Rudolph.A.Furtado- A backpackers guide to "Budget Tours".Pattaya in Thailand..Saturday(24-12-2005)

In Bangkok i was residing at the "Burapa Hotel" situated in downtown Bangkok at 160/14 Charooenkrug road, Bangkok-10200, one of the popular and reasonably priced hotels, popular with Indian tourists. I was accommodated into room Nos 562 at a daily cost of 550Baht(1Us$= 39 Baht approx @2005 rates), a large spacious air-conditioned room, decent and reasonably priced.I had booked for a "Packaged tour" to Pattaya at the hotel reception , a convenient and cheap form of touring Thailand as local package tours are conducted by numerous travel agencies and at very competitive rates.Surprising, although Thailand's tourist economy is based more on "English speaking" tourists, yet, the common local Thai population rarely speak or understand much of English, hence, travelling alone to remote parts of the country is dangerous as well as confusing.Local "Packaged Tours" are the safest and most convenient means of touring Thailand and this was precisely my itinerary once i reached Bangkok and checked into my hotel.All hotels in Bangkok have arrangements with local tour operators for conducting "Package Tours" and the same can be booked at the hotel reception counter on arrival to avoid disappointments as most of these tours get fully booked during peak tourist season. On Saturday(24-12-2005) i left my hotel at approx 0700hrs in a "Toyota Minibus" accompanied by guide Mr Billy and later collecting other tourists from other hotels, a multinational and multicultural group of 12 travellers. Pattaya is approx 150 Kms from Bangkok and hence was a 2 1/2 hr ride on a smooth expressway akin to the "Mumbai-Pune Expressway" in India with average speeds of 120Km/hr. On arrival at Pattaya we were greeted by the local tour conductor Mr Bobby of CR tour and travel" who took over as the local guide from Mr Billy, very well organised and managed tour itineraries. Mr Bobby inquired about our plans for the day and if any of the tourists were staying overnight or had other plans and didn't want to return back to Bangkok on the same day.I had booked tickets for Pattaya's famous "Transvestite Cabaret shows" at the Alcazar theatre, one of the prime attractions of Pattaya . Mr Bobby guided us to a "Gems and Crafts" gallery" of Pattaya, considered one of the largest in the World, a typical itinerary of all "package tour operators" in Thailand. This particular "Gems and Precious stones" gallery was massive, besides, they also demonstrated the cutting and polishing of precious and semi-precious stones.We were also given a artificial tour in a small mini-cable train around a "Mining Tunnel" which explained the processes of "Precious stones extraction" and its ultimate journey as a finished product to the World's jewellery stores.

Owing to the shallow draught conditions approaching "CORAL ISLANDS" we had to change 3 different boats ,this boat in the picture bring the first boat from the Pattaya coast.In mid-sea we changed onto a large barge boat.From the barge boat we boarded a  smaller boat which  finally landed us  on exotic "Coral Island" As a professional sailor the boat journey was boring akin to a professional jockey going on a casual pony ride.The total jorney by boat from Pattaya to Coral island is approximately one and a half hour.

We departed from Pattaya to "Coral Island", the main water sports leisure center for tourists at approx 1120hrs and had to change three boats to ultimately reach "Coral Island" as the water draft at the Pattaya coastline was very shallow. En-route to Pattaya on changing over to a "Floating Barge", tourists were offered "parachute -gliding" rides from the barge at 500 baht/ride, akin to "Sky-gliding" . A "Speed motor boat" launched the tourist from the barge into the sky for a round around the bay and back to the barge in a smooth landing.Majority of the tourists were Indian or of Indian origin and the "Para-gliding" sport was well organized with no mishaps or "emergency landings".We reached "Coral Island" at approximately 1315 hrs and were directly taken to a massive "Buffet Lunch" at a sea-side restaurant. The food was cooked "Thai Style" and consisted of a large fried fish and rice/curry with the quantity being less according to my appetite for eating! After depositing our valuables in the "Restaurant Locker" we all went for a swim and i spent the entire afternoon immersed in water, trying all my swimming strokes.Other tourists indulged in "water Sports" like "Water scooter rides" , snorkeling and "Para-gliding".The crowd was entirely Indian and i felt like being in Goa with a few Caucasians and locals in our midst in the water. The tourist infrastructure in Thailand is well developed with every individual given "V.I.P treatment", hence , no wonder Thailand is a tourist wonderland. Besides, not all tourists come here only for cheap "sex escapades", one of the "taboo subjects" of Bangkok tourism. We departed from "Coral Island" at approximately 1500hrs and it was the same reverse process of changing three boats to reach Pattaya mainland which took about an hour.On arrival at Pattaya we were given candid photographs of ourselves clicked unawares and untold by local photographers and the same being imprinted on "Plastic plates", a memento of "Coral Island". A genuine sales gimmick of these "Tourist memento photos" was that the tourists were not obliged to purchase their own unauthorized photos, but, almost all tourists purchased the same, including myself.A photo of myself callously walking along the beach on "Coral Island" on arrival.

Transvestite Artist performing ""ONE MAN WOMAN,ONE WOMAN MAN".Unforgettable

                                                                                                                                               Attended the "Alcazar cabaret show" at 1830 hrs, a beautiful memorable presentation of music with synchronized dancing, akin to the movie "Moulin Rouge". The "Transvestites" performing these shows were mostly of Thai origin and absolutely beautiful, better than the "Original female,"!

"ALCAZAR CABARET SHOW" in progress
Excellent World class songs and dance by Transvestite Artists.

I am no homosexual commenting, but a honest appraiser of "Talent", irrespective of sex, creed , nationality or "sexual preferences". There was nothing vulgar about these dances and musical performances as the name "CABARET" might denote, since, in India we associate "Cabaret" with "Female strip-tease dances".Remember seeing my first "Cabaret Dance" in Mumbai in the 1980's, a totally nude floor-show at a "Beer-Bar" in Charni Road locality of Mumbai. Memories of another era and phase in life. The entire Alcazar auditorium was mostly filled with Indian tourists and this is one show that every tourist to Thailand should visit and experience along with the entire family, including children, nothing vulgar about it, just a well choreographed performance by "Transvestites". Most of the drama was in Thai language and i will always remember this particular "transvestite" actor doing a single mono dance against her silhouette to the tune of Paul Anka's immortal classic, "ONE MAN WOMEN,ONE WOMEN MAN".It was thoroughly mesmerizing, thought provoking and a unbelievable believable mono song sequence with an illusion of a "Couple" performing the dance. Upto the 1960's Pattaya was a sleepy Thai fishing village and suddenly leap-frogged onto the International tourist circuit due to the "Vietnam War" and America, hence the American influence is very strongly felt in Pattaya.The department malls in Pattaya were totally "Americanized" as also most of the street side hawker eateries."Harley Davidson" has its own retail center in Pattaya and not in Bangkok which ultimately sums up this "Hippy Paradise" and now International tourist escapade. Pattaya is definitely a "Sin Capital" as far as "SEX" is concerned and every type of "Sexual Fantasy" can be purchased at a price. Pattaya was well decorated for the Christmas festive season unlike Bangkok where only a few departmental stores had Christmas trees in their lobby's. After the "Alcazar Show" next visited the " Russian Sex Show" at a local auditorium where Caucasian women conducted a fashion show in the nude, least embarrassed about the front row "Peeping Toms"! Tour guide Mr Bobby collected me after the "Russian Nude beauty contest" and dropped me at the local bus-stop and i thanked him for being absolutely helpful and professional in his duty as a tour guide. The bus fare to Bangkok was 120 baht and i finally reached Bangkok bus depot at approx 2245 hrs, finally catching a taxi(120 baht) to Burapa hotel. A real memorable and unforgettable tour of unexplored Pattaya and its "Sin Life"  accomplished on a shoe-string budget, hence nothing is impossible.