Hooked on Pattaya..!

Advantages: Everything is so cheap, people are great, superb weather all year round!
Disadvantages: Annoying prostitutes

...Well, what a place. I've been there three times now for at least 3 weeks each time and I'm planning to go back again. I'm not the sort of tourist you might associate with Pattaya - in other words, I'm not a 70 year old man wearing socks and sandals, travelling to Thailand for nothing but sex. Its a great value holiday destination and fun for all the family. Why fork out such ridiculous sums of money on Spanish package holidays and then be ripped off even more when you get there with food and drink when Thailand (and Pattaya in particular) is cheap to get to and very cheap to live in. Driving time, Pattaya is approximately 2 hours from Bangkok and the cost of a taxi varies, though you'll have no problem picking one up for 800THB (about £12.00). The sex-capital of Thailand isn't all about sex and prostitutes though. There is...

maxxian 06.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Pattaya (Bangkok)

An Oasis of Comfort!

Advantages: Large rooms, on the beach, great staff, excellent pool area
Disadvantages: none

...Once we had decided that we would be returning to Thailand, we decided NOT to go with a package holiday. I find package holidays fine for a first trip to a foreign country. However, once you learn the lay of the land, why bother paying someone else to book something you can do for cheaper and, probably, better! Now, we had a few needs. My in-laws would be going out a week before us and coming back a week after us and our son would be with them. We wanted a nice, clean place that we knew we could relax. It needed to have large rooms and it needed to have a nice pool. I was taking my 1 ½ year old to a foreign country and I wanted to relax. We found out about Avalon from my in-laws. A few of my husband's family live in that area and we had been told that a gorgeous new hotel had been built. It had been open less than two years...

ukusa 12.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Avalon Beach Resort, Pattaya, Thailand

Las Vegas of Thailand.

Advantages: Weather, nightlife, hustle and bustle, shopping, people
Disadvantages: sex-industry

...My Grandad is an expat to Thailand and he is settled in Pattaya with a Thai wife (no, it's not THAT sort of relationship, it's the real thing. And she's 40, not 20) :P So I've been out to visit him twice, spending about 6 weeks in total there, with a further two and a half weeks coming this summer. And I love Pattaya. It really is the Las Vegas of Thailand, it's buzzing, but it's still so cultural, so different to England, that you could just sit in an open bar-beer for a whole day and watch the world go by and not be bored for a minute. Pattaya is a city about 2 hours by minibus south of Bangkok. It is a vibrant coastal city with a thriving nightlife and is a typical tourist area. It is divided into certain sections - Naklua, where a lot of the residences are (inc my grandad's) and you'll find less shops, and more restaurants (Thais...

Trixie_Firecracker 05.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of Pattaya (Bangkok)

Than is known Pattaya

Advantages: exotic country, warm sea
Disadvantages: so far

...The trip in Thailand was mine by last travel before marriage. Reputing, that after wedding I can not so often commit trips abroad, has decided to select exotic tour. The choice mine has stayed on Thailand. After several days in Bangkok, then in Cha-Am, I at last have arrived in Pattaya. This resort is rather popular among ours (that is Russian) tourists. Certainly, not, as Turkey or Egypt, but native speech here it is possible to hear, especially in shopping centers and restaurants. Than is known Pattaya? Inexpensive textiles, sea and, certainly, night life. Speak, that this city has realized life, when here stand the American seamen. They and now often can be met, in the company two - three girls. But besides, in vicinities of city is present much that interesting. Entertainment in Pattaya. The entertainments, in main, are...

Olga2000 11.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Pattaya (Bangkok)

Amazing Thailand

Advantages: Something for everyone
Disadvantages: So much to do, so little time

...I first went to Thailand in October 2001. I went on a two centre holiday there - Bangkok for 4 nights and Phuket for 10 nights. I have decided that because there is so much to put about all the things we (my husband and I) did and saw, I am only going to concentrate on our stay in Bangkok. Firstly, October is the end of the rainy season and so the price we paid was very good. I don't remember the exact figure but it was in the region of £1500.00 altogether. The booking was with Thomas Cook Signature Holidays, and included return flights to and from Manchester to Heathrow, Bangkok and Phuket, also included was private car transfers to and from the Thai airports and hotels and hotel accommodation (a three and a half star hotel in Bangkok - The Hotel Asia, and a four star hotel in Phuket - The Kata Thani Hotel and Beach Resort...

Esless 05.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of General: Thailand

Thailands Gateway

Advantages: Clear direction signs, unique sight of a golf course in the middle of the runways
Disadvantages: Long walks, uncomfortable seats

...The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok. The golf course is actually owned by the Air Force which shares the airport. Depending on your taxi route to / from the runway you will see the military planes and hangers. The airport is actually due to be replaced by a new airport - Suvarnabhumi - being built to the north east of Bangkok which is due to open in 2004. Well, the Prime Minister said it would, so it must be true! Transport The airport itself is about 25km north from the “centre” of Bangkok. It is easily reached by car, bus or train. There is no link to the BTS Skytrain but the new one supposedly...

ultras67 03.07.2003 (04.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)

Pattaya - not meeting our expectations

Advantages: The fast pace, shopping, abundance of activities available, ability to book day-trips
Disadvantages: Sex trade, smell, polluted waters, dirty beach, not safe to go into town alone

...Pattaya is situated on the eastern gulf of Thailand and is roughly a 2 hour drive from the airports in Bangkok. When my boyfriend and I booked to spend a two week holiday in Pattaya we were expecting the palm swept beaches and turcqoise waters of Alex Garland's novel 'The Beach' but were dissapointed to find something quite different. Please read on if you are thinking of travelling to this town. I honestly wish that we'd read a bit more before we went. Pattaya is a busy, thriving city. It is expanding rapidly from the little unspoit fishing port that it was until quite recently. In the last few years it has become was has become known as 'the playground of the orient' and certianly lives up to this. If you are after a non-stop, action-packed holiday, Pattaya will certainly satisfy. There are great spots for go-carting, watersports...

lec299 04.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Pattaya (Bangkok)

Amazing Thailand

Advantages: Has it all.
Disadvantages: Be aware of scams.

...compared to everything else is quite expensive. One bottle of beer can cost between 60-160Baht (1-2.66UKP)when a meal may only cost 50baht (83p). For the first few days everything seems out of place and disorganised. It’s easy to get lost and if you don’t speak any Thai things can be difficult. A classic example was on the first day I ever went to Thailand. I hired a small motorbike one afternoon and went for a cruise around Pattaya. I didn’t pay much attention to where I was going and just went where my instinct would lead me. Not before long it was getting dark and it suddenly hit me “er …. which way is my hotel”. I didn’t have any idea where I was and had to ride around for about an hour trying to remember which road I was staying. The feeling was of great despair and comparable to when I...

Scott 03.01.2001 (03.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Thailand - Outside Bangkok

Bangkok on Sea or Family Friendly Fun?

Advantages: Offers something for everyone, cheap
Disadvantages: Not easy on the eye, choose where you stay based on the kind of holiday you want

...I am sure, up until the day he died, my husband wondered how he managed to convince me that Pattaya would be a great destination for a family holiday. However, he did manage it and more to the point, our visit was a memorable one. Whilst I cannot say I have any desire to ever go back, I am glad I have seen one of Thailand?s main beach resorts which is the antithesis to more traditional destinations such as Koh Samui or Hua Hin. Pattaya is often known as ?Bangkok on Sea?, and the town itself is situated just over 100 miles from Bangkok, or about a 90 minute drive away. We arrived in Bangkok and as ever, spent the first night there attempting to sleep off our jetlag. Next morning found us at the Ekamai bus station purchasing tickets from a woman who was most reluctant to give my husband his change. We had decided to travel from...

rosebud2001 10.07.2009 (13.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Pattaya (Bangkok)

Tacky Thailand

Advantages: hot weather although dry heat
Disadvantages: as above

...Some of you may be surprised at this op, because, considering the oos and aas I got when I told people I was going to Thailand you would think it was a dream destination. We waited a long time to go, and didnt relish the fourteen hour plane flight, but thought that it would all be worth it. We noticed straight away that we felt more like "cattle" than we had done on our previous holidays, from the minute we checked into the hotel, also we noticed subtle differences in the attitude with the staff. We usually stay all inclusive in a five star and it was the same here, although I could not fault the standard, the staff seemed to have a slightly different attitude than we had encountered before, i.e. when we had finished our drinks the waitress beckoned for the glasses to be passed to her, ok it sounds a bit petty...

y2krosebuddie 01.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Thailand