Pattaya – fighting to survive its Covid crisis

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

The plight for these sex workers, post Covid, is bleak. As their work wasn’t officially recognised they weren’t able to access any of the government’s unemployment stimulus payments and weren’t protected under any of the country’s labour laws.

Is the author claiming that "bar worker" is not a recognised occupation in LOS? Loads of bar workers in LOS are not prostitutes.

 

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Some of the bars have also pivoted to an online model, with mixed results, where the bar girls, and bar boys, are able to ‘chat’ to online customers, viewers can buy them drinks and business continues as usual.

Given I never "chatted" to a BG I wonder what they find to chat about on line? Hardly going to be about world affairs, though they could chat about food, which seems to be a favorite topic of conversation for Thai girls.

 

Do people really give Thai barkeeps their credit card details so the girls can have lady drinks?

business continues as usual.

Pull the other one, it's got bells on.

 

I might miss Pattaya and the bar scene, but one can be certain I'm not NOT using a credit card to buy some BG I don't know drinks and looking at someone I can't touch, let alone take back to my room.

[thaibeachlovers]

50 minutes ago, Sean60 said:

Where is the Thai government to ease the pain for people. 

For years you have begged people to come and invest their money in Thailand. We have. Where on earth are you now? why you do not help us to survive these bad days? no relief packages? No nothing. !!!!

Bunch of incompetent people sitting at important positions doing nothing. 

Far as I know Thailand is not a socialist country. If one wants welfare one should live in a western socialist country.

[ginjag]

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

They've cut my State pension to £370 a MONTH after working 40 years; they've frozen it for the last 13 years; lots of pensioners are dieing daily so they're saving there; and they're still taxing me!

Same with me, but if we returned in a rubber boat in the dover area, they give you a bus ride to a 4 star hotel free inclusive of food and cash illegal immigrants  human rights  Ha Ha Ha,,,,,us pensioners have no human rights.  in fact we are saving the UK vast amount of money, no winter payments, no free transport, not using the NHS and doctors, etc,, BUT yet they  freeze our pension,, that should be illegal.

[bullseye66]

38 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Same with me, but if we returned in a rubber boat in the dover area, they give you a bus ride to a 4 star hotel free inclusive of food and cash illegal immigrants  human rights  Ha Ha Ha,,,,,us pensioners have no human rights.  in fact we are saving the UK vast amount of money, no winter payments, no free transport, not using the NHS and doctors, etc,, BUT yet they  freeze our pension,, that should be illegal.

Ah yes but you're expendable under Boris Johnson's regime. His business chums need cheap foreign labour to increase their already massive profits so of course they allow the migrants in. 

[Wongkitlo]

46 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Far as I know Thailand is not a socialist country. If one wants welfare one should live in a western socialist country.

So are you advocation open borders worldwide? Refugees can go anywhere.

[Wongkitlo]

51 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Is the author claiming that "bar worker" is not a recognised occupation in LOS? Loads of bar workers in LOS are not prostitutes.

 

Given I never "chatted" to a BG I wonder what they find to chat about on line? Hardly going to be about world affairs, though they could chat about food, which seems to be a favorite topic of conversation for Thai girls.

 

Do people really give Thai barkeeps their credit card details so the girls can have lady drinks?

business continues as usual.

Pull the other one, it's got bells on.

 

I might miss Pattaya and the bar scene, but one can be certain I'm not NOT using a credit card to buy some BG I don't know drinks and looking at someone I can't touch, let alone take back to my room.

The government gave several 5000 b payments at the start of the epidemic. True. Bar workers were not recognized and received nothing. It is a bit old fashioned talking credit cards. Haven't you heard of Pay Pal and other online payment systems?

[polpott]

54 minutes ago, ginjag said:

in fact we are saving the UK vast amount of money, no winter payments, no free transport, not using the NHS and doctors, etc,, BUT yet they  freeze our pension,, that should be illegal.

I have lived permanently in Thailand for several years and haven't visited the UK in 18 months.

 

I get repeat prescriptions every 8 weeks free (apart from postage), see my GP whenever I do return, annual pension rise, winter heating allowance AND Christmas bonus.

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, Chiang Mai Bill said:

And your solution to this . . . incompetence is . . .?

simple - open everything up, wear a mask, use handgel and protect the old, infirm and vulnerable, with no vaccine coming shortly life will get far worse if we dont

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

We (myself, wife and three of her female friends) drove down to Pattaya for the long weekend. The main drag (along the beach) had plenty of people, especially at night. The beach was full of Thais eating and drinking. Walk a few blocks off the main street and it was very quiet. 

 

The main drag along Jomtein was full of cars and quite a few Thai people about.

 

I managed to convince the wife and her friends to go into a western bar. There were plenty of bar girls hanging around and a decent band playing Aussie songs. Very few customers. The girls started dancing once they'd downed a few. The bar girls were not intrusive, and some joined in the dancing and talking with my wife's Isan friends. I think we spent about 500 Baht (a couple of beers each and some tips).

 

Thais will increasingly visit Pattaya. But the massage shops and western-styled bars will continue to suffer. I wonder of the bars can come up with some novel approaches to try and attract Thai people to come in 'for the experience'. Most Thai tourists would be far too intimidated to enter a western-style bar. But they would probably enjoy it if they did.

 

It would have painted a more accurate picture if you had gone during a normal weekday. Every place that provides entertainment anywhere in the world is busy during a holiday weekend. But that is only a few days out of a year. Hardly representative.

[samtab]

If most cheaters that are restaurants owners would understand that becoming honest is a must, it could help Pattaya to survive...

 

 

[Bkktodd]

6 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

I completely agree. They should be writing about the positive affects of covid. Instead of 27,000-30,000 sex workers out of work they should write, "30,000 families, moms and children reunited" or "Ladyboy Gang Crime Down 98%" or "Bag Snatches and Gold Snatches Down 97%" or even "Tourist Complaints of Crime Down To An All-time Low". 

Most farangs in Thailand   will never admit they met their lady in a bar or thai friendly.   Just saying ????

[Bkktodd]

3 hours ago, Oldie said:

I feel sorry for these guys because they need something like this. 

Some are not so “oldie”  that forget what sex was about.  You live a short life; sleep along time. 

[Hoppyone]

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

When you actually think about that  - 50% closed - you realise the impact of this total nonsense. When the historians look back at this, they will condemn the governments of the world for the near destruction of all the world's economy, whilst at the same time actually 'growing' theirs and the world's populations ! If this madness does not end soon, the damage caused by these insane politicians and leaders will not be fixed within the next 30 years.

Already my uk owes £30,000 in debt for every person in the UK due to borrowing for this political mess - and it's going up. If you take out retired and those unable or can't work, then that's about £40,000 each - and it's going up. It will have to be repaid quick to avoid potential interest rate rises. So, the youth now will probably get a £2,000 a year rise in their tax for the next 20 years, or a £1,000 bill now for the rest of their working life after starting work ! Madness , total incompetent madness.

Yes end result will be worse than if a war had broken out

[Oldie]

19 minutes ago, Bkktodd said:

Some are not so “oldie”  that forget what sex was about.  You live a short life; sleep along time. 

Don't forget to put a condom over your phone if you have this kind of far distance sex with them. 

[P100]

11 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

When you actually think about that  - 50% closed - you realise the impact of this total nonsense. When the historians look back at this, they will condemn the governments of the world for the near destruction of all the world's economy, whilst at the same time actually 'growing' theirs and the world's populations ! If this madness does not end soon, the damage caused by these insane politicians and leaders will not be fixed within the next 30 years.

Already my uk owes £30,000 in debt for every person in the UK due to borrowing for this political mess - and it's going up. If you take out retired and those unable or can't work, then that's about £40,000 each - and it's going up. It will have to be repaid quick to avoid potential interest rate rises. So, the youth now will probably get a £2,000 a year rise in their tax for the next 20 years, or a £1,000 bill now for the rest of their working life after starting work ! Madness , total incompetent madness.

You are right. Just don't fight it. Acceot covid as the nature's tool tl fight overpopulation. I guess you like that ...

[tomauasia]

Only struggling due to the current gov. Thailand is ready to open to white tourists. Not Chinese lol 

[3NUMBAS]

cows will roam in soi bukaow again just like they used to and stickman will run out of things to say

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

The government gave several 5000 b payments at the start of the epidemic. True. Bar workers were not recognized and received nothing. It is a bit old fashioned talking credit cards. Haven't you heard of Pay Pal and other online payment systems?

Don't use any of them, and never will, so no interest in knowing about them.

I'd certainly never be buying any bar worker a drink if I wasn't on the other side of an actual bar. I've no idea why anyone would.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

simple - open everything up, wear a mask, use handgel and protect the old, infirm and vulnerable, with no vaccine coming shortly life will get far worse if we dont

LOL. Where I live hardly anyone washes their hands after number 2 so good luck getting them to do all that.

IMO people will eventually just get bored with it and not bother.

 

BTW, they've borrowed so much so far that I'm worried they'll be cutting pensions, so how the <deleted> are they going to afford to protect the old and vulnerable? That category includes myself and I can't see them putting me up in some nice apartment with cable tv and meals delivered. The housing shortage in NZ is so bad people are living in cars.

[androokery]

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Happening the world over, tourism is like any other business model, if supply/demand change so does your revenue... suck it up.

Not really a fair way to look at this...

 

Imagine that you're running a business with some street traffic, say it's a restaurant or a massage shop or a cleaning service. It depends on people having access to your front door. Then the local government comes along and puts a transformer station across your entrance. Or puts a huge fence around your property, essentially making it impossible for your customers to get access. The government also asks you to be patient, the fence will be removed. Soon. But time drags on.

 

You have zero income. Your business would still have customers, if only they could get access. You would just "suck it up"? You wouldn't feel any need to ask for compensation from the local government? Or ask for the fence to be removed?

[balo]

If you look at some of the popular Youtube channels , you can earn money by inviting the viewers in a live chat and "customers " will tip the channel. And there's a lot of money involved. I watched one channel the other day (live football chat), and they earned around $4000 in just 60 minutes . But they have 500k viewers +

If a bar decides to go digital just to show girls smiling at them,  and have a drink I am sure there are stupid enough people out there willing to tip large amounts of money.

Yes I would probably be desperate enough  to try that myself if I run out of money. 
  

[essox essox]

10 hours ago, DPKANKAN said:

Really, there were 100's of 1000's!!!???

TAT been doing the counting agaob????????????????????????????????

does this equate to a million ????!!! hundreds of thousands......!!

[Irate priest]

5 hours ago, polpott said:

I have lived permanently in Thailand for several years and haven't visited the UK in 18 months.

 

I get repeat prescriptions every 8 weeks free (apart from postage), see my GP whenever I do return, annual pension rise, winter heating allowance AND Christmas bonus.

 

So you have a property in the Uk where you are registered as living with your GP, DWP etc and someone collects your prescriptions and posts them out to you..

 

I work with a lady whos mother went to live in India years ago but is down as living in her house and does the same as you. This lady has been getting tons of post for her mother lately from the DWP and banks threatening to freeze pension and close accounts.

 

Here daughters sick to death of it

 

 

 

[geisha]

On 10/27/2020 at 12:22 PM, JensenZ said:

I really don't understand the constant necessity to post sob stories about the covid destruction of Thailand's tourist industry. I suppose the media are finding it tough to find stories.

 

 It's the same problem worldwide. Pattaya has as much of a chance of recovering as anywhere else. Considering many countries (the whole of Europe even) are posting record numbers of infected, let's get over the pandemic first and then worry about tourists.

 

Enough of these stories already.

Yes, I suppose these stories are meant for expats and a few thousand *stuck* in Thailand tourists. For who else, certainly not Europeans or Americans or anyone else, who are going bankrupt by the minute ! The global situation is horrifying, so, sorry, not many people are worrying about Thailand . 

[Mike k]

11 hours ago, mikebell said:

They've cut my State pension to £370 a MONTH after working 40 years; they've frozen it for the last 13 years; lots of pensioners are dieing daily so they're saving there; and they're still taxing me!

Is the state pension the same as social security in the US 

[kevin612]

Can someone tell me which country is not suffering from Covid-19? It will return to not mail when Covid ends.

[RichardColeman]

9 hours ago, Bkktodd said:

Most farangs in Thailand   will never admit they met their lady in a bar or thai friendly.   Just saying ????

I can. I met my wife on Thai friendly - a school teacher from Nan. Maybe you're just answering  or chatting to the wrong women !

[polpott]

7 hours ago, Irate priest said:

 

So you have a property in the Uk where you are registered as living with your GP, DWP etc and someone collects your prescriptions and posts them out to you..

 

I work with a lady whos mother went to live in India years ago but is down as living in her house and does the same as you. This lady has been getting tons of post for her mother lately from the DWP and banks threatening to freeze pension and close accounts.

 

Here daughters sick to death of it

 

 

 

Yep, heard these "friend of a friend" stories before. Never actually met anyone that has had a problem though.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, Irate priest said:

 

So you have a property in the Uk where you are registered as living with your GP, DWP etc and someone collects your prescriptions and posts them out to you..

 

I work with a lady whos mother went to live in India years ago but is down as living in her house and does the same as you. This lady has been getting tons of post for her mother lately from the DWP and banks threatening to freeze pension and close accounts.

 

Here daughters sick to death of it

 

 

 

Hopefully the daughter will be having a visit from the police then.

[Watchful]

22 hours ago, polpott said:

The Op is the most accurate depiction of the current situation in Pattaya that I've seen. The biggest change for farangs is the "online bars" phenomenon with bar owners falling over each other to develop this new business model. Here's the CEO of NWG explaining his group's change to the new model:

 

 

 

 

 

I watched that video and found it somewhat confusing. This idea of buying drinks for bar girls is NOT new. I remember a YT vlogger asking his viewers to send him money which he'd then use to buy drinks for girls in the viewer's name. Frankly, I thought this is going no where. That is, nobody would actually send him money. Turns out, I was wrong! People did send him money (I believe via PayPal).

 

So now the bars are developing their own "online bars"? Won't this cut out the middle man (those YT vloggers)? I mean who needs them when you can buy drinks directly?

 

Another thought I had is if this new "online bar" model is successful, what prevents those absolutely beautiful girls in Brazil, Italy and Sweden from playing exactly the same game? Problem with an "online bar" is that it makes no difference where in the world it is. All that matters is if the girls can entice the viewers to part with their money. Right?