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Pattaya-1980-Thailand-beach-LadyBoy
Pattaya-1980-Thailand-beach-LadyBoy

First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

First trip Pattaya 1980 with my good friend Rob Symonds. We stayed at the Royal Cliff Hotel which had only been open for 2 years. The photo of the long-tail boat in the header was taken in May 2014 however the fishing boats in 1980 were virtuously the same design, as you will see in this post.

Pattaya Thailand March 1980 was like visiting a sleepy fishing village. Even before the start of the Vietnam War, American GIs had put Pattaya on the map as the best beach destination to unwind and indulge. But when large numbers of troops began to arrive at the neighbouring Ban Sattahip Air Base in 1968, things really picked up in Pattaya. Also known as U-Tapao International Airport, the army base at Sattahip was heavily staffed and used by the US Air Force throughout the Vietnam conflict.

Prior to jet skis

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Notice that well before jet skis the little speed boats were powered by a 25 hp engine.

It all started when a group of 500 American soldiers stationed at the military base in Korat were driven to Pattaya on 29th June 1959 for a week of rest and relaxation (R&R). They rented several houses at the southern end of the beach from a prominent Thai, Lord Sunthorn, thus opening Pandora’s Box for this sleepy fishing village. Despite their short stay, the GIs had a great time and raved about the place. The word spread among other American soldiers stationed in the region and Pattaya quickly became a hot alternative to the concrete sprawl of Bangkok.

Where are the deck chairs?

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

The beach was very natural on my first trip to Pattaya in in 1980, hardly any deck chairs & umbrellas.

Para-sailing in 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Some things never change.

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First trip Pattaya 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

To say walking St was different is an understatement, I have seen this photo of mine used many times in the local press & blogs, however I did take it & you can see my friend Rob Symonds walking towards me.

Here is the original print.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980It is used many times by other people without giving credit to me. It was taken in March 1980;

Walking St as it was in 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Life in Pattaya was much simpler then. 🙂

Welcome was still the “word”

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Here are some gorgeous girls waiting for a Farang to buy them a drink, the greeting was the same then as it is now, “hello welcome”. Some things never change. 🙂

Click here to Fast forward nearly 40 years.

Our introduction to Walking St

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980 

Same rules applied then as they do now, goods & services however were much cheaper. 🙂

Royal Cliff Hotel 1980

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

The Royal Cliff was the most modern hotel in Pattaya in 1980. On fact it had a ten pin bowling alley and above that was a body to body soapy massage parlour, my first introduction to that particular pleasure.

Cold beers at the Royal Cliff hotel.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Life did not get much better than this on our first trip to Pattaya.

Get a discount for a room at the Royal Cliff, just use THIS LINK.

How cute is this one?

First trip Pattaya 1980 Sadly however I soon discovered she was a LadyBoy, remember this was my first trip to Thailand & it took me a couple of days to work out who were the females & who were not. 🙂

Another one. 🙂

First trip Pattaya 1980 Looking back now this one looked more like a LadyBoy than the 1st one, by now however I was becoming educated fast. 🙂

No, he didn’t fine me.

First trip Pattaya 1980 Even though I was not wearing a helmet, in fact in those days nobody wore one.

Manila in 1980 on the way to Thailand.

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Here we are in Manila training heavily for our trip to Pattaya.

Thanks for visiting my 1980 post

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Over the years many friends have said that in this photo I look like a Miami drug dealer, people can be so cruel. 🙂

Click here to Fast forward nearly 40 years.

After 40 years I have hardly changed at all. 🙂

First trip Pattaya Thailand March 1980

Thanks for visiting my First trip Pattaya 1980 photo blog.

Old Pics Of Pattaya / Thailand

 

   

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Author: David Herd

My history, particularly over the last 30 years is dominated by overseas travel. I sold my home in Australia October 20th 2011 and have have been living in Thailand since then. I don’t know where the time has gone? It seems like you go to sleep one night, wake up the next morning, and 20 years have flashed by. Not sure how many years I have left, however I have enjoyed a wonderful charmed life, and if it all ended today I would leave this world with no regrets. I was born in Sydney halfway through the last century, started my travels in the 60s with the usual U.K. Europe adventure at the age of 20, back to Australia and worked in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide in Sales & Marketing with multinational companies including Sanyo, Canon & Remington. Engaged to be married 3 times and never quite made it to the alter, finally realized by the mid 90s I was not cut out for "long term relationships" so I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland in January 1987, worked for a couple of banks as a Financial Planner, I took a year off work in 1998 to travel and never went back to full time work again, after 25 fun filled years on the Coast I packed up and moved to Thailand. What is the purpose of this blog? Well I really want to use it to record my travel experiences & to display my photographs, give and receive travel tips, comment on places I visit, restaurants I eat in and use it to replace the autobiography I intended to write, apart from all that it helps me fill in my day. :) I moved to Thailand mainly because I wanted to keep travelling while my health allowed me to, there are huge advantages being closer to all the places I want to visit. Cost of living in Thailand is around 35% of the cost in Australia, plus flights are 50% cheaper because you are much closer to everywhere. ???? Consequently I am able to travel to many more places compared to living in Australia. Having said all that, it is & has always been my intention to return to Australia when my travelling is finished, I predict this will happen around 2021.

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