Pattaya - Let the fun begin - “What happens in Pattaya, should stay in Pattaya”

Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.
                                                                                                                                  -- "The Beach" Movie

 

We had planned it would be interesting to go round robin with the blog writing, but later I was corrected by the male duo – that this task has been solely delegated to me. Though I did wonder than why the credits had their names, but then it took three to travel. Anyways we still convinced the Mister to write his version on Pattaya, since his visit to the Bachelor’s Paradise with Wife & Best Friend would make for good laughs. But unfortunately he is having a very busy month. So, here I am giving my two cents on the paradise island *Ting!

We explored Pattaya mostly on foot. On the day of our landing here, we wasted no time to relax or settle down but took it up to the streets to begin soaking up - Thailand. We first headed to the Pattaya beach, though the beach was very long in its expanse but too narrow and crowded for comfort. While the guys went for a dip as soon as they set eyes upon the blue waters, I was more intrigued by the activities at the shore. Since last few years boom in the Tattoo trends, I too have got a new hobby of “Tattoo Spotting” & Pattaya gave ample eye candy for that.  I was amazed at witnessing a melting pot of people from around the world, at this small town. The baby boomers were kicking off their bucket list in style all over the town. 

The highlights of the day included the Tiffany’s Show – A cabaret by the lady boys, the beauty of whom can put the prettiest actresses to cosmetic surgery. The sets were so grand in Eastman colors, as if taken straight out of Bollywood movies. Since we bought the tickets impromptu, it gave us a chance to bargain with the locals, unlike the other add-ons of our package tour. We spent the night striding up & down the walking street, which was shocking to me and exciting to the male duo on the first impression but as the” live overdose of XXX ads” numb your senses, what takes over is the vibrant night life, the energy and  sense of adventure.

Our second day at Pattaya started with tour to Coral Islands. A quick stopover on a floating platform gave the large hoards of Honeymooners to experience the so called “adventure water sports” – Speed boat ride & Parasailing. In addition a few ill mannered fellow tourists made us resolve never to take a package tour again. One exceptionally boisterous group tested our patience to the limit that we contemplated jumping off the speed boat in the middle of the sea. The coral island beach was highly commercialized but we managed to find an uncrowded spot to relax & enjoy the pristine blue water n white sands. Soon the Thai gods took heart and blessed us with a light drizzle on that sunny morning to compensate the boredom we had experienced for the past few hours. The rain, sun, & sea gave us our piece of heaven right there.

--ND

Enter Thailand Full of Life..................

“These are the days that must happen to you:

You shall not heap up what is call’d riches,

You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve,

You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d

You hardly settle yourself to satisfaction,

Before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart…”

- Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road.

What does it takes to overcome the inertia of an anchored life, to jump into a never before experience of nature’s paradise with your life partner & BFF (Best Friend Forever)…

Well in my case not much except a disheartened, 20 - something “BFF” wandering through my home, a whole weekend; after getting stood up by his travel buddy for the much awaited trip to the Bachelor’s Paradise- Thailand.



"Om Mani Padme Hum"



We had seen him planning on & on for this trip since the day the idea took over his mind. So it was a well placed bet, of course after calculating a million times that it won’t cost us more than $2k, we jumped in the wagon to “ Discover Thailand”. The BFF had actually done his homework well, when he briefed us about all the attractions. I must admit the choice of destination couldn’t have been better looking at the assortment of landscape, people, food, activities & events – we experienced, later.

Like every budding travel enthusiast we took up a hassle-free travel package for popular Thailand hotspots. Hunting for the cheapest deals we landed up with a reasonable package for Bangkok & Pattaya – 5 days inclusive of return air fare, accommodation with breakfast, Day Tours with Lunch for just over $1k pax. For Phuket & Phi-Phi islands, we arranged a land deal of 2 days for around $250 pax, and booked cheap flight with Air Asia to reach Phuket, while deciding to make the return trip by the overnight Merc Buses, thus trying to swish past the rural Thailand as well.



Hell Bucket



Snorting the love in the air, with a flight full of honeymooners, we arrived at Bangkok early morning and were quickly shuttled away by our tour guides.  As few miles passed over, I realized except for the diversity of people around me & the broad roads on which we were zooming on to Pattaya, not much was different in the scenery , well after all we are still on the same continent. I was anxiously waiting for the beauty of the country to hit me, but that moment did not arrive till the next day.

Meanwhile, we were dropped off at our Hotel which looked deserted, until the next day when during the sudden breakout on breakfast buffet, it dawned on us that this hotel seemed to be the Hilton for all the Indian & Chinese budget family travelers & honeymooners. The very crowd - we wanted to escape.

Stay tuned for day 2 updates........

--ND