My Recent Trip to Pattaya

Here are some photos from my recent trip to Pattaya. Pattaya is famous for its booming sex trade. Thousands of prostitutes work in central Pattaya every night. I visited to meet with Fred and Dianne Doell who run the Mercy Centre. A project reaching out to the poor within the city; providing a shelter for children at risk, outreach and aid in the slums and police lock-ups, support for single mothers and much more.

I will try to write a complete blog about the trip soon. It may not be printed in the February newsletter, but I will do my best :)



Above is a view of the 'lovely' Pattaya beach - a little crowded for my tastes :) Can't even see the sand! To the left and below are pictures of some of the children from the children's home. I went with them on a day trip to the beach. Only half of the children were able to go due top a chicken pox outbreak and other sickness.


And at the bottom are the littlens exhausted by the day of fun! They had a wonderful time. All of these children have been taken into the home because they are at risk of abuse, neglect, malnutrition or for other reasons there is risk to their lives.





And finally, a photo of the Pattaya night life - only this is just before the customers begin to arrive. There are literally thousands of bars like these. The entire coastline is littered with them.





They can actually be a great place to enjoy an evening. I went to a bar on one evening - a quiet one, and found 2 'waitresses' who were so keen to make friends. I played pool with them and chatted with them for the following 3 nights!