Is Pattaya dying?

[Guest]

The Russians drink (not sure where)

Like the Polish they drink in their houses or on the street never in the bars. You can see them strolling down walking street with mullets, tashes and decked out in the hippest 80s attire drinking pint bottles of singha.. ..1 words sums them up 'manky'

when i am down in some bar off Bangla road, i don't want to be the source of the someones curiosity - those weak units who like to watch what others are prepared to do - yet too scared themselves to indulge. Sometimes i feel like those animals in the zoo.

one of the worst things i saw on my trip (beside the dreadlock falang chicks learning the fire throwing) was a fat English bird dancing on a bar in the tiger complex. She was there 3 nights in a row, getting down with the poor bar girls...living on the edge

another thing which i found quite nauseating was in the disco's all the russian's and scando's dressed and acting like black rappers fucking idiots...but the thai birds love em
these guys stand up on the stage were the birds should be and just flex and look at their muscles..

this trip was my first time in Phuket and Pattya and to be honest i didn't notice much of a difference between bangla and walking street; both places are full of tourists mostly Russians.

not sure if this was the case a few years back

[Ladyboy_Loser!]

Pattaya is growing in leaps and bounds in response to the increasing number of Asian and Eastern European tourists. For dyed in the wool whoremongers that is not a good thing. The well run P4P venues will continue to prosper, there is always going to be an influx of guys whose onyl reason for being in Pattaya is the sex that is available 24/7. The powers that be in Pattaya want your dollar but thye don't need it. There is a reason for these new mega shopping malls, the continued building of high rise Condos and Hotels. Take a walk along Beach Road in the morning and early afternoon and count the number of Tour buses that are packed side by side. Go to Nong Nuech and you will be amazed by the number of Asian and Eastern European tour groups. At night they get back on the buses, go to one of the Cabaret shows, maybe a guided tour of walking street with a stop in one of water side seafood restaurants. These visitors to Pattaya have no interest in the seedy side of this place. They are not there for the sex. Yes, Pattaya is changing with the times, for me, I can take advantage of this fact and return there for some R&R with not a lot of the louts about.

[Powerbob]

(stogie bear @ Apr. 04 2008,16:08) It's changing, not dying.

If the shitty mom and pop bars die off and big resorts take over then that's fine by me.

Maybe someone will fix the horribly disfunctional infrastructure... water, roads etc...

Well said Stogie

[Somchai]

Tonight I went into La Boesche agogo ( if thats the correct spelling ) at between 8.30 pm and 9pm. This might be a bit early but maybe not. La Boesche is a RG bar and I think considered perhaps in the top 5 agogos on Walking St.

I was amazed at what I saw. 12 girls up on stage dancing- over 40 other dancers and service staff sat at tables with their colleagues with nothing to do - and 5 ferangs including me. I have to say I found it very sad.

So RG shags should be getting cheaper then?  

Cheers Somchai

[Somchai]

(donnnnnny @ Apr. 04 2008,20:53)         well said suk rd
remember the asian economic  chrisis??10%  growth   based on inflated real estate prices along the east sea board  pattaya area
eventually something has to give, and it did.  :

Donnnnny I remember it well - with the UK pound getting to over 90 Baht- but only after I had gone home- sods law.

I am nowhere being anything like an economist - however I cant understand why the Baht is so strong. I can see why the pound and the US dollar are so weak. But over here we have had coups and threats of counter coups - a new constitution which did not please all. The return of the ousted PM and the likelyhood of legal action against him. The possibility of the same PM taking office again-so what price then the previous coup!

So why is it not at least 80 Baht to the pound. If it was, I and a few friends could attempt to save the sex4pay economic difficulties in Pattaya- almost single handed  

Cheers Somchai

[azza33]

(Somchai @ Apr. 05 2008,02:11) I am nowhere being anything like an economist - however I cant understand why the Baht is so strong.

I think you'll find the reason is quite simple....

Thailand exports its cheap labour~~ i.e. so many things are getting made in these days and exported around the world, hence the baht is appreciating.

If you don't believe me... well, had to laugh cos i read where my condoms where made (that i purchased in oz cos everyone knows how poor the local product is in thai) and guess what they were made in thailand

About 95% tuna in oz for example is from thailand...
I believe the biggest rice exporter in the world is

The list goes on~~~ just check out what you buy and it may surprise you... I know my made in LG washing machine was unexpected... as was the deskchair i recently purchased....

An interesting poll maybe could be do you trust goods made in


just an aside~~

the us/baht in 1990 and 1995 was around 25, and as low as 20 in 1980
the "crisis" lead to a blowout in the 2000's
and now things are heading back down to normal levels

And for all those poms out there... stop whinging guys..... 60 is a bloody good number!!!
The days of 75-90 were an anomaly!!

15-20 pounds for a shag in
C'mon its still bloody cheap compared to UK

[SukhumvitRoad]

(touchescreen @ Apr. 04 2008,21:02)

(SukhumvitRoad @ Apr. 04 2008,19:44) What astonishes me about Pattaya is the complete lack of commercial good sense in the commercial development boom that is going on there. A ninety-one story condo? Give me a fucking break. Even assuming the damn thing ever gets built, and thats a big assumption right there, do you want to be the first guy to stand on the ninety-first floor of a building built by Thais? No? Somehow I didn't think so.

And look at the shopping malls being built. For who, you ask? Good question. The Avenue is lovely and has some nice places in it, but it's nearly deserted. Next door to it is being built another center (nearly identical in design, naturally, since this is Thailand) of about the same size. Who's going in there? Across the street and next to the Royal Garden Mall is some kind of silly commercial center running from Second Road all the way to Beach Road that has been under construction for at least three years and now looks mostly abandoned. Down in South Pattaya, the Central Group is building a massive mall that looks like a bomb shelter for giant blimps. Incredibly ugly though it may be, it looks to have more floor space than the Paragon. In Pattaya. Good God, what are they going to put in there?

How can it be that so much utterly nonsensical construction gets done in places like Pattaya, then left half empty and nobody seems to care? Let me whisper two words to you: H-O-T M-O-N-E-Y. If it weren't for graft, theft, and corruption, Thailand wouldn't have an economy at all.

so you found the solution lucky you - stay away from pattaya - away

An odd answer to my post, it seems to me. How can anyone get touchy about an observation that Pattaya's so-called 'growth' is mostly a product of hot money, corruption, and outright theft? So I'm told to 'stay away' because I pointed that out? Is this another variation on the tired old if-you-don't-like-it-go-back-to-where-you-came-from response made famous on Thai Visa?

Good Lord, man, get a grip. Everything everywhere in Thailand is pretty much the product of hot money, corruption, and outright theft. You breathe it with the fucking air. It's simply a fact of life here.

[Snick]

(Somchai @ Apr. 05 2008,02:11) I am nowhere being anything like an economist - however I cant understand why the Baht is so strong.

Its a little counter intuitive, but one reason the baht is strong is that the Thai economy is weak.

Thailand exports a lot, and imports very little at the moment. That causes the Baht to increase.

There are lots of other factors, but balance of payment is a big one,

[Snick]

Touchscreen is just another alias for agggwhatsisname

[katoeylover]

Again, Thailand is one of the biggest exporters of seafood (shrimp) and Chicken.
An economy based on farming/food in a decreasing market place makes for a stronger baht.
As for the low season, a combination if weak currency, higher flight prices, weak economy back home and the credit crunch will all lead to some staying at home, put all this together and you will see less tourists from USA, Europe and Oz.

Even now, Hua Hin is as quiet as i have seen it and we are not even in low season yet.

Girls charge less? Thai mentality says they charge MORE because they get less custome.... TIT

[azza33]

(katoeylover @ Apr. 05 2008,12:29) Girls charge less? Thai mentality says they charge MORE because they get less custome.... TIT

sorry for the bad expression

But it is a buyers market right now, so if someone does ask for a high price, just keep on walking

[rossco]

As the majority of Thais have a lower income compared to Western society the demand for "luxury" goods and high value consumables is lower.

That in itself helps the Thai economy maintain a healthy balance of payments. Their primary domestic spend is food in which they are self sufficient.

The lack of Thai car ownership, compared to the West, sees a lower demand for fossil fuels.

The majority of Thais have a much more basic lifestyle which depends on Thai Domestic productivity and not imports. Many luxury imports attract a high importation tax which discourages all but the richer consumer - a minority in Thailand.

New shopping Malls are aimed at the "Resort" tourist not the bar crawler/sex monger of old.

It is all a transition - the P4P industry will survive - just a different style and probably a different location - 3rd Road and Eastwards with Walking Street maintained as a Tourist attraction ala Amsterdam red light district.

Demand will always exist (as it has been human nature since man found woman) and, while the Thai Government "tolerates" the industry, people will visit primarily for that purpose.

This transition will impact the "Mom and Pop" bars that SB highlights. Cash flow kills off more businesses than anything else - so bars living on a very tight cash flow will close as Low season bites. Last year some bars took staff off "salary" to reduce overheads in the low season.

The Thais do have a strange reaction to reduced business - they put up prices! Saying that wholesale beer has risen slightly - about 5% but bars have not increased their price.

[stogie bear]

That'll will do me before I head to the Hua Hin retirement village...

We'll be neighbors!

[Guest]

(SukhumvitRoad @ Apr. 05 2008,12:12)

(touchescreen @ Apr. 04 2008,21:02)

(SukhumvitRoad @ Apr. 04 2008,19:44) What astonishes me about Pattaya is the complete lack of commercial good sense in the commercial development boom that is going on there. A ninety-one story condo? Give me a fucking break. Even assuming the damn thing ever gets built, and thats a big assumption right there, do you want to be the first guy to stand on the ninety-first floor of a building built by Thais? No? Somehow I didn't think so.

And look at the shopping malls being built. For who, you ask? Good question. The Avenue is lovely and has some nice places in it, but it's nearly deserted. Next door to it is being built another center (nearly identical in design, naturally, since this is Thailand) of about the same size. Who's going in there? Across the street and next to the Royal Garden Mall is some kind of silly commercial center running from Second Road all the way to Beach Road that has been under construction for at least three years and now looks mostly abandoned. Down in South Pattaya, the Central Group is building a massive mall that looks like a bomb shelter for giant blimps. Incredibly ugly though it may be, it looks to have more floor space than the Paragon. In Pattaya. Good God, what are they going to put in there?

How can it be that so much utterly nonsensical construction gets done in places like Pattaya, then left half empty and nobody seems to care? Let me whisper two words to you: H-O-T M-O-N-E-Y. If it weren't for graft, theft, and corruption, Thailand wouldn't have an economy at all.

so you found the solution lucky you - stay away from pattaya - away

An odd answer to my post, it seems to me. How can anyone get touchy about an observation that Pattaya's so-called 'growth' is mostly a product of hot money, corruption, and outright theft? So I'm told to 'stay away' because I pointed that out? Is this another variation on the tired old if-you-don't-like-it-go-back-to-where-you-came-from response made famous on Thai Visa?

Good Lord, man, get a grip. Everything everywhere in Thailand is pretty much the product of hot money, corruption, and outright theft. You breathe it with the fucking air. It's simply a fact of life here.

That's why an uncorruptible angel like you should stay far away from evil Thailand, so again : far away... suck the road suck road ...

[friedfrunk]

DoucheScreen, there may be a sale on Midol ...