Stilettos, beer and sex: Thai resort's enduring notoriety

Sitting on a stool under purple neon lights, Emily waited for clients in the back of a bar in Pattaya, a notorious Thai seaside resort back in the spotlight over a sordid murder.

The sex worker the other so-called bar girls call "Mum" arrived in Pattaya more than 20 years ago, but remains on her guard with every encounter.

"I'm worried and that's why I'm still alive," she told AFP.

The naked, battered body of a 17-year-old Thai girl was found in a suitcase near a railway track last weekend, just days after she arrived in Pattaya.

A 45-year-old Australian man was arrested at Bangkok airport as he tried to leave the country, and later charged with her murder.

Emily said she was not shocked. 

She has seen several similar killings over the years, none of which seem to deter girls from rural areas from trying to make a living in Pattaya. 

"They see videos on TikTok and think it's easy to earn good money," she said.

"But it takes time to understand how it works, how to speak to clients. It's not easy -- the reality is different."

- Bring more diversity -

Scantily dressed and wearing stiletto heels, hundreds of girls, some apparently very young, form a seedy guard of honour under the lights of Soi 6, a street in one of Pattaya's red-light districts.

Once a sleepy fishing village, Pattaya was transformed by the Vietnam War in the 1960s, when American soldiers on leave began coming for rest and recreation.

Two hours' drive from Bangkok, the seaside resort has since become one of the world's epicentres of sex tourism.

It is trying to shed this image.

"Of course everybody thinks the city is about entertainment, nightlife," said Mayor Poramet Ngampichet, who was recently re-elected. 

"But actually in the last four years, we try to bring more diversity."

He said the city is trying to reinvent itself through major sporting and cultural events, such as the Tomorrowland music festival, and promoting more family and wellness activities.

"It's true that they're trying to improve its image, to make it safer and more welcoming," confirmed Belgian Damien Joine, owner of a small bar-restaurant. 

"Security guards patrol frequently, and as soon as there's a minor disturbance, they calm things down," he said.

- 'Rock bottom' - 

In a quiet corner away from the brightly-lit tourist centre, the Health and Opportunity Network has been supporting sex workers for about 15 years -- and does not expect radical change.

"Pattaya actually offers various forms of tourism. The beaches are beautiful, and there are water parks, attractions, and zoos," said staff member Orawan Fungfoosri. 

"However, based on a well-established reputation spanning 40 to 50 years, tourists from all over the world know exactly what they are coming to Pattaya to experience. 

"It is primarily a hub for sex tourism."

Prostitution is officially illegal in Thailand, but it is essential to the economy of Pattaya, whose wider area counts more than 300,000 residents.

And it is a lifeline for many women with no prospects who can earn up to 10 times the average Thai salary on its streets.

Ann, a 37-year-old sex worker originally from western Thailand, arrived in Pattaya 10 years ago after fleeing "issues with loans, drugs and things that made me run away from home".

"Most people who come to Pattaya hit rock bottom in their lives," said the former hairdresser.

The latest grim murder would likely change nothing, she said.

"The news about Pattaya is just like fermented fish -- no matter how strong the smell is when you open the jar, people still come back."

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© Agence France-Presse