A month in Pattaya flew bye. After Songkran we still had plenty to see and do. So after the celebrating died down and life returned to normal in the city we got right back to exploring. We spent our mornings working out and swimming then we would hide from the heat in our apartment getting work done in the afternoon and then we would set out to experience the nightlife along the beaches and endless night markets. The food options are amazing and always good.
We spaced out the touristy things and never got bored. We spent one day walking around Mini Siam, a park full of miniature replicas of famous places. We went to a similar place called MiniTurk while in Istanbul and loved it. That park was just full of Turkish places. Here in Pattaya, the park is divided into 2 halves. One side is international replicas like the statue of liberty and the London bridge while the other half is all Thai places. Although the park in Turkey was easier to navigate(and a little bettet) we really enjoyed this park. Another day we found the Sanctuary of Truth, a privately funded giant temple like museum dedicated to the meaning of life. The building was made of wood with no nails and handcarved stories all over the inside. It was beautiful and the guided tour offered lots of insight. It reminded me of my favorite temple in Chiang Rai the White Temple. Another great day. Then on our last day we came across the Pattaya Floating market. You can either walk the market or take a boat ride through making quick stops at stalls. We choose to walk so we could get deeper into the market at our own pace. That turned out to be a good decision. The market was so much bigger than we had expected and was full of so many food treats. After 6 trips to Thailand we finally tried mango sticky rice. Not too special but good. We sample 3 or 4 pastries(Taro and Egg) and then found Ostrich meat on a stick. Really good! Then we decided to finally sample the bugs that are eaten all over Thailand. We bought a plate full of 5 different types of bugs then found a curious Russian couple to share our feast with. To be honest all the bugs were ok except one. None of us like the same type. The rest were just crunchy and flavorless. The worst part was the little legs that would get caught in your teeth and throat and the eye balls staring up at you. The Floating market turned out to be much more fun and entertaining than we expected. Our last couple of days were spent revisiting our favorite local places and saying our goodbyes.
Pattaya is known for its seedy redlight district and bar girls and alot of you guys have asked what the draw was for us since that’s not our scene. We loved it here for so many reasons.
First is the cost. A monthly rental in a 5 star resort style community, fully furnished, was less than $500 including cable, wifi, 3 pools, a gym and restaurant. Pattaya has a huge expat community so you can get restaurants and shopping with western standards but also have the true Thai experience. The beaches are very nice and you can go inland to some beautiful parks. The people here are typically amazing like you will find all over Thailand. The weather was perfect. And it’s super close to Bangkok. It’s truly getting harder and harder to pick our favorite area in Thailand. Pattaya is definitely at the top of the list. Time now to leave Thailand but we will be back soon. Maybe the islands next time. Koh Kradan was just voted most beautiful beach in the world.