Just get on a plane and fly there. You dont need to bring anything with you...not even clothes. Just bring $100 bills. Cash is all you need. When you get there, its easy to find a hotel and even to buy clothes. Since China is the next door neighbor, you will find every fake brand of anything on the market there. You will find Guess jeans very cheap that are not Guess jeans...cheap fakes. You could outfit yourself with a wardrobe for $200. You can even get a suit for less then $100 if you needed that. Hit Travelocity and find a cheap flight. Then go and find out for yourself. You dont need to do much searching when you get there. Simply walk down most any street...but especially Walking Street. There are literally tens of thousands of prostitutes. On every street in Pattaya (even a few in Jontiem) there is a bar, go-go or hotel. If you walk even close to these places, the ladies are jumping out at you and calling you in...dragging you inside. If you go, do not forget to stop by the TQ. http://www.tahitianqueen.com/ Hit the airport, take about 5 grand in 100s with you in a money belt and then hit the streets when you get there. You simply cannot go wrong.
Sorry, guys, just to set the record straight, Pattaya is a shit hole. The water is polluted and the beaches are ugly. Sometimes the locals will tell you the terds you see are whale shit, they're lying, it's called sewage and they may very well be your turds you flushed the other day. The city is full of prostitutes, mafia, and drugs. You've got Thai mafia, Chinese mafia, Russian mafia, and who knows what else. On average 2 to 3 foreigners a day are killed in Pattaya. No exaggeration. The locals will deny it, they live in a fantasy land. If you want to live in a nice place with good beaches and low cost there are many alternatives, or even better places within Thailand. The beaches in the south are far superior, and you don't have the problems like with Pattaya. Krabi is one destination that comes to mind. You've got Phi Phi Island and Phuket all in that area. Beautiful beaches, beautiful water, coral reefs, and women that aren't all prostitutes. Did I mention you get sand fleas in Pattaya. Pattaya is like the Atlantic City of holiday destinations. They're both shit holes.
I've lived here for more than 10 years. I can tell you a lot about Thailand. Do you know that 6 months ago a boy from a wealthy family got angry because a bus scratched his Mercedes. He forced the bus over and killed three people by running over them. He had person under his wheel screaming. He turned up the radio, and sat in his car while he crushed the person. He spent 6 months in an institution, went free, and didn't even lose his driver's license. His father made it very clear that the families of those killed would not receive more money than they was reasonable. They were all poor and so dogs in their eyes. If you want to talk about the dark side of Thailand, I could go on forever. Check out pattayadailynews.com, The newspaper if you'd like to see some of the dark side of Thailand. Keep in mind that Thailand ranks in the bottom 10 in the world for Freedom of press. Fact, not a complaint. The bottom 10 is a pretty bad place to be. That's why the rich in this country can get away with murder, literally. Also, about 6 months ago, an Italian man cut his own head off, stuffed it in a bag, tied a rope to it, and threw it over a bridge in Bangkok. That was the official news report. The reporter couldn't help but laugh while he reported it, but he had to stick with the story. I'm not trying to bash Thailand, but if there's to be a discussion about the good and bad points of Pattaya, I'm just saying that there are much nicer beaches all over the world, and the dark points are many.
I do not believe you have visited certain areas of the United States where its worse. For example, Detroit. It is more dangerous to spend time time in certain areas of Detroit then Afghanistan. Another good example is Long Beach, California. There was a soldier who returned to Long Beach to visit family after getting back from Iraq and was shot dead at a party. There are always places in any country that are questionable.
RDT, had you not mentioned Pattaya almost everything you wrote would be right on the money if applied to Northern Thailand. Just MHO. Not disrespecting you but helping you get your thread back on track ...... by scratching off Pattaya and substituting Northern Thailand (Chiangmai, Chiangrai, Loei, even Mae Salong, Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, are fine, Chiangmai being the winner by a wide margin) There is no better place on earth than the Land of Smiles. Friendly people, outstanding housing value, excellent food, peace and quiet, serenity, mountain trekking, and for us foreigners there is no capital gains tax on trading/investing. Brokers here put those of Calif./NYC to shame in terms of quality of service - even monitoring manual stops. Northern Thailand could be that traders' ultimate peaceful location from which to trade, study, think, write etc. - no problem with internet connection here. 9 yrs living here and finally threw in the towel and visited Pattaya for 4 days. Left after 3. Never again. Never have I seen so many middle-legs running so many bodies with so many cortexes totally absent or abdicated ... If its the beach you like, Phuket outdoes Pattaya in spades, has outstanding scenerey and natural beauty to boot. sorry my friend
Not for nothing, just sounds like a lot of bitching a complaining by a bunch or horny old men with no game that just want to bang cheap hookers and just couldn't make it in NY. You can live a great life in Mexico for $100 a day, on the beach with hot girls, or in Dominican Republic where they're all prostitutes. But doesn't sound like trading is your M.O. You just want a place to bang hookers all day without going broke. You couldn't make it in a place like manhattan.
Shh... quiet please. So far very few farangs here, let it be so! Especially glad to not find any Americans here. One problem though. It's impossible to get permanent residence without getting married. How did you manage it?
Kinda have to agree with this guy. The biggest kicker is that the thread is started by a proven troll and loser, who is trying to promote one of the worst possible places in Thailand to live in.