I'm watching media reports in Sydney as I prepare for a 6 week visit to Thailand before heading to London.
As I check news reports on the net I find foreign correspondents based in Bangkok file stories worldwide referring to "seedy" Pattaya where the Asian Summit had to be cancelled last weekend because of riots by protestors (although no-one was killed as in the G20 protests in London)
Over and over on TV..the reports are prefaced.."seedy" Pattaya.."seedy" Bangkok.
Pattaya is a favourite of mine mainly because it's only a 2 hour drive from Bangkok plus plenty of ex-pat friends live there. There are far more exotic spots but who can be bothered with endless flights ?.
Pattaya is also home to about 50,000 European ex-pats attracted by a cheap lfestyle, the ability to purchase a luxury home for an eight of the cost back home and 100's of beautiful golf courses. All the Thai Royal Family have homes there. The Thai upper classes flock there on weekends. There are hundreds of 5 & 4 star hotels catering for visiting families and the emerging middle-class Russian familes who flock there on package tours (although the word "Russian" conjurs up more sinister tones in newspapers).
I know a French decorator who has designed all Elton John's homes-he has a salon in Pattaya & Paris. He keeps 2 Francis Bacon paintings in his Pattaya house. I think he's hoping he may get the contract for the entire Ocean 1 Tower condos ,Asia's tallest building,being built on the Pattaya beach where it's rumoured Elton has purchased the penthouse.
Indeed..HRH Princess Eugenie partied there on the beach 2 weeks ago. Maybe she went to one of the 30 fine restuarants that rival anything elsewhere in the world.
There are also go-go bars, prostitutes and plenty of them, but then is more of everything in Thailand. There's even a large gay section that helpfuly has a large neon sign at the entrance: BoyzTown!.
Meanwhile I take a phone call from a visiting Bahamian friend-she has been investigating property investments in Sydney. She has to rush back as her visa runs out but wants me to look at a gay sauna for sale in Sydney's Oxford Street that has "sex license". She'd never heard of a license but I assure her it's true and then locate the Murdoch paper where the add is.
I note there are also adverts for around 45 brothels and about 300 men and women sex workers. That's just the inner city. Every suburb has at least 2 0r 3 registered brothels but many more unregistered ones. And a man got beaten to death at the airport a fortnight ago, in front of 100's of passengers in broad daylight. No police, no witnesses.
I re-call working about 20 years ago in London for an ever expanding group of working ladies. Driving them to clients (judges etc), putting up adverts in newsagents.I never realised London was home to so many bordellos-hundred's of them!
I've written to various members of the Fourth Estate requesting their definition of "seedy". I wonder if I'll an answer ?
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