Bangkok- Pattaya chapter-1 | Was it a bachelor's trip? Who knows?

So it all started on a fine Friday night when I and one of my office friend Abhishek took our first international flight to Bangkok from IGI Airport.

So we went with the cheapest direct flight which was available i.e., spice jet. But I'd highly recommend that you choose some other global carrier as it was really uncomfortable. Moreover, it was packed with Indian families and was worse than any AC 3-tier typical Indian rail with kids roaming and crying during the entire journey. It took us almost 4 hrs before we could see the clear Bangkok skyline and landed on Suvarnabhumi Airport around 4:30 AM.

I'll try to give all the required information and a perfect day wise itinerary so that you can cover everything without spending much.

Going from Bangkok to Pattaya

There are various options available such as bus, taxi, self-rental car, limo, train. One can pick and choose depending upon their pockets. I'd suggest taking Roong Reuang bus service (available at level-1 near gate no. 8) which costs 120B/ person as you'll be requiring a lot of funds in Pattaya. So try saving wherever possible.

For non-vegetarians options are little wider if you like seafood. Otherwise, KFC, burger king, subway and dominos are the only options as they don't know how to make that desi butter chicken as well.

We stayed at IBIS which is situated in North Pattaya. It's a decent hotel but room sizes are like Mumbai PG's. The breakfast was good with a lot of non-vegetarian options. They tried making Indians happy by cooking Rajma, Poha, and Upma but failed with shining colors in their unsuccessful attempt.

Hotel check-in: 2PM (They don't give room before that, even if you have traveled all the way and struggled to reach there safely, so plan accordingly)

Hotel Check-out: 2PM (They will come 15mins before to remind you that your time is over :P)

Don't take the taxi. They will charge you a lot of money and will try to fool you about the exact distance. In Pattaya, the tuk-tuk service is available everywhere, which is much cheaper. But the trick is that don't ask about them the destination. Just hop-in, open Google maps and hop-out giving 10B to the driver as soon as your destination arrives.

There are various sightseeing places which we tried covering:

Its a highly recommended must watch ladyboy cabaret show which is famous all across the globe. There are other similar shows as well such as Alcazar, but I bought tickets for Tiffany as it is considered the best.

One recommendation here would be that don't buy tickets from the venue, instead get it online from Klook or explore travel agents on the beach road which will give you VIP seats in 900B.

The incredible talents of the transvestite and transgender community, drawn from all corners of the Thai kingdom, are showcased in a display of spectacular exotic scenes, enhanced by the latest lighting and sound technology. Extravagant costumes, toe-tapping choreography, and beautiful 'showgirls' will ensure your night at Tiffany's is one to remember.

This is the place in Pattaya for which most of the people are crazy about. The street is located in the south Pattaya region and houses a number of famous clubs such as Insomania, Nasha (an Indian club which plays desi and Punjabi songs), massage centers, local food joints etc. The street is colorful and lively with beautiful girls pulling and begging you to enter their bars.

But beware most often they are ladyboys. It's actually really hard to differentiate between and a girl and a ladyboy in Pattaya.

At the walking street, it gets clear that why it is considered as the paradise on earth as girls and alcohol both are in plenty.

Since we were short of cash on the first day itself, we decided to head straight to the beach with a can of beer and call it a day.

Tinder Ok as most of you would know that it is a dating app, but it totally has a different meaning in Pattaya. So while sitting at the beach and after having a couple of sips, we thought of trying tinder in Pattaya. You never know you might find someone good as people have found their life partners on such trips. But unlike India, here it's totally opposite which means you'll get match 90% of the time. We both were in seventh heaven after getting so many matches in a fraction of few minutes. But as I started the conversation with one of the pretty girls and behaved like a complete gentleman by asking how she was doing? She replied she was good and if I want her or not?

So obviously I couldn't say no! but how could have said yes either? Anyway, I wrote yes and instantly she replied 2000 full night.

Yeah, so you got that right. The girl's there are using tinder to get business and if you are trying to show your charm and want to date someone genuinely, I'd rather recommend hitting the bar and offering someone a drink.

Football match

Just like India, Pattaya has a lot of football fan following too. And on that day, it was the champions trophy final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. I never really followed football but that day was fun, we went to an open bar, watched the match, played snooker and had a couple of more beers. Ladies, there were crazy about Real Madrid and mocked Abhishek every time we passed that bar as Liverpool lost that match.

Lunch I don't know what I ate that day. It was vegetarian for sure, some curry with rice along with a soup. Over the lunch, I met a couple of Indians who were from Mumbai and had come straight to Pattaya. So as an Indian, how can I not advise and miss the opportunities of giving them the tips to survive and live in Pattaya. Afterall, I had spent a full day there and was fully aware of the cabs, girls, walking street and food. I don't know whether I was missing someone to speak with in Hindi or had so much to share.

P.S: Abhishek didn't speak much

We spent the rest of the day at leisure scouting for food, some shopping as we realized its just a day which was left in Pattaya.

We couldn't go inside, not because the temple was closed but because we were literally out of money and 500 Baht at that time seemed too much for an entry to a temple.

Day-4 (Time to leave Pattaya)

After checking out from the hotel we headed straight to Pattaya bus stand and boarded on the bus to Bangkok.

I'll cover Bangkok in a separate chapter as it is totally different from what we experienced in Pattaya.