My Four Days in Pattaya

[Songkran18]

Before I jump into this, I want to disclaim I’m not a “ Pattaya Expert,” nor desire to be one. These are just observations on a very brief stay. And of-course, dying ex-pat blokes are welcomed to chime in. Nothing definitive can be derived from my experience as I’m sure it’s antedotal. 

 

I arrived on a rainy afternoon on April 7th. After four days in Bangkok, I was looking forward to lying low in Pattaya for a few days, and then carry on with bulk of my se Asia itin.. I had no major plans while in Pattaya other than r & r. 

 

Upon arrival, I realized I made a mistake in booking my stay in Jomtien, 500 meters from the beach. If there is a next time, I’d chose something different. Nevertheless, once I settled in my condo, I walked to the beach in the evening. It was a vibrant Friday night, and I mingled with families that set-up their tailgate on the ocean blvd with their spreads. That was pretty cool and epitomizes the benefit of living in a beach town/city. 

 

On my my way back to the flat, I brefriended some Russians. We slammed some shots and had some good convo.. Though I was aware of the Russian influence in Pattaya, I was surprised it was this prominent. The condo I stayed at was predominantly Russian. If you’re looking for a true Thai experience, this area won’t provide it, and perhaps that goes for Pattaya. That said, the allure started to settle in my mind. 

 

On my first morning, my destination was Koh Larn. As I woke up early, I decided on the slow approach. I walked N on Jomtien’s beach road as the Sun was rising. I liked the area of Dongtan Beach as I walked by, including the condos on that road that suddenly narrowed. At the point the road ended and I was forced to hail a motorbike taxi to the port to catch the ferry. 

 

I got to Koh Larn before 9AM. During the transport, I saw and admired Pattaya’s skyline for the first time, and the many enjoying parasailing. The 30baht ferry had us disembark on the northern port. When I got to the nearest beach, I wanted out. It was an infestation of Chinese, the absolute most obnoxious tourists. As I studied to island map to isolate myself from the hordes, I settled on taking a collective bus to Tien Beach. It was really nice, but I also hear stories Koh Larn used to be much nicer. On way back to port, I saw the trash dump any here have referred too. It reminded me of my first year in college at Wagner, seeing barges of trash making it’s way from NYC to Great Kills. Other than that, the island in general was cleaner than I expected. I returned back to the mainland from another port. The skyline of Pattaya was more impressive. In all, a good day. 

 

From that point, the remaining days were blasé. That evening I did go to Waking Street and enjoyed Lam Morrison’s set. 

 

Next two days I just vegged at the beach, drinking beer and getting a pedicure. One day at Jomtien and the next at Cosy Beach, which was a huge disappointment. 

 

I did make it back to Walking Street on my last night. As it was still early ( pre 10PM) I popped into Ibar and had a few beers at 40baht. I’m not going to say I had an epiphany, but I enjoyed the waterside establishment, and seeing the city being strobed. I lived my 1st 42 yrs in my native Hollywood CA, and Pattaya does a way better job stobing. 

The beautiful gal at Sapphire that evening wanted to strobe me for  3000TBT. It was time to go. 

 

In all, a great few days. I only scratched the surface. After visiting six other cities in Thailand, Pattaya is definitely an outlier. I leave more confused than before I arrived. Maybe a reason that warrants a return .... not so sure about it. In the meantime, enjoying the rain here in Miami Beach. 

 

??

 

[saakura]

Very boring ? report. Not even a ladyboy encounter ??

[mauGR1]

..Not even an attempted mugging, Englishmen brawling in the bar, taxi-drivers stabbing innocent tourists ?

Definitely boring

 

[champers]

An American getting friendly with Russians. Who'd have thought it?

[jvs]

Well you behaved yourself and did not get into trouble,i would say you can consider that a good trip.

Most guys i know who say they are going for R&R end up doing the I&I thing.

[KittenKong]

It was a vibrant Friday night, and I mingled with families that set-up their tailgate on the ocean blvd with their spreads. That was pretty cool and epitomizes the benefit of living in a beach town/city.

On my my way back to the flat, I brefriended some Russians. We slammed some shots and had some good convo..

There's no accounting for taste, is there? The possibility of mingling with people like that is one of the main things that I dislike about Jomtien.

[Rc2702]

Surely the OP is not a tripod.. 

[patekatek]

More importantly,  where did you get 40 baht beer on walking street?   7-11???

[newnative]

     I wouldn't call it a boring report, more a normal report of a visit to Pattaya.  Glad he got to one of my favorite places,  Dongtan Beach,  and apparently liked it, too.  He mentions Pattaya's "impressive" skyline not just once, but twice.  It is indeed impressive, especially when viewed from places like the pier area.  Hope it eventually dawns on the city leaders that the pier area is a wonderful opportunity for a terrific city space currently being almost totally wasted.  Time to start over with a blank sheet of paper and the first thing to go should be that big, blue, barren blob on the street.  Then, either finish Waterfront in some fashion or tear it down and go on from there. 

[chicowoodduck]

Wow, and you did not get an "I survived" button?   Lucky you....trying living here for a few years....it will grind your gears no matter how tough you are....lol....??

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, KittenKong said:

There's no accounting for taste, is there? The possibility of mingling with people like that is one of the main things that I dislike about Jomtien.

There's always a risk when labeling other nationalities with cliche collectives. I frequently work with Russians and I prefer the 'each to his own' philosophy and pretty much that's what the Russian co-workers do as well. However, it's also nice to appreciate that the broad brush does not apply in the real world and personally, I have had some nice, social encounters with the more traveled, less boorish, better funded Russian, Ukranian, Latvian and other 'people like that' on Jomtien.

 

The jury is still out on the traveling Chinese though... and I worked in PRC for over 8 years.

[KittenKong]

There's always a risk when labeling other nationalities with cliche collectives. I frequently work with Russians and I prefer the 'each to his own' philosophy and pretty much that's what the Russian co-workers do as well. However, it's also nice to appreciate that the broad brush does not apply in the real world and personally, I have had some nice, social encounters with the more traveled, less boorish, better funded Russian, Ukranian, Latvian and other 'people like that' on Jomtien.

You misunderstand me. I dont want to "mingle" with anyone at random, regardless of who or what they are, and regardless of which country they are from. I'm just not interested at all.

I also think that there is a big difference between people who are working abroad and those who are on a fortnight's holiday in Jomtien.

[NanLaew]

40 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

You misunderstand me. I dont want to "mingle" with anyone at random, regardless of who or what they are, and regardless of which country they are from. I'm just not interested at all.

I also think that there is a big difference between people who are working abroad and those who are on a fortnight's holiday in Jomtien.

Thanks for the clarification. I did wonder what your perception of "mingle" entails but never mind.

 

Regarding the internationally traveling and well traveled worker; it's not just the remit of the western expat any more and hasn't been for maybe 15 years already. The Polish engineer taking a break from a contract in Myanmar flew his wife and kid in for a Thailand vacation. I think most Americans, Aussies and British 'expat worker' did that sort of stuff maybe 20 or 30 years ago.

[chippendale]

Never knew that four days in hell would be this boring.

 

Nice to read, though, that Lam Morrison is still performing.

[mgthom63]

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

You misunderstand me. I dont want to "mingle" with anyone at random, regardless of who or what they are, and regardless of which country they are from. I'm just not interested at all.

 

What does interest you? 

 

Just hanging out with people of your 'own kind' or just not socializing with anyone who isn't an established acquaintance? 

 

Personally, I really enjoy 'mingling' with different nationalities, both expats and tourists...I find it broadens the mind :)

[AlQaholic]

The last time I ever visited Jomtien and Pattaya was many years ago when I saw a turd floating in the water at Jomtien beach. That was the last time I ever visited the place.

[neeray]

12 hours ago, champers said:

"An American getting friendly with Russians"

That's a bit of Trump rubbing off on him. Hopefully that's all that rubs off.

 

[Baerboxer]

12 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

..Not even an attempted mugging, Englishmen brawling in the bar, taxi-drivers stabbing innocent tourists ?

Definitely boring

 

 

You must be either not reading much news or very blinkered. Last fight was an American ex jailbird killer who murdered an Australian and seems to have walked away completely free. Then there are the copious videos of Middle East gents slapping one another or fighting with lady boys. Or Aussie bikers.

 

But hey, don't let reality get in the way of your prejudice.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, AlQaholic said:

The last time I ever visited Jomtien and Pattaya was many years ago when I saw a turd floating in the water at Jomtien beach. That was the last time I ever visited the place.

It's gone now. You can come back.

[LongTimeLurker]

3 hours ago, newnative said:

Glad he got to one of my favorite places,  Dongtan Beach,  and apparently liked it, too.

Is that still the gay beach?

[jesimps]

Not a post for the Pattaya-bashers, they'll be livid that he had some good things to say about the place. At least he visited here before making a comment.

[KittenKong]

What does interest you?

Just hanging out with people of your 'own kind' or just not socializing with anyone who isn't an established acquaintance?

Lots of things interest me, but chatting to people is not one of them.

[mauGR1]

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

You must be either not reading much news or very blinkered. Last fight was an American ex jailbird killer who murdered an Australian and seems to have walked away completely free. Then there are the copious videos of Middle East gents slapping one another or fighting with lady boys. Or Aussie bikers.

 

But hey, don't let reality get in the way of your prejudice.

Oh well, it was just a light hearted comment, i could have said Farangs, or Arabs instead of English.

Sorry if i hurt your feelings, pls accept my apologies.

[petermik]

8 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Is that still the gay beach?

yup.......

[Bludove]

Hi, I have just read the synopsis of songkran18 visit to Pattaya, as I scrolled down to the comments I guessed what awaited me and I wasn’t disappointed, I would say that 50% of the comments are from people that should have packed their bags and gone somewhere else a long time ago. I am not a lover of the place for permanent living but I do enjoy visiting, the same with London, Sydney or LA. Most of the sh*t comments I hazard a guess would be the same from them wherever these people were living. We can all pick fault with places people and products but the same people have such a downward view of life here in Thailand, slagging the Government off, the cities, the people, we are here by choice, we are guests, you can choose where you want to live, the people we mix with. So if you don’t like it, sling your hook and stop moaning, go back to where you came from.

[newnative]

3 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Is that still the gay beach?

     I imagine it's still popular with gays but what I've always liked about it is the laidback vibe and nice mix of people from all over--although I've moved to Wongamat so I don't get there as much as I used to.  

[DekDaeng]

15 hours ago, KittenKong said:

There's no accounting for taste, is there? The possibility of mingling with people like that is one of the main things that I dislike about Jomtien.

"admired Pattaya’s skyline"

 

There's no accounting for taste, is there?

 

[shy coconut]

6 hours ago, KittenKong said:

You misunderstand me. I dont want to "mingle" with anyone at random, regardless of who or what they are, and regardless of which country they are from. I'm just not interested at all.

I also think that there is a big difference between people who are working abroad and those who are on a fortnight's holiday in Jomtien.

You spend a fair amount of time mingling here

[Spaniel]

I thought it was a nice report.    Why so many negative comments?

[shy coconut]

3 minutes ago, Spaniel said:

I thought it was a nice report.    Why so many negative comments?

I think most visitors enjoy similar experiences.

Of course the anti Pattaya noisy minority

will tell you that everyone will scam and rob you, ladyboys will grope and rob you, gangs

of motorcycle taxi drivers wait on street corners to bash you 10 on 1 for absolutely no

reason whatsoever!

 

The place is far from perfect, but equally far from the hell that the bashers tell of.