Thailand part 2 - Pattaya

So after we flew back from Koh Samui, we took a 1 hour bus ride from Bangkok down to Pattaya which is a large resort city overlooking the Gulf of Siam.  Overall, our experience here was not the best.  Compared to Koh Samui, it's incredibly crowded, the beaches are dirtier, and everything is just so much busier and congested.

The hotel we were originally supposed to stay in was very dingy so we ended up walking down the street (maybe 100 yards) and stayed in a much much nicer hotel that ended up costing about $30 more a night.  This is probably the farthest $30 has ever taken us in terms of quality.  Comparing the two places was like night and day and the best part about it all, our new hotel choice didn't have a combination shower and toilet!

We spent the evening walking up and down the beach checking out the hundreds of street vendors that line up along the main beach road.

Pattaya beach at night

The next day, we took a speed boat from Pattaya to the island of Ko Lan (about 30min. to the west).  This trip didn't start out so great either.  We were basically ferried from one stop to another along the way where we were given opportunities to walk on the bottom of the ocean, para-sail, or ride on a glass bottom boat.  All of these stops cost extra, or you had to sit out and wait for another speed boat to come by and ferry you to the next money making scheme.  Their prices were outrageous and to top it all off, you only got 1.5 hours to enjoy the beautiful white sandy beach at the final destination on Ko Lan.

not a speed boat, but one of the other ferries with the entire engine just sitting there exposed

Thankfully, the tour guide for our group was extremely nice, very accommodating, and she knew this entire trip was not being entirely faithful to their advertising.  We were able to eat lunch on the island, and we broke off from the group, spent the afternoon on this really nice beach, and took a ferry home in the evening.  So in the end, it all worked out great and the people were really helpful and accommodating after we expressed our concerns about the trip.  I would definitely recommend taking the ferry in the future.  It's much cheaper and you explore the other options (para-sailing and whatnot) at your own pace and at less inflated prices.

all of the umbrellas on the beach

the bar van - any drink/cocktail you could imagine

Ko Lan beach, much nicer than Pattaya beach

some of the shops along the beach in Ko Lan

short clip from the ferry - the water was really rough that day

the ferry from Koh Lan to Pattaya

In the evening, we walked around a large mall not too far from our hotel and had a wonderful Italian dinner overlooking a large 3 story Christmas tree.

really well-lit water fountains at this mall

A view of Pattaya beach, jet skis, speed boats, and all the umbrellas

The next day, we headed by bus back to our final destination, Bangkok.