Authorities continue campaign to spoil Pattaya's nightlife

Based on an article from Pattaya City News

Banglamung District Officials accompanied by Pattaya Police raided a number of Karaoke Bars on Pattaya Third Road in the Central Pattaya area.

50 customers and employees of the bars were tested for drugs and 7 failed urine tests confirming they had recently ingested class 1 drugs.

4 of the bars raided were found not to possess licenses and were shut down. A further problem was encountered when the Banglamung District officials were told they were not allowed to enter one bar by a man claiming he was a Pattaya Police Officer. Police Colonel Sutin, the Chief of Pattaya Police was called in and determined he was only a Police Volunteer and not a Police Officer.

He is now under investigation by Pattaya Police and will be removed from the Volunteer program with immediate effect. Those who failed the drugs tests and the owners and managers of the 4 bars found to have problems with their licenses were taken to Pattaya Police Station for further interrogation.

From Pattaya People

Pattaya Police raided the Hot & Cold Ago-go Bar located  at 2am on 19th August when they were informed that the venue offered 'porn performances' to tourists.

When they entered they saw two women performing naked on stage so demanded the venue to close and asked the tourists to leave the bar.

The two porn stars confessed to performing the show and were charged. The manager, Akhom Jaweerat argued against being arrested since the venue had the correct licenses. However, the police explained to him that the porn shows were illegal and he will be dealt with according to law.

Girls and lady boys rounded up for drugs testing

Thanks to Paul

The girls and lady boys of Soi 6 and Soi 6/1 were rounded up en-masse by the police for drug testing on Monday evening. Surely a major operation.

Two truck loads of girls were hauled off.

No reports of customers being targeted though, but surely the police exercise is part of a coordinated action against Pattaya's nightlife.

Soi 6 is opening as normal today.

Walking Street was a shadow of its usual self with most bars only offering bikini clad shuffling as entertainment.

Still the lack of entertainment meant that the bars were trying to get a little custom by other means....cheap beer. Champion A-GoGo has set an all night price for draft beer of just 30 Baht.

Update: Licensed to Harass

29th August 2007

Pattaya City News have reported that the licences of 30 bars were checked and that 5 were found to have been deficient and have been closed. No sign of closed bars yet on Soi 6. Either closures yet to be decided or else the closed bars are located on Soi 6/1

20 ladies or lady boys were said to have failed drug tests.

The raid was said to have been implemented by police and 'civil volunteers'.

Improvements at The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse seems to be undergoing a bit of a transformation. Extra girls have been recruited and they are keen to show a little up close & personal attention.

Drinks prices have been reduced and draft beer is currently on offer at 45 Baht all night. Spirits have been reduced too.

The changes in the bar also correlate to a change in management. Jimmy is the new manager and replaces Paul who is moving on to FLB

Update: Updraft

Draft beer has already increased to 55 Baht

Refit at Angels A-GoGo

Angels A-GoGo on Walking Street has seen a major redevelopment. The side stage and bench seating has been removed and replaced by a central dancing stage with stools down either side. A rather bizarre design as there is practically no room left to walk either side of the stage.

Even more bizarrely it is working, the bar was heaving. There were lots of pretty girls and it was a pleasure just to squeeze by them trying to find a stool.

The girls were dancing 8 at a time on stage with a 4 song roster. The girls were mostly topless.

I have no idea how the bar has become so well inundated with girls...perhaps they have grabbed a few from the temporarily closed Heaven Above.

Heaven Above on a police closure

From Asia Bugle

Heaven Above on Soi Diamond is on a 60 day police closure after raids uncovered too much fun.

The girls have temporarily relocated to Living Dolls Showcase.

Classroom 2 on Soi 2 has befallen a similar fate but What's Up on Soi 15 apparently got let off with a 'fine'.

This leaves 73 GoGo bars currently operating in Pattaya and Jomtien.

Comings and goings on Soi 8

From Pattaya Talk

Hansa Bar in Soi 8 has sold up. The previously successful Thai run bar had been running for 8 years but didn't survive the recent downturn in customers.

But this doesn't stop bars opening up.  There are more to come in Soi 8, where the Prince Hotel reception used to be.

Rolling Stone 3 has opened already and there's a new dancing bar that will be called Oasis Coyotee.

Update: Anna Bar

Thanks to Ron

Anna Bar in Soi 8 at the old Prince Hotel Lobby will open on 26th August and have a party on the 31st of August. I hope she does well.

A stroll round Jomtien

Actually Jomtien was not quite so dead as the headline suggests but was inspired by the demise of the Dodo Bar just off Jomtien Beach Road down Soi 7. Surely not a good name for a bar for those that believe in omens but perhaps Dodo is Thai name.

Another casualty of the low season is the KR Pool bar. This is not the main KR bar on Thappraya Road near the beach. It is an aircon bar in the small soi just behind. It is now available for rent.

The We Are No 1 GoGo bar on the opposite side of the road is also taking low season emergency measures. Draft beer has been reduced from 75 Baht to 45 Baht. I have a feeling that it won't help much as the way the bar operates simply does not encourage customers to stay for long.

Walking towards Pattaya it is interesting to see that another girls bar, Spy Bar, has opened totally surrounded by gay bars. The previous incarnation, Martins Bar struggled gamely for a while, but lady seeking customers tend to give the soi a complete miss so as to avoid the gauntlet of bar boys. The latest venture seems more like a cafe and was at least serving a few customers.

Another bar has opened inside the Jomtien Complex next door to Fantasy Bar and in an open area in front of El Coyote. Hopefully the Two Donnas bar can hold out until the high season influx of visitors. Whenever that may be.

Update: ExExtinct

27th August

The Dodo bar has sprung back to some sort of primitive life with at least a light bulb or two

More police raids to enforce gogo cover up

Based on an article from Pattaya City News

South Pattaya Bars were raided by Bangkok and local Police despite calls for leniency in these low season months.

On Friday Night, Police and District Officials made checks on bars located in the South Pattaya area. Checks on licenses, explicit shows and employees were made.

Firstly at Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya, Banglamung District Licensing Officials, the Superintendent of Pattaya Police and a group of Officers inspected many bars. Almost 100 people were checked to ensure they were carrying their ID Cards and if they had recently consumed met-amphetamine. License checks were also made on many of the bars. At the end of the exercise, 20 people were arrested after failing urine tests. There were no licensing irregularities found.

Another group of Police Officers from the Children and Women’s Division from Bangkok who inspected a number of bars on Walking Street led by the Deputy Commander of the Unit and the Commander of the Eastern Region.

The group was checking mainly the Go-Go bars for explicit shows and performers who were showing too much skin. No arrests were made, however the officers did lodge complaints to a number of Bar Managers regarding performers who were seen to be wearing costumes which revealed too much of their bodies.

Pattaya City News spoke with a number of bar owners located on Walking Street and around South Pattaya who mentioned that in these low season months they are finding it hard to attract customers and would like authorities to allow a certain amount of leeway regarding activities inside the bars, however this bar inspection seems to suggest that the Police will not allow any forms of explicit shows and even require performers to cover-up more than before, which could have an adverse affect on Tourism here in Pattaya if this apparent crackdown continues.

Cheaper Happy Hour at New Living Dolls One

New Living Dolls One have announced a happier happy hour to run for 'a month or so'.

Draft beer and house spirits will be just 30 Baht and the Happy Hour will run to 10pm

Tornado A-GoGo coming to Soi 6

The old E&T bar at the 2nd Road end of Soi 6 seems to be taking shape as a GoGo bar. The builders have been at work for sometime and now a stage with dancing poles has appeared.

The bar temporarily had a sign with the name Barely Legal but there must have been a change of heart.

Now has a target opening date of September 5th

Bars will be open

Several newspapers have reported that the referendum does not count as an election in terms of triggering 2 evenings of bar closures.

This is reinforced by the fact that the bars haven't received letters telling/asking them to close.

So it is likely that this weekend will be business as normal

New Living Dolls One re-opens

New Living Dolls re-opened on 16th August with a bang with an evening of free drinks and cheap bar fines.

There seemed to be a full complement of girls and the bar is already fully up to speed.  Shane's got some cracking new girls. Well done that man!

Of course the free drinks got in the way of remembering much about the renovations to the bar.

Pattaya's gogo count is now back up to 75

New name after renovation of Honey A-GoGo

A new banner has appeared on the old Honey A-GoGo proclaiming that the new name will be Sisterz.

The bar is being renovated by Ricky who recently finished his stint as manager of the FLB bar.

The banner does not yet suggest an opening date...just a note to watch this space.

Tiger Club re-opens after 'renovation'

The bar has now re-opened after 'renovation' on the upper floor of Soi Diamond. I didn't spot anything particular that had changed. Still a smart looking table dancing joint with white decor.

The dancing girls were a little coy but a few were attractive enough in their bikini tops, skirts and knickers.

The girls were doing a 6 song dance roster but there were plenty more girls on hand for hostess duty. The music is selected to please the girls but it was not unduly loud.

The service girl was pushy for lady drinks.

Not really many customers, maybe the bar doesn't offer quite enough incentive to climb the stairs.

There are now 74 operating gogos listed.

Police raid Classroom 2

Presumably the article refers to Classroom 2 which is the only GoGo bar on the soi

From Pattaya City News

Police Lieutenant Colonel Santi from Pattaya Police Station conducted an operation in the early hours of Friday Morning at a popular Go-Go Bar located in Soi 2 off Pattaya Second Road after receiving reports of explicit shows which were taking place at the location.

Police conducted a raid of the establishment and arrested three female performers and the manager of the venue. They were taken to Pattaya Police Station and charged with conducting lewd acts.

A report of the incident will be sent to the Governor of Chonburi who will now decide if the offences committed call for a temporary or permanent closure order to be imposed on the bar.

Update: Bullies in Pattaya

12th August

It seems that the Bangkok police are again causing consternation in Pattaya and many bars are covering up.

It has been reported that What's Up was visited by police and the bar subsequently covered up

Walking Street recovers from the big cover up

A sample of bars suggests that the majority have now reverted to their usual level of naughtiness.

However a couple were clearly nervous and lights started flashing when the bar was approached by Thais.

There were also bars who were still not showing, but as these were in the minority, I suggest simply moving swiftly on when encountering an unexpected bikini.

Progress in New Living Dolls One

From New Living Dolls One on Pattaya Secrets

We will be open as soon as the new bathrooms are all done, the new roof is just about all done .

We also are putting in a new dance floor (ok ok we are lining the old one ) with a polished stainless steel floor with mirrored sides. All the wood work has been repainted as with the ceiling ,a 28" smoke extractor is now in place, along with some work in the girls rooms+ we have put a white spot light above each table (to lighten the place up just a little) yes and the bath tub has new stronger lights around it for better viewing .

We will have LOTs of good looking girls as we did before.

Hey who knows after the party we might start a 30 Baht happy hour for a month or twi.

Update: Re-Opening August 16th

11th August

Opening night on Thursday August 16th will have free drinks ALL NIGHT and a 200 Baht bar fine after 10 pm for the night of the party.

Walking Street covers up for the big cheese

Well Police General Saireepisoot, the Acting Commander of the Royal Thai Police duly turned up in Pattaya and the bars were told in no uncertain terms that they should cover up.

Admittedly rom a fairly limited sample, bikini tops and knickers  were mandatory and sexy shows were on hold.

In fact Walking street bars seemed suitable even for your granny

Cleaning up the Beach

From Pattaya City News

The new Inspector in charge of the Pattaya Tourist Police Division, Police Lieutenant Colonel Suwan, is determined to rid Pattaya Beach of prostitutes and undesirables who use the promenade to conduct their business or to commit crimes against tourists.

A team of Tourist Police Officers, Tourist Police Volunteers and Pattaya City Hall Security Officers met at the Dusit Resort in North Pattaya and began their sweep of the entire stretch of Pattaya Beach.

The operation came to an end at the entrance to Walking Street and a total of 41 people were detained and taken to the Tourist Police Station located on the Pratamnuk Mountain. 30 women and 11 katoeys were arrested.

Pattaya Cleaned up for What?

From Pattaya City News

National Police Chief attended Tourist Safety Meeting here in Pattaya.

At the Sheraton Hotel in South Pattaya a new Hotel Association formed here in Pattaya held a Luncheon to present the Association to the media and to speak about safety here in Pattaya.

Guest of honor at the event was Police General Saireepisoot, the acting Commander of Police here in Thailand who spoke with over 100 guests and explained his work in relation to tourist safety and how it applies here in Pattaya.

Show bars protest over cover up

I can't say I have noticed any bars covering up yet. Of course if they did, I for one would be quick to find alternative more attractive entertainment.

From Pattaya City News

Walking Street bars protest to City Hall after Police orders to cover up or face closure.

Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya chaired a meeting of bar owners from Walking Street who had come to complain about the actions of the local Police who informed the show bars that they were not allowed to conduct explicit shows and their performers had to remain covered up.

The current low season months are proving a difficult time for many bar owners who rely on the relaxed attitude of the authorities when it comes to permitting such shows to take place.

They now feel that these tourists will now be put-off from coming to Pattaya and require the local government to intervene and clarify the position they are now in. The Bar Owners would like a compromise with the Police to allow for a certain amount of leniency.

The Mayor told the group to prepare a letter of complaint for Police General Saireepisoot, the Acting Commander of the Royal Thai Police who is visiting Pattaya on Friday to attend a seminar at the Sheritan Hotel. The group accepted this and will do as the Mayor suggests.

Changes at Memories A-GoGo

Memories, the GoGo on Soi LK Metro has changed hands.

It is now Gorkle Pattaya Club.

I wonder what the name means

Wet 'n' Wild changing hands

It was reported last week that the girls at Wet 'N' Wild A-GoGO had been told the bar will close in August.

It now seems that a buyer has been found and that the bar will continue as a GoGo. The sale is imminent.

Soi 8 Warning

There is a discussion on ThaiVisa that two girls in Sams beer bar on Soi 8 have been bitten by a cat. It is a possibility that the cat may have rabies, so this area may be best avoided. On the other hand, it could just be malicious gossip.

The first aid for an animal bite is for copious washing of the wound with copious quantities of water followed by a trip to casualty to start on a series of injections (thankfully now just small injections)

Boxing Roo

The popular Aussie bar on 3rd Road near the Buffalo bar has been closed for a week. It seems that the authorities have closed it for 30 days due to unpaid "sign tax". The bar will re-open on August 21st

Silver Star 3

I just spotted a sign on the Walking Street Silver Star gogo proclaiming the name of Silver Star 3. It previously seemed to be known just as Silver Star which already exists on Soi 8