Kingdom of Thailand as it is officially known, is a magnet for the travelers around the world. Bangkok, Pattya, Phuket and Koh Samui are among the 4 most visited/preferred cities/island in the country.

I visited two very different from each other cities – Pattaya and Bangkok.

PATTYA

The first thing which comes in the mind when we hear Pattaya city is “it’s a men’s destination (especially in India)”, due to its large sex tourism industry. Although it does have many family friendly attraction and activities.

So when I got an opportunity to travel to this city, I was very excited and  really wanted to know why it is so popular, and what exactly is there which attracts men’s so much that whenever someone says Pattaya, everybody has mischievous expressions on their faces.

To me, I found the city very vibrant. It has a charm of its own. Few interesting things I found here:

The famous Street for Sex Tourism – I have to agree the entire street is very lucrative for men. There are Bars and Pubs for drinking & music and open invitation for having fun & pleasure. There were rates written all over in each shop. It was way beyond and open than my expectation. The place is heaven for people looking for pleasure.

Cabaret – Alcazar show is the popular ladyboy show, filled with action – popular tunes and Broadway style entertainment. The ladyboy are so beautiful that they can easily beat girls in a beauty pageant. I couldn’t take off my eyes, they were so beautiful. The show is undoubtedly the best live show I have ever witnessed. It is very beautifully choreographed music and dance show. It is definitely a must watch show if visiting this city.

Tiffany’s show is another popular ladyboy show more suitable and targeted towards the family audience.

Coral Beach – Also knows as Koh Lan. Its a beautiful beach which has lot of water activities for adventure seekers. We enjoyed Parasailing, Banana boat ride among the ride and long walk on the beach. Other than this there are also water sports like snorkeling, water scooter, scuba diving etc.

Pattaya Tower – It is the best place to see the entire city at a glance. The tower has many restaurants (revolving etc) and other things but most attractive thing here is the observatory deck which is on 55th floor. One can jump off from here either alone or couple of a group of 4-5 people. Arrangements are there as per your preference.

2-3 Nights are enough in Pattaya.

BANGKOK

The capital city of Thailand has lot to offer. It is very cosmopolitan in nature – offices, shopping malls, diverse city life, royal places, temples, historical places, dynamic night life. It has something to offer for everyone.

Attractions in Bangkok included:

Gems Factory – It is worlds biggest jwellery and gems centre with precious stone.

Reclining Buddha Temple – It is the largest and oldest shrine of Bangkok. It is one of the ancient attraction of the city. One feels very relax here.

Couple of other places which can be visited here with the family especially kids are though I wasn’t that keen to visit these places – Saim Ocean World, Safari World & Marine park and Madame Tussaurds Museum.

Shopping – Bangkok is famous for shopping anything under the sun from high end brands to low end products at extremely reasonable rates. Its a Hub or paradise for a shopaholic. As the saying goes “Bangkok mein shoping nahi kiya to kya kiya?? “.

The only thing I missed here was visiting Tiger Temple and face the fearless cat. one can do exercise with them , even bottle feed cubs. Even though the tigers are trained but they are unchained. Encounter with the big cat will be really interesting. Would surely experience the same whenever I get a chance to visit this place again.

Overall I would say it is a economical place to travel with reasonable good options available to enjoy/go for a vacation.

*Pattya Tower & Reclining Buddha pic sourced from internet.

The other cities/islands which I would like to visit in Thailand includes – Phuket and Koh Samui.