This year I decided that since I didn’t have an opportunity to travel anywhere during the National Day holiday, I needed to travel somewhere for Christmas. I wanted to be back in Thailand, but I wanted to try somewhere new; Pattaya was my choice. I had heard that it was referred to as “Little Bangkok” and that it is a well-known tourist place there. It is also close to a friend, Amporn, that I met while in Koh Samet who lives and works in Rayong.

While Pattaya is known as a party place with an infamous area known as “Walking Street,” I wanted to know what else the area had to offer.

The flight into Bangkok was OK, though towards the end, a group of Chinese women tried to get up and head down the aisle while the plane was still taxiing. They were told they needed to return to their seats, and one of them was right next to me. The stewardess told her to sit in my seat, and I had to move into the middle seat. This was annoying, though brief. It just reinforced my opinion (and the opinion of a handful of other foreign travelers nearby) of how Chinese tourists still have some evolving to do in terms of flight and travel etiquette.

While hoping that I could get on the next bus that went to Jomtien if I agreed to come back to the bus ticket counter at 9 p.m., I did finally manage to get a seat and arrive in Jomtien at 11:15 p.m. My Airbnb host was able to meet me there a few minutes later, and it turned out that the “condotel” I was staying at was within walking distance. The condotel was connected to the Jomtien Beach area by a long pathway, so this later proved to be convenient.

Before trying out this beach area, though, my friend Amporn and I decided to go to Koh Larn (“Koh” means “island” in Thai) nearby and try out some beaches there. He rented a motorbike, and we headed to the first beach area. It seemed nice overall, but a bit too small of an area and too many people. We then headed to another beach that seemed alright but also had a number of people (at least the number of beach chairs made it look that way). The water was decent, but it became too deep too quickly (I like the idea of having a way to go out before the water is up to your neck). We decided that we wanted to try one more beach before heading back. But first, some drinks and lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the last beach area, which was apparently smaller and quieter, which was right up my alley. The beach here was indeed quite small, but still nice. We needed further libations and time to enjoy the water.

Catching the last boat ride back, we caught a glimpse of the moon over the water.

After we decided to go back to the room and get changed, we went out for dinner. I chose an Italian place that happened to be serving a special Christmas Eve dinner. I enjoyed the food, but after that, I decided that I wanted to have more Thai food while I was in town.

The next day (Christmas Day), Amporn had to be back in Rayong for work at the hotel. I decided that since the weather was rather cloudy and not very conducive to beach time, I should instead go to a place called the “Sanctuary of Truth.” It’s basically a temple made entirely of wood that was created as a “sanctuary where people can gather to recognize the seven creators and the four elements that will lead to the ideal world, whether for each individual or for the whole world… Man cannot be born and exist without seven creators. The Sanctuary of Truth presents seven creators through carved wood sculptures that adorn its interior. They are: Heaven, Earth, Father, Mother, Moon, Sun, and Stars” (http://www.sanctuaryoftruth.com/philosophy.php). One of the things I’ve come to love about Thai architecture is how intricately detailed and decorated their temples are.

It appears to have been dedicated to the King and Queen of Thailand when it was constructed back in the early 1980s. I took a bunch of pictures inside and out, but inside, the contrast between bright, cooler outside lighting and the darker, warmer inside lighting made it difficult to photograph certain areas. At times, when looking out of the window areas, I could see people riding on elephants around the temple. After I finished walking around, I stopped by to see a little Thai dance show, followed by some guys dressed in traditional outfits pretending to sword fight. I didn’t really get to see much of this part because I was too busy tending to the fresh bee sting that I had just endured (I had forgotten how much they actually hurt).

The next day, Amporn would return to visit, but not until late afternoon. I decided to have more beach time since it was much sunnier out that day. Upon further observation of the nearby Jomiten area beach, it seemed like this was not as nice as I had hoped. I decided to travel further down, and I chose a spot that seemed a bit cleaner. I spent almost 3 hours there. I decided to head back, and upon returning to where my condotel entrance was,the beach area nearby actually seemed OK (maybe it was the afternoon light making things look different). I spent almost another hour before Amporn arrived. I had managed to do quite well in terms of not burning myself (except for my scalp, apparently).

That night we went out for dinner (this time to a Thai place), and we had seafood items (I had steamed mussels and coconut chicken soup). Amporn said he would take me to see the infamous “Walking Street” area (as requested by me) and then to a club. Walking Street ended up being sort of what I thought it would be (actually, a bit seedier). It was basically a mash-up of many strip clubs full of “wild” girls and ladyboys dressed in skimpy Christmas outfits, people constantly advertising for the notorious Thai “ping-pong shows,” some bars, and food joints.

After skimming the street, we went to see where the LGBT area was. The street had a similar layout and feel that Walking Street had, but it was a much smaller street. We decided to see a show, and while I won’t go into the details, it did leave me feeling rather bad for the guys in the show. The show itself was rather amateurish, cheap, and, frankly, degrading. The only “legit” part of the show was when some of them were break dancing. It reminded me that as much as I like Thailand for its friendly, smiling people, as well as great food and beaches, it’s also a country with a notorious sex trade industry and exploitation that is capitalized on. But like any travel experience, it’s important to delve deep into the culture and see that it’s not always sunshine and roses.

Anyway, after that, we headed to a regular gay club at around midnight. It was dead for the first half hour or so. Slowly but surely, it started to fill up. They had guys come out on stage dressed in suits and ties (not sure why), and they were “dancing” (and by dancing, I mean mostly just having their hands in their pockets and moving slightly back and forth, if at all). This overall ho-hum experience lasted for almost 2 hours before they finally had a drag show. It was a decent show, for sure—not great, but certainly decent. Besides, it had been so long since I had seen a drag show that I appreciated any drag performance I could get. There were several numbers that had energetic back-up dancers too, so that was fun. The drag queens then went on to make some jokes (none of which I could understand, obviously), but it at least reminded me of how much fun drag shows are back home.

All in all, I am glad that I experienced Pattaya. I don’t really have a desire to return, as I feel like I experienced everything that it had to offer me while there. Pattaya has some decent beaches, but not the best that Thailand has to offer (I felt the same way about Koh Samet). I would love to go back to Thailand again, but this time I think I will set my sights on somewhere that is known for fantastic beaches (Koh Samui, perhaps).