Pattaya Is Thailand’s Role Model

[yummypizza]

Dam it, I've never been,so at last, some thing i can't whinge about....

[chrisinth]

"Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?" - put that on my list of ludicrous criteria.

Have to admit that I have never seen this as part of Thai culture. But hey, if someone wants to listen to that kind of stuff, get your MP3/I-Pod on, dark room, door closed and chill out.

Best place for some people......................

[arrowsdawdle]

Why a joke ? I worked on communication strategies for Singapore Convention Bureau for some time and for many hotels in Thailand and what is being praised is the infrastructure and facilities put in place by the pros that bring in MICE visitors. That you might see any of that from your perspective does not negate its reality.

Infrastructure...you mean Pattaya has a lower liklihood of involuntary electricution?

[Jimmu]

Funny thing is Pattaya always gets bashed, yet its jammed packed every weekend.

Pattaya in fact does have more to offer if one bothers to look.

Of course if you travel here and stay near Walking St or Soi Buakhao, all you see is the red light district, HOWEVER

Pattaya DOES have everything for everyone, just need to open your eyes and move away from the certain areas

"everything for everyone"??????????????????????????

Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?

(Mind you, in fairness, you could ask that question of the whole of Thailand. And, btw, how come Japan, Korea and China manage to supply some of the best classical (western) musicians in the whole world, while Thailand has scarcely even heard of Beethoven (or Hitler for that matter)?

I am assuming you are trying to joke, but will give it a serious answer.

Please name a city in Thailand which has opera house????

Also please name a city or place in Thailand which host's its own well known symphony orchestra?

PS, The topic is about Thailand, within Thailand, it is not about what China or Japan has, i am sure Vienna has great symphony orchestra and Sydney has a stunning one, but the discussion is NOT what other countries have or produced

Bangkok;

The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra operates under the auspices of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation and is privileged to enjoy the Royal Patronage of the Crown Prince of Thailand, His Royal Highness Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. The BSO is a non-profit making organisation, and is one of the very few symphony orchestras in the world which receives no public funding of any sort, relying entirely on ticket sales and the generosity of sponsors, donors, endowments and other commercial activity for its funding.

Bangkok Opera. The Operatic hub of Southeast Asia” Opera Siam, formerly under the patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana.

Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, The TPO is proud to have the patronage of the Royal Thai Government and Mahidol University and enjoys a burgeoning multicultural tradition. The 90-member symphony orchestra is made up of musicians from more than 15 nations. The TPO has been active in recording many traditional Thai songs, and has produced 10 CDs of those works. In addition, the TPO has several new projects and collaborations on the horizon including recording sessions, concerts throughout Thailand, and several international performances.

And so on!

[arrowsdawdle]

The OP quotes a strategy to increase business travelers to Pattaya. Naivete in action. Business travelers go where their accounts, branches, and factories are.

[phl]

Funny thing is Pattaya always gets bashed, yet its jammed packed every weekend.

Pattaya in fact does have more to offer if one bothers to look.

Of course if you travel here and stay near Walking St or Soi Buakhao, all you see is the red light district, HOWEVER

Pattaya DOES have everything for everyone, just need to open your eyes and move away from the certain areas

"everything for everyone"??????????????????????????

Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?

(Mind you, in fairness, you could ask that question of the whole of Thailand. And, btw, how come Japan, Korea and China manage to supply some of the best classical (western) musicians in the whole world, while Thailand has scarcely even heard of Beethoven (or Hitler for that matter)?

I am assuming you are trying to joke, but will give it a serious answer.

Please name a city in Thailand which has opera house????

Also please name a city or place in Thailand which host's its own well known symphony orchestra?

PS, The topic is about Thailand, within Thailand, it is not about what China or Japan has, i am sure Vienna has great symphony orchestra and Sydney has a stunning one, but the discussion is NOT what other countries have or produced

Bangkok;

The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra operates under the auspices of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation and is privileged to enjoy the Royal Patronage of the Crown Prince of Thailand, His Royal Highness Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. The BSO is a non-profit making organisation, and is one of the very few symphony orchestras in the world which receives no public funding of any sort, relying entirely on ticket sales and the generosity of sponsors, donors, endowments and other commercial activity for its funding.

Bangkok Opera. The Operatic hub of Southeast Asia” Opera Siam, formerly under the patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana.

Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, The TPO is proud to have the patronage of the Royal Thai Government and Mahidol University and enjoys a burgeoning multicultural tradition. The 90-member symphony orchestra is made up of musicians from more than 15 nations. The TPO has been active in recording many traditional Thai songs, and has produced 10 CDs of those works. In addition, the TPO has several new projects and collaborations on the horizon including recording sessions, concerts throughout Thailand, and several international performances.

And so on!

did you miss the keywords? well known

[arrowsdawdle]

Sure that wasn't a typo in the title? Shouldn't it be....

Pattaya, Thailand's Roll Model

[sirchai]

pattaya, land of prostitution, russian maffia, etc... real good example for the country indeed

Why? You can buy all kind of drugs, guns, fake $, fake girls, pay too much money for Songtaews, fall in love with the first bar girl, buy her family a house, a car, motorbikes, live the dream of Pattaya.................Thought it was a city, or did it already develop to a country?

Doesn't matter..........

[NomadJoe]

I can see them beating out Phuket by miles when it comes to transport. Patts at least has baht buses. Somone starts a baht bus here they get pulled from the bus and beaten by the tuk tuk/taxi mafia. --> http://www.phuketgazette.net/issuesanswers/details.asp?id=703

[sirchai]

"Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?" - put that on my list of ludicrous criteria.

Don't forget PUFC. Pattaya United FC..........

[ROMANOBA]

LARGE COPRORATEE PLANNERS CANNOT LEAVE THEMESELVES OPEN TO SCANDAL...

This is a real jewel, may be he means that corporate planners prefer expensive escort girls to plain bar girls...

FAMILY TOURISTS CAN BE ABLE TO OVERLOOK THE SEEDY SIDE TO SOME EXTENT.

Another jewel.Family tourists are the one who choose Pattaya BECAUSE of the colourful side of the .' seedy side'.

What a bunch of hypocrite moralism.Pattaya is unique BECAUSE of the uniqueness of its sex tourism, period.

Pattaya without sex tourism would become a gray, polluted, noisy third rang beach within a poorly designed, chaotic city.

Pattaya with sex tourism is like an exciting and vibrant film set.

I think the only positive point out of this is that Thailand needs another location that isn't completely oriented around the sex industry, but provides all the foreigner-friendly services, so that corporate event planners could (maybe) book their conferences and meetings without everyone thinking it's just a mongering boondoggle.

Individual "family" tourists with very open minds may be able to overlook the seedy side to some extent, but large international corporate planners can't leave themselves open to scandal.

Unfortunately the reputation of the whole country is largely tarred with that same brush, so they're at least pushing against a headwind in the MICE market.

[gbswales]

Why is the sex industry always seen as such a bad thing? I agree that there is a tendancy for it to become dominated and run by people who are criminals but that is only because it is still technically illegal. The world needs, has always needed and will always need places where people unable to find the sexual fullfillment they need in daily life can go and pay for it. I know that people who believe in marriage and religion and are prepared to blindly follow their belief systems, are going to protest at the idea of a legal sex industry. But they do not have the right to be the moral guardians of us all.

Legalised you can put in protections for sex workers and give them advice much more easily. It becomes easier to ensure that the workers are over the age of consent and easier to collect tax from them as well. Thailand is unique in that there are many Thai young people who do not, as is the case in the West, find people older than themselves unattractive. Inded there many who much prefer to be with a much older partner, whether that is for casual sex or a long term relationship. The cynical will say it is always for money and that is easy to believe given the prejudice inbuilt into western culture, and the experience some have had, but I know several instances where money is clearly not the motivation, at least no more of a motivation that it is in a western relationship where people are often seeking stablility and security.

I believe in happiness of mind and body, and if people are lucky enough to find both of these in a monogomous relationship and believe strongly in marriage and the like then good luck to them. It seems to me however that those same people do not want others to be happy with anything that does not follow their guidelines.

It is often said that the sex industry degrades women (though in Thailand you would have to say men AND women) - in my view this is not something restricted to the sex industry - I would find sweeping the streets or washing up for a pittance degrading. Less so doing something that both provider and client are capable of enjoying.

Choosing to become a sex worker is for most people a choice - and I do feel it is very important to protect people from being forced into it. However I believe that most go into it because it pays better than the alternatives, can give them a better life style, and maybe the chance to find someone who will support them later on. If a student takes a job working 40 hours during nights and weekends they are applauded for supporting their education, the fact that their education suffers because they are too tired to study is ignored. However if a university student decides to work one night a week as a sex worker to pay for their education, they are condemned as immoral.

Sorry this is off topic a little bit but it is really an attempt to say the world needs places like Pattaya (at least like parts of Pattaya) and if families are worried about exposing their offspring to real life, choose somewhere other than Pattaya. Disneworld provides their kind of moral environment even if it is as from real life as it is possible to get.

[bigbamboo]

Well we all know what Pattaya's tourists spend the extra 25 per cent on!

And if Pattaya is seriously supposed to be a role model for Thai tourism then perhaps TAT should be renamed TATTY.

[Tonyrichard]

Funny thing is Pattaya always gets bashed, yet its jammed packed every weekend.

Pattaya in fact does have more to offer if one bothers to look.

Of course if you travel here and stay near Walking St or Soi Buakhao, all you see is the red light district, HOWEVER

Pattaya DOES have everything for everyone, just need to open your eyes and move away from the certain areas

"everything for everyone"??????????????????????????

Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?

(Mind you, in fairness, you could ask that question of the whole of Thailand. And, btw, how come Japan, Korea and China manage to supply some of the best classical (western) musicians in the whole world, while Thailand has scarcely even heard of Beethoven (or Hitler for that matter)?

I am assuming you are trying to joke, but will give it a serious answer.

Please name a city in Thailand which has opera house????

Also please name a city or place in Thailand which host's its own well known symphony orchestra?

PS, The topic is about Thailand, within Thailand, it is not about what China or Japan has, i am sure Vienna has great symphony orchestra and Sydney has a stunning one, but the discussion is NOT what other countries have or produced

Oh dear, that's precisely what I was saying: where in the whole of Thailand do you get things like opera houses (answer: nowhere) and why not? Why is Thailand so ignorant of the outside world? (Another thread or topic, granted, but not entirely off topic here, I would submit.)

But the poster was saying, Pattaya has "everything for everyone", which it patently doesn't.

Blazes, I completely agree with you on every point. As a great lover of classical music, I have often asked myself why Thailand has never (as far as I am aware) produced any great Western-classical musicians, in the way that China, Korea and Japan have. I think it is connected with the insularity of the Thai outlook, and the general aversion to, and difficulty in handling, anything abstract, profound, or 'intellectual' (Western classical music is, of course, very abstract and complex). On the specific point about Pattaya's being an example to all of Thailand: well, this has to be one huge joke, of course. How could anyone take such a claim seriously - even if Pattaya does have some good conferences? The surrounding environment is hardly a model to be adopted everywhere. As other posters have said, April Fool's Day comes every single day in the inane land of laughs!

[ROMANOBA]

Pattaya is of course seriously ideal as a business centre. In my lifetime experiences I can say honestly that most business folk DO truly very much want the availability of the sex industry for their chill out time after a day of heavy meetings and business seminars, and indeed WHY NOT? Surely this is a bloody no brainer and completely obvious to most sensible folk. Indeed this makes Pattaya completely ideal as a business meeting centre. So <deleted> why do not some of these nose in the air holier than thou sexually hung up prigs just get real and live and let live. Most ordinary decent folk seem to have no problem in open mindedly seeing the truth in this fact of life.

If the sex industry is not for your leisure time pursuit then that is rightly your choice and not up for debate but it is clearly NOT your choice to stop others from freely participating in such activities of course, so Pattaya surely ideally gives folk the wide and open choice of evening leisure time pursuits including fun and enjoyable sex based activities, and all as a release from your days of meetings and seminars etc. The fun of freely or commercially given and taken open sex, both for men AND women, is clearly part of our what should be harmless leisure time activities and quite obviously not just for marital procreation !!!!!!!!! This has been the case for many generations if we will all tell the truth.

I could not have said it better myself.A realistic, practical answer to all thise moralistic, hypocrite preachers..My compliments

[taff33]

[Rimmer]

Inflammatory post removed

[AngryParent]

Funny thing is Pattaya always gets bashed, yet its jammed packed every weekend.

Pattaya in fact does have more to offer if one bothers to look.

Of course if you travel here and stay near Walking St or Soi Buakhao, all you see is the red light district, HOWEVER

Pattaya DOES have everything for everyone, just need to open your eyes and move away from the certain areas

"everything for everyone"??????????????????????????

Does it have an opera house or a symphony orchestra?

(Mind you, in fairness, you could ask that question of the whole of Thailand. And, btw, how come Japan, Korea and China manage to supply some of the best classical (western) musicians in the whole world, while Thailand has scarcely even heard of Beethoven (or Hitler for that matter)?

No, they have heard of Hitler. Many school children like to dress up like nazis and they have his image around on sports days etc in schools.

Their racism and xenophobia is based on their past "colonization" by the Axis.

Edited May 3, 2012 by AngryParent

[RogueLeader]

I think the only positive point out of this is that Thailand needs another location that isn't completely oriented around the sex industry, but provides all the foreigner-friendly services, so that corporate event planners could (maybe) book their conferences and meetings without everyone thinking it's just a mongering boondoggle.

Individual "family" tourists with very open minds may be able to overlook the seedy side to some extent, but large international corporate planners can't leave themselves open to scandal.

I've worked for several companies who have conferences in Amsterdam and Thailand, and they know why they pick those places. I know for a fact that a children's television channel who name shall remain nameless had a corporate account with Yab Yum, the premium Amsterdam brothel, before it was closed down by the city council.

'Large international corporate planners' are not nuns, and neither are the people for whom they book conferences. No-one ever says it out loud, but a nod and a wink conveys exactly what kind of 'entertainment' is expected. Watch The IT Crowd episode 'Jen The Fredo'. It's far more accurate than any company would dare to admit.

Edited May 3, 2012 by RogueLeader

[RogueLeader]

Seriously, though, I'd hate to see KPG, Ko Tao or Ko Lanta fall to this ugly, concrete Butlins vision of tourism colonies and you can bet that Hua Hin won't: Pattaya is strictly for the proletariat. Is there a single place in Pattaya where you actually feel as though you're in Thailand? It feels more like a green zone controlled by Russia, Israel and the US.

Still, it's not as bad as Patong. It's hard even to get Thai food in Patong.

[Jimmu]

Pli

did you miss the keywords? well known

No I didn't miss your keywords because they are all very well known worldwide with world class artists and musicians. Perhaps not so well known in Walking St, Pattaya though!

[animatic]

5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555and 55555555 "incentives" 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and " "Adventure Tourism" 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 "Exhibitions"(ists)5555555 and 55555555 5555555 and 55555555 Too much! You can't make this stuff up.

Edited May 3, 2012 by animatic

[alanoz]

Role model? For what? Last place I would like to live is Pattaya. Beautiful nature? No ! Beautiful girls? Hell no !!. The only girls go to Pattaya is the ones left over from Thai man ended up desperate farangs.

[hellodolly]

Why a joke ? I worked on communication strategies for Singapore Convention Bureau for some time and for many hotels in Thailand and what is being praised is the infrastructure and facilities put in place by the pros that bring in MICE visitors. That you might see any of that from your perspective does not negate its reality.

No problem with what you say.

But that is not what Pattaya is famous for. It is a role model for a different type of life style that has a lot to do with all of those things

deciding to sink their money into the city. In February I was there with my wife for two conventions and really did not see any attraction there. A few places to visit. It was a big disappointment as I visualized Chiang Mai with the many different tours and sights to see. The one travel agent we found close to the hotel never showed up to pick us up. Thankfully one of the Bell Boys had a cousin with a air conditioned cab he called and for the same price got to see the attractions we had originally booked. I know they are all related to a cab driver.

May be I am spoiled here in Chiang Mai I can just stop a tuck tuck or songtell and they will take me any where in the city, In Pattaya you have to know what there routers are. And I noticed many of them would just drive past you if you weren't in a certain spot.

[tropo]

Funny thing is Pattaya always gets bashed, yet its jammed packed every weekend.

Pattaya in fact does have more to offer if one bothers to look.

Of course if you travel here and stay near Walking St or Soi Buakhao, all you see is the red light district, HOWEVER

Pattaya DOES have everything for everyone, just need to open your eyes and move away from the certain areas

+1

Apart from the fact that Pattaya doesn't have a lot of competition from other resort cities? Which resort towns can rival Pattaya for 1st place? Phuket loses immediately just because it's an extra flight for overseas visitors - without even looking at any positives it might have to offer. The same is true for most other resort towns.

Edited May 3, 2012 by tropo

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Role model? For what? Last place I would like to live is Pattaya. Beautiful nature? No ! Beautiful girls? Hell no !!. The only girls go to Pattaya is the ones left over from Thai man ended up desperate farangs.

Right...I have always longed for hanging out on a polluted beach front with street urchins begging me to buy some useless piece of nothing...No thanks. For all of you that live there and think it's so wonderful...please stay there.

[chiangmaicharlies]

The Sanctuary of Truth is a really great holiday visit, but very few go there, and people always mention sex regards Pattaya

[visionchaser45]

What is it with people bashing the "seedy" side of Pattaya? Is it some form of self-loathing? Perhaps it is an attempt to project some type of moral superiority? I happen to like sex. I think it is an important part of the attraction for business tourists. If I were traveling on business, I would much rather go to Pattaya than Salt Lake City, Utah. The hotels and food may be nicer in Salt Lake and the infrastructure may be vastly superior. The softer side of things, however, leaves much to be desired.

[sirchai]

Role model? For what? Last place I would like to live is Pattaya. Beautiful nature? No ! Beautiful girls? Hell no !!. The only girls go to Pattaya is the ones left over from Thai man ended up desperate farangs.

Right...I have always longed for hanging out on a polluted beach front with street urchins begging me to buy some useless piece of nothing...No thanks. For all of you that live there and think it's so wonderful...please stay there.

Do you mean the freelancers from beach road who can't even get a job at a bar, who offer useless things for 50 baht?

[arrowsdawdle]

LARGE COPRORATEE PLANNERS CANNOT LEAVE THEMESELVES OPEN TO SCANDAL...

This is a real jewel, may be he means that corporate planners prefer expensive escort girls to plain bar girls...

FAMILY TOURISTS CAN BE ABLE TO OVERLOOK THE SEEDY SIDE TO SOME EXTENT.

Another jewel.Family tourists are the one who choose Pattaya BECAUSE of the colourful side of the .' seedy side'.

What a bunch of hypocrite moralism.Pattaya is unique BECAUSE of the uniqueness of its sex tourism, period.

Pattaya without sex tourism would become a gray, polluted, noisy third rang beach within a poorly designed, chaotic city.

Pattaya with sex tourism is like an exciting and vibrant film set.

I think the only positive point out of this is that Thailand needs another location that isn't completely oriented around the sex industry, but provides all the foreigner-friendly services, so that corporate event planners could (maybe) book their conferences and meetings without everyone thinking it's just a mongering boondoggle.

Individual "family" tourists with very open minds may be able to overlook the seedy side to some extent, but large international corporate planners can't leave themselves open to scandal.

Unfortunately the reputation of the whole country is largely tarred with that same brush, so they're at least pushing against a headwind in the MICE market.

Film sets are neither vibrant nor exciting. They are phony props, hard working crew members, and people saying all manner of fiction to advance a story.