Here are several random observations regarding today's Pattaya. It was the lowest high season ever in my experience.
It was the most expensive holidays I ever had in Pattaya. The reasons are complex (one: I wanted to stay in a decent hassle-free hotel which is at least 100 US per night nowdays). The other obvious reason is baht appreciation on top of very visible inflation. I feel very sorry for expats living on fixed US dollar-denominated income (and progressively UK pound income which goes down even faster than I predicted on this message board). Unfortunately things are going to be much worse before getting any better in this respect. The other probable reason the fear of political instability and terrorist attacks. We are very fortunate that we did not have (at least so far) any of that outside deep South. Despite stunning and completely unfair (from my point of view) results of vote certification, I keep reminding myself that this is up to the Thais to sort out their internal affairs. From farangs perspective what is important is that Thailand remain stable and free of muslim terrorist attacks. Another less significant observation is that there are more Russians than ever in Pattaya. I predict, however, that the number of Russian tourists picked this year as US most probably entering the recession and the price of oil (and natural gas) is going to plunge taking back Russian fortune which is solely based on this commodity.
IMHO Pattaya is moving towards catering to more affluent visitors. While it was always the official goal, I think the move is unavoidable due to the price reality. It manifests itself in growing number of hassle-free hotels (within 100 US per night),
growing number of recent ethnic restaurants (good quality but not chip) and even in terms of enertainment venues. Numerous complains about go go bars in Boys town are fair to some extent but I have to add that Sunee plaza is not better and progressively caters more and more to never ending influx of pedophiles. The future IMHO is with venues like Body langauge and X-ray which are extremely popular with locals (but more expensive if one seeks the same type of entertainment as go go bars offer) and much more fun. Those who are interested in venturing into business in Pattaya should be ready for serious investment to achieve any degree of success in this new envornment.
All in all Pattaya offers more than ever before but be prepared for more expensive holiday if you are looking for good and safe fun.

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