Thread: The end of an era leaves the old farts no place to go

Bangkok’s senior sex tourist population is facing its greatest crisis in decades as the demolition of the nightlife zone known as Washington Square has left them with nowhere to go.
Dozens, and sometimes up to a hundred portly Western men with bad skin, aged 55-80, have been reported wandering around the Sukhumvit Soi 22 area since June, when final eviction orders forced the closure of Washington Square bars and restaurants, many of which had been open since the 1980s.
Even as wrecking balls and bulldozers take down the six-story shophouses which have stood unchanged since the Vietnam War, many of the faithful patrons of the vanished drinking holes have remained, emerging around dusk to wander aimlessly amidst the wreckage of the only places in Bangkok outside their apartments where they feel comfortable.
“Where is Lone Star?” asked Melvin Summerville, a 68-year-old retiree from the United States. “I can’t find Lone Star. It’s supposed to be right here; it was right here,” he said over and over, pointing to pile of concrete rubble. When asked, Summerville said that he had been going to Lone Star for 16 years without ever going to another bar, and as such was unaware of where else he could get a beer.
When directed towards The Dubliner, a nearby Irish-themed pub, Summerville waved his hand in protest. “Can’t go in there,” he said. “There’s young people in there. And Thai women who have their own money. Can’t go in there, no way.”

The End Of An Era - Farang Pub - fun, entertainment and Expat life - Thailand Forum

I only went to Bourbon Street when it was open there but I walked through the place many times.

I suppose they're going to build some new hi-so condo or shopping complex there now.

I just love this article .. .further down from the part Cluezo quoted....


The possibility that the refugee patrons are suffering from a medical or psychiatric condition has caught the attention of the city government, which has sent in a team of doctors and a medical bus to provide basic services to the estimated 450 bar-less men, who have been reported to be suffering from dehydration, disorientation, and early signs of age-related dementia.

“These people need to be treated as patients,” said Dr Janapat Ruenpongrat, a psychologist on the team who has interviewed and treated many of the victims. “Most of them are 60 years or older, and almost all of them have never eaten or drank outside Washington Square or the Emporium since, well, last century. They’ve lost everything and they’re scared.”

Dr Janapat insisted that medical treatment was a short-term solution at best, and that these deeply sheltered sex tourists would need months of rehabilitation before being able to navigate a modern city like Bangkok on their own.

“They don’t speak Thai. Heck, they barely speak English,” she noted, referring to the truncated pidgin-English used by long-term expats who communicate exclusively with female bar employees and motorcycle taxi drivers.

“Also, they’re kind of poor,” she added. “I mean, just look at their shoes.”



Maybe the Red Cross should be called in.

“They don’t speak Thai. Heck, they barely speak English,”

Me laughing long time.

...does The Onion have a Thai edition?...

^ Ive always found The Nation to be similar.

NotTheNation once again with Thailand's best, hard hitting, heart touching journalism.

Originally Posted by Schleprock

Thai Visa copy/pastes? Fuuuuuuck. Rock bottom.

It is, now. Thanks for stopping by.

Yeah... it would be like an ordinary weekday evening...

Wild Country down there was reputed to be a place where you could get a blow job in exchange for a glass of tequila. James Parmalee, of Text N Talk fame, held his famous book signing sessions in the Lone Star bar.