I don’t know when or where I heard it but the name Pattaya has stuck in my mind as a place to go for beaches and nightlife. Some quick research showed that Pattaya is pretty touristic and that you can do much better for relaxing at the beach, and since I’m not much of a party guy some place like Hua Hin would probably be a better option for me. However, I just couldn’t get the name Pattaya out of my head, I had to see it for myself.

I read that the main beach in Pattaya city is pretty crowded so I booked a hotel at the supposedly less populated Jomtien beach. Be that as it may, it was the most exploited beach I’ve seen in I don’t know how long, with miles and miles of parasols and deck chairs, and a flotilla of boats and jet skis.

As for the night life, there seems to be a bar or night club around every corner of the city, but the most famous area is a place called walking street. It has a mix of go go bars with bikini clad girls dancing on stage, normal bars with pool tables and live bands, and a few restaurants. For a place with such a proliferation of adult entertainment venues, you’d think there most of the patrons would be men but I saw a fair number of women too, and surprisingly, a large number of tour groups and even a few families with young children.

This live band was playing classic rock, much better entertainment than the go go bars 

Ok, time to get political:


I’ve seen various videos and articles by sex workers saying that the best way to help them and keep them safe is for sex work to be legal and out in the open. In that way I guess it’s good that the go go bars are right there on the main bar street and not hidden away in some seedy back alley. However, I’m not sure turning it in to a regular tourist attraction is such a good idea.


End of political insert, now back to traveling:

As you might be able to tell, Pattaya wasn’t really my kind of place, I much prefer the relaxed beaches at Koh Rong. Well, well, been there, done that, don’t need to go back. At least I got the name Pattaya out of my brain so I can get on with other things.