Two Russian girls were shot on Jomtien beach – Pattaya becomes a dangerous place

Everybody has heard about the murder in Pattaya last Saturday. I think it’s a big shock for all Thai addicts. This beautiful and friendly place becomes a terrible spot now. I didn’t want to write anything before surfing the Net but I saw so many shitty posts in some tourist’s sites. Therefore I connected my Russian friends and took a lot of information about the girls murdered by their friends.
Here is what I’ve learnt. The two Russian tourists, 25-year-old Lyubov’ Svirkova and 30-year-old Tatyana Tsimfer came to Thailand on February 16 from Kemerovo, Siberia. They had bought a two-week trip and stayed at Dragon Beach Resort. Both girls had been working for the same cell connecting company, but in different departments, one in the headquarters and the other in a branch office for retail trade. They had higher education and earned enough money for a good vacation pass to Thailand. The girls had come to the Thai resort for the first time and had not known each other before the trip. Tatyana Tsimfer had intended to travel to Bulgaria but after having seen one of her friends on the departure eve changed her mind. The victims met in the tourist agency office and decided to live together in the room. The looked like they were sisters. These two young ladies were not involved in Russian mafia or prostitution. It is worth noticing that Russian prostitutes make much more money than their colleagues in Pattaya.
So the most common version of “two Russian hookers and their pimp” must be fairly criticized. What is more important is that travel agencies in Russia do not take care to warn their clients about risk. They advertise Thailand beaches as the heart of heaven where the crime does not exist. And of course it could have looked a paradise for the young girls from Siberia. Only this fact could explain the girls’ imprudence. How could it happen that two young girls found themselves on the most distant part of the Jomtien beach at night. After Russian frost and snow they can’t have resisted the temptation to relax on the warm sand and drink some wine. No one trouble to tell the girls that it is quite risky!
It seems to me that Thailand has been turning into a very unfriendly resort. And if 5-6 years ago you could easily take a walk in Pattaya at night, this year even well-built men could feel uncomfortable on the Jomtien beach after midnight. There are a lot of Thai people drinking throughout the night. Drunk young guys got aggressive and their glances menaced and frightened me. Although, it was hard to find any policemen at this time of the day. I am talking about the beginning of the beach, Soi 7-8. But as we know the ladies stayed in the Dragon Beach Resort, which is at the end of it. Certainly it is not the place for lonely girls, who were not warned about danger. I hope the police will find the murders. Otherwise it will be necessary to look closely at Vietnam

Koh Larn - the easiest way to visit a tropical island and not to leave Pattaya for a long time

It’s impossible to imagine a good rest in Thailand without visiting its numerous islands. But to reach such known health resorts as Koh Samet, Koh Samui and Koh Chang it is not easy. I have some posts about Koh Chang: Koh Chang Archipelago’s 52 coral Islands: Maak, Wai, Hood and Kham as residence of snorkeling and lonely hearts, The best seafood in Thai: only on Islands, Koh Chang: the Island of the grate Waterfalls, lagoons and beaches and Koh Chang Island. The long walk to Kai Bae Beach. Besides extra money this requires precious time which is never sufficient in Thailand. If you want to go to the well-known Thai resort, Koh Phuket, it’s better to take a plane. Although I know two guys who traveled from Bangkok to Kuala-Lumpur by bus. After that they promised never to get a bus. But some people can stay in Walking Street or Beach Road for weeks.
It will not take you long and a lot of effort to visit a place near Pattaya even you are very lazy and very greedy. The place is Koh Larn Island. Moreover it decorates the view of Pattaya bay and has several proper beaches with clear water. They are Ta Waen, Thong Lang, Daeng, Same, Nual and Tien beaches. The water around this island appears very attractively after the Naklua and Jomtien. For snorkeling addicts there is something to watch on the bottom. However numerous water-bikes disturb enjoyment and make us irritable. It’s better to reach the island from Laem Bali Hai Pier. It is located in two-minute walk from the southern end of the Walking Street. Everyone knows how to get to it. (Look at post: Map of Pattaya and Jomtien.) The marine passenger terminal is a charming Thai style building with a green roof. In front of it there is a small beautiful park with bright fireworks on official holidays. Opposite the park there is an open-air market where they sell fresh shrimps, crabs and other edible sea creatures of the Siam Bay.
Single tickets on the ferry boat are sold in the cashbox of the terminal and cost 20 THB. They go every hour from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to the pier. Then you have to take a taxi to the beach you have chosen. Instead of that you can buy tickets to alternative boats which will deliver you immediately to any concrete beach. This may save time and money for the trip to the island by taxi. But it’s necessary to reseat to a small boat not reaching the coast. There are no moorages on the beaches except the largest one - Ta Waen - and the sea for the ferry boat around the island is small. You need nearly 40 min for a nice sea trip to Koh Larn.
First of all you will see many Thai taxi-drivers on the island. They propose to take you to any beach. Usually it costs 20-30THB for each. The further you go away from the pier the cheaper are the prices. By the way do not forget to purchase some fruit near the pier because it is considerably more expensive on the beach. Generally the island is small and jaunt to the most distant beach will not exceed 20 min. It’s complicated to stray here. There are many guide-boards on the roads. You can have a nice walk. There is no such mad road motion as in Pattaya but there are several beautiful temples, a school and a shooting-range. It’s heavy to reach only the Same beach. The road to it crosses the highest point of the island - View Point but what a nice island view opens there! On the Northern Cape the Daeng beach is located. This (in my opinion) is the best and most beautiful beach on Koh Larn. The walk to it is pleasant and takes 15 min. You pass a village and a shooting-range.
Certainly during the daylight hours Koh Larn is deprived of solitude as most tropical islands. Prices of the fruit, drinks and the sea food are considerably higher than on Koh Phuket. But after 5 a.m. last ferry boat leaves the island. There are very few tourists who arrived on the speed boat because no one wants to pay US$100 for a short trip. At last the island becomes uninhabited. Here there are several small hotels for those who desire to stay for a night. It’s not a problem to put up a tent. You will not be so entirely isolated here as on Koh Chang Island. And it's completely safe here because long ago China tourists scared all the snakes on this island.
Sa for isolated Islands look through Tokyo hotels vs. Baiyoke Sky: it’s time to change Bangkok and Pattaya to Tokyo and Kyoto.

Map of Pattaya and Jomtien

Searching the Internet for some required information I couldn't find a good map of Pattaya. So I published my own hi-resolution maps for your pleasure. I also mark my favourite shopping points.





Directory of Businesses & Locations

No.	Name	Grid	No.	Name	Grid
1	A-One Hotel	C3	60	Renoir's	B4
2	Easyriders Bar Pub	C3	61	White House Resort	B6
3	Le Galaxy	B4	62	Kobe	C3
4	Sitpholek Gym	D3	64	PLC Language School	C3
6	Beauty House	C3	65	TEFL	B4
7	Hippo Restaurant	C3	66	Easy Visa	C3
8	Harmony Beauty & Relax	B4	67	Rosie O'Gradys	C3
9	Aquanauts	C3	68	Mercure Hotel	B3
10	Mike's Mexican Restaurant	B4	70	Dive South East Asia	C3
11	Shenanigans	B4	72	Jungle Bungy Jump	C6
13	Da Tiziano	C3	73	Chaplins Bar	C3
14	Tequila Reef Restaurant	C3	74	TimeOut	B4
15	Paradise Restaurant	B4	75	Royal Beauty Clinic	C3
16	Greg's Kitchen	C3	76	Lukdood	D3
18	Pro Language School	D3	77	Big Market	C5
19	Ali Baba Restaurant	C3	78	Weekend Market	B6
20	Symphony Brasserie	C3	79	Indian Tailor	B6
21	Nicky's	B4		JOMTIEN
24	Lion Pub	B4	61	Mermaid's Dive Center	B6
25	Dream Teen Massage	C4	82	L'Oliver	B5
26	Crazy Dave's	C4	83	Hot Stone Grill	B5
27	Pattaya Dental Clinic	B4	84	Scooby's	B5
28	Pattaya General Real Estate	C3	E	Land Office Dep.	B5
31	Hot Rod	B4	E	Pattaya Provincial Court	B5
32	Fatties	C3	E	Revenue Office	B5
33	Wranglers	C5	E	Amari Hotel	C3
34	Marriott-Royal Plaza	B4	E	Bangkok Pattaya Hospital	D2
36	Bob's BBQ & Grill	C4	E	Bus Station to Bkk	D3
37	Max Italy Restaurant	B4	E	City Holl	C3
41	Penthouse	B4	E	Foodland	C4
44	Lobster Pot	B4	E	Highway Police Station	C5
45	Aesthica Medical Spa	C3	E	Immigration	C3
46	Grover Style Tailor	C3	E	Lotus	C2
47	The Kilkenny Irish Pup	B4	E	Pattaya Int. Hospital	D2
48	The Blues Factory	B4	E	Pattaya Memorial Hospital	C3
49	The Mini Golf Pub	B4	E	Pattaya Tel. Service Office	C3
50	Dr. Oliver Clinic	B4	E	Police Box	A6
51	Mabuhay Divers	D3	E	Telecommunication Center	C3
52	Captain's Corner	B4	E	Thai Airways	C3
54	Le Saigon Bayview	A4	E	Tops	C3
59	Shagwell / Outback Bar	C4

For more information about Pattaya you can look at: Tailor-salons in Pattaya? – how to buy a new silk suit for less money or Lukdod – the cheapest shopping in Pattaya! and Thai girls have nothing in common with Pattaya girls. posts.