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, 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.