January 25, 201214 yr I would very much agree - Pattaya is not in decline, rather it is morhing into a big, banal and hum-drum Thai city that happens to be on the water. The seediness is on its way out, families on their way in. A new set of suckers - Westerners out, Russians and Easterners in. We can question what is has become - but it is not in decline (despite condo glut). Pattaya will continue to draw in the sex tourists - but this activities are very contained. Especially so for first time or occassional "sex tourist". Walking street last time I was there (years ago) was practically family friendly. "Decline" is a tricky word and it depends on your definition. If you are a real estate agent and there are more people, the city is not in decline Of course, that is a nonsense position, but it is what they believe. If you start with a city that is not crowded, very little noise pollution, very little crime (so little you never thought about it), farangs treated with some respect, everything is inexpensive, no traffic jams, low stress level, no crowds (almost no people pollution), easy visa situation, farangs feeling welcome, no hoards of farangs and Thais obsessed with moneymaking, etc., then, yes, the city has declined dramatically. I disagree a bit about the sex industry change. In my view, it has grown enormously over the past ten years--not declined. And there are many places in Walking Street that are not "family oriented." One of the worst changes is the noise pollution which has become unbearable in certain areas of, say, Jomtien. A person would have to be a lunatic to buy property around soi 5-8 in Jomtien (perhaps a deaf lunatic).
January 25, 201214 yr Imagine this........All residences are 70% occupied....then, consider the current infrastructure? The future is scary.
January 25, 201214 yr I am simply looking at it in this manner: I have not been back for two years and even themn it was only a few days. Building continues unabated Tourism continues Businesses coming in (Mom/Pop out, malls-franchaises in) Pattaya is now a BIG city Pattaya and Jomtien can be thought of as one big sprawl now more than ever. Without a doubt the quality of life (holiday) has deteriorated since 2002. I am still astonished that Pattaya has no green/garden area in a city that must have over 100K people now. Crime, that is Thai's killing, mugging, bashing and thieving with impunity still continues unabated I understand. Meth issues and teh one murder a day rule still present.
January 30, 201214 yr Author Thank you for all the responses. Conclusion seems to be that Pattaya continues to grow with a new wave of investors and punters. Whether or not this is sustainable seems to be a tricky question, as does the question of whether Pattaya has a long term future as a tourist destination. What is the appeal of Pattaya today given the wealth of alternatives just in SE Asia, let alone globally? Do people dream of visiting Pattaya or is it just for sex tourists, and those locked into property purchases?
January 30, 201214 yr Thank you for all the responses. Conclusion seems to be that Pattaya continues to grow with a new wave of investors and punters. Whether or not this is sustainable seems to be a tricky question, as does the question of whether Pattaya has a long term future as a tourist destination. What is the appeal of Pattaya today given the wealth of alternatives just in SE Asia, let alone globally? Do people dream of visiting Pattaya or is it just for sex tourists, and those locked into property purchases? Being neither a sex tourist, nor locked into a property transaction I have to say that I for one came and settled here a number of years ago and remain extremely happy with my decision. Admittedly the infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired but Pattaya has everything I need for my everyday life, has a far better climate than my home country and I can't see any reason for wanting to move on anytime soon. Every country and every city has its good and bad points and the grass always looks greener elsewhere..........but is it really??
January 31, 201214 yr The Pattaya administration is here to steer their city in a direction that is beneficial to the people of Pattaya and Thailand, not just to please a few misguided foreigners who have a hankering for years gone by, and in that respect I think the city is far from being on the decline and the signs for the future are very good! Lenny I agreed with your post but have to laugh at this last bit. The Administration in this town are here for one reason only and we all know what that is.
January 31, 201214 yr The Pattaya administration is here to steer their city in a direction that is beneficial to the people of Pattaya and Thailand, not just to please a few misguided foreigners who have a hankering for years gone by, and in that respect I think the city is far from being on the decline and the signs for the future are very good! Lenny I agreed with your post but have to laugh at this last bit. The Administration in this town are here for one reason only and we all know what that is. Yeah, but were not allowed to talk about that!!
February 1, 201214 yr I would very much agree - Pattaya is not in decline, rather it is morhing into a big, banal and hum-drum Thai city that happens to be on the water. The seediness is on its way out, families on their way in. A new set of suckers - Westerners out, Russians and Easterners in. More misinformation. Pattaya is no more banal than it ever was. The seediness has greatly EXPANDED. Lots of new beer bars off 2nd Rd all the way to the roundabout and an incredible number on and around Soi Buakow. Whole new street of go-gos, Soi LK Metro, and some are good as those on WS. (Another one just opened up.) The raunchiness of WS had gotten more raunchy than it ever was, too. Bars crowded all down Beach Rd, 7 & 8 doing great tho' we've past the peak of high season. We can question what is has become - but it is not in decline (despite condo glut). Pattaya will continue to draw in the sex tourists - but this activities are very contained. Especially so for first time or occassional "sex tourist". Walking street last time I was there (years ago) was practically family friendly. "This activities" ain't "contained," pal. WS is less family friendly than ever, now even has some gay bars. Why post if you just have no idea what's really going on? Just like to blab, I guess.
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