FOR some British men, mostly in their 50s and 60s with a decent pension and a divorce behind them, sex is at the top of their holiday wish list, and they know exactly where to go.
Thailand’s ‘Sin City’, the world’s premier sex tourist destination, offers fun, flings and freedom for all – but these ageing Brits say there is also something else on offer…a better life.
AlamyPattaya is known as the ‘sex capital of the world’ – with thousands of prostitutes and escorts on offer to tourists[/caption]
GettyPattaya has been dubbed ‘the biggest brothel in the world’[/caption]
SuppliedRetired builder Graham Baldwin, 66, visited the country after a pal recommended it as the perfect holiday destination following his divorce[/caption]
With rocketing living costs, the migrant crisis and a constant fear of Chancellor Rachel Reeves hiking taxes, it’s little wonder that many Brits are desperate to escape abroad.
But it’s not just sex that British men travel for – some of them also find love.
Retired builder Graham Baldwin, 66, Watton, Norfolk, visited the country after a pal recommended it as the perfect holiday destination following his divorce.
Now happily married to a Thai woman, he has sold his house in England and has moved there permanently.
Graham says he can’t imagine life without his Thai wife – who does all of the housework and cooking, unlike his previous British wife, who he claims “didn’t do much”.
He spoke to The Sun while enjoying a quiet drink at a beach-front bar in Pattaya, said: “I much prefer Thai women to British women for lots of reasons.
“They are prettier, less uptight than British women, they live life at a slower pace and are more relaxed – there’s less stress with them.
“My Thai wife does all the housework, including the cooking and cleaning. My ex-wife didn’t do much at all – I even had to get my own meals every day.
“After I got divorced, a friend told me all about Thailand and how much fun it was – especially the women – so I thought I would give it a go.
“During my first visit, I went to bars in Bangkok and had a good time.
“My friend was right – it was a great place and quickly became my favourite holiday destination.”
‘Porno Disneyland’
Pattaya is known as the world’s number one sex tourist destination.
Police and politicians have been trying to clean up the city for years to make it a more family-friendly resort.
But a short stroll through its red light district – dubbed the biggest brothel in the world – shows that they have failed miserably.
There are hundreds of gogo bars, massage parlours, brothels, ladyboy bars and sex clubs.
With so-called “b***job bars”, and customers able to buy sex for as little as £12, the city has been dubbed the “porn version of Disneyland” by a Brit teacher who lived and worked in Pattaya.
Prostitutes are available to hire for a “short time” with the punter paying the bar a “fine” of around a tenner to take the girl to his hotel, where he then negotiates another price for her time.
They are also available “long time”, meaning they spend the entire night with the client, a couple of days or even his entire holiday, never leaving his side as his “girlfriend”.
Although there’s been a slight drop in Brits ditching the UK for a new life in Thailand, the UK Institute for Public Policy estimated there were 41,000 living in the country last year.
And British retirees have long been a feature of the expat population in the country.
Graham says: “On my next visit, I met a girl and fell in love.
“We married ten years ago, and then two years ago, I sold my house in the UK and moved here permanently.
“Thailand as a whole is more relaxed and less stressful than the UK. Costs are starting to rise in Bangkok, but it’s much cheaper than back home.”
Back in the UK everyone is suffering with the cost of living and the lack of decent housing… Thailand as a whole is more relaxed and less stressful than the UK
Graham Baldwin
Since Covid, Graham says getting a doctor’s appointment in the UK has been a “nightmare” and eventually
He added: “I had a problem with one of my knees recently, a hangover from working as a builder all those years.
“I went back to the UK to get it treated, but I didn’t have a great experience with the NHS.
“The waiting list was at least two months long, so I came back to Thailand and went private.
“It cost around THB 200,000 (£4,570), but the pain was gon,e so it was worth it. Back in the UK, everyone is suffering with the cost of living and the lack of decent housing.
“The youngsters can’t get on the property ladder, it’s awful.”
GettyBar girls stand outside a bar trying to get customers in Pattaya, Thailand[/caption]
AFP or licensorsDancers performing on a stage at a dance bar in Walking Street in Pattaya[/caption]
As Graham spoke to us, bar girls were sitting at nearby tables, waiting for the next customer to come along.
Some are happy to find a client interested in some “short-term” fun for around £50 or “long-term”, meaning the entire night or a couple of days.
Others are desperate to land a long-term sugar daddy boyfriend – or even a husband.
Some might even become tourists’ “girlfriend” for their entire holiday in Thailand, with the price for these longer arrangements up for negotiation.
Pattaya has been dubbed “the biggest brothel in the world” with some estimates putting the number of prostitutes working there at a staggering 60,000.
The resort does attract families and couples looking for beautiful beaches and cultural trips to temples and Buddha statues.
But many who land at Rayon-Pattaya International Airport make a beeline for the 24-hour party city’s Walking Street and the surrounding red light district.
My Thai wife does all the housework including the cooking and cleaning. My ex-wife didn’t do much at all – I even had to get my own meals every day
Graham Baldwin
Although prostitution is illegal in Thailand it is tolerated.
But despite the lucrative trade, which provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people who earn billions of pounds, the authorities have been desperate to clamp down on it.
They are keen to promote places like Pattaya as family-friendly resorts, yet their efforts show little sign of success.
Sex crackdown
In 2014, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, 64, was appointed Thailand’s first female tourism minister and pledged to eradicate Thailand’s sex industry.
She focused on Pattaya as her pilot project in the nationwide clean-up operation.
But three years later, she was replaced as tourism minister and a string of stories hitting the headlines in recent months show her efforts made little impact – with British men heavily involved in the booming sex industry.
In July, businessman William Reece Bilton, 33, of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was jailed for 21 years and six months for human trafficking and prostitution offences.
These included putting a 16-year-old girl into prostitution.
He had been caught on video providing the price for potential customers to spend time with the teenage girl, Bangkok Criminal Court heard.
After his case made headlines here and in Thailand, a source told The Sun that a string of other Brits who run bars were “c***ping themselves” that the police would also target them.
SuppliedA former bar girl lifted the lid on Brit ‘sugar daddies’ bagging cheap girlfriends in the so-called sex capital of the world[/caption]
GettyYoung Thai girls in bikinis and cosplay uniforms stand outside the brothels of Pattaya city[/caption]
AFP or licensorsDancers working the poles on a stage at a dance bar in Walking Street in Pattaya[/caption]
British holidaymakers have also been involved in a string of altercations in Pattaya’s red light area in recent months, and with bar girls.
Earlier this month, drunk George Lilley, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, 66, was hurled to the ground and suffered a broken arm after allegedly punching a bar girl in Pattaya.
Local cops launched an investigation.
And a 42-year-old businessman from East London was also being probed after his bar girl ex-girlfriend said he had smashed up her apartment.
Researchers reckon there could be around 200,000 sex workers in Thailand, contributing $6.4bn to Thailand’s GDP.
And one report reckoned 11.3 million of the country’s 33 million annual visitors were potential sex tourists.
Both academic studies and a stroll along Walking Street through the heart of Pattaya’s Red Light district however, show that Thailand’s sex tourism industry is here to stay.
GettyThailand is known for its stunning beaches, and the country is hoping to clean up and attract more families[/caption]