It is inevitability: At one point on your vacation, you will be ripped off. Usually, this is because of runaway price-gouging. Depending on where you go, that may be unavoidable. However, other times you are the victim of an actual con. For all of you heading to Thailand, here’s the oldest one in the book.
For most people, a Thai vacation begins and ends in Bangkok. For the slightly more adventurous, a trip to the tropical shores of the country may cross your mind. On maps, the sprawling Thai capital may look like a seaside city, but it’s actually several miles inland. The closest ocean resort town worth its salt is Pattaya.
Pattaya is “Bangkok’s beach.” It has sand, surf, an entire Navy of banana boats. It is also one of the most tourist-geared towns I have ever seen. That is not a bad thing—you can’t go to this place and not find a party. Think of Pattaya as Las Vegas, but without the morals.
Walking Street, the beach-side avenue, is fairly sedate during the day, but at night, it absolutely comes alive with stripper shows, sex shows, street performers, bars hewn out of blocks of ice (your bartender is dressed up as a polar bear), and massage parlors where happy endings are all on the menu.
One block up is Boystown, the gay section. A Pattaya “gay bar” looks much like any other but with one big difference: the stage show. To be blunt, you see E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
And between shows, the boys come out in Speedos. And thus the con begins. The maître d all but throws the boys—particularly dazzlingly handsome ones—at you. They snuggle up against you. Flirt with you. Order a few more drinks. And as you get drunker and drunker, you yourself buy drinks, not only for yourself, but your new BFF. And so it goes until you are plastered and several $$$ lighter. But there’s more!
Have no doubt: All the bar-boys are…ah…“professionals.” If you end up taking one back to your hotel, you will end up paying for it in the morning. Literally. All of Pattaya, from the bars to the police, are in on this incredibly profitable game, so expect no “dumb tourist” leniency from anybody.
But, so you are aware, Pattaya is not without its charms. The next beach south, Jomtien, is practically the polar opposite, and it’s only 15 minutes away. The beaches are huge, the water clear, the food freshly caught, and not a con within eyeshot. It may as well be another planet.
So for anybody heading to the Land of Smiles, let it be said now: You were warned… Contact Steele Luxury Travel to help you plan a safe and luxurious trip to Thailand. Visit www.SteeleTravel.com for more details.