Since my first trip to Thailand I have never ceased to be amazed when I go to Pattaya. A thriving beach town that has everything on offer at every turn. Aside from all the beautiful Thai women and the immense choice when it comes to entertaining oneself , Pattaya is the perfect town to get anything done or do nothing at all.

Once you get past the deer in headlights stage of your initial Pattaya experience and settle in you realize that this town is all about tourism and usually tourism is good. But even in the best of times I just can’t seem to fathom how many of these businesses stay above water. The bars and nightlife venues seem to have a handle on it during the best of times but those that are barely making it close fast when tourism is down. That’s to be expected in any tourist town where the nightlife is the staple of entertainment. What’s closed today will reopen eventually under new name and management.

What I can’t get over is the sheer number of ordinary businesses that are replicated block after block and street after street. After a while it looks like a baker made Pattaya using a good bit of dough and a few cookie cutters. Every block has a minimum of one 7/11, one family mart, 2 dentists, 3 massage parlors, one gold shop,  one travel agent, 5 guest houses or hotels, one optician and 1 clinic.  If you live in Pattaya proper you really never need to leave the block you live on because everything you need is there including at least two Thai restaurants and two bars.

If you’ve just realized you are running low on cigarettes and have just passed a 7/11 there is no reason to stop because there is one just ahead of you too, not to mention the family mart just across the street. The convenience stores I can almost understand…they’re conveniantly everywhere you might need one and I have never seen one empty.

I wonder though how some of these businesses make it or what they were thinking when they decided to open shop right next door to a competitor. Take, for instance, the three optical shops in the top picture. Having two competing optical shops next to each other is bad enough but to then open yet another one to make it three is absurd, especially when two of the shops are the same exact franchise!

I’ve never seen a town with so many convenient stores, dentists and hotels in my life. Then again that’s part of Pattaya’s charm and in a way that’s the Thai way, to make sure you are comfortable and have everything you need whenever you need it. No need to worry about choices, just take it as it comes and as you need.

I try not to think about how they stay in business any more when I walk into the opticians place. By the time I get to the counter the beautiful optometrist and her two lovely assistants have already greeted me with a cold glass of orange juice and a smile and I start wondering why more places aren’t like this,