Police Arrest Japanese Porn Filmaker

A Japanese pornographic film crew was arrested while shooting a porno movie on Pattaya beach.

Police in the seaside city of Pattaya raided make-shift huts on the beach near Jittaphawan Temple in Banglamung district, after an inspection found Japanese and Thai men working for an illegal pornographic film.

The incident took place at a closed down restaurant, Tawanlaeng with three make-shift huts at the back.

Police found three Thai men in the act with a Japanese women with others filming. All were taken to the police station.

The police confiscated the evidence, including 700,000 baht worth of film-making equipment, some DVD porno films, movie scripts, and condoms.

The accused, identified only as Takeshi, confessed to being the film director. The Japanese woman, a porn star, earns 20,000 baht per day, and the Thai men earn 3,000 baht per day.

The film crew was hired by SOD Company for three million baht and chose Pattaya beach for the filming location.

The police are investigating all the accused before bringing them up for prosecution.

Australian Woman Charged for Lying about Rape

The case of an Australian woman raped by youngsters in Pattaya was reversed as evidence showed that the story was most likely a lie.

When Mathilda Cafsics, a 25-year-old Australian tourist, made a complaint to the police over the weekend that she was raped by Thai men, the case defamed Thailand and Pattaya's tourism image.

However, Police Colonel Noppadol Wongnom, Superintendent of the Pattaya Police Station disclosed that the evidence and the complaint of the accuser did not match.

The evidence showed that the accuser was actually staying in a hotel in Central Pattaya with a Thai man when she said the rape occurred. After that, she left the hotel without paying and disappeared.

It was just known that the Australian woman has traveled back to her country. The police are searching for the Thai man who was spending time with her for further interrogation and are preparing an arrest warrant for the 25-year-old Australian woman, charging her with making a false statement and defaming Thailand.

Crime in Pattaya

Historically, Pattaya has had comparatively high levels of crime, sometimes attributed to organised crime in, and preying on, the sex industry as well as the easy availability of tourist cash in a country that had a per capita Gross National Income of US$7500 in 2005. In recent years, Pattaya has served as a hideaway for foreigners with connections to organized crime in their home countries, and dozens of Thais have been murdered in gang-related disputes.^[7] The authorities also intermittently crack down on underage sex workers and their clients and a number of high profile arrests have been made in recent years.

Visitors are more likely to encounter petty crime, usually limited to pickpocketing and confidence tricks, particularly in and around major tourist areas such as Jomtien and Pattaya Beaches and on the "baht buses", than in other Thai tourist destinations. To help curb this problem, a special Tourist Police division has been established to aid foreign tourists (farang) who are victims of crime.

Pattaya, along with the rest of Thailand, is also known for its abundance of pirated DVD movies, music CDs and software.

Source: Wikipedia

Property in Pattaya

Property is big business in Pattaya, especially property development. Many new buildings have gone up in recent years, and some people think the market might be oversupplied.

Some buildings are put up with little respect for planning permission and a building was recently in dispute due to being too close to the shore line and too close to another condo block.

There is also a market in Villas but its growth is limited due to ownership restrictions on foreigners.

A casino is also being considered for Jomtien area.

Source: Wikipedia

Nightlife in Pattaya

Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife. The city has hundreds of beer bars, go go bars, and night clubs/discotheques. The most famous include Tonys, Marine Disco, X-Zyte, Lucifer, Hammer. New clubs and bars are opening all the time. The world famous Walking Street is the center of the Pattaya's nightlife.

Many bars, discos and nightclubs, as well as several large massage parlours, are venues for sex workers. Other massage parlors exist which provide traditional non-sexual Thai massages.

Since the "social order" crackdown of 2004, there are fewer sex shows (such as the ping pong shows). Depending on the enforcement climate, go go dancers may be seen fully nude, topless or in bikinis on different days or weeks. However, with the political crisis, there is little incentive to be strict about the former laws.

Muay Thai (Thai boxing) matches aimed at tourists can be seen at several open-air beer bar complexes.

Boyztown, Soi Sunee Plaza, and the Jomtien Complex areas are famous for their many beer bars, cabarets and go-go clubs catering to a gay clientele. Pattaya probably has the largest concentration of gay oriented establishments in Thailand; many specialize in specific types of hosts (slim, muscular, effeminate, etc.), while others have a broad range of men available. There is very little in the way of gay nightclubs or bars in the Western sense; the vast majority of places are no different than the venues that target heterosexuals, both feature sexual entertainment.

Pattaya is known for its cabaret revues featuring kathoeys (male-to-female transsexuals), with Alcazar and Tiffany's being the largest and most elaborate.

Another important, but understated aspect of Pattaya are the foreign restaurants. Often run by expatriates, most offer food at prices far below those found in Bangkok, Samui or Phuket.

Source: Wikipedia

Economy of Pattaya

Other activities include golfing at the area's many golf courses, and there are 21 golf courses within 1 hour of Pattaya, go-cart racing, visiting the construction site of an elaborate private wooden temple known as Sanctuary of Truth, and different theme parks and zoos such as Mini Siam, and Elephant Village.

The private Sri Racha Tiger Zoo features several hundred tigers and thousands of alligators as well as some other animals. It has often been criticized for the animals' living conditions, and a worker was killed by tigers in 2004^[5]. There was a major bird flu outbreak at the zoo later that year^[6].

The Vimantaitalay tourist submarine takes customers underwater to see corals and marine life just a few kilometers offshore. There are many boat trips from an hour to all day trips available, mostly leaving from Bali Hai Pier, near Walking Street.

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden is located some 15 kilometers east of Pattaya. The 500-acre site has well maintained botanical gardens and an orchid nursery. Moreover the facility has lively cultural shows in a Thai village setting. In addition trained chimpanzees and elephants are seen at the garden.

Other attractions in Pattaya: The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, Elephant Village, Pattaya Park Beach Resort Water Park and Funny Land Amusement Park, Siriporn Orchid Farm, Underwater World Pattaya (world class aquarium), Alankarn cultural show, Sriracha Tiger Zoo, Bottle Art Museum, Mini Siam, Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, and Walking Street.

Some tourists take daytrips to nearby Rayong for beautiful beaches, as well as Koh Samet island.

Source: Wikipedia

Transportation to Pattaya

Pattaya is about 1½ hours by road from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Pattaya is also served through U-Tapao International Airport which is 45 minutes drive from the city. By road, it is served by Sukhumvit Road and Motorway 7 from Bangkok. Intercity transport is usually through one of two bus stations, one for Bangkok and one for other destinations.

Until recently the only transport within town were private songthaews. However, a public bus service has begun in 2006.