Only using Motorbike Taxi,do you walk?

[Guest Qualityonly]

Over the last few days of being in Pattaya I have been quite lazy.

I promised myself I would do more walking during my time here.

 

Unfortunately I have broke that promise by catching motorbike taxis virtually everywhere baht buses dont go.

I think its a combination of laziness followed by crowded pavements,roads hard to cross,the heat, and

and being impatient.

 

Im wearing jogger type shoes as I find these protect my feet,however the only way is to be self discilplined enough to make myself walk.

 

How do you get around in Pattaya ?

[ChristianPFC]

Walking and baht-bus. The vast majority of what I do is covered by these two.

 

I use mocy only in case of emergency because they are more dangerous (my head is the upmost and my knees are the outmost points, usually no helmet is provided) and rather expensive.

 

After many years without using mocy in Pattaya, I used mocy Sat 05.08.2016 at around 3 am from Tamnam Isan to Tuk-Com with a friend (alone I would have walked). Cost me 150 Baht (originally he wanted 80 per person, I countered with 100 for both, then accepted 150). That's 3.1 km! For 150 Baht, I could go 15 km in a metered taxi in Bangkok. I stated destination in clear Thai, nonetheless he must have realized that I don't know prices because that is clearly too much (but an emergency situation). What do others pay?

[vinapu]

I walk plenty, heat or not , just because I like. Only places in Pattaya I use baht buses or motorsai are to Jomtien and back and to/ from bus station.

 

But truth for me is I like Boyztown so much I can envision moving around the block without crossing main streets during my whole stay in Pattaya.

[Vessey]

My hotel is on Soi 6, and I will normally get a baht bus if convenient, but if I want to go LK Metro, or Sunee Plaza, then a motorbike taxi is the way to go for me as they are not on a direct baht bus route.

 

Even though Walking Street/Boyztown is on the baht bus route, traffic is usually so congested on Beach Road in the evenings, especially at weekends, that again a motorbike taxi is by far the quickest option.

 

I do close my eyes at times but the regular taxi boys are usually ok - I tend to pick the older ones when I can. My worst experience on the back of a bike was a ladyboy who said she was too drunk to walk, and promptly fell off the bike as soon as we reached our destination. I was praying to every god I had ever heard of during that journey!

[Guest]

On a typical day to Pattaya I would take the baht bus to Jomtien beach & walk home. And walk everywhere else.

Legs are for walking & I do not want to be yet another hopelessly obese farang.

 

I've not yet tried a motorcycle taxi in Thailand. In Bangkok it's the sky train, buses or my feet.

Have used motorcycles in Cambodia, but only as a last resort.

 

Note: Many travel insurance policies don't cover you for being a passenger on a motorcycle. So any medical bills could be expensive.

[kokopelli]

 What do others pay?

Typical motorbike prices range from 40 to 80 Baht and sometimes up to 100 Baht if long distance within Pattaya Mostly I use motorbikes but sometimes Baht bus. 

[Guest anonone]

Walking and baht-bus. The vast majority of what I do is covered by these two.

 

I use mocy only in case of emergency because they are more dangerous (my head is the upmost and my knees are the outmost points, usually no helmet is provided) and rather expensive.

 

After many years without using mocy in Pattaya, I used mocy Sat 05.08.2016 at around 3 am from Tamnam Isan to Tuk-Com with a friend (alone I would have walked). Cost me 150 Baht (originally he wanted 80 per person, I countered with 100 for both, then accepted 150). That's 3.1 km! For 150 Baht, I could go 15 km in a metered taxi in Bangkok. I stated destination in clear Thai, nonetheless he must have realized that I don't know prices because that is clearly too much (but an emergency situation). What do others pay?

 

Mocy taxi fromTamnam Isan is usually more expensive then a random one at a street corner.  A bit of opportunistic pricing.  They also charge for Mocy parking on the street, at least for my Thai friends with their own Mocy.   A bit of night club gouging.  

As to the basic question, I do a mixture of all things.  Walking when possible/I feel like it.  Baht bus when it makes sense.  Mocy when off a baht bus route or I am in a hurry.  

 

High Season traffic makes getting from Condo in Jomtien to Sunee a real pain in the ass in the evenings...so mocy usually wins out.

[Guest abang1961]

I have ZERO sense when it comes to balancing.

I simply can't sit still as I "shake" while on the motorcycle.

An earlier incident in Bali double confirmed this unnatural fear of pillion riding on a motorcycle.

I fell off and injuring myself and the poor man in front of me.

Although it was just surface abrasion, I have to this very day (and in the future) yet to repeat the act again.

 

I enjoy walking.

During my June visit to Pattaya this year, I walked all the way from Welcome Plaza Hotel to Jomtien/Dongtan Beach.

I enjoyed the "me" moment - listening to BBC radio podcasts, together with upbeat music.

I felt "FREE and EASY" as I past the many sois and shops.

 

What music..well, try this for walking. some silly bubble gum like Taylor Swift.

Yes, I do listen to current contemporary besides the golden oldies from the 70s.

 

Shake it off..shake, shake, shake...

[Guest Qualityonly]

Thats a great idea,I may get some headphones to listen to as im walking.

[vinapu]

 My worst experience on the back of a bike was a ladyboy who said she was too drunk to walk, and promptly fell off the bike as soon as we reached our destination. I was praying to every god I had ever heard of during that journey!

look at the bright side , they listened to your prayers and you live to tell the tale

[Vessey]

I do walk sometimes, but heat, distance and destination are the determinates here, 

 

I am overweight, although not as fat as many, but I can still sweat buckets in the heat and that is not a good look LOL  Fine if my destination is my hotel room and its welcoming shower, but obviously not so fine if I have my mongering hat on or plan to go to a bar or agogo.

 

But a light sea breeze of an early evening and a gentle there-and-back-again, window-shopping, walk along Beach Road; perfect.

[Guest Qualityonly]

I walked around the Soi Yensabai area last night.

It wasnt a relaxing walk I must say,not with all the young Arabic guys showing off on their big rented motorbkes.

 

I prefer to walk facing oncoming traffic for safety reasons.

However Im sure I will get used to it.

[vinapu]

I walked around the Soi Yensabai area last night.

It wasnt a relaxing walk I must say,not with all the young Arabic guys showing off on their big rented motorbkes.

 

I prefer to walk facing oncoming traffic for safety reasons.

However Im sure I will get used to it.

it stressed out , you can always visit Good Boys in Sunee to calm down your nerves

[ChristianPFC]

Thats a great idea,I may get some headphones to listen to as im walking.

 

Not recommended. I need all my senses when walking along busy roads, and hearing what happens around me is important.

[vinapu]

Not recommended. I need all my senses when walking along busy roads, and hearing what happens around me is important.

 

deleted / I wanted to ask where you are but read another post and know now / 

[Guest abang1961]

Guys,

Remember this line from an old English hit, "Silence is golden..but my eyes can see。“

 

 

Song dedication: The Tremeloes

 

 

OK to spice things up a notch upwards.

(now you know I am such a BIG potato queen)

[vinapu]

10 countries  - interesting piece to watch but seems to be biased for Anglo-Saxon world, with America , England ,Scotland, Ireland and Australia on the list  I'm surprised Isle of Man, Jersey and St Helena didn't make it 

[firecat69]

I walk plenty, heat or not , just because I like. Only places in Pattaya I use baht buses or motorsai are to Jomtien and back and to/ from bus station.

 

But truth for me is I like Boyztown so much I can envision moving around the block without crossing main streets during my whole stay in Pattaya.

You don't walk to Jomtien. I am appalled !.  Don't you walk further distances then that all the time in BKK??

[vinapu]

You don't walk to Jomtien. I am appalled !.  Don't you walk further distances then that all the time in BKK??

I don't and I do.

 

Remember I'm very slowly learning that Pattaya is such an interesting place so no urge to explore her wide and leafy avenues, hm, hm.

 

And being neither beach  nor bar person my Jomtien visits are mostly just to chalk it off although I had very memorable massage in now defunct Derby Massage.

 

BKK even without boys would be my most entertaining city in the whole world at par with Istanbul only perhaps so yes , I can walk there to no end.

[Brummbaer]

I'm a very bad passenger on a motorbike, my boyfriend tells me. And I don't feel comfortable on the back of a bike unless I know the driver well enough to trust them. Reason probably being that I passed my test for a motorbike license when I was 16 and have owned motorbikes on and off between 16 and 45, so I don't feel in control as a passenger on a bike.  

[vinapu]

you are right, other car drivers usually make for very bad passengers specially  when sitting at front so the same must go with motorcycles 

[Guest 2guys]

I have the same as Brummbear with one difference, I never ever sit on the back of a motorbike anymore. If needed I walk, even if it's an hour or longer, but one bad experience and never again. So a motorbike only when I'm the one driving.

[vinapu]

I like motorbike taxis , take them often, sometimes at longer distances too - in Saigon I arrived in my downtown hotel in style all the way from the airport on motorbike taxi.

 

perhaps  it's not smart but I find them handy to beat the traffic and for short distance hoops when in the rush.

 

Still prefer to walk if possible as it's even more fun