Utter the name Pattaya and, in the imagination of many, you'll inspire thoughts of a raucous red-light district teeming with unsavory misdeeds. Do a quick Google search of the town's name and then take a look at the images. You'll see that you're just as apt to find pictures of scantily clad young women as you are the town's attractions or beaches.
For years, I've been hearing about Pattaya, and my overall impression was certainly along these disreputable lines. But this past weekend, Martin and Mongia treated me to a getaway in the infamous town, and I'm happy to report that my fourth trip to Thailand was not one of repulsion and disgust but rather of relaxation and merriment.
As I mentioned, my former landlords recently relocated there, having found a bargain flat on their last trip down. With apartment and office rent costing a small fortune each month—plus an overall exorbitant cost of living here in Hong Kong—they decided it was time to make the move to what had over the years become their perpetual holiday home.
Owing to baggage limitations, a few suitcases were unable to make the trip down with them, and thus I became party to a tremendous bargain. If only I would agree to tote along one of the extra bags, Martin and Mongia would treat me to round trip airfare, and bed and board during my stay. I might not be the world's savviest financier, but I think I know a good deal when one comes my way. And so I immediately agreed!
First off, Emirates flies between Hong Kong and Bangkok, where it stops to refuel en route to its final destination of Dubai. Because many passengers simply book a ticket from Bangkok to Dubai, Emirates is keen to fill as many seats as possible on the first leg of the journey by offering highly competitive fares. As such, I got to fly on a world class airline, with good food, incredible entertainment and generous legroom.
I flew out last Thursday evening, having booked Friday off from work. And by the time I returned last night, I can say I completely understand the appeal that drew Martin and Mongia to the special spot. I hope many future visits are in the cards...
In pursuit of total transparency, Martin and Mongia don't actually live in Pattaya proper but rather in a small hamlet about ten miles out of town called Na Jomtien. It's about an eighty mile taxi ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport, but at midnight, there was no traffic so I cruised all the way down. Thanks to very thorough directions from Martin, my taxi driver and I had no trouble locating their place.
The apartment is enormous, with two bedrooms, three full bathrooms and a sizable terrace overlooking the complex's swimming pool. What's more, it was sold fully furnished, with amazing artwork and comfortable couches and beds. Although I had nearly fallen asleep at several points during the ride down, I was immediately rejuvenated upon arrival, and so a few celebratory terrace drinks were obviously in order.
It's kind of funny, but it took until this fourth trip to the Land of Smiles for me to finally get a taste of the country's beaches—ironic considering clear blue water and powdery white sand are prominent features of most people's idea of Thailand. That next day, we whiled away the hours on Sae Kaew Beach, managed and maintained by Thailand's navy. Although most beaches in this area have a reputation for being less-than-ideal, I was surprised to find that Sae Kaew was truly spotless, and thus a fitting introduction to the country's seaside treasures.
When we grew peckish, we relocated a few dozen yards to the beachfront restaurant, where we feasted on local favorites like tom yum gai, pad thai and chicken curry. Back to the sands as the afternoon faded, a multitude of Russian holidaymakers came and went and Singha's magically continued appearing in my hand (courtesy of Martin). All the while, the sea was tranquil and clean, and I don't think I'll ever forget the sunset.
That evening, we hit up Walking Street, the epicenter of Pattaya's notorious red-light district. I'm not sure quite what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a ritzy dinner of duck à l'orange at a French bistro.
I'm not saying that the seedier side of Pattaya doesn't exist—and that we didn't see glimpses of it—but simply that there's more to this place than debauchery. As we dined on La Notte's outdoor terrace, with its Italian name but a French-English menu and Francophone servers, all manner of people strolled by. Of course, there were foreign men accompanying much-younger local girls. But there were also plenty of Western couples; there were even families with babies in tow. There were large tour groups traipsing along in the footsteps of their umbrella-wielding guides. There were people of every age and nationality. And so I never felt that my trio—a twenty-nine year old Yank chaperoned by two sexagenarians from Northern Ireland and Tunisia—was even a bit unwelcome, because it seemed like everybody had a place here that night.
Walking Street
Post dinner, we hit up quite a few bars, and ended our evening at an open-air establishment with pool tables, a live band and Singha on draught. But as the endless parade of revelers continued to flood by, I was told it was time to head home.
I realized on Saturday why Pattaya's beaches aren't held in such high esteem. Still, a beach in a city is a beach in a city: no use complaining that it isn't a pristine deserted island, because it's surely better than no beach at all! If I lived here, I'd probably make the extra effort to visit Sae Kaew Beach most of the time, but in a pinch, there's certainly no problem with unwinding for a few hours on the stretch of sand of Jomtien, where Martin, Mongia and I spent some time that afternoon.
Jomtien Beach
I was left to my own devices between 2pm and 6:30pm, while they attended to some business, so I took the opportunity to wander about town before our seafood dinner at a delightful spot within walking distance of the condo.
Of course, I was in no way ready to head back to reality on Sunday, yet before I knew it, I had to face the music. But I feel very fortunate to have Martin and Mongia in such an accessible getaway destination, and I look forward to many more future trips to their little slice of heaven. Perhaps the prominent marquee is wrong, and good guys and bad guys all go to Pattaya.
No comments:
Post a Comment