Thailand, finished as a LB monger destination?

[rxpharm]

Yes globetrotter, there is a scene in China, although it isn't open for tourists to contact Chinese lbs yet. Here is a thread from The Ldayboy Forums that has some information: Chinese lb videos

[xyzzy]

so xyzzy how dangerous is the PI these days and what kind of dangers are we talking about here (I think I have an idea anyway) very curious and interested to hear your (or anyone else familiar,) thoughts on the matter.

 

   IMO if you get away from the main bar area in AC at night it's probably not a good idea to be on foot. Most guys here and on other boards suggest taking a trike if you need to travel anywhere on the perimeter road at night. There have been sporadic problems (mugging, etc) on perimeter road in the day time if you are solo. But I don't hear about that a lot. Although I don't keep up with PI as much as in the past. However the bar area of Fields Avenue seems plenty safe and there are some good hotels around the bar area. So I wouldn't be uncomfortable in that area.

  The AC police (district 9?) use to have a terrible reputation for setting guys up in underage girl scams. In Pattaya police set up road blocks and collect a little baht from a lot of people on scooters. In AC they do, or at least did, set up a very small number of guys for underage girls and required a large sum of money, thousands of dollars, for the guys to get themselves out. Not sure how much this happens anymore. But in the past it was enough to make one worry about picking up a FL. And most LBs are FL. No one I know ever had a problem but I have read the stories that I believe to be true. The way the police operate in AC fewer guys ever have a problem. But if one does have a problem it's likely bad.

  I did see a post a couple of years ago from an expat that lives in AC. He drove his car to an ATM. When he got out a policeman walked up and claimed to pick up a film canister with a little pot inside. The officer claimed he saw the canister fall out of the guy's car, which it didn't, and arrested him. The guy happen to have the right connections at city hall and was able to get released. But none the less it's a pretty screwed up situation and could have been bad.   

A much safer alternative IMO is Barrio Barretto near Subic Bay. But there is less action than in AC. The bar owners and the mayor have a mutually beneficial understanding about how things will run. The authorities in AC seem to have an adversarial relationship with the bar owners trying to extract every peso possible (or so it seems). GoGo girl prices have probably doubled there in the last few years because of this. Bar raids are not an uncommon thing and sometimes bars get shut down for days. As far as Manila is concerned I know very little. I stopped there once for one night in 2006. That was back when the LA Cafe was still open and a very fun place. But the streets were not considered safe at night except in more crowded places.

Having said all that if I wanted to go back to AC I would go. I just don't really have the desire to go now. Maybe if a group of guys I know went when I happened to be in Thailand I would go. But I've been there, done that, and it isn't the new thing for me like it is for a lot of the guys on the board.

It will be interesting to see how bad some of the PI guys pick this post apart. Admittedly It has been a while since I was there (3 or 4 years). But I do keep up occasionally at PIATNIGHT.

[bumblebee]

As long as guys continue exploring their new found interest in LBs then Thailand will continue to be the testing water I reckon.  Guys like Topcat going to the Philippines for his first LB trip will be the exception.   Los is so well established and set up for LB lovers it would take something major for it to fall into second place behind any of its SE Asian neighbours.  The majority of the guys checking out the PIs now are veterans of the scene in Los and are trying it out for a variety of reasons, ie something new, bored of Los, friends are going...etc and perhaps for many it will be just a box ticked, a one of trip.  The spirit of adventure versus the reassuring comfort of Pattaya.

[Stealth007]

@Rxpharm

 

I did not say that with in 10 year , the phillippines will be the no 1 ladyboy station there in Asia......

That will never happend with the political climate and there religious culture.......

 

But i can for see that with in 10 year the amount of ladyboy avail will be the same as thailand , aldo you have to search for them.....

More and more they are coming out of the closet and let there voice be heard and stand up for there rights.....

 

Right now looking at the amount of LGBT groups and active member i think that amount is now between 40 to 45 % ( Register ) but is in real life much much more with all the non register ladyboy........

 

They are getting everyday much better organize with more chapter in each barangay.....

There are many education classes covering everything from health issue till bigg legal issues and lot`s of schooling and learning a skill advice and workshops.

 

 

Greetz , Stealth

[pdogg]

Of course there a two or three sides to every story.  Here's some friction between Thais and a tourist.

 

 

In the early hours of Friday, Pattaya Police were called to the Bali Hai Port area to assist a Swiss Tourist who had allegedly been attacked by three Thai street vendors who were reportedly angry that he refused to purchase an item from them.

Police and medics arrived at the scene, close to the Pattaya Sea Rescue Control Center and met with Mr. Henri Kaspar aged 59. He had sustained a deep laceration to his head and told Police that the men used a stick to attack him as he was preparing to leave the area on his motorbike. He also presented Police with a video of the incident he was able to capture on his phone.

Mr. Kaspar revealed to Police that he was on his way back to his motorbike after spending the night on Walking Street when he was confronted by the street vendors who attempted to sell him a souvenir.

Mr. Kaspar repeatedly refused to purchase the item and continued to walk back to his motorbike. He was then attacked by the men, one of them was armed with a stick which was used to strike Mr. Kaspar over the head.

Police are now urgently attempting to locate and arrest the three men at this time.

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/162651/swiss-tourist-assaulted-by-street-vendors-close-to-pattaya-port/

[LeCat]

Drunken idiocy is also the reason a lot of clubs have insanely expensive drinks, because they don't want out of control drunks in there like that Russian goof punching cars. When I was in Veracruz, Mexico they had a plaza full of bars where other Mexican tourists went to get drunk. Security was everywhere and they held batons and riot shields so if you got stupid they took care of you really fast. No surprise there were no fights, even when the Mexican navy was in town and piled into the bars to get ridiculous drunk because you were constantly reminded to behave by the 30 or so riot cops standing around the center of the plaza.

 

Maybe Indonesia LB scene is best, no booze, tons of hot girls, still cheap.

 

As for Thailand stickman bangkok has been writing he's hearing rumors of NEP turning into an all ladyboy place, as those are the only bars making money there. Just because you see no customers inside doesn't mean like 100 girls aren't being phoned out that day or still on barfine.

[Trenton42]

Drunken idiocy is also the reason a lot of clubs have insanely expensive drinks, because they don't want out of control drunks in there like that Russian goof punching cars. When I was in Veracruz, Mexico they had a plaza full of bars where other Mexican tourists went to get drunk. Security was everywhere and they held batons and riot shields so if you got stupid they took care of you really fast. No surprise there were no fights, even when the Mexican navy was in town and piled into the bars to get ridiculous drunk because you were constantly reminded to behave by the 30 or so riot cops standing around the center of the plaza.

 

Maybe Indonesia LB scene is best, no booze, tons of hot girls, still cheap.

 

As for Thailand stickman bangkok has been writing he's hearing rumors of NEP turning into an all ladyboy place, as those are the only bars making money there. Just because you see no customers inside doesn't mean like 100 girls aren't being phoned out that day or still on barfine.

Which clubs have insanely expensive drinks?

Since when did the Indonesian bars get rid of booze?

Given the number of LBs parading around NEP, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Plaza was turning to the Dark Side. But Stickman knows it's simply not true that only the LB bars are making money there. Angelwitch 1, Spanky's, Billboard, and the Rainbow bars continue to pack them in. And some of the smaller bars (such as Pretty Lady and DC-10) aren't necessarily packed, but have a high turnover and are certainly making money.

Nor is is true that owning a LB bar is a license to print money. Obsession is always packed with Japanese, but I can't recall the last time I've seen more than 3 customers in Temptations or Casanova, and I go there often.

[thaibound]

i presume the OP's title for this thread was intentionally exaggerated to inspire reaction and even he has no plans to cease and desist with regard to the wondrous LB's of the LOS. nor, i believe, do any of the other experienced BM's who've responded here, myself included.

so, "finished"? absolutely not.

but "deteriorating"? almost certainly. for a complex of reasons, some already touched on,  from martial law to drunken tourists to ravaged economies to vacillating moral/cultural injunctions to --what i believe might be the greatest factor of all--the expansion of other ever more appealing options.

if mongering in japan ever became economically competitive with the LOS, it'd be hard to resist their growing newhalf population.

if crime (or the perceived risk thereof) in the LOS reached the scale of that on the streets of Brazil, why not try bonecas next year?

if you can find equivalent excitement forsaking the bar scene and hunting online-- the Philippines are already irresistible.

but at least for the moment, imho, the matrix of beauty, availability, cost, variety, and cultural tolerance, even weighed against drunken louts, bitter bar girls and unpredictable martial law -- still leaves the LOS far from "finished".

so we'll see you there.

[Trenton42]

Naysayers have been prostilatising the end of nightlife in Thailand since Thaksin began his Social Order Campaign in 2001. But through early closings and crackdowns, Bird Flu and SARS, two coups and an airport occupation, the Red Shirts attempting to burn Bangkok to the ground and Yingluck attempting to wash it away with a flood, and on top of all that a tsunami, the LB mongers have never had more choice in venues or companions including Filipina LBs flocking to Thailand to ply their trade.

Thailand finished? Not by a long shot!

[rxpharm]

Actually this thread was generated in response to a board member who was posting a number of comments stating the Thailand was finished, that a few veteran board members stating Philippines was now the lb center, Thailand would no longer be a desirable lb destination, etc.

 

Yes, it's true compared to the early days there are some problems, but as a number of board members have posted, it still is probably in first place, although the lead is getting smaller.

[stoolpusher]

Thailand is my first choice for a role in the hay 11 trips since 2008 ,I will be in town twice this year. 

[tel77]

i disagree,pattaya is still pound for pound the best place for L/Bs,look and you will find.imo

[Snick]

I think the outlook for us is getting better, the Thai economy is in the shitter, the Bahts getting weaker,tourism is down and Pattaya's big gamble on Russian Tourism is crashing.

 

I think mongers and especially LB mongers are the best market Thailand's got left.

 

And if the generals have half a brain (which admittedly is a big IF), they won't crack down on Isaan's biggest source of income....sending their boy and girls to Pattaya. 

 

ps. and If Philippines is such a great LB destination, then why are so many PI LB coming to Bangkok and Pattaya ?

[JustSumGai]

because being english speaking they're beating out the "what you do?" bunch?

It's a nice plus. I bet they do well. At home they're just another one of many.

[Jimslim]

 

 

ps. and If Philippines is such a great LB destination, then why are so many PI LB coming to Bangkok and Pattaya ?

 

Its a good destination for us because there's lots of ladyboys with good attitudes looking for customers .

 

They come to Thailand because they can't get the customers at home and have obviously heard that ladyboy lovers flock to Thailand 

[bumblebee]

I think the outlook for us is getting better, the Thai economy is in the shitter, the Bahts getting weaker,

I think that should be the U.S. because most of the other major currencies are having a bit of a nightmare v the Baht at the moment.

 

[Snick]

I think that should be the U.S. because most of the other major currencies are having a bit of a nightmare v the Baht at the moment.

 

Oh yea, some of you aren't lucky enough to be Americans   ( I jest I jest )

[Jimslim]

And there's me thinking all Americans wanted to be Irish 

[IZAZA]

Thailand has certainly seen better days as for as mongering is concerned. From my own observation it appears to have entered a period of inevitable decline as one generation dies and the next replaces it. For those who take mongering seriously I believe it is a group activity and Laos or Philippines could be a better alternative destination in the years to come....

 

[lance2546]

The guy in the video is an ass hole and yeah, not the best 'Ambassador' for Western tourists.

But it cuts both ways, like a pack of Thais beating a guy senseless because he was going to an ATM to withdraw cash to settle his bill.

Thailand has become over touristed and that has led to tensions with some of the locals (mostly those in the tourist industry.)

I for one don't see attitudes improving any time soon :)

[lance2546]

And there's me thinking all Americans wanted to be Irish 

I'm American but I don't brag about exchange rates; they are cyclical and all have their highs and lows.

[saab1]

Wouldn't surprise me, if the laws are changed regarding the sex industry, the government is already cracking down on visas

[xyzzy]

Is any place as good as it once was? From my day one in Thailand in the next 26 months I spent just about one year here. I had just retired and was able to spend big chunks of time. At about one year of time in country I blew off Thailand and went to Cambodia for 25 days. I need a change bad. 

 

I got the fast immersion course on realizing Thailand wasn't what I thought when I arrived. It does seem to get gradually worse but it wasn't what I though in the first place when it comes to all that LOS crap. Especially when you hang out in Pattaya and lower Sukhumvit in BKK. I remember the first time I went to Hua Hin being slighty confused that locals seemed just a bit nicer. But then in HH the northern EU tourist families far out number the sex tourists and lager louts.

 

The government would need to do nothing law wise to wipe out the sex industry if they so choose. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand.

 

I do know today's hangover is much worse than in the past.     

[SiamSam]

 

...I do know today's hangover is much worse than in the past.     

 Funny.