This weekend Cheryl and I wanted to go away. We only had two days however and so we were looking for someplace close. There is a coastal city close to Bangkok called Pattaya. It has a beach along with restaurants and hotels, so we thought this would be an adequate weekend stop for us to relax. But there were a few things about Pattaya we did not know.
*Song tao – a type of taxi that is a pick-up truck with benches in the back and a roof etc. It will usually run a set course similar to a bus. It carries up to as many passengers as college students can be squished into a phonebooth and is a very inexpensive and fun way to get around.
We arrived late in the evening. Our first order of business when arriving at the bus station was to find a song tao to the beach strip where we were sure to find restaurants, bars, and hotels for us to stay. We were soon sitting in the back of a song tao and sailing through the streets and on our way. When we arrived on the beach strip, however, there seemed to be a lot more bars than restaurants. It also seemed that the patrons consisted of mainly older falang men with Thai women, many of which were rather underdressed to be considered fashionable.
We soon found a very nice looking hotel with a pool and reasonably clean rooms for a very affordable price. So, we booked in and went on a walk to see some of the local establishments. As we walked we noticed a definite forming theme in the businesses of Pattaya. It appeared that although there were many drink specials advertised it wasn't the drinks that were the chief thing being sold. I was very happy and relieved to have my wife on my arm as a form of protection. In fact, I was very lucky to have been under the protection of my wife. At one point I left Cheryl for a few minutes in order to walk down the street and obtain change from the nearest 7-11. This required me to walk roughly two-hundred yards down the street fully exposed to the local 'elements'. I now feel I understand the negative feeling expressed by women when they are cat-called by piggish men. Surrounded as I was by all the women of questionable morality, I was verbally accosted from all sides. I felt as though I were a raw sirloin steak floating through a crocodile pit.
Okay, enough of the politeness. I will come right out and say it. Pattaya had a shocking number of women for sale; more than I ever could have thought possible not only in one place but throughout the known universe. I now see why Thailand is considered the prostitution capital of planet Earth. I said before that the pigs are marching in Thailand, well Pattaya is a thunderous stampede of swine.
All that aside though. Cheryl and I did have a nice weekend in Pattaya. We spent the remainder of the weekend swimming in the hotel pool, eating delicious pizza in an Italian restaurant whilst listening to an extremely talented opera singer, and ordering copious amounts of room-service for $3 and under per meal. In essence, Thailand, like any place, will be what you make it. I am happy that Cheryl and I are able to enjoy each other and the places we are in despite what may be around us in the darker corners. I have chosen a good partner to keep a light with, and I’d like to think she respects me more than a crocodile does it’s meat.
*Song tao – a type of taxi that is a pick-up truck with benches in the back and a roof etc. It will usually run a set course similar to a bus. It carries up to as many passengers as college students can be squished into a phonebooth and is a very inexpensive and fun way to get around.
We arrived late in the evening. Our first order of business when arriving at the bus station was to find a song tao to the beach strip where we were sure to find restaurants, bars, and hotels for us to stay. We were soon sitting in the back of a song tao and sailing through the streets and on our way. When we arrived on the beach strip, however, there seemed to be a lot more bars than restaurants. It also seemed that the patrons consisted of mainly older falang men with Thai women, many of which were rather underdressed to be considered fashionable.
We soon found a very nice looking hotel with a pool and reasonably clean rooms for a very affordable price. So, we booked in and went on a walk to see some of the local establishments. As we walked we noticed a definite forming theme in the businesses of Pattaya. It appeared that although there were many drink specials advertised it wasn't the drinks that were the chief thing being sold. I was very happy and relieved to have my wife on my arm as a form of protection. In fact, I was very lucky to have been under the protection of my wife. At one point I left Cheryl for a few minutes in order to walk down the street and obtain change from the nearest 7-11. This required me to walk roughly two-hundred yards down the street fully exposed to the local 'elements'. I now feel I understand the negative feeling expressed by women when they are cat-called by piggish men. Surrounded as I was by all the women of questionable morality, I was verbally accosted from all sides. I felt as though I were a raw sirloin steak floating through a crocodile pit.
Okay, enough of the politeness. I will come right out and say it. Pattaya had a shocking number of women for sale; more than I ever could have thought possible not only in one place but throughout the known universe. I now see why Thailand is considered the prostitution capital of planet Earth. I said before that the pigs are marching in Thailand, well Pattaya is a thunderous stampede of swine.
All that aside though. Cheryl and I did have a nice weekend in Pattaya. We spent the remainder of the weekend swimming in the hotel pool, eating delicious pizza in an Italian restaurant whilst listening to an extremely talented opera singer, and ordering copious amounts of room-service for $3 and under per meal. In essence, Thailand, like any place, will be what you make it. I am happy that Cheryl and I are able to enjoy each other and the places we are in despite what may be around us in the darker corners. I have chosen a good partner to keep a light with, and I’d like to think she respects me more than a crocodile does it’s meat.
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