Fresh seafood Naklua market, it’s been 4 years since I published my blog on this lively venue, so I thought it was time to re-visit & see what changes have taken place.
The variety is amazing.
So is the crowd, better to visit mid week if you can.
Price is per kilo
I’m guessing you would get around 3 for a kilo.
Many varieties of fish
Including live fish that they will clean for you on the spot.
Fresh seafood Naklua market
Lots of fresh vegetables also on sale.
Scallops look very good.
There are so many choices, how do you make a decision on what to have for lunch? 🙂
First I’m going to try an oyster.
These are B50 each or $1.60 USD, there are also some for B40, or $1.30 USD. I can buy imported oysters from Franceat El Mercado in Bangkok for the same price.
Quite large as you can see
I was pleasantly surprised, very tasty even without lemon, lime or sauce.
OK, now for some fresh prawns
B270 or $9 USD a kilo, what a bargain.
Now here is the clincher…
This guy will cook your prawns or other seafood for B30 a kilo, how easy is that?
He will even supply a chair. 🙂
So you can eat the freshly cooked seafood right here. We had our prawns boiled rather than barbecued, so we decided to eat them at home after they cooled down.
Tough times Thailand 2019 on two fronts, first we have Thai immigration making it more difficult for expats to live in this wonderful country, secondly the exchange rate for Thai Baht to the Aussie dollar (and other currencies) is hitting rock bottom.
The following 2 charts will highlight the situation.
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history.
This photo blog covers from July 1st to December 31, for the first 6 months of 2019 please go to THIS LINK.
Australian $ to Thai Baht
In 2012 there was 33 Baht to the dollar, today it’s 21.
Australian term deposit rates
In 2012 they were over 5%, today it’s a miserable 1.5%.
Rising costs for food etc
Five years ago in 2014 this selection cost $72 AUD, today it would be $98 Aud, one of the reasons Thailand has become less attractive for expats.
Life is still very good in Thailand
Just ask my good friend Hamish, he hasn’t a care in the world. 🙂
Most afternoons I tear myself away from the computer & enjoy an afternoon coffee.
A small tip for a little lady
I often give this nice lady a B20 tip when I see her of a morning sweeping the road at Terminal 21, it’s just under $1 AUD. She gets so excited you would think it’s 200. 🙂 I’m guessing they don’t get paid too much.
Love watching the storms roll in
So exciting when the storms roll in over Pattaya Bay.
There’s nothing like a September sunset.
I was sipping a red wine at the Holiday Inn watching this magnificent sunset.
Doug Burrows, Bill Perry, David Herd, Brian Rawnsley & Shane Andrews. Shane is here for some major dental work which is around 1/3 of the cost in Australia.
Fusillo Italian restaurant
A nice evening with Matt Harkness & is girlfriend Bow.
Spaghetti seafood
Fusillo is in Naklua Rd, what a great looking dish.
From floor 22 in Markland. For more magnificent sunsets follow THIS LINK.
A super cloud
This was 8 am on the morning of October 13, the previous shot was 6.15 pm the same day.
Halloween
Lola, Nina & Lucky playing trick or treat. I anticipated the visit & stocked up on lollies etc.
The boys from Oz
Shane Andrews, Bill Perry & Greg Caldwell were here for some major dental work. According to Greg he paid 55,000 Baht or $2650 AUD for 1 x Implant – 1 x Root canal – 2 x removals and a complete clean which took 2 hours’ in the chair.
Holly’s coffee at Terminal 21.
helping me maintain my 112 kilos.
Tough times Thailand with high levels of pollution in Pattaya
The unhealthy haze from farmers burning their crops in Thailand & neighboring countries.
Thailand is the least miserable country
Australia comes in at 54th. 🙂
Let’s talk about convenience, I often wonder what it would be like living in Australia again. I ask my friends on the Gold Coast to imagine if they could walk from their home to Robina Town Centre, Southport Park & Pacific Fair in less than 12 minutes? How convenient would that be?
Well folks, that’s what I can do in Pattaya, add to that the 6 five star hotels also within 12 minutes of where I live. All with terrific restaurants & coffee shops.
Plus I have a 24 hour supermarket, chemist & The Coffee Club on the ground floor of the condo where I live on the 20th floor with a view to die for. I probably should mention the 200+ restaurants & food courts also within 10 minutes walk.
Convenience folks, are you getting the picture? 🙂
The burning question is, could I be happy living in Australia again?
Cruise ship visits Pattaya
December 7 & a cruise liner anchors in Pattaya Bay.
Starbucks Pattaya every morning is a perfect start to my day. Not just the excellent coffee, the friendly smiling staff always put me in a positive mood. Above is the branch at The Bay on Beach Road Pattaya between Soi 5 & Soi 6.
The Bay Beach Road
Let’s go to Starbucks & stare at our phones. 🙂
Opening day at the Bay
September 22 2015.
My breakfast of choice.
Ham & cheese croissant with a tall latte. B240 or $7.8 USD
There are two Starbucks at Central Festival
That makes 4 within 10 minutes walk from my condo.
Inside Central Festival branch
Quite an attractive fit out.
A birthday candle for me. 🙂
As I mentioned earlier the smiles on girls are a really nice start for the day.
Sometimes they run out of croissants.
So I settle for a sandwich. 🙂
Starbucks Pattaya every morning
Every 12 coffee is free if you have a Starbucks card so I often take one home for later. Also they often have a two for one offer.
Almond croissant
A nice alternative to the ham & cheese.
Mr Donuts
Starbucks change B115 for a latte, here at Mr Donuts I paid B93 for what you see.
Xmas day 2021
Two of the lovely girls who look after me every day. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Starbucks Pattaya every morning photo blog.
Songkran celebration Vientiane 2019 was certainly more subdued compared to the madness in Pattaya. Songkran is the Lao & Thai New Year’s national holiday. Throwing water has become a huge part of the annual celebrations. If you’re visiting Thailand during this period, prepare to get splashed! In Laos you are able to dodge the soaking if you are careful. 🙂
Look out here they come. 🙂
Lots of pickups prowl the streets with barrels of water to throw at other vehicles & pedestrians.
Our hotel staff
The day we arrived all the staff were having fun soaking each other for Songkran celebration Vientiane. I would happily recommend the Bloom Boutique Hotel, excellent rooms, friendly staff & a great breakfast. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.
Lunch before the water fight
We were invited to join them for lunch however we didn’t want to intrude.
Tuk Tuk
Not all the Tuk Tuks are as flash as this one, in fact many of them are very old indeed.
Father & son.
Age is no barrier when having fun at Songkran.
Songkran celebration Vientiane
The folks relax while the kids play in the pool. As I said earlier Songkran is so much more subdued in Laos than Thailand, in fact each year around 450 Thais lose their life on the roads over what Thailand call the seven deadly days.
Let the games begin
Setting up on the footpath for another day of mayhem. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Songkran celebration Vientiane photo blog.
Italian food Beach Rd Pattaya at Trattoria Pizzeria Toscana is a delightful experience. TripAdvisor obviously agree with a rating of 45 out of 1,111 Restaurants in Pattaya. Owner & chef Luca Marchetti is originally from Pracchiola, a tiny village in the mountains to the north of Tuscany.
Flashback to 2006
The original restaurant was on the block where the Holiday Inn is now situated.
Here’s to old times in 2006
The restaurant was much smaller & more intimate, in fact I preferred the atmosphere to the current location which seats over 700 people.
Pizza with parma ham.
Definitely one of my favourites.
Fettuccine is absolutely delicious.
Of course they serve every kind of pasta & pizza imaginable.
Memories of 2012
Dinner & red wine with Irina from Ukraine.
Take your pick
It all looks so good, Toscana’s menu is huge.
There are several sections of the restaurant
This is my preferred area to dine.
What a fearsome sight this is.
The big fellow Luca with a knife in his hand should be avoided at all cost. 🙂
Lots of stock in the cold room.
Luca operates his own organic and sustainable farm not far from Pattaya where he grows his own vegetables, rears free-range chickens, rabbits, ducks, pigeons, guinea fowl, wild boar, goats, sheep, pigs and cows. No processed food, no growth hormones, no chemicals, no problem. 🙂
Another pizza
Notice the anchovies on the side, delicious.
The boys from Oz in 2014
Lenny, yours truly & my brother Warren. Sadly we lost Lenny early 2016 after losing a battle with cancer, RIP.
Seafood anyone?
Toscana has recently opened a new seafood section in the front garden.
Lots of wine, mainly ITALIAN.
Quite a few wines available y the glass.
A very friendly waitress in 2014.
As you can see I’m not a person who misses a photo opportunity. 🙂
Dinner with friends January 2019
From the left we have May, Alex, Hamish & Gary.
Hamish’s favourite
Beef carpaccio tasted as good as it looked.
May chose the Baby Clams aka Pippies.
This is the same dish she had on New Years Eve.
Quail for dinner December 2021
Quite tasty but very fiddly to eat.
Thanks for visiting my Italian food Beach Rd Pattaya photo blog.
Coffee with Luca
February 6th I met Luca for coffee during my morning walk.
Patrick’s Belgian Steakhouse Pattaya is certainly one of my favourite restaurants. TripAdvisor rating is #22 of 1,025 Restaurants in Pattaya, however in my opinion it is in the top 10.
Perhaps a salad to start with.
Lots of choices at Patrick’s Belgian Steakhouse Pattaya.
The photo does not do it justice.
The Oxtail soup is fantastic, I often drop in and have it for lunch, followed by a waffle of course. 🙂
Of course I sometime have the pancake instead of the waffle. 🙂
They are both delicious.
Patrick’s Belgian Steakhouse Pattaya
Dining with my friend Hamish & my brother Warren in May 2018 just after the renovation was completed.
The Tuesday night special.
Without a doubt they serve the best lamb shank in Pattaya, perhaps even the northern hemisphere.
Patrick’s Belgian Steakhouse Pattaya
The new decor is attractive & modern. This was at 6.30 pm & I was the only customer. 🙂
In case you were wondering, here’s Patrick.
He used to be a parachuter, now he is a biker. 🙂
Early May 2018 they gutted the restaurant.
The finished product is excellent.
Here we are at the old restaurant.
I’m with Greg Clee & Hamish Elton celebrating Hamish’s birthday in 2015. Notice the old fashioned decor?
Can you believe the size of this Tomahawk? 🙂
A whopping 1.5 kilo, I think Hamish could handle it. 🙂
A terrific dinner with friends.
August 31st 2018, 3 Aussies, a Belgium & a Yankee.
Good food & nice people.
From the left we have Dan Escamilla, Hamish Elton, David Herd, Sally Schmidt & Wayne Schmidt.
Another Tuesday night dinner
Half the table ordered the lamb shank. 🙂 From the right we have David Rose, Brendan Tate, Jessica, Hamish Elton, David Herd, Dan Escamilla & last but not least Possum. 🙂
That is a great looking slab of beef.
You would need a huge appetite to get through that. 🙂
Irish stew was exceptional on October 21 2020
Great value at B250 or $8 USD.
Location
Opposite Mike shopping mall in an arcade opposite the Beefeater.
One final look at the Tuesday special.
Lamb shank (French style) & potato au gratin. I only have one criticism of this fine restaurant, the house wine is far too expensive. Everything else is excellent, many thanks for visiting my Patrick’s Belgian Steakhouse Pattaya photo blog.
July 31 st 2020
Belgian waffles & red wine.
For more Pattaya steak restaurants just CLICK HERE.
Patrick discovers El Mercado
Here is what Patrick had to say about El Mercado; “Didn’t know where to eat tonight in Bangkok so I asked my good friend David Herd who is an expert in Bangkok restaurants. He suggested El Mercado. Wow, what a surprise. Never saw anything like that in Thailand. All those choices of cheeses, cold cuts, seafood and fish. Many wines as well, but a bit on the expensive side. I enjoyed a mixed platter with cheeses and cold cuts, my wife went for the oysters and seafood dish. All in all a success and very enjoyable. Book in advance, packed all the time. Worth a visit when in Bangkok.”
Pattaya Seafood Festival 2018 was a noisy affair as usual. There is a bandstand on the beach which blasts very ordinary music until the early hours of the morning. My condo is on the 20th floor 400 meters away & the sound hits me full blast even with the door closed. 🙂
Beach Road Pattaya
One of the bigger kitchens along Beach Road.
Prawns, crab & shell fish
A good variety & freshly cooked.
Big variety of meat including crocodile. 🙂
I’m surprised there is no snake or buffalo. 🙂
Pattaya Seafood Festival 2018
One of the many stalls lined along Beach Road.
Here is my favourite shot
A typical spontaneous Thai smile, no wonder we love living here.
Time for a mango shake
Another huge benefit of living in Thailand, the mangoes are wonderful.
OK, I’m confused…..
I have no idea what these bamboo tubes are for.
Busy ladies here on Beach Road
The festival runs for 5 nights and really draws the crowds.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
Heartbreak Sadness Songkran Road Toll, the Thai new year celebration is forever tarnished by hundreds of road deaths throughout the country which has the 2nd worst road toll in the world. Only war torn Libya is worse than Thailand.
The accumulated death toll from the first five of the so-called seven dangerous days of Songkran has risen to 323, with 3,140 people hospitalized in over 3,000 road accidents across the country, the Road Safety Centre announced on Monday. On Sunday alone, sixty-nine people were killed and 589 hospitalized in 552 road accidents nationwide.
Credit to Bangkok Post.
Songkran is supposed to be fun.
Children having fun & adults acting like children while the road carnage is totally out of control.
Road toll after 5 days
Worse than last year despite government calls to take care on the roads.
The carnage continues
Commonly known in Thailand as the seven deadly days.
This really shows the Heartbreak Sadness Songkran brings to thousands of families.
No chance on a bike.
I believe about 75% of deaths are young motorbike riders.
Tree versus truck
Tree wins every time.
Heartbreak Sadness Songkran day 6.
According to the Bangkok Post police have impounded a total of 13,964 vehicles (10,139 motorcycles and 3,825 cars) from April 11 to 16 for violating the alcohol ban. Police have taken legal action against 147,971 motorcyclists and 86,674 drivers of private vehicles and public transport.
The sad figures.
A total of 176,415 traffic offenders were arrested at 2,013 road checkpoints. Of that number, 49,866 people were not wearing crash helmets and 46,067 people were not carrying a driving licence. Credit BKK Post.
Were they playing chicken?
My guess is someone either went to sleep or was checking his phone.
Two killed 3 injured.
Most of these photos show motor vehicles however 78% of deaths come from motorbikes.
The final count
As horrific as it is sadly it will be repeated same time next year.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposite the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
Thailand Beach Cam Pattaya is the number one webcam in South East Asia, perhaps even the Universe. 🙂
You can zoom, & e-mail the link to your friends, I hope you enjoy the view.
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, a beach resort popular with tourists and expatriates. It is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Bangkok. Back in the 60s it was a sleepy fishing village before it was discovered by the U.S. military personal on leave from the Vietnam war. Then through out the 1970s it really took off when Europeans, Australians & Americans started pouring in for their annual holidays.
Bookmark Thailand Beach Cam Pattaya so you can check out the view, traffic or weather anytime you wish.
In partnership with EarthCam
I am extremely happy to be associated with EarthCam who hold the #1 Google organic-search placing for “Live Webcam”. There are around 9 Million Visits to the EarthCam site over an average 90 day period.
Thailand Beach Cam Pattaya
Thanks for visiting my Five Star Vagabond Thailand Beach Cam Pattaya site, please come back soon.
Sabai Wing Soi 1, 3 swimming pools and nice rooms, 100 meters from BigC, great value at only $23 usd per night as of August 15. I live in the high-rise in the background, Markland. For a great room rate book here.
Shakariki 432 Japanese restaurants which are so authentic you will think you are in Osaka. There are several branches in Bangkok & one in Pattaya, the Asoke branch is ranked by TripAdvisor # 866 of 10,352 restaurants in Bangkok.
Pattaya branch
I prefer to sit upstairs.
Location
Opposite the Mike Hotel in 2nd road, +66 33 036 369.
Now for the food
On my first visit in 2017 I ordered two of my favourite dishes, salmon caviar & Unagi or Japanese eel.
Shakariki 432 great Japanese restaurants
Hard to fault the food at this noisy authentic Japanese restaurant.
How good is this?
Is it any wonder this is now one of my favourite restaurants along with Genki in Soi 4North Pattaya.
Is there a better beer than Asahi?
I don’t think so, the Belgium beers are great but my pick is Asahi. 🙂
Fabulous colour combination
And what a taste, perfect.
Salmon Caviar washed down with Asahi.
As good as it gets. Plus they have a special on liquor, all you can drink in 90 minutes for B299.
Home delivery is a great idea.
The restaurant is two floors, upstairs is better.
Shakariki 432 great Japanese restaurants
Dinner with friends February 21 2018. Hamish, Jonathon & Anne.
How good do these oysters look? Photo credit Nick & Sharon. 🙂
Absolutely mouth watering.
Have I convinced you?
Just trust me & try out this great little hole in the wall & you will feel like you have been transported to Osaka. In fact follow THE LINK for one of my Osaka photo blogs.
Meanwhile thanks for visiting my Shakariki 432 Japanese restaurants photo blog. I will be back in Japan in May 2018, here is my agenda.
So is the crowd, better to visit mid week if you can.
I’m guessing you would get around 3 for a kilo.
Including live fish that they will clean for you on the spot.
Lots of fresh vegetables also on sale.
There are so many choices, how do you make a decision on what to have for lunch? 🙂
These are B50 each or $1.60 USD, there are also some for B40, or $1.30 USD. I can buy imported oysters from France at El Mercado in Bangkok for the same price.
I was pleasantly surprised, very tasty even without lemon, lime or sauce.
B270 or $9 USD a kilo, what a bargain.
This guy will cook your prawns or other seafood for B30 a kilo, how easy is that?
So you can eat the freshly cooked seafood right here. We had our prawns boiled rather than barbecued, so we decided to eat them at home after they cooled down.
Delicious on a fresh bread roll from Central Marina.
They will cook fish for you as well.
I’m not sure what some of these are.
They are quite a strange looking creature selling at B1500 a kilo, or a whopping $72 AUD.
As they say in the classics, too much crab is never enough. 🙂
Not one of my favourites for some reason. 
Great shot, this & the next one were taken by Mike McNamee from the group Pattaya 24/7. Fairly expensive at B1300 a kilo, or $62 AUD.
That’s more in my price range. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed my Fresh seafood Naklua market photo blog.
