Walking Street Renamed

[Pattaya One]

More Gawk and Talk, less Hawk and Walk

In a little-publicised shock move, Walking Street has been officially renamed by City Hall.

Keen to reflect the changing nature of Pattaya Tourism, and supported by TAT, proud of their success in filling cheap hotels with impecunious sub-continental tourists, poorer than most Thais themselves, it has been renamed GAWKING Street, narrowly pipping “Hawking Street” which some felt better-reflected the earthy commercial nature of much of the “ten-on-one ugly one” negotiations which are rapidly becoming a new tourist group activity along the strip.

“Whoreking Street” was deemed too offensive to the burgeoning freelance trade.

As the cheapest entertainment for broke tourists available on Gawking Street (aside from watching beggars beg) is watching teenage kids trying to break dance, these street spectacles now attract record crowds, second only to hordes of slavering swarthy men looking at ugly Russian dancers in upstairs window displays, and ogling, pawing and photographing the girls with placards outside bars like they’re in a zoo (which I suppose they are).

Apparently Pattaya’s casualty departments are full of innocent strollers with severely bruised arms caused by the new tourists who barge their way along the street, staring left and right, but never ahead, at the unaffordable wonders of Pattaya.

One bar owner lamented “The new broke tourists are even less inclined than Russians to spend money and buy booze in bars”.

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