My takeaway on Pattaya is that it’s the “Amsterdam of Asia.” It’s referred to as the “World’s Sex Capital,” yet it’s also a family resort destination with a wide variety of things to do for everyone. This bustling city electrifies the Gulf of Thailand with its Beach Road as the main artery from which this city’s heart beats. At dusk, on the oceanside of Beach Road, young Thai women line up, standing about every 8 feet to wait, with obvious intentions. Many are dressed for the part, looking stereotypically promiscuous, however, some are in their sweats or jeans looking grumpy like they do not want to be there. Most people walk by not paying much attention, like they are just regular beach gals. Some men are chatting it up, making their prospects. It all blends in with the culture here, like a Thai Restaurant or Massage Parlor. As you walk to the end of the Beach Road, you reach “The Walking Street,” an erotic, circuslike pedestrian street with no cars. Like Amsterdam, Pattaya has its analogy of the Red Light District, flamboyantly played out on “The Walking Street.” Walking through this at night is surreal among neon lights, dancing girls, gogo bars, massage parlors, loud music thumping in your chest, ping pong shows, street performances, boxing, cabarets, and erotic show solicitors. Sure, all of this is surreal enough. But what struck me the most about all of this, was the families that show up to walk the street. To see a 4-year old on her dad’s shoulders watching a woman in lingerie dancing in a glass cage struck me as a bit unusual. But, who am I to judge? I never had any children of my own and each family and culture has its own set of values. For perspective, I walked this street a couple times and marveled at all the people watching opportunities…at the skeleton man on stilts, the polar bear in the ice bar, the Turkish ice cream server dancing with his customers, dancing Russian Girls, Mandarin Girls in their colorful, silk shirts, pole dancing, brothels, and a women in lingerie dangling from pink nets doing erotic, circus-like acrobatics midair beside a woman dancing in a glass cage. I was most impressed with the woman doing aerial acrobatics, as she was very good. (Video Below): It was in Pattaya that I learned from others that all those things heard about regarding women and ping pong balls is true. Friends of mine saw the shows, saying they saw women inserting numerous balls in their vaginas, along with other paraphernalia like blades. I didn’t see this myself, so I will spare details, but can only assume they have protective devices inserted to protect themselves from sharp objects. Truth can be stranger than fiction. I could have never made this up. It is said in Thailand: “Good guys go to heaven. Bad guys go to Pattaya.” I witnessed many random couples in town with wider age gaps than is usual. It’s quite common to see a man well into his 70’s with a petite, Thai woman in her 20’s together as a couple out and about town. The biggest issues from this community is that its seedy setting is a cesspool for prostitution, drugs, trafficking, sexually transmitted diseases and female exploitation. In Pattaya, there is a massage parlor on each block. As it is widely known, “Happy Endings” are offered at many of these sites throughout Thailand and unacknowledged by authorities. I received a very therapeutic, professional 2-hour Thai massage at Let’s Relax Spa on Beach Road for just $30. I did post a blog on this experience, explaining the history and benefits of Thai Massage. My “Happy Endings” in Pattaya was always the food, either green curry chicken or pad thai. More, more, more I love you!! I intend to convey compassion for the female prostitutes in Pattaya, not pious judgement, as it’s my aim to question the objectification of women and how this environment supports this. Many of these women come from impoverished Northeast Thailand, seeking prostitution as a way out of poverty. I can’t imagine that many of these women deep in their hearts truly want to be doing this exploitative work. What does all of this say about women prostitutes in Pattaya? Why is it just women (or men dressing as women) exploiting themselves here? I leave with questions, knowing none of this is going to change anytime soon and an eerie feeling, that if I returned in 10 years, it would be a surreal deja vu into the same neon void. #travel #travelling #travelblog #travelblogger #traveltribe #followme #newblog #newblogpost #wanderess #wanderlust #bestintravel #thailandtravel #pattaya
