Thread: Road Trip Pattaya to Phuket

On the advice of one of the members, I am starting this thread on travelling between Pattaya and Phuket. I retired 8 months ago and purchased a Toyota Vigo from a friend up north. Now I am in search of a place to live.

Spending the last 8 months in the north has taught me a lot. First, I am not really cut out for village life due to the boredom, excessive flies and knats. There are many people that can live this existance, but I am not one of them.

Having come to Thailand the first time in 1985, I do have some knowledge of the Thai culture and what it entails. My travels up north have taken me to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Udon Thani. I would have to say that Chiang Mai is on my short list of places to live, but I still have the deep sea fishing bug and there is not much of that in the northern provinces.

Currently, I am in Pattaya since that is one of the places I have previously visited in Thailand as far back as 1985. Things have changed and not all for the better, but Pattaya still makes my list of possible places to live. I will be leaving here the end of the month to head toward Phuket. My goal is to see as much of the coastal area between Pattaya and Phuket as possible and see what the deep sea fishing possibilities are along with seeing if I could live in any of these places.

So far, I have booked lodging in Cha Am on 6/28 to 6/30 for 500 baht a night. My next reservation is not until 7/3 in Prachaubkhirikhan. More than likely, I will spend more than one day there to check it out.

From there, my plan is to drive down to Khao Lak and spend another few days looking around. I have not booked lodging yet since one never knows what could be in store between now and 7/4 (American Independance Day).

Any thoughts on where else to stop would assist me in checking out the beaches and fishing between Pattaya and Phuket. I will take some pictures, even though I do not think I can post them yet with the hope I can add them at a later time. Hopefully, this thread will be helpful to others who are thinking about doing the same thing. I consider myself lucky to be able to jump in the truck and travel around Thailand before setting up roots somewhere even though those roots could be pulled up at any time.

If you really want to get a handle on these places you need to slow down and dig in for a while. You got all the time in the world so no rush is there ?

One learns very little by spending 1 or 2 days in a place, hanging around getting to know the locals and surrounding areas is the go.

Myself would consider splitting my time between the North and the South following the seasons. Chiangmai is great in season but come late February and the burning season its diabolical and a health hazard these days.

Thailand is so diverse there's always somewhere else to head too.

look forward to your musings.

^
You are right Terry, I will stay longer in places I like and not so long in others. Having done some travelling, I always found that the best places are stumbled upon and not sought out.

Cha-Am was just a quick trip to start me down the coast. The only other date obligation I have is in one of your favorite spots, Prachuabkhirikhan and I only booked the first night with the thought of staying longer at possibly another hotel.

No real timeline to get to Phuket and if I see something I like, I could wind up staying months.

Head to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, near the beach and has great fishing in the Gulf Of Thailand. L

Originally Posted by hemingway

No real timeline to get to Phuket

Suggest you go to Krabi first. That way you won't have to back track.

I don't know if you've ever tried it or thought of it, but the Thai rail system is also a great way to see and inspect various towns and cities in Thailand. The train stops in Prachup Khiri Khan. Easy on off rules. I get 2nd class AC sleeper. You can go all the way to Singapore via this route. Cheap and stress free, No driving and no looking for directions. Great scenery as well.

You're probably on overload now, but it will come to you when you need it.

^

Yep, I've traveled far and wide thru Thailand by train, brilliant way to observe the locals and view the country side.

Learn so much more by train travel but car is the go once the train gig is done.

Still in Pattaya at the moment and will be here for another 10 days. It is the only place on my list of possible places to live at the moment, but that is only becasue I have not looked at any other beach towns. It will be interested to see if they all are pretty much the same or if there is a real "jewel" out there that makes me disregard all the others.

I am still making my travel plans, so let's here of some other places where members had a great experience and said, "I could live here."

I guess I can post pictures now, so here in the condo in Phuket for 11,000 baht per month. What does everyone think?

Nice if you like golf but its a long way from the water

Having stayed it Pattaya for only a week, I do not claim to be an expert on the area yet. It does have a lot to offer and it is definately more farang friendly with good radio stations and an overall feeling of having more people to talk to.

The food is good, but on the expensive side in the restaurants. I like seafood and have payed anywhere from 300-380 baht for a whitefish steamed in lemons and vegetables. Not expensive in western standards, but for Thailand, a little on the upper end.

Last night I had 5 deep fried shrimp and some grilled chicken purchased from a street stall for 150 baht. Now we're talking!

Originally Posted by boatboy

Nice but a long way from the water

Good point, but I do have a car. I am thinking anything close to the water would be about twice or three times the cost at least.

From my observations, Phuket seems to be a lot more expensive that Patts if looking for the same accommodation.
Hua Hin is more affordable again.
Just sayin'

Mind you, 11,000 b is way down there in price.

Yes, you are right Boatboy. Phuket is on the higher side and it just has to do with the surroundings. Pattaya is a beach town, but look at the beaches. Phuket has more prestine beaches with a farang atmosphere and offers a lot of great things to do.

On my trip down, I hope to see more nice beach towns and possibly find one that will outshine Phuket. Everyone has their reasons for liking a particular place and they are not always the same. I am hoping I will recognize the place that has all my needs when I see it and spend some time there.

Originally Posted by hemingway

Having stayed it Pattaya for only a week, I do not claim to be an expert on the area yet. It does have a lot to offer and it is definately more farang friendly with good radio stations and an overall feeling of having more people to talk to.

Most members here associate Pattaya with walking street, Beach Road beer bars , Soi Yodsak and the stretch of land between Beach Road and 3rd Road.

I have lived here for almost 10 years now and never go to those areas unless I absolutely have to.

In fact many TD members visit Pattaya regularly and after I have shown them the other side of Pattaya they prefer to stay in the rural and outer eastern suburbs.

Plenty of great pubs and restaurants, extremely cheap and near new accommodation and heaps of fellow farang that actually work here.

Yes, Pattaya has it's problems as it has grown so fast over the last 10 years but if your looking for great golf and becoming part of the expat community you should give the place a chance and see how it goes.

Allthough I have been to Phuket / Pattaya and stayed for a week , I didn't experience any trouble , ( but then again I don't go looking for it ) but I have to say the reading on here dosent seem to be favourable to these places , say compared to the other side of the bay in the Cha-am area .

With regards to how much your electricity bill wil be, find out how much baht per KW the condo owner is charging, the Government Rate is 3.5 baht per KW. Some of these condo owners will have you in for 8 baht per KW to bump up the rent. Go look at the advert, it should tell you on there.
Water is cheap

^^^
OK LT you have conviced me. I will jump in the truck today and go take a look at the east side. Any favorite places to hang out?

^^
Thanks kwang, I have asked the owner the electric fees and am also looking at an apartment in Rawai for 8000 baht per month.

For sheer beauty, I don't think you will do better than Phuket with the crystal clear water of the Andaman Sea. You don't want to be where tourists are though, all the prices are cranked up there. Ao Nang is a prime example. I spent 3 days there and was bored of the beach and all the inflated prices. Even McDonalds charge more than Bangkok there.

There's a few expats on here from Phuket who will hopefully come along on here soon. Phuket Richard won't have a bad word said about the place, Farang Red is in Rawai and Simon 43 is on the North of the island where all the empty beaches are

Try out Ranong, cheap lodging, good eating.
Stay at the Palmy hotel, 077-811-005; fan room for 300 baht.

I would be interested in hearing what FarangRed has to say about Rawai. I am currently looking at an apartment there on line for 8000 baht per month. Patong does not interst me all that much and would rather be on another part of the island with fewer crazys.

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Stay at the Palmy hotel

Don't do it Hemingway, unless you like hanging out with Moustachioed Leather Clad Bikers


Is this one of your gang members Earl ?



alex motorcycling | a traveling tale

Rawai is quite pleasant and has a large foreign population of the more affluent type than say, Patong. Accordingly there are many foreigner orientated venues, restaurants etc there. There are also a number of Muay Thai training camps in the area so you do get the testosterone fueled steroid retards as well.

It is still a lot cheaper than Patong although prices are rising.

Access to the water is food with Chalong pier and Rawai pier close by with boats operating from there.

I live in Patong as it is close to my work and call outs at night do not entail travelling for 30 mins or so but if push came to shove I would head for Kathu as opposed to Rawai or Chalong on the basis of price.