Pattaya is one of those
places that radiates an aura of mystique to travelers such as myself - who
first learned about this resort city through tales of debauchery, mayhem and
smut. It was - as suggested by my preconceived notion – as a place composed of organized
chaos of neon lights, lavish adult clubs and endless cabaret shows that last
through the morning.
“Shit-pit of Asia”, “world’s largest red-light district”, and as brutally
described in Alex Garland’s novel The
Beach; “was a hell-hole”. If
reputation could kill indeed, then Pattaya alone, can butcher an army of
thousands. After a couple of trips to this place, I realized – just like Mr.
Snow - I know nothing. There’s more to Pattaya than scuttlebutts and western
sex tourists’ epic sagas of wickedness.
Past the Smokescreen
I looked at everyone
inside our van filled with travel writers to try to unmask who among us would
venture along the infamous strip of Pattaya’s red-light districts. “That’s what all travelers do here anyway”
I told myself. This was during my first trip to Pattaya and we just came from
Bangkok after covering a wholesome event graced by Thailand’s tourism poster
boy; local
actor Mario Maurer.
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| Enjoy wine tasting at the scenic Silverlake Vineyard |
I ticked off the four
ladies in our group and gave them a zero percent chance of desiring to
experience the infamous side of Pattaya. As I was about to resign at the
thought that I’ll end up as the only who’d do so, I heard our tour guide
telling us about the next day’s itinerary; Floating
Market, Frost Magical Ice of Siam, Cartoon Network Amazone, Siriporn Orchid
Park, Art in Paradise, Mini Siam, Night Market Walking streets, Silverlake
Vineyard a number of cultural shows and a list of other good-nature and
non-grimy activities.
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| How about some whiskey? inside the freezing Magical Ice of Siam |
It dawned on me during the
rest of my initial journey to Pattaya, that it is a place teeming with
family-oriented attractions. Not one second that we caught a glimpse of the
infamous red-light section of the city. Not that I mind, it’s just I finally
learned that looking past the notorious mask of Pattaya, one could unearth many
reasons to enjoy this place in a more wholesome manner.
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| No Van Damme, but surreal watching a Muay Thai match in person for the first time |
To cap my first night in
Pattaya, I joined my fellow travel writers in watching a popular Thailand sport
and form of martial arts; Muay Thai,
where the only red colors I saw was from the blood gushing from the nose of the
beaten but courageous fighters.
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| Feast on local cuisine at the Pattaya Floating Market |
Pattaya Redux – The Adventure Cometh
My second time to Pattaya
gifted me with another set of experience far removed from the sleazy reputation
it amassed through countless chronicles of sex tourist. Firstly, our group
isn’t one and secondly, our trip sponsors; Air Asia Philippines, KK Day – the leading travel experience e-commerce
platform in Asia and Pattaya
Sea Adventure wants us to experience the different side
of Pattaya; its thriving adventure hub.
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| A Parasailing experience courtesy of Pattaya Sea Adventure / Booked via KKDay |
With leading Asian budget
airline Air
Asia now serving direct Manila to Bangkok flights,
the location of Pattaya even becomes an appealing side trip from the capital
city of Thailand. A mere two-hour drive brings travelers to this seaside town
now undergoing a massive facelift from its old flesh-driven character to the
now burgeoning adventure activities catering to the whole family.
What better way to start
our first morning with a short trip to the bay side and view the countless
numbers of parasailing chutes out in the skies over the gleaming waters of the
of the Gulf of Thailand. Little did I expect, the
people from Pattaya Sea Adventure arranged for us to try parasailing. I have tried
tandem paragliding before in Cavite and at Narvacan,
Ilocos Sur, but flying on a chute on my own and being towed by a
motorboat, was a new experience for myself.
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| The motorboat tugging my chute and the skyline of Pattaya |
We docked our speedboat on
a wooden platform in the middle of the sea where we saw a queue of people
advancing in a clockwork motion like cars in an automobile factory, having
their parasailing gear strapped to their body and into the chutes itself. In a
span of under a few minutes, I found myself lining up and getting ready to fly.
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| The laser carved image of Buddha at Kao Chi Chan Mountain |
It happened so fast I only
heard one of the crew signaled to me to “get
ready!” and off I flew in the air. During my paragliding experience, my
position was in a seated position so only my legs were left dangling in the
air. This time though, my whole feet hanged in the air so it brought a
different type of flying sensation.
I gathered my bearing just
in time I saw the motorboat below tugging me, turn a corner and I fixed my
sight at the countless circling boats below, the other parachutes flying in the
air and the distant skyline of Pattaya.
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| Pattaya Sunset |
The parasailing lasts for
one circle lap around the platform where we launched at a duration of just
under three minutes. Fortunately for myself, the crew on the platform failed to
catch me on my first landing attempt, thus allowing me for another lap of
flying in the air.
I finally landed back on
the parasailing podium on my second attempt, giving me just enough time of
around six minutes of winged time, to fully enjoy the parasailing experience.
Sea Walk
Our next activity reminded
me of the Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr. film Men of Honor, about a team of 1950s master divers because of the
underwater helmet used during that time almost resembled the ones we wore
during our subsurface sea walk.
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| Popular actor and vlogger Chucky Dreyfuss during our Sea Walk |
According to my fellow
travel writer; Ferdz
of En Route, the helmet weighs 35 kg. It felt heavy at
first but when I went underwater, it felt lighter and I only encountered a
sudden violent pressure in my ear. I managed to reach my one hand under the
helmet and into my nose to depressurize and afterward, I felt alright
throughout the whole thing which lasted under 20 minutes.
I always wondered about
this kind of activity, especially after seeing photos of similar sea walks in
Boracay, so I was glad to have finally experienced it.
Koh Larn Island
We spent the rest of the
day chilling and doing other water activities such as snorkeling, jet-skiing
and even riding a banana boat at Coral Island, or locally known as Koh Larn.
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| With fellow travel bloggers Ferdz Decena and Edgar Zeta Yap |
Popular among tourists,
Koh Larn attracts more than 3,000 people a day and this number balloon to
20,000 during peak season. When we came, the thick beach crowd were obvious,
especially when viewed from the Buddha Mountain – where a large Golden Buddha
statue is erected.
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| Some of us watched the popular Transvestite show in Pattaya. Their performances are being raved as a must-see / KKDay |
After a sumptuous lunch,
we headed to the lesser crowded Hardtien Beach – which is still part of the
Coral Island. The snorkeling spot isn’t that impressive as what we have in
Palawan and other parts of the Philippines. Traveler spoiled by the pristine
beaches of our country, will find Coral Island as an average destination where
you can just chill with your friends.
Beyond the Red Lights
I saw a glimpse of the
infamous red light streets of Pattaya. And after experiencing the other facets
of this city, I came to see it as just one fragment of a sum of many things,
that should not hold you back from exploring this city so near to Bangkok.
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| The Wood-carved Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya. Photo credit: KKDay |
Running out of time I
wasn’t able to visit the Sanctuary of Truth – a majestic work of architecture
consisting of a gigantic temple built on hand-hewn wood carvings. I spent our
last morning walking along the bay walk as I watched the people frolicking by
the beach. I sat on the bench and bought myself an ice cold Chang beer. Thirsty
from the long stroll, I took a hurried gulp and as I finished the bottle, I
wondered about where mischief reigns in this city.
Experiencing Pattaya on two
different occasions, had me feeling its other vibes which were far removed from
the image it has infamously – and undeservingly carried through the years. Beyond
the red-lights, which in itself is a fascinating sub-culture already, Pattaya
have other absorbing things to offer.
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Pattaya is only two hours
away from Bangkok. Air Asia Philippines now flies directly from Manila to
Bangkok daily.
