February 2023 In Pattaya
This is my opinion little updated after my last visit to Pattaya in July 2022, and I realize that a lot of people have different life journey and reasons to keep coming to Thailand. Therefore, take my review just as another opinion and source of information.
I tried to describe situation how I see it, but other people can see it completely differently.
Lack of good-looking girls
I keep hearing stories how Thailand changed because of COVID.
However, this has nothing to do with COVID. The main reason why party fell apart in Thailand is because of the number of tourist / expats arrivals.
Before 2010, number of tourist arrivals was around 15 million. That was the endless party era. Then it moved to 20 million, but still Thailand was party place.
Around five years ago, that number became 30 million, and then significant changes were starting to occur, like girls doing short-time instead of long-time, girls getting out of rooms ASAP etc.
In 2019, number of tourist arrivals reached almost 40 million. Sure, a lot of Indians, Arabs, Russians and Chinese joined the crowd, but it was not only them.
When you compare the ratio between demand (number of guys) and supply (number of girls), that number changed significantly. That caused this mess we all are facing in Thailand these days, and it is not going to change. It is here to stay.
Consequences of this situation is that since demand is much greater than supply, prices are going up, pizza became pizza slice (instead of going with the girl exclusively, now you need to share her), you can forget vacation girlfriend, or any kind of special service. I don’t see any difference between sex scene in Europe or Thailand, and that was not the case 10 years ago. Like a headless chicken I keep coming to Thailand, hoping to find something that many years ago existed, but that is long gone.
Thai Girls
It is a hard task to generalize things, since there are all kinds of girls out there.
However, their mindset hasn’t changed a bit, it was always the same. While guys were scarce, they wanted to hook you and spend all the time with you. That is why it was possible to go to the beach with them, or go to the cinema etc. They knew that it was hard to find too many customers. Now that girls are in demand, they just want to get as much money as possible. That means they use every opportunity to milk you and to screw as many customers as possible.
Beach Road
Not as many Indians as last year. Indian train still operates (five guys in the row, each paying 500 baht for a shot). Some girls will take it.
Saw some girls at the beach road even better looking than most of the girls in the clubs, but while I started thinking about approaching them, part of the someone’s body is getting into my field of vision, and girl is already being approached by someone else. Happened a couple of times, simply amazing.
Arranging a meeting with the girl
You have a minute or two to contact them once they get online. That is how fast they (good-looking girls) find customers. Interestingly, I think that only good looking (not too many available, since most are already taken by expats) girls are getting attention. Girls (average-looking) are not spending a lot on cosmetics, since they are not finding customers (according to a shop owner I talked to). I would say that since prices went through the roof, there are not so many customers for average looking girls (that was my impression).
Demand / Supply
It is very simple. All these guys are coming to Thailand hopping to have a good time with different girls, or to perhaps have a nice time with a special girl.
The problem is that you are not the only one, so everywhere I look I see an endless army of zombies looking for the prey, which is nowhere to be found (talking about the good looking ones). You go out for a walk, hoping to see some nice girl, but everywhere you look, there are like ten guys in front of you turning heads in all directions ready to jump at first opportunities. It is a 10 second window of opportunity. You see better looking massage girl, and while you stop to check wallet, somebody already starts talking to that very girl. (I remember when some good-looking girls were telling me many years ago, how nobody came for massage whole day).
Services
After two weeks of asking one 9 / 10 girl to meet me, she said yes. She asked 15,000 baht for lt. She makes money using Skype with customers not living in Thailand. How much she can make, you can figure out by the amount she asked for long-time. I want to mention the fact that I needed to get in touch with her two weeks (because of so many messages that she gets), and once she realized that I am normal (no slapping the face for 4,000 short-time, or hug me all night without sex 8,000), I could meet her more often. Apart from that, nowadays short-time in most cases is a five-minute shower, three minutes action, and five minutes shower. Not worth going to Thailand for that. They are so uninterested to get involved that I really didn’t have any wish even to stay longer with them, even if I could.
Prices
Short-time (15 – 20 minutes) 1,500 for average looking ones, 2,000 for better looking ones (7 or 8 out of 10). You can get even something cheaper 1,000 – 1,300, but it really depends, and they are well past their prime.
Long-time (longer than 20 minutes) two shots 2,000, three shots 3,000. Again, it depends. You can find something for 2,500, or for 8,000, or for 15,000. I am not discussing the quality here, just the time you pay to be with the girl. Heard a Japanese guy complaining how he paid 5,000 for long-time. His comment was that it was getting expensive.
Gogo bars
Went to Pin Up. You can’t even find the place to sit. Was not impressed with selection of girls. Bar fine is 2,000, plus five drinks for the lady is 1,000 baht (since lady can’t be bar fined if she hasn’t had 5 drinks, and guess what, the whole night she didn’t have a single drink), plus your drink(s). On top of that, 3,000 for one shot (two hours duration, including transport time), and 5,000 for two shots 3 – 4 hours max (count on lady having a dinner and / or a little nap in your hotel on that time), if I can call this long-time. All together that comes to over 8,000 for two shots. Just avoid it.
Ordered one drink for the girl, she stayed with me 20 seconds, then went to the toilet, never to return. Waiters are asking for drinks every minute. Friend bought a drink for a lady who can’t be bar fined.
In general, if you are not rich, avoid Pattaya gogos like the plague. Visited a couple of other gogos, similar prices and rip off attitudes. I mean, these days girls get 1,500 baht per day just for turning up to work in a gogo bar. Do they need you? Most of them have young Thai boyfriends who pick them up after work.
Locking the girl
Got a message from one girl that a customer had booked her for the week, so she was not available. However, she asked me the next day if I was in my hotel. She got into my room after two minutes, which means that she already had a customer in the same hotel. That is my comment about booking the girl for the week. Booking is booking, and money is money. Booking the girl strategy is not going to work.
Another option is to go to some quiet place without sex tourists, so you can focus on the girl. Some of the tourists are doing just that. Had a chance to meet some girls who were taken to Bali and other exotic destination in order to avoid competition.
Hooking the customer
Like a con artist, girl needs to convince the customer into believing that she wants to be with him. Once a customer’s trust is ensured, a steady flow of cash is secured. However, the idea is to find time for other customers as well, so as much money as possible can be earned. Every time a girl is suddenly unavailable for various reasons (meet the friend, some obligations etc.), girl is rushing to meet other customers either in their hotel, apartment or short time hotel. Signs will be easy to spot, constant vibration of mobile cellphone, or girl disappearing too long in the toilet to go through all her messages. Simply ask a girl to show you her line and messages, and her refusal to do so will reveal her real intentions. One bar girl I met last year told me that she was meeting eight customers every day before COVID. Just to get idea about the numbers, and idea about hanging around with one girl.
Mind games
Some better-looking customers are getting specialized in playing mind games in order to cut costs. Their plan is finding a victim, study her psychological profile and find a weakness. Usually women are looking for a soulmate, but they have kids and it is hard to find anything serious. Customers exploit weakness in order to get a better price. One lady complained to me how she got only 4,000 baht for the whole month (guy used saved money for other girls). Another girl felt good after talking to another guy, and he got sex for free. Later woman realized what a British gentleman was doing, but the damage was already done.
Costs
Around 6,000 Euros for 3 weeks (including hotel, food and expensive direct flight airplane ticket), and I don’t drink and don’t spend much on food. Most of it went for girls. 3,000 – 5,000 baht every day for girls. If you wanted to lock the girl, you would probably need to pay her 7,000 – 10,000. Sure, you can get some below average looking women for 1,200 short-time, if that is your idea of vacation. In some bars the barfine is 300 and girls are 1,000, but what you pay is what you get. Better looking girls are more expensive.
Conclusion
I kept coming to Thailand in order to exchange my time and money for nice memories. That was what Thailand was all about. Thailand was fun while you knew that girls will jump on you every time you went out. You could find even some normal girls with regular jobs, looking for money to pay rent at the end of the month. It felt almost like the real thing.
However, it is not the case anymore, and I must say that I was happy to leave Thailand. Got tired of if you love me, can you pay me more. Thailand became just a place where you exchange money for sexual service like in the west. Why would anyone go to Thailand for that? You can find that kind of service where you live much cheaper when you compare all the costs.
I have no intentions to visit Thailand again any time soon.
The author of this article cannot be contacted.
