MZurf Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 This is how Lonely Planet is describing Pattaya: "Synonymous with sex tourism, Pattaya is unapologetic about its bread-and-butter industry. Go-go clubs, massage parlours and girlie bars occupy block after block of the central city, making Bangkok’s red-light districts look small and provincial. But walking the same streets as the stiletto-wearing ladyboys are ever-increasing numbers of Russian tourists and Chinese tour groups. More than anything, Pattaya today is a schizophrenic experience: part package holiday destination; part prostitution central. During the day, the city is slightly less seedy as the beach gets crowded out and jet skis and speed boats bounce across the waves. A fair few Thais, too, have adopted Pattaya as a weekend getaway, drawn by the excellent seafood and lower prices than elsewhere on the eastern seaboard. But not even the most enthusiatic Pattaya promoter could claim that the city has changed too much from its original incarnation as an anything-goes sin city for GIs on R & R from the Vietnam War. The city is built around Ao Pattaya, a wide crescent-shaped bay that was one of Thailand’s first beach resorts in the 1960s. The surrounding area is now Thailand’s manufacturing base, transforming the bay from fishing and swimming pool into an industrial port. Some provincial Thais still swim here but we don’t think you should as the water is dirty. The oceanfront promenade does, however, provide a scenic stroll under shady trees and a lovely coastal view. Optimists claim that Hat Jomtien, south of the centre, is a family-friendly scene. True, there are fewer girlie bars and the beach is nicer, but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. North Pattaya (Pattaya Neua) is fashioning itself as a mini-Bangkok with modern condo towers and respectable corporate hotels. North of the city is Naklua, which is glossier than Jomtien and a little more promising for Pattaya’s alternative tourists." Any comments? Is it true that you guys living in Jomtien are two decades away from being retro (whatever that means)? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewsterbudgen Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Not bad, for Lonely Planet, although I've never considered Naklua "glossy"!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hard to argue with the description. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Not bad, for Lonely Planet, although I've never considered Naklua "glossy"!! Exactly. When thinking of Naklua glossy isn't the first word that springs to mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hard to argue with the description. True, it's surprisingly restrained. I'll never forget the description of Pattaya in the Lonely Planet Thailand book when backpacking here in the 80s. It made Sodom and Gomorrah sound like a Thomas Cook family destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 A fair few Thais, too, have adopted Pattaya as a weekend getaway, drawn by the excellent seafood and lower prices than elsewhere on the eastern seaboard Take it LP has never made it as far as Rayong? but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. Jomtien, a gay lovers paradise, its a meat market, best avoided. Jeez who writes this crap, have they ever been there? More likely a copy and paste job put together by some digital nomand posting from a scuzzy apt in Udom Suk, the same types who post on here about Ed visas and being independantly wealthy, put dont have enought to put together the shekles for an Elite visa. Utter effin crap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishsmile Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Spot on I must agree! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradenroger Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 These myopic and outdated impressions of Pattaya really get my goat and those in agreement with them, where do you guys navigate and who do you associate with? For goodness sake! Give this place a fair break. It is my home and I love it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I live in Jomtien and if I was any more retro than I am I would probably trip over my own Loon pants. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I think they mean retro in a good sense ... like Art deco Miami Beach. You can't mention Jomtien without mentioning the Russian flavor, still even after the crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony5 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Wasn't lonely planet in the news a few years ago because they had written reviews from places they actually never had visited? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joepattaya1961 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Not bad, for Lonely Planet, although I've never considered Naklua "glossy"!!Exactly. When thinking of Naklua glossy isn't the first word that springs to mind! Because Naklua is "glänzend"; German for "glossy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joepattaya1961 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. Jomtien, a gay lovers paradise, its a meat market, best avoided.. Jomtien a gay lovers paradise? Right. Just of the few gay bars in the Complex and the small stretch of Dongtan Beach aka Gaybeach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. Jomtien, a gay lovers paradise, its a meat market, best avoided.. Jomtien a gay lovers paradise? Right. Just of the few gay bars in the Complex and the small stretch of Dongtan Beach aka Gaybeach? Personally, I would rather await our POTYs comments, dont you find it a bit strange that he lives there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony5 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. Jomtien, a gay lovers paradise, its a meat market, best avoided.. Jomtien a gay lovers paradise? Right. Just of the few gay bars in the Complex and the small stretch of Dongtan Beach aka Gaybeach? Personally, I would rather await our POTYs comments, dont you find it a bit strange that he lives there? I know a hetero who lives there, and also a Muslim and a black man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champers Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Seems a bit out of date to me. The city seems to cater more to all tastes and the sleazier side of the city is easy to avoid if you want to and easy to find if you want to. Single Russian and Chinese males tend not to make up the tourist demographic, so there is no stigma attached to Pattaya in those places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 but Jomtien is about two decades away from being retro and there's a preponderance of mediocre hotels and restaurants. Jomtien, a gay lovers paradise, its a meat market, best avoided.. Jomtien a gay lovers paradise? Right. Just of the few gay bars in the Complex and the small stretch of Dongtan Beach aka Gaybeach? Personally, I would rather await our POTYs comments, dont you find it a bit strange that he lives there? I know a hetero who lives there, and also a Muslim and a black man. Great stuff, just goes to show the cosmopolitian nature of the place, a regular San Fran in the midst of the detritus found elsewhere in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Yes that text is definitely out of date. I recall reading the same thing several years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony5 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Jomtien a gay lovers paradise? Right.Just of the few gay bars in the Complex and the small stretch of Dongtan Beach aka Gaybeach? Personally, I would rather await our POTYs comments, dont you find it a bit strange that he lives there? I know a hetero who lives there, and also a Muslim and a black man. Great stuff, just goes to show the cosmopolitian nature of the place, a regular San Fran in the midst of the detritus found elsewhere in the city. Maybe I was talking about one and the same guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 These myopic and outdated impressions of Pattaya really get my goat and those in agreement with them, where do you guys navigate and who do you associate with? For goodness sake! Give this place a fair break. It is my home and I love it. I also live in Pattaya (and thoroughly enjoy doing so) and my goat is not even close to being gotten by the description above. True, Pattaya is more and more turning into something else than strictly a PFP place but there is no doubt that it's Pattaya's (well deserved) image as Sin City that still draws a lot of the visitors. Not condemning it, just stating a fact. Now, what Pattaya eventually will turn into is going to be really exciting to see. Maybe I should do a poll of "what might Pattaya look like in 20 years from now?", only I can't be arsed to find out how to do one I think that Pattaya eventually will become a large city with several millions of inhabitants, and with probably no more "red lights" than your average Thai city. Bangkok sinking into the mud and the resulting exodus of Bangkokians will see to that. The current domination of one ethnic group of tourists will be but a (slightly unpleasant) memory in a few years, and who knows; we might finally even get some decent Thai food restaurants! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I agree Pattaya has the potential to be a great city. But right now it needs some serious visionaries in the area of PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Description is mostly okay. One small mistake: the frequentation by Russians is no longer on the rise. I would also mention the infrastructure (hospitals, malls) and walking street of course. I feel the whole description is a bit too negative, the same meaning could be conveyed by a different formulation. The part on Jomtien is harsh, Dongtan beach for example has some very nice places to stay, and the beach has pleasant restaurants. Edited February 1, 2015 by manarak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 That description could be from several years ago. LP doesn't always do complete reviews of every city for every edition. In the 5 years I've been here in Pattaya, it's changed drastically. Hardly any Russians when I first came here...and traffic wasn't that bad. Ah...it was still just a quaint seaside village. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Well, it's a lot better than the drivel LP wrote about Pattaya a decade or two ago, but the following is a little weird and misleading: The city is built around Ao Pattaya, a wide crescent-shaped bay that was one of Thailand’s first beach resorts in the 1960s. The surrounding area is now Thailand’s manufacturing base, transforming the bay from fishing and swimming pool into an industrial port. Huh..? Yes, the Eastern Seaboard has developed into a big industrial area for Thailand, also due to the nearby Laem Chabang port, but Pattaya itself isn't in anyway an "industrial port". The only port-like facilities that the town has are Bali Hai pier, which is exclusively leisure boating, plus some ferries to islands off the coast. Industrial port? Really, Really puzzling. Edited February 2, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubboy Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Jomtien is where all the luxury Condo Resorts are being built so I think a couple of decades is pushing it a bit. Definitely gearing more to families though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanuk711 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 A few years back , the write up of Udon Thani was.......... "A town best viewed from your rear vision mirror"......... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 A few years back , the write up of Udon Thani was.......... "A town best viewed from your rear vision mirror"......... That's changed? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2011 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Excellent seafood. Give me a break..... They failed to mention the backpacker budget services around the end of 3rd road towards the hill. Plus the numerous temporary employment options for lady backpackers in the hospitality industry, similar to CM but not quite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Excellent seafood. Give me a break..... They failed to mention the backpacker budget services around the end of 3rd road towards the hill. Plus the numerous temporary employment options for lady backpackers in the hospitality industry, similar to CM but not quite. What are you talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddinChonburi Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Well what year was this book published ? Lonely planet was started by backpack travelers. I think the original people are gone so much of the info they now receive is from just normal people traveling. Well if you go to these areas after dark I can see what they are talking about. Just read the daily news from the crap that is happening during the night. Lady boys and hooker on the beach from walking street to Pattaya Klang. girls calling out at you as you walk down the soi's and it does not matter that I have my girl with me. I just call it entertainment but others may have a different view. And yes what am I doing there ? enjoying the entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now