There was a time 20 to 25 years ago when Pattaya was actually really good fun. If you were working in Bangkok, it was a great place for a quick getaway for a couple of days. But really, a couple of days was all anyone could muster. Too much hedonism to stay longer.

You’d hop on one of the 60 baht air-conditioned buses from Ekamai in the evening. They left every half hour. Check into your air-conditioned hotel for 500 baht at most, and some places at the north end or up on the hill toward Jomtien were as low as 300 baht and no joiner fees. Then head straight out and hit the ground running. It was total sensory overload, so two nights was enough.

Everything cost next to nothing. Food, hotels, drinks, great discos and go-gos on Walking Street, girls for a fiver. It had everything anyone could want, and all for a song.

ST was not really a thing there yet like it was already in Bangkok. Most girls expected to spend the night, maybe grab a meal on the way back to your hotel, and then go for another round in the morning. If you wanted to cut it short, they were often a bit taken aback, as many were hoping to stay over. It was not only about the money for them back then. Many wanted to hang out. But it was usually more fun to find a starter for the early evening, then head back out later and look for a second one to spend the night with. It was very easy to go overboard. So do two nights, get in and get out. Catch a minivan back to Bangers and get off at Victory Monument on a Sunday evening. Painless.

Back then it did not have all the different varieties of tourist trash you see down there now . There were always a few dregs, but most people were from the US or Europe, so it did not feel as ghetto as it can today, with middle eastern bike gangs and skint groups of south Asian men trying to chat up one girl and angle for a group discount. None of that existed.

You also had some great restaurants with home-style European food run by expats who were actually in the kitchen making sure the dishes came out right. The restaurants alone were worth the trip. Half the price of Bangkok, or less, for a good home-cooked steak, some British pub food, or some other specialty European dishes. Or head down toward the Marine Hotel area for a shawarma chicken wrap from a street cart. Maybe some Thai food at Kiss Food. Brilliant. Then breakfast at an open-air joint along Beach Road in the morning. It was all blissful. It was not covered with Big Cs and endless shopping malls. You really only had Royal Garden and Mike’s, and that was about it.

All the really good stuff is gone, but mostly the vibe. There is no way you can ever bring that back. The world has changed. There were no stereotypes back then. Nobody judged anyone else. Everyone was happy with the exchanges that were made. Not complaining. It is just how the world has gone. Glad to have had some fun down there at a time when it was still all a good laugh.

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9 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

Check into your air-conditioned hotel for 500 baht at most,

I pay 400 baht in Hua Hin and Udon with pool. You must have been ripped off 22 years ago. Your room was worth 300 baht.

Gone are the days when foreigners could take advantage of poor farm girls for a few baht.

12 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

All the really good stuff is gone, but mostly the vibe. There is no way you can ever bring that back. The world has changed

Thailand has a million attractive ladies. Loads of things to do. Hardly changed at all. Just more tourists.

16 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

If you wanted to cut it short, they were often a bit taken aback, as many were hoping to stay over. It was not only about the money for them back then.

was never there, but I am guessing many of them wanted to find a permanent boyfriend and be supported .... the lines start getting blurred between hooker and gf when you start spending an exorbitant amount of time with them.

5 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Thailand has a million attractive ladies.

you fighting them off with a stick?

Just now, save the frogs said:

you fighting them off with a stick?

Almost. White women don't like me as much lol

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Almost. White women don't like me as much lol

a lot of white women in udon? visiting temples?

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

I am guessing many of them wanted to find a permanent boyfriend and be supported .... the lines start getting blurred between hooker and gf when you start spending an exorbitant amount of time with them.

You nailed it. It was a different vibe. A different time in the world. Pre smartphones, no deep fakes, no social media, much less internet. No news cycle overloads. Everything felt more honest, and the exchanges felt far more natural and human. They often had as much of a laugh as you did. Going sightseeing with them for a day was also very common, if you wanted that. That is mostly the part that is gone, and why it is no longer such an enticing proposition. But it was not just about the girls. That is the part most people will focus on in my OP, but Pattaya itself was a venue, a destination. It felt like real freedom. It is hard to describe to people who did not experience it, because nothing quite like it exists in Thailand anymore.

36 minutes ago, blaze master said:

Gone are the days when foreigners could take advantage of poor farm girls for a few baht.

Understand that you tragically miss being able to do that. Try and get over it.

46 minutes ago, blaze master said:

Gone are the days when foreigners could take advantage of poor farm girls for a few baht.

Plenty of poor farm girls taking advantage of foreigners too. Those girls may not have been well educated, but they were/are clever enough to make a good living.

5 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Plenty of poor farm girls taking advantage of foreigners too. Those girls may not have been well educated, but they were/are clever enough to make a good living.

There is a thread this happening right now

19 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Plenty of poor farm girls taking advantage of foreigners too. Those girls may not have been well educated, but they were/are clever enough to make a good living.

Supply and demand

25 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

Understand that you tragically miss being able to do that. Try and get over it.

And how old are you ? Tragically I didnt do that as there was no need for me.

I am handsum man sexy man.

20 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Plenty of poor farm girls taking advantage of foreigners too. Those girls may not have been well educated, but they were/are clever enough to make a good living.

Well put. It is basically impossible to talk about how things actually are in Thailand before the morality train rolls in. In the eyes of these types, the average foreigner is always public enemy number one for daring to take part in something that is openly and happily on offer. In their worldview, foreigners are never the victim, even when they are left pennyless and for broke by some heartless farm girl. Foreigners are only ever the villain. Always. It is impressive how faithfully these drum bangers stick to the same script. So bold. So original. Definitely not beating the same tired old mantras to death.

1 hour ago, Harrisfan said:

Almost. White women don't like me as much lol

That's because they're probably also looking for a Thai girl, rather than another white woman, Susan.

1 hour ago, Harrisfan said:

I pay 400 baht in Hua Hin and Udon with pool. You must have been ripped off 22 years ago. Your room was worth 300 baht.

Anyone who has to whinge or squabble about a measly ฿100 difference in the price of a hotel room should never even consider coming to Thailand.

34 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

Anyone who has to whinge or squabble about a measly ฿100 difference in the price of a hotel room should never even consider coming to Thailand.

Says the guy who made a thread about the prices of the good old days.

1 hour ago, blaze master said:

Says the guy who made a thread about the prices of the good old days.

Good hustle. Still no cigar. I put my OP into ChatGPT 5.2 and asked it to summarize the 3 key points from my text. It gave me exactly what follows.

1 - Pattaya was the perfect short, hedonistic escape - Cheap, easy to get to from Bangkok, and packed with nightlife. Two nights was the sweet spot before the sensory overload kicked in.

2 - The atmosphere felt more relaxed and less transactional - Interactions felt more natural, overnight stays were common, and it did not seem purely money-driven. The crowd was different, and the overall energy felt lighter and less tense.

3 - The unique vibe is what is truly gone - Beyond the nightlife, it was the simplicity, affordability, expat-run restaurants, lack of malls, and carefree mood that made it special. That atmosphere cannot be recreated now.

16 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

Good hustle. Still no cigar. I put my OP into ChatGPT 5.2 and asked it to summarize the 3 key points from my text. It gave me exactly what follows.

Thats really amazing you can use chat gpt.

5 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

Good hustle. Still no cigar. I put my OP into ChatGPT 5.2 and asked it to summarize the 3 key points from my text. It gave me exactly what follows.

1 - Pattaya was the perfect short, hedonistic escape - Cheap, easy to get to from Bangkok, and packed with nightlife. Two nights was the sweet spot before the sensory overload kicked in.

2 - The atmosphere felt more relaxed and less transactional - Interactions felt more natural, overnight stays were common, and it did not seem purely money-driven. The crowd was different, and the overall energy felt lighter and less tense.

3 - The unique vibe is what is truly gone - Beyond the nightlife, it was the simplicity, affordability, expat-run restaurants, lack of malls, and carefree mood that made it special. That atmosphere cannot be recreated now.

Cheap Pattaya guy with no standards

9 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

You’d hop on one of the 60 baht air-conditioned buses from Ekamai in the evening. They left every half hour. Check into your air-conditioned hotel for 500 baht at most, and some places at the north end or up on the hill toward Jomtien were as low as 300 baht and no joiner fees. Then head straight out and hit the ground running. It was total sensory overload, so two nights was enough.

Everything cost next to nothing. Food, hotels, drinks, great discos and go-gos on Walking Street, girls for a fiver. It had everything anyone could want, and all for a song.

Cheap n nasty 2 night stay

60 baht bus lol

9 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Thailand has a million attractive ladies. Loads of things to do. Hardly changed at all. Just more tourists.

I'm seeing more anger , more farangs getting angry fighting etc than ever before

I'm not a covid conspicuous but maybe the injections made people angry

I very rarely talk to anyone in Pattaya as they are angryvincluding the Thai people

People won't mind their own business

1 minute ago, georgegeorgia said:

I'm seeing more anger , more farangs getting angry fighting etc than ever before

I'm not a covid conspicuous but maybe the injections made people angry

Pattaya has more toutists than before. More people means more dhs

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Pattaya has more toutists than before. More people means more dhs

They are now getting the young tattooed steroids muay Thai boxing tourists wanting to fight especially in places such as Phuket

28 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

They are now getting the young tattooed steroids muay Thai boxing tourists wanting to fight especially in places such as Phuket

Go elsewhere then Pattaya is a low class place

6 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

Good hustle. Still no cigar. I put my OP into ChatGPT 5.2 and asked it to summarize the 3 key points from my text. It gave me exactly what follows.

I think I recognize the name SoCal, but that guy has never lived in Thailand only visited and was last in Pattaya 15 years ago or so.

Pattaya first began gaining popularity in the 1960s, primarily due to American servicemen stationed at the U-Tapao airbase during the Vietnam War. A pivotal moment occurred in June 1959, when a group of U.S. soldiers visiting from Korat discovered the town’s serene beaches and began recommending it to others. This word-of-mouth spread rapidly, turning Pattaya from a quiet fishing village into a sought-after rest and relaxation (R&R) destination. By 1961, the influx of foreign tourists had solidified Pattaya’s transformation, leading to the construction of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. The city officially became a self-governing municipality in 1976 and was granted city status in 1978, marking its formal emergence as Thailand’s premier beach resort.

10 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

There were no stereotypes back then. Nobody judged anyone else. Everyone was happy with the exchanges that were made.

Stereotypes and languages havent changed in 20 years.