Story here.
The complete list:
- Berlin
- Macau
- Manama (Bahrain)
- New Orleans
- Moscow
- Rio de Janeiro
- Las Vegas
- Amsterdam
- Tijuana
- Pattaya!
Actually, I can’t stand Pattaya. It’s too over-the-top even for me!
Pattaya was one major mindscrew for me. Been there once, not going back. Patong was just about the right level of sinful, though. I miss that place.
(I agree that Amsterdam is pretty messed up as well. I guess I have check out Tijuana, just for the heck of it…)
It helps a lot if you imagine Stefon narrating it.
"From “happy ending” massage parlors, brothels, go-go bars and cabarets with transsexuals to ping-pong dancing theatrics, everything is on display at this beachside resort city. "
Just so folks will know, Patong is in Phuket in the South, not to be confused with Patpong here in Bangkok.
All I can say is that it’s a lazy list, seems to be mainly based on reputation and the stuff tourists get up to (maybe that’s the goal though).
I think Pattaya pretty much deserves its No.1 status.
For those who’ve never been to Pattaya and want proof that it is rightfully No. 1 on this list, do a google image search for ‘soi 6’ or even better ‘pattaya walking street’, but DO NOT DO THIS AT WORK.
I have been to Amsterdam, Pattaya and Tijuana. Had adult adventures in all of them, but believe the stories that are told, because Pattaya is like no other place on Earth.
What he said.
what’s that, you say? there’s still lots of quasi-voluntary sexual servitude going on in Thailand? because, phew, thank goodness! i was worried they might have changed that within the past couple months but nope, looks like we’re good
keep those updates coming, though
Don’t forget the liver pickling amount of alcohol and extreme drug use.
I’ve been to 1-4 on that list (and only those), although I do think that I’ll get to #5 next year. Order seems about right for me. I think Pattaya is kind of depressing. Never really been out there at night. Patong was over the top in my experience, in the “geez, a lot of women… mostly women… are grabbing my junk as I walk down this street”. We got off out of those Sois pretty quickly though, and the rest of the place was just regular level decadent.
Pattaya rules! I was only there once, back in the mid 90s. Fun 24/7. There were more stops on that trip, but Pattaya had it all.
Yeah, some of those pics look a lot like pictures I took when I was there in '88. Actually, Pattaya was my second favourite port call on WestPac (number one was Hong Kong) - far better than Olongapo/Subic Bay, which was supposedly every sailor’s dream…
It’s supposed to be a secret when and where American sailors are sent for shore leave, but it’s known in Thailand weeks ahead of time when they’ll be pulling into Pattaya due to all the sailors contacting their bargirl sweeties and telling them when they’ll be arriving. Really. The town and girls really gear up for that.
Sexual slavery and child prostitution? Ugh, no thanks.
That’s quite exaggerated, but I know some people will believe that no matter what.
Yes. Much American preaching is quite ironic. For every news incident you find about “sexual slavery” in Thailand I think I could find ten incidents from a developed Western country many Dopers are familiar with: the United States of America
Isn’t Pattaya a famous destination for sex tourists? You can’t have sex tourism without the tourists, including plenty of Americans. Sounds like an incredibly depressing place.
Of course it happens in the U.S., it happens everywhere. Condoning it is a whole other problem.
Okay. And? What makes you think that there is necessarily any correlation between the number of incidents you personally have been made aware of and the number of incidents that actually have occurred?
I meant to refer to news accounts, visible via Googling.
But, w/r to my own personal observations, I do have enough experience to realize that forced prostitution in U.S.A. is hugely bigger than most people think. In Thailand, many prostitutes are motivated by poverty or debt, but that isn’t what is usually meant by “forced prostitution.”