The future of Sunee

[Mickp]

Last time I was in Sunee early last year it was completely dead.
Im not exaggerating when I said I was only part of a handful of farangs there too.

According to reports it has not got better with even more bars closing.

Of course I loved it years ago when it was busy and there were many boys but times change and I have to accept that.

I guess the pedophile raids in the mid 2000's started the nail in the coffin but rightly so I guess,then came along that GFC then good bars such as Mikes closed etc

It seems Jomtien Complex is the Gay area nowadays although it just doesnt give me that buzz that Sunee did.
Jomtien to me is just too clean, too sterile is the word I guess im looking for and im told no GO GO Bars allowed.

Sunee Plaza had that character, that Thailand look so to speak with street carts ,food vendors,dark feel , with bright lights etc.

Years later there started to be the emergence of Middle Eastern bars and smoke shops but it seems they too have moved on.
For those that live near there what do you think will happen with Sunee Plaza ?

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[bobsaigon2]

The Pattaya boy bars, with a few notable exceptions, have often been owned or run by people without the skills to create enterprises that maintain customer support/interest. Sunee and to some extent Boyztown are moribund. I cannot imagine entrepreneurs with money and talent investing in new bars, or resurrecting those that have closed. The sleaze of Sunee and the glitz of Boyztown have become quaint anachronisms. The genteel face of Jomtien Complex is the new look of commercial sex in Pattaya. For a while. A few years from now we may be mourning the passing of that venue also. IMHO.

[FarangRuMak]

The ban on Go-Go bars in Jomtien Complex might eventually go.
It was the policy of the Complex holding company not to allow them.
Now this company's teeth have been pulled in that they have sold what I would estimate to be > half the units into private ownership.
Of course City Hall and the BIB would have to come on side as well.
We might even see a casino there in the future.
The large car park building was bought in anticipation of such an eventuality.

[Mickp]

With respect i guess many of the customers have passed away over the years.
I remember as far back as 15 years ago many of the customers were in their 70's then .

[Mickp]

Bob funny how you say about the mourning of gay areas , remember the once Gay area of the Day Night.

[gerefan2]

As far as Sunee Plaza goes remember the saying...
" the party isn't over but the host is beginning to think about the washing up"

[AsDaRa]

With respect i guess many of the customers have passed away over the years.
I remember as far back as 15 years ago many of the customers were in their 70's then .

I think also here lies the explanation. Sex tourism is not popular with the new generation of gays and I think the reason is financial. My generation is the first generation in the West who has it financially less than the previous one since at least 200 years. Many people with a normal job have a salary which is almost equal to their monthly spendings, hardly anything left to save for a sex tourism holiday.

Another reason will be that gays have thanks to the Internet more options to find a sex partner. But I doubt this plays a big role in the explanation. Because in the West if you are 40+ it becomes not easy to find a willing 20 year old boy. And prostitution is expensive here. So if you are 50 and you want a 20 year old, you need to become a sex tourist if you want to pay a reasonable price. So the fact we do not currently see many new 40, 50 year olds in Pattaya must be financial, because I am sure the demand is there when you reach that age. So there is demand. There just isn't any money.

[arsenal]

Most of the bars never made much money, even when Sunee was buzzing. But, there was an endless stream of new owners to take over, most were basically on a two or three year break from their normal lives. Lives that they then returned to having realised that the grass in not greener in Thailand. However, with the crash and fear stalking almost the entire financial world, that stream has dried up or else moved to Jomtien where I suspect rents are cheaper. Sooner or later go go bars will arrive there too. There was one, owned by the late lamented Monty and I think it lasted for about a year. Like most of his ventures. Haha. RIP Monty.

[goji]

So the fact we do not currently see many new 40, 50 year olds in Pattaya must be financial, because I am sure the demand is there when you reach that age. So there is demand. There just isn't any money.

Are you sure there is a decline in 40~50 year olds in Pattaya ?

Overall tourist numbers to Thailand keep going up. Maybe the numbers in the gay bars decrease, but how do you know they are not just using Grindr ? For example, gay cruising seems to be declining. That's not due to money, it's due to the internet.

However, I suspect as you say, money is keeping SOME of the western tourists away.
However, when the internet offers a much cheaper way to date AND the bars keep pushing prices up, of course trade is going to move online. Don't under estimate that factor.

If money has been a factor, I don't expect to see it getting any better soon. The US dollar has had a good run over the last few years & this might continue for a year or 2 as they lead the round of interest rate rises. However, it's bound to ebb the other way at some time.

In the UK, the younger generations seem to graduate with more debt and it costs a lot more to buy property. Also in the last 10 years, the exchange rate has gone from about 66 down to 44, so no doubt some of the more financially stretched Brits have been priced out.

I suppose other EU trade might hold up for as long as the current economic recovery holds up.

[FarangRuMak]

Most of the bars never made much money, even when Sunee was buzzing. But, there was an endless stream of new owners to take over, most were basically on a two or three year break from their normal lives. Lives that they then returned to having realised that the grass in not greener in Thailand. However, with the crash and fear stalking almost the entire financial world, that stream has dried up or else moved to Jomtien where I suspect rents are cheaper. Sooner or later go go bars will arrive there too. There was one, owned by the late lamented Monty and I think it lasted for about a year. Like most of his ventures. Haha. RIP Monty.

Yes RIP Monty.
I have visited his grave in the grounds of Watt Yan, the Chinese Temple on Sukumvit Road as you go towards Bang Saray. Grave number 42.
Bring a small glass of Scotch & Coke if you decide to go.