Is Pattaya Safe? Or Am I Better Off In Bangkok?

[dradrian]

hmm

seems to be a few storiea of scam and crime. I get the impression pattaya is tending to be a little seedy and rough? I have never been but am coming over march 16th but wondering if i am better off staying in bangkok where its noiser, crowded, maybe safer and more anonymous because of its size. whats the verdict?

adrian

[bmanly]

dradrian, Pattaya is fine. Just pay your check bins, don't get blind drunk and abuse anyone farang or Thai, Don't argue over 5 baht when you ride the taxis and you will be fine. There are a lot of older guys here who have been here for years and years, most of them go out all hours of the night and have never been in a fight or been robbed. I myself have never been in a fight or robbed and I've been coming here for 15 years. I would hate for you to miss out on Pattaya it's a fun place, plenty to see and do, cheers.

[dradrian]

dradrian, Pattaya is fine. Just pay your check bins, don't get blind drunk and abuse anyone farang or Thai, Don't argue over 5 baht when you ride the taxis and you will be fine. There are a lot of older guys here who have been here for years and years, most of them go out all hours of the night and have never been in a fight or been robbed. I myself have never been in a fight or robbed and I've been coming here for 15 years. I would hate for you to miss out on Pattaya it's a fun place, plenty to see and do, cheers.

thanks. can you recomend a bar and importantly, a good hotel in the middle of everything please. I like a good hotel to stay in?

[britmaveric]

Pattaya is safe as you want to make it. If you are looking for trouble you will find it, else nought to worry about.

Welcome Plaza is a nice hotel!

[chiang mai]

I agree that Pattaya can be a fun place although I think it used to be even more fun in years past. I can understand the OP wondering if Pattaya is safe because one only has to look at the thread titles in this forum on any given day and invariably at least a quarter of them seem to be about stories of people getting robbed and beaten up. I don't mean or want to put Pattaya down in any way but I do wonder if Pattaya is safe when compared to other tourist destinations here. I would guess that the answer is probably no, especially not in high season when all the, as my friend so aptly puts it, Euro trash appear for their drinking and whoring sprees. That statement is also especially true if your area of daily life in Pattaya is almost exclusively around the beach road, walking street and associated soi's. It's simply a question of percentages and the risk factors associated with a highly populated tourist area.

[londonthai]

within the first 2 pages of this forum there are 5 threads about a serious street assaults in pattaya - says something

[tropo]

within the first 2 pages of this forum there are 5 threads about a serious street assaults in pattaya - says something

The biggest risk seems to be with tourist/visitors who aren't aware of the dangers. Too many people are being mugged with large amounts of cash and other valuables on them....people totally oblivious to the dangers. The Japanese woman who had her handbag snatched during a midnight stroll on the beach yesterday is one prime example. She was carrying over $3000 worth of cash and valuables.

[jumnien]

Pattaya is Pattaya. If it floats your boat, enjoy it. But why automatically consider BKK as an alternative. There are hundreds of other beachside towns in Thailand to live in! Get out there and explore. You will find a place far better for you, or return to Pattaya knowing it is your soulmate!

[Briggsy]

Dr Adrian

Ask yourself one question. Don't put the answer on the forum

"Are you into whores?"

Answer = yes: go to Pattaya Answer = no: go to Hua Hin, Ko Phangan, Chiang Mai etc

[popshirt]

Of course it depends on your personal habits, likes/dislikes and so forth. But having spent time in both places, I feel much less at risk in Bangkok than I do in Pattaya. The sois around where I live in Bkk are very safe at all hours of the day and night because there are always "normal" Thais around, i.e. the streets are not deserted at the wee hours, also it is easy to grab a meter taxi almost anywhere anytime so there are no long walks from Pattaya bahtmobile to home or hotel.

[PhilHarries]

Lived in Pattaya '92 to '04 and apart from being dipped once (pickpocketted) never had a problem. There are a lot of stories in the press regarding robberies and assaults but if you are sensible you'll be OK.

As bmanly says, pay your bins, don't argue even if you suspect they've been padded. If you check through the bills now and again it'll warn them that you're alert.

Be careful dealing with katoeys, they can be right nasty b@st@ards. Just say no diplomatically (unless you want to say yes ).

Be careful going along the darker sois especially if the time is getting round to the early hours of the morning.

As for "good bars" that depends on your definition of good.

There are a few Irish style pub bars around town : Jamesons, Shennanigans, Rosie O'Gradies.

Beer bars : just walk around looking and choose one with a good number of customers. Nids bar on second road next to Tim's agogo is one I use frequently. Tuk's in soi Yamato (soi 13/1) is another I use but that's because she is the widow of a good of mine. Wonderful bar, corner soi Yamato and second, is a very busy beer bar with live band.

Gogo bars : Tim's on second road opposite soi 12 is okay but the girls can be a bit pushy. Tahitian Queen on beach road between soi 12 and 13 is the best but not cheap. They are about the only two agogo's I get in.

Go to Pattaya and enjoy but don't forget that there's more to the place than bars and ho's.

[dvk1951]

Briggsy, we thank you for your monochrome and myopic viewpoint of our home, hope it chases a few more away.

Oh BTW...........................you and others with similar views are totally off base but thats OK.

Dr Adrian

Ask yourself one question. Don't put the answer on the forum

"Are you into whores?"

Answer = yes: go to Pattaya Answer = no: go to Hua Hin, Ko Phangan, Chiang Mai etc

[Ulysses G.]

Dr Adrian

Ask yourself one question. Don't put the answer on the forum

"Are you into whores?"

Answer = yes: go to Pattaya Answer = no: go to Hua Hin, Ko Phangan, Chiang Mai etc

There are plenty of whores and whoremongers in ALL of these places, but Pattaya is special.

[naka]

hmm

seems to be a few storiea of scam and crime. I get the impression pattaya is tending to be a little seedy and rough? I have never been but am coming over march 16th but wondering if i am better off staying in bangkok where its noiser, crowded, maybe safer and more anonymous because of its size. whats the verdict?

adrian

There are more stories about Pattaya and there is a reason for this.

There are a number of local Pattaya newspapers and local TV channels

which need news to survive. Any sort of news !

Not so in Bkk. They do have a local paper in Phuket but it refuses to

publish anything detrimental to Phuket's 'pristine' image.

As for a central hotel, New wing of Lek Hotel. Ignore Brit, he's on the take.

Naka.

[Chang_paarp]

within the first 2 pages of this forum there are 5 threads about a serious street assaults in pattaya - says something

Any place where the height of journalistic enterprise is to chase ambulances and police cars will give a similar impression of not being safe. It does not help that the "journalists" do not check simple things like spelling of the names of the subject of their stories. These high quality pieces of journalistic endeavour are posted on a web site and then re-posted here as salacious colour for our comment and entertainment.

We get very few feel good stories in this forum from the local press due to lack of interest. If you think about the numbers, ie the numbers of people in the area at any time and the number of reports we are given, Pattaya is no more dangerous than any moderate sized metropolis. Remember that almost any incident that involves a foreigner rates a mention here, car accidents, muggings, robbery, fraud ..... It is just the lazy reporting of the local press and the dillegant re-posting of our members.

[Ulysses G.]

I go to Pattaya all of the time and have never had ANY kind of problem there, but I guess that I was blessesd with a great deal of common sense because I avoid dangerous situations.

That is all it takes really!

[Robski]

Watch out for the quiet Soi's where you think oh that looks safe to walk down, they're not late at night, stay with the crowd, even if it means going the long way around.

The Atlantic Bar on 2nd road before the junction of soi 3, holds fond memories for me, the girls are classy, beautiful, fun and friendly, they generally speak good English too and love to party.

Oh those where the days, very tempting just thinking of it, but Mrs Robski would cut off the family allowance.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Robski

[britmaveric]

Well most people lose their common sense when they go on holiday, so keep it with you and you won't have any problems in pattaya or anywhere in the world.

[rightsaid]

Dr Adrian

Ask yourself one question. Don't put the answer on the forum

"Are you into whores?"

Answer = yes: go to Pattaya Answer = no: go to Hua Hin, Ko Phangan, Chiang Mai etc

Of course us Pattaya residents could always say if you like being in the middle of a military coup or being blownup then go to Bangkok or is that a bit close to home?

And of course we all know there are no whores in Bangkok either.

Edited February 3, 2007 by rightsaid

[Pattaya_Fox]

A recent report in Pattaya Mail by a senior police Officer states that the local crime figures have been cut by 50% which would seem to be very good news if accurate......... achieved due to the increased use of the military and targeting crime hot spot areas such as Beach Road etc.

[britmaveric]

Well Pattaya Fox, might be something to it. I've noticed less bad news as of late, but the key is will the MIB keep it up?

[moo9]

A recent report in Pattaya Mail by a senior police Officer states that the local crime figures have been cut by 50% which would seem to be very good news if accurate......... achieved due to the increased use of the military and targeting crime hot spot areas such as Beach Road etc.

In the recent Pattaya Today they even quote a 60 % reduction in crimes....I dunno....

Anyway, would be a nice achievement Let's see, but the situation was not as bad as it was reported in the media. The only worrying issue were/are house break-ins, which however seems to be a quite common thing in Thailand.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Well Pattaya Fox, might be something to it. I've noticed less bad news as of late, but the key is will the MIB keep it up?

Let us hope so brit.............certainly seems to be going in the right direction

[Mobi]

Call me an old cynic, but I don't believe a word of it.

In Thailand the 'powers that be' seem to think that they can fix something by simply making a public announcement..

A bit like th Bangkok police chief announcing sharp drop in speeding after they introduced speed guns, with a pic of a well groomed officer aiming a gun at an errant motorist on one of the expressways. It turned out there were only 2 of these guns in the whole of Bangkok, (the rest of the budget probably went in corruption) and all reference to them has long since disappeared.

Or the statement that there are no cracks in the runways at Suvanabhumi.....

Need I go on?

I think it migtht be a case of appearance over substance. Good for business.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Call me an old cynic, but I don't believe a word of it.

In Thailand the 'powers that be' seem to think that they can fix something by simply making a public announcement..

A bit like th Bangkok police chief announcing sharp drop in speeding after they introduced speed guns, with a pic of a well groomed officer aiming a gun at an errant motorist on one of the expressways. It turned out there were only 2 of these guns in the whole of Bangkok, (the rest of the budget probably went in corruption) and all reference to them has long since disappeared.

Or the statement that there are no cracks in the runways at Suvanabhumi.....

Need I go on?

I think it migtht be a case of appearance over substance. Good for business.

Time will tell

[Polarbeast]

Is Pattaya safe?

Well, I had my first visit to Thailand and Pattaya in November last year with my wife, and to start with the conclusion – we had a wonderful time and we are thinking of coming to live there as we are both retired.

We did, however, had an unpleasent experience that upset my wife a bit. One evening we were walking back to the hotel around 11 PM on Soi 16 which is a rather dark road with little traffick. A motorbike with two guys passed us from behind, went another 100 meters before it stopped. They had a short chat before the passenger started to walk towards us while the driver came back on the bike and stopped approximately 50 meters behind us.

I realized something was going to happen and kept a close eye on my wifes handbag. What I did not think of, was that my wife was wearing a heavy gold necklace and as the bloke was close enough, he quickly grasped for it. Now, the necklace was not of the loose type but a very tight one, so he missed it. He made three attemps to grab it, but did not succeed, so he gave up and started to walk quickly towards his bloke waiting on the bike.

Myself beeing 64 years old and all grey hair, and my wife even older, they probably thought we were an easy target. Now, I am a very fitness conscious person, pumping iron 3-4 times a week, and with a 45 cm biceps I can still benchpress 150 kg And as it happened, on this particular evening, I was wearing jogging shoes, I did not have neither my mobile phone nor my glasses with me, so I was really fit for fight.

So I never had a second thought, but turned around and started to chase him. I gave everything I had and I haven't run so fast for the last 40 years. I was actually closing in on him (or at least I imagined that) but he had too much of a head start so he reached his bloke on the bike and off they went!

Well, although I did not catch them, I think they got the surprise and scare of their life. Hopefully they will think twice before they attack an elderly couple next time.

Epilogue:

When I gave up the chase and started to walk back, I noticed that I had pulled a muscle at the back of my left leg and it was very painfull so I was limping back to the hotel, The next day I went for a massage at my regular masseuse, no 11 at Kim massage parlour, who had given me good massage before. I explained to her about my painful leg and told her to be careful. As usual, she started with my foot, then my thigh and then the back of my leg. She was kneeling down with her head towards my feet and then she rolled her forearm over my painful spot. With the sudden pain, my foot shot up and backwards and hit her head so she almost rolled of the mattress. Well, no harm to her and we had a laugh over it. Anyway, she showed no mercy, and in the end she was standing on the sore spot. But she definately knew what she was doing, in two days time all the pain had gone.

Edited February 5, 2007 by Polarbeast

[Pattaya_Fox]

Is Pattaya safe?

Well, I had my first visit to Thailand and Pattaya in November last year with my wife, and to start with the conclusion – we had a wonderful time and we are thinking of coming to live there as we are both retired.

We did, however, had an unpleasent experience that upset my wife a bit. One evening we were walking back to the hotel around 11 PM on Soi 16 which is a rather dark road with little traffick. A motorbike with two guys passed us from behind, went another 100 meters before it stopped. They had a short chat before the passenger started to walk towards us while the driver came back on the bike and stopped approximately 50 meters behind us.

I realized something was going to happen and kept a close eye on my wifes handbag. What I did not think of, was that my wife was wearing a heavy gold necklace and as the bloke was close enough, he quickly grasped for it. Now, the necklace was not of the loose type but a very tight one, so he missed it. He made three attemps to grab it, but did not succeed, so he gave up and started to walk quickly towards his bloke waiting on the bike.

Myself beeing 64 years old and all grey hair, and my wife even older, they probably thought we were an easy target. Now, I am a very fitness conscious person, pumping iron 3-4 times a week, and with a 45 cm biceps I can still benchpress 150 kg And as it happened, on this particular evening, I was wearing jogging shoes, I did not have neither my mobile phone nor my glasses with me, so I was really fit for fight.

So I never had a second thought, but turned around and started to chase him. I gave everything I had and I haven't run so fast for the last 40 years. I was actually closing in on him (or at least I imagined that) but he had too much of a head start so he reached his bloke on the bike and off they went!

Well, although I did not catch them, I think they got the surprise and scare of their life. Hopefully they will think twice before they attack an elderly couple next time.

Epilogue:

When I gave up the chase and started to walk back, I noticed that I had pulled a muscle at the back of my left leg and it was very painfull so I was limping back to the hotel, The next day I went for a massage at my regular masseuse, no 11 at Kim massage parlour, who had given me good massage before. I explained to her about my painful leg and told her to be careful. As usual, she started with my foot, then my thigh and then the back of my leg. She was kneeling down with her head towards my feet and then she rolled her forearm over my painful spot. With the sudden pain, my foot shot up and backwards and hit her head so she almost rolled of the mattress. Well, no harm to her and we had a laugh over it. Anyway, she showed no mercy, and in the end she was standing on the sore spot. But she definately knew what she was doing, in two days time all the pain had gone.

You were lucky, you could easily have been shot.

In my opinion you should have let him run away when he failed to grab the chain.

Many of these young thugs carry guns and are quite happy to use them when challenged.

Soi 16 and nearby sois in the area of Naklua have been the scenes of a number of violent ride by robberies of late.

Walking down quiet sois in the dark is not to be recommended.

[suiging]

Well lads the USS Blue Ridge has just visited Hong Kong. Thousands of servicemen have hit the bar areas of town, visited prostitutes spent money and in general had a ###### good time.

There were a number of street brawls. The odd lad got rolled by the tarts, and a number of them went to pay for their round to find their wallet was no longer at home. While they were here, a number of the low lifes which plague every city stabbed each other, albeit thankfully with no gun play reported.

The difference with Pattaya ?

Well not one untoward incident made the press. On the contrary, all involved hail HK as one of the safest cities in the world.

If the same amount of crime was noted in Patters, the bashers would have a field day and threads would abound about what a shit hole Pattaya is and how ashamed all the people who live there should be.

Mmmmm

[Mobi]

Well lads the USS Blue Ridge has just visited Hong Kong. Thousands of servicemen have hit the bar areas of town, visited prostitutes spent money and in general had a ###### good time.

There were a number of street brawls. The odd lad got rolled by the tarts, and a number of them went to pay for their round to find their wallet was no longer at home. While they were here, a number of the low lifes which plague every city stabbed each other, albeit thankfully with no gun play reported.

The difference with Pattaya ?

Well not one untoward incident made the press. On the contrary, all involved hail HK as one of the safest cities in the world.

If the same amount of crime was noted in Patters, the bashers would have a field day and threads would abound about what a shit hole Pattaya is and how ashamed all the people who live there should be.

Mmmmm

Hi suiging,

Not trying to be funny, but as a matter of interest, if it wasn't in the local press, how do you know all that? Or are you just surmising?

I'm not condoning the over the top reporting in Pattaya - Just curious

[helicoptor]

Yes Pattaya is VERY dangerous...all you singha vest wearing farangs with 30 year old faded tattoos, socks with sandals and morally judgemental Bangkok Thais - Keep away