Pattaya - City of Lost Souls

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Beautiful Jomtiem Beach and Pattaya - Up to You

I caught the minibus from near the BTS Skytrain Terminal at Victory Monument to take me to Pattaya and then went to Jomtiem Beach a few kilometres along the coast for the first night of my stay. There has been a previous entry about the Pattaya area and it is not my favourite place in Thailand. Why did I return? It is close to Bangkok and I need some fresh air near the beach.

The tourist beach part of Pattaya is a place where there are many touts and if you walk along the beach alone or even in the stores you will be offered anything or anyone. It is sad to see the many lost souls wandering at night or day desperate to make a few baht. The food is mainly for the european tourists and it is difficult to find a nice banana or apple in the stores. I had to purchase some at the fruit shake vendor.

It is unfair to be critical of a whole city based on the tourist part of the beach so it is best to say that if you can find somewhere nice along the coast or further out in the city to live or stay then it would give you a much better impression of Pattaya. This is still a beautiful part of Thailand and you just need to venture away from the usual tourist traps to get the most out of your visit.

Jomtiem Beach is just around the corner from Pattaya and is a much nicer beach which less pressure from anyone to purchase anything and would be my preferred destination in this area totally bypassing Pattaya. Apparently if you keep driving there are even better and nicer beaches further along the coast. I had a fish meal which came back to haunt me on Sunday night and was very ill. It is only the second time that I have had any problems with the food in Thailand and I felt better the next day.

I am back in Bangkok and will probably be going to Korat in the next few days. I still have a cold that has been hanging around since New Years Eve and would prefer that to go away before I return to the village.

Click on the pics if you want a larger view and select next to see all of the 27 pictures.

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Photos

Jomtiem Beach
A much nicer beach near Pattaya

View from my hotel - Pattaya
Welcome Plaza Hotel - good value and a nice view but there is one noisy bar across the road at ground level

Pattaya
The water quality is dubious here and not many people will swim although it was very cool and windy

Pattaya
Have a close look