Here for a couple weeks, really want to get some mid or high quality dol sot, kimchi jars, covered rice servers, all the Korean kitchen goodness. Is there a store that can serve my needs? Is this a mainland thing? Would really like a comprehensive kitchen supply store.
Not needing any standard dishes/bowls/glasses. I went to Lotte/emart and I can buy better import quality in the states at comparable prices.
Thanks!
Just bought this at an amazing temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Never seen Ganesha with a book before. Doesn't look like Thai script. Any ideas appreciated!
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We spent 9 days in Pattaya. We're 45/40/3. We were there April 12 -21. We're on an extended trip and not super adventurous; I lived in Thailand 6 months and my wife lived here 6 years, so we don't need to go go go.
We never actually went to Pattaya city; we stayed and the southish end of Jomtien beach at the natural park resort, which like a lot of the resorts/hotels was probably really nice at one time but is starting to show it's age. It was nice and quiet there, dark at night, no bar music/noise. We were supposed to stay at Atlantis condos, but the room was disgusting, the street was screaming loud, and we left after one night. We quickly discovered that the further we were from the walking street/treetown etc, the cheaper, calmer and nicer it was. There are 15 baht songtaews that can take you up to the greasy parts, which I was planning to go see, but never did.
There was adequate street food available all along the beach and the quality was generally decent. The beach is pretty poor; the sand is rough and sticky, it drops off fast, there are always crashing waves, the ocean is disgusting, nearly starving buskers walk by every 5 minutes and try to sell plastic crap. Need to rent a seat in the shade to survive, and the bathrooms are usually far away. Spent maybe 3 hours total on the beach. The beach side was quite walkable with a stroller. Please, for your sanity, get a hotel with a nice pool.
Nongnoon gardens was super kid friendly, the little one loved it; sanctuary of truth will give you a ride up/down the hill if you have a stroller; underwater world was ok and she was engaged enough. Mini siam was a bust for all of us, but it's cheap, very strollerable, and there's a McDonald's nearby.
There are 3 night markets each with a different character on jomtien beach street. Big market was the most fun for baby, there's a free motorcycle train and a big play area, but probably the least food and swag of the three. It had a hard provincial feel, which gave it a lot of charm. Jomtien night market had the most stalls and variety, and some pretty strong stalls overall for statues/clothes, but the play area was expensive, small and limited time. Beach market was the tamada one, we only went once.
Big shout out to sirigold massage, we went there 6 times and got great treatments with a high level of care. They were happy to have our little one ipad on a chair or sleep between us.
Overall, 5-6 nights would be adequate to see what you can see and have a day to chill. Definitely better/cheaper/more interesting places to go, but it was accessible and we don't regret out time. Didn't need to rent a bike or car, grabs/songtaews were numerous enough and the cost for going somewhere and back was competive with renting.
We did see a lot of couples visiting. I would certainly not recommend this place if your marriage is not in a good spot. The open air female market right up the street would be a big stress/temptation if you are not satisfied at home. If your marriage is in a good spot, highly recommend going to the food court at Big c place, you can see The tail end of some of the stories you've read about playing out. Lots of super march/december marriages, inappropriate ploy dates, just a bizarre menagerie of humanity overall. A+ human watching.
If you can use the Pattaya airport, please do. The place is almost abandoned, so it's quick, easy, and transit will cost you less than half of getting there from Bangkok, with adequate domestic links.
Happy travels!
Songkran was pretty restrained where we were, just one day and could be avoided by staying on the beach side.