This is speculations from "The Thaiger" website just posted today ...Guesses re: Pattayas future ???

[billyworld]

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/expa...and-high-heels

[Rockheart]

Pattaya is dreaming if they think Pattaya will be a world class family resort. Thai people will take their families there but I cannot see people from western country choosing Pattaya for a family vacation. Thais don't have so much problem having their kids know the reality of life. The beach is not really good for swimming and generally doesn't seem like a family beach. They probably think they are on the list for a Disneyland or something like that.

With sex work becoming legal in more and more countries, this seems to go against the grain in that sense.
They are also working on legalizing cannabis which seems to fit right in with the party atmosphere of Pattaya, not for families however.

They will put thousand and thousands of sex workers out of business and force them to work in lower paying jobs or go underground.
Plus horny older men will travel this far for the treasures of Pattaya. Families will stay much closer to home, the USA has way more family beaches than anywhere.
Thailand should not look a gift horse in the mouth. Pattaya is a gold mine for everyone involved. The amount of money being sent back to Thailand due to girlfriends in Pattaya is enormous. Older ex-pats buy property and move to Pattaya, foreign families will not buy property here and they will not move there.

Phuket and area is really the place families might go. It is cleaner and more oriented to all kinds of tourists.
They just need to get handle on the high prices or develop more on beaches close to Phuket.
If a Disneyland was possible, i would think Phuket area would be the place.

[rxpharm]

Discussions about changing Pattaya to a more "family friendly" vacation destination have been going on for years. I agree with Crag that it would be very difficult for them to change the theme, as it would cost a ton of Baht they don't have, plus the other reasons mentioned - mediocre/poor beach etc.

The traditional tourist industry and the sex worker industry have been hugely affected - if they adopted a policy similar to Iceland - allow tourists from low risk countries, but have them test on arrival if they are -ve they can go about as they please, and if they are +ve go into quarantine for 14 days. Tests would be paid by the tourist. While this wouldn't bring back huge numbers, they would do better than their current plan which is very restrictive:

[flamingofarmer]

Discussed elsewhere on the forum, I think its likely this change is a temporary one. However if walking street changes for good, Soi Buakhao or another soi could evolve into a new unofficial monger walking street. I would say that unless the authorities decided to go after the whole of the sex trade in Pattaya, its not destined to change; I can't see how it could unless the country as a whole changes, and that's unlikely. Were talking about a whole culture.

The city must have an idea of the revenue lost from all the bars closed and or running at minimum capacity. Regardless of walking streets outcome, we all can find LBs anywhere. Walking street is over rated in my opinion anyway. It could go away and i wouldn't care. I make fun . I am a wild party; if not in Pattaya, somewhere else.

[Rockheart]

Discussed elsewhere on the forum, I think its likely this change is a temporary one. However if walking street changes for good, Soi Buakhao or another soi could evolve into a new unofficial monger walking street. I would say that unless the authorities decided to go after the whole of the sex trade in Pattaya, its not destined to change; I can't see how it could unless the country as a whole changes, and that's unlikely. Were talking about a whole culture.

The city must have an idea of the revenue lost from all the bars closed and or running at minimum capacity. Regardless of walking streets outcome, we all can find LBs anywhere. Walking street is over rated in my opinion anyway. It could go away and i wouldn't care. I make fun . I am a wild party; if not in Pattaya, somewhere else.

Unfortunately you didn't see walking street in it's hey day when freelancers filled the streets. There was ladyboys working everywhere.
Jenny Star Bar was right beside Marine Disco and there was many more ladyboy friendly places than there is now.
They still seem to allow some freelancers at Hot Tuna bar but they are all pretending they actually work at the bar.
Still whenever the police need a photo op they go down to walking street and bust a few hookers.

So walking street has already gone mainstream more with Macdonalds and other such changes and no hookers......
I understand Tony's Fitness owns half of Walking Street so i cannot see it all dying off, it will come back.
Russians were starting to own a part of walking street but in recent years the Russian wave seems to have subsided some.

Even i missed the real heyday of Pattaya. I only went there in 2007 and it was pretty good then.
I think from the financial collapse in the 1990's until 2010 was the best time for us mongers.
Nana Plaza was full and Walking Street was wide open.

[Rockheart]

I think the Pattaya Beer Garden should try and expand during this time.
They need more seating out by the water. If some of those bars nearby are out of business they could do it cheap.

IMG_0433.JPG

[flamingofarmer]

I recently read an article where the TAT estimated that Pattaya has lost 80% of its revenues for the year as a result of no tourists. I wonder if this is the time to look at buying a bar ?

[P&G]

In my own point of view, Pattaya was already messed up before the Covid19 epidemic. So are also Bangkok and Patong. They used to be places where mongers could pick up ladyboys easily at cost effective prices. Little by little, I noticed that money was going faster than pleasure was coming. Walking street became a "muste see", a place where tourists go but they don't really know why and how it became famous. Maybe Pattaya will be ready to welcome more Russians, Chinese or tourists from other Asian countries. Even the Vietnamese press deals more and more often with Thai ladyboys. Respect the Viet morality in VN and go wild in Pattaya, no matter whether Western mongers will keep on going there or not.

[Rockheart]

I recently read an article where the TAT estimated that Pattaya has lost 80% of its revenues for the year as a result of no tourists. I wonder if this is the time to look at buying a bar ?

Other than right now, it always time to buy a bar in Pattaya, problem is that will probably not be healthy.
Once thing are back to normal most stuff will come back. Even they there will still be plenty of cheap places to open a bar.
As fun at it looks it is probably better to be a customer.

I'd rather wait for legal weed and open a ganja bar on the beach.

ganja.jpg

[P&G]

You can get a bar at a low price now and keep on operating it as a ladyboy bar, then change to a ganja bar when it becomes legal (and keep ladyboys).

[Rockheart]

That bar in Chiang Mai is actually called "Ganja Bar".
I stuck my head inside and they did not appear to be smoking up in there.
However there had to be a smoking area somewhere i bet.

I think mostly. ganja in Thailand is only illegal for foreigners.

[flamingofarmer]

That bar in Chiang Mai is actually called "Ganja Bar".
I stuck my head inside and they did not appear to be smoking up in there.
However there had to be a smoking area somewhere i bet.

I think mostly. ganja in Thailand is only illegal for foreigners.

I found the logo but they changed to Rasta Bar ( see pic)

They have " Nice life band every evening" ....?? Funny

[Rockheart]

Oh ya, that was the name then. Rasta and Ganja is almost interchangeable.

[flamingofarmer]

Ya thats true... rasta man always has ganga...ganga man always loves rasta .

[Rockheart]

It is part of their religion.
Rastafarian

In Rastafari, cannabis is considered a sacrament.^[231] Rastas argue that the use of ganja is promoted in the Bible, specifically in Genesis 1:29, Psalms 18:8, and Revelation 22:2.^[232]
The principal ritual of Rastafari is the smoking of ganja, also known as marijuana or cannabis.^[224]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastafari#Use_of_cannabis

I once was on the board of a Rastafarian society and we put on a concert where the headliner was a famous old Jamaican band from the Bob Marley era.
Never have i ever seen anyone smoke more weed in my life. These people could smoke like no other.
Imagine while they are playing there is still 20 people back there smoking their brains out..it is out of control.
They were all just rude and demanding stuff all the time. More weed more beer, more patties never enough. Never did anything like that again.

I worked with much bigger bands that requested stuff in their riders mostly food and alcohol. Prism, Doucette, Trooper, Dr. Hook and more.
They never officially requested weed but we sometimes would get them some. However if they ran out of their initial request they always paid out of their own pockets for us to get more.

http://www.culturereggaeband.com/