I'm in the lucky(?) position now of working weekdays in Pattaya (where I'm a software engineer) and spending every other weekend in Phuket (where I own a hotel).
Since my condo in Pattaya is only minutes from Walking Street, and since I'm down in Bangla Road on Saturday nights, I thought I'd do a quick comparison between the two nightlife areas.
First, if you think Bangla Road is dead, then Walking Street is six feet under and rotting.... I just got back from a 00.30 visit and it is very quiet, much more than Bangla and the Bangla sois.
Ladyboys, many of them, and ugly, all over Walking Street. In Bangla, I really don't see that many (relative to WS), but maybe this is because my eyesight is bad and I mistake them for women, at least in the first seforum.xxxes of horizontal exercise.
The WS bars seemed to employ more bouncers that in Bangla. Perhaps WS attracts a rough sort of crowd.
I was interested in seeing the foreign TPVs in WS. Hmm, lounging about and smoking on duty and then dropping your cig butt on the ground? No, not very impressive
(Yes, I'm biased...)
I did chat to one of the Thai bar-staff about them and she said that none of the Thai staff liked the foreign volunteers.
I was going to take a photo of them but they really gave me dirty looks when I whipped it out (the camera).
Anyway, I'm back in Phuket this weekend, and Bangla is definitely my favorite over Walking Street
Maybe see you in MTB.
Simon