A Thailand stopover on the way home

Saturday, October 07, 2023
Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
With our tour ending on a Sunday morning in Cairo - we considered what to do for a few days before going home, and figured we might as well pick somewhere to get us closer to home. We didn’t want to have to throw extra flights into the mix given we already had 12 flights for this holiday, so chose Pattaya as we have never been there, it’s driving distance from Bangkok, its very popular, it’s on the beach, and has great golf courses. 
But it did mean a long travel day. Our transfer was at 9am for a 1pm flight out of Cairo. Traffic in Cairo and the airport which is a nightmare well and truly took up a couple of hours. We did pick up another traveller on the way who was staying at the Ramses Hilton (fyi - not nearly as nice as our hotel!)! The flight was only 3 hours and quite pleasant.
And then we had an 8 hour layover in Dubai. Thank goodness we have access to the Emirates Lounge in Dubai with my Qantas club membership by booking an onward flight with a QF flight number (even though it’s an emirates operated flight). It’s a great lounge with free-flowing Moet and drinks and food, nap areas, dining areas, a kids play area, nice showers - it’s a huge lounge in terms of geography (there are 6 lounges at Dubai Airport - 3 business and 3 first in concourses A, B and C). We sat at a dining table for dinner before moving back to lounges. After a while, our friends from the tour arrived and we had a drink with them before our respective flights departed at 3am. 
We did manage about 2.5 hours of sleep on a less than 6 hour flight (we were woken 2.5 hrs prior to landing for breakfast which was annoying). On descent into Bangkok, it was so green and so much water everywhere in the rice fields - such a huge contrast to the middle eastern desert! I had arranged a private transfer from a Pattaya taxi company, and they were easy to find after baggage and within an hour of landing we were in a comfortable car heading to Pattaya. 
It was hard choosing somewhere to stay having never been here. And the place is huge, being a beach destination so close to Bangkok. Pattaya is a lot bigger than Phuket. Ultimately we looked for location - something central to nightlife and shops and bars. So we chose a central hotel with tropical gardens and a spa suite which is basically a villa located in the gardens just steps from the pool with our own pool chairs and deck overlooking the pool. There are only 2 of these rooms at the hotel. It was lovely, and we were treated like royalty here. The rooms are ex-massage villas so are not huge but very comfortable and just steps from the pool. We also have club access and a complimentary couples massage every day. It was perfect for 3 nights of relaxation. Probably similar to the Burasari in terms of location, gardens and Thai feel to it (although it is a lot bigger!). The Manager later confirmed that, in his opinion, it’s the best hotel here (he is a golf loving Aussie). The photos online don’t really do it justice, but it really is a very nice place - it’s an oasis in chaos. Definitely recommend the Avani if staying in Pattaya, it’s a great hotel/resort. 
On check in, we headed for the pool, and then to our massage which was soooo good after all that travel. And then to our complimentary drinks as part of the club lounge and onwards to Pattaya Walking Street. It was crazy. Much seedier and busier than Bangla Road. By 10.30pm though we were exhausted and headed back to our pool villa for a long nights sleep.
Our first full day we just wanted to relax. Getting Tim to do this is not easy, but we have been absolutely flat out for over a month so he is happy to rest for a day! The breakfast was one of the most extensive we have ever seen with not only Western and Thai selections but also Japanese, Indian and Arabic. And then I went back to bed for a couple of hours!
Differences we’ve observed between Phuket and Pattaya:
  • Pattaya is bigger and busier
  • The beach is not as nice 
  • Nightlife is crazier and on steroids
  • Not a lot of Aussies here
  • Not many families here 
  • Just about every global chain is here in terms of food - McDonald’s, Taco Bell - even a Sizzler!
  • There is an overt drug theme here - lots of cannabis and vendors selling pills.  
  • Otherwise is very similar! The local people are so friendly and polite. 
In 2018, Pattaya was the 18th most visited city in the world with 9.6 million tourists, and 3rd most in Thailand, after Bangkok (24.1 million) and Phuket (10.5 million).
The afternoon was just a typical Thailand arvo - lunch at a bar shopping from our seat, eating Thai food, and back to the resort for a swim and happy hour before our massage. Which was excellent.
And then club lounge cocktails and dinner at a local place after dropping off our laundry followed by cocktails at a pop up bar along beach road - a truly terrible day!
Anyway, now feeling rejuvenated enough for Tim to resume activity with 18 holes of golf at a country club here near Pattaya and for me to attempt a 2nd day of relaxation on our next day in Pattaya. A very relaxing day where I slept way too much. Tim enjoyed his game of golf. We visited the same place for lunch along beach road, had a swim, a massage, went to the club lounge for drinks, picked up laundry and had dinner at an Irish pub. We ate for less than half the price of dinner at a pub at home. 
And then time to head back to Bangkok for our journey home. We had a relaxing morning packing up, and an easy 2 hour drive back to Bangkok. 
We only had 2 nights in Bangkok, and having already been here twice, we just wanted to enjoy ourselves rather than redo touristy things we have already done. Having always liked the Banglamphu area (on the river) we booked a boutique style hotel near where we have stayed previously. This hotel is quite new and our room is lovely with a huge corner balcony overlooking the river - which is endlessly fascinating. After checking in we went to grab lunch at a place we have been to on previous trips - cheap and excellent! 
And then, we got ready for our little splurge. We have always enjoyed a river cruise at night but wanted a decent meal. Many of the cruises are crowded with buffets and we did not want that. So, I booked the Manohra which is an old rice barge with a degustation dinner. It is operated by the Anantara Riverside hotel so we went there first for a drink. Beautiful location and adjacent to the Avani Riverside (sister hotel to where we stayed in Pattaya). Anyway - drinks were Australian 5 star hotel prices there! But, the riverside setting was lovely. It took 45 minutes in a taxi in afternoon traffic to get there and as taxis are so cheap cost $5.50 AUD. The taxi driver spoke no English so we had to direct him - travel is so easy now with apps and data on your phone! He was very happy with his tip!
The dinner cruise was exceptional - having booked the premium package we had the best table on the boat and we were looked after very well with about 7 courses including wagyu beef, tiger prawns etc and of course Tim’s favorite dessert - mango with sticky rice. The scenery was beautiful with the temples all lit up. Weather was amazing, and it was just a beautiful night on the Chao Phraya river with great wine and lovely food.
The taxi drivers that hover around 5 star hotels don’t like using the meter so after the dinner cruise we negotiated a set fare with a young guy for 300 baht ( it’s still only $12!) to get back to our hotel on the other side of the river. As a bonus we drove past the famous flower markets which was just incredible to see the volume and array of beautiful flowers for sale.
For our full day in Bangkok, we had booked a highly rated cooking class - Cooking with Poo. This is hard to get into, so bookings need to be made in advance, as only 12 people can do this at a time. It was also located nowhere near our hotel! We were given a meeting location near a BTS station (the peak hour traffic is insane apparently so we were told not to get a taxi) so we took a taxi to our nearest BTS station Ratchathewi - and then got tickets from the machine (easy!) and jumped on the BTS to our meeting place. We were a bit early so we walked through lots of street food stalls and watched the morning rush hour street traffic. This street food - with its high turnover - looked amazing - and definitely would be great to try. Just not before a cooking class!!
We then met Poo! Our first stop was a wet market in Bangkok. Oh wow, this was next level. It had the usual fruit and veges, and meat and fish. But also insects and frogs and rats and pigs heads. Suffice to say, I didn’t breathe through my nose for this hour. But it was amazing to visit this wet market in the middle of the Bangkok slums. It was huge and a complete assault on the senses. But having said that, the fruit and veg and meat all looked very fresh and delicious.  We just couldn’t imagine grabbing toads or rats or turtles to eat! One girl on our tour (from Nice in France) has just moved here and wanted to learn how to navigate the markets and cook some good thai food. Food is so cheap here!
We then went into the heart of the Bangkok slums to where Poo was raised and has set up her business. These were just tiny laneways and tiny homes. Truly amazing to see and how she now supports her local community with her success. The food was truly delicious (and so simple!) and the class was fun. And such a ridiculous amount of food there is no way we could eat it all.
Whilst we were a decent distance from our hotel here, Tim really wanted a ride in a Bangkok tuk tuk (well, it’s been about 11 years since we have done it!) so we negotiated a fare for that. Hence $15 AUD which is expensive here but did take 45 minutes. Traffic was busy and we inhaled the equivalent of a few packets of cigarettes I’m sure in smog equivalence during the ride. The driver could not speak English so I had to put the destination into his phone (after converting his keyboard into English)! Anyway, it all worked ok and we only had 2 near collisions so all good! Again, the driver was pretty happy with that fare even though he was completely unfamiliar with the area!
The afternoon was for cheap massage, napping and Happy Hour. We now don’t intend to stray too far from the the hotel for our final 24 hours in Bangkok. 
But only a few minutes walk away is Soi Rambuttri. Soi Rambuttri Road is one of those unique places where you don’t have to spend much money to have a great time. This small one-lane road doesn’t see many cars as its primarily full backpackers buying from street vendors selling food, gifts, massages, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. While Khao San Road gets most of the hype, Soi Rambuttri is more of the hidden gem that you don’t want to miss. So, we had dinner here at one of the restaurants and Tim had 3 dishes including Morning Glory which were all excellent.
We then headed into Khao San Road for a look and a couple of drinks. It was insanely busy and just as we remembered but this time with lots of cannabis, pills and laughing gas being the current popular things for sale. Always entertaining along this street.
And then we had a final day before our 6pm flight. So, we just relaxed really with pool time and lunch and drinks at a restaurant nearby. Thankfully our notification of a 90 minute delay on our flight was received before we packed up, so that gave us more time by the pool. 
Sadly whilst we were in Bangkok, the global news was detailing an awful attack on Israel plunging them into war. Obviously very glad we were no longer there, but feeling very sad for Israel which we loved and of course the many innocent civilians in Palestine. We felt a real connection to the beautiful country we had just visited and really enjoyed, and feeling empathy also for the very young military soldiers we met that would now be plunged into some serious military activity. A very complicated situation indeed. 
At Bangkok Airport, we had lounge access in Bangkok (the Miracle Lounge as there is no Qantas lounge there) so relaxed in there for a while before our overnight flight back to Australia. Not much sleep on this flight at all unfortunately (none for me at all) so very tired on arrival - thankfully the delayed international flight departure still had us back in time for our domestic flight back to Port Macquarie. As always, it’s lovely to be home - and this time an even stronger sense of just how lucky we are to live in Australia. 
Other Entries

Comments

2025-02-12

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank