This is www.tony-tollitt.com
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TonyT's third Thailand blog:
Another month in and around the country:
September to October 2015.
Page 5
PATTAYA
FRIDAY 11th:
Time to leave Kanchanaburi. Chi, (residence owner), had got us a really good deal on taxi to Pattaya, our next port-of-call on our itinerary.
We were told the driver would turn up at the apartment at 10am so we started a leisurely breakfast at 08:30 then half-way through Chi came in said the taxi had arrived. Hasty completion of breakfast and a swift completion of packing we were ready for the off by 09:20.
Handshakes and farewells and we were off.
Driver's name was Tum and he didn't hang around on the road. By 11:30 we were hacking through Bangkok and got on to the motorway to the coast on the far side in record time. By 13:00 we were in the outskirts of Pattaya and once in the thick of the city the usual traffic chaos took over delaying our reaching the Hard Rock Hotel.
My God but what a change from the peace and solitude of Kanchanaburi. Thailand could not be more different. By comparison Pattaya is a cess-pit, but we both have friends here so that's why we're here.
Very smart up-market hotel. Lovely room up on the 5th floor with a panoramic view of the Pattaya sea front and to Jomtiem in the distance.
It was really a case of dumping our baggage, taking a swift shower and out into the 37ºC heat of the day. Didn't have to walk far before we hopped into a Beach Road bar and took in a few beers. Later we jumped a Baht-bus (still 10 Baht/person) to the end of Beach Road and crossed over and into Pattaya Beer Garden which is actually a restaurant and bars on a large pier over the sea.
Got a table overlooking the sea and ordered food. Alas, just before the food arrived it started to rain so we quickly changed seats to an under cover one; pity. The rain didn't last and after eating we walked up to Second Road and did one or two more bars before heading back to the hotel.
Various photos of the Hard Rock Hotel complex below:
TOP: Hotel from Beach Road.
SECOND: The hotel Reception and one of the lounges. There are literally 100's of guitars about the place.
THIRD LEFT: Some of the guitars all of which have been played by famous/well known guitarists. Bo Diddley, Slash (U2), ZZ Top, The Cult, etc, etc.
THIRD RIGHT: View from our room.
FOURTH & BOTTOM: Views of around the pool area.
Below is a movie about the Hard Rock Hotel; it's about 5 minutes long:-
SATURDAY 12th: Late getting up this morning and managed to get down to breakfast just before closing at 10:00. Impressive selection of different foods available; almost overwhelming, but all delicious. Only gripe is that the coffee's too weak for my taste..... tasted like the crap Starbucks serve.
At this point I must say that we're impressed by the Hard Rock. It's swish, modern, clean and the staff everywhere are amazingly attentive and cannot do enough for you. From the vast pool to the housekeeping there's always a smile and a friendly greeting there.
After chilling out after breakfast it was down to the pool. The pool itself is magnificent with one side decked out with huge boulders with sand between. Palm trees everywhere. However, the ambience of the pool area is ruined (from my point of view that is) by constant barrage of organised games prompted by very loud loudspeaker ranting. At one point in the early afternoon a live group appeared and blasted out their stuff. OK at night maybe but crap when you're trying to relax and read a book in peace. So that spoiled it for me; it was little bit like a British holiday camp to be honest. Temperature 37.5ºC at lunch time.
Well I must say we were a bit peeved. As said the reason we are staying in Pattaya for a few days is to meet up with some friends, but not one, but three of Aom's friends were nowhere to be seen. Two were working and one had buggered off to another city for a few days. If we'd known this we would have stayed longer in Kanchanaburi or gone up to Surin earlier. Neither of us are particularly fond of this city.
But we are here and we'll make the most of it.
TOP: Night time in and around Pattaya.
CENTRE RIGHT: Panorama of Pattaya behind yours truly.
BOTTOM: Sunset from Beach Road.
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PATTAYA
Time to leave Kanchanaburi. Chi, (residence owner), had got us a really good deal on taxi to Pattaya, our next port-of-call on our itinerary.
We were told the driver would turn up at the apartment at 10am so we started a leisurely breakfast at 08:30 then half-way through Chi came in said the taxi had arrived. Hasty completion of breakfast and a swift completion of packing we were ready for the off by 09:20.
Handshakes and farewells and we were off.
Driver's name was Tum and he didn't hang around on the road. By 11:30 we were hacking through Bangkok and got on to the motorway to the coast on the far side in record time. By 13:00 we were in the outskirts of Pattaya and once in the thick of the city the usual traffic chaos took over delaying our reaching the Hard Rock Hotel.
My God but what a change from the peace and solitude of Kanchanaburi. Thailand could not be more different. By comparison Pattaya is a cess-pit, but we both have friends here so that's why we're here.
Very smart up-market hotel. Lovely room up on the 5th floor with a panoramic view of the Pattaya sea front and to Jomtiem in the distance.
It was really a case of dumping our baggage, taking a swift shower and out into the 37ºC heat of the day. Didn't have to walk far before we hopped into a Beach Road bar and took in a few beers. Later we jumped a Baht-bus (still 10 Baht/person) to the end of Beach Road and crossed over and into Pattaya Beer Garden which is actually a restaurant and bars on a large pier over the sea.
Got a table overlooking the sea and ordered food. Alas, just before the food arrived it started to rain so we quickly changed seats to an under cover one; pity. The rain didn't last and after eating we walked up to Second Road and did one or two more bars before heading back to the hotel.
Various photos of the Hard Rock Hotel complex below:
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TOP: Hotel from Beach Road.
SECOND: The hotel Reception and one of the lounges. There are literally 100's of guitars about the place.
THIRD LEFT: Some of the guitars all of which have been played by famous/well known guitarists. Bo Diddley, Slash (U2), ZZ Top, The Cult, etc, etc.
THIRD RIGHT: View from our room.
FOURTH & BOTTOM: Views of around the pool area.
Below is a movie about the Hard Rock Hotel; it's about 5 minutes long:-
SATURDAY 12th: Late getting up this morning and managed to get down to breakfast just before closing at 10:00. Impressive selection of different foods available; almost overwhelming, but all delicious. Only gripe is that the coffee's too weak for my taste..... tasted like the crap Starbucks serve. TOP: Night time in and around Pattaya. CENTRE RIGHT: Panorama of Pattaya behind yours truly. BOTTOM: Sunset from Beach Road.
At this point I must say that we're impressed by the Hard Rock. It's swish, modern, clean and the staff everywhere are amazingly attentive and cannot do enough for you. From the vast pool to the housekeeping there's always a smile and a friendly greeting there.
After chilling out after breakfast it was down to the pool. The pool itself is magnificent with one side decked out with huge boulders with sand between. Palm trees everywhere. However, the ambience of the pool area is ruined (from my point of view that is) by constant barrage of organised games prompted by very loud loudspeaker ranting. At one point in the early afternoon a live group appeared and blasted out their stuff. OK at night maybe but crap when you're trying to relax and read a book in peace. So that spoiled it for me; it was little bit like a British holiday camp to be honest. Temperature 37.5ºC at lunch time.
Well I must say we were a bit peeved. As said the reason we are staying in Pattaya for a few days is to meet up with some friends, but not one, but three of Aom's friends were nowhere to be seen. Two were working and one had buggered off to another city for a few days. If we'd known this we would have stayed longer in Kanchanaburi or gone up to Surin earlier. Neither of us are particularly fond of this city.
But we are here and we'll make the most of it.
Next > or Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 - 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13