reader Posted May 10, 2017 Posted May 10, 2017 It's getting to be Groundhog Day in Pattaya. From Pattayaone Bang Lamung district chief Naris Niramaiwong joined an entourage of local police and soldiers parading through Pattaya on Tuesday. According to the chief they were doing important work under government orders to clear up the illegal sex trade in karaoke shops, beer bars and soapy massage establishments or ap-op-nuat, reported Siam Chon News. They were also on the lookout for illegal immigrants, illegal foreign workers and signs of human trafficking and other illegal activity. Naris – who in February mounted a similar raid embarrassing a UK man caught with his trousers down in a short time room above a Go-Go establishment on Valentine’s Day – said it was part of improving tourism at the resort. He also didn’t want the resort to be called “sex capital of the world” anymore, reported Siam Chon News The report of the party’s activities did not mention a single arrest or incident encountered by the group on their foray into the resort’s nightlife. http://pattayaone.news/en/yet-another-sex-clean-pattaya/ emailbroken 1 Quote
emailbroken Posted May 10, 2017 Posted May 10, 2017 Really very odd. Must be just for optics. Get rid of the sex trade and Pattaya has very little. Far nicer beach resorts elsewhere. 1moRussian 1 Quote
sglad Posted May 10, 2017 Posted May 10, 2017 Really very odd. Must be just for optics. Get rid of the sex trade and Pattaya has very little. Far nicer beach resorts elsewhere. That's a very sad statement on Pattaya. The sex trade is for sex tourists but non-sex tourists might see something else in Pattaya? Quote
Alexx Posted May 10, 2017 Posted May 10, 2017 But for anything else, there really are better options! 1moRussian 1 Quote
Vessey Posted May 10, 2017 Posted May 10, 2017 If they want to increase tourism in Pattaya it isn't the sex trade that they need to clean-up, its their beach and stopping emptying the drains into the sea. I might like looking at the sea in Pattaya Bay, but I certainly wouldn't want to swim in it! 1moRussian 1 Quote
lilbob69 Posted May 11, 2017 Posted May 11, 2017 I do love going to Pattaya. I've spent the majority of my time there over the last 22 trips. I would never swim at the beach, but to be fair I only live 800m from the beach in my home country and I never swim at the beach here either, despite the pristine coastline, it's just not my thing. During my earlier trips I spent time at gogo bars looking for a soulmate nowadays I use the apps more than anything. I guess the attraction for me is the availability of the bars if I so wish. Close them down and I still have my apps or maybe start looking to Chang Mai or other places. Not much of anything unique in Pattaya to keep me coming back Quote
Boy69 Posted May 11, 2017 Posted May 11, 2017 Chiang Mai is not an alternative option at all to Pattaya the gay scene there is almost non exist once I had been there 2 years ago I understood it was much vibrant in the past but it faded away. Quote
stijntje Posted May 11, 2017 Posted May 11, 2017 Times are changing... but LOS remains a nice destination Quote
Gwydion62 Posted May 11, 2017 Posted May 11, 2017 They are very good at keeping straight faces and sounding as if they mean it when they do these periodic sweeps. Always goes back to normal. Too much money involved for all concerned to actually stop anything. Quote
lilbob69 Posted May 12, 2017 Posted May 12, 2017 Chiang Mai is not an alternative option at all to Pattaya the gay scene there is almost non exist once I had been there 2 years ago I understood it was much vibrant in the past but it faded away. I'm told Chang Mai has only a few gay bars (like 2 maybe). But the availability of various boys on the Apps is quite good. I guess my point was if they close down the bars etc in Pattaya then only the apps will provide the service I'm looking for, therefore almost any location in LOS would be OK Quote
sglad Posted May 12, 2017 Posted May 12, 2017 I'm told Chang Mai has only a few gay bars (like 2 maybe). But the availability of various boys on the Apps is quite good. I guess my point was if they close down the bars etc in Pattaya then only the apps will provide the service I'm looking for, therefore almost any location in LOS would be OK Depends on what you mean by 'gay' bars? If you mean bars with boys available for pay there are a few. Go go bars: Adam's Apple, Circle, New My Way. Bars with freelancers: Orion, Secrets. Not sure about Pandee and Ram. The thing is freelancers come in a variety of forms. The tattooed guy playing snooker could be a freelancer but so could the guy in the business shirt or the student with a backpack. vinapu 1 Quote
lilbob69 Posted May 13, 2017 Posted May 13, 2017 Depends on what you mean by 'gay' bars? If you mean bars with boys available for pay there are a few. Go go bars: Adam's Apple, Circle, New My Way. Bars with freelancers: Orion, Secrets. Not sure about Pandee and Ram. The thing is freelancers come in a variety of forms. The tattooed guy playing snooker could be a freelancer but so could the guy in the business shirt or the student with a backpack. This can make life difficult to spot a freelancer. I guess the majority of them would be on apps Quote
vinapu Posted May 13, 2017 Posted May 13, 2017 This can make life difficult to spot a freelancer. I guess the majority of them would be on apps don't worry, they will spot you Quote
spoon Posted May 13, 2017 Posted May 13, 2017 They wouldnt spot me though i think as i look more like local (malay/chinese mix). The 4 days ive been there, wherever i go the local speak thai to me and they all got a confused look from me lol. Quote
lilbob69 Posted May 15, 2017 Posted May 15, 2017 They wouldnt spot me though i think as i look more like local (malay/chinese mix). The 4 days ive been there, wherever i go the local speak thai to me and they all got a confused look from me lol. Haha. I'm very hard to miss, unfortunately Quote
reader Posted May 15, 2017 Author Posted May 15, 2017 Excerpts from Bangkok Post It is proving hard to shift Pattaya's image to a quality destination despite the government's crackdown on certain complaints and illegal businesses in the popular resort town, say hotel and tourism leaders. The Thai Hotel Association (THA) and hotel operators have expressed concerns about the long-term image of Pattaya -- the most popular tourist destination on the Eastern Seaboard -- acknowledging the military government has attempted to crack down on negative images such as beach umbrellas, mundane activities and tourism scams. Supawan Tanomkieatipume, president of the THA, said rebuilding Pattaya's image from a "sin city" to a destination for everyone could take up to five years and requires determined law enforcement. "Actually, Pattaya has long been a draw for many types of tourists, ranging from sex to family trips to business meetings, so it is really difficult to wipe out the inappropriate activities in a short period of time," Ms Supawan said. The THA reported that Pattaya is the second-most popular tourist destination after Bangkok, beating Phuket in terms of arrivals. It is third for tourist income after Bangkok and Phuket because of lower average spending. More than 2,100 buildings provide accommodation in the Pattaya market, representing 139,000 rooms. Of the figure, only 270 operators with a total of 40,000 rooms have registered as hotels. The peak year for Pattaya's tourist arrivals was 2013 with 12 million foreigners. Arrivals dropped below 10 million last year, but is expected to rebound this year thanks to tourists from Russia, India, Europe and South Korea. The Chinese have been the largest source market for a few years. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1249634/industry-new-image-for-pattaya-a-big-ask Quote
lilbob69 Posted May 16, 2017 Posted May 16, 2017 More than 2,100 buildings provide accommodation in the Pattaya market, representing 139,000 rooms. Of the figure, only 270 operators with a total of 40,000 rooms have registered as hotels. Well that's kind of scary. Dodgy unregulated hotels means (possibly) short cuts taken on important things like the up keep of smoke alarms, fire systems, electrical and who knows what else. How do you even tell if a hotel is licensed or not Maybe the authorities think that by closing down sex venues and the like they wont have to chase all the unregulated places as tourist numbers will drop so much they will only need the 40,000 rooms anyway.. TiT Quote
