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, 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 The Nation on-line newspaper, and proclaimed “Pattaya a foul boil on 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.
Pattaya: 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. Full of fat, balding old men sitting in beer bars and leering at scantily clad girls.
By the same token you could Google search “what is good in Pattaya” and return results about top places to visit, best things to do, maybe even my own blog post declaring Pattaya is suitable for children.
Hate Pattaya
Pattaya usually receives bad press due to its reputation for nightlife and sex tourism. Foreign newspapers are fond of Pattaya bashing, and often paint a picture which leaves readers believing there is no escape from the nightlife scene, and that fat balding old men are somehow disgusting.
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 on-line newspaper article about Pattaya.
“Pattaya a foul boil on backside of Thailand” reports this item in Thailand’s ‘The Nation’ online newspaper.
Love Pattaya
Before Bumble Bee Mum visited Pattaya with her family she imagined a city full of cabaret shows and strip clubs, which may have influenced her decision to stay out of town at the Sea Sand Sun resort. Nevertheless she and her family did venture in to central Pattaya and visited several family friendly attractions. Her blog post includes 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. You can read more about Sharon’s visit to Pattaya here.
Pattaya: 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.
One thing is for sure, if you listen to the haters there is a good chance you will never discover a side to Pattaya you might just love.