HELP!! Can I get to Pattaya??

[a447]

I hear the ASEAN Summit will be held in Pattaya 10-12 April. I was planning on going down by taxi (Mr Toom) on Friday. WIll I be able to make it or will the traffic/security cause me problems? Should I leave tomorrow instead?

[Smiles]

Oh for fuck sake! Take the bus from Bangkok to Pattaya from Mor Chit or Ekamai Bus station. Cheap, air conned, reasonably comfortable. A bus to Shitsville leave every half hour or so. See the Real Thailand! :idea:

I would predict you will have no problems whatsover getting to Pattaya, either with Mr Toom or by following Smiles excellent advice.

However, when you get to Pattaya that is likely to be a totally different story. As yo have not said where in Pattaya you are aiming for we can't help you.

There have already been reports of total traffic chaos in parts of Pattaya.

[a447]

Thanks, but...that didn't really answer the question, Smiles. But I might give it a try, although the busses may be crowded due to Songkran.
Also, where does the bus drop you of at? Anywhere near the Ambience/Walking Street??
I hear there are many bus companies, some not so reputable. Is there any company in particular you would recommend?
I will stay at the Ambience.

If I was yo uI would stick with the taxi, at least you will be comfortable in the queues.

The bus drops you nowhere near the hotel, and if you follow the advice of the touts at the entrance to the bus station they will put you on the bus that takes 4 or 5hours normally.

Some light reading for you.

http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.p ... topic=6193 (http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.php?s=0f03cdb4303c682cc96458f60eaf2da6&showtopic=6193)

http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.p ... topic=6207 (http://www.baht-stop.com/forums/index.php?s=0f03cdb4303c682cc96458f60eaf2da6&showtopic=6207)

[Geezer]

If you are staying at the Ambiance (in my opinion a good choice) you are likely not a bottom feeder. Ask them to send a car for you. In these turbulent times it could be a wise decision.

Thanks, but...that didn't really answer the question, Smiles. But I might give it a try, although the busses may be crowded due to Songkran.
They usually add extra busses as needed.

.Also, where does the bus drop you of at? Anywhere near the Ambience/Walking Street??
The blue government busses from Ekami or Mochit will drop you off at the Pattaya bus station on North Pattaya Road. The baht buses inside the bus station will ask which hotel and then drop you at Beach Road and the soi of the Ambience Hotel. The fare is 20 baht.

I hear there are many bus companies, some not so reputable. Is there any company in particular you would recommend?
As stated above, there is a more local government blue bus that makes many, many stops and takes forever. Make sure you catch the more direct bus that take the highway.

[TrongpaiExpat]

Now is the time for the Image Limo advocates to chime in and add their comments. Something about fresh towels and bottled water.

I ran into someone at the Pattaya bus station a few weeks ago and he's a big guy, tall and husky. He buys two bus tickets so he has room to fit in the seat, still a lot cheaper than a taxi, car or limo.

Taking the bus at night, the later the better, can save you 30 to 60 min one-way to or from Pattaya.

This was mentioned either here or on another board.

Bell Travel Services
http://www.belltravelservice.com/

They depart every two hours from Suvarnabhumi Airport. One you arrive in Pattaya, they deliver you to your hotel in a mini-van.

They also have a service where they pick you up from your hotel in BKK, shuttle you to their bus, bus to Pattaya, mini-van to your hotel. This service is less frequent.

Their vans are ok, busses are ok. At lease the bus that I rode.

I was picked up in BKK from the hotel, dropped off at the hotel in Jomtien, total cost, 350 baht. The airport pick up is around 200 I believe.

It was less hassle than taking the gov't blue bus.

[atri1666]

Now is the time for the Image Limo advocates to chime in and add their comments. Something about fresh towels and bottled water.
.

And rightly so.

After a 12-15 hour air journey the last thing anyone wants is to punt around finding the bus and then enduring an uncomfortable journey and on arrival in Pattaya having to then take a baht bus to your hotel.

Much better to book a car from Image Limo, be met at the meeting point at the airport and then sit back and relax until the car pulls up outside of your hotel. Speaking for myself I am happy to pay for safety and comfort but if you are in the backpacking budget category that many of the sex tourists to Pattaya appear to be in then by all means go 'cattle'.


Why pay up to 300% more? Last time i wanted a comfortable journey and booked with "The Limo". I met my driver at the meeting point and relaxed in a big clean car - i got refreshments and have had a nice caring boy - and all for 1200 baht. Why should i pay more for the "image". Safety and comfort are also possible for reasonable prices.
I never will and would use the overpriced Image Limo as long as there are other comfortable possibilities without wasting money.

[x in pattaya]

Oh for fuck sake! Take the bus from Bangkok to Pattaya from Mor Chit or Ekamai Bus station. Cheap, air conned, reasonably comfortable. A bus to Shitsville leave every half hour or so. See the Real Thailand! :idea:


My, my. Sounds likes someone's back in cold, dreary old Canada, missing the bubble-butt he was last seen fondling in some Hua Hin dimly lit pay-per-touch brothel-cum-laundromat (the Real Thailand!!)... and blissfully unaware of the transport turmoil caused by the holiday and the red shirts blocking traffic on Sukhumvit.

Some of these senior citizens can get really cranky when their only sexual outlet involves last month's copy of Men's Health and a vaccum cleaner attachment.If he finds out that Bubble-Butt has been inducted into the army he could become a real terror.


A bus to Shitsville leave every half hour or so. See the Real Thailand!

On a bus loaded with aging backpackers, Cambodian construction workers and paid political demonstrators all coming to Pattaya on the cheap.[the Real Thailand]

PS I've used Image Taxi Service twice.


Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'


I still find Phon's service to be more reliable and just as comfortable. If you want bottled water, buy it at a 7 Eleven [definitely the Real Thailand]

PPS. This morning, as (sort of) usual, I walked along Beach Rd from Pattaya Tai to the Dusit Resort. Lots of police on Beach Rd and 2nd Rd. Vehicles prevented from parking on either. Even motorbikes & bikes had to move. No tourist busses to be seen and virtually no tourists. My guess is that the clean-up campaign must have been targetted at the gaggles of clueless Indians generally standing about the beach early in the morning waiting to be transported to the exotic islands. Kudos to the BIB.

The blue government busses ...

???? these are not, nor have they ever been "government" buses. They are owned and run by a private company.


The baht buses inside the bus station will ask which hotel and then drop you at Beach Road and the soi of the Ambience Hotel. The fare is 20 baht.

More ???? If they ask you which hotel, or you ask for a specific hotel, you are booking the baht bus as distinct from just getting on and the regular fares do not apply.

[TrongpaiExpat]

Thia TV news report that Sukhumvit 71 in Bangkok now open. Buses from Ekamai to Pattaya can now get through. A live shot (1pm) from Ekamai does not look busy. They showed the Pattaya window and no one was in line.

[x in pattaya]

Thia TV news report that Sukhumvit 71 in Bangkok now open. Buses from Ekamai to Pattaya can now get through. A live shot (1pm) from Ekamai does not look busy. They showed the Pattaya window and no one was in line.

From what the organizers said, they were abandoning the Bangkok protests over the weekend since so many people had left town for the holidays, but that they would be back on Monday.

[quote="up2me?":t643dkko]The baht buses inside the bus station will ask which hotel and then drop you at Beach Road and the soi of the Ambience Hotel. The fare is 20 baht.

More ???? If they ask you which hotel, or you ask for a specific hotel, you are booking the baht bus as distinct from just getting on and the regular fares do not apply.[/quote:t643dkko]

True for baht busses you stop on the street, but not true for the group baht bus at the bus station. The driver often will ask the passengers what hotel, so that he can drop tourists off in the right spot. If it works out with the passengers and route, he will take you to your specific hotel for an added fee.


[quote="up2me?":t643dkko]The blue government busses ...
???? these are not, nor have they ever been "government" buses. They are owned and run by a private company.[/quote:t643dkko]

I stand corrected. Many people refer to the blue busses as government busses. Probably because the fares are so cheap and people think they must be subsidized by the government.

If you are staying at the Ambiance (in my opinion a good choice) you are likely not a bottom feeder.
Correct me if I am wrong? Are you implying that people that takes the bus are bottom feeders?

[Geezer]

No.

My preferred mode of travel is shown in my avatar.

My preferred mode of travel is shown in my avatar.
Now that is traveling in style. May I borrow your troop for a short ride?

[Geezer]

Now that is traveling in style. May I borrow your troop for a short ride?

Certainly.

You can ride them, or they can ride you.

Up2you.