Much has been said about this place, and sometimes the worst criticisms come from people who never came to see it for themselves, or from those who arrived with preconceived ideas and stayed only a very... short time. (There are some foreign residents who avoid putting "Pattaya" on their address, business or home, by writing the pin-code only, because they fear people might frown at them when they go abroad to do some administrative requests).
Many guide books reserve a very succinct chapter to the resort, not to mention those who openly discourage travellers to come here. The term "Sin City" is very much over exaggerated as nothing here happens that could be worst than in any tourist spot of Europe like, say, Amsterdam, Hamburg, London, Madrid or Paris.
That's "pure Western Puritanism”, or let's put it frankly, hypocrisy. In fact and in deed, Pattaya is much safer and sane than those places. Here, no squealing (police or ambulance) sirens every five minutes, because the crime rate is very low. Of course, things do happen like anywhere else, and every week, among many others things, the excellent weekly "Pattaya Mail" relates unsavoury events, but far less that it should be, considering an average population of 100.000 people, including tourists.
The police do a wonderful job in checking child-prostitution and drug abuse (and trafficking). The atmosphere is thoroughly if not totally convivial and good-natured. Harsh, rude or vulgar behaviours are rare, it's like a (vanity) fair.
The result is that Pattaya becomes more and more a family and a honeymooning-couples destination, after having been, let's confess it, single-males oriented (nonetheless, the "hostesses" here enjoy a complete freedom of choice, save for the economic situation of their families).
More and more peace loving western pensioners (i.e. senior citizens) come here to spend several months each year, if not all their time of retirement, to enjoy "La Dolce Vita" (i.e. The Sweet Life) that they can get in Pattaya. Many active/working people, having discovered Pattaya years ago come here whenever they can to spend their vacations.
Such is the charm (or the spell?) of the resort. Part of the attraction is that you can meet (or just watch) people from all over the world, from all walks of life, and not only potbellied frustrated males (Caucasian, Nippon or else) lost in the crowd, but also dynamic entrepreneurs and creative brains, or just fun-loving folk like you and me.
For Thai people, it's just business as usual, and they go undisturbed, following their traditions and beliefs, sometimes watching, amused (or bemused ?) by the strange species of human type called "tourists" (or "farang" for the white kind).
Pattaya is a melting-pot, the venue of international meetings, due to its spirit of inventiveness and high standard quality hotels. Five international schools have opened and there are now four international hospitals. Several large supermarkets have branches in Pattaya. Multinational companies are making large scale investments in the area.
Half an hour away from Pattaya, Map-Ta-Phut (near Rayong) to the south, and around Chonburi, (the capital of province) to the north, several industrial estates are flourishing, bringing in expats and their "way of life", participating actively in the development of Thailand as a new industrializing country.
It goes without saying that this rapid expansion has brought environmental problems, but those are being coped with at different levels (governmental and local), following an awareness campaign against pollution (within and outside the city). To cut a long story short, Pattaya is improving constantly, and the unavoidable difficulties are faced each time with renewed determination.
