Thursday, September 27, 2007

What to buy and where to buy in Pattaya Beach


For souvenirs, beach essentials and tack, hit the beachfront stalls which line the southern stretch of Beach Road (south of Central Pattaya Road). Open all day and late into the night, goods here reflect a diverse array of enthusiasms: fake football shirts, surf shorts, bikinis, flick-knives, ethnic crafts, Buddha statues, rude T-shirts, hardcore porn DVDs, stun guns, and even samurai swords.
Here and along nearby Sois, the space not taken up by beer bars, restaurants, banks and convenience stores, is filled by travel shops, tattoo parlours and tailors. Usually loitering with let-me-sell-you-a-cheap-suit intent is a savvy Thai or Indian male vendor with a canny gift for guessing where you hail from and greeting you in your native idiom: “Alright mate!', “G'day!'etc, etc. If you decide to get measured up, go for at least two fittings and don't confuse good price with a good quality end-product.