Pattaya still a gay paradise

The news of the demise of Pattaya as a gay paradise are grossly exaggerated, I am pleased to say. During the three days I just spent in the beach resort, I could even find again part of the atmosphere I liked so much five or six years ago.

Pattaya gay beach after the crackdown

It was so at the beach, where I usually spend a lot of time. Especially on saturday, I was happily disturbed by many vendors, some of them ranking very high on the cuteness scale. There were even some boys showing themselves obviously looking for customers … a rare sight from what I understand. As for the new lay-out of the chairs and umbrellas, I found it a little more cramped than before, but at least my favorite operator was still there, with enough seats to choose.


I did not go to many bars, leaving them for a later visit. I liked the atmosphere at De One, which is the new name for the former Yaya Bar, where I chatted for a long time with a boy from Chayaphum who told me he was 27. However he had already worked in Soi Sunee 10 years ago, so when he was 17, in the (in)famous La Copa Bar – the La Copa’s former owner being now the De One new owner, this is a not surprising return to the roots.

The other places visited were Nice Boys, where I found the boys quite ordinary despite being very willing and daring, and of course Sunny Boys because of its new reputation as the place to be in Sunee Plaza. Well, from what I saw of the boys still there at 11.00 pm, I think that coming earlier should be still more interesting …

The beach and soi Sunee reminded of the Pattaya of old …unfortunately the traffic, the neverending construction sites, and huge price increases in some restaurants, brought me quickly back to reality.