Pattaya is Dark Under a Curfew

Police patrolled most of Pattaya on Wednesday and Thursday nights enforcing the curfew.

If you were planning a trip to Pattaya this week, you couldn’t have picked a worse time to come. Pattaya, like Bangkok, was placed under a strict night time curfew on Wednesday and Thursday nights after violent riots erupted in Bangkok during the day. It doesn’t look any better for the weekend either. It looks like we’re in for a long haul.

Bangkok is in a complete mess after the riots of Wednesday. That’s right guys, I said riots. Many of Bangkok’s most popular shopping areas were burnt to the ground by red shirt protestors. Five people were killed on Wednesday, bringing the total to 40. I haven’t ever seen it this bad.

All over the country on Wednesday, people were glued to their television sets where scenes of smoke and fire continued throughout the day. It was the Thai version of 9/11.

Up until now the political strife has been confined to Bangkok. Now it’s affecting many provinces. There are 23 of the Northern provinces under curfew at the moment. Even Chang Rai, all the way  up on the Myanmar border, is under curfew.

So far, the problem hasn’t spread to the south.  If you have a steady Pattaya girl already, I suggest you grab your girl, pack up, and head down to Krabi. Go spend some time at Railay Beach. This might be a good time for a girlfriend experience away from Pattaya. Pattaya at the moment is not fun.

In Pattaya, the effects were very subtle at first. Moviegoers at Central Festival were asked to leave the theater and evacuate the mall. Central Festival in Bangkok, meanwhile, was up in flames. Next, the Big C in North Pattaya was evacuated in what later turned out to be a phony bomb threat.

I’m telling you guys, Pattaya sucks right now (I never thought I’d say it). Don’t get me wrong. As of right now, there has been NO violence in Pattaya. But, all of our favorite venues are closed at night, no Pattaya beer bars, no Pattaya gogo bars. You’re not even allowed out of your hotel between 9 pm and 5 am. Are you kidding me? What could be a bigger bummer than that? Maybe next week will bring a lighter mood. Let’s hope so.

In the meantime, if you’re in town, grab a Pattaya girl during the daytime and get ready to hunker down for the night.

Check out our Pattaya Go Goratings and reviews page.