Amazing Thailand - Pattaya and beyond

Thailand - A great destination for family and friends 

This is not my first visit to Thailand, but I had never been to Pattaya before. It is the most sold location in the tourist package and I always thought that it would be too much crowded and hence avoided it. But now I thought that at least I should also go and check it out in person if it is a place worth exploring. The pressure was more as I had been to Phuket and Phi Phi islands and hence I did not have very high opinion of this place but keeping in mind that it was also be easy on pocket I decided to give it a try. 

Bangkok is the entry point for Thailand. It is a capital city and well connected through the metro network (called MRT and BTS), right from the airport itself. 

I have been to Thailand a couple of times and this time I decided not to visit the temples at all, unlike my previous visits. We visited the Malls, China Towns, Train Station, Floating Market, and did lots of shopping. 

Places to visit: 

• China Town
• Central Mall
• Icon Siam 
• Pratunam Market 
• Platinum Mall
• The Grand Palace
• Temple of the Emerald Buddha
• Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha)
• Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
• Chao Phraya River Cruise
• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• Lumphini & Benjakitti Park
• Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World
• Bars and Night life at Nana 

Outskirts of Bangkok 

• Safari World
• Floating Market 
• Mae Klong Train Station

Icon Siam: This is one of the biggest and most recent malls in Bangkok. This is the most recently built mall, just next to the river, very spacious, and luxuriously built. 

China Town: It is the life line of Bangkok night life and especially for people who love Chinese food. The whole place is lit with colorful lights after sunset and looks really amazing. During the day time, there are markets and stalls where one can buy stuff at reasonable rates especially accessories for the girls, hair bands, clips, toys, and a lot more. In addition to budhist temple, there is also a gurudwara in China Town which is next to India market. There are also lot of Indian Dhabas where we can get authentic Indian food. One must take out at least 4-5 hours for visiting China town. 

Mae Klong Train Station: We must have seen some viral videos/ blogs for Vietnam where the market folds when the trains comes near. There is a similar place in Thailand as well which we came to know about and thought of giving it a visit. This is a popular spot as one can visit the shops placed just adjacent to the railway tracks. The shopkeepers unwind the shops as soon as the train crosses and folds them once the train is approached. We were surprised that a lot of tourists had gathered to witness this even on a week day. 

Floating Market: Thailand has been famous for the floating market where vendors sell their products while sitting in a boat and even the buyers can do shopping while seating in the boat. Bangkok has five floating markets. We visited the one near to the Mae Klong station. There are no charges for visiting this place but boat ride starts from 800 THB. They do not sell only gift items but also food to each such as coconut, mango rice, etc. It is also an experience not to be missed since we do not come across these things in our day to day life. 

There was a Tiger world also on the way back to Bangkok. One can spend some time with the tigers in their prison by paying 600 THB and click some selfies with the tigers. We did not go here as we have already done it with Phuket. 

Evening in Bangkok: The roads get crowded but it looks really beautiful due to colorful cars and cabs in the city. I took some pictures from the skywalk. 

Siam / Central World 

And guess what, we could find a Cheesecake Factory in the Central World. I guess we millennials do not know much but Gen Z knows a lot from the online videos and cartoons. It is not a cafe or a restaurant; it is an emotion for them. 

Chatuchak Weekend Market - This market is famous as weekend market as it is open only on Saturdays and Sundays. There are thousands of stalls and it needs at least half a day to explore the market. The items on sale range from fridge magnets to suit cases, from t-shirts to wall hangings, you name it and you will get it here. It is popular among the tourists and can be reached by both MRT and BTS, hence quite convenient to visit over the weekend. 

Pattaya - The city is just 2.5 hours drive from Bangkok. It is famous or rather should say in-famous for wrong reasons. But I would say it depends on what one wants to do in Pattaya. I found it to be like any other beach city with a beautiful beach, coral island, family shows, temples, and the in-famous Walking Street with lots of bars and pubs. 

Suggested places to visit: 

• Coral Island 
• Alcazar show 
• Sanctuary of Truth
• Nong Nooch Tropical Garden
• Mini Siam
• Water Parks - Ramayana Water Park
• Buddha Mountain
• Floating Market
• Tiger Kingdom
• Walking Street
• Dolphin Show
• Animal Farm 
• Zoo
• Pattaya Night Bazaar 

Coral Island - Koh Larn is the island name. This island is what made it worth staying in Pattaya. We loved visiting this island on a public ferry. This is a beautiful island with resorts located in the island. It needs at least two days to explore the island fully. I would suggest taking a bike on rent and explore it on your own. We did a tour on the first day in a golf cart which took us to at least 10 different beaches on the same island and covered all the sight-seeing places on the island. Next day, I hired a bike and went to two - three places which we liked the most. First half of the day we did swimming at one of the beaches which had white sand, clear waters, and almost nobody around us. It was fun to have the entire beach to us. Second half of the day, we visited the Budha temple and had some rest in one of the cafe next to the beach. 

Terminal 21 Mall: It is a one stop shop in Pattaya for shopping and great food. This is a must visit mall when in Pattaya as it is complete in itself - be it for taking photos, or enjoying the space, or the shops with reasonable prices, or food. We did go to an Italian restaurant and had Pizza and coffee for lunch. 

Pattaya Night Bazaar - If you love shopping then this place is for you. This is a street shopping bazaar which is open till late in the night. You can bargain and get goods at your price, however just a caution - since they get their products from Bangkok in case you have time in Bangkok ensure that you shop from there itself since prices might be similar or slightly higher than what you get in Pratunam / Platinum/ China Town. 

Alcazar Show - When in Thailand, how can one miss lady boy show. This is a decent show which can be watched with family. We also booked our tickets in advance and fortunately they were upgraded so we were seated in the front rows and could enjoy the show even more. What surprised us was that they performed on an Indian song as well. This reminds me that since Indians visit Thailand in abundance, sometimes you will hear some Hindi songs in Thai performances such as in the Cruise or these kind of shows. 

Farm Land - We tried a different kind of adventure as well which was the Farm land visit. Here, we can feed the goat with milk bottles as well as grass. If you are travelling with kids less than 15 years old, please do not miss this place as they will enjoy the feeding activity a lot. My wife who is much older enjoyed it too, so I am sure it would be an interesting place for the families. 

Big Budha Temple: This temple is location on the hill top near the pier. We visited the place around 7 pm but there was no visitor at that time. Any time is best to visit but people suggest that best time would be around sunset i.e. around 6 pm for best views of the city. We went around 7 but it was empty and we were all alone. I would recommend going around 5 pm at least to get the best views of the city. 

A trip to Thailand cannot end up without buying this balm/ vicks kind-a-fragrance. Everyone can be seen inhaling this across the country - be it residents or tourists. I also ended up buying a couple of them for just 45THB per piece. Some of my friends and relatives asked me to get this in bulk as well. So make sure that you try it while you are there and then you can buy if you like the fragrance of it. 

Fly back home with happy memories and plans for the next visit to Thailand. I am sure that one visit to Thailand is never enough.