We flew into Bangkok, but didn't get a chance to see any of the city. We instead, got into a big ole' van and headed south, for Pattaya.
Pattaya is a... colorful city. With all... types of people. Are you getting the meaning from all of my.... ellipses?
We went on a couple of tours, including an elephant ride, and an ox cart ride (both too bumpy for my liking). The other was to Ancient Siam, which was fascinating. It's a park built by a Thai millionaire, with recreations and scale models of various famous buildings in Thailand that were or are still around. It's more than 200 acres, and even though we had a golf cart to take our 6-person group around, we didn't see as much as we would've liked.
We went with the Det 2 boss, another pilot and his wife, and our enthusiastic tour guide. That thing behind us in this picture is the first part of a 3-level temple on the edge of Thailand. This one's not even big enough to walk inside of, so it looks much farther away than it is. Anyway, the real Preah Vihear temple is on Thai land, but was built by Cambodia waaaay back in the 11th century. It's been in dispute for more than a hundred years. It has turned violent on several occasions, so almost no one's allowed to set foot on the actual temple. It's probably pretty easy to keep people away since our guide says that it's built on a mountain so high that you can't see the actual temple from the ground.
This is a scale replica of Sanphet Prasat Palace. It's a really big replica, with beautiful glass work and inlaid mother of pearl.
Queen Elizabeth II visited this actual replica in the 70s during a state visit to Thailand.
History and culture aside, the best part of a trip to Thailand is the food. It's so spicy, but so delicious. The Papaya Salad was my favorite, made with thinly sliced green papaya, tomatoes, nuts, dried shrimp, herbs, and of course, red peppers. It's dressed with a kind of sweet, citrusy dressing. Amazing.
Also, the crab fried rice and crab curry we had at a place on the water called Moom Aroi. They had a Thai band that sang a lot of English songs (Michael Buble, Colbie Caillat, and the like). The diction and pronunciation of the words were basically perfect, and yet it still sounded as if they were only making the sounds and had no idea what the words meant. It was the strangest thing.
Even stranger, though, everyone in our group tried the Pad Thai at different times, at different places, and we all agreed that the best Pad Thai we'd had wasn't in Thailand. Go figure.
The fresh coconut water out of green coconuts, though, was awesome.
Also, we spent a couple days lounging by the pool and getting massages by a super friendly Thai lady at the hotel. She wanted to know why I didn't have children yet (none of your business), would I bring my children back ( you mean to Pattaya? not likely.), and I looked like I wasn't married (because apparently she thinks all married ladies are fat). She then told Blake we would have a girl child. I guess she's never seen the Godfather.
The restaurants were great. The beach was gross. The nightlife was colorful.
Another successful port call....
and another future scavenger hunt. I know I've seen green papaya around these parts.
Hahha. That must be Blake's port call t-shirt.
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