Thailand turned out to be the first Southeast Asian country I visited, so the impressions were very vivid. After much consideration, my friend and I decided in 2018 to travel specifically to Pattaya — one of the most popular resorts.
Why I Decided to Visit Pattaya
Initially, we thought about flying to the more expensive Phuket, where it is possible to swim more peacefully without visiting islands. But many acquaintances advised against it, claiming that Pattaya is more interesting and has more places to visit.
Since we didn’t want to travel “backpackers-style” for the first time in an Asian country, we bought a package tour: flight and hotel with breakfasts cost us 40,000 THB. At that time, I was living in Samara, and flights from there were limited, so we didn’t have to choose dates for long, and we planned our vacation for the end of March.
We arrived at the huge and amazing Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport: such a large-scale facility is hard to find elsewhere. We got to the city using a transfer provided by the travel company. The hotel – Centara Nova 4* – is located in the central part of the city, but a bit far from the coastline.
Looking at the map, it’s not critical, but in practice, it caused some inconvenience. The sidewalks around our hotel were almost non-existent, and walking along roads with constantly speeding motorbikes was not very safe.
By the way, next time, if I go to Thailand for a short period (a month is much better for renting a house or apartment in a condominium), I will skip breakfasts. In our very decent hotel, they were incredibly monotonous, and by the fourth day, eating the same sausages and omelets gets quite boring.
Excursions
We are not big fans of tours with travel companies, especially when it’s over 35 degrees Celsius outside. But getting around Pattaya on your own is much more difficult than with an organized group, so we still decided to look at the guide’s offers.
The first, cheapest excursion called “Crocodile Farm” surprisingly turned out to be the most enjoyable. There, you can really see crocodiles at arm’s length, and if desired, feed them chicken on a stick (we didn’t try that). But the main attraction is that the farm is combined with a small zoo, where you can see tigers up close without cages, under the supervision of trainers, and even pet and feed elephants and giraffes with bananas. Bananas are sold on-site, costing 50–100 THB for a decent basket.
Everything is set in a very green, pleasant, landscaped garden, decorated with flowers, sculpted trees, and other plants. In addition to the listed animals, there are exotic birds, ponies, and even bears, and in a small pond, you can feed shiny-scaled carp.
The second excursion — Nong Nooch Tropical Garden — we enjoyed a bit less, mainly because of the unbearable heat that day. The park consists of several large themed gardens and locations, mostly outdoors. Exceptions are the orchid garden at the beginning and the lifesaving air-conditioned car park, where you can admire collectible cars of expensive brands.
The program includes an elephant show. They are very cute, and honestly, it’s a bit sad to watch them: in such heat, even standing is hot, let alone playing football for human entertainment. Besides the plants, the gardens are filled with statues and sculptures — from classic Thai stone lions to entire armies of lemurs, tigers, zebras, and even giant red metal ants.
I really liked the small minimalist cactus garden. The final point of the route is a pagoda located on a reasonably high hill, offering a panoramic view of the gardens. Climbing there in forty-degree heat was quite a challenge.
Finally, our third excursion was the “Uninhabited Ko Rin Island” — the most relaxing day of our trip. The essence of the “excursion” is simple: in a group of 10–15 people, you board a high-speed boat and are taken to a nearby uninhabited island with a sandy beach. It takes about 40 minutes to get there, but it’s much farther than islands with municipal beaches. There is absolutely nothing on the island except shelters from the sun and a beach with clean sand and clear water. Entertainment options included fishing from the boat, and amenities included mats for lying down, cold water, and masks/fins for swimming.
Here is the island on video:
The trip lasts about 6–7 hours, most of the time spent lying on the beach like a seal and swimming. In between, a simple, modest meal is served on the boat. On the way back, we were taken to Monkey Island, but I wasn’t particularly eager to interact with aggressive primates accustomed to tourists constantly feeding them.
Overall, the excursions left positive impressions: there aren’t that many activities in Pattaya if you don’t plan to spend all day at the hotel pool.
Prices
Gone are the days when Thailand was very cheap for Russian travelers. Now, prices are largely comparable to ours, especially for food, while the most expensive part of the trip remains the long-haul flight. Pattaya is good for its large shopping centers and small 7 Eleven and Family Mart stores. Around our hotel, there were 3 such stores where you could always grab a snack for the evening. They also sell cold drinks in cups with ice, which is incredibly convenient in this climate.
Excursions cost us 300–1500 THB. The cheapest — Crocodile Farm, as it is partially included in the tour price; the most expensive — the uninhabited island (mostly depending on fuel prices for the speedboat). You can have lunch in the city for 100–200 THB, but there are also very decent restaurants with high prices. There are street food stalls we avoided entirely because they looked strange and unhygienic. Would you buy suspicious-looking soup in a plastic bag?
Transport
In the city, if weather permits, it’s better to get around on foot: it’s not that huge. The main transport is so-called “tuk-tuks” (actually called “songthaews”), which have nothing in common with authentic tuk-tuks you see in Bangkok.
These are ordinary pickup trucks with open beds equipped with benches. They don’t have fixed stops, and routes on the map are very approximate. The only way to use them is to flag them down, hop in, and go to your destination. Locals explained that if a tuk-tuk turns in the wrong direction, you simply get off and find another.
The second popular way to get around is by motorbike, mostly small-displacement scooters.
We didn’t rent one, so I can’t share experience, but rentals are on almost every corner. The main thing is to be familiar with rules and laws, which are very strict in Thailand.
Pros and Cons of Pattaya
Pattaya is an original and interesting city, especially for first-time visitors. But before your first trip, it’s worth considering some of its features.
Pros:
- well-developed infrastructure: supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, clubs, etc.;
- delicious and cheap tropical fruits — both in supermarkets and markets;
- interesting and tasty, though unusual, food;
- friendly and surprisingly calm locals.
Cons:
- almost no opportunity to swim in the sea: for this, you need to go to islands (cheap, but time-consuming);
- trash: you can see real garbage even on the main, brightly-lit streets of Pattaya;
- a large number of transvestites and sex workers on the streets.
Regarding safety, the main concern is the last point: at night, streets may be uncomfortable (even outside “Walking Street”) because of provocatively dressed women (and not only women) sitting and walking almost everywhere. On the other hand, we did not notice any aggression, and we had no unpleasant incidents.
As for theft, we were told it’s not very common now, but women may have bags snatched by passing bikers. This problem is easily solved: we went without bags and always kept phones with us. Neither day nor night did anyone approach us with criminal intentions, and by the second or third day, we felt much safer.
Don’t listen to those who say “this isn’t really Thailand, why go there.” This is the real Thailand, with all its color and charm, worth visiting.
