Sex-crazed Pattaya is growing into a mature city

Presumably your claim that Pattaya is awash with foreign criminal gangs has some substance.  But let’s also recall that the seamy side is hardly expanding.
In the last 10 years, the city has spawned large numbers of five-star hotels, extravagant malls and entertainment complexes such as family-orientated water parks.
Sex-for-sale is common enough in certain areas, just as it is in Phnom Penh, Moscow and Los Angeles.  But most observers would agree that places like the Walking Street, Soi 6 and Boyztown are much less busy than they once were.
Meanwhile the local authorities have successfully promoted Pattaya for popular international sports and music events.
The popular press in Britain certainly use Pattaya as a whipping boy to boost their flagging sales. Nothing new in that. Incidentally, the city receives about 10 million tourists a year. More than half are Thai nationals and most of the remainder are Chinese tour groups.
Barry Kenyon
Pattaya