Pattaya Links Travel

Pattaya is a city with multiple personalities. For some it is a place to learn about Thai culture, for many it is a shopping paradise, for families it offers a host of activities that everyone can enjoy and for a millions of single men, it’s a nightclub centre and a place to meet some of Thailand’s most beautiful women.

You can meet Thai girls at bars, go-go bars, at the beach or just about anywhere in this friendly town. The question that guys often ask is where do I find a guest friendly hotel. If I want to invite my new friend back to my hotel, does the hotel welcome an extra guest, is it “girl friendly” or will I be charged a “joiner fee”?

5 Star Hotels

While many people think of Pattaya as Asia’s most vibrant nightlife centre, this is just one part of the tourist activities in Pattaya. Judging by hotel bookings, the lion’s share of hotel revenue is from older couples and families. Hotels target their business at one or more of these tourist groups, so you’ll find that the 5 star hotels and family oriented hotels like the larger resort hotels are generally not guest friendly. There’s one notable exception, Pattaya’s top rated hotel, the Rabbit Resort on Dongtan beach offers hospitality to all visitors, including their friends.

Walking Street Hotels

If you’re looking for a guest friendly hotel you’ll find that virtually all of the hotels, guesthouses and apartments close to the night life areas are guest friendly. In the Walking Street area you’ll find a good choice of popular and highly rated hotels.

On Soi Diamond, the street with more than a dozen go-go bars, there’s Diamond Beach Hotel, Galaxy Suites and Green View Serviced Apartments. Just nearby on Soi 14, there’s the Grand Hotel, with 80 rooms in a choice of styles, and Jasmine Hotel with 62 rooms, recently refurnished and a new indoor swimming pool, one of the highest rated Pattaya hotels on Trip Advisor. On Walking Street itself, there’s the Walking Street Guesthouse just above Sweethearts Go-Go and P.72 Hotel, with the street level bar that opens onto Walking Street. A great place to sit and watch the activities on Walking Street before going out for the evening.

Soi Buakhao Area Hotels

The Soi Buakhao area is another popular nightclub area. Here you’ll find an interesting mix of guest friendly hotels and guesthouses for visitors and apartments for Thais who work in the nightclubs and bars.

On Soi Buakhao itself, you’ll find Katesiree House, Laguna Buakhao House with Thai style furniture, Target Regency Guesthouse, and Rabbi’s Elephant Guesthouse which is also a meeting place for the Pattaya Golf Society.

Just off Soi Buakhao on Soi LK Metro mingled with the go-go bars, coyote bars and beer bars you find a bunch of guest-friendly hotels and guesthouses. If you like to hang out with aliens you’ll love Armageddon Guesthouse and Bar, and there’s Irish Rovers Guesthouse and Kilkenny Hotel with an Irish flavour. Close by you’ll find the popular Stags Head Guesthouse, and in the corner of the street, there’s Pasadena Lodge with a choice of 20 beautifully furnished rooms, in 4 different room styles.

Just across the road there’s Soi Chaiyapoon, famous for Crazy Daves café that serves breakfast 24 hours/day and Neeroys late night restaurant that offers fish ‘n chips and English style curries. Guest friendly guesthouses don’t get much friendlier than Canterbury Tales Café that has a bookstore and restaurant on the ground floor. Just further down the street, near the popular Maggie May’s bar there’s Chaiyapoon Inn & Restaurant.

For a more comprehensive guide to Guest Friendly hotels in the Pattaya area, and a guide to the city’s nightlife, check out my website at www.pattaya-discover.com.

The beautiful beaches, inviting climate and fine living conditions attract Westerners to properties in Pattaya. Retiring people, investors and business people from around the world, especially from across Europe and Northern America look to invest in a condo, rental house, and commercial properties in Pattaya and almost any part of Thailand. The cost of ownership of Pattaya properties remains high because of the huge demand. However, properties in Thailand still cost less than properties in most other parts of the world.

Pattaya Beach Properties

One of the biggest attractions of Pattaya is the warm, inviting climate offered by the clean beaches of the area. Thousands of Western tourists reach Pattaya beaches every year. Thus, Pattaya properties along a beach are a nice investment decision. That is, if you own a piece of rental property, you can make profits every year by renting the property to visitors from your own country. You can promote Thai holidays locally in your country or around the world with a mix of online promotions. It will be very easy renting the property because there is a huge demand for clean living quarters from people looking to explore the natural beauty, spicy cuisines and the warmth of culture.

How to Own Properties in Pattaya

According to Thai rules, foreigners can get up to 49% ownership in condos. The 51% ownership will be with a Thai citizen. Before you sign any papers and transfer funds, make sure you are buying from a legal owner and that the property doesn’t come with any strings attached. It is good to draw up your purchase contract with your lawyer. Being a skeptic is a good thing, because you don’t want to be fooled.

You can also get full ownership of properties in Pattaya if you have permission for permanent residence. You need to complete a set of formalities before you can get permanent residence permissions in Thailand. It is issued by Board of Investment in Thailand.

Transferring Funds to Thailand

When purchasing properties in Pattaya, you will need to transfer funds through a Thai bank. Most banks allow money transfer and you will get a T.T.T.3 form or the Foreign Exchange Certificate. This proves that you have transferred money to a Thai bank account.

Help Available

If you are interested in properties in Pattaya, don’t be bamboozled by the technical requirements. You can find English speaking professional, who is also from outside Thailand help you with your property purchase. With a little research, you can find a lot of them. In other words, people have moved into this country before you, started their own businesses and are now doing a great job. This is another reason to go after properties in Pattaya.

Retirement Home or Investment?

If you plan to retire into a secluded country, free from the noises of a city, Pattaya properties and beyond offer a great opportunity. If you are a businessperson looking to invest in properties in Pattaya to make profits, you have excellent opportunities too.

Bangkok is a bustling city like New York, Tokyo and London. It can be a confusing place to get around.

I’ll show you how to get from Bangkok to Pattaya by bus for only a few dollars. It’s easy and will save
you time and money.

First of all, Bangkok is the capital city in Thailand. The Thais refer to it as “Krung Thep”. Bangkok is a sprawling city that is hard to get around if you don’t know what you’re doing. A good map of the city is a good idea to keep handy.

Pattaya is a seaside resort about two hour and 15 minutes from Bangkok. It is a resort that started as a GI
R & R getaway during the Vietnam war. It has a “infamous” reputation that mostly lives up to its’ famous moniker of “sin city”. But, Pattaya is getting a makeover and is quickly starting to change it’s image. There are more family oriented venues and attractions popping up every day. In fact, there is now a Russian circus that is very entertaining and a good evening out for anyone regardless of age.

There are plenty of activities to be had that don’t involve the famous nightlife. There are some high-end
resort that cater to your every need. You can have a day at the spa and a massage or relax at the beach if that’s what you choose.

There are several ways to get to Pattaya from Bangkok. You can take a taxi from anywhere in the city and it will cost you around 1,000 baht to 1,500 baht depending on what you negotiate. It pretty simple and straight forward, but definitely negotiate a price before you leave.

A bus is the cheapest way to go and will cost you between 113 baht and 120 baht depending on where you catch it. There are bus stations at Ekamai, Mor Chit and Bang Na.

Ekamai Bus Station is the most convenient station since it’s located next to the BTS(locally referred to as the “sky train”) station at Ekamai. The fare is 113 baht

Bang Na is the newest station on the Pattaya route but isn’t conveniently accessible except by taxi. The fare from Bang Na is 113 baht. The fare from Mor Chit is 120 baht.

Happy travels and Sawatdee Kup.