Beach massage

[aot871]

Im told by friends ( expat ) that there is a drop off,, of massage guys on the beach,, early afternoon due to there being no shade , and now you need to book them if u want one afer about 4 in the afternoon

[TOQ]

The number of massage boys has dropped of drastically since the police have run off all the free lancer massage boys. Now you must be licensed and have one of the blue shirts. From what I have heard that the fine for being caught without a license is so high that the boys do not want to risk it.

The times I have been there in the late afternoon it appears that there are even less massage boys there so I would not be surprised if you have to book one earlier in the day for a late afternoon session.

[aot871]

What i ment to say , is im told it has a lot to do with there being no shade due to the so called tree pruning

[neddy3]

What i ment to say , is im told it has a lot to do with there being no shade due to the so called tree pruning

It has more to do with the actions of the, police, from what I see and hear.

Certainly there are fewer masseurs working the beach.
Those working have blue shirts.
Even those with fake blue shirts are gone.

True enough that where the trees have been 'pruned', there is much less shade.
This would disincline some to have a massage.

Fortunately, areas exist at present where the trees remain untouched.

[Up2U]

The tree trimming will resume when the city gets the funds to pay the contractor. It has stopped near Niyom's section, near Rit's. I have stopped going to beach or when I do go it is only for a hour or two, just too hot. If you want a beach massage the police will not let you use an umbrella to protect you from the sun. The whole situation is rediculous.

[Nirish guy]

It has more to do with the actions of the, police, from what I see and hear. Certainly there are fewer masseurs working the beach. Even those with fake blue shirts are gone.

Yes, because as we all know that out of ALL the issues facing the police in Thailand that the one crucial and pressing issue that they really needed to address urgently was the one of ensuring that we never were forced to endure the torture of receiving an oil massage from some "unlicensed" massage guy whilst at the beach, MAN the risk of that happening has always REALLY pissed us all off over the years, so thank GOODNESS they've finally addressed that problem AT LONG LAST AND factored in the ensuring on un-law abiding Thai can even THINK about putting an umbrella up to protect our pale asses whilst getting said massage and we can all rest easy now as we burn under the bare and shadeless trees, whilst having yet more oil rubbed on to our athletic bodies, all safe in the knowledge that is 100% most definitely only by FULLY licensed massage operatives who will be laying their hands upon us - see - and who said the Pattaya police were useless, not me thats for sure as here you can see how they've finally come good for the protection of all tourists and ex pats alike - eventually - bless em all !!

Now, if only they could work out some way of stopping the beach chair vendors selling us food and cold drinks not to mention stopping that annoying guy selling us ice lollies - and we'll not even mention the dough nut guy ! Well, if they can turn their hand to all THAT then we really know Pattaya's on the up and up and we can sit on the beach almost massageless, roasted to within an inch of our lives, dying of thirst and hunger and coming down with typhoid and god knows what else from the pollution from the water then they'll really have done their job well and we can all rest easy and relax on the beach again.

[mahjongguy]

Regarding the tree "trimming": It was just 2 or 3 years ago that the trees along Dong Tarn beach were last "trimmed" and I remember being shocked by the crude ugliness of it. Why couldn't they cut them back less severely? I've read in the forums that some suspect it's just about corruption, an illegal harvesting of the wood.

This time, seeing it again, I asked a Thai gardener about it. He agreed that possibly the removed trunks were sold to someone's benefit, that's the way of things, but there is a good explanation for the barbarity of it.

Some decades ago the entire beachfront was naturally devoid of trees. Just 50 or 100 meters of sand and grasses. For tourist development purposes, the city planted the coconut palms and the fir trees and Casuarinas. The palms are not ideal (the coconuts can be lethal) but the other two trees are worse. There's nothing but sand, deep as you go, yet these are forest trees and do not grow the wide horizontal roots that support palms in a storm. They can't be allowed to grow as tall as they please.

Of course, in a more affluent country they could be trimmed annually and not create such a devastated appearance.

[Gaybutton]

Two things - first, it is immediately obvious to anyone who knows, and probably also those who don't know, correct pruning techniques that the tree trimmers are clueless as to how to prune a tree. If they don't do it correctly and if they somehow manage not to kill the tree, when new branches grow out their attachment points are going to be very weak - and that makes them dangerous.

The second thing - we keep hearing about how the police make sure the only beach masseurs are licensed. My first question is licensed by whom and by what criteria? Why do I have a feeling that the requirement to get a license is pay the right people the right amount, and now you have a license? My second question is since the police are so adamant about making sure the beach masseurs are licensed, what about the massage shops literally everywhere in Pattaya - "The Dark Side" too. Do they check to make sure the masseurs in those shops are licensed? If they do, I've never heard about it, and that includes the 'legitimate' massage shops and the 'happy ending' massage shops.

[arsenal]

Majonguy: Thank you for your explanation, it does actually make sense although I have to say they could be pruned more sympathetically.

As for the licencing of masseurs. This coincided with the world wide economic downturn when the police seemed to be continually looking for new sources of revenue to make up the shortfall from bars closing etc. Fortunately the Middle Easteners turned up with their refusal to wear crash helmets and so filled up a lot of the shortfall.

[aot871]

are guys still having afternoon massages now that there is no shade , as I for one would not like to lie under the hot sun , for 40 mins or so with no tree shade

[Up2U]

are guys still having afternoon massages now that there is no shade , as I for one would not like to lie under the hot sun , for 40 mins or so with no tree shade
There is still shade by Rit's section as those trees have not been cut. All trees to the south of Rit's remain unscathed but tree trimming will resume when city has the money. There is shade there for massages.

[Up2U]

Whoops, I spoke too soon, the trees in fact have been trimmed at Rit's section. I took some pictures this morning as the daily setup was in progress. Also, the walkway by Rit's has been restored as the sand covering the path as been removed.

We have had rain here for the last week, not beach weather.

[petr55]

So where did all these massage boys go?
They've got to earn a living somewhere, right?

[Up2U]

So where did all these massage boys go?
They've got to earn a living somewhere, right?
The licensed blue shirt masseurs are still there but in fewer numbers. They leave the beach often by mid afternoon because of the heat due to lack of shade. Free lance masseurs run the risk of fines or jail if undocumented. The young twinks can sit with you but no massage. Vendors will not sell them a stool for sitting. The question was asked earlier about blue shirt masseur regulations. To get a blue shirt, you must register at City Hall, present a diploma from a registered massage school and pay 400 baht annually. The masseurs are given motivational speeches on how to treat customers and must take a pee test quarterly. I have witnessed a few of these pep talks given at the beach.