We spent the last portion of our Thailand stop in a city in the south on the Gulf of Thailand known as Pattaya. We were visiting family friends who shacked us up in their gorgeous home for a few days, showed us around, and made us feel like royalty for a couple days! Thanks again Rick and Kim!
Us relaxing and cooling off in luxury at Rick and Kim's
Pattaya is the place to go for anything, I mean ANYTHING in Thailand. The place is huge for sex tourism and general debauchery that is associated with Thailand and if thats what you are looking for, it will not disappoint.
You want a ladyboy to go shoot Uzis at the firing range with you? Do it in Pattaya. You want to ride a jet ski while slugging back bottles of Chang? Do it in Pattaya. You want to find a working member of the opposite, or same, sex? Do it in Pattaya. Seriously, I think I just coined the new slogan for the city.
Most of the debauchery is situated on a couple streets in town, with the main one being ‘Walking Street’. Walking Street is everything that the movies, media and television would have you believe Thailand is all about, sex, drugs, techno, fluorescent lights, cage dancers, hookers, grandpas and farang three sheets to the wind.
Walking Street at Night in Pattaya
I actually thought this is what the nightlife in BKK would have been like, and although there are areas where it is a little sleazier, Pattaya is way nuttier, its like the Patpong District of BKK on steroids. Apparently Pattaya used to be a sleepy fishing village but was transformed into its current state by American GI’s on a RNR break from a stint in Vietnam. We got to walking street, grabbed a few beers and a front row seat to the show, easily better than any movie I have ever seen before. I will try and highlight the best bits I saw amongst the street walkers, the brothels and drunks:
- Lady boy in stilettos, bra and panties with her/his ass hanging out the back and somewhat prevalent sidepipe in the front
- White Eminem doppleganger that was so twisted you know he was waking up pantless, passportless and cashless
- a couple of Farang picking up two definite ladyboys, one of them was the previously mentioned one in the panties. EIther they got what they were looking for or they are gonna be slightly surprised when they return to their hotel…
- Countless brothels advertising ‘hot european girls’ with drugged out slavic girls in polyester dresses dancing in glass cages
- A ten year old kid breakdancing for cash, who actually was pretty good. Not sure why he was out at 11:00 doing this
- Old white men with sunburns getting (paying) girls who could easily pass as their grandkids(X100)
- You know those sushi revolving belts? There was something like that with girls with numbers tucked into their undies and you pick your ‘number’ and action off a menu and have at it
- the Mighty Ducks versus Nashville live, but who gives a shit about those two teams
Sitting at a bar on Walking Street taking in the "views"
The stop was definitely entertaining and not one that many travellers in our demographic make it out to. Walking street was definitely interesting and seeing the seedier side of the land of a thousand smiles was a great people watching exercise and after a few minutes there you definitely know Pattaya is not the sleepy fishing community it once was.
sounds something like fantasy island – insert fantasy, pony up and enjoy. mom is pretty excited that you visited with kim and rick, she is having lunch with her this week and picking up the loot. walking street aptly named for a red light district. don’t think it would fly in edmonton. good pics but i would like to see more people shots – how often are going to see a pants less she/he in fort sask? since i can’t travel the world might as well see more of it through your eyes!
dad
Funny post. We just met some dude who spent the last month in pattaya. He kinda looked like the eminem doppleganger you wrote about. Jonathan, the dude you met at the waterhfall in luang prabang. Hope your travels are going smoothly and drop us a line when your in vietnam ( we’re headed up to Hanoi tomorrow night)
So glas that you could catch up with Rick and Kim. BY the way THank you for the beautiful flowers on Mom’s day. What a beautiful surprise.
You look great in you picture with Rick H. Hope to talk soon
Mom and Dad
Sorry for the spelling. “glas”should be glad you should be your Will use glasses next time.
Coulda been the same guy Jonathan! hahaha Pattaya is a ‘special place’ if you could call it that.
Ger – didn’t have my camera on me, otherwise i woulda snapped some other shots of the street scenery…