK and Pattaya primarily, or only, maybe have a favorite girl (or 2-4 ) and wanted a newer LOS adventure... Maybe branch out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidflux Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Early closing times suck, but its not the end of the world. Bangkok is a huge city, there ARE places that are open past 1am and beyond. Whether you're willing to make the effort to find them is up to you. I had to submit to a piss test and a passport check all in one at a Q-Bar raid a year and a half ago. Yeah it was bullshit and I was pissed off, but shit happens. It didnt stop me from coming back, because I love what the place has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 I agree that many who have been a few times before get themselves pidgeon holed into the "I love only Bangkok", "I love only Pattaya" or "I love Bangkok and Pattaya" brigade. I'm sorry to say that some newbie guys who have become friends over the last few months seem to have fallen into the "I love only Pattaya" hole. Perhaps after a few more visits they will crawl out. In fact one of the things I miss about having business in Pattaya is the relative lack of freedom to take time off to explore all the places which I never saw on vacations due to lack of time etc. I do hope to get out and about more next year once peak season is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 I find it curious and almost flattering that so much attention is focused on me, Gadfly, and whether I am a half empty or half full kind of guy. But I am not the issue. And posts about me are a distraction. The issue is Bangkok, how it has changed, and what we think of it. I think Bibblies sums it well: there is no denying that it has changed, and for the worse. I don't like it, but I appreciate that others may attach less significance to the changes. Liquidflux's post - where he affirms his connection to Bangkok notwithstanding the changes - was refreshing and interesting, and reflects the real flip side of what I originally posted about. There is no denying the changes, and shooting the messenger won't change anything. Quite simply, there is no denying that for sanukers there have been negative changes. But what that means for individual members here - how important those changes are to them - are another matter. On the terrorist issue - it really is speculative. I don't deny that for a nanosecond. On the other hand, I had several meetings outside the office today, and I saw something I have never seen something before in front of the Emporium (there is an office building there) - several serious looking police officers (body armour, physically fit and mean looking) toting sub-machine guns. I saw the same thing at the Central near the Chidlom BTS station. And then I read an article in the Nation today where Phatra Securities said that if the problems in the South head North, they intend to cut their GDP projections for next year by 40%. To put this in perspective, the head of Phatra Securities (formerly M&L) is a key economic advisor of the PM. Having said all of this, I freely admit that this really is an emotive issue, driven by your appetite for risk since it is impossible to know if anything will happen and, if it will, where. But that doesn't mean the environment hasn't also seriously changed on this score as well. It has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith doug Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 having been to the los for the past 10 years ... every year abt twice a year the closing times become less.. what amazes me is really pattaya.. NO one drinks there during the day , farangs are all on the beach... and to close earlier does not make sense.// this could well be the last visit i make .,,,,i will make my OWN judgement very soon ... I know there are other things in life besides drinking ... but most are in thailand for holidays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Everything changed after Sept. !!. I find it hard press if anybody can predict what is going to happen next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidflux Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Nobody can predict the future, but I cant see the early closing times lasting much longer. When it was restricted to the mainly farang areas I'd venture to say that most thais could have cared less. Now that the crackdown isnt limited, the problem is in everybodys backyard so to speak. When those majority thai areas start feeling the pinch you can bet their voices will be heard loud and clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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