The Cabinet has approved new regulations that prohibit karaoke parlours from providing drinking or singing partners to customers, with their business licences being revoked if they do.

Deputy government spokes-man Phumin Leetheeraprasert said the Cabinet also assigned the Office of the Council of State to adjust some of the wording before the regulations are implemented.

The regulations should take effect in mid-August.

On the evening of 25th July 2009 police carried out raids on go go bars in the Pattaya and Jomtien areas. 4 staff tested positive for drugs and 2 dancing girls were identified as being under the legal age limit .

At 11:50 pm Pattaya police paid an unannounced visit to go-go bars in Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya.

At one male go-go bar, officers carried out a search but no illegal substances were found. However 4 men, who were found to have taken drugs after checks on their urine tested positive, were taken to the police station.

Later police visited the Number One go-go bar, located at The Ha-nu-man curve, Jomtien, who they suspected of employing underage staff.

In the bar, there were 10 female employees, some of whom were dancing on the stage, while a number of tourists were enjoying their drinks. Officers checked the employee’s ID cards and conducted random urine tests on both the employees and the customers.

Two of employees were found to be under 18 but no one tested positive for drugs. Police arrested the owner, Wanchart Kongmak, and charged him for hiring under age staff and staging an obscene dance show.

Over the last few days Thai Channel 3 news has been featuring reports that the police are going to stop Karaoke and Bar girl female workers from touting and showing off their wares outside of the premises.

It was stated that some establishments are permitting their girls to sit outside on the street only dressed in skimpy underwear and that this is causing offence to some tourists and locals.

The big clamp down will begin at Bangkok in the foreseeable future than probably be imposed nationwide.

Guys I would like to start by thanking each of you for your support over the 7 odd years .Its been the best part of my life and many of you have played a great part in it . AGAIN THANK YOU ALL.

Yep we are out of here 31st July and its for keeps

The bar has been sold as and the new owners George and Simon will be at the helm from the 1st August.

Jason and I will be in the bar each night till the end being 31 . Which will that night be the biggest party off all!

Please if you are in town and walking past, do drop in and buy the girls a drink. I always worry for my family of girls and they are the best bunch by far.

Well tonight was one of the hardest night in my life when I had to tell them all that we were leaving . Please if you came into the bar tonight I am sorry things were not as bubbly as always .The girls have all been crying all night and were not there normal selves.

Again i hope we do see you as many times as we can before the 31st and please keep in mind Jason's STAG night on 29th free drinks all night

GOING SURFIN

Shane

The Drum and Monkey is a well established bar on the Naklua Road just north of Dolphin Island

Every time I visit Pattaya I always go to this bar and always have a top night.

Badger would always be there, the life and sole of the place. He seemed to have the balance just right between running the bar in the back ground, whilst being a gent with the customers. Sure old Badger would take a drink off a Falang, but he was not slow in returning it.

But last week he told me that he had been stiffed by his girlfriend and has just had to return to England.

So he's sold the bar to an English fella who's redeveloping the place. It will take 3 weeks before re-opening.

So all I can say is that Badger will be sorely missed in Naklua road, Pattaya.

Will Badger be back? I think so...

Fun Room A-GoGo on Soi 15 was dark this evening.

There's no official word but the welcome staff from the bar next door ere not very reassuring.

So until it burst back into life there are now 77 bars on the gogo list.

Ocean 10 was a nightclub located near the Walking Street Tree.

It has now gone dark joining the other recent nightclub closures at Republika and Hammer.

It had started as a venue with a live band targeting Russian couples. It then tried a few formats such as opening out the bar, coyote dancing and even reasonably priced drinks towards the end. 

Sakura Club 69 is a GoGo on Soi 15 nesting between Baby Dolls and Fun Room.

It has just re-opened under new management. The bar had been dark since February 2009.

There are now 78 GoGos with girls dancing in bikinis or less. Similar numbers to last year, you'd hardly know there was a world downturn.

On 12th July, as the atmosphere began to warm, a small fire broke out in the Hip Hop area of Lucifer‘s Disko in Walking Street. The small fire which happened due to a short circuit, did not involve any casualties and the fire was soon brought under control by the quick actions of the pub staff.

The Manager told Media: Fire at the dancing zone behind the stage of the band, was kept under control and eventually put out. Although there was a lot of smoke, the fire was only a small one and nobody was injured. We are now rectifying the whole thing and will be back in business by this evening.

Fire officials stated that a short circuit detected behind the stage was the cause of the fire. The Deputy Chief Officer of the Fire Department, stated, 'The fire was behind the stage mainly in the cable shaft. The cable caught fire causing a lot of smoke.

Elephants idling outside discos or lumbering through traffic have been part of Bangkok's colourful nightlife for nearly two decades. Now authorities want to send them back to the jungle.

Thai officials say they have come up with an innovative solution: offering them up for adoption. Elephant owners can use the money to get into a new business, and those who refuse reasonable offers will be fined, city officials said.

Several groups have already paid the estimated 500,000 baht (£9,000) to buy an elephant and relocate it to a reserve in the countryside.

Half of the city's 200 elephants have been relocated since the programme began in March, and Bangkok Governor Sukhumphan Boriphat vowed that the rest would be out within a year: Roaming elephants can cause accidents, especially at night, and even more importantly are harmful to themselves. It's important that we get elephants out of Bangkok as quickly as possible."

Elephants first arrived in Bangkok in the late 1980s after a logging ban made them redundant in forestry work. The elephants' handlers persuade tourists to buy the animals sugar cane and other snacks or use the elephants to promote the sale of ivory trinkets. Many of the animals get hurt when they collide with cars or step into drains or potholes.

Just after 3am on Saturday police raided a number of late night pubs and Karaoke Bars in Soi Chayapoon, Central Pattaya.

Apart from the fact that the venues were open after their permitted licensed opening hours, a number of patrons and staff members were given urine tests and 2 women and 5 men failed the drug test.

They were subsequently arrested along with the bar managers who will now be referred to the Banglamung District Licensing Unit.

I spotted a fair few price increases on a quick walk around Walking Street.

Happy/Peppermint/Beach Club have increased their previous 50 Baht happy hour prices to 55 Baht.

Dolls House and Living Dolls Showcase have seemingly dropped their happy hour, it didn't last long.

New Living Dolls One have announced an increase in some drinks prices and dancers barfines increased from 450 to 500 Baht and showgirls from 600 to 700 Baht.

Club Mirage have dropped draft beer fro the menu leaving just the bottled option at about 100 Baht a drink.

On the more positive side (depending how you look at it), The Fun Room has dropped its draft beer to 39 Baht and bottle are available from 70-90 Baht

Champion A-GoGo are advertising 39 Baht draft all night.

I also spotted a news item on Thai TV news suggesting some backing off from the drinks ban on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully better Thai speakers will report later.

Billy's Boozer has re-opened with a couple of girls outside. Billy's is one of the 'y' bars located in the middle of the Soi (Billy Butterfly, Foxy Roxy Ruby, Quicky and Sky).

Ruby Club is temporarily closed for renovation. There was a rumour a few months ago that they were going to get dancing girls in.

The latest addition to the Soi, is the strangely spelled Chilli Bar. It is located by Red Point.

In addition there are another two bars taking shape.

The New Simon Beer Bar Complex has now opened for business on a prime site on Walking Street. It overlooks the sea opposite Soi 14. It was previously a block of shops with Pinky Girl A-GoGo at the back.

The bars look good, but are reported to have been sold at premium rates.

Beware of 150 Baht lady drinks...there have been reports.

The government was dealing another severe blow to the already-battered tourism and entertainment industry by suddenly banning booze during Buddhist holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, business leaders complained yesterday.

This is the same old issue - the government rising up to destroy tourism. This does not parallel its tourism policy of increasing the number of visitors coming into the country, said Thai Hotels Association (THA) president Prakit Chinamourphong.

How can tourists can enjoy their holiday in Thailand without drinking? Like Phuket or Pattaya, they're coming for beaches and fun. They like to have beers and some drinks on the beach. If we ask them not to do so, they won't be happy, Prakit said.

The government should have communicated the order well in advance to foreign tourists, so they could plan their activities and celebrations better while staying in the country.

I think it's good for locals to stop drinking during that time, but tourists will be upset, Prakit said.

A source from the Federation on Alcohol Control of Thailand said the order for alcohol-free religious holidays would be a great setback for local tourism and related businesses, such as hotels, pubs and restaurants: With the ban, all tourist destinations, including Koh Samui, Phuket and Pattaya, will be hurt. All pubs and beer bars will have to close, because they cannot sell any alcohol on those days, the source said.