Sin City
Yesterday I was shooting in Pattaya, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok. I was trying to find out more about the repercussions on the tourism industry from the political turmoil in Bangkok. There are fears that cancellations will severely hurt the sector this year, which makes up about 6 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP. And Pattaya was a nearby place where I thought I could get a sense of the effects of the ongoing crisis.
And no doubt, anyone with a baseline familiarity with Thailand knows that Pattaya is famous as an anything-goes-free-for-all place. It’s easy to laugh at the headlines in the local English tabloids which sometimes read like a police blotter. Organised crime, random crime, the sex industry, drugs– you name it, Pattaya has a rep for it, though recent efforts have been made to make the place more family-friendly and certainly I saw the same kinds of tourist I would see in any other Thai resort towns– families, vacationing couples and friends.
But what I wasn’t prepared for was the sight of something that is fairly common in Pattaya. In fact, locals say they hardly blink anymore when they hear of it….Stuff like this is an everyday occurrence apparently.
My crew and I had just finished an interview with a travel agent and we stepped out on to the side street when an ambulance drove up to a bar about 100 metres in front of us. The girls were standing outside and a crowd had begun to gather. A man had slashed his wrists in the bar. Suicide attempts like this and also leaping off balconies are run of the mill in Sin City. I stood back to let the EMTs do their job and also to avoid rubbernecking. My cameraman, who has been to Pattaya dozens of times and has seen events like this before, went forward to find out what happened. A bystander seeing his camera and thinking him local TV just said, “Wow, you got here so fast today!”
September 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Gd day 2 u, Anasuya;
To be honest, it’s not really something out of the ordinary coming fm a drug, sex & crime infested place such as Pattaya. Perhaps, one wud expect such ‘incidents’ to occur wherever there’s a hotbed of activities concerning drugs, crime & sex. Some may just be drawn out of curiosity or as being ‘passive’ participants for cheap thrills. Others may just get themselves a little ‘involved’ as a means of running away fm the realities tt they cannot possibly cope.
Anyway, I wud like to believe tt the authorities or the local residents are tryin’ to restrict these vices & not make it easily accessible especially to the young. Pattaya, like so many other resorts in Thailand, is a place where one gets to chill out, be it wz friends, families or alone. And yes, chillin’ out doesn’t count havin’ these ’services’ readily assembled for one to sample. A couple of drinks by the beach wz a nice companion wud do just fine for me. Cheers!
September 17th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi.
Suicides are not very common in Thailand. Is there some demography available on the victims? Age, gender and where they come from?
About 80% of the Thais living and working in Pattaya are not from Pattaya. Information from local foundations places many workers’ hometowns in other, poorer parts of Thailand, particularly the Northeast where I am working currently.
There is much work among non-profit organisations and foundations in trying to educate the young, especially high-risk males/females about life in Pattaya as many see it as their ticket out of poverty.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
You write so well inspite of the fact that English is not your first language. Do you spent most of your childhood in Thailand and where do you learn English?. I also watch your commentary on Channelnewsasia & 5 and am impressed with your fluency and confidence.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Miss Anasuya,
Unfortunately, suicide and attempted suicide are an all too common occurrence in Pattaya. Men from around the world come here in search of a life mate they may not have been able to find at home. They meet a girl in a bar and fall in love…or more appropriately, lust. They go home, sell their homes, cash in their retirement and move here. Then they give the girl they are in love with everything they want and ask for. When the money runs out, so does the girl. The unsuspecting foreigner is left with nothing. Then reality strikes home and many can’t handle it and the fact they have lost it all. Many if not all are too proud to call home and ask for help and end up taking the proverbial long walk on a short pier…or balcony.
It is a sad fact of life. Pattaya has changed so much from the sleepy fishing village it was when I first came here 37 years ago.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Hi,
Have watched you on CNA. Your diction is fabulous. Love your presentation. Keep it up! Cheers.
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
yes, pattaya…
been there when i was 20
guess it is still the same after a decade and a half!