Old photos of Pattaya

[Goldpanner 399]

The 80's were great days in Pattaya, people actually smiled and didnt hold their hand out after for money.

Few katoeys on open show.

Girls were great fun and the place was relatively safe, unlike today.

Shame that

[elway69 20]

The 80's were great days in Pattaya, people actually smiled and didnt hold their hand out after for money.

Few katoeys on open show.

Girls were great fun and the place was relatively safe, unlike today.

Shame that

 

Wish I'd seen that.

Great fotos too.

[Guest ether]

great photo's, pattaya has evolved a great deal.

[BushMan 0]

Great photos. Thanks for posting.

 

February, the famed BJ from BJ Holiday Lodge put up some great old photos in his lobby. The photos are mounted side by side with the old view next to Pattaya today. Plus, BJ adds his own commentary. It’s worth a stroll through his lobby just to see these. BJ has quite the interesting story of his life in Pattaya.

[yogi100 1,925]

Great Pics thanks for sharing - i was born in 1986 - how many flights did it take to get to thailand back in the 60's-80's?

 

In '84 I flew on a Boeing 747 with Philippines Airlines from LHR to BKK via Frankfurt and then Karachi on the same plane although it stopped each time to refuel. I remember some Aussies at the rear of the aircraft smoking dope the whole journey. The drive from BKK to Pattaya took about 3 or 4 hours, there was no motorway back then.

[malcontented 8]

The 80's were great days in Pattaya, people actually smiled and didnt hold their hand out after for money.

Few katoeys on open show.

Girls were great fun and the place was relatively safe, unlike today.

Shame that

Yeah, and it was much easier to get about, too !!!!

I remember there being not that many buildings along Second Road, once you got headed North, past the Royal Garden (which were bungalow type rooms then)

Third Road was like "where the workers lived in squalor" kind of feeling, with not much in the way of farang language to the sinage. Much the same with Pattaya Tai

But i guess its a case of ........nostalgia not being like it was

 

Malc

[gazzab 1]

Enjoyable

I first visited in 1981 and loved as I do today after 21 more visits

[Goldpanner 399]

Yeah, and it was much easier to get about, too !!!!

I remember there being not that many buildings along Second Road, once you got headed North, past the Royal Garden (which were bungalow type rooms then)

Third Road was like "where the workers lived in squalor" kind of feeling, with not much in the way of farang language to the sinage. Much the same with Pattaya Tai

But i guess its a case of ........nostalgia not being like it was

 

Malc

 

Haha yep I remember that, When all that was behind the Diana Inn was a swamp, when the Nipa Lodge was a great place for a drink.

When the downstairs open area at The Marine bar was 6 times bigger than it is now and if you didnt get a seat by 10 you were out of luck.

When walking st wasnt a pedestrian area. When the only beer was Singha and Kloster.

When the tarmac rd to Jomtien stopped at the Asia turnoff. When you didnt have smug self important civilians running around with uniforms thinking they are the police.

When the Bangkok University girls and bank workers would come down on a Friday night for some pin money or the chance to meet and marry a Farang.

When the Ekamai to Pattaya bus had more cockroaches than passengers, and when you got off the bus onto the Baht bus to take you to your hotel there was an amazing feeling or sensation of fun.

And hilariously, when you didnt have Rotary club members or Pattaya Chamber of Commerce men, who all came to Pattaya originally as sex tourists now wanting to close the Gogo bars down !!

I was In Pattaya with some friends last year. We were booked for a week but came back to Bangkok after 2 days. It just wasnt for us.

If youve only been going to Pattaya for a few years then its probably OK for you, youll love it, and I dont knock that, but for many of us who knew the place in the 70's and 80's it, and the attitude of many of the girls just isnt the same. The 'feeling' isnt the same.

I doubt I'll ever return, but good luck to you people who still find it fun. Wonder what you'll be saying about it in 20 years?

[yogi100 1,925]

Haha yep I remember that, When all that was behind the Diana Inn was a swamp, when the Nipa Lodge was a great place for a drink.

When the downstairs open area at The Marine bar was 6 times bigger than it is now and if you didnt get a seat by 10 you were out of luck.

When walking st wasnt a pedestrian area. When the only beer was Singha and Kloster.

When the tarmac rd to Jomtien stopped at the Asia turnoff. When you didnt have smug self important civilians running around with uniforms thinking they are the police.

When the Bangkok University girls and bank workers would come down on a Friday night for some pin money or the chance to meet and marry a Farang.

When the Ekamai to Pattaya bus had more cockroaches than passengers, and when you got off the bus onto the Baht bus to take you to your hotel there was an amazing feeling or sensation of fun.

And hilariously, when you didnt have Rotary club members or Pattaya Chamber of Commerce men, who all came to Pattaya originally as sex tourists now wanting to close the Gogo bars down !!

I was In Pattaya with some friends last year. We were booked for a week but came back to Bangkok after 2 days. It just wasnt for us.

If youve only been going to Pattaya for a few years then its probably OK for you, youll love it, and I dont knock that, but for many of us who knew the place in the 70's and 80's it, and the attitude of many of the girls just isnt the same. The 'feeling' isnt the same.

I doubt I'll ever return, but good luck to you people who still find it fun. Wonder what you'll be saying about it in 20 years?

 

A lot of blokes I know have been coming to Pattaya since the 70s and 80s, one of them even first came in 1968 when he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and all of them who have not settled down with a Thai girlfriend or wife say the same thing about the attitude of the girls and the ever increasing prices. Especially over the last few years.

 

But all of them have also been to BKK over the years and say that there the prices are even higher and the girls' attutudes just as bad as those in Pattaya. I remember going into a bar in Bangkok in 1999 and paying 120 baht for a Singha while a similar bar in Pattaya was then charging 60 baht maximum. 1000 baht was the price a girl expected from a gogo bar in both BKK and Pattaya with no reference to short or long time arrangements.

 

My chums and I stopped going to BKK around 2001 and now confine our trips to Pattaya as there was little BKK had to offer that could not be bettered in Pattaya especially where drink prices were concerned. We also wanted to get settled as soon as possible after such a long journey and not have to repack our bags for the trip from BKK to Pattaya. The location of the new airport is yet another reason to give BKK a miss.

[js007 795]

A lot of blokes I know have been coming to Pattaya since the 70s and 80s, one of them even first came in 1968 when he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and all of them who have not settled down with a Thai girlfriend or wife say the same thing about the attitude of the girls and the ever increasing prices. Especially over the last few years.

 

But all of them have also been to BKK over the years and say that there the prices are even higher and the girls' attutudes just as bad as those in Pattaya. I remember going into a bar in Bangkok in 1999 and paying 120 baht for a Singha while a similar bar in Pattaya was then charging 60 baht maximum. 1000 baht was the price a girl expected from a gogo bar in both BKK and Pattaya with no reference to short or long time arrangements.

 

My chums and I stopped going to BKK around 2001 and now confine our trips to Pattaya as there was little BKK had to offer that could not be bettered in Pattaya especially where drink prices were concerned. We also wanted to get settled as soon as possible after such a long journey and not have to repack our bags for the trip from BKK to Pattaya. The location of the new airport is yet another reason to give BKK a miss.

 

You guys that don't like Bangkok must live in some sort of alternate universe. Granted, it can be more expensive. Hotels can be a bit more. The girls, maybe. Then again, I've always found the girls in Bangkok to have excellent attitudes compared to the average Pattaya girl. I've never had a bad time in Bangkok. The additional cost for a week or so is well worth it.

 

Same with Phuket. Most people on the Pattaya boards don't seem to like Phuket. They complain it's more expensive. But it's not, if you just bother to look around a little.

[capobub 0]

http://www.pattayafo...forum/forum.php

visit this site

 

it's a great laugh

 

the Germans are SO funny.

[mcan 0]

ja ein krapt mien self larffink

[jacko 8,813]

You guys that don't like Bangkok must live in some sort of alternate universe. Granted, it can be more expensive. Hotels can be a bit more. The girls, maybe. Then again, I've always found the girls in Bangkok to have excellent attitudes compared to the average Pattaya girl. I've never had a bad time in Bangkok. The additional cost for a week or so is well worth it.

 

Same with Phuket. Most people on the Pattaya boards don't seem to like Phuket. They complain it's more expensive. But it's not, if you just bother to look around a little.

I like it her in Oz.

You give several reasons why Pattaya is better, which I could readily add to, not difficult.

Then you lose all cred by claiming Phuket isn't more expensive than Pattaya.

How much is a baht bus?.

[Goldpanner 399]

But all of them have also been to BKK over the years and say that there the prices are even higher and the girls' attutudes just as bad as those in Pattaya. I remember going into a bar in Bangkok in 1999 and paying 120 baht for a Singha while a similar bar in Pattaya was then charging 60 baht maximum. 1000 baht was the price a girl expected from a gogo bar in both BKK and Pattaya with no reference to short or long time arrangements.

 

My chums and I stopped going to BKK around 2001 and now confine our trips to Pattaya as there was little BKK had to offer that could not be bettered in Pattaya especially where drink prices were concerned. We also wanted to get settled as soon as possible after such a long journey and not have to repack our bags for the trip from BKK to Pattaya. The location of the new airport is yet another reason to give BKK a miss.

 

Firstly this isnt a post slagging off Pattaya. For those that still love the place its fine.But,I'm afraid for me its way past its best. Its a personal thing and like many things personal, I would prefer to remember it as it was. We simply didnt even feel safe there when we were last there, VERY aggressive katoeys, pickpockets, thieves etc.

 

I also wasnt complaining about the prices of girls. There were fools going there in the 70's and 80's who would pay WAY over the going rate, such is life.

Ive always had a thing about some blokes who say "Oh this is the price or that is the price". Also those blokes who will demand that you'll never get a pretty girl for 500Baht a night.

Some blokes will never get a good deal with a girl, for many reasons, their look, their demeanour, their clothes, what they drink, how they drink, how they talk, what their hair is like and most importantly how they treat the girls. They forget that, though she might be on the game, shes still a woman, with all the feelings that a woman has. I could go on, but some blokes will never learn.

 

For me and many others there will never be any competition between Bangkok and Pattaya, Bangkok will win every time. It has so much more going for it. Not only female wise but simply things to do. Laying on a beach or around a pool has never been my thing, The thought of sitting in some bar of an afternoon watching Football sends shivers of fear down my spine. On my last trip I spent a whole day just wandering around Chinatown, and 2 hours in a metal stockholder shop with an ancient Chinese man who told me magnificent stories of a war in China. I spent i whole day in MBK and to add to the pleasure ended up in bed with a quite lovely 35 year old Thai lady. And thats one of the main things about Bangkok if you go there simply for the pussy, the simple mass amount of women. So many places to go to pick up women, not working girls either, women from 18 to 80. And girl prices in Bangkok higher than Pattaya, no sorry, see the paragraph above. There are ways of making the girls want to go with you and its no different than in the UK or France, thats why some blokes will always pay over the odds and some will get it cheaper of even free. One of the great pleasures of Bangkok is the chase, finding and pulling straight girls and women.

 

The other thing about Bangkok is the amazingly different array of places to go to find working girls, small private 'Love hotels' 'Hands free' restaurants, small out of Town massage parlours. There is even a couples 'Swinging Hotel' similar to the Partouze Hotels in Paris. S&M and B&D places. Places just out of town where 'Normal' straight Thai girls/women will go to earn some extra money, usually but not always where the Thai girls wont go with a Farang. Whatever is found sexually in any of the great cities of the world is here in Bangkok, tucked away somewhere, you just have to know someone or look hard enough. My old hunting ground was the Original Thermae, where the simple amazing assortment of women from all ways of life would go. Its not the same now and not even worth a look.

Patpong is a Tourist trap, condemned to mediocracy when they allowed the market stalls. Its now a shadow of its former self. Nana Plaza, a pimp infested dump, I can remember its opening night and even then it was obvious it would never work. If I have to go to bars it would always be Soi Cowboy, it still has that 70's feeling for me and the girls are still fun.

 

But Thailand is all things to everyone, I dont like what has happened to Pattaya but many people still like it. Many people dont like Bangkok, Vive la difference ! To each their own.

Just enjoy life, it goes faster as you get older, grab it while you can.

 

Just a final point, one that will make some wonder. Im married to a Thai Woman, have been for 22 years. She knows what I do in Thailand, but she's happy,She was a beer bar girl when I married her, she has our house in the UK, has a BMW and a big garden and she knows I will always come back to her.

[js007 795]

I like it her in Oz.

You give several reasons why Pattaya is better, which I could readily add to, not difficult.

Then you lose all cred by claiming Phuket isn't more expensive than Pattaya.

How much is a baht bus?.

 

Surely you know Phuket doesn't have baht busses. That's one of its shortcomings. To solve that problem, I try to stay within walking distance of Bangla Road, and that isn't too hard to do. Problem solved.

[jacko 8,813]

Surely you know Phuket doesn't have baht busses. That's one of its shortcomings. To solve that problem, I try to stay within walking distance of Bangla Road, and that isn't too hard to do. Problem solved.

Yes, well in Patong they don't, why is that?

I know they have these larger tuk tuk type modes of transport but tuk-tuk they ain't.

 

Walking everywhere doesn't suit everyone, I rented a bike pretty quickly and enjoyed travelling around.

[yogi100 1,925]

Firstly this isnt a post slagging off Pattaya. For those that still love the place its fine.But,I'm afraid for me its way past its best. Its a personal thing and like many things personal, I would prefer to remember it as it was. We simply didnt even feel safe there when we were last there, VERY aggressive katoeys, pickpockets, thieves etc.

 

I also wasnt complaining about the prices of girls. There were fools going there in the 70's and 80's who would pay WAY over the going rate, such is life.

Ive always had a thing about some blokes who say "Oh this is the price or that is the price". Also those blokes who will demand that you'll never get a pretty girl for 500Baht a night.

Some blokes will never get a good deal with a girl, for many reasons, their look, their demeanour, their clothes, what they drink, how they drink, how they talk, what their hair is like and most importantly how they treat the girls. They forget that, though she might be on the game, shes still a woman, with all the feelings that a woman has. I could go on, but some blokes will never learn.

 

For me and many others there will never be any competition between Bangkok and Pattaya, Bangkok will win every time. It has so much more going for it. Not only female wise but simply things to do. Laying on a beach or around a pool has never been my thing, The thought of sitting in some bar of an afternoon watching Football sends shivers of fear down my spine. On my last trip I spent a whole day just wandering around Chinatown, and 2 hours in a metal stockholder shop with an ancient Chinese man who told me magnificent stories of a war in China. I spent i whole day in MBK and to add to the pleasure ended up in bed with a quite lovely 35 year old Thai lady. And thats one of the main things about Bangkok if you go there simply for the pussy, the simple mass amount of women. So many places to go to pick up women, not working girls either, women from 18 to 80. And girl prices in Bangkok higher than Pattaya, no sorry, see the paragraph above. There are ways of making the girls want to go with you and its no different than in the UK or France, thats why some blokes will always pay over the odds and some will get it cheaper of even free. One of the great pleasures of Bangkok is the chase, finding and pulling straight girls and women.

 

The other thing about Bangkok is the amazingly different array of places to go to find working girls, small private 'Love hotels' 'Hands free' restaurants, small out of Town massage parlours. There is even a couples 'Swinging Hotel' similar to the Partouze Hotels in Paris. S&M and B&D places. Places just out of town where 'Normal' straight Thai girls/women will go to earn some extra money, usually but not always where the Thai girls wont go with a Farang. Whatever is found sexually in any of the great cities of the world is here in Bangkok, tucked away somewhere, you just have to know someone or look hard enough. My old hunting ground was the Original Thermae, where the simple amazing assortment of women from all ways of life would go. Its not the same now and not even worth a look.

Patpong is a Tourist trap, condemned to mediocracy when they allowed the market stalls. Its now a shadow of its former self. Nana Plaza, a pimp infested dump, I can remember its opening night and even then it was obvious it would never work. If I have to go to bars it would always be Soi Cowboy, it still has that 70's feeling for me and the girls are still fun.

 

But Thailand is all things to everyone, I dont like what has happened to Pattaya but many people still like it. Many people dont like Bangkok, Vive la difference ! To each their own.

Just enjoy life, it goes faster as you get older, grab it while you can.

 

Just a final point, one that will make some wonder. Im married to a Thai Woman, have been for 22 years. She knows what I do in Thailand, but she's happy,She was a beer bar girl when I married her, she has our house in the UK, has a BMW and a big garden and she knows I will always come back to her.

 

We normally only stayed for a quick visit and confined ourselves to Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy and as I said it was about 10 years ago. If you live there you obviously keep clear of the tourist traps and know the best places to visit just as we avoid Walking Street in Pattaya. But the attitude of the girls is nothing like it was even 5 years ago in Pattaya, with so many girls working in the P4P game in a relatively small area it easy for them to advise their pals how to rip punters off and pass on other bad habits.

 

Most of the younger girls in Pattaya have Thai boyfriends in the background and that obviously has had a negative effect. Pattaya's growth has been phenomenal in the last 3 decades and recently achieved the status that entitled it to be classed as a city! With that growth came cheap accommodation so that Thai girls could move into town with their Thai men in tow which in turn brought about the advent of the 4 O'Clock Club.

 

To us older hands who remember the Pattaya of 5 years ago it has definitely gone downhill but to the newbies who have nothing to compare it to it still ticks all the right boxes.

[jacko 8,813]

 

 

To us older hands who remember the Pattaya of 5 years ago it has definitely gone downhill but to the newbies who have nothing to compare it to it still ticks all the right boxes.

I was a little arrogant when I thought 'only 5 years ago'...... but when I considered it more I thought. yes, the major changes can be tied to this more recent past.

 

I am now considering whether it is time to move on to somewhere quieter. I have always disliked being stuck in traffic or not being able to park or get to places, Pattaya is like that. If you are central, like a tourist, it doesn't impact so much, but stuck at the traffic lights near Pattaya Tai, waiting for the lights at Pattaya Klang to change is getting tired. Trying to manoeuvre the bike forward it also getting hard these days. I think of a place like Singapore, where one can get around much better, with the underground trains, buses and more disciplined traffic and just don't see Pattaya emulating it. (Not that I would retire there). A new condo complex to dwarf Atlantis is announced for Jomtiem, great news for local businesses. I see traffic from Soi Siam CC backed up over the railway line attempting to get onto Sukhumvit.

 

As I sat sweating at a junction recently I looked at a huge coach in the wrong lane blocking the straight through traffic waiting to turn right into Klang and thought, 'we are well into May, it is low season, fuck off until November'....

Am I destined to become another Gary or Skygod?

[yogi100 1,925]

I was a little arrogant when I thought 'only 5 years ago'...... but when I considered it more I thought. yes, the major changes can be tied to this more recent past. I am now considering whether it is time to move on to somewhere quieter. I have always disliked being stuck in traffic or not being able to park or get to places, Pattaya is like that. If you are central, like a tourist, it doesn't impact so much, but stuck at the traffic lights near Pattaya Tai, waiting for the lights at Pattaya Klang to change is getting tired. Trying to manoeuvre the bike forward it also getting hard these days. I think of a place like Singapore, where one can get around much better, with the underground trains, buses and more disciplined traffic and just don't see Pattaya emulating it. (Not that I would retire there). A new condo complex to dwarf Atlantis is announced for Jomtiem, great news for local businesses. I see traffic from Soi Siam CC backed up over the railway line attempting to get onto Sukhumvit. As I sat sweating at a junction recently I looked at a huge coach in the wrong lane blocking the straight through traffic waiting to turn right into Klang and thought, 'we are well into May, it is low season, fuck off until November'.... Am I destined to become another Gary or Skygod?

 

Jacko I used to flirt with the idea of buying a house or a condo in Pattaya 10 years ago and I also thought how nice it would be to have a young girlfriend and drive around in a fancy 4 wheel drive Toyota pick up truck but the closest I ever got to it was renting a motor scooter. This was until about five years ago and it was a headache parking in certain sois even then. I soon gave up driving any sort of vehicle in Pattaya. I used to drive in London for 40 years and it was such a relief to finally give up my car and the associated stress and expense. Sitting in traffic jams like the ones you described are not for me any more. The only time I get in a car are the taxis I use for the airport and only that is four 90 minute journeys each year.

 

I stay 3 or 4 months at a time as I am retired and am no longer with the same girl all the time. The ones who I have been fond of have all married in my absence and taken off to different Falanglands. Eventually we all meet a good'un.

 

I think the most important thing is your lodgings and for convenience's sake I settled in central Pattaya. My room which I keep on permanently has everything I need in it to make it a 'home from home'. ie A/C, a kettle, English tea bags, microwave, cooker, big fridge, extra shelving, laptop with cable connection, DCD player, kitchen utensils, books, TV, puzzle books, small kitchenette, balcony, pedestal fan, music tapes, in fact everything I have in England I have duplicated in Pattaya. All this doesn't cost much, maybe 10,000 baht which you will soon save by staying in a few nights a month. The TV and fridge are the property of the boarding house and I take the laptop back to the UK every time. We also have a swimming pool and a cheapo help yourself bar (small Singha 45 bt, coke 15 bt). So I have a good, comfortable domestic set up. There are loads of eating places where you can eat Western or Thai food and there are shops and supermarkets all over Pattaya. But I mainly cook my own grub.

 

Many of the punters in my GH are long stayers, expats or regulars so there is always plenty of company and chaps to go for a drink with. I don't want a motor bike or car as they cause anxiety and stress which you don't need and transport is excellent and cheap and anyway. I've always been cautious with money being half Scottish, so paying for a room full time went against the grain with me at first but you get special rates as a long termer so it does not cost much more over the course of a year.

 

Having a stable, comfortable base is better than living out of a suitcase in a hotel room. Going out boozing every night will drive you round the bend eventually if you don't become an alcoholic first. As others have said there are plenty of things to do in Pattaya and travel is cheap and efficient. i have also been lumbered with girls I was not really fond of but would not do it again. Quite a few of my pals have done the girlfriend bit in the past and have opted to live alone and I now follow their example.

Edited May 10, 2012 by yogi100

[tko 219]

You guys that don't like Bangkok must live in some sort of alternate universe. Granted, it can be more expensive. Hotels can be a bit more. The girls, maybe. Then again, I've always found the girls in Bangkok to have excellent attitudes compared to the average Pattaya girl. I've never had a bad time in Bangkok. The additional cost for a week or so is well worth it.

 

Same with Phuket. Most people on the Pattaya boards don't seem to like Phuket. They complain it's more expensive. But it's not, if you just bother to look around a little.

 

Chalk me up on the alternate universe side. I was BKK with some side trips for 20 years (since 1982). I went to Patts once in 1982 or 83, and was bored. I did have a BKK girl with me on the trip. I didn't go back until the late 1990s and found I really enjoyed the place. I haven't been back to BKK since 2005.

[Oliver_J 2]

Classic!!

[malcontented 8]

Ive decided to swerve threads like this from now on, where possible

They're just too depressing !!!

Once you start looking at the pics you think "aaahhh!!! " with a nice warm feeling inside

Then, however you start to think "i wonder what she in that pic is doing now? Perhaps she's dead, or old and worn out"

Or wonder about all the people you met and had a laugh with in your times on the lash, and what happened to them

Then you look in the mirror and say out loud "FUCK !!!! is this what's happened to me???"

Like i say....time to swerve these types of thread

 

Malc

[Manganelli 4]

Soi Six in the late 80

 

Not my pics

 

[Butch 3,456]

I see the quality of the girls on the " half dozen" has slightly improved then........

 

Tiger, Caligulas, Fire and Ice, Marilyns.....Soi 7 & 8 as dirt tracks.....I could go on.

 

Change happens, perhaps we've witnessed it exponentially in Pattaya, FWIW I look at patts as a "micro climate" where everything happens faster, change is not always good and despite many protestations, I recall seeing my first sign in Russian Cryllic in 1995, even then people were moaning about the influx.

 

I remember going to Happy A GoGo's opening night, Dagmar then running the joint. Is it better today? bet your last buck it is. Not all change is bad. Peppermint being a shithole next to Marine.

 

Happy days, but on reflection, Pattaya still offers the ultimate hedonistic lifestyle for 2/3 weeks if you can afford it, you've just got to go a bit farther afield to get better value, thats all.

[js007 795]

I see this thread has popped up again. Anyway, for the people who think Pattaya isn't what it used to be.... Perhaps there's a new place? Cambodia? Vietnam? Myanmar? There almost has to be some unspoiled place somewhere on planet earth.