How is Pattaya right now?

I have been looking for an answer to this question in the last few weeks since the death of the widely respected King Bhumibol. I have a very warm heart for Thailand and believe that a country should be given the opportunity to mourn its head of state. The question for me was mainly whether this mourning period had consequences for my holiday.

I absolutely do not want to give the impression that I do not care about what is happening in Thailand and what impact the death of this king has here, but I think that as a tourist you should have the choice to be here or to spend your holiday elsewhere to bring. As said before, it is mainly a Thai grieving process and perhaps for those with Thai partner(s) or families.

EVA Air

On November 1, I flew with EVA Air from Amsterdam to Bangkok. Let me just say that waiting at Schiphol is really a disaster. We had not checked in online, something that you are punished for at EVA Air, according to the check-in stewardess. Because they only have 1 desk for Economy Class check-in. As indicated by the flight attendant, EVA Air's policy is to encourage customers to check in online as much as possible. So if you haven't done that, you can spend more than 2 hours in a long queue at Schiphol. So check in online next time. I used to always fly with China Airlines, but as indicated earlier on this forum, they will no longer fly directly from next month. On the flight nothing to notice. Fine and very new plane, USB charging connection for charging equipment (very handy) and I saw an EVA Wi-Fi network on board, but I was only at the end of the flight, and forgot to ask if this is possibly accessible for a fee.

Customs Bangkok

On arrival in Bangkok at the end of the afternoon it was very busy at customs. VISA On Arrival already completed on the plane, unbelievable that there are still people who don't or forget that. Nice to see that they are sent away with the card and then allowed to join the back. We just moved on to 2^e customs hall, because read somewhere that there is a 100^e should be much quieter. About 20 meters after the first hall there was a sort of priority customs lane, where 'elderly people 70 years and above' caught my eye. Let my travel partner be well into his 70s for the way there and so the two of us (me as the supervisor of this older gentleman) went through customs. That went damn fast and after waiting for the suitcase we were able to continue. It always remains exciting when it takes a while with the suitcase. So for all older gentlemen and ladies among us, just walk through until you see a narrow passage, something like priority lane. As far as I could remember, it was also for disabled people, pregnant women and a whole list.

SIM card

At the airport I immediately got a SIM card for my old phone. I only use this in Thailand and then purely as a mobile Wi-Fi modem. I turn on the hotspot function (can be found at Tethering And Portable Hotspot) and I can connect with any device, including the laptop with which I am typing this message, via the 3G network of this mobile smartphone. You just have a kind of portable router with you. The advantage is that I can continue to use my own phone, because calling can also be done via WhatsApp. So I went to the AIS store (situated a bit on the right when you walk through the gate with 'nothing to declare'). You just have to give your phone, the AIS employee will take out your old SIM, replace it with the new one and takes care of everything else for you. What a service. Phone started up, she gave it back for the code… and then suddenly I broke into a sweat. Shit, I didn't remember that code. It's such a pattern and me Knowing that I usually go for a Z or V but neither of those worked Finally after a minute or 2 I got a hunch and was able to activate the phone anyway Offered her another tip but company policy is they are not allowed to What a service! I recommend it to everyone, because the 7elevens no longer sell SIM cards (as I read here). You can also immediately inform the home front. Incidentally, 449 Baht was lost for 10 days of internet and I think some more A considerably better deal than at Center Parcs, where I paid € 30,00 per week for a poorly working KPN Wi-Fi network only in the house last summer. Outrageous, because that's what you have fast internet at home for a month. Anyway, I need the internet for work, so I often have no choice.

Taxi Bangkok to PattayaAfter getting the SIM card we went down to the taxi rank for metered taxis. Still they don't want to turn on the meter and the price was 1800 Baht. I can remember paying around 1200 Baht in the past, but this driver was unrelenting. 1800 Baht or out. In the end he accepted 1500 Baht, but then we had to switch to a friendly taxi with a more economical car. The new taxi, a neat SUV by the way, was not a taxi at all, but eventually arrived safely in Pattaya. Tipped 100 Baht and ended up paying 1600 Baht. Way too much, because from Bangkok to Pattaya you will be taken for under 1000 Baht. The best solution in my opinion is to increase the meter prices slightly and force every taxi to use the meter and to monitor this closely. In recent years, for example, I have not been able to find a meter taxi in Bangkok that calculates the price according to the meter.

How is Pattaya right now?

We finally arrived in Pattaya around 5 o'clock in the afternoon. First dropped off my friend at his hotel on Central Road, then to my hotel on 2nd Road. Checked in, showered, changed and walked around Pattaya. Below is my impression of the situation

Bars in Soi 6 are open as usual, music is turned off at some bars, at others the music is turned down. They are not pounding beats, but generally calmer music. Tents that are closed do play loud music inside, which can clearly be heard when a door opens. To be honest, I only noticed it when a door opened and loud music was playing. Then I noticed that it was a lot quieter at all the other tents. The women, on the other hand, in my opinion, with the exception of perhaps a few, did not wear any other clothing than they wore in January. Anyway, I didn't notice. Soi Buakhow same story, everything is open, but with less loud music. I did notice that the Piss Stop just played loud music, unlike the neighbors. Soi 7 and Soi 8 were also normal in my opinion, I didn't notice anything.

With regard to clothing, I do not see anything special. I even notice that many Thai people wear plain clothes instead of the prescribed black and white. As far as women are concerned, black is worn a lot, but I think it has always been that way. Tourists, on the other hand, just walk around in all colors and from what I understand from Thai people here, that is not a problem. It is a form of respect they show to their king and tourists who come here on holiday are not expected to adjust their clothing accordingly. However, I can imagine that when you attend ceremonies or commemorations it is appropriate to wear the right clothing.

If I evaluate my first day like this, there is really no reason not to come. Everything here is just the way it is and that the music is turned down is fine. At least now you can have a normal conversation instead of having to yell in someone's ear. It is also just nice and busy in Pattaya and as far as I can see there is no group of holidaymakers (Russians, Chinese, etc.) that dominates. It's just really nice here.

I hope it's clear to everyone what it's like in Pattaya right now. By the way, I haven't been to Walking Street yet, but if that really differs from normal, I'll report again. Now to get used to that time here, because it is now 2:39 am Thai time and I am wide awake as I type this message. Hoping for a few more hours of sleep soon.

Submitted by Lex