Thailand (Pattaya) Nov 2010 D-3

In Pattaya, we stayed in the Royal Pacific Hotel for two nights. After taken our breakfast at the hotel, our bus dropped us at the Pattaya beach to enable the group to take a speed boat ride to Coral Island (Koh Larn). Mid-way. we were taken to a floating jetty where tourists could opt for a parasailing shot (350Bht,10-15 mins) - pretty exciting when you are lifted up onto the air with a colorful parachute dragged by a high speed boat .... a fantasy experience but both of us were non participants in this sport.

Both my wife & mtself enjoyed our time strolling the white sandy beach in Coral Island. Some of our tour members opted for jet ski and banana boat rides & diving (own expense). Indeed , Pattaya has a lot to offer in water-sports facilities and for those who love outdoor water sport activities, this is the right place for you to hang up. 

In the afternoon, we visited the Laser Buddha and Nong Nooch Garden Resort (cultural and elephant shows). It was quite amusing to watch the well trained elephants showing their skills in playing football, hula hoops, driving a go-kart, balancing acts etc.

At night, we spent our free & easy time roaming the Pattaya shopping district & the beach area. After dark, you could see Pattaya in a different face. The city comes to life, heaps of people jamming the shopping streets, sex workers loitering around the beach areas, the red go-go bars & nightclubs, the Boyz Town, the Drinking street ... so tempting to hang out in these places till the wee hours but we had a morning call tomorrow at 06.00 ... sigh !

1) Pattaya Beach - ready, get set, go; awaiting a speed boat taking our group to a floating jetty for parasailing and the Coral Island

2) Coral Island, Pattaya - white sandy beaches, water sports, diving, fresh coconut water, seafood , beautiful coastline; so take your sweet time to admire the island's beauty

3) Laser Buddha - the laser sculptured Buddha sculpted on the rock in honor of the Thai King's 50th's anniversary accession to the throne

4) Nong Nooch Garden Resort - very entertaining, a must see elephant show in Pattaya

5) Pattaya by night - Street food, mango rice, Boyz Town, Drinking street ... so much more to explore but I had only 2-3 hours to wander around ! Sigh ! The disadvantage of joining a tight package tour program. In life, you can't win all the time !

" Though our stay in Pattaya was short - only 2 days; but I cherished the sand, the sun and the night atmosphere in Pattaya, this will linger on ..... a toast to Pattaya for making our stay memorable ! Long live Pattaya !!!

To all our B group tour members and tour guides , thank you for the friendship and understanding; I believe all of us had a jolly good time in Bangkok and Pattaya.

The Secrets in Life : Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows "

Thailand (Pattaya / Bangkok) Nov 2010 D-4

After Pattaya, our next visit is Bangkok. However, along the way from Pattaya to Bangkok, our tour group was taken to 3 places for a shopping spree ! This was serious shopping as we walked into their posh showrooms selling up-market products like precious gem stones & crocodile leather bags. Their retail prices could easily cause a big dent to our wallet. Honey, bee pollen and health products appeared to be the favorite items purchased by our tour members. I too could not resist the temptation and ended up buying 1 kg of 100% pure honey packed in a plastic tub (950Bht) ! The label carried a tagline which reads "From the Chiang Mai Mountain Golden Triangle".

Our tour group arrived Bangkok in the late afternoon and our bus took us to MBK shopping center for our last minute shopping. After that, we visited the famous Four Faces Buddha and offered our prayers and for others, an opportune time to make a vow on matters relating to family, health and wealth.

After the Buddha prayers, we walked to the Siam Center and had our dinner at a Chinese restaurant located on the 6th Floor. At around 20.00, we checked into our hotel, Grand Mercure.

As some members of our group were keen to visit Patpong Night Market, we took a taxi (80Bht) and did another round of last minute shopping in Patpong before retiring to bed.

1) Four Faced Buddha - fame & well respected to most Asian visitors; may all your wishes come true !

2) MBK Shopping Centre - shop till you drop your pants down if you happen to be in the popular NaRaYa handbag store ! crazy shopping was seen at the Wacol bra counter - a Taiwanese favorite !

3) Patpong Night Market - quite a fun here shopping alongside with go go bars; make sure you make a real bargain on any items you buy in Patpong as you can easily distracted by the music and the go-go girls dressed in bikinis dancing inside the go-go bars; make sure you have sufficient Thai Bhat with you as the final bill may cost you a bomb after a few rounds of beers and merry making there

" I believe taxi services in Bangkok outshine my home country. A taxi from Grand Mercure Hotel, 30 Sukhumvit Road, Sol 22 to Patpong costs a mere 75Bht (RM8), a 20 minute ride - taxis are easy to flag down, most red and yellow taxis (Toyota model) are well maintained and clean, taxi meters are widely used so less hassle on price haggling, taxis drivers are courteous despite language barrier .... Thailand boleh-lah !

The Secrets of Life : You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree "

Thailand (Bangkok) Nov 2010 D-5

Our final day in Bangkok ..... a chance to savor a great buffet breakfast at Grand Mercure ..... and a last visit to the Safari World & Marine Park ..... it was hard to say good bye to Pattaya & Bangkok .... No crocodile tears but leaving behind a sweet memory and a chapter in my travel blog to refresh my memory on this trip in the years ahead ......

After a buffet lunch at the Marine Park, our bus drove us to the Bangkok International Airport for our departure flight back to Kuala Lumpur. Our Lufthansa flight departed Bangkok airport at 16.25 and arrived KLIA at 19.40 local time. Home sweet home again !

1) Safari World, Bangkok - Singapore has a night Safari, South Africa has a natural Safari - a class of its own. Malaysia has the famous Orang Utan sanctuary in Mt Kinabalu Park - a UNESCO heritage site. Is a Malaysia-style Safari in the making or still on the drawing board ?

2) Safari World - Monkey show

3) Marine Park - Sea Lion show

" Finally all good things had to come to an end ! Smiling faces could be seen among our tour group members. Towards the end of the tour, my wife posed for a picture and put up a V sign at the Marine Park, cheerful and happy after a 5 day wonderful trip to Bangkok & Pattaya. Home sweet home again when our plane touched down at KLIA.

The Secrets of Life : No matter how you feel - get up, dress up and show up "