Pattaya is about 160 kilometers southeast of Bangkok in the province of
Chonburi. It used to be a fishing village but during the 60's, American servicemen
(during the Vietnam War) flocked to Pattaya for holidays that started its
development as a popular beach destination in Thailand.
The second leg of the trip has just started. Me and my buddy hurriedly
hopped on the train from our hotel and transferred to another one to get to
Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok has an efficient train system) where my two
cousins were patiently waiting for us (fresh from their Manila-Bangkok flight).
We immediately looked for the buses going to Pattaya Bus Station (level 1, gate
8 of the airport) and booked the next available bus to Pattaya (250 Baht | US$
7.70). After two hours of escaping the Bangkok madness, we arrived at Pattaya and booked this songthaew (baht bus) for 150 Baht (US$ 1.60) to bring us to our
home for the night, The Bayview Pattaya.
After we settled in our assigned rooms, we went out and grabbed a cab
going to our first stop in Pattaya, the Mini Siam (check here for
discounted tours, transportation and activities in Pattaya).
The idea of Mini Siam (Siam
is the old name of Thailand) is to showcase the famous attractions and
landmarks that captured the essence of the old Siam (its traditions, religion,
arts & culture) in the form of miniature replicas. It opened up in 1986 and
started gaining recognition for the exquisite details on the mini structures
(with 1:25 scale, that precise). And after gaining so much regard from locals
and tourists, they started building the Mini
World that exhibits significant landmarks in the world. It’s really a great
deal to check out all this exciting sights in one site.
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| Inside the Eiffel |
We were so excited it so we hurriedly went inside (we purposely went
there at night so as to not be drained by the extreme heat and to veer away
with so many tourists that go there during daytime, we practically owned Mini
Siam that night) and paid 250 Baht each (US$ 7.72). We checked out the Mini
World section first and was stunned by the amazing structures inside (I really
suggest that you go there before sunrise up to its closing hours as the
structures magically light up at night).
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| Eiffel Tower - France |
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| Saint Basil's Cathedral - Russia |
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| The Statue of Liberty - U.S.A. |
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| Christ the Redeemer - Brazil |
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| Can you identify these famous temple tops? |
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| The Sydney Opera House - Australia |
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| Colosseum - Italy |
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| Abu Simbel - Egypt (my cousin and moi) |
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| Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) - Bangkok |
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| Wat Phra Kaeo - Bangkok |
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| Rama IX Cable-Stayed Bridge - Bangkok |
The next day was chill day. We intended to just laze around Beach Road. The
Pattaya Beach is just near the road and tons of umbrellas and beach lounge
chairs dominated its whole stretch. The beach was not that inviting and water
sports were everywhere thus, blocking its nice view (I didn’t even dare to take
a dip).
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| The Beach Road |
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| Pattaya Beach |
We rented some chairs and feasted on fresh coconut juice and other stuff that some peddlers were selling around the beach. Me and my buddy opted for some beers.
The siesta ended so soon when we needed to go back to our hotel to catch the afternoon bus going back to Bangkok. It was a short but fun time at Pattaya.
Mini Siam
387 Moo 6, Sukhumvit Rd., Pattaya City,
Naklua, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150, Thailand
Contact Numbers: (+66) 387.27.333 | (+66) 387.27.666
Email Address: info@minisiam.com
Entrance fees: Thais – 100 Baht (US$ 3) for Adults | 50 Baht (US$ 1.54)
for Children
Foreigners: 250 Baht (US$ 7.72) for Adults | 120 Baht (US$ 3.70) for
Children
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