Matt Owens Rees

3 Dangerous Footpaths in Pattaya.

Visitors, both Thai and farang are not only criticising Pattaya’s bureaucrats over poor planning, but also pointing out that regulations to ensure the safety of pedestrians are simply not being enforced.

Despite previous promises, city officials in Pattaya have failed to prioritise the safety of those who walk its sidewalks. They remain dangerous for all who use them. It’s one reason why tourists are not coming back to Pattaya.

A Typical day on Pattaya’s badly planned footpaths

Thais and visitors criticise local officials for at least 3 dangerous footpaths in Pattaya.

They see riders on motorbikes race illegally along footpaths, dodging walkers every day.

Street sellers clutter the sidewalks with their advertising boards and tables, just to invite passers-by to stop and eat. Not an enjoyable meal when there are bikers speeding past.

One walker said, “there’s no enforcement. You’re constantly either watching your back for a motorbike or stepping over junk just to walk twenty metres or so”.

This photo shoes officials talking about the sand that’s used as a base for the paving slabs. When there’s heavy rain and flooding, the sand rises and the slabs lift up. If walking at night, you won’t see the danger. You’ll trip and fall over, sometimes receiving serious injuries.

One resident said, “When it floods, the sand washes away and the pavements collapse. What’s missing is proper drainage. Rainwater should be channeled out to sea every 100 metres to protect the pavement. And this is just one of the 3 dangerous footpaths in Pattaya”.

Another photo. Another set of town bureaucrats pointing and talking.

This link, in my Beyond the Bamboo series, shows a different side of Pattaya.

Just click and paste in your browser if Ctrl and click fails.




https://mattowensrees.com/2025/10/01/foreigners-fighting-in-pattaya/

I hope you find that as interesting as this article on 3 dangerous footpaths in Pattaya.

How officials in other countries deal with bad planning and enforcement

In other coastal towns, particularly in Europe and America, pedestrian safety takes first place in planning.

Footpaths are wider, measures are taken to prevent damage by flooding. Enforcement, unlike in Pattaya and other towns in Thailand, is strong.

Alcohol regulations continually change in The Land of Smiles.

Copy the https link below into your browser for the latest government alcohol regulations affecting tourism in Pattaya if Ctrl and click fails.

https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/pattaya-thailands-nightlife-struggles-amid-new-alcohol-regulations-tourism-businesses-and-workers-feel-the-impact/

Pattaya, Thailand’s Nightlife Struggles Amid New Alcohol Regulations: Tourism, Businesses, and Workers Feel the Impact – Travel And Tour World

https://mattowensrees.com/2025/10/28/lying-is-essential-in-thai-culture/

(If using Ctrl and Click fails, try copying and pasting the above https address into your browser)

The internal link above, from the Beyond the Bamboo Curtain series of true stories about Thai culture and lifestyle, shows another characteristic of the Thai–to lie as a way of expressing freedom to do as one wants. In 3 Dangerous Footpaths in Pattaya, we saw the bureaucrats deliberately confuse the problem of their failure to act on making the sidewalks safe by lying about what they had done for the safety of pedestrians.

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