June 27th, 2005 | The lowdown by Aliwyn Cole

A Lady Alone in Pattaya

Pattaya is on the coast, east of Bangkok, and is renowned for diving from Jomtien beach. It is a city built around pleasing the farrang, the name given to non-Asian and usually white and western people, and therefore making them spend their money. Anything you need or just simply want can be bought here, including fake label clothing, DVDs, and also sex.

For me as a current resident of Thailand, it is the nearest place for farrang supplies, other than Bangkok, and easier to get to and around for me than Bangkok. I go there for decent shoes and underwear that fits. I stock up on natural yoghurt and good bread. I get a hair cut and buy some books. A real treat for me is breakfast, coffee and a Danish pastry, at a continental bakery in Jomtien. Then Ill walk around the clothes stores, and then browse at length through Bookazine, the High street bookshop for farrangs. Then, around late afternoon, I will meet my friend, who lives in Jomtien while qualifying as a diving instructor, for dinner and wine at the only Pakistani Restaurant in the Middle Eastern area, just off Walking Street in central Pattaya. This restaurant is a favourite of mine for the great chick pea curry and vegetable samosas, and they don't charge corkage to open the wine. Desserts are rare, but delicious when available.

I dont drink that often since living in Thailand, so a couple of glasses results in flushed cheeks and a silly grin on my face. We decide, after two hours of eating and chatting, to take a walk along Walking Street, the main bar area in Pattaya. If you like people watching, then this is a place to come for watching a segment of male-dominated tourism. Girls in short skirts and glittery tops shout hello, welcome to passers by. Men walk in loud groups, or sit in bars drinking beer, usually with a Thai lady in tow. Music booms out of most bars, resulting in a deafening cacophony of un-melodic tunes. A few foreigners rev the engines of their newly hired bikes, adding to the mega-noise and male-dominated theme of the street. Ladies walk by, in high heels, shorts, and boob tubes. Older ladies mill around, holding big bunches of roses to sell.

After seeking a more relaxed location, perhaps with slightly less volume, we settle on a quiet-ish street bar, and buy a bottle of beer each. After about ten minutes, my friend and I are approached by a group of three men.

Hello ladies. How are you this evening? Where are you from? Russia?

We reply that we are from Britain and America, respectively.

Oh, is the reply. Would you like some company this evening, ladies?

We reply that we do not require any extra company, thank you. The group departs, to be replaced by a similar group five minutes later.

Hello, ladies. Where are you from? Are you Russian?

Again, no.

Oh. How much, to spend the night with you?

I beg your pardon?

How much? I give you 20 000 baht each, to spend the night with us.

It is an understatement to state that we were shocked. The offer is declined, and the group move on.

We decide to finish our beer, and move on to a club perhaps. While we are draining our bottles, yet another group of men join us. They look us up and down, and giggle. Then they start to touch us; they stroke our arms, and grab our hands. We try to ignore them, until one of them attempts to touch my breasts. I ask them where they are from. France, is the reply, and so I inform them that they should know better, then, than to behave in such an ignorant way with women. They find this amusing, and another one of them attempts to kiss me. We stand up and leave, before the situation becomes even more unpleasant. I admit that my knees were shaking a little. Would these men behave in such a way in their own countries? Do they assume that all women in Pattaya are there for sex?

We decide to try a club, and slide onto the escalators which rise onto a big dance-floor with bar. Neatly tucked beside the dance floor is a go-go bar. My friend and I are amused by the queue of young and old men spilling onto the escalator. We decide to head straight for the music, and bop around for five minutes, before being reminded by a bouncer that we must buy a drink. My friend fancies a brandy, while I would like a cocktail. No cocktails is the reply, so I just get some water. We dance some more to the old skool house tunes, until the music suddenly stops. Time to go home, it would seem. We are informed that there is another club, now open in a hotel down the road. It plays hip hop for an hour, before closing and making way for another hotel club, which also opens for an hour, and which is in turn followed by yet another club, which opens for another hour. Why only open for an hour? Why all the hassle? Apparently, it is because of the new government policy in Thailand, which has imposed bar and club closing hours of midnight. So clubs open illegally for just one hour, to avoid being raided and fined. Is it worth all the effort? We decide that the answer is no, and grab a taxi back to Jomtien, where we can drink tequila or coffee by the beach all night if we wish, and in relative peace. We grab a pick-up truck taxi, and drive by people milling around on now dark and quiet streets. Many men, beautiful ladies, hot-dog stands, and flower sellers, all wishing that the bars were still open.

My advice? Pattaya is a great city for shopping, diving and day time activities. There are lots of great restaurants, including authentic Thai, Middle Eastern, Russian, Italian, French, and British grub. The food and the shopping are the highlights for me, and I shall be avoiding the night life in future.