"Bangkok Inside Out" article

[Guest]

how long before the sell a licsence ( tax) to get banned items?

[BuffHello]

this is not the first case .

there have been 2 others .

Longmans dictionary which described BKK as having many pros and the japanese prostitute guidebook ....

Thaksin was FM at the time.

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"

What happened was this Japanese company in Japan

published the book "Textbook for Prostitution in Thailand" and sold

out its first edition. Then a bunch of (presumably Japanese)

feminists made a big fuss and the Thai govt got to hear about it. FM

Thaksin apparently will protest to the Japanese govt and try and get

them to take action against the publisher.

 

Meanwhile, an advisor to the Interior Ministry has told the police to

search for the book in Thailand. None have been found yet. She thinks

it should be possible to confiscate the books without breaking any

known laws.

 

There is just one little thing, though: the book has not yet been

translated into Thai so the govt has no idea what it contains. Oh,

well, confiscate first, ask questions later, I guess.

 

Same deal as with Longmans. The govt will blow it up into a major

issue so that it is seen to be protecting its squeaky-clean image."

[Guest]

in the meanwhile, good free publicity.

 

up till now probably not many heard of the books

[Chlp]

The book appears to be available at a place I better not mention by name, just a hint, it's not a book and it's not a magazine.

 

The book is a good read and the photograps are excellent as well.

 

I'd write a short review but the book introduction captures its spirit better than anything I could write.

 

Highly recommended. This book would also make a nice gift for anyone with interest in Thailand. Available at Amazon as well.

[Bkkbound04]

Inside the book is the section 'Patpong' which has a picture of semi naked thai girl sitting on the lap of some young farang.Which was the main source in the original article. The write up in the book is:

 

PATPONG

 

'Its with great hesitation that we include Patpong in here, because this so called red light district is hardly the 'Must See' attraction of guidebook hype, and is in any case covered ad nauseum in nearly evry piece of literature on the city.

We won't waste your time discussing its fascinating history, intriguing social undercurrents or the sad stories of the women who worked there. Enough writers have conducted comprehensive 'research' on the place and produced an 'interesting ' body of work on the topic(our favourite is the timeless class' hello my big honey).

Bottom line: Patpong today is one of Bangkoks least exciting nightspots.Perhaps the most exciting thing here is to watch tourbuses of fat retired european women descend on the street with mischeivious, giddy expresions that suggest that they think they are about to witness or do something very, very naughty.

Granted, old Helga might get to glimpse a firm titty or two, or witnes that unspeakable trick with the ping pong ball(''Look Bertha, she's doing it!Ach du lieber Gott! Tee hee hee!) but thats pretty much what Patpong has become: a broken record and tired tourist attraction about as hip and exciting as London's wax museum on a wednesday afternoon.

Ironically, Patpong is a pretty good place to take the whole family shopping - as long as you don't mind exposing your 9 yr old daughter to sidewalk signs that scream Pussy Show!

(Its like a circus dear with cats but its closed today )

Stalls selling handicrafts, fake brand name goods, DVDs and childrens toys far outnumber the girlie bars and turkish saunas. Theres some great street food to be had in the vicinity and even a Mc Donalds at each end of the strip.'

 

The rest of the book is equally ballanced and nothing within it explains how its caused such a stir.

 

My thai gf has now read the book and the original article, she does'nt believe the minister responsible has actually read the book :: or if she has its the references within it to the so called Hi So's which are somewhat derogatory of those in authority that may have caused offence. ::

 

 

JP