I am not a huge fan of Christmas and for various reasons but the whole idea of Santa Claus is just weird for me. However - now that I know where the dude comes from I feel a little bit better.
Big fan of youporn but hat tip to the man for showing me tube8.
Starting off light here folks.
Article with some quotes from the head of the Thai travel agents is stating the number of arrivals since the airport fiasco is way down. As I have stated I think Thailand was slowing down prior to this anyway. Probably back in Sept/Oct time frame. The world was slowing down and Thailand was not immune. I think one is going to have to look at the numbers over a longer period of time to gauge the true impact but either way things are down. What I have noticed is the mongers and the lovers of all things Thailand are still coming but the normal package tourist and the newbies to Thailand are clearly missing from this so called high season.
During Thailand’s peak travel season, which begins in November, the country typically hosts 8,000 to 12,000 visitors a day, Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, told Reuters. Following the country’s airport closures, that number has dropped to 5,400 a day.
Heads will roll. No doubt about it but it will be interesting to see who is going to get it and how. The Santika tragedy is horrible. Any way you look at it but who do you point blame to and how do you hold them accountable? One could easily say you go after the owners. Fair enough. Problem is these are rich, connected people and they may not take it lying down. What I mean is at the end of the day these people will try to get out of this. This is Thailand. Remember the scandals with Chuwit and the massage joints? When they tried to nail him he rolled over onto the police and suddenly he got away with it all.
My take is something similar to this will happen here. If the owners paid large amounts of money to the police to get around permits, underage club goers and so on then they will move to expose this racket as a way of deflecting blame. Not saying any of this is right but I think it is possible. Already some of the charges filed over underage club goers look like desperate moves by the police to pretend to look busy. With the amount of people killed and if some of those families have money - my guess is the civil suits will prove to be more important than the criminal ones.
Supposedly the land owner is hanging in HK while all this all goes down. BBC has some coverage here and BP is also weighing in on some of this. I hope those who are hospitalized and in need are getting the best care. That is the important thing but clearly this whole drama is going to get played out in the political arena given this is Thailand.
The mess in the South continues. I have no idea how you deal with it but the current administration is going to have to take a stance on it since they need the votes from that part of Thailand. I learned from someone who knows that this situation ( สถานการณ์) is referred to by the Thais and the fire in the south (ไฟใต้ ). Will be interesting to see what happens.
Well - it is the New Year folks. I am trying to drink a little less, shag a little more and step up my productivity a bit. Let’s see how it goes.
Peace.
In Vancouver Canada, the Provence Newspaper (its a rag) printed this article from the AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gRqkgDVesiOsn5zSWxW3_KkSJVNg
View all comments by Candianboy
I believe the true effect of the airport closure and the Global Financial Crisis will not show it’s true colors until after Songkran, in mid-2009 when the slow season, along with the inevitable factory layoffs in Ayutthaya come to full head. We will just have to wait and see. Never a dull moment here in the LOS
View all comments by I Phukit
i’m sure you have already sideshow but i find pornhub superior site also redtube aint bad either . enjoy.
View all comments by jonfumu
cb - what’s weird is people are saying they find phuket busy and hard to find deals so tough to say but that could have been around ch/ny.
i - i agree the real impact is felt months down the road but for sure I can tell this is not a normal high season.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
jon - thanks for the tips
View all comments by sideshowBOB
see also:
http://www.redtube.com, http://www.tnaflix.com, http://www.xtube.com
(xtube is strictly for when you’re feeling down and need to see that other people are more fucked up. And want to remember why you live here and not in the west - lots of fat, ugly, dirty, amateur porn)
View all comments by Tiny Mouse
Oke, people cancelled their holiday trips to Thailand due to the airport closures. But I also see the decline in tourism to Thailand from a different perspective. IMHO Thailand has been a victim of it’s own success in the past, as has been for Spain in the past from a European perspective. Spain did well, could ask prices whatever they liked and treated tourists worse; they would arrive anyway for the sunshine holidays. Then Turkey stepped up as a holday destination… Spain suffered for years/more than a decade.
People are looking for alternatives to Thailand. Hotelroom prices for resorts can be fairly high (not even mentioning christmas/new year period where prices can double or triple). And I found hotelrooms worn down over the years without (major) refurbishment. I have never seen any airco or tap or showerhead replacement, only repairs! Why bother, tourist come anyway!? Well, not anymore. If a couple or family want value for money, e.g. Malaysia, Brazil, the Carribean would do very well as an alternative sun holiday destination.
View all comments by DrSchnauzert
For whatever it’s worth, my hotel was quite full around New Year. Lots of family travelers it seemed.
I think the Nation ran the news from the South under ‘Fire in the South’ banner for quite some time now, not sure if that is the source for the particular tagline or if they picked it up from someone else too.
I know a girl whose face and half the body were burned at Santika. I hope she makes it (there is still doubt), but I cannot bear to think about her lost beauty. It’s just heartwrenching.
View all comments by Julian
To my eyes Phuket was almost, but not quite, as busy as ever over the Christmas period. My guesthouse was sold out and prices were high for mid range hotels. That said, there were rooms to be had. In the past I’ve been having to change every day and really hunt around for anything.
A couple of bar owners in were grumbling about business being down, but I feel that was also a function of the fact that they were perhaps in the older, grottier beer bar Sois and there is just so much competition there these days.
I would also guess the whilst the peak peak may remain busy, that it may be shorter and tail off quicker post New Year.
One definite change I did notice was a sharp increase in the number of ladyboys, even from two years ago. They’re bloody everywhere now.
View all comments by Combover
I was in Phuket 12/17-12/29 and I found Patong to be relatively busy at the best bars, or at least the ones I like the best, my hotel which was sold out last year was 70% occupied, which didn’t stop them from trying to charge a joiner fee which I appealed to my golf agency and was eventually waived after I threatened to walk.
However, the golf courses were 30% of usual high season…which was fine for me because I had plenty of time and could golf alone with the caddy and given my game could take another shot if I wanted to.
Ultimately, travelers love Thailand because of the people and natural beauty and I think will continue to come despite of the difficulties from time to time
View all comments by Markus
DrS wrote: “Why bother, tourist come anyway!? “
This has worked for Patpong, Bkk for years now. Why provide good prices and good service when lonelyplanet-carrying drones will fill the place and not care about either. Sure, some of the places are cheap and they still get some Punters, me included, but they really don’t have to do anything special since they still get the trade. The airport closures will probably be forgotten after a few more months of stability. If anything it makes the place more ‘exotic’.
View all comments by pmmp
Visitors in country for Xmas/NY bought their tickets before the airport fiasco. We will see the true results of the PAD idiocy around February. Thai Airways has cut daily LA flights to 4/weekly, and they said it will stay that way straight into low season.
View all comments by MrLucky
@Julian - Thats truly shitty about your friend. I used to live dead opposite Central Ladprao, and on the bridge there, they always had beggars with serious burn injuries. Im talking face beyond recognition stuff. Id usually give a few coins or 20baht
Makes me sick to think how many people from Santika with good jobs and stuff could find themselves being forced down that path
View all comments by Young Penfold
Not sure where to post this………….
I just got some information regarding some industrial action that might take place this week in Bangkok. Nothing major, very localised but will be interesting to see if it goes ahead as planned.
View all comments by Wenthworth
Hey, don’t thank me. I was just trying to keep you off the streets for a while, so that maybe I could score with some of your young honeys. Got tired of the babes asking me where the dude was with the wild hairdo.
View all comments by The Man
Why don’t they just give the 3 southern provinces back to Malaysia - work out a deal for cash or something and let those who want to stay Thai move into Thailand and those who want to be Muslim / Malay stay where they are - then fortify the border so now violent Muslims can come north.
View all comments by Calvin
SSB - My personal fave is xnxx.com. Has a great ‘asian’ and ’shemalE’ section. Get your pants down and get tugging!
View all comments by Young Penfold
@Calvin: Good idea! They should have tried that for Northern Ireland, too. Also, Israel.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
SSB, YP: I throw mine in: pornhub.com
View all comments by Phoenix
http://www.ovguide.com/adult-tubesites.html
Has many of the sites already mentioned, and some are shit, but pretty much has them all. tube8 being my favorite.
View all comments by Mr Right
we had new years at the Queens Park Hotel and it was packed…all tourists… if that’s any indication.
View all comments by bobonzo
Phuket (Patong) was very busy for New Years Eve. Most of the hotels were booked, however I still think it was off slightly from last year, and the year before that as well. I spoke with a bar owner who said up until New Years Eve the scene was pretty slow this year. I do believe the airport closure will not have a lasting affect on Thailand, and will be forgotten in the near future, however I think the financial crisis will have a longer-lasting impact on Tourism here.
View all comments by I Phukit
I think the christmas/ny time was pretty good and the business around the coastal areas was encouraging. However that happens every year and the tourism companies around asia put on a big push to get people to the beaches since there was space available. Normally, when I lived in hk, talking a last minute trip to SE asia to hit the beach during ch/ny was almost impossible.
So all that is good. However a high season usually goes until songkran so we have many months left to see how this all plays out. sure I want to think it will go well but given the economic headwinds and such I think it will be tough. feb/march is when we will get a sense of how it is going.
the man - did it work?
View all comments by sideshowBOB
SSB, hell no, you haven’t been off the streets long enough yet. But thanks to my off again, on again honey, I will able to make it through this week, can’t say much about next week yet, so stay home, I’ll keep you posted if anything comes my way and they stop asking about you.
View all comments by The Man
@Calvin - Because Malaysia doesn’t want it? Its poor and a resource drain. You can’t give it independence either - this impoverished area would just starve until someone Taliban like got in power and cut the population down to something more manageable, followed by invasion by Thailand, Malaysia or the US for the full circle.
View all comments by Cabby
the man - let me know
cabby - so what do u do with it then? they want independance don’t they? I say give it to them but malaysia and thailand would have to make sure no one comes in to take over. once they starve and realize they don’t really want independence they may grow up?
who knows. what a mess.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Anyone else heard that a certain Nana gogo will hit by a staff no show tonight?
View all comments by Wenthworth
@Wenthworth: I hadn’t, but I’m guessing it’s Carousel?
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
Ooh, why? Are the little monkeys on strike or has a bossman taken a beating?
Back in town later this week - one night only - so gotta make the best use of mine. I guess Carousel wasn’t going to be it anyway though.
View all comments by Combover
co - chances are payday has come and gone and the staff needs to find some alternative form of work…
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Well what I’ve heard is the management has pissed off the girls to the extent that they wont turn up tonight. Obviously being the day after Pay day is excellent timing for them. I can’t guarantee it will happen but that’s the plan according to my Deep Throat.
@ Combover: Little monkeys?
I suppose you call all Thais Monkeys?
View all comments by Wenthworth
@WW: only in the most affectionate sense.
View all comments by Combover
ww - none of this is shocking really. he closed one of his go-gos a few months back. Hotel david is toast and I heard he has not paid rent either. so not paying staff is the easiest next move. my guess that empire will crumble soon but will landlords and such get together to get some buyers and restructure or will NEP start the slow bleed out?
View all comments by sideshowBOB
@ combover : Ok probably doesn’t work so well with Taxi drivers and bouncers.
@ SSB: Actually I never mentioned which GoGo only that it is in Nana, time will tell.
View all comments by Wenthworth
Yup, should reiterate that I was only guessing it would be Carousel - mostly due to the points ssB makes. Not something I’d heard myself, but then I don’t spend much time in NEP these days.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
@WW: Indeed, though I don’t see taxi drivers and bouncers as being as cheeky, nimble and keen to bite me as your average gogo dancer, so I won’t be finding out for sure any time soon.
View all comments by Combover
ww - do dish. not sure which other one it would be unless this is about something other than pay.
fun fun
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Not being coy just don’t want to say. Girls aren’t happy with the Mamasan apparently so more of a conditions dispute than the pay one.
View all comments by Wenthworth
ww - pick a floor.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
recently stumbled on Empflix…..better video quality than all the others mentioned.
You could also try:
spankwire
xvideo
wired6
As the Roy Orbison said…..
“anything you want….you got it….baaaaaabbbbbbbyyyyy”
View all comments by TeenageFC
tfc - splitting hairs over video quality?
for me I have to find the sites that seems to download well from thailand. I find youporn slow sometimes but tube8 seems to go okay.
thanks for the pointers!
View all comments by sideshowBOB
The sites work great from Malaysia, especially from KL International Airport where the Wifi is free. Power outlets available upstairs at the Sbarro too. Nothing like cruising free porn while eating spaghetti and meatballs at the airport…geez I really need to get back to Thailand.
View all comments by pmmp
pmmp - sbarro? jesus…
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Power Outlets. Although I must admit that I just saw an episode of Family Guy and I was inspired.
From Sbarro: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article:
Classic!
View all comments by pmmp
@pmmmp
After fight club, watching football on television was like watching pornography when you could be having great sex.
Bangkok = Great Sex
Malaysia = Watching pornography
View all comments by Wenthworth
@ww: KL does have some great sex options which I’ll cover in my trip report. Not even close to Thailand of course but not bad for a few days. It’s the airport and ‘after great sex’ where the porn comes in ‘hand’y.
View all comments by pmmp
@ SSB: Re my earlier post the bar concerned is MB near the old big mango bar. Be interested to know if they had much absenteeism staff wise tonight. Would hate to think my source is unreliable.
View all comments by Wenthworth
ww - if I get a chance will see if I can take a gander and sort it out. usually I find those claims to be hard to follow through with unless the whole bar is in on it.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
@ssB - As I grow older and grumpier, I think more and more situations in the world can only be solved with genocide. Thankfully I’m not in any position of power or responsibility.
View all comments by Cabby
cabby - ouch
ww - MB = mandarin bar or mercury bar?
either way they both seem fine so I think your informant is not very good at informing.
sorry.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
“If businesses fail, it will cause damage to the country,”
Wow, Khun Chumpol must have a PhD in economics to articulate that revelation! Brilliant stuff.
Rather than spending half a billion on advertising worthless slogans they might consider subsidizing the airline and hotel industry to reduce transportation and lodging costs.
I guarantee you cheaper transpo and digs will motivate your average Joe to book a trip much more than some bullshit slogans like “Amazing Thailand” or “Unforgettable Thailand”.
Better they say “we promise not to fleece you this time around”.
Yeah right…and pigs will fly!
View all comments by Moonman
mm -yeah heady stuff
I have always said rather than waste money on stupid shit they could do simpler things to ensure people have a good time. ambassadors at the airport to make sure people get where they are going and dont get ripped off, push back bar closing times and remove the sukhumvit police gangsta gestapo - so on and so on.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
ssb - I think you’ll see men playing golf Mars before any of that happens!
View all comments by Moonman
@SSB: The former.
Well my informant is very reliable usually so I guess they haven’t got the solidarity thing worked out yet(who’d have thought).
View all comments by Wenthworth
mm - possibly
ww - yeah I dont ever see that working. the girls are not that sharp and easily swayed. they also need a job. i have heard when people are not getting paid of walking out but that is usually just to go get another job. However the group walk out thing over some problem is probably a rare go-go event.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
I think I misled you slightly, the idea as related to me was to not show up for 1 night as opposed to everyone quitting.
View all comments by Wenthworth
ww - nope I heard you - what I meant is that nuanced form of organized revolt never seems to fly in a go-go. Meaning people quitting or something drastic might but the idea that they will coordinate for a one night no show just seems to complicated for most go-go girls me thinks.
I understood what u were saying for sure.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
I’m sure a PAD stocked GOGO could do nuanced, and from some of those photo compilations of female PAD rally attendees a PAD stocked GOGO wouldn’t be a bad thing.
View all comments by Wenthworth