Exploring Pattaya

This morning was spent on the beach and then we hopped onto a "bus" that was going into town. I put bus in quotations because in Jomtien (where our house is located) and Pattaya (the main city in the area) a bus is nothing more than a pick up truck with covered benches in the bed. For a flat rate of a mere 10 baht (or around 30 cents) you could be taken anywhere along the "bus's" route.


We wandered around Pattaya's many shops and open markets for hours in the hot sun. We stumbled upon a temple and were taken with its ornate soaring rooftops and golden accents. We walked along the beach and checked out the hundred or so vendors selling everything you can imagine and more. There is so much to simply see here that it is a little overwhelming at times. But when it gets to be too much you can just abandon everything and head to the beach, where it is delightfully simple and you can just bask in the sunshine. After we returned home from Pattaya we jumped into our private pool, which was full of soft white flowers from our beautiful tree.





We are in love with Thai food. We have always enjoyed Thai food in the States, but now that we have had true Thai food it is even better than we could have hoped for. Rich coconut milk curries loaded with fresh vegetables and spice tantalize our taste buds. Incredibly spicy slow cooked meat layered over sticky rice makes us sweat. Fried spare ribs smothered in garlic and a peppery sauce paired with pineapple and shrimp fried rice in a carved out pineapple make our hearts sing thanks to the Thais.


We have also learned a very important word in Thai - "Thank you". The Thai language is broken up by gender - the same word is said differently for men and women. For a girl, "kap khun ka" means "thanks" and for a boy, it is "kap khun kop". The Thai people we have come across have all been kind and amusing. Sarcasm is apparently a strong cultural trait here, and we must admit we enjoy it.

Tomorrow our one friend is leaving us for the islands on the other side of the country and two other friends are arriving in Pattaya to stay with us. We are going to spend another beautiful day at the beach and then the next day we plan on doing some sightseeing.