lonelywombat
October 6th, 2012, 11:40
http://notthenation.com/2012/10/washing ... -confused/ (http://notthenation.com/2012/10/washington-square-demolition-leaves-bangkoks-elderly-sexpats-lost-confused/)
Washington Square Demolition Leaves BangkokтАЩs Elderly Sexpats Lost, Confused
3 Oct 2012
MID-SUKHUMVIT тАУ BangkokтАЩs 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.
тАЬWhere is Lone Star?тАЭ asked Melvin Summerville, a 68-year-old retiree from the United States. тАЬI canтАЩt find Lone Star. ItтАЩs supposed to be right here; it was right here,тАЭ 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. тАЬCanтАЩt go in there,тАЭ he said. тАЬThereтАЩs young people in there. And Thai women who have their own money. CanтАЩt go in there, no way.тАЭ
He then joined a small group of about seven elderly Caucasian men who were standing silently in the street. Other groups were meandering nearby, perspiring visibly in the humid evening.
According to Thammasat University sociologist Nootaree Kampongrat, the refugee crisis was created by a тАЬperfect stormтАЭ of variables, beginning with the unique status of the Washington Square real estate.
тАЬThe market value of the land surpassed the income from these cheap bars as early as 1993, but since the landowners wanted to sell the entire 20-rai plot as a single package rather than subdivide it, they had to wait for a buyer,тАЭ she said. According to Nootaree, this created what the real estate calls a тАЬrent bogтАЭ where low-value businesses are permitted to continue in what otherwise should a be high-rent area.
тАЬWashington Square has been living on borrowed time for 20 years, and so have these men,тАЭ she explained. тАЬMeanwhile, theyтАЩve been stuck in a capsule, getting older and even more entrenched in their habits.тАЭ
With rents unchanged since the 1970s, many of Washington SquareтАЩs bars were able to keep their drink prices artificially low, further isolating their patrons from the new and more upscale establishments that were springing up in the area. Additionally, the refusal of the landowners to upgrade any of the decrepit shophouses in Washington Square prevented the influx of any new businesses aimed at younger or more sophisticated customers.
Even the physical structure of the square was a factor, according to Nootaree. тАЬWashington Square was literally walled off by darkness,тАЭ she noted. тАЬIt was similar to a cave ecosystem, where the indigenous species evolve in isolation, adapt to their bare resources, and eventually become a new species altogether.тАЭ
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.
тАЬThese people need to be treated as patients,тАЭ said Dr Janapat Ruenpongrat, a psychologist on the team who has interviewed and treated many of the victims. тАЬMost 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. TheyтАЩve lost everything and theyтАЩre scared.тАЭ
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.
тАЬThey donтАЩt speak Thai. Heck, they barely speak English,тАЭ she noted, referring to the truncated pidgin-English used by long-term expats who communicate exclusively with female bar employees and motorcycle taxi drivers.
тАЬAlso, theyтАЩre kind of poor,тАЭ she added. тАЬI mean, just look at their shoes.тАЭ
Responding to the crisis, Bangkok Governor Sukhumband Paribatra has promised to quickly find new places for the refugees to drink, carouse, and feel unthreatened by anything new, with sois 22 and 9 being vetted as prime candidates.
тАЬBangkok is better equipped than any city in the world to serve old white men who are uncomfortable with the wider world,тАЭ he said. тАЬWe are world leaders in providing economically desperate Asian women and unhealthy Western food. As governor I promise that these men will be taken care of.тАЭ
тАЬThey will live in Bangkok until they die. I promise you that much.тАЭ
Washington Square Demolition Leaves BangkokтАЩs Elderly Sexpats Lost, Confused
3 Oct 2012
MID-SUKHUMVIT тАУ BangkokтАЩs 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.
тАЬWhere is Lone Star?тАЭ asked Melvin Summerville, a 68-year-old retiree from the United States. тАЬI canтАЩt find Lone Star. ItтАЩs supposed to be right here; it was right here,тАЭ 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. тАЬCanтАЩt go in there,тАЭ he said. тАЬThereтАЩs young people in there. And Thai women who have their own money. CanтАЩt go in there, no way.тАЭ
He then joined a small group of about seven elderly Caucasian men who were standing silently in the street. Other groups were meandering nearby, perspiring visibly in the humid evening.
According to Thammasat University sociologist Nootaree Kampongrat, the refugee crisis was created by a тАЬperfect stormтАЭ of variables, beginning with the unique status of the Washington Square real estate.
тАЬThe market value of the land surpassed the income from these cheap bars as early as 1993, but since the landowners wanted to sell the entire 20-rai plot as a single package rather than subdivide it, they had to wait for a buyer,тАЭ she said. According to Nootaree, this created what the real estate calls a тАЬrent bogтАЭ where low-value businesses are permitted to continue in what otherwise should a be high-rent area.
тАЬWashington Square has been living on borrowed time for 20 years, and so have these men,тАЭ she explained. тАЬMeanwhile, theyтАЩve been stuck in a capsule, getting older and even more entrenched in their habits.тАЭ
With rents unchanged since the 1970s, many of Washington SquareтАЩs bars were able to keep their drink prices artificially low, further isolating their patrons from the new and more upscale establishments that were springing up in the area. Additionally, the refusal of the landowners to upgrade any of the decrepit shophouses in Washington Square prevented the influx of any new businesses aimed at younger or more sophisticated customers.
Even the physical structure of the square was a factor, according to Nootaree. тАЬWashington Square was literally walled off by darkness,тАЭ she noted. тАЬIt was similar to a cave ecosystem, where the indigenous species evolve in isolation, adapt to their bare resources, and eventually become a new species altogether.тАЭ
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.
тАЬThese people need to be treated as patients,тАЭ said Dr Janapat Ruenpongrat, a psychologist on the team who has interviewed and treated many of the victims. тАЬMost 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. TheyтАЩve lost everything and theyтАЩre scared.тАЭ
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.
тАЬThey donтАЩt speak Thai. Heck, they barely speak English,тАЭ she noted, referring to the truncated pidgin-English used by long-term expats who communicate exclusively with female bar employees and motorcycle taxi drivers.
тАЬAlso, theyтАЩre kind of poor,тАЭ she added. тАЬI mean, just look at their shoes.тАЭ
Responding to the crisis, Bangkok Governor Sukhumband Paribatra has promised to quickly find new places for the refugees to drink, carouse, and feel unthreatened by anything new, with sois 22 and 9 being vetted as prime candidates.
тАЬBangkok is better equipped than any city in the world to serve old white men who are uncomfortable with the wider world,тАЭ he said. тАЬWe are world leaders in providing economically desperate Asian women and unhealthy Western food. As governor I promise that these men will be taken care of.тАЭ
тАЬThey will live in Bangkok until they die. I promise you that much.тАЭ