Day 1
Ready, Set, Go!

First things First
Before arriving in Thailand it has always been my plan to head straight for The world famous party city of Pattaya. It was not my first trip to Thailand, however having only visited Thailand a few times prior at the time, Bangkok was still unfamiliar to me and navigating the bar and nightlife scene in a city the size of Bangkok seemed a difficult task at the time. Instead, I had decided to head to Pattaya, a much smaller city and a city I was much more familiar with.

EDIT: Having since been to Thailand many more times and having stayed in Bangkok for some years, Bangkok is now a much less daunting place to enjoy the nightlife. And although now much more familiar with Bangkok, Pattaya's small densely packed bar and agogo streets are still my favorite place to enjoy Thailand's nightlife.

Bangkok to Pattaya Bus Desk
Bottom Floor Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

Straight Outta Bangkok
Arriving at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, I went outside to the taxi rank and jumped into the first taxi I could and headed straight for Pattaya. It is here that we can start to compare budgeting costs. For many heading from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya, they think that taxi is their only option, but it's not. Taxis from Suvarnabhumi will vary in price depending on the season, high season or low season, the exchange rate, and how much the taxi driver can bump up the price if it is your first time to Thailand. The minimum Price for a taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya is about 1500 baht.

A much cheaper option is to take the bus on the bottom floor for 160 baht. With the bus however, you'll also need to pay for a motorbike taxi from the bus stop to your hotel, which is often 100 baht or more depending on the distance.

Another option for those who are a little more adventurous, is the VIP Sexy Minivan service provided by some bars and agogos. In this case, arriving at the airports, you will be met by the bar staff of your choice and a driver. Now the 2 hour drive to Pattaya won't be as boring. Most VIP Sexy Minivans come with a la-Z-Boy style chair in the back with plenty of room for two, three or four sexy bar staff to accompany you.

$$$$$ Bus from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya: 160 baht
$$$$$ Taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya: 1500 baht
$$$$$ VIP Sexy Mini Bus from airport to Pattaya: 5000 baht

Soi Buakhao at Night
Popular Nightlife Area - Soi Buakhao, Pattaya

Home From Home
Arriving in Pattaya I booked myself into the Katesiree Hotel on Soi Buakoaw. I often stay at this hotel for it's great location, close to the agogo bar streets of Soi LK Metro, close to the open bar area of Tree town, close to the massage street of Soi Chaiyapoon and equal distance from Walking Street and Soi 6. The Katesiree Hotel itself is a reasonably priced hotel with rooms starting at 600 baht per night. The hotel is a no thrills hotel, but the rooms are clean and have all the basic necessities.

Our full guide of Pattaya bars is in our Hopping Guide

Usually, and on this occasion also, when booking hotels online or in person, I book the hotel for only two day. After that, I can extend my stay if needed or change to another hotel if I find a better deal. Checking the Agoda.com app, it is easy to find huge discounts on last minute hotel room bookings. After staying at the Katesiree Hotel for a few nights, I was able to book two nights in the popular I-Rovers Sports Bar & Hotel for only 300 baht per night using the Agoda app.

$$$ Last minute discounted, no thrills hotel: 300 baht
$$$ Average priced, no thrills hotel: 600 to 800 baht
$$$$$ Luxury hotel, VIP facilities: 5000 baht or more.

The Big Breakfast @ Witherspoons
Pub and Restaurant - Soi Buakhao, Pattaya

You Get What You Pay For?
After paying for the hotel I headed for breakfast at the nearby Witherspoons. One of the better sports bars and restaurants in Pattaya, Witherspoons shows live sports 24 hours every day on fifteen large flatscreens placed around the bar. The bar and restaurant has a great atmosphere and a good selection of food. Having lived abroad for several years, where some Western comforts are not available, whenever I am in Pattaya I always make sure to treat myself to a Full English breakfast. The Witherspoons breakfast is always delicious but little pricey as the "Big Breakfast", cost 260 baht with a second orange juice 60 baht. The "Big Breakfast at Witherpoons is one of my favorite breakfasts in Pattaya, however there are many restaurants that offer much cheaper options.

Looking to try all that Pattaya has to offer, in English breakfasts, and following raving reviews online of the 99 baht "Baht Buster" breakfasts at i-Rovers, I was keen to see how it stood up against the "Big Breakfast". As I was now staying at i-rovers it was a perfect opportunity to try. Arriving at my table, the portions are were reasonably sized, the quality was good and everything tasted great. Overall, the 99 breakfast was great value for money. Of course, there are many restaurants in Pattaya that offer full-English breakfasts around the same price. However, the quality of the ingredients vary from restaurant to restaurant.

$$$ The "Baht Buster" Breakfast at i-Rovers: 99 baht
$$$ The "Big Breakfast" at Witherspoons: 260 baht

Amon Health Massage
Massage and Bar - Soi Chaiyapoon, Pattaya

Morning Exercise
Another reason why I chose to stay at the Katesiree hotel is its convenient location. Located on the very busy and popular bar street of Soi Buakhao, it is also very close to Soi Chalermphrakia, also known as Soi Chaiyapoon, a very popular massage and short-time bar street. Keen to try all that Pattaya had to offer I headed out for a massage on Soi Chaiyapoon, and possibly a happy ending or short-time as well. Still early in the morning, it would be a bit early to take a girl back to the hotel. A quick happy ending or short-time wouldn't cost too much and I would still have energy and time to barfine a girl out of the bar later in the evening.

Now on Soi Chaiyapoon, I decided to walk the full length of the street and see what was on offer. This is a common tactic of mine to get a good look at what is on offer before making a choice. Only problem is that it was quite hot that day and walking the full length of the street and back again was sweaty work. On Soi Chaiyapoon massage shops and short-time bars line both sides of the street for the full length of the street. The massage shops had a good selection of beautiful young women offering their services at this time. After walking the full length of the street, I decided on a girl that I had seen when I entered the street. I decided to walk back to Amon Massage to ask the girl how much the prices were.

Amon Health Massage
Massage and Bar - Soi Chaiyapoon, Pattaya

Three's a Crowd?
Amon massage is actually one of the most popular bars on the street. Amon massage has a good selection of beautiful girls and their prices are low. The selection of girls is the best selection on the street at almost any given time. The cost of massages here are 200 baht but "additional services" are available for 1000 baht.

Arriving back at Amon massage, I walked past the girls standing outside and headed inside. I had already decided to take the girl I saw earlier, so I went inside to go speak to her directly. As I was walking past one of the other girls caught my eye. She looked quite pretty and cute. Now talking to the girl I had seen earlier, I asked her how much the massage and extra services were. I kept turning my head back to look at the cute girl standing outside and then back to look at the girl I was talking to. I was quickly trying to compare the two girls and wanted to make sure I picked the best looking one for the massage.

Our full review of Amon Massage is in our Member Area

I also wanted to pick quickly, and not to keep the girl waiting and perhaps make her angry. Both girls were really good looking and I wasn't sure which girl to take, so I asked the girl if taking two girls for massage would be OK. She smiled and quickly agreed. We called over the other girl. Now with two girls, the curtained off massage beds inside would be a little small. The girls said they had a room upstairs we could use for 400 baht. I agreed and we headed to the room together.

$$$ Traditional massage at Amon Massage: 200 baht
$$$ Two short-times & room at Amon Massage 2400 baht

Snapshot of the LK Metro
Popular Agogo Street - LK Metro, Pattaya

Pattaya's Crazy Nightlife
After the massage I headed back to my room for a nap. Again, one of the reasons I chose to stay at Katesiree Hotel was the location. Located on the busy Soi Buakhao Street, conveniently located equal distance from Soi 6 and Walking Street, my hotel was also right around the corner from Soi LK Metro. LK Metro is a small Agogo bar street, similar to Walking Street, but usually with much cheaper drink prices, bar fine, short-time and long-time prices than Walking Street.

after my nap it was time to head out, I took a shower and eagerly ventured out.. hitting each bar and having a few drinks in each, checking out the talent before moving on to the next bar, it wasn't long before I was wasted. It was then that I headed to Sugar Sugar Agogo on Soi LK metro, a popular agogo with some of the best looking bar staff on LK Metro. I had earlier messaged a Sugar Sugar Agogo girl on Facebook and ask if I could go to Sugar Sugar Agogo to buy her a drink and I had also arranged to bar fine her and another girl for some fun.

Sugar Sugar Agogo
Popular Agogo Bar - LK Metro, Pattaya

Sweet as Sugar
Arriving at Sugar Sugar she quickly came and sat with me and we began chatting. She told me that, although we had already arranged to meet, she had to go to a birthday party with her friends and that she couldn't go with me tonight. Although disappointed, I appreciated the fact that she told me early before I bought her lots of drinks. She seemed nice so I decided to buy her a few drinks anyway. She suggested that I take her friend instead and that I could come back tomorrow and take her and another girl as planned. After that, I bought several drinks for myself and the two girls who were sitting with me. I refused to buy the service staff drinks and refused to ring the bell as that would have been more expensive. Finally, I agreed a long-time price of 3000 baht, which is standard price for LK Metro, I bar fined her friend and we headed back to my hotel.

Our full review of Sugar Sugar is in our Member Area

It actually worked out cheaper in a way because her friend was a "coyote" and the two girls I had originally arranged to bar fine were "models". Bar fines for coyotes in Sugar Sugar were 600 baht after midnight and models were 1000 baht. The total drinks bill was 2000 baht. When you add up all the costs of going to an agogo bar.. such as the lady drinks, the bar-fine and then also the companionship fee it all adds up. On this night, by only bar fining one "Coyote" I was able to save some money but the next day I came back to bar fine the two models.

$$$ Drinks, one coyote bar fine and long-time: 5600 baht
$$$ Drinks, two models bar fine and long-time: 11000 baht

Not the Best Selfie Pic
Katesiree hotel - Soi Buakhao, Pattaya

Budgeting Blunder
In total, on my first day I spent 8500 baht, which was only 3500 baht over budget. Although over budget, I had a really great time and the memories will last a lifetime. The next day was very much similar to the first day and if anything even more over budget. The purpose of this blog was never really about sticking to the $150 budget, but more to give you, the reader, some ideas of the costs involved in regards to short-time, longtime, bar fines and the nightlife scene.

Sugar Sugar Update:
I have been back to Sugar Sugar several times and the girls have always been fun and friendly. Prices for Long-time and Short-time vary depending on whether high or low season. On several occasions I have taken the girls short-time for 2000 baht and long-time for 3000 baht. Bar fines for coyotes is 600 baht and 1000 baht for models. However, I was able to get a cheaper price closer to closing time. On each visit I have arranged to take two or more girls with no problems.

Amon Massage Update:
I have been back to Amon Massage several times and believe that Amon Massage usually has the best looking girls on the soi. Amon Massage has very good customer service and also some of the cheapest prices for short-times in the area. On each visit I have arranged to take two or more girls with no problems. Usually when taking only one girl, the massage and extra services are performed on the curtained off massage beds on the ground floor.

Too lazy to read?

Thailand on a Budget - Video Discussion with Andy Wright
Thailand is famed for its nightlife scene and adult entertainment. This blog is about budgeting and costs based around these aspects of Thailand.

Check out Andy's YouTube channel @ https://www.youtube.com/AndyWrightTravel