Travel Footprints

Now, if there’s one more thing i can say about Pattaya, it’s the bustling night life of the place. After briefly hanging out by the beach and eating dinner, we made a beeline to see the Alcazar Cabaret. The buzz about the place revolves mainly on the performers – they are actually guys in dresses! It is hard to believe they are gay performers though because they all look so pretty!

There’s a pinch of drama there but the show is well, a cabaret, so lots of dancing and singing from these talented ‘men’. Think 45 minutes of flamboyant costumes with grand sets and background – pure entertainment indeed.

Pattaya has always been known as the coastal retreat conveniently located near Thailand’s city center. I am glad we went there NOT for the beach though, because frankly speaking i’ve seen better beaches in the Philippines. Instead, we were there to see the Nong Nooch Garden and Resort on a fun-filled day tour. For overnight stays, accommodations at Nong Nooch are available, you may check their website for details.

Our day tour started from Bangkok where we left early morning to go to Pattaya by bus. The moment we entered the Nong Nooch Garden and Resort we saw how huge the place was! We arrived just in time to see the Cultural Show in the morning where performances ranged from cultural dances, muay thai boxing to elephants in battle (yes, real elephants are performing in this scene!). The other performance highlight was the Amazing Elephants Show.

Buffet lunch is served at the resort restaurant and i highly recommend it. The restaurant served as the gateway to the perfectly-manicured garden at Nong Nooch. The garden was like the tea scene at Alice in Wonderland. We tried to plot out our afternoon itinerary with the map provided us so we don’t miss out too much. Luckily, we were at the terminal when the shuttle car for the resort passed by. For just a minimal charge, we were able to see a varied lot of the interesting botanical garden we could not have accomplished on foot.

An alternative mode of transport around the gardens are the elephants (with seats strapped in their backs). But i felt they already accomplished enough with the morning shows, they deserve an afternoon off to rest.

All the brouhaha about the dramatic turnout at an all-important event had Pattaya all over the news during Easter weekend. The ASEAN Summit (attended by no less than President GMA) actually had to be cancelled due to Thai protesters and consequently putting Pattaya in Thailand on world news. Made me want to look back and write about my Pattaya experiences, hence this series.

I went to Pattaya just once before and it was a fantastic tourist-y day indeed. I realized there’s a lot to write about this place. First and foremost is that this is where i had my very first close encounter with the famed elephants of Thailand!

Pattaya is a good 1 and a half hour ride away from Bangkok through expressways. Several tour agencies from Bangkok can arrange transportation service. The photo above took place at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden Resort, where the elephants are some of the biggest stars around.

Need i say more? The Amazing Elephants show is just one of the many attractions at the Nong Nooch Botanical Garden in Pattaya.