Pattaya Nightlife News and Reviews

It's always good to see new bars arising but one has to worry about whether the coronavirus situation will ease soon enough to allow them to open.

Octopussy signage has appeared on the upcoming bar street Soi Boomerang off Soi Buakhao. Hopefully it rise from the depths come the end of the lockdown.

Ninja A-GoGo at about the centre of Soi LK Metro was killed off some time during the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020.

The venue has been gutted and is being reborn as Dove Club A-GoGo.

One suspects that there will have to be a truce in the war with covid before the venue can open its doors though.

Thai health officials have announced new Covid-19restrictions targeting Thailand's hardest-hit provinces. The new restrictions include ordering all nightlife venues to close. Restaurants cannot serve alcohol and those dining-in must leave no later than 9pm. If you want to get take-away, you must do so before 11pm, unless you are in a province listed as an orange zone.

Taweesilp Wissanoyothin of the national pandemic task force also said that all gatherings should be kept to no more than 50 people, schools should avoid holding in-person classes, restaurants can no longer serve alcohol, nightlife venues must remain closed and hours limited at a number of businesses where people gather in the nation's COVID-19 red zones.

Chuwit Kamonwisit came to prominence as a nightclub and soapy massage parlour owner. He then became a politician and has now produced an academic paper estimating the extent of the Thai sex industry.

Chuwit pulled no punches about his assessment of sex for sale in Thailand. He said that there were a million women in the sex trade and it was financially bigger than illegal drugs.

Sex for sale in Thailand was everywhere he said. He listed:

Pubs, bars, beer bars, karaoke, Go-Go bars, lounges, soapy massage, traditional massage, fake spas, hotels, resorts, cafes, restaurants, barbers/salons acting as fronts for the business, girls on the end of the phone. These days there were sideline girls (those engaging in sex to pay for their studies or lifestyle in other areas) and pretties (promotional models).

He apologized if any of these were legitimately working outside the sex industry rather than just offering sex. He listed others that keep the nighttime entertainment business going and live from it such as waitresses and waiters, kitchen staff, salon workers, drivers, guides, cashiers, mamasans, taxi drivers, restaurants, shops, alcohol providers and the like.

He said that poor education was no obstacle to entering the sex trade and that for a woman aged 18-25 this was their golden years with some in top end Bangkok clubs able to earn 100,000 baht a month (£2400). After 26 things started to go downhill for many women, he said. When prostitutes were over 30 they went to sell themselves in Pattaya and Phuket or other places where there was a big sex industry.

Some went abroad to work in casinos or Thai massage in Asia, Europe or the US.

In Thailand he said the sex industry continues to grow that it was a multi 100 billion baht industry that eclipsed even the trade in illegal drugs.

All entertainment places in 41 provinces, including Bangkok, will be ordered to shut their doors for at least two weeks, as Covid-19 cases originating from a Thong Lor (Central Bangkok) cluster spread rapidly across the nation. The rapid contagion is blamed on the UK Kent variant.

Closure decisions in the other provinces are delegated to provincial authorities.

New cases linked to pubs, bars and clubs in Thong Lor area have leapt from Wednesday's report of 291 in 15 provinces to 504 cases in 20 provinces on Thursday, according to CCSA figures.

The latest outbreak has already prompted two provinces, Buri Ram and Bung Kan, to issue orders that people coming from Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Nakhon Pathom must observe self-quarantine after arrival in the province.

When asked if the proposals to reopen Phuket to foreign tourists without quarantine in July will be affected by the new cluster, the CCSA spokesperson said only that the issue may be discussed again by the CCSA and the cabinet.

The 41 provinces are Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Buri Ram, Chachoengsao, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri (including Pattaya), Chumphon, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Lampang, Loei, Lop Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pathum Thani, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan (including Hua Hin), Ratchaburi, Ranong, Rayong, Sa Kaeo, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkram, Saraburi, Songkhla Suphan Buri, Surat Thani (including Samui and Pha Ngan), Tak, Udon Thani, Yala

During pre-covid times the Dollhouse group consisted of 4 parts, The Dollhouse downstairs, The Dollhouse XXX upstairs at the same venue, Beavers, and Club Electric Blue across the street.

The group responded to a decimated post covid lockdown customer base by reducing the 4 teams to 2, one operating from The Dollhouse downstairs, and the other team taking turns between Beavers and Club Electric Blue.

Now the group has further rationalised to reduce rent commitments. The Beavers and Club Electric Blue venues have closed. The Dollhouse team is continuing at The Dollhouse downstairs, whilst the old Beavers/Club Electric Blue team is now operating from the upstairs bar at The Dollhouse.

Touch A-GoGo on Soi LK Metro has become catch Me A-GoGo. Presumably the bar is under new management.

Meanwhile Pulse A-GoGo opposite has also re-opened after the end of lockdown with reports that the bar is targeting a more hands on approach to entertainment.