We had heard plenty about wicked Pattaya and would not have gone out of our way to stay there. However, our cruise ended about a half an hour away so we figured we would spend a few days there before flying back to Chiang Mai. We found a nice hotel with complimentary reviews online and reserved a suite with a city view. The hotel claimed to be 5-star, but that turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration.

Disembarkation was a breeze given our status as suite passengers. We were personally escorted off the ship one final time and had arranged for a taxi to pick us up and drive us to Pattaya. Our hotel was located a few minutes from the beach and a couple of streets over from Central Pattaya, a large shopping mall. We dropped off our bags and went for a walk. And all I can say is, “Oh, My!”. We were certainly in an interesting part of town! We had read that Pattaya is rife with sexpats, and it looked like our hotel was in sexpat central. Here are a few of the places down that we passed by on the way to the beach:

We found the beach and walked around the block, scoping out potential places for lunch, then headed to the mall.

That evening, we walked around and greeted the many bar girls. Gosh, they are friendly! Some called us Mama and Papa. Clayton got a kick out of it, he said it reminded him of his days in the army. We saw so many old, alcoholic looking men hitting on the young bar girls. It is really nasty, IMHO. There were plenty of younger men as well but not too many couples or families. It just isn’t that kind of place.

One thing that did surprise me was the price of massage in Pattaya. It was much cheaper than Chiang Mai, Phuket, or Bangkok. Most of the massage places are listed as “health massage”, which I think must be code for a very happy type massage. I looked at reviews online before picking a place and found quite a few with 5-star reviews. However, if you look at the hours, those places were getting the positive reviews after 10 pm. Hmmm…

There were many Indian restaurants in our neighborhood, but not many local mom & pop Thai places like we enjoy eating at in Chiang Mai. We found one we liked and went there several times. There are numerous restaurants that line the beach, but most don’t open until late afternoon. Compared to the United States, the food here was cheap, but it was more costly than it is in northern Thailand.

The one place that I was looking forward to visiting in Pattaya was the Sanctuary of Truth. We opted to take a Grab (like Uber or Lyft) rather than taking the baht bus. The baht bus (songtaew) only costs 10 baht, about 30 cents. But, it drops you off quite a ways from the Sanctuary so we spent a whole $3 for an air-conditioned ride in a car that dropped us at the entry. We had prepurchased tickets on Klook, saving $3/ticket by doing so. You can also buy tickets at the entry but will pay 400 baht rather than the 300 baht we paid. The Sanctuary opens at 8 am, but the first tour in English is at 9:10. You cannot tour without a guide so we arrived at 8:30 and waited. Dress appropriately as there is a Buddha relic inside and if you are not properly covered, you will be renting long shorts or a sarong for 200 baht.

The Sanctuary of Truth is a museum that is still being constructed. The founder died about 20 years ago, but the work goes on. The building is visible from the tour waiting area. It is constructed of wood, though many of the statues look to be carved from stone (they are not). This place made the trip to Pattaya worthwhile – it is stunning.

We walked down the steps to the level of the Sanctuary and were given hard hats to wear inside. They were more like the cheap plastic toy hats my kids had when they were little, but since work is still ongoing, we were required to wear them. The entire place is handicap accessible which impressed me. There is a bus that takes those that are mobility challenged to the entrance to the sanctuary and an elevator that takes them up to enter.

We passed through a building filled with artisans creating the remaining parts of the Sanctuary. Each individual piece takes a month of work.

The founder built the sanctuary around 7 truths:

1. Who are we? Where are we from?
2. How do we survive?
3. The End of Life
4. Samples of Civilization
5. What is the purpose of life?
6. Society if a Two-sided Coin
7. The Beginning of Society

All of the artwork contained inside relates to these truths. The exterior of the building is spectacular. The exit looks like it should be the entrance, but the entrance is around back. And yes, I take lots of photos! But hey, so much beauty to capture!!

Inside, the first chamber shows the 4 elements – earth, water, wind, and fire, representing the first truth.

Work continues on the exterior of the building. I guess since they are working outside, they don’t need hard hats?

The guide took us through in sequence, but my pictures are more random. I didn’t take notes to remember which pictures went with which “truth”.

Upon exiting the buiding, there are further opportunities to spend one’s money. I was a bit disappointed to see elephant rides offered. We passed through some lovely gardens on the way out.

The Sanctuary of Truth was well worth the trip to Pattaya. The rest of the city? Not much to my liking. We did have plenty of opportunities to walk around, shop, and eat, so it wasn’t all bad. The evening excitement started by 5 pm. Our hotel room overlooked the soi (small street) we were on, so we heard the revelry until the music stopped between 2 am and 3 am. In other words, we didn’t get much sleep. The hotel itself was nice enough, but definitely not 5-star caliber. The breakfast was good, lots of choices for both western and asian palates. It was within walking distance of lots of things, so ideally located if you are into the types of activities offered in the vicinity. Let’s just say we were quite happy to board the plane and fly back to Chiang Mai.