Social Order' Takes The Life Out Of Night Life

[sabaijai]

Letter From Bangkok

by Jennifer Gampell

Published: March 1, 2006

A long wooden table obstructs the entrance to Silom Soi 2, a narrow pedestrian alley lined with gay bars a few blocks from Bangkok's once-infamous red light district, Patpong. I'm going to D.J. Station, a local club where gays and straights alike gyrate to earsplitting rhythms on the cramped dance floor. Four burly men in jeans and T-shirts slouching at one end of the table point to a prominent sign written in Thai and ungrammatical English. No one under 20 can enter the soi (street) and everyone must present valid ID, which for non-Thais constitutes an original passport (no photocopies) or a driver's license.

Obviously over 20, I'm excluded from the ID formalities. "Have fun Auntie," one of the bouncers mutters in Thai as he waves me through the barricade, probably not realizing I understand him. A politer version of the ID checking process is repeated outside D.J.'s, where once again I'm whisked through. However, my 20-year-old Thai-English companion's valid British driver's license receives lengthy scrutiny before he is allowed inside.

Increasingly, going out on the town in Bangkok has become more of a hassle than checking in for an international flight. At least after clearing airport security and passport control, passengers can look forward to a smooth trip. But once inside the dwindling number of international-standard Bangkok night spots, patrons still face a potentially bumpy ride.

In early 2001 the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began a "social order" campaign to clean up the country's risqu้ image and also to halt the supposed moral decay of its youth. (Mr. Thaksin dissolved Parliament on Feb. 24 and is acting as caretaker prime minister until new elections on April 2.) The two local English-language publications — The Nation and The Bangkok Post — periodically posit that the crackdown was inspired by unnamed prominent politicians who couldn't control their own pampered offspring. Long-ignored 1981 legislation outlining entertainment licensing categories was resuscitated, and contrary to the normally laissez-faire Thai attitude toward lawfulness, the regulations began to be enforced.

To change Bangkok's decades-old reputation as a 24-hour party center, in 2002 the Thaksin government created three "entertainment zones" in which drinking and dancing were allowed until 2 a.m. (According to one club owner, four years later nobody knows the precise boundaries because the zoning law was never made official.) Outside these zones, dancing was illegal and closing times were 1 a.m.

Of the trio of late-night zones, only Patpong would be familiar to visitors. Significantly cleaned up over the last five years, the strip is naughty only in so far as sanitized parodies of sex shows and hordes of stall vendors selling overpriced tourist schlock could be considered salacious. Apart from the long-running bar Tapas (Silom Soi 4) and D.J. Station, nothing in the Patpong area qualifies as a trendy dance club.

The second zone is Royal City Avenue, known as R.C.A., a strip of youth-oriented venues in central Bangkok catering primarily to Thais. Recently clubs like the huge concrete Astra have started to attract a crowd of expatriates in their 20's by importing hip D.J.'s (Amnesia Ibiza, Goldie and others). Even so, one night at the 15-year-old Zouk bar in Singapore provides more real action and excitement than you'd find in an entire week on R.C.A. The third zone, Ratchadapisek, is a four-lane suburban road popular with Thai businessmen seeking the kind of entertainment available at lavish multistoried massage parlors with names like Love Boat and Colonze.

At first, club owners and customers didn't take the new laws seriously. After all, this was Bangkok, where the police hung out drinking with foreigners until dawn and a few hundred surreptitious baht resolved most official problems. Besides, why would authorities undermine the urbane club scene developing in the Sukhumvit area? That scene was catalyzed by the 1999 opening of Q Bar, a "New York-style" lounge on Soi 11, followed by the raucous Ministry of Sound (Soi 12), the ultrachic Bed Supperclub (Soi 11) and the luxuriant Mystique (Soi 31). Elsewhere, new hotel bars like 87 (at the Conrad), Tantra (Pan Pacific) and Met Bar (Metropolitan) offered additional cosmopolitan choices.

But nothing deflates a thriving club scene like repeated unheralded visits by a local constabulary intent on upholding "social order." And that is exactly what has been happening over the last four years. Sometimes the raiding police are accompanied by local TV crews. Exits are barred, music grinds to sudden silence, lights flash on. Confused and scared patrons who a moment before were partying down are suddenly confronted by brown-uniformed police officers who demand to see their ID's, frisk them or occasionally force them to urinate in a cup to test for drug use. The raids often last far beyond the 1 or 2 a.m. closing hours. They have rarely netted any violators.

But these attempts to regulate Thai teenagers' behavior have severely limited the nocturnal activities of over-20 clubbers and have of course been devastating for the clubs they frequent. Ministry of Sound, Tantra and Mystique have closed, and 87 is dead. Only Q Bar and Bed Supperclub remain active, and David Jacobson, co-owner of Q Bar, says that they survive partly because no new international investors will risk coming onto such an unpredictable club scene to provide competition. "Bangkok is a dead town," he said. "It was one of the most fun places in Asia." In March Q Bar is opening a branch in Singapore where it can stay open 24/7, though closing hour will be 4 a.m.

Even Kurt Wachtveitl, general manager of the Oriental Hotel for 38 years, weighed in on local night life in a Jan. 13 interview in The Bangkok Post: "Wealthy people like to spend their money on things they enjoy, and they spend a lot of money. But they don't want to go to bed early! If Bangkok continues to be the kind of city that begins to look sleepy after midnight, it will be wasting all its advantages to the upscale foreign visitors. They'll go to Beijing, Shanghai and now Singapore."

Far from cleaning up the city's image, the social order campaign has spawned a sordid — and unregulated — after-hours scene that unfolds on steamy sidewalks and dark alleys behind second-story black-curtained windows. "You can't suppress people," David Jacobson said. "They want to have a good time. It's human nature."

An hour at smoky and cacophonic D.J. Station satisfies my dancing urges. Not ready to call it a night, however, I decamp to Rain Tree Pub & Restauant, a tiny bar near Victory Monument where Thai folksingers croon 1970's melodies known as "songs for life." I adore these rapidly vanishing examples of traditional Thai life and am having a fabulous time. Nonetheless, promptly at 1 a.m. the lights come on, the band packs up, and I'm out on the streets of Bangkok, all dressed up with no place to go.

source: New York Times,

[britmaveric]

Nice read and faire picture on what nighlife has become in BKK.

[bkkmadness]

It certainly has gone downhill for nightlife in Bangkok.

[dog412]

at least as a consolation we have the opportunity to "hit the streets". a change of clothes and on our way. however, this even may be gone soon. if so be aware, as the rich do as they will, but to stop "sanook" from the working class could create real "dissent".

[Boon Mee]

Obviously over 20, I'm excluded from the ID formalities. "Have fun Auntie," one of the bouncers mutters in Thai as he waves me through the barricade

Well, maybe 'Auntie' belongs in bed after 1am anyhow?

[chanchao]

Excellent article, especially by Western media/journalism standards.

[skylar]

Somehow I don't think people will be turning up in droves in Singapore.

[sriracha john]

Perhaps T.A.T. should include this well-written and accurate depiction in their latest travel brochure...

[astral]

A sad, but accurate report.

The worst part is the pushing underground of parts of the scene, taking them

out of official view and control.

[Sing_Sling]

Somehow I don't think people will be turning up in droves in Singapore.

And this alludes to . . . what?

[TokyoT]

A sad, but accurate report.

The worst part is the pushing underground of parts of the scene, taking them

out of official view and control.

Pushed some of it underground, and parts of it on to the sidewalk.

Just amazing logic being used when closing down these venues at an earlier hour, and then allowing street vendors to set up shop right down the soi selling Jack Daniel’s and such well after said closing times.

Maybe they are attempting to turn BKK into a Marti Gras street festival after hours.

[Cassandra]

Excellent article, especially by Western media/journalism standards.

I wonder what is meant by this.Does he mean that Western journalism is generally poor, or that it's weak on Thailand issues or on this specific "social order" issue? I tentatively assume he means the Western press is generally weak on Thailand as a whole.Actually though there is some misreporting, it's usually on fairly predictable lines.On the other hand I have seen some first class journalism on Thailand from the West, particularly on political issues.

[jef]

Well she obviousely did not stroll Sukhumvit after 1am, in stead of keeping the sex scene in the gogos and bars it's in your face on Bangkok Champs Elysees, well done Social Order.

Bangkok a dead town at night??? Are you joking????

[bkkmadness]

Bangkok a dead town at night??? Are you joking????

Well compared to how it used to be, it certainly is.

[Insight]

Bangkok a dead town at night??? Are you joking????

Well compared to how it used to be, it certainly is.

Dead right. It does mention in the original article how the social order sillyness is pushing everything into the underground.

I went to an "afterhours" place about 18 months ago - it was basically a converted shophouse around Petchaburi somewhere. The place was absolutely rammed with bargirls and farangs.

If there was a fire there, I'd doubt the chances of many people. Just part of the overall impact.

But at least it's stopping prostitution.

[chanchao]

>> Excellent article, especially by Western media/journalism standards.

> I wonder what is meant by this.

Phew, I was beginnging to worry there weren't any takers for that remark.

> Does he mean that Western journalism is generally poor, or that it's

> weak on Thailand issues or on this specific "social order" issue?

The middle one. Western journalism on all things Thai is piss poor beyond belief. And not just tabloid style reports, also in the most respected media. The really good and knowledgeable reporters are VERY few and far between. (BBC has one, though she doesn't do all Thailand reports).

> I tentatively assume he means the Western press is generally weak on

> Thailand as a whole. Actually though there is some misreporting, it's

> usually on fairly predictable lines.

True. Indeed mostly along nightlife / sex-trad lines, but then most reports seem to wander up that particular avenue. In any case, if they get it so wrong on something that's honestly not that hard to do properly, then why would I trust them on reports about other non-Western locations?? Would they suddenly have higher standards when they report on Afghanistan, Africa? Looking at the Thailand reporting it gives me no reason for optimism.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[sriracha john]

Excellent article, especially by Western media/journalism standards.

I wonder what is meant by this.Does he mean that Western journalism is generally poor, or that it's weak on Thailand issues or on this specific "social order" issue? I tentatively assume he means the Western press is generally weak on Thailand as a whole.

How I read it, it refers to the social issues of Thailand and its inaccurate reporting in the Western press.

Actually though there is some misreporting, it's usually on fairly predictable lines.On the other hand I have seen some first class journalism on Thailand from the West, particularly on political issues.

That's true. It's mainly the social side of Thailand that is so often distorted from reality to the point of being nonsense.

[steveromagnino]

The middle one. Western journalism on all things Thai is piss poor beyond belief. And not just tabloid style reports, also in the most respected media. The really good and knowledgeable reporters are VERY few and far between. (BBC has one, though she doesn't do all Thailand reports).

I agree with the sentiment, but she could be considered a bit out on a few details...

>>Apart from the long-running bar Tapas (Silom Soi 4) and D.J. Station, nothing in the Patpong area qualifies as a trendy dance club.

- what about hard house club Lucifer, and the rest of Soi 4? (ok, that's subjective, but DJ Station is a trendy dance club?!) (and trendy?!)

>>>Recently clubs like the huge concrete Astra have started to attract a crowd of expatriates in their 20's by importing hip D.J.'s (Amnesia Ibiza, Goldie and others). Even so, one night at the 15-year-old Zouk bar in Singapore provides more real action and excitement than you'd find in an entire week on R.C.A.

Considering Zouk is considered one of the top 3 clubs in the world by some and a favourite of DJs like Carl Cox, it is hardly surprising that an entire week on RCA could not compete, although there is no mention of pricing or the fact that there isn't really any other place in Thailand (or most of the world) that would compete with Zouk.

>>>The third zone, Ratchadapisek, is a four-lane suburban road popular with Thai businessmen seeking the kind of entertainment available at lavish multistoried massage parlors with names like Love Boat and Colonze.

It is hardly surburban, it is actually 6 lanes for the most part, and has a ton of restaurants and several major clubs including Inch, Pump, the Soi 4 area, Hollywood, the soi 6 area, and so on. Perhaps a total of 30-40 clubs at a guess all up, few aimed at expats. Additionally....Love Boat is on Rama 9 isn't it?

>>>>these attempts to regulate Thai teenagers' behavior have severely limited the nocturnal activities of over-20 clubbers and have of course been devastating for the clubs they frequent. Ministry of Sound, Tantra and Mystique have closed, and 87 is dead.

MOS is dead from zoning problems and terrible choices of DJs; it was fairly unwise to open in the same street as senators and politicians wanting to get sleep. 87 closed from being pants. All of these places ran up against zoning issues, which is not quite the same as 'maintaining social order'; rather it is about getting people to stop opening night clubs in residential neighbourhoods. Urine checks in Soi 4 and closing at 1am in the zone or 11pm outside it - that is social order. The crazy enforcement of no dancing was social order. But it is hard to have sympathy for clubs outside the zones.

Besides which how many Thai teenagers did you ever see at any of these clubs? These clubs (excl. Mystique because I didn't go there so cannot comment) were the domain of the Spasso, Rivas, Angel Disco type clubber crowd; hardly the genuine expat clubber! I suppose they did move the prosititutes out to other places, and there might be a few teenagers among that group...maybe.

Yawn. Most of the posters in this thread could (and some have) write far more eloquently on Bangkok's nightlife woes.

That said, there has never been a better time for DnB here in THailand; Goldie, Makoto, Marky & Stamina with LTJ & Conrad, Shy FX in the next few months....and the local talent is still just as good.

My hope is the zoning thing gets taken to its full conclusion as we were promised and within the zones it will be late closing (i.e. not <deleted> 2am).

[jdinasia]

No "news" in this article :-) The author speaking/understanding Thai should have still been able to be out at fun wild discos until at least 6am.

Without being restricted to sidewalks or second stoty black curtained .....

(and LoveBoat and Colonze are not in Ratchada I believe)

[RickFarang]

*Yawn*

[MyNameIsFarang]

And with that years of work by TAT come undone. A few more articles like this in prominent Western papers can absolutely gut the tourist trade among people not already committed to visiting Thailand. Other tourist boards in the region must be in a good mood today.

[VanZam]

Fun can still be had in Bkk... its just further away from farang eyes behind closed doors.

Edited March 3, 2006 by VanZam

[bubba]

And mystic and MOS are now history

Yes, that's what the article said:

"Ministry of Sound, Tantra and Mystique have closed, and 87 is dead."

And by the way, this is probably *not* news to those of us who live in Bangkok. But it very well might be news to a lot of people in New York and elsewhere who might have been deciding where to go on a holiday that included a bit of nightlife in the evenings following the temple tours.

In case you are interested, here is the link to the original article:

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/trav...gkokletter.html

[VanZam]

And mystic and MOS are now history

Yes, that's what the article said:

"Ministry of Sound, Tantra and Mystique have closed, and 87 is dead."

Hense the reason why I edited my post, its been a long day.

[sriracha john]

deja vu:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=61816&hl=

and the Lord sayeth.... let thee threads be merged...

Edited March 3, 2006 by sriracha john

[dasy]

deja vu:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=61816&hl=

and the Lord sayeth.... let thee threads be merged...

anything new here?

[Patong Bob]

Come to Patong. Currently wide open, bars till 4 or 5, and plenty of places Soi Sansebai,etc, open after that.

[sabaijai]

I think Gampell exaggerated the situation a bit, and could've gone into more detail about all the popular aboveground places (licensed restaurants for example) people do go after 1am, like Ratchada 99. She could also have noted that for the cash spent on a night at Zouk in S'pore you could go out for three or four nights in Bangkok.

One inaccuracy - entertainment zoning never did occur. It was proposed and even announced but was killed at the last moment. I have a Thai attorney friend who specializes in entertainment law and he knows the acts and statutes backwards and forwards, even runs educational seminars for owners of sathaan borikaan. He kept me abreast of the zoning process when all that went down and says it never officially went through. The press was fed releases from the government that it had gone through, but no act was ever actually issued. He has shown me copies of all the latest sathaan borikaan acts, and there is nothing about zoning.

One previous entertainment act still in effect is that in cities with a substantial foreign tourist presence, bars and discos can legally stay open till 2am. The list includes Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Samui and Chiang Mai. Only in Pattaya is the law officially recognized (though the practice in Pattaya now seems to be to let almost anywhere in S Pattaya stay open till 4am, no?). And on Samui and Pha-Ngan the early closings aren't enforced all that much. Of course the article was about BKK so this isn't relevant.

The 1/2am closing times have been on the books for a long time. The police only started enforcing them in the TRT era. Places with a disco license, wherever they are, are permitted by law to stay open till 2am. It's 1am for bars and live music clubs, midnight for massage establishments and no restrictions on licensed restaurants. Hence the popularity of khao tom and kung phao places around the city.

The journo also didn't mention that various hotel discos are doing OK, some in fact very well. Also 87 isn't closed. I dropped in last week, with some clients from the film festival, and it has been reborn as 87 Plus and has live music now. It was doing decent business, so if by 'dead' she meant it wasn't well attended, that may have been the case during the transition from Club 87 to 87 Plus.

The burning question is will Thailand go back to 'normal' once TRT are out of office? Even the Thais I talk to about this don't seem to have an answer. Well over half the Thais I know think that the early closing is a good idea, and the rest seemed to have adjusted to it.

[clevenp]

The article is reflecting correctly the slowdown of the nightlife in this city and many things are now happening in dark and seedy bars on 1st and 2nd stories with dark curtains (shielding the light to the outside)...

Coming from a country where nightlife is restricted by attendence and not by government rules, it is kind of unsettling that at 1 am you suddenly are on the street and nowhere to go ...

we (my wife and I) start effectively enjoying nightlife on trips to HK and Singapore and we are turning our backs to BKK (reduced to just playing pool for 3 hours per week and a quick dinner ... reducing spending from X/week to about X divided by 3 /week) ... net result ... less income for the different places we frequented and a snowball effect on the economie as I am sure I am not the only one

but at the same time ... it is becoming the sleepy / family environment like many sleeper cities in the world : grey and certainly not exciting and reducing the city to window shopping during daytime ... (a social need for Asian countries as many social contacts are made during those hours by those who have Money to spend on fashion and label items ...)

maybe that is what our grandmaster wants?

yours sincerely :-)

[maprao]

Come to Patong. Currently wide open, bars till 4 or 5, and plenty of places Soi Sansebai,etc, open after that.

Agreed but don't advertise it here otherwise they may dissapear In the meantime lets It is not only expats and farang read this website