I had a similar experience
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2717168]A buddy was walking down Pattaya Klang on Monday going to the bank. He passed a soi dog. The dog came up behind him and bit him on the back of his leg. Good thing he always wears pants and socks and shoes. The bite did not break his skin. I would have been a gonner, always wearing shorts and sandals. He went to the doctor and they gave him 2 rabies shots. He has to go for a series of them for the next few weeks.[/QUOTE]I was in Pattaya a few weeks ago. My buddy and I were walking to a French restaurant, L'Auberge, for dinner. Out of the blue, a pack of 4 dogs rushed towards us, ready to tear us apart. Luckily, both my buddy and I stopped on a dime and faced those dogs. Thank God they stopped too, within a couple of feet. Then slowly we both backed off and we were able to continue on our way. My buddy lives in Pattaya and told me that he encounters this situation on a regular basis.
My recent stay in Pattaya
I have been going every year to SEA since 2003, sometimes twice a year. This long standing trend was interrupted by Covid, but I was still lucky. I only missed 2021. I had last visited in January of 2020, well before they closed the borders on March 2020.
I did not know what to expect from this trip. From reading ISG, I was not expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I managed to have a good time.
On this trip, my plan was to visit Singapore for 4 days, Bangkok 4 days, Pattaya for 5 days, then back to Singapore for 2 days before heading back home. Singapore was the least fun part of this trip, because Geylang was pretty much closed. I had a good time in Bangkok (see trip report).
I arrived in Pattaya on a Thursday afternoon, from Bangkok. It was hot and muggy in Pattaya. I checked in at LK Empress hotel, on Soi 12 & Beach Road. After some rest, I took a stroll on Beach Road around 5 pm. It was relatively quiet, but I kept walking up and down the beach after such a long absence. Eventually, I reached the Pattaya Beer Garden, at the entrance of Walking Street. It was starting to get dark and I was hungry. A fellow expat was joining me for dinner. We sat down, had a few drafts, ate dinner and started reminiscing about the past.
After we finished our dinner, we decided to take a stroll on walking street. The scene was subdued, to say the least. Many buildings were abandoned and left in ruin. They were redoing the pavement and they were halfway done. At this time of the year, it rains on a regular basis there. It had rained during the day, and the ground was soft, with a wet dirt. Hence, it was preferable to avoid walking on the street and the sidewalks were not wide enough to accommodate the large crowd. That was not much fun.
Some of the Gogo bars were open and the girls were outside, chanting the welcaam slogan. Actually, I would say most of the Gogo bars were open but not busy. After one tour, we decided to leave the area and went back to Beach road. Walked for a while and my buddy wanted to call it a night. He left and I continued on my own. As I got close to my hotel, I spotted a Free Lancer (FL) on the road. After some negotiations, I decided to take her to my hotel, 1 K bahts for ST. She was average at best.
The FL scene was very active, and started around sunset. I was helping myself every night with a different FL. The typical price asked was 1 K bahts.
I also checked during the day the body massage on Soi Honey, close to Soi Diana. I went there 3 times during my stay and I was very pleased with my selection, one repeat and 2 new girls.
I did not do any LT (long time) as I prefer to sleep alone these past few years.
In addition, my expat buddy and I checked out Tree Town and we were both impressed with the atmosphere. We ended up visiting that place every night. However, it was very crowded on Saturday night, but much less hectic on week days.
Overall, I had a good time in Pattaya, and I would encourage folks to go visit at this time. I plan to come back in the winter, January / February, for my usual once a year visit.