My Four Days in Pattaya

[Naam]

1 hour ago, Bludove said:

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.

[KittenKong]

You spend a fair amount of time mingling here ;)

But in the virtual world one can easily select the topics for conversation, and sidestep all the boring stuff. That saves hours of time. And by being online one immediately weeds out those too stupid to even know how to read and write. Well, mostly anyway.

[geisha]

People’s view on different places varies a lot, thank god, or we  would  all be in the same place. One mans hell can be another mans heaven. 

Personally , I find a lot of European cities awful, starting with the weather. I’m lucky to be’ living half in the south of France and the other half in Thailand. Given the choice of say, Manchester, Hambourg, or anywhere similar, I’d choose Pattaya area ( Jomtien) any day, even with the trash and dirty sea water. I swim in my pool. Every now and gain I go to Koh Chang  for a week , that’s good enough for me. Even if I were rich, I don’t know where else I would spend 4 to 6 months of my  year. I do travel to other countries though and enjoy them. 

[DrTuner]

8 hours ago, Bludove said:

we are here by choice, we are guests

Olden but golden. However, most of us were never invited, we invaded. Hence, we are invaders, not guests and we'll do as we damn well please (until the money runs out and they kick us out).

 

EDIT: OP's description matches the lukewarm mood in our beloved shithole. 10 years ago the bells would've been ringing, not anymore.

Edited May 14, 2018 by DrTuner

[Stargeezr]

Good read. If you stayed at Jomtien, it was a good bet that the Russans you drank with

were either husbands or wives of a family, as there are many married ones in Jomtien.

  You survived walking street in the evening so should feel good about that as well.

The tail gate group is popular and many are Thais from Bangkok who are staying away

from the beach, but use their pickups as a day time base. On the Pattaya side of Pattaya

you would have seen the Arab area, and the big area of Bali Hai pier, etc, lots of speed

boats and tour boats. Lots of shops that sell almost the same stuff all along some

small alley way malls. Restaurants all over the place, good, bad and in the middle for

quality of food. The baht buses run from Jomtien into Pattaya and is a neat and cheap

way to get around for 10 baht. Glad you enjoyed 4 days and got away unscathed.

Geezer

[Different]

Geeze you traveled from Florida to Pattaya Thailand for 4 days vacation.

If life in Thailand attracts you then follow your heart.

[JAZZDOG]

14 hours 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.

NO HAVE

[Rc2702]

11 hours ago, petermik said:

yup.......

So that's why keep messaging the Spurs lads.

[Songkran18]

19 hours ago, patekatek said:

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

Ibar before 10PM. It was a Monday night if that matters. I personally believe they’re undercutting their competitors before prime hours. . I left before 10P so I’m not sure what they charged afterward. Great place to pregame.  I ended up a Sapphire @ 170 baht for a cold one.

 

 

[Songkran18]

3 hours ago, Different said:

Geeze you traveled from Florida to Pattaya Thailand for 4 days vacation.

If life in Thailand attracts you then follow your heart.

I spent a total of 26 days in Thailand. 

 

If it matters, I enjoyed Chiang Mai the most. 

[Songkran18]

17 hours ago, mgthom63 said:

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 :)

Mingling or interacting is part of the learning curve during travels and experiencing new cultures. Be it at the Sky Bar in BKK or some random beach road. 

[Songkran18]

18 hours ago, chicowoodduck said:

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....??

The same is said where I live in Miami. I’m going on my 15th year. That begs the question; how transient is Pattaya ? Most people that move to Miami are gone within two years. Cost of living comes no where near median wages. In that sense, the rigors in Pattaya are different. We share the same issue with inefficient local governance. 

[mgthom63]

47 minutes ago, Songkran18 said:

Mingling or interacting is part of the learning curve during travels and experiencing new cultures. Be it at the Sky Bar in BKK or some random beach road. 

Agree 100%.

 

It's real easy to over-generalize and denigrate other nationalities or cultures, but I prefer to keep an open mind and judge on individual merits. I personally have made some great friendships with males and females of all nationalities, skin color and political persuasions...in Thailand and elsewhere.

 

That said, I've always had problems connecting with folks who just like to stick to their own...I think it often demonstrates xenophobia and bigotry that I want no part of :)

 

 

Edited May 14, 2018 by mgthom63

[shy coconut]

11 hours ago, KittenKong said:

But in the virtual world one can easily select the topics for conversation, and sidestep all the boring stuff. That saves hours of time. And by being online one immediately weeds out those too stupid to even know how to read and write. Well, mostly anyway.

I did try to make my reply appear light hearted with the

I am more than happy to admit that 98% of computer stuff is completely wasted on me.

[mgthom63]

15 hours ago, KittenKong said:

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

Thanks for the honesty. 

 

[Different]

12 hours ago, Songkran18 said:

I spent a total of 26 days in Thailand. 

 

If it matters, I enjoyed Chiang Mai the most. 

Pardon me, my sight is short, maybe I'm getting old.

[johng]

Ibar before 10PM. It was a Monday night if that matters. I personally believe they’re undercutting their competitors before prime hours. . I left before 10P so I’m not sure what they charged afterward. Great place to pregame.  I ended up a Sapphire @ 170 baht for a cold one.
 
 

A small bottle or 1 glass i'd imagine but still a good price for Walking Street.

[Grauwulf]

Ya gotta luv tv great source of entertainment from all, from the simplest of posts...glad you had a good stay there OP. Not my choice for Thailand but hey horses for courses...you certainly started a great debate of the usual calibre tho...well done!!

Edited May 15, 2018 by Grauwulf

[Songkran18]

On 5/14/2018 at 5:06 PM, mgthom63 said:

Agree 100%.

 

It's real easy to over-generalize and denigrate other nationalities or cultures, but I prefer to keep an open mind and judge on individual merits. I personally have made some great friendships with males and females of all nationalities, skin color and political persuasions...in Thailand and elsewhere.

 

That said, I've always had problems connecting with folks who just like to stick to their own...I think it often demonstrates xenophobia and bigotry that I want no part of :)

 

 

Thanks for the shared opinion. 

 

I did expect some brush-back from the typical cynical people here..... the usual folk here with nothing better to do. 

 

As as far as your comment about Xenophobia, I’m not sure I encountered that. My perspective is it was something else. I did encounter some barriers when it came to language and genuine disinterest to conduct a conversation in Bangkok as well as Pattaya. That was more self evident during excursions I enjoyed during my visit. As I understand, Thailand is the eighth most visited country in terms of tourism. It helps that 50% of the world’s population lives within a 3000 mile radius. The disinterest part hit home during the unprofessionalism during some of these tours. These tours operators are basically transport companies. During transport to Ayutthaya or the Floating Market, a wasted opportunity to educate visitors about Thailand. What a wasted opportunity, but I guess the kingdom is happy tourism is rising at a good clip. It was a good trip, but my prior travels to all of Latin America and Europe conditioned me for a better product from those in the tourist industry. 

 

I took note that some deemed my “report” as dull. I obviously left some stuff out. Nothing major or unusual for me. I did play billiards with ladyboys like no big deal. My tart was the cashier at 7-11 who worked the swing shift near the condo. Very convenient. 

 

In all, be it a brief month in Thailand, the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk. 

 

I definitaly plan to return to Thailand in the near future. Had my fill of Pattaya and enjoyed my few days there. I doubt I’ll revisited. It has it’s merits, notwithstanding some <deleted> here and their commentary. I’m cool with complaining about issues where I live. The impresión I garner from many ex-pats in Pattaya and this site , is they’re serving a life sentence with no escape. It truly sounds like it.  Basically bitches. Not all. Most. 

 

In all, I’m glad to have passed by. 

 

[Naam]

58 minutes ago, Songkran18 said:

The impresión I garner from many ex-pats in Pattaya and this site , is they’re serving a life sentence with no escape. It truly sounds like it.  Basically bitches. Not all. Most. 

 

In all, I’m glad to have passed by. 

we are glad too!

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Songkran18 said:

Thanks for the shared opinion. 

 

I did expect some brush-back from the typical cynical people here..... the usual folk here with nothing better to do. 

 

As as far as your comment about Xenophobia, I’m not sure I encountered that. My perspective is it was something else. I did encounter some barriers when it came to language and genuine disinterest to conduct a conversation in Bangkok as well as Pattaya. That was more self evident during excursions I enjoyed during my visit. As I understand, Thailand is the eighth most visited country in terms of tourism. It helps that 50% of the world’s population lives within a 3000 mile radius. The disinterest part hit home during the unprofessionalism during some of these tours. These tours operators are basically transport companies. During transport to Ayutthaya or the Floating Market, a wasted opportunity to educate visitors about Thailand. What a wasted opportunity, but I guess the kingdom is happy tourism is rising at a good clip. It was a good trip, but my prior travels to all of Latin America and Europe conditioned me for a better product from those in the tourist industry. 

 

I took note that some deemed my “report” as dull. I obviously left some stuff out. Nothing major or unusual for me. I did play billiards with ladyboys like no big deal. My tart was the cashier at 7-11 who worked the swing shift near the condo. Very convenient. 

 

In all, be it a brief month in Thailand, the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk. 

 

I definitaly plan to return to Thailand in the near future. Had my fill of Pattaya and enjoyed my few days there. I doubt I’ll revisited. It has it’s merits, notwithstanding some <deleted> here and their commentary. I’m cool with complaining about issues where I live. The impresión I garner from many ex-pats in Pattaya and this site , is they’re serving a life sentence with no escape. It truly sounds like it.  Basically bitches. Not all. Most. 

 

In all, I’m glad to have passed by. 

 

     I'm serving my "life sentence" in a beautiful 3 bedroom/3 bath oceanfront condo about 50 meters from the beach in Wongmat, a very nice part of Pattaya where visitors pay fairly high prices to enjoy for a precious few days what I have year-round.  So lovely and relaxing to listen to the surf on my big deck and watch the ocean activity.  Weather is nice year-round; I'm so much more active than when I lived in a winter climate, great restaurants of all varieties, any kind of shopping available,  4 nice malls and fun things like Terminal 21 soon to open and Asiatique Prime on the horizon.  Nice movie theaters with shows in English, a large and diverse community of ex-pats--my partner have a nice group we socialize with, and close proximity to airports and the major city of Bangkok.  Great healthcare and so easy to use; went to the doctor without an appointment yesterday and was in and out in less than an hour. 4000 Baht for the doctor visit, a shot, and the 6 prescriptions. I can live with that.  Thailand is inexpensive compared to the States so it allows my partner and I to do more traveling on my retirement pension.  Color me happily serving my life sentence.

[neeray]

4 hours ago, Songkran18 said:

Thanks for the shared opinion. 

 

I did expect some brush-back from the typical cynical people here..... the usual folk here with nothing better to do. 

 

As as far as your comment about Xenophobia, I’m not sure I encountered that. My perspective is it was something else. I did encounter some barriers when it came to language and genuine disinterest to conduct a conversation in Bangkok as well as Pattaya. That was more self evident during excursions I enjoyed during my visit. As I understand, Thailand is the eighth most visited country in terms of tourism. It helps that 50% of the world’s population lives within a 3000 mile radius. The disinterest part hit home during the unprofessionalism during some of these tours. These tours operators are basically transport companies. During transport to Ayutthaya or the Floating Market, a wasted opportunity to educate visitors about Thailand. What a wasted opportunity, but I guess the kingdom is happy tourism is rising at a good clip. It was a good trip, but my prior travels to all of Latin America and Europe conditioned me for a better product from those in the tourist industry. 

 

I took note that some deemed my “report” as dull. I obviously left some stuff out. Nothing major or unusual for me. I did play billiards with ladyboys like no big deal. My tart was the cashier at 7-11 who worked the swing shift near the condo. Very convenient. 

 

In all, be it a brief month in Thailand, the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk. 

 

I definitaly plan to return to Thailand in the near future. Had my fill of Pattaya and enjoyed my few days there. I doubt I’ll revisited. It has it’s merits, notwithstanding some <deleted> here and their commentary. I’m cool with complaining about issues where I live. The impresión I garner from many ex-pats in Pattaya and this site , is they’re serving a life sentence with no escape. It truly sounds like it.  Basically bitches. Not all. Most. 

 

In all, I’m glad to have passed by. 

 

.... "the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk." ......

Thank you for these words. My Surat Thani, Thai ladyfriend accompanied me to Chiang Mai for a couple of weeks. She was previously well travelled but had never been north of Bkk. After being in CM a couple days, she said to me "it feels totally different here, the people are so much friendlier".  

[Songkran18]

On 5/18/2018 at 8:49 PM, newnative said:

     I'm serving my "life sentence" in a beautiful 3 bedroom/3 bath oceanfront condo about 50 meters from the beach in Wongmat, a very nice part of Pattaya where visitors pay fairly high prices to enjoy for a precious few days what I have year-round.  So lovely and relaxing to listen to the surf on my big deck and watch the ocean activity.  Weather is nice year-round; I'm so much more active than when I lived in a winter climate, great restaurants of all varieties, any kind of shopping available,  4 nice malls and fun things like Terminal 21 soon to open and Asiatique Prime on the horizon.  Nice movie theaters with shows in English, a large and diverse community of ex-pats--my partner have a nice group we socialize with, and close proximity to airports and the major city of Bangkok.  Great healthcare and so easy to use; went to the doctor without an appointment yesterday and was in and out in less than an hour. 4000 Baht for the doctor visit, a shot, and the 6 prescriptions. I can live with that.  Thailand is inexpensive compared to the States so it allows my partner and I to do more traveling on my retirement pension.  Color me happily serving my life sentence.

Happy for you. 

 

I admitted I haven’t scratched Pattaya’s surface. I’m sure some living arrangements there are top notch. I’m in my Orlando home  right now, but living near or on top of water is priceless... despite global warming. 

 

If there is a next time, I’d like to venture northern parts of Pattaya. Jomtien was OK, but staying there botched my stay there in hindsight. Nothing major. Enjoyed the glimpse. 

[Songkran18]

On 5/18/2018 at 11:07 PM, neeray said:

.... "the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk." ......

Thank you for these words. My Surat Thani, Thai ladyfriend accompanied me to Chiang Mai for a couple of weeks. She was previously well travelled but had never been north of Bkk. After being in CM a couple days, she said to me "it feels totally different here, the people are so much friendlier".  

That doesn’t surprise me. During my research of a few months before traveling, CM appealed to me the most.  

 

I wasn’t deceived. I extended my stay there four more days. 

 

Many people here ( Pattaya Forum) dissed Songkran, and I get it. I use to diss a lot of local traffic and events growing up in Los Angeles. It was magical for me that Friday ... but off I went to Chiang Rai the next day. 

 

I don’t yet have a grip yet why my interactions with Thai peeps was superior up North. It’s a undisputeable feeling, along with the quality of of cuisine. 

 

I’m not disappointed at all with my stay in greater Pattaya. It’s the one place my planificación failed me a tad. I could have done better. 

 

If there is an other opportunity to visit Pattaya , I’d do it differently next time, or not at all. ? 

 

 

 

 

[jakethepeg]

On 5/19/2018 at 10:07 AM, neeray said:

.... "the quality of people improved immensely in Chiang Mai. I’m specifically  referring to Thai folk." ......

Thank you for these words. My Surat Thani, Thai ladyfriend accompanied me to Chiang Mai for a couple of weeks. She was previously well travelled but had never been north of Bkk. After being in CM a couple days, she said to me "it feels totally different here, the people are so much friendlier".  

Well traveled but not north of BKK as a native? think she pulled one over you there fella. Even so Im surprised she would make that comment coming from Surat Thani

[Dick Crank]

Sounds very similar to my time there. After awhile I kept finding myself trying to avoid the crowds and find an isolated beach somewhere...

[gk10002000]

yes Ko Larn used to be so much nicer.  The ferry to the jammed beach is about the worst way to see it.  My first trip in 2004 my girl and I took a speed boat to the north side of the island somewhere.  It was a quiet beach.  Not busy at all.  Little hut served fried rice dishes and beer and water and was fine by me.  Had recliners, only two other tourists there with their girls. Stayed 11 am until 4 PM.  Ate, slept, swam, etc.  Been back a few more times since then, both by ferry and speed boat.  So much more crowded

[Naam]

On 6/9/2018 at 12:47 AM, MikeyCarlos said:

People often say that visiting Pattaya is not a good idea. instead, go to the Islands and Bangkok. 

in 2017 nearly 18 million people visited Pattaya

[Rimmer]

Off topic removed, if you want to have a personal conversation please use the personal messenger

[Songkran18]

Been a while since I got back from Thailand. 

 

If I'm successful being granted six weeks vacation/time off w/o pay  for my return to Thailand, I'll include Pattaya again for another 4-5 nights. I failed to capture her essence lodging in Jomtien. It's worthy of a Mulligan, which begs the question: any good Golfing in the area ?