How severe is the Thai crackdown?...

[sexxadct]

Will be heading to Thailand at the start of September. Any info on the adult nightlife crackdown started by the Thai authorities? Thanks for any news the board members can provide...

[dapimp]

I was told that it was only for go-go bars where they have
girls topless. A couple of known go-go bars are shut down for
30 days. But it will take a whole chinese army to raid all bars
in BKK and Pattaya. Just go. Besides, they are after bars not
after foregners. As long as you don't get cought having a
sex with a minor, you will be fine. I'm also heading there end
of September for two weeks.

[Friedchicken]

Yes it is indeed just a yearly crackdown on topless danceing. No big deal.

[Leatherneck82]

Thailand is a one of the most favoured destinations in SEA by all mongers. I go twice a year. Before and after the APEC summit some drastic changes were taking shape. Now it seems that the Thai Gov. is sticking to their guns. Many like to go to Thailand for the cheap sex and for the great massages that the girls provide. The following article refers to a major change on the MP's. Hate to see the day when this will take place.

Crackdown on massage parlour sex in Thailand
Fri Dec 5th 2003

BANGKOK: The Thai government is drafting new legislation to end the widespread practice of offering sex at massage parlours, an official said yesterday.

The official of the Public Health Ministry said new regulations meant to stop massage parlours from offering extra service were being drafted and were expected to implemented early next year.

"Some of the traditional massage parlours have hidden services, offering sex, but it's difficult for authorities to know which ones," said the official.

The Public Health Ministry official said she expected police to begin cracking down on sex services offered at all massage parlours as soon as the new legislation was approved, possibly as soon as January or February.

She said both ministries would insist that massage businesses met strict hygiene standards as well as stopping the sex services.


I cannot believe this! I think the Thai Gov. is really serious about their image to the world.

[Slickdickdog]

Hey Leather:
good lookin out Bro, hope all is well and you're doin some serious slammin.
Well... I have expressed my concern for some negative changes in the hobby on this board a couple of times. It's primarily just the vibe I get when I revisit certain places and see new faces
and subtle changes that reflect changes in the economical or political environment of the country in question.
Those of us that prefer international mongering will have to be prepared to deal with the ramifications of newly engerized political platforms and the like. Domestically, of course you have the local hound dogs with no more important crimes to prevent, so they set up stings to keep some poor horny fellow from dipping his wick in a service provider. So...go figure...they don't ever plan to make mongering any easier for the hobbyist.
Enjoy !

[Leatherneck82]

Slickdickdog, I get just about the same vibe you do. I agree with your reasoning. I remember when the new PM proposed to have the bars to close to 2am. Many mongers and bars owners laughed at that one. Guess what happened? The bars now close at 2am now days. Pratcha - the PM also had the gull to stop the girls from dancing nude before the APEC Summit. Sounded like Mayor Gordon in PI. I remember when that happened in Subic and Barreto and the effects to that one are still felt.

The problems with the MP's in Thailand is a different story. Chuwit opened his mouth - about police corruption and that opened a can of worms, and now him and the rest of the MP owners are getting the short end of the stick. Now the PM is making a different move. He is thinking about legalizing protitution. A Forum was done towards the end of November. Here is the story:

Thais mull legalising sex trade


Thai prostitutes say they are forced to hide from the police
The Thai Government has begun a public debate on whether prostitution should be legalised.

Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana opened the debate attended by academics, officials and sex workers.

Proposals being considered include registering sex workers and thus urging them to pay taxes.

Prostitution is a $4.3bn industry in Thailand which could generate big revenues - currently it accounts for about 3% of the country's income.

Some brothel owners support calls for the trade's legalisation, as they say it would relieve them of various expenses.

"The government should licence brothels," Anan Atpruang, the owner of a gay massage parlour, told the meeting.

"Then we can eliminate the vicious circle of bribery and illegitimate sources of income," he said.

We just want to take care of ourselves. But we need insurance, we need everything Noi, Thai prostitute

Advocates of the changes say legalisation would give Thailand's estimated 200,000 sex workers access to health care and protection from abuse.

"We just want to take care of ourselves. But we need insurance, we need everything," Noi, a 26-year-old prostitute, told AP news agency.

She said if prostitution became legal she would have recourse against clients who refused to pay, and would no longer have to hide from the police.

Improved conditions

Not all sex workers favour making prostitution legal.

Many argued at the forum that if legalisation meant registration of sex workers, it would further stigmatise them.

But they did call for improved conditions in return for the taxes they paid indirectly, through the bars and massage parlours in which they worked.

"We want to have welfare benefits like employees in other businesses. We are paying tax to the government, but we do not receive anything in return," said one sex worker who did not want to be named.

Pasuk Phongpaichit, who has written several books on Thailand's underground economy, said legalisation would only benefit the tycoons who ran bars and massage parlours.

" Legalising prostitution would boost the commercial sex trade instead of empowering women... it would only encourage more women to enter the sex trade," she told the meeting.

The country's Justice Minister, Pongthep Thepkanchana, told the Reuters news agency that there were no immediate plans to legalise prostitution.

He said the forum was designed to assess public opinion on the issue.

If that is the case we may see in the future something like Singapore. That's if they are very serious about their intentions. It remains to be seem but anything can happen. I had notice that Pratcha gets what he want one way or another. Time will tell.

[Slickdickdog]

Good lookin out, Leather !

[Leatherneck82]

No problem Slick. When was the last time you saw a 21 gun salute in one of the upstairs bars in Patpong?

[Slickdickdog]

Way too long bro, (1993).
I can't even get "home" to Cebu without the old lady, but I'm workin on it !

[Leatherneck82]

I hear you bro.

I remember the day that I walked in one of the upstairs bars in Patpong and I saw the Ping Pong thing done. A ping Pong out of her pussy. Then to cap the show off it was the 21 gun salute. 21 ping pongs fired out of 21 pussies simultaneously; is funny and at the same time it was amazing, at least once. Pong shows are (as far as i know) only available in the upstairs bars in Patpong. Hope to meet up with you sometime. Like you, I have my ball and chain. Only difference is I work in the hotel business and one of my areas of Op's is in SEA. Reason why I travel alot in the SEA region.

Take care bro. and I see what you said earlier. I'm just looking and see what happens. I have seen what is happening and I don't like it. I have my eyes and ears on top of what is going on. That's is, if you catch my drift.

[Slickdickdog]

On the same page as usual bro !

[Leatherneck82]

Slickdickdog, I had a chat with a friend who is currently living in Thailand. From him I understood the following. That some price increases and the continued crackdowns around Bangkok is making all the mongers to go to Pattaya. That Pattaya is packed, with many hotels being booked to capacity right now. It seems that weekends are well and truly packed as the Bangkok crowd goes down to play and things ease off a little bit during the week, but remain busy.

In Pattaya, the mongers are there in great numbers, so much that a few nights ago Living Doll and Peppermint, two of the most popular gogo bars, were so full, that they had to turn away customers at the door! The welcome girls outside even had signs that said that it was full and to try again later.

More price increases like at the Spotlight in Chiang Mai, which has raised the bar fine from 400 baht to 500 baht. Even the north, traditionally a lean place for the farangssex is getting expensive.

That the massage parlours, "strictly no sex on the premises" has been ordered. BJ bars in Patpong like Rose are not allowed to take customers into private rooms for a blow job meaning customers are supposed to take their chances in the bar in front of everybody! Figure that one out!

Soi Cowboy had a visit from a different police district and currently Suzi Wong, Sheba's and Bacarra have been ordered to don full bikinis. Word is that certain bars in Cowboy were paying three times the normal rate to be able to have birthday suit shows.

Pretty Girl bar in Nana Plaza, the girls in this establishment are most definitely dancing topless, while all of the girls in other bars are well and truly covered up...

Regarding the issue of underage girls, Nana Plaza bars have been ordered to register each member of its staff. Registration forms, finger prints, photos and ID details. That the info must be readily because the authorities are really on the case. Perhaps in time other bar areas will get the same treatment. It seems to be starting by raiding bars that are "showing."

That the Soi Cowboy bars are doing naughty shows to a certain extend and that there is a very high possibility that some very stringent new laws are coming in the New Year. Could it be that naughty shows and even nude dancing could become a thing of the past in Thailand's gogo bars? This government seems determined to control the bars and clean up Thailand's sordid image. It looks more and more likely that they will legalise prostitution and then they can oversee things themselves as well as tax entertainment venues. Some things still remain to be seeing but this roller coaster that started with the earlier closing time of 2am, is still a wild ride that must of us must take note. Interesting times lie ahead!

[Leatherneck82]

Last Dec. 18 the following story came out in the Bangkok Post. It is a study by Gov. officials into an early closing time for the Bars, Pubs and Clubs. The proposal is to close the Bars by Midnight. Here is the story from the Bangkok Post:

BANGKOK: Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Nor Matha has ordered his deputy to look into bringing the closing time for nightspots forward to midnight, instead of 2am.

He said too many people under 20 were going to the bars, where they spend money recklessly and lose their virginity.

His deputy Pracha Maleenont, who oversees the government's social order crusade, would work with the Provincial Administration Department in studying whether to advance the closing time to midnight or 1am.

The move follows a Thai Rak Thai party proposal to bring closing time forward by four hours to 10pm.

Mr Wan Nor told a teleconference meeting with all provincial governors that a young girl told Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra that last year, when she was only 14, she had been able to get into nightspots after paying the doorman 100 baht, and was still doing so.

Mr Wan Nor also wanted district chiefs and local administrative bodies to take serious action to stop the sale of pornographic comic books and to prevent drugstores and other shops from selling addictive medicines and substances such as solvents.

The prime minister had also instructed Bangkok district chiefs to clean up areas under the Memorial bridge, around Sanam Luang and the Interior Ministry headquarters. Mr Thaksin had been told children lose their virginity in these areas.

Sutthichai Thassanasarit, interior deputy permanent secretary, said district chiefs were already working hard in these areas, but it was beyond their responsibilities to prevent people from having sex. However, he agreed with a proposed ban on flea markets around the Memorial bridge, which brought about disorder to the area.

Mr Pracha said the Provincial Administration Department and Chiang Rai authorities were investigating a village headman accused of housing illegal immigrants and luring Lao women into the sex trade in Chiang Saen.

PAD director-general Sujarit Patchimnan said 42 entertainment venues were permanently closed, 200 temporarily closed, 19 had their licences suspended and 10 lost their operating licences between Oct 1 and Nov 3.

Muk Sulaiman, secretary to the interior minister, said many entertainment venues closed for breaches of the law were using legal loopholes to reopen.

He proposed the use of the building control law to ensure they closed permanently.

A gay bar next to his house in Soi Pradiphat 19 had reopened only one day after being raided and ordered closed by Mr Pracha.

The way I see it is that they will get their wish one way or another. At least there is no law provided about the time a bar should open. I think Barowners will start to do that. To open the bars earlier. The areas no affected by this are Pattaya, Chiang mai and Phuket. Like I always say: It still remain to be seen. Anyone on this board in Thailand who would like to share some light about this. I know that many here are interested in recent developments in Thailand.

[Slickdickdog]

Better get my ass back soon, before I don't recognize the joint
Maybe I should buy the old lady a really expensive present b4 inquiring about a little get away by myself, as if that's going to work, but I think she's weakening a little to the idea.
I just keep planting the seeds Leather.
Easy bro !

[Leatherneck82]

Originally posted by Slickdickdog
Better get my ass back soon, before I don't recognize the joint
Maybe I should buy the old lady a really expensive present b4 inquiring about a little get away by myself, as if that's going to work, but I think she's weakening a little to the idea.
I just keep planting the seeds Leather.
Easy bro !

Damn man, you provided me here with a laugh with that "...get my ass back soon..." comment. I'm still cracking up. But back to more serious issues, you are not too far from the truth with your remark. This "Social Order" campaign - as the Gov. is calling it now, seems to be here to stay. For how long? Nobody knows.

Take a look at the Gov. fact sheet before and after the APEC summit.

1. No nude dancing at any of the bars.
2. No extra service provided in any of the MP's. Thanks Chuwit for shooting yourself in the foot.
3. No BJ's in the Backroom of the BJ Bars.
4. The closure of bars for breaking the rules- 30 days.

If you think of it the APEC Summit was nothing more that the catalyst for such a move by the Gov. An opportunity to make such bold moves. Take a look at the latest one: The closure of the Bars by 1AM. By Tomorrow afternoon (Monday) - I'm in PI right now, they are going to make a decision by then. If they reach a decision by tom. the new closure law will take effect the day after the Chinese New Year (Jan22). What does this means? The answer provided by the Gov towards the bars is to open by 3PM and to close by 1PM. It comes to mind that one unintended consequence of the 2AM closing was to push late-night mongering right out onto Sukhumvit itself. Far more visible now than it used to be.

Here is a funny one for all to have a good laugh about it:

The Thai Rak Thai Party may be behind the “social order” campaign robbing ordinary folk of their fun but that doesn’t mean it can’t invite scantily clad dancers to entertain at its annual caucus.

Pretty girls dressed like Santa Claus (you could only tell because of their hats) kicked their heels Thursday night at the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel in Pattaya. One wore only a top and a G-string, drawing oohs and aahs from the male members.

That piece came out from a news article. Repoters were invited. The guys trying to make the laws are the ones breaking it. The head of the party apologize the next day after it was all over the newspapers in Thailand.

I think, for now, that the "Social Order" campaign is aimed mainly at Thai youth. Social conservatives exist in Thailand, as they do everywhere else in the world and they obviously have a say on the current gov. and national issues. Farang-oriented venues get caught up in the backwash - most bars are owned by Brits and some Aussies, but I don't think they're being deliberately targeted. Not yet. We must keep in mind that prostitution is illegal in LOS, the gov. could close all our playground areas tomorrow if it really wanted to.

If they continue to carry on like this, they'll just cause a huge expansion of underground late-night venues for Thais and expats alike - and end up with less 'social order' than before. But that's their problem. There is a hidden agenda and it remains to be seen.

Here is another good laugh for everyone. I hope you like it. This came out in the Newspapers a week ago.


HUGH GRANT FLEES BANGKOK PROSTITUTES

British film star Hugh Grant escaped from a Bangkok bar when over-zealous prostitutes tried to grab his private parts.
The suave actor was in the Thai city filming "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" when he and two minders went into the Tilac bar for a drink.

Two girls dancing onstage in the bar spied the 43-year-old celebrity, and leapt from the stage making a beeline for his flies, as is the custom with Bangkok prostitutes.

But actor Grant fled the scene, clutching his trousers as he ran.

One of the girls, a 23-year-old called Tippawan, tells British tabloid The Sun, "The girls were dancing to "One Night in Bangkok." They jumped from the stage and went straight for him together with the others. Hugh clutched himself with his hands.

"He would have been a good catch. But I guess he did not feel comfortable. He hurried out - and left the street."

Hugh was famously caught enjoying an illicit liaison with prostitute Divine Brown on Sunset Strip in 1995."

What a looser! Lost the chance of being charm by some good Thai hospitality!