Pattaya Go-Go clubs and bars targeted in new crackdown

[Searat7]

During the period where no  new licenses are issued they should check to see if all the existing bars have licenses. It seems like when there are raids etc. the bars involved are often cited for having no license.

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, Chivas said:

What....??

The numbers of males/females coming to pattaya purely for sexual tourism is something like 1/3 of 1% of all number that arrive in Thailand. Thats unique visitors not the same guy who comes 8 times a year. The income to thailand is miniscule compared to what an additional 10 million visitors would bring if they weren't put off by the vibes of pattaya

"The numbers of males/females coming to pattaya purely for sexual tourism is something like 1/3 of 1% of all number that arrive in Thailand."

"The income to thailand is miniscule compared to what an additional 10 million visitors would bring if they weren't put off by the vibes of pattaya"

 

 

Relevant info indeed!  OK, a minor technicality here; just so we know you're not some brainless moron making stuff up or mindlessly repeating what he's heard from "the missus" or the righteous, sterile, do-gooder crowd or NGO propaganda touts or who knows where, just provide us with your objective sources for this important data please.   And hey, thanks!

 

[Peterphuket]

12 hours ago, ThaiTrav said:

Geez ........ I hope the daytime gentlemens clubs don't get targeted ,they too offer all the same services.  How can they expect the tourist dollar will increase??? Alls that will happen is these bars will go broke by not being able to meet their rents and leases ,what will they be replaced with ????? takeaway food ? t shirts shops? computer shops ? Bit discrimatory to target only soi 6 , least the place was sectionzed to that activity .  So what soi 7 next then the boys town gay area. Gotta luv these numbwits for upstairs for thinking . Theres huge aeroplane hanger style sheds behind big C in Naclua which conduct live on stage sex shows to the japanese and chinese tourists  who arrive in busloads....every night !!!!!! 2000b a viewing one would think that sort of thing would be more damaging to Thailands image than people having few drinks following a rubdown or some thai girl girating her hips on stage. If  anything the place is becoming more unwelcoming by the day ,.as if I woud let my kids play in the run down playgrounds that have much broken equipment and glass in the grass, swim in the highly polluted sea which the mayor openly acknowledges has more than 24000 cubic meters of effluent and waste pumped into it each month !!!! and lets go drive on the absolute lawless roads ?????lets better not even go there!!

What do you think about: OTOP

Haha, big bussiness!

[jaywalker]

11 hours ago, observer90210 said:

and of course as you know better, please honour your humble readers with your more detailed enlightment on how things work in LOS?

Brown envelopes of cash paid to the BiB.

[drgoon]

13 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

Thank you general….soi 6 is just grossly overpriced….used to be 700b all in for an onsite indulgence…..now the standard is 1000…..and even 1500.

 

hope this lowers prices back to normal levels.

 

 

Cheap Charlie 555

[Retiredandhappyhere]

10 hours ago, Ratcher said:

They also want to start cracking down on the prostitues in Bangkok, Phuket etc.  Sex tourism is no good for Thailand it breeds crime and corruption. There are plently of available beautiful ladies who work hard at real jobs in Thailand. Bar Girls are bone idle and lazy. Time there was a real big move to stamp out prostitution in Thailand. Let the sex tourists go to other countries in S.E. Asia.

But, what will the Thai men do?  They cannot all afford a mia noi    Tourists and ex-pats you like to blame for it all are in fact only a very small part of what you consider to be a problem..

[JHolmesJr]

6 minutes ago, drgoon said:

Cheap Charlie 555

soi 6 bar owner 55555.

[geriatrickid]

1 hour ago, littlejohn71 said:

  Las Vegas,Nevada in the US,tried to go family friendly back in the 80's.  It was a total disaster!  Trying to make sin city into Disney Land resulted in casino bankruptcies people were selling out and going else where, the tiger was changing it's stripes.

 

  After a couple of years of building family theme parks and churches which was suppose to bring the right element of tourist  and homers owners,no one came.  Just the opposite happened everybody was leaving.

 

  Vegas,  found out quickly sin city was why Las Vegas was built and why it flourished in the past and why it would flourish in the future.   When they finally realized America needed a playground for adults their economy started booming, new casino's were built and  continue to be built today. Sin City is a #1 retiree destination in America.  Wake up Thailand, Pattaya is what makes Thailand great!  If you shut down Pattaya, world dollars will go else where, which will welcome the economic boom and development that once was Thailand's. 

 

Very bad comparison. Bigly bad. Hugely bad.

Las Vegas can in no way be compared to Pattaya because;

 

1. The primary business focus of Las Vegas is gambling. The changes you speak of, were a return to gambling, which was much more profitable  for business owners and the state.  The ROI from gambling is significantly greater and more efficient than the business model of  the Pattaya  beer bars and go go clubs. Pattaya does not have  a regulated gaming industry, except for the head games played by  hookers and  johns alike.

 

2. Las Vegas is a heavily regulated operation where liquor codes, fire &  safety regulations etc. are strictly enforced. You cannot get a gambling license unless you go through an extensive   review . Anyone in Pattaya can open a beer bar brothel.  Yes there is corruption   with  municipal and state personnel in Las Vegas, but it is contained and when people are caught they pay a high price. In Pattaya, the  sex trade and its associated money laundering and drug trafficking activities poison everything they touch. No one important  goes to prison in Pattaya and the corruption and crime  is a way of life for far too many people.

 

3. Minors work in jobs they should not in both  Pattaya and Las Vegas. The difference is that   in Las Vegas, people  make an effort to stop it. 

 

 

All socially responsible people should support the efforts of the Thai governement  to contain and manage these loosely regulated  business which prosper through the exploitation of vulnerable people.

[hawker9000]

Call it exploitation if you want to, but some of the girls are savvy enough to use the income they could get nowhere else  to build homes and even farms back home and provide not only for their kids (kids they had with long-gone THAI dads, not farangs, BTW...) and families, but their own retirements.  This would be income earned in a manner not up to do-gooder standards of uprightness and virtue, but an opportunity for them nonetheless which otherwise doesn't exist.  Do-gooders and money-grubbing NGOs - known globally for generally doing more harm than good - think they're going to "save" these "ruthlessly exploited" young women and send them to university and then on to well-paying jobs, but anyone with a shred of common sense who's spent more than a day in Thailand knows that's just not going to happen in this lifetime, certainly not by building a few casinos.

 

DO something about the Thai dads who run off from their families & "social responsibilities"!  Then DO something about preponderant THAI prostitution of, by and for Thais!   THEN come sermonize here about "social responsibility" and all the social damage Pattaya/Bangkok gogos are doing...

 

[ericthai]

13 hours ago, Bannoi said:

Shutdown everything that Pattaya has become infamous for and the place will die, the city doesn't have the natural amenities or infrastructure to appeal to family's  or high end tourists there are so many other better places and beaches.

 

The General and Hi-So's don't care about the small people it's only when the big players i.e. large shopping mall owners, large hotel chains in other words big money with influence start hurting and complaining that things will ease up or even go into reverse.

 

One possible solution would be to move the bars and go-go's further back away from the beach and tourist area to say between Third Road and Sukhumvit out of sight out of mind.

 

You need to get out of the bars in Pattaya and travel around, as there is allot of things for families in Pattaya to do. 

[gbswales]

15 hours ago, Thai Ron said:

Yeah I'm sure they'll be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of an army of sexually depraved losers cruising their streets looking to get laid.

they will not be bothered about the morality of people who bring dollars to the economy. I do not understand why people for whom sex is very important are seen as "depraved" it is more likely that they are "deprived" by people for who sex is not an important part of life. Why do people have such a down on sex - I presume they are the lucky few with a happy and sexually fulfilled relationship or are people who dont like or need sex themselves. I am happy but I don't begrudge pleasure to those who are less so especially if it gives a better income to many poor people.  We all sell our bodies one way or another - doing jobs that make others rich but selling certain bits of your body seems to really rile some people up.  Legalise things, keep out the exploiters and provide guidance on sexual health issues.

[diehard60]

just an other crack gown. doesn't mean anything

[gk10002000]

5 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

 

Very bad comparison. Bigly bad. Hugely bad.

Las Vegas can in no way be compared to Pattaya because;

 

1. The primary business focus of Las Vegas is gambling. The changes you speak of, were a return to gambling, which was much more profitable  for business owners and the state.  The ROI from gambling is significantly greater and more efficient than the business model of  the Pattaya  beer bars and go go clubs. Pattaya does not have  a regulated gaming industry, except for the head games played by  hookers and  johns alike.

 

2. Las Vegas is a heavily regulated operation where liquor codes, fire &  safety regulations etc. are strictly enforced. You cannot get a gambling license unless you go through an extensive   review . Anyone in Pattaya can open a beer bar brothel.  Yes there is corruption   with  municipal and state personnel in Las Vegas, but it is contained and when people are caught they pay a high price. In Pattaya, the  sex trade and its associated money laundering and drug trafficking activities poison everything they touch. No one important  goes to prison in Pattaya and the corruption and crime  is a way of life for far too many people.

 

3. Minors work in jobs they should not in both  Pattaya and Las Vegas. The difference is that   in Las Vegas, people  make an effort to stop it. 

 

 

All socially responsible people should support the efforts of the Thai governement  to contain and manage these loosely regulated  business which prosper through the exploitation of vulnerable people.

And one of the attractions of Las Vega, or Nevada in general is it has no State Income tax.  That is one reason many retirees head to Las Vegas. In addition, as the current generation starts to retire, they are more internet savvy and connected than previous generations. Many retirees now realize how boring sitting in your 10th floor small condo in Florida or your old, no backyard privacy mobile home in Florida can be.  In Las Vegas, good bad or indifferent, you can wander into some casino, scour newspapers and the internet for casino specials, buffets, etc.  Just some things to relieve the boredom

[owl sees all]

9 hours ago, Chivas said:

The numbers of males/females coming to pattaya purely for sexual tourism is something like 1/3 of 1% of all number that arrive in Thailand.

Well next month on 17th July we can expect thousands more due to the marathon. Pattaya is preparing for the multitudes; it will be on international TV! 

 

I think we have to look at the bigger picture here. Maybe Soi 6 is targeted because the marathon route takes the runners close to this, the most decadent soi; hence the new 6pm opening time. The authorities wouldn't want all the thousands of spectators, especially the quality Chinese and Russians, seeing what actually goes on in the city would they?! Or the TV cameras with their prying telephoto equipment showing the world another side to sporting Pattaya.

 

After the big day things will slide pretty much back to normal. Until  F1 comes along!!

 

[Havrum]

19 hours ago, jmccarty said:

The great plan to fail!   Will go the way of Subic and Angeles City, shut down ghost town, then start all over albeit, with no real investment. Just the next wave of bar owners trying to scratch a living with 99 out of 100 failing within a year or less.  

 

There is far too much coastline away from the septic mess that is Pattaya to economically convert this one contaminated stretch to Central Festival Land!

 

So, smart plan, delete this money making machine and then move on to the next.  More shopping centers, more McThai, more pseudo-Japanese food sellers.

 

What historically made this place a tourist destination can be reduced to another shopping center full of imported stuff over-priced, due to heavy handed import duty, and those tourist numbers will see little point in stopping here for what it will become. 

 

Sad to see the bull in the China shop in the works!

 

 

 

Best post ever, cheers!

[Havrum]

18 hours ago, Thaidream said:

This is part of the squeeze the authorities are putting on all  bars/clubs/GoGo's that sell sex.  The police are not the instigators- it is the Pattaya Administration which is military run. They do not care if all Western single tourists stop coming to Thailand. Their goal is to gentrify all the areas that attract people they do not want. Eventually, all these places will either go broke; close themselves; relocate or simply not have their permits renewed

 

Many people say it's not real but they are wrong- the Government does not like this type of business because what they sell is overt and gives Thailand a bad name by attracting criminals and other less desirable people.When it is over- most of these places will have gone out of business or relocated to the dark side or Jomtien and be more discrete. The powers that be see more money in Chinese tourism; Asean tourism and getting the middle class and Hi-so Thais to come to Pattaya. None of these groups want the current bars or would be customers. The investments being made in Pattaya and other areas of Thailand are in Malls/Shopping areas; boutique type shops and restaurants. 

 

In addition, you will also see the demise of Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy in Bangkok simply because these bars cannot afford to remain in that location and make any money and the owner of the land will take the investment money  and  sell out. It doesn't matter who has the Master lease or sub leases. It is the land owners who control everything.

 

Ha! the Chinese and Asean tourists "don't like it" as you claim but they can be found walking up and down Walking Street in the tens of thousands every single night. You know what gets millions of views on youtube? Not videos of beaches or malls (I loathe Thai malls) but videos of places like Walking Street and Soi 6. Pattaya is a unique place, it is a circus, party environment every night of the week. It is a unique spectacle that tourists love. The Russians mostly don't go with Thai girls either but love to come here to party with their friends of missus. You take away the party environment which makes Pattaya unique, make it like every other place and they will lose all those tourists.

 

Even the Thais from Bangkok come here to have a party holiday by the beach for a few days (there are 10 Thai discos near Big C). If they wanted a nice quiet beach they would go to Cha Am, Baeng Saen or Hua Hin.

[brewsterbudgen]

But, what will the Thai men do?  They cannot all afford a mia noi    Tourists and ex-pats you like to blame for it all are in fact only a very small part of what you consider to be a problem..

Thai men will continue as normal, as will foreigners seeking 'paid for' company. There is no move to ban prostitution, they are just enforcing existing licensing regulations. Far more interesting was the raid in Nataree soapie in Bangkok a few months ago, a place mainly frequented by rich Thais and other Asians and the prosecutions that followed for underage/trafficking.

[homeseeker]

Seems to me this latest so-called "crackdown" is aimed at a specific type of foreigner coming to or already staying in Thailand.

If the truth be known the Thai 'establishment' (often consisting of a Chinese/Thai mix) greatly resents a lot of the white foreign males; to the extent that many of the laws and regulations are particularly directed to making sure that there is no even playing field and the Thais must always "win' no matter how unfair.

Examples include land laws, work rules, visa requirements, higher price admission to historic and other sites, etc., and now trying to impose their own conservative miserable po-faced attitude about enjoyment on everyone. Even if the people they will hit the hardest are their own people. But of course the hi-so Thais do not consider Issan part of their own.

So if you are a white foreign male you can come to Thailand if you bring along an ugly overweight unattractive spouse  and/or unruly brats. Or if you are a older male who is seriously unwell then come here with Thai insurance . In either case be prepared to spent to be fleeced. Perhaps come in a tour group and get robbed that way.

But for the rest, the message is becoming quite clear:
Stay Away!

[brewsterbudgen]

Seems to me this latest so-called "crackdown" is aimed at a specific type of foreigner coming to or already staying in Thailand.
If the truth be known the Thai 'establishment' (often consisting of a Chinese/Thai mix) greatly resents a lot of the white foreign males; to the extent that many of the laws and regulations are particularly directed to making sure that there is no even playing field and the Thais must always "win' no matter how unfair.
Examples include land laws, work rules, visa requirements, higher price admission to historic and other sites, etc., and now trying to impose their own conservative miserable po-faced attitude about enjoyment on everyone. Even if the people they will hit the hardest are their own people. But of course the hi-so Thais do not consider Issan part of their own.
So if you are a white foreign male you can come to Thailand if you bring along an ugly overweight unattractive spouse  and/or unruly brats. Or if you are a older male who is seriously unwell then come here with Thai insurance . In either case be prepared to spent to be fleeced. Perhaps come in a tour group and get robbed that way.
But for the rest, the message is becoming quite clear:
Stay Away!

I disagree. It's not aimed at the customers, it's aimed at bar owners who are breaking the terms of their alcohol/entertainment licence. The "sex" angle is just played up by the media.

[striderman]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Well next month on 17th July we can expect thousands more due to the marathon. Pattaya is preparing for the multitudes; it will be on international TV! 

 

I think we have to look at the bigger picture here. Maybe Soi 6 is targeted because the marathon route takes the runners close to this, the most decadent soi; hence the new 6pm opening time. The authorities wouldn't want all the thousands of spectators, especially the quality Chinese and Russians, seeing what actually goes on in the city would they?! Or the TV cameras with their prying telephoto equipment showing the world another side to sporting Pattaya.

 

After the big day things will slide pretty much back to normal. Until  F1 comes along!!

 

forget the marathon. because of heat they start about 03.30, it's all pretty much done by 08 00 /09 00.

[Paul Henry]

As mention on many previous occasions the Thai mentality is when business is down put up your prices, this is just another manipulation of the market close down your competitors until 6pm then you can put up your prices during the day.Alternatively to participate increase your donation to the boys in brown and you will be able to open at noon.

[FunkyDunky58]

Another crackdown of the week, and that's about as long as they seem to last. But if it's a real one, then you have to ask why the authorities, in difficult economic times, are cracking down on a solid source of income for the country.   

[FunkyDunky58]

2 hours ago, Havrum said:

 

Ha! the Chinese and Asean tourists "don't like it" as you claim but they can be found walking up and down Walking Street in the tens of thousands every single night. You know what gets millions of views on youtube? Not videos of beaches or malls (I loathe Thai malls) but videos of places like Walking Street and Soi 6. Pattaya is a unique place, it is a circus, party environment every night of the week. It is a unique spectacle that tourists love. The Russians mostly don't go with Thai girls either but love to come here to party with their friends of missus. You take away the party environment which makes Pattaya unique, make it like every other place and they will lose all those tourists.

 

Even the Thais from Bangkok come here to have a party holiday by the beach for a few days (there are 10 Thai discos near Big C). If they wanted a nice quiet beach they would go to Cha Am, Baeng Saen or Hua Hin.

Sorry, but when the thais do come in droves, Cha Am beach is anything but quiet. Traffic just like central Bangkok! The quiet beach is Springfield-on-sea

[Get Real]

On 2017-06-18 at 5:00 AM, rooster59 said:

“I don’t know why some can stay open but some have to close like us”.

Just because some guys have deeper pocket and like to share.

Anyway all this is okey for me. I just hope that the razzias comes regulary and is getting to be a hard punch in the stomach of all sexpats and sextourist in this country. I that case they have to close down all Pattaya, which is also fully okey and in the line of my taste.

[bangkokairportlink]

13 hours ago, littlejohn71 said:

  Las Vegas,Nevada in the US,tried to go family friendly back in the 80's.  It was a total disaster!  Trying to make sin city into Disney Land resulted in casino bankruptcies people were selling out and going else where, the tiger was changing it's stripes.

 

  After a couple of years of building family theme parks and churches which was suppose to bring the right element of tourist  and homers owners,no one came.  Just the opposite happened everybody was leaving.

 

  Vegas,  found out quickly sin city was why Las Vegas was built and why it flourished in the past and why it would flourish in the future.   When they finally realized America needed a playground for adults their economy started booming, new casino's were built and  continue to be built today. Sin City is a #1 retiree destination in America.  Wake up Thailand, Pattaya is what makes Thailand great!  If you shut down Pattaya, world dollars will go else where, which will welcome the economic boom and development that once was Thailand's. 

 

The smartest post that I have read on this thread.

 

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

21 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Over the years Pattaya has become a crime infested cesspit and families would have to be insane wanting to holiday there. I`ve nothing against bars and the commercial sex industry, providing it`s placed in allocated areas. But in Pattaya the main city including the beaches are abound with sex bars and prostitutes. Drug dealing has become rife, violence and robberies are common place, plus the many scams and rip offs awaiting tourists when they arrive there. I don`t believe the bars should be eradicated in Thailand completely, but with proper planning, why don`t they allocate red light areas whereas everyone`s happy all round?

Good idea.

 

I have not been to Pattaya for a long time but I have friends that wouldn't want to live anywhere else. When I speak to them about the city they are oblivious to the drugs (except viagra) and rip-offs. It's like parallel worlds for many.

 

It's a shame that Pattaya is the way it is (reading your and other's posts) so why not move the whole thing down the coast to that "Secret sex town just south of Pattaya" and develop Pattaya as a family resort. 

 

Maybe that's Ch-o-ch's big scheme! Who knows!?

[Blinky62]

Please just leave Pattaya the way it is and has been for years . If you want to change anything , shut down the marfia controlled taxi's( 200 bath min) and clean the beach. You will never get family' with kids going to a beach that looks like an oil slick at low tide . Put rubbish bins and empty them every 20 meters throughout the city, then maybe people will use them . Pattaya is a great place but sex capital of the world NO WAY . Fix the problems that exist . But don't kill Pattaya.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[spermwhale]

41 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

I agree to a point. Over the years Pattaya has become a crime infested cesspit and families would have to be insane wanting to holiday there. I`ve nothing against bars and the commercial sex industry, providing it`s placed in allocated areas. But in Pattaya the main city including the beaches are abound with sex bars and prostitutes. Drug dealing has become rife, violence and robberies are common place, plus the many scams and rip offs awaiting tourists when they arrive there. I don`t believe the bars should be eradicated in Thailand completely, but with proper planning, why don`t they allocate red light areas whereas everyone`s happy all round?

I couldn't agree more. They should have it confined to  strip -- walking street --- and that area only. The rest of the city needs to be razed and cleaned up if they want to keep people coming (i.e. not drunken sex tourists). I got so angry a few months ago when I was driving to the Dusit Thani at least 1km north of Soi 6 and walking street with my kids in the back. I tried to avoid the crappy part of town when driving to the hotel. and yet.. my 8-year-old daughter shouts out from the back seat: "Oh my god!! Daddy those girls are dancing in their underwear and swinging from poles!" Sure enough a few blocks away from the Five-star Dusit we encountered it.  While I'm no prude I will for certain have to stay at a lesser hotel in the future far south of the main town when my kids want a day at the waterslide park south of there. 

 

[owl sees all]

5 minutes ago, Blinky62 said:

Pattaya is a great place but sex capital of the world NO WAY

Maybe the sex capital of the world has changed continents.

 

"I was in a secret part of a Mexican club in Tijuana, Mexico. I saw everything there and I mean everything. Guys getting blow jobs in front of others, an orgy in a room, Coke being snorted off of girls’ butts. Men who were living like women being fondled and kissed…

It was the craziest thing I had ever been a part of. I am open to anything and everything and even I was taken aback. To see 70–100 people doing all the things one can imagine was an eye opener. I stayed for over an hour though…"

 

Not me by the way but someone well known!!

[Chivas]

No agenda open question but how many unique western males do you think vist Pattaya annually. Just to make that clear to some if you come 8 times annually you count as 1  !   Not including Indians in that list.....Brits Aussies Germans Americans etc etc

The numbers will startle you or more to the point the lack of them