Saturday Night Fever in Pattaya - What a disappointment

[Mickeymaus]

I have been living in Central Pattaya for many years. Normally I avoid the night life here. If you are a tourist you might not understand this - I know. BUT yesterday between 9 and 10 in the evening I went to the Walking Street. It is only 10 minutes by Baht bus for me. I have to admit that I haven't been there for more than 15 years. If you don't use the "entertainment" venues it is pretty boring there - at least for me. 

 

A lot of people were walking there but I was surprised how empty the bars were. Was I there to early? Is it like this now? Then I looked for the new famous street paintings. I had to look very carefully to find them. And even standing there they were hard to see.

 

I walked back home via Beach Road. About every 10 meters (not what you might think now...) garbage bags from the people who rent out the chairs on the beach. And then strange very white LED illumination. This "boulevard" looked awful. It is a (dirty) sidewalk next to a busy street and nothing more. 

 

And then the "entertainers". I was surprised how many old ladies were waiting for customers. What also surprised me was that they have small tables on the Beach Road were they sell weed and this even about 50 meters from the police station. I thought you need a licence and a fixed address... 

 

Whatever - for me a surprising but disappointing evening experience here in Pattaya. Enough for the next 15 years...

[OneMoreFarang]

And I always thought walking street is for people who like to walk. I don't really like to walk, this is why I never go there.

Soi 6 is not so much about walking, it's more about entertainment. I like that. ???? 

 

[BananaStrong]

2 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

I have to admit that I haven't been there for more than 15 years.

wink wink.  OK, buddy!!!

 

I saw you last Monday, Sunday, Saturday, Friday, and Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!      lol.

 

I've been in Pattaya for 1,387 years and not once saw a hooker.

 

I have to admit I came to Pattaya for intellectual conversations, meeting fellow rocket scientists, super rich tourists, and for the museums and plays off-Broadway after enjoying a nice Kansas City steak with a 1,000 dollar bottle of wine!!!!  

[JimTripper]

Why do you live in Pattaya then? There are plenty of nicer places to live.

[Mickeymaus]

45 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Why do you live in Pattaya then? There are plenty of nicer places to live.

I really don't go to bars or use entertainers. And my expat friends are the same. If you live for instance in Hamburg you might not go to the infamous Reeperbahn too or/and have fun with hookers. 

 

Here are many party, sex or/and booze lovers - I know. I ovoid contact with such people. And my expat friends here do the same. This is a different world... 

 

Why I ended in Pattaya? I lived for instance longer in Patong Phuket. Nice sunsets but a very touristic infrastructure. Pattaya has a good infrastructure for expats. And here is also some normal Thai life and not only tourism.

 

But I have to admit that I am not a friend of the red light businesses. And it got awful here in Central Pattaya in the last few years. Pattaya seems to love this kind of entertainment. I think more and more often to move to Alicante in Spain. There I can die with dignity - not in the middle of a red light district ????. 

 

 

[Olmate]

And so endeth todays sermon!! 

[OneMoreFarang]

13 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

I really don't go to bars or use entertainers. And my expat friends are the same. If you live for instance in Hamburg you might not go to the infamous Reeperbahn too or/and have fun with hookers. 

 

Here are many party, sex or/and booze lovers - I know. I ovoid contact with such people. And my expat friends here do the same. This is a different world... 

 

Why I ended in Pattaya? I lived for instance longer in Patong Phuket. Nice sunsets but a very touristic infrastructure. Pattaya has a good infrastructure for expats. And here is also some normal Thai life and not only tourism.

 

But I have to admit that I am not a friend of the red light businesses. And it got awful here in Central Pattaya in the last few years. Pattaya seems to love this kind of entertainment. I think more and more often to move to Alicante in Spain. There I can die with dignity - not in the middle of a red light district ????. 

Pattaya and Patong?

From the available 513,120 km2 in Thailand you selected the two places which have not only a beach in common. Now what else could it be?

 

It's like deciding to live in America, but you don't like skyscrapers, and then you live in the middle of NYC.

It must be a coincidence. ???? 

[Joe Farang]

I find it unusual, but not unbelievable that a non drinker who lives in Central Pattaya may not have seen Walking Street in 15 years.

But not having seen Beach Road after dark is totally unbelievable.

[Mickeymaus]

8 minutes ago, Joe Farang said:

I find it unusual, but not unbelievable that a non drinker who lives in Central Pattaya may not have seen Walking Street in 15 years.

But not having seen Beach Road after dark is totally unbelievable.

Of course I know the Beach Road at night time. This is the reason why I avoid it in the evening. Too many entertainers and people looking for sex there. I only use the Beach Road at daytime when I go to my PO Box in the post office. I live in the center of Central Pattaya. No need to walk there for me especially at night time. 

 

I am not a non drinker. But if you stay here very long you see at certain bars the same faces every night or even at daytime drinking and drinking and... Here are many alcoholics. Often expats that don't know what to do with their time in paradise. No job anymore, no old friends anymore, no family anymore... 

[newnative]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

Why do you live in Pattaya then? There are plenty of nicer places to live.

     My answer is my partner and I haven't found anywhere we like better--and we've been about everywhere except Issan.  We definitely want a beach town.   We started in Rayong by the beach, found the beach area was, for us, too far from anything.  Visited Phuket and some other beach towns in the south--nice to visit but we didn't want to live in that area of Thailand.   Ditto for Chiang Mai.   Found Samui nice but too isolated.  Visited Hua Hin several times to compare it with Pattaya.  Pattaya won--for us.  Hua Hin might win for others.  

    We like Bangkok and have a Bangkok getaway condo but we don't want to live there full-time.  Pattaya is ideal for us--less than 2 hours away and the motorway now has the extra lane they have been working on.  Today we left center city Bangkok around 10am and were back in Pattaya by 11:30.

     We like the very extensive housing choices to rent or to own, both in houses and condos.  And, we also like the variety of neighborhoods, each with its own vibe.  We've tried most neighborhoods and are now enjoying life on the Darkside--which also has plenty to offer.   Of course, we also like the extensive shopping and restaurant choices, the good health care choices, the movie theaters and other entertainments, the proximity to two airports, and the large and diverse expat community.  Perhaps there are 'plenty of nicer places to live' but Pattaya, itself, is plenty nice for us.  

[newnative]

30 minutes ago, Joe Farang said:

I find it unusual, but not unbelievable that a non drinker who lives in Central Pattaya may not have seen Walking Street in 15 years.

But not having seen Beach Road after dark is totally unbelievable.

     It's not that unusual.  My partner and I have lived in Pattaya for 11 years.  We walked on Walking Street exactly once, when we first arrived.  Since then we have never been there except to cut through Walking Street a few times by car during the day when traffic was backed up.  Ditto for Soi 6.  We know they are there but neither interests us.  We have other interests and spend our time in other areas of Pattaya--of which there are many.

[Banana7]

Many of the bars on walking street don't open until 10PM. Go see walking street at 12 midnight or 1AM. Also, many of bars have too high prices, especially for bar fines, and takeout services. There are lots of lower cost places in town providing equal or better entertainment.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

I was surprised how empty the bars were.

You went to the wrong places, you need to do a little research to prevent wasting a night out in walking st. Go to the agogos not bars, the good agogos are packed at 9-10pm, Friday I couldn't get a seat in Pin-up, Palace. XS new one has 100+ girls in full with customers

 

[Mickeymaus]

9 minutes ago, Banana7 said:

Many of the bars on walking street don't open until 10PM. Go see walking street at 12 midnight or 1AM. Also, many of bars have too high prices, especially for bar fines, and takeout services. There are lots of lower cost places in town providing equal or better entertainment.

Thank you. Maybe I was there too early. But yesterday there was a lot of police in this area. And they didn't even find sex workers there (again)... I guess the many Thai ladies standing on Beach Road that I saw there were paid actresses to maintain the special nightlife vibe here. 

 

https://thepattayanews.com/2023/01/15/no-suspected-sex-workers-found-during-pattaya-tourist-polices-inspection-according-to-police/

[KhunBENQ]

17 minutes ago, Banana7 said:

Also, many of bars have too high prices

Exactly that and just too high for all the rubbernecks populating the pavement.

And WS is not THE center of open bars which you can checkout from the street.

If you want to know what's going on you have to walk in to the high priced places where not so old ladies are found.

Being in Pattaya for more than 15 years and being surprised how many old/fat/ugly women hang around beach road?? (and many of them on a business trip from wherever in the world, e.g. the lovelies from Turkmenistan and similar).

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[Mickeymaus]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You went to the wrong places, you need to do a little research to prevent wasting a night out in walking st. Go to the agogos not bars, the good agogos are packed at 9-10pm, Friday I couldn't get a seat in Pin-up, Palace. XS new one has 100+ girls in full with customers

What should I do in a GoGo bar. Sitting there and watching girls or whatever dancing is no entertainment for me. And paying drinks that you can talk to them. This is no conversation for me. 

[ozimoron]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Pattaya and Patong?

From the available 513,120 km2 in Thailand you selected the two places which have not only a beach in common. Now what else could it be?

 

It's like deciding to live in America, but you don't like skyscrapers, and then you live in the middle of NYC.

It must be a coincidence. ???? 

There's far more in Pattaya than just beer, bars and beaches. I also went to walking street last night, first time in several weeks. I went to one of the top bars early to take advantage of their happy hour and had two beers. The lineup was terrible. There's better scenery in the street than in the bars. I agree that beach road is terrible right now.

 

That said, I enjoy my life in Pattaya despite rarely drinking or going to the bars. Prices are reasonable, restaurants plentiful and lots of variety. There is an abundance of fresh food and fruit available and everything is within walking distance.

[scubascuba3]

41 minutes ago, Banana7 said:

many of bars have too high prices, especially for bar fines, and takeout services.

 

People often moan that Walking st drink prices are way higher than LK Metro for example. The agogos i go to in WS are 50, 55, 90, 95 baht for draft. I don't bar fine from there anymore as I don't need to, but I don't blame the tourists 

[scubascuba3]

12 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

I went to one of the top bars early to take advantage of their happy hour and had two beers. The lineup was terrible.

what bar was that? I've given up on Windmill, just fuglies in there, no quality control in there 

[scubascuba3]

26 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

What should I do in a GoGo bar. Sitting there and watching girls or whatever dancing is no entertainment for me. And paying drinks that you can talk to them. This is no conversation for me. 

what do you do in ladybars? still got to buy them drinks to talk to you

[ozimoron]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

what bar was that? I've given up on Windmill, just fuglies in there, no quality control in there 

Pinup. I tried Palace after but the only available seats were in the corner. At those prices I want a decent seat or I'm not buying. Pinup was good a couple of months ago but not lately. I think the nightclubs might be better value later but past my bedtime. The whole town seems to be a talent free zone lately. Even TF is much worse than it was before covid.

[talahtnut]

25 years ago Pattaya was very Thai,

but now it reminds me of a warmed up

Southend or Blackpool.

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Pinup. I tried Palace after but the only available seats were in the corner. At those prices I want a decent seat or I'm not buying. Pinup was good a couple of months ago but not lately. I think the nightclubs might be better value later but past my bedtime. The whole town seems to be a talent free zone lately. Even TF is much worse than it was before covid.

Many girls from Pinup have moved to XS, same owner, 100+ girls in there 8-10s, no fuglies

[Mickeymaus]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

what do you do in ladybars? still got to buy them drinks to talk to you

Do not get me wrong. I have no problem with people going to bars. There are also people who enthusiastically watch Formula 1 races or tennis matches or golf tournaments. But all this is not my world. The last time I was in a GoGo bar was about 20 years ago. And this with my Thai girl friend (she never worked in a bar). She wanted to see this. 

[scubascuba3]

2 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

Do not get me wrong. I have no problem with people going to bars. There are also people who enthusiastically watch Formula 1 races or tennis matches or golf tournaments. But all this is not my world. The last time I was in a GoGo bar was about 20 years ago. And this with my Thai girl friend (she never worked in a bar). She wanted to see this. 

ok, I'm not sure why you bothered going to walking st, you don't like bars or agogos

[Mickeymaus]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

ok, I'm not sure why you bothered going to walking st, you don't like bars or agogos

I was reading that the City Hall made many things new there. And then the new world famous street painting. This I wanted to see. I walked town to Bali Hai and back.

 

https://thepattayanews.com/2022/11/04/new-pattaya-walking-street-painting-is-ready-to-impress-tourists-says-deputy-mayor/

[pomchop]

 Very very hard to believe you can live in central Pattaya and not go to walking street for 15 years at night.  Sort of like living in New Orleans and not going to Bourbon street for 15 years.

 

I rarely ever go to walking street as not my cup of tea but I at least am curious to visit for a few minutes  every few months just to see what may or may not have changed. 

 

To each his own is a good motto to live by in Pattaya.  

 

[scubascuba3]

13 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

I was reading that the City Hall made many things new there. And then the new world famous street painting. This I wanted to see. I walked town to Bali Hai and back.

 

https://thepattayanews.com/2022/11/04/new-pattaya-walking-street-painting-is-ready-to-impress-tourists-says-deputy-mayor/

ok, but no surprise you found it boring you don't like that type of entertainment, next time try an area you may actually like

[Mickeymaus]

20 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

ok, but no surprise you found it boring you don't like that type of entertainment, next time try an area you may actually like

I think there is more action in the Soi Buakhao area in the meantime. At least I see there more people in the bars. Not sure what will happen with the big Excite Square not far away from Soi Buakhao. Many new empty buildings. A very slow start so far. Recently the bigger Area 32 bar moved from Tree Town to this area. Maybe a start there. 

 

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/12/14/pattaya-food-and-herb-fair-is-under-way-part-of-the-official-opening-of-the-new-excite-square-pattaya/

[Screaming]

12 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

ok, but no surprise you found it boring you don't like that type of entertainment, next time try an area you may actually like

I think the author has the right and privilege to venture out and make his own assessment and comment of the depravity of Walking Street and the Beach Road walkway. You do not have to like something to make a comment about it. I would like to thank the author for his views and will make a note to avoid this area in the future.