Near the end of April I had my first days off work ... holiday time for a week. One of the things I decided when I took the contract in Qatar was to take advantage of the generous holidays and travel, primarily in Asia. My first such travel was to Thailand, formerly known as Siam. After a 7-hour flight from Doha on Qatar Airways (great airline), I arrived in Bangkok. Finding transportation to Pattaya where I was booked to stay was easy ... lots of independent taxis to take you there ... only 1000 baht (about $30 CAD) for the one hour and forty-five minute ride on the motorway.
Pattaya is a popular beach resort area close to Bangkok, but better known for its nightlife. Pattaya has more bars than any other place on earth, and Walking Street is the most obvious example where the fare is more than just beer ... girls, boys, even girls that are really boys ... only you really can't tell.
But Pattaya is not all nightlife, only the most exciting part.
During the day, whenever you can drag your butt out of bed after a night on Walking Street, it is a tropical paradise with beautiful beaches to relax on and regain your strength for the coming night. At the south end of Pattaya over a hill, is Jomtien Beach which is far nicer than Pattaya Beach because there are not many motorized vehicles in the water. Umbrella's line the beach where you can sit and relax all day on a beach chair for 50 baht ($1.60) and be served drinks, have a manicure, a Thai massage and eat some great food. My favourites were fresh steamed jumbo shrimp and barbecued squid cooked right on the beach
Getting around in Pattaya is easy. It has one of the most efficient transportation systems I've ever encountered. They are small blue pickup trucks with two facing benches in the back and buttons to push when you want them to stop ... which they will about 6 feet after you press it. They are everywhere and come along about every 3rd vehicle on the road. The are called baht buses because they cost 20 baht (about 65 cents).
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Getting around in Pattaya is easy. It has one of the most efficient transportation systems I've ever encountered. They are small blue pickup trucks with two facing benches in the back and buttons to push when you want them to stop ... which they will about 6 feet after you press it. They are everywhere and come along about every 3rd vehicle on the road. The are called baht buses because they cost 20 baht (about 65 cents).
