Walking street, a Pattaya icon and a great place to hang out if you want to see some interesting and unusual people passing by. Also a great place to meet young ladies, and young men who think they are ladies; unless you have a wife with a particularly sharp kitchen knife; which I do.
For many years there has been an illuminated sign at the start of Walking Street.
It was rarely fully functional and so you would be welcomed to Waking Sreet or Walkin Eet or whatever letters happened to be lit on that particular evening. Then a few months ago they took it down and erected a large frame instead. And then, as is so often the case, nothing.
Until yesterday, when a large crane arrived and installed the mother of all televisions.
Such an attractive piece of architecture, blending the traditional Thai with modern decor in a symbiotic blend of styles that makes a quiet but effective statement. And the statement is “this is utter crap.”
There was a brief flickering of lights during installation, but so far the beast has declined to communicate with us. Given that the new major has promised to eliminate Walking Street, presumably the super-TV will be dedicated to providing a count-down to the closure of all the bars. Alternatively it will show crap advertisements accompanied by shatteringly loud music. Whatever the content, the machine will explode and then fall silent during the first major rainstorm and will be taken down to make room for the next waste of money. In the words of Winston Churchill, “what a wank.”