Free gift certificates for two nights stay in Holiday Inn courtesy of Travel 3 Sixty (Air Asia in flight magazine) brought us to the beach side city of Pattaya. Our flight was from Kuala Lumpur to U-Tapao Airport. The city is located very far from the airport, 1 hour drive away. As you exit the Arrivals Gate, there are counters selling shuttle bus tickets to the city. The shuttle will usually depart when it is full & the driver will drop passengers right at the front door of your hotel.
We arrived at the hotel & went straight to the check in counter. Check in was smooth but we were surprised to hear that the hotel requires 2000 baht deposit. Thankfully my husband brought his credit card, since we did not bring too much cash. The Concierge was very helpful in assisting us to plan our sightseeing trips. The best part is the room with a balcony, on 24th floor. The beach & city view was amazing, especially during sunrise.
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| Beach & city view from the balcony |
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| Gorgeous room decor |
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| Large king size bed |
When we arrived, it was almost sunset, so we freshened up & left the hotel to look for dinner. The main public transport in Pattaya is songthaew, a truck which is modified with padded seats & roof on the back of the truck. We flagged down a songthaew by the road (facing the beach), just like a taxi, and jumped in. We were unsure about the fare, but Google told us it is usually 10 baht per person one way. When we were close enough to the Central Festival Mall, we pressed the bell, jumped off and paid the driver 20 baht. Tip: Songthaews do not display any destination on their trucks, you simply have to know the direction to your destination (is it on your left or right?) & board the songthaew on the correct side of the road. Take note that some roads (like the one by Pattaya beach) are one way roads. You can also jump on the back of motor taxis, these guys usually wear orange-colored vests.
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| Songthaew & motor taxi riders |
Central Festival Mall is your typical mall with a cinema, Starbucks, H&M and such. The food court is located on the lower ground floor & we were surprised to see a number of restaurants/stalls offering halal food. There are Indian restaurants, chicken rice stall & dessert stalls (selling banana pancakes) as well. Lucky for us, we did not have to rely on bread/biscuits on this trip! After dinner of Tom Yam in the Indian Restaurant (Weird right? Haha), we walked around the mall & found Jim Thompson factory outlet, selling silk/batik merchandises at much lower prices than Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. On the sidewalks outside the mall, there are cafes/bars selling drinks from a repurposed Volkswagen van. Later, we walked along the beach to get back to Holiday Inn, stopping by the Hard Rock Hotel & Cafe to take photos. There is also an impressive hotel shaped exactly like a cruise ship near Hard Rock, Typical street food by the beach are grilled seafood and fresh fruit drinks. The sidewalk right on the beach near our hotel is dark and lifeless at night though.
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| Central Festival Mall |
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| Inside Central Festival Mall |
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| Volkswagen van bar |
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| Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya |
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| Hotel in the shape of a cruise ship |
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| Grilled seafood by the road side |
The Hotel Concierge helped us to arrange a driver to take us to Pattaya Floating Market, the best floating market I've been to so far. We didn't know what to expect at the floating market due to little information online, but we were definitely hunting for tom yam khung, pad thai, banana pancakes & we found them all at this market. They claim to be the largest floating market in Thailand/Asia/the world (I'm not sure which haha) & we were quite impressed. Shop for souvenirs here, because there are so many to choose from. There are t-shirts, bags, slippers, purses etc sold on the floating stalls. Food are mostly cooked and sold from small boats - boat noodles, tom yam, pad thai and even grilled crocodile (I'm not kidding) ! Muslim travelers worry not, there are halal options too. Food prices are also quite reasonable - mostly range from 20 to 60 baht per dish. For the bizarre food hunters, of course there are fried/grilled scorpions, grasshoppers & other insects to satisfy your appetite.
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| Entrance of Pattaya Floating Market |
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| Performers on a rowing boat |
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| Souvenir shops |
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| Souvenir shops |
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| Halal food stalls |
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| Insects = more food! |
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| Halal food stalls |
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| Fruit/drinks stalls |
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| Halal banana pancake |
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| Banana pancake |
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| The cook preparing tom yam khung on his boat |
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| Lunch - tom yam khung & pad thai |
Other than shopping, there are a big boat and small boats that you can ride around the floating market. The locals call the amphibious boat as the big boat, the one with wheels which goes from on the water to on the road. The "small boat" is a typically rowing boat or "sampan" & the boatman took us for a tour around the market once we arrived. Avoid taking the rowing boat tour around 12.00 pm, since the sun was scorching hot at this time.
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| Boat tour |
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| Floating stalls |
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| Quaint bridge |
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| Floating market boat tour/"small boat" ride |
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| Our boatman patiently rowing |
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| Another small boat |
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| Floating cafes |
The amphibious boat tour also dropped us off at a Monkey Show. I don't really condone locking up animals & making them put on a show, wearing dresses & make-up. Initially we didn't know that the show tickets were included in our Floating Market package. However, the human performers treated the monkeys with great care & some of the monkeys' tricks were adorable. After the show, we were also taken around to see how woven silk are made from worms & we were treated to a free back/neck massage.
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| Amphibious boat/"big boat" tour |
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| Amphibious boat on the road |
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| Monkey Show |
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| Monkey show |
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| Silk weaving |
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| Massage |
There's a fish spa at the floating market - a "spa" where you put in your feet into a pool of fish & they eat the dead skin off your feet (eew!). Other than that, you may look out for the cultural shows or musical performance around the market. They will provide a schedule of shows with your entrance ticket. There are also muay thai/kickboxing shows. However most of the shows we wanted to see were scheduled in the afternoon & we missed most of them. Another tip: look out for the red/green arrows painted on the ground to navigate around the market, as you can get easily lost & go around in circles.
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| Fish spa |
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| Tuktuk on display |
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| Cultural shows schedule |
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| Another entrance/exit of Pattaya Floating Market |
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| Arrows to show entrance/exit direction |
We spent half a day at the floating market & decided to rest at our hotel for the rest of the day. Holiday Inn has a great pool with view of Pattaya beach & it is perfect for a quick sunset swim. Dinner was in Central Festival Mall again, this time at the food court. If you would like to have an afternoon jog, the path along the beach is the perfect route for you to soak in the afternoon sun while working on your fitness ;)
Day 3
We rose early, before the sunrise, to get the best table by the pool for our buffet breakfast. In the morning, when the weather is still cool, you can see a lot of people going parasailing at the beach. After breakfast, we hopped onto a songthaew & began our journey to Sanctuary of Truth. Since we did not book the songthaew for a private trip, we were dropped by the main road & we had to walk 20-30 minutes to the temple. The Sanctuary of Truth is a wooden temple built by the beach. The temple is a work in progress, since it takes years to carve the poles, roof, walls etc. It is scheduled to be completed by year 2050. The wood carvings are definitely magnificent works of art, each more impressive than the next. You can also hire a horse carriage to take you around the temple huge compound.
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| Breakfast by the pool |
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| Infinity pool overlooking the beach |
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| Songthaew |
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| Signage to the temple from the main road |
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| Sanctuary of Truth Entrance |
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| Buy tickets in the left pillar of the entrance |
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| Walk down to the temple |
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| Temple view point |
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| Sanctuary of Truth - work in progress |
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| The exit |
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| Side view of the temple |
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| Wooden lift |
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| Gorgeous carvings at the top |
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| The temple is 105 meters high |
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| Inside the temple |
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| Carvings on the ceiling |
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| Horse carriage for hire |
We returned to the hotel & checked out at 12.00 pm. The concierge also arranged for our shuttle bus back to the airport, they called the driver to pick us up from the hotel. It is important to book these shuttle beforehand because private transfers to the airport by car can cost you up to 3000 baht.
Budget (around MYR500+ per person)
Air Asia flights from Kuala Lumpur to U-Tapao Airport - MYR 224
Holiday Inn Pattaya 2 nights stay - free
Shuttle bus from U-Tapao Airport to Holiday Inn - 250 baht
Songthaew rides - 10 baht one way
Dinner in Central Festival Mall (Ali's Restaurant) - 437 baht (2 pax)
Floating Market car hire, entrance ticket, boat rides, show - 1000 baht
Pad Thai & Tom Yam lunch - 70 baht (2 pax)
Banana Pancake - 40 baht
Watermelon juice - 40 baht
Floating Market photo frame souvenir - 200 baht
Tips for masseuse - 20 baht
Dinner in Central Festival Mall food court - 230 baht (2 pax)
Sanctuary of Truth entrance ticket - 500 baht
Shuttle Bus from Holiday Inn to U-Tapao Airport - 300 baht
Lunch at U-Tapao Airport - 150 baht
We brought 5500 baht for 3 days 2 night, 2 pax in Pattaya.
