We’re Dropping Like Flies

It seems that not a week goes by in Thailand when one of us doesn't perish under suspicious circumstances. If one was to scour all of the news sources, including internet discussion forums, as well as have access to what is going on at the embassies,
you might be shocked at the number of suspicious deaths.

In last week's column I ran a missing person's report along with a photo of a Brit who had been teaching English in Thailand, and had disappeared. I got an email from the woman who asked me to run that piece saying that she was very upset that
her brother had died under suspicious circumstances.

One of the Pattaya news websites reported the tragic deaths of two farangs on Tuesday of this past week, one a 27 year old and the other a 39 year old. That's so damned young! They had both leapt from tall buildings. This would seem to be an awfully
common way for foreigners to die in Thailand, though funnily enough, few foreigners seem to die that way in the West. What a horrible way to go. I can't help but think that whenever someone jumps that they may have been helped.
Jumping is an Asian way of saying goodbye. Westerners are more likely to overdose or God forbid, wrap our laughing gear around the barrel of a gun.

In fairness to my concerns that not all of the jumpers really did jump, the British honorary consul for Pattaya, Barry Kenyon, who was interviewed in this column just a few weeks ago, is privy to a lot of these incidents and is of the opinion that most
are not suspicious at all, and that they were genuine suicides.

But deaths of foreigners in Thailand under suspicious circumstances in the past week don't stop there. There was what appears to be a murder this past week in quiet, sleepy and supposedly tranquil Hua Hin. A popular English businessman was found
dead on a road in the early hours of the morning. To date there has been no autopsy, no police report, no witnesses and only a piece of illegible paperwork from the policeman who was first at the scene and who decided it must have been a hit and
run. That's what he told the doctor at the hospital, and word has it that that's what the doctor confirmed it as. No-one in the expat community in Hua Hin seems to know what is happening. The body was moved to Bangkok, ready to be shipped
to the UK on Friday yet no permission for this was sought from his widow. The body was also embalmed, before an autopsy had been performed. Nobody believes it was a hit and run. The gentleman had severe trauma to his head which would be consistent
with being struck many times, but no damage to other parts of his body – which surely would occur if you were the victim of a hit and run? The accident (?) happened some time between 2 and 4 AM on Sunday 2nd July on Petchkasem Road, by the Grand
Hotel. The policeman recorded the time of death as 4 AM, but the doctor at the hospital said this was impossible and was nearer 2.15 AM. Suspicious again…

Just off the top of my head and without any research whatsoever, I can name the following farang murder victims who have all perished in Thailand in the last few weeks:

A 26 year old Aussie nurse innocently watching a football match in a Kanchanaburi bar was the victim of a drive by shooting between rival business owners. DEAD!

A 32year old Kiwi English teacher stabbed to death in his own apartment in Bangkok having just watched a World Cup football match with his girlfriend. DEAD!

A popular Kiwi based in Pattaya was brutally murdered in a shooting while walking along the road. DEAD!

The missing person in last week's column. Suspicious circumstances. DEAD!

Two jumpers in Pattaya this week. In all fairness, these were not murders, at least from the sound of it. DEAD!

I can remember in the old days, reading the Pattaya Mail online, when there were always suspicious deaths of foreigners. The only thing that seems to have changed is that the deaths are no longer predominantly in Pattaya, but everywhere. – And they are
getting much more press worldwide, especially in Britain, where the deaths of a number of young Brits have been given huge coverage.

For farangs who can read Thai – and even those who cannot, here is a link to a message board in Thai with a thread which discussed the aforementioned murder of the 32 year old New Zealand English teacher by an alcohol induced Thai man. Some of the comments
are quite disgraceful, and even some in English basically say that the man was trash and that he deserved it! I tell you, the attitude of some people here is very strongly anti-farang. Check it out here.
Like I say, there are enough English comments for you to get the gist. And just to really scare you, remember, these are the opinions of the computer literate – that means the educated Thais!

In fairness to the locals, there are some real trashy Westerners getting bad press and damaging the reputation of all Westerners. Like the Brit who was arrested for killing his girlfriend in Pattaya on Friday night because she no longer wanted to be with him. And he did it in a brutal way, with an 8 inch knife, slicing her up like you would a carcass. Such madness gives us all a bad rep.

Chatting with a good friend about the issue of farangs being murdered or perishing under suspicious circumstances, we both agreed that more than ever, it is even more difficult to decide to stay on in Thailand or not. With all of the other issues that
we struggle with, concerns about personal safety just make the decision that much harder.

Having finally sorted out the should I stay or should I go question – I am definitely staying in Thailand for the time being – I do so with only one major concern in the back of my mind. I intend to survive my tour of duty out here. I am far more wary
of what is going on around me, and just how I go about my life, than ever before.

Where WAS THIS PICTURE taken?

Last week's picture was taken of Soi Nana back in 1975. Quite a few of you got it, well done. At the top left of the picture was the Nana Hotel – I photoshopped out the sign. This week's picture is somewhere in Thailand… The first person to tell me where the picture is wins a 500 baht credit at Tony's Bar in Soi Cowboy. The second person to get the location gets a 500 baht credit at Oh My Cod, the British Cafe in the Khao Sarn Road area. The third and forth prizes are a 500 baht credit at Sin in Sukhumvit Soi 4. The prizes are only available to people in Thailand now – either residents or tourists, and must be redeemed within 2 weeks. You MUST say that you are in Bangkok and able to claim the prize or I will consider you ineligible. If you have a preference as to which prize you would prefer, do not be shy to let me know!

FROM STICKMAN'S EMAIL INBOX

No respect for anyone, anything.

Thumbs up for the Apache Bar mamasan.

The ladyboys are back!

Farang Ruk Thai.

The Galaxy Cabaret in Pattaya.

The immigration survey.

The quiet season is really hurting bar owners and bar staff. At least one bar in Bangkok's increasingly popular Soi 7/1 did so badly that the bar owner claims to be unable to pay the girls. As of Friday night, they still had not been paid for June,
the owner grumbling about how bad business has been. Said bar, in what could best be described as a beer bar format, charges an 800 baht barfine. That's 200 baht more than the best bars in Nana. No wonder business is so bad.

Due to an almighty power struggle among the top police hierarchy, there have been and in all likelihood will continue to be variable closing times in Bangkok. It seems that most bars in Bangkok are closing between 1 and 2 AM, but we never quite know when.
Last night, the police entered Nana Plaza at 12:40 and ordered bars shut at that very moment! 12:40 AM!

I hate to say it but it could be a very miserable night for anyone hunting for a bar open to watch the world's biggest sporting event, and the showpiece of the world's most popular sport, the football World Cup final. Good luck finding a bar
to watch it in is all I can say. Fancy closing the bars on this huge occasion…

Of course, if you do not mind watching it on a 14 inch TV with a coat hanger for an aerial and distorted sound at maximum volume, then I am sure you could find a spot at one of the many booze carts that run all night on Sukhumvit Road. While clean bars
which pay their taxes and keep all of the riff raff out of sight, these booze carts continue to operate.

Bars in Pattaya remain open until late, the exact closing time often at the discretion of the individual bar owner. Beer bars tend to stay open even later than the gogos. If you know where to go you can party 24/7 in Pattaya. Now with that
said, bars in Soi Diamond have been ordered closed at 1:30 AM.

Word is that the bars will definitely be closed as they cannot sell alcohol on Monday or Tuesday. This will be nationwide as the Kingdom celebrates two Buddhist holidays. What makes me chuckle though is that many restaurants will still happily
serve you a lager or wine with your meal.

The grim reaper's axe has fallen in Pattaya with Babewatch succumbing and finally closing. What is most interesting is that the owner has done a runner. Staff have not been paid and he's disappeared from his home. Girls have been making the
rounds of his usual bars & waiting outside his place, but it would seem he has gone. Babewatch closing was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The boss fired Ricky because he felt the bar wouldn't make it through low season but by firing Ricky,
who is a huge personality and a real magnet for many long-timers, he essentially killed the business. Ricky was the one reason it was doing any trade at all, and when Ricky went, it was obvious to all and sundry that its days were numbered. In
the past few days, staff who have yet to be paid have been through the bar and removed everything and anything of value, from the sound system and lights to parts of the DJ box. It is all being sold to recover the money owed to them. There are
a few offers on the table to buy the bar, but with it in this state, and no longer a going concern, its value must have plummeted.

Next door, Catz remains one of the best bars in Pattaya in my opinion. Catz has a bunch of new showgirls to add to their existing line up. Heavens Above is another Pattaya bar I visited this weekend which remains a favourite. Great music and atmosphere
– the low ceiling in there makes it that bit more cosy.

And it is not just the naughty bars that are suffering this low season. While the Stickman readership is not so representative of the Khao Sarn Road crowd – we're more a Sukhumvit and surrounds crowd, news has reached me about some imminent bar closures
in the backpacker ghetto. Two bars on Khao Sarn Road are due to close next month, The Club and Sanook Sanook Bar, on Sunset Strip. Farang numbers are said to be way down and many bars claim to be losing money on a daily basis.

A new bar will open on Sukhumvit Soi 33 which sounds like a welcome addition. Harry's Bar (formerly Blu Bar B Q) is having an opening party on July 14th with free food provided. Bottled beers and house spirits (including mixers) can be had at just
50 baht. The bar's policy is to bring realistic pricing into Soi 33 with a free BBQ every evening from Monday to Friday, all you can drink draught Chang for 250 baht, house spirits (whisky, gin, Vodka, Tequila) at 90 baht including mixers,
bottled beers at 90 baht and other items (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) also fairly priced. The bar is on one of the short side sois, just off the main soi 33.

On the back of the professional farang beggar who featured in the column a few weeks ago, and who has been seen at Central Chidlom a number of times in the last fortnight, there is another con man farang in Bangkok, as a reader reports:

It is disappointing to learn that the newly opened Broadway Club in Pattaya charges 150 baht for Jack + Coke. Big price for a small club with a small number of dancers and even smaller number of customers. But it seems such prices at the Soi BJ gogo bar
(where Las Vegas once stood) are not out of line for the neighborhood. Down the street, Coyotes charges 140 baht for the same libation and provides a better atmosphere and better (though not stellar) line-up of dancers, while Polo’s fee
is 130 baht. Fortunately, such expensive drinks are the exception rather than the norm in Pattaya, where happy hour is still honoured by most; draft beer remains reasonably priced all night, and even mixed drinks generally don’t exceed
100 baht at popular night spots that continue to attract large numbers of punters.

A growing number of gogo dancers in Bangkok, Pattaya and even Chiang Mai have been reporting back problems. Not simply complaints of back pain (puat lung) but problems so severe as to require back surgery. The culprit, it appears,
is high heels. As the heels get higher and higher on shoes and boots, back problems are becoming more critical and more widespread. With several gogo bars in Fun Town and in Bangkok switching to coyote dancing – free-style, no chrome pole to hold
up and even bare feet – such back problems might be helped.

The long-delayed Suvaranbhumi Airport, only 90 minutes from Pattaya, is now scheduled to initiate operations September 25, 2006 (tee hee) but pundits predict the start date will be early 2007. Hans-Joachim Klohs, representing the firm that
will oversee the overnight transition from Don Muang to Suvaranbhumi Airport, says the move will be made on a single night starting at 3:00 AM, so there will be a very small window of time in which to transport all the essential equipment at a
time that will least disrupt air and ground operations. He told last Sunday’s meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club that there is no way to execute the move of equipment and personnel in a smooth step by step process while the airport
is closed. So a highly detailed, almost mass movement of equipment and personnel has been designed.

Concerned about glitches in the opening of Suvaranbhumi, Hans discussed other Asian airport openings. The Kuala Lumpur Airport, designed for about half the passengers as Suvaranbhumi, opened 10 days after the disastrous opening of the Hong
Kong International Airport. Hong Kong news coverage allowed the problems at KL to go relatively unnoticed. Of note, however, on opening day of the KL airport, 25% of the staff did not show up because they thought there would be too many problems
to deal with. Hans also explained that the baggage handling system is really the key to successful airport operations. The new Bangkok airport will be tested July 27 when volunteer passengers will be used to simulate operations.

Shane, the owner of Living Dolls 1, on Friday bought out his Thai partners. Not sure of the problem exactly, but it seems to be a difference in management philosophy. Once he bought them out, the partner, her husband, both male Thai managers, both mamasans,
the cashier and maybe a couple girls all departed. Tonight they are opening a new a gogo across the street from Living Dolls Showcase. The management to be fair are quite friendly people. Still, they're Thai and won't likely be the gracious
hosts that Shane, his son and manager Steve are. Plus you gotta wonder about the wisdom of opening a new bar in the dead of low low season.

As for Living Dolls, Shane has hired a new mamasan – a former dancer from about 4 years ago who has no previous mamasan experience – and last night he offered the mamasan from BabeWatch the other vacant position. She's already been offered
the same job at the Windmill A Gogo which is paying more. She's not sure which one she's going to take.

As for management, Shane replaced the Thai guys so far with one manager, a dancer / showgirl who also has no management experience. Hmmm, he's putting a lot of faith in Thai female friends, rather than going with experience. Might work
out just fine, but I suspect he and his son & UK manager will have to be in the bar a lot more and be more hands on. There is a fellow called Ricky in Pattaya who is a proven success…why not contact him?!

It has been a long time coming but a large neon sign has at last been erected on Walking street pointing up to Angelwitch. This bar used to be a bit tricky to find so the sign is a welcome addition.

Since digital cameras have become very popular, many punters have started their own collection of photos of some of the pretty ladies whose company they have enjoyed. But don't think it's only the guys who do this. There is one lady in Worldwide
A Gogo on Beach Road who has a collection of photos of guys that must number in excess of 50. She joked to me that she wanted to put them online like guys do with pictures of the girls. So, if you want your Pattaya activities to remain anonymous,
be careful of girls with camera phones.

While some of the bars in Patpong might claim to play better music than the bars in the likes of Nana and Cowboy, the Patpong bars cannot make any claims about the quality of their sound systems. Goldfinger along with a few of the upstairs bars have sound
systems that really do sound tired, and surely it is time for them to re-invest a small amount of their profits back into a new sound system. OK, it is nice that the sound doesn't scream out at you in some of these bars, but really, the music
in some of these bars are just flat – you'd get better sound out of a Walkman.

I am often asked about how people can wile away their time in Thailand, perhaps as retirees, without boredom setting in. The best suggestion I have is to do some voluntary teaching. Teaching is not always fun when you have to do it, or when it is one’s
primary employment – there is a lot of administrative crap and non-teaching related things to do, but as a volunteer who largely just goes in, prepares the lessons, and teaches, it can be a heap of fun. I personally do some volunteer teaching
with under-privileged kids. It is great. I go in, teach, and get out. None of the admin or political crap. The kids like it, I like it – everyone is happy.

A Thai festival will be held in Toronto, Canada called the Tastes of Thailand Festival from July 15 – 16, 2006. The Thai population is not very large in Toronto, but they put on a great do every year and it is worth a visit if you're in town. Here
is the website.