Pattaya

[Gaybutton]

Now that there are reports of Red-Shirt activity in Pattaya, I thought I would start up a thread devoted to the goings-on in Pattaya.

 

First, the good news: Despite all the publicity to the contrary, all the ATMs are open, working, and dispensing cash. I don't know what changed between last night and this morning, but I'm sure not going to argue about it. Those of you in Pattaya might want to get a few days worth of cash while the getting's good. You never know what may change.

 

As for the banks themselves, I think they will remain closed today as publicized. The mini-branches may be an exception, but it's too early in the day to know for sure. It's about 8:55am as I write this. The banks don't open until 10:00am.

 

As many of you know, I live on "The Dark Side," the east side of Sukhumvit. This morning I went to Makro to stock up on 'just-in-case' items. Absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary. People were going to work as usual. Children were on their way to school. Shops were opening. Gas stations were open. Street vendors were working. Traffic was flowing normally.

 

I saw no evidence of Red-Shirt or any other kind of activity. There was no military or police presence. Makro was open and fully stocked. All the convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven, were open.

 

It is too early in the day to know whether the curfew will remain in effect again tonight or whether it will be rescinded. Obviously, if the curfew remains in effect, then the bars will be closed.

 

It would be very helpful if those of you present in Pattaya keep us informed about what you see and experience. Even if you see nothing at all going on, it will be helpful to know that. Also, if the shopping malls remain closed or they open today, please let us know. Of course, if you spot anything going on or if you hear reports about violence, please let us know and let us know where it is.

[Gaybutton]

I just received word that the curfew will be in effect again tonight.

[Guest luvthai]

My heart goes out to the thai people. Being in the states and having to rely on postings is difficult as I consider thailand my home and is where my heart is.

[Guest]

I just walked to Central Festival and it was closed. I was told 4 days. That is by someone that is not in authority. They did have workers there. Also, construction of the Hilton above the mall is going on as they woke me up today.

 

Last night I watched the streets. I have never seen them so quiet.

[Gaybutton]

I just walked to Central Festival and it was closed.

 

Last night I watched the streets. I have never seen them so quiet.

That's yet another concern. The number of people, through no fault of their own, who are now out of a job throughout Thailand must be staggering. Even when things open again, by the time people who had been working in the areas where buildings were burnt down are going to have to wait months, perhaps years, before their jobs are available to them again.

 

The tourist industry must be a complete shambles by now. It will be a long time before the tourist industry can recover and so many businesses dependent on tourism had already been teetering on the brink even before this happened. I believe we're going to see a high number of businesses, including businesses most of us have come to know and take for granted, go under because of this. Once again, I hope I'm totally wrong about that, but I don't see how they're going to survive this. The one factor that might save many of them is the fact that this is low season anyway. But I think much of Thailand is going to go through some awfully hard times before things get much better.

 

As far as what gay life used to be in Thailand about ten years ago, I don't think we'll see anything like the "golden years" again for quite some time, if ever.

 

Before all this got started, I predicted that nothing was going to happen at all. I don't think I've ever been more wrong about anything in my life.

 

But you know something? Even with all of this going on, I'd still rather be right here in Thailand than anywhere else on earth.

[Gaybutton]

I have just received word that the curfew will continue in Pattaya for at least over the next three nights. Again, the curfew is from 8:00pm to 6:00am.

[Guest joseph44]

I just received word that the curfew will be in effect again tonight.

 

And tomorrow and on Saturday, but now from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

[Guest Patexpat]

My admin person has just got back from lunch - went to put gasoline in his bike and said that only one pump was working due to there being no tanker delivery .... don't know if this is widespread problem or not?

[Guest lvdkeyes]

We just returned from shopping. We live in Jomtien and have been to Makro, Foodland and Carrefour. The traffic was lighter than usual with fewer shoppers. The stock of fresh produce was noticeably low. All the banks were closed as expected as well as the Currency Exchanges. Most business were open. We did see that Index was closed. We passed Pattaya City Hall and the red shirts who have been set up next to it were gone.

[Gaybutton]

I traveled the entire length of Thepprasit Road. The story that went around last night of an explosion there appears to be in error. I saw no evidence of an explosion.

 

Everywhere I went today, everything appeared perfectly normal. Again, you wouldn't even know anything was going on if it wasn't for television and the news media. The problems in Pattaya are apparently downtown. I wasn't anywhere near that area today, so someone else will have to let us know the story.

 

Also, city services seem to be operating normally. Mail was delivered today and there was trash pickup today.

 

I have not heard any reports of violence or any other safety problems in Pattaya today.

 

If you missed the post, the Sunee Plaza bars will be open from 6:00pm to 9:00pm during the curfew days. I have not heard anything about the Pattayaland bars. However, if you are in Pattaya, you should be perfectly safe going to the bars during those hours.

[Gaybutton]

A question came up about what the penalties are for curfew violations. So far, I have not seen anything published that tells us what the penalties are. What I can tell you is this afternoon I heard a story from a farang friend who lives with his boyfriend. Despite the curfew, the boyfriend decided to go out late last night anyway.

 

He didn't get very far. His motorcycle was confiscated and it cost him 1000 baht to get it back from the impound lot.

 

Other than that, I have heard nothing about penalties. I don't intend to find out the hard way.

[Guest RichLB]

 

Other than that, I have heard nothing about penalties. I don't intend to find out the hard way.

I believe the official penalty for violating the curfew is 2 years imprisonment and/or 40,000 baht. I don't know if the 2000 baht fee (not 1000 baht) to get our friend's motorbike out of the impound lot is a substitute for the more formal penalties.

[Guest painai]

A question came up about what the penalties are for curfew violations. So far, I have not seen anything published that tells us what the penalties are. What I can tell you is this afternoon I heard a story from a farang friend who lives with his boyfriend. Despite the curfew, the boyfriend decided to go out late last night anyway.

 

He didn't get very far. His motorcycle was confiscated and it cost him 1000 baht to get it back from the impound lot.

 

Other than that, I have heard nothing about penalties. I don't intend to find out the hard way.

I've also read that the fine is 1000 baht or the night in jail to be caught breaking the curfew. I don't feel like testing the law.

[Guest painai]

A question came up about what the penalties are for curfew violations.

I've also read that the fine is 1000 baht or the night in jail to be caught breaking the curfew. I don't feel like testing the law.

[Gaybutton]

I support the curfew. I don't know whether the curfew has anything to do with it, but so far in Pattaya there have been no violent incidents associated with the Red-Shirt protest and nobody has been burning tires, burning down buildings, or trying to shoot people.

 

If the worst that happens in Pattaya is, assuming the reports are accurate, shopping malls closing for a few days, then Pattaya is one of the luckiest large cities in Thailand.

[Gaybutton]

UPDATE ON THAILAND 21/05/10

In order to quell any rumours that are going round, we can absolutely confirm from personal observance.

This morning the following were open:

* Big C South

* Friendship

* Tukcom

* All the small shops we could see

* Bank ATMs

* Bank exchange windows

* The immigration office at Jomtien

* The banks themselves were NOT open and said they wouldn

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya has come through this crisis virtually unscathed. It's not over yet, but the crisis part of the crisis seems to be rapidly winding down and each passing hour makes it less and less likely that anything dramatic will happen in Pattaya. Nobody is talking about whether they would stay here, where they would go, or what country they would escape to anymore.

 

Like it or not, the curfew seems to be working well in Pattaya and nearly everyone is willingly cooperating with it in hopes that what has happened in Bangkok and other cities will be prevented in Pattaya.

 

I think the local authorities are to be commended. The only aspects of life out of the ordinary in Pattaya are the curfew, bank closings, and the shopping mall closings. Everywhere other than the mall closing areas in Pattaya is perfectly normal during the day and there has been no trouble of any kind at all. No buildings burnt down. No looting. No shootings. No military presence. No violence. No bullet riddled dead bodies in the streets. No running for cover because of gunfire. No roads blocked. No serious traffic problems. No fear or panic. No evacuations.

 

Within the next couple of days life should return to completely normal in Pattaya and unless something new happens, I think everyone who loves Pattaya ought to consider themselves among the luckiest people in Thailand. What happened in Bangkok and other cities could easily have happened here. Thankfully, it didn't.

 

I'm much happier seeing postings on this board about who is to blame for the crisis and criticizing each other for what is and is not permitted to be posted here than I would be if we had to be reporting about major damage, violence, and problems in Pattaya. Thank goodness that earlier reports of bombs and other problems in Pattaya turned out to be only rumor.

 

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I am not sure what that clip is showing, but Royal Garden Plaza, The Avenue, Central Festival and Mike's Shopping Mall are all open.

[Gaybutton]

I am not sure what that clip is showing, but Royal Garden Plaza, The Avenue, Central Festival and Mike's Shopping Mall are all open.

That's very good news indeed! I think that clip must be a day or two old.

 

Excellent! Except for the banks and the curfew, it looks like Pattaya is almost back to normal.

[Guest fountainhall]

I believe the official penalty for violating the curfew is 2 years imprisonment and/or 40,000 baht.

Like many other official rules, I suspect these are maximum limits and most violators get off with far less. In Bangkok, I wonder if there is any possibility of violators being shot by some nervous trigger-happy troops in fear of their own lives?

 

I did read in one post on another thread about the difficulty of getting taxis in Bangkok within two hours of curfew time. It reminds me that when I first came to live in Asia in 1979, both South Korea and Taiwan had military governments and permanent curfews. Getting a taxi in Seoul before the midnight curfew meant holding out a fistful of Won and being prepared to share with 3 or 4 others. Since being out on the streets after the curfew quite literally could have got you shot, taxi drivers made a lot of money!