Last week, the military government has issued two controversial new laws restricting the sales of alcohol within a radius of 300 metres of schools and universities across the country. While it still remains to be seen how strictly the new rules will be enforced and how they will affect the entertainment industry (we think Pattaya… Continue Reading
Tourist Arrivals Hit Record High – Where Are the Tourists?
Thailand Welcomes 16 Millionth Visitor As Thailand officially welcomed the 16 millionth foreign visitor in 2015 on Wednesday, the country seems well on its way to break all previous tourist arrival records this year. And no, it wasn’t a Chinese on a package tour arriving on a charter flight. It was a young Frenchman and… Continue Reading
Pattaya Nightlife in International Music Videos
Pattaya isn’t just one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations and world-renowned for its 24/7 party atmosphere. Funtown has also featured prominently in a number of international movies and TV series as well as a couple of music videos. Back in 2010, Pattaya and its legendary nightlife were featured in the clip to Finnish hip… Continue Reading
Prostitution and Sexual Hypocrisy in Thailand
Thailand – A Country of Sexual Hypocrites? Less than a week ago, the “shocking” (sic) incident of a public blowjob where an alleged Pattaya bar girl was caught on camera fellating a Korean tourist at a disco on Walking Street caused an “uproar” not only among Thai commenters on social media like Facebook but also… Continue Reading
Jomtien Beach Gets Facelift
In an attempt to make Jomtien Beach more attractive, the beach promenade area will receive a major facelift estimated at 273 million Baht over the next two years. Here are some renderings of what Jomtien may look like in 2017. Construction work is already underway at the northern end of Jomtien beach since earlier this… Continue Reading
Top 10 Pattaya’s Tallest Buildings 2015
When you look at the skyline of Pattaya in 2015 and compare it with that of, say, 10 years ago only, the contrast couldn’t be any starker. The building boom of the past decade, fueled by growing interest in property in Pattaya not just by foreign buyers, has very visibly left its mark. New high-rise… Continue Reading
What’s Become of Soi 7 and Soi 8?
As your webmaster was scanning some clips recently posted on YouTube, I couldn’t help but wonder what’s become of Soi 7 and Soi 8 these days? Until just a few years ago, these two parallel alleys in Central Pattaya, with dozens of open-air beer bars and hundreds of bar girls scrambling for your attention, were… Continue Reading
Will Thai Elections Be Delayed for Two More Years?
Will national elections, now tentatively scheduled for September 2016, be delayed again to enable junta chairman and prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to stay in power for two more years? Following a call by 26 members of the junta-appointed National Reform Council (NRC) for the coup leader to extend his term by two years in order… Continue Reading
Chinese “Quality Tourists” Biggest Spenders in Thailand?
Believe it or not. According to the Thai tourism minister, China has not only become the top tourism source country for the kingdom. Chinese tourists, or so they say, also spend more money in Thailand – per person and per day – than visitors from other countries. A total of 2.69 million Chinese tourists have… Continue Reading
Walking the Wild Side – The Life of a Sex Tourist (1)
An English amateur writer named Allan Dudson and of approximately the same age as your webmaster recently sent me an email asking me to help him promote a book he had written more than a decade ago but failed to publish the old-fashioned way. In brief, the subject of his autobiographical work is Pattaya and… Continue Reading
Tourist Arrivals Increase by 23.5% in Q1
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and data only recently released by the Department of Tourism, more than 7.8 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in the first three months of 2015. This equals a year-on-year increase of 16.30% in January, 29.60% in February, and 25.50% in March. NNT reports today: The Ministry of… Continue Reading
Thai Political Parties Banned From Debating Draft Constitution
Thailand moves forward. At least that’s one of the slogans the kingdom’s ruling junta likes to use to promote its politics. Thailand’s so-called Constitution Drafting Committee (whose 36 members were exclusively appointed by the junta a.k.a. NCPO or the “National Council for Peace and Order”) has now written a new draft constitution. Sure, that’s a… Continue Reading
