Pattaya, part 2
Not that Pattaya would have lacked in attractions to be a holiday destination for wholesome fun. It has good beaches, though the actual Pattaya beach is not the cleanest anymore; however, at both the Jomtien beach as well as the Naklua beach, water pollution is not a particular problem. Pattaya has convenient dive sites and its infrastructure for other water sports is simply the best in all of Asia. Pattaya is located within easy reach from the capital as well as Don Muang International Airport. And most of all, Pattaya has an excellent accommodation infrastructure. And what’s more: prices are lower at Pattaya than those of other destinations in Thailand, e.g. at Phuket. Especially as room occupancy has been below capacities since about 1989, numerous hotels offer exceptional bargains.
However, what has made family vacationers choose other destinations over Pattaya is the nightlife reputation of the city. And that’s what a considerable part of the Pattaya community wants changed.
Reported the Bangkok Post of May 2, 1991: "Hoteliers are particularly concerned with the sex industry in the resort. At a recent meeting of hotel marketing committees, the government was criticized for allowing prostitution to go unchecked. Dusit Resort resident manager, Richard Burke, told the meeting that the sex industry should at least be put behind closed doors so that families who visit Pattaya can appreciate the positive aspects of the resort.... Hoteliers also discussed recent complaints of live sex shows in some areas of the resort, which are presented to wealthy Chinese and Japanese tour groups. ‘It’s an image that we don’t want but illegal tour guides are pushing visitors into these shows to make commissions. Most Europeans walk away from the offer but it’s big business for Chinese or Japanese tour guides,?a tourism official said."
Already the Bangkok Post of August 20, 1990 reported the opinion of Alois Fassbind, the general manager of the Royal Cliff Hotel, one of the most outspoken critics of the local authorities as far as nightlife is concerned: "The entertainment area, he [Fassbind] said, could have been better planned. Authorities should not have allowed bars to sprout all over Pattaya. For the past year, Pattaya has received quite a bit of negative media reports, highlighting the city’s problems with sewage treatment, water pollution, high murder rate, child prostitution, drugs, lack of an anti-AIDS campaign - all of which rightfully affected tourism in the resort. Fassbind says the negative publicity has affected regular programmes such as Kuoni, TUI and Globetrotters..."
On August 1, 1991, the Bangkok Post reported that German manager of the Thai Garden Resort, Michael Vogt, believes that family tourism will be a major factor in the resort’s future growth. Accordingly, the hotel has spent 4 million Baht to build a children’s playground and to convert its Tango restaurant into a family shopping arcade, among other improvements. On a sales tour to Germany, he already recorded a reverted trend, as far as Pattaya’s image is concerned. Vogt verbally: "Although we are still taking knocks on Pattaya’s sex image, the dust is beginning to settle."
Talking about dust, another hotel manager was quoted with his complaint about the city’s sex image in the Bangkok Post of April 4, 1991: "It’s too open and offers a clear opportunity for the foreign media to drag Pattaya in the dust."
The cited report also quoted a number of city councillors with critical remarks on the sex industry in Pattaya. One of them simply declared: "Sex and sin is an image we don’t want."
Later in 1991, first steps were taken to contain the sex industry. A number of bars that have been featuring sex shows were closed temporarily to give the owners a clear warning to refrain from staging indecent performances. Efforts are being made to limit nightlife establishments to a defined zone in South Pattaya, but even there, licenses were not issued to a number of people who wanted to set up new nightclubs.
Beaches
Pattaya Beach
This beach, about 4km long, has the Beach Road running parallel to it from north to south. The northern part is the more quiet area while the southern part is on both sides of the street lined up with shops, restaurants, discotheques, bars and nightclubs.
Jomtien Beach
This is the most notable of several beaches south of Pattaya. Jomtien beach, just a few kilometers south of Pattaya, is considerably larger than Pattaya beach, and it is much cleaner and better for swimming as well as for water sports as there are less boats anchored in the area. (For details on Jomtien, please see the separate chapter on Jomtien below.)
Naklua Beach
The beach immediately north of the actual Pattaya also is more quiet than Pattaya Beach. (For details on Naklua, see the chapter on Naklua below.)
Ko Larn
45 minutes by ordinary boat or 15 minutes by speedboat, it is the largest of Pattaya’s offshore islands. Attractions include viewing coral reefs from glass-bottom boats, snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing, water-skiing and parasailing. Deep-sea fishing is popular in the waters around Ko Larn and the neighboring smaller islands. There are many seafood restaurants on the island’s main beaches.
Accommodation
Pattaya boasts an incredible choice of accommodation to suit every pocket and taste. Facilities range from aircon opulence to basic simplicity. Essentially, the visitor has the choice of luxury hotels with private beaches; first-class bayside hotels and bungalows; middle-class hotels, and ‘inland?economy-class hotels as well as guest houses.
Major hotels occupy spacious landscaped gardens normally with swimming pools, tennis courts and jogging tracks.
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