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Thailand: The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jun 20, 2013
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Pattaya, Thailand, Travel

Date: 16th November 2012

Today’s plan was to rent a bike and drive to the Sanctuary of Truth, and later, to the far end of Jomtien beach.

Chaba Hut resort restaurant — I had my breakfast at the hotel itself

ChabaHut resort Pattaya pool — The pool faces the posher rooms

After breakfast, I inquired about bike rentals at the hotel reception.

Rental bikes Pattaya Thailand — Chaba Hut Resort themselves had several bikes for rent. But NONE of them would start, or had some problem or the other.

Honda Click rental bike Pattaya — Tired of waiting, I ended up renting a Honda Click from a restaurant just outside the hotel

Mooks Pattaya road — I carried a map with me and highlighted the route

Tourist vans pattaya — I had to get on a small road just off Pattaya Naklua Road

Pattaya apartment building — I did get lost at times, but I always stopped and asked around for directions

Road to Sanctuary of Truth — Most locals don’t know about the ‘Sanctuary of Truth,’ so you need to ask for Wat Prasat Mai or Wang Boran instead.

Sanctuary of Truth entrance Pattaya — This is the entrance to the Sanctuary of Truth

Continue reading “Thailand: The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya” »

Singapore: Day 5 – Chinatown, F1 Friday (Charice, Seungri and GD&TOP concerts)

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Jan 27, 2012
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Singapore, Travel

Date: September 23rd, 2011

Here we go, my F1 weekend begins! Oh wait… I had to shift hostels first.

I really enjoyed my stay at WoW hostel, and today I had second thoughts of checking out and moving to the other location I had chosen (to be much closer to the F1 circuit). But since it was too late to cancel the other reservation, I collected my deposit and they wished me well. I told them I would definitely stay at WoW Hostel again, if I were to return to Singapore. (I seriously would, I really liked the place!)

Pedestrian overbridge New Bridge road Singapore — I took the MRT and got off at Clarke Quay station, which is housed under Central Mall

New Bridge road Clarke Quay Singapore — New Bridge Road, Clarke Quay is walking distance from here

Central Mall Clarke Quay Singapore mobile photo — Crossed over to the other side

Central Shopping Mall office building Singapore panorama — Central Mall is pretty huge

Hong Kong street Singapore — The hostel I needed to get to was on this street

Hong Kong street hostels Singapore CBD — Quite a few other hostels in the area (The above were all taken on my phone)

Rucksack Inn River City hostel stairs building entrance — I arrived at the building which houses River City Inn… and I had been warned it’s a few flight of stairs up

Stairs to Rucksack Inn River City Inn Singapore — You pass another hostel – Rucksack Inn, which is very popular

Rucksack Inn hostel walls Singapore — Above Rucksack Inn, on the 4th floor, is where River City Inn is located

I was tired! The staff at River City Inn greeted me with a glass of water (I’m sure it’s a common gesture now, with each guest appearing tired upon first arrival). Footwear must be kept outside, which I did, and I then entered the hostel to check in. First impressions? Very nice! Looked new, clean and well maintained. I had reserved a single bed in the 24-bed mixed dorm room, which cost SG$32 (Rs. 1,261/$25/€19) a night.Yes, it cost way more than WoW Hostel, but you’re paying the location.

Other than that, the hostel looked nice and it was the usual facilities. Complimentary breakfast and wi-fi, two desktop machines in the ‘living room,’ a decent kitchen with all the requisite quick-meal facilities, a large screen TV, XBOX 360 — and pretty much all the furniture is IKEA! 🙂

I would have shown you photographs of the interiors but the staff told me they didn’t allow anyone to take photos of the hostel. Oh well.

River City Inn Rucksack hostel building Singapore — The yellow building on the right is where River City & Rucksack Inn are housed

City Backpackers hostel Clarke Quay Singapore — Bang opposite is another hostel — City Backpackers

City centre backpackers hostel Singapore — Another one

Central shopping mall Singapore — Given you have a large shopping mall and an MRT station a short walk away, the location isn’t bad at all

Gamehaven building Singapore — Went around the block

Rucksack Inn 2 Hongkong street Singapore — Rucksack Inn has another branch in another lane

Pavement South Bridge road Singapore — I was on my way to the Gate 4 entrance of the F1 circuit

Clarke Quay South Bridge road Singapore — Cross the road and you get to Boat Quay, in just 5 minutes from the hostel

Singapore river Clarke Quay afternoon — Down the river is Clarke Quay

Singapore river cruise boat afternoon — One of the River Cruise boats

Singapore parliament road — Passed by the Singapore parliament

Singapore school girls walking cbd — I walked towards the Gate 4 entrance, which was a right turn from up ahead

Queue Gate 4 Singapore GP Friday afternoon — It was only 2pm, and gates weren’t going to open until 3… so I sat and waited

Friday queue Singapore F1 gate 4 entrance — There was a reason why the queue was this long an hour before the gates opened

St. Andrews cathedral Singapore lawn — I patiently waited

At 3pm, the gates opened and people were slowly allowed in. First a security check. They saw my bag full of camera equipment and the staff asked me whether I was ‘Press’ — I said ‘no’. They still requested that I go up to the Press registration counter and sign a declaration saying I will not sell these photographs, to which I replied “sure”.

Once past the security check, I quickened my pace of walking. So did everybody else. Then as soon as I reached the Padang grounds, I ran — and so did the others!

Singapore F1 concert stage friday Padang grounds — You see, the reason why so many of us queued up so early is because they were handing out FanZone wristbands, so that we could get inside an enclosed section much closer to the main stage

Padang lawn Friday afternoon Singapore GP — Luckily I managed to get mine, and so did the others who queued early — most of whom were VIPs* (I’ll explain later, they’re not *really* important people)

Padang grounds Singapore gp Friday — Phew, well worth coming early for — but now I needed to grab something to eat

Singapore F1 Friday Padang tents — I tried looking for the ‘Press’ tent, but couldn’t find it. Honestly, I wasn’t even too bothered to look for it, I wasn’t going to sell these images. Heck, I’m writing about a September 2011 event in January 2012!

Padang stage Singapore F1 Swissotel Stamford tower — It was past 3pm and I hadn’t eaten yet

Singapore GP Padang grounds way out — I went in search of food

The Cenotaph war memorial Singapore — The Cenotaph War Memorial

Hawker food stalls Singapore F1 grounds — Ahhh, food!

Shawarma doner kebab Singapore F1 food stall — Ahhh, shawarma!

It’s expected food and beverages inside such events were going to be pricey but what to do, I was hungry. So I paid the SG$10 (Rs. 390/$7/€6) for the roll — the most I ever paid for a shawarma in my life, ha ha! (I grew up in the Middle East, so I’m used to having paid only a tenth of that)

Official F1 merchandise stalls Singapore Grand Prix — Checked out the booths

Official merchandise Fanvision stall Singapore GP — Plenty of official merchandise on sale

Singtel booth Singapore GP — SingTel is the title sponsor of the Singapore F1, so they had a massive booth

dbl 0 bar stall Singapore gp — Make-shift lounge bars

Tan Kim Seng fountain Padang Singapore — Tan Kim Seng fountain

Esplanade drive bridge Marina Bay Sands — You can walk under this bridge to get to the Theatres by the Bay

Esplanade Drive Singapore — Esplanade Drive is a part of the F1 track — and thus closed from public use for an entire week

Classic Alfa Romeo drivers parade cars Singapore F1 — On display were the classic cars the Formula 1 race drivers were going to be driven around the circuit for the Drivers Parade before Sunday’s race

Classic Mercedes drivers parade cars display Singapore GP — Very classy line-up

Classic Triumph car display Singapore Grand Prix — They mention which car is assigned to which driver

Singapore gp zone 4 photographers platform F1 Friday — Ah, my people

Singapore GP BMW safety car F1 Friday — It was nearing 4:30pm, the Porsche Cup Asia practice session was about to start

Maybank UOB Capitaland hq buildings Singapore — I took out my 70-200mm zoom lens

BMW safety car start of Friday race Singapore F1 — The safety cars were doing the rounds

Photographers F1 Friday zone 4 Singapore gp — The cameras were ready as the sound of the car engines grew louder

Porsche Carrera cup Asia practice session Friday Singapore — Here they come!

Porsche Carrera cup Asia practice Friday Singapore F1 — I decided to walk to another viewing point

Porsche Carrera Cup practice lap Fullerton Hotel Friday Singapore gp — Mind you, I was still behind barricades. You can’t simply walk closer to the circuit.

Singapore gp security briefing panorama — I had enough of cars zipping past, so I moved on

Asian civilizations museum gate 5 exit Singapore gp — I exited the circuit area

Walking out of F1 circuit Singapore — I was going to meet my friend Aimee now

Steps Uob building lobby Singapore — I waited for Aimee at the UOB building

Singapore blue sky cloud UOB building — Remarkably, I got sunshine today!

Aimee Marie cheek Singapore — After catching up with Aimee, a visit to the ATM

Society bar CBD Singapore — We set off on our walk

Great Eastern building Singapore — Great Eastern building

Walking to Chinatown Singapore — Aimee was going to take me to Chinatown

Indian temple Pagoda street Chinatown Singapore — Even in Chinatown, there’s an Indian temple and a mosque

Chinatown food street Singapore — Chinatown food street

Chinatown classic architecture old buildings Singapore — Like Little India, and Kampong Glam, Chinatown has its share of retro architecture

Buddha Tooth Relic temple Singapore Chinatown — Aimee took me to this temple, the most famous in Chinatown it seems

Buddha tooth relic temple entrance Singapore — The name of this temple? Buddha Tooth Relic temple

Aimee Marie buddha tooth relic temple door Singapore — Seemed like a nice place to take photos of Aimee

Aimee Marie Buddha tooth relic temple incense Singapore — There is a dress code, so they give shawls at the entrance to cover up

Buddha Tooth Relic temple main prayer hall Singapore Chinatown — Inside, it was rather impressive

Buddha tooth relic temple prayer hall god Singapore — Go read up on the ‘Sacred Relic of the tooth of Buddha’ — it’s quite an interesting story

Buddha Tooth Relic temple prayer hall Buddha wall Singapore — Very impressive design

Buddha tooth relic temple prayer hall Singapore — This temple is in fact a newly built one, opened only in 2007

Buddha teeth relic temple back exit Singapore — We left the temple

Chinatown market stalls Singapore — Aime and I then walked through the Chinatown bazaar

Chinatown market Singapore — We had the urge to have some ice cream — bread ice cream in particular

Water chestnut juice vendor Singapore — Couldn’t get the kind of ice cream we were looking for, so we just had juice. I chose water chestnut – because it sounded weird, and I never had it before. It tasted okay though.

Aimee and I took the bus back to Central mall, as I wanted to reduce the weight of my camera bag by offloading equipment I didn’t need.

Aimee Marie freezing Singapore bus — It was very cold inside the bus

Bridge road evening traffic Singapore — Even though the distance wasn’t much, I experienced Singapore evening traffic today. It took some time to cover around a kilometre distance.

After giving our feet some rest at the hostel, we headed towards Boat Quay.

Boat quay inner road evening Singapore — It was 7:30pm

Boat quay friday night restaurants Singapore — It was Friday night

Boat quay friday night crowds bars Singapore — The bankers and officer goers of Marina Bay were all out filling up the bars and eateries

Singapore river at night boat quay — We sat by boat quay

Mithun Divakaran Singapore river boat quay — Look, Mithun!

Bread ice cream vendor Boat Quay Singapore river — And we finally got bread ice cream!

Bread ice cream boat quay Singapore — I had durian flavoured ice cream

Aimee Mariee bread ice cream boat quay Singapore — Yay

Boat quay pier Singapore at night — Kids jumping in?

Boat quay pier boys jumping into river statue Singapore — Not really

Fullerton hotel Singapore river bridge at night — I still had some time before I needed to get back inside

Aimee Marie peace sign Singapore — So we goofed off in front of the camera

Aimee Marie Singapore skyline at night — One final shot against the backdrop of Singapore’s famous skyline

Aimee and I said our goodbyes as she had to go meet her fiance and I had to head back to the Padang grounds.

Gate 5 tunnel underpass Singapore F1 — I went back to the circuit

JK Racing practice Friday night race Singapore F1 Fullerton — The JK Racing practice session was going on

JK Racing Friday practice lap Singapore GP — Nothing exciting, until…

JK Racing car crash Singapore grand prix — … this guy crashed!

Singapore gp racing crash F1 circuit — Didn’t see the others cars race past until this car was lifted off the circuit and all the debris cleared

Singapore gp food court crowds Friday — I walked past the many hungry attendees

Singapore F1 concert Padang grounds Friday — The concerts on the main stage were about to begin, and lot of people had already gathered

Singapore F1 crash on screen — But since I already collected my FanZone band, I could walk straight up close to the stage!

Charice band playing Singapore F1 — As the noise from the JK Racing series subsided, a band began to play

Cameras recording Charice concert Singapore F1 — Who was it for?

Charice stage Singapore F1 Friday concert — Philippine songstress Charice!

Charice singing Singapore F1 Friday concert — The many Filipinos in attendance surely showed the Glee-star some love

Charice singing Singapore F1 concert — She belted out her hits “Pyramid” and “One Day,” and even sang her (then) upcoming new single “Louder”

Charice band dancing dougie Singapore F1 concert — Charice and her band even took a dance break to do the “Dougie”

Charice performing on stage Singapore F1 Friday concert — Charice also sang covers of other popular hits like Jessie J’s “Price Tag”

Charice powerful singing Singapore F1 Friday circuit — She maybe pint-sized, but her voice packs in quite a punch!

Charice on stage Singapore F1 circuit — Amazing singer — and a good show by her!

Singapore grand prix Friday race Jumbotron — After Charice’s performance, the Friday practice lap took place

GD&Top concert crowd Singapore F1 — Plenty of fangirls (VIPs* mostly) were awaiting the main acts for Friday’s concert. I didn’t go too close to the stage as many had already stuffed themselves as close as possible and I didn’t want to be in the midst of girls screaming their lungs out. Trust me, it’s not fun!

Stage rig lights Singapore F1 concert — The lights were ready

GD&Top balloons Singapore grand prix concert — The balloons were ready

GD Top fan sign Singapore concert — The fans… you get the idea

YG Entertainment DJ GD&TOP Seungri concert warmup Singapore F1 — A DJ came on and began spinning some hip-hop jams, and then some 2NE1 — so we knew it was YG** time!

Past 11pm, the lights dimmed and the DJ introduced the first BIG BANG member to hit the stage…

Seungri dancers Singapore F1 Friday concert — … and VIPs screamed as loud as they could when Seungri hit the stage!

Seungri Big Bang performing Singapore concert — Seungri kicked off his performance with “VVIP,” from his debut EP of the same name

Seungri singing Singapore F1 concert — Seungri obviously didn’t have too much material as his solo effort had just came out earlier in the year

Seungri perfomance Singapore gp concert — But he still performed his best

Seungri back up dancers performing Singapore F1 concert — Seungri ended his brief set with his big solo hit “What Can I Do”

Seungri sweating Singapore concert F1 Friday — Imagine dressed up in a suit and dancing under the stage lights in Singapore humidity!

Seungri funny face Singapore F1 concert — Feel free to caption this. Only thing I could think of was “Pew, pew.”

Seungri VIP crown light Big Bang Singapore F1 concert — We were well warmed up for the next act!

And when those two other boys from BIG BANG hit the stage — oh man, the screams!

GD&TOP kpop concert F1 Friday Singapore GP — GD & TOP leaped on to the stage and began their set with “Intro,” the first song on their album

GD & Top korean pop Singapore F1 concert — For those who don’t know: G-Dragon (Left) and T.O.P (Right) are two popular members of the hugely successful K-pop boyband BIG BANG, and as the sub-unit GD & TOP, released an impressive album in late 2010.

T.O.P Big Bang member Singapore Formula 1 concert — T.O.P, the really good looking member of BIG BANG

G-Dragon Singapore F1 concert — G-Dragon, the talented song writer and composer of BIG BANG — and one of the richest idols in S. Korea!

GD and T.O.P dancers Singapore concert F1 Friday — For all his hip-hop swagger, I couldn’t help but laugh when G-Dragon would speak to the crowd in his limited English by saying something like “… you want to make crazy?!” 😀

T.O.P Big Bang member formula 1 concert Singapore — T.O.P on the other hand wasn’t too hyperactive

G-Dragon YG dancers Singapore F1 concert — They performed other great songs from their album like “Knock Out” and “Oh Yeah”

G-Dragon T.O.P Big Bang Singapore Formula 1 concert — The boys spoke to the audience briefly before ending their set with everybody’s favourite “High, High”!

G-Dragon T.O.P Singapore concert formula one — Eventually a sweaty G-Dragon took off his overcoat and sunglasses

Seungri T.O.P Big Bang members Singapore F1 concert — Seungri then joined his group mates to close out the show with (what I believe) was a Big Bang song

Given what a tumultuous year 2011 was for Big Bang – with Daesung’s involvement in the rather unfortunate car accident and G-Dragon’s drug ‘scandal’ – it was still quite a thrill for me that I got to see 3/5th of Big Bang. If only Taeyang could have been there as well, because the K-pop concert only lasted around 45 minutes in length — Seungri and GD&TOP’s performances included.

Oh well, in some ways I was glad it was over — I was completely drenched in sweat! I was so hot, and my arms were aching as I struggled to hold my heavy Canon 7D with the even heavier 70-200mm lens mounted. I took photos the best I could.

I also managed to record some video but if you plan on watching it, I suggest you turn down the volume…

The bass was just too damn loud! I wasn’t even that close to the stage or the speakers, but even from where I was standing, my rib cage was trembling with every thump! I looked up YouTube for other fancams and most of them weren’t any better.

Clarke Quay at night river bridge Singapore — I left the Padang grounds and walked back to the hostel

MICA building at night window colours Singapore — It was well past midnight

I initially thought about reading a fan account of the K-pop concert but my body was just so damn tired after the long walks today and the heat at the concert. I had dinner, took a nice bath and just laid in bed.

And to think this was just the first day of the F1 weekend!

*VIPs are what BIG BANG fans call themselves

**YG Entertainment is the company BIG BANG is under

Next post in this series:

Singapore 2011: Day 6 – F1 Saturday (Rick Astley, Shakira and Shaggy concerts)

Singapore 2011: Day 7 – Little India, F1 Sunday race, Linkin Park concert and Avalon Club

Leaving Singapore, and discovering certain truths about this famous city state

Previous posts in this series:

Singapore 2011: Day 4 – Marina Bay Sands Casino and views from the SkyPark observation deck

Singapore 2011: Day 3 – Bukit Timah and Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore 2011: Day 2 – Jurong Bird Park and… *ouch!*

Singapore 2011: Day 1 – Landing a second time; walking around CBD

Go-go bars restaurants walking street Pattaya Thailand

Thailand 2010: Pattaya — Beach road, Viewpoint, Jomtien Beach, Walking Street

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Jul 12, 2011
/
Pattaya, Thailand, Travel

Date: 25th November 2010

After managing some sleep at Little Court (the motel I was in), I got up at a decent 8am for my first morning in Pattaya. I had time to check out and move to my reserved room at Villa Panalee. So I decided to go for a walk.

Central Pattaya road Thailand — I was in Central Pattaya

Pattaya beach road fountain monument Thailand — A short walk and I was at the beach

North Pattaya beach Thailand — The water was… alright

The sand on Pattaya beach was quite coarse. Not the soft white sand you find in most of South Thailand.

Pattaya beach umbrellas speedboats — Come on, seriously? Where is there even space to walk on this beach! 🙂

Pattaya beach water morning — A lot of parasailing in the distance

As soon as you hit the beach, you’re confronted by touts offering the usual gamut of watersports. I wasn’t keen on doing any of them as I needed breakfast first.

Central Pattaya beach road morning walk — First observation: a LOT of old men in Pattaya

Pattaya beach walk Thailand — You can walk all the way from North to South, it’ll just take you around half an hour

Hard Rock Hotel beach road Pattaya — The Hard Rock Hotel on Beach road

Pattaya beach road soi in morning Thailand — Pattaya’s not really a ‘morning’ city

Pattaya beach road cafe morning — I sat down at a cafe and had an American breakfast

I walked back to my room, checked out of Little Court and then took a moped taxi to Villa Panalee, which I expected to be closer to the beach. But instead it was more than a few lanes away from it. I booked my room using the hotel voucher worth Rs. 1500 I got from Cleartrip along with my flight ticket and as per the description, this was close to the beach. It isn’t.

Villa Panalee bedroom Pattaya — This was my room. Clearly the ‘poshest’ room this backpacker stayed in Thailand.

Villa Panalee is a fairly new 3-star hotel, and it’s just okay. The bed and the bathroom were great though — and honestly, that’s all that matters to me.

Once settled, I took out the map of Pattaya and wondered where to go and what to see. This was my first time here. I hadn’t done much research on Pattaya because, outside of nightlife, I didn’t think there was anything remotely interesting to see in Pattaya. One of my girlfriends highly recommended a ladyboy cabaret show called Alcazar, but I have little interest in broadway theatre (sorry Cherie Ann :roll:).

So as I stepped out, I was approached by moped taxi drivers who asked me if I wanted a tour of the city. Taking advantage of that, I asked them what all there was to see. As they listed the sights out, I chose to go to the hill viewpoint first.

Pattaya 2nd road traffic Thailand — The ride cost ฿60

Pattaya third road traffic Thailand — I took these photos sitting behind the driver

Way to Big Buddha hill Pattaya — The drive took nearly 15 minutes

Road leading to viewpoint Pattaya bay — You have to ride uphill

Once I reached the top and paid the driver, I felt something on my head. The helmet was still on! Unfortunately, as I turned around and called the taxi driver back, he zoomed off. Great, now I had a bike helmet to carry around.

As for the view from top of the hill…

Pattaya bay panorama view of city and sea — Here’s a panoramic view (comprised of 6 shots)

Pattaya city buildings Thailand — Don’t know what that odd shaped building was

Pattaya new pier from viewpoint hill — That’s the pier

Pattaya neighbouring island Thailand — Wonder which island that is

Pattaya viewpoint hill FM104.75 station — Some radio station

Statue Admiral Prince Krom Louang Chumphon Khet monument — A famous Thai Admiral (I’m guessing)

Pattaya new pier close up boats — Took out the Tamron 28-75mm lens

Sanctuary of truth art display viewpoint hill — I’ll talk about the Sanctuary of Truth later

Pattaya viewpoint temple — There was a small temple

Weekday buddha Sunday Monday statues — A Buddha statue for every day of the week

Weekday Buddha Tuesday statue — Is Tuesday supposed to be a day of rest?

Coconut vendor viewpoint hill cats Pattaya — It was quite hot and felt like having ice cream — so I did

Pattaya viewpoint opening closing time — That’s the name of the admiral statue

Pattaya viewpoint temple panorama — I left the viewpoint

I walked downhill and decided to check out the Big Buddha statue next.

Walking down to Big Buddha hill Pattaya — I could see the Big Buddha statue from here, so I figured I could walk it there

Chinese garden granite stairs Pattaya Thailand — Though the walk from hill to hill was short, there is a lot of walking uphill now

On the way up is a Chinese Garden.

Pattaya Chinese garden Big Buddha hill panorama — (Panorama comprised of 9 shots)

Big Buddha hill Pattaya Thailand — I walked a bit further up to get to the Big Buddha statue

As I walked towards the Big Buddha statue, a hawker at the footsteps asked me whether I wanted to ‘free sparrows’ as it would bring me good luck. I initially said ‘no’ because I don’t believe in all that, but she persisted and I know it’s such a touristy thing to do — but I might as well just do it for the sake of freeing the birds.

Sparrow cages vendor Big Buddha statue Pattaya hill Thailand — I don’t remember how much I paid for the sparrow’s’ freedom, but it was less than ฿100

Sparrow cages cat Big Buddha statue Pattaya hill — Hey look, Sylvester the Cat waiting for Tweety!

Big Buddha statue panorama Pattaya Thailand — Big Buddha himself

Pattaya hill road afternoon Thailand — I left Big Buddha hill and decided to head to Jomtien beach

Since there were signs pointing to which direction Jomtien was, I figured it was walking distance again (the signs didn’t say how far though).

Jomtien land for sale Pattaya Thailand — A lot of posters for real estate here…

Apartments for sale Jomtien Pattaya Thailand — … and a lot of them seem to be targeting Russians

Road to Jomtien Pattaya Thailand — It was *really* hot

Road to Jomtein beach Pattaya Thailand — After walking for around 15 minutes, I decided to go by wheels

I got into a pick-up taxi and reached Jomtien beach in less than 5 minutes.

Jomtien beach panorama Pattaya Thailand — Jomtien beach (Panorama comprised of 5 shots)

Since I hadn’t had lunch yet, I first stepped into a sea facing restaurant to eat something and have some chilled beer!

Jomtien beach road restaurants — Sat inside Sunlight Hotel’s restaurant

The one thing that struck me about Jomtien is the sheer presence of the Russians. They’re everywhere! So much so that some signs and even the restaurant menus are in Russian. It really did baffle me a bit.It’s like they essentially own this side of Pattaya.

Of course, I’ve heard the myth about the Russian mafia’s presence here in Pattaya. But how much of that is due to the influence of Western media’s portrayal Russians (as the perennial bad guys) and how much of it is actually true, who knows. After doing some research, turns out a lot of Russians do like the sun and lifestyle out here in Pattaya and therefore visit in droves. Not to mention, invest in property too. Of course, the ‘bad’ of any country makes its way among those droves and some claim many bars and hotels are run by such Russians too.

Fried stuffed crab Pattaya Thailand — Great fried stuffed crab, some fries and two beers (Chang, of course). Cost me ฿250.

Sunlight seafood restaurant hotel Jomtien beach Pattaya — Service was good and the food was nice

Stomach full, I sat there for a while before strolling the beach again.

Jomtien beach shops Russian tourists — You have the usual gamut of street stores

I came to Jomtien beach assuming it would be better than Pattaya’s main beach.

Jomtien beach Pattaya Thailand — But alas, the chairs and umbrellas take up much of the sand here as well.

Jomtien beach kid Pattaya Thailand — Though I wonder how far Jomtien’s beach extends

Jomtien beach sunset view horizon Pattaya Thailand — I got into the water for some time

You really cannot visit Thailand and not hit a beach. This country is renowned for its beaches… but I wouldn’t recommend Pattaya’s coastline if you want the best of what Thailand has to offer. Since this visit was only focusing on North Thailand, Pattaya was the easiest beach town for me to visit.

Jomtien beach tourists Pattaya Thailand — If you don’t mind the mostly Eastern European crowd here, Jomtien is a far more pleasant side compared to Pattaya’s main Beach Road

Jomtien beach road Oasis Pattaya Thailand — Took a stroll

Jomtien beach singers charity Pattaya Thailand — These two Europeans were singing to raise money for charity (I hope)

After much ‘strolling,’ I figured I’d only reach the far end of Jomtien by sunset. I got into a pick-up taxi and headed back to the ‘other side’.

Jomtien Punjabi Tadka Indian restaurant Pattaya Thailand — Pattaya is one place in Thailand you will easily find Indian food

Pattaya city Arab restaurant massage — … and Arabic food

Steakhouse Royal Palace Hotel Pattaya Thailand — Actually, given how touristy this place is, you’ll get pretty much every kind of cuisine

Second road bars Pattaya Thailand — I got down here

Sawadee Sabai Pattaya second road — I was on Pattaya Second Road

Pattaya Second Road street shops Thailand — I walked up the road, and into this flea market

Pattaya street shop clothes Thailand — It was the usual selection of t-shirts and clothing you’ll anywhere else in Thailand. This was no Chatuchak.

By the time I stepped out, which was 10 minutes later, the sun had already set.

Central Festival Mall Pattaya Thailand — Checked out the only major mall on Pattaya Beach – CentralFestival

Central Festival mall interiors Pattaya Thailand — (Mostly because they had air-conditioning :))

Central Festival mall inside Pattaya Beach Thailand — (Taken on the Nokia E72)

Central Festival mall X'mas tree Pattaya Thailand — After feeling a little cooler, I stepped out of the mall and on to Beach Road

Pattaya Bay beach at night umbrellas — Walking Street was at the end of this stretch

Mike Shopping mall Beach Road Pattaya Thailand — Dropped in here as well

But came out in less than 5 minutes. Usual department store fare but with lousy offerings. Saw mostly Eastern Europeans and it looked like they were dropped there by the bus loads.

Mike Plaza hotel jewelry Beach road Pattaya Thailand — Mike seems to be a big-shot businessman in Pattaya. Not surprised to find out he’s Chinese.

Walking street Pattaya Thailand — Pattaya’s (in)famous Walking Street 🙂

Walking Street, from its name, implies no vehicles allowed. Lined with go-go bars, restaurants, neon lights and more bars… this is essentially an adult playground.

Elvis show walking street Pattaya bar Thailand — Elvis is yet to enter the building. At around 7:30pm, most bars were only starting to open.

Pattaya Walking Street neon signs Thailand — Walking Street seems like it only comes truly alive as it nears midnight

Rasputin restaurant end Walking Street Pattaya Thailand — I walked all the way till the end of Walking Street

Bah-hai by the sea food restaurant — You have a few less-seedy looking avenues to have a relaxing evening

International meeting street Pattaya Thailand — It got quiet now

Pattaya City hill sign at night — Reached an open area where they often hold concerts

My legs were hurting a bit because of all the walking in slippers throughout the hot afternoon with all my camera equipment in my backpack. I limped my way to what looked like a ferry station near the pier and sat down for a while.

There was a vendor selling coconut ice cream, which looked good. So I ordered for one (cost ฿25).

Coconut ice cream Pattaya Thailand — I didn’t ‘decorate’ this photo. The vendor saw me setting up my ice cream for a shot. He placed leaves underneath and a flower, giving me the ‘nice’ hand gesture 🙂

As I had my ice cream, I wondered to myself why despite being a city famous for it’s nightlife… I was in no mood to revel in it some how. It wasn’t just that I was tired from all the walking. Right from the time I arrived in Pattaya yesterday late night, I felt a sense of unwelcomeness. Everywhere else in Thailand, I was used to being smiled anywhere I went. Whether it was a local passerby on the street I made eye-contact with or the hawkers approaching you with something or the other — even if I said ‘no,’ I would still get a smile from them.

But in a country which earned the title ‘Land of Smiles,’ I didn’t experience that in Pattaya. I don’t quite sure know why. Was it because I looked young — or do they not like Indians? To be fair, I didn’t see too many backpackers or young travellers like I met in places like Chiang Rai. The few I did see, also felt out of place.

Pattaya is exactly what many people expect when they visit Thailand. It’s easy to see why. Throughout the day, I saw countless tour buses transporting hundreds of tourists from China, India, Eastern Europe — most of whom surely came on tour packages. Problem is, most of these package tours are often 4 to 5 days at best. Moderately priced and promising to offer great value to this ‘exotic’ destination, they see countless takers. Thousands in India do, annually. But in those 5 days, most aren’t taken anywhere else besides Pattaya and Bangkok. Pattaya because it’s the closest (developed) beach destination (with a nightlife) and only an hour away from Suvarnabhumi airport; and Bangkok because there’s some heritage and lots of shopping to be enjoyed (and again, a nightlife).

So when these two destinations are the only places you have seen in Thailand on your vacation, it’s no surprise the very same people go back with memories of a country with a lot to offer in terms of adult entertainment and shopping.

They don’t visit Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi (Ao Nang and Railay), the Phi Phi islands and the other provinces that make up rest of the country. And it’s not like any of these other places are hidden secrets. In fact I don’t believe there any discreet places left in Thailand ever since the release of The Beach. If you visit every other province in Thailand and then come to Pattaya, it really does feel like a whole different place.

It all started in the 1960s when the American soldiers landed in Pattaya during the Vietnam War for their “rest & recreation”. Since then, despite the Thailand government’s attempts, the country’s reputation hasn’t changed much in the eyes of the narrow-minded majority. A few months back, mobile carrier Airtel even launched a stupid (short-lived) TV ad here in India which showed a young man searching for ‘nightlife in Bangkok’ on his 3G service. Surely the Thai Embassy here wasn’t too pleased.

I’m not a judgmental person, nor a puritan. I really don’t care what adults do with their (rightfully earned) money and time. But what irritates me is when visitors (especially from India in my case) come with preconceived notion about Thailand, seek it in places like Bangkok and Pattaya — and then spread the word back home saying that’s the only thing Thailand has to offer.

Some would argue they don’t visit other provinces due to cost. To them I say, trust me, if you actually researched on those places, you’ll realize they are far cheaper than Thailand’s most popular destinations — Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. It all comes down to having an interest first.

Pattaya city sign sea lights — Pattaya sees over 4 million visitors every year

Thailand is one of the most visited countries on the planet, with over 14 million tourists visiting every year. Tourism is one of the biggest revenue generators and employers in this country. But unlike Europe, Thailand still offers travellers great value for their money. It’s why many love coming back. (And no, I’m not talking the sex tourists and their reasons)

Oriental star dining boat pier Pattaya Thailand — Anyway…

New pier station Pattaya Thailand — It was time to go back

I walked back through Walking Street, passing a second time, the very same touts shoving peep shows of various naughty kinds in your face (quite literally).

I know it’s hard to believe a straight, single guy didn’t step into a single go-go bar on Walking Street, but trust me, I really didn’t feel like it right now.

Dollhouse go-go bar Muay Thai boxing match Pattaya Thailand — Stopped on the way to watch some Muay Thai action

And then again, for Michael Jackson… !

Michael Jackson magician walking street Pattaya Thailand — (… the magician that is)

He was quite dandy:

As I approached a moped taxi, it quickly dawned to me that I had no idea where exactly my hotel was! The thing about Pattaya City is, there are only 4 or 5 main roads. Everything else in between are countless rows of ‘soi’ or streets. I tried just name-dropping Villa Panalee but the taxi drivers didn’t know it (or at least pretended to not know where it was).

So I ended up having to go look for an internet cafe to find the exact address.

Walking Street tourist police Pattaya Thailand — Pattaya Tourist Police — I remember seeing that big bald bloke in a British series called ‘Big Trouble in Thailand’ when I was researching on Thailand back in 2009. You can find the episodes online.

South Pattaya road at night Thailand — I had to sit 5 minutes in a rather rather expensive internet cafe on South Pattaya Road just to jot down the address

I hopped on one of those moped taxis and got dropped back to Villa Panalee (cost me ฿50). I walked back to the spot where the moped taxis were in the morning and handed back the helmet. My driver wasn’t there but I requested his colleagues to hand it back to him.

Back in the room, I relaxed a bit with the A/C on. Then gladly dumped my camera bag and stepped out again for dinner.

I decided to walk a bit one last time and see just how far Villa Panalee actually was from the beach.

House of pain tattoo parlour Pattaya Thailand — How appropriate a name 🙂

Pattaya night bars Sawadee hotels — This road was parallel to Second Road

Mike's Shopping Mall department store Pattaya Thailand — 10 minutes later and I was in front of (or behind) Mike’s Shopping Mall

Back on Second Road, I walked past the may bars only to stop when I heard a Thai band play some mean rock covers. I liked their performances so much that I ended up sitting there to watch them perform.

Pattaya rock band playing bar Thailand — Aging musicians, but they were good

I was approached by the waitress, menu in hand, but no smile on her face. I ordered my vodka drink and watched the band play some classic Scorpions. Done with my drink, I got up and tipped the band. They nodded in appreciation… with a smile.

I wondered if things would have been different if I was white, a bit older… and pot-bellied. Would the treatment have been a lot better? Even in Mike’s Shopping Mall, I barely saw any smiles on the sales people’s faces. Do the Thais here feel like Pattaya doesn’t belong to them anymore? I mean, this city is so overrun with tourists, it maybe possible. It does feel like the outsiders and the few who make their money from them pretty much call the shots around here.

It’s also apparent from the many cheap long stay accommodations available, there are many who make Pattaya their home. Western men (mostly from the UK) who seem to be enjoying their final years spending their retirement money at the countless bars, from dusk to dawn.

It was the first thing that struck me in Pattaya — the bars. There’s sooooo many of them! Not go-go bars, but just plain bars. Every square inch of free space available would see a few bar stools set up and women serving liquor. It really did shock me at first. If you want your alcohol fix day and night, there’s no place quite like Pattaya. From North to South, you’ll never run short of bars to sit at. I wonder how many survive with this much competition.

Fresh pot pie pastry sausage roll vendor Pattaya — This guy on a bike was selling freshly made pastry. Bought a sausage roll and a pie. It was really good!

Oh, I also saw a few Indian newlyweds. The brides with their many bangles (a North Indian post-wedding tradition), some of whom had the look of bewilderment on their faces; while her newlywed husband had the look of disappointment — wondering why he hadn’t come to Pattaya before he got married.

Word of advice to those who choose Thailand as a honeymoon destination. If you want your serene beautiful beaches, head to South Thailand, or Ko Chang, further east of Pattaya. If you don’t mind the tranquil forests, go up north to Chiang Mai. Pattaya is where I would come for a bachelor/bachelorette party — not a honeymoon. Of course, this is all down to the couples themselves. Some say Pattaya can be enjoyed by couples, others may not.

Back in my room, I sat in the bathtub at around 11pm, considered ‘early’ in Pattaya. I wondered what to do tomorrow: stay another day and do the Coral Island tour in the morning – or – head back to Bangkok. Coral Island didn’t look good to me even in the photos, not after you have seen the islands in Krabi.

I also ignored the Sanctuary of Truth, thinking it was just another temple. Only to realize (via Reddit of all the sources!) a few weeks ago (as of this writing) that it’s a private man-made temple carved completely out of wood! It looks mighty impressive from close up and despite the steep ฿500 entrance fee, I’m surely going to see it the next time I’m in Thailand.

Which is why I ultimately decided to leave for Bangkok tomorrow. Pattaya is a place you can easily visit when in Thailand. If you land in Suvarnabhumi (as most foreign tourists do), there are plenty of buses to Pattaya direct from the airport, as it’s only an hour away.

Though as I lay in bed, I imagined what I would have seen had I rented a bike and drove all the way till the end of Jomtien beach and the other outskirts of Pattaya.

As is the case with me and Thailand, I’ll have to do it the next time I visit the ‘Land of Smiles’.

Edit (14/07/2010): Shared this post on Reddit and got some good feedback from other users. Hmm, maybe I should seriously catch one of those ladyboy shows next time.