10 Great Things to Do in Pattaya - Who Says Pattaya is Only For Sex Tourism?

Want to try something new? Pattaya is a great place for the adventurous traveler to explore. Get close to nature with an elephant ride at the elephant village, or spend time at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden. Inexpensive water sports include windsurfing, sailing, water-skiing, parasailing, game fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving.

On land, visitors can choose from tennis, go-carting, motorbike racing, squash, badminton, bowling, jogging and bungee jumping or jumping off the highest seaside rooftop tower at Pattaya Park! The avid golfer can play a round at one of the world-class golf courses. Of course nothing beats swimming in the ocean or tanning on the beach.

1. Pattaya Water Park

This large resort and hotel complex is located in Jomtien, and features a tall, 240-meter tower with three revolving restaurants on different floors. There are three options available for visitors to choose how they would like to get back on the ground: Sky Shutter, Speed Shutter, or Tower Jump - determined by how much of an adrenalin rush you prefer.

At Funny Land Amusement Park, there is a roller coaster, or you can choose an even faster mode of transport in the Tower Shot. A monorail also runs through the resort. Massive water slides, Jacuzzi, whirlpools and a large pool for children provide heaps of fun, minutes from the beach.

2. Pattaya Elephant Village

Experience rural Thai life at this inspiring village and learn about the ways of old while Revel in the presence of exotic wildlife. Take a scenic ride on an elephant trained to watch the slow pace of country life is not in the lively city of Pattaya.

See how silkworm harvested for their valuable contribution, check out old-style Thai cooking ritual, walk through the jungle, and visit if you're lucky to tame a wild gibbon. This is a necessary experience for nature lovers and those seeking a break from the hustle and bustle.

3. FunStuff

For a more elevated experience CMT Flying Club offers ultra-light flights and light airplane cruises over the Pattaya countryside. Weekends 8-6pm. Note: Ultra-light flights are dependent on wind conditions so try to reserve in advance.

If you prefer to watch combat, you can check out Muay Thai Boxing where the Beach Road meets the Walking Street. You will see why Muay Thai is considered the king of Martial Arts.

The perfect place for those with an adventurous spirit, try paint ball with a group of friends at Jomtien Paintball World. A hundred balls and face paint for 500 baht, and you're ready to cause havoc! Looking for something more exciting? Make your way to the hi-tech version of paintball at Ripley's Laser Trek.

If you like guns, try shooting real bullets at Pattaya Shooting Range.

Go-Karting can be great fun too; both 400- and 700-metre tracks are available at Mini Siam and Pattaya Go-Cart Speedway. As for profession drivers, a 1,090-metre-track is available.

4. Vimantaitalay Submarine

Dive into the deep blue and explore the ocean floor up close and personal in this exciting submarine adventure. Guests are ferried out to the 'Yellow Submarine' in the azure blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand where their adventure begins. Upon submersion, you will have a chance to explore exotic coral reefs that feature an amazing selection of underwater species, some 25-meters below the sea. Skilled divers display a wide variety of amazing creatures, including puffer fish, sea urchins and if you are lucky, you just might see a rare sea turtle. The experience is dazzling and suitable for children and adults alike, be sure to book your place one day in

5. Koh Lan and nearby Islands

The best city escape from Pattaya is just 45 minutes ride away on a ferry. Koh Lan (Coral Island) is located just offshore of South Pattaya and a little paradise! Beaches are clean, and the water is always so clear. Enjoy all kind of activities like those you find on Jomtien and, in addition, view coral through glass-bottom boats or snorkeling. Some resorts and bungalows are offered at Hard Nuan. Boat trips can be arranged to visit nearby islands such as Koh Phai and Koh Sak. Ferries leave daily from Pattaya South Pier. One-way fare costs 30 baht per person. From Nar Baan Pier you can take a motorbike taxi to your desired beach (20 - 50 baht).

6. Under Water World

Experience up close and personal the enchanting creatures of the briny blue at this intriguing attraction. A compilation of pools and aquariums recreate actual marine habitats found around Thailand, including coral reefs and massive predators from the deep. Tour through shipwrecks and view unique marine life such as enormous rays, razor toothed sharks, and spiny crabs.

Underwater World also offers an assortment of interesting activities, including underwater weddings, shark diving, coral reef snorkeling, and educational tours. This is the perfect venue for children and families that want to learn more about this fascinating environment.

7. Indoor pursuits

Indoor bowling is very popular with both locals and tourists with several alleys to choose from around the city, the one above Tops Supermarket on the corner of 2nd Road and Central Pattaya Road is a favorite with both locals and tourists. Snooker halls in Pattaya are everywhere, as are pool and billiard bars.

There are also a pistol shooting gallery, clay shooting range and archery range. Theatres, cinema, festivals and live music for all tastes are listed in the local community magazines and newspapers.

8. Metaphysical and new age pursuits

In Pattaya other activities include the many relaxing spas and beauty treatments, yoga classes, courses on cooking, Thai language schools, massage, meditation, tai chi and the opportunity to visit the wonderful tropical gardens in the area. Details of all these are in the regular local English newspapers and magazines.

Getting yourself pampered is easy in Pattaya. There are numerous spas and places for exotic beauty treatments, including facials, body scrubs, body wraps, water treatments and more . Some of the most posh and beautiful spas are located in major hotels.

9. Water Sports

Lakeland Water Ski: Just 5 km. from Pattaya City, this enormous fresh water lake is used for cable ski, a sport that is growing fast in popularity. (Location: Kilometer 150.5 on Sukhumvit Highway)
Bamrung Sailing and Para-motor Centre: A variety of exciting aquatic and other exciting sports are offered here (complete with short instruction courses), including windsurfing, sailing, Para-motoring and paragliding. Certificates are issued on completion of courses and restaurant facilities are also available. Canoes, catamarans and kayaks are available for rent too. (Location: Kilometer 150 on Sukhumvit Highway)

10. Tattoos

Many people get a tattoo while in Pattaya. This is a big step and hard to reverse, but there is no denying tattoos are currently very popular. If you are going to get one, there are several excellent artists in Pattaya. Be sure you check to see needles are sterilized properly. A less drastic step is a temporary henna tattoo from one of the vendors wandering the beach.

You may take 1 day trip away from Pattaya to taste more Thai experiences. There are many destinations around like Koh Samet (Strongly Recommend), Chantaburi, Ayuthaya, River Kwai, Floating Market and also Bangkok.

Thailand Internet is Unsatisfactory

Internet in Thailand can only be described as unsatisfactory, at least from my experience. I have spent a lot of time in Thailand over the last couple of years and I have had some dreadful experiences using the internet. However, the experiences are my own and do not necessarily apply to the whole of Thailand but just the places that I have been.

The first internet problem I had was that my credit card details were taken probably in a Bangkok internet cafe with logging hardware that recorded all my keystrokes. I tried to pay my dental bill and the card did not work. It transpired that the details had been stolen and that goods had been billed to the card in London, England. But the credit card company said that the details were stolen in Thailand (the only place I had used it).

This theft of credit card details is not a comment on the quality of Thai internet but just some back ground information which may be of interest to the reader. Never enter your password or username for your bank details in an internet cafe in Thailand. The key logger technology can be either hardware or software, and is very easy to install or attach. It is very hard to discover as well.

I stayed in Nakhon Nayok for a period of a few weeks with my Thai girlfriend last year and something happened to a cable and the whole town was without any LAN internet for six - yes six! - days. Now in my country if that happened there would be a revolution but in Thailand it did not seem to be much of a worry to the locals. All four of the town's internet cafes were shut down for most of this period.

In Bangkok, there are constant and unending problems using the internet. For example, in my apartment there is internet provided. But it is often very slow, or not working. In fact, I have had tests run outside Thailand and one of the problems is that my Thai computer which I use in the apartment in Bangkok is cycling through IP (internet protocol) addresses; as many as 25 in a day. This IP problem means that I can not access certain sites that I need to go to.

A recent experience in a Koh Samet Resort left us with no wifi internet for two of the three days that we were there. Usernames, passwords, and nothing else worked until the day before we were due to leave. We had to pay two baht per minute outside the resort for access.

Another problem is the continual slowness of some websites to load. I often just have to give up and do something else. Sometimes I have to go to wifi cafes or LAN internet cafes but the problem of slowness continues in those as well.

I have heard it said that the internet is Thailand is watched closely by government agencies, and they certainly do block websites that are deemed by them to be immoral. I know this because they put a Thai Police re-direct statement on the objectionable home pages. However, I have no evidence of any other interference.

My point is that internet in Thailand, by my experience, is unreliable, and often slow. On a recent trip to Vietnam I had no problems with internet at all in the three or so weeks that I was there. Makes one think, doesn't it!

Snorkeling & Diving in Koh Chang

The best diving season is between October/November and April. The best sites are on the west and southern tip of the island, between Koh Chang and Koh Kood. There you can see soft corals, anemones, myriad reef fish, and sometimes eel. Hin Luk Bat and Hin Lap both have coral seamounts. Further south, white-tip reef sharks can be found near Hin Phrai Nam.

In addition, there are two wreck dive sites. The Koh Chang Wreck is a Thai warship sunk by the French navy in 1941. The wreck is only 15 metres deep in the Salakphet Bay on the southern tip of the island. The other wreck is the Pak One Wreck which sank after hitting a coral reef in August 1996 on its way to Vietnam. It resurfaced almost 8 years later. The 900-ton sunken tanker posed a danger to ships on international waters. The Royal Thai Navy drained off its 600 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas and resank it between Koh Chang and Koh Samet. It now lies horizontally in 35-meter deep waters.

There are a few diving centres on Koh Chang such as the Ploy Scuba Diving in Bang Bao. Following the standards of the sister centre in Koh Samet, this is the premier diving operator in Eastern Thailand. The Dolphin Divers at the Amari Emerald Cove Resort offers free trial in the resort's swimming pool. For those who prefer fun dives without a long boat trip Dolphin Divers operate speedboats from the resort's beach to the nearest dive sites in only 15 minutes. Others include the Koh Chang Dive Centre on Kai Bae Beach, Paradise Scuba Divers at the Klong Prao Resort and Koh Chang Divers on Had Sai Khao (White Sand Beach).

The Dive Adventure Koh Chang has claimed to be the only PADI 5 Star IDC center in Koh Chang with its multilingual instructors and divemasters. It is advantageously located at Bang Bao fishing village with its own resort.

A few dive centres operate out of Koh Mak. Boat trips to various dive sites range from 1,800 to 3.000 Baht depending on distances, and typically include two dives, full equipment, transportation, food, drinks and a divemaster.

Bangkok Visitors Guide - Ten Fun Things To Do In Bangkok

Your "Venice of the East," the city of Bangkok offers you unlimited fun, enjoyment, pleasure, adventure, and excitement. Often nicknamed as the "City of Angels," Bangkok is one of the most coveted vacation destinations of the world. Bangkok is the tourist destination known for its huge wealth of cultural sites.

The Thailand capital, Bangkok is as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or Krung Thep in Thai. Bangkok is an important economic and financial center in Southeast Asia. It is the 22nd most populous city of the world. The Bangkok Province borders 6 other provinces including Pathum Thani, Samut Sakhon, Nonthaburi, Chachoengsao, Samut Prakan and Nakhon Pathom.

There are a lot of fun things that you can do in Bangkok. The 'Krung Thep' is your place for the fun and adventure suiting to all tastes. The city offers you lots of fun during days as well as nights. It fascinates visitors with its enthralling, vibrant, colorful, and thriving scenery and nightlife.

You can visit Thai Village Show & Rose Garden to have nice glimpses of Thai Culture; some of the attractions include Buddhist Ordination Ceremony, Hill Tribe Dance, the Fingernail Dance, Thai Sword Fighting, Folk Dance and a conventional wedding ceremony.

You can have city tour to explore the beauties of Bangkok. You know, Bangkok is famous for its museums and parks; some of the places where you can visit include Children's Discovery Museum, The Joe Louis Puppet Theater, The Snake Farm, Dream World, Bangkok Doll Factory, Ancient City, Jim Thompson House, Vimanmek Mansion, The National Museum Bangkok, Suan Pakkad Palace Museum, Royal Barges National Museum, Erawan Museum; The national Museum; The National gallery, The wax museum, Doll Museum, etc.

You must relish the nightlife of Bangkok whenever you are in Bangkok. Bangkok offers extremely vibrant and notorious nightlife. The city has a number of pubs, clubs, discos, bars, and restaurants. Aerobic dances are the area's major attraction. You can visit Thai cultural centre that often features artistic performances in classical music, dance, ballet and pop.

Your Bangkok tour will be incomplete without having a tour of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which is some 80 kms outside of Bangkok. You can take an organized tour, and get the experience of a Thai village life.

Of course, you can't miss tasting yummy Thai foods at the restaurants of Bangkok. There are numerous restaurants in Bangkok offering you everything from the traditional Thai foods, to Indian, Chinese, Italian, American dishes. Some of the best restaurants are Charley Brown's Mexican Restaurant, Biscotti, Ban Klang Nam, New York Steak House, Suda, Lemon Grass, Rang Mahal, Govinda etc.

You can also have some nice time at Bangkok spas. You can find the world's best spas in Bangkok offering all type of massage therapies, and other natural treatments at the best possible prices. Some of the best spas are Ananda Spa, dvn spa and Wellbeing centre, i.sawan, Oasis Bangkok etc.

Chinatown Bangkok, also called 'Yaowarat,' is a "must visit" thoroughfare in Bangkok. The street is full of ever-present goldsmith shops, sharksfin and birds nest restaurants, shops and vendors selling Chinese herbal medicine, dried mushrooms, salted fish, roast, Chinese calendars, almanacs and of course, lottery tickets.

You can enjoy some of the most popular activities in Thailand thru Boating Tours. You can enjoy the floating tours by the public ferryboat or a private water taxi. These tours will take down the Chao Phraya River and other watercourses, canals or Khlongs as they are called in Thailand.

The Bangkok Beaches are that places that you mustn't miss. Bangkok offers you one of the coolest and the most pristine beaches, which include Phuket island, Krabi, Phi Phi islands, Koh Lanta on the South West Coast, Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan in Southern Thailand, Koh Chang, Koh Samet, Pattaya, Jomtien beach, Cha Am, Khao Takiab Bay. The beaches offer you great opportunities to enjoy windsurfing, skiing, diving, fishing, sailing, gliding, seaside restaurants, beach bars, etc.

Of course, Shopping Malls aren't to be missed! Bangkok offers you the best, the most innovative and the biggest shopping malls in Asia. Some of the most popular Bangkok Shopping Malls include CentralWorld Shopping Complex, Siam Paragon- The Pride of Bangkok, MBK Shopping Center, The Emporium Bangkok, Siam Center Bangkok, Amarin Plaza Bangkok, Gaysorn Bangkok, Siam Discovery, Erawan Bangkok, Pantip Plaza (IT Mall), Peninsula Plaza, All Seasons Place, Platinum Fashion Mall Bangkok and Union Mall Bangkok.

Last but not least, you must visit Bangkok temples. Bangkok has a number of traditional and well known Buddha temples, such as Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, The Grand Palace, Wat Po, Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn, Wat Traimit, Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple), and Wat Intharawihan.

Cheap Car Tyres and the Different Types Available

You must place great importance in looking into car tyres when you want to buy a vehicle. These should be a vital consideration that you have to think about aside from the car's brand, physical appearance and it's engine. All these will contribute to how the vehicle is going to perform. These will verify the speed that you ought to go depending on the purpose and condition where you will use the vehicle.

In purchasing vehicles and when you are already looking into car tyres, you have to consider many factors to make sure that you will get exactly what you need. This is especially true if you have a specific intention for this purchase. There is nothing wrong when you want to opt for discount tyres or cheap tyres like second hand tyres and part worn tyres.

Some of the things that you have to think about in this regard include the kind of car that you want to purchase. You must also think about your driving style and your preferences when you are on the road. You should also place great consideration on the kind of road and surfaces on the place where you live and where you will be using the vehicle often.

To give you an example, if you live on countryside, you should consider car tyres that will be able to sustain muddy road conditions and those that can be trusted with better grip. If you will be using the car along motorways, you should opt for the kinds that won't be too noisy on the road. This can be achieved when you have tyres that are hard wearing.

The following are only some kinds of car tyres that you can choose to avail when you already know the factors that will affect your usual driving habit.

There is the standard type of tyres also known as the all season tyre. This looks simple and average but will be suitable to be used throughout the year. You can utilize this on wet or dry road surfaces. With its tread block pattern, the tyres will run smoothly and without too much noise when used on regular roads. This will be able to challenge wet roads because this has excellent grip. The tyres are made out of the kind of rubber that makes these more durable and long lasting.

If you live in places where you get little rains and it is often dry, you might as well choose summer tyres or performance tyres. These work best on dry road surfaces. The tyres have excellent grip due to the soft rubber compound where these are made of. These provide good material for drivers who love speed and prefer fast cars among any other types. You have to keep a performance check of the tyres regularly. You also don't want to use this often on wet roads because these will not perform as well as they do on dry roads.

If the place where you live usually gets bad weather condition, you should choose winter car tyres. This is also applicable if you want to invest on a vehicle that you can drive during the winter. These tyres have studs that are made out of metal that are laced on their tread. Through these, you will be given extra grip when you drive on icy roads and other bad weather conditions.

Top 3 Thailand Beaches to Meet Thai Women

Do you want to meet beautiful women while visiting Thailand's wonderful beaches? If so, forget about Pattaya and Phuket. While they are two of the most popular beach destinations, they are not the place to meet a real Thai women to date. Did you already meet a girl online using a site like thailovelinks.com or thailovelines.com? If you are visiting them and want to take them to the beach, these locations will also be great because they are more quiet and romantic. Your Thai girl will really like that you didn't go to the same old beach that everyone else goes to. A little originality goes a long way in the mind of a Thai women. They will certainly show you their appreciation!

Below are three islands that either have fewer foreign visitors or are simply more quiet and relaxed. These three islands are perfect places to meet a local girl to spend time with and really get to know:

#1: Koh Chang: Koh Chang is an island in the Gulf of Thailand just a short distance from the Cambodia boarder. While some foreigners travel here, it's much more quiet that the more popular destinations to the South. This is a great place to meet local Thai Girls that are working in stores, restaurants and hotels along the beaches and in the city center. The Thai girls here have nice dark skin from being in the sun all day. The girls here are less conservative for some reason and don't mind showing off their bodies a little more than most. If you are just looking for a nice visit and want to meet some local Thai girls, you can't beat Koh Chang.

#2: Koh Samet: Koh Samet island is only a few hours from Bangkok and a very popular destination for local Thai people that live and work in and around the capital city. You can negotiate a taxi from Bangkok to the ferry boats for around 1500 Baht. On the way back, you can take a mini-bus service that goes to various locations in Bangkok including Suvarnabhumi airport for around 400 Baht per person. A short 35 minute ferry boat ride (cost is around 200 Baht) and you are on the the island paradise. Right away, you'll notice that most of the visitors are Thai or from other Asian countries. And this is a good thing. It's easier to meet nice Thai women when they too are on holiday!

#3: Koh Phangan: Koh Phangan is the most beautiful of the three beaches listed here. The small island is just North of the very popular Ko Samui island. Koh Phangan can get very crowded during their well known "full moon" parties. But if you avoid these parties, there are many parts of Ko Phangan that are very quiet with very few foreigners. Again, this is a perfect opportunity to go out and meet local Thai woman that live on the island. The girls here are known to be very good to foreigners and many times if you meet the right girl, they'll take time out of their schedule to spend the day with you showing the "secrets" of the island that only locals know about. You won't be disappointed hanging out with Koh Phangan island girls!

Places to Go in Thailand

Truly a South-east Asian gem, Thailand prides itself as the only nation in Southeast Asia that wasn't colonized by a Western Power, and the Thai people are generous in utilizing the phrase "Land of the Free" to describe their homeland. Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist Kingdom, is often a cradle for any patriotic citizenry who are noted for their loyalty to their King, and is usually a bastion for freedom and cultural heritage for many centuries past.

From a traveler's point of view, there's a lot of delicacies to say about Thailand, in fact the options are so several it is hard to work out where to start. The natural beauty with the landscape, which boasts of an inviting tropical climate, gives a perfect venue for ecotourism. The thousand-kilometer lengthy coastline is home to some of world-famous beaches and island resorts such as Phuket and Krabi inside the Andaman Coast and Pattaya and Rayong & Ko Samet inside the Eastern Seaboard.

Thai meals are something to rave about, from your simple but lively street stalls that offer a variety of kanorn (snacks and sweetmeats) and a selection of boat noodles, to restaurants offering authentic spicy Thai cuisines representative of every Thai culinary regions - Central, Northeastern, Northern and Southern cuisines.

The shopping districts are among the most energetic globally. Shopping is invariably an adventure and nearly a sinful pleasure simultaneously. There is invariably an enjoyably surprising bargain for any enterprising shopper whether creating the rounds of an expensive mall or mall, or within the back street stalls and bustling night markets, all offering a broad range of modern and practical to traditional conventional and exotic goods.

And the list goes on and on.

You just can't get enough of Thailand, definitely not in one visiting. That's why tourists are returning many times, each a new experience, a new delight. This is Thailand, really amazing.