Pattaya City

We covered both Bangkok and Pattaya city in October 2009. While Pattaya city was the first destination we paid a visit to, Bangkok was the place which etched itself in my memory because of its cleanliness and the gorgeous shrines and monasteries.

Pattaya also known as the "Sin city" of Thailand is truly a bachelor's paradise with its exotic night life and sexy drop-dead good looking girls catering to the needs of the tourists. With an estimated 40,000 women working in beer bars or Go GO bars, massage parlours and some working as freelancers, Pattaya City has a lot to offer in terms of pleasure for men. Besides the night life, Pattaya has some exotic beaches with plentiful beach activities, spanking posh malls, roadside delicious Thai foods and Gem Factory.

Pattaya City comes alive mostly in the weekend. With an hour drive from Bangkok airport, plenty of tourists and residents of Bangkok choose this place as destination for their weekend revelry. When we reached Pattaya, the first thing that came to my notice was the beautiful sight of the beaches. The scantily clad women roaming around with tourists or partners along the beach side road also was another bizarre thing to strike my attention.Immediately I realized I have come to a "funky" place.We resided in "Hotel Beverly Plaza" and the first thing I enjoyed was a gourmet meal with fried noodles, omlette and fried rice prepared in authentic Thai style. Pics below:

 
 

After the lunch, we slept tight for few hours before we got ready for the night stroll along the Walking Street and the beach road. Since we were really tired due to the nightlong journey in plane (it takes about 3-4 hours in flight to reach Bangkok from Kolkata and about one hour from Bangkok to reach Pattaya City.),we didnt keep much program for the night. Mostly I indulged myself in shopping. It was Friday and the Walking Street came into life around midnight.It was really exciting to saunter through the Walking Street lined with Go-Go Bars, Dance bars with loud music blaring out and skimpy dressed women calling out for attention. Some pics below:

 

 

 

Next morning we headed towards the Coral Beach. Debu tried parasailing there and it turned out successful. As for me I chickened out at the last moment because of my height phobia and also the fact that after you take off in parachut they will first dip you into the sea before pulling you up on the boat gave me a cold feet. I dont know swimming and floating in the middle of the sea was quite a petrifying idea for me. Some snapshots of Debu flying up in the air are below:

 

 

After the stunt with parasailing was over, we ferried to Coral Island famed for its natural picturesque beauty with crystal clear turquoise water and white sand ringed by mountains. We milled around the beach a while before bathing in the salty cold water. Since I dont know swimming, I didnt try going far into the sea. I let myself afloat as far as I felt pebbles beneath my feet. But I loved watching Debu as he plunged himself deep into the water bobbing up and down with the waves. At that a moment a wistful thought came over me that I should learn swimming. 

After having a refreshing bath, we had an appetizing lunch at an Indian restaurant located inside a posh nightclub but since we visited the place during the day, only a small section of the club was open to the tourists.The meal comprises chicken and mutton curry, zeera (cumin seeds) rice, daal, vegetable curry,raita, some kind of fish (which I found awful in taste), payesh etc. Then we returned to our hotel for an afternoon siesta.

Our evening was fully booked for the famous Alcazar show but before that we did some shopping in a nearby mall. The ride in tuktuk was another memorable thing done that evening. Tuktuk is a mode of transport akin to the autorickshaws in India, though, it looks different in shape and size in different cities within Thailand. The tuktuks used in Pattaya are larger than that of Bangkok. Tuktuks in Bangkok are more colorful whereas its counterpart looks bland albeit fascinating in Pattaya.

After a satisying shopping venture, we headed for the famous Alcazar Show.This show will surely take your breath away with its glitter and the dazzling performances by a troop of artists clad in shimmering gowns. The outstanding colourful costumes and the artful display of lights by creating a perfect kaleisdoscope of illusions kept me totally transfixed for three hours and I felt fully entertained and sated after it was over. However, the most interesting revelation was the fact that all these performers were transgenders. Inconceivably, looking at their grace and X-factor not for a single moment any flicker of doubt entered my mind about this astounding transition.

After taking the memory of the famous Alcazar show imprinted in our minds, we began our night stroll along the beach side road. We saw swine being roasted on grill. Swine being roasted might not be an uncommon sight but my curiosity was aroused by the swine face yet attached to its vertebra when it was placed above fire.      

Since we ate Indian lunch in the afternoon, our plan for the night was to try Thai dishes. So we began our hunt for an authentic Thai restaurant. There are bars aplenty across the Walking Street and the Beach road, but we were on the lookout for a restaurant with cozy corner so that the two of us could steal some romantic moments with each other. We dined in a small eatery with a pleasing ambiance but less crowded and I tried the popular Fu yung there. The food was quite delectable and I boozed to my heart's content almost entering a vertigo state.

Next morning before setting out for Bangkok, we paid a visit to the Gem Factory of Pattaya. Gem factory is an ideal place for gem enthusiasts. Our journey in Gem factory began with a toytrain ride through a makeshift tunnel demonstrating how gems were extracted from mines and then polished and fine-tuned into sleek pieces of jewellaries. The simulation journey in toy train was followed by a visit to the manufactory showcasing workers busy burnishing the gems of different sizes, from large to minuscule. I learned about the intricacy and eye-strain involved in creating those dazzling pieces of diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and topaz. There were a couple of huge showrooms selling varieties of exquisite pieces of rare gems, pearl and gold jewellaries. I could not take my eyes off the fine pieces of gem-studded gold necklaces and earrings feeling literally tempted to buy some but our tight-fisted pecuniary condition barely allowed some gems to be affordable and I had no option but to stay content with what was coming within our budget :(

Gem Factory was the last destination we visited in Pattaya. Then we started over our journey for Bangkok.