Tale of Three Very Different Cities – Tourism Update

[Gadfly]

Over the last few weeks I have spent a great deal of time in Thailand with two different groups of visitors: (a) a group of now divorced single guys, some going back to high school days, with two of their friends on their first visit to Thailand; and ( some relatives, married and single, with their friends, all married and coupled. Some, but not all, members of these groups know each other, as some of divorced friends go back to high school. In between work, with long weekends, I have moving back and forth between these different groups. They are experiencing and I am seeing two very Thailand. We have visited more than three cities, but to keep this manageable, that is how I have organized this post: Pai, Pattaya and Bangkok.

 

Pai:

Khao San Road meets the hill tribe north of Thailand, except higher end places are coming in fast. The scenery on the 3-4 hour ride in from Chiang Mai is beautiful, but it’s not for anyone who is prone to car sickness. Heavily forested hills all the way; I was surprised about the amount of open land still available up here. It’s a beautiful place and very cool this time of the year. It was getting down into the 50s at night.

 

The women in this part of Thailand are stunningly gorgeous. I think they are mostly Shan with a bit of hill tribe mixed in. I didn’t see any place where you could meet up with them (advice?), but then you can easily guess which group travelled here and why I didn’t have any chances to explore this part of Pai (if it even exists). If you are looking for a place to simply chill in Thailand, this is it.

 

There were plenty of tourists in town, but the vast majority were urbanized Thais from Bangkok and Chiang Mai and the foreign tourists seem to fall into two groups: (a) backpackers from Khao San and ( educated and relatively affluent Westerners who know a surprisingly fair amount about Thailand (even if it was their first trip here). Plenty of first time visitors in this group of my friends and relatives, and this will probably be their most vivid memory of Thailand.

 

Pattaya:

If Pai has an opposite in Thailand, it’s Pattaya. Walking Street was packed and Pattaya was much busier than it was when I last visited a few months back, but I cannot do a comparison to Decembers past since I am Bangkok based. Coming from Bangkok (and previous weekend in Pai), however, it seemed totally wide open and I saw no evidence of anything that resembled a crackdown. Maybe I have adjusted to toned down Bangkok, but Pattaya seemed pretty wild.

 

There were two changes I noticed. First, more bars featuring European women. These struck me as rip-off joints, charging 300 Baht a beer. I wonder what kind of work permit these girls carry?

 

Second, more open air pubs with upscale trappings and bands featuring foreign players. It’s more couple friendly, but plenty of free lancers in the crowd. Still the side Soi bars of Pattaya are as raunchy as ever.

 

Bangkok

Seems quiet and less attractive to tourists by comparison – my impression is that tourists arrive, maybe spend a day or two in Bangkok, and then head off to the south (Phuket, Koh Samui or Krabi), the north or – as was true with the single male group – off to Pattaya. The single group saw and commented on major differences between Nana (dead) and Soi Cowboy – more neon and trappings of having gone upscale, more shows and decidedly more expensive and Japanese. Having lived here through the changes, I think I have noticed the changes less.

 

Summing it Up

There were several things in common both crowds shared: they came to Thailand because they assumed it would be much cheaper following the fiasco of last year. For some in the married group, they were convinced this was a golden opportunity to enjoy 5 star hotels on the cheap, and although prices were cheaper, they weren’t nearly cheap as they (unrealistically, IHMO) expected.

 

For the single guys, this was a make up visit for frustrated travel plans from last year. They opted for December figuring that high seasons rates would not apply. In a sense this was true, but it was far more crowded in Pattaya than they expected. Not a major complaint, but a bit of a surprise (for me too).

 

All of them – both groups - were following or got themselves up to speed on the basics of what is happening in Thailand before their visit, including the LM cases, the King Duty shops row and red vs. yellow shirt battle. This was true even of first time visitors. This was a fairly educated group, but it shows that at least this segment of Thailand’s tourists do follow these sorts of events much more closely than even I would have thought.

[shygye]

... well the airport closing last year, I'm sure, motivated them to track current events.

[Julian2]

Nice article Gadfly.

I've been to Pai a couple of times, certainly an interesting place.

There's a few Shan, or Tai Yai, there as well as Karen from over the border with the usual sprinkling of Akha, Lahu et al.

I was in Mae Salang a couple of weeks aback and was surprised at the number of Karen there, I picked up some nice silver.

Driving through those mountains is a great experience if you take your time, I've still to do the border road that runs up to Mae Sai, I have to get away from the Mrs who insists there are still bandits up there.

[Gadfly]

.. well the airport closing last year, I'm sure, motivated them to track current events.

 

I am certain it did. The relatives and married group have moved down to Phuket (which gives me a bit of space), and one couple plan to fly out of Thailand from Phuket to Singapore. They say they want to also visit another country in Asia and I believe them, but they also described this as a precautionary measure - just in case.

 

It is not surprising that any of these groups are following events. Before I visit a place on a long holiday, I not only check the travel websites, such as tripadvisor, but also do google and wiki searches on current events. This is not really so much a safety measure (although it serves that purpose), but also because learning a bit about a place and current events before I visit makes the trip more interesting. The internet makes that amazing easy these days.

 

One of the single divorced guys (who has been here before) was particularly keen on following current events because the airport closure last year screwed up his plans to visit here. He wanted to avoid a repeat.

[Gadfly]

Agree - Pai and the whole area around Pai is a fascinating place. I had been to Mae Hong Song years back, but I am surprised it took this long (living here) for me to visit Pai. It was a relative coming in from the U.S. who suggested a visit Pai and, although I had no qualms about traveling up there, I didn't expect it to be as nice as it was. A slower more leisurely trip through the region would be great.

 

OK, now is it just me, or does this area have some of the best looking women in Thailand? I wouldn't travel up here for Sanuk, but the beauty of some of the women was absolutely overwhelming. Certainly nothing like what I saw in Pattaya (but that said, the girls in Pattaya were certainly attractive enough).

[Julian2]

I'm not particularly attracted to hills-tribe women although I have seen a couple of stunners.

I've heard a number of places in the North being put up as the home of the best looking Thai women in Thailand but I personally need to put in a lot more research before I can comment.

[rookie]

Nice writeup, Gadfly. Different perspectives from different groups.

 

Two years ago, I'd stopped in Pai during an extended motorcycle trip. I liked Pai..the community and the cooler weather.

 

I usually try to avoid places where _covens_ of [boring] backpackers can be found. Such is not possible in Pai. Stopping at a restaurant, I noticed a sign out front which read 'We are not listed in the Lonely Planet Guide...we have GOOD FOOD'.

The farang owner told me that some of the other Pai eateries have similar signs, and that the backpackers usually eat at the place know to serve the worst food. Of course, that place is listed in the Lonely Planet!

 

Admittedly, I used the LP Guide long ago, during my first trip to Thailand. I soon learned the guide is great for providing directions and listing of sights, however any of their recommendations for rooms, eateries, tailors, etc. are usually worthless!! I once used an LP recommended tailor in Chiang Mai, who destroyed some very expensive silk I'd bought from a wholesaler to make into shirts. Typical LP!

[gobbledonk]

Jesus, rookie - even a newbie like myself realised that anything in a printed copy of Lonely Planet would be so out of date by the time I got to a given place as to be completely useless. Agree that they can be handy for finding certain places, but every local that I have ever shown a copy of LP to has started laughing within a few minutes - particularly the book on Indonesia. A place like Jakarta just changes too fast for a print medium to track - I'd take Ms CP there if she didnt have a thing about Indonesians !

[Faustian]

Cheers for the post Gaddy. I'm off to Pai with my good lady in 2 weeks. Going to wrap up warm..

 

Anyway, I can't wait. Chang Mai first, then Pai. My first northerly excursion!

 

My take a few snaps...which of course I can't add here...ho hum.

[Damen]

Nice mini report. As your friends discovered, the discounts are no where near what one might think.

 

 

On the surface it appears that Pattaya is in for a busy peak season, though how long it will last is another story. I tried to get a friend a room at the Sandy Spring for early January, as he just decided to book a flight and they are sold out.

 

It appears that the hotels I frequent on Suk are also doing much better. Rates are going up considerably. The Westin, SGS and Plaza Athenee are all at least 1000 baht more than what I paid last month for the first couple weeks in Jan.

 

Fortunately I grabbed a few nights at the SGS at an unbelievable price (3000 baht!!) back in September, so the inflated rates wont hurt too bad.