Hua Hin bars closed/or reopening?

[Big Boy]

Just an observation. I very rarely drink, play pool, chat up bar girls, etc., etc., but when I read/posted the proposed rules, I thought those who do regularly participate in bar life would go apeshit. I certainly expected more than 1 comment overnight.

So, has Covid restriction simply put people into submission mode? Has everybody just thrown in the towel?

I went to a bar last week - even that establishment will require massive change if these rules become the New Normal.

[buksida]

There are only three bars where I live and none of them have girls or pool tables ... or for that matter enough people ever in them to breach the social distancing rules.

Hua Hin is the bar fly paradise! It seems they may have to bring in another 5,000 'new normal police' to enforce these rules and profit from them. Sounds like a George Orwell scene.

[HHTel]

You left one out: Sex between 2 or more people must take place at least one meter apart and hazmat suits must be worn.

Remember: Have Fun!!!

[HHTel]

So, has Covid restriction simply put people into submission mode? Has everybody just thrown in the towel?

I think you've hit the nail on the head, BB. We've all given up and ceased to be surprised at anything any more.

[Dannie Boy]

One meter apart... no problem.

Another Big Boy!!

[Big Boy]

they may have to bring in another 5,000 'new normal police' to enforce these rules and profit from them. Sounds like a George Orwell scene.

That is rule 15

Maybe rule 23 could be they provide their own judge, jury and executioner.

[buksida]

It is a pretty sickening state of affairs that with businesses closing left right and centre, unemployment surging, suicides off the chart, tourism a dead duck, people going hungry, galloping household debt, and the economy in turmoil ... the only ones to profit out of this entire episode are the Thai police.

[Big Boy]

As an aside, I wonder if bars are getting this treatment because they are basically a Farang invention, so the Junta couldn't care less if hundreds or thousands close.

I look at non-tourist towns that I visit. Many have gone to bed by 8pm. Bars are rare. If you find a bar, you are often made to feel uncomfortable if the only Farang. Whore houses exist, but are normally discreet affairs.

Yes, Thais have drinking establishments, but the seedy Soi 80 style hole-in-the-walls are IMHO the result of Farangs having dreams about owning a bar in paradise, so they set up in a lean to (you might guess I'm not a fan of Soi 80). You have to wonder, if it wasn't for the Vietnam War, what would Pattaya look like today? Basically, Farangs have created the need, and the service sector responded. That need is being sidelined in the New Normal, and I think the Generals are happy for bars to gradually disappear. Certainly they aren't moving heaven and Earth to support them.

I think the seedier side of Thailand is on the way out, and they are hoping for more sophisticated larger family entertainment centres. This sounds attractive to me personally. I also think sex tourism will be forced out of Thailand too. I wonder what proportion of Thailand's GDP comes from prostitution? Bar girls seem to live a decent standard of living, so I guess sex is a fair % slice of the tourism pie.

[handdrummer]

Which moron decided that singers have to wear face shields? How can you sing with a face shield on? Only 5 people at a table? That should scare the virus away. Oh, oh, not enough people to infect. I don't drink and all I'd like to do is go out and hear some live music. The stupidity is becoming overwhelming.

[Big Boy]

On a similar theme, a Scottish friend posted this as their Facebook status yesterday. I can see a connection:

This coronavirus is the strangest virus I've ever heard of. It's very dangerous the way it spreads.
It is so mysterious the way it lurks in schools, but then dies at Home Bargains.
It can wreak havoc in pubs and restaurants. Although it’s mind-boggling how it vanishes at the beach or in the park. Yet, standing to watch a marathon or at a gig or festival triggers its wrath.
It is sneaky. It can spread when buying clothes at Primark but not at Tesco or Asda.
It is non-alcoholic. It can't spread when you are buying beer.
It lives for 24 hours on Amazon boxes, you must wait 24 hours to touch them but it can't survive on takeaway coffee cups, so enjoying a hot latte is safe.
It is the most curious thing, how it lives on footballs, tennis rackets and ballet bars, but dies on shopping trolleys and food.
It is spread by hair stylists, dog groomers, and dentists, but not by bank machines, cashiers, and fast food workers.
It's so smart. It won’t bother the first 6 people that get together but it knows when the 7th person shows up so be careful if that’s you.
It even knows what you want vs what you need. If you want a massage or your nails done it is very actively on the prowl and not even a mask can stop it. If you need a plumber, it is weak, and a mask will keep it away.
It also seems to be most dangerous after 5:30pm so businesses must start to close before the virus comes out and wreaks havoc upon the populations.

Many a true word spoken in jest.

[buksida]

Here is the Thai version of that ...


The virus won’t go on the Skytrain, but will infect you in a car when you’re driving solo
Drinking alcohol is evil as it spreads the virus ten times faster, but you’re safe washing your hands with it
Getting a massage is safe but you’ll be instantly infected if you try to have a beer in a bar
Thailand has no virus, but you still can’t go out after dark because it may teleport here
A state tracking app will make you safer, unless you don’t have a phone then you’re doomed
Seven elevens are rife with the virus but it has never been found in a mom and pop store
Empty beaches are highly dangerous, so you will be sent to a crowded jail cell if caught on one
Farangs are all dirty and infected, after all, they don’t shower … ever
Postal services are suspended as parcels transmit it, except ones to and from China and Korea
You will catch the virus if you go to a restaurant and sit next to the same people you’ve lived with all year
Tourists will reinfect Thailand, unless they’re billionaires or from the country which started this whole damn thing
Burma has no virus because its all in Thailand!

[caller]

I look at non-tourist towns that I visit. Many have gone to bed by 8pm. Bars are rare. If you find a bar, you are often made to feel uncomfortable if the only Farang. Whore houses exist, but are normally discreet affairs.

Not in the cities. Look at Korat, many Thai pubs, pubs with live music, huge open areas showing live sport, karaoke's, huge soapy palaces not unlike those on the Phetchaburi Road in Bkk, in addition to the usual massage shops offering extras.

Then there are the few places aimed at farangs and other places aimed at Japanese only.

[Big Boy]

Korat is huge, and has had quite a large Farang influence over the years.

My most recent venture to a Thai town was Udon Thani last year. As Thai towns go, probably average sized, but try to get food or a drink after 8pm. If you're lucky (or maybe unlucky), you may find a meatball seller. The only after 8 life was centered around the 7-11. On the 4th night, Google Maps did throw up a bar (no idea why it wasn't there on nights 1 to 3). Yes, probably as good as a Soi 80 Bar, but certainly no streets of bars like Soi 80.

I've been to many Thai towns that are very similar over the years. Some have gradually opened up bars, but always as the Farang population increases. I don't think it would have happened without the Farangs.

[sateeb]

Korat is huge, and has had quite a large Farang influence over the years.

My most recent venture to a Thai town was Udon Thani last year. As Thai towns go, probably average sized, but try to get food or a drink after 8pm. If you're lucky (or maybe unlucky), you may find a meatball seller. The only after 8 life was centered around the 7-11. On the 4th night, Google Maps did throw up a bar (no idea why it wasn't there on nights 1 to 3). Yes, probably as good as a Soi 80 Bar, but certainly no streets of bars like Soi 80.

I've been to many Thai towns that are very similar over the years. Some have gradually opened up bars, but always as the Farang population increases. I don't think it would have happened without the Farangs.

Not sure which part of town you visited but UT has(or had before Covid) a massive farang bar area aptly named "Soi farang". I lived in Khon kaen for 7 years which also had a vibrant farang and Thai bar scene.

Without farangs these cities will always have pubs/clubs/hostess joints for the locals and with respect just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they don't exist

https://www.thailandredcat.com/nightlif ... don-thani/

https://www.thailandredcat.com/nightlif ... ima-korat/

https://www.thailandredcat.com/nightlif ... khon-kaen/

[HHTel]

I have a friend who has lived in Khon Kaen for some years. On my visits there, I saw ample bars and restaurants (and bar girls). Similar to bars and restaurants in HH but cheaper!!