Let me take you back to the first time I ever set foot in Pattaya. Back then, it felt like a dream — the kind you don’t want to wake up from. A paradise of bars, lights, music, and the kind of attention I never received back home. Like many others, I got hooked. Pattaya, for all its chaos and color, had me under its spell. But fast forward a decade, and now… I wouldn’t return even if you paid me.
This isn’t just a rant. It’s my story of how I fell in love with a place, only to watch it turn into something I now despise.
The Honeymoon Phase
My first few trips to Pattaya were like walking into a fantasy. Every night felt like Saturday night, the neon buzz, the music echoing from open-air bars, and the sheer volume of people living like tomorrow doesn’t exist. I did what everyone does: bar hopping, chasing the nightlife, talking to strangers, and soaking up that sense of freedom you only get when you’re far from home.
It was addictive. I’d spend three months working back home, then escape to Pattaya for a month of living large. That cycle went on for nearly ten years. No other city interested me. Not Bangkok, not Chiang Mai, not even places outside Thailand. Pattaya was it.
I skipped flights. I extended stays. I used dating apps to get girls over. I threw money around like it was nothing all in pursuit of that dream. And honestly, I understood the addiction. It was cheap (at first), fun, and full of the kind of attention that stroked your ego.
The Fall from Grace
But something changed. Around 2023, I decided I was done. Something inside me snapped. I saw through the glitter and realized what Pattaya really was, just a greasy underworld masked as a party town.
What once looked like paradise began to resemble hell. The people changed. Or maybe I just started seeing them clearly for the first time. The tourists were older, ruder, more broken. You walk down Beach Road and it’s a sad parade of washed-up foreigners sitting with a 7-Eleven beer, staring into nothing.
The women? They’ve mastered the game. It’s all about finding a man with just enough money to bleed him dry. Doesn’t matter if he’s 30 or 60 just if he’s got cash, he’s a target. Many of them have no shame. Some of the bar girls are the most manipulative, cold-hearted players you’ll ever meet. Sure, there are some good ones but in Pattaya, everyone is playing the same game. No one’s innocent.
The Illusion of Love
I’ve seen men middle-aged, lonely, often broke themselves fall into the trap. A girl smiles at them, says the right things, gives them some attention, and suddenly they believe it’s love. They go from paying for drinks to paying for everything like clothes, rent, food, even sending money back to her while they’re thousands of miles away, thinking they’re in a “relationship.”
It’s delusional. Some of these guys have built entire fantasies around girls who are just doing what they have to do to survive. The “girlfriend experience” in Pattaya is just a well-oiled machine designed to keep wallets open. And some guys happily sign up for it, again and again.
Waking Up
Maybe I’m just getting older. Or maybe I’ve finally woken up. I started avoiding foreigners in Pattaya, especially solo ones like I used to be. The conversations got repetitive, the vibe depressing. The whole scene became grimy, dark, and soulless.
You look around and realize you’re surrounded by the worst kinds of people, users, scammers, addicts, and the walking dead. I couldn’t pretend anymore. The excitement was gone. All that remained was the truth: this place wasn’t good for me. It never was.
Pattaya isn’t what it used to be or maybe it never was what I thought it was. The shiny surface has dulled, and now I see it for what it is: a place where dreams go to die if you’re not careful. Some people still love it, and I won’t judge. But as for me? I’ve had enough.
No amount of cheap beer or bar smiles will ever convince me to go back.
