Restroom Facilities in Pattaya Thailand

A bit of a disgusting topic, but this should give you some information about restroom facilities in Pattaya Thailand so you can prepare yourself accordingly.

As an aging man from the US, access to nice, clean, restroom facilities is very important to me.

Thailand, as a developing country, is not going to have great restrooms everywhere.

US Restrooms Are Mostly Horrible

I come by my opinion after dealing with the generally horrible condition of public restrooms in the US, a supposedly developed country. US public restrooms are mostly disgusting, dirty, poorly functioning and infrequently cleaned.

Plus there is little thought given to the user:

Walls that do not go to the floor so anyone can see your feet.
With wide gaps between the door and walls so anyone can look in.
With barely flushable toilets leaving a disgusting mess.
With toilet paper dispensers so poorly located you need to wrench your shoulder to get the paper.
With toilet paper so thin and breakable you need the dexterity of a surgeon to unroll it.
Soap dispensers so stingy, you barely get anything.
With disgusting hand air dryers blowing the filth around instead of high quality paper towels.

Now, What About Restroom Facilities in Pattaya Thailand

At least the Thais are mostly fastidious and clean. Unfortunately, some of the restrooms in some parts of the city are so old, so small and so heavily used, it is impossible for them to be clean.

For me, it's critical to find decent toilets for a bowel movement.

I am much more relaxed about peeing.

Restroom facilities in Pattaya Thailand at the Adelphi Hotel. Note the nice, big toilet

Hotels

Your Pattaya hotel will usually have a nice toilet and bathroom that is cleaned daily unless you stay in a very inexpensive place.

I have stayed at the Adelphi Hotel numerous times and it has very nice bathrooms as well as restrooms at the pool and on the first floor.

As normal in Thailand, there is a bum gun. I find these very difficult to use and have not mastered it's use. I prefer to take a quick shower afterwards.

I pay more to ensure my room will have a nice, big toilet. I avoid hotels that do not include pictures of the bathroom on their website or booking app.

Malls

Central Festival Mall and Terminal 21 Mall have very nice restrooms.

Central Festival Mall is near the Central Pattaya party zone so it is great stop in the evening.

Terminal 21 Mall is farther to the north away from the party zone, but it is good stop while exploring in the afternoon.

Both malls have well air-conditioned restooms. Typical urinals. Plenty of sinks. And best of all, private sit toilets with the bum gun.

If you're out and about and need to sit down to do your business, try to make it to one of these malls.

Pro-tip - Explore these malls beforehand to learn where the restrooms are before you really need it.

Other Stores

Other stores, have decent toilets, but usually not air conditioned. So if you are in there to sit down, you will come out wringing wet with sweat.

The Bars

The beer bar complexes have a centralized restroom. The older beer bar complexes have very old restrooms, very heavily used, very difficult to clean facilities.

Of course, these will be nightmare gross. I would not even think of sitting down in one of these, just peeing. You normally will pay 5 Thai baht to use them. Either a turnstile to walk through or a person at a desk at the entrance to pay.

Go-Go bars, gentleman’s clubs, restaurants, nicer bars and massage shops all have restrooms. But their quality will be suspect too. Taking a leak is ok, sitting down is better done at your hotel or one of the malls.

Some of the restrooms are so tiny, you can barely squeeze inside. Some of the ceilings are so low, you'll bump your head.

There will be a sink and soap to wash your hands after, but the towel to dry them will typically be just a small cloth hand towel that has been used by hundreds of people.

It is rare to find paper towels to dry your hands in a Pattaya bar restroom. Most of the Thais use the toilet paper to dry their hands.

The bathroom situation is quite gross in the evening. So, be warned. It can be almost as bad as some truck stops and campgrounds in the USA.

The small bars will have tiny bathrooms that are so used that no matter how much and frequently they are cleaned they are just permanently gross.

Germaphobes beware!

If you cannot deal with this, you may want to stick to more upscale bars and minimize how much you drink to not need to pee that much.

Don't even think of peeing outside either. People are everywhere, you will rarely find a private place in the evening. Someone is always walking by. I'm sure the Thai police would give you a good fine for peeing outside.

Tips to Manage Digestive Issues

Anti-diarrheal Medication

Take some anti-diarrheal medication at the first sign of trouble. Get some in the US for the plane and keep it on you. Buy some in Pattaya when you get there. These are available in the 7 - 11's.

With the different types of delicious foods available at low prices, the extent of inexpensive beer, the heat and being on a totally different schedule, it is likely you will need to deal with this issue no matter how careful you are.

Don't Drink the Tap Water

The recommendation is to only drink bottled water, not tap water. I buy bottled water and keep it in my hotel room refrigerator. Plus, I buy bottled water when I am out and need it.

It seems to be ok to brush your teeth using tap water. On my first trip I kept a bottle of water and glass to brush my teeth and rinse. It was a real pain in the ass. Decades of my teeth brushing protocol to unlearn. As I settled into being in Pattaya and found my stride with an ok tummy and minimal digestive issues, I just started using tap water from the bathroom sink. Easy, quick and efficient. You may want to be careful with this if you have digestive issues.

Avoid Non-Cooked Vegetables

This is difficult because some of the best Thai meals come with nice vegetables on the side.

Don't Eat Street Food

It's tempting. It's so cheap and looks and smells so good. But the street food is mostly for the Thai workers. The food comes to them at all the bars. Thai ladies don't leave their bars and massage shops to go out for lunch, the lunch comes to them.

If you must try some, have them heat it up on the grill right in front of you.

Eat at Busy Restaurants

They may not be busy for a reason. The busyness forces the restaurants to always be buying fresh food.

Don't Eat So Much

Remember why you're in Thailand. For the whole experience, not just to eat. If you don't get overly full, there will be less in your system to deal with.

Perhaps Avoid Indian Food

I hate to be hard on any ethnic food, but this type of food goes through me.

How I Eat and Drink to Accommodate the Restroom Facilities in Pattaya Thailand

I find it’s best to hang around my hotel room, until late morning, when I’m sure my bowels are as cleaned out as possible. Enough not to worry.

But I never really feel cleaned out until weeks after I get home and I get back to some normal schedule.

With all the good food to try, at such low prices, and partying every night, my bowels take a beating.

So, I've had to take my share of anti-diarrheal medication. 2 trips were impacted for a few days. And on all trips I had minor issues from time to time. This usually involved hustling back to my hotel after lunch.

For me, it’s critical that I watch what, when and how much I eat to avoid bathroom related problems (disasters!).

Here is my normal daily eating and drinking schedule:

Bottle of water with my full battery of vitamins first thing every morning.
2 cups of coffee with some milk as I hang around the hotel room and balcony until I have a bowel movement.
Take a shower and go to the pool for 30 minutes to an hour.
Back to the room to shower and dress.
Go out for my main meal of the day around noon. I choose where to go for lunch based on my bowel situation. If suspect, I stay closer to the hotel. If stable, I'll try something farther
I vary this meal day to day with the main concern being substantial with plenty of protein. Burgers, Thai food, pizza, a big breakfast, steak, roasts. I want a large enough meal to last me until late into the evening.
After a mid-day meal, I will go out exploring, unless I have to hustle back to the hotel for a bowel movement.
I will buy as much water or soda as I need to feel hydrated while exploring. I may get a small snack, or desert or iced coffee at some point.
Back to my hotel by late afternoon for a few cups of coffee with milk to prepare for the evening.
I will take a nap at this point, short some days, longer if necessary.
Then I go out for the evening.
I get my fill of beer and drinks roaming from bar to bar, enjoying the Pattaya nightlife.
I break up the night with an evening snack at a nice place. Some of my favorites are listed here - Pattaya Restaurants. And there are countless others.
Probably back to the bars for more partying. I go-go-go until I'm exhausted (or I've spent too much).
I may get one more snack before staggering off to bed.

I find eating only one large meal at midday for most of my trip seems to help the most. Plus I feel lighter and not bloated when I go out every night.