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Bangkok's Night Scene in review
![]() ![]() ![]() Soi 10 Survivors - WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
Bangkok, 01 March 2003
William R. Morledge |
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The SUKHUMVIT SQUARE Story The SUKHUMVIT SQUARE Story
The rape of Sukhumvit Square Night Entertainment Area (Soi 10) by a combination of the country's two institutional Mafias is now history. The police on the one hand are accusing renegade military persons and their private companies, while the other "institutional", the military, is saying that while they would do nothing to prevent the guilty from being brought to justice, they would not stand idly by while military persons were prosecuted and certain elements of the police went without having to answer to the same justice. Translation: "You drag me through the mud, I drag you through the mud, and you don't want that." Net result; a stalemate - we should not ever expect to see a meaningful resolution of this atrocious incident. Depending on the lasting quality of commitment of P.M. Taxin's promise to not let Mafia elements get away with anything on his watch, we may at most see a scapegoat or two paraded before us. (In Taxin's 'defense' it must be said that he uttered that promise before he was informed of which Mafias were involved, and didn't realize his hands were tied....)
Within ten days of Sukhumvit Square being ripped asunder, Nickel Co. Ltd. posted signs, one of which read, "To Persons Doing Business (here). Nickel Co. Ltd, the entity having the right to lease this property, will take responsibility for the damage that took place. The people who are (were) doing business here who have correct rental agreements and evidence of (ownership) of property are to let the investigating officers know at the Lumpini Police Station immediately. In this way the The Nickel Co. Ltd.will contact the investigators to claim the lost amount to give to (you) claimants afterward." Needless to say this has not inspired confidence in the investors; first they must submit the claim to one of the Mafias that was responsible for the destruction, and then Nickel Co,, the company that hired the actual "security thugs" in the first place, will go and pick up the money from the police and return it to the rightful persons. Oh, yeah..... The owners of the approximately 150 defunct establishments (60 bars and about 90 other leased plots) have not stood idly by. They are pursuing a claim -- class-action-style -- through channels, and the paperwork is in the hands of lawyers. The group have claims to slightly over 50 million baht. Nickel says it is committed to return only 10 million baht. An example obtained by MIDNITE HOUR from a confidential document shows one claimant documenting 2,253,340 baht in damages, and they were offered a settlement of a mere 590,000 baht. Sukhumvit Square bar owners have also sent representatives to meet Prime Minister Taxin's representative, who told them that Taxin would see that they got all their money. Several of the ex-shop owners are hoping against hope that Taxin will be good at his word. The kicker; - none of the Sukhumvit Square occupants has received even this "ten-to-twenty-cents-on-the-dollar", nor will they until the legalities are finalized. Those of you who know anything about judicial efficiency here in Thailand will understand that we are talking about years, rather than months, before a settlement is reached. But MIDNITE HOUR's story for March departs from the above at this point. What about the approximately 60 Night Entertainment Establishments who were, overnight, out of business? Where are they today? Some of us have seen handwritten signs on the crude concrete wall around the Soi 10 demolition; the laundry has moved to another soi, the Internet cafe has also moved to another soi. The beauty shop has moved into a nearby hotel. But what about the lounges and bars ? As mentioned last month, the Made In Heaven bought themselves a new noodle cart, and opened up a rolling bar beer on the sidewalk in front of the now defunct Sukhumvit Square. Another shop (name not for publication) did the same thing. Lumpini police chased them off the sidewalk, allowing them to do business inside Soi 10. But business was bad inside the soi, so they spoke to the police, and the police settled on a small bribe of 3,000 baht per month to be able to return once again to the front sidewalk. "Downpayment bribes" of 500 baht were made, but the police later reneged, and the down payments went the way of the sabre-toothed tiger. (MIDNITE HOUR was witness to this negotiation, this is not hear-say.) Undaunted, Ms T. of the Made In Heaven took her rolling lock, stock and barrel to the top of Soi 8, where they are doing a hand-to-mouth business with the Farang khee-nok crowd. They have their eye on the leasing of a soon to be available beauty shop just inside Soi 8, which they hope to renovate into the new Made In Heaven. Wish them luck. Of the few punters who frequented Sukhumvit Square, probably none will remember the Say Hi. For one thing, it was all of 2 meters by 4 meters in size, and it didn't even have a sign -- in Thai or English. It tried a karaoke machine for a while, and later sported the smallest pool table in the world. Except when it was having a birthday party for someone, it never had any customers to speak of, but as a source of 'intel' on what was going on in the compound, it couldn't be beat. This writer found it to be a quiet corner to kick feet up and sip on a soda water. The good news is they have completed their move into bigger and better premises at Cowboy Annex. And they are sporting a slightly larger pool table this time around. Two other bar beers have recently "risen from the ashes" of Soi 10, both reincarnations are in Tobacco Road (Soi Zero). The first is the Friend's Bar, which now occupies the second slot on the left going in. This concession hasn't been occupied since the Sexy Eyes vacated the premises in November of 2000. The second is the Hello Bar who have moved into the concession just behind Lucky Lukes (the OTHER Lucky Lukes). Some of you may remember this as the location of the old Honey Bar, which closed in January 2002. And lastly, Suzie of Suzie bar beer (Originally Suzie and Crazy in Clinton Plaza) is also talking of opening another place 'somewhere in the neighborhood'. Its interesting to note that each of these resurrected bars has a copy of the Stickman photo on the wall - the one taken on the morning of 26 January, showing the entire Sukhumvit Square in a state of destruction. MIDNITE HOUR will be keeping our eyes and ears open for any other ex-Soi 10 bars reopening in Bangkok's Night Entertainment Areas.
The SUKHUMVIT SQUARE Story The SUKHUMVIT SQUARE Story
• February's Follies Begin Here... •
MIDNITE HOUR presents the NEWS on the Bangkok Night Scene; - the 'history-in-the-making' for all major Night Entertainment Areas for the month ending February, 2003 :
• PATPONG II •
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• PATPONG II •
• NANA PLAZA •
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• NANA PLAZA •
• SOI COWBOY •
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• SOI COWBOY •
• COWBOY ANNEX •
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• COWBOY ANNEX •
• TOBACCO ROAD (Soi Zero) •
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• TOBACCO ROAD •
• SOI DEAD ARTISTS (Soi 33) •
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• SOI DEAD ARTISTS •
• WASHINGTON SQUARE •
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• WASHINGTON SQUARE •
• QUEEN'S PARK PLAZA •
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• QUEEN'S PARK PLAZA •
• The No-News-Is Good-News Dept •
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© 2003, Bangkok Eyes / bangkokeyes.com
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