In September 2002, I went to Pattaya, Thailand. It’s one of the largest tourism centers in Thailand located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand (about 165km southeast of Bangkok in the province of Chon Buri). Pattaya’s main attraction are its beaches.
Pattaya Beach is situated along the central city in close proximity to shopping, hotels and abundant nightlife area. Just like Phuket, Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife, some of which revolves around the sex oriented industry. The streets of Pattaya are decorated with massage parlors, beer bars, go-go bars, restaurants and clubs, and are bustling with activities 365 days a year. Boyztown area is famous for its gay go-go clubs and bars which draw gay men from all over the world.
Stepping into the infamous Hard Rock Hotel of Pattaya, I felt the earth shake under my feet. There was no doubt that Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya would give me the ultimate rock’n’roll retreat I had wished for. As I checked into one of the themed guest rooms, I could see it was designed and decorated in a hip and vibrant style, featuring an over-sized bed and oowwh, the pillow covers had Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s faces on them. Awesome! After tipping the bellman, I closed the door before me and hopped onto the bed. Lying down on the comfy bed, I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like if Elvis was there lying next to me… looking down on my sleepy face… touching my eyelids… playing with my hair… massaging my back…
Suddenly…
Wabammmm bammmmm…. bammmmm! “What the hell is that?!”, I spat. But then I soon realized that it was time to rock’n’roll. The sun barely left the sky but the drum had already started to rumble. Getting out of my bed, I got ready for the fun. It’s parteyyyy time!
Oh there’s something you need to know. When you stay at Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, you will hear a different hotel language, which they call it their very own ‘Lingo’.
• Stars: Our guests
• The show: Hard Rock Hotel, Pattaya
• Band Members: Staff at Hard Rock Hotel, Pattaya
• Lil’Rockers: Our younger guests
• Stage pass: Room Key
• Stage: Public areas
• Backstage: Back of house
• Autograph: Guest’s signature
• Sessions: Meetings
• Showtime: Service time / something to be done
As soon as I reached the entrance of Pattaya’s Hard Rock Cafe, a waiter pulled the door open for me. A rock band was jamming on the stage. People roared and shouted somewhere at the back. Girls flirting around with the boys wearing … what, bikinis? Short pants? Very very short pants? Oh, wow… When the band started to play ‘Heaven’ I just stood there unmoved. I was spellbound. I forgot my friends who were waiting for me at the bar. I forgot that I needed a drink. I forgot everything. All I could remember was that the room suddenly became silent. All were transfixed by the slow enchanting melody. Hmmmm…. hmmm… hmmm…. heaven!
Half an hour later, after having the last sip of the succulent orange juice, I told my half-drunk friends that I needed to get some sleep and regain my energy for tomorrow would be a long ride to Bangkok. Oh, why is it that when people enter a bar, they have to take alcohol and then get drunk?
Well, I have just three things to describe Pattaya – i) Pattaya for sure has beautiful beaches just like in Phuket, but I personally like Phuket more, ii) there are so many pubs around for those who like to party hard and iii) it is not that easy to find halal restaurants but you can surely try out their seafood. Simply fresh and yummy!
Half an hour later, after having a final sip of the succulent orange juice, I told my half-drunk friends that I needed to get some sleep and regain my energy for tomorrow would be a long ride to Bangkok. In Bangkok, we stayed in Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Thailand. There was nothing much to do during the day. All I did was shopping and shopping. Waiting for the night to come was a time full of anticipation. We checked out the Cabaret and Hard Rock Cafe of Bangkok. It was a blessing that the band playing in Hard Rock of Bangkok that night was the Telephone Band. One of my many coolest Thai people who had been befriending me for quite some time. We hugged and we hugged and we hugged! Then we took photos. All that cheesy smiles on our faces, showed how happy we were to see each other again. Nothing was as pleasant as having the chance to meet old buddies after so long.
This trip was nothing similar to the other trips I had so far. I never had a trip as rockin'-and-rollin' as this one before. I partied a lot this time! Very syokkkkkkk wo!
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