Living Like a King in Pattaya

I love living like a king.  But it is impossible in my home country of the USA.  It's too costly and it seems like even the millionaire's in the US live mediocre lives.

While the US does have a lot of advantages, the disadvantages are severe.  I have a feeling this may be the same situation in other western countries.  Complaints fall on deaf ears or we are told to suck it up, shut our mouths and grind on.

I am an aging man, divorced many years and living alone, I spend a lot of time trying to:

• Keep producing at my full-time job,
• Get ahead financially,
• Stay healthy,
• Deal with all the things necessary to live, and
• Stay caught up with everything.

All this is a massive time consuming ordeal.  Paying other people to help you with anything is a not an option unless you have extreme wealth.  

I am stuck doing most everything myself, even though I hate it.

First - What Living Like a King Is Not

Here is a sampling of what I hate:

• Cleaning my apartment
• Buying groceries, cooking & cleaning up after 
• Cheap food & drink
• Doing laundry, folding laundry and putting it away
• Cutting my hair, shaving & cutting my nails
• Feeling tough
• Running errands & shopping
• Fueling my vehicle & taking my vehicle in for service and repairs
• Dealing with snow and cold
• Worrying about the news
• Not having a good time when I am out on the town

I work very hard at my full-time job only to go home to work even harder at all the above.

Living  Like a King - Is

After I lounge around the pool in the morning, I come back to my nicely cleaned room

Let's see how Pattaya help's me deal with all the things  I hate.

Cleaning my apartment

My Pattaya hotel staff cleans my room every day.  I go up to rooftop pool mid-morning to work on my color, get some Vitamin D, paddle around a bit in the warm water and chat with fellow travelers. 

I come back to empty garbage bins, fresh sheets, a made bed, a cleaned bathroom with soap and shampoo filled, with fresh towels and everything wiped down and swept up...no dust, no dirt.  Just clean and fresh and even 2 new water bottles.

Buying groceries, cooking & cleaning up after 

In Pattaya I go out to eat at every meal, enjoying delicious, and substantial, meals every day, usually for a very modest cost.  Plus, along with my favorites, there is an incredible variety to try.

Even when I get something to go (a delicious beef kabob at bar time) to eat at my hotel, there is no muss, no fuss.  Just open up the package, eat and throw away the wrapper.

Cheap Food & Drink

With the huge costs of food in the West, I need to economize by buying cheap food and drink that I don't really like.  I love going out to eat.  With the massive inflation in the last few years, I have cut going out for restaurant meals to the bar minimum and scrutinize the menu for lowest cost item. 

Grocery shopping is based on whatever is on sale, not what I want.

In Pattaya, prices are far lower than in the US.

I enjoy at least one big steak dinner and a full course meal or 2 each trip without busting my food budget.

Normal breakfasts, burgers and Thai meals are so inexpensive, I don't think twice about ordering exactly what I want at that time.

Going out for coffee, tea, desert and snacks is part of the fun in Pattaya.  Just enjoy without worrying about the cost.

Little food costs are better too.  I love a Thailand brand of instant coffee - "Black Coffee."  It is better than the coffee I buy in the US.  It’s what I drink early in the morning and late in the afternoon at my hotel.

Going out for drinks every night in Pattaya is inexpensive and much more fun than in the US.  I don't worry about the cost, I drink my fill.

Doing laundry, folding clean laundry and putting it away

I drop off my dirty clothes every day or so at a laundry near my hotel and pick up my clothes the next day, wonderfully washed, dried, perfectly folded and sealed in plastic. 

It's a breeze to put away a few days worth of clothes rather than a week or more like at home.

Plus, I time the laundry to bring home mostly clean clothes for minimal laundry when I get home.

Typical Pattaya Laundry Costs

Cutting my hair, shaving & cutting my nails

I go to a barbershop for haircuts, shaves, manicures, pedicures, nose hair and ear hair removal.  All this personal care is done for a modest cost in Pattaya.

Except for haircuts when I had more hair, I’ve never had any of this done for me in my home country.

My Barbershop Costs on August 2024 Trip

Going to the barbershop for all this living like a king in Pattaya treatment is one of the first things I do after checking into my hotel.  You come out feeling like a million bucks.

The Thai ladies who work at the barbershops all seem to be highly professional and good at their jobs.  It's nice to sit and relax in their comfortable barber chairs after a long flight and be treated so well.  I try out some Thai words and joke around with the Thai ladies and maybe some other customers.

I can't even imagine doing any of this in the US.  The cost would be astronomical.

Massage Shop ladies waiting for you outside of their shop

Feeling tough

With the stress and strain of a full-time job, weight training to try to stay alive, and with minimal free time grinding through all the busywork doing things I hate, I feel beat-up and tough quite a bit of the time.  Sore, tight, tired, frustrated and hurting is the norm.

I get some type of massage nearly every day in Pattaya.  Most of the Thai ladies are really good at giving massages.  A normal massage of any type is usually about an hour.

• Frequent foot massages.  Either in the afternoon after walking too far or in the evening to take a break between drinks.  In either case, the massage shops have the most comfortable chairs in Pattaya.  
• I have had great success in helping to heal my injured left shoulder with targeted shoulder massage.  
• All over body massages.
• Face massages also feel great. 

I have never had a massage in my home country.

Running errands & Shopping

In Pattaya, running minor errands is a breeze.  7-11's are all over with low costs for the little things your need.  Searching for helpful items or souvenirs is a mini-adventure.

Fueling my vehicle & taking my vehicle in for service and repairs

My vehicle stays parked at home and I walk or use cheap transportation in Pattaya.

No wear and tear on my vehicle.  No worry about traffic stops either.

Dealing with massive amounts of snow in the Midwest USA

Dealing with snow and cold

During all my Pattaya holidays, the weather was warm in the evening, hot to very hot during the day, with sun most of the day, and only some occasional rains that were fairly easy to wait out.

I love to sit in the sun every day working on my color and how good it makes me feel.  In the area where I live in the US, with a normal full-time job hogging most of my time and the sun only available maybe ¼ of the year, I just cannot get in the sun as much as I’d like.

Worrying about the news

Even when I purposely minimize looking at or listening to the news in whatever form, it's impossible to ignore.  It's shoved in our  faces constantly - blaring out on TV's at the bank and the gym, constantly interrupting music on the radio and even force feeding us through the internet as you are happily surfing the net searching for what you really want to read, watch or listen to.

When I’m on a Pattaya holiday, I’m almost entirely focused on what I’m going to do that day, or that night, or reflecting on the good times I had the day(s) before.

No TV.  No radio.  And even minimal internet time.

Not having a good time when I am out on the town

Pattaya is set up for you to have a good time.  It's almost impossible not to have a good time if you go into the evening intent of having one.

In the US, having a good time when you go out, is kind of an on and off again thing.

Yes, I have had some good nights out in the US, both as a young man, and even now as an aging man.  It's just that it can be very difficult and for a variety of reasons, there is no guarantee.

With the Pattaya nightlife system, you are guaranteed to have a good time:  

• The cost of the drinks does not limit you.
• Bars are close together, just go to the next one.
• Bars are close to your hotel.  No expensive transportation or the risk of drunk driving.
• There are other fun things to do at night that do not involve drinking (people watching, listening to live music, viewing the city from rooftop bars, hanging out at the beach, watching a show, enjoying some shopping, walking the streets).
• The staff at the bar will help you have a good time for the cost of a few drinks.

I prefer to sit around in the sun enjoying life rather than hustling and grinding

Living Like a King Wrap Up

Some people would call living like a king in Pattaya being a 2 week millionaire. 

I'd call it a well deserved vacation in paradise.