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Hermanolobo
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THE NATION
Fri, October 10, 2003
By Kamol Sukin
STRIPPED OF BUSINESS
Patpong has been brought to its knees. We examine how in the first of a
two-part series
If the 2am closing rule was the beginning of the end for Patpong -
Bangkok's leading "adult entertainment" zone - Apec is hammering another
nail in its coffin.
Ever since the government issued its social-order policy two years ago,
strictly enforcing the 2am shutdown for entertainment venues, Patpong's
"second floor" sex-show bars have been hurting. And at the district's
trademark offering, the ground-floor go-go bars, customers are often
outnumbered by the girls.
"Patpong's life began around 10pm and normally peaked at midnight until
four in the morning," said a business operator who's been running bars
in the soi for decades. "Closing at 2 am cut off a significant amount of
our usual incomes."
Whether people approved or not, the sex show was the main attraction and
generator of business in Patpong and it has been hit hard, he said.
"Six years ago, police had a policy to ban the f***ing shows, and that
drastically dropped our income. The remaining [second-floor] sex-show
bars survived [due to] foreign customers between midnight and 4am. The
2am closing left us no chance of survival. Most of them are closed now,"
he added.
The entrepreneur cited the example of one second-floor bar. Earnings of
Bt1.3 million a month when live-sex shows were allowed dropped to
Bt500,000 when they were banned. Then the 2am closing ban cut in and
when the income did not cover expenses, the bar closed.
"I myself have lost already Bt15 million, on average Bt1 million a
month," said the president of the Patpong Residents Club, Prapan
Poomchawsuan, who owns several businesses in the area including karaoke
clubs and bars.
During a recent evening at one ground-level bar, where a dozen go-go
girls were dancing on stage, there were only a few customers to watch -
less than half the number of girls.
Half an hour after midnight in the surviving "second-floor" bars, which
were once crowded with men ogling the stage show, almost half of the
tables were empty and the few customers were surrounded by girls. Other
girls were staring at the front door, desperately hoping for new
customers to arrive.
"There will be no sex shows until after Apec. It's a strict policy,"
explained Nuch, a showgirl clad in a bikini swimsuit.
Out on the street, between the rows of bars, street vendors were
outnumbered by potential customers. All the fake "brand-name" products -
watches, handbags and clothes - that were once the lifeblood of the
street market were gone.
Apec delegates must not see such products, Prapan explained. As a
community leader, he had been asked to convey this message to the
vendors. So, the pirated products that once gave vendors 80 per cent of
their sales have disappeared from the stalls.
As of last week, only handmade crafts and local products were being
offered for sale.
Music bars and restaurants have also been an important part of the
Patpong nightlife scene, but they too are suffering, a local
business-person said.
A few popular spots still attract expats and Thais for dancing and loud
music, especially late in the week, but their business has also been
hit.
"More music please," a Westerner shouted at the DJ booth in the Lucifer
venue when the music stopped and the lights came on promptly at 2am.
"This is gonna be my last time here," one customer grumbled after being
convinced that the party was over. He and his group left in the wake of
six Hong Kong youths, who were also upset at their evening being "cut
short".
Similar scenes happen almost every night, especially on Fridays and
Saturdays, a doorman said.
The pressure may intensify soon if a proposal to ban daytime sales of
alcohol goes through. If day-bar operators cannot sell liquor before
6pm, they fear it's inevitable that they'll also close.
"If we close the day bars, it would cost hundreds of people their jobs,"
owners said.
Now, Patpong businessmen are asking why their area has been singled out
for repression.
"We all agree with the social-order policy, but we don't understand why
it is likely to be enforced only here," Prapan said.
"Does Khao San Road allow daytime drinking? Does Nana [Plaza in
Sukhumvit Soi 4 ] face similar enforcement on sex shows as we do?
"Don't forget that Patpong is more or less symbolic of the 'fun' area of
Thailand and has earned the country a lot of money. Patpong will die if
things go on like this," Prapan said.
Downstairs on the soi, groups of young men were hustling passing foreign
men to visit second-floor shows, handing out printed lists of the
attractions available.
"No charge! Singha beer only Bt90 per bottle and foreign beer only
Bt120!" they say, adding descriptions of the activities in the sex
shows.
Their targets are mainly foreign tourists.
"You are Thai? Oh, we have no sex shows. Members only," one man told a
Thai of Chinese appearance, asking to see a sex show.
Another tout saw an opportunity to do business.
"Wait, wait man," he called after the potential customer. "Bring him to
'that' place," and indicated a former sex-show venue that now has only
go-go dancers with lip-sync performances and Bt200 beers.
In tough times, this is how the people of Patpong are trying to survive.
---
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:01 am on Oct. 11, 2003
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Holy Diver
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I just don't get the logic in this -
From the article: "The pressure may intensify soon if a proposal to ban daytime sales of alcohol goes through. If day-bar operators cannot sell liquor before 6pm, they fear it's inevitable that they'll also close."
I just can't make sense of this. My understanding was that Patpong was supposed to be one of the zoned entertainment areas, and as such it would likely be the other venues like NEP and Soi Cowboy which would feel more of the squeeze.
Banning alcohol sales before 6PM permanently in Patpong may well have the effect of finishing off that area as an attractive entertainment zone, thus driving people and business AWAY from it and into the other areas where presumably the Thai's didn't want an increase in bars and niteries.
Were it not so draconian and infantile, I would almost suspect that if they go ahead with the banning of alcohol sales in Patpong before 6PM, it can only logically be the start of an attempt to spread such a policy into other districts - perhaps ones affecting NEP, Cowboy and even other areas of the city or even country.
I guess only time will tell.
HD
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 10:12 pm on Oct. 11, 2003
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Arcadius
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I guess only time will.
I suspect myself that this is entirely APEC-related. Patpong is in the heart of the CBD, after all, and as a recognised major tourist attraction, it's the one P4P venue that most APEC delegates (& jounos) can be expected to visit. But HD is right - Patpong (unlike NEP & Cowboy) has been officially zoned as an entertainment area for the future.
I think the supposedly depressed state of the place (BGs outnumbering punters &c) is GROSSLY exaggerated. I work near PP, and frequently pop into one or other of the bars there for a quick drink before moving on. I've often noted nights when PP is humming while NEP and/or Cowboy have been relatively quiet. Sometimes it works the other way (BKK is nothing if not unpredictable), but in general I'd say PP is a lot busier now than during the SARS scare.
A couple of weeks back, I hit PP with one of the out-of-town bros (an early weeknight, and not very late - about 9.30-12). Two of the big bars were so packed we couldn't get a seat at all, and most of the rest seemed to be doing pretty good business. Of course, a helluva lot depends on the popularity of the individual bar, as at the other venues. Interviews and observations based on anonymous bars and bar-owners are completely useless - a journo can use this technique to twist his story any way he likes.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:07 am on Oct. 12, 2003
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Holy Diver
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Arcadius -
"Interviews and observations based on anonymous bars and bar-owners are completely useless"
Correct. Journalism is often flawed because such ancedotal evidence is regularly used rather than a thorough look at a given situation. Good point. Knowing whether or not the author of this piece believes restricting and further regulation of the nighttime areas is a good or bad thing would be instructive on how to interpet the article.
Saying that, if a ban on alcohol sales before 6PM really becomes the rule for Patpong, I have got to think this will do a great deal of damage to the entire venue. Quite a few bars and lounges would lose a fair bit of income and perhaps have to close altogother. Restaurants would not be allowed to sell a beer for those who want one with lunch. Unless a person knew for a fact that they didn't want even 1 beer, or it was just too much hassle to go anywhere else - I would think people would just start avoiding the area before 6PM. And if they start avoiding before 6PM, people will slowly get used to just going other places altogether.
Lastly, just because an establishment or area appears busy at first glance, it is very hard to tell what the real story is without, as discussed earlier, taking a look at the big picture. I have known lots of restaurants, bars, theme clubs, shops, stores, etc, etc, etc that appeared busy but were really bleeding money so badly that they were forced to close, when all along I had assumed they were doing well.
My hunch is that you are probably correct - this is probably APEC related and thus not particuarly surprising. However, if this is the case what exactly is this article talking about when referring to the "proposal to ban daytime alcohol sales". My understanding is that the ban on alcohol sales in Patpong is already, at least temporarily, in effect in preparation for APEC. Why the need for a new proposal like this to deal with a city event that will be over in short order?
My other thought is that Patpong could be being used as some sort of guinea pig. Perhaps the government is using it as a testing area for some of the regulations they have in mind for other areas?
With Patpong as an officially zoned nighttime entertainment area, one has to suspect that whatever happens in Patpong will be far worse in other areas such as NEP and Cowboy.
Then again, this could be just a case of TIT.
HD
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 9:43 am on Oct. 12, 2003
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hzink
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> My understanding is that the ban on alcohol sales in Patpong
> is already, at least temporarily, in effect in preparation for
> APEC. Why the need for a new proposal like this to deal with
> a city event that will be over in short order?
Why is everyone assuming that the allegedly planned day-time alcohol ban would ONLY affect Patpong? Yes, the article is about PP, but the statement about the planned ban was not specific to it. If Thai authorities were to pass a no alcohol before 6:00pm' ban, I would imagine it would apply all over, and hence would affect all venues.
The same extension of rules for MPs also affected all MPs, so I would imagine this would extend in a similar way. So, the big question is how would a no-alcohol before 6:00m' rule affect the rest of the venues?
I know it won't affect me one bit - I only drink ice tea in foreign countries. Might have an adverse affect on a lot of the alkies... then again, might make for less embarassing situations. 
Harry
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 12:29 pm on Oct. 12, 2003
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Holy Diver
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hzink -
Good point. I took a second read of the article and I still came away feeling it applied to Patpong only, simply because of the complaints about such regulations not applying in KSR.
But your right, it could be something that would effect a much more widespread area. I suppose I just hadn't really considered your point because of how utterly draconian such a measure would be. Can you really imagine the impact such a regulation would have? All those beer bars in Pattaya unable to serve alcohol, all those pool halls, beergardens and restaraunts unable to serve beer during the day? I suppose it just strikes me as such an insane idea that I hadn't conceived they had already made plans for it.
But again, good point. You could be right on target here. And even if such a new rule did pertain to only Patpong, if the government went forward with it, how much longer would it really be before this kind of prohibition was extended elsewhere?
HD
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:13 pm on Oct. 12, 2003
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Arcadius
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HD
I have known lots of restaurants, bars, theme clubs, shops, stores, etc, etc, etc that appeared busy but were really bleeding money so badly that they were forced to close
Well, I wouldn't know about that re Patpong at all. The only point I was making is that the picture this guy paints of near-deserted bars in PP doesn't begin to square with my own recent observations there. This naturally makes me suspicious of his entire article.
The problem with speculating about the effect of government initiatives in LOS is that so many of them run into the sand. There is no sustained follow-through. So, unless events prove me wrong, I tend to dismiss them as 'weather' rather than climatic change. But we'll know soon enough - if all this stuff is still being enforced a couple of months after APEC, then we'll have a pretty good indication that something really is up. I doubt it though - I don't know any Bangkoker (Thai as well as expat) who isn't already fed up to the back teeth with all the APEC-related disruption, and the local press has been pretty scathing. My best guess is that that will be a general relaxation and 'return to normal' as soon as the sacred delegates have had the decency to sling their hook.
Roll on that day!
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:04 pm on Oct. 12, 2003
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Deep File
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My first hand observations as a regular PP visitor square with those of Arcadius... there is a great deal of variability in volume from day to day and between venues. Low season and rain also have an impact. But overall, there is a lot of traffic in Patpong. I would say that rumors of demise are premature, although there will certainly be some suffering until APEC is behind us.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:31 am on Oct. 13, 2003
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ThaidUp
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Quote from hzink
"I know it won't affect me one bit - I only drink ice tea in foreign countries. Might have an adverse affect on a lot of the alkies... then again, might make for less embarassing situations.
__________________________________________
I would venture to bet that the income of ladyboys is inversely proportional to alcohol consumption  
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 10:25 pm on Oct. 13, 2003
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