Asian backpacker

In 2014 I gave myself a trip to Thailand as a birthday gift. The difference this time is that I won’t be traveling as a backpacker, but rather a “flashpacker”. I didnt even bring a backpack but a trolley that I borrowed. The goal this time was also to kick back and relax rather than going on the road everyday and sightseeing everyday. This time I also brought my buddy Greg with me as he hasn’t been to Thailand before but if you remember he did travel to Japan with me. He’s not so much an adventurous traveler, but more like a chill and eat well kind of guy. He’s always up for a drink and a party so it seemed like good companion. We first arrived in Bangkok and met up with Coco, a local friend of mine. Our first stop is Pattaya which is only 2hours drive away from Bangkok. I told her this and she offered to take us there with her car along with a friend of hers. Apparently a lot of people from Bangkok drive down there to chill for the weekend, as did she.

It was nice to have locals around as they took us to a nice restaurant in Pattaya which was pretty far away from the tourist area. The place was called Glass House and it was surrounded by lovely trees and lighting. You could see it was an upper class restaurant as we could see some business men and richer Thais around us. Coco actually remembered it was my birthday and at the end of dinner she brought out a small birthday cake. 🙂 It was a really nice gesture and I didnt suspect anything at all. Even my buddy Greg forgot it was my birthday lol… I should get new friends really. Afterwards we went to the Hilton Hotel and had a cocktail up on the rooftop bar. They actually had 2 levels, the first one had some lounge “pods” spread out and the atmosphere was very cozy wich a nice view over the bay area. The top level also had a restaurant but seemed less cozy.

Anyway, Pattaya is mainly known for it’s nightlife and party night lifestyle. There are tons of bars and gogo bars and clubs spread around the busy tourist area. I don’t think there are many families around. We did see tons of tourist groups around though. Even at Walking Street where the majority of the clubs and bars are located we could see groups being guided through and tourists happily snapping pictures.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd2TR1sz01E

We checked out the clubs and bars as well and after a few days we found our favorites already. I’m a huge fan of live music and out of every bar you could hear the music blasting from the street. The one that caught my attention was Hot Tuna, a bar that played heavy rock music from the 80’s en 90’s. Other than that we went to Candy Shop. Yes, probably named after the 50-cent song. This place had a great coverband that was covering some awesome hip hop and r’nb songs. Great vibe there every night.

During the day we relaxed and got some massages as well and even went out to visit the Sanctuary of Truth. This building was built up completely in wood and it was decorated in some very detailed wood carvings and statues. It look amazing from a distance and inside it was even more spectacular. At first I tried walking there as it looked managable but about 30mins into the walk I decided to get on a mini van instead. Not because I was lazy, but because my calculations were apparently wrong. The mini-bus drove for another 10 mins before I got to the correct street….

The building was simply amazing though. If you’ve read soem of my other posts you might know that I’m a huge sucker for statues and detailed carvings. The woodwork and lighting was superb and I could just spend a night there if I could! However… it started raining heavily actually and the wind was blowing pretty hard. It gave the temple a rather spooky feeling actually. I liked it!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_xogxnofBs

Anyway, after partying and relaxing for some days, I made my way up to the North and visited Pai for some peace and serenity.