Pattaya is one of the most frequented place by tourists to Thailand. Much like other places in Thailand, Pattaya offers you shopping, beautiful islands and fair share of risque-entertainment options.
Our visit to Thailand this year started with a visit to Pattaya. We took a taxi straight from Bangkok airport. Pattaya is a 2 hrs drive from Bangkok.Taxis are available from the airport. They charge 1500 Bhat, which is not a bad deal given the comfort of the ride. Other option is to take a bus to Mochit and then take the taxi from there to Pattaya.
There are a lot of attractions in Pattaya like Mini Siam,Floating market,Coral island,Ripley's believe it or not museum and the famous walking street
Our visit to Pattaya started with tour of Coral Island.
Coral Island Tour
There are many options available for the Coral Island tour. We booked a tour to Coral island which included pick up and drop to the hotel,transfer by boat to the island and an Indian lunch,excluding the water sports.
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| Pattaya Beach |
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| All set for the beach!!
It takes around 45 min by the speed boat to reach Koh Larn commonly known as Coral island.The first stop was for para sailing,for 400 bhat they take you for a big round.
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| Para sailing. |
The next stop was for sea bed walking,where you are taken to the bed of the sea some 10 feet down with a device similar to self-contained underwater breathing apparatus(SCUBA). You are supposed to feed the fishes with food so you would be surrounded by fishes when they see the food in your hand. It can be enjoyed even by those who do not know how to swim.This was for 1200 Baht per person.
Once these activities are done you head straight to the crystal clear waters of Coral Island It was a bright and sunny day and we enjoyed swimming,sunbathing and clicking pictures.
Our half day tour culminated with a sumptuous meal which was part of the package. We headed back to our hotels for a nap to recharge our batteries.
Recommended: Spare at least half a day to stroll the streets of Pattaya. The beach side roads are picturesque and lively.
Along the beach
In the evening we headed out to the street with no specific plans. No matter how much research you do,there are always a few things which you have to explore on your own. The walk along the lively beach side road were loads of fun.
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Sunset at Pattaya beach 
There are a lot of cafes and restaurants along the beach. The one which caught our attention was Au Bon Pain.The interiors seemed classy.They have outdoor and indoor sitting overlooking the sea.We enjoyed our coffees ( Caramel mocha ),brownie , some sandwiches and salads.
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We loved the ambiance,the coffee and the food. The food is reasonably priced.Coffee are priced from 100-150 Baht and the sandwiches from 150-200 baht You can make your own sandwiches too.We got a veg sandwich made for ourselves.Impressed with the place,we decided to come here again for breakfast the next day too.
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| Bagel with egg and veg sandwich |
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| Au bon pain
With our tummies happy and energy meter showing full ,we shopped as we walked down the road.The next stop was Central festival. 3 years back when I² had visited Pattaya she had seen a fish spa in the mall,so we just hoped it still existed as we walked towards the mall.
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Well as you can see in the picture the spa was still there and we indulged in some well deserved fish therapy.The Fish spa is always fun,priced at 250 baht for a couple for 45 min.
The mall is huge and houses a lot of international brands.We explored the mall,did some shopping and then it was time for dinner.The top floor has the restaurants.There are very few in fact almost no options for veggies.We had our dinner at this Italian place.The pizza was nice authentic wood fired pizza with some garlic breads.
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| Our only vegetarian Option!!! |
The Night life-
If you are on the streets through the evening you can see the transformation of the place into what it is so famous for ;). All roads now lead to the Walking street.
The walking street is just next to the south end of the Pattaya beach.It has around 100 beer bars,30 go-go bars,discos,cabaret shows etc.The street is free form vehicles from 6.00 PM to 2.00 AM. You have to see for yourself the traffic outside the street at midnight.
The walking street is just next to the south end of the Pattaya beach.It has around 100 beer bars,30 go-go bars,discos,cabaret shows etc.The street is free form vehicles from 6.00 PM to 2.00 AM. You have to see for yourself the traffic outside the street at midnight.
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| The Famous Walking Street |
The place buzzes with energy in the night.Open Bars with pole dancers to live sex shows,everything happens here.There is Police to handle any sort of mishap .You have to be a bit careful if you want to enter a bar,do a little research.
TIP: If you are escorted to these places by the guys who are on the street luring you in, you might end up paying extra.
The best thing to do after walking for hours together is to take a relaxing Thai foot massage. You would have ample options to take one. The services range from Foot, shoulder and full body massage. The good part is that these places are open till 1 AM. We had to wait for 15 min for the massage as the massage parlor was full 11 in the night :).
1. Give yourself ample time to sample all that Pattaya has to offer. It is unfair to the place to come here only for the beach or the fun at walking street. Spend a day and do it all.
2. You can travel from Pattaya to Bangkok through a taxi or bus. Buses run on these routes at intervals of 90 minutes, so make sure you reach the bus stand accordingly. Also,book you tickets in advance or you risk waiting a long time for the next available seat.
3. Bangkok traffic is notorious. Best thing to do is to reach the outskirts of Bangkok where you can get a Skytrain. Ditch the road and you can reach the heart of Bangkok faster.
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