Veterans of the ’80s and ’90s remember a cleaner, safer, more sincere Pattaya before the boom. PATTAYA, Thailand – For some longtime foreign residents and return visitors, Pattaya was once the kind of place where you could fall asleep drunk by the side of the road and wake up safe in a hotel room — your wallet and gold untouched. “I remember back in the late ’80s,” one expat shared. “I must have passed out at the side of the road. When I woke up, I was in a nearby hotel with all my belongings. Reception told me, ‘Ooo last night you ki mowe mak mark’—apparently some nice locals helped me get back safely. You don’t forget something like that.” These memories are part of a growing chorus from long-term visitors and expats who say Pattaya’s most precious qualities — the trust, friendliness, and feeling of being treated like a guest — are harder to find these days. “The bars were so welcoming back in the ’90s,” another added. “You’d walk in and get flower garlands, cold towels to wipe your neck, girls smiling and laughing without asking for drinks. If you bought them a drink, fine. But they never asked if you’d get one for their friends too. It was polite and respectful.” Others agreed the change goes beyond surface hospitality. “I loved it back then,” one said. “It was hard to find stuff like milk or decent coffee, and Walking Street didn’t even exist yet — just a gravel lot. But it was cleaner, more relaxed, more real.” One Navy veteran recalled his first visits in 1981 and 1982. “Pattaya was small and most of the few clubs had ladyboys mixed in with regular women, so getting away and into Bangkok was the move. I returned in 1992, and Pattaya had boomed. I’ve been coming and going since then, even lived here five years. But now it feels in decline. The glory days — from the ’90s to about 2010 — feel gone. It’s still OK, but it’s not the same.” While nostalgia may tint some of these reflections, many agree that economic changes have shifted the mood. One regular noted, “The way bar girls get paid now makes the drink scrounging worse. If they don’t hit their quota, they make nothing, and bar owners penalize them for skipping work. It’s a broken system.” Another chimed in: “To be fair, a drink a day isn’t that hard. And if they can’t manage that, maybe it’s the wrong line of work. Most jobs fire you after skipping twice.” The shifting atmosphere has not gone unnoticed. “Even in 2025, bar owners act like your best friend the moment you walk in,” a regular visitor said dryly. “You can always count on that kind of friendship.” Others lamented the change in tourist behavior. “Fat, drunk, and bald Europeans expect Thai nannies to watch their phones and money while they pass out in the street,” one Thai resident remarked. “Maybe the locals got tired of all that. The world owes you nothing.” Another visitor added, “You reap what you sow. This is not your country. If you want to be treated like a guest, behave like one. Pay well. Respect the people. It’s that simple.” And yet, the pull of nostalgia remains strong. From the days when KFC and Pizza Hut were novelties and shopping for a water heater meant a trip to Chonburi, veterans of Pattaya still remember the city with a kind of bittersweet affection. “Back then,” said one, “it really was the Land of Smiles. No more, sadly.” As one seasoned expat concluded, “Everything changes with time. But the feeling of being welcomed, of being safe and treated with warmth — that’s the part money can’t buy. And that’s what I miss most.”  (Photo by Jetsada Homklin)