Youtube Video of Pattaya in 1987 - including part Boyztown

[RonanTheBarbarian]

People might find this Youtube video interesting.

A German guy who was in Pattaya in 1987 took some video of drives around Pattaya. He took a drive up Pattaya Hill, down Pattayaland soi 2 (the one with A-Bomb on the left as you enter it from Second Road), and along Second Road and into Soi 13.

If you were around then it is a trip down memory lane. And if like me you weren't it is still fascinating to see how the place has changed. Pattayaland Soi 2 seems to have had vey few businesses, and Soi 13 was like a country lane! The first bit, the Pattaya Hill segment, is the least interesting, but if you wait you will get to the bit where he is in central Pattaya.

He has arranged it very methodically (you would know he was a countryman of Christianpfc!), he made a little map showing the routes in Google maps and all, which is inserted into the video before each segment. But for some reason he left one out out for the Pattayaland Soi 2 bit, it is the very first segment after the Pattaya Hill drive

http://www.youtube.com/user/Thoti100#p/u/37/GoQV62_oxO8

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Sorry, tried to embed it but it does not seem to work.

if you click the link it will take you to the video in Youtube.

wow it was actually possible to cross beach road in those days .....

[youtube:3jiuatp6]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQV62_oxO8[/youtube:3jiuatp6]

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Thanks for embedding it combat. :salute:

[DCbob]

Both ways worked for me.
Thanks. History lesson 101.

Now that triggered some memories. I did not make it to Pattaya until nine years after this video was shot. But one of the initial scenes of this video, the drive up from Pattaya, toward Jomtien ... well, I could almost feel the wind in my face, sitting on the back of a motorcycle taxi, trying to savor that warm air, the greenery around me and the blue sky above because I knew in a matter of days I was gonna be back in my freezing homeland.

It was early in the afternoon when I finally found my way to the gay beach ... what a feeling of exhilaration! Sure, there were a lot of really old men lounging in the shade, but in front of them, so many bronzed gay young men playing volleyball, splashing about the water or just strutting along the shore. I think I was convinced they were all vying for my attention.

Well, at least a few of them were. So by the time I had ordered some lunch it was obvious I was not going to be eating alone. Lek and Pom and one of Pom's friends pulled up chairs next to me and enchanted me with their smiles.

I'll never forget the meal I had right there on the beach. Some chicken with cashew nuts, a plate of rad nah and a banana shake. It was among the most delicious meals I had ever had. And it was served to me right there on the shore of paradise! Not even Pom pulling something out of his Pad Thai that looked suspiciously like a worm could spoil my day, though I did thoroughly inspect what was left on my plates before spooning it in into my mouth.

These were the days when the Sony Walkman was still the king of personal audio, and I thought I was super-cool because I had the latest model that allowed for a wireless connection between the tape player and the headset. All the Thai Adonises on the beach thought the thing was super-cool, too. They would try on the headset, then walk away to see how far they could get from the tape deck before losing the signal. If I was nothing to them, at least my Walkman was a superstar. Everything But The Girl's "I Keep Missing You" got played over and over again, which is why even now it is something of a Jomtien theme song for me.

[thanatorn-old]

Thanks very much for posting this - in a way I wish Pattaya was still like that - I also did not get there until much later. I used to go to Pattaya a few times a year and then gave it a break for about 14 months and was surprised and a tad disappointed about how much it had grown and i fear overdeveloped into one manic seaside resort full of drunks. Have given it another break of nearly two years and will be there in December - be interesting to see how much more has been built up.

Yes, memories. My first visit was in 1985 - A Bomb wasn't there then. As I recall there were two go go bars in that area - Gentleman's Club and My Way. Further South on Walking Street - where Siam Bayshore hotel is now was the 69 Club (the only go go club listed in my gay guide book) -- before you got to 69 there was a free lance bar named, as I recall, Cafe Paris (had drag show on the week end). My first night I went to 69 and met a Thai guy there (not a dancer, came in with another Thai and that Thai's English bf). He was gorgeous, 23 years old, and offered to be my guide while in Pattaya. He took me to the other two clubs that night. The next morning we went from my hotel (Royal Garden - it was 3 story hotel located where the Shopping Mall is now) to the gay beach in Jomtien. He also introduced me to the gay clubs in North Pattaya - Adam & Eve and Memories Bar. There was also the Homex Inn - a small gay hotel with bar and swimming pool. I think that was about it for gay places in Pattaya at that time.

I returned to Thailand on holiday every year since and moved here 9 years ago when I retired.

[loke]

Very interesting !

If you look at his youtube channel he has many videos from Pattaya from 1986 and 1987 . And Jomtien too - Go have a look !