I had a day to spend in Pattaya, and instead of lying on the beach, which would also be a good plan, I decided to walk to the best Pattaya viewpoint and the highest hill around- Pattaya Hill.
It is easy to walk here as it is a pretty central hill not that far from the busy area. There are many things to see around, so I basically spent all my day going up this hill seeing what is around, and walking down from a different path.
Big Buddha Temple
My first destination was the Big Buddha Temple, as the name says, it is this huge golden Buddha statue and it seems to be popular as there are many tourists visiting the spot. It is a nice place to visit, observe the Buddhist rituals, and enjoy the calming sounds and smells that surround the temple area. From this spot you won’t actually have an amazing view, Pattaya viewpoint is not here. I have seen too many temples I guess haha. I was not impressed with this one. Still, you can visit, it won’t take long and you can relax. Around this area is a park with many trees and green corners providing a nice quiet retreat. Good to enjoy the silence, read, or exercise. I saw locals exercising here.
Phra Tamnak Mountain Viewpoint
From the Big Buddha Temple, I went to another temple near the viewpoint itself. It is in the same area as the Big Buddha statue but still quite a hilly walk away. Easy done though. Khao Phra Bat Pattaya is a small temple just next to Pattaya viewpoint. It has lots of chickens and roosters running around as this temple seems to be dedicated to these animals. I say it cause there were rooster statues everywhere, as well as rooster poo. Some really beautiful creatures rooming around, I could admire.
Then, in this area, you will be able to have the best views of Pattaya city. The view shows the city skyline with the beach and ocean as the horizon. It is a nice city view. I enjoyed it pretty much.
All the tourists seem to gather here at Pattaya viewpoint. Loads of people as well as souvenir shops, food sellers, etc… there is a statue of the Prince of Chumphon too ha
Pattaya City sign
From Phra Tamnak Mountain Viewpoint, I walked all the way to the Pattaya city sign and stopped around for a rest. I walked pretty much all day and I ended up super tired. This day had a lot of stops and rests. This is the place where the famous Pattaya sign is. From here the views of the city are also nice and there is a very cute coffee shop with a nice view, and a green area with benches to sit on. That’s what I’ve done, but not for long. It seemed like that was the stray dogs’ sleeping area, and not long after sitting I started seeing fleas jumping on me. I stood up and left as fast as I could haha
But, if you don’t want to sit down at the park, there is the City Coffee Pattaya, the coffee shop I mentioned, which might be worth a visit as it offers a great Pattaya viewpoint spot. Really nice here, I recommend it!
After another rest, I walked all the way down till I reached the street next to the ocean. At this point, I was simply exhausted and just strolled around dragging myself to the nearest Songthaew stop that was Hali Bali pier. I basically made a loop to the hill and back down. It was tiring but nice. I ended my day at the beach to watch the sunset and see some crazy guy doing dangerous stunts on a jet ski. He seemed to be an attraction as people were gathering just to see his performance. It was entertaining this as the sunset was not decent.
Pattaya at night
At night there is a lot going on in Pattaya. Lots of bars with loud music, hookers, the place is blasting. Very lively at night, truly. There is also a walking street like Khao San Road in Bangkok or Bangla in Phuket. I went to the shopping mall as there were some live concerts, and sat there enjoying some music before calling it a day. Would I come to Pattaya, just to see Pattaya? No way. But if I lived in Bangkok, I think this would be a great ocean getaway, especially to visit Koh Larn, which I mentioned here before and the island is worth a visit.
One of the things I had in mind of doing in Pattaya was visiting the Sanctuary of Truth, but after realizing that the temple is far from the hotspot where I was and that the ticket price is 500 bh, I gave up on visiting it. Getting there and coming back would be an expensive trip and I decided not to do it. I just didn’t regret this decision because later I went to a temple in Bangkok that gave me an idea of what the Sanctuary of Truth would look like. Check out more about this temple HERE! After seeing this temple, I think the Sanctuary of Truth might be worth the money because it must be better and this temple was a stunner.
