Meeting westerners and expats in Pattaya

[felix]

Hi everyone,

I will travel to Pattaya for the first time in May. It'll be my first time in Asia actually... I'm pretty excited but I have tons of questions.

Here's one for which I haven't found any answer on this forum.

The question is: is it easy / common for a solo traveller to meet other foreigners in Pattaya to have drinks, discuss about boys, etc...? If so, could you give me names of convenient places where such meetings can happen?

Maybe it's a stupid question, I don't know... Being a week on my own in Pattaya, I just guess that I will want to meet other like-minded tourists at some point.

Thank you for your answers.

Felix

[joe552]

It's as easy in Pattaya as anywhere else. Beer bars are obviously better that go-go bars. If I were there, and you offered to buy me a beer, you could talk all night :laughing3:

[adman5000]

Different people may answer your question differently. Personally, I rarely make contact with other tourists to discuss who I like, where I go, etc. I regard it as my private information. When in Thailand I generally only talk to the Thai. I did not come to Thailand to talk to other farangs. If I was sitting somewhere and someone started a conversation, and I would certainly respond and be polite. But I don't discuss with a casual acquaintance what I do and who I do it with. I will however, post a trip report and give info on what bars and places I liked, but I do not generally give names, contacts, etc out to others. But if someone used a Private Message to ask me something, I would try to help as much as I could.

No offense to anyone, but I get the most enjoyment out of spending my social time with the Thai guys exclusively. I will chat with bar and hotel owners and managers. But I do not talk about what I do and where I go with other Farangs.

You use the term "like-minded". It is a pretty general term. Many have totally different likes and dislikes even though both are there for the boys. Some like fems, some like real guys, some like slight, some like muscular, some like tops, some like bottoms, some like to drink, some do not, some like the shows, some do not, some are cheap, some are generous, some like to smoke ciggys, some do not, some like Issan (dark) guys, some do not, some like dancing and discos, some do not, some prefer short time, some like long time, some are butterfly,some are not, some have a tight budget, some do not. So when talking to another tourist how do you know how his likes/dislikes align with yours? In addition two people viewing the same thing may each react differently to it.

I prefer to use this board to get information on things that align with my interests and discard what doesn't. I would recommend searching through the advice to first-timers and spend your week exploring as many places as you can on your own and with as many different boys as makes you happy. Don't fall for one guy on your first visit. It is easy to do when you are hit in the face with a totally different attitude towards sex and pleasure than you may be used to in your own country.

Before you go, make sure you have your questions answered and have a rough plan. Have a good map of the bars etc and make the rounds. Read on DreadedNed etc. Post your unanswered questions on here.

Good luck and enjoy. :glasses7:

Yes i'm the same...when in an other country ..i never mix with the farangs....i like to feel i'm in another country so when in Thai i mix with Thai people, most of the time eat their food...see thier country...rural as well as city

When i was a teenager i never did 18-30 hoildays ..or go to hotels where it was full of people from my own country in places like Spain....like that old saying "when in Rome do as the Romans do"

[francois]

Felix, unlike some others I always mix with other farang. It does seem that birds of a feather do flock together, so often the Yanks group together as do the Brits and the Frogs.
But that is a generality; some Brits hang with the Yanks as do some of the Ozzies. Perhaps if you post more about yourself, your dates in Pattaya, etc some farang may contact you by PM and then introduce you to others. The beer bars in Sunee are one of the best places to meet other Westerners. As always it is a little tricky for a newbie to join in.
You may try going to All of Me in Sunee Plaza and sit close by the round table where the so called Barmy Army meet and greet and just say hello.

[Doug]

I agree that the beer bars of Sunee Plaza are a good place to meet other farangs. All Of Me Bar is good as is Come In Bar but my favourite for eclectic conversation and useful information is Duc's Bar and Coffee Shop. As was mentioned, an offer to buy a round of drinks will make you friends for life....or at least the night. Better yet if you bring some cheese and crackers to Duc's to be shared around and you'll immediately become one of the regulars.

[francois]

As Doug mentioned, Ducs and Come In are good choices to meet others. In addition there is Ouds Bar which is very friendly to one and all. Oud is always good for a laugh and Ralph and Jack, two Americans are easy to converse with. All are in Sunee Plaza. And there is Corner Bar which may be reopened when you arrive.

[loke]

If you want to avoid the regular expats who may be older than you and maybe you will feel you dont have a lot in common ,
if you just want to meet other tourists , you can try Panorama in Boyztown. You can easily chat with other tourists there, and its the best place for watching all the action happening in the soi . May is low season but still a better chance of meeting a tourist in Boyztown than Sunee.

[donald1]

Hi Felix,
i know how you feel. I always travel alone to Thailand and try to make it a point to meet other
like-minded travelers. Whether its at the beach or bars or hotel. I find it is quite easy to do
and always seems to add to my holiday.
I will be arriving May 2'nd for 3 weeks.
If you want to send me a private message we can arrange to meet.
All the suggestions the other posters have given are great except one. Easy to meet
other guys one on one. Trying to pry your way into the Barmy Army is not that easy.
That is unless you are buying.

[felix]

Dear All:

Thank you very much for your answers. They're all very helpful. I will definitely go to bars in Sunee! More about me: I'm in the mid-thirties and will arrive in Pattaya on May 19 for a week. I'm open to meet any Westerners (Brits, Frogs... whatever...).

Sooo looking forward to my first time in Thailand!

Thanks everyone.
Felix

[newalaan2]

The question is: is it easy / common for a solo traveller to meet other foreigners in Pattaya to have drinks, discuss about boys, etc...? If so, could you give me names of convenient places where such meetings can happen?Maybe it's a stupid question, I don't know... Being a week on my own in Pattaya, I just guess that I will want to meet other like-minded tourists at some point.
As others have said here, there are certain bars better for contact than others, Doug and Francois suggest that the Sunee beerbars are your best bet and I would agree. Personally, I dont particularly like to mix with other foreigners but can understand that you may want some helpful pointers on your first visit, but I also see you are only visiting for a week and while it can be helpful getting input from other foreigners I would say a week is not long for a pattaya visit and time will pass very quickly I would spend it getting to know Thais rather than possibly wasting precious time with guys from the same part of the world you are from, you may get 'caught up' in friendships which are [A] Hard to get out of and [B]suck you in and waste your time. My advice is to soak up as much info as you can from ALL the gay thailand forums and spend the limited time you have in Pattaya getting to know Thais and the scene by yourself.


Yes i'm the same...when in an other country ..i never mix with the farangs....i like to feel i'm in another country so when in Thai i mix with Thai people, most of the time eat their food...see thier country...rural as well as city

Personally, I rarely make contact with other tourists to discuss who I like, where I go, etc. When in Thailand I generally only talk to the Thai. I did not come to Thailand to talk to other farangs. If I was sitting somewhere and someone started a conversation, and I would certainly respond and be polite. I will however, post a trip report and give info on what bars and places I liked, but I do not generally give names, contacts, etc out to others. But if someone used a Private Message to ask me something, I would try to help as much as I could. No offense to anyone, but I get the most enjoyment out of spending my social time with the Thai guys exclusively. I will chat with bar and hotel owners and managers.
It's interesting that there is a definite divide between those who like the company of other westerners and those who prefer to avoid them and use your time in Thailand to meet Thais. I can understand Expats perhaps mixing as there are no time restraints and friendships could prove useful in certain circumstances. I am of the same opinion as 'bluechris and adman5000 as a visitor I see enough westerners in farangland, be it home or travelling in Euroland, I come to Thailand to get away from all that, which includes western hotel chains, western fast food chains etc.. I have met up with a couple guys from forums for specific reasons. Most interaction with other guys from the gay thailand forums is by PM's also like Admin5000 if approached I am quite happy to chat generally but certainly not get 'involved'. While 90% of westerners I have chatted to over the last dozen years has been perfectly fine, the other 10% are a pain in the arse from exaggerating Walter Mitty's to boring and moaning glass-half-empty's who see everything wrong with Thais and Thailand, yet stay or visit here..The last thing I want on a battery-charging fun holiday away from the norm is to be brought down by grumpy, unhappy moaners.


I agree that the beer bars of Sunee Plaza are a good place to meet other farangs. All Of Me Bar is good as is Come In Bar but my favourite for eclectic conversation and useful information is Duc's Bar and Coffee Shop.
Felix, unlike some others I always mix with other farang. Perhaps if you post more about yourself, your dates in Pattaya, etc some farang may contact you by PM and then introduce you to others. The beer bars in Sunee are one of the best places to meet other Westerners. As always it is a little tricky for a newbie to join in.You may try going to All of Me in Sunee Plaza
I have found the regulars at Colonial Bar near sunee are very happy to chat with visitors and will chat/approach if you land up sitting close to them. As Doug and Francois have also suggested AllOfMe, Come In, Ducs and Ouds and other beerbars in Sunee might be good starting point and fruitful. But again I would warn/advise with only one week to explore Pattaya time will be very short and to get sucked in with the schedules of other visitors and especially Expats might on balance be more hassle than benefit. If you take a seat at the likes of Yayas Bar in Sunee the Thai staff there will be much more fun and every bit as informative about Pattaya as any western visitor/expat. However if you do meet up with westerners remember to have your bullshit filter switched on.