Can Pattaya really ‘drain the swamp’?

Corruption and the foreign crime gangs it fosters stand in the way of turning the seaside city into a family destination

At a Bangkok celebration 10 years ago over Thaksin Shinawatra’s purchase-in-exile of Manchester City Football Club, with singer Mai Charoenpura, then in a sexy phase of her career, entertaining, the beer-fuelled chant went up “Pattaya here I come!” The revellers wanted to keep on partying, and the city of beaches and bars to the east must have seemed like the obvious destination.

The anecdote isn’t meant to cast aspersions on either of the people mentioned here or on the celebrants, but merely illustrates how everyone in Thailand regards Pattaya. And that’s how it’s been seen around the world ever since American GIs fighting in Vietnam were first sent there for R&R. It is famous for its beaches, bars and most of all its prostitution. Sex is easily purchased, and far more cheaply than a football team.

Full story: The Nation

By The Nation