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First hour in Pattaya: 15 worst mistakes to avoid. I have lived and worked in this city for over 2 years now, and I've put together this list for you today. If you're just coming here for the first time, thinking about coming here, or you just like watching Thailand content.
Number one: Before you even get to Pattaya, exchanging currency at the airport. They have got the worst exchange rates in the whole country. You do not want to do that. What you want to do is get yourself down to TT Exchange. They've got these big yellow boxes all over Pattaya. There's one at the bottom of Soi 6. There's loads on Second Road. You can go Google them. They're all dotted around the city. If you want to use ATMs, you can use this, but just be aware you're going to have to pay your conversion fees, your bank fee. And if you're going to these ATMs a couple of times during your holiday, two or three, four times a week, you're going to end up spending a lot more money on fees, a lot more than you actually think. If you ever need to transfer money from one country to another, I recommend using Wise. There's a link for that in the description.
Number two: Not using meter taxis. These taxis, although they may seem accessible everywhere, they're also quite expensive. A lot more expensive than using Bolt or Grab. But if you don't know and you come here for the first hour, you will end up spending a lot more money. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Mac, you've said this before. Mac, you're repeating yourself." But don't worry, guys. There's some brand new information on this list. And this is a list that's catered to all the newcomers that are coming here, people that have never been to Pattaya. And these are the most important things that people need to know to save money. So spare a moment for them.
Number three: Relying on tourist-only areas. Now, while Soi 6 is great, Walking Street is amazing, these places after a couple of days of being here can become somewhat tiresome. I actually just received a message from a friend who's out here at the moment, and he's like, "Mac, what do I do in the daytime here? I'm bored. What can I do?" And it may seem to some people like there is nothing to do here in the day other than go to the beach. But you can go to the Sanctuary of Truth, the largest wooden temple in Pattaya in Thailand. You can go check out Asia's second biggest water park, that is also very big. And other than that, you can go get a coconut at the beach, go for a massage, or just chill out at the pool.
Okay, so the next one is ignoring traffic safety in Pattaya. The roads can be a bit chaotic. You can see there's motorbikes coming up and down this street all the time. And I've never been in a place where I've met people that have had more accidents than here than ever. Be careful when you're crossing the road. And if you are using a motorbike, make sure you got yourself a Thai license because they don't recognize the international license over here. And you have to pay a few thousand baht fine if they do catch you.
Number five: Taking photos in sensitive areas. This one has a lot of different levels to it. The first is obviously, you don't want to be taking photos then walking street outside these go-go bars and places like that. Same on Soi 6 as well for a couple of reasons. One, the girls don't want the photos taken. If this girl's got a boyfriend in some place, some of the town, she thinks she's going to end up on YouTube. That's going to cause a lot of problems for that bar as well. If that girl ends up leaving that bar, that bar is going to lose money. Number two, if you take a photo of a guy here or a video, and that guy ends up on YouTube, and that guy's wife sees him here, that's going to cause some problems if he's doing something he shouldn't be doing. To you again, "Hey, D, I've listened to you on YouTube. And if you didn't tell me what I should watch out for, I think I would have lost a lot more money, a lot of money." "Yeah, and it's the same as going into the bars. He didn't tell me that could have been really in deep sh-" "Well, I'm glad I've helped you. That's great to hear." "Best friend." "All right, you have a good day." "See." Another guy, very thankful that he's watching my videos and hasn't lost a ton of money. You could be that guy.
Number six: Avoid expensive broccoli shops. There's a lot of shops all around Pattaya and they're selling this broccoli at extremely high prices. Some of them 1,000 baht for a gram, which is crazy. What you should be doing is paying the local prices like I pay and a lot of my friends pay. If you want to get the local prices, I've got a link for it in the Mac TV Network. It's the cheapest, best exotic grade broccoli you can get delivered here in Pattaya.
Number seven: Forgetting to bargain. Now, if you're walking around the streets of Pattaya, everywhere there's going to be people selling these sunglasses, these fake Rolexes, and it can be very easy to accept the first price that they say. These watches, if you try and get them for the first time, they're going to cost how much? 2,000. And if you start, you know, bartering a little bit, maybe you can get a cheaper price. 1,000. "No, 1,000." "Now, 800." "Okay, okay, 800." "Okay." So there you go. In a matter of seconds, the price has deflated from 2,000 to 800. But it's important to remember, you can't barter with everything. There's no good bartering with street food. You can't barter with that. The price is the price. But on the other hand, if you're going into Mike Shopping Mall and you want to get a deal on some t-shirts or whatever, you can barter in there. There's certain things you can, there's certain things you can't. Just know what to look out for.
Number eight: Disrespecting local culture. Now, Thai culture is deeply rooted in respect. Always show respect when visiting temples and sacred sites. So if you are going to any of these places, remember to dress modestly. And what happens if you don't do this? You're likely to end up giving a bad name for yourself, or you're going to get yourself into a bit of trouble. The last thing you want is to get in trouble with the Thais. You don't want to disrespect Thais. If you disrespect one, you disrespect all of them. Don't do anything that's going to bring shame on you. If you do this, you're going to end up being put in a position that you do not want to be in.
Number nine: Secure your belongings. I fell victim to this recently and lost my GoPro. It was a very annoying experience. When you're walking around the streets of Pattaya, or anywhere in Thailand for that matter, try and keep your belongings close to you. I always wear like a pouch thing, and I've got my phone, wallet, keys, money, everything inside there in my pouch, attached to my body. Another good tip you can also use is get some AirTags. I've recently just put an AirTag inside my GoPro here. And AirTags are a great way of securing all your belongings. Hide one in your wallet, in your bag, where people can't see them. If you do lose something, you can easily track it down if you've got an iPhone.
Number 10: Engaging in spicy business without doing any research. And what I mean by spicy business is anything to do with enjoying yourself in this city with different girls, ladies, different bars, different areas, massages, anything like that. Now, you're probably thinking, "Well, what research do I need to be doing?" And I'm not going to be giving you the answers in this video. I've got about 20 other videos on my channel which you can check out with lots of good advice, lots of tips and mistakes to avoid, and red flags you should be aware of. And I guarantee by doing a bit of research and brushing up on these topics, you are going to save money, you are going to save time, and you are going to save heartache. I promise you.
Okay, number 11. And this one I have also fell victim of recently. And you can probably tell I fell victim of it by the way this video is going right now. I feel a bit deflated today, if I'm being honest. I feel a bit lacking in energy. What it's all about is overindulging in alcohol. And living in a place like Pattaya, or just coming here for a holiday. If you're coming here for the first time and you're just having a blowout, you know, you're going to feel the effects of it. Especially if you've just traveled from America on a massive flight here, and then you go out drinking on your first day. You're going to be jet-lagged, you're going to be tired, and you're going to lose energy and power that you're going to need to enjoy the rest of your holiday. So don't go crazy, don't go overboard, don't go spending 10, 20,000 baht on your first night here, in the first day here, because all that's going to happen is you're going to wake up the next day and start regretting it. I've been out for the last two nights in a row showing people around this city and showing people how great it is. But you know, there's two sides to every coin. So just bear all this in mind for how you're going to feel the next day.
And this brings me straight on to the next point, which is focusing only on the party scene. If you're just going out partying every single day, you're not really experiencing Thailand as a whole. If you're coming here on holiday, you want to make sure you experience all of these places to get the full picture of this place so you can go home and tell people what a great place it is. And you're not just thinking, "Oh, the parties, the drinking, the girls, all that stuff." It does have that as well, but it's much better if you know, you take a lot more stuff in, and then you build up a bigger mental mind map of what Pattaya is really like.
Number 13: Overpacking. You do not need a lot of stuff when you come here. Pattaya is very hot. It's hot nearly all year round, and you do not need to bring a lot of clothes. You can actually buy a lot of clothes here for pretty cheap. Cheap, if you want. You do not want to be traveling here with two massive bags like these because I guarantee you when you come here and when you go out and about, you're only going to have the minimum amount of stuff on you, and you're not going to use half of it. I've spoken to so many people and they say, "Man, I've brought so much stuff and I haven't even touched it." And I did the same. I suppose it's different if you're coming to live here and if you're coming here for a holiday. I've got a massive bag and I brought coats, trousers, I brought something for everything in case I needed it. But really, you don't need much to have a good time here. So pack light, save yourself carrying a heavy bag, and just take what you need.
Okay, number 14. And this one is getting too comfortable with the street food. And I've got a few tips for you with this one. And the first being, if you are going to buy street food here, try and buy it from the street food market areas. There's a great one in between Soi 6 and Soi 7 on the beach, and there's a proper market there. And it's a bit more better quality than some of the street food carts you see zooming around on the motorbikes. And if you are going to go to these street food markets, it's much better to go when they just open. Because if you go late at night, about 10, 11:00, that food has been sitting there all day long, probably since about 4:00 or 5:00. I've heard many stories of many people eating this street food and getting sick. And personally, I think it's when they've eaten food that's been sat there all day long, or they've bought it from the random motorbike street food sellers around Walking Street. And the problem is with some of these random motorbike street food sellers, they wash the vegetables with the same water and they reuse that water over and over again. So that's why and where people get sick from the street food. If you are going to eat street food, go to the markets. And if you are going to do it, do it early, not later. And if you do that, you should be absolutely okay.
Okay, guys, number 15. The last and final mistake to avoid if you're coming here. Now, a lot of people when they come here and they want to stay here, they extend the visas, or they get a DTV visa, or whatever visa. And I know if you get these visas in Bangkok and you don't meet the requirements, you're going to pay 120,000 baht. I actually spoke to a guy this morning in the Mac TV Network chat, there's a link for that in the description, and they were charging 120,000 baht for a DTV. If you meet all the requirements in Pattaya, you're only going to pay 47,000 baht, which is a hell of a lot cheaper. If you don't meet the requirements, you're going to have to pay extra, and it's going to be 85. So just bear all this in mind, guys, for where you want to stay, what you want to do, how long you want to stay here for. And listening to this video and taking this advice is ultimately just going to save your time and money. Like I've said, that's what my channel is all about. So check out all the links in the description. There's a bunch of different ones that can save you a lot of money and help you if you're coming here to Pattaya. Cheers, guys. Peace. See you in the next one.