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You might have to wait days or even a week to get sex service in Bangkok, Thailand, following the death of the monarch:
On an ordinary Saturday night, the Soi Cowboy red-light district in Bangkok is ablaze with neon lights as skimpily clad women in go-go boots chat up tourists and twirl seductively around poles.
But the decadent flesh parade came to an abrupt halt Thursday when soldiers marched in and shut the dance bars down. It was a gesture of respect for the country's long-ruling monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died Thursday afternoon after a long illness and 70 years on the throne. Soon, word came down from the country's prime minister and head of its military: Thailand would be in mourning for a year, flags would be at half-staff and "joyful events" should be avoided for 30 days.
Although the government made clear that visitors should continue their travel plans as normal — as long as they tried to dress and act respectfully — bars and restaurants have since been closed, loud music avoided and alcohol sometimes difficult to come by. All of this has put a damper on one of the world's most popular party spots. About 30 million visitors came to Thailand last year, a number that is expected to reach a record high this year because of an influx from China. Tourism contributed $81 billion to the country's gross domestic product in 2015, nearly 21 percent, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Thailand's military government named 96-year-old Prem Tinsulanonda as king regent:
He came up through the ranks of the powerful military and became prime minister in 1980, staying at the helm for eight years, while guiding the country through economic problems and a series of military challenges, including two coup attempts. But Prem had been accused by supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of instigating the coup that removed the populist leader in 2006.
On Thursday, the government unexpectedly announced that Bhumibol's heir apparent, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, did not want to be immediately named king to give the nation time to mourn his father's death. Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Bangkok, said there is no deadline set for the succession to take place.
[Continues...]
The heir apparent's lifestyle and multiple divorces have soured his public image:
The lavish European lifestyle of the son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, and his tastes for airplanes, fast cars, women and the high life have caused great anxiety in the kingdom for decades. Now he is on the cusp of ascending the throne. The death of the beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday has set in motion a succession that many Thais say they wish they could avoid. King Bhumibol had been a unifying figure in a country that is torn by deep divisions of class and politics and is currently ruled by a military junta. The issue is whether the prince, seen by many Thais as lacking the deep public devotion that his father enjoyed, can hold the country together.
The prince's ascension also raises questions about the future of the monarchy, as a less-beloved king could give strength to a republican movement that has gained a foothold in recent years. Among the issues at stake is control over one of the world's great royal fortunes, an estimated $31 billion in real estate holdings alone. Succession may force the consideration of an unresolved and rarely discussed question of whether those assets and others are the property of the royal family or of the Thai public.
(Score: 2) by seeprime on Tuesday October 18 2016, @12:04PM
These actions smack of military control. I don't trust the official statements. The read like the playbook of a group that's been sitting back and waiting for their opportunity to take over, not quickly, but over one year. Time will tell.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Kell on Tuesday October 18 2016, @12:09PM
I've lived in Thailand, and believe you me, the Thais revered King Bumibol. Not like very-respected, I mean god-like. He was held in the same regard that Americans hold Lincoln, but as a living figure. When I lived there, people would rough you up if you stepped on a coin because it held the image of the king. I don't believe this is a military power play - I think they legitimately want foreigners and their own countrymen to respect what is a national psychic pain the likes of which westerners have little concept. The nearest I can think of was the death of princess Diana, except a dozen times worse.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by deadstick on Tuesday October 18 2016, @12:49PM
On the day of Queen Victoria's funeral, it's said that even the prostitutes of London wore black...but didn't take the day off.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18 2016, @01:04PM
Daytime tarts, how genteel!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday October 18 2016, @04:13PM
I think they legitimately want foreigners and their own countrymen to respect what is a national psychic pain the likes of which westerners have little concept.
I think the western concept for that notion is "bullshit". With such phony, public displays of remorse versus death of royalty, enforced at the point of the gun, you can see how the communists started their tradition of inflicting indignities on royal corpses. Burying mutilated corpses in a unmarked mass grave or the floor of a bathroom is an efficient (though characteristically vile) way to completely repudiate mandatory public mourning for figureheads who just don't warrant it.
(Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday October 18 2016, @11:11PM
Except the Thais aren't, and never have been, communists. Their king isn't a despot (it's a parliamentary system, occasional coup notwithstanding), and when the king did intercede in politics it was to avoid bloodshed. Do you know anything about Thailand? You seem to have it confused with North Korea.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 18 2016, @11:50PM
it's a parliamentary system, occasional coup notwithstanding
The occasional coup does undermine your assertion here.
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @12:34AM
You miss my point that the public outpouring of mourning is not "forced" - the Thais are genuinely upset by this. The closure of clubs is effectively the same of asking the neighbors to turn the music down because there's a funeral next door. As for the coups, yes they happen - it's a function of unstable politics in a still-developing economy, rather than anything to do with the monarch. During the 1992 coup, Bumibol actually told the two sides to settle down and stop fighting and solve it. And they did; the very next day it was over.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 19 2016, @01:05AM
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @02:53AM
I could argue the same thing for the puritan practice of forbidding sales of alcohol on Sundays in places like CT. How is this any different? The government mandated a period of mourning; this involves some businesses being closed for a period. Same thing. I'm not saying I agree with it, or that it's a good thing - just that it's an understandable thing.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 19 2016, @04:18AM
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:38AM
It's a human nature thing - we all want people to value what we value (whether they want to or not). And it's all to easy to use force of law to do it.
Thank you for the good conversation! :)
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:57AM
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @06:11AM
Likewise the alcohol prohibition. Ethically right or wrong, my original point was that the mourning of Thais was legitmate and not forced - and for the most part that is true. Obviously not every one 100% agreed about it and not everyone wanted to close up shop. But that's how laws work - sometimes we aren't allowed to do things we want to do. They wouldn't be laws if we just going to obey them anyway.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 19 2016, @02:51AM
Yep don't worry about what the vast majority of Thais want, but look after the monied elites and bar owners looking out for American sex holiday tourists.
You clearly have little understanding of Thai culture.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday October 18 2016, @08:42PM
The nearest I can think of was the death of princess Diana, except a dozen times worse.
I was called "unfeeling" and "mean" when I sneered at my sister-in-law for crying at the death of Diana.
I pointed out that not only had the SIL never met Diana, she had never even visited the UK.
Apparently she felt like "she had lost her best friend".
That's exactly how I felt when I saw footage of Thai people crying over the death of their King.
Easily manipulated fools.
(Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday October 18 2016, @11:17PM
I can't comment on your sister, but the Thai people had good reasons (beside a long culture of royalty-worship) to revere their king. Bumibol had a long reign, primarily marked by peace and stability, including active intercession to minimise the damage caused by Japanese expansionism in the second world war. He was not a stranger to the Thai people and was quite an exception in inviting public criticism of himself and the royalty in general (which is rare - many Thais are more zealous about lese mageste than he is). Many English people love QEII because she was a good figurehead and did much for her country; so too with Bumibol, but with stronger cultural reverence. You can say they're easily manipulated fools, but then you could say that about Americans who think George Washington was a saint, or pretty much any people with a folk hero. It's human nature to magnify people; Bumibol, at least, was actually a good guy.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday October 19 2016, @12:08AM
I don't mean to come down too hard on the Thai people, who in my limited experience are a great bunch, but they've been sold a pup with their royal family.
primarily marked by peace and stability
Apart from ensuring the military took over repeatedly if the people voted the wrong way.
was quite an exception in inviting public criticism of himself and the royalty in general
Lèse majesté in Thailand [wikipedia.org] is punished extremely harshly. If the King was against it, he would have stopped it.
Bumibol, at least, was actually a good guy
Who has managed to amass a $36 billion fortune. From where? Also who murdered his older brother [wikipedia.org], enabling him to come to power?
Don't ask that question in Thailand, you'll be off to jail.
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @01:20AM
Apart from ensuring the military took over repeatedly if the people voted the wrong way.
Except that that's not true at all; that's an internal political thing and nothing to do with the king.
Lèse majesté in Thailand is punished extremely harshly. If the King was against it, he would have stopped it.
And he's tried - he repeatedly pardoned people who were imprisoned for it, because he didn't agree with the law. But he chose not to set the laws for people; he let them decide their own laws.
Who has managed to amass a $36 billion fortune. From where? Also who murdered his older brother, enabling him to come to power?
And the queen of England is wealthy too, surprise surprise. And yes, I've heard that old saw before - nobody takes it seriously for a reason. The people who were charged with his assassination were luckless pages who were scapegoated because it was easier to accept that the king had been killed, rather than that the king had accidentally shot himself. There was foul play, but not what you're insinuating.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday October 19 2016, @02:17AM
Here's a list of people sent to prison for the act of criticising the King of Thailand: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A8se_majest%C3%A9_in_Thailand#Acts_punished [wikipedia.org]
I count two who received a pardon from the King.
he chose not to set the laws for people; he let them decide their own laws.
What people are these? The military runs Thailand, and has done since before World War II.
(Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday October 19 2016, @03:00AM
Yes, some people have been sent to prison - and the vast majority served a token sentence and were released, or were pardoned by the king. Ironically, I agree with you that the military juntas have occasionally used lese majeste to victimise political rivals and they are the ones who typically languish in prison for any period of time - but it's unusual. The military does not control Thai politics except in a few brief periods, then things go back to normal. Have you lived in Thailand? It's not a perfect place, but it's not what I think you imagine it is, either.
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday October 18 2016, @01:53PM
You should read about the Thai monarchy on Wikipedia. They had a somewhat weird system where the military already held a lot of power.
Not quite sure how you can have a military coup and the king still stays on the throne, but supposedly it happened a number of times during the former king's reign.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 4, Touché) by bob_super on Tuesday October 18 2016, @04:19PM
> These actions smack of military control. (...) The read like the playbook of a group that's been sitting back and waiting for their opportunity to take over
You really do need to brush up on recent Thai politics...
First question: Who's in power in Thailand?