Happy Sunday, Bangkok!
A headline-grabbing week in Thailand, what with the revelations that burst forth following the arrest of multiple foreigners during a Russian ‘advanced sex training’ course that was raided in Pattaya. Nastya Rybka, one of the female instructors of the course, has made public from her Thai jail cell that she has valuable information on Russian tampering in Trump’s presidential election and so intends to seek asylum in the USA.
Whaaat.
Let’s see what else has been entertaining and enraging Bangkok this week…
Post Contents
News
PM vows to end Thailand’s sex tourism image after Gambian minister comments
Yet another foreign dignitary has shone a light on Thailand’s image as a haven for sex tourists this week, when Hamat Bah, the Gambian tourist minister, told the media, “We are not a sex destination. If you want a sex destination, you go to Thailand.”
To say that Thais are outraged by the comment is an understatement, to the extent that PM Prayut has vowed to turn this image around. To his credit, he hasn’t denied the prevalence of sex tourism in Thailand but has expressed a wish to take action.
“When anyone says something bad about us, we have to comply and use the laws,” he said. “Everything must improve. We have to help make Pattaya and other tourism areas quality tourist attractions and free of this [sex tourist image].”
Russian sex class is raided by Pattaya police
Police raided a hotel in central Pattaya this week following a tip from a police informant that a Russian group was holding an advanced sex training class there. Run by self-styled ‘sexpert’ Alex Lesley, real name Alexander Kirillov, the class involved suggestive presentations with two female models, according to the informant, who was unhappy with the obscene manner of the class and the 22,400 baht price tag.
Kirillov, the two women — his wife and so-called ‘oligarch huntress’ Nastya Rybka — and the other Russian instructors were taken into custody at Pattaya police station following the raid. All were charged with working without permits and one of the models additionally for a visa overstay.
Here’s a video of the raid on the surprisingly well attended class…
Алекс Лесли и Настя Рыбка арестован в Таиланде за секс-тренинг. https://t.co/nUJc3JcFku
Депортируют ли их в Россию и по какой статье им сфабрикуют уголовное дело? pic.twitter.com/W8LnvsA2EX
— Грани.Ру (@GraniTweet) 26 February 2018
75 foreigners arrested this week for illegal stays and working without permits
Originally reported in the media as 75 foreigners being arrested on Soi Cowboy this week, reporters have revised their stories to show that arrests were made throughout the country on foreigners found to have entered Thailand illegally, overstayed their visas or been caught working without a permit.
Most of the foreigners arrested were of Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Indian, Sudanese or Ugandan descent, and were arrested in areas along the Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, as well as Samut Prakan and Pattaya.
Blogs
Why finding love in Bangkok is hard for foreign women
The latest in Coconut’s Dating Despair series focuses on the plight of single foreign women in Bangkok looking for men to date. It’s pretty well documented at this stage how western women in particular might struggle to find anything approaching ‘real love’ in the Big Mango, but this article does a great job on focusing on what the women themselves think about their situation — rather than just the speculation of foreign men in the city.
Many people attribute foreign women’s lack of luck in love over here to the fact that they simply can’t compete with their Thai counterparts for the same men, but the truth is that many western women have pulled themselves out of the competition altogether.
Just like in the west, expat women in Bangkok are less likely to ‘settle’ in a relationship than expat men might be. While some men are seemingly happy to settle down with a local woman with whom they can’t communicate properly and may even endure financial issues with, many Western women would rather go it alone than live with the compromises that might be necessary to maintain a relationship with a local man.
And when it comes to dating western men in Bangkok, it’s true that many of them are solely interested in Thai women. Those that are open to relationships with western women often have an inflated view of their own dating value that comes about after a few months of enjoying the attention of Thai girls in Bangkok. We’ve all heard the trope that Bangkok seems to attract a lot of men who were ‘losers’ back home — most western women aren’t fooled by the change in location and aren’t tempted to shack up for the sake of being in a relationship.
Upcountry events in March
If you’re eager to escape the smoggy confines of Bangkok this month, why not take a trip upcountry or down to the islands and immerse yourself in Thai culture for a couple of days? Bangkok 101 Magazine have compiled this list of festivals and events that are worth seeing outside of the city this month.
Forum Threads
What do you most love and most hate about Thailand?
A classic Reddit thread here on the polarity of Thailand: what do you love the most and what could you really do without?
Most responses are predictable — who doesn’t love the food and friendly people and hate the snail’s pace bureaucracy and awful rate of road traffic accidents? — but there are a few good insights here to savour as well.
You know you’ve been in Thailand too long when…
Another Thaivisa showstopper here, complete with stereotypes and racist witticisms aplenty.
So, what are the signs that you’ve gone ‘full native’ and have been in Thailand too long? Apparently, the list is long — wanting to eat on the floor, being afraid of losing face, becoming outraged over a meal costing over 100 baht, referring to yourself as ‘farang’, not breaking a sweat when eating a 10-chilli somtam, leaving footprints on the toilet seat, greeting other farangs with a wai, and when ladyboys start to look more appealing than ladyboys.
OK then…
We think this one is probably the most accurate:
YouTube
This garage between Phuket and Khao Lak made a sign using a spanner as the letter “r”, but …. pic.twitter.com/lbAiN4ov1z
— Jamie in Phuket (@jamiemonk) February 28, 2018
Lost in transaltion
(Pic cr.Rodney Johnston) pic.twitter.com/rL3gO0gyqc
— Stickboy Bangkok (@StickboyBangkok) February 28, 2018
#BoozeBan tomorrow?
Crisis averted.#Thailand pic.twitter.com/H6DKdQwl9o
— Signore Sammy (@signoresammybkk) February 28, 2018
With colorful longtail boats docking on sandy beaches surrounded by dreamy limestone karsts, Railay embodies the image of a picturesque island paradise. 😉👌🕶️🦎
.#thailand_allshots #thailand #travelthailand #thaistagram #thailandgram #thailandinsider #thailandbeach #amazthld pic.twitter.com/Vo26ur5fcd— Thailand Holiday (@thailholiday) February 22, 2018
When Bangkok get’s you down, sometimes you simply have to head north. Vientiane, Chokdee Cafe. pic.twitter.com/Ha0OWfCP7n
— Geoff G Thomas (@geoffgthomas) February 27, 2018
There are more Irish pubs in Bangkok than there actual Irish people.
— Somchai the Dog (@bkksomchai) February 28, 2018
Again something you’d only see in movies…#bangkok pic.twitter.com/xzTVmpmOAw
— Sarah (@sunshine_yeg) February 26, 2018
And that’s been The Week On Sukhumvit — see you next time!
Featured photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash
