Pattaya In the New York Times

[mrt 0]

just a little FYI,

 

not a really good article IMO but here it is

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/20/internat...THAI.html?8hpib

 

The only thing i got from it was now would be a good time to visit.

 

And I did find the last quote about arabs not being allowed in a bar quite funny.  Not the part that they don't allow them in  just the quote of "....We do not want Arab people consuming alcohol or molesting women. We respect your belief in Islam."

[mrt 0]

OOPs just was told you need to be a member(it's free) in order to  view this article.  So for those that don't want to go thought all that here's the article without the pictures of the  girls.

 

June 20, 2003

A Famed Resort Where Tourists Fear to Tread

By SETH MYDANS

 

 

ATTAYA, Thailand, June 14 — It is as if the terrorist attack had already occurred. Beaches and bars are nearly empty. Tour ferries float at anchor in the distance. Even the elephants are idle, with few customers to ride them.

 

Thailand's most famous beach resort is a study in suspended animation, devastated by a slowdown in tourism caused by fears of terrorism and SARS infection.

 

This week, things got even worse as Thailand found itself in the bull's-eye of the latest terrorist threats.

 

In the country's Muslim south, the police arrested three men they said were members of a terrorist cell that was planning to attack embassies and entertainment spots.

 

At the same time, on a visit to Washington, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared that Thailand was an ally in the worldwide campaign against terror, something he had strenuously avoided saying in the past.

 

Until now, the national policy has boiled down to the plea voiced today by a restaurant manager here: "Why us? We're friendly."

 

As soon as the arrests were announced, Australia, 88of whose people died in the terrorist bombing in Bali last October, issued a warning to its citizens to stay away from beach resorts in Thailand.

 

Here in Pattaya, speculation has focused on a popular nightclub and a central shopping plaza as potential targets even though, with so few customers, they would seem to be poor targets.

 

"I try to stay away from the plaza," said Munir Hasan, a salesman at one of the dozens of tailor shops that make it seem as though people come to Pattaya to get suits made as much as to go to the beach. "It's on people's minds," he said as he sat on the stoop of his empty shop.

 

One waitress told of the day a man with what seemed Middle Eastern looks had entered her nightclub, used the bathroom, then walked out again.

 

"We didn't know what to do," she said. "We were all afraid to go back there and look."

 

No figures were available to illustrate the slowdown in Pattaya, but these days it looks more like a stage set of a beach resort with a famous red-light district than the real thing.

 

At the empty bars, the lights flash, the music pulses and the pretty women wiggle in the doorways calling out: "Welcome! Welcome!"

 

On the beach, rows of striped canvas lounge chairs stand nearly empty under their forests of parasols. Young men wait by stacks of black inner tubes, ready to rent them out.

 

The surf laps quietly at the sand. Almost no one is out there splashing.

 

It has been like this for months, people here say. "Everybody is scared," said a travel agent here. "The Thais don't visit China and the Chinese don't visit Thailand."

 

Last year 10.8 million tourists came to Thailand and spent $7.7 billion, 6 percent of the country's gross domestic profit, said Somkid Jatusripitak, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs and tourism, in a speech this week.

 

Tourism has permeated almost all walks of life and has become part of Thailand's image of itself. "The land of smiles wears a smile as always," Mr. Somkid said bravely.

 

A receptionist at a nearly empty seaside hotel here said he was sure that everything was safe.

 

"We have video cameras everywhere," he said. "We can check everything. And in the garage we have a video camera. Every car that comes in, we have a record. And in the lobby also, and also outside the entrance."

 

Boonlua Chatree, who covers the police beat for the local weekly, Pattaya Mail, said the police were paying special attention to Middle Easterners, many of whom congregate in a small area known as Little Saudi.

 

He said prejudice against Middle Easterners is quite strong here among both residents and visitors.

 

On what is called Walking Street, in the heart of the city's entertainment district, one open-fronted bar has posted a sign that reads: "No Arab people to sit down here. We do not want Arab people consuming alcohol or molesting women. We respect your belief in Islam."

[AmericanMan 0]

Quite honestly, after reading the article it makes me want to jump on an airplane and go there now.  Just think about all the fun we can have!  Hey, life's all about chances, but somehow I think that danger in Pattaya is quite minimal.  Phuket is another story though.

[fishingtime 0]

This year Thailand will have

Quite honestly, after reading the article it makes me want to jump on an airplane and go there now.  Just think about all the fun we can have!  Hey, life's all about chances, but somehow I think that danger in Pattaya is quite minimal.  Phuket is another story though.

 

 

I too have not changed my plans but the danger is real and Pattaya is a better target choice than Phuket because of the number of Americans and the British that are in the city.

 

This year Thailand will  take a lost from Tourism equal to 40 Billion Baht. Part of that is due to SARS but still 40B is a very large hit for any country, and Thailand will be greatly affected by this lost.

 

The terrorists have targeted Thailand and Pattaya and they have already hit the target on the money side let us hope that they don't hit next with a plan to take peoples lives.

 

The terrorist have targeted Thailand and Pattaya and they have already won major battles on the economic  side. Now  let us hope that the next time they don't target with a plan to take human lives.

 

Sexreview

[mrt 0]

This year Thailand will have

 

 

I too have not changed my plans but the danger is real and Pattaya is a better target choice than Phuket because of the number of Americans and the British that are in the city.

 

 

 

Sexreview

 

??? are you sure about that ?  Whre are you getting your facts from?  I've always thought that at any given time Bangkok or Phuket would have more americans, brits, etc.  than Pattaya.

[Rex7777 0]

I stayed in Phuket for a month one time and only ran across one or two Americans during my entire stay.  One week there were loads of people from Sweeden, the next week there seemed to be a bunch of Germans, and another week there were Japanese everywhere.  Maybe it's just too far away to be a big American hangout.

 

Rex 8)

[sprinter 1]

"....We do not want Arab people consuming alcohol or molesting women. We respect your belief in Islam."

 

This sign is at the Jan Bar on Walking Street.

 

Sprinter

[fishingtime 0]

??? are you sure about that ?  Whre are you getting your facts from?  I've always thought that at any given time Bangkok or Phuket would have more americans, brits, etc.  than Pattaya.

 

Bangkok may have more total Americans but they are spread out around the city. And also many Thais mixed in with them. Within one square mile or a half of a square mile the most American and Englishmen will be found in Pattaya.

 

Pattaya is open and easy to get in and out of. Phuket is an island with limited access.  Tourism is also so far down in Phuket that the total effect would be far less. The most popular group of  foreigners (most number of them) in Phuket is the Europeans. And Germans make up a large number of travels in Phuket.

 

 

Besides lets say a terrorist’s group plans an attack on Walking Street, Soi Pattayaland or Soi 7-8 who will be effected? Foreigners and low level Thai bar workers. We all know Thailand is a country based on a class system and at the bottom level are the Thai sex workers and bar workers.  No as much as I hate to say it, an attack on Pattaya is the best option of the three. I really hope I am wrong and a year from now the readers call me on this one.

[cbrib 354]

Fishingtime i believe you are absolutely right!! There is a very clear and present danger here in Pattaya. You should definitely head for safer ground in Bkk and Phuket. Those of us stuck here in the danger zone will do our best to make up for your absence. Cheers, B-man!

[mrt 0]

Fishingtime,

 

good points i've learned something.

[nidnoyham 30]

Well the stickers of osma bin laden have been off the urinals in FLB . has

[nidnoyham 30]

Well the stickers of Osma Bin Laden have been off the urinals in FLB for some months now. Has Pete had 2nd thoughts about the situation ? Or did some fanatic vandalise them ( hope he washed his hands afterwards)  

[fishingtime 0]

Fishingtime i believe you are absolutely right!! There is a very clear and present danger here in Pattaya. You should definitely head for safer ground in Bkk and Phuket. Those of us stuck here in the danger zone will do our best to make up for your absence. Cheers, B-man!

 

 

Sorry about this but I'm one of those people who is going more to Pattaya now than before. The more tourism drops, the more airfares drop. And that means the more I will be in Pattaya. I know and understand the risk and I believe the risks are real but acceptable.

[Eneukman 1]

I'm with you, Fishingtime ........................ only wish I could get to Pattaya more often ............. still 2 years and i can retire there permanently  ;D ;D ;D

 

Alan

[maipenrai 476]

Well, be it SARS or terrorism, I refuse to worry much about these - I still think one has more chance of being run over crossing 2nd Rd. than you do being affected by these, and if I had the time and the money, I would be on the next plane to Pattaya tomorrow. If your number is up, it is up - although one should keep one's eyes open and one's wits about  them.

 

Or, as I prefer to quote, "a ship in harbour is a safe ship, but ships were not meant to stay in harbours."

[rockinjerry 2]

I am So scared! I refuse to return to LOS until next month. Gonna make all three for one month:  BKK, Pattaya, and Phuket. Maybe it is just because I am old and senile? Nah, don't think so! It's just because I am not buying in to all this. Life is a Bitch, and then you die.

 

Seriously, there is cause for concern but it is not going to stop me from living my life. How can one afford not to go to LOS now when the deals are so great? The Lady pickings have to be great even if it is quiet. Not all of them have gone home for low season and the ones there, from what I hear from friends, are falling all over you for attention and BF.

 

It's a hard job but some of us have to go to pump money into the Thai economy. I consider it my duty to the best spot in the world for womanizing.

 

Rockin' Jerry