You either love Pattaya, or you hate it. Actually, that’s not true; you may think Pattaya is “just okay”, or you may decide “Pattaya is not for you,” but you don’t hate the place.
If you read press reports and visit travel forums and blogs, you will be presented with many good reasons why you should hate, love, go, or don’t go to Pattaya. I recently read 2 articles both published on the same day.
One article was a letter to the editor of The Nation online newspaper, and proclaimed “Pattaya a foul boil on the backside of Thailand.” The contributor went on to ask what is the secret about Pattaya, and why it even exists.
Published the same day, a travel blogger declared, “I Love Pattaya.” The author was a mother visiting Pattaya for 3 days as part of their family vacation in Thailand.
A City of Two Tales
It’s not difficult to find both positive and negative reviews of Pattaya. Type into Google search “what is sleazy in Pattaya,” and sure enough, the results will tell you Pattaya is just a sex tourist resort. They often go on to mention things like it’s full of fat, balding old men sitting in beer bars and leering at scantily clad girls.
On the other hand, you could Google search “what is good in Pattaya” and return results about top places to visit, best things to do, and maybe even why Pattaya is suitable for children.
Hate Pattaya
Pattaya receives bad press due to its reputation for nightlife and sex tourism. Foreign newspapers are fond of Pattaya bashing.
They often paint a picture that leaves readers believing there is no escape from the bar and nightlife scene, going on to describe how sordid it is, and frequented by overweight old men they prefer to describe as fat, balding.
Take a look at this sensational headline “PAEDOS’ PARADISE’ We go into Pattaya, the lawless Thai wild west of the world’s largest red-light district… with 27,000 prostitutes” from The Sun newspaper article about Pattaya.
Love Pattaya
Before Bumble Bee Mum visited Pattaya with her family she imagined a city full of cabaret shows and strip clubs, and that may have influenced her decision to stay a suitable distance out of town at the Sea Sand Sun resort in Na Jomtien.
Nevertheless, she and her family did venture into the city and visited several family-friendly attractions in Pattaya. Her blog included some useful tips for families visiting Pattaya and not a mention of the “in your face” nightlife.
Sharon’s blog ‘Where’s Sharon’ is all about traveling with children. After hearing about Pattaya’s terrible reputation she had her doubts about visiting Pattaya with children. Nonetheless, they stayed at the Mercure, one of many family-friendly hotels in Pattaya, and had an enjoyable family holiday.
Here is the full story of Sharon’s vacation in Pattaya with kids on her blog. Keep in mind that Sharon wasn’t impressed with Pattaya Beach, but it’s had a major refurbishment since then.
A City of Two Halves
As mentioned, I found 2 extremely contrasting articles published on the same day. One article was bashing the half of Pattaya most people (single guys) love about Pattaya. The other was praising the other half of Pattaya (for families) which is becoming increasingly popular.
The moral of the story is don’t listen to the haters or you will never discover a side to Pattaya you might just love.