Bangkok Going To The Dogs...

[MeetJohnDoe]

Notes on Bangkok:

As an ex-Bangkok resident now residing in Pattaya, I am always amused when current City folk make post denigrating remarks on our fair City-By-The-Sea...especially about our hard working ladies of entertainment sector. I had the occasion to spend a couple days in Bangkok recently and was shocked to see the continuing deterioration of the Sukhumvit corridor and it's now worse by any measure than anywhere in Pattaya.

One interesting note was the complete lack of any Western or Asian tourists. All I saw were Arab men and their chador covered wifes and children haggling with the trinket vendors, and Indian families and young men as far as the eye could see. I guess these are the folks the TAT has had in mind in all these years of courting "quality" tourists.

And what's with the 24-hours ho-station outside the Soi 5 Starbucks...at least when I lived in Bangkok, the ladies had the decency not to come out and ply their trade till sunset, and had the sense to call it quits at sunrise. Now it's just a 24-hours meat-market there...and by the looks of them...almost made me loose my morning latte!

Another nice addition are the genuine black African ho's now working that stretch as well. Sheeze...what an embarrassment to the Thai folks who have to stand here to catch a bus. It's bad enough for them to have to see their own brazenly soliciting any man who happens to pass their way (one even waved at me frantically from across the street when I was enjoying breakfast at the Landmark Cafe one morning...classy) but these imported ee-daums as well! It's a shame someone "influential person" is taking backhanders from the pimps to stay the hands of the police from dealing with these fat-black chicks!

Finally, the massagee-massagee touts seem more numerous than ever...with one not being able to take a few steps without being accosted by one of them...or their fellows-in-crime the took-took touts!

Edited June 11, 2009 by MeetJohnDoe

[patklang]

Bangkok has always been and always will be a cess pit of the world,and all the money in the world will not tempt me to go anyway near the place.The girls have to work hard to pay for all the whitener they use,and maybe the farang dam chicks will start to use it lol.

[Carib]

Arab men, Indian families, those are not quality tourists..Ho station.. 24 hour meat market..black african ho`s..imported ee-daums..massage touts.. fellows in crime.. took took touts.

There is something a bit , well .. a bit.. uhm .. you know.. AAAHH I GOT IT, you are sooooo much better than all what you see.

But I think it is safe you will not be back in Bkk anymore?? Bye.

[MJo]

Your efforts to make bangkok a better place by your voluntary relocation are highly appreciated

[aussiejosh]

Bangkok kicks the crap out of Pattaya. Case and point .

Sukhumvit is full of hookers and crap, especially the end your talking about. What did you expect really?

(I agree the starbucks sucks, I loved going to tony romas there but now I will go there rarely).

If you want a nice area to hang out in, go check out the star bucks in Thong Lor (any of them).

[ALFREDO]

Whats the problem?

I always stay in this area in a Hotel and i like it.

Its not soooo bad, than Meet J D wrote, I actualy in the moment here and stay in the new IBIS Nana.

Was some days ago eating at the SUBWAY mentioned near TONY ROMAS and wander around in day and night there.

I have a girlfriend with me, so it is not that i could use the possibilitys always, but I do sometimes!

Who does not like the circumstances, must not, should not, come here.

Clear!?

[mrtoad]

Having lived in Bangkok for four years, it really doesn't bother me, I like the diversity and the rough edges - maybe have worked in S'pore I sort of appreciate the reality of Bangkok, warts and all.

In the end, it's easy to avoid those places, so I have no idea why people complain about it, it's no different when I lived in Bristol, I wouldn't generally go hanging around in St Pauls or Eastville.

As for the 24 hour girls, their other spot seems to be Subway on Soi 7/1 got propositioned there at 8.30am on Saturday, even though I was carrying a sports bag and wearing sports gear on my way to play football.

[deprogrammed]

Notes on Bangkok:

As an ex-Bangkok resident now residing in Pattaya, I am always amused when current City folk make post denigrating remarks on our fair City-By-The-Sea...especially about our hard working ladies of entertainment sector. I had the occasion to spend a couple days in Bangkok recently and was shocked to see the continuing deterioration of the Sukhumvit corridor and it's now worse by any measure than anywhere in Pattaya.

One interesting note was the complete lack of any Western or Asian tourists. All I saw were Arab men and their chador covered wifes and children haggling with the trinket vendors, and Indian families and young men as far as the eye could see. I guess these are the folks the TAT has had in mind in all these years of courting "quality" tourists.

Maybe the TAT meant to say 'Quality tourists' but as they never employ an English native speaker to translate then it was misinterpreted as - 'Quality ter ---ists'

[MJo]

In the end, it's easy to avoid those places, so I have no idea why people complain about it, it's no different when I lived in Bristol, I wouldn't generally go hanging around in St Pauls or Eastville.

Spot on, at least you can avoid them if you want. Patters you just can't they are everywhere and most of them katoeys

[sanmiguellight]

Lower Sukhumvit was much more fun 5-10 years ago when it had all the shed like bars that have now all been replaced by apartments, shops or boutique hotels.

At least the girls working in them were a lot more respectful then the crazies that seem to walk around the area now, and the area did have a more relaxed less violent feel to it.

About 5 years ago i saw an African guy get stopped by a shop owner and then arrested for handing over fake currency outside Subway on soi 7/1, i said to the girl i was with that in a few years this place will be full of African criminals and it certainly is going this way.

Edited June 11, 2009 by sanmiguellight

[thairet]

Notes on Bangkok:

but these imported ee-daums as well!

Hi JD, Agree with you but it does not bother me personally. Excuse my ignorance of the vernacular (and I've been here for a long time) but what is an ee-daum?

Cheers

[t.s]

i read the op, and all i can say is sex tourists and bigots disgust me, and you seem to qulify for both.

try a different lifestyle, i sure you will have better experiences. i live on lower sukhumvit, and the issues you have certainly dont affect me, but then again, i am not nearly as narrow minded as you.

[TopDogger]

lol... @ the OP.. I've read some shit in my time

The reason you came to bangkok and hung around lower sukhumvit is probably the same reason u moved to Pattaya..

[Texpat]

How do mere observations qualify someone as both a sex tourist and a bigot?

Ill-informed, knee-jerk responses like that make you appear silly.

[OxfordWill]

Obviously nobody has told this guy that Bangkok is rather bigger than Sukhumvit road. Now let's all judge London based on 15 sidestreets in Soho.

Edited June 11, 2009 by OxfordWill

[geriatrickid]

The Arabs and Indians observed may have been deemed low life scum to some, however, I'm sure the Indians and Arabs perceive the fat, poorly dressed drunken tatooed throngs of Europeans and Australians as scum too. It's all about perceptions. The fact of the matter is that the Arabs and Indians have the money to travel to Thailand. Many Europeans and other acceptable "whites" do not. Tougher visa rules apply to most African and Middle Eastern countries than apply to Australia and the EU, so that should tell you something.

Yes, many Arab and Indian visitors are low end by western standards, but so too are many of the western longterm residents in places like Pattaya, living from pension cheque to pension cheque.

Bangkok may be the community that resembles a toilet with a small turd stain in the bowl, but Pattaya is the city with the bowl filled with floating turds that no one has flushed.

[zaza]

The Arabs and Indians observed may have been deemed low life scum to some, however, I'm sure the Indians and Arabs perceive the fat, poorly dressed drunken tatooed throngs of Europeans and Australians as scum too. It's all about perceptions. The fact of the matter is that the Arabs and Indians have the money to travel to Thailand. Many Europeans and other acceptable "whites" do not. Tougher visa rules apply to most African and Middle Eastern countries than apply to Australia and the EU, so that should tell you something.

Yes, many Arab and Indian visitors are low end by western standards, but so too are many of the western longterm residents in places like Pattaya, living from pension cheque to pension cheque.

Bangkok may be the community that resembles a toilet with a small turd stain in the bowl, but Pattaya is the city with the bowl filled with floating turds that no one has flushed.

ditto for this post.

[Jimjim]

So this is some rant trying to make Bangkok look worse than Pattaya by the amount of hookers you see in red light areas? Get a life, man, get a freaking life. Obviously this is the only thing on your mind as you live in Pattaya.

[zaza]

How do mere observations qualify someone as both a sex tourist and a bigot?

Ill-informed, knee-jerk responses like that make you appear silly.

Telling, and pointing out that the OP's post; indicates clearly that he is a sex tourist and a bigot, almost seem as a rocket-science, which is dam_n difficult to be observed or noticed by Ill-informed, knee-jerk,and silly devil's advocates posters.

P.S. same applies on deprogrammed's post

[Moonrakers]

What a load of crap.

What makes the op think that the Arabs or Indians can't be quality tourists? No Western or Asian tourists? you clearly didn't look very hard as Nana plaza is in the area full of Western and Aisan tourists fueling the very sex trade scene that he is complaining about.

Meh!

[polecat]

Bangkok has always been and always will be a cess pit of the world,and all the money in the world will not tempt me to go anyway near the place.The girls have to work hard to pay for all the whitener they use,and maybe the farang dam chicks will start to use it lol.

That's a pity, because I have a feeling the new Art and Culture Center just opposite MBK looks right up your alley. And you simply MUST check out Bo Lan - a truly wondrous restaurant that resurrects traditional, old-fashioned Thai cuisine and puts it in a contemporary setting.

Oh, and About Cafe, near Hua Lamphong, has just had a refit and is swarming with young poets, painters and musicians. It really is developing into quite a scene.

[PatinBKk]

Notes on Bangkok:

As an ex-Bangkok resident now residing in Pattaya, I am always amused when current City folk make post denigrating remarks on our fair City-By-The-Sea...especially about our hard working ladies of entertainment sector. I had the occasion to spend a couple days in Bangkok recently and was shocked to see the continuing deterioration of the Sukhumvit corridor and it's now worse by any measure than anywhere in Pattaya.

One interesting note was the complete lack of any Western or Asian tourists. All I saw were Arab men and their chador covered wifes and children haggling with the trinket vendors, and Indian families and young men as far as the eye could see. I guess these are the folks the TAT has had in mind in all these years of courting "quality" tourists.

And what's with the 24-hours ho-station outside the Soi 5 Starbucks...at least when I lived in Bangkok, the ladies had the decency not to come out and ply their trade till sunset, and had the sense to call it quits at sunrise. Now it's just a 24-hours meat-market there...and by the looks of them...almost made me loose my morning latte!

Another nice addition are the genuine black African ho's now working that stretch as well. Sheeze...what an embarrassment to the Thai folks who have to stand here to catch a bus. It's bad enough for them to have to see their own brazenly soliciting any man who happens to pass their way (one even waved at me frantically from across the street when I was enjoying breakfast at the Landmark Cafe one morning...classy) but these imported ee-daums as well! It's a shame someone "influential person" is taking backhanders from the pimps to stay the hands of the police from dealing with these fat-black chicks!

Finally, the massagee-massagee touts seem more numerous than ever...with one not being able to take a few steps without being accosted by one of them...or their fellows-in-crime the took-took touts!

I am glad someone else thinks the same as me, I got slated for pointing this out on a similar post...the whole area is a cesspit of drugs and prostitution...should knock it all down and build a theme park or something of more intetest than whores....of course all the 'pay for sex' brigagde will be out to protect their dirty hookers

[Moonrakers]

One would think that traveling to a place like Thailand would broaden one's mind.

Evidently though that is not always the case.

[patklang]

How anybody can say that Pattaya is more sleazy than BK must be living in cuckoo land.The place stinks and is over run with touts and the rats are much bigger than the Pattaya stray cats.I agrree that Pattaya has same same as far as the sex industry but the place is much more open and the fresh sea air is a benefit to ones health,and the stench isnt over bearing like BK.

This is not a knock for BK but guys get real,Pattaya is much much nicer place to drink and eat unless you are hi-so and go the exclusive places,but the OP is realy talking about the average expat or tourist.not the snooty Farang Bangkok numties.

[Moonrakers]

You spelt numpties wrong.

[bonobo]

I live in Thonburi, and other than a few karoke bars on Phetkasem Road, I pretty much see none of what was described. Bangkok is far more than just a sex tourism destination. Yes, on the lower Sukhumvit, there are bars and touts, but if I am there going to Tacos And Salsa or Via Vai, for example, I just ignore the touts. It is pretty easy to do.

Yes, there are a larger number of Arab tourists in the area, and that is most likely because of Bamrungrad Hospital. When US visas for many Arabs became harder to obtain after 9-11, Bamrungrad saw the immense potential for medical tourism and started an active campaign to attract wealthy Arabs (who tend to travel with extended families) to the hospital for medical treatment. So while I don't know the average worth of an Arab tourist in Bangkok, I would hazard a guess that it might be higher than the average bar-hopping-type of farang tourist.

For me, the only thing an influx of Arab tourists in the lower Suk means to me is that I can get pretty good shwarma on the street and decent lamb in a number of restaurants in the area.

[ALFREDO]

Notes on Bangkok:

As an ex-Bangkok resident now residing in Pattaya, I am always amused when current City folk make post denigrating remarks on our fair City-By-The-Sea...especially about our hard working ladies of entertainment sector. I had the occasion to spend a couple days in Bangkok recently and was shocked to see the continuing deterioration of the Sukhumvit corridor and it's now worse by any measure than anywhere in Pattaya.

One interesting note was the complete lack of any Western or Asian tourists. All I saw were Arab men and their chador covered wifes and children haggling with the trinket vendors, and Indian families and young men as far as the eye could see. I guess these are the folks the TAT has had in mind in all these years of courting "quality" tourists.

And what's with the 24-hours ho-station outside the Soi 5 Starbucks...at least when I lived in Bangkok, the ladies had the decency not to come out and ply their trade till sunset, and had the sense to call it quits at sunrise. Now it's just a 24-hours meat-market there...and by the looks of them...almost made me loose my morning latte!

Another nice addition are the genuine black African ho's now working that stretch as well. Sheeze...what an embarrassment to the Thai folks who have to stand here to catch a bus. It's bad enough for them to have to see their own brazenly soliciting any man who happens to pass their way (one even waved at me frantically from across the street when I was enjoying breakfast at the Landmark Cafe one morning...classy) but these imported ee-daums as well! It's a shame someone "influential person" is taking backhanders from the pimps to stay the hands of the police from dealing with these fat-black chicks!

Finally, the massagee-massagee touts seem more numerous than ever...with one not being able to take a few steps without being accosted by one of them...or their fellows-in-crime the took-took touts!

I am glad someone else thinks the same as me, I got slated for pointing this out on a similar post...the whole area is a cesspit of drugs and prostitution...should knock it all down and build a theme park or something of more intetest than whores....of course all the 'pay for sex' brigagde will be out to protect their dirty hookers

-PatinBKk-

I thought you already in the more convinient neighberhood I suggested,

the VATIKAN

and take your new holy brother with you, move in together it will bring a cheaper rent.

[polecat]

One interesting note was the complete lack of any Western or Asian tourists. All I saw were Arab men and their chador covered wifes and children haggling with the trinket vendors, and Indian families and young men as far as the eye could see. I guess these are the folks the TAT has had in mind in all these years of courting "quality" tourists.

Why wouldn't Arabs and Indians be classed as quality tourists?

[rgs2001uk]

Notes on Bangkok:

but these imported ee-daums as well!

Hi JD, Agree with you but it does not bother me personally. Excuse my ignorance of the vernacular (and I've been here for a long time) but what is an ee-daum?

Cheers

I suspect he means an, ee dam, a rather polite refined Bangkok description for the African sistas.

Impress your girlfriend with your new found Issan bargirl lingo, call her by this term of endearment, she will love you all the more.

[TopDogger]

If the truth be told Lower Sukhumvit is a bigger shit hole than the majority of Pattaya... But its only a 3-400 meter stretch of a single road in a city thats population is nearing 10 million offical residents... Pattaya as a whole is the biggest cesspit on the planet, end of story...

I couldn't stand living in Pattaya personally, your treated as a tourist where ever you go and most of the time u can't even buy so much as a sandwich without a rip-off attempt, almost everything is double priced.. The vast majority of Thai's living there are there for a reason, the tourist trade. Never mind what they are selling there all trying to extract as much money as possible from foreigners..

Not my idea of paradise