Back to blog on my 9D8N Thailand Trip!!
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DAY II
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Woke up surprisingly early (considering the fact that we're both not a morning kinda person) to head off to Pattaya!! Breakfast wasn't worth mentioning because it tasted pretty horrendous lol.
So most of you guys would want to know how we get from Bangkok to Pattaya.
There are many ways to get there and it really depends on :
1) The number of travellers you're travelling with
If you're travelling in a bigger group, it'll be better to rent the whole van/mini-bus.
If you're travelling in twos or fours, it's better to get a ticket for the mini-van like I did.
2) Your budget
If you're feeling rich and want comfort above all other factors, take a cab.
Otherwise, taking a mini-van would be the most cost effective method.
Headed down to Century Mall (Just beside Victory Monument BTS) and got tickets to Pattaya!
The ticket booths were outside the mall, one whole stretch of them, adjacent to the BTS.
If you're taking the BTS, exit from the opposite direction to Victory Monument.
The tickets costed us 120THB, which was est. 5SGD.
But you gotta be patient (and maybe a little luck) to wait for the mini-van to be full before it sets off!
#Traveller Tips# Try not to carry a big baggage cause you'll be charged for taking up space in the van.
The one to Pattaya is at Booth 7,
the people working there are pretty helpful though they usually talk in a loud and hurry manner. Take no offence!
After 3 hours of snoozing off in the mini-van,
WE ARRIVED SAFELY yay.
It's good to take note of where you alight (and probably get a name card from them in case you get lost) because this will be the exact same point where you take the transport back to Bangkok.
Do ask them about the last van timing cause it changes some times. The cost to go back should be the exact same amount and the waiting time for it isn't as long cause the van we took back only had us when it set off. Felt as if we booked the whole van, lol!
Okay, more pictures and less talking from here onwards!
Managed to catch the sunset view while walking to our hotel.
Didn't wanna take a cab because we felt that it was pretty near and we wanted to explore the place too.
The hotel was located in this alley and the signboard wasn't really eye-catching.
Was lucky that we had network and the GPS location service was working well.
This was our stay for the night at Pattaya!
Seven Zea Chic Hotel
225/62 Moo 9 Soi 5 Pattaya Road, Nongprue,
Banglamung, Pattaya, CB, Thailand
Booked the seaview room!
Was pretty satisfied with the view other than the construction site which would in future be another hotel/mall. Imagine opening your hotel window and seeing others looking at you from their room/restaurant LOL.
The room was very clean and there's nothing much to complain about the interior of the room.
But the service of the hotel staffs were pretty bad and the location was really far from the attractions site.
Checked in and washed up before heading out again for dinner!
We were lucky to get recommendations from Mun's friend to try out this seafood restaurant which was around a 15 minutes walk away from our hotel!
Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri, Thailand
So apparently, there's like 2 outlets of Moom Aroi (also known as Mum Aroi).
We went to the one that wasn't by the seaside - less tourist spot, cause the map directed us to this outlet lol.
So apparently, there's like 2 outlets of Moom Aroi (also known as Mum Aroi).
We went to the one that wasn't by the seaside - less tourist spot, cause the map directed us to this outlet lol.
The environment was pretty serene, slight music and surprisingly though it was outdoor, there were no bugs!!
(or perhaps I was lucky I didn't chance upon any)
Scallops
Lobster (I think it's garlic lobster or smth, I totally forgot)
Not-sure-what Crab
Fried wings!
Mussels
THE FOOD IS REMARKABLY FRESH!
One of the freshest seafoods I've ever eaten!!
It tasted so good, I ate 2 bowls of rice that night lol!
And guess how much did all these cost??!
Est. 50SGD in total.
Totally visiting this restaurant again when I'm back!!
We decided to grab some beer and supper and snacks from the convenience stores instead of drinking from the pubs cause it was too noisy I guess. We're not really the kind of people that likes crowd haha
So that marks the end of Day II.
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Day III
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Felt awesome cause this was the view I woke up to on Day III :)
As usual, breakfast wasn't worth mentioning cause the breakfast spread at the hotel was ordinary. I'd even say that the breakfast "buffet" was pretty pathetic and there was actually ants climbing up onto our plates from time to time.
Headed up to the hotel's pool area to check it out before heading back to get ready for check out!
Would like to comment a slight bit more about the hotel:
1) The staffs weren't very friendly
2) Extension of check out timing would cost the price of another night - wtf?
3) The location of the hotel was SO far from the attraction sites and when we asked them to help us engage a cab, the staffs were pretty reluctant.
4) They told us that it'll cost 1600 baht (if I didn't remember wrongly) to get from our hotel all the way to the place we wanted to go. And when we rejected the offer and walked away, they said 1400 baht would work too. Like seriously, are you for real?! -.-
I was on having my time of the month and couldn't do water activities by the beach. And the attractions were pretty far away and the cab drivers rates were marked too high (not that we do not have enough cash, we didn't like the idea of being ripped off just because we're tourists) It was so bad that both Mun and I decided to skip those places we initially planned to go and just walk around the malls we walked past on the way to the hotel on day II.
So here are the places we walked through on day III.
This was some fashion outlet mall which was supposedly supposed to be cheap but I think Queensway is cheaper
We got a 7pm mini-van back to Bangkok and the mini-van was so empty it felt so comfy lol.
Anyway, just a few pointers to you guys in case you're intending to travel to Pattaya:
Anyway, just a few pointers to you guys in case you're intending to travel to Pattaya:
1) Engage a 1 day driver/mini-van, it'll be easier to travel around like this. And the rates would be negotiated beforehand. We didn't do this because I initially felt that it wasn't necessary. If you're confident in driving, rent a car and drive. It'll save a lot of hassle. Parking in Thailand is pretty cheap/free lol.
2) If you're not an outdoor person that likes water activities, Pattaya isn't really the place for you. I guess the only thing that I loved most about Pattaya was the sunset. In fact, the beach was pretty dirty I didn't want to set foot onto it (comparatively to Huahin which I'll blog more about in my next post).
3) Shopping mall stuffs are pretty much the same price compared to Sg. Pattaya is a more commercialised/tourist spot so you can see starbucks, mcdonalds, pizza hut, comfort food being around you. You don't have to worry about not having any food to your liking.
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I'd definitely head back to Pattaya again to explore the places I intended to go but got scrapped. It was a good mistake I made in planning which made me learn more - which also made Mun and I decide to rent a car in Huahin for convenience.
Till the next post!
