Restaurants

In matters of cuisine, Pattaya is a truly international city. Many foreigners who have settled in the resort have opened restaurants featuring the cuisine of their home countries. French, Italian, German, Swiss, Scandinavian, English, Indian, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese dishes are prepared just the way as in the respective countries themselves. Furthermore, Pattaya offers some of Thailand’s best seafood in several specialty restaurants. And last not least, there is of course ample opportunity to taste the excellent Thai cuisine. For general information on the various cuisines represented in Pattaya, please see the chapter Cuisine in the first part of this book.

There is little dispute that among the top restaurants in Pattaya, and a unique one aside from that, is Dolf Riks - well, actually Dolf Riks is the owner, and he just named the restaurant after himself. Considering that this restaurant lives of the personality of Dolf Riks himself (and not the creations of an anonymous chef), to name it after himself was certainly justified. Dolf Riks, Dutch by his passport, grew up in Indonesia and opened his restaurant in Pattaya in 1969 - thus making it not only the longest established first-class restaurant in the resort but simply a Pattaya institution.

A large number of international publications has written about Dolf Riks and his restaurant, and quoted here is just one, the Hongkong Standard, with some excerpts of a review by Humphrey Wayne: "Painter, writer and chef, Dolf runs a great place full of interesting people and unusual food... I discovered on the first dinner visit a marvellous Dolf Riks creation, ox tail osso bucco, a soft, rich meal with salad and mashed potato, which excited the taste buds every time... It was the culinary highlight of the trip, followed closely by the Indonesian Rijstafel, an Indonesian feast with a Dutch name... Seek Dolf’s expert advice on the menu and I guarantee that you will have a meal to remember."

Nightlife

Major hotels have cocktail lounges, discotheques, nightclubs and supper clubs which offer food, drinks and music.

Nightlife beyond Pattaya’s hotels is more liberated. Discotheques, transvestite cabarets, nightclubs, coffee shops, open-air bars, amusement arcades and restaurants with live music and entertainment compete for attention. Most such establishments are located along the Pattaya Beach Rd and in South Pattaya, the resort’s major shopping area.

The widely circulating Lonely Planet guide book gave the following warning on nightlife in Pattaya: "The part of Pattaya known as ‘the village?attracts a large number of ka-toeys, Thai transvestites, who pose as hookers and ply their trade among the droves of well-heeled European tourists. Germans and Scandinavians lead the pack. Incidentally, the easiest way to tell a ka-toey is by the Adam’s apple - a scarf covering the neck is a dead give-away." (Lonely Planet Thailand, 1990 edition, page 163)

The largest cabaret in Pattaya is the Alcazar, actually one of the largest cabarets in all of Asia. Guaranteed no exploitation of women as all the performers are transvestites.

Shopping

South Pattaya is the main shopping area of the resort. The resort’s major gem, jewelry, silk, cotton and handicraft shops, tailors and boutiques are all in the vicinity, or adjacent to major beachside hotels. Pattaya 2 Road also has several handicraft and silk shops.

A multi-million Baht shopping complex on North Pattaya Road, patterned after the Chiang Mai night market, will include a handicrafts center, bazaar and shopping arcade with small bars, nightclubs and an outdoor seafood restaurant.

Shoppers can take advantage of a bimonthly pocket-sized Shopping Guide published by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The complimentary publication contains shopping tips, maps of major shopping areas, and a comprehensive list of TAT accredited shops in Pattaya and other major tourist destinations.

Banks & Foreign Exchange

Bangkok Bank
44 Naklua Rd, Tel 42-9347, 42-9351

Bangkok Metropolitan Bank

464 Pattaya Beach Rd, Tel 42-8768 to 9

Bank of Asia; 569/1 Naklua Shopping Center

Tel 42-8418

Krung Thai Bank; 290 North Pattaya Rd

Tel 42-8545, 42-8436

Siam Commercial Bank

589 Pattaya Beach Rd, Tel 42-8760

Thai Farmers Banks

22 South Pattaya Rd, Tel 42-9142

Lida; 396 Mu 9, Sunset Avenue, Tel 42-8641

Lisa; 1/1 North Pattaya Rd, Tel 42-9259

Pattaya Exchange

391 Yodsak Shopping Center, Tel 42-8643

Yenjet Gift Shop

188 Sunset Avenue, South Pattaya

Offices

Government offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:30-16:30 with 12:00-13:00 lunch break.

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Pattaya Office 382/1 Pattaya Beach Rd

Tel 42-8750, 42-9113

The office is well stocked with complimentary tourist publications and provides authoritative information on local events and regional attractions. The office is open seven days a week, including public holidays.

Tourist Police

The bilingual Tourist Police is attached to the Tourism Authority of Thailand office, at 382/1 Pattaya Beach Rd, Tel 42-9371. As anywhere in Thailand, they provide speedy assistance to visitors.

Immigration Office

Soi 8 Pattaya Beach Rd, Tel 42-9409

Post Office

Soi Post Office, Central Pattaya

Post Office

Sawang Fa Rd, Naklua

Pattaya City Hall

North Pattaya Road, Tel 42-9245

Pattaya Police Station

Pattaya Beach Rd, Tel 42-8223

Pattaya Telephone Exchange

(Domestic Long Distance Service)

Pattaya Rd, Tel 42-8111

Telecommunications Center

South Pattaya Rd

Radio

Pattaya has its own English-language FM Radio Station broadcasting daily on 107.75 as ‘Pattaya By the Sea?

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