Day 2 - Pattaya

Got woken up by a rooster nearby. We had a great night sleep on our soft bed which is a big change from our rock hard bed in China. We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then walked down to see thebeach. On our way we walked through a nice neighbourhood with beautiful houses and courtyards. After a short 15 minute walk, we reached the beach. The water is a nice green colour but the beach we saw was small and stuffed with foreign tourists with too little on for my liking. Needed to avert my eyes several times!

The rest of the day was packed with new experiences. Here is a quick summary:

• Took a baht bus for the first time with some help from a couple of fellow tourists. These are a cheap form of public transportation (10 Baht per person or 32 cents Cdn). The routes are limited but they come very often. They are pickup trucks with 2 rows of benches in the back. They beep, stop, you get on, get to where you want to go, ring the bell, get off, pay the driver. Will try to get a pic another time as we WILL be using them again.
• Took bus to Pattaya, the bigger city nearby. We are in a suburb at the edge of it. Checked out the beach there. The above was the view but again more foreigners jamming the small beach.
• Checked out the Walking Street that is a narrow one lane road that is lined with bars, go go bars and other attractions that come out at night. OK during the day but I'd be afraid to walk it at night. Lots of bars with all the chairs turned towards the street for people watching. Lots of massage parlours here. One interesting combo was the tailor and massage parlour store.
• Found a Starbucks with air conditioning and enjoyed a coffee break. Girls who worked there were so nice and spoke great English. Another interesting store placement.

• Walked through a Middle Eastern section with lots of Hookah pipe restaurants to get the baht bus back to our area and lunched at an expat restaurant. There are tons of them here, expats that is as well as restaurants owned by them. Incidentally many many of these expats have a Thai lady companion. Draw your own conclusions.
• Came back home and took a dip in the pool. Ahhhhh!
• After a nap, went back out to have a Mexican dinner in Thailand, ha ha. But on the way there, saw my first bar girls (ladies who sit in the bars to attract and entertain customers).
• Found the fresh food market near our hotel on the way back and picked up some tasty oranges and little bananas to replace the ones we've eaten from the gift fruit basket we got from the hotel. There were little stalls set up with different foods. Thinking we're going to try it for lunch tomorrow.
• Christmas in January - Since we are staying for a month, we got our kitchen supplies from the hotel today. We will have the choice now to cook in our hotel apartment with the toaster, kettle, pots, pans and other cooking and eating utensils. It's Christmas because much of it was still in their boxes so we got to open them up like presents.
• While I napped, Don hung out on our balcony reading and surfing the Internet

After a full day, we are now just taking it easy in our room. Don is enjoying some English tv programs while I blog. Good night. See you all tomorrow for another exciting day in Thailand.

J