Taxi drivers in Thailand don't often know where they are going and it was the case as we left Ban Phe the port where the Ko Samet ferry returns to the mainland. Tim, Karen and I were trying to get to the Royal Veruna Yacht Club in Pattaya. The taxi driver had no idea what we were talking about and I figured if we just reached the coast we would find it. Turns out Pattaya is a large city and the yacht club is hiding in a secret spot nobody really knows about. We were at the sailing club for Tim to try and sail being a keen sailer back in Perth.
The sailing club is a little oasis away from the hustle and bustle and craziness which is Pattaya. Sitting inside the club looking out over the water and the yachts I could have been anywhere in the world. Members of the club come from all over the world and while at the club Thailand seemed worlds away. Once Tim had organised a sail for the following day it was time to enter the real Pattaya.
Pattaya is world famous for its sex tourism and you do not have to look far to find evidence of it. Our first stop after the sailing club was Walking Street, the sign reads 'Walking Street- International Meeting Street.' Its full of go-go bars and nightclubs but was pretty well empty as we walked the stretch of it in the early afternoon. I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about till we reached the beach and girls were waiting on the footpath waiting to get taken away by a male. I have seen hookers before in Melbourne, San Fransisco, Paris and other parts of the world but never as obvious as here in Pattaya. It did creep me out a bit.
I was not in Pattaya for the sex, the three of us were in the city to catch up with a crew of interns who were placed at a school in Bang Lamung, which is just outside the Pattaya border. They were out on an island for the day and so we waited till they returned before we all went out to dinner. Following dinner one of the guys took us all to Boys Town. The gay section of Pattaya. If it wasn't already full on enough walking through that street was quite a shock as all the guys sit in the bars facing the street watching the passing men. I did actually think it was funny how much attention we were getting from the Thai males. The costumes though in some of the clubs stopped me well short of the door.
The following morning on the Sunday after our gay night out the Bang Lamang crew had to go into school to be introduced to the parents of the students they are teaching. Then it was time to visit a local pool. The pool is part of a hotel and patrolled by guards but the guards seem to like the girls so we were able to swim for the day without having to pay our get kicked out.
Monday morning when the teachers had to go to school again Tim, Karen and I made our way back to Chachoengsao. Pattaya is the most popular tourist destination in Thailand, it would not top my list as one of the best places in the country. I did need to see it though for myself and I may return soon to experience it again.
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