Pattaya's sex city image frustrates govt

[thenoilif]

1 hour ago, Mazungu said:

I totally agree with Spidermike on this issue. Where is the harm if two consenting adults want to have sex together? Why do other people feel so angry about two adults having sex together??? What drives these people to put their noses in other people's business? Are these people just too old to remember the joys of sex or are they just moralistic do-gooders that want to impose their religious morals on other people? I've come to the conclusion that they are just plain jealous. Nobody ever complains about an old fat white guy walking down the street with an old fat ugly hooker. It's only when the old fat white guy has a nice attractive young lady on his arm that you hear the howls of indignation....jealousy, jealousy, jealousy. 

 

I think you're missing the point. 

The issue isn't about what you are doing behind closed doors. If Westerners were like Asians and went about sex tourism in a more discreet fashion, this would be a non-issue. It's the openly seedy aspect of Pattaya that is the problem. In the past, it wasn't that big of a deal because it mostly stayed out of the headlines but because of the internet and social media, Pattaya is now a more obvious scar on Thailand's image.

 

I mean there is something to be said about the feeling some (mostly everyone) may get when they see hundreds of grey-haired, often unkempt caucasian men sitting around an open-air bar on Beach Road at 11am on a Tuesday acting like sex and alcohol-starved primates with a pint of Leo in one hand and 19-year old (questionable) Asian girl bouncing on his lap. It's not a pretty picture and now it's the subject of many a mini movie on youtube.

[55Jay]

Prostitution is already illegal, as are drugs, drunk driving, theft, robbery, etc.....

 

Simple really.  All the PM has to do is invoke Art 44  and issue an edict that all "these" types of venues are illegal at the stroke of midnight tomorrow.  The party that would take place between now and then would be epic, and at 23:45 tomorrow, crowds rivaling those at the Berlin Wall in 1989, would gather on Walking St. to witness history. 

 

"Mr. Prayth!  TEAR DOWN THAT POLE!"

 

 

 

[Thaidream]

The last post hit the nail on the head- it is the in your face stuff that gets plastered all over the media and social network. The sex venues that Thais go to are very discrete and subdued.  They will always exist, The Government is after the venues in Pattaya because they are so visible and so widely publicized that they are determined to push it out.

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

You just cannot make this up !!!!

You can if you are Thai!

[balo]

Just create a red light district like in other cities, if they really want a change, it's not difficult to do but we are talking about Thai brains here so that might take a while.

[oyster]

"I would rather be a waitress, but then I couldn't send my children to school and I want them to have a better future than this," she said.

 

And you will hear that from about 80% of the girls. 

 

FACT  if you grew up in a farming village and didn't get your school leaving certificate - you are unemployable - even 7-11 requires a education cert otherwise no dice.

 

FACT the above does not apply just to Thailand, girls want their children to have a better life, a better chance, a better future.- so they do the best they can and that usually winds up selling whatever they have to offer.

 

QUESTION......... there is no prostitution in Thailand.......... so why has the Gov just slapped a 1000 TBt surcharge on soapy massage parlours in BKK.

 

Finally  if governments (ALL governments) just did the job they were employed to do and stopped telling everyone how to live their lives things would run a lot smoother.

[sammieuk1]

I think second left would be the happiest zone open and ready........

[little mary sunshine]

Sex is not what draws people, especially

all those "Over-The-Hill,  Fat, Bald, Viagra

Romeos" to Pattaya,  It's the polluted ocean

water, the stench from the sewer as you walk

the Sois and the trash on the Beach that people

Love about Pattaya !!

[Khon Kaen Dave]

In their right minds, did the government,really, truly believe that all this talk about 'what we are going to do, this and that' would ever make a shred of difference.Did they really think that a stern word would put a stop to the sex trade here.They are terrified of it stopping, so many top people involved, too many cops on the payroll,too many bouncers who havent beaten enough customers to s##t yet.

As the other op said, they wish this country had another half dozen Pattaya's.

Rock on Pattaya, i love to visit for 2/3 days, but i aint half glad i dont live there anymore. !0 years and two bars was enough for me.

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Next to rice this is the biggest export for Issan and prob. everywhere else. ...

Thus the myth propagates.

[micmichd]

4 hours ago, KIWIBATCH said:

Perhaps if the Government increased the daily wage rate 4 fold  for normal everyday jobs they might have a chance of decreasing the number of sex workers/avenues...but that is never going to happen

Not sure if the income of a sex worker is 4 fold the minimum wage. Is there any statistics about this? 

Many sex workers have children. How much does it really cost to raise a child? How about social assistance for whirlwind children?  

[Destiny1990]

So maybe do a try out close all the gogos and bars that has bar girls sitting around and see how it works out.evaluate the experiment after a month.also make car freezones.

[dinsdale]

18 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Thus the myth propagates.

You don't think so? Maybe your right the way rice is going. Maybe it's the number one export.

[Havrum]

This is the most fair, accurate and balanced article I've seen yet of Pattaya's sex tourism. Well done Reuters!

[madusa]

20 hours ago, KIWIBATCH said:

The biggest users in Thailand of prostitutes are Thai men.....not tourists

I have a feeling you are right because most tourists only here for a short time then they go home(of course a small, very small percentage stay long term).

And a small percentage of foreigners(farangs) come specially for sex other than that other tourists don't seem interested in the prostitutes.

Sexually active Thai men(from 16 to 55 y.o) are most likely to use prostitutes because the women are always available at very low price. What they pay are a lot lower than what the tourists pay.

The Bars and massage places create an impression that all tourists are here for the prostitutes.

When I go to the seedy bars or massage places away from the big city areas I hardly see any tourists from foreign countries there.

[FredNL]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

We are not allowing prostitution in these entertainment places,

 

Pattaya is dead !!!

Only good for low life meets low life.

And for the weekly "Criminals without borders conventions"..

 

[elgordo38]

1 hour ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

The only way to change the sex industry is to improve the economy. When there are legal jobs paying good money there will be less sex workers and less sex tourists. So instead of throwing away the last little bit of face they have why not give us a legitimate government and a legit constitution so that the economy can grow at 7% plus which will decrease poverty.  

Pass the Tylenol this guy is making to much sense again. 

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, tracker1 said:

Funny the Airlines have direct flight to sin city Tour agents in ones own country recommend sin city so if the junta is frustrated maybe they should visit and releave their frustrations instead of killing tourism and creating more unemployment as with street stall sellers 

 

 

Making hotel balconies safe would be a foot in the right direction, I think the no's are way out on how many girls are working.

Thailand would close down without happiness.

[elgordo38]

2 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

 

Making hotel balconies safe would be a foot in the right direction, I think the no's are way out on how many girls are working.

Thailand would close down without happiness.

Your defending the obvious but the government wants to put lipstick on this one. I am not referring to a pig but the <deleted> you know what I mean. 

[Sakeopete]

Soon Pattaya will be able to shutdown the bars and naughty massage. Sex tourists will be replaced by dive tours attracted by sunken Chinese submarines in a polluted sea, that is a value for money tourist attraction.

[Jim walker]

Out with the hookers and in with the submarines that's what we need for Thailand's future growth and expansion

[madusa]

15 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

So maybe do a try out close all the gogos and bars that has bar girls sitting around and see how it works out.evaluate the experiment after a month.also make car freezones.

It's a simple problem with a simple solution for the problem. All PM Chan O Cha needs to do is to have go go bars with decently dressed girls and the girls also behave decently , not sitting on the lap of customers.

If the tourists like the girls they will go to the back room and conduct their business.

The whole scene would look good and proper. A lady sitting with you talking but not touching your thighs or rubbing you between the legs. Then if a deal is strike they can use the room upstairs or they pay at the counter for the girls to go to the hotel.

The PM should try this method out for 3 weeks and see how it goes.  They are not prostitutes they are waitress but if you like our waitress and what you do with her privately is not our concern.

Pattaya would overnight look decent, isn't this what the PM wants?

[black fox]

if they stop the girls working a lot of fathers brothers husbands would have to get off their backsides and go to work.

[KenKadz]

As this article alludes to, prostitution in Pattaya is intricately woven into the economy of the city if not the country. The Airlines, travel agents, hotels, restaurants, golf courses. etc, etc., and their thousands of employees (and families) are all dependent on the tourist money that sex brings to Pattaya City.

 

The City Authorities and Police naive and short sighted if they think that changing the cities image, or doing away with prostitution is an answer. That is killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

 

And in this time of a bad high season and worse low season putting more people out of work is going to create more criminal activities and increase the work load for all authorities, police, judges, etc.

 

These people (city authorities and police) need to get in touch with the reality of the situation, adjust to the reality, make it work for them, and stop fighting a losing situation.

They should be bar owners themselves.

 

The questionable gains of the police department must be more than enough for the "police benevolent fund" to invest in a bar or two.

Which will generate better long term returns than a new BMW for a mia noi.

Might be that the department will be able to buy guns, radios, and uniforms for their staff in the future.

And provide the police with a reason to do their jobs better, policing the area where their bars are located, keeping the area free of crooks and hooligans (Thai and Farang), which better insures the safety of their customers, instead of leaving it up to the local civilians (bar thugs and bouncers) to police themselves.

 

I do not know for a fact, but I have heard that the police in Bangkok have a few investments in Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy, and these areas have a visible police presence every night (proactive policing) controlling the situation and protecting their business (cash flow), which stops problems before they happen.

 

The Authorities and Police need to invest in their future and community instead of feeding on it.

[Kabula]

It will be more frustrating if cash flow for the country retreats from changing things that has been so rewarding for both developement and for families in remote areas that receive ATM deposit transfers!  

[jenifer d]

8 hours ago, z42 said:

Idiots. Leave it as it is. The fact remains that it's only real draw is its sex scene.

It would be an economic disaster if Pattaya went under, especially after the junta has already squandered large chunks of thecountry's foreign reserves.

It is so stupid that they don't legalize vice, but we know that's a non starter as high ranking cops, army and crooked ministers would likely lose billions in dirty money as a result.

 

bingo!!!

certainly nobody comes for Pattaya's nature or beaches (or to swim in the filthy water!!!)

[Awohalitsiktoli]

It is so easy to change the image:  enforce zoning laws and create 2-3 zones w/ all of the bars.  Now the bars are all over the city, both Pattaya and Jomtien.  And we all know who is getting paid each month to not enforce anything.  If they really want to change the city's image, the military will have to step in and zone most bars out of existence and relocate the others to well-defined "zones," which is similar to the situation in Bangkok now, with Nana, Soi Cowboy and Patpong.  The noise pollution associated with the bars must stop.  Let them make a living, just not in residential zones.

[Reigntax]

6 hours ago, Toshiba66 said:

I was working with an old guy a couple of years ago from one of the Scandinavian countries that came to Pattaya often in the 1950's when he was in the Navy. He was telling me how they anchored in Pattaya Bay and the girls would all come from the villages to meet them and offer services. When I asked him the cost in those days his reply was "a cake of soap". That was the going rate then. 

 

The cost of doing business sure has changed but the business itself hasn't and never will. Leave the playground alone I say.

 

Bangkok is no different. Same stuff but no beach.

 

Obviously the soapy massages existed back then? A bit rough having to use your own soap though!

[Alphy]

Another storm in a tea cup and they should perhaps channel their intelligence and energies into a better Education System that will bring themselves in line with their fellow Asean Coutries. This may help eliminate, if that's their desire, to eradicate the "Bom Bom" industry. "Supply and Demand" so the obese expat can get a young delightful beauty to satisfy his extreme passions which he is NEVER likely to fulfill in his own Country. Win win he for sure! He is defo happy and she fills her boots with Baht so" Happy Ending"

[metisdead]

A post discussing the specifics of prostitution has been removed.