What Happens To Thailand's Sex Tourism During The Riots?

[webfact]

What Happens to Thailand's Sex Tourism During the Riots?

It takes a lot of violence to drive the sexpats away

By Jessica Olien

BANGKOK: -- Downtown Bangkok has finally stopped smoldering, but a curfew is still in effect after anti-government protesters looted and burned downtown for over two months. The shaky calm has both Thai officials and millions of men all over the world asking: Is it safe enough for sex tourism yet?

Thailand's sex trade, which pumps millions of dollars into the Thai economy, has taken a big hit since the protests began this spring. Thailand was once paradise for these men—among them fetishists and pedophiles—but the spell has since been broken. No one really wants their exotic intercourse interrupted by machine-gun fire or beer runs inconvenienced by police checkpoints, although some are, of course, willing to live with it if that's what it takes. Frustrated sex tourists are now being forced to cancel their vacations or wait it out in their cheap rented rooms until the party starts up again.

I came to Bangkok in early May to cover the red-shirt protests and ran into many sex tourists not quite ready to throw in the towel. Most of the men I met in the city's sex districts back then, before the violence began in earnest in the city center, brushed off the conflict completely. They were sure it wouldn't get bad—this is mellow, eager-to-please Thailand, after all—and continued on their merry boozing and screwing ways. Patpong, Thailand's most famous sex district, had been closed by demonstrations, but there were always other places to go to.

The mood turned somber after what happened around Nana Plaza. A popular, multistoried complex of go-go bars featuring women wearing numbers pinned to crotchless bikini bottoms who stare vacantly and listlessly sway against metal poles, the place was suddenly surrounded with razor-wire and signs designating the area a "live-fire zone." Now it was harder to keep up the fantasy, and Thailand's problems were suddenly the problem of every sex tourist from Japan to Germany. The curfew, which went into effect last week, also shut down Pattaya, a town a few hours southeast of Bangkok, where it seems the entire local economy revolves around the sex trade and which is known for tolerating prostitution by underage boys and girls.

story continues: http://www.slate.com/id/2255294/

Source: slate.com

-- 2010-06-05

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[basjke]

Thailand's sex trade, which pumps millions of dollars into the Thai economy, has taken a big hit since the protests began this spring.

You must be confused or mistaken by another country.Thailand doesn't have a sex trade.It's a family tourist destination.

[bangon04]

Wow - axe to grind, or what?

"anti-government protesters looted and burned downtown for over two months"

Barely recognisable as opinion. Certainly not news.

[daboyz1]

From what I heard... ... prices went way down. Nana was empty. Just what I heard.

[Steele404]

From what I heard... ... prices went way down. Nana was empty. Just what I heard.

i was approached by one of them offering a good time for free, only because it was 8:00 and the curfew was approaching... but of course I'm not one of the sex tourists

[Jonesy99]

I think you are confusing Nana with Patpong?

First time in Thailand?

Come and live here before you pile in with your stereotypical bull.

[hansum]

Me and my mate gave Jesicca a right good spit-roasting over this period and her prices are really competitive, so how she can say that i dont know.

Furthermore if i make a website and write articles similar to her or my facetious response can i post them as news on thaivisa?

[99BigLad99]

really accurate wonder how he went to Pattaya from Bangkok as he quote "Pattaya is hours away" maybe got ripped off by a taxi driver also going via Cambodia ?

[asiawatcher]

Classic, the police were the ones who lost out not able to collect Tea Money! LOL. But who cares about the tourists? Only the girls.

Thailand's tourism will always rebound. If the expat community has not got their Gik's by now they are not true expats! Right now deals can be struck to be sure - do some 'retail therapy' boys and now is the time to change up at bargain basement prices. This is such a stupid post! Who cares????

[alstaxi]

Jessica, you need to have a heart to heart with Hillary, you would learn so much.

[Neurath]

"Crotchless Bikini Bottoms"?

[Roota]

As a journalist based in the region for a few decades now I've seen plenty of crap by visiting hacks, but this piece truly plumbs the depths. I don't know if Slate is still owned by the Washington Post, but they should be embarrassed to have published this hogwash.

[hughben]

I am wondering what she used to report when she worked at the Nation?

Also when she was an English teacher in Thailand where did she live?

Edit: She lived in Bangkok according to an earlier 2009 article that was as full of crap as this new one.

Edited June 5, 2010 by hughben

[bristolgeoff]

i think this is also a bit late.a curfew at the start caused some problems.but as soon as the curfew was lifted the bars, girls etc would be back to normal.things move quickly in bkk after a disaster

[jayinoz]

>>What Happens to Thailand's Sex Tourism During the Riots?

It takes a lot of violence to drive the sexpats away

By Jessica Olien<<

Calm down Jessica the majority of us 'Men' are not here for sex tourism. Seems like Jessica is not getting enough herself. As one poster said she has an axe to grind against men. Poor little thing.

[kola]

Readers from other countries like to read that thailand is all about prostitution because of white tourists and that child prostitution is rampant. So she writes for the audience, like singers sing songs people like. We all want to make money I guess :-)

If she wrote things which don't go with what people want to read, her paper would not be published in slate and many, so maybe she works she does not write for the fun of not getting paid.

But maybe she really thinks that, then it's just one more stupid person, not the first one neither the last one :-)

Maybe she geniuly cannot understand that white men prefer to stay in thailand because they are fed up with politics in their own country or violence, or high prices for bad service, etc, etc. Here we can be on long holidays, take a step back, rest our mind, not hear all people speaking our language when we don't want to, not care about politics because it's not our country anyway, and we pay lower or same prices but for better service and smiles.

As for sex, honestly it's a basic need not only for humans, but masturbation helps lower the costs, since when you're empty down, your head takes back control and you don't need anymore sex. But that most girls cannot feel it, some can go on for weeks without masturbation or sex, I don't believe it's even thinkable for the majority of men.

Edited June 5, 2010 by kola

[Parvis]

Yes it is indeed correct that Western Journalists report false information - probably from their comfortable Hotel rooms.

I walk past Nana daily - Day and Night - I certainly saw no Razor Wires at Nana - but did see it within close (300-500m) distance.

Pattaya was open - to my knowledge.

This report is the worst BS there is from ignorant Western reporters.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Parvis

[wlcart]

Nana Plaza with razor wire and live fire? Is that a new show I missed at Angle Witch?

[crazydrummerpauly]

I remember a guy at university [ brain-to-mouth: it was you you idiot ] whose advice to anxious thesis-authors was to write the whole thing out in rough based only on what one already knows OR IMAGINES TO BE THE CASE - and then do the research later. This fairy-tale piece of jurno-scribble obviously forgot about the research element !

[bilinlos]

Strickly from a feminist point of view. Sure there is sex tourism, but that's not what it's all about. What about regualar men, women and couples that come here to live because it is the land of smiles. Not all are drunken fools as she would like to make it out to be. The comment about Pattaya being shut down is so far off the mark, I doubt the rest is even the truth.

[seaneee]

Can someone tell me where the crotchless panties are in Nana? Id be there in a flash! lol.........

[SteveB2]

What a total load of &lt;deleted&gt;. Sukhumvit was relatively unnaffected apart from by the curfew, and Patts, after 2 days of curr a foo which many thought was a new supermarket, was back to normal.

Gotta be bad if the sex tourists ain't coming.

The original article seams a couple of weeks out of date... However I am not sure that things are totally unaffected - my own walkabouts reveal the following;

from a visit to Bangers a few days ago during the last few days of the curfew - and as was expected, things were pretty quiet. The Thai/Asian karaoke's were completely empty even prior to the curfew times, and my phone was ringing off the hook(sic) with hungry past friends keen to say hello.

As for Pattaya - during the last few nights out visiting a range of popular places and asking around a few popular 'Chrome Palace' owners and Long time Thai Hostess workers, things are definitely quiet. Painfully so reckoning that most Walking Street places need around 20 or so punters sipping beer on average to break-even, custom is nowhere near that level.

As for how quiet in the bars? - Around 50% down, or worse on normal times (whatever those are) seamed to be the consensus of opinion across the board.

Western tourism will recover eventually to be sure, but based on previous calamities and there affects on tourism, me thinks it could be quite a few months before even 'single Farang guy' tourism returns to normal, and that Western family tourism will likely be quiet until at perhaps early next year.

[oneton]

where it seems the entire local economy revolves around the sex trade and which is known for tolerating prostitution by underage boys and girls.

(Pattaya)

Self righteous ignorance. Do you get paid for this? Please open your eyes.

[deepskyfreak]

The curfew, which went into effect last week, also shut down Pattaya, a town a few hours southeast of Bangkok, where it seems the entire local economy revolves around the sex trade and which is known for tolerating prostitution by underage boys and girls.

Pattaya sees an ever increasing number of Thai-Tourists (incl. Expats and their families) on weekends and puplic holidays. I do not have the Pattaya stats but, Thai tourists mights already outnumber farangs as they do in many other destinations nationwide.

Patpong and Sukhumvit are VERY popular with Thais, too, who go there for shopping, fun and more.

Is this Jessica a first-timer in Thailand? Tell her Pattaya and Patpong sex bars are NOT representative of the entire tourism industry.

Before bashing Thailand as a sex trade destination, one should consider that Germany, for example, has an estimated 400,000 prostitutes on its streets (Red Cross estimate a couple of years ago). Other western country's stats are not much different in terms of percentage of population.

Thailand's sex trade does heavily rely on domestic customers. May somebody drag this Ms Jessica along the "across the railway line"-streets with karaoke bars, Thai style... She should visit the Thai truck driver sex tourism destinations of Phayao (north) or Ban Pong (west of BKK) to see what filthy, illegal and underage sex trade in Thailand really looks like - home made and 100% Thai. Or Haad Yai (south) - 100% Malay.

[rubl]

where it seems the entire local economy revolves around the sex trade and which is known for tolerating prostitution by underage boys and girls.

(Pattaya)

Self righteous ignorance. Do you get paid for this? Please open your eyes.

Open eyes, look around, to be safe just remove the 'underage' part

[Dukeleto]

Oh my goodness whay a load of drivel or absolute useless investigative journalism! I'm wondering how it managed to get a showing here!

[PEP]

[Maybe she geniuly cannot understand that white men prefer to stay in thailand because they are fed up with politics in their own country or violence, or high prices for bad service, etc, etc. Here we can be on long holidays, take a step back, rest our mind, not hear all people speaking our language when we don't want to, not care about politics because it's not our country anyway, and we pay lower or same prices but for better service and smiles.

As for sex, honestly it's a basic need not only for humans

AHem! Any similarity to the scene of "Dogs around a bitch on heat"?

[mrdome]

What "happens" I had no idea the riots were still ongoing

[holidaze]

Did Jessica stop to think that maybe normal families are wondering if it's safe to go back to Bangkok? We travel each year and do not even see the sex side of Bangkok.

Oh that might be because it's not in your face. But if you were to listen to Jessica, she makes it sound like the moment you land, you're accosted by the rampaging sex trade.

Not so Jessica, open your eyes and stop slagging off. Isn't it bad enough that tourism has dropped off? The thais depend on tourism and we will continue to visit.

[JackSterling]

I read this in full from another forums and all I can say is this CEE U IN TEXAS sort of woman is full of &lt;deleted&gt;.. There is no such thing like that going on out here in my rice paddy.. CM is good Buddhist/Christian town.. only a few girls in need of a lube job.. most are from eastern Thailand where all the blood suckers seem to live.. email me and I will show you in good factual fotos what a 42 year old grandma of 2 sons and 2 grandsons can do to lower one blood pressure.. and she can do it for free.. if you have a good line..