Stay safe - Pattaya
Emergencies
Most telephone numbers in this article are shown in "international" format. To Emergencies
Police: dial 191
Fire: dial 199
Highway Police: dial 193
Bangkok Pattaya Hospital Trauma Centre ambulance service: dial
038259911
Marine safety
Marine Department (Ministry of Transport): dial 1199
Marine Police: dial 038423666 or 038321422
Pattaya Sea Rescue Centre: dial 038488134
Police
The main police station is on Beach Road (between Soi 7 and Soi 8). Smaller posts include one at the northern end of Jomtien Beach Road (dial 038232330 /1) and another at the junction of Jomtien Beach Road and Chaiyaphruk Road; for
Banglamung Police Station dial 038221331 or 038221800.
To contact the Tourist Police dial 1155 (this supersedes the old "1699" number) or visit their station on Second Road (between Soi 4 and the Grand Beer Plaza) or
their mobile minivan office which sets up every evening at the junction of Walking Street / South Pattaya Road / Beach Road. Their e-mail address is tourist@police.gov.th.
Accidents
For most people, the most hazardous aspect of visiting Pattaya is the traffic. The top three accident black spots are:
Dolphin Roundabout (intersection of Beach Road, Second Road, North Pattaya Road and Pattaya-Naklua Road)
junction of Beach Road and Central Pattaya Road
junction of Beach Road / Walking Street and South Pattaya Road
Most accidents in Pattaya involve motorbikes, and are especially common late at night and in the early hours of the
morning, when drink-driving is a significant problem. Be careful on the roads, even if you're just crossing one on foot (and be equally careful both on and off pedestrian crossings, as Thai drivers generally ignore them, and many
foreigners seem to approach them with the hope of scoring double points). When riding in the back of an otherwise empty songthaew, it's probably safest to sit directly behind the cab.
In the event of an accident, the injured are
usually bundled into the back of the next available songthaew or pickup truck or even onto the back of a motorbike (now you know why Pattaya has so many songthaews, why Thailand is the world's biggest pickup truck market, and why so many
Thais ride motorbikes).
A completely different genre of traffic-related accident was highlighted by a fatality in January 2006 when a surfacing diver was hit by a speedboat propeller near Ko Laan. Unfortunately, the popularity of
Pattaya's beaches combined with a relatively relaxed attitude to safety concerns in general means that swimmers and divers (and even sunbathers on the beach! [65]) being struck by speedboats and jetskis is not such a rare occurrence.
Bangkok Pattaya Hospital (on Sukhumvit Road) Trauma Centre operates an emergency ambulance service and has a dedicated emergency calls line - dial 038259911
Pattaya International Hospital (on Soi 4) also has a 24-hour emergency
service - dial 038428374 or 038428375
Crime
Like most of Thailand, Pattaya is generally safe for tourists and violent crime such as mugging or robbery is unusual, with the exception of jewelry and bag snatching (usually with the thieves on motorcycles, and often with the victims on
motorcycles too) which is endemic.
The nightlife/entertainment areas have a lot of activity and are generally very safe - however pickpockets are a problem, especially on Walking Street when it's crowded. The beach side of Beach
Road used to be worth avoiding late at night, however the entire length of both the promenade and beach are now floodlit, and although it's still a popular haunt for "freelance" prostitutes, it's now much busier from dusk through
until dawn and by no means a "no-go" area.
As always, travellers should take extra care in all poorly lit or more remote areas.
Drinking
The legal minimum age for customers in drinking establishments and discos is 20. This is rarely enforced for foreigners, but is frequently enforced for locals, including those accompanying foreigners. Raids to enforce closing times and/or
check for drugs and underage patrons or employees occasionally occur, usually at or around the official closing time (normally 01:00). Foreigners are generally not the target of these raids and are usually asked to produce ID (photocopy of
photo/ID page of passport will normally suffice) and then allowed to leave; however there is a small chance that they may be tested for drugs.
Scams
As with most tourist districts, Pattaya does have more than its fair share of scams and touts, although generally less overall than found in Bangkok.
Many visitors will encounter young Thai ladies armed with a clipboard and a smile
enquiring as to their nationality, often with an aside along the lines of "please help me to earn 30 baht". The suggestion is that the visitor completes a tourism questionnaire (which includes supplying their hotel name and room
number) with the incentive that they just might win a price - the reality is that everyone gets a call to say that they are a "winner", however the prize can only be collected by attending a very lengthy time-share presentation.
Note that the lady with the clipboard doesn't get her 30 baht if you don't attend the presentation; also that only English-speaking nationalities are targeted.
Another recurrent scam on the pavements of Pattaya (and Bangkok)
involves foreigners - sometimes accompanied by small children - who claim to be on the last day of their vacation in Thailand, and having just packed all their belongings into one bag in preparation for their flight home, lost everything
when that bag was stolen. Now cash is urgently needed in order to get to the airport in a hurry and arrange a replacement ticket for his/her return flight in a few hours time.
From time to time there are also reports of tourists
being drugged and then robbed - usually by something being slipped into their drink (drink up before going to the bathroom!), and even by prostitutes supposedly applying mysterious substances to their nipples (which was blamed for a spate
of heart attack deaths a few years back).
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FIRST BAR
soi chaiyapoon
is now open.
Come take a drink !
