Lex in Pattaya – part 3

Since I am now acting more like a Pattayaan than a tourist, I will spare you the repetitions. Because once I've found my niche, I have no problem eating the same thing every day, walking the same round and visiting the same bars in the evening. But still you come across things every now and then, which makes me wonder why I didn't know about this sooner.

Mike Shopping Mall

This holiday I deliberately chose a number of hotels or guesthouses with a swimming pool, but also a number without a swimming pool. It's a bit like a bathtub at home, if you don't have it you miss it, but if you do you hardly use it. I had to fight a huge battle for my bathtub at home in the Netherlands, but now I wonder how many months ago I was last in it. Harry's Place unfortunately does not have a swimming pool, but luckily there is my friend Albert who knew that above Mike Shopping Mall, on the highest floor, there is a gigantic swimming pool where you can swim all day for only 100 Baht and relax on the sun beds. . So use it if you want to swim and your hotel does not have a swimming pool.

Soi buakhao

The first days of my holiday I mainly walked the Beach Road towards Walking Street, then left before Walking Street and then left again onto 2nd Road and then via Central Road to end up at Beach Road again. A nice round, where you will encounter nice bars, massage parlors and other entertainment along the way. When I moved from Harry's Place to Villa Oranje (Central Road side street), other Dutch people advised me to take the road to Soi Buakhao from the Central Road, say the 3rd Road.

What a very nice street that is! I can say that this whole street has become one of my favorite streets. The atmosphere is more relaxed, the prices (especially for massages) are a lot lower and the people are much friendlier. I have seen many 'real' massage parlors, without happy endings, where they already offer really good massages for 100 to 150 Baht. I myself am a big fan of Patio Massage, I came here almost every day. You will also find several nice streets that connect Soi Buakhao with the 2nd Road. I can recommend everyone to walk through Soi Buakhao to experience this for yourself.

Show passport when exchanging money

I myself choose to bring cash and exchange it in Thailand. The exchange rate is much more favorable and you do not pay any (withdrawal) costs. However, the problem is that many exchange offices on the street opposite ask for a passport. Like probably most tourists, I prefer to leave these in the safe in the hotel. You can still do that! Take a photo of your passport and show it. I've done it this way several times and it was always accepted. They just need your passport number.

I-bar

The Walking Street simply has a huge attraction for tourists. It's always busy, it's fun and it goes on until late. I've been to the I-Bar a lot myself, under the Insomnia discotheque. Whichever place I started in, it ended up in I-Bar. You will find both locals and tourists here, the atmosphere is good and the service excellent. I was out with some Thai ladies, ordered a bottle of Finnish Vodka which ran out later in the evening. Ordered a new bottle, knowing that I would never succeed those 2^e to get a bottle. But that's no problem at I-Bar. You get a card, the bottle is labeled and next time you can continue drinking from the same bottle. What a service!

Lord Nelson

On the advice of Thailand blog reader Peter, I booked The Nelson Guesthouse Pattaya in Soi 6 through Booking.com. Peter recommended Lord Nelson to me, and this was the only Nelson I could find through Booking.com. As enthusiastic as Peter was, I found it very disappointing. The tap did not work properly, the shower head kept coming loose from the hose, the sockets did not work and the employee did not even bother to walk to the room to hand it over to me. I got the key and good luck so to speak.

Now I understand that it is not the most expensive hotel, but I have received better service with cheaper rooms. But the monkey soon came out of the sleeve when I met John and Peter at Lord Nelson's on a Tuesday at 16.00 p.m. After waiting for an hour I decided to sit across the street with some ladies at the Halifax bar. I could keep an eye on them at the entrance of the Nelson bar, although I had to do my utmost to decline an attractive lady's massage for only 1 Baht.

I was the first customer and if she would please me then she would be lucky for the rest of the day. I decided to give the nicest of the bunch a drink, after which I received a message from Peter that John had been waiting for me at Nelson since 16.00 pm. I quickly paid and returned. Did I miss him after all? But just took a picture of the building 'Am I with the right Nelson?'. And guess what, there are two Nelson's in Pattaya Soi 6, both named after the great Lord Admiral Nelson. John had been waiting for me at Lord Nelson for over two hours, while I was waiting for him at the Nelson Guesthouse.

So if you are looking for a good hotel in the middle of the always cozy Soi 6, book Lord Nelson ([email protected] / 0066 38 362 271) and don't book The Nelson Guesthouse.