New Year's in Pattaya

Instead of a Christmas holiday, New Year's is the big one here. Ryan had a number of days off work, so we decided to take advantage of the time off and head out on our first Thailand Adventure.
We decided on Pattaya, a small Beach town 2 hours away that sounded like an interesting place to ring in the New Year. We went online and managed to find some vacanices, hopped on a bus (115 baht each way = $4 CDN) and went on our way. As it was a big tourist town, we were quick to note the hike in prices. 100 baht for the taxi to our hotel - wait a minute, didn't we just pay that to take a bus 2 hours to get here? But it was New Years and we wanted to celebrate.
Our first hotel was perfect. The room was decorated with Teak Wood furniture and had a small balcony overlooking the pool and some of the town. We dropped off our bags and headed for the beach.
There is 15km of beach here, but that doesn't make any difference with the crowds, both in and out of the water. The ocean was a pretty aqua colour, but we weren't about to jump in - too many boats and jet skis ripping around, we were surprised there weren't more injuries! All along the beach were shops and vendors selling their knock off designer clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and anything else you could want. To add to the mix was a selection of bars, discos, and nightclubs that attract all walks of life. The food was pretty great here, and the servers understood whiskey cola (some places have difficulty with this) and Singha (Ryan's beer of choice) so we were happy. At night the crowds really picked up, and then you really could get anything you wanted from the street vendors!
Our second hotel held a New Years Gala Dinner and Dance, so come New Years Eve, we dressed up and headed for dinner. There was a delicious mix of Thai, Indian, and Seafood to gorge ourselves on, and we were entertained by a Thai singer, and some traditional Thai dancers - it was quite a spectacle. Shortly after dinner, I discovered that the Indian food was perhaps not the best dinner choice, but we were able to make it out to enjoy the fireworks at the pier. There was wall to wall people by the beach, but everyone was enjoying themselves in true New Years Eve fashion. As soon as it was dark, random fireworks started going off across Pattaya - from the beach, hotels, homes, you name it. From where we stood at midnight we were surrounded 360 degrees by fireworks, it was pretty incredible. Definitely a New Years to remember.