Pattaya before it was Pattaya

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Gaybutton
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Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Gaybutton »

Pattaya One has posted a gallery of 20 photos of Pattaya during the 1960s and 1970s. A little different then. Have a look:

http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/2264 ... rettyPhoto
Oliver

Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Oliver »

Fascinating. The question for me is, what have we gained and what have we lost? Assuming of course, that there were plenty of cute guys around...
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Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Gaybutton »

Oliver wrote:Assuming of course, that there were plenty of cute guys around...
I'm sure there were plenty of willing cute guys - even long before gay bars and internet, especially if you had money. Just like any other rural Thai area, even now, your job - find them. It probably wasn't difficult at all.
Jun

Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Jun »

Oliver wrote:Fascinating. The question for me is, what have we gained and what have we lost? Assuming of course, that there were plenty of cute guys around...
These and other old photos of Pattaya remind me of Sihanoukville. All the under developed beaches & so on.
So a long bus journey down the coast would be one way to get some of the old flavour back.

Whilst there are thatched buildings on some parts of the beach there, of course you are much less likely to see a lovely Traction Avant parked in the shade next to one of them.
thaifarang

Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by thaifarang »

In the 1972 Beach road picture I see already Farang. So Pattaya was already a holiday destination back then?
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Trongpai
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Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Trongpai »

I have no personal experience before 1985 but from what I have learned and have been told by some old timers, Thailand and Pattaya specifically was primarily a staging area and R and R location for the US military. Starting in the 50's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_(airline) and growing to a peek in 1965 and gradual decline through the fall of Saigon 1975. http://www.natickhighwebdesign.com/advw ... eline.html

The US military was pretty homophobic back then and personnel both enlisted and civilian if found to be gay were discharged or fired. Lady bars, massage and street trade were limited to straight solders. I did meet a closeted gay US Army Sargent who told me that boys were available out the 'back door' but it was very scary and if you were suspect of being gay you were investigated.

It looks like the gay scene emerged in the early 80's. Between 1975 and 1980 there's little going on. There were a few gay bars in Bangkok, The Garden, Harries and perhaps a few others but Pattaya was still in flux between a R and R destination and what it gradually morphed into. http://www.tatnews.org/history/

I'm not sure you can put an exact date on the emergence of Thai Gay tourism but early to mid 80's it starts. It grew and expanded up to I would say 2001 and then a slow retraction to where we are today. http://thairainbowarchive.anu.edu.au/
http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism.asp

Doug

Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Doug »

I started coming to Pattaya in 1988. Then, the boys had smooth, unblemished skin with no tattoos. They all had sculpted bodies with no 7-11 pudgy bellies. They had an charming innocence and an outward respect for older farangs. They found fun and activities everywhere not just on their cells and tablets. They needed us more back then. I'm sounding like an old, colonial farang but that's the way it was. And I liked it so much more.
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Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

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thaifarang wrote:In the 1972 Beach road picture I see already Farang. So Pattaya was already a holiday destination back then?
I suppose it was. Notice in the same photo that many of the business signs are written in English.
Jun

Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Jun »

Doug wrote:the boys had smooth, unblemished skin with no tattoos. They all had sculpted bodies with no 7-11 pudgy bellies.
Doug wrote:They found fun and activities everywhere not just on their cells and tablets.
Pattaya back then sounds even better than it does now.
However, even with the internet, it took me long enough to find Pattaya. Without the internet, who knows how long it might have taken ?
There I was foolishly content to take holidays in Europe. You were obviously much better informed back then.
(Although in 1988, I was still a student, so budget would also be a factor.)
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Re: Pattaya before it was Pattaya

Post by Alex »

Doug wrote:I started coming to Pattaya in 1988.
That's actually an interesting question. Back in 1988, how did you learn about what Pattaya had to offer?
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