Beach Road, the TAT and other irregularities

[swissie]

Appearantly, there are some Farang insomniacs, that have the desire to walk along Beach Road during 2AM to 5AM.
Would it make it safer for them to camouflage as a Lady-Boy? You know, the usual: Blonde wig, mini-skirt, high-heeled shoes (stilleto's, to be used as a weapon, if necessary).
Hoping that the lurking LB predators will not attack "one in kind"?
- Of course, during a LB "crackdown" on Beach-Road, the camouflaged Farang LB impersonater will be paying a heavier fine than the locals. 555
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Of course, the above is just BS, but I want to make a point:

- Some short 15 years ago, I could walk Beach-Road at any time of day or night. As well as "dark side streets", featuring nothing else than a couple of "Bamboo-Bars". Never felt threatened or getting the feeling of entering some sort of "danger-zone". I never even bothered to take off my heavy gold-necklace.

Was this the time of true "quality-tourists" and true "quality-hosts"? A perfect combination, benefitting everybody.

These days, in my view, the TAT would be well served, to concentrate more on "quality-hosts", instead of "quality-tourists" for a change. Making it clear to the "hosts", that while tourists are willing to spend their money in Thailand, this does not include a "free-pass" to fleece them left and right, whenever the slightest opoortunity presents itself to do so.

I venture to say, that this has reached epidemic proportions in tourist-hubs. (More or less approved by local "Authorities".) Fortunately not so in Rural-Thailand (yet).

Bare of illusions, before the TAT will try to (re)-establish a healthy balance between "quality tourists" and "quality-hosts", I will be wearing a long grey beard and no more capable of distinguishing between a Thai-Female and a 58 Chevy, I am afraid.
Cheers.
 

[JSixpack]

Similar complaints have been made about Pattaya for decades with the inevitable doom prophecies. Nothing new here.

 

There are two types of articles appearing in the Pattaya Mail with regularity: those where business and political leaders decry the decline in tourism and propose ways to improve the situation; and a steadily increasing number of reports of tourists being insulted, assaulted, drugged, robbed and extorted. . . . Pattaya is being inundated with rude obnoxious thugs who do not care about the city or its visitors. . . . They are driving away the tourists and the income and jobs that they bring. Inevitably, this rabble will win as they reduce everyone to their level of poverty. Meanwhile, tourism to Cambodia is increasing by 50% every six months...[emphasis mine]

Lawrence Neal, "Down on Pattaya," Pattaya Mail, Vol. V No. 5 Friday 31 January 1997 - 6 February 1997

[moonseeker]

Not gonna happen. Changing this "culture" would first of all require basic education and awareness of so many issues at home and in school. This place is more and more chaos and it will / would take a generation or two to change it. Which ain't gonna happen. But then again, so many countries seem to decline. Maybe just the new-world". MS>

[petermik]

Sorry to seem blunt but trying to change anything here is virtually impossible for a "farang" if you do not like what goes on try somewhere else.............

[thaibeachlovers]

Many a night I stumbled back to the hotel at cock crow, but even back in the "good ol' days" I would never have tempted fate by wearing a gold chain. Even back in the 90s, on Beach Rd near the Walking St entrance I was running the katoey gauntlet.