On the way Home

23 December, Tuesday, 1515 Tokyo Time
I'm on the way back to San Diego and in the United Business Class Lounge at Narita Airport.
I have a couple hours until I embark on a 10 hour flight to LAX and then a few hours to catch a hop down to San Diego.Probably another 16 hours until I get home.
The last few days in Pattaya were lazy with beach, pool, beach, pool, lunch, dinner, lunch, dinner.
It was a good trip except for missing the Vietnam sightseeing the first 2 weeks. I'll have to try to return ...maybe in the early Spring to Vietnam for a couple of weeks.

The Trip is Winding Down

Friday afternoon, December 19

The trip is winding down. I am in Pattaya until I leave at 6:40am on Tuesday from Bangkok. I will have to leave the hotel for the airport at 4:00am since the airport is an hour's drive from Pattaya. So I have decided to post a few assorted photos that were of interest.

First there are 2 signs in "Engrish". Throughout Asia there are attempted English translation of notices in the native language that achieve a strange if not hilarious meaning. There is a fun (for non-Asians) website dedicated to this phenomenon: http://www.engrish.com/



Along the beaches one sees these strange-looking structures:
They are part of the Tsunami Warning System....with sirens and loudspeakers to warn of an approaching tsunami or an event that may trigger one such as an offshore earthquake. There are also signs advising if an eveacuation route to higher, safer ground.


This is a photo of a statue at Wat Po. I thought the stylish hat deserved attention.

The moderate weather has continued throughout the month. But I hear it has been cold and rainy back home in San Diego. I hope I bring good weather home with me.

Phang Nga National Park 2

During the day in Phang Nga Bay we encountered numerous beautiful vistas that required photos. Those of you are paying attention will have noticed the similarity that the geology has to Halong Bay in northern Vietnam from last year's trip.

We motored about with 14 tourists in our speed boat:
Many tourists paddle about in kayaks between the rocks:
As the sun got lower in the sky during the afternoon, the lighting created some nice effects:

More fisherman in their long-tailed boats:

A walk on the sand during low tide:

If this photo below looks familiar to you, then you are a fan of the James Bond movies. It was featured in the 1974 "Man with the Golden Gun". The movie producers chose this location to have one of the arch-villains hideout. Of course, it is now a a busy tourist site called "James Bond Rock":

Phang Nga National Park

Phang Nga National Park is a preserve in Phang Nga Bay in the Andaman Sea northeast of Phuket Island. We took a daylong boat trip that explored this beautiful area that is dotted with 48 islands that are mostly limestone karsts. The limestone forms caves and rooms and takes unusual forms.The map above indicates the area and route of the trip. The beauty in this area gave many photo opportunities...so many that I'll put this trip in 2 posts to the blog.

The first place we went was Koh Hong...meaning Room Island. The limestone center of the island has caved in leaving an open space surrounded by cliffs that reminded someone of a room. It left a beautiful area for swimming, snorkeling and being lazy. The first photo under the post title above is a panorama of this place. The water was warm, very clear and schools of small blue and yellow fish appeared from time to time. We spent about an hour and a half at this spot.



We had lunch at a Muslim village that was attached to a small island and was built on stilts above the water. The villagers were fisherman and merchants that had small shops and large restaurants to serve the local tourists. The island's name is Punyee Island. The lunch was good and the setting wonderful.
This a typical fisherman's long-tailed boat from the village:

Patong

Patong is the largest, most developed area on Phuket. It has many budget and mid-priced hotels and guest houses as well has a large variety of discotheques, go-go bars and just plain old bars. There are also many souvenir shops and one quite large shopping mall. It also has a very nice beach. The water is very clean and clear and is great for swimming. The crowd here at this time of year is mostly Scandinavian singles and families...a more upscale group than one finds at Pattaya. There are several direct, nonstop flights from northern Europe during the winter.


There are the typical fast-food places such as McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Dairy Queen, Swensen's, Hagen Daz and Starbuck's of course.
Ronald McDonald welcomes you with a classic Thai "wai":

The seafood here is very fresh and plentiful

Surin Beach on Phuket Island, Thailand

Friday, December 12
We arrived on Phuket yesterday afternoon after a quick, comfortable flight in a 2/3 full THAI Airways 744. This stay here has also required some flexibility in plans as I was notified by email last week the Marriott Courtyard at Patong Beach was not opened on schedule because of construction delays. They offered a room at the new Courtyard in Surin Beach about 30 min north of Patong.....and they said it would be complimentary and returned the 95,000 Marriott Reward points I used for the reservation! And we were upgraded into a 1-bedroom suite because I'm a Marriott Gold Level member. It's a 5 minute walk from a lovely, quiet beach and has a beautiful pool area and facilities. So I'm pleased.
The pool area from the room:

The beach is relatively small and has the typical umbrellas and chairs common at Thai beaches. The back border is lined with small restaurants that have enclosed or open and shaded areas for service. There are 2 relatively luxurious Beach Clubs that offer upgraded service and facilities.




As the sun dipped into the western sky the reflection caused a beautiful scene:

Wat Po

Wat Po is a temple complex just south of the Grand Palace. It is most famous for containing the largest reclining Buddha in the world. It is 46 meters (151 feet) long and 15 meters (49 feet) high! It is brick covered in cement with an overlay of gold leaf. Not like the 5 tons of solid gold of the Golden Buddha.


These photos give you some perspective on how large it is..... the back of the head and the front of the head:




There are several buildings in the temple complex which are all quite beautiful. A walk around the grounds is lovely.


And in one of them is this elaborate Buddha shrine
Tomorrow we will proceed to the Island of Phuket via THAI Airways which is now functioning normally.

The Erawan Shrine

The Erawan Shrine is at a corner of a major intersection in the area of large, expensive hotels and large shopping malls. There usually is a human traffic jam there as all sorts of Thai people stop to show their respect and offer garlands of flowers and joss sticks to gain favor. A statue of the 4 headed Hindu god of creation Brahma is located there. The idolatry that occurs here would make one think that there is great sacred religious significance to this shrine. However, people stop here to gain favor for material success, wealth, and good luck.
It all started in the 1950's when the forst Erawan Hotel was being built. Several mishaps delayed the opening so the Brahman shrine was erected to ward off injuries. Construction proceeded with out problems and the hotel did a booming business so the shrine was celebrated as a harbinger of material success.
If wishes are granted then thanks are shown by commissioning shrine musicians and dancers to perform. So there is a constant hum and tinkle of music, joss stick smoke, worshippers and onlookers at the site.

Leaving Pattaya for Bangkok today

Today, Sunday 7 December, we are going back to Bangkok for 4 days.

The stay in Pattaya has been very nice. Very lazy. Have gone to the beach to read under the umbrellas, get lunch, have a massage and even got a manicure one day....the manicurists, masseurs, and other vendors circulate among the beach chairs so you don't really have to move for 4-5 hours. Luckily the hotel has a nice fitness center.

The weather since I arrived in Thailand has been quite nice, with daytime temperatures in the low to mid 80's and much less humidity than usual and nice breezes so it is very comfortable.
Last nite we went to the restaurant called Cabbages & Condoms which is at the Birds & Bees Resort. It's a quiet, lovely place on a quiet cove not far from Pattaya. It is owned and run by the Population Association (PDA).....an organization founded 30 years ago to deal with population control and now is involved in HIV/AIDS work. The founder believes that birth control methods and condoms should be as readily available as vegetables, hence the name. They have 11 restaurants and 2 resorts across Thailand from which the profits go to the PDA. I ate at their restaurant in Bangkok a few years ago and the food was excellent... as it was last nite.

This is my friend "Aong" getting a beach side massage by a roving masseur named "Bam".
Most Thais have short nicknames as their real names are quite long and complicated...Aong's real name is Vitoon Mahavangsavash. Some people can have lifelong friends and never know their real name; they only know the nickname. Egg, Nut, Lek, Wut, Pae, etc.

A few photos from a morning walk in Pattaya

The beach:

A child and mother:


A sign which sums up the culture of Pattaya:


Chairs available for rent:


Fron the pooldeck at the hotel:

The gardens at the hotel:
A couple of noisy employees at the hotel pool:


An "artsy" photo of the beachside:
Remember you can click the photos to enlarge.

The Airport Siege Ends!!

The protesters have decided to end the occupation of the airport as of 10am Wednesday. It will take a few days to get the airport systems up and running again before commercial flights can resume. They hope that on Friday that will happen. So it looks like I can fly to Phuket on 11 Dec....unless there is a change.

The anti-government forces claimed victory after the countries High Court ruled that the the government was illegal because of voter fraud in the Dec 2007 election and dissolved 3 political parties and banned their leaders from politics for 5 years. So they said their goal was achieved and they could leave the airport. Of course they will start a new Party and the non-banned members will join it and try to form a new government. Politics is a complex charade here.

First Day in Pattaya

Above is the view from my room at the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa

Today I decide I was going to try to deal with some of the loose ends from the cancelled flights caused by the blockade of the Airport. My flights to Vietnam and my flight next week to Phuket are on THAI Airways. Since I couldn't reach them on the phone during the last 5 days and the Bangkok office was a mob scene, I went to their local Pattaya office. It was crowded but orderly. I took a number for the line and was number 521. They were serving number 103 at that time. The doorman estimated that it would be 3-4 hours before I got to the head of the line. He suggested that I go across the street for a whiskey or two. I decided to go back to the hotel and return in 2 1/2 hours.
Once back at the hotel, I decided to try the phone line; lo and behold after 8 tries I got connected and was put on hold for 10 minutes and then got an agent to talk to. She cheerfully said my Vietnam leg deserved a full refund and it would be credited to my credit card in about 45 days. She said I must call back 2 days before my Phuket flight and if it was not flying I would get another full refund.
My plan then would be to hire a van or car with driver for the 10 hr trip to Phuket. The airport in Phuket is functioning and so I would not return to Bangkok at the end of the stay. Instead I would fly to Singapore where I could get on United back thru Tokyo to catch my flight to LAX on the 23rd. I hope.

I did get a waiver of the cancellation fee for my hotel at Nha Trang, Vietnam and I was able to cancel my Saigon hotel online. Myone nite in Hanoi hotel was not refunded. And my tour guide will send me the info about the cancelled Vietnam Airlines flights and what I owe him.

Here are a couple of photos of the beach in front of the THAI Airways office: