For a long time everyone thought Pattaya began and ended with the walking strip, which is nothing but one bar after the other jostling for space. But over the years this destination has been cleaning up its act and adding other attractions to its portfolio. Nestled along a picturesque bay on the East Coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya is roughly 170 kilometers southeast of Bangkok and worth a visit.
A important reason for this website is that my friends should be able to keep track of me. And when months went by and no new posts appeared I began to get e-mails asking me “where are you?”. Instead of doing the easy thing and update my website a year ago I send everyone a reply where I told them that I was OK, but that my life was a bit messy. I also promised a detailed explanation at a later stage to satisfy their curiosity, and here it is.
Some time ago I came up with the theory that it would be possible to live comfortably in Pattaya for 1000 Baht per day. In order to test it, since 1 January 2003 I have kept records of every baht I have spent, where I spent it and what I spent it on. Now, after two full years, it is possible to analyze the records to either confirm my theory or put it to rest. If you are a retired millionaire or someone for whom money is no object, don’t read on. What follows will only be of interest to the 99% of us with limited resources.
Well, Thailand’s beaches have certainly got a lot of attention this year, although much of the media spin hasn’t been exactly fair. I’m talking, of course, about the big wave. Don’t fret though, gentle reader, that was months ago and things are back to normal now. You’re pretty unlikely to notice much change in Phuket and it was the west coast and the rest of the country is fine. Indeed, down south they just want the tourists back so everyone can get on with their lives and forget about the whole thing.
If you pick up a tourist brochure, or look at a website, or even talk with one of the expatriates who live there, you’ll keep stumbling on the phrase “paradise” used to describe Pattaya. On arrival the casual observer may be a little mystified by this. The beach is rubbish, the whole town is concrete and there’s sleaze on a truly dumbfounding scale. Koh Phi Phi this ain’t. Yet the town has the highest concentration of expatriates outside Bangkok and sees two million visitors every year (second only to Phuket). So what draws people to this seaside resort town, just to the southeast of Bangkok?
Det går rykter her nede om at det har vært mer enn bikkjekaldt i Norge den siste tiden. Bildet ovenfor er så langt jeg vet ikke fra Norge, men får håpe at det ikke har vært så kaldt. I Pattaya er det sol som gjelder. Men vi hadde en og en halv dag med regn for ett par dager siden. Sist vi så regn før det må være noen måneder siden, så vi skal kanskje ikke klage over ustabilt vær. Håper at våren kommer hos dere i høye nord etterhvert.
I går morges satt jeg og leste på studiene mine i senga. I øyekanten så jeg en bitteliten mørk skygge som beveget seg sakte i ett sikk-sakk mønster. Prøvde først å få tankene bort fra denne skyggen og tilbake på bøkene, men da det ikke gikk måtte bøkene vike plass for nysgjerrigheten. Når jeg fikk fokusert øynene på skyggen viste det seg å være en mygg med altfor god matlyst. Den hadde tydeligvis hatt buffè på beinet mitt og var nå så full av blod at kroppen holdt på å sprekke. Noe som gjorde at jakten på den ble en enkel affære. For selv om den gjorde fortvilte forsøk på å komme i luften gikk det rett i buklanding etter et par centimeter.
Pattaya - Reputed to be the two best dive destinations in the area are a pair of shipwrecks: the Hardeep and the Bremen. But the Hardeep is numero uno. It sunk in 1942. This 40 metre long freighter from Indonesia now rusts in peace some 25 metres below the surface, between the isles of Samaesan and Chuang. For divers who enjoy a heady dose of fear along with adrenalin, you can now explore inside the hulk. Best of all, wrecks attract an abundance of fish and coral. The two aforementioned islands are also wealthy in hard and soft corals. For beginners Koh Kruk is the prime spot, and for middleweights its Koh Rin, replete with boulder-strewn swim-throughs.
Pattaya lies 150 kilometres to the southeast of Bangkok, less than two hours by road, and stretches for some 15 kilometres along the Eastern Seaboard. Thailands’s largest resort, shares the coast with traditional fishing villages, other resorts such as Bang Saen and Rayong, new industrial centres, the towns of Chonburi and Sriracha, and the port and naval base of Sattahip. Pattaya beach is a palm-fringed, sandy bay with a view of coral islands on the hoizon. Nearby are other cliffs and other bays, while inland, the region is rich in agricultural products including sugar cane, tapioca, rubber and fruit trees.
This is a Book Review!
This week I was presented with yet another book about life in Thailand, and a side oflife that most of us would publicly shun. Written by Derek Sharron, My Name Lon - You Like Me? (ISBN 974-92721-5-3, publisher Bangkok Book House), claims to be a true story following the life and (mis)fortunes of Lon, a girl from Esarn.
In essence, at age 13, Lon runs away from her family in the province of Ubon Ratchathani and comes to Bangkok. To be able to do this, she steals some money from her family home, and that almost sets the tone for this book. Lon explains this saying, “I had nothing, therefore I had nothing to lose, so I ran away.”
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