Thai Bar Girls – Money for Honey
How much does it cost for a night with a Thai bar girl? That’s a question I get asked a lot, mainly from 30 to 50-year-old single guys. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the bar girl scene, but the rules will be just the same, and money as ever the name of the game – money for honey to be exact.
Beyond The Mango Juice takes a look at the world of the Pattaya bar girls, aiming to arm Thailand newbies with some rules, etiquette and information on the “dancing queens” of Pattaya.
All photographs in this post are used for illustration purposes only and do not imply the girl’s pictured sell sex.
Pattaya Bar Girls
They say it’s the oldest profession in the world, but I think the word “prostitute” is a little too harsh to label and slap on Pattaya bar girls. Working girls are what they like to call themselves, and I couldn’t agree more. Anyone new to Thailand needs to understand that the country has no social benefits system in place for unemployment or child care – if you don’t work, you don’t get any money.
Given the life that most of the bar girls tourist customers have, I’m sure the girls – if they had the same opportunities, would also hold down jobs in offices and factories and not lay on their backs and think of Thailand. Most of them are from the poorer provinces of Thailand and are single mothers with young kids to feed, and that makes it harder to ignore the lure of tourist resorts like Pattaya.
Pattaya Bar Etiquette
Respect is the main word you need to know and put into practice. In any walk of life if you have to do something that you consider beneath you, then you hope you receive a little respect from others when carrying out those humble tasks. Thai women feel the same but will deep-six their morals and self-respect with a smile.
Anyone who is planning to hop from bar to bar and pull a different bar girl each time then that’s fine, but if a punter returns to a bar and ignores a girl he’s taken before in favour of a different one, then sparks may fly.
If you do return to the same bar, then do not pick up a different girl unless the one you bar fined before is with another customer – and even then think twice. If the girl is not with a someone and you bar fine a different one, she’s going to lose face big time, and big money too, that’s a combination which often leads to trouble. There are plenty of bars with plenty of girls about, don’t play with someone’s dignity, or put Thai style, don’t make the girl lose face.
A Little Bit Of Spiel
- The Market – There are two market types, buying and selling. Peak season is the seller’s market where the bar girls hand is strong, plenty of tourists means plenty of customers, and with it, the price of honey goes up. The off-season sees much lower tourist levels, and this makes a buyers market, the tourist has many more girls to choose from making the buying price drop.
- No Money No Honey – After just a couple of days in Pattaya most middle-aged men feel ten years younger and believe their looks reflect that. A bar girl’s sweet tongue can iron out the most unkind and deepest of wrinkles, to the wearer at least. No matter how good you may think you look if you run out of coin then no bar girl is going to give you the honey she’s sat on, ever.
- Bar Fine – A fee paid to the bar owner to release the bar girl from her hostess duties at the bar. Prices range from 300-500 baht for one day/night. The bar girl will receive a small cut of the bar fine.
- Butterfly – The simple term used by Thai bar girls for tourists who fly from one girl to the next. Farangs, who despite being in a lengthy relationship, still find the lure of other bar girls hard to resist. A helicopter is another word used.
- Short Time/ Long Time – Self-explanatory. Some bars will have rooms upstairs where you can take one of the girls for a short period and do the business. Most bars haven’t got them, and you’ll have to take the bar girl back to your hotel room for a short time or a long time. Long time means all night typically, and the girl will hope to tag onto you for the next day and beyond.
Doing The Deal
A perfect place for any newbie to dip their toes in Pattaya’s nightlife are two trendy side streets off Beach Road, Soi 7 & Soi 8. They both have loads of bars and hundreds of bar girls and bar fining one is very easy to do. You just need to sit in a bar, grab a beer and wait – as a rule, and you won’t be waiting long.
The girls will come to you with baht signs in their big brown eyes and if a particular one does catch your fancy then don’t come on too much because her hand will be a lot stronger if you make the first move and she’ll want to charge you more. Act calm and have some fun with the girl haggling over the money she wants before you bar fine her. Just remember that simple word respect.
How Much For A Bit Of This And That
The following and all the above has been solely based on bars and not Go-Go Bars; they have different rules, etiquette and prices and that brings us back to The Markets, and we’ll start with the buyers one. Off-season an experienced Pattaya tourist (remember this is 2008) can look to pay as low as 500 baht for long time with a bar girl. Newbies will probably need to bargain hard to get a long-term deal for around the 700-1000 baht mark. Short term prices would be, if anything, only slightly lower. The bar fine is extra on top.
The seller’s market makes the stakes a lot higher. December and January are peak season, and a lot more Thai women head to resorts like Pattaya to grab a slice of the tourist cake. Any newbie will be looking at paying 1000-2000 baht for the same service he would receive off-season (700-100 THB). The experienced Butterfly might quickly get the same girl for around the 500-1000 baht mark.
This post has merely skimmed the murky waters Thai bar girls float their boats on and the smiles and guiles that come with them. There are lots of things to consider when trying to bargain hunt Pattaya bar girls and the price they expect you to pay – she’s waiting on her sugar daddy to arrive back in town is one, she thinks you’re a Cheap Charlie another, these are things you’ll have to weigh up yourself and decide if they greenlight the ‘price’ will there be any trouble that may be an add-on. There’s not a set fee for a bar girl, and they are out to get the best dollar they can.‘
Have fun in the sun and show that simple country girl respect.
HD not my scene, but a well written piece. On the other hand if I had discovered Thailand 30 years ago who knows.
Mike’s last blog post..A New Broom Sleeps Clean in Thailand.
The one quirk that I always found fascinating, is how the whole thing is just all so respectable and normal. To the girl, and their family back home, they are Working. Plain and simple. It’s just work. As long as it’s with a farang.
Then again. With the comparison of a thai girl working in a gogo, or as a hotel receptionist. It’s the equivalent in the West in terms of salary between being a lawyer or stocking shelves at Walmart. Guess with big money comes acceptance.
Bodhi’s last blog post..Fearless
One of the oldest trades in the world and still going strong.
Very interesting etiquette you have givne out HD. I also think that many tourists visit just for this sort of thing. The demand is therefore still high and it sounds like there are two options – make it illegal or moderate it. The former is impossible therefore the latter seems to have been successfully done in you neck of the woods.
Are there any vacancies for Brit Bar Males? Many I’m sure many Brits would do it just for the pleasure! lol
martin in bulgaria’s last blog post..Living or Surviving in Bulgaria?
It’s been a while since i have been in pattaya but the etiquette rules are spot on!
I’ll be in Pattaya right before Songkran but I’ve been told by the missus ” you look lady too mutt and I cut cut cut”
If I survive the few days in Pattaya without getting cut I’ll be beating a hasty retreat up country before the serious water fights start.
Talen’s last blog post..Briton Hauls in Record Fresh Water Stingray
Mike – I’d settle for 30 years ago. I realize the topic is not really to everyone’s taste but it is nonetheless a subject that is very much Thailand. It is now not my scene, like you I much prefer the quieter natural Thailand life. Thanks for your comment.
Bodhi – It has always amazed me how these families put to the back of their minds the daughters profession.Yes as you say I think the money does talk rather loudly and smooths the path of acceptance.
Martin – Most Pattaya tourists are there for one thing and one thing only. When I was in Bulgaria years ago I noticed the Russian Mafia had introduced the sex scene into one of the big hotels in Sunny Beach. Perhaps you could try for a job there.
Lostinbangkok – The rules never change only the girls and the customers.Thanks for dropping by.
Talen – Hardly the kindest cut of all, make sure she doesn’t bring any baloons. Songkran in the village, that brings back happy memories. Being the farang of course makes you the kids number one target. Happy memories.
In terms of the bar girls. There is a level of denile in Thailand that spans all levels. The girls and their families are in Denial on how they earn the money. For many families it is the only income. There is denial from the police who collect money every month in corrupt payments from the bars.I have seen a “share out of this money” in a Pattata seaside restaurant, among high ranking officers. And ultimately, a denial in the upper echalants of government when they get their pay offs from the police who they appointed. It is a system that has existed since the GI’s firsr started paying for sex. Then Pattaya was a small fishing village. The whole city has grown up from this coruption and Denial. It ain’t a River in Africa
DENIAL not nile
HERE IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE CORRUPTION
This should be read by anyone interested in what happens when a
foreigner in Thailand decides to take on the system and fight for
justice and I hope that this account will offer some guidance to
anyone in a similar situation.
In November 2008 I received an email from “Alan” ( full name Ilhan
Ozturk) asking for my assistance. I thought it was just another one of
the many similar emails I’ve received from my readers over the last
two years. However, even though his English was at times hard to
understand, the story Alan had to tell attracted my attention.
I spoke to him on the phone and he decided to travel from Bangkok to
Pattaya to see me at my office where we chatted for some time. I
became very moved by what he told me and my interest was further
aroused when I realized I was well acquainted with one of the key
antagonists involved in his story.
At about 11:45 on the 5th December 2006, a speed boat operated by a
well known local operator was carrying a group of Turkish tourists
from Pattaya Beach to Koh Lahn island, a trip lasting just 15 minutes.
The sea on that day was particularly rough and red flags were flying
advising boats to stay ashore. The 19-year-old boatman ignored the
warnings and headed at full speed for the island oblivious to the
requests from the passengers to slow down.
At approximately 1 km from its destination the structure of the boat
failed, the hull split and the vessel began to take on water and sink.
The 18 passengers onboard then realized that their number was more
than the boat’s official capacity of 12 and with a sense of panic
discovered that there were only 13 lifejackets onboard.
The tour leader took command of the situation and told everyone to
calm down, reassuring them that they were not far from the rescue
services and help would arrive within 10 to 20 minutes. He handed out
the limited number of lifejackets to the passengers, but not to
himself, even though he knew he wasn’t a strong swimmer and wouldn’t
manage to survive long in the water.
As the boat sank the passengers ended up in the rough sea swimming and
hanging on to anything available to keep them afloat. Another boat
passed by and managed to pick up a few of the passengers but
inexplicably continued on its journey without waiting for additional
help to appear.
The rescue team didn’t arrive until 2 pm, 2 hours after the accident.
It remains a mystery as to why the rescue service, based on Koh Lahn
just a few minutes from the scene of the accident, took so long to
respond.
Most of the passengers were in shock and two of them were admitted to
the ICU at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. The tour leader, who had remained
calm and reassured his group throughout the crisis, disappeared into
the sea and he was never seen alive again. The tour leader was Alan’s
younger brother, Ichami. He was 36 years old and married with a young
son.
At the time Alan was running a restaurant in Pattaya and on hearing of
the accident he rushed to the scene to help search for his brother. He
contacted local officials to help with the search but none was
forthcoming. Even the company which owned the boat was not interested
in offering any assistance. To Alan’s surprise and dismay the search
was called off after a few hours.
Two days later his brother’s body was found by a fisherman. Alan
assumed local officials would assist him with the necessary
arrangements such as the autopsy and the procedure to send his
brother’s body back home to Turkey. However, neither local and
government agencies nor the boat company offered any help at all and
the burden was on Alan alone, grieving at the loss of his brother, to
fund the costs and take care of all the practical and legal
formalities.
After sending his brother’s body home, Alan decided to sue the boat
owner, who happens to be a well connected businessman in Pattaya who
I’ll call “Mr. H”. Mr. H refused to take responsibility even though
the boat was revealed to be in a poor condition and lacked a technical
certificate and insurance. It was then suggested to Alan that he sue
the boatman who had been charged with reckless operation of his
motorboat. The boatman also had no licence.
After 2 long years the criminal case against the boatman finally
ended. The young man confessed and he was punished with a jail term of
two years. With no previous criminal record, the sentence was
conditional and he was free to go back to his job driving rotten,
uninsured boats from Pattaya beach to Kho Lahn every day.
Alan’s brother “Ichami”
” I JUST WANT JUSTICE FOR THE DEATH OF MY BROTHER”
By this time, in 2007, Alan had learned that there was more to the
case than he previously realized. The boat owner, it seems, had
friends in high places, including high ranking Pattaya officials and
the police. His lawyer had suggested that Alan should sue Mr. H for
negligence. It would be a civil case and might take some time, but it
was the only way to get something out of this very influential and
powerful man.
At our meeting in my office Alan showed me a big stack of documents
including letters from his embassy, the TAT, the Minister of
Transportation, The Pattaya TAT and the Pattaya City hall itself.
I really felt sorry for Alan, who was reaching the end of his tether.
It also became very apparent he had difficulty communicating with his
lawyer and I decided to get myself involved.
Mr. Sanit Boonmachai
Among the many officials Alan had tried to contact, but without
success, was Mr. Sanit Boonmachai whose department at Pattaya City
Hall has ultimate responsibility for the licensing and control of all
marine vessels in Pattaya. Alan told me this man was very powerful. I
smiled and told Alan “Yes, he is. I also know why this guy has been
avoiding you”. Unbeknown to Alan, one of the main election canvassers
for Mr. Sanit and his team of officials was Mr. H.
That day we went to City Hall and, not surprisingly, Mr. Sanit was
unavailable to see us and we instead ended up enjoying the hospitality
and smiles of the City Hall secretaries and hostesses.
We had lunch at a small restaurant where we spoke further and I could
ask Alan what exactly he wanted.
He was now becoming very frustrated. His brother had been dead for two
years. The boatman was forgiven and now back at work. Alan originally
intended to sue the Mr. H for 12 million Baht but was told he needed
to lodge security with the court, an amount which was beyond his
means. He consequently reduced his claim to 1.6 million Baht.
I told him if he carried on with the court case, it could take up to 5
years to get the 1.6 million so it may be better to come to a
compromise. Alan said he’d already had five such “compromise” meetings
and four times Mr. H never turned up. It had already cost him a lot of
money to travel back and forth from Bangkok to Pattaya and sometimes
from overseas. At the last meeting, two months previous, the
defendant’s lawyer said they agreed to pay 400,000 Baht.
Alan refused the offer and was really upset that such a small value
was put on his brother’s life and the hardship facing his brother’s
son and widow. Mr. H had also claimed Alan’s brother refused to wear a
lifejacket and that at the time of the accident he was drunk.
Alan’s next meeting was to take place the following day at the Pattaya
District Court, where I agreed to be his interpreter.
In the two months since the offer of 400,000 Baht, Alan had thought
things through carefully and he and his girlfriend, whom he was due to
marry shortly, had come to the decision that they would just accept
the amount on the table and put this all behind them, even though he
instinctively felt the defendant would never actually pay.
Anyway, the next day we went to court. I also invited along an English
friend as an observer. There were several cases to be heard that day,
Alan’s being the last. The second case involved two young Thai men who
were sentenced to 4 years in jail for stealing 10,000 Baht’s worth of
electric cable. Police handcuffed the shocked pair and led them away
as their families cried on the bench behind us. The irony of their
harsh sentence was not lost on us as we compared it to the levity of
that handed down to the boatman responsible for the death of Alan’s
brother and the suffering of the other passengers.
Mr. H hadn’t bothered to turn up and the reason why was plain when his
representatives informed the court that the offer of compensation had
been reduced from 400,000 to 100,000 Baht. Alan was very upset and
refused to accept that amount of money. The defendant’s legal counsel
completely dominated the proceedings and I could see that Alan’s
lawyer appeared hopeless and intimidated.
It was virtually impossible for Alan to put his case until, when we
realized the opposition were asking the court to postpone the
proceedings for another full year, we [Alan& I] had to raise our hands
for permission to talk. Luckily the Judge listened to us and scheduled
the next meeting for 23rd January 2009 when, she advised, Mr. H and
his full legal counsel must be present.
And so it was that on the 23th January, we returned to the court
again. In the meantime Alan had had more meetings with government
officials in Bangkok who, it seemed, were becoming more sympathetic to
his cause. One government department had ordered their Pattaya
counterparts to send observers to the court.
This time Mr. H was present and sat with an air of authority and
confidence bordering on cockiness. It was fascinating to see the
change in his demeanor as a small group of uniformed officials, the
observers requested by Bangkok, entered the court. He showed obvious
surprise and a sense of uneasiness.
The judge was not the same as before but once again Alan’s lawyer was
obviously scared of the defendant. He hadn’t prepared the necessary
papers and his performance was borderline incompetence. I did my best
to help as friend and interpreter but I was limited as to how much I
could get involved in the court proceedings.
Unfortunately, the case was once again postponed – this time until the
end of this year (2009).
Although downhearted, Alan was encouraged by the court appearance of
the official observers. He had also decided to give his case more
publicity, especially outside Thailand. With this in mind it now
seemed a good idea to Alan to broaden the spectrum of officialdom
involved. So we went to see the head of the Pattaya Immigration Police
who gave us a warm welcome and showed a genuine interest in Alan’s
case. He even contacted two top ranking officers of the Tourist police
and invited them to join us together with a lawyer and his assistant
and some other officials.
We all had lunch together and spent nearly two hours discussing Alan’s
case and its implications. I must admit this show of support was
unexpected and was certainly a morale booster for Alan. It was agreed
they would use their contacts and influence to try and persuade Mr. H
to show some understanding and come to an amicable agreement with
Alan. We left the immigration office feeling very optimistic and Alan
returned to Bangkok.
At the Immigration with Torist Police
Two weeks later, I received a call from the Pattaya Tourist Police.
The news wasn’t good. They had approached various officials including
the Pattaya City Mayor but no-one seemed interested in contacting Mr.
H. Nobody cared.
And so, I have decided to publish Alan’s story. If we can’t help him
here in Thailand, the least we can do is to bring his story to a wider
international audience. I also think there are some lessons to be
learned here, for Thais and non-Thais alike.
I’m now back to my usual work routine again [with more emails from
readers in need of help] but I still think of Alan every now and then.
Alan’s next day in court will be in December 2009. I know I’ll be
there too and if anyone wants to join us, you are welcome.
Hi I found your blog on digg and I like it. I am currently helping a friend of mine to set up her own blog and I am looking to exchange links with some good quality blogs/websites. Yours fit that bill 😉 If you are interested please send me a message through her comments.
Kindly,
Robert and Noon
http://bangkokescortathaigirlsdiary.blogspot.com/
Robert’s last blog post..My first time selling sex.
David – That is a very sad story and I wish Alan all the luck in the world in his quest for fair compensation. I do however feel you should contact a high profile media source rather than a small outlet like mine. Good luck, best wishes and thanks for posting the story.
Robert – Thanks for the compliment about BYTMJ and I will check out the blog site.
pretty good summary. although i’m married now, i had a few early visits to thailand where i was a single guy, and i did have a good time. you’re right about being respectful. i thought of it like having an “instant girlfriend” for the night. but don’t be a fool doing it.
thaikarl’s last blog post..090302 Thaikarl – a pleasant sunday
Heading out to Pattaya later this week.
Curious to know if others have heard how, if at all, the world’s economy has affected the rates in Pattaya. I found a couple blogs, but unfortunately, one said it has become more of a buyer’s market, and the other says the girls are charging more to try and make up for otherwise lost income.
Anybody with first-hand knowledge know what the actual situation is like there??
Karl – I think we’ve all been a Pattaya fool at some time.
Steve F. – The rates will be the same as ever 500-1000 baht or whatever you get talked into paying. Pattaya is a game of poker (no pun) and you’ve got too be strong with your hand. With very few tourists believe me it is very very much a buying market. Be strong but kind with it.
Great post, although along similar lines to others this isn’t my scene. Another life another time who knows?!
I’ve heard some horrendous stories of Pattaya and bar girls, any of yours you’d care to spill?
Jon’s last blog post..Man City end Thai links
Jon I’ve not personally had any horrendous bar girl incidents myself. I have been ripped off a few times, nothing heavy but have been aware of the “ripping” taking place. Sometimes it’s best to keep quiet and walk away.
What an interesting post! It certainly opened my eyes and I can see how these girls can feel respectable.
Emm’s last blog post..At Work: Working Late
Thanks for the insiders look at something most of us might judge but know nothing about. 😉
lala’s last blog post..Great American Picnic
Koh Chang – Whatever Happened to this Paradise Island ?
March 17, 2009 ·Happy Saint Patricks day
It is a rather unfortunate fact of life that the vast majority of
visitors to Thailand do not appear to have any real concerns about
their environment and the effects that tourism is having on all the
islands of the Kingdom. Koh Chang is a classic case of unregulated
tourist development gone mad!. I first visited Koh Chang around 5
years ago, and have been back regularlysince. My first visit was
around the time that the government was trying to promote the
development of the island – and was rather disturbed by what I found
and even more so about what has happened in the subsequent years.
Thailand’s record of preservation and conservation is best described
as flawed and Koh Chang is showing the classic signs that nothing has
really been learned from the past lessons (Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin &
Koh Samui) and that it would appear that nobody really cares. Koh
Chang is the second largest island in Thailand. It is located on the
Eastern seaboard of the Kingdom some 5-6 hours by car from Bangkok.
The island was given an unexpected boost by the post-tsunami
unpopularity of the west coast namely Phuket & Krabi, having got this
lucky break there are now ever increasing numbers of western tourists
heading for the island, unfortunately completely to the detriment to
the natural beauty of the island that existed just a few years ago.
The fundamental problem with Koh Chang is that it’s being developed
very badly, it’s overpriced compared to its services & facilities
versus Phuket, Samui & Krabi, and it appears to be going downhill
rather quickly !!. If you’re arriving on the island from either Europe
or the United States you’ll find that the cost of living is still
relatively cheap, a room is still less than half what you would pay at
home, but it is no so cheap when you compare it to other tourist spots
elsewhere in Thailand. Sure, you will love the sunsets and the lovely
white sand, and you won’t wonder or worry where all the sewage is
going and whatever happened to all the mangroves, farmland or the
fishing industry that gets smaller catches every year, or the fishing
villages being turned into souvenir arcades-cum-hotels. The
fundamental probem appears to be that just as soon as Koh Chang was
earmarked for development as the “new Phuket” large swathes of land
was all bought up by the “priveleged, rich & famous” at rock bottom
prices, leaving it almost impossible for the average bussinessman to
buy land and set up a business, as they now have to pay through the
nose for it. Almost all the west coast is now covered with badly
designed & executed “luxury” self-contained resorts, built without
consideration for the environment, conservation or island
infrastructure. Apparently, unlike Koh Samui & Phuket there are no
building codes harmonizing construction with the natural surroundings.
They are also allowed to restrict access to the beach for others. They
are for the most part badly designed and ill conceived. Appearance is
all, the places are little more than decorated concrete blocks.Health
and safety has simply not been heeded or addressed – some of the pool
designs look positively lethal. Slippery tiles adorn pool-sides and
bathrooms throughout. And building work never appears to stop, quite
often guests will find that their rooms are within audible distance of
a building site. All these new resorts are now greatly restricting the
amount of good beach that is accessible to the public; it can only be
a matter of time before all the good sandy beaches/sea fronts become
resort owned or dominated. This goes against the principle that EVERY
beach within the Kingdom is owned by the King and is therefore free to
be accessed & used by EVERYONE. The other area of concern regarding
this kind of concrete construction is that it leaves a huge carbon
foot-print as it inevitably requires lots of air-conditioning to keep
the it cool, uses lots of power for hot water,and uses ever increasing
amounts of fresh water for showers and toilets, and drains etc, etc.
The centre of Koh Chang is a dedicated national park, but unlike all
of Thailand’s other National Parks, it is not open to visitors, you
can get a guide who will take you in but strictly speaking that’s
against the law. There is virtually no effort made to set up a good
system of eco-tourism or even trials in the park as you might find in
countries such as Australia or North America, even other National
Parks in Thailand make an effort in that direction. There is only one
road around the island of Koh Chang and even that doesn’t go all the
way around, it’s a horse-shoe shape, there was a dirt track that
connected the two ends but it wasn’t for the fainthearted and now
impassable as parts have been constantly washed away. The roads were
originally built for the logging & construction traffic.The main road
is barely more than an asphalted single track but cannot cope with the
ever increasing load of cars trucks, pickups and Song Taews pouring
onto the island. Patchy attempts have been made at road widening in
parts. Most of the bridges have been washed out and are replaced by
drains covered over with rubble, please beware of hitting these at
night or on a motorbike. In short the roads are just not substantial
enough for the volumes of traffic that attempt to navigate them. As
the second largest island inThailand, walking around it in a day is
not an option. Koh Chang is also very mountainous and the roads are
very windy and hilly and the resorts can be a long way from any shops,
night-life etc, so you will typically have to rely on the baht taxi
service (songtaews) but this is still very haphazard, so it’s really
useful to hire a motorbike or a car,but you will find that this is
typically 50%+ more expensive than on the mainland. It might even be
worth hiring a vehicle on the mainland and driving there. Koh Chang
does not have its own airport,so if you want to fly, you will have to
land atTrat airport which is on the mainland quite near (20 minutes)
to the ferries to Koh Chang. Get a taxi to the ferry – it will only
cost you a few baht. A more comfortable alternative is to take the
airport minibus to any resort on Koh Chang – a convenient way to get
to your hotel with the minimum baggage re-handling. Ferries run every
30-45 minutes from 6.30am – around 7.30pm. There are several ferry
crossings, they take from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on which ferry
you take. The ferries can now be very over stretched during the high
season and week-ends coming back from the island to the mainland, even
though there is a new car-park the queues can still extend back up the
hill for quite a long way. The ferry services are reasonably priced
and are among the best organised aspects of the islands tourist
industry. Once you arrive on the island where do you stay ?. The best
known”town” that most people arrive at is White Sands, which is
probably the largest conglomeration of buildings on the island, it’s
an increasingly crowded long strip of hotels, resorts, restaurants,
gift shops, tailors and motley bars about 3 km long built between the
sea and the mountains. The construction work that has taken place over
the last 3 years has completely filled the space between hills and the
shore. The developers have now started to dig away at the hills behind
and are erecting buildings wherever they can – between the mudslides.
One wonders how long it will be before a cliff collapses and takes a
building or two with it. Take a look at the land above and behind the
buildings to see evidence of where the landslips are occurring. For
family resorts with a beach, Klong Prao Beach is probably as good as
it gets, there are several resorts there actually with beach frontage,
The Paradise is all nicely built new concrete bungalows, very tightly
packed, Coconut and Royal Coconut are next to that and Klong Prao
Resort has a long beach front and good pool beside the sea. All are
constantly redeveloping to increase the density of accommodation
within the available strip of beach. If you are looking for a more
isolated place with less frantic development you need to go round to
“Long Beach” on the far South-East side of the island. This side is
far less developed but there are limited beaches of any significance,
the best one being Long Beach itself, but even it is not that good.
It’s accessible by dirt road sections of which get regularly washed
away every rainy season, but its quite a pleasant drive with lots of
good views. Accommodation is basic & laidback. Booking ahead is
definately suggested especially on beach resorts during the high
season – Christmas, New Year and Songkran (mid-April) You might think
that I actually do not like Koh Chang, that is completely wrong, I
really LOVED the natural, unspoilt island that I first visited only
literrally just a few years ago, what I find so frustrating is that
ALL Islands only have limited resources – water, space and natural
habitat are always at a premium, they cannot survive unregulated
development, the like of which is taking place on Koh Chang. The
ecological ramifications of this development are now beginning to show
in such things as sea-water quality, damage to coral air pollution
from roads and traffic and encroachment onto the national park. This
will spell the end for the wildlife there. The massive increase in use
of electricity, and water by the hotels and other businesses are
putting a huge strain on the infrastructure and the extra traffic to
carry both people and goods is more than the road system was ever
designed to cope with. I just hope that the lessons learnt from Koh
Chang, Koh Samui & Phuket are heeded, but somehow I don’t think so,
what do you think ?.
David – I have only visited Koh Chang once and that was like your first time their about 5 years ago. I thought it was fantastic and is the best location I have stayed at in Thailand.I have always promised myself that I would go back but now having read your excellent comments I doubt I will. It is very sad what you say has happened to the island but like so many developing economy countries the green backs come before conservation.
Reading the remainder of your comment I must say what useful information you have included for any newbie about to visit the island. Thanks and I appreciate the time you have spent on this post.
Hi David
Your article on Koh Chang published on 17/03/09 is a copy of my article of 10/03/09, which can be viewed on my website / blog & various article directories.
I don’t mind that at all, but a credit for my work might be nice.
Regards
Kevin
Kevin Butters’s last blog post..Mar 27, Places to Visit While Staying in Chiang Mai
Acting on a touch of remorse that I wasn’t seeing enough of my family, I organised what was supposed to be an impromptu, calm week away from everything in Thailand for us all. We arrived and the whole place went mental.
The day we landed in Bangkok, the Red Team was rioting and trying to get rid of the Yellow Team. Thai politics is pretty simple as they wear colour-coded uniforms, making it a lot easier to understand for the visiting spectator.
There was a lot of hullabaloo about it on all the news channels but it’s quite difficult to get nervous about Thai riots. In somewhere like South Korea you get students tooled up with Molotov cocktails and setting themselves alight before hurling themselves on to lines of heavily armed riot police. In South Africa, mobs might stone police while putting opponents into tyres before setting fire to them. The most the Thai Red Team could do was set a bus alight and even for this they looked quite embarrassed.
Thais are not really cut out for violent protest – this is, after all, the Land of Smiles. It’s difficult to riot with a big smile: it just doesn’t sit right. We hotfooted it up north to Chiang Mai; not for any cowardly reason – it’s just a lot cooler up there. Unbelievably however, as our car left Chiang Mai airport, we were attacked on numerous occasions. Luckily for us, the assailants were only throwing water bombs.
We’d landed right in the middle of Songkran, the Thai New Year festival. Since this takes place in the hottest month of the year it used to be traditional for people to spray each other with water to cool themselves down. In Chiang Mai this has been taken to another level – a three-day urban water assault that is quite extraordinary. Scores of pickup trucks roam the streets with huge barrels of water in the back and seven or eight youths hurling the stuff at everyone and anyone. Meanwhile, gangs wait on street corners with buckets and hoses while moped drivers weave in and out of the traffic with the pillion passenger using huge water pistols to deadly effect. After five minutes or so you relinquish any hope of staying dry and focus on finding the best weapon you can buy for defence.
We stopped at a petrol station and bought four huge Super Soakers. Continuing onwards towards the hotel, we executed several very successful drive-by shootings. By now, the kids were completely in love with the country and wanted to move here as soon as possible.
My four-year-old son, Jackson, was all for getting out of our vehicle and engaging in some hand-to-hand combat, but we were tired and the lure of falling into a cooling pool was successful. We settled in quickly and any thoughts of revolution quickly faded as we tried to switch off from everyday life. Then my eight-year-old daughter, Parker, made friends with a girl who lived in Bangkok and came back that night full of alarm: “Dad, did you know that if you stepped on a coin with the Thai king’s head on it you could go to prison?” I replied that I didn’t know that but that I would be very careful in future when handling money.
“Also, Dad, if you put a statue of Buddha underwater then he can drown and you can be arrested for that as well.” I assured her that we had no statues of Buddha but that, if we did, they would be kept very dry.
Later that evening, on the telly, I watched the Thai riot police use water cannon on the Red Team down in Bangkok – and it wasn’t for Songkran. It seems that you can’t drown the Buddha, but Buddhists are fair game.
very informative article thanks!
David’s last blog post..Update to date info on bangkok nightlife
I don’t think prostitute is too harsh a word, and I don’t think these girls would rather work in a factory either.
Employment in Thailand is almost 100% and has been for some time, if you ask any business owner in Pattaya what their biggest problem is they will say getting staff.
And if you ask the girls what they used to do they will have likely worked in the rice fields or a factory before.
Sorry but these girls are not the saints you portray them to be, but like most human beings all they are really concerned with is money and if they can have a bit of fun at the same time then mores the better.
Also don’t forget that most of these women have children and drop them easier than they drop there undies.
The children would probably prefer a mother rather than the occasional money transfer.
Matt – Thanks for your well constructed comment, you are obviously an experienced Thailand man.
Your first point I’d agree that most wouldn’t want to work in a factory.
As far as saints then I don’t think I portrayed them as that, I was more kinda of saying that the majority are not as bad as the mass like to label them.
The problem with the children preferring to have a mother is that the mother would have no money, there’s no social handouts in Thailand.
I realize that we can only go on our personal experiences of Pattaya and mine is quite clearly that most of these girls were not that bad people at all.
Once again thanks for a worthy comment.
Wow these Thai bar girls are so hot…I’m starting to get hot!!!
pattaya one of the best place for hang out!
Thanks you for your information. I preparing my Christmas holiday in this year to go to Pataya. So i have to safe my money for honey from now.
Sounds like the place I neede to be 20 years ago!
Hi,
I know we should respect them as what we respect others too. We live in this world to be sinned and not to be sinned. They are making these because they want to earn money like we do. Hope some guys over there would respect them and not to hurt them
thanks
Spent 8 GLORIOUS days and nights in Thailand a few years back. This post certainly brings back fond memories.
I’m glad I brought back some memories for you but eight nights in Pattaya is never enough if it’s your first time there.
I might have gone to those places in my 20’s if I’d been stationed in Vietnam before 1975 — or the Phillipines up until 1991 when subic bay was closed. I’m not so sure I’d go as an older man. Good advice offered by the author on how to do the women properly however.
So what’s the difference between a ‘working girl’ and a prostitute? I can feel for these ladies in Thailand because they don’t usually have an option but they’re still prostituting themselves, as harsh as it sounds. I like what you’ve posted though about not going back to a bar for a different girl. No matter what these women are doing, they still deserve to be treated with dignity.