The FARANG Speaks 2 Much (tfs2m)

Appreciate bkk22 sending in his piece. Good to see someone having some fun. I sure am not but it is not completely tied to the notion that we have a bar and are worried about business. I am not that selfish. I am worried about the country, the people, next year and the other expats here who are getting their clocks cleaned. For those lucky enough to have steady gigs that won’t be influenced by this colossal mess - good for you. Some of us just are not that lucky. I think next year normal Thai companies are going to see a recession. Anyone involved in export business is already feeling it and for sure general investment interest in Thailand will crater. I am still surprised the baht is hanging in there. What I hope for now is a major crash on both the currency and the economy - might be the only way to make something good of all this.

Monday today. Not a lot of yellow. This could be out of fear but I think it is also symbolic for other obvious reasons.

I thought this Nation article was funny. Good to see Pattaya improvising:

U-Tapao’s only other selling point was when female employees from one enterprising Pattaya hotel, taking advantage of the captive audience, put on a traditional Thai dance performance.

The women later donned red and silver dresses with feather boas, singing: “You’ll fall in love in Pattaya. There’s no better place to be.”

Can u say civil war? I think red and yellow are going to start clashing. Might be a good thing - force team yellow to make a decision. Team lunatic allowing empty planes to leave today is a bad sign. Now there will be no pressure to get the airport back from the airline industry. Bummer.

Wall Street Journal today with the most candid look at how bad this will be for the economy. Finally someone telling it like it is:

Finance Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech said Friday that economic growth could fall to 2% next year from a previously projected 4% because of the upheaval. “It will take more than a year, to revive confidence,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat, who oversees economic affairs, added that the number of foreign tourist arrivals next year is expected to fall by half to about six to seven million, resulting in as many as one million job losses. Before the airport siege tourist revenue was projected at about $17.4 billion this year.

Tourism industry is going to get rocked - this will be fun.

People keep saying the airport thing will be over by the 5th. I am not so sure. It is clear already that the government, the military, the police and team yellow just don’t care. The police are going to feel the hit first - can you say tea money. Look for it to be in short supply.

China loosening up a bit. Nice.

Seems the Philippines has no intention of giving up their status of the highest birth rate in Asia. Looks like the supply of bargirls should not diminish anytime soon thanks to the Catholic Church:

For years, proponents have been attempting to push family planning through the Philippines Congress, to no avail. The country has one of the highest birth rates in Asia, at 24.07 live births per 1,000 population. By one estimate, two babies are born every minute in the Philippines.

Was out Saturday night with a friend who wanted to check out the suk soi 11 club scene. First stop - Twisted Republic. What can I say. It was pretty dead. The music was cool but the drink prices at all these places is outlandish. 500 baht to get in with drinks. Or maybe it was 550. Jack coke was considered a standard drink. Mai Tai was not and had to pay 40baht extra. They have an ice room now for shots. My take is any club with an ice room has jumped the shark since if the club was kicking they would not need an ice room. Also remember that expensive bar that we were suppose to be playing games on? Seems it does not work anymore. Albatross.

Next stop was Bed. We did not go in. Big line and all. They must be doing okay. My take is Bed is still the king of soi 11 - like it or not.

Stopped to check in at Diva. The new one on the corner. I have written about Diva before here. We popped in since there was no cover. Seems if they are not doing a cover on Saturday night that biz is not so good? Anyway. Place was a ghost town. We moved on.

Next stop Q bar. Not my favorite joint and fucking pricey. 700 baht for entry. But this I just don’t get. We ordered a Jack Coke and a Mai Tai. We had to pay 30 baht extra for each. When is a Jack Coke not a standard drink? Kills me. Anyway. The music was okay and the place had a crowd but not a lot of hotties and it seemed like there were more men then women. Every time I walked out from the bathroom I had to rescue my girl from some wanker thinking that he could score from the time I went to the bathroom and back. Cheesy. With those prices, IMHO, one is better off hitting a Thai joint, opening a bottle and having a crack at hotties who have not been around the sukhumvit block ten times since last month.