Pattaya’s most famous landmark has again been closed off at night to all vehicles, including motorbikes whilst infrastructure is under repair. City Hall has erected a notice at the main Beach Road entrance which explains that “road improvements” (apparently resurfacing) are being made. No time scale has yet been given.
At the entrance area for about 100 yards the concrete is being dug up once again after bulldozers and tractors performed a similar function last year in the name of burying electricity cables underground, a project still ongoing from time to time. But Walking Street is still open to pedestrian business and the entertainment palaces, especially in the middle section near the Diamond Arcade, are well-staffed with beckoning maidens and security staff.
The most recent Walking Street upheaval probably won’t deter potential customers if only because so many thoroughfares in Pattaya, including most main roads, are currently under repair or renovation at some point. “Visitors have gotten used to this kind of inconvenience,” says motorbike taxi driver Khun Wee, and traffic chaos is good for business as we can weave in and out.”
Walking Street, which faces stiff nightery competition from other entertainment districts such as Soi Buakhao, has taken full advantage of the legal ambiguity which allows only “restaurants” to be open. Although about half the gogo clubs are still closed, the others have managed to stay within the law by blacking out their stages for gogo dancers and allowing staff to mingle with customers while handing out nuts and crisps.
Pattaya entertainment managers are confident that the government is on the verge of allowing a full opening in tourist-orientated towns and cities from next month, possibly with a later closing time than the present midnight clampdown. If so, Walking Street will be virtually back to normal and ready for the summer rush. But no more free nuts and crisps.
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