While I was in Thailand I felt it obligatory to head down to Pattaya as when you say the word Thailand a couple places come to the top of the list. I normally spend very little time in tourist areas or use them as a base for outlying trips so this looked like as good a place as any. I took a bunch of photos while I was there and you can see them on various pages on my site.
I took a taxi to the walking street and proceed through it past the docks and to a set of steps and paved route to an overlook. It took an hour or so to navigate the path and I stopped along the way to take pictures and have a drink at a small cliff side restaurant. It was nice sitting at a table, sipping cold tea and watching all the activity in the Pattaya area. It seems to be active around the clock, probably due to all the tourists coming and going at all hours. It is a lively, colorful area with plenty to do for families and those who are into alternative lifestyles. From what I can tell, if you can think of it, someone in the area is selling it.
One thing I did notice is that the electrical system and power structure seems to be somewhat haphazard or at least there are no meaningful electrical codes. High voltage lines are literally within arms reach in many areas. It’s surprising you don’t hear about mishaps especially in an area with so many drunk tourists.
Pattaya is your typical tourist town offering up everything you can imagine with the main focus being on alcohol, women and shopping. It is remarkably clean for all the activity although there is somewhat an smell of dried beer and trash that hangs around periodically.
I walked by all the bars except two which had local performers singing and playing what appeared to be musical instruments they made themselves. You can see them on my youtube channel and on pages here. They did a fabulous job and I loved every minute watching them do their thing. The music was local and very enjoyable to listen to.
I also wandered around the shopping areas both open areas with fleamarkets as, malls, individual stores and what are basically a fleamarket stall type sales atmosphere but under a roof. Everything imaginable is for sale in these places and there is quite a bit of duplication as much of the same stuff is sold by hundreds of vendors all trying to make a buck. Fascinating time if you’re into shopping. I bought a giraffe made out of a coconut tree and some other stuff to take home. If you’re a tourist, you have to drag souvenirs and nick nacks home with you as I did.
I walked the beach going in both directions north and south for hours. The beach is a sea of beach chairs and umbrellas, seadoos and water craft for rent as well as food, drink and occasionally an elephant will stroll by you can ride. It’s beach on one side, stores and condos on the other side. It appears the locals not all but quite a few, hang out on the beach early in the day as the tourists are probably nursing hangovers from the night before. It is relatively quiet in the mornings probably for that reason so I was out an about early to get a feel for the local culture. There is quite bit of beauty there and I really enjoyed it, it is a tropical paradise with massive commercialization built on top.
During my travels I noticed fried insects for sale and you can see them and me eating the bugs here and on my youtube channel. I have never eaten fried crickets, grasshoppers, silk worms until I arrived here and it was an experience I’ll remember.
Pattaya seems to be in constant turmoil with all the condominiums being built all over the place an there is construction all over the place. Several condo projects were underway as well as signs everywhere advertising more condo projects on the way. One thing I did notice while I was there was the different foreigners that had taken up residence there seemed to gravitate to the same area. Not entirely of course, but enough for me to notice. There was a section for the Russians, Germans, one for the middle east, the British and Europeans in general. Birds of a feather do flock together and I’ve noticed this habit no matter where I am in the world.
Another thing I noticed was the enormous number of party stores and 7-11s in the area. There are many places where they are literally next to each other or the same franchise is on both corners of the same block. I thought this was quite interesting and asked some of the locals why so many party stores had sprung up in such close proximity to each other. I don’t know whether its true but it was explained to me like this. You can’t drink the water so the stores want to be sure it is available and within arms reach no matter where you are as the profit margin must be enormous. Secondly, the Russians like to grab a six pack and walk around drinking and I do admit I saw quite a few Russians have a beer or whatever. The third reason is the Chinese like to grab a bottle of water and walk around watching everyone which reflects back to the first reason. I can’t believe so many party stores remain in business but somehow they do as they are like locust.
Anyhow, that’s my Pattaya trip in a nutshell. Visit my other pages to learn more and if you have a chance, get down there. The bus ride from the airport is inexpensive and relatively quick.
This is one of many videos, watch them all and visit my travel site http://www.wizardofwhere.com Instagram and Pinterst @wizardofwhere as I develop them. Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
Wizard of Where