quote:
BANGKOK, Thailand - A car bomb exploded Thursday near a tourist hotel in southern Thailand, killing five people and wounding more than 40 in the nation's first such attack, authorities said, and the prime minister threatened to "lay siege" to villages supporting separatists in the predominantly Muslim region. The car bombing — the first in Thailand — struck near the Marina Hotel in Sungai Kolok, a town on the border with Malaysia that is popular with male tourists for its nightlife. The blast took place on a street with many open-front bars.
The bomb was planted inside a car and likely triggered by mobile phone, police Lt. Col. Wej Suwannaraj said.
"This is the biggest bombing ever to occur in this region," said Narathiwat province's Gov. Pracha Tehrat, adding it was Thailand's first car bombing.
Asked if foreign Islamic militants might have been involved, the acting army commander for the area, Maj. Gen. Khwanchart Klaharn, said: "It is still unclear. It is like other similar attempts to cause disturbances in the south."
Question: when the article refers to the area where the bombing took place as "popular with male tourists for its night life" is that a euphesmism for a red light district?