PATTAYA, THAILAND – A 60-year-old European expatriate in Pattaya described how an online romance abruptly collapsed after he said he discovered his girlfriend seeking clients on Beach Road.
New start in Pattaya turns into painful lesson
According to a reader letter sent to a German-language outlet, the man said he had moved to Pattaya a few months earlier to begin a new chapter of his life at the age of 60. He described the city as lively, well organized and home to many foreign residents, and said he had been looking for sun, the sea and a fresh start.
After settling in, he reported that he began to feel lonely and decided to sign up for the dating platform Thai Friendly. There he said he met a young woman with whom he quickly established regular contact and frequent meetings, which for him soon felt like a committed relationship.
The woman told him she had a normal full-time job, he wrote, adding that this sounded credible to him. He said he had no reason to doubt her and stressed that trust was the basis of any relationship, especially when living in a foreign country.
Chance encounter on Beach Road
A few days before the incident, the woman told him she needed to visit her family in her home province for a short time, according to the letter. He said he understood this and wished her a good trip.
He wrote that he was therefore shocked when he saw her shortly afterwards by chance on Beach Road, and not on the way to a bus. In his account, he said it was clear she was looking for customers, describing her short skirt, high heels and the way she looked around for single men.
He confronted her directly, the letter stated. She then told him without hesitation that she worked as a freelancer, which he understood as a reference to sex work in the local context.
Alleged client appears during confrontation
The man wrote that what followed hurt him the most. While they were still talking, another foreigner approached her, whom he believed to be a regular customer.
According to his description, the other man ignored him completely. The woman, he said, immediately turned her attention to the newcomer, negotiated the price in front of his eyes and then left with him, treating him as if he were invisible.
He wrote that he felt foolish standing there after the encounter. About an hour later, he said, his doorbell rang and the woman appeared at his apartment as if nothing had happened.
Her apparent indifference, he said, hurt him more than anything else. He reported that he sent her away and then blocked her on all channels as an act of self-protection.
Questions for the expat community
In the letter, the author asked whether he had simply been naive or whether this was a typical beginner’s mistake in Pattaya. He also questioned whether he had just been unlucky in this case.
He wrote that he was genuinely interested in how other expatriates viewed such situations. He asked whether it was realistic to find a partner in the city with no connection to the sex industry, or whether such experiences were simply part of local reality.
The author noted that many people heard stories before moving to the city, but that living through such an experience personally felt very different. He signed his letter as a disillusioned expatriate and expressed hope that honest opinions and experiences from others might help him and newcomers who arrive with similar expectations.
Editorial clarification
The editorial note accompanying the letter stated that the text had been submitted to the newsroom for publication. It said the letter reflected the personal experiences and assessments of the author.
For better readability, spelling, grammar and some formulations were edited, according to the note. It emphasized that the core content and tone of the contribution remained unchanged and that the editorial office did not assume any liability for the accuracy of the events described.