Is Pattaya Scam City? Tourist Trap? Thailand vs the Philippines

pattaya-atm-scams-ladyboy

While I can’t really call much of the things I have seen in Pattaya ‘scams’ one thing is for sure: it is the biggest tourist trap I have been to in Asia.

When comparing countries I like to compare cities to other similar cities. So for the sake of most of this post I will be comparing Pattaya to Angeles City and Sihanoukville, Cambodia because both are similar touristy type places.

First lets do some quick price comparisons on a few things to see how they stack up. Then I will get to the bigger issues.

Laundry is How Much?

My first week here I go and drop my clothes off at the same laundry shop I used three years ago. I didn’t ask about prices because I remember it was the cheapest place around on my last visit to Pattaya.

Initially the first time in Pattaya I used the laundry at my building and paid the extreme rip off prices. This time I thought I was better prepared and going to pay a fair price.

In Sihanoukville laundry was .75 cents a kilo, in Angeles it was about the same at 25-30 pesos a kilo. When I went to pick up my laundry in Pattaya (which consisted of 3 shirts, 3 boxers, and 2 pairs of socks, weighing it at a little under a kilo ) it was 90 baht.

If you aren’t aware the baht is 35.5ish to the dollar, while the peso is about 47ish to the dollar. So when the laundry is 3 times as many baht as pesos it is really costing you 4 times as much.

Part of the issue is that they charge by the piece. A shirt was 20 baht. ONE SHIRT cost as much as a full kilo/load in Angeles. Now I understand why there are public washing machines here on the streets.

Sadly there are no dryers. From then on I just did my laundry in my room 1 or 2 pieces at a time. I would love to use the machines but hard to dry a whole load in a studio apartment.

I know people in the western world just did some quick math and are rolling their eyes over me complaining about paying under $3 for my laundry. The point is: why it is 4 times as much here?

Haircuts

Another 4x as much thing: haircuts. In Angeles City (or Cebu, or Subic) right in the middle of the touristy areas you can get a haircut for 50 pesos. In Pattaya I saw two places and both were 150 baht.

Motorbike Taxis

pattaya-girl-motorbike-taxiWhen you get a ride from a motorbike in Sihanoukville (or Cebu) and have a girl with you the 2nd person doesn’t factor in to the price. It is like a taxi, if the price is 100 pesos from here to there that is what you pay whether for 1 person or 2.

In Pattaya if its 100 baht from Walking Street to your condo and you have a girl with you then you pay 200 baht, or can get it down to maybe 180. The first time the driver tried to pull this on me I thought it was just him scamming me and I refused to pay until the girl started pulling money out of her purse.

Now I know this is just how things are in Pattaya. Luckily for me the baht bus goes right by my place so I only used a motorbike twice in my month here.

You know how once or twice a year you pay a cashier and she gives you incorrect change? 75% of the time the error would cost you money if you didn’t speak up, and 25% of the time it would cost them money?

Well in Pattaya it didn’t take a year for this to happen twice, it took 3 weeks. And guess who would have got shortchanged both times? Honest mistakes….. maybe.

Internet Cafes

In Angeles City there are internet cafes everywhere and they all cost 20 pesos an hour. I have seen two in Pattaya, one is 1 baht per minute, the other is 40 baht an hour.

Better Rates from Banks?

Ever since moving to Asia I have started to hate banks. I never realized how scummy they can be until I moved over here and had to use them for something other than a simple savings account.

Remember 20 years ago when banks actually wanted your money and gave you interest on any account? The good old days.

Well those days are gone and in Angeles City if you want to get the best value you can you need to open a dollar account and then change your dollar into pesos at the many money changers.

Even in the most touristy part of the city you will get a better rate then from a bank. The best money changer in Angeles is right on Fields Avenue near the McDonalds.

Lets say the true dollar rate is 46.5, you will probably get something like 46.45 from a money changer and 46.2 from a bank. May not sound like a big difference, over time it adds up.

In Pattaya its the opposite. I got close to the spot rate when using my Schwab card (if you don’t have a Schwab card get one before you travel) while the money changers are the ones that are charing the .3 or .4 difference. Just another example…….

Enough of This Petty BS

Admittedly much of the above is petty and any of them as an isolated incident can pretty easily be glossed over (though if living here laundry costs would kind of piss me off since I know what the real prices should be.) But when you add them all up with what other bigger scam/rip off type things I had to put up with then you start to see why I call Pattaya a huge tourist trap.

Condo Rentals

When I was looking for a condo I had to overpay a bit because it was the end of high season. 3 years ago in the same building I paid 10k and this time I paid 13k. Luckily the baht is a lot stronger to make up some of the difference.

When I first arrived I didn’t have the full 13k+5k deposit on me and gave her like 6k baht and asked if I could give her the rest the next day which she said was fine.

She stops by my room the next day, fills out the ‘contract’ grabs my money and puts it in her purse. THEN she says ‘oh ya there is a 500 baht cleaning charge when you move out.’

I have been staying in month to month rentals in Asia for 3 years and none have had a cleaning charge. And 500 baht? I could easily hire a maid to come clean a studio apartment for 100 baht, probably even 50.

I put up a bit of a fuss but what can I do? My money is in her purse and where else would I go? It is the way that she doesn’t even mention this until after being paid that makes this so scammy.

pattaya-scam-city

Girls

The rest of this post is all girl related. I basically never went to girly bars in Snooky or Angeles so hard for me to get scammed in them. But I also was barely even at girly bars here and yet Pattaya finds a way.

The first one could maybe be written off as a girl not understanding English. I headed up to Soi 6 because a lot of guys think this is the best Soi in Pattaya.

There are loads of bars with girls and they have short time rooms up stairs. Generally you pay 300 to the bar and 1000ish (negotiable) to the girl to go up and fool around.

But what brought me there is that I heard at some of the bars you can get a BJ in the bar area for 500 baht without paying the 300 (this isn’t the only time a BJ in a bar will get me into trouble.)

As I am walking through there is this tatted up curvy girl in a real slutty dress standing out front of an empty bar. She calls out to me so I go talk to her and see if she will do what I want. She says yes.

I confirm you can do down here I give you 500 tip and she says yes. She isn’t the hottest girl I have ever seen but she will do what I want, and her ample soft spots will be nice to feel on as she does he thing.

We go in and sit on the couch and the waitress obviously follows us like a vulture and I order a water. I want to just get this over with while no other dudes in the bar so I ask her if she is ready.

Then she says we have to go upstairs. I am like no you said we could do here and she shakes her head and says upstairs.

The waitress brings some big glass bottle of water that they probably want to charge me 150 baht for. I say nevermind and start to walk out.

One of the bartenders stops me and says I need to pay and I explain the water isn’t opened and that the girl lied to me. I was going to pay if they put up a huge fuss but surprisingly they didn’t.

I am quite certain the girl knew what I said and just said yes to get me to come in. Some days I may have been a pushover and paid for it without putting up a fuss, that day wasn’t one of them.

The Grand Finale

Remember that whole getting a BJ in a bar thing? Well last time I was in Pattaya I had read about a couple bars like Bar De La Poste that are similar to the Soi 6 bars. Short time room for 300 or BJ in the bar for 500 with no room fee.

I didn’t go on my last trip so they were at the top of my Pattaya bucket list this time. The first time I went to De La Poste there were a bunch of old unattractive ladies hounding me while the one OK (5.5 or 6 at best) girl under 30 was with a customer.

When one of the old ladies wouldn’t get the hint that I had no interest I paid for my water and left thinking I would probably never return. But then I was in the area so figured I might as well stop in just to see what girls were available.

This time the bar was completely empty and I could have my pick of any. Sadly every ‘girl’ was at least 35 so I picked one that wasn’t fat and bought her a drink.

I told her I just wanted a quick BJ there in the bar not in a short time room and she said OK but that I couldn’t finish in her mouth. She said she was sick or something……

I decided to choose another girl but since I had just bought that one a ladies drink which hadn’t even arrived I wanted her to stay with me so I could feel around. When you buy a drink at this bar the girls tops come off and your hands are free to roam.

She made me pay her to stay…….. she wanted 200 baht and we settled on 100. There was really no reason for me to pay but I just wanted to get the job done without a fight.

I had her pick another ‘girl’ for me because I wanted her to choose on that would let me cum in her mouth, and they were all pretty hideous so it didn’t matter which was doing it.

Now I have to buy the other girl a lady drink, and the first girl is asking for a 2nd lady drink after 3 minutes AND saying I should buy the 2nd girl 2 lady drinks so she would have ‘more power.’

While I am getting blown the first girl asks 2 more times for another ladies drink. I eventually just quit responding to her and focus on her boobs and whats going on under the table.

BJ was solid 7/10 and overall I am happy cuz I haven’t got a BJ in a bar in a long time, and it was kinda sorta a mini 3some.

Pull up the pants and grab my wallet and tip the girls, grab my receipt to pay my bill: they put the 300 room charge on it. Now I have been reading about this bar for 3 years. I KNOW there is no room charge for a BJ in the bar. I have read at least 50 trip reports of guys saying they have gone here and all say there is no charge for BJ in the bar.

I protest and they say that there is always a 300 fee wherever you do it. I say no. The mamasan speaks in Thai and now all the girls in the bar come surround me and 2 stand by the door.

pattaya-farang-girl-fined-motorbike-nudeIt wasn’t like I was thinking about 2012 trip reports, since I had been back in Pattaya I read up on ISG and Pattaya Addicts and knew the current price structure.

They had pegged me as a noob tourist when I first walked in and thought I would never know. That’s why the stupid 1st girl kept asking for more more more. Then they wouldn’t back down and admit they were trying to cheat me. Must save face.

I tell them that ‘I know many people’ who have been there and done that with no room fee. They ask me how I know this and I grab my phone to pull up the threads I had recently been reading.

The mamasan rips my phone out of my hands and runs behind the bar and holds it hostage until I pay the full tab. At this point there is nothing I can do but pay it all and go home to post in every thread about that bar and tell people the real truth.

Even if you aren’t going to get overcharged there you are still going to go to a bar to pay old ladies. If that is your thing then you will love it.

But in a city with thousands of 20ish year olds whats the point? In the western world I would be in that bar every day. In Thailand your time and money are better spent elsewhere.

More BS in Two Weeks than the Last Three Years

The majority of that stuff happened in my first 2 weeks in Thailand. That was as much if not more scammy/ripoff type stuff then I encountered in my previous three years in Asia combined.

Again any one incident (other than the mamasan hijacking my phone) wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Add them all up and it shows a pretty big pattern of what life in Pattaya would be like.

And I don’t even do touristy stuff like riding jetskis (Pattaya is definitely scam city for those). I usually take the Baht bus instead of taxis (in Pattaya the ‘metered taxis’ never actually use the meter).

These things plus my dealings with girls here has me thinking that everyone here is always hoping you are just a rich stupid tourist that will pay whatever they want you to pay. A walking ATM.

Once you prove that you aren’t they have no more interest in you. One astute reader of this blog said in a comment recently that he would rather be living in Angeles than ‘soulless Pattaya.’

I have to say that seems like a very good way to describe the place.

10 Responses

  1. jspill says:

    Feels like you walk around with confirmation bias expecting something to happen to when you’re in Thailand.

    Plus most of your complaints wouldn’t bother most normal people, they’d be like oh okay internet cafes and haircuts are more here because this country’s GDP is over twice that of the Philippines.

    Or oh okay there’s a 300 baht ($8) room charge in this bar where I’m about to get a $13 blowjob, ok no big deal.

    You don’t even go into bars in the Philippines, if you did you’d be getting scammed more there. I got short changed on the bill every week on my last Manila trip.

  2. thibault says:

    hum. jspill already said you dont compare equal things about bars. cost of living is more substantial.
    and here the real question is:
    if you add all those little costs, all the differences…
    does it compensate the difference in the opposite way for the real cash sink, the rent?
    if you spare 150$ per month on a cheaper rent… how are you supposed to complain about the cost of life being 100$ higher, all accounted for, at the end of the month?

    note that i dont pretend to have the answer, it may very well be in favor of the PI rather than the LOS. but i really want to know.

    if its everything thats more expensive, well. if its just secondary things…
    for example… how often do you get an haircut? if its more than once per month, you re a soccer player.
    those costs are of the weekly (laundry) or monthly (haircut, condo charges).
    some are avoidable. if you take jeepney/bath bus, no taxi. if you have wifi at home, no internet cafe. if you date, no whores.
    and some are pretty much equal: banks or change? its good to know, but its not a comparison as in both cases you can have good value once you re enlightened.

    if major everyday cost (food, rent) is cheaper… didnt you say you were forced to eat in high scale restaurant in the phils, because standard one were shitty, when in thailand basic food is good value?

    my guess is, if you compared real capitals bangkok/ manila instead of the capitals of luxury that are angeles/pattaya, it could very well bend in favor of thailand. and then cebu/chiang mai for secondary towns.
    bangkok has cheap mass transport , a awful lot of affordable services, western amenities for decent price… as it seems in manila if you dont want to live in a slum you have to pay western prices, period.

  3. jspill says:

    There are actually 15 baht/hour internet cafes, 80 baht haircuts and low cost laundry places too by the way, you were checking places on the tourist strip that’s why they were pricier. And Angeles doesn’t get as many tourists.

    Now explain to me why rent in the Philippines is about twice as high for the same standard of room, and Philippines has the most expensive electricity in Asia. Despite one of the lowest GDPs. Half that of Thailand.

    And hotels. And flights. It’s basically one big scam country, airports charge carriers outrageous landing fees. One elite family owns the power supply.

  4. Alex says:

    So much for Thais being “friendly”, ha! From what I’ve read you need to have eyes at the back of your in places that get visited by a lot of tourists….The large number of tourists visiting Thailand has made a lot of Thais very greedy, to the extent they will try to tip off every single tourist they come across.

  5. kick2dante says:

    im sorry my views on your beloved country hurt you so deeply

  6. thibault says:

    stop arguing like little boys, and tell us where the fuck should we go, if we want to fuck the maximum number of women for the minimum amount of cash. like grown ups.

  7. Cat793 says:

    Lol clearly Dante doesn’t have any
    money. Pattaya is great and you only get scammed there if you are incompetent.

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