After a long night of sleeping or catching up on sleep, we use the morning to search the internet for rental motorbikes for Pim and Rik. That is not easy because many companies only rent out scooters or do not have light motorcycles available for the 23 days that we want them. After many phone calls we found the only available bikes just outside of Bangkok.
I use the afternoon to update my website and YouTube channel, while Pim and Rik visit two temples that I had already visited before their arrival. When the sun has almost set, they go to the gym in an outdoor gym. I think I'm wide enough already. 😄
The next morning we finally set off. Pim and Rik get into a taxi that will take them to the motorcycle rental company in an hour and I follow behind. It is very busy in the city and we stand still a lot. Maybe it's a good thing that Rik doesn't have to leave town on a motorcycle and can first gain some experience outside the city.
The engines are ready and soon we are ready to go. Unfortunately, the route to Pattaya Beach is the least beautiful I've driven in Thailand so far. We are not allowed on the motorway and drive continuously on a 2-lane service road that runs under and next to the motorway. We often stop to drink water and stretch our legs.
The coastal city of Pattaya surprises us. What a huge city and what a crowd! As we drive up the beach road we pass three stages where the music blasts over the beach and the bars and terraces are overflowing with people. Nice to also check this off for Pim and Rik on this trip. Fortunately, our hotel is located in a quiet dead-end alley, where we can also safely park the motorcycles.
When we walk along the boulevard in the evening we are amazed, but so are the Thai women, because Pim and Rik are even photographed and filmed a few times with their broad appearance. There are many older European men with a Thai woman on their arm, but the gender of many Thai here is not immediately recognizable. On the beach it is even busier than during the day, with a DJ or stage every few hundred meters. After dinner we visit an open-air bar where the qualification of the F1 race is shown on a large screen, a live band plays good music, a pole dancer dances dreamily to the music and we score the cheapest beer on the street. It won't get any better!
