2004 Bangkok Reports

[Meaty]

Jeezus, looks like the extremists have won hands down ?!?!?!

I better get my bomb shelter made and lock myself in it and wait for all the sucide bombings to finish.

Guys, there are risks everywhere, in all walks of life, from being hit by a bus, to tripping over a curb, being punched by a headcase, or even being kidnapped in a country where people who don't like you live. Accept it, and move on. Some of the posts here sound like they want to get a lynching mob out for all the arabs. No offense, my deepest sympathies goto the family and freinds of Paul Johnson, but he 'should' of been aware of the dangers, in fact he probably was, and probably took precautions, but if they're going to get you, they will. Take additional precautions, but don't change your life for these bastards.

I am not going to ride my mountain bike down a highstreet in Najaf with the stars and stripes on my back, but i'll be buggered if i'm gonna avoid nana or pattaya because of some nutters.
I too am a brit, and judging by the lack of comments from JRC's Post "I am a Brit and love Yanks but you seem to forget that for years they funded the IRA when they were blowing up innocent civilians." - i take it the rest of you are Yanks. I'll never forget Bush saying any country harbouring terrorists will not be tolerated, i didn't see him sending troops into his own cities.

On a similar note, there was a row a week after sept 11th in Carnegies bar in hong kong, and it really did sum up the underlying situation....
Picture a group of americans drinking in Carnegies, next to them a group of brits, The americans were discussing the fact that they should not have to fly with arabs, and arabs should fly alone, also that if they saw an arab boarding their plane, they, as americans, should be allowed to have the arab removed or be given another flight. The general feeling that to fly with an Arab was far too risky. This conversation was rowdy and loud and heartfelt. A rather topsy brit (not me) piped up at the group and said "It's not arabs i'm afraid to fly with, its yanks, because so many different groups of extremists are after you guys, theres more chance of something happening if there are yanks there"

Just my 2baht coins worth.

[Giotto]

Pickles Cocktail Bar, Soi 22
====================

A few weeks I posted about that bar, as a place worth to go, some nice girls were working there.

I was there last night, and found that the ownership has changed. All girls I liked were gone, and some of the remaining were complaining about the bad mood in the bar. The new owner is obviously a Thai girl, with a rich farang in the background.

The bar was empty, no customer, and I doubt that the business will pick up there under this circumstances.

Don't go there any more, it is not worth it.

Giotto

[Joe Zop]

Well said, Intransit, but I'd disagree with you slightly in that if we're talking about terrorism in LOS, we realistically are talking about Muslim extremists. In terms of their attacks, ETA primarily sticks to Spain/France, Shining Path to Peru, IRA to the UK, etc. It's some of the extremist Muslim groups who've taken the entire world as their battleground (others of course stay local.)

Obviously Thailand could be a potential and attractive target -- there are Thai troops in Iraq, (some were killed in Karbala) and they're scheduled to stay until September. Such places as Nana, Patpong, Pattaya, etc., are clearly immoral by extremist Muslim standards and also good places to target "Western influences" and as others have noted both design and security issues make them places where it's possible to do great damage. A suicide bomber on Walking Street, Soi Cowboy, wherever, could cause utter chaos and do immense harm, and given the huge number of people always milling about would be very difficult to spot. The crowded nature of such places means a big potential for catastrophe.

Obviously, there are lots of possible targets all around the world, and it does no one any good to be scared of their own shadow, but being awake and aware is always a good idea.

[Cloud Seeker]

I think there is enough warring going on this planet as it is and it's sad that we are doing it on the forum as well.

I just feel devastated each time I see another carnage on TV, whether in Madrid, NYC, Bali, Jakarta, Manila, etc.

I hope that no one on this forum (or anybody else) will fall prey to these scumbags.

Please stay safe and alert,

Cloudy

[Cloud Seeker]

ER,

I won't even bother commenting on the Israel-Palestine issue as the historical intricacies will get the better of most people, especially outsiders - it is just too complex an issue.

I take great exception to everything else that you've said. What on earth do 200 dead Australians in Bali have to do with the US State Department's stance on Israel and Palestine?? Your comment "This is the Arab perspective, and one I sympathise with to some degree" pretty much says it all.

I don't necessarily agree with some people who wanted to deport all Arabs roaming foreign lands, but I certainly understand their viewpoint much more than yours.

Would it really take a truck full of explosives beside NEP for you to get the point or would a beheaded relative do the trick?

--------------------

Everybody else,

It doesn't matter what your political stance is, or your ethnicity, or your religion; you should be free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't bother anyone else. The animals most likely to drive a truck into the NEP beg to differ and we should melt the earth that they walk on.

Stay safe.

[Intransit]

ER,

I hate to be a contrarian, but for a Bali-style bombing, Bangkok and other spots in Thailand such as Phuket or Pattaya would be perfect.

Thailand has been regarded as a possible Al-Q base for some time. Note the following articles. All were written within the last 13 months and definitely point to evidence of such activity:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/001807.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/17/attack/main568735.shtml

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0613/p07s01-woap.html

It's not about Arabs. The guys behind the Bali bombing were Indonesian. It's not even about Muslims. It's about wackos who have no qualms about using violence against civilians to express their political views, and ultimately, attempt to place themselves in power. They're no different than every other terrorist organization, including the IRA, ETA, The Shining Path, or [fill in the name of your favorite group here].

Be careful out there.

[pizzlerot]

Going to be in LOS next week(22nd-29th June), would be great to meet anyone whose around.

This is my trip to reward seven years of working my tits off, and I`m sure its going to be a good one.

I have scanned the boards religiously for the last few weeks and they have been enormously useful; I cant wait to try and repeat the feat previously descried of about 14 girls in one day, by one contributor!

Ok it was six.

Thanks again, will let you all know how I get on

[Dinghy]

A Thai acquaintance of mine keeps telling me (e-mail) that the government is predicting some kind of action against falangs in Pattaya - he keeps metioning "boming" (pressed further, since I thought it was "thunderstorms") - "no, suicide boming"

A LOCAL worried. He thinks it is a combination of the "trouble" moving up from the south and an attempt to go after "soft" target where there would be Americans

There is NOTHING in the papers or anywhere else (of course, it would be touristic suicide to mention anything like this) and LOW SEASON as well (if they wanted to cause damage to the local economy - do it in HIGH season)

Thoughts, comments?

[Ever Ready]

I don’t like seeing politics on this forum, but there has been too much verbal abuse aimed at the entire Arab race, the great majority of who are peaceful and friendly people, so as a Westerner living and working in the Middle East, I want to have my say.

I personally wouldn’t put LOS high on the terrorism danger list, because Thailand hasn't, as far as I know, played any role in Afghanistan or Iraq, and it is not an Islamic country - (although nowhere can really be considered safe anymore, everyone is at risk to some extent).

According to the general thinking amongst moderates in the Middle East, the extremists attacked Spain due to their involvement in Iraq, and Bali to “punish” Australia for it’s involvement in Iraq, and Indonesia for “non-Islamic” tourism in an Islamic country. Similarly UK is a high potential target for its heavy involvement in Iraq.

The great America remains at the biggest risk of attack, not just for Iraq and Afghanistan, but principally for its unyielding and total support of Israel’s barbaric treatment of Palestinians and occupation of their land. This is the Arab perspective, and one I sympathise with to some degree.

This Gentlemen, is the root of the problem, and the core rationale for the terrorism we now see around the world. Until America changes its foreign policy on Israel, it will continue to bear the brunt of extremist attacks.

This is just my thought on the matter. Now lets get back to the subject of sex.

ER

[Jimmy Red Cab]

Regarding terrorist attacks, I am a great believer in fate, what is going to happen will happpen and boarding yourself up in your home is not really the answer. I am a Brit and love Yanks but you seem to forget that for years they funded the IRA when they were blowing up innocent civilians. I hope no Islamic Fundamentalists read this site because now they know the best place to plant a bomb, yes a car bomb at the entrance to Nana Plaza would cause carnage.

[SexReview]

GettingTang

Posted
"I think it is somewhat appropriate to comment on the potential for a mass terror attack on our hobby area in LOS. "

The idea of a attack in Pattaya or Bangkok is real and something we should all keep in the back of our minds. It would be very easy at night to place a small boat under the Marine Disco/ Dollhouse area of Walking Street in Pattaya loaded with a homemade bomb. And the whole area would come down, will all the people inside. Thailand has very little in the way of protection and tourist areas are always a great target.

As for Bangkok, if you used a truck or car to form a fire bomb at the entrance of Nana Entertainment Plaza, you would trapped the people inside. Just take a look at NEP it is a fire death trap. I'm sure their must be a back way out but do you really think the Thai workers would stop and show you when the whole place was in flames? They would leave you in a heartbeat and just think about themselves.

Terrorist attacks are a risk in Thailand just like many other places and worth thinking about. I believe it is only a matter of time before the problems in the South move into the heart of Thailand.

About the only good thing that could come out of this is tourism in Thailand would be dead and the prices would stay way down but, the price would be to high to pay.

Sexreview

[Phuquer]

Joe Zop, point well taken. And I do agree with you. I normally would not have considered myself to be racist, but with all the recent goings on I have been pushed to my limit on more ocassions than I would like. There are very good reasons why I feel this frustration, but as you say, it is not the topic of this board. I did however gain access (if only for a few minutes) to a message board supporting Al-qaida and was able to vent my feelings there, so that was good. I will drop the subject now, and I thank you all for your understanding. I hope Paul Johnson is in peace right now, and may God bless all the innocent Arabs and Westerners who are being senselessly killed by this war.
Peace, everybody.

[1Ball]

Guys,

i have not seen much here about the Suan Lum (sp?) night bazaar. I have gone there a couple of times to eat, and it always sems the place is swarming with TGs. Does anyone have any experiences to share on this place?

Which brings up the next question. I will be in BKK the week end of July 4th, anybody want to go out for a night of fun ?

PM me.

[GettingTang]

I almost fell of my chair laughing. Can you believe this.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040619/ap_on_fe_st/travestite_bathroom_1

School Gives Transvestites Own Restroom

Fri Jun 18, 8:27 PM ET Add Strange News - AP to My Yahoo!



BANGKOK, Thailand - Snubbed by both men and women, transvestite students at the Chiang Mai Technology School just wanted a restroom to call their own — and were granted their wish.



Dubbed the Pink Lotus Bathroom, the facility is exclusively for the school's 15 transvestite students and features four stalls, but no urinals. On the door hangs a sign with intertwined male and female symbols.


"They would come in the morning and use the women's bathrooms, but the women were annoyed, didn't like it or played pranks on them," said Posaporn Promprakai, registrar of the school in Chiang Mai province, about 360 miles north of Bangkok.


The transvestites — who must wear male attire at school but are allowed to sport girlie hairdos — switched to the men's bathrooms, only to run into more trouble.


"The men teased them, chased them, and they came screaming and in tears again," Posaporn told The Associated Press.


So Posaporn designated a lavatory just for them, telling the vocational school's 1,500 students to just use their own restrooms.


The transvestite bathroom opened last fall, but this week attracted the notice of local media. Gays, cross-dressers and transsexuals are generally accepted in easygoing Thai society.


"We don't support their decision to be transvestites. We are just trying to solve the problems of one group that is unhappy at school," said Posaporn. "They don't get teased in the bathroom anymore. They're much happier."

[Joe Zop]

with all due respect, i'd like to say two things:

1. a political discussion really doesn't really belong here unless it is specific to the area. so while i can see the point of discussing security and political issues that have to do with los, general world situations really seem off topic, regardless of the validity of the validity of the outrage behind them. there are thousands of miles between sukhumvit and the place of mr. johnson's heinous murder.

2. speaking in generalized terms of "arabs" is not only inaccurate, but offensive racist speech. those in indonesia or the philippines who believe the same things generally aren't arabs. referring to all americans or all christians as murderous scum because you don't care for the behavior of the branch davidians or the people's temple would be similarly painting too broadly.

simply referring to moslem extremists would be far more correct and less inflammatory.