& Sons (Part 1)

The Michigan Invasion!  Tim and Mike finally arrived after an epic, thirty-hour journey from DTW to Boston to Dubai to Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.  We'd told Mike that Mick would pick them up, and he said he was hoping to have someone holding a sign with his name when he came off the plane.  Consider it done, my son:

The five of us, Mick, Tim, Tim Jr., Mike and I, piled into our Ford Everest and headed to Pattaya.  The skies grew darker and darker the closer we came to Pattaya, and opened up for a spectacular display of what Rainy Season looks like.  By the time we turned onto Sukhumvit, the main north/south drag, the streets were becoming impassable.  Traffic was squeezing over to one lane to try to avoid the rushing water.  In some places this was not possible.  Water was knee-deep at one point, but Tim told Mick to go ahead through the water, because our SUV rides a bit higher than many of the cars that were turning back.  It was dicey, to say the least, but our trusty driver made it through.  Whew - welcome to Thailand, boys!

This poor guy was walking his
motorbike through the flood
(sorry for the blur)

photo from Mika

 We gave the boys a few hours to decompress from the flight, then headed out to dinner.  Most of the roads were passable by then; the water accumulates quickly, but usually recedes within a few hours.  Tim Sr. was taken to a restaurant here on his first trip to Thailand, a place I had heard good things about but had never been myself.  The strangely-dubbed "Cabbages and Condoms" (yes, you read that right) is actually a lovely restaurant on the beautiful grounds of the Birds and Bees Resort, overlooking the gulf.

Cabbages and Condoms Pattaya is part of the Birds and Bees Resort at the foot of Pratumnak Hill in South Pattaya. It was started in the 1980s by Mechai Viravaidya, a former politician and activist, who is so widely known in Thailand, (that) ‘Mechai’ is now a slang word for condoms. The restaurant is part of a wider social initiative to help educate Thai people on a range of issues, such as sustainability, sexual health awareness and anti-corruption.

                                          http://www.bangkok.com/pattaya/cabbages-and-condoms-restaurant.htm#

The decor is in-your-face, condoms everywhere, even a condom tree and mannequins adorned with condoms.  It is a lighthearted way to deal with a serious issue.  Once you get past the "tee-hee" factor, the restaurant is quite nice, with a huge menu of Thai and western cuisine at reasonable prices.  Unfortunately, it was still raining on and off, so we were unable to sit down near the water.  And the challenge of the day was getting the waitstaff to stop pointing the hard-blowing fan in our direction.  One would seem to get the idea, then another would readjust it.  But, good food and conversation.  So nice to be together, jet-lagged or not!

Day two, we relaxed around the condo in the morning, swimming and lounging by the pool while the boys chased down the results of the weekend's NFL games.  Mike and Tim's fantasy football teams were going head-to-head, and it was kinda killing them that they couldn't watch the games.  (I shall not reveal the results here, as I love all my boys equally!)

In the afternoon, we headed to ATV Pattaya Jungle Adventures, just a twenty minute drive from home.  The website instructs participants to wear stuff you don't mind ruining, including closed-toe shoes.  So we stopped at Tesco-Lotus on the way, and the boys picked up a couple pairs of $6 shoes, as their flip-flops were not going to cut it.

The place was a bit tricky to find, but the lady was able to talk Mick through it, and we were soon suiting up for an afternoon of trail-riding on some ATVs.  We were provided with helmets, gloves, goggles and face masks, and given quick instructions on the do's and don't's of ATV operation.  "No donuts, don't use brake and accelerator at same time or you become Superman over handlebars..."  Mick was surprised to learn that I would be driving an ATV, too! 

We left Mick behind (he turned down our invitation to come), and the four of us headed off behind our lead driver.  We started out with about ten minutes on the streets getting to the trails, then followed along over dirt roads, and through plantations and "jungles."  It was pretty tame, which gave us lots of time to get used to driving the things.  It was pretty scenery, and I was a little disappointed that we didn't stop more often to get some pictures.  The guide, and Tim Sr. at the back, both had Go Pros on their helmets, videotaping the trek.  

Our one stop was at a waterfall, a very small, mossy-covered waterfall at the side of what might have been a previous construction site.  Our guide, who spoke very little English, kept saying "waterfall Pattaya."  Guess they made him practice that one.  It was a nice stop, and we got some nice, cold water before heading back on the trails.

"Waterfall Pattaya"

Having no previous experience on ATVs, I was unaware of the intense heat generated by the engine.  The inside of my right calf was well-cooked, especially when I would drive through a puddle and the water that splashed onto the engine became instant steam - yeow!  Next time I will opt for jeans over capris - lesson learned.

Upon our return, we were offered showers - basically a flexible hose with a shower head on one wall of a little bathroom.  It took a bit of maneuvering to keep the clean clothes dry and the towel at hand, but it was most-appreciated.  They put out a tray of fruit and some soft drinks, and showed us some of the video footage from the GoPros.  It was 1000 Bht (about $28 USD) to purchase the SIM card with our video.  I asked if she could just email it, and she said, "Yes, email free."  So we opted for that route.  Turns out "email free" means you only get a few photos, no video.  No matter, I imagine that two-hour video wasn't something we'd watch over and over anyway.  Fun day!

After a quick stop home, we headed to Central Festival to catch the new James Bond movie, Spectre.  Tim and Mike had planned to catch the midnight showing the night before their trip, but ended up not going.  So we got to see it together.  Without checking movie times, we were lucky to arrive just ten minutes before the next show.  Stocking up on popcorn and drinks, we went from our hot, sweaty afternoon to the air-conditioned chill of the movie theater.  The movie was fun and entertaining, but we all agreed that Skyfall was, by far, the better movie.  Liked the Sam Smith theme song, though.

After the movie, we wanted to give the boys a real taste of the flavor of Pattaya, so we walked down Beach Road to Walking Street.  I guess it's a little awkward to walk through the red-light district with one's parents;  the guys weren't really sure why we thought this was a good idea.  There was a much more visible police presence this time;  the authorities are making an effort to portray Pattaya as more family-friendly.  Always an interesting place for people-watching...

on Beach Road...

...Walking Street

 We met Mick at a designated spot, and he took us to Punch and Judy restaurant for a late dinner, where the staff treated Tim Sr. like he was Norm from Cheers.  He says he's only been here a couple of times...