We had arranged to meet our friend Rob Longley at 9am at the cruise terminal, but as we walked off there were only some market stalls, so we walked towards the big entry gates to wait for Rob. After 10 minutes we tried to contact Rob to tell him the name of the gates we were at, but we had trouble connecting via the Thai mobile system. Another 20 minutes went by, and following more mobile attempts, I walked back to the ship to see if someone could help me with the mobile situation. Who do I bump into but Rob, who was waiting for us by the market stalls! It was great to see him again. After picking up Noelle who was still waiting at the entry gates, we headed off in Rob's car for a day of touring around Pattaya and catching up on our recent news.
Our first stop involved getting to a good wi-fi spot so we could send the past few day's blogs and update emails, Instagram and Facebook - the joys of modern communications! Rob was able to answer all of our questions about living in Asia, including our favourite topic of the electrical wiring. Apparently when some power lines go dead, because they can't isolate the faulty one to repair it, they just add new ones, so you end up with a multitude of wires - some that work and some that don't.
After lunch we headed south out of Pattaya where we saw some of the less developed beaches as well as some of the countryside. The traffic wasn't as congested but the roads became narrower, and with the little scooters loaded with either people or goods going slowly, mangy looking dogs wandering onto the road and oncoming traffic ignoring double lines, it made for an interesting drive. Luckily Rob is used to all these variables so we were able to relax and continue to chatter away.
Fishing village south of Pattya
At Buddha mountain there was a little market where we tucked into a pre-cut pineapple on a skewer for afternoon tea. We were amused by a baby elephant decked out in a pink bonnet, as well as other elephants taking tourists for a ride. The mountain face with the big Buddha on it used to be a quarry and apparently the outline of the Buddha's face was marked out with a laser before the brass outline was attached to the mountain face - it certainly was effective!
Pineapple on a stick
Elephant farm
Big Buddha mountain
Next stop was Wat Yansangwararam, a complex of temples of differing architectural styles. There were lots of tourist coaches here and apart from trying not to breathe the diesel fumes you had to watch where the coaches were, so the next 2 photos involved a bit of risk! The garden setting was beautiful though, with manicured lawns everywhere.
It was another hot and humid day so Rob took us to his favourite beach bar at Bang Sawara and it truly was a beach bar, complete with kitchen in a disused boat. The beach and water were both very clean and it was a beautiful setting. The views of the Pattaya skyline in the distance reminded us of the skyline along the Gold Coast in Queensland - it has certainly changed since we were here last.
We headed back to Pattaya for a bit of shopping, then tour guide Rob took us to his surprise dinner location. We certainly were intrigued about the name, and didn't know what was in store. However it turned out to be a fascinating place, with lots of interesting comments dotted around a beautiful garden setting. The views were sensational and the food was delicious.
Creative condom couture
Rob found his way back to where our ship was berthed and we were highly impressed with his navigating as it was dark, the port wasn't well sign-posted and Rob didn't have a GPS. We were very thankful for the wonderful day we had spent with Rob and look forward to seeing him when he's next in Melbourne. Back on board we showered, then headed for the Thai cultural show where we saw some traditional dancing and martial arts accompanied by Thai musicians playing traditional instruments. It was a very good show even if we were exhausted, and a great end to a very special day.
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