Is Pattaya an accident waiting to happen?

[rocky1838]

Looking at Pattaya City News it's quite unbelievable. The crime, suicides and the latest death, a 30 year old Englishman electrocuted due to unprotected power cables.

I used to think Pattaya could be a Family destination...I was wrong.

I don't believe the suicides are suicides and I do believe it has become a dangerous place to live, or even holiday.

It wont stop the regular mongers going but I think they should stop pushing it as a Family and safe holiday destination at the local travel agents.

Your opinions gents.

http://www.pattayaone.net/news.html

[Leo Monti]

I defenetly agree! They could have a chance to transfom Pattaya in a family holyday destinations before it became the big city that has become.
I don't have statistic, but this town has grown up to fast in the last 10 years. Fast and with practically no rules.
Crimes that were rare or undercovered in the past now happends everyday, everywhere and to anybody enough unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (and nowadays it happends often) and they are under the eyes of everybody.
There are many other spots in Thailand that can be a good destination for families, but I can't see a reason why a family should go to Pattaya these days.

[BKKkeemao]

I agree.. It is certainly not a family destination or even a decent place for tourist. I'm fairly shocked to see so many Japanese tourist families these days.. Are they there to see the crazy city or just kick back on the beach? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me when there are so many better destinations.

One thing that you have to be careful of is traveling along. Most of us do so pretty often and I think it can be dangerous if you don't have your guard up. I'm not the paranoid type, but am always on the lookout for trouble.

Surprisingly my only minor altercation occurred in Bangkok. A guy close to the illegal beer vendors on Sukhumvit got a bit pissed when i barely bumped him. I tried to give him a hand and he yelled a bunch of shit in Thai and pushed me. I was shocked at his behavior and a few farangs around me said he is drunk just walk away. So try to avoid the drunk fat gay guy close to the illegal vendors.

[Irish Rover]

Rocky you're about the only one I know ever confused pattaya with a familty resort. It's one big red light area, been that way for years.

I don't know what travel agent you use but mine definitely doesn't advertise pattaya. In fact anyone stupid enough to ask about pattaya in a travel agent is likely to be shown the door.

Travel agents advertise bangkok, samui and phuket as family destinations. Pattaya 's strictly for pervs like me.

I agree about the suicides though, pattaya police are very imaginative when it comes to suicide, the only time it's a crime is when there are to many witnesses to say it's suicide.

[Unplaced]

Ah, it's the old "electrocuted in a flood" tragedy.

The fact is, this should be common knowledge around the world that people should not be walking on a flooded street, no matter how shallow it is. The obvious reason, power lines hanging above that water, which, if broken can fall into the water and electrocute you. Unfortunately, this is not common knowledge.

I remember about five years ago, the same thing happened in Seoul, South Korea during a monsoonal downpour. In this incident, over 40 people were simultaneously electrocuted by one single power cable breaking and falling into the water. Lightning, which often accompanies torrential downpours, also has a habit of striking the poles which hold these cables up.

[rocky1838]

Rocky you're about the only one I know ever confused pattaya with a familty resort. It's one big red light area, been that way for years.

I don't know what travel agent you use but mine definitely doesn't advertise pattaya. In fact anyone stupid enough to ask about pattaya in a travel agent is likely to be shown the door.

Travel agents advertise bangkok, samui and phuket as family destinations. Pattaya 's strictly for pervs like me.

I agree about the suicides though, pattaya police are very imaginative when it comes to suicide, the only time it's a crime is when there are to many witnesses to say it's suicide.

I can assure you, they push Pattaya onto couples/Families in Scotland.

Even my first Holiday with my ex, eight years ago we booked through Thomson's in the high street in Kilmarnock. The girl showed us glossy brochures and told us she had just spent two weeks with her Husband and kids.

It is one big red light area but there are more Thai females not on the game i.e. working in businesses etc than are on the game so we maybe we shouldn't consider it a big red light area.

My problem with the place is how much the level of violence and 'accidents' have increased in the last couple of years.
The infra structure, driving habits and complete lack of safety is just downright terrible.

I took KP and Jerboa to Jomtien one evening and on the entrance to Soi post office (Jomtien) the entrance to the Soi has a huge metal frame and perched on top was a bloke with a mig welder. No warning to the public. He was firing molten metal and sparks down onto the people walking under it.
Remember KP you nearly got it.

And Jomtien has the highest concentration of Families.

The whole place is just a monkeys tea party. No H&S no rules and no organisation.

[Montydog]

Irish R, your joking for sure every day there are advertisements for “packages” that do 4 days BKK and 10 days Pattaya in the English papers and many similar ones in the holiday brochures. It’s a cheap destination for a couple or family that want to explore the east and only usually hire a villa in Spain or Portugal. Of course the 1000’s of bar’s and girls is usually described as a “lively night time atmosphere”

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As for all the suicides I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory that they are all assisted by Thai girls and there partners. The odd one or two maybe but the rest no way. There are a lot of emotionally broken guy’s in Pattaya who think they’ve found the place/girl of there dreams and when it all turns to shit they think they have no place to go so broke, pissed and alone they decide to take a short trip off a long drop. I would also bet a lot are just pissed and fall trying to do something stupid, same same as the ones who come back from Spain or similar in a body bag or med-evaced. (if the idiots got travel insurance before they left)

As for Pattaya becoming a “family” friendly place well it has a hell of a long way to go, beaches infrastructure traffic and safety etc are all well below what western tourists expect and I suspect that many first time visitors don’t return.

The guy who died in Rockys example is a case in point, can you imagine if that had happened in any European or US resort! The lawyers would be lining up round the block to sue the city. What will happen here? His family may get a few thousand thb out of a tourist comp fund. After the police have emptied his room safe of any valuables (if they beat his GF/hotel staff to it) the whole thing will be swept under the carpet and forgotten about, nothing will change with regards to the safety of ordinary people walking the streets.

Take care your on your own!

[Mr Shagmeister]

A 75 year old farang in the condo above mine jumped/fell/was pushed from his small balcony last week.

The police cleared up the mess and made absolutely no enquiries at all.

I understand that some people might want to commit suicide in this way, but the number of jumpers in Pattaya is off the scale. Sleeping tablets are easy to buy in this town but how many times do we hear of a farang taking an overdose and dying peacefully ? Surely that would be the choice for most folk who want to kill themselves.

[Jimmy Red Cab]

I can assure you, they push Pattaya onto couples/Families in Scotland.

I honestly can't imagine why, what does Pattaya offer kids that they could not get in Spain or Cyprus.

I wonder if the staff in these travel agents have ever actually been to Pattaya, somehow I doubt it.

A couple of years ago I got talking to a young Irish couple who ended up in Pattaya for their honeymoon, they had no idea the resort was a massive brothel until they got there.

[rocky1838]

Irish R, your joking for sure every day there are advertisements for “packages” that do 4 days BKK and 10 days Pattaya in the English papers and many similar ones in the holiday brochures. It’s a cheap destination for a couple or family that want to explore the east and only usually hire a villa in Spain or Portugal. Of course the 1000’s of bar’s and girls is usually described as a “lively night time atmosphere”

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As for all the suicides I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory that they are all assisted by Thai girls and there partners. The odd one or two maybe but the rest no way. There are a lot of emotionally broken guy’s in Pattaya who think they’ve found the place/girl of there dreams and when it all turns to shit they think they have no place to go so broke, pissed and alone they decide to take a short trip off a long drop. I would also bet a lot are just pissed and fall trying to do something stupid, same same as the ones who come back from Spain or similar in a body bag or med-evaced. (if the idiots got travel insurance before they left)

As for Pattaya becoming a “family” friendly place well it has a hell of a long way to go, beaches infrastructure traffic and safety etc are all well below what western tourists expect and I suspect that many first time visitors don’t return.

The guy who died in Rockys example is a case in point, can you imagine if that had happened in any European or US resort! The lawyers would be lining up round the block to sue the city. What will happen here? His family may get a few thousand thb out of a tourist comp fund. After the police have emptied his room safe of any valuables (if they beat his GF/hotel staff to it) the whole thing will be swept under the carpet and forgotten about, nothing will change with regards to the safety of ordinary people walking the streets.

Take care your on your own!

That's a very good point.

Anywhere else there would be a big Law suit going on. Why oh why does everything get swept under the table there. It is a dangerous place.

Sad but true...everything in the last part of your post has and will happen just as you describe it.

If only they would LEARN from these tragedies and stop ignoring them, then Pattaya would improve tenfold.

[rocky1838]

A 75 year old farang in the condo above mine jumped/fell/was pushed from his small balcony last week.

The police cleared up the mess and made absolutely no enquiries at all.

I understand that some people might want to commit suicide in this way, but the number of jumpers in Pattaya is off the scale. Sleeping tablets are easy to buy in this town but how many times do we hear of a farang taking an overdose and dying peacefully ? Surely that would be the choice for most folk who want to kill themselves.

Yes, I would agree with that.

We are not a Nation of 'jumpers' we take pills or cut our wrists. Thais are jumpers and pushers.

I can't believe that nobody even makes a tv documentary about this.

[rocky1838]

I honestly can't imagine why, what does Pattaya offer kids that they could not get in Spain or Cyprus.

I wonder if the staff in these travel agents have ever actually been to Pattaya, somehow I doubt it.

A couple of years ago I got talking to a young Irish couple who ended up in Pattaya for their honeymoon, they had no idea the resort was a massive brothel until they got there.

Have a look Jimmy, there's hundreds of websites when you do a search for family holidays in Pattaya...

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search;_y...ei=UTF-8&rd=r1

There is a lot of MISINFORMATION regarding Thailand. The worst piece of advice I ever heard is on the Right move.com property network of web pages.
If you go to the buying property in Thailand section there's an audio file with this female estate agent telling people how easy it is to own a house!

She also states if you are lucky to be Married to a Thai then you have the same privileges about owning as your Thai Spouse.
UTTER BULLSHIT. And that's from the UK'S biggest property marketing group.

[jerboa]

Yes the place Is dangerous, that could of happeaned to anyone. I like many others have done the same, not even considering live power lines.
The resort like the country Is still 3rd world, open trenchs without any barriers are common, broken concrete drains lay unrepaired, and fire hydrants and other obstacles litter the pavements.

[Montydog]

Yes, I would agree with that.

We are not a Nation of 'jumpers' we take pills or cut our wrists. Thais are jumpers and pushers.

I can't believe that nobody even makes a tv documentary about this.

Not a nation of jumpers! Two cases I remember from recent coverage without doing a search are the lady in Hull who dived of the Humber Bridge with her autistic son, and the guy in Grease (I think) who dived of a balcony with his two kids, he and one of the kids survived. If as a nation we can do it taking kids with us we can certainly do it when were lost and lonely 6000 miles from home pissed and broke with no future because we have burnt all our are bridges.

Sad but true mate.Would you be surprised if the guy you have referred to in your recent TR who has as you put it “lost the plot” (and all his money)one day soon ended up on the front page of PCN. Just another life wasted when reality got in the way of the fantasy.

[Jimmy Red Cab]

Not a nation of jumpers! Two cases I remember from recent coverage without doing a search are the lady in Hull who dived of the Humber Bridge with her autistic son, and the guy in Grease (I think) who dived of a balcony with his two kids, he and one of the kids survived. If as a nation we can do it taking kids with us we can certainly do it when were lost and lonely 6000 miles from home pissed and broke with no future because we have burnt all our are bridges.

(

I hate to say this ----but you are 100% correct on this one, there have been many cases of people throwing themselves in the path of a train, not the easiest way to end it all but when you mind is fucked up logic does not come into the equation.

Imagine moving to Thailand, meeting and marrying a girl you think is different to the rest and after a couple of years she throws you out of the house that is in her name and you are left homeless and skint.

I met a guy on my last trip who is in this position, some of you may have seen him sitting outside the Dynasty Inn on Soi 4, an American guy called Bob, about 50 years old.